Well, good morning. If you would open your Bibles with me to John chapter 13. As I said when we opened up the class, I'm glad for the healthy few that could be here this morning. I know we got a lot out sick, so remember them. And Gary just told me that Roger Shuff is pretty seriously ill. They don't know what's wrong with him, but they're doing a lot of tests. And so we got a lot of folks to hold up to in prayer. I want to remind our men about our men's lunch this Thursday at noon. And this evening, I was scheduled to preach at Todd's Road Grace Church, but there is a gas leak there. And so that service has been canceled. And because of that, we're delighted to have Dwayne and Kara Imes. Since they couldn't worship in Lexington, they came here today. I'm delighted to see old, old friends. Me and Dwayne go back about as far as you can go, Dwayne. And Kara's going to sing a special for us later. So we're thankful for that. All right. John chapter 13. Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil now having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God and went to God, he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that, he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, he that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. And you're clean, but not all, for he knew who should betray him, said he, you're not all clean. We'll end our reading there. Let's stand as Sean leads us in singing our call to worship. Hail ye followers of the Lamb, ye who love the Savior's name. Canaan's land we have in view, while we on our way pursue. March with joy this blessed road. Go with us, the way is good. Come, ye sinners, sick and sore. Jesus is the only door. Leave the world and seek the Lord. Read and listen to His word. Christ for sinners shed His blood. Go with us, the way is good. Come ye aged, come ye young. Every sinner learn this song. Doubting souls, dismiss your fears. Mourning souls, dry up your tears. Christ for sinners shed his blood. Go with us, the way is good. OK, if you would now turn in your hymnal to song number 257, "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus. 257. "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word, just to rest upon His promise, just to know thus saith the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him, how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus, O for grace to trust Him more. O how sweet to trust in Jesus, just to trust His cleansing blood. Just in simple faith to plunge me neath the healing, cleansing flood. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, O for grace to trust Him more. Yes, tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease, just from Jesus simply taking life and rest and joy and peace. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him, how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus, O for grace to trust Him more.

I'm so glad I learned to trust Thee. Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend, And I know that thou art with me, wilt be with me to the end.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him, how I've proved Him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus, O for grace to trust Him more.

Let's open our Bibles now to Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10. Pick up our reading in verse nine.

On the morrows they went on their journey and drew nine to the city. Peter went up unto the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. And he became very hungry and would have eaten, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and a certain vessel descending unto him as it had been a great sheet. Knit at the four corners and let down to the earth. Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice, and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision, which he had seen, should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate, and called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision, the spirit said unto him, behold, three men seek thee. Arise, therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius, and said, Behold, I am he whom ye see. What is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius, the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good rapport among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee. into his house, and to hear words of thee. Then called he them in and lodged them. And on the morrow, Peter went away with them, and a certain brother from Joppa accompanied him."

And we'll end our reading there.

