Well, as always, it is a great
joy and a privilege to be here with you. I appreciate this church. I appreciate your pastor. I love
him. He has been, as I've said before
and I'll say it again, he's been my friend and for that I'm thankful. I appreciate the faithfulness and it's good to be with all
of you. with you, Brother Jim. I saw him a moment ago. There
he is. It's just good to be with you. Leviticus chapter 14. I'd like for us to look at this
passage of Scripture that Brother Sammy read and look into it and
behold, the marvelous grace of Almighty
God in the cleansing of a leper. There is, I believe, no greater
peace that is considered by one made to truthfully see that he
is guilty before the Lord Himself and that that guilt, that sin,
justly separates him from God Almighty than to behold the truth
that is set forth in Scripture, that there is cleansing by the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the daily washing of those
that the Lord has called out of spiritual darkness, regenerated
by His Spirit, that there is pardoned washing. It is by the Word this morning
as we are assembled. I pray, Lord, teach me of that
washing. Wash me. In the 13th chapter, I don't
want you to turn just yet, but let me just tell you something
about the 13th chapter of the book of Leviticus. If you have
the time, and I would encourage you to take it, go back and read
the 13th chapter of the book of Leviticus, and I want you
just to consider while you're reading that passage of Scripture,
the keenness of the priest's perception to be able to look. When you read that 13th chapter,
it goes through and it starts to describe the blemishes that
you find in the people. And whether or not, as you'd
read through that chapter, you'd see if there be a blemish, it
may appear as though that it was a freckle. It may appear
as though that it was just a swelling, just a little puffiness in the
skin, or maybe in the forehead, the hand. It may be, as the Scripture
sets forth, it may just be a darkish, whitish blemish, or just maybe
a little sinking in the skin. be something that just appeared
as though that it was nothing. But only the priest was the one
that had the wisdom to be able to look at a blemish in a person. And after setting them apart
for seven days, the priest would come back and look and he would
see and he'd know by the revelation of the Lord himself, whether
or not that was truly the beginning of leprosy. If it was leprosy,
that person was banished, was put out of the camp and they
were an outcast. That priest could look and he
could detect whether or not that blemish was just a freckle. just a scab, just a scaly skin,
or whether or not truly it was leprosy. And if it was leprosy,
that person was separated. Was it truly the beginning of
soul-damning spiritual leprosy when Peter denied the Lord on
the the night or two before the Lord's crucifixion, was that
leprosy or was that, say, a blemish of the presence of sin that was
atoned for by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ when Simon
Magus outwardly made a profession that he believed. I'm a believer,
Brother Paul. I believe that. You know, was
he? Did he? Or was it actually spiritual
leprosy that in time would be manifest? What was it when Peter
was sitting with a group and Paul the Apostle came in and
Peter got up and went over and sat with some other Jews? Was
that just a freckle? Was it? Time would tell whether
or not. And in the 13th chapter, we find
where the priest had the perception to see whether or not the seed
is sown in the ground, whether or not eventually the thorny
ground would manifest itself in the cares of this world. What
was it really? Well, in the 14th chapter, we
began to see here what was actually found as far as the cleansing
of a leper. There was no medicinal cure for
leprosy, only by the sacrifice of blood and by the pronouncement
of cleanness by the priest did a leper have any hope. If there was found in a leper
If there was a spot, he just had some leprosy in his hand.
That's the only place it was. He just had a little spot in
his head. That was the only place it was. Maybe in his hair. It
wasn't real perceptive. But if the priest perceived that
there was leprosy found, any part, he's a leper. The only time that a leper had
any hope whatsoever was found back in Leviticus. Now look back
in Leviticus chapter 13. Leviticus 13, look at verses
12 and 13. It says, If a leprosy break out
abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that
hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever
the priest looketh, then the priest shall consider, and behold,
if the leprosy have covered all of his flesh, he shall pronounce
him clean that hath the plague. It is all turned white. He is
clean." Now, here's what's being set forth there. You let a man
or a woman consider themselves, well, you know, I realize that
I've got a few problems. I'm not totally bad. I've just got a little leprosy,
you know, in my ear. And I've got a little bit on
my hand and there's a little bit on my foot, but that's the
only problems that I've got. That person's unclean. But you
let one be found, covered from the top of his head to the bottom
of his feet, from the sole of the feet to the crown of the
head, putrefying sores, not bound, not mollified, he's unclean Totally,
that person is a recipient of the mercy of God. God has revealed
to him what he is by nature. Totally unclean. Those who were
found to be lepers. When Paul said in the seventh
chapter of Romans, he says, I am altogether unclean. Altogether. In my flesh there dwells no good
thing. Isaiah, that's describing himself. Whenever you find those scriptures
where it talks about total uncleanness, altogether unlovely, those are
the recipients of mercy. That's where you find hope. Those
who were altogether unclean. But Paul said, Oh, wretched man
that I am. That's the speech of a believer.
