was a humble birthplace but oh how much God gave to us that day from the manger bed what a path has led what a perfect holy way Amen. Thank you for your good singing this morning. We can take our Bibles and you can open up to the first passage that we'll be going to which is, let me find it. going to be Matthew chapter 8. Okay it's going to be the first text that we come to. I'm preaching a topical message as I mentioned this morning and we're going to look at the topic of cleansing. I like to be clean. I don't know about you, I don't like to get dirty. This past week Benson and I We're trying to get the rock tumbler going and it wasn't working quite right and had to mess with it a little bit. We got some residue on our hands that is that really fine type of residue that basically gets down inside your fingerprints and you can't wash it off, you know what I mean? You scrub all you want, it will come off and that's frustrating. It's frustrating to look at something on your hands and think, man, I want to get that off there and I can't get it off. I remember touring the mining museum in Newton Grange and seeing pictures that are, which Mr. Alec would never have to see because he remembers it all too well, of miners covered in coal dust and probably from head to toe after, you know, blasting some of the coal down from the coal face. I know last night I was barbecuing and just the coal from the charcoal on the outside of the bag, I mean, that just gets on your hands and it, It's filthy, but I also know at Newton Grange that they talked about there were showers where the miners get cleaned up before they went home. And can you imagine if you were, you know, a minor king to his house and got there without cleaning up. I think his wife might have something to say to him before he comes in the house. He's got to get clean. Got to get that off. Why? Because you touch anything, it's going to mar everything that's there. You know, for us to come to our king, the king of kings, the Lord of Lords that we've been singing about this morning. How can we think that we could possibly go to that king in our filth? Anything that we touch is gonna get dirty because of the filth that we have on us, the sin that's on us. The Word of God says about our sin, it basically separates us from God. It says in Isaiah 59 too, but your iniquities, that sin, have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear. That word iniquity specifically means perversity, depravity, guilt. It's that which has stained us, and God sees it. He sees it very clearly. And if we try to come to God with our sanity, like that miner trying to get an audience with the queen, without getting cleaned up, and saying, but I really wanna see the queen. The Queen Elizabeth's here at Holyrood Palace, and I'd like to come in. I need to speak to her about something. Maybe he's even qualified. Maybe he even has an appointment. But they would look at it and say, sir, you're filthy. You can't come in and see the queen like that. You've got to get cleansed before you can see the queen. And that's the same with us and God, isn't it? Our guilt, our depravity, our perversity separates us from God. Your iniquities have separated between you and your God. And he's not going to hear you like that. The Bible says in Psalm 66, 18, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. He won't. So I know this morning, I can't go to God, and even sincerely, even with a real desire to meet God, without first dealing with my sin and getting rid of my sin and getting cleansed. The precious thing this morning is that, as we've already talked about, there's a fountain. available for our cleansing. The Bible speaks about it in Zechariah 13, 1. In that day, there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. You know, this is where that precious hymn comes from. There's a fountain filled with blood. Why has that Phrase made it into our our hymnal. It's because of this verse. There's a fountain available for cleansing It's there for anybody that desires to be clean again, Alicia Alicia Hoffman speaks about this fountain in the hymn. Are you washing the blood? It says have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin and be washed in the blood of the Lamb. There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean. Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb. Since this morning, we know that we can't enter into God's presence with our sin. We can't. It doesn't matter how sincere we are. It doesn't matter how much we want to. It's just a fact. You can't go into God's presence with sin. Since that's the case, have you been to Jesus for the cleansing blood? Have you been washed in the blood of the lamb? Have you taken his grace for salvation so that you can go to God? It's the desire of God to have that relationship with everybody. That's why he hates sin. Back in the Garden of Eden, God would come, he'd walk with Adam and Eve through the garden. It was obviously a joy to the heart of God to fellowship with his creation. But then what happened? Sin. And when sin happened, where do we find Adam? When God comes looking for him, he's hiding because of his sin. And how God must despise that which separates between him and his creation. And so how pleased he would be this morning to do whatever it takes necessary to take that which has been an offense to him and set it aside so that that person could be rightly related to him. He'd be very pleased to do it. This morning, if we're looking