Feet Away

Good morning. My name is Tony Baker and I am the lead Pastor here at Gateway. We're so excited that you're here. I can just picture all of you huddled, you know how to find your TV's huddled around your computer's your devices sitting there listening watching worshipping it's a new day. It's a different day and one of the things that's really as I'm here man. I wish you could have been in that worship was just incredible in this room. And I know it was there for you to it just is going to make us all that much more want to see one another be together being Community. I believe that if you're watching and you're all huddled up and do me a favor right now and grab your phone there. You can chat with the hosts. Like tell us how many people are in your in your house listening watching tells how many of you are there. We'd love to know that just so that we get an idea of just how many people were reaching. This it's an exciting time different time. Definitely. Hopefully you like the new format. We're trying to make it a little bit more friendly so you can see the people here as well as see the words in the slides that are you typically see up on our screens when you're in the service how we're doing everything we can to make it better for you today. We continue this three-week Siri or three weeks week 3 of a four-week series called the bad boys of Easter this week. We're going to get into a fella that we typically don't hear a lot about we hear about his partner the other Criminal on the cross. But today we're going to hear about the one who didn't get to go to paradise. But before I get too much into that, let me start by saying this Things are not always as they appear. Things are not always as they appear. Do you remember when you were in junior high? Do you remember when you were in high school think back? I know some of you guys think way back some of us don't have to think as far back. But remember when you were in high school and Junior High and remember those days in school and how you view the world think about that how you viewed the world in general how you viewed money. There's a reason parents say to their kids money doesn't grow on trees. Think about how you viewed money. Think about how you view time how you spent your time the things you wanted to do. What was fun? What wasn't fun? Think about back in junior high girlfriends and boyfriends in friends and enemies and how you view the world in general.

Raise your hand. If you've ever said, I wish I could go back and relive those days. Yes. Yes. We're all raising our hand and there's a reason why we're all raising our hands because we've all said I wish I knew then What I know now. I wish I knew then what I know now because you look back at how you view the world and you realized things are not always as they appear.

Now it's parents. How many times have you tried to convince your child your kids to see things the way you see them because you're living on the other side of that. You have a different perspective of your world. You have a different view of the world how many of us parents have tried to get our children to see things the way we see them and we do that because we want to protect them we do that because we want the best for them we do that because we don't want them to make the same mistakes that we made and so we have this different View and we understand things are not always as they appear at so we have this different view of life then our kids and we try to get our kids to see things the way we see them think about your conversations with them about their grades about their money about their friends about their work. It's amazing. How different. We all see the world. How exhausted you are of trying to convince your kids that algebra is important. And maybe you're not doing that cuz you don't see the importance of it. I remember I was doing a project with my youngest daughter Katie who's 15 now and I needed to measure a triangle and cut a piece of wood in a triangle, but I needed to know what one of the links of one of the sides of the triangle was. And since I'm so far gone from geometry and math and all that I ask Katie and I think take Katie. What is the green theorem, right? And Katie's here with us today if we had a camera with zoom in on her and she's like no it's amazing introverts are loving this right now. They're like, hey, I actually really like going to church now, right if people aren't there than I love going, but she she's here with us today and I asking what's up, and she realized in a real life situation that that math was important. And if you have Ever Raised teenagers daughters, I have three wonderful beautiful daughters. One is 21 one is 18 and one is 15. And if you ever raise teenage daughters, then you know what I'm talking about when you can say as a father that you did not like their boyfriend. Remember that moment in your daughter's life where she had a boyfriend that you just did not like course my two daughters that have boyfriends right. Now. Those boys are probably wondering is he talking about me at which owl say

tripe So think about that moment where she has a boyfriend and that boyfriend breaks up with her. This is how things are not always as they appear cuz it's apparent you're going honey. And it she's crushed and she's depressed and she's crying and you're hugging her and and your and you're trying to sympathize and you're trying to say honey, you know it and end it but the whole time inside you're going. Yes, it's just praying for this day, right? And if your daughter and you don't think your parents are father does that then you know now but he does think about that moment when you leave her room after she tells you that her boyfriend who you don't like breaks up. and you start a happy dance Hello, my name is coming to my name. Is it going to take me to the dump and you're like let's kill the fatted calf. Let's call a celebration. Right and everyone here is cracking up my wife cannot believe that I put that dance on there. That is the happy dance and end. This is what I mean. Things are not always as they appear you can see in her life. That guy was not right for her and she took her a while to figure it out.