Let's bow together in prayer. Our Father, we very carefully and reverently come into your presence this morning. So thankful that we can come confidently. Coming in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ that will be accepted because his obedience is the obedience of his people because his blood was shed to put away all of the sin of all of your elect and enables us to come before your throne of grace confident. Confident that you'll be merciful and gracious to your people because of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Father, Pray this morning that the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, would be lifted up and magnified and extolled. Father, enable us to glorify his name. Enable us to, by faith, see him as he is in his glory, in his sufficiency. See him lifted up as a sacrifice for our sin and cause us, Father, to run to him. to run to him to find everything that we need and everything that you require of us. Father, there's not human language to express our thanksgiving and our awe and wonder that you would send your darling son to do everything that it took to redeem such a sinful, vile people as we are. Father, we thank you and ask that you'd let us see your glory your redemptive glory in the person of your Lord Jesus, of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, what we pray for ourselves, we pray again for your people everywhere they're meeting together today. Father, bless your word as it goes forth. Cause it to go forth to accomplish your purpose of mercy and grace to your people. Father, we pray for those who are sick and can't be with us, those who are hurting in many different trials. difficulties father that you brought your people into. We pray that you would comfort their hearts with your presence to have comfort in knowing these things are not an accident, but they're sent by your eternal divine will and purpose for good and for your glory. Father, as soon as it could be, thy will deliver. We pray all these things that we ask and we give thanks to that name, which is above every name. In the name of Christ, our Savior. Amen. All right. Kara, come sing a special for us, if you would. If we could see beyond today what God can see. If all the clouds should roll away, the shadows flee, For present griefs we would not fret Each trial we would soon forget For many joys await us yet For you and me If we could see beyond today what God does know. How earthly joys must pass away and tears must flow. And how the darkness turns to light. Each trial now will soon turn bright. Someday life's wrongs will be made right. Faith tells us so. If we could see beyond today, we often say. But God in love a veil does throw across the way. We cannot see what lies before And so we cling to him the more He leads us till this life is o'er Trust and obey If we could see, if we could know, we often say But God in love a veil does throw across the way But God in love a veil does throw across the way. Thank you, Carol. That was so good. Well, isn't that the truth of all of our fears and worries? They all come from we're far too shortsighted, aren't we? Far too short-sighted. All right, if you would, open your Bibles with me again to Acts chapter 10. I titled the message this morning, What God Hath Cleansed. Now last week, we looked at the Lord preparing the hearer for the preacher. He was preparing the heart of Cornelius and his household to hear Peter preach. This week, the Lord's gonna prepare the heart of the preacher for the hearer. And Lord's gonna have to, we see why here, prepare Peter's heart to go preach. because the Lord is sending him to preach to the worst sinners Peter can imagine, Gentiles, Gentile dogs, Gentile sinners. So the first thing I wanna see here, it's a picture of God's people. Look here at verse nine. On a morrow as they went on their journey and drew nigh into the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. He became very hungry and would have eaten But while he made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven open, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet, and it hit the four corners, and let down to the earth. Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And we know from Peter's response to that, that all those animals who were in that sheet were unclean animals. Now this sheet coming down from heaven though, it represents, it's a picture of all the saints in glory. This sheet was filled with unclean animals. The law forbidden you to eat any of these animals. And there's quite a list and quite a criteria if you read the Old Testament law about what constitutes an animal being unclean and how you can't eat it. And every one of these animals were unclean animals.

Now, I'll tell you why that's a picture of God's saints in glory. Because at one time, the law called every believer unclean, didn't it? The law called every one of us guilty. We're unclean in Adam. We're unclean in our nature. We're unclean by what we do. We're unclean by what we don't do. We're unclean, and we are as unclean as you can get, because we've broken every commandment of God's law. To offend in one point is to be guilty of all. So we're all equally unclean and we are as unclean as you can get. And that's what the law says when it looks at us in our obedience. You're unclean.

But the blood of Christ says clean. The blood of Christ is righteous and innocent because I've taken away all of your sin. The law says condemn them. They've broken my commandment. Grace says, let them go free. They're clean. And I love how God saves sinners. God didn't change his law to allow sinners in and their sin. Instead, God actually cleansed his people from their sin so that they're fit to come into his presence. The Lord has made these animals clean. The law is over. You can eat and enjoy these animals now. That's what the Lord says in verse 13.

There came a voice to him, Peter, arise, Peter, kill and eat. And Peter said, oh, not so, Lord, for I've never eaten anything that's common or unclean. You know, the Lord told Peter, the lawgiver told him, Peter, eat. This is not a violation of the law anymore. And poor old Peter, just like we looked at in the lesson, he can't help himself, can he? Peter just can't help himself. He is so steeped in the Jewish religion, in the law, in the ceremonies, in touch not, taste not, handle not.

Peter is so steeped in this thought that if you're a Jew, you are inherently better than a Gentile. And you just look down your nose at those Gentiles. They're so much worse than you are. And you're God's people because you're a Jew because you're related to Abraham because of, you know, you keep the law because you, not by God's grace, but because you're related to Abraham. And so you look down on these Gentiles and Peter, he was so steeped in this, this prejudice that was in him was so steeped into him. He dared say, not so Lord.

But the Lord's commandment to him in verse 15, The voice spake unto him again the second time, what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice, and the vessel was received up again into heaven. The Lord told Peter, don't you call common or unclean what God hath cleansed. God has already cleansed them, and God has cleansed them because this is something only God can do. You and I cannot cleanse ourself of our sin. Only God has the power and the right to cleanse a filthy sinner from all of their sin and make them white as snow.

Now I'm interested in that, how about you? I'm interested in knowing how can I be washed from the filth of my sin?

We'll appreciate this a whole lot more, this being cleansed from sin. If we understand

Being a sinner, our sin is not just breaking the rules. It's like, sorry, maybe that rule wasn't all that important or whatever. I broke that rule. Sin is not just breaking the rules. It's filth. It's a disease. It's a sickness like leprosy that can't be healed. It can only be cleansed. And God says he's cleansed somebody. Just like he told his disciples, you're clean everywhere, but not all of you. But those ones that were cleansed, God cleansed them of their sin.

