In this powerful episode of Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, we continue exploring “The Seven Greatest Words of Love,” as we delve into the profound meaning of “The Word of Assurance.” Pastor Rick Warren unpacks the significance of Jesus’ words on the cross and what they mean for our personal fulfillment. By examining the thief’s recognition of Jesus’ sinless nature and the great exchange of salvation, we discover the boundless love and grace extended to us. As the conversation unfolds, Pastor Rick introduces us to Norman Borlaug, an unsung hero who saved over a billion lives with his agricultural innovations.
Thanks for joining us here today on Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, the audio broadcast ministry of Pastor Rick Warren. Today we continue in a series called the seven greatest words of love. There are seven words in particular that Jesus spoke during his final hours on the cross. that hold the keys for finding fulfillment in your life, relationships, and even your career. Right now, here’s Pastor Rick with part two of a message called The Word of Assurance.
SPEAKER 02 :
Notice the third thing this thief says. He’s uneducated, but he knows the important stuff. And what he knows in Luke 23, 41 is this. I know that this man has not done anything wrong. Now I want you to circle on your outlines the word anything. I know that this man, talking about Jesus, has not done anything wrong. Now notice what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, this guy Jesus hanging here on the cross, I know he’s not as bad as we are. He doesn’t say that, he doesn’t compare. This guy’s not as bad as we are. We deserve it, but he doesn’t deserve it. No, he says, this guy has never done anything wrong. The word there in Greek, odes, literally means zero, not a nothing, zip. He’s never done anything wrong. Now, question, has anybody ever said that about you? No. Or me? Do you know that it’s ever been said about anybody? No, because you can’t say that about a mere human being. You can’t say about any human being he’s never done anything wrong. You just can’t say it because humans are frail and we make mistakes and we have feelings and sins. And so when this guy says he’s never done anything, not one thing in his life wrong, he’s saying this guy’s not a mere man. This is not a human we’re dying next to. Yes, he’s human in human flesh, but he’s God. He’s more than a human. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7 20, there on your outline, there is not a single person in all the earth who is always good and never sins. Bingo, that’s it. Nobody has ever done anything, never done anything wrong. So, he’s saying this guy is an unusual man. He’s more than a man. Now, here’s what happens on the cross. Second Corinthians 521. God had Christ who was sinless, and the only person we could say that about is Jesus Christ. God had Christ who was sinless take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him. That’s what you call the great exchange. That’s what you call salvation. Jesus says, I have never sinned, but I’ll take your sin. I’ve never done anything wrong, but I’ll take everything you’ve done wrong. I’ll take your rap. I’ll pay the price. I’ll pay the ticket. I’ll serve the time. I’ll do the judgment. Because somebody’s got to pay for your wrongdoing. Either you, you can pay for it, or somebody else. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. God so loved you, he said, I will pay for all the things you’ve done wrong. That’s how much God loves you. That’s why Jesus is the savior of the world. If I asked you this question, not including Jesus, who has saved the most people in human history? If I told you who it was, you’d probably never even heard of his name. Who has saved more lives in human history than anybody else? If you Googled this in, who has saved more lives in human history, you would come up with a name, and his name is Norman Borlaug. Anybody ever heard of Norman Borlaug? He saved more lives than anybody in human history. Just to give you an example of this, he is the one of only six people in history who received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the President Medal of Freedom. One of only six people in history, and you’ve never even heard of him, Norman Borlaug. He was an agricultural scientist who invented high-yield, disease-resistant crops that saved over a billion people from starvation in the 20th century. The executive director of the UN World Food Bank said this, Norman Borlaug has saved more lives than any man in history. His heart was as big as his brilliant mind, but it was his passion and compassion that moved the world. He was a truly great man. He was a real hero. He saved over a billion people from his inventions in agriculture. Saved them from starvation. But here’s the interesting thing. Norman never claimed to be the savior of the world. Never did. You see, he put his trust in Jesus Christ as a little kid. And he was a lifelong member of an evangelical Lutheran church. He was a Christian. He was a founding trustee of the Christian compassion