Sunday Night
Sunday Night - October 6, 2024
Here at the First Baptist Church of Algiers, and we're located at 9559, Florida Boulevard, here in Walker, Louisiana, but this is our Sunday night service. I'm glad to see y'all here with us. You that listen by the internet and the radio or other means, y'all stay with us for the next 45 minutes or an hour or so and ask the Lord to bless you. Let's turn in our red book to number 438, "Have Thy own way" verses 1 and 4. "Have Thy own way, Lord, Have Thy own way, Thou art the Father, I am the way. O we and make thee after Thy real, O I am waiting, here with and still. Have Thy own way, Lord, Have Thy own way, O Lord, I be, after the spring. We'll live with Thy spirit, Till all shall save, Why so many always, leave me in me." Amen, Amen, our Father, we thank you for this time, thank you for bringing us back here. This afternoon, thank you for all thy blessings through the day and Lord, we just ask that you meet with us here again one more time. Blessed brother Freddie as he stains, bless the words, bless each one that hears, may all of it be according to thy will, Lord, may it accomplish thy purpose. Help us, have mercy on us, bless our sick, Lord, the afflicted, those on the prayer list, are bereaved, Lord, you know, we just ask you for them all our lost loved ones, we bring them before you, ask you to have mercy on them, turn hearts, open hearts, awaken, Lord, save our people before it's eternally too late. God has keep us now and I ask all this in Christ's name, amen. Well, I do want to remind you, three weeks, two weeks that we say, till fellowship day, two weeks till we start our Sunday, Sunday, our weeknight services, so yeah, two weeks from tonight, not next Sunday, but the Sunday after that, we'll start the weeknight services Monday through Thursday, we'll have service each night, one of the brethren will be here, and then Friday night, the fish fry, and then Saturday, all day, Saturday, we'll get together, Saturday I believe to me is the best day of all of the fellowship time, but Saturday we'll have choir practice and prayer meeting and those things, it's always a gracious time, and then Sunday we'll have the services starting at seven o'clock, the voice of truth, and then ten o'clock the Bible school, eleven o'clock the worship hour, and then we'll have dinner in the back, everybody bring a pot with something in it as they say, something good to eat, and may the Lord bless it, y'all, y'all pray, begin to pray now, plead with the Lord that he'll bless us during that time, because it's a gracious time, I believe the Lord hears us, we come together in the Lord's name, and so we can expect the Lord to meet with us and to bless us, so I just want you to pray, may the Lord give me grace to pray more, and that he'll come and he'll meet with us, so let's look forward to that, to that end, that the Lord will save our people. So let's take our red book now, turn to number 422, I must tell Jesus verse one, two, and four, and then brother Freddy will come and bring the message. Jesus, come on my trials, I cannot bear these parents alone in my distress, he, and he will help me, he will hold him, cares for his own, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, Jesus can tell me, Jesus alone, I must tell Jesus, all of my troubles, he is a cry of passion and friend, if I could ask him, he will be here, may God my trials, he, and he, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, I cannot bear my burdens alone, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, Jesus can tell me, Jesus alone, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, I cannot bear my burdens alone, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, Jesus can tell me, Jesus alone. I think that is a wonderful song, it is a great day when we come to the place where we pour out our hearts to the Lord and tell him, tell him all about ourselves, all about our situations, our troubles, our trials, our sins, and the Lord brings us there, he is the one that brings us there, and I want to thank the Lord for being here tonight, and I am brother Freddie Murdoch here with you, and I really do not have a title for the message, so I thought about it, and I am going to entitle it, salvation is of the Lord, even though I won't quote that scripture during the service, but salvation is of the Lord, and before we get started, let's go to the throne of grace, our Father, I just look to thee tonight, pleading thy precious blood, and asking that you be with us tonight, that the Holy Spirit would take charge, and that he will have his way. Remember us Lord, in mercy, remember me, remember us as a people, our families, our children, our friends, we just come to thee, we want to tell it all into thee, for all alone are able to help us, bless us now, bless this time, may thy will be done for Christ's sake, amen. There in Genesis chapter 18, the Lord appeared unto Abraham, and the scripture then verse 17 says, "And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" There's a little simple statement there, and I was thinking, surely there's a lot of churches in this world, in our country, and many people find our ministry as so-called being harsh and hell-endamination preachers, but just as the Lord said to Abraham, shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do? How gracious the Lord has been