Things are not always as they appear. What's today? I want to talk to you about a relationship. That may not always be as it appears. I'm talking about your relationship between life and God. I want to talk about a relationship between life and God. Today the relationship between your life and God is critical for you to understand this other Criminal on the cross. For most of us these two are very different things.

We experience them in different ways. as one in the same sometimes but sometimes our life bleeds over into our view of God and how our life goes is how we view who God is

here's how most of us think and I know this because I think this way or I have thought this way my life and I think most of us have if life is good. Then God is good. And when life is not good. Then maybe God's not so good. And this is where the relationship between life and God get confused. disappointment with my life quickly becomes disappointment with God when things aren't going right when things aren't going well when my dreams don't come true when my job disappears and maybe you're experiencing that now, I mean two weeks ago. We were in one of the best economies of our lifetime and we had strong jobs in strong economy in and things were going well and I mean in the snap of a finger everything was changed. They tell us almost four million people filed for bankruptcy are not bankruptcy file for unemployment last month.

When things are going well. God is good. But when things aren't going so well, maybe God's not so good. Maybe you've asked Where's God maybe your dreams? Haven't come true. Maybe your marriage that you started out and you had all these dreams and in the honeymoon time and. It was so awesome. And now that's gone and maybe you've lost a marriage or that marriage has dissipated or maybe you're in a marriage is struggling and you think things were going really well. God is good to me. But what do you think of God when things aren't going well.

Maybe your health. Becomes a problem. disappointment will set in disappointment sets in

and it seems like we just can't get a break. It seems to be working for other people things look good for them. God's good to them. But what's wrong with me? And see that's when we lose our perspective and we see life and however that goes must be how God is. And things are not always as they appear. What I've experienced after a while you begin to doubt God and when things aren't going well, you begin to doubt him and then the doubt turns to this assumption that maybe God's against me and is that doubt and that feeling of disappointment turns to something else? Then you begin to believe that God is not really good. And then when you don't think that God is good, then God must not exist. And then you work yourself into a situation where you just stop trying With God all together.

I've met people. And I know people who have lived very hard lives hard things have happened to them bad things have happened to them difficult things have happened to them. They are struggling and wrestling with some very difficult things and when you look at their life you wonder is God good. Because in your mind you want to say if God is good and loving and caring then why the suffering why the challenge?

It's not you maybe you're not there today. But let me tell you this you live with someone like this. You work with someone like this. You live next to Someone Like This You have friends and family the person next door. These are the people in your life who have become very disappointed with life and I can promise you if they're disappointed with life. They're more than likely disappointed with God.

perhaps you even stopped believing

these people become disappointed because their dreams have been shattered the plans and work and it gets worse and get this it gets worse because when life doesn't go well and you stopped believing in God, then you begin to make a series and a string of decisions in your life that are just bad. And you make life worse. And here's that here's the irony in all this is that is that when you're in the situation where you've acquitted your life circumstances and experience with who God is and you have this guy out and disappointments and his lack of belief and Trust in a good god. What happens then is The irony of it is you make these decisions and get yourself into a position where when you really really need God you keep him at arm's length because you don't trust him.

You doubt him? We are too proud to bend a knee to a god that we don't trust. and that we don't believe you gave got a chance. He did not come through. And so you stopped believing and you stopped giving him a chance. Listen things are not always as they appear. So this is the case with our bad boy of Easter today. He is the other Criminal on the cross. We don't know a lot about him as a matter fact. We don't know his name. Somewhere in his life. He took a wrong path somewhere in his life. He got confused somewhere in his life. He expected God to come through for him and he didn't somewhere in his life. He broke a law and then he broke another one and then another one and another one until it all caught up with him and the Roman government caught up with him and captured him. We don't know this guy. We don't know his his name, but you can look at it circumstance and you can look at his situation. You can understand quickly. The guy has been on the wrong path. And later, we'll learn he blames God for it.

He was tried. He was convicted for a crime.

We don't know what he did, but it was serious. It was serious. The Romans had all kinds of criminals all kinds of people that they arrested for breaking laws and most of them would be sold into slavery. Most of them would be sent out to a ship to be a a Roar on a Roman galley.

