An Able and Willing Savior

[0:00] Matthew chapter 4. We're going to begin reading toward the end of the chapter.! We're going to begin reading toward the end of the chapter.

[0:11] ! And healing every disease and sickness among the people.

[0:35] News about him spread all over Syria. And people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases. Those suffering severe pain.

[0:46] The demon possessed. The epileptics and the paralytics. And he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee.

[0:58] The Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan followed him. Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.

[1:12] His disciples came to him and he began to teach them, saying. In the next three chapters, we have the words of that sermon on the mount.

[1:24] We're going to turn now back to the last part of chapter 7, verse 28. At the conclusion of that sermon, we hear these words.

[1:37] Chapter 7, verse 28. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching.

[1:48] Because he taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law. When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.

[2:01] A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.

[2:13] Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. I am willing, he said. Be clean. Immediately, he was cured of his leprosy.

[2:25] Then Jesus said to him, see that you don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded and as a testimony to them.

[2:44] On Tuesday, I visited my new granddaughter, Maya, at Riley Hospital for Children. They have a whole bunch of little wagons, these radio flyer wagons that they pull kids around in.

[3:01] You just can't help but have your heart run out for these children who are afflicted with all kinds of serious diseases. It's not hard to imagine what would happen if Jesus Christ was visiting Indianapolis and healing every single one who was brought to him.

[3:21] It would not only be Riley Hospital, but every other hospital in Indianapolis and the whole region emptied out as loved ones would bring their sick and diseased family members to Jesus to have him cure them.

[3:39] I've got some that I would bring to him, don't you? Well, that was exactly the situation when the Lord Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee.

[3:51] It was a two-pronged ministry, we're told. He would preach the gospel and he would heal every disease and sickness. Now, even in a day without telecommunications, that kind of news would travel fast, wouldn't it?

[4:05] The word got out, not only throughout all Palestine, but as far as the land of Syria. People came in droves, bringing those with all kinds of diseases.

[4:19] They brought the hardest cases, the most incurable ones. And scripture says he healed them all. All of them.

[4:30] Not one went home as they came. Well, it was a man with the dreaded disease of leprosy that heard what Jesus was doing and where he was at and came and threw himself down at Jesus' feet, begging to be healed.

[4:49] Now, to be a leper in Israel was a miserable life on many fronts. It was like a living death. There was no known cure for leprosy.

[5:02] Second Kings 5-7. The disease itself was painful and there were festering sores that would eat away at the flesh, usually the toes, the extremities, the fingers, the nose, being eaten away.

[5:18] There was the social stigma of separation from family and the rest of society. Leprosy made you ceremonially unclean, which meant that you were unfit for the presence of God in the temple or the tabernacle.

[5:35] You couldn't go. And anyone who touched one with leprosy was also made ceremonially unclean. And because the disease was so contagious, lepers had to move away from their family to live a quarantined life, cut off from people.

[5:57] Often we find them in the gospel coming as a group. Remember the ten that came to Jesus? There they are. You see them living apart, but together with other lepers. And if they came anywhere near people, the law of Moses required them to cover their mouths and to shout, Unclean!

[6:20] Unclean! I say it was a living death to be a leper in Israel. And such is this man that we read of in the eighth chapter of Matthew.

[6:33] Did you notice we don't even know his name? He's referred to as the man who had leprosy. In other words, his life was defined by his leprosy.

[6:50] Leprosy defined and shaped everything about this man. Dr. Luke tells us in his account that this man was covered with leprosy.

[7:03] In other words, it was an advanced case of leprosy. Not something just that broke out in the most recent weeks, but he's had it for some time.

[7:18] And it's in its advanced stages. And so this outcast is desperate for a healing. And he comes and throws himself upon the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.

[7:31] Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Notice there are two things necessary for this man to be cleansed of his leprosy. And he mentions both of them.

[7:43] First of all, there is needed an ability to heal him. And secondly, there's needed a willingness to heal him. He's convinced of Christ's ability, but he's unsure of his willingness.

[7:59] If you are willing, you can make me clean. Now, no doubt there were many people in this man's life who were willing for him to be healed.