to us since he saved past the L.R. Sheldon, the Lord has not hidden one thing from us, he's given us the whole truth, all the counsel of God, he has not let us shun the preacher, and the preaching of all the counsel of God is for the salvation of sinners. It was for my salvation, it was for my good, and I was just thinking, coming up as a child I always mentioned that I went to church, and I know the pastor said they never went to church, but I went to church, but I wasn't a religious person, the thing, there was a few things that I learned later on I found was error, but as a whole I didn't care. I didn't lay hold of anything, I have friends that come up with me that's still in that little church, deacons, and ushers and all of that, but I was just opposite, I could've cared less. First chance I got, I quit going, but then what happened, the Lord awakened me, awakened me to my lost condition and we're going to look at that. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2. Even new, we don't never preach anything new, the gospel is the same all the time. God's salvation doesn't change, and we're going to look, we're going to go down the line here in Ephesians, you know, last few days I didn't know what I was going to say and have a clue, and this the Lord brought to me. Ephesians chapter 2, and we'll begin with verse 1, and you had he quickened who were dead and trespasses and sinners. I appreciated the worship hour of the day, Brother Glenn's talking about how the Lord saved sinners, all sorts of sinners. That's why you could be saved, because we're not, I mean the pastor was talking in the kitchen other day, none of us just like those things he liked, I don't care for, things he liked to eat, I wouldn't touch, you know. Our personalities are different, a lot of our habits are completely different. And Pastor Shelton on that message about repentance, right at the end of that message, he got to talking about people getting all brought up because of what someone else, someone else's experience, plead with the Lord for grace just to look to him, Lord have mercy on me, Lord save me, Lord deliver me, Lord show me thyself, don't leave me where I'm at, you could pray that. You could pray that it's not like I got a little list of a little written out prayer for you, but you can pray and beg the Lord to deliver you. Now it says, and you had he quickened who were dead and trespasses and sins, and we always say that where quickened means made alive, and it does because I looked in the dictionary, it means to be made alive. You had he quickened, and he says you, he's talking to me. You, me, who lived in a semi-religious atmosphere that never moved me, he quickened me one day. It made alive or what we call awakened, awakened, brought out of a sleep of death, I cannot say that. You had he quickened who was dead and trespasses and sin, dead, no life, no feeling, no nothing towards sin. Sin was pleasing thing to me, didn't hurt me, didn't bother me, I could sin like nothing. No, I didn't rob people, I didn't murder anybody, I didn't, none of those things, and I told folks, I've never been to jail, no, never had any trouble with the law, that didn't keep me from being a senator, might not do it on the outside, but all those capabilities are in here. Dead and trespasses and sins, that's where I was, according to Colossians, look at Colossians chapter 2 and verse 13, it says, "And you being dead in your sins, an uncircumcision of your flesh, had he quickened together with him, having forgiven all your trespasses. At first, I was not forgiven, but I was troubled." You know, we don't like being troubled, do we? We don't like being disturbed, we love our sleep of death, I did. I did not, when I was first troubled about my soul, I didn't appreciate it, not at all. I do now, I do now, apart from being quickened, apart from being awakened, a person can never be saved, they can't, well how do you know that? Well over there in John chapter 3, third chapter of John, where Nicodemus came to the Lord by night, excuse me, listen to what it, what it says here. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, the same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, "Rabbi, we know that our teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him." Jesus answered and said unto him, "Verily, verily I sent the thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, except a man be born again." And I'm quite sure there's some people listening, maybe over internet radio or the sermon audio, that have been told all their life that all you have to do is accept Jesus, or give your heart to Jesus, or be baptized, or those type of things. I was baptized once, well I was baptized twice, once before I was saved in another after, but none of these things can save an individual, and that's not being born again. Nicodemus said unto him, "How can a man be born when he is old? When he entered a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, truly, truly I said unto you, except a man be born a water in of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, that which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit, marvel not that I sit unto thee, he must be born again." Now, here in Matthew here he said, "We are not to marvel at this statement being born again, for when we consider the holiness of God with whom we have to