But only for the worst of the worst only for the man that we need to make an example to all the rest of the community. They were set up to be crucified. This guy was condemned to be crucified and executed on a cross. It was the worst day. It was the worst way to die imaginable. And our guy knew it, they tell us from reading the history that prisoners who were condemned to be executed on a cross preferred suicide over the cross. He knew that it could take days. for someone to die on a cross

He had seen the humiliation. They would strip. The person completely naked take them outside the city mail them to us being string them up high for people to walk by and see. People with insults at them and people would CL at them and profanity and spit at them and here's why they did it whether they believe the person was innocent or guilty. They didn't want the Romans to think that they were friends or with the guy on the cross because if they did then they would suspect you. So we also know that the guy was alone he was abandoned. Everyone in his life his family his friends anyone that was in his life would have disowned him. They would have not wanted to be part of the humiliation. The cross meant that everyone would forsake Him. All of his friends and family. There was no hope And even on the cross he realized that even his God forsook him.

Everyone might have forsaken him that day and it was a terrible scene. But he wasn't alone on that day two other men were condemned to die. I happen to think that he knew one of them. I think one of the criminals that that the two criminals knew each other and may have even been caught together. They may have an even been plot together. They may have been committing crimes together and they were condemned to die, but there was a third man that day and even in this guy's humiliation and even in this the scene of this going out through the city and Out To The Cross to be crucified to to the place to be crucified. The guy still wouldn't get the spotlight that day because there was a certain man named Jesus who would also been condemned. This guy was a local celebrity Rabbi everyone knew who Jesus was and the fact that they were crucifying it because just a few days earlier the whole city wanted to Crown Him King of the Jews. So everyone knew who this guy was and they wanted to see the guy the guy who couldn't make the lame walk. The guy who could make the blind see the guy who actually raised the man from the dead when the Romans went to put him on the cross. They wanted to know what was going to happen.

To everyone was looking at Jesus and that brings us to our text today. We'll have it up on the screen for you. If you want to follow along in your online church, you can actually click Bible and follow along go we're going to be in Luke Luke the 23rd chapter. We begin at verse 32 and we're just going to go through verse 46 walk through it and I want you to see this scene and here's what I want you to see that things are not always as they appear.

Luke 23:32 through 33 two other men both criminals. We're also let out with him to be executed. See this was a story about Jesus. So this is where these two men intersect with. Jesus is life when they came to the place called the skull They Crucified him there along with the criminals one on his right and the other on his left that little word crucified. It's such a small world that has such a huge meaning I shared with you a little bit about what a crucifixion might be back ground wires, but to actually experienced it. It's gruesome. It's terrible. It's an awful thing. It's packed with such meaning and so many social and so many social and situations in and it was just a terrible thing to experience and be a part of it was even worse to have been crucified Hobbs, obviously. The huge crowds of people gather to watch the humiliation the scene would have been loud. The scene would have been chaotic there would have been some women there that they say that they were women and men there who were wailing for Jesus and they were crying for Jesus. They were ready to die for Jesus. There were many that have abandoned him even his own disciples.

We know that the the two criminals would have been hurling insults at the Romans and at the crowd it just would have been a chaotic scene very loud and chaotic but in the middle of all that chaos in the middle of all that was going on people were screaming and yelling and spitting and and cursing and all this that was going on.

They heard. quiet voice of a man nailed to a cross praying he was praying. And here's what he said.

Jesus said father pictures of chaos pictures of screaming the yelling the pain of the cross the people The noise and in the middle of all that you hear this voice father. forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Jesus says the unthinkable Jesus says the unthinkable Jesus does the unimaginable. Who is this guy? Can you imagine being one of the criminals and sitting there and listening to this and why you're hanging there nailed to this cross waiting to die in all the chaos and you hear this guy say father forgive them. They do not know. What who is this guy, right?

Oh and did I also tell you that he was falsely accused? They made up stories about him. They push this true he was dying for something that wasn't even a capital offense.

And there he is in pain and suffering nailed to a cross and he's praying he's praying. That God would forgive them.

Jesus actually was praying not for himself. but for others

imagine what went through the mines of those criminals forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. Are you kidding me? They've done this a hundred times. They know exactly what they're doing. verse 35 the people Stood watching. And the rulers even sneered at him. They said he saved others let him save himself if he is God's Messiah the chosen one. So here all these leaders. Jesus is nailed to a cross. The criminals are screaming and yelling. The people are screaming and yelling the leaders the Pharisees and Sadducees and maybe even the high priest was a and they come up and they begin to sneer and make fun of Jesus. And here's Jesus father forgive them. For they do not know. What they're doing this happened. So close to town and Jesus being so popular. Everyone would have been there and heard this.

Here's the thing that we know about the leaders. They were constantly trying to trip Jesus up. They were costly trying to humiliate Jesus. But Jesus always came back to them and Jesus always help them see how wrong they were fur and help the crowd see how wrong they were. And they always trying to get it but now they had him and they're sneering at him and they're screaming at him and they're making fun of them and they're challenging him bring yourself off that cross if you're the Messiah. They had and they were both by Jesus's helplessness and they're like we got you get yourself out of this one.