organizations, Bread for the World, Bread for the Hungry, and Bread for the World. And when he received his Nobel Peace Prize, he quoted the Bible, specifically Isaiah. So here’s a guy who literally saved a billion people’s lives, but he never even claimed to be the savior, because he couldn’t say, I’ve never done anything wrong. Even Norman Borlaug needed a savior to get into heaven. Even he did not deserve heaven, because you can’t be 100. Now you may get to 40, you may get to 60, or you may get to 80, doesn’t matter. Somebody’s gotta make up the difference. It’s as if we would say Hawaii is heaven. Some of you think it is. And when I say go, everybody swim to Hawaii, and those who get there, you’re all saved. You get to stay in heaven. And if you’re an Olympic swimmer, you might swim out 10, 15, 20 miles. And then there are some other people who might swim out a mile. Some of you might make it 500 yards. Some of you had drowned at Baby Beach. And the point is, some people, there’s no doubt about it in life, some people get further than others. There’s no doubt about it in life. Some people are more moral than others. Some people are nicer than others. Some people are more good than others. But the Bible says all have fallen short. It’s just too big a gap. Who’s gonna make up the difference between your 45 or your 25 and 100? That’s the savior you need. You’re not getting into heaven on your 25 or 35. You need a savior. And this guy knew it. I know that I’m gonna face God after I die. I know that I’ve sinned against God. I know that Jesus is more than a man. Number four, the fourth thing this guy knew, and you gotta know this too. I must know that only God’s grace can save me. I must know that only God’s grace can save me. I’m never gonna do it on my own effort. Now we see this in verse 42. So after he says, you know, we deserve to die and this guy has never sinned and he’s more than a man. In verse 42 it says, then he said, the thief on the cross, then he said, Jesus, remember me. Jesus said, Remember me. Mem nesako, that’s what it is in Greek. Mem nesako, Jesus, remember me. That’s all he says. Now, what is implied in mem nesako? What is implied when this guy says, looks at Jesus and he’s sweating and he’s dying and he says, remember me when you come into your kingdom in heaven. Well, one thing we know, he knows that he can’t save himself. He can’t get off the cross. He can’t go do a bunch of charity work. He can’t try to atone for his own sins. He can’t make up for all the bad things he’s done wrong. There’s no way he can repay the people or God or anybody else. He’s hanging on the cross. He’s in his final moments. He knows he can’t save himself. He knows he’s made a mess of his life. He’s wasted it. This guy has wasted his life. He’s got nothing to offer God. Zero. Zip. we know that he doesn’t try to make excuses. And hanging there on the cross, he doesn’t say, now Jesus, I’m a lot better than some people, really. I’m really a lot better than that person over there. He doesn’t beg, he doesn’t bribe, he doesn’t bargain, he doesn’t barter with God. He doesn’t compare, I was better than somebody. He doesn’t try to make excuses for his sins. He is hanging on the cross with no hope. And you don’t have any either. Without Jesus, you have no hope of getting into heaven. He has no hope. And so while he’s hanging on the cross, in the final moments of his life, he throws himself on the grace of God, the mercy of God. And he just says two words. Remember me. Remember me? That’s all he’s gonna say? Remember me? Now think about this. That’s it? This is the shortest salvation prayer in history. It’s two words. Remember me. Remember me. Now I want you to listen very closely. I want you to hear this. There are some people out there, well-meaning Christians. They’re Christians, they’re believers, they love the Lord. Well-meaning Christians who think that you have to use certain words in order to be saved. and that you have to say a certain kind of prayer in order to be saved. And if you don’t use the certain words in a certain prayer, then you’re not gonna be saved, then it doesn’t count, it doesn’t matter. This guy does not use any theological terms. He doesn’t use the word justification. He doesn’t use the word redemption. He doesn’t use the word atonement. He doesn’t use the word propitiation. He doesn’t even say, I repent. It’s not there. He doesn’t say, I believe. It’s not there. He doesn’t say, I trust. He doesn’t say, I receive you into my life. He just says, remember me. And Jesus looks at him and says, I got it. It’s good enough. You’re in. I’ll see you in heaven before the day’s over. Hello, Jesus. That of all cases proves it’s not about words. You know, when I wrote Purpose Driven Life, there were some well-meaning Christians who criticized me ruthlessly because in the prayer that I put in Purpose Driven Life, I didn’t use their favorite word. Oh, Rick did not say, and they would give their favorite word they thought should be included in a salvation prayer. I repent of my sins. I believe and receive. I did say that, but they had their favorite words that they would