do, the great design of our redemption, the depravity of our nature, the constitution of the happiness said before us, we shall not think it's strange that such stress is laid upon this as the one needful thing that we must be born again. He who is the great law giver, whose will is a law, he who is the great mediator of the new covenant, and has full power to settle the terms of our reconciliation to God and happiness in him, he who is the great physician, physician of souls knows our case and what is necessary for our cure," he said, "we must be born again, but listen, the wind below it where it listed, and out here is the sound thereof, but can't not tell whence it cometh, and where do it goeth, so is everyone that is born of the Spirit to be born again, we must first see our need. I have to see my need. We have to see, first of all, that we are dead, we are dead in trespasses and sins. This is the work of the Holy Spirit to show us, and listen, John 521 says this, "We have to be awakened, for as the Lord Jesus speaking said, for as the Father raised it up the dead and quicken it them, even so the Son quicken it whom he will, quicken it how often do we hear those terms in modern preaching, being quickened or awakened, it's left out. It's left out how good the Lord has been to us to not to hide these things from us." He's hidden it from the wise and prudent and has revealed it unto babes, those that would come down and receive it, and to come down and receive it is the grace of God, gives us grace to do it, he does. Now, in Ephesians chapter 5, Ephesians 5, excuse me, and 521, it says this, "I'm sorry, I have to wrong," Ephesians 5, 14. He says, "Wherefore he said awake thou that sleep is and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." We have to be awakened, it's a must, it's a must because we're dead. We don't know we're dead until we quicken what an amazing thing went all of my early life dead and not knowing it, going to church, hearing sermons so-called, but dead. Dead when I came under this ministry, I was dead. I was dead until the Lord made me alive. And you're dead, you're dead until the Lord makes you alive. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. And you had he quicken who were dead in trespasses and sins. And in time past, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the heir, the spirit that now worked in the children of disobedience. Well, how can we walk and we're dead? Well, there in the beginning, there in Genesis, let me see if I can find it, in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 17, the Lord told Adam, he said, "But the tree of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest there a thou shalt surely die." He told him he would die, but we see Adam lived, but Adam died and all of us, his posterity died spiritually. We are live to the world because we love the world. I love the world, brother Glenn always brings out how he loved the world, everything in the world, all of his pleasures, everything about it, but dead to God. Before Adam's sin, he had communion with God. We don't know how long. They fellowshiped together, they walk together. Adam talked with the Lord. He had no fear of God at all. But when he sinned, he died. We were talking the other day, brother Tom heard a message by Pastor Sheldon, "I didn't get to hear it. I was working." He said, "When Adam sinned, everything in his world changed. That one sin changed the whole world, everything. There was no weeds, there were no fierce animals, the bees didn't stain, the snakes never bit anyone. But when Adam sinned, it all changed. His whole nature changed. He became afraid. He hid from God, him and Eve so would fig leaf aprons. They hid from God and they were dead. And so was I. I was dead. And there in Romans 5 and verse 12, it says, "Wherefore as by one man sinned in and into the world and death by sin." There are some people say, once they saved, they don't sin anymore, there's no more sin. But that's not true because we all still die. We die. We sin is here and we can tell just by nature. We start off as a little child, a little newborn baby. Then we grow up into a toddler and a child and then a teenager and a adult. And then once we've grown up, then we grow old. We grow old and then we die. That's sin. "Wherefore as by one man sinned in and into the world and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, physical and spiritual death." I was dead, dead and trespasses and sins, no thought of God. And I mentioned in Mobile last week, we hate God by nature, say, well, how can you tell? We don't want to have anything to do with God at all. We see that people don't want to come to church here, but people don't want to go to church anywhere. They don't want to have anything to do with God, children, just like I was when I got of age, didn't want to go to church anymore. Why? Didn't want to have anything to do with God. That was the natural hatred towards God. So by that one man sinned, by that one man sinned in and into the world and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. We have sinned. I have sinned, sinned against God, sinned against Him, and dead and unconcerned, uncaring, but God in His mercy, God in His mercy, sins the Holy Spirit, gave us what we call an awakening ministry to where souls can be saved. But listen, they will not be saved unless the truth is