You never find an unbeliever talking like that. A person comes
up and they'll say, you know, well, you know, we go to church. We do church whenever we can.
We try to do it as often as we can. Try to get the kids. You
know, I'm not altogether unlovely. Not really. I might have a little
blemish here, blemish there. I'm not perfect. I understand
that. That person's unclean. Altogether. Now, in the passage,
this morning, we deal with what the Scripture sets forth as the
cleansing of a leper. I'd like to look in these passages
of Scripture, this passage that was read, these verses, what
does the Scripture set forth? What is the hope for one found
by the grace of God to be a leper? I'm talking about truly a leper. Let's look first of all at the
source. of that leper's cleansing. It
was the Lord Himself who revealed the cleansing of one found to
be a leper. That's where it starts off. Verse
1, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, This shall be the law
of the leper in the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought
unto the priest. But God's grace and mercy is
found in the cleansing of a leper. Nothing whatsoever is recorded
in all of Scripture that a leper ever did to instigate, to promote,
or to provide for his own cleansing. The Lord said, I will be gracious
unto him whom I will be gracious. I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion." God Almighty shows mercy, grace,
and compassion to all that He has chosen to show mercy to. The leper was found in the place
of separation from the assembly of God, totally unable to cleanse
himself, excluded from all fellowship of the Lord, shut up to God's
mercy, God's compassion, a debtor to grace for everything. If he
has any hope at all, God's going to have to show mercy to him.
God's going to have to show compassion to him. Hence, it's said in the
second and third verses, the one we just read, this is the
law. He shall be brought unto the priest, and the priest shall
go forth out of the camp, and the priest shall look, and behold,
if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper, then shall the
priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds
alive, and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. He shall
be brought if a man or a woman ever comes to Christ, they are
brought by the Spirit of God. The sheep shall hear His voice. Come unto Me. How does a man
come to Christ? The Spirit of God brings him.
He brings him. They shall be brought. This is
the way that a man comes, effectually, not by his own decision, not
by his own will. that is more repulsive to a believer
than to hear someone speak of man's ability or man's choice
or man's choice to do whatever he wants to do when he wants
to do it. You think, that's not the way my Lord has revealed
Himself to me. This is the way that the leper
comes to the priest. The priest goes out of the camp.
The priest goes to him. What is the camp here? Well,
you know that in the setting forth of the sacrifices, the
Lord set apart the Levitical priesthood. It was the Levites. Only the Levites, Brother Paul,
could offer the sacrifices. Whenever our Lord was set forth
as the substitute. He was taken outside of Jerusalem. Now, you go back and you look
in all of the sacrifices that were made. There was a burnt
offering for the gym. There was a peace offering, trespass
offering, meat offering, sin offering. And when that sin offering
was offered, the sin offering was brought outside the camp. outside the camp. Why? What was
the significance of that sacrifice being offered outside of the
camp? Here is the picture. Whenever
the Levitical priesthood would offer the sacrifices, they were
all within the camp. The Levites, the law, setting
forth in the types, but when the Lord Jesus Christ who was
not of the tribe of Levi, he was of the tribe of Judah, outside
the camp. Grace, truth, mercy came by Christ. And this priest right here came
out of the camp to a leper. The law condemned this man. He
is a leper. He is undone. He has no hope. and Christ Himself, our High
Priest, came to him. The priest shall come, go forth
out of the camp, and the priest shall look, and behold, if the
plague of leprosy be healed in that leper, the priest who came
to him had to come and see that leper the way that Almighty God
saw him, in mercy. The priest must accomplish everything. The priest had to come. The priest
had to look. The priest had to pronounce.
