Now, we're back this evening in the first chapter of Mark's Gospel. We've been in this chapter for a week or two, thinking about some men and women who met the Master. And tonight we're going to think about the leper who met the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark chapter 1, we'll read the last number of verses in the chapter beginning at verse number 39. Mark chapter 1 and verse number 39, Reading to the last verse, please, of this chapter. Mark 1, the 39th verse. And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, he straightly charged him, And forthwith sent them away, and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter. insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places, and they came to him from every quarter." And we know God's blessing will rest upon the reading of His Word. Let's pray together, please, and ask the Lord to really apply His Word to our hearts and to speak to us in a special way this evening. Let's pray, please. Heavenly Father, we pray tonight that the Spirit of God will do His work and apply the Word of God to all of our hearts. We pray, Lord, that every believer might be encouraged to consider afresh what the Lord can do. And Lord, we pray for those who have needs in their lives as far as salvation and restoration and cleansing is concerned. We ask, O God, that they too will come to know thee, wonder if the Master's touch, and that, God, you will do a work in every heart this evening. Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ far above all. Grant the anointing and the infilling and the help of the Holy Spirit. And may thy name be honored, uplifted, and glorified. We pray for the Savior's sake and through and in his worthy and precious name. Amen. Bill Woods was a young man brought up in Ballygowan, not that far from here, just outside of Sainfield Aire and Castle Ray in the middle of the county downhills. At the age of 20, in 1952, he attended the Ravenhill Free Presbyterian Church and was converted at the age of 20 under the preaching of a young Ian Paisley. Wasn't all that long after his conversion that he felt the call of God to full-time missionary service. And after some education and some training in Glasgow, I think it was, he went out to Brazil to be a missionary. And he was startled at the amount of people that were dying because of leprosy. Hundreds and hundreds of people at that time in central Brazil and the Acre region struggling and suffering and dying with this awful affliction of leprosy. Bill Woods testified that at one occasion he went to a young man who was afflicted with that disease and spoke to him about the Savior and offered to pray for him. And that dying leper simply said to Bill Woods, I want you to do something for me. Don't want your prayers. I don't need your words. I want you to do something. Those words were like an arrow into the soul of Bill Woods, and they soon left Brazil to undergo some medical training, that he might be a medical doctor. Surprising even to himself, he was greatly gifted in the field of medicine and surgery. Went back to Brazil and within a number of years, leprosy was practically eradicated from that whole region and ultimately throughout all Brazil. He went on, of course, to be an eye surgeon, a great missionary, a great evangelist, a great soul winner, and was honored by the Queen. A few years ago, he went to be with the Lord that he served so faithfully and so sacrificially and so joyously and gladly. But leprosy, certainly in Bible times, was an awful affliction. There was probably no greater disease than the disease of leprosy. There was no disease more feared than that of leprosy, and whenever you go into the Old Testament scriptures, especially the book of Leviticus in chapter 13, a lot of laws are laid down concerning how the Israelite people were to deal with the affliction of leprosy. Leprosy brought isolation. Whenever somebody contracted that disease and the priest diagnosed it, the person suffering from it would have been isolated from the camp. and rendered incapable of worshipping the Lord publicly. Leprosy brought isolation. As well as that, leprosy brought impairment. Leviticus 13 talks about a burning sore, and it describes in great detail the affliction of leprosy. Leprosy results in pain and inability to heal oneself. Whenever a person contracted leprosy they were deemed unclean. Leprosy as well brought defilement and impurity. Leprosy as well resulted in insensibility. It wasn't long before perhaps the pain in certain parts of the body began to subside as nerve endings died off. And leprosy in many parts resulted in numbness and the inability to actually feel the effects of the disease. Leprosy as well was deeply infectious. It spread so, so easily. And therefore, whenever somebody had leprosy, a lot of people didn't want to have anything to do with them at all. And furthermore, leprosy, humanly speaking in Bible times, was incurable. Now the Word of God in Isaiah chapter 1 makes it plain and simple and clear that leprosy is a picture and a type of man's condition spiritually. The Word of God says there that from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head there is no soundness in it but wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores that have not been covered up, neither mollified with ointment. And just like leprosy, sin brings isolation and separation from God. Every man born of woman, born in sin and shaped in iniquity, is by nature, in a spiritual sense, separated from God. The Bible says your iniquities have