This broadcast is coming to you from the Metropolitan Tabernacle of the First Baptist Church, Algiers, located at 501 Opelousas Avenue, here in New Orleans. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 6250, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70174. This is J.B. Messer speaking to you this morning in the absence of our pastor, Brother Gale. He's sick at home. We just praise the Lord for the way the Lord has kept him going and we want you to pray for him that the Lord will respeedily restore him to his health. Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee this morning for this opportunity You've given us to worship Thee. We thank Thee, Heavenly Father, for these. We have gathered together in the visible audience. We pray, Heavenly Father, that Thou would be with those who are listening out in Radio Land by radio, those who will hear in the weeks to come by tape. Father, we pray Thy blessings upon each one of our children wherever they may be. in whatever circumstance they may find themselves in. Dear Father, we pray thy blessings upon this service. May thy name be honored and glorified. May Christ be lifted up. For thou hast said, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. And heavenly Father, we pray that thou would bless each family in our assembly. Heavenly Father, that thou would bless each child, each young people, Father, our heart goes out to Thee for those who do not know Christ, that they may be brought to know Thee in the forgiveness of sins. Guide us now and lead us as we worship throughout this service. For it's in Christ's name we ask. Amen. Let's turn to number 24. I will praise Him. When I saw the painting of him, oh, what my heart must say, I awoke in spirit. I will praise Him, I will praise Him, Praise the Lamb, my sinner's name. In the glory of His people, For His blood can wash away any stain. ♪ All the ways seem straight and narrow ♪ ♪ All our faith is stuck away ♪ ♪ My ambitions blend and bleach it ♪ ♪ Half of me in anxious pain ♪ ♪ I am crazy, I am crazy, I am crazy ♪ He shall never sin, nor strangle, nor kill, nor slay Him in glory only He will, For His blood can wash away the sin. As you read the name of Jesus, I'm so glad you took me in. He's forgiven my transgression. He has cleansed my heart of sin. I will praise Him, I will praise Him, praise the Lamb for sinners, and for sinners clean. Hail Him, glory all ye people, for His blood can wash away the stain. Glory, glory to the Father, Glory, glory to the Son. Glory, glory to the Spirit. Glory to the free and one. Can you say that from the depth of your heart? I will praise him. Or is it just a mechanical thing with you? Is there a praise welling up in your heart just like an overflowing well praising on the Lord for what He's done for you? There is in my heart. I'll never cease to praise Him for what He's done for me. Now let's turn to number 73. Look to the Lamb of God. Notice the words of this song as we sing it. If you perceive our longing to be free, look to the land of God. If you redeem him by your bravery, look to the land of God. ♪ Come to the land of God ♪ ♪ Come to the land of God ♪ ♪ Come to the land of God ♪ ♪ Come to the land of God ♪ You in your strength shall over all prevail. Glory to the land of the free. Glory to the land of the free. Welcome to the land of God. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. For He alone is able to save you. Look to the Lamb of God. Gird up your shadows, all you Catholic folk, look to the Lamb of God. In joy and sorrow, Christ has won it all. Look to the Lamb of God. Look to the Lamb of God. If you want to be miserable, look within. If you want to be distracted, look around you. If you want to be happy and blessed, look to Christ. Look to the Lamb of God, for He is the only one that can save your soul. and he is able to save unto the uttermost those that come unto God by him. Now before we have the message, let's stand and sing number 40, Wherever He Leads, I'll Go. ♪ Of thy cross and full of faith ♪ ♪ I heard my master say ♪ ♪ I give my life in ransom to thee ♪ ♪ Surrender thy life to me ♪ You loved me so, wherever you went. And to his heart thy song is living o'er. And in that will, thy love is true. Wherever he leads us home. Wherever he leads us home. ♪ My God ♪ ♪ And may we through the shadows live ♪ ♪ For all the joy we see ♪ ♪ And may my God be with me always ♪ ♪ Forever we'll live the dream ♪ ♪ Forever we'll live the dream ♪ Thank you. Be seated. I want to bring you a message this morning on leprosy, the type of sin. I want you to pray with me that the Lord may enable me to present this message as He has given it to me. I seem to never be able to find words to express what the Lord shows me in my heart. You pray for me as we bring this message. Turn with me if you will to the 13th chapter of Leviticus. The 13th and 14th chapters of Leviticus is taken up with the diagnosis of and cleansing from that terrible disease which we know of as leprosy. Throughout the scriptures those infected with this defiling and disfiguring disease were without exception to be separated or to cast out from the rest of the people. God's people are to be a holy and a separated people. All through the book of Leviticus and also in the book of Deuteronomy, you will find how God's people are separated from sin. Everything that even has the appearance of sin is to be put away from them out of their camp. Now in the 13th chapter of Leviticus, let's read the 45th and the 46th verses. 