In a moment, the priest has to sprinkle the blood. We'll get
to that in just a moment. Here we see the Lord Jesus Christ
coming to the place of the leper. Coming to the one in need. Never do you find the one in
need instigating coming to Christ. Never. And the priest, the Scripture
says, shall look. Oh, what a blessed thought that
the Lord would look upon one and see in that one right there. See him in mercy. See him in
compassion. Turn with me to John 1. John 1, verse 47 and 48. The Gospel according to John. Verse 47 and 48. It says the
priest came and saw. The Scripture says in John 1,
47 and 48, Jesus saw Nathanael. I think this is just so... I
mean, I just read these words and I think, oh, how thankful
I am that the Scripture wrote them just exactly like this. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to
him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom
is no guile. Nathanael saith unto him, Whence
knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto
him, Before that Philip called thee when thou wast under the
fig tree, I saw thee." The Lord saw Nathanael coming. Nathanael wasn't coming. Nathanael, he
said to him, when did you see me? What are you talking about?
The Lord saw him. How did Nathanael? How was Nathanael
coming to the Lord Jesus Christ? The Lord was drawing him. The
Lord saw him. He saw him coming. The Lord saw
all that he's ever loved. He saw him coming. Can you imagine,
Brother Paul? He saw you coming. You're just
like me. Lost in rebellion. He saw you. He saw you. In that everlasting
covenant, he saw Paul Mahan coming. In the fall, in Adam, he saw
Jim Byrd coming. He saw him. In regeneration, oh, a justification before him
in that eternal purpose when the Lord Jesus Christ laid down
his life when the Spirit of God revealed Christ to him. He saw Him coming. And he looked
at Nathanael and said, look, an Israelite in whom is no guile. Me? Are you talking to me? This priest back in Leviticus
would come. He came out of the camp and he
went forth and the priest looked Behold, if the plague of leprosy
be healed in that leper... Now, I understand that there
are instances, and I'm not here to set forth or try to explain
the fullness. All I know is that there's instances
recorded in Scripture when it speaks of the Lord healing lepers,
when He was on this earth. And I'm convinced that that's
what He did. He just cleansed them. I don't
doubt that one second, but there was no medical cure in the book
of Leviticus. There was no cure for leprosy.
There was no medicine that you could take. It was medically
incurable. But the Scripture says that if
the priest would go forth and he looked, and behold, if the
plague of leprosy be healed in the leper. And I'll tell you
what this is talking about right here. If the priest came and
saw the leper totally covered in leprosy, the leper didn't
even see that in himself. There was no time, no place,
no ability in the leper to see himself whether or not he was
totally consumed in leprosy. Only the priest saw it. Only
the priest could look and see If that leper, from the sole
of his foot to the crown of his head, on his forehead, on his
back, he couldn't see, only the priest could tell. And if that
priest saw that leper, the priest pronounced him clean. It was
when the Lord reveals to us that we are totally lepers. God Almighty has shown mercy.
There is not a believer in this room today that has come this
morning in himself with any ability whatsoever to look upon himself
as being clean before God. Well, this is what I have done. or beggars at the mercy and grace
of Almighty God. The source of cleansing was the
mercy and grace of God. The priest looked, he saw. Secondly,
the means of his cleansing. If that priest came, that leper
didn't beckon him, the priest came when it pleased God. And Almighty God was merciful. That priest came forth, came
out of the camp, came to where the leper was, and the priest
looked. And if there was a spot here and a spot there and a spot
here, that wasn't the one that the priest came for. He was coming
for that one that was oozing, stinking, altogether unlovely. That one that no one would have
anything to, even the lepers that had the little spot didn't
want to deal with him. He was totally unclean. Stay away from that one. That's
the one he came to do. That's the one that priest would
look and he'd say, clean. You're clean. There's that Israelite
in whom was no guile at all. The Scripture says, when that
priest came and he looked, and if the plague of leprosy be healed. That's amazing to me. Healed. There was that leper totally
eaten up. Just completely. And the Lord
said he's healed. Boy, how our thoughts are not
His thoughts. We look at ourselves and we say,
you know, those that are It's pretty good. You know, they're
the ones that are really... He said that one that's totally
covered. The Scripture says, "...then
the priest shall command to take for him that is to be cleansed
