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[0:00] In Numbers 25, let's just bow our heads in prayer. Heavenly Father, we are aware as we read this chapter, this is not an easy part of your word for us to accept. It's not an easy part of your word for us to understand.

[0:12] And yet, Lord, we do pray that we would come like we looked at this morning with childlike dependence upon you and we would humble ourselves before you, knowing that you are God. Help me by the power of your spirit to explain your word clearly and carefully. And give us ears to hear. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[0:34] And the holiday brochure described it as a magical place that I'm time forgot. There can't be many places left in the world like San Andreas. If your dream is of a sophisticated island where you can relax and leave the cares of the world behind you and enjoy the simple things of life, we have a holiday to make it come true.

[0:56] It will give you a taste of something completely different and make your holiday truly memorable. That's what the holiday brochure said. The reality that the holidaymakers discovered when they arrived on the island of San Andreas was not all that they'd anticipated. There was no hot water. For the two weeks these holidaymakers were there, the air conditioning didn't work in the hotel rooms.

[1:20] There was mould and mildew on the walls. There were rats, cockroaches and scorpions in the bedroom and fleas on the bed. The raw sewage was being discharged six feet from the restaurant and kitchens. They saw maids wiping the drinking glasses using a cloth which had just been used to clean the toilet bowl.

[1:40] Not surprisingly, the guests returned with nine different diseases including cholera, salmonella and dysentery. It was a truly memorable holiday. The reality didn't match up to the idyllic picture in the brochure. It was, well, they called it a holiday from hell.

[1:58] Something like that happens in Numbers 25. It's much, much worse. In chapters 23 and 24 is the holiday brochure. You've got a view of Israel in those chapters where Balaam, this hired gun of a prophet, he surveys the people of God from the high places and he sees them there encamped on the plains of Moab.

[2:20] They're about to enter the promised land and do you remember what Balaam the prophet says about Israel? He says they are a people set apart. They don't consider themselves to be like one of the nations. He says that the Lord their God is in the midst of them and he is with them.

[2:34] And he will neither see misfortune or misery come upon them. He says, doesn't he, no sorcery, no divination can succeed against them because the Lord has blessed them and he will not change his mind.

[2:48] He says these people, they are the righteous ones. Amongst them it would be a privilege to die. And so do you remember, in chapter 24 he prophesies, he says out of this nation the glorious messianic king of Israel is going to come.

[3:05] And that king will bring salvation for all people. In all different parts of the world. And he will bring judgment on God's enemies. That is the view from the holiday brochure.

[3:16] These people are magnificent. That is the ideal Israel if you like. But on the ground, it's, in reality, it is shockingly different. And so how do you reconcile, how do you put together the two sections?

[3:32] Holiday brochure Israel from the mountaintops. Is that just wishful fantasy thinking? And then the foul mess of chapter 25, the harsh reality.

[3:44] How do you reconcile those two scenarios? And it's a really, really important question because I keep coming across people like you do who have been hurt by the church. People who have been disappointed with the church.

[3:59] People who have a very cynical and really jaundiced view of the church. And they don't see the holiday brochure. They see the harsh reality.

[4:13] That church, according to them, is not all it's cracked up to be. Chuck Colson. You know, he worked in the White House with Richard Nixon. He was part of the Watergate scandal. And he said, Church is like Noah's Ark.

[4:25] The stench on the inside would be unbearable if it wasn't for the storm on the outside. Now that's a pretty cynical thing, isn't it? That's what a church needs to say. But he is right. Sometimes church does stink.

[4:39] And so let's face up to the mess in chapter 25. And I want to face up to the mess that these people have got themselves into. And to try to think, why have they got themselves into this mess?

[4:49] And so my three points really all begin with M. The first you see the mess. And then you see the message. And then you see the Messiah.

[5:00] It's quite impressive, I think. The mess, the message, and the Messiah. You should be able to remember that. First of all, the mess that these people have got themselves into. It's ironic, isn't it?

[5:11] Balaam has been hired. He's a hired gun. He's been hired by Balak, the son of Moab, to curse Israel. But every time Balaam opens his mouth, he can't curse Israel.