separated between you and your God. And if you're not a Christian tonight, and you've never been saved, and you've never been born again, and you don't know the Lord, and you're not walking with Him, you're outside of the family and fooled of God by virtue of your sin. And if that sin is not dealt with and purged away and washed away and cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ, you will be separated from God forever. Sin, like leprosy, debilitates. It renders us incapable of serving God aright, of worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Sin robs us of fellowship with God and renders us incapable of pleasing Him. Leprosy and sin render us unclean or impure in the sight of God. Sin defiles us. And the longer a person lives in their sin, the more numbing the effects of sin are on the conscience. Whenever a young person maybe goes astray, they feel the pain of it, and they feel their conscience perhaps pricked. But the more we harden our necks and harden our hearts and persist in sin, sometimes our senses to sin become dim and dull, and we don't feel the pangs of the conscience the way we once did. That's why the Bible says that your heart can be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. And the more you reject the gospel and harden your heart against the call of God, oftentimes your conscience can become seared as with a hot iron. And maybe tonight that's your problem. You no longer feel any sense of need or any sense of conviction or any sense of the necessity of getting right with God. And you're becoming harder and harder and harder in your sin and in your life without God. Sin, like leprosy, is infectious. We are all infected by original sin, by Adam's sin. Our first parents sinned against God. The Bible says, by one man's sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. And sin runs riot in the human race. And humanly speaking, sin, like leprosy, is incurable. But here in Mark's Gospel, chapter 1, we are introduced to a leper who met the Lord. And I want you to notice three very simple things about this leper who met the Lord, and the wonderful and remarkable change that the Lord made in his life that same day. And the first thing is seen there, I think in verse number 40, that this leper realized something. He realized something. Verse 40, Here we are introduced again at the end of Mark's gospel to the ongoing ministry of the Master. Again, he's in the regions round about Galilee. And the region of Galilee knew more about the presence and the preaching and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ than any other region of that day and generation. And this land of ours has been greatly blessed as well. Northern Ireland has known so much of the power of the gospel, of the preaching of the Word of God, and at times great manifestations of the presence of God. We have been greatly exalted and highly privileged. And as the Lord is ministering in Galilee, this poor man who's been afflicted with the awful disease of leprosy realized something, or realized some things. First of all, he realized that he was contaminated. Now, back in the book of Leviticus chapter 13, it shows us how leprosy begins. It begins in a very seemingly superficial way, a small white spot somewhere on the skin that can be easily covered, easily hidden, easily concealed, that maybe doesn't result initially in much pain or suffering. But as soon as somebody notices that little white spot, it indicates to them that they have contracted the disease of leprosy. It is very small, but it is also very significant. It is very small, but it is also very serious. And sin initially might be very small in our lives, easily hidden, easily covered up before it begins to run riot in our lives and take over and manifest itself openly and outwardly. We can very easily cover up our sins from our fellow man. Maybe under the guise of morality or religion or church attendance or being a good neighbor or a nice person. But underneath it all there's this problem of sin. The spot of sin is on our heart. The spot of sin is in our past. The spot of sin is on our character. And whenever a person that was wise enough to recognize what this might be, they'd have gone to the local priest and the priest would have examined them and diagnosed whether or not it was the disease of leprosy. And if it was, the person who's been diagnosed would have recognized this is a deep-seated problem. This affliction and this infection is much deeper than something that's merely on the surface. This affliction can get right into the very joints and right into the very marrow, and the blood can carry the diseased cells around the body and begin to afflict other parts of the body as well. And soon it would begin to manifest itself more and more, until at last it could not be hidden and it would manifest itself obviously and openly and outwardly, just like sin in our nation and in our world tonight. I believe we are living in the last of the last days. And we are seeing more and more than ever the effects of sin working its way in and through and out of the human race. And there are things that are prevalent in our society tonight and acceptable in our world tonight that are sinful and wicked in the sight of God that years ago wouldn't have even been considered perhaps. And I think as more time passes and the closer we get to the end time age and the coming again of Jesus Christ, the Bible says iniquity shall abound and the love of many shall wax cold. This knew also in the last days perilous times shall come. And