[8:12] If he had a wife, surely she would love to have him back in her arms. Clean. Cleansed of his leprosy. Maybe children.

[8:25] Brothers, sisters. Maybe parents. We don't know what all his family members were, but you can bet family and friends would love to have him healed and restored.

[8:40] But there's just one problem with all these willing people. They lack the ability to heal him, didn't they? No matter how much they wanted him healed, they couldn't heal him.

[8:50] That was the reality. So he's made his way to Jesus. And he's convinced that this Jesus of Nazareth can heal him.

[9:03] That unlike all others, Jesus has the ability to make him clean. No doubt he had heard what everybody else was hearing about all the people who were coming to him to be healed.

[9:15] And how they brought all their different kinds of diseases. And he healed them all. Perhaps he even heard from the leper community.

[9:27] Of lepers. That had come and had been healed. So here he is fully convinced. Jesus can heal me. He can make me whole.

[9:39] He is able. But ability is not enough, is it? There's the second hurdle. Is he willing? Is he willing? Perhaps you have a great financial need.

[9:53] Maybe you needed surgery and treatments. And now you're half a million dollars debt. And I've read this week there are over 2,000 billionaires in the world today.

[10:06] Well, any number of them. Any one of them. With that kind of money. Could help you. They're able to pay off your debt.

[10:18] And hardly feel it. But all their wealth will do no good to you at all. Unless they're willing to give it to you. Well, this leper correctly assesses the situation.

[10:32] And he believes that Jesus is able to do what no one else can do. He could. But would he? That was the remaining question. Is he willing? Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.

[10:47] Well, his desperate need has brought him to the only one who could meet his need. And we don't know. Was it lack of faith? Was it just submission to whatever the will of Jesus was?

[11:03] But he throws himself upon his mercy and leaves the decision up to Jesus. And he's not left in suspense for long, is he? The text says, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man saying, I am willing.

[11:19] Be clean. There was no concern in Jesus for becoming unclean by contact with the leper. Rather, the leper is made clean by his contact with a great physician.

[11:32] And immediately he was cured of his leprosy. That's the word for Jesus healings. Most all of them. Immediately. He was cured.

[11:45] All those festering sores. That ruined flesh was restored. Restored. The disease obeyed Jesus' word. And oh, what joy flooded this man's life.

[12:00] He had his life back. He had his family back. He touched me and made me whole. Now, in this event, we have several things.

[12:12] First of all, we have a proof that Jesus is who he claimed to be. The divine Messiah of God's kingdom. He's the king who had been promised that would come.

[12:23] And his authority is seen in this passage over all diseases that plague mankind. When he preached, they were amazed at the authority with which he preached.

[12:41] And now, when he healed, they're amazed at the authority. That he has this authority to speak and leprosy obeys.

[12:52] This is the authenticity of Jesus' claim. God is putting his stamp on it and saying, here's the proof that he really is Messiah.

[13:04] It was said of Messiah that he would do these things. And now, Jesus is doing them like no one has ever done. Healing all that came to him. These are just a foretaste of the way that it will be in Jesus' kingdom when he comes back.

[13:19] And establishes that final phase of his eternal kingdom in a new heavens and a new earth.

[13:30] Blessings abound wherever he reigns. This is the kind of stuff that will happen in that day. Our lowly bodies. The lowly bodies of the believer will be raised and changed.

[13:41] Made like unto his glorious body. No more sickness, disease, but perfect health. The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The lame will leap.

[13:51] The diseased will be cured. It was a foretaste. The king is here. And this is what his kingdom will look like when he comes in glory. He is coming.

[14:03] And he will make all things new. So we see that message. They should listen to him. This is the Messiah. But also in this event, we have a window into the heart of Jesus, don't we?

[14:15] He's not only able to heal, but we learn from this that he's willing to heal. What love and pity. He healed all who came to him.

[14:28] He turned none away. What a heart. And then thirdly, in this event, we also have an illustration of a far greater problem that we all have. And how Jesus alone is the answer.

[14:42] Because as great as this cleansing from leprosy was, there's a greater cleansing needed that only Jesus Christ can provide. I speak of the cleansing from sin.