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." You know that's a terrible picture. If we could get in our mind's eye a picture of this poor leper, let's read that again. His clothes shall be rent and his head bare. He shall put a covering upon his upper lip and shall cry unclean, unclean. Every time anyone comes around close by, he cries out unclean. Stay away from me. Stay away from me. I'm unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him, he shall be defiled, he is unclean. He shall dwell alone. Oh, the thought of that dwelling alone. He shall dwell alone. Without the camp shall his habitation be. A picture of abject misery. And yet that's the picture of the sinner outside of Christ, and yet he knows it not. He is in that condition, but he doesn't know it. Even Miriam, the sister of Moses, was not exempt from the law of leprosy after she had been stricken with leprosy because of her and her brother's rebellion against Moses. According to Numbers 12, we're going to read a few verses there. Just let me read them for you. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle, and behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow. And Aaron, who was the high priest, looked upon Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us wherein we have dealt foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Listen to these words now. Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed, when he cometh out of his mother's womb, And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? That's a type of indignity. Seven days is a type of completeness. Let her be shut out of the camp seven days. And after that, let her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days. And then there's this tender note added that I always enjoy. And the people joined it not until Miriam was brought in again. We see the effects of sin here in this one who was the sister of the appointed leader of the children of Israel and her brother who was a high priest. They should have known better, yet they rebelled against Moses and complained against him. And God struck Miriam with leprosy. Well now, you say God didn't punish Aaron? Yes, I think Aaron had, if anything, the greater punishment. Because as being the high priest, he had to look upon his sister Miriam, whom he loved, and pronounce her clean and banish her without the count. We see here also a type of the forgiveness or the grace of our Lord. Moses, who was the injured party, interceded for the guilty party. Aaron was just as guilty as his sister, and yet he had to pronounce his sister a leper and banish her from the camp. You see, the wages of sin, or the results of sin, not only affect you, but they also affect your family, they affect those who are around you, and everything that you touch becomes unclean by your defilement. Now, a careful study of the 13th and 14th chapters of Leviticus will immediately reveal to us the important position of the priest concerning this disease of leprosy. He had two functions. First of all, he had to ensure the purity of the assembly. The assembly must be kept pure. And it was the priest's office, or his job, you might say, to be sure that the camp was kept clean from sin and iniquity, from uncleanness. But at the same time, the other function of the priest was to make sure that no individual member of the assembly be excluded unless it were clearly established that he was a leper. He had two functions, and I imagine sometimes those functions were kind of close together. It was a little hard for him to decide which. The priest then must exercise watchfulness, calmness, wisdom, patience, tenderness, and experience so that neither God's holiness nor His grace and mercy should be violated. The camp must be kept clean at all times, but also grace and mercy should be exercised so that no individual who only had a boy which was not leprous should be unjustly cast out of the camp. Now in connection with this thought, let's notice some of the expressions used in these two chapters. And the priest shall look on the plague. And the priest shall look on him. Then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days. And the priest shall look on him the seventh day. Then the priest shall shut him up seven days more. And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day. There was no chance, there was nothing left to chance. The priest was to examine carefully, thoroughly, and to make sure, make positive, even to the shutting up or putting in jail, you might say, of that individual for seven days and being carefully watched. And then if the disease showed any sign of spreading, he was to be shut up again another seven days and given another seven days examination. There was nothing to be taken by chance. This is very important. Now these two chapters that we're going to study here, portions of, are taken up almost inclusively with instruction of how to deal with leprosy, how to distinguish between leprosy and some harmless soul. We have a thought here in passing. The minister, God's servant, has also these same two functions. As he preaches God's Word, there can be no infringement on God's holiness and God's righteousness. And yet there must be the holding out of mercy to every sinner as he preaches God's Word to him. Now, let's read the second verse of that 13th chapter. When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy, then shall he be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priest, and he will be shut up for seven days. When anything appeared on a person, either a scab, or a sore, or a boil, that seemed like there was any possibility that it might be leprosy, This individual came under the watchful eye of the priest and was never out of his watchful eye until he was either declared clean or unclean. Now how was the priest to know whether this breaking out was leprous or not? Notice that third verse. 