put in there. And they said, so it’s not a legitimate prayer. Well, then they would have said that this guy wasn’t really saved and Jesus Christ was a liar when he said, today you’ll be with me in paradise. This guy was in no sense a theologian. And Jesus’ prayer may have not sat, I mean, the sinner’s prayer here may have not satisfied the theologians, but it satisfied Jesus. And if it satisfies Jesus, that’s good enough, okay? So he only says two words. Remember me. Remember me. That’s all he said. Here is the point I’m trying to make. It’s not the words you say that matter. It’s the direction of your heart. If you have a humble heart, and the direction is toward God, it counts. Years ago I read a story about a Bible translator who worked for Wycliffe Bible Translators. And he was down past the Chiapas area in Mexico in one of the inner jungles where there were these tribes that had these indigenous languages. They don’t speak Spanish in those jungles. And he was going into this jungle to translate, first to get their language and create an alphabet, and then to translate the book of Mark so that this tribe would have a part of the Bible to read about Jesus. And this translator was there for eight years, translating the book of Mark into that indigenous language. During the entire eight years, he kept telling everybody about Jesus. Telling them about salvation. And not a single person responded in the village faithfully. Not a single person accepted Christ. And he felt pretty disappointed when he was called back after eight years. It was time for him to take a furlough. And he’s going back. I think he was going to Texas. And so he left, having finished the work that he was doing. But nobody in that village had come to Christ. Right before he left, there was a… middle-aged farm worker named Jose, who had a heart attack. And they took him to a nearby village, and he was recuperating in this very primitive village with an oxygen tent over him. And before he left, this missionary friend said, I’m gonna go witness one more time to Jose before I leave. And he walked in and Jose was laying there under the oxygen tent and he was coming in and out of the coma. He goes, he was really groggy, I didn’t even know if he could understand me or not, but I just thought I needed to do it. And I looked at him and I said, Jose, do you know that God is your creator? And Jose, as he faded in and out of his coma, said, see. And he said, do you know that Jesus is God’s son and that God sent him to tell you that he loves you? And Jose said, see. He said, you know, Jose, Jesus Christ, God’s son, died on a cross for everything you’ve ever done wrong. Do you believe that? See. See. Would you like to put your trust in him? Would you like to open your life to Christ and trust him for your own forgiveness of sins? See. And then he faded back into a coma. And this missionary said, you know, I don’t even know if the guy heard me or not. If he’s just kind of saying it or if he’s just being polite. You know, he’s on his deathbed and he said, I didn’t know. And he said, I left as he was in a coma. Nearly a decade later, that missionary got a chance to go back to that village. And when he went to the village, he found a thriving church of 65 people in this little village. He goes, this is great. This is great. He goes, who were the missionaries that came and talked to you about this? They said, oh, nobody came and talked to us. He said, what happened? They said, well, you remember Jose? He said, yeah, he got well. And when he got well, he got a Bible. And he started the church. And 65 of us have come to Christ. Because Jose. How much do you have to know and say to get into heaven? See. You gotta be able to say yes to God and no to yourself. No, I’m not trusting me to get into heaven. Yes, I am trusting what Jesus did. Believe me, if there was any other way for you to get into heaven, if you could get into heaven by your good works, don’t you think it was a total waste for God to send Jesus to die for you on the cross? If there was an easier, quicker, less painful, less bloody way for you to get into heaven, for somebody to pay for your sins, don’t you think God would have used it? There is no other way. If you don’t say see to Jesus, you’re not getting in. It’s that clear. To go to hell, you have to do almost the impossible. You have to reject the love of God. Why in the world would anybody do that? Why would anybody say, no, no, thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross for me, but I really don’t need that. I’m gonna get into heaven on my own terms. It’s his house. He gets to decide how the invitees come in. And why would somebody want to deny God and reject God and go the opposite of God their entire life and then want to spend eternity with them for the rest of their lives? There are two people, two statements that God makes to people. And it’s this, have it your way or have it your way. There are people who on earth say, I want to live my life completely without God. Jesus says, fine, have it your way. But one day you’re going to die and you’re going to stand in front