Everyone's watching this.

somewhere sneering and scoffing because their hopes We're dying on a cross. their hopes a lot of people and put their hope in Jesus. A lot of people had thought this is the guy this is the Messiah. This is the king is going to come and make everything, right?

And there he was dying on a cross. Some people smeared because they hated him and some people smeared because they were disappointed in him. But he wasn't helping them. He wasn't getting them out of their situation. They thought that they were seeing another wannabe another promise keeping God another kingdom kingdom heralding person and there he was dying on a cross. Here's what they really thought. He's with the people all around that were steering and making fun. And you said yourself come down. Here's what they were really thinking. They were thinking this.

You got her hopes up, man.

And you've disappointed us.

You must be an imposter because if you were really God you'd help us here. If you were really gone you'd come down off that cross and you would overthrow these Romans and you do what we need you to do for us because our life is hard under ROM. It's not right that we're under Rome. You've disappointed us. You got our hopes up I believed in you. He let me down. I put my faith in you and you didn't help me out. I hoped in you. My life is a mess. I hope that you would save my marriage and you didn't. my life is going wrong that hoped you'd help me with my job situation and you haven't

I hope that my life would have turned out different and it hasn't and I put my faith in you and I trusted in you and you let me down.

Hope that my situation would change and here I am disappointed with wife looking for someone to blame. And guess what? There's a man on a cross that I can blame. There's a God that supposed to come through and he hasn't.

Let's blame him. Cuz if he's God.

Then things should be different. 436

the soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said if you are the king of the Jews save yourself, so even the non-believing Romans. Are saying hey, yeah, we'd like to see this. That'd be a God we could believe in.

There was written a notice above him who Rhett which read? This is the king. Of the Jews at this point the criminals could not stay quiet. Imagine all this going on and they're standing there sitting there next to the would-be king the would be God the would-be Messiah. And they get their hopes up. Yeah, if you're if you're a God the Messiah get yourself down and us too. right They too were compelled to join in the abuse verse 39.

One of the criminals who's our character today. Hung their hurled insults at him aren't you the Messiah like everyone around here saying I've heard of you. I've seen you matter fact, didn't you just raise a guy from the dead? It's all over the city. If you can do that save yourself and look. and us and I

healed them you raise people from the dead. You're supposed to be part of the solution. Not the problem if you are God. This should not be happening to you. If there is a God this should not be happening to me.

What the criminal was really saying? You're not God. You can't be God would not allow this God couldn't allow this. He thought that his life as his life went so God must go. The relationship between his life and his God got blurred. and he equated the sum total of his experience to the goodness and who God is and those are two completely different things. They are in relationship to each other, but they are not the same.

What the criminal was saying to us was your not God?

He had no reverence for God no fear for God and why not? What had God ever done for him? But here's the twist. Of our story today that Luke wants us to see here is this man who is hurling insults at his God? And when you asked the question, where was God in all of this? Here's the irony. He was just a few feet away.

In covid 19 days, he would be 6 feet away.

He was just a few feet away. The other criminal had a different perspective though on the reality and I want to bring him into our story because this guy helps us understand what was really happening between Jesus and our character today who did not believe in Jesus.

Both criminals, both of them had most things in common. They might have been friends or accomplices. They might have, you know been in cahoots with each other. The difference was not how life treated them the difference between these two was not how things turned out for them. But in the middle of the insults, the other criminal gets quiet. He doesn't hurled insults at Jesus. He doesn't tell Jesus. Why don't you get yourself down and save us two? this Criminal gets quiet and somber he sees something in Jesus that is unique. He sees something in Jesus that is unhuman in a way that only a God could do he see something in what Jesus did on the cross and says on the cross that changed his life forever.

He sees something in Jesus that's different than a criminal. Selflessness and other centeredness that only the god of his childhood. The God that he had heard of from his mom and his dad the loving never ending loving God of Israel. He hears those words father. forgive them

And it changed him he realized in that moment. This is not a criminal. But this is a righteous and a good man.