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 the plague of leprosy. and the priest shall look upon him and pronounce him unclean." That's what we would call today a malignancy or raw flesh. If he looked upon a sore and he saw that there was a raw eating flesh or eating sore that would not heal, it went below the skin, not just on the surface of the skin, it went down into the flesh, it was a leprosy and he was declared to be unclean. But on the other hand, If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and his sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white, then the priest shall shut him up that hath the plague seven days. And the priest shall look on him the seventh day, and behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay, and the plague spread not on the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days more. You notice the care that was taken there, not only the first seven days, but the second seven days before the man is declared a leper. And the priest shall look upon him again the seventh day, and behold, if the plague be somewhat dark, and the plague spread not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is but a scab, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean. Now once a person was pronounced unclean, he is put out of the camp. We read you a while ago how he was to be put out from the camp in that 45th and 46th verses. This then is a condition of the leper. He was to be examined by the priest, be re-examined and then re-examined again until it was clearly perceived that he had leprosy before he was cast out of the camp. Now, looking at this disease in a physical point of view, there's nothing that's more loathsome than this disease of leprosy. And it furnishes a most vivid picture of sin. I want to read you something from James, James, Angel James in the Awakened Center. When man was created, he was created holy and consequently happy. He was not only placed in a paradise that was without sin, but he was blessed with a paradise within. His perfect holiness was as much the Eden of his soul as the garden he tilled was the Eden of his bodily senses. It was in the inward paradise of a holy mind that he walked in communion with God. The fall cast him out of this heaven upon earth, his understanding became darkened, his heart corrupted, his will perverted, and his disposition earthly, sensual, and devilish. Not only was his conscience laden with guilt, but as a necessary consequence, his imagination was full of terror and dread of that holy God whose voice and presence formerly imparted nothing but transport to his soul. He was afraid of God and unfit for Him. His soul became the seat of fleshly appetites and irregular passions. In other words, man was created holy, but he sinned and became a moral leper in God's sight. Sin is a disease of leprosy. Now, such is the nature that we inherited from Adam, our forefather, that we cannot refrain from sinning. You may try as you will, but you cannot keep from sinning because sin is in your nature. Thus we are said to be born in sin, according to Psalm 51, 5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Also in Psalm 58, 3. The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Thus man becomes a moral leper and was thoroughly defiled within and without. no amount of goodness that he could do, no merit that any other human being could do for him would cleanse him from his filthiness and unsuitableness for the fellowship of a just and holy God. Habakkuk 1.13 tells us, God is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon iniquity. Sin is an eating cancer within the bosom of every individual out of Christ. and he is outside the camp, cursed, doomed, and damned forever, unless God have mercy upon him and save him by his grace through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's apply this teaching to our own selves personally and show that how I myself, a sinner, may be pronounced clean by the great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. When God first begins to deal with the soul for salvation, he opens his eyes and lets him see himself as a sinner or a leper, if you will. But such is the hardness and blindness of his mind, of his heart, that man will not accept God's estimate of himself until it is definitely and conclusively proven to him by the Holy Spirit. Now man just will not acknowledge that he is a sinner. It's one thing to say, I have sinned. It's another thing altogether to say, I am a sinner throughout. Therefore, the first thing that he is convicted of is the sinfulness of his deeds, or he sees that he has leprosy in his hands. There's no individual alive that is so blinded that he will not acknowledge that he has at one time or another committed sin. I know there are some people who claim that they do not sin, that they live above sin, but they just don't know what they're talking about. There is no individual that you question them, but they will say to you, oh yes, I've done things that was wrong, I've lied, I've stolen, I've done this or done that, I've done things that I ought not to. Man will acknowledge that his hands are leprous and he'll be made to acknowledge that his feet are leprous because he has not always walked in the way of God. He has not always walked according to God's 10 commandments, according to the law of God. He'll acknowledge that his hands are leprous and his feet are leprous, and yet he says, oh, but my heart is pure though. That's just the weakness of the flesh. It's amazing the excuses that man will put up to get by and not keep from acknowledging that he is a sinner. Man easily excuses himself for these divergences from the truth by saying, well, you know, we're all sinners. As our late pastor, Brother Sheldon, used to say, that's just a old mother of heaven, covers everything and touches nothing. Yeah, we're all sinners. Or you might say, well, nobody is perfect, but we all know that already. We're not perfect. And yet he will try to excuse himself that his heart is clean. He said another man may say well I do the