I'm going to be speaking this
morning from the book of Matthew. Our message will be taken from
the 8th chapter of Matthew, verses 1 through 4. Now, here's the
subject. How can a sinner obtain mercy? How can a sinner obtain mercy? And our text is Matthew 8, 1
through 4. Now, let me read the text this
morning, Matthew chapter 8, beginning with verse 1. Now, here's the
subject. How can a sinner obtain mercy? When Christ was come down
from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there
came a leper. Now, we know that leprosy in
the scripture is a type of sin. It's used throughout the scripture
as a type of man's corruption, defilement, and separation from
God. Well, a leper met him. And it
says the leper fell down and worshiped him, saying, if you
will, you can make me clean.' And Jesus put forth his hand
and touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean. And immediately
his leprosy was cleansed." Now, my friends, I'm not sure that
the number of times that a truth appears in the scripture determines
its importance. I'm not saying that if something
is in the scripture twice or three times or four times, it's
more important than something that's in the Bible one time.
But I am saying this, that this incident is recorded three times
in the New Testament. Matthew recorded it, Mark recorded
it, and Luke recorded it. So what I'm saying is that this
incident in the life of our Lord receives a prominent place in
the word of God. And I would say also this, that
the manner and attitude in which this man approached the Lord.
Now he had a definite attitude and a definite approach to the
Master. He received mercy. He received
what he wanted. He received what he needed. And
he came to the Lord to receive it. Now what I'm saying is that
this man's attitude and the manner in which he approached Christ
could be a good example for us to follow who seek his grace
and who seek his mercy. Whatever my purpose for coming
to Christ, if I need forgiveness or pardon, if I need justification,
if I need to know his will, if I need healing, if I need a revelation
of his direction, then I should come to Christ as this man came,
because his need was met. And this is what we're going
to look at. I'm going to bring out some vital issues this morning,
and I want you to listen very carefully to this message. But
before we answer the question, How can a sinner obtain mercy?
I want to make this perfectly clear. First of all, let us learn
that all blessings are in Christ. They are not to be found in the
church. They are not to be found in a creed. They are not to be
found in a law or a ritual or an ordinance. They are to be
found in Christ. Now, that's what the scripture
says. I believe the woman with the issue of blood, you remember
the woman who had the issue of blood for ten or twelve years
and had spent all that she had on many positions and was no
better, but just steadily got worse. She said this, if I can
get to Christ, if I can but touch the hem of his garment, I'll
be made whole. And that's what I'm saying. This
sums up what I'm declaring. If I can get to Christ, if I
can lay hold on Christ, if I can obtain a personal union with
Christ, then I can have the blessings that God has for sinners, because
all of God's blessings are in Christ. Listen to the scripture,
Colossians 2, 3. In him are hid all the treasures
of God. In Christ, that's where they
are. All the treasures of God are in Christ. Listen to Ephesians
1, 3. All spiritual blessings are in
Christ. God has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ. Listen to Colossians 1, 19. It
pleased God that in him should all fullness dwell. And then
1 Corinthians 1.30, Of God are you in Christ Jesus, who has
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
So everything that God has, by way of blessing, benefits, and
mercies, are to be found in Christ. To the guilty, he says, Thy sins
be forgiven. To the hungry, he says, Come
and dine. To the weary, he says, I'll give
you rest. To the poor, he says, all things
are yours. To the lonely, he says, lo, I
am with you always, even to the end of the earth. So everything
is in Christ. The old-timers used to express
it this way. Sinner, if you can close with
Christ. Another way they expressed it,
sinner, if you can by faith lay hold upon Jesus Christ. Again, they would say, sinner,
if you can find a saving interest in Christ, then every need will
be met, every sin forgiven, every promise of God will be yours.
But you'll find them in Christ. He is the fountain of life. He
is the source of mercy. He is the source of every blessing.
And that must be learned, that foundation must be laid. We must
understand that truth, that outside of Christ, our God is a consuming
fire. He that hath the Son hath life,
he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life, he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath, judgment, and condemnation of
God abideth on him." So understanding that, that everything is in Christ,
how can a sinner so approach Christ as to receive mercy? Here is the first direction. We are looking at the We're looking
at the example of a man who came to Christ and who found mercy.