at this idea of cleansing, it's not God against us saying, you know, I'm against you because you're filthy it's him for us saying look I'll cleanse you because you're filthy and then we can have fellowship then we can have that which I desire that communion in which you need right and so this morning we will look at this idea of cleansing and kind of what the idea to aren't you tired of sin soap that doesn't work People try a lot of things, but it doesn't work. But this will work. This makes it right. And so may the word of God speak to our hearts this morning as we consider this topic of cleansing. Let's pray. Father, I'm thankful that there is a fountain available for cleansing. that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, your son, cleanseth us from all sin. And we're going to look at some of these precious texts this morning that have to do with cleansing, soul cleansing, how to have a clean heart. And Father, we desire the Spirit of God to speak today to us. Father, we need it. We need it in this community. There's needs outside of this place this morning for cleansing. There's people that are full of guilt and shame, Father, that know their life's not right with God. And Father, they need to know about this fountain. And we need to carry the message of this to them. But Father, in our own congregation, in our own hearts, there's sin that needs to be cleansed. And I pray, Spirit of God, to give us grace to see what you can do to make us right with you today. And I pray the Spirit of God to help me as I preach. I pray, God, would you direct this time, would you guard this time and guide this time. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. The first thing, we think about the cleansing that God can give. The first thing is, is God willing? Is he willing? And the answer is, Jesus is willing to cleanse. Leprosy, in the Old Testament, as you read stories in the Bible about leprosy, it's a picture of sin. You think about it, leprosy eats away at the flesh, doesn't it? It just consumes and slowly the flesh deteriorates. David, in speaking about his sin in Psalm 32 and Psalm 51, he cried out about the agony of his flesh because of his sin. Sin hurts, doesn't it? It just corrupts and it's a burden. It's a burdensome thing. It eats away. Just like leprosy, there's no human cure. There's no, even today, I don't know that there's, I don't believe there's a cure to leprosy. And sin is like that. There's nothing humans can do. The Bible says about Adam, and he's representative of mankind, as in Adam, all die. That's it. I mean, if our trust this morning was in something we can do, we'd fail. Because there's no hope humanly for a cure. It's deadly. It's deadly. People die from leprosy. It's a terrible thing, their death and the deterioration of their flesh. And it's just like that. Sin is corrosive and it brings death. The Lord told Eve in the Garden of Eden, the day thou eatest thereof, what? Thou shalt surely die. It destroys everything it touches. Do you know that in the Bible when it speaks about leprosy, they would actually destroy the clothing that the person wore? They would destroy the walls of the house that they found in the house. They would knock the house down because it was that invasive. The Bible speaks about sin. It says a little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump. Just like that little bit of yeast permeates dough, sin's like that. Sin creeps into every area. And then again, everything it touches must be destroyed. And the Bible says the wages of sin is death. So now go back in the day to the day of Christ and imagine that you discover that you have leprosy. And your family disowns you, they put you out of the city. You're treated as an outcast. You don't have the liberty that you desire to have anymore. And think what a burden it is. You're dying from this. It's killing you. But then you have Christ living on earth at the same time. If you're a leper and you know that Jesus heals, what are you gonna do? You're gonna seek to get to Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is the only one that can help you. There's a leper like that in scripture, Matthew chapter eight, verse two and three. It says, behold, there came a leper and worshiped 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. This man comes to Jesus and he knows that Jesus can heal him. He's convinced of it. Yeah, there's no doubt in his mind. If you ask this man, can Jesus heal you of your leprosy? This man would say, absolutely, yes, he can. But what was the burden of this man's heart is not Jesus, can he heal me? It's Jesus, will he heal me? In other words, is he willing to meet my need? We know that there Jesus was willing, and he met his need. The same is true with sin, isn't it? Somebody might understand, look, Jesus can forgive me of my sin. Jesus can cleanse me of my sin. But they might question in their heart, but will Jesus forgive me of my sin? Well, we've got some great examples in the word of God of really bad sinners being forgiven, don't we? We got Saul of Tarsus. Saul, he was the guy that would find Christians, like say, we lived in that time, he would be the person that knows that we're here, believing in Jesus Christ. He knows that we gather together on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Thursday night. He would know our addresses and where we lived. And then he's the guy that would get permission from the government to come knock on our door and arrest us and put