preached. It has to be God's Word. It has to be what He appoints us to preach. Now listen, they're in 2 Timothy chapter 4, for me it's verse to many. I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom, preach the Word. Preach the Word. There's a preacher on the internet, that man is so bold, he's fearless, he preaches with a lot of fervor, but he never preaches Christ, never, never preaches Christ, he's against these modern preachers, that's the gist of what he preaches, he quotes the Scriptures, he's sounding some sense, but he leaves out Christ the Savior's sinners. Listen, the Lord says, preach the Word, that is the whole Word of God, everything, and a man cannot preach it unless he's born again. He's got to be saved, he has to know Christ. Preach the Word, be instant, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering, Scripture says, and doctrine. God doctrine is right doctrine, God's teaching, doctrine is teachings, God's teachings, His Word, and listen for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Sound doctrine. The Lord has given us here, sound doctrine. Doctrine that puts man down, raises God up, and exalts Christ as the Savior of any poor sinner that would ever come to it. Any poor soul, no matter who they are, or where they're from, no matter what color they are, it doesn't matter what race, color, creed, nationality, country, it doesn't matter because that Christ came in the world to save sinners. First Timothy, first Timothy, chapter 1, just be patient with me. Listen to these words, and we've spoken a few weeks back on the law, knowing this that the law is not made for a righteous man. But for the lawless, disobedient, for the ungodly, and for sinners, for unholy, profane, for murderers of fathers, murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, men's stealers, liars, and perjured persons. And if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, and he says, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. This whole list here, you say well these people are completely left out, no they are not because of verse 15, this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. He came to save sinners. Listen to what Matthew Henry says. Christ Jesus came into the world through the prophecies concerning Him, and these prophecies are now fulfilled. He came to save sinners. I never knew that I was a sinner until I was awakened, never knew it. Do you know that you're a sinner? You may say, oh yeah I'm a sinner, you talk to people, oh yeah I'm a sinner. But do they know they are a sinner? Do they really know? Have they ever been quickened? Have their eyes been opened? Do they see that their sin is against God? Not just their outward sin, but the old sin nature. You know I think I see that old sin nature now more than I did before the Lord saved me. He came to save sinners. He came to listen to save those who could not save or help themselves. It's like that song, that just song. I must tell Jesus how helpless we see sinners guilty, wicked, helpless, and yet rebellious against God and can't save ourselves. I couldn't do it. Listen, blasphemers and persecutors are the chief of sinners so Paul reckons them. The chief of sinners may become by the grace of God the chief of saints. So this apostle, the apostle Paul was, for he was not a bit behind the very chief of sinners, but Christ came to save the chief of sinners. This is a very great truth. It's a fateful saying, that's what the scripture says. It is a fateful saying. But listen, you had he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Therein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the heir. John 844 says ye are of your father the devil and the lust of your father ye will deal. And once Adam sinned, we all became captives of Satan. And we do his bidding, I did, on every occasion without resistance. And therein Colossians chapter 3 verse 5 and 6, it says this, now it begins like this, notify therefore your members which are upon the earth, speaking to those that are saved, fornication, uncleanness, and ordinary affection, evil concubatence, covetousness, which is idolatry, for which thing, sake, the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, the wrath of God. Heaven of the devil, headed to that hell that was created for the devil and his angels because I am a child of the devil. I was a child of the devil. And Ephesians 5, 5 through 8, chapter 5, 5 through 8 says this, for ye were sometimes darkness, but now, ye light in the Lord, walk as children of light. I was in the dark, I was there, but I skipped some verses, please excuse me, for this ye know that no home hunger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolatry has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ. And no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. But not be, not ye therefore, partakers, with them, for ye were sometimes darkness, but now, ye light in the Lord, walk as children of light, darkness, blinded by the God of this world, living in darkness, dead in trespasses and sins, how was I to escape? How was I to be delivered? The Lord, through the preaching of the gospel, quickened me. He quickened me. He did it, I didn't do it. Was I any different from any other man? No, not at all. Romans 10, 12 says, "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him." My brother Glenn this morning said, "If you call upon the Lord for mercy, the Lord put it in you to call. A dead soul, like I was, will not call and would not call because I was dead. I could not hear, I couldn't see, I couldn't speak, I was dead." But when the Lord made me alive, listen, I saw that I was under condemnation. I heard of the judgment that I was under, and I felt my need of a Savior and began to cry on to the law of hell. That's what happened. And look at 2 Timothy chapter 2, 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 25 and 26. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God per adventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. And Pastor Shelton brought out in that message today, "Repentance is a gift and you could ask for it." Some things I didn't get to hear when the Lord was dealing with me, but I appreciate all of those things I hear now. If per adventure, God will give repentance to the acknowledging of the truth that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who was taken captive by him at his will. It's really something to find yourself in that condition. It seems very dark, but to see yourself a prisoner and a captive, that's the time when you desire to be set free, wanting to be delivered. And as I said, I was no different from anyone else because there in Titus chapter 3 and verse 3 it says, "We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers, lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another." I was there. And then 1 Peter 4.3 says, "For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked." Listen, let me go there, 1 Peter 4.3. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked in last civiousness, lust, excess of wine, revelings, banqueting and abominable idolatries. When a man is truly converted, it's very grievous to him to think how the time past of his life had been spent. Many have not done the grievous, excessive, sinful things, but neglectful, taken up with frivolous things and having no concern but of the masses listen. As I was, the hazards that I had run for so many years, the mischief that I had done to others, the dishonor that was done to God, the loss that I had sustained is very afflicting to me. While a will of man is unsanctified and corrupt, he walks continually in wicked ways. Wicked ways, you know self-righteousness is wicked. Those sin allowed draws on another. Here are six things named and they have a connection and dependence one upon another. First is less civiousness or wantonness which is expressed in looks, gestures and behaviors according to Romans 13-13, lust acts of lewdness such as hoardom and adultery, then excess of wine and in moderate use of wine to the detriment of health and business is here condemned. Levelings are luxurious feastings which are too frequent, too full and too expensive. Banqueting by which is meant gluttony or excessive eating, abominable idolatry, the idle worship of the Gentiles was attended with lewdness, drunkenness, gluttony and all sorts of brutality and cruelty. Such things, listen, such things bring the wrath of God and I was under the wrath of God. In the scripture says even as others, let's just look at it. Among whom also we all had our conversation in time passed in the lust of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath even as others; children of wrath even as others. How often you turn on the radio or the internet and hear any man and nowadays a woman mention the wrath of God? God is holy and has the shelter brought out today. You cannot know the love of God until you know the wrath of God. Like he said, it preaches to tell folks, I preach on the love text of the Bible, but we're going to look at the love of God here tonight in a few moments. I was by nature a child of wrath like every other man. No different according to the scriptures. There in Romans chapter 3, we hear it often. Beginning in verse 9 it says what then? Are we better than they? For a while there in my life I thought I was better than other people because of the things that I did not do. But when the Lord awakened me I saw that I was no different. Are we better than they know and know why? For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin. As it is written, there's none righteous, no not one. There's none that understand it. There's none that seek it after God. They are all going out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that do it good, no not one. Their throat is an open sufferer with their tongues. They have used the seed. The poison of Asp is under their lips whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their fetus with the shed blood, destruction and misery are in their ways. In the way of peace they have not known, there is no fear of God before their eyes. Now, a child of wrath even as others, verse 22 of that third chapter of Romans says for there is no difference. I was no different, none whatsoever. I abided under the wrath of God because I was a guilty sinner. I was a lost guilty sinner. I came to the place where I didn't know what to do. A lot of times, and I've mentioned it, at night, lying in the bed, everything's quiet, my wife's asleep, pleading with the law to have mercy on me. I realized the law didn't have to save me. I knew he didn't have it to do, and I heard the gospel preached. I heard the man of God and men of God being true to my soul, calling