best I can and I'm sure God will not hold that against me and somehow or another I'll make it to heaven at last. But that was not so in the case of the leper. The priest was not to use his opinion He was not to give it as an opinion as to whether or not this man was leprous, but there were definite guidelines set down for him to examine and to see, and when he pronounced a person clean or unclean, it was according to the law and not according to his opinion. So it's not a question of your opinion whether you're a sinner, or not a question of someone else's opinion. Everybody in the world may think you're a good individual, may think you're a good person, and yet God knows their heart. Until the sinner acknowledges that he is a sinner by deed and by walk, he'll never be led any further. Until you come to acknowledge that you have sinned, actually sinned, then God will not deal with you any further. But when you have come to see yourself a sinner by practice and a sinner by deed, then the Holy Spirit begins to open your heart and let you see that you're a sinner by nature. That is, that your heart, which is the seed of all of your affections, is depraved and wicked. Listen to Mark 7, 21 through 23. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within and defile the man. Notice also 1 Corinthians 6, 9 through 11. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revelers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God, and such were some of you. But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." All of these outward manifestations of sin come from an evil source of sin, which is that evil heart of unbelief. Leprosy is a disease of the blood. And the sores that break out on the hand and on the body are the manifestations of that leprosy that is in the bloodstream. Now, you notice this statement. A sinner is not a sinner because he sins. A man is not a sinner because he sins, but he sins because he is a sinner. Sins that you perform, sins that you do by word, deed or thought, works and walk, those are only the manifestation of what is within your evil heart. Man is not a sinner because he sinned. You hear somebody say, well, I know I'm a sinner because I did so and so the other day I ought not to do. I'm a sinner because I did this or I did that. But man is a sinner. You may not want to acknowledge it, but you're a sinner anyway. You may try to cover it up, but you're a sinner anyway. Man is a sinner and he sins because he is a sinner. Now let's go back to our leper as he is examined by the priest. These spots and defects in our walk and work are the spots and blemishes upon the hand and feet and other members of the physical body, which the priest is called upon to examine. and to determine whether or not they are leprous. If the disease is active in these spots and blemishes, as indicated by the raw flesh and by the hair turned white in the plague, showing that it is deeper than the skin, then thus showing that the leprosy is still in the body and working itself out through these spots and blemishes, he is pronounced unclean. A sinner can be and will be brought to acknowledge his sins that break out in his walk and his work because it is self-evident and he can't deny it. A person will acknowledge that sin that he's caught in. He's been caught in that sin and he can't get around it, he can't deny it, so he has to acknowledge it. But it's hard for that heart to acknowledge that the heart and the thoughts and the intents are wicked. He balks at acknowledging that his heart is a corrupt founding from whence all these evil breaking out come. In other words, he is saying, I know that my hands and my feet are defiled, but my heart is pure. My motives are right. You know, when I was under conviction, lots of times I would just almost say to somebody, well, don't be judging my motives. You may see my outward life, but don't judge my motives. I thought my motives were pure. until the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and let me see what they were. My motives are right, but I just suffer from the weakness of the flesh. He has not yet become unclean. He has not yet become the sinner, and therefore He is unclean. His heart is an eating cancer that will continually spewing forth evil and corruption. Were He to cleanse the individual outbreakings of sin in His life, they would appear in other places. because the fountain has never stopped flowing. Now, you may control yourself to a certain degree. You may control your works and your walk by reformation and by studied application to your works and your walk. But one thing you cannot control, you cannot control the heart. And that takes a work of grace performed by the renewing work of the Holy Spirit through the blood. I know I tried to make myself a sinner. I'd read God's word. I said, well, I know I'm a sinner because I've done this, I've done that, I've committed this crime, I've broken this law. But I never could see that my heart was corrupt until the Holy Spirit put his finger upon it. You can see the outward sins manifested in your life, but unless the Holy Spirit of God moves upon your heart, you'll never know that your heart is corrupt and that you're a sinner within and without. Now let's notice again the sign that a person is clean. Notice the 13th and 14th verses of that 13th chapter. Then the priest shall consider and behold, if leprosy hath covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague. It is all turned white, he is clean. But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean. Now what does that teach us? When the leprosy has gone out of the body, has worked itself out and there's no more taint of leprosy in the blood, the skin can heal over then. But as long as there's raw flesh in these sores, as long as there's raw flesh in these blemishes, it's a