Matthew's Gospel chapter 7 and we're reading at the end of the chapter verse 24. This is the end of the Sermon on the Mount and then we're going to continue reading just a few verses into the 8th chapter as well. So Matthew's Gospel chapter 7, we'll read from verse 24, words which I am sure are very familiar and I'm sure many of the young people will know these words. If not off by heart, well at least you will be able to recognize many of the phrases contained in the portion. Matthew chapter 7 verse 24, Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house. and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, The people were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will be thou clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto them. We'll end our reading at that fourth verse. We know the Lord will bless the public reading of His own word to all of our hearts. With God's Word before us, let's unite together in prayer and ask for the blessing of the Lord to come upon us in the ministry of the Word and in listening to it, praying that God will take it and write it on each heart. Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for the truth of the words we've been singing, only Christ can save. Lost and hopeless, Lord, we do pray that thou wilt come to those without Christ. We pray that you'll speak. We ask that thou wilt settle the mind and the heart. We ask that the ear gate may be open, but, oh, that the heart will be opened also by the Spirit of the Lord to receive the good things, the truths of the Lord Jesus in his gospel. Fill me with thy Holy Spirit and grant power with which to serve thee. We pray that this night, as we think upon thy word, thou wilt take it and write it upon each of our hearts. And every unsaved person, may they be convicted of sin, constrained to flee to Christ. Those saved, may our hearts be encouraged as we once again hear of our dear Savior, the Lord Jesus. Hear and answer prayer. We ask these things. in his great name. Amen. You will know that in Matthew's gospel, beginning there back at the fifth chapter, running right through to the end of chapter seven, is the great sermon of the Lord Jesus Christ. The audience listening, of course, their response ought to be noted. It says in verse 29, or verse 28, it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. So when they listened to the Lord Jesus Christ and the gracious words, if we may borrow another phrase from Luke's Gospel chapter 4 that proceeded from his mouth, my, they were astonished listening to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and the application of the Word of God to the hearts of men. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ had authority in teaching, likewise He had authority over the circumstances of life and even the very diseases that came upon the flesh of men. For in the opening of chapter 8, a leper approaches the Lord Jesus. That foul, unclean disease that was prevalent in the land over which no one had a cure, but when the Lord Jesus Christ met that man, the Lord was able to cure him. You can note there verse 2, Behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. This man with this foul disease meets with the Lord Jesus Christ, recognizes that Christ can cure him. We want to examine that thought this evening, but we have a purpose, of course. And the purpose, as we think here of this scene in Matthew's Gospel chapter 8, is to remind those in the meeting who are not saved that likewise you need to meet with Christ because the disease of leprosy has an application, if you like, a spiritual application to the soul of man and its sinfulness. And the point we wish to stress in looking at this passage is that your sin needs to be dealt with just as my sin has been dealt with in Christ and through his redemption and each child of God in this house has had that same experience of the new birth looking to the Lord Jesus you too need to meet with the Lord well quickly we want to move on and I want to point out here that the words here that this man speaks said to a king we drew attention a few moments ago to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ has been speaking from the sermon on the Sermon on the Mount during those chapters take them home read over them you will see that he speaks with authority just as the people recognized that they said he spake with authority. Not as the scribes. He taught. And that denotes this is a King. He has come with commandments. Words from the Father to the hearts of men. And when we think of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is very important to understand who Christ is. Christ is the King. He is the Son of God, God the Son, who came into this world with what? With the words of the Father that we might know, the mind of God. That's why we have a Bible. We do not consult with apparitions. We do not have novel ideas in this church. in order to try and find out the mind and the will of God and the Word of God. God has spoken. And He has spoken to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. And this man, he recognizes Christ as one with authority. And tonight, in this house, as you come to think upon the Word of God, and you think of what the Word of God might be, well then, we direct you to the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not look to anyone or anything else. You don't have to search through the religions of the world, rifling through all that they teach in order to know what God says. No, you must come to the Lord Jesus Christ. In our prayer, if I recall, we mentioned that great word from heaven concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was this. This is my beloved Son. Hear Him. Hear Him. So, the first thing we would direct your attention to, like this man, he went to Christ. So, too, you need to go to the Savior. That's where truth is to be found. This man recognized the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, it has to be said, very early in the ministry of Christ. If you just reflect on that for a few moments, this event is recorded in Mark's gospel, chapter one, and also in Luke's gospel, chapter five. If I may be more detailed