the scripture makes it very clear that the last time, the end time age, will be marked by sin and wickedness openly and outwardly on our streets, and we see it so obviously in our society. In fact, Luke's gospel, chapter 5 and verse 12, the parallel account, says that by this stage this man was full of leprosy. He was literally riddled with it. There wasn't a part of his being or a part of his body that wasn't affected. His whole body was full of leprosy, and he was contaminated. The whole man was affected. It was a very advanced case of leprosy. And I'm not sure where you stand tonight spiritually. Some of you, I know that many of you are saved and you love the Lord. And then there are maybe others that are watching in online. And you might be advanced in your sin. And sin has affected your whole life, your whole being, your whole manner of living. It's maybe affected your home and your family and your ability to enjoy. life as well. This man made a realization. He was afflicted with leprosy and he needed grace and mercy and a miracle in his life. Have you ever realized tonight how much you need the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you ever realized tonight that sin is something that is inherent in your nature, inherent in your being? And that sin needs to be purged and washed away and cleansed and forgiven. Have you ever realized tonight that you need a Savior? The human race is afflicted with the disease of sin, but the greater problem is that very few people are willing to acknowledge it or confess it. He realized he was contaminated. And furthermore, he realized as well that he was condemned. Leprosy spreads easily. And therefore, this man would have been cut off out of the camp. And we are inheritors of Adam's sin. And the Bible says that it's not so much that there's coming a day that our sins will find us out and we will ultimately be condemned, but the Lord Jesus Christ said that he that believeth not is condemned already. and the wrath of God abideth on him." Did you realize that tonight? Have you ever made that realization, that you're separated from God, you're cut off from God, you're lost presently, you're condemned already, you're outside of the family and fold of God, shut out of God's kingdom on the broad road that leads to destruction? Sin is a very serious thing. Not only in a legal sense does it affect others and flows through the human race, but in practical terms our sin can affect others as well. And the Lord Jesus Christ spoke about this of great length in Mark's gospel chapter 9 and verse number 42. He spoke about those who cause others to sin. Those who offend, those little children that were being brought to Him, He says, if you cause one of these little ones to offend, to sin, or to go astray, it would be better that a millstone be tied around your neck and you be cast into the depths of the sea. Sin is a very serious thing. In fact, in Bible times, the leper was treated essentially as a dead man. And the Word of God says that we are dead in trespasses and in sins. There's no spiritual life in us, no spiritual vitality. That's why tonight you need to be born again. In fact, Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5 and verse number 6, that he, she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. That's a remarkable statement. Those who live in the pleasures of this world all the while are spiritually dead. There's no real life. to be found in the things of this world. You need the life of God in your heart and in your soul this evening. In fact, so serious was the disease of leprosy that Leviticus 13 and 52 says that whenever somebody was diagnosed with it and they were separated from the camp of Israel, that they would have taken their clothes and burned their clothes in order to try to stay the plague from the children of Israel. They'd have burned their clothes. And the Word of God teaches us very clearly, friends, tonight, that those who live and die in their sins will be cast off forever, shut outside of heaven, and thrown into the lake of fire that shall never be quenched. That everlasting fire, the place the Word of God calls hell, lost, isolated, separated from God for all eternity. And it's a very startling thing whenever you realize that you're lost, that you're contaminated by sin, that you're separated from God, that you're dead in trespasses and in sins, and there's coming a day whenever you'll be cast off from God forever. A realization. This man realized something. I know tonight that God would open your eyes and you would realize that you need the Lord Jesus Christ. This man realized something. And then secondly, very simply as well in verse 40, this man reverenced someone. It says in verse 40 that as Jesus was in Galilee, there came a leopard to him, beseeching him and kneeling down to him. Or as it says in Luke chapter 5 in verse number 12, who seeing Jesus fell upon his face. Have you ever tonight with the eye of faith beheld the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world? Has there ever been a time in your life's experience when you've kneeled before the Savior by faith, and you've cast yourself at His feet, and you've called upon God for mercy? This pure leper came before the Lord with reverence and with godly fear, kneeling down before Him. and then falling upon his face. And I believe tonight, sadly and tragically, that this godly fear has left our nation, left our society. We are living in a generation where there was very little, if any, fear before the eyes of the world. This man reverenced