two birds alive and clean, Cedarwood, Scarlet, Hyssop. I know this,
without the shedding of blood there is no remission. of sin. Here, the Scripture sets
forth, there is going to have to be a sacrifice. The source
of the cleansing is the mercy of Almighty God. The means of
a leper's cleansing is the shedding of the blood of Christ. He must
pay our debt. God Almighty is a just God. The
Scripture says that these two birds, now I want you to look
at the wording of Scripture. The priest shall command to take
for him. Christ died for the sheep. For that one that was found by
the priest to be totally consumed in leprosy, take for him that
is to be cleansed. Two birds, alive and clean. Now, these two birds set forth
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, both of them, both of
them. They're clean, that is, pure,
and they're alive. Christ is life. I'm the way,
I'm the truth, I'm the life. These are live birds, pictures
of Christ himself, clean birds, pure birds. Now, one of the birds
was to be killed, the Scripture says, in an earthen vessel over
running water. That's what verse 5 says. The
priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an
earthen vessel. When our Lord came into this
earth, came to this world, a body was prepared for Him. He came. He took upon Himself the form
of sinful flesh. He was without sin. He was a
man. Earthen vessel. He breathed,
he felt, he wept, he hungered, he thirsted, earthen vessel. One of these birds was to be
killed in an earthen vessel over running water, that is, water
that is fresh and alive, not stagnant water. The bird that
was to be killed was a picture of our Lord in His manhood, a
man crucified. But the priest shall take for
that leper, that particular leper, this bird, and slay that bird,
and that blood was to fall into some water, clean water. The blood of that clean bird
mixed with that live water, running water, And here we see the type
of the living waters that flow from the belly of the heart of
him that believe on Christ. This Word, the water of the Word
is alive. You know what gives it life?
The blood of Christ. His blood. You take that blood
of that bird in an earthen vessel and you kill it. And it went
into that water. That living water of the Word
died red with the blood of the precious Lord Jesus Christ. This is the message that we preach.
This is the water of the Word. It's Christ and Him crucified. That's the message. Set forth. And then the Scripture says,
as for the living bird, verse 6, he shall take it and the cedar
wood and the scarlet, the hyssop, he shall dip them and the living
bird and the blood of the bird that was killed over the running
water. Now that other bird, it was alive. Clean bird. They would take that
living bird, that other bird, with that cedar wood, that's
a piece of wood, it was a handle is what it was, so you'll understand
what he did. He took that handle, and the
Scripture says he took the scarlet, which Hebrews 9.19 sets forth,
Scarlet. That cedar set forth the undecaying,
the preciousness, the everlastingness of our Lord and Savior. That
scarlet wool was a picture of the Lamb slain, the Lamb of Almighty
God. And that hyssop, a fragrant bush,
is what it was, a picture of Christ, our burnt offering. Now, I want to show you a Scripture.
Turn with me to 1 Kings 4. 1 Kings 4. I'd like to read verses
29 33, and I believe that this Scripture
sets forth and gives great instruction on the Scripture that we're looking
at. This is how Scripture, let Scripture teach Scripture. We
learn. 1 Kings 4, verse 29, it says,
And God gave Solomon wisdom, understanding, exceeding much,
and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled
the wisdom of all the children of the east country, of all the
wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men,
than Ethan, the Ezraite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda,
the sons of Mahal. And his fame was in all nations
round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs,
and his songs were A thousand and five, and he spake. Now look
at this verse right here very carefully. He spake of trees
from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop
that springeth out of the wall. He spake also of beasts and of
fowl and of creeping things and fishes. There came of all people
to hear the wisdom of Solomon and from kings of the earth,
which had heard of his wisdom. Now, verse 33. sets forth. The Scripture had just before,
verse 29, 30, had set forth that God gave Solomon great wisdom. Of all the men, Solomon was the
wisest of men created. And the Scripture says that he
spake these proverbs. The Lord just moved upon this
man and gave this man some understanding. And he spake of trees, from the
cedar tree. See right here in Leviticus,
you take that cedar. And it says he spake of the cedar
tree that's in Lebanon even unto the hyssop. Now here's what's
being said. The hyssop, I can tell you this,
was a little brush. It says it grew out of the wall.