[5:24] He ends up blessing them. He cannot curse those whom God has blessed. And so not one hair of Israel's head was harmed. They didn't even know this was going on.

[5:36] They were down in the plains of Moab. They didn't know what was happening on the plains of Moab. And the people of Israel, they had no idea what was going on. And they didn't know about this supernatural conflict that was taking place amongst Israel's enemies.

[5:51] Try as they may, they could not lay a finger on them. But there's more than one way to skin a cat. And when you go home, go and read Revelation chapter 2.

[6:03] And Balaam comes up again. He's really a mysterious character, this guy Balaam. And as you read 22-24, you think, is he a saint or is he a sinner?

[6:15] The word of God is in his mouth. He blesses Israel. But what is he? Is he a prophet or is he a wizard? Is he a witch? Is he a kind of soothsayer, a sorcerer?

[6:26] Well, when you read on in the Bible, it's quite clear that this guy really is a real baddie. You go to chapter 31 and verse 16.

[6:37] Balak has hired him to curse Israel. He's got a reputation as a powerful witch doctor. But he can't curse Israel. God won't let him. And yet his parting shot is to give Balak, the king of Moab, some advice.

[6:55] And his advice is this. There's more than one way to skin a cat, really. If you really want to harm the people of Israel, the people of God, let me give you a bit of advice.

[7:08] And he says there in verse 16 of chapter 31, he says, Verse 16 of 31, These on Balaam's advice caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor.

[7:29] That's chapter 25. They followed Balaam's advice, these people. He gave advice to the Moabites. And that advice was the means of turning Israel away from the Lord.

[7:46] In what happened at Peor. So there were plagues throughout the Lord's people. And that is what we find 2,000 years later in the book of Revelation, in chapter 2. It's the same reference as Jesus speaks to the church at Pergamum.

[7:56] And he says, listen, your church, I've got a few things against you. I've got a few things I need to say to you. There are people in your church that hold to the teaching of Balaam. They followed Balaam's advice. Balaam, who taught Balak how to entice the people of Israel.

[8:14] How did he do that? To sin by eating food, sacrifice to idols, and committing sexual immorality. So Balaam's advice. Balaam is saying to Balak, look, I can't curse them.

[8:25] As much as I try to curse them, I can't do it. Sorcery doesn't work on these people. So try something else. Try immorality. And try idolatry. Try apostasy.

[8:37] If you can get them to worship Baal, then you've got them. And that's what lies behind chapter 25. That's what lies behind the whole of this advice that Balaam gives to Balak.

[8:50] How do you destroy a church? Well, you let them destroy themselves. And let's look at that together in this chapter. Look what happens in chapter 25, verses 1 to 3. While Israel lived in Chittin, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.

[9:07] And these invited the people to the sacrifice of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself, joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

[9:19] And that is one of the reasons why God had told the people of Israel, you must drive these people out.

[9:37] You must get rid of them out of the land. And God had given to Israel hundreds of years of grace. But now, he says, now is the time to drive these people out. Because they are radioactively sensual.

[9:48] That's what one commentator says. These people are radioactively sensual. And if you live amongst them, you're going to be contaminated by them. And so, you come to church on a Sunday morning.

[10:02] We have an order of service. We have an order of service on Sunday night. We read the Bible. We pray. We sing God's praises. There's a kind of dialogue that goes on in the worship. There's an order of service. But actually, in the Baal worship, there was an order of service as well.

[10:18] It was sex with the cult prostitute. And they thought that by having sex with a prostitute, that that would then lead to Baal, the god of fertility, impregnating the ground.

[10:32] It would give them a good harvest and crops and increase their flocks. It was all part of nature worship. The fertility cult. And so, immorality and idolatry went hand in hand in pagan religion.

[10:46] And that is what these people have got themselves into. And so, behind closed doors, here is Balaam advising Balak. And he says, if you want to destroy these people, invite them to an orgy.

[10:58] Invite them to one of your Baal parties. These people, they've been on the road for weeks and for months and for yours. Invite them to one of your Baal parties. Seduce them.

[11:11] Let them go with your cult prostitutes. And so, they bow down and they worship Baal. Sorcery won't work. But this will. And so, we read there in verse 3.