than that, out of a list of 33 miracles, that are recorded at the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we say recorded because the books could not or the world could not contain the books that could be written of what the Lord Jesus Christ did and of what he actually said. But God has given his mind in the Bible and that is the sum of what God requires us to know. But out of a recorded 33 this particular miracle is the sixth so if you think about that here's the sermon on the mount here's the words of the lord jesus christ and very quickly there's a man who is a leper who recognizes the authority of christ and who recognizes that as far as his leprosy is concerned christ is able to heal it and heal him Now, what's the significance of this? Well, there were many people that saw the miracles of the Lord Jesus. If you go over to John's Gospel and chapter 12, John's Gospel chapter 12, and look with me at just two verses there, it will emphasize what I'm saying. Verse 37 of John's Gospel chapter 12, But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spake Lord who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed do you see what happened there many miracles were conducted but these people did not believe let me apply the thought Tonight you sit in a gospel service. Here's the word of God before you. It's in the English language. We have the best translation and the authorized version. You can sit down at any time and you can read it. In this modern world, nearly everyone has the education that allows them to read the words of this book. And here we have recorded what God requires us to know. especially in relation to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the full record of Christ here. We have all His miracles recorded. We have all His words. Again, that which God requires us to know. Here it is. We do not need any more. We have the sum of God's revelation. Yet here tonight you sit in a Gospel meeting and perhaps sat many, many times with a Bible on your lap, the clear record of Jesus Christ before you, who He is, testifying of His authority, that He is of God. And most of all, He has rose again from the dead, testifying of all that He did upon Calvary's cross. Yet tonight, you still are not saved. I put it to you, this man, this leper, he puts you to shame, doesn't he? Early in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, he recognizes him as the Lord of glory. The Lord of glory. So often the Lord Jesus Christ had to upbraid the Jews over this matter. He spoke of those who would come from the east and the west. He spoke of those who lay outside the borders of Israel and reminded of how that they enter into the kingdom of God before you. Yet here you are with all gospel privilege, still not saved. Isn't it a striking thing? Do you know what it shows? It reminds us of the depravity of the heart of man. Just as we read there in John's Gospel, chapter 12, where it says, who hath believed our report That's quoted from Isaiah 53. Why does it say that? Because it is acknowledging the heart of man, that though Christ has come, done so many miracles, that he's not believed. Some people say, if only I could see a miracle. There's the record of the word of God. The miracles have occurred already. Didn't Abram remind that man in hell of that fact? When he thought that if Lazarus was raised again from the dead, my, he could go back and tell his brothers of this awful place. Abram said, they have Moses and the prophets. And if they do not believe then, they will not believe though one rose from the dead. You see, the problem is not evidence. The problem is the heart. and its rebellion against God and against the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to notice also about this man, the reverence that he showed, that's very important. It says here, he worshipped. Verse 2, there came a leper and worshipped him. That's so important. This is an age when the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is used in many ways. Out in the world, it is taken upon the lips of ungodly people and used as a swear word. And when something goes wrong, out from their lips proceeds the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, that's a terrible thing. One day, we will die if the Lord spares His return. And we have to face this Jesus, who is the Lord of glory. What a terrible thing it is to have taken the name of Jesus only as a swear word, and one day to meet Him in judgment. Sadly, too, it's an age when even in Christian circles and so-called evangelical circles The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is used in the most flippant manner, as if he were a pal. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of glory. Never forget that. Whenever Peter is asked among the disciples, Whom say ye that I am? He says, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Paul in Philippians 2 said, God hath highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue confess. Have the highest views of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is my beloved son. Hear him. Remember, who he is. This is the one who one day will judge the world before whom we must stand before. Remember who he is. This man worshiped him. If you're not saved, you need to bow and worship before Christ. Come to know him as your savior. Acknowledge him and have his salvation in your soul. Realize who he is for one day, your knee will bow to the same Jesus. I want you to notice that he said these words not only to a king, but he says them as a leper. And that's important. One of the other Gospels comments that he besought the Lord, beseeching Him. And it says there in verse 2, there came a leper and worshipped him saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Here's a man, and he recognizes something about himself. Of course, looking upon him, it would not have been too difficult. Because as he looked upon himself, he could see the very evidence of leprosy. But he saw an atonement. He saw an uncleanness that needed that cleansing, healing touch of Christ the Lord of glory. I want to take that thought of leprosy back a little to the book of Leviticus. And in chapter 13, just