[14:56] The spiritual disease of sin. It's a far worse problem than the physical disease of leprosy. There are many parallels. But it doesn't come close to the seriousness of the problem of needing to be cleansed from sin.

[15:12] This spiritual disease of sin, it afflicts us all, the Bible says. There's none righteous. No, not one. There's not a man on earth that does not sin.

[15:25] We all have sinned. So, this is a spiritual disease common to all. And it spreads through your whole being.

[15:36] It contaminates every aspect of you. It contaminates your thoughts and how you think and what you think. And how you think of others and how you think of yourself and how you think of God.

[15:47] It affects your desires. What you want. What you don't want. It affects your choices. What you choose to do and what you choose to not do. It affects your words.

[15:58] Because out of this sinful heart bubbles up what's inside. And it comes out of your mouth. And it affects your actions. Indeed, the whole of your life is contaminated by this physical disease or the spiritual disease of sin.

[16:14] And so, it ruins everything that you touch. It defiles everything that you touch. You have a wonderful family. But that selfish principle of sin brings ruin into those relationships.

[16:28] You have wonderful opportunities for education, for jobs. And yet, sin seems to defile whatever it is that we put our hands to. And then, when sin is finished, it brings forth death.

[16:45] That's where it goes. That's where it leads to death. Yes, physical death, but spiritual death as well. It's an incurable disease, this spiritual disease of sin.

[16:58] There's no human cure for it. No doctor for this. You can't cure yourself of sin. Just try to stop sinning and see if you can cure yourself.

[17:12] No. It's something that anyone who's ever tried finds they cannot. Your religious works can't cleanse you. Baptism can't cleanse you of this disease.

[17:24] And so, it not only ruins our lives, but it leads to everlasting ruin as well. And that's what makes it the biggest problem that we could ever imagine. Far bigger than this man's leprosy.

[17:38] Yes, our biggest problem is not some physical disease that may take our lives early. But rather, that whenever we die, whether early or late, death will take us before God in judgment.

[17:53] For it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment. Hebrews chapter 9 says. And so, that's why this disease is so serious.

[18:06] It just ushers us as a guilty sinner right into the presence of the holy God. And he's already said. This judge has already announced that he will by no means clear the guilty.

[18:21] Sin must be punished. He's too holy to overlook evil. So, if we're not cleansed from our sins before we stand before God, we will be damned.

[18:33] We will be damned. We will be forever cut off from the presence of the Lord. Just as the physical disease of leprosy set them apart and cut them off from all human society.

[18:47] So, this spiritual disease of sin will cut us off from the presence of the Lord. From his mercy. From his goodness.

[18:59] From those daily gifts that we all enjoy freely. From his hand. Life and breath and food and family. And freedom. And everything else. We will be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

[19:14] From his mercy. To experience forever his righteous anger and deserved wrath. In a place called hell. Where according to Jesus, there is unending weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[19:30] That's the teaching of the founder of Christianity. Jesus Christ. So, just as leprosy made this man ceremonially unclean and unfit for the temple and God's presence.

[19:42] The spiritual disease of sin makes us really unclean. Really defiled. And really unfit. From God's presence. Hence, our separation from him.

[19:55] In time and eternity. So, friends, I wonder if you've come to see that the disease of sin. The spiritual disease of sin is your biggest problem in life.

[20:10] And therefore, your greatest need is cleansing from sin. Cleansing from sin. To be sure that you never appear before God in judgment. In your sin.

[20:21] Well, the Bible presents Jesus Christ as the only Savior for sinners. He's the only one who can cleanse us from sin. But in order to cleanse us, the same two things have to be true of him.

[20:36] He must be able. And he must be willing. So, let's consider. What does the Bible say about these two matters? First, is Jesus Christ able to cleanse me from my sin?

[20:46] There's two places I need to be cleansed of sin. I've got blots on my record in heaven. Blots of sin on my record books in heaven.

[20:57] I need cleansing there. And I've got a disease of sin in my own heart. I need cleansing here. So, let's consider those two. Is he able to cleanse my record in heaven?