the Savior, came with godly fear because he knew who Jesus was. He nailed before him, And he simply said to him, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Or as it says in Luke chapter 5, 12, he addresses Jesus of Nazareth as Lord. He recognized the Lordship of Christ. He knew who the Lord Jesus Christ was. And therefore he kneeled before him and cast himself at the Savior's feet. He knew who the Lord was. Do you know who he is tonight? What think ye of Christ as the test to try both your state and your scheme? You cannot be right in the rest unless you think rightly of Him. He knew who the Lord Jesus Christ was, but He also knew who He Himself was. He knew that He was a leper. He knew that He was condemned. He knew that He was unclean. He knew that He was barred from approaching anyone. He knew that He was shut out. He knew that He was a sinner. And yet He came not only with godly fear, but He came as well with great faith. And he said to the Lord Jesus Christ, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. You'll notice there that he sought the Lord earnestly. He came to the Savior's feet, beseeching him. He sought the Lord earnestly. Now the Bible says, Ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all of your heart. And if you seek God tonight earnestly, and seek the Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near, and trust in Him, and repent of your sins, and confess them, and call upon the Lord, or cry unto the Lord, the Lord will hear that cry. He besought the Lord earnestly." Not only did he seek the Lord earnestly, but he sought the Lord submissively. He said to Jesus Christ, if thou wilt." And he's recognizing that the most important thing here is the will of God. You know, at the end of Matthew chapter 7, the Lord Jesus Christ said these words. He says, not everyone that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. but rather he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many shall say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out devils in your name, and in your name done many wonderful works? And Jesus said, I will profess unto him, depart from me ye that work iniquity, I never knew you. But here's a man who's recognizing that God's will is fundamental. If thy will. Did our Lord not teach us to pray, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Have you ever submitted your life to the will and plan and purpose of God for you? George Matheson in his great hymn said, My will is not my own, I believe tonight in the lordship of Jesus Christ. That whenever a person comes to the Lord and cries unto God for mercy, they need to surrender their lives to the will of God. And that's what this man is doing. He's coming before the Lord earnestly. He's coming before the Lord submissively. He's also coming before the Lord believingly. If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. I believe that you're the Lord. And I believe that you can do for me that which man cannot do for me. I've got this awful affliction of leprosy. It's incurable, humanly speaking. I'm separated from friends and from family and from society. But Lord, I believe and I know that you are able to make me clean. and you're able to cleanse me and purge me and deliver me and make me into a new person." He came believingly. And of course the Bible says, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Do you believe tonight that Jesus Christ can save you? Do you believe tonight that he can wash all your sins away? Do you believe tonight that he can cleanse you and purify you and bring you into a relationship with himself and make you a new creature, make you a new person? This man recognized something. This leper reverenced someone. And then the last thing that I want you to consider about this man is this man received something. Verse 41 is a beautiful verse. It indicates that he received grace. Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him, and saith unto him, I will. The first thing that he received was compassion. Jesus moved with compassion. I'm so thankful tonight that I serve a tender, a meek, a loving, a merciful, a gracious and a compassionate Savior. You cannot read the gospel records without coming to the conclusion that if Jesus Christ was anything, He was a deeply compassionate man. The Bible says whenever He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion, because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. Whenever he saw the great city of Jerusalem before he went to the cross and went into that city to be crucified, the Bible says whenever Jesus beheld the city, he wept over it. And he says, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chicks under her wings, but ye would not. Even on the cross, as a mocking crowd spat and scoffed and jeered and laughed and cursed and made him an open shame. Do you remember what he prayed? Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. That's compassion. In John's gospel, chapter 4, he came to the woman at the well. The society that she lived in had given up on her, but the Lord was moved with compassion. Later on he came to a street corner and saw a bunch of Pharisees and scribes and priests gathering large stones and a woman in a street corner who had been taken in adultery in the very act that they're about to stone her to death. And the Son of God intervened and sat down beside that woman and cleansed her and forgave her and said, neither do I contemn thee, go thy way and sin no more. I have a compassionate Savior tonight. Nobody had touched this man for years for fear of contamination, for fear of contraction, and for fear of condemnation. But not only did the Lord have compassion in him, but the Son of God put forth His hand and touched him. And that is a very great representation of our Savior touching the sinful world of ours, and entering into this world, and being made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and descending into the lower parts of the earth. and sitting with publicans and harlots and the chief of sinners. And yet all the while he was never contaminated by or tainted with man's sin. He remained the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. But at the same time, the Bible says that he was touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. And He loved the unlovable. He touched the untouchable. He reached the unreachable. He healed the unhealable. He saved the unsavable. And He touched this man's life. Has the Lord ever touched your life? Have you ever been conscious of the touch of the Master's hand? Have you ever been conscious of the Lord reaching out and touching you? As that old hymn says, shackled by a heavy burden, neath a load of guilt and shame. But then the hand of Jesus touched me, and now I am no longer the same. He touched me. He touched me. And oh, the joy that floods my soul. Something happened. And now I know He touched me and made me whole." And on that cruel cross, our sin touched Him and our sins were laid upon Him. In fact, the Bible says that God the Father hath made Him, God the Son, to be sin for us, who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. All our iniquities in Him were laid. All our indebtedness by Him was paid, and the sinless, spotless Lamb of God took our guilt and our sins and our sorrows, made them His very own, bore the burden to Calvary, and suffered and died alone. This man received compassion, and also this poor man received cleansing. Jesus put forth His hand and touched him and said unto him, I will. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. The touch of the Master's hand said, I can. That speaks of ability. But the word that came from our Master's lips said, I will. And that speaks of willingness. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not only has the ability but also the willingness to see if the word of God says to the uttermost, all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them, I will be thy clean." And according to the Word of the Savior, immediately this man was cleansed from his sin and cleansed from his defilement and cleansed as well from his leprosy. It was something that happened immediately. And you know, tonight you don't even have to wait to the end of the meeting. It's quite a remarkable thing sometimes how the Lord brings things to your attention. I think it was last Sunday night I mentioned a man in Queens University, Pastor Willie Mullen was preaching to the students, and senior people were in the meeting as well. And as he was preaching, a man stood up in the meeting, and he says, I'm not sitting down until I get converted, until I get saved. And right there in the meeting, Willie Mullen stopped preaching and pointed that dear man to the Savior, and he sat down a new creature in Jesus Christ. Independently of that story, somebody was telling me during the week about a crusade that they attended, and Ian Paisley was the preacher. And as he was preaching in the Martyrs, I think it was on Friday night, actually, the Reverend Alan Smiley, that's who it was, told me the story. He says, I can remember attending the Martyrs. As a young man, Dr. Paisley was preaching. And he says, up in the gallery, a young man stood up and says, I'm not leaving this place until I get converted. And Dr. Paisley said, somebody take that man out and point him to the Lord. And as he preached on, that man went into an inquiry room and got converted. And then in the meeting this afternoon, somebody prayed about Reverend Samuel Workman, the great evangelist, preaching in the 1960s in the Christian Workers Union. Same thing happened. As he was preaching, somebody stood up in the meeting and said, I want you to point me to the cross and point me to Christ right now. And Sam Workman said, take this man out and point him to the Lord and he get right with God as well. Couldn't wait to the end of the meeting. Wanted to get saved immediately. Is there somebody tonight in this meeting or somebody listening in online? And you know right now I need to get right with God. Point me to the cross. Take me to Calvary. Show me the way. Dear friend, call upon the Lord just now. Where you sit, cry unto God for mercy. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Charles Wesley said it in his great hymn. Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and in nature's night. Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, but I awoke in the dungeon, flamed with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed thee. And it happened in a moment of time. And yet it lasts for a lifetime. There's cleansing and there's healing for all who will wash in the life-giving flood. There's perfect deliverance and joy to be had in this world through the blood. George Whitefield, the great evangelist, used to make a statement sometimes in his preaching. He used to say, Jesus will take the devil's castaways. Now, one of George Whitefield's greatest supporters was a lady called Lady Huntingdon. She supported Whitefield financially and with her prayers and with her attendance at many of his great crusades and meetings. She also supported John and Charles Wesley as they preached the truth of the new birth right across England. And one day she heard George Whitefield make that statement, Jesus will save the devil's castaways, and she didn't like it. She thought it was very irreverent. To say that somehow the Lord Jesus Christ will only take the devil's leftovers. She didn't think such a statement was becoming of a gospel preacher. And she went to George Whitefield privately and quietly, the way we should do if we have a problem with a believer. And she says, you made a statement, Jesus will take the devil's castaway. She says, I don't think that's a statement becoming of a gospel preacher. But Whitefield stood over it. Says, I take that statement to be absolutely true. And he asked one of his converts to go and visit Mrs. Huntingdon, this great countess. This man went to her stately home and told her how the Lord had saved him. He testified to being in the depths of sin and debauchery and depravity. He had lived his life as a drunkard, as a blasphemer, lived a reckless and a riotous life. And then whenever he had done all that he could do, he just reached the end of his tether. Guilt flooded his soul. He knew he was lost and bound for hell, but he couldn't bear to live another day. He would rather go out and take his chances and go out into a lost eternity. He thought, it couldn't be worse than the life that I'm living. And he purposed that he would go to the River Thames and drown himself in the river and die in a suicide's death. And as he was walking and making his way to the Thames, he passed a region in London then known as the Moorfields, and George Whitefield was preaching. And as George Whitefield was preaching and a large crowd had gathered, the man tried to walk past, but somehow he felt constrained to stop and listen for just a moment or two on the banks of the River Thames. And he heard Whitefield make that statement, Jesus Christ will take the devils cast away. And he said to the countess, he said, whenever I heard those words, I realized that the Lord loved me. And the word of God impacted my heart. And there and then I called upon God for mercy. Tears filled my eyes, but joy flooded my soul. And as he gave his testimony, the countess's eyes were filled with tears. And the next time she met Whitfield, she said to him, do not be afraid to tell the world. that Jesus Christ will take the devil's castaways. Maybe you've served the devil for years and for years. And tonight's your night for God's salvation. And you're going to come just as this leopard did. Come to the Lord's feet and bow your knee, call upon God for mercy, and ask Jesus Christ to be your Savior. This man received compassion. This man received cleansing, he received conversion, he also received the commandments. It's an unusual way the story ends. Immediately he was cleansed, the leprosy departed from him, and straightly Jesus charged him and forthwith sent him away. And said unto him, See that thou say nothing to any man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded for a testimony unto him. It seems, doesn't it, like an unusual commandment? Sometimes the Lord said to men like the Demoniac, Go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and has had compassion on you. But he said to this leper, don't tell anybody about this, and evidently it's a temporary command. But first of all, go to the priest. He did not negate the law at that particular time. Go to the priest and present yourself to him and let the priest examine you. I believe the Lord said that for two reasons. First of all, it was a test of his obedience. And secondly, it would be a testimony to the priest. This religious priest would recognize that the Redeemer could do something for the leper that religion could not do. And Jesus Christ is able to do for you tonight that which no religion in the world is able to do. We're talking tonight about a person. And furthermore, the Lord did not want this man initially to publish this abroad, because he knew what was in the heart of man, that the people in the region of Galilee would come and try to make him a king. And sadly, that leper, just a young convert, recently cleansed and delivered, his first act of disobedience proved a hindrance to the workings of the Savior in that locality. Verse 45, he went out and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city. His disobedience, it seemed so small and insignificant, but it proved to be a hindrance to the Lord's ministry even there. But you know, somebody once said this, said, Jesus Christ told this man to tell nobody, but he went out and told everybody. And now through the Great Commissioner, Lord Jesus Christ asks us to go and tell everybody, but most of us tell nobody, which is probably a greater sin. Is there somebody that you can tell about the Lord Jesus Christ tomorrow morning, this incoming week? Somebody that you could go to with a gospel tract or an invitation for the gospel mission and just say to them, listen, there's meetings on this coming Lord's Day for two weeks. I'd love you to come with me and hear about my Savior. It is no secret tonight what God can do. What He's done for others, He can do for you with arms wide open. He'll pardon you. It is no secret what God can do. And I just want to tell the world and tell you tonight about a Savior that can meet you at the point of need, cleanse you, forgive you, and set you free. You come to Him tonight. Come to the cross. Call upon the Lord. Seek Him while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.