to look with me at a few verses, the 13th and 14th chapter deal with leprosy. Of course, the modern day leprosy that we hear of does not appear to be the same kind of leprosy as was in the Bible. But that having been said, if you turn to Leviticus, And the 13th chapter, book of Leviticus chapter 13, and if you look please at verse 45 and verse 46 of chapter 13. We've mentioned that these chapters deal with leprosy, but Leviticus chapter 13 verse 45, it says, And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him, he shall be defiled, he is unclean, he shall dwell alone. Without the camp shall his habitation be." Do you see how desperate a case this man actually was in his community? Nowadays, when disease comes, except it's of a very, very serious nature, we do not quarantine to this extent. But if it was of a very, very serious nature, there would be a quarantine set up. So that an individual with a terrible disease that was very infectious, which the leprosy of the Bible was, not the leprosy of the modern day that we live in, but the leprosy of the Bible was highly infectious. And therefore, that man had to go around crying, unclean, unclean. And also, his habitation had to be without the camp. He must dwell outside a city, for instance, whenever Israel got into the land of Canaan. But while they were moving around in the wilderness, they must dwell outside the camp, and they must dwell alone. Do you see how desperate then this man's case really was. Important to recognize that this man, he realized how unclean he was. Leprosy, of course, is a disease that is a picture also of the sinfulness of the soul. That's something that's hard for many to grasp because oftentimes they like to look within themselves and think within themselves the best of thoughts, the best of practices, and compare oneself with somebody else and reach a judgment, well, I'm not so bad as that person. I wouldn't do that. But to look within yourself and see yourself as God sees you That's something very hard for people to do. Why? Because when God looks in us and upon us, He sees no good thing. In fact, what we term and would call righteousness, the Bible calls in the book of Isaiah, filthy rags. In fact, as we look through the Word of God, the Word of God is teaching us something, that all are sinners. And there is none that doeth good, no, not one. That is a fundamental testimony. Truth that lies within the Word of God. And is a truth that is evident in the lives of individuals. But you say, Preacher, if I look upon my life, I cannot see what you're seeing. I see good things. I see practices that I do, and I have to say they are genuinely good. Let me go back to the leper again. Yes, it would have been very clear from this man, there's the disease. You can see it all over his body. But remember, that was not always the case with this man. If we go back again to the book of Leviticus, it would appear as we examine the disease of leprosy, it had a beginning. If you look there at verse 2, it says, When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a swelling, a scab, a bright spot, and of thee in the skin of his flesh, like the plague of leprosy. Then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of the sons of the priest. And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh. And when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy. And the priest shall look on him. pronounce him unclean. I want you to get the picture here. The man has come with a swelling somewhere in his body and the priest is to examine that swelling and it says when the hair and the plague has turned white and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is leprosy. Now what does the priest do? Does he send him back into the camp and say, well, you come back next week and if it gets any worse, well, we'll look at it again? No. The priest pronounces him unclean because of that little swelling and because of the appearance that it has, as is mentioned there in verse 3. And that man from that moment on, pronounced unclean, is put outside the camp. Pronounced unclean. And do you see what I'm getting at here? You may say, preacher, I'm not a murderer. I'm not somebody who goes out and robs old people. I'm not somebody with a vile tongue in my head. I'm not a drunkard. But you see, the Bible, reminds us of something. That's the outworking of sin. The Bible teaches us something about our hearts. That it is a heart that is unclean before God, defiled by sin. That is the sin that Adam committed long ago in the Garden of Eden. That soul of his that was polluted has polluted us all. And that sin Having polluted us may not take the appearance of the worst in society, but because it has polluted us, it means we are sinners. Let me, as it were, try to develop that thought a little. You think of the little doubt that comes into the mind of a child. as it's beginning to come to terms with the Word of God perhaps being taught, the Bible is the Word of God, Christ is the only way of salvation, the need of being right with God. And then as the child begins to think, little doubts form. And sadly, ere the child grows and develops and comes into adult years, It has become an atheist, an atheist denying God altogether. The little look of lust that enters into the heart of man develops, that suddenly it wrecks his marriage and it ruins him. The coveting look turns to theft. Do you see what is going on? It is the heart of man that is sinful. The sinfulness is already there. It may not break out in all of its forms, but it lies there in the heart. So much so that the Bible teaches us that the whole head is sick, full of wounds. They are putrefied. Putrefying sores, the Bible calls them. That's how we are inside. We have a sinful soul that is polluted through and through. Whenever I was in Cornwall or in Devon, Cornwall was an ex-county so that's why it entered my head, but there was a town called Camelford. I don't know whether you recall the incident or not. In the town of Camelford, A tanker drew up to a water treatment plant. It was full of aluminium. I don't know whether I'm right in saying sulphate or not, but it was some form of aluminium. That's what