[21:09] The Bible reveals that God is keeping track of how we live. Indeed, every word. You will be judged by every word, the scriptures say. Every thought. Every motive.

[21:20] Every deed. Every action. It's being recorded. Revelation says. And that one day the books will be opened. And each one must receive for the things done while in the body.

[21:32] Whether good or evil. Well, that's trouble for me. That's trouble for you. Because we've all sinned. We've all got marks, failures on the record books in heaven.

[21:47] Places where we have not done what God's word commands us to do. And other places where we have done what he forbids us to do. And so those have been recorded against us on the books.

[22:00] Well, in the day of judgment, then there'll be no grading on the curve. It's not what you were better than her. You were better than your brother or better than your sister or the neighbor next door.

[22:14] No, there's no grading on the curve. It's all pass fail. It's either you're perfect or you've sinned. You've either measured up to the mark or you haven't.

[22:27] It's a mark on the wall, okay? You go to the theme park kids and there's some rides that you can ride on if you are tall enough and measure up to this mark.

[22:37] And you have to stand up beside that mark. And as you get close to it, it will show whether you're tall enough or not. Judgment works that way. It's a mark.

[22:48] And what is the mark? It's God's righteousness. His holiness. His perfect uprightness. And if you meet up to that, you're in. That's what you need.

[22:58] Perfect righteousness to get in. But if you come short of that, you're condemned. That's the way it is. No curve. Pass fail.

[23:09] No. Righteous or unrighteous. There's only lawbreakers and lawkeepers. And all it takes to make you a lawbreaker is one law broken.

[23:22] That's what James tells us. James 2.10. Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

[23:35] So the law stands as a whole. It's a chain that's connected. And you can break that chain at any point. And if you just break it at one length, the law is broken.

[23:46] You are a lawbreaker. You did not measure up. You must be damned. That's the way judgment proceeds. That's the way judgment proceeds. And that being the case, my record book in heaven then is trouble for me.

[24:02] I've got dark blots there that need to be cleansed. That are calling for my damnation. And God has told me, be sure your sins will find you out.

[24:16] Maybe not in this life, but when it comes time for judgment. Your sins will find you out. You'll find that he was never sleeping.

[24:28] He was never unaware. He was always watching. Always recording. Well, there's no way I could hide or take away the record of my sins in heaven.

[24:41] How can I get just even one sin off of that? What can a dark is the stain that we cannot hide? What can avail to to wash it away?

[24:53] Look, there is flowing a crimson tide. Wider than snow you may be today. What's that hymn talking about? Well, the prophet Isaiah tells us in his very first chapter.

[25:05] Come now, let's reason together. Let's have a talk, you and I. God is saying to the sinner. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. And though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

[25:19] There is a cleansing for my scarlet sins. They can be washed whiter than snow. How does that work? Well, you come to chapter 53 of Isaiah's prophecy.

[25:31] And he says, it's there. It's that one. That suffering servant of the Lord. That Messiah, Savior. That Christ. That anointed one. It's him.

[25:45] Taking the punishment that brings us peace with God. For he was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.

[25:56] And the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. And by his stripes we are healed. So God the Father puts on him the iniquity of the sinner. And then punishes that sin in him.

[26:09] That we by his stripes might be healed. Cleansed of our sin. Or the happiness of the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin.

[26:22] You mean there's a way for those bad marks of mine in heaven to be removed? Yes, there is. Christ died for sins once for all.

[26:35] The righteous for the unrighteous. To bring us to God. So if the perfectly righteous one, Jesus. Dies in the place of the guilty sinner.

[26:46] Why is he dying? Why is he being punished? Not for sins of his own. He had none. No, it was the righteous one being punished for the unrighteous one.

[26:58] And John tells us. Here's the deal. Here's how we can be cleansed from the spiritual disease of sin. The blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from every sin.

[27:14] It's blood. It's blood that cleanses us from sin. And only the blood of the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Now all it took for him to cleanse this leper was a word and a touch.

[27:29] And he's cleansed. It would take much more to cleanse any of us from our sin. It would take the blood of Jesus.

[27:40] The bloody suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Bearing God's eternal infinite wrath upon himself in our place. That's what it would take for him to be able to say, be clean, John.