Now, like I say, I'm very interested in this. I'm a sinner that needs to be cleansed. So my question is this, how does God cleanse a filthy sinner?

Well, number one, it's by the blood of Christ. Look at 1 John 1. God cleanses his people by the blood of his son. 1 John 1, verse 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin.

Now believers are children of the light. They walk in the light. They walk in the light because God has called us out of our darkness into his marvelous light. He's called us into light to follow Christ, but trusting him. And if God's given you faith to walk in the light, he has already cleansed you from all of your sin.

The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. I mean our original sin in Adam. Our sins that we've committed, the sins that we've committed when we didn't do something, you know what the old timers call sins of omission, sins of commission, we've done them all. Sins of thought, sins of heart, sins of word, every kind of sin that you can think of, the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, washes it all away. The blood of Christ justifies God's elect. I know I've said this so many times because I wish I could go back in time and figure out who coined this phrase, just as if I'd never sinned. That's not justification. That's not, if God's cleansed you, that's not. When God cleanses his people, he justifies his people, takes away all their sin. It's gone under the blood of Christ. And it's the blood of Christ that washes a guilty sinner white as snow. Perfect. Even the all-seeing eye of God can't spot a slight defect. Perfect, cleansed from all sin, and that can only happen by the blood of God's Son. Blood of animals didn't do it all those years they offered those animal sacrifices under Old Testament law, did it? Our blood can't do it. It takes the blood of God. You know, we make much of the blood, don't we? We preach a bloody gospel. You can't preach the gospel without, at some point in the message, you gotta talk about the blood. It's the blood, it's the blood, it's the blood, it's the blood. And justice and mercy are both accomplished by the blood of Christ. When Christ died, he shed his blood to put away the sin of his people. When Christ died, he took all of the wrath, all of the punishment that his people deserve, and he died. Satisfied God's law. He suffered until he died. Now it's right for God to be merciful to his people. God cannot give you what you deserve if he gave Christ what you deserve. And the way the father knows he gave his son what you deserve, it's his blood. It's his blood that washed away your sin. Look here at verse eight in 1 John 1. Now if we say we have no sin, and that word means a sin nature, and it's not sins, it's sin, a sin nature. We say we don't have a sin nature, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God, if we confess our sins, now you know that doesn't mean we're gonna confess our sins to each other. One of the worst things I could think of to do is somebody come confess their sins to me. Don't do it. I got enough problem with my own sins. It's confessing our sin to God. It's confessing our sin nature. It's confessing our filthiness before God. It's confessing our need of Christ. And God's faithful. He's faithful to accept his people because of the blood. The blood has washed away your sins, so the father, there's no reason that he wouldn't accept you. He's faithful to accept and to cleanse everybody that's been put under the blood of Christ, and he's just when he does it. He's just when he does it. That's the thing I love about God's salvation. It's the thing that cannot make God change his mind, that can't make it be undone. This salvation is just. If the father punished Christ for your sin, He'll never punish you for them, because that would be unjust. So the father is just to accept his people, and it's because of the blood, because the blood of Christ has washed away all of our sin. You don't have to turn to this if you want, but Isaiah chapter one, listen to what the Lord says here to Isaiah. In Isaiah one, verse 18, come now. You know, the blood of Christ doesn't say stay away, does it? The law says stay out, don't come. This is what the blood says. Come now, you come. Let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be like wool. That's being washed in the blood of Christ. And you can't call anybody that's been washed in the blood of Christ unclean, can you? Can't be done. If they're washed in the blood of Christ, they're clean, white as snow. So we're cleansed by the blood. Second, look at Mark chapter one. A sinner is cleansed from all of our sin by the will of God. Mark chapter one, verse 40. And there came a leopard to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, if thou wilt, if you will, it's not a question of your power or your might, that's not the question, if you will, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion. Isn't that a precious statement to hear of our Savior being moved with compassion, bowels of compassion for a needy sinner, put forth his hand and touched him, and saith unto him, I will, be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately, the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. All it took for the Savior to heal this, cleanse this leper. You know, we don't talk about leprosy as a healing, it's a cleansing. It's a cleansing is what they called it. All it took for this leper to be cleansed of this horrible, horrible disease. is for the Savior to