us in prison. He hated Christians and he hated Christ. And the Bible says about him in Acts 9, 1 and 2, And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest. And he desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. OK, he's got permission from the chief priest to enter into houses, knock on the door, and a woman answers the door. And she's got a child attached to her leg, and he knows that she's a Christian. He had authority to arrest this woman, put her in prison. And kids weeping, didn't matter. Parents weeping, doesn't matter, because he's got that authority. You know, that's a very bad person, isn't it? I mean, that's somebody that is a horrible person that would break apart families, that would take innocent, good people and put them in prison. But you know, Saul got saved. Saul had a filthy, wicked heart, a defiled heart, but Saul got saved. He had his heart cleansed by the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible says about Saul, 1 Timothy 1.16, how be it for this cause I obtain mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. You know what a pattern is? How many girls have ever followed a pattern to make something? Have you? Okay, a pattern, it says this, right? This is the way to do it, and this is the way to get from this to this. And you follow the pattern, you get there. Okay, the pattern in Saul's life was this. He's a wicked sinner, but God made him righteous, and God can take a sinner and make him righteous, and this is an example. This is a pattern. so that I could know today, it doesn't matter what sins in my heart, what I've done against God, because all sin is against God, but that Christ is willing to take us from sinner to saint by his grace, making us pure. He's willing. Romans 8-32 says, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? You know, God so loved us that to get Saul from a filthy sinner to a saint, he had to take his son, Jesus Christ, was born in a manger, lived a sinless life, and he had to nail him to a cross of shame to pay the price for his sin. Okay, if he's willing to do that, then what isn't he willing to do for us? Why would God say, you know, I crucified my son for the sins of the world, but I'm not going to forgive you when he crucified his son so that he could forgive us. He's willing. And so somebody that feels like this, but you know, a pastor or whoever, you know, God can't forgive me my sin, my sins to create. Well, look at the word God. It's Satan saying it's too great because God doesn't say that. God says he's willing to cleanse. And we're going to see that as we continue on. And so Jesus is willing to cleanse. That's a precious thing, isn't it? Because we've got a big problem. Just like me, the other day, I really wanted to get my hands clean. I mean, I scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to get that filth off, because I don't want to look down. I don't want to see that. You know, who wants to lay their head on their pillow at night and have a guilty conscience and a burden that makes them realize, you know, this sin is damnable. It's going to cast me into eternity and hell. And to lay there and think that's just the way it is. You know, it's better to lay there and go, you know what, but God forgives sins and he's willing to forgive me my sin. So Jesus is willing to cleanse. But then we find also that Jesus desires us to consider our need for his cleansing. He wants us to stop and think about it. Have you thought about your sin this week? We say it pretty easily. To us, no big deal. I took something I wasn't supposed to take. I said something I wasn't supposed to say. I looked at something I wasn't supposed to look at. I thought something I wasn't supposed to think. And we pass it over, no big deal. God doesn't do that. The Bible says that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. that mankind that so easily takes God's name in vain, that so easily curses, that so easily speaks flippantly about God or blasphemously about God, they're gonna give an account of every single word uttered. That's a high accountability, isn't it? And Jesus says to us, Isaiah 118, he says, come now, And let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. It's like this, Jesus says to us, hey, come over here and sit down. I want you to consider, come and let's reason together about this. Though your sins be as scarlet, he's pointing something out, they should be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they should be as wool. The first thing he wants them to consider is the darkness of the stain. Those are dark stains, aren't they? You know, I know my wife on her wedding dress would not like to have a scarlet stain. You know, it's a day of a wedding, you're ready to get married, and lo and behold, you know, somebody throws a tomato at her or something, right? She's got this big stain. That's awful. A crimson stain is a very strong stain. It's very difficult to get out. Mark Hyken last night was telling me he's got a carpet cleaner, but He's showing me how he cleaned the carpets, but he had a big iron proof stain on the rug And he said how he got that out what he did to get it out But I mean, that's a hard stain to get out a dark stain like that and the Lord says You know, you've got this sin stain. It's like scarlet it is red like crimson and Julia Johnson put this text into her hymn, Grace Greater Than Our Sin. She said this, dark is the stain that we cannot hide. Is that a good way to put that? Dark is the