[27:54] And to have my record erased, covered, blotted out. All those sins blotted out in his blood. And instead all of Jesus' obedience put to my record.

[28:04] As all my sins had been transferred to his cross. And there he paid the full debt. If he's paid the full debt, then on my record it's marred paid in full.

[28:20] And so God the judge doesn't come around in the day of judgment saying, No, John, about those sins you still owe me. You must receive punishment. No, because my substitute took those sins.

[28:32] He paid the awful debt and set me free. There's no double payment. God's too holy for that kind of business.

[28:44] If Jesus paid, then it's paid in full. So you see, it's because of his death on the cross that Jesus is able to cleanse us from our sins.

[28:55] Is he able? Yes, he's able. Everything has been done that needs to be done to have our sins cleansed. He's made that sacrifice. He's made that payment.

[29:08] He is able to blot out our sins on our record book in heaven. Well, is he able to cleanse this diseased heart of mine here on earth? Because the Bible tells us that we come into the world, not neutral, but we come into the world with a diseased heart.

[29:28] The disease of sin. We're born with sinful natures. A sinful heart that's deceitful above all things and beyond cure. A heart that loves our sins.

[29:41] A heart that's committed to my way instead of God's way. And that's why from infancy we all go astray speaking lies. Because that serves me and mine.

[29:53] And not God and his. And it's why it's easier to do wrong, kids, than it is to do right. You notice that? Because we have these sinful hearts that need to be cleansed.

[30:07] A straying heart that causes straying feet. And we can't fix them. Jeremiah asks, can the Ethiopian change his skin? Can he change the color of his skin?

[30:19] Can the leopard change its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. No, that's our nature. We all sin because we have a sinful heart.

[30:32] So who can cleanse my diseased heart of sin? I can't. I've tried. But Jesus can. Jesus can.

[30:43] If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old is past. The old guy is dead in Christ and a new man lives.

[30:54] I'm not the man I once was. I am a new man in Christ. And anyone with the disease of sin coming to Christ, being joined to him, becomes a new creature.

[31:09] Cleansed of sin. He takes out that heart of stone and he puts in a heart of flesh. So, kids, there's the pig. And its nature is to love to wallow in the mire and the mud.

[31:21] Cool itself in the mud. And that's what he loves. But if you could take out that heart and nature of the pig and put in the nature of the cat. And what she do is she falls into the mud.

[31:34] Oh, she hops right out and is licking herself, wanting to get clean. That's what happens when Jesus gives a new heart to us. We no longer say, yeah, the mire of sin, the filth and defilement of sin.

[31:49] This is good. This is life. No, we fall into it and we want out. And we come again and we confess. And he says, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[32:05] It's a work begun in our hearts now. And one day when we see Jesus, it will be completed. What a savior. To not only cleanse our dirty record book in heaven, but to actually cleanse our hearts.

[32:22] That's what the blood of Jesus purchased for us. And that blood will never lose its power until all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more.

[32:34] Because the blood of Jesus does indeed cleanse from every sin. Now, that's the testimony of every believer here. You ask them.

[32:45] When you came to Jesus Christ, convinced of your sin. And asked him to cleanse you. What did you find?

[32:57] And to a man, a woman, a boy or girl, they will say. He was willing. To cleanse me. He was willing.

[33:08] To cleanse me. That's the second issue here, isn't it? Not only is he able, but is he willing?

[33:21] And remember what the leper found. Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. I am willing. Be clean. And that's what every one of us found, wasn't it?

[33:32] You'll look up and down this world in vain to find one sinner who's ever been turned away and sent away filthy.

[33:45] Never happened. Never will. Think of the sinners that came to Jesus in the Bible. And the reception that they received. There's that Christian killing Saul of Tarsus.

[33:58] What will he find if he shows up and asks Jesus to cleanse him of those crimson sins of murdering Christians? He was willing, Paul says.

[34:11] He was also willing to cleanse me of my sins. Blot out my stains. What about that self-righteous Pharisee, Nicodemus?

[34:23] Who thought that he was good for heaven just because of who he was and what he had done. And Jesus says, no, unless you're born again, you'll never see it, much less enter the kingdom of heaven.