Now, here's the first thing about this man. He worshiped Christ. I told you that this incident
is recorded in two other places, where Matthew said he worshiped
Christ. When Christ came down from the
mountain, a leper came and worshiped him. Mark says he kneeled down
before the Lord. Luke says he fell on his face. and worship Christ. So this is
where we begin. This is where any sinner with
any need who desires to come to Christ must begin. Whatever
your need, whatever your condition, whatever your state, whatever
your desire, Jesus Christ is God Almighty and he is worthy
to be worshiped. Let me enforce that with some
Scripture. First of all, in Hebrews 1.6, it says, When he bringeth
in the first begotten, now that's speaking of the Father bringing
in Christ, the first begotten, the only begotten, the well-beloved.
When he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he said,
Let all the angels of God worship him. Worship him. We don't just
respect the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't just admire him or esteem
him. We worship him. He is to be worshipped. Worthy is the Lamb to be worshipped.
Listen to Hebrews 1.8. Unto the Son the Father said,
Thy throne, O God, is forever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy kingdom. And again our Master said, I
and my Father are one. So I say this is where a man
begins. If he would come to Christ, if
he would receive of Christ, he's going to have to know who Christ
is. and going to have to come to him in that character. When
a man knows that Jesus Christ is God Almighty, that Jesus Christ
is none other than their God of their God, incarnate or revealed
in human flesh, he will worship him. Scripture says he was in
the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew
him not. In John 1.14 it says, The world
was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. When the angel appeared to Joseph
to announce the birth of Jesus Christ, he said to Joseph, Fear
not to take unto thee Mary to be thy wife. That holy thing
which is conceived in her is of God, shall be called the Son
of God. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sin. And this is a
fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by Isaiah, who said, Behold,
the Lord himself shall give you a sign. A virgin shall be with
child, and thou shalt call his name Immanuel, God with us. So that's the first lesson to
learn, if you would come to Christ, is to learn who he is. He will
deal with you in his true character. He is God. He is worthy to be
worshiped. And this is a starting point.
Who is Jesus Christ? The second Adam. Who is the second
Adam? The Lord from heaven. So this
man approached Christ, this leper who had the disease. who had
the disease of death already consuming his body, who needed
help, who needed mercy. He came to Christ and kneeled
down and fell at his feet and worshiped him. Now that's where
we'll begin. The Lord is known to them of
a broken heart and a humble spirit. The sacrifices of God are humble
spirits. The scripture says, God resisteth
the proud, he giveth grace to the humble. It says he will humble
those who are high and mighty, and he will honor those who are
broken. That's where we start. Secondly,
this man then addressed Christ as Lord. Matthew said he came
and worshiped him and said, Lord, Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean. Christ said to his disciples,
you call me Lord and you say well, for so I am. Peter said, God hath made this
same Jesus. This is the message at Pentecost.
God hath made this same Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord
and Christ. And my friends, the distressing
thing about today's religion, television, radio, pulpit, wherever
you hear them and wherever you see them, the distressing thing
about today's religion is the low esteem and the pitiful opinion
that most church people, preachers included, have of the Lord Jesus
Christ. a very low esteem, a very poor
opinion. They speak so lowly of him. He's
called Sweet Little Jesus Boy. I'm talking about the Lord of
Glory. He's called Bethlehem Babe. He is called Superstar. They talk about how disappointed
he is, how defeated he is. My friends, the Bible knows nothing
of such a person called Jesus. The Bible knows nothing of a
doormat name Jesus. The Bible knows nothing of an
insurance policy which men can take out and lay hold of just
before they die named Jesus. The Bible knows nothing of one
who will be your Savior who is not your Lord. Now I'm telling
you the truth. And the thing that distresses
me, I heard a prominent TV evangelist recently say, Jesus Christ is
just like the devil. He can only do what you let him
do. Now, the Bible doesn't know anything about a Jesus Christ
who is like the devil, or as weak as the devil, or as powerless
as the devil. And the person didn't stop. The
person went on to say, and God is just like the devil. He'll
only do what you let him do. Our God, our Christ, our Lord,
is not hogtied by sinners. Now, don't you listen to some
scripture. God said, I have set my King. on the holy hill of
Zion. That's Christ. Zion is the church.
I have set my king on the holy hill of Zion. Our Lord said all
authority is given unto me in heaven and earth. That's what
he told his disciples before he sent them out to preach the
gospel. He said all authority is given to me in heaven and
earth. Go ye therefore and preach the gospel. When he was on his
way to the cross and the women were following him bearing that
heavy cruel cross up Calvary's mountain. They wept and lamented
and moaned. And our Lord stopped and turned
and looked at them and said, Don't weep for me. Weep for yourselves
and for your children. My friend, don't weep for Christ.