stain that we cannot hide. What can avail to take it away? Look, there's flowing a crimson tide, brighter than snow, you may be today. But dark is the stain that you can't hide. Look, you can't hide your sin from God. What is sin? 1 John 3 verse 4 says, How do you transgress the law? What do we call it? Law breaking, right? So if the speed limit is, for instance, 70 and I go 90, what am I? I'm a lawbreaker. I broke man's law. And in breaking man's law, I broke God's law because God told me to submit to the authorities that he's put into my life. But sin is transgressing God's law. It's doing something that God said, look, don't do that because that's sin. Remember Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? How did they sin? They broke God's law. Just one, but they broke it. and we break God's law when we sin. Proverbs 6, 16 through 19 says, these six things doth the Lord hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him. Okay, do you wanna know what God hates this morning? I do, why? Because I don't wanna do something that God hates. Wouldn't that be awful in my heart if I said, you know what, I can't wait to do something that God hates. No, I don't want to do something that God hates. So I ought to be aware and think, you know, what does God hate? What would he be really bothered about if I did? Well, listen to these things God hates. The first is a proud look. Somebody puffed up with pride. You know, we got the cartoon caricature in our mind of pride, don't we? What is it? Somebody's nose up in the air, right? Pride, I mean, it's just that self, you know, our world calls it self-esteem, but it's pride. And God hates pride, because pride says to God, God, I don't need you. A lying tongue. I talk to people all the time. Have you ever lied? Aw, just little white lines. Hey, that's a lying tongue. What are you if you lie? You're a liar. What does God think about liars? The Bible says that all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. It says that in Revelation chapter 21. Okay, is lying a serious thing? It is, God hates it. And so, lying, hands that shed innocent blood, somebody that takes it, you know, abuses somebody, or kills somebody, and heart that diviseth wicked imaginations. This person is just constantly thinking about wickedness, and that's like when God judged the world, he saw that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. And God said, I'm sorry, I made this thing, and he destroyed the world. God hates that. Feet that be swift in running to mischief. They're quick to, oh, there's an opportunity to sin, I'm there. Feet that are swift in running to mischief. A false witness that speaketh lies, somebody that lies, just like they did about Jesus Christ, and put him on the cross. He that soweth discord among the brethren. Okay, those are things God hates, but more specifically, what are some sins? Here's a list for you. Stealing. What's stealing? Taking something that does not belong to you. It doesn't matter how valuable it is. If it's not yours, it's stealing. Murder, right? Hatred. adultery, fornication, sexual sin or pornography and other things could fall into that. Anger without a cause, bitterness, lust, covetousness, disobeying parents. Did you know this kids? Disobeying your parents is sin. If your mom and dad say to you to do something and you don't do it, that's sin. If they say to do something you do with a bad attitude, that's sin. The word of God says, children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right. Idolatry is sin. Unbelief is sin. Unbelief says to God, God, you're a liar. I don't believe you. I don't buy that. I'm the authority, you're not. And so unbelief is sin, pride, lying, taking God's name and being. You know, this morning, Your sin could be hid from everybody, or my sin could be hid from everybody, but is my sin hid from God? Or your sin hid from God? No. The Bible says in Psalm 139, seven, whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? You ever try to get away from God? Jonah did, right? But he didn't get very far. And he never got away from God. Even in the belly of the whale, God was there. And so that's what the Psalm is saying. Whither shall I flee from thy presence? "'If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. "'If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. "'If I take the wings of the morning "'and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, "'even there shall thy hand lead me, "'and thy right hand shall hold me. "'If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, "'even the night shall be light about me. "'Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, "'but the night shineth as the day, "'the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.'" I can turn off the lights and go, nobody can see me now, but you know who sees me? I heard it said, your character is what you are when nobody else is around. It's a good statement, isn't it? Because we can all put on airs, we can all act a certain way, but when nobody else is around, the true self comes out, doesn't it? But even there, God is there and God is aware. So God says, come now, let's reason together your sin to be as scarlet. You know, none of us today would stand, I hope, stand up and say, but I'm a good person, but I've never sinned. I hope you wouldn't say that, because that is sin, that's pride. There is sin that creeps into our life, and that's why God looked down and he sees the sin. He doesn't say, come now, let's