[34:37] And somewhere along the line in John's gospel, this Nicodemus came and asked Jesus for cleansing. He's the one that helped take him down on the cross.

[34:48] For it had been on that night that Jesus was talking with him in that private interview that Nicodemus had been told by Jesus that if I be lifted up, that whoever puts their faith in me will not perish but have everlasting life.

[35:12] And Nicodemus sees him lifted up and says, that's my only hope for cleansing. What did he find? A willingness to cleanse him of sin.

[35:23] Self-righteous, religious. But what about the thief on the cross? He'd been a wicked man. And now he's dying for his crimes.

[35:34] But he happens to be just a few feet away from Jesus. And though he starts by mocking Jesus, the Spirit of God works in him repentance and faith, even as he's in his dying hour.

[35:46] And he says, Jesus, when you come into your kingdom, remember me. He throws himself on the mirror. Will Jesus forgive even this guy? Is he willing to forgive a thief in his dying day?

[35:59] He can't come down and redo his life. He's not coming down. He can't do more good than he's done evil. He's not coming down. Will Jesus forgive him? Will Jesus cleanse him?

[36:10] Today you will be with me in paradise. Nothing unclean enters into paradise. Yes, he cleanses even that evil thief as in his dying hour.

[36:21] He casts himself upon the willingness of the Savior. And so you, you will find. His response to you will be no different.

[36:33] He's turned none away ever. You know, some have come to him straight from the far country. They've been living their life for themselves and sin and Satan and the world.

[36:44] And they've come straight from the pig's pen. And they've come back to Jesus for cleansing. And not only does he willingly cleanse them, he runs to cleanse them.

[36:57] He's excited to cleanse them. You see, Jesus doesn't... Well, I suppose. I mean, if you're going to come... I guess I... There's none of that.

[37:07] There's no reluctance. He not only gives grace. He... He's glad to give grace. He not only shows mercy.

[37:18] He's... He delights in mercy. Think of some of your favorite things. We know that song, These Are a Few of My Favorite Things. What are some of your favorite things?

[37:29] Things that you are ever so willing. If I came up to you and I found something on your list and I said, Do you want to go do this? And... There's no reluctance in you. That's your favorite thing to do.

[37:41] You're willing to do that. I say, no one ever did anything more willingly than Jesus Christ cleansing a sinner of his sin. Whenever a sinner comes to him, he jumps at the opportunity to show himself gracious.

[37:58] That's how willing he is. He delights in mercy. He rejoices. He's happy to save. He even celebrates the occasion, doesn't he?

[38:10] And then to assure you of his willingness. And to draw you to himself. You know what he's done? He's made promises. He's not only shown you in the Bible that everyone who comes, he cleanses.

[38:22] Everybody you talk to that's been cleansed. They had the same experience. But then he's also made promises to you just to assure you that if you come to me, I will cleanse you.

[38:35] John chapter 6, verse 37. Whoever comes to me, I will in no way cast out. I will not refuse any. So it doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, how long you've been doing it.

[38:48] If you come to me, I will never cast you out. Why does he put that on the pages of Scripture? Scripture just to encourage you to know that he's that willing to receive you.

[39:02] Because he would have to un-God himself not to cleanse you. He would have to be unfaithful. He would have to deny himself, and he can't deny himself. He would have to be a liar.

[39:15] And there's no deceit in his mouth. He is so willing. And so he records these words. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I may give you rest if I'm in a good mood that day.

[39:27] No, it's I will give you rest. You come and I'll give. You come asking to be cleansed of your sin, and I'll cleanse you. Do you have that soul rest that he promises?

[39:41] To know that if this would be the day that I stood before God in judgment, I could stand up to that line without any fear. Because I know that Jesus has cleansed me of my sin.

[39:57] He's made me righteous, and I'm ready for that day. Do you have that kind of soul rest? If not, come to me, he says.

[40:08] Come on. I give it. I will. You will find me willing. He wouldn't invite you if he wasn't willing for you to come. So, my lost friend, I want you to be dead honest with yourself.