me to repentance that I couldn't produce. Let me, I should believe, knowing I couldn't do it on my own. But yet at the same time, feeling my responsibility, knowing that this is something I had to do, but I couldn't do it. And they're pleading with the law to have mercy on me because of his promises. Now, what is that? Listen. Listen, because of his promises, Romans 10, 12, and 13, for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord overall is rich unto all they call upon him, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Where could I go, who could I go to, how often messages were preached on the precious blood of Christ that was shared for the salvation of sinners and the Lord gave me grace to plead that blood and to call on his name. He did it for me, and listen, Ephesians 2, and let me read verse 3 and 4. Among whom also we all had our conversation in time passed in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath even as others, but God who is rich in mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins. Now, let me go back, but God who is rich in mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved me, even when I was dead in sins had quickened me together with Christ, by grace am I saved. It is Christ that died for sinners. The Lord was the one that quickened me, has the Lord quickened you? Is he dealing with your heart at all? Has he troubled you about your soul? Then plead with him. Then ask him not to leave you. I did it, it was by his grace I did it I begged the Lord, don't leave me, don't leave me where I'm at, and don't let me go back. Him when I was dead in sins had quickened me together with Christ, and had raised me up together, raised me up and made me to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. How so? Because Christ died. He gave himself a ransom for many, and I'm one of those many. He suffered there on the cross. He gave his back to the smiteers, and with his beard they plucked off the hair. This he did for sinners like you and I, now you listen I have this little thing here. Time goes by so fast. And like I said salvation is of the Lord. And let me read these other verses that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace. In his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, for by grace all ye save through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. Man had not the Lord let his man be true to the souls of his hearers, no soul would be saved. Had the Lord let us have error, falsehood, church plays, dances, banquets, all of those things, political rallies in our church. You know, all of those things that we would be men pleasers to make everyone happy in the flesh, no one would be saved, no one. And listen to this, right quick. This is one of the devotions from Spurgeon from this past week. On Leviticus 13, 13 I want to be quick. It says, "Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that had to plague." Are you a sinner within and without? Can you find yourself with nothing good to present to God at all? Listen, strange enough, Stays Spurgeon, this regulation appears, yet there was wisdom in it, for the growing out of the disease proved that the Constitution was sound. This evening it may be well for us to see the typical teaching of so singular a role. We too are lepers, and may read the law of the leper as applicable to ourselves, when a man sees himself to be altogether lost and ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin, no part free from pollution, when he disclaims all righteousness of his own, and pleads guilty before the Lord, then he is clean through the blood of Jesus and the grace of God, hidden, unfelt, unconfessed, iniquity is true leprosy. But when sin is seen and felt, it has received the death blow, and the Lord looks with eyes of mercy upon the soul afflicted with it. Nothing is more deadly than self-righteousness, or more hopeful than contrition. We must confess that we are nothing else but sin. For no confession shot of this will be the whole truth, and if the Holy Spirit be at work in us, convincing us of sin, there will be no difficulty about making such an acknowledgment. It will spring spontaneously from our lips. That comfort does the text afford to those that are under a sense of sin. Sin mourned and confessed, however black shall never shut a man out from the Lord Jesus Christ. Whosoever coming unto him he will in no wise cast out, though dishonest as a thief, though unchased as the woman taken in adultery, though fierce as Saul of Tarsus, though cruel as Monassah, though rebase as the prodigal, the great heart of love will look upon the man who feels himself to have no soundness in him, and will pronounce him clean when he trusts in Christ. Come to him then, poor sinner, come needy, come guilty, come loathsome, come bare, you can't come too filthy, just come as you are. May the Lord help us, salvation is of the Lord. How gracious he's been to us as a people, how gracious, how good, how loving he's been to me. May the Lord bless us. Our Father, we thank you for this time. We ask that you will be with us. I know I didn't say much of anything, but may thy will be done. Have mercy, Lord, have mercy, have mercy upon us. We plea thy precious blood. It's not the speaker, but it's all of thee. Bless us now for thy own namesake, amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]