say, I will. That's my will that you be clean. And immediately he was clean. Immediately there wasn't a spot of leprosy anywhere on his body. And from what we read of this account in the other gospels, this man was full of leprosy. When he came to the Lord, there wasn't a healthy spot of skin to be found anywhere on his body. Leprosy had completely covered his whole body. Probably already started to rot off the ends of his fingers and toes and his nose and his ears. I mean, this man was an ugly, ugly sight. And that's nothing compared to how ugly we are before God in our sin. And all it took for that man to be made clean was the Savior to say, I will, I will. That's sovereign grace, isn't it? So I will, I will. And God has willed that his people be cleansed from all of their sin. Now before God created anything, he said, this is my will. My will is to save a people out of Adam's fallen race, to save them by the obedience of my son, to wash them from their sin and the blood of the sacrifice of my son. to send the gospel of my son to them so that they believe on my son. That's my will. Now this is why I'm here to tell you, then they will. They will be cleansed. They will. There is absolutely no doubt about it. David said, whatsoever the Lord pleased, whatever it is that the Lord's pleased to do, that's exactly what he's done. In heaven and earth and the seas and all deep places, the Father has willed to save a people from their sin, to cleanse them. And the son came and accomplished it. He did what the father willed him to do. Father, I've done everything that you gave me to do. And now I come to thee. Now I come to thee. Because he accomplished the cleansing of his people. And this thing of sovereign grace, I told you before how I kind of look around on Facebook, see if I can maybe find somebody preaching the gospel we don't know anything about, you know. And you'd be surprised how many places have in their name Sovereign Grace, or there's a little way you can identify yourself as a Sovereign Grace type of assembly. And, you know, I look at them and I mean, do you really believe this thing's sovereign? This is important. Sovereign. If God is sovereign, and this book says he is, don't you call anybody that he willed to clean common or unclean. Don't you be treating him as a scum of the earth. Don't you be treating him as somebody that's so much lower than you because God's willed that they be clean. And brother, they are. They're clean. Then third, look at Ezekiel chapter 36. God cleanses his people from their sin by the new birth. Ezekiel 36 verse 24. For I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you and you should be clean. From all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you. and a new spirit while I put within you and I'll take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you and heart of flesh and I'll put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues and you should keep my judgments and do them. Now the new birth, when we talk about the new birth, what the new birth is is when the blood of Christ is applied to our hearts. You know, the blood must be shed. Christ had to shed his blood on Calvary Street. The sacrifice must die. The blood of the sacrifice must be shed. But there's no salvation apart from the blood being applied. The blood must be applied to our hearts. Let me show you that if you wanna hold your finger there and turn to Psalm 51. Psalm 51. Verse seven, David writes, purge me with hyssop. Now, what does that mean, purge me with hyssop? Well, hyssop is always used in the Old Testament to dip in the blood, the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkle folks with it or apply it to the doors on the night of the Passover or whatever. Hyssop is used to apply the blood. Purge me with hyssop, with the blood of the sacrifice, apply your blood to me and I shall be clean. and I shall be whiter than snow. Verse 10, he says, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Well, that's the same thing Ezekiel's saying over here. And that happens when God purges us with his, when he applies the blood of his son to our hearts and causes us to be born again. And he gives us a clean heart, a clean heart. That's the new heart that God, the Holy Spirit, births in all of his people. And that new man, who's been born of God is clean. He's clean, he's holy, he's righteous, and he cannot sin. And I don't know why people wanna argue about that. That takes away my hope of salvation, if you take that away. Of course that new man cannot sin. Of course he's clean and holy and righteous. He's been birthed by God the Holy Spirit. So he has to be holy. His nature has to be holy, The seed that produced him is holy. God says here, I'm gonna put my spirit in you. I'll put my spirit in you. Now that has to be clean. God's spirit is clean and sinless. And if God's put his spirit in you, you're clean. Now here's the part that confuses the unregenerate man who only has one nature. That new man, born of God, he is clean. He's righteous. He cannot sin. He trusts Christ and he will never stop loving Christ. He'll never stop trusting Christ. He'll never follow another savior. He'll never follow another gospel. He trusts Christ. Even though the old man every day tries to get him to trust in his own works, he will not do it. He will not do it because that's his nature. That's his nature. The believer is forced to live the rest of our days on this earth with two natures. I don't want that to sound like I'm not thankful to be