It was out of the side of a mountain. It was just a little bush. It
just kind of grew out there. But these cedars were grand and
majestic. These trees, they just towered. And he spake from the cedars
to the hyssop. Here's a picture of our Lord,
God Almighty, from the highest, higher than the highest can be
spoken, from the highest, from the cedars to the hyssop. He
made Himself with no reputation. He took upon Himself a servant
in the form of sinful flesh, humbled Himself, only the Lord
Himself. could humble himself. You and
I have to be humbled. He humbled himself. I mean, when
it says he humbled himself, he humbled. See, I would pretend
like I was humble. And I'm so proud of that, I won't
tell you. But in my heart, I'm thinking, oh, I bet you you're
proud of me because I humbled myself. And it's nothing but
pride. He humbled himself. The Scripture
says back in Leviticus, you take You take that cedar and you take
that wool, that dyed wool, blood and that hyssop from the highest
to the lowest. And between that is the sacrifice
of himself. He made himself of no reputation. Here we see the Lord Jesus Christ. It was by that hyssop that the
Scripture sets forth that the blood was applied to the lintel
of the door in Egypt. And we behold Him, God Almighty,
made Himself the lowest to suffer the judgment of God Almighty
for His people. You take that hyssop, and you
take the blood of that cedar. represented him, the fragrance
of the mighty God. And you take it and you put that
wool, that dyed wool, and you take the hyssop and you dip it
in the blood of that bird that was slain, and you apply it to
the other bird. That's what they did. That living
bird, and after the Scripture says you take it, And on verse
7, He sprinkles, He shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed
from the leprosy seven times and shall pronounce him clean
and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. Here's
what happened. The priest would go out and he'd
get that leper, that totally consumed, eaten up leper. And he'd take that leper and
he'd bring that leper and he'd take two birds two clean birds,
two living birds, and he'd kill one of them. And the blood from
that bird in that earthen vessel, he would do it over that living
water, and he would take it, take that blood, he'd take that
other live bird, and he'd take the cedar and the hyssop and
that wool, and he'd dip it. And he would take it and sprinkle
it on that other, on that leper. Seven times the number of perfection. And he would take that live bird
that had now that blood also upon him. And he would let that
living bird loose. And here we see our Lord and
Savior in His resurrection and our justification. The blood
had been shed by the living bird, by the bird that was living,
and killed. And then that blood was applied
to that sinner, that leper, dipped in the blood of the bird that
had been killed over that living water, just like when there was
two in chapter 16 of Leviticus. It sets forth on the day of atonement. There were two goats that were
brought in. One of the goats was killed as
a type Christ, our substitute. And the other goat was the scapegoat. After that, the priest would
lay his hands on the head of that other goat, and that goat
would walk away into the wilderness. Here is the type of Christ who
bore away our guilt perfectly. In these two birds, we see the
hope of that leper, that sinner that was found by the priest.
Here we see the Lord Jesus Christ In those two birds, two living
birds, in Christ, in Him was light. Two living birds. One
of them died and the other one, gone. Ascended, raised for our
justification. That which reveals the glory
of His resurrection and His substitutionary death at Calvary. But how does that benefit me? The Scripture says, verse 7,
I just mentioned, He sprinkles upon him that is to be cleansed
from the leprosy seven times. And look at this, and pronounces
him clean. Justified. I mentioned this to
you last time. Justification. is the pronouncement of innocence
based on one thing, the imputed righteousness of Christ. I gave that example of a man
that is found and caught for stealing a car. He is brought
before the judge and he is brought before a jury. Now, in our court
system we may find a very slick lawyer who can place a doubt
in the minds of the jury. And because of a lack of evidence,
that judge can pronounce that guilty man who really stole it,
but because of a lack of evidence, he's pronounced justified before
the law. But is he personally guilty?
Now, when it comes before Almighty God, I'm going to tell you something.