of him and he’s going to say it again, have it your way. You spent your entire life walking the opposite direction. Why in the world would you want to live in my house now? I made you, I created you, I love you. I’ve watched every moment of your life. And you said, no, why would you want to be in heaven now? Why does everybody wanna reject God on earth and be with God for eternity? He knew that only God’s grace could save him. And you gotta know that only God’s grace can save you. He just says, remember me. What I’m telling you is this. Don’t complicate the gospel. Don’t complicate the good news. Don’t try to tack on additional conditions that Jesus never required. By the way, the guy who died on the cross and Jesus, he says, remember me when you go into heaven? And Jesus says, today you’ll be with me in paradise. Where was he baptized? He wasn’t. Now there are Christians, well-meaning Christians that we love. And they believe you have to be baptized to be saved. Where is that in the Bible? It’s not. It’s not in the Bible. There is no good work that you can do that gets you into heaven. It’s simply saying, see. It’s receiving the grace. Salvation is not what you do for God. It’s what God does for you. When Jesus dies on the cross, he says, it is finished. Not I’m finished, because he wasn’t. He’s living alive today. He said, it is finished. I have paid for everything you need to get to heaven. Now, you ought to want to be baptized. Baptism is the public statement of saying, I’ve said C to Jesus. And to not be baptized is to basically say, I’m embarrassed that I’ve said C. I’m embarrassed that I’ve said yes. And I’m going to hide. I’m going to be a secret disciple, a closet Christian, a secret agent disciple. Lady Clairol Christian, only God knows for sure. If you laughed at that, you are so old, I want to tell you. They don’t even do Lady Clairol commercials anymore, okay? So you are old, old, old. But you ought to be baptized. I mean, how would I have said to my wife, honey, let’s get married, but let’s not tell anybody about it. She’d go, what kind of commitment is that? and for you to say, I want to give my life to Jesus, but I don’t want to be baptized, then you’re ashamed of him. So I’ve said it many times, baptism is the wedding ring of the Christian life. This ring doesn’t make me saved, it shows that I’m saved. I’m married. It doesn’t save me. It has saved me a lot of pain, that’s for sure. This ring doesn’t make me married. It shows that I’m married. Baptism doesn’t make you a Christian. It shows that you are. It’s the outward symbol of the inward commitment in your heart.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you so much for listening to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. We’ve got some great news to share with you. Very generous friends have given a $10,000 matching grant to this ministry. That means every dollar you give right now to help Daily Hope share the transforming love of Jesus with people around the world will be matched up to $10,000. Here’s Rick to tell you more.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hi, everybody. Thanks so much for listening today. You know, my hope is that God uses this broadcast to help deepen your relationship with Jesus. Now, these Daily Hope messages are distributed on radio stations and digital platforms all across the globe, and listeners are writing and letting us know that their lives are being changed. They’re telling us that they’re walking with Jesus and that guilt and fear has been chased from their lives by God’s love. You know, relationships are being restored and marriages are being healed. And many people are saying that they found their life purpose. I wanna say thank you to you because we’re only able to carry the hope of Jesus to these people all around the world because of gifts from generous listeners like you. I just wanted to say, I am so grateful for your prayers and your financial support. Now, I understand in times like these, many of you are unable to give financial support. Hear it from me, that’s okay, because I never want anybody to give unless God leads them to give. That’s between you and God, not between you and me, but between you and God. And your prayers are a continual and incredible contribution to this Daily Hope ministry. Now, if you do want to give a financial gift, I’ve got some really great news to share with you. There’s a generous friend of Daily Hope Broadcast who is offering to match the amount of your gift. In other words, if you give $20, then that person has combined it with a grant to make your gift $40. Now, if you’ve never given a gift to Daily Hope, I want you to pray about partnering with us so that together we can continue to share the hope of Jesus throughout the whole world. I love you so much.
SPEAKER 01 :
Just go to PastorRick.com or text the word HOPE to 70309 and have your gift matched up to $10,000. That’s PastorRick.com or text the word HOPE to 70309. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God’s Word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope and your generous financial support.