born again. I'm thankful. It's only the new man that can trust Christ. It's only the new man that can see the sin of the old man and run to Christ for forgiveness. I'm thankful for that new birth. It's the only way we can know God. It's the only way we can trust Christ But boy, it does make the believer the happiest, most miserable person on the face of the earth, doesn't it? To live your life in this civil war all the time, this battle between the old man and the new man. And because we still have that old man, just because we say, well, we have a nature that cannot sin, that does not mean that in our wildest imagination, we think we can do something holy or sinless. If anybody thinks that, something's wrong with them. I mean, something's wrong with somebody that thinks that. Everything we do in this sinful body is sin. It's contaminated with sin. But that new man is still there, even though everything I see about myself is sin. I can't look inside myself and say, oh, that's the new man. Oh, that's righteous. I don't see any of that in me, none whatsoever. But I do know there's a new man there. Even though I can't say, oh, what I just did there is righteous. I can never say that, because everything I do is sinful. I do know the new man's there. How do I know that? I trust Christ. I trust Christ. I can't stop. I love it. I've told you this so many times. I love what Brother Fortner said one time. Somebody asked him, do you ever not believe? I mean, you know, it seems like here's this preacher, and he's strong, and just, you know. Do you ever not believe? Don said, oh, every day. I try to every day, but God won't let me. That's the life of a believer, isn't it? There's nothing good of me, nothing good of me at all. But by God's grace, there's something good in me. It's that nature, that new nature that God caused to be born in me in the new birth. And that man, that new man is clean. God created him clean after his image. Now look at Ephesians chapter five. Here's the fourth thing. God cleanses his people by the water and the word. Ephesians five verse 25. Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. Now that's the people that God has created. They are holy without blemish. They don't have a spot or wrinkle or any such thing. They're cleansed, Paul says, by the washing of water, by the word. And the word there means the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate word. And this is referring to our Lord's side, his wounded side, where that Roman soldier, in just cruelty and hatred toward God, plunged that spear into the side of the Savior. And John said, I was an eyewitness of this. I saw this. Out of his side flowed blood and water, flowed blood to justify, blood to pay for sin, blood to atone for sin, and water to sanctify. water to wash me white as snow, so that I cannot sin again. And both of them happen at the same time. I dealt a lot with this Wednesday night about justification and sanctification. They're two sides of the same coin. They happen at the very same time. It's because of the sacrifice of Christ. Now, based on what this says right here, whoever Christ died for, they are completely cleansed, aren't they? Completely cleansed of all they only have a wrinkle not a spot. There's nothing they are completely cleansed Their sins gone and they've been given in nature that cannot sin Now you cannot call anyone For whom Christ died he shed that blood and that water you cannot call them Unclean you can't call them common. They have to be clean They have to be saved from all of their sin, and I know every last one of them And you know how I know for sure every last one of them is washed. They're spotless, they're pure, and they cannot sin. Here's how I know that. The blood of Christ is not wasted. The blood of God's Son is not wasted. Whoever it is he shed his blood for, they're justified. They're sanctified. They're washed. I said this in the opening, and I think it bears repeating. God's salvation is just every way you look at it, every facet of it that you look at it is so glorious and so wonderful. When God saves his people, he doesn't change the law and lower the standards of the law so that we can get in there. I took a class in college, it was a nightmare stats class. I mean, it was a nightmare. And I was taking it towards, I think, maybe my senior year. And the professor kept saying, I don't grade on a curve. I don't grade on a curve. I don't know anybody that had higher than a D in that class. Not one student had higher than a D in that class. And I was failing it, and failing it bad. And I thought, uh-oh. I'm going to have to go another semester and retake this class. And I was just, I mean, I knew I bombed the final. It was so horrible. Oh, just dread. So I just get this over with. And I went to my dad and told him, dad, I'm going to have to go another semester. I mean, I just, I failed this thing so bad. I only have a 50 average, 50% average. And you know, they, I don't know how they do it now. Then they mailed you a piece of paper with your grades on it. And I opened it up and just bracing for the worst. And I got a B+. That turkey graded on the curve, but told us all the time he wasn't going to do it. And I was glad not to have to stay in college longer. I mean, my advice to you is get out of college as fast as you can. But I couldn't feel real good about it. I mean, I didn't feel like, oh, I got a B+. I didn't feel like some stats whiz. He lowered the standard. So a failure can come through and get a good grade.