Luke 23:40, look what he says. But you have a criminal rebuked him the other key rebuke the criminal. Do you fear God he said? Since you are under the same sentence. Rebuke is a hard word. He warns him. Stop. Don't do that. Wait, we got it wrong. We got it wrong. But this guy this guy got it, right. There's something different about him. Don't you fear? God verse 41 Something was different. He says so we are punished just to look at this. We you and me we got punished just lie for we are getting what are listen Rd deserve. this man He said nothing wrong. It's a nothing wrong. Something was different something change for this criminal. He was not drawing conclusions about a god based on his way of life. But he took ownership of his life. He says I'm getting what I deserve but this guy he does not deserve this and yet he still loves us. and them

there's something different. Listen. Jesus is love and passion for God and others changed. This man's perspective of who God was

If an innocent, man. Who suffers like a guilty man? If an innocent, man suffers like a guilty man. can trust God

How much more could a guilty man have faith when there is something when there is some justification for suffering? I think that's what went through. This guy's mind.

If this innocent man can suffer. As a guilty man and still trust God. How much more can I trust God? Being a guilty man.

He chose to not blame God for his life situation. The other criminal had this off our moment and he realized that Jesus must be the Messiah. He must be God In the Flesh because no one can do what he did in that situation. He is the king hears what he says I want to I want and he wanted the king to remember him when he came into his paradise. Look. Then he said to Jesus Jesus Remember me when you come into your kingdom remember me? Remember me? Not because of what I've done but in spite of everything I've done. Think about that in spite of everything. I've done not that you're a God who equals my experiences, but my experience is needed God's that can help me with my experience. My experience is my life. I needed God that's different than that. So when you come into your kingdom remember me for 43 Jesus answered him truly. I tell you today you will be with me in Paradise.

Here's what Jesus is saying to him. You ready for this? Hanging there on a cross dying suffering and Agony for something. He did not do looks to a man who is guilty. For everything he did. And Jesus says my love for you my thoughts about you are not the reflection of what's happening to you.

I love you. I will not forget you.

I am not what you were going through right now. But I'm here to be with you through it. 444

it was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until 3 in the afternoon for the sun stop shining and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. last verse Jesus called out with a loud voice father into your hands. I commit my spirit when he had said this he breathed his last. Things are not always as they appear. Is easy to confuse god with life? Have you confused god with your life? Have you blamed God for the things that are happening in your life may be drawn conclusions about who God is based on what you've experienced. Perhaps you were skeptic this today, perhaps that you just have a hard time believing a God would allow what's happening in our culture in our world. Perhaps you have a hard time understanding or believing in a God that would allow the things happen that happen in our world. Somewhere in your life you dare to trust God but life went sideways and you drew some conclusions about who God is based off of your experience. And now you just choose to not believe. If God exists then and that's how you live. Perhaps you're just bitter today.

You're angry and bitter not that you don't believe God, but you just don't want to Bow your knee to a god that you can't trust.

You can't submit to him. It's hard to trust and submit to anyone.

Who's let you down?

Our pride gets in the way. Perhaps you just feel God. Is disappointed when you so you keep God at an arm's length you believe in him. You don't want to be too far away from him be just live with this constant disappointment that you feel like God's just disappointed with you the things you've done the things you've said the places you go the the things in your past and you just feel like God's just disappointed in me.

listen God is not the sum. Of your life experiences. He is in spite of my experiences. He is in spite of my experiences Jesus's life, especially on the cross shows us that God is about redeeming our past redeeming our experiences redeeming. Our marriage is redeeming our sins redeeming our failures redeeming our regret redeeming all of the experiences of our life. God is a God who redeems not rebukes.

God is Not Your Life. Jesus came to give you life and all of that.

He came to give you a new perspective a new way to view God and our experiences a new way to live in the middle of his suffering. He loved us in spite of us. And if we would be honest this morning.

We all see a little bit of this bad boy of Easter in ourselves. But in your doubt and then your anger and in your unbelief of God and your untrusting of God blaming him for your life experiences today, you might just simply find Jesus in spite of all of that loving you from the cross loving you nailed to the cross saying these words father forgive them for they do not know what they do. Listen. God is closer than you think. He's simply a few feet away. If you'll trust him today. That's going to come and she's going to close out this service and she's going to sing a great song called Everything. Here's what I asked you to do. If your home your huddled around your computer's you got your kids your spouse has your friends you're there. There's an opportunity for you to give your heart and Life to Jesus today You just separate your life and God and realize God is not my life. Things are not always as they appear that you can trust him because he's a God who died on a cross for you. And he said father forgive them. Because I love them you can trust that. If you would trust that today, you can raise your hand when the Salvation opportunity comes up or just say I want to know more about Jesus. I want to know more about knowing god and we will get in touch with you and we will let you know how you can do that from where you're at. So raise your hand fill out the form while Beth sings this song Everything.