sign that the disease of leprosy is still working. This is a picture of the sinner who becomes all clean. Not only are his acts and his deeds sin, but he's come to acknowledge that his heart is sin. His motives are sin. The very thoughts and intents of his heart are sin. He has become sin all over. When you become the sinner, you're eligible for God's salvation. He consigns himself justly, condemned to hell. Many times he condemns himself to hell, knowing that he belonged there. I read something that someone wrote some time ago that I thought was interesting. He said, I began to think what I would do in hell. He realized that he should go to hell. Under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, he realized that he deserved hell. He said, I began to think what I would do in hell. He said, I would confess to the devils and all the damned souls there that God was not to blame for my condition, but that I'd brought it upon myself. And he said, I suddenly realized that all those who were in hell hated God and despised the Lord Jesus Christ. And I cried out in my soul that I could not hate God nor despise the Lord Jesus Christ, but that I would sing his praises even though no one believed me. Have you ever come to the place that you saw yourself worthy of hell, deserving to go to hell, and consigned yourself to go to hell? I have. That's a terrible feeling. And yet, it's the only way of salvation. For when you condemn yourself, you're not condemned. Have you ever seen your deservedness of hell, that if you could say, Lord, I gladly suffer throughout in eternity of hell, if it'll glorify thy name. Lord, I gladly suffer in hell, eternity in hell, if it'd only glorify and honor thy holy name. Now, when you become sin throughout, that's the sign of cleanliness. When you become sin throughout, As someone has said, from your hat down and from your overcoat in, when you become thoroughly, completely sin all over, inside and out, then you are eligible for the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5, 21, For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. You know, I've often tried to picture to myself what it meant for the Lord Jesus Christ, holy, pure, without sin, without iniquity. To think of a holy and just Lord Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself the form of sinful man, to become sin, he who abhorred sin, he who could not look upon sin, to become sin, then you begin to see a little bit of the love that God had toward us human beings. Romans 5, 6 and 8, for when we were without strength, we were without strength to do anything, We were without strength to say anything. We were without strength to be anything, but we were just completely sin. When we were without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Are you ungodly? Have you seen yourself ungodly? Have you seen yourself the absolute contrary to everything that God is, the absolute opposite of what God is? Where God is holy, you're unholy. Where God is just, you're unjust. You're the exact opposite of God. In due time, Christ died for the ungodly, but God committed his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Have you ever become a sinner? Listen again to Romans 5, 21. that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. The moment a sinner takes his true place as one thoroughly lost, guilty, and undone, As one in whom there is not so much as a single point on which the eye of infinite holiness can rest with complacency, as one who is so bad that he cannot possibly be any worse, there is an immediate, perfect, and divine settlement of the entire matter. When you become a sinner, you put yourself in a position of being saved. I think it was John Newton that had been under conviction for a good many years, crying unto the Lord for salvation. He walked in the cafe once, and as he sat down to eat his meal, the thought of his sin broke upon him and he couldn't eat. He cried out, Oh, I'm lost, I'm lost, I'm lost. And the waitress who was waiting on him, being a Christian herself, Came to him and said, mister, if you're lost, then you're found. When you ever become lost, then you're found. The grace of God deals with sinners. The grace of God deals with sinners. God doesn't deal with good people, with righteous people. For those people who are good in themselves, God deals with sinners. And when He finds a sinner, then He finds someone that He can reveal the shed blood to. When He finds a sinner, then He can reveal Himself to that sinner as His Savior and His Lord. When I know myself to be a sinner, I know myself to be one that Christ died for. When you ever come to the place that you're a lost sinner, a guilty sinner, a doomed and damned sinner, when you come to the place that there is no speck of goodness, no righteousness, nothing that you can lay before God as a plea, when you come completely stripped before Him, then you're in a position for God to deal with you in mercy. The more clearly anyone can prove to me that I'm a sinner, the more clearly he establishes my title to the love of God and to the work of Christ, my substitute. The more you tell me I'm a sinner, the more you encourage me to go to Christ, for Christ receives his sinners. The more I see myself sinful, I've heard people say, oh, well, I'm too sinful to go to Christ. the more sinful you are, the more right you have to go to Christ, who is the sinner's friend and who is the sinner's Savior. First Peter 3.18 tells us, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. Christ also suffered for sin, once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. Now if I'm unjust, I'm one of those very people for whom Christ died. If I'm unjust, then I'm entitled to all the benefits of the death of Christ upon the cross of Calvary. I'm not called to be anything but just what I