He lowered the standard. God does not lower the standard. He keeps the standard as perfection. God can't change his law. He can't change his standard because God doesn't change. So you know what he does? He changes his people. He changes his people by cleansing them from all of their sins. by causing them to be born again as a brand new man, a brand new woman that God can accept because that new man is holy.

God changes his people and just, I think it was Wednesday night we talked about this. I know that change is not perfect. Nobody's looking for perfect people and perfect believers. You gotta act just right all the time. Nobody's looking for that because that's just a veneer that just gives people false hope. I know it's not perfect, we're not perfect ever, but we're changed. If God cleanses you, you're a changed person, because there's a new sheriff in town.

And to prove my point here, look back in our text, to prove my point that believers are still sinners, sinners still, we've got this holy righteous man we trust and believe Christ, but by golly, we're sinners still. Verse 14, but Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I've never eaten anything that's common or unclean. Oh, don't we just shake our head at Peter a lot of the time? We just shake our head anyway. Not so, Lord. And be careful. Every single time you and I murmur, against the will of God, against the providence of our lives, against the things we find fault with that we don't like in our lives. Every time we do that, you know what we're doing? We're saying, not so, Lord. Oh, there's a better way to do this. Not so, Lord. That's what Peter said, isn't it? We need forgiveness every second of every day. We need cleansing every second of every day And we have it in the blood of Christ, in the blood of Christ, in the will of God for his people, in the new birth for his people, being washed in the water and the blood, we have that forgiveness every day.

So verse 17, Peter finally figured out what the Lord was teaching him here. Now, while Peter doubted himself, what this vision, which he had seen should mean, behold the men which were sent from Cornelius, and made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate, and called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on this vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore and get thee down and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them. Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius, and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek. What is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius, the centurion, the just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nations of the Jews, was worn from God by a holy angel, to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.

Now, before this vision, before the Lord used this vision to teach Peter, don't you call something common and unclean that I've cleansed, don't you do it. Do you think Peter would have gone preach to these Gentiles? See, it was the Lord preparing his heart to do it. And as soon as Peter heard it, he said, you boys spend the night here in the morning. We're headed out. We're going to go to Cornelius's house because the Lord had prepared his heart to go preach to those Gentiles over there. And in closing, let me give you this. Look at second Kings chapter chapter five. If we're gonna be cleansed by God, I know this, we're gonna have to come off of our high horse. We're gonna have to come off our high horse and admit I can't cleanse myself. I'm gonna have to come down off my high horse and admit the filth of my sin, the filth of my nature, the depth of my rebellion against God. I'm gonna have to come down off my high horse and I'm gonna have to be saved God's way in Christ without me adding one word to it. If I'm gonna be cleansed, that's where God's gotta bring me. And we have that in picture here in the famous story of Naaman, the Syrian. Let's pick up in 2 Kings 5 verse 9. This is after Naaman had come to the king and the king said, I can't cleanse you, what are you coming to me for? So Naaman came with his horses and his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him. saying, go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and he went away and said, behold, I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call the name of the Lord his God and strike his hand over the place and recover the leper. I thought he'd come and do this great big religious ceremony, make me feel so special. And he sent me to Jordan, that muddy river Jordan. Are not Abana and Farfar rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean? Can I go wash in that clean water? Why do I gotta go wash in that dirty water? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and spake unto him and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee wash, and be clean. He didn't give you something hard to do, something easy, something easy. Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan. Now in order for old Naaman to do that, he had to strip naked. That's what brother Marvin Stoniker says, it's not naked, it's naked. He had to strip naked. He had to reveal in front of all of his entourage, all of his men, all of his soldiers, all of his bodyguards, the depth of his disease. He had to expose that disease in front of them. But he dipped himself seven times in that muddy river, just like the prophet told him to. And his flesh came again like into a flesh of a little child, and he was clean. I won't make a lot of comment on that except to say this. The gospel is so simple. The gospel is so easy. God didn't tell you to do some hard thing, go keep the law, do something you can't do. He said, come to Christ. Come to Christ. Trust Him. Cast your soul and beg Him for mercy. Can you think of something easier to do than that? Just trust Christ, because He's promised He hath cleansed all of His people from all of their sin, and not one of them can be called common or unclean. All right, Lord bless you. Let's bow together. Our Father, we thank you for your word. And Father, I pray that you would be pleased in your power, your might, your mercy, your grace, that you might cleanse each one of us here this morning. Oh, how we need cleansing from our sin. How desperately we need to be washed in the blood of Christ. Father, cleanse us for your glory, for your sake. Surely, if you would cleanse the worst of sinners, such as we are, you get all the glory and all the praise and all the honor for it. Father, it's in Christ's name, for his sake and his glory, we pray, amen. All right, Sean. Okay, if you would turn in your hymnal to song number 449 and stand as we sing to God be the glory. 449. To God be the glory, great things He hath done. So loved He the world that He gave us His Son. who yielded his life and atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate that all may go in. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done. O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer the promise of God. The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done. Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done, and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son. But purer and higher and greater will be Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done.