reason together, Israel. Your sin is like scarlet, it's red like crimson, and destroy them. He says, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool, because that is the perfection of the remedy. Just like that wedding dress I spoke about, it's stained, but you know, God can take the stain completely away. I'm forgiven, I stand before you, not sinless, but a sinner that's been forgiven by the grace of God. It's not that I haven't done things that I despise and wish by the grace of God I'd never done in my life. but I stand by the grace of God forgiven, completely having had that sin by the grace of God taken away because it's gonna be as white as snow. It's gonna be white like wool. Have you ever gone skiing or been somewhere where there's a fresh snowfall? I've skied in Colorado, close to Aspen, Colorado, if you've ever heard of that. I skied Aspen Highlands. It's one of the mountain ranges right there by Aspen. And I mean, you're up on the tops of these peaks and we got, Eight to ten inches of fresh powder. They call it. It's that kind of colder type, you know snow It's just when you're skiing you can't hear your skis because it's so soft. It's like You know, it's just like the wind going down the hill. It's awesome for skiing, but when there's fresh powder like that I mean everything is just blanketed by snow there could be the nastiest Muddiest whatever underneath that but it doesn't matter. You can't see it. It's completely covered and And have you ever seen a nice wool sheepskin? And it's beautiful and pure white. And God says, just like that, that's what I'll do. Isn't that precious? That God would so cleanse us that He cleanses us that thoroughly. So perfect remedy. So He wants us to consider that and understand, you know, you've got a need for cleansing. I'm willing to give it. And then Jesus knows whether we've been cleansed or not. John 13, 10 and 11. Jesus saith to him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet. Now let me put the context here. Jesus is teaching the disciples an object lesson. He's told them to come to him for cleansing, and they come up to him, and he's taking their sandals off their feet, he's washing their feet, and he's putting their sandals back on their feet. He's doing a servant's task to teach them this lesson that we're gonna consider just now. And so Jesus says, he that's washed, okay, somebody that's clean entirely, needeth not save to wash his feet. He just needs his feet washed. But he's clean everywhere. And ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him, therefore he said, ye are not all clean. Okay, there's two pictures that Jesus does with this illustration that he's given to them about the feet being washed. He's teaching two things. He's teaching, first of all, you have to be cleansed. But if you are cleansed entirely, then it's just your feet need to be cleansed. And it's a picture of salvation. That's somebody that's cleansed, right? And sanctification, which is when we go to God and say, I'm sorry, Father, I sinned against you. Please forgive me. I need you to cleanse me, and I'm forgiven. Okay, when somebody's saved, they're saved. Their sins, past, present, and future are taken away by the grace of God. but there's still that residue of sin that needs to be washed away. They'll go to heaven when they die, but there's still sin that can creep in and separate them from God. And so he's dealing with those two things. Those who are saved were clean, but needed their feet washed. In Jesus' day, what did they wear on their feet? Trainers? Sandals. So they have sandals on. If you've ever worn sandals in a dusty area, your feet get filthy. And so, They're going down the dusty roads, they get to somebody's house, that person would usually have a servant that would be there that would wash their feet so that they could come clean into the house. You know, would it be rude for me on my way to that person's house to go clay and mud and have a good time, splash it around, I've got mud clear up above my knees, cake done, real clay-y stuff, and then act like no big deal when I come in and have my feet washed. That would be rude, wouldn't it? Be rude? And Jesus says this, you know, when you get to my, to come to me, there's filth that you've picked up in the world, it needs to be dealt with. It needs to be washed away. It'd be exceptionally rude for me to, again, spiritually, just get involved in all sorts of sin as a believer, and just tromp into God's house and say, all right, take care of me, because you said you would. Paul said about that in Romans 6, 1 and 2, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? He's saying, it's not okay for us as believers to say, okay, I'm just gonna get into sin because God will forgive me. No, that's not it. We've missed it if we think that's it. We gotta be as careful as we can be about sin, but when we sin, by God's grace, we can go to him. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But on the other hand, there's people that have never ever been cleansed. It's not that they need sanctification, they need salvation. And Jesus knew who was cleansed and who was not. Speaking about salvation. He said, for he knew who should betray him, therefore said he, ye are not all clean. Judas. You have Judas and the disciples. Who's clean? Not Judas. The disciples are, but not Judas. And Jesus said that, he said, you're not all clean, because he knew whether or not they were saved or not. And Judas wasn't. You know what's sad is if religion, if religion cleansed, okay, if religion cleansed, then Judas would have been clean. He was a disciple, he was there, he was doing everything they did. but it didn't do anything for him internally, his soul, because he hadn't received righteousness from God. Religion is empty outside of Christ. And so we see Jesus is aware this morning. He knows what we need. He knows if we need salvation cleansing this morning, or whether we need sanctification cleansing. And so he knows. Then we find also that Jesus is the only one who can cleanse us from our sin. Jeremiah 2.22 says, Somebody could say, yo, I've got, I've got this need for cleansing. And they can be burdened about it. And it can be something, like I was speaking about, where you look at your hands and you go, ah, I despise that. I want that off. I want that off. And so they could think, I know what I'll do. And I'll do this, and I'll do this, and I'll do this. And God says, hey, you take niter and strong soap. Niter was a strongly alkaline substance used in cleaning and making soap. Really strong soap. He said, you take it all you want, you scrub as hard as you want, yet your iniquity is marked before me, say the Lord. It's like that stain, you can't get off your hands, it's there. They were having a bit of bother, they still are in our community with people breaking into people's sheds and outbuildings. And they've actually got some invisible grease type stuff they can put on the handles that the thief, when he touches it, it sticks to his hands and he can't see it. until they take a light, that special light, they shine it on it, and then it just lights up his hands. It's like that. That's the way, God says, you may not see it, you may think you got rid of it, but you know what, your iniquity's marked before me, sayeth the Lord. And just like that thief, the judge will say, guilty, see your hands betray you. God will say, look, guilty. It's not forgiven. You know, you can laugh at the idea, and it's kind of funny to think about that people would think that you could use soap to clean your soul. Like, is there anybody really that thinks that you could take physical soap and cleanse your soul? No. So what's he saying? That physical soap is the idea of self-cleansing. It's the religions in this world, and there's so many of them that teach, you're a sinner, but here's the answer, and the remedy is found in you, and it's something that you can do. They teach them that attending church, you gotta be a part of this church, Catholic Church teaches that. So he's gotta be a part of the Catholic church to go to heaven. Being christened. I've had people say to me, I ask them, why do you wanna get your son christened? You're not a religious person. Because I want God's blessing on them. As if somehow that merits favor with God. This christening and doing this. Doing rituals, like the rosary, or confessing sin to a priest, or taking communion, thinking, ah, surely this will be something that merits favor with God. Being a good person, all the time people say, I'm a good person. Why do you have to go to heaven? I'm a good person. I do a lot more good than I do bad. living a monastic lifestyle. There's some people that think, you know, I'm gonna put myself away in a convent. I'm gonna go live, you know, in this place that's no fun. You know, there's nothing to do except sit there and look at a blank wall, and that's somehow gonna please God. Or there's even people that beat themselves. I don't know if you've ever seen pictures of people that crucified themselves like Christ was crucified, nailed themselves to a cross, thinking that somehow that's gonna merit favor with God. They do all these things but does nothing. Martin Luther was like that. Martin Luther, the priest in Germany that was trying to earn favor with God just like they taught him by doing all these things, doing all these things, and then he realized that salvation is by grace, that's a gift through faith. That's not something you earn, it's something you receive. Then he went to God for cleansing. And that's the only place you can go. It's just Jesus. You can try all these things, nothing will help you. 1 John 1.7 says, the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing blood? His blood is what matters. I wanna say as well, this morning, if Jesus has cleansed you, you're clean. Isn't that precious? If Jesus cleanses me, then I'm clean. Remember that leper that he said to Jesus, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. What did Jesus say? I will be thou clean. And the Bible says immediately his leprosy was cleansed. As soon as he cried out to Jesus, and as soon as Jesus responded, he was cleansed. Yeah, it's the same with salvation. It's immediate. As soon as we go to God for it, we receive it. It's a transaction that takes place, that's it in the past, that's done, it's settled. I'm forever a child of God. I'll never go to hell, never, because I've been redeemed by the grace of God. Jesus does that, and he makes us clean. Remember the story, Peter, you guys might remember this from our study of the book of Acts. But Peter had to take the gospel to the Gentiles, to Cornelius. And for the Jews to go to the Gentiles, I mean, they were unclean. They felt like if they went into their house, they would be unclean spiritually. And the Lord puts Peter into a trance. He sees a vision. And there's a sheep coming down. And on that sheep, there are sheep, there are all sorts of animals that Peter's