puts the sparkle, by the way, in the water. But, of course, normally it is mixed in with the water at a very, very small percentage to that of the water. But this tanker, dumped all it had into a treatment tank or into some water tank for treating the water before it entered into the homes, and it did so all at once. When it did that, something happened to the inhabitants. Hundreds were infected, hundreds. Things that happened were things like hair loss, skin discoloration. I'm not sure if there was any actual deaths from it, but certainly people vomited and were extremely sick. The source was what happened at that water treatment plant. It infected all the pipelines and into all the homes. in that district. And that's what has happened to us spiritually. We are infected from the very beginning when we think of Adam and his sin. So much so that the Bible says we sinned in him. There is a pollution, men and women, that has come to our soul. It is the pollution of sin. that sin brings. It doesn't matter whether you think you're not as bad as somebody else, you're infected with this disease nonetheless. And the Bible pronounces every one of us therefore as unclean. So when this man comes to Christ, he comes recognizing something. He is a leper. I wonder tonight as you sit under the Word of God, do you recognize that? Do you realize what you really are? Do you know there can be no hope for you until you recognize that fact, that you have absolutely nothing that you can bring to God? We have no good thing that lies within us. I want you to notice that this man said these words, however, to a healer. He says here, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. I think there's a wonderful thought here that needs to be asserted. When we think of the Lord Jesus, here He is. He comes down from the mount. He is taught. He is preached. And now as He comes down, there comes one a leper worshipping him and saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. He recognized the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to heal him, but he recognized that if Christ desired to heal him, he would. And I think there's a wonderful thing in there. We're getting to the heart of Christ when we think of that. That heart of Christ that looked upon the multitude and was moved with compassion, the Bible says. I think of the rich young ruler who came to Christ, and the Bible says of him, the Lord looked upon him and loved him. One of the hymns in our hymn book has some beautiful lines in it where, in that hymn 287, it says, If I rightly read thy heart, if thou all compassion art, bow thine ear in mercy, bow, pardon, and accept me now. And when we think of the compassion, the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ, we come to one who is willing to save and to deliver us from our sins. Let me just point out something in closing here to apply gospel truth. This is the first reference, as I can understand it, of the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ And in verse 3 it says, When we think of Christ and who He is, He is the spotless Son of God. That is, there's no sin in Christ. That's one of the great truths of the Word of God. That's why we have the record of His life. and the testimony of His words and the challenges that were brought against Christ so that we may see in evidence the spotlessness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we think, therefore, of that sinless, spotless nature of Christ, that great attribute of our dear Savior, And then we think of Him in His humanity coming into this earth. And we think of the first reference of His hand reaching out and touching. What does it touch? It touches the leprosy and this foul, loathsome disease. Isn't that the most interesting and striking thing in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ? In many ways, it displays the very purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes to this earth. It is over in 2 Corinthians and the 5th chapter where Paul the Apostle recognizes the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. And what does it say in that passage about Christ? It reminds us He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Do you see it? Here is Christ, the spotless lamb of God. And what does he do when he comes to this earth? He bears our sins. He became sin for us who knew no sin, that he might suffer the wrath of God in himself for us, so that his righteousness might be given to us. What did he give to that man, that leper that day? Cleansing. And Christ gives cleansing to the soul. To you who are unconverted, You may come to Jesus Christ and you may know his touch, if we could put it like that, upon your soul. You may know cleansing from this foul disease of sin. You may know a new birth. You may know righteousness, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, I urge you this night, as we have thought on this man, who came to Christ and said, if thy wilt, thou canst make me clean. Christ says, I will. I will. You can come tonight to a willing savior, a savior who truly saves, whose heart is all compassion, and you may find in the Lord Jesus Christ salvation from your sins. Will you not come this night? Come now. Find in the Lord Jesus Christ all that your soul needs. Pardon, peace, assurance, a soul safe for all eternity. May God help you to come. Amen. Father in heaven, we do remember before thee every unconverted person in this meeting. Lord, we pray like this man, they will come to the feet of Christ with that great petition. Lord, if thou wilt, thou can make me clean. O Lord, we pray that sinners will come to Christ for cleansing, pardon, and peace with thee. Let them not leave this house without getting right with God. O Father, hear the cry of our hearts. Speak on by thy Holy Spirit. Remember, Lord, The meeting to follow in Thy will, we pray at Thy presence, will be with us. The power of the Lord may be present to deliver men and women, young people, from sin and the chains that bind and the eternal wrath of God. Lord, let there be a fleeing unto Thee. Hear the cry of our heart. Dismiss us now with Thy blessing. We ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.