am, sin. I'm not called upon to feel or to experience anything. The Word of God assures me that Christ died for me. Well, you say, well, how will I know that that scripture's for me? Well, you're a sinner. When you become a sinner, then the promises of God's Word become attainable by you. As long as you're not a sinner, You may read the promises of God's Word. You may read all you want to from God's Word, but it has no meaning to you. As long as you're not a sinner, then the Word of God just passes over your head. But when you become a sinner, then you can search God's Word for a promise to hang your poor lost soul upon. The Word of God assures me that Christ died for me. The Word of God assures me that Christ died for me. How do I know that I'm the me that Christ died for? The Holy Spirit has to bear witness with that in your heart. No individual can come to know Christ unless he is brought by the Holy Spirit. You can try till you're blue in the face to make yourself a sinner, to believe that you're a sinner, to put yourself in a position for God to save you, But that's entirely the work of God's Holy Spirit. Well, you say, if God has to do the work then what can I do? There's only one thing you can do and that's to cry unto God for mercy. You can cry unto God to have mercy upon you and to finish that work that he has begun in your heart. There are so many promises in God's Word that I don't guess I ever will forget because the Holy Spirit made them so, applied them so definitely and so positively to my heart under conviction and that was one of them. He that hath begun a good work in you will continue it until the day of Christ Jesus. There's another promise there in the, I believe it's the 147th Psalm He will fulfill the desires of them that fear Him. He also will hear their cry and will save them. I pled those promises daily before the throne of God's grace. But it was not my pleading those promises that saved me, but Christ Himself as He revealed Himself to me as my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Lord. Just as I am, I come to Christ. Just as I am, I come to Him as a sinner, not as a saint. I come to Him as a sinner. And if I am assured that Christ died for me, then I'm just as safe as Christ is safe. If I'm assured of one thing, that Christ died for me, If I know beyond a shadow of doubt, and the Holy Spirit has to bear witness to it, if I know that Christ died for me, then I'm just as safe as Christ is himself, because he'll not lose any of his own. He not only suffered for my sins, but he made an end of sin. As far as I'm concerned, every sin that I'll ever commit, from now until the day I die, have been covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That doesn't give me a license to sin. That doesn't make me want to sin. On the other hand, it gives me more of a horror of sin, more of a detestation of sin when I find it in my own heart and life. But Christ not only suffered for my sins, but he made an end of sins. He abolished the entire system in which as a child of the first Adam, I stood. And He has introduced me into a new position in association with Himself, and there I stand before God, free from all charge of sin and all fear of judgment." Can you say that? Can you stand before the Lord Jesus Christ or before God, free of all the charges of sin, knowing the sin no longer has any hold upon you? And sin can no longer hurt you because those sins are covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you, my friend, ever become a totally guilty, completely sinful sinner? When sin has permeated your whole body and soul, and you come to know yourself the sinner, the one that Paul says, I'm the sinner, the chief of sinners. when an individual under conviction comes to see that he is the sinner, the greatest sinner that ever lived because it's so personal to him. Oh, I may have seen people that might have lived a more wicked, openly wicked life than I have, but that's not sin. That's just the outward manifestations of sin. There's no one ever lived that had a more wicked, more hellish, more obstinate, more rebellious heart than I did. And when you come to see yourself as the sinner, then it is that Christ shows you that he died for you. I never ceased to praise the Lord that he, in his mercy, opened my eyes to see that I was the sinner. Brought me to the end of my way where I couldn't even lift as much as my little finger except to cry unto him in mercy. And I'd even got to the place that I didn't know whether it would do much good to cry anymore. But God heard my cry, He said he would. I will fulfill the desires of them that fear me. He also will hear thy cry and will save them. Are you crying unto the Lord for redemption? Are you crying unto the Lord Jesus Christ that he'll have mercy upon you and save you? Not because of any merit that you might have, but by his grace and by his mercy that he might apply the shed blood to your heart and make you every whit clean. And what a gracious time it is when you feel yourself clean, when you feel that all of your sins, which are so vile and wicked and corrupt, are washed away in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as one storyteller, I believe it is a Naaman, says that his flesh became again as that of a little child. You feel yourself so clean when God cleanses you, when he immerses you in the blood, when he cleanses you and applies that blood to your heart. May you not rest until you know that privilege. May you not rest until that has been accomplished in your heart. You become the center. You furnish the center. Christ is the Savior. He's already died for your sins. He has given Himself a ransom for you that you might know Him as your Savior and your Lord. We've been glad to worship with you out on Radio Land. May the Lord bless each and every one of us.