He's Lord. He's King. He's Sovereign. That's
what Scripture says. All authority is given unto me.
When he prayed in John 17, he said, Father, thou hast given
me all authority, all power over all flesh, that I should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. You know what
Paul said about him? He said he's seated on the right
hand of God, expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. So today's generation and they
got it from the previous generation, has a bad and wrong opinion of
Jesus Christ. He's not leaning over the banisters
of heaven, crying his eyes out because people won't let him
have his way. He's seated victoriously at the right hand of the Father,
waiting till the whole universe be made his footstool. That's
right. Jesus Christ is Lord. All who
came to him in the New Testament in a saving fashion came to him
as Lord. This man did. He came and worshiped
him. And he said, Lord, if you will,
you can make me whole. Saul of Tarsus, when he was smitten
down on the road to Damascus, the first word out of his mouth
was, Lord. Who art thou, Lord? And then
he said, Lord, what will you have me do? Thomas fell at his
feet and cried, my Lord and my God. The thief who received mercy
looked at Christ dying on the cross. And he said, you're not
going to stay dead. You're coming into a kingdom.
Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Zacchaeus,
who climbed the tree so that he could see who Christ was.
When the Lord came down and spoke to him, he said, Lord, the half
of my goods I give to the poor. So here's the second thing. This
man recognized the sovereignty, the power, the authority, the
Lordship of Jesus Christ. He came and worshiped him, and
he said, Lord, Now, I warn you, and I tell you as plainly as
I can. I know a lot of people say, well, accept Jesus Christ
as your personal Savior. It doesn't matter whether you
serve him or bow to him or submit to him or receive him as Lord.
You can do that later on. The Bible doesn't teach that.
If he's not your Lord, he's not your Savior. If thou shalt confess
with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine heart God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. That's what
Romans 10, 9 says. All right, here's the third thing
now about this man's approach to Christ. He recognized the
Lord Jesus Christ's sovereignty in this matter of salvation.
He recognized Christ's sovereignty in the gift of mercy. He fell
down and worshiped him, and he said, Lord, what's these words?
If you will, you can make me clean. If you will. If you will. Salvation is by an act of your
will, not my will. This man couldn't will himself
clean. He couldn't will Christ to make him clean. He couldn't
will anybody to make him clean. He was without hope, without
help, without God, without ability, without power. Now, I know that
today's religion is forever debating about the will, the question
of the will. There's man's will and God's
will and free will and whosoever will. Well, I've got this to
say, and I think it's very simple. I can simplify the matter for
you. Here it goes. Men may go on arguing and debating
and quarreling and dividing over the question of the will, whoever's
will we're talking about. But I know whose will is going
to be done. I've read in God's Word whose
will is going to be accomplished, whose will is going to be done.
Now listen to Daniel 4.35. He doeth according to his will
in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the And none
can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Now, that's
very clear, isn't it? God does his will. Thy will be
done. That's what our Savior prayed
in the Garden of Gethsemane. He said, Father, thy will be
done. We're taught to pray that way.
Our Lord, when he gave the disciples the model prayer, he said, You
pray. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Ephesians
1.11 says, He worketh all things after the counsel of his own
will. James 1.18 says, Of his own will beget he us with the
word of truth. Romans 9.16 says, So then it
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy. So my friend, let's go on arguing,
debating, quarreling, dividing over the will. But I know whose
will is going to be done. God's will is going to be done.
None can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? I'm
saying that salvation is of the Lord. in its eternal counsels,
in its planning, in its purpose, in its execution, in its application,
in its sustaining power, in its ultimate perfection. He's the
author and finisher of our faith. He's the beginning and the end.
He's the Alpha and Omega. Christ is. And salvation is the
gift of God. The wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God's eternal life. This man worded it correctly.
Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And that's where it
is. I know we've turned it around,
and we said God has salvation sitting on the shelf, and we're
down here begging sinners to reach up and get it. Well, really,
the publican in the temple cried, Lord, you be merciful to me,
a sinner. The thief on the cross cried, Lord, remember me when
thou comest into thy kingdom. This man said, Lord, if you will,
you can make me whole. It was the sinner asking for
mercy, not the sinner being begged to receive mercy. Our Lord said
in Romans 8, 29. whom he did foreknow, he did
also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, he called, and whom he called, he justified,
and whom he justified, he glorified." Now, what shall we say to these
things? We say, if God be for us, who can be against us? Who
can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifies. So this man recognized in the
third place the salvations of the Lord. It's the gift of God.