God is not fooled. There's only one hope. That man
that stole that car was guilty. I'm guilty. There's only one
hope for me, that Almighty God would pronounce me holy. based
on the imputation of the righteousness of Christ only. Not mine. His. The Scripture says that
this leper, he was a leper. He was a leper. And the chapter
before declared that leper that Almighty God saw as being clean. When he was totally consumed
in leprosy, he was clean. The blood that was shed from
that bird, that live bird, was dipped in that hyssop and sprinkled,
and it was applied, imputed, charged to, covered, atoned for,
the covering. The Lord said, when I see the
blood, I'll pass over you. That man, the Scripture says,
The blood was applied seven times, the perfect application, and
he was pronounced clean, justified. The leper found to be healed
or covered was sprinkled seven times. And the scripture says
that sacrifice of that live bird that was slain, that blood now
became associated with that leper. Well, let me say it this way.
That leper came associated with the blood. And that living bird
was let loose into the open field. Two things that I see concerning
that bird loosed. These two birds were both alive
and clean. They had equal value. One of
them died. One of them flew away, ascended.
Christ, the Lamb of God. was slain and buried. God himself came into this world
and assumed flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ died on
the cross. But then that loosed bird that
flew away into the open field set forth this. He would not
be associated with death anymore. He died once. One time, this
man, Hebrews 10, 12 says, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of Almighty God. The blood was sprinkled. The
priest pronounced that leopard clean, and that living bird let
loose. His work was finished. Nothing
was said as to that leper doing anything. That leper was pronounced. The Lord Jesus Christ from the
cross cried this, ìIt is finished.î Over. And then thirdly, and Iíll
hurry, the mark of one that had been cleansed. The source of
his cleansing is the grace of God. The means of his cleansing
is the blood of Christ. of one that had been cleansed.
When that leper had the blood in Leviticus 14 applied to him,
he knew it. He could see it and the priest
sprinkled him. By faith, we perceive the blood
to be applied to us by God's grace. That leper found no merit
For the application of that blood, except this, this is the only
merit that he could find. I'm a leper. This is all of my
merit. This is all I have. I am a total
sinner against Almighty God. Somebody would say, that's merit?
I heard Brother Scott say this one time. He said, if God Almighty
ever brings a man to see himself as having nothing before Almighty
God, but his pitiful, helpless, hopeless condition. He said God
done something for him. That's something if God shows
him that he's a sinner. Rare thing. But I want you to
look at an amazing thing found in verse 8 and 9. He that is
to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off his hair
and wash himself in water that he may be clean. And after that
he shall come into the camp, and he shall tarry abroad out
of his tent seven days. And it shall be on the seventh
day that he shall shave all his hair off his head, his beard,
his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off. He shall
wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and
he shall be clean." That leper was pronounced clean. The moment
that priest pronounced that leper clean, that blood was sprinkled
upon him. But the Scripture says that after
he had the blood, he was to wash his clothes, shave off his hair. He was cleansed and justified,
pronounced clean by the blood But also it was said that he
washed his own clothes, shaved off his hair, and washed himself
in water that he may be clean. I want you to turn to 2 Corinthians
6.17. Wherefore come out from among
them. Now here's a picture. Now you think about this, where
that leper came from. Wherefore, come out from among
them, and be you separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
things. I will receive you. I will be a father unto you.
You shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Verse
1 of chapter 7. Having, therefore, these promises,
dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. You think, boy, that's an amazing
scripture. That leper shall wash his clothes. In that, now let me say this
first of all, that you perfectly, and you know this, I don't have
to say it, but I will anyway. That leper was pronounced clean
by the application of that blood and the pronouncement by the
priest. That leper did not cleanse himself. He was a leper. totally consumed in leprosy. And the priest pronounced him
clean. The priest justified him. But that leper, the Scripture
says back in Leviticus, shall wash his clothes. That is, he
proclaims his robe of sin and self-righteousness to be gone
by totally. having the imputation of the
righteousness of Christ applied to him. The admittance of what
he is is what he was doing. I am nothing in myself. I can
do nothing in myself. It is the application of the
blood of Christ to me by which I am found clean before Almighty
God. Shaves off his hair. Here's what
he's saying in type. I'm not hiding anything from
you. I am what God says I am. I'm a leper. Look here, Paul. Applied the blood to him. He washes his clothes and he
says this. It's not my righteousness. Here's
a man that's clean. When he says, I don't have any
cleanness of myself. Shaves off. He says, that's what
I am. I'm a leper. Shaves off his hair.