[40:29] If Jesus is willing to save you, then why are you not saved? Now think about that. If Jesus is able and is willing to save you, then why aren't you saved yet?

[40:47] Have you faced the real truth of the matter? The trouble is not with Jesus' willingness, but yours.

[40:59] He's willing. He's willing. He's willing to cleanse you of your sin, but you are not willing to be cleansed of your sin. You're not willing to have him. You're not willing to have him be the only one who gets all the credit for your cleansing.

[41:19] You're not willing to come as a helpless sinner and to throw yourself on his mercy like this leper did upon Jesus. You want something to brag about.

[41:29] I want to clean myself up a little bit here. You're unwilling to be cleansed by Jesus or you love your sins too much. You don't want to be cleansed from them. You don't want him gone.

[41:40] You like choosing your own way. You like being in control of your life. You don't want Jesus messing it up.

[41:52] Folks, we made a mess of our lives with sin. He's coming to fix it, not to mess it up. He's the only one that can cleanse us. The fact of the matter is if you're not a Christian, it's because you're unwilling to be one.

[42:07] So what should you do? Well, bring your unwilling heart to Jesus. And don't play games with him. Just tell him. Tell him, I am unwilling to have you cleanse me of my sin.

[42:21] And confess it as the wickedness that it is. And ask him to forgive you. Ask him to cleanse you and to make you willing.

[42:33] He is such a willing savior. He takes us right where we're at. He doesn't ask us to play games. Just as I am. That's how this man came.

[42:45] He came just as he was. Full of leprosy yet. He didn't clean himself up. He didn't go to the doctor and make sure that his wounds were fixed a bit up before he came to Jesus. He came wreaking wounds to Jesus.

[42:58] How do you come to Jesus? He wants you coming just as you are. Very honest. I'm unwilling to have you as my Lord and Savior. And that is my worst sin.

[43:10] Would you forgive me for such wickedness? He's willing. He's willing to take you as a sinner. As an unwilling sinner. And to make you his own. Don't wait till you're better.

[43:23] Or you'll never come at all. You can't make yourself better. That's why Jesus left heaven. He's come. To cleanse from sin.

[43:34] He is able. He is willing. Doubt no more. If you come to him today. He will say. To you. I am willing.

[43:47] Be clean. Be clean. Has sin defined your life up to now? Don't let it define your eternal destiny.

[43:59] Jesus is ready to save. Today. Let's pray. Father. Give us eyes.

[44:12] Give us ears. Give us a heart. To receive. The gospel again. And not to. Harden ourself against it. But to be melted under it. That the. The wonder.

[44:24] Of this love. That sent your son into the world. That believing on him. We should not perish. But have everlasting life. Give. Give us faith.

[44:34] To lay hold of that gospel again. And for sinners that have never laid hold of this Christ. We pray that. You would show them. Just what a wicked thing it is.

[44:46] To. Not be willing. To receive that precious son of yours. That you. You sent to the cross. To redeem sinners. And oh.

[44:57] Save them. Make them happy today. To know that their sins are forgiven. Give them that peace. That rest. In their soul. To know they're ready to meet you. And help us then to treasure.

[45:09] Our savior more. And to live for him. To. To have a new. Desire. To love him. To have a new priority. To seek first his kingdom.

[45:21] And his righteousness. And. To have a life reoriented around him. We ask these mercies then in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well we have a song that reminds us that Jesus is a willing and an able savior.

[45:37] It's number 393. Let's turn to that and stand and sing. If Jesus was standing here this morning.

[45:48] I would tell you. You come here and meet Jesus. And. And seek him for cleansing. But he's not physically here. He's with us in spirit. And how do you come to Jesus? You come to him by prayer.

[46:00] You speak to him by faith. You talk to him. So even as we sing. My friend. If you need this savior to cleanse you. Call on him. Ask him. And then tell someone.

[46:12] That the Lord. That you've called on the Lord Jesus to cleanse you. Let's stand and sing. 393. Come. You sinners. Come to Jesus. Helpless sinners that have been to Jesus.

[46:32] Did he do you good? Amen. Come. That's all you need to know. Is that you are a sinner. He is willing. He is able. Amen.

[46:42] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.