He bestows it upon whom he will. That's something. Oh, that's
the fourth thing. This man recognized Christ's
ability and sufficiency to do for him what he needed to have
done. He said, he fell on his face,
he kneeled down, he worshiped Christ. He said, Lord, Sovereign
Lord, Almighty God, if you will, you can, you can. make me clean. I know you can. I can't. They
can't. No one else can. But you can.
You can. Now, the word able is used frequently
in Scripture in reference to the work of Christ, the power
of Christ. For example, it says in Romans
4, Abraham believed that God was able, able, to do all that
he purposed and promised. Abraham believed God was able,
and it was counted to him for righteousness. And then Paul
wrote, he is able to save to the uttermost them that come
to God by him. He's perfectly able. And then
he writes, he is able, in the book of Jude, to keep you from
falling. He's not going to lose what he
gained. He's not going to lose what he purchased. He's not going
to lose what the Father gave him. He's able to keep you from
falling. And then this verse in Jude,
he is able to present you holy, unblameable. before his presence
with exceeding glory. He's able. And then in Philippians
3 it says he's able to change our bow bodies to raise them
from the ground and make them like unto his glorious body.
Now what's the reason for this power and this ability? Well,
first of all, three things, but first of all, who he is. Our
Savior is prophet, priest, and king. Now in the Old Testament
there were prophets, there were priests, and there were kings.
But nobody ever held those three offices. There were men anointed
to the prophetical office, to the priestly office, to the kingly
office. But no man ever held all three offices. But Christ
is prophet, priest, and king. Anointed, prophet to reveal God,
priest to make atonement, king to reign over us. So he's able. He's able to do all that he promised
and all that was given into his hand to perform because of who
he is. Secondly, because of what he did. The Bible talks about
our Lord's obedience, and it's divided into two parts, his active
obedience and his passive obedience. His active obedience has to do
with his living obedience to the law. He fulfilled the law
by active obedience. His passive obedience is his
surrender to the persecution and death of the cross. He didn't
go and nail himself to the cross. They nailed him, but he submitted.
That's passive obedience. He submitted to the Father's
judgment and wrath and the cruel hands of wicked men. So we have
a righteousness which Christ our Lord worked out by active
obedience and by passive obedience. He's able. And then not only
is He able to save because of who He is and what He did, but
because of where He is. Where is He? At the right hand
of the Father. The right hand is the hand of
love, acceptance and power and authority. And Christ is there
seated. The Father hath seated him at
his right hand. Now, here's the last thing. This
man kneeled down, worshipped the Lord. And he recognized his
sovereignty, his kingship. And he said, Lord, if you will,
you can, I know you can, you have the power, you have the
ability, you have the sufficiency to make me clean. He asked for
the right thing. If you will, you can make me
clean. This is what we need. My friends, I know health is
to be cherished. But I don't have to have good
health. Some of the greatest people of all ages have been
people without good health. Fanny Crosby, blind Fanny Crosby,
never could see with these natural eyes. But she wrote some of the
most beautiful hymns ever sung. There was Charles Spurgeon, who
was sick for 30 years. and yet one of the most powerful
preachers and pastors who ever lived. The Apostle Paul even
talked about his weak and sickly appearance. And there are so
many others through history that have had infirmities and afflictions. I don't need help. I do need
mercy. I do need help of soul. I do
need God's cleansing. I don't need wealth. Some of
God's greatest men have been men who have been very poor.
They haven't had material possessions and worldly fame. Our Lord didn't
have a place to lay his head. He said foxes have holes and
birds of the air have nests, but the Son of God has no place
to lay his head. I need mercy, cleansing, righteousness. I don't need justice. I don't
want that at all. I want mercy. I don't need health. I need cleansing of heart. And
I don't need wealth. I need the riches of his grace.
It all comes from him. I want you to listen to what
the songwriter wrote in closing. I would, but cannot sing. I would,
but cannot pray. Satan meets me when I try and
frightens my soul away. I would, but cannot repent, though
I endeavor oft. This stony heart cannot relent,
for Jesus makes it soft. I would, but cannot love, though
wooed by love divine. No argument has power to move
a heart so hard and cold as mine. I would but cannot rest in God's
most holy will. I know what he wills is best,
and yet I murmur at it still. Oh, could I but believe, then
all would easy be. I would but cannot. Lord, my
help must come from thee." That's what I'm saying. And that's the
sum and essence of what I'm preaching. My help must come from thee.
He's Lord, he's sovereign, he's king, he's able. His offering
is sufficient. Come to Christ. He'll make you
whole.