[11:23] The Bible is always really careful in how it speaks about sex. You know what's going on. So, Israel joined themselves with Baal of Peor. It's really sad, actually.

[11:37] Israel yoked himself in worshipping the Baal of Peor. They tied themselves. It's incredible. They were in a covenant relationship with Yahweh, the God of Israel.

[11:48] The only true and living God. But they joined themselves to a pagan non-entity. It's meant to shock you. It's shocking how easily that can happen. Do you remember? It had happened before, hadn't it?

[11:59] With the golden calf. Moses is up on the mountaintop, receiving the Ten Commandments from God. And while Moses is receiving the Ten Commandments from God, what is happening below? Well, Israel decides to construct a golden calf.

[12:12] And they bow down and they worship the calf. It's like finding your wife in bed with the best man on your wedding day. But while God was entering into a marriage covenant with Israel, while the ink was still wet on the marriage certificate, Israel is committing spiritual adultery with a golden calf.

[12:34] It's shocking and it's scandalous. And that's what's happening here. These people whom God says, I will not change my mind. I have blessed them. They are distinct from all the nations of the earth.

[12:46] And at the first opportunity, they jump into bed with Baal. And they commit spiritual adultery and it's a mess. And Israel's leaders don't handle this very well. Look at verses 4 and 5.

[13:02] The Lord said to Moses, take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord. That the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel. But Moses didn't do that. No, he didn't.

[13:14] Moses said to the judges of Israel, each of you, kill those of his men who've yoked themselves to Baal of Peor. God said, take all the leaders and execute them.

[13:25] But Moses doesn't do that. He just says, let those who are responsible. Those young men who've committed the crime. And there's no indication that they did anything about that.

[13:39] And at best, it's a half-hearted response from Moses and from the leaders. It's a bit like you go to the doctors. You've got some bug. And the doctor says, you've got to take a course of antibiotics.

[13:52] So you go to the chemist, you get the course of antibiotics and you start taking the tablets. And after two or three days, you begin to feel much better. So you stop taking the antibiotics. But you're supposed to take the course.

[14:04] The whole lot. As it doesn't work. But you feel better. And what happens? Well, the infection comes back. And it comes back more powerfully. And that's what's happening in Israel. God says to Moses, you've got to deal with this.

[14:16] And Moses' response is rather half-hearted. And he says, yes, but that's a little bit harsh, God, isn't it? Verse 4. Now let's not go as far as that. Let's just deal with the culprits.

[14:27] And he doesn't look like he's done anything about that. And here are the people. They are standing there at the tent of meeting. And they are weeping. And they are pleading with God. And a plague breaks out.

[14:38] And while all that is happening, verse 6. And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family. In the sight of Moses.

[14:50] And in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel. While they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. What that's saying to you is it's open contempt. You see, when this happens.

[15:04] When there is a half-hearted response to God's word. When there is compromise. We see it only in politics. That when you don't have firm leadership it can be disastrous.

[15:17] It happens in the family, isn't it? When the parents want to be the children's friend rather than the parents. So kids don't know where the boundaries are. It happens in churches.

[15:28] When leaders are weak and self-serving. And half-hearted. What happens? Well, sin flourishes. And sin flaunts itself. And becomes blatant.

[15:40] And brazen in the expression. So we are supposed to be shocked at verse 6. Right there at the tent of meeting. At the heart of Israel's camp. When the people are weeping and pleading with God. Along comes this man with his Midianite girlfriend.

[15:52] And they go into the tent. And you're supposed to know what happens in the tent. It's shocking. And yet every time we sin.

[16:05] That is what we do. We treat God with contempt. I know you say, Lord, thou shalt not. But I'm going to do it anyway. I'll do what I want.

[16:17] It doesn't matter whether it's sex. Or coveting. Or something else. Whatever it is. God says, you shall not. And we say, I don't care what you say.

[16:28] I'm going to do it anyway. That is rebellion. And that is contempt. And you cannot treat God. And his word.

[16:40] Well, you cannot sin without treating God and his word without contempt. It's how the devil trapped Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

[16:54] Do you