not supposed to eat because he's a Jew. These animals, the Bible in the Old Testament said, you're not to eat them, you're not to eat them, you're not to eat them. And so the Lord says to Peter, rise Peter, kill and eat. And Peter says, no, I've never eaten something unclean, common or unclean. You know what the Lord says? He says to Peter in Acts 10.15, what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. He's saying this, if God makes it clean, it's clean, Peter. You know what, Satan comes to us as believers sometimes and says, you can't serve God, you know what you've done, you know all the sin in your life, so you can't serve him. You know what we need to say to Satan is, you know what, what God cleanses, he makes it clean. And God has cleansed me by his blood. Lastly, this morning, Jesus will cleanse those who confess their sins. Jesus will cleanse those that confess their sins. And so if we need God's cleansing, we can go to him confidently that we take this to him, he'll cleanse us. 1 John 1.9 says, if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You know, I can't go to God for partial cleansing. I can't go to Jesus and say, you know what, I wanna be cleansed 90%. I wanna be cleansed 95%. It'd be like me taking my van and going to a drive-thru car wash and saying to them, I want it all clean except for the boot. Just leave the boot dirty. I'm just gonna keep the boot dirty. I want everything else cleansed. And they look at me and go, look, it's all or nothing. God says the same to us this morning. God doesn't do partial cleansing. It's like me, you know, as a boy taking my trousers, my trouser pockets are full of sand and saying, you know, I want to keep some of that as I give it to my mom and she's going to wash my trousers. It's all or nothing. But you know what I don't have to do is go through and count how many grains are there and say to mom, okay, there's 2,333 grains that I want to cleanse from my garment. And nor do we have to go to God and say, God, okay, I've got to think of all my sin and I've got to list all my sin here. And once I've listed all my sin, then I'll ask you to forgive me. And please, I hope I don't forget one because if I forget one, that would be bad. That's not it. It's just us saying to God, God, I need it cleansed. I need that garment cleansed. I need myself cleansed. And I'm not holding anything back. If we confess our sins, that's saying to God, God, there's nothing I'm holding back. I'm not gonna hide my idolatry. I'm not gonna hide my fornication. I'm not gonna hide my lying. I'm not gonna hide my embezzlement. I'm not gonna hide anything, God. I'm not gonna try to hold on to anything. I'm gonna honor you. I'm gonna please you. It's all my sin right here. God, I need it all forgiven. That's it. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just. Forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You know, a minor, and Alec, you'd be the best to tell us about how it feels to be a minor, but a minor that's covered in that coal dust. I imagine it is a very welcome thing to get all the coal dust off, to get a nice back-in-the-day, probably, suit to walk home in, be all cleaned up, and to look your best again. It's a very precious thing for us, when our sin defiles our heart, to be able to go to God and say, God, I'm so sorry. I've sinned against you. Would you please forgive me of my sin and cleanse me? And to have God internally take that away. You know what he does as well? He takes the guilt away. He does. He takes that burden, that heaviness away. The blood washes us from a guilty conscience as well. That's precious. And the first time, when somebody gets saved, a lot of times they'll say, you know, I feel like a burden's lifted. You know why? Because sin is a burden. Just like me, constantly looking at my hands going, man, I wish those stains were gone. just bothersome, constantly in front of me, constantly seeing these stains on my hand, and then finally they're gone. It's like, oh man, I'm so glad those are gone. It's like that when somebody gets saved. You know, do you want to get cleansed? Jesus is willing. Just like that leper, he says, I will thee thou claim. Jesus desires us to consider our need. He says, come now, let's reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. He's willing, and he wants us to think about it. Jesus knows whether we have been cleansed or not. He alone knows. Jesus is the only one who can cleanse us from our sin. A lot of people try religion. They try doing all sorts of good things, but doesn't do anything. If Jesus cleanses us, what are we? We're clean. You know what? I don't know how you feel this morning, But I hope that you feel clean. I hope that you feel forgiven and restored to God. If not, the truth is, it's there. You just have to get cleansed. Just go to God for that cleansing. And I pray that that would be accomplished even today. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your grace to us this morning. Thank you for the time that we've been able to spend in the Word of God. Father, may it help us to know today that we can be cleansed. Father, help us not to keep looking at the sin stain going, oh, I wish that was out of my life. When we have a person in the Lord Jesus Christ who died to set us free from our sin, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us, Father, use this message to help us in our walk with you. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. 177, our great Savior, 177.