I'm a leper. I'm a recipient of blood-bought
mercy. And wash himself in water. Here's
what he's saying. Remember that blood that was
dropped into that living water? There's the water by which the
Spirit of God washes God's people. They don't wash themselves. cleanses
us. Here He proclaims Christ to be
the living water, the Word by which He is cleaned. All this
the Scripture says that He may be clean. That is to say that
He acknowledges His cleansing to be by grace. Here is a man,
when the Scripture says, and cleanse yourself, this is what
he says. It is only by His grace that
I am cleansed. That's the most refreshing cleansing
to watch a person just admit it. By the imputed righteousness
of Christ, then one that acknowledges his need of cleansing by the
blood and strives after an honorable walk toward Almighty God in the
person of his Son. There's a person that God's cleansed. They don't do anything concerning
themselves. There you are, you come, you
get all cleaned up, you took a shower this morning, got something
to eat, presented yourself, you came and you've done something. You came this morning, we sang
songs of praise. Those are honorable things. And
you did them. You actually did them. Somebody
led in prayer. Sammy, you led in In prayer and
ask the Lord's blessing, it was something you actually did. How
much merit did you find in everything that you did? The scripture sets
forth that blood was applied in that leper, washed his clothes,
he shaved his hair. And after he'd done all that
he had done, he was still just an unprofitable servant. He'd
done what he should, what he ought to. The Scripture says that after
he washed himself in water, he shall come into the camp. Verse
8, he shall tarry abroad out of his tent. Out of his tent. He's in the camp, but he couldn't
come into his tent for seven days. He could be in the camp,
but he just couldn't go home. Seven days he couldn't go home,
Mac. He was there. He entered into that place of
fellowship. But he was to tarry abroad out
of his tent. That cleansed leper for seven
days. And again, remember, the days
of perfection is what's setting forth here. Seven days. God's
appointed days until His cleansed people enter into their final
rest, that place where the Lord Jesus Christ has prepared. Turn with me again to John 14. John 14, verse 1 to 3. Let not your heart
be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also
in Me. In My Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself
that where I am, there you may be also." Now let me tell you
what was set forth in closing. This leper, the priest went out
and found him. The blood was shed, applied. The living bird was let loose,
a picture. The death, resurrection, and
ascension of our Lord. That priest pronounced that leper
clean. That leper was in the camp, in
fellowship. There is now, therefore, no condemnation
to those that be in Christ Jesus. But you're in this world right
now. This seven days that this cleansed leper was in the camp. He was in the camp. He was in
fellowship. He was in there. We come together, but for seven
days he couldn't enter into his tent. He couldn't. That seven
days is a picture of this life. There's a time right here that
we're still in the fellowship, in the camp, but we've not entered
into that perfect place. Seven days he had to tarry abroad
out of that tent. The Lord has a time that's set
in which his people shall be in this world, cleansed, justified
before Almighty God. But it says in verse 9, it shall
be on the seventh day that He shall shave all His hair off
His head, His beard and His eyebrows, even all of His hair He will
shave off. He shall wash His clothes and
He shall wash His flesh and water and He shall be clean. There's
a time coming when this mortality shall put on immortality. And
I'm telling you, even his eyebrows, everything, even the presence
of sin is going to be put away. And it shall be in that day.
He'll enter into his tent in that day. And Scripture says,
and he shall be clean. From the beginning of this chapter,
Till the end, there's a picture of our blessed Lord seeing, seeing
a leper that he set his affection on. See him coming, I saw you. In that eternal covenant, and
that priest came and got him. The scripture says that the bird
was slain, the blood was shed, the blood was applied, ascended,
our blessed Lord. pronounced him clean. And we're
going through right now seven days. And in that day, on that
seventh day, when it's over, all the appearances of sin are
going to be removed and he shall be clean. Thank the Lord for that message.
Thank you for coming. I failed to put in the bulletin,
but most of you know it, that we are leaving tomorrow to go
to Lexington, Kentucky to be with my parents since my mother's
having surgery. And we won't return until probably
Thursday or maybe later. So there will be no Wednesday
night service this week. No Wednesday night service. And
if someone is not here, you notify them of that. OK. Turn to hymn number 212 and let's
stand together. We'll sing the first and last
verse. Hymn number 212. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. This is all thy hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus This is all my righteousness
Nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh, precious is the flow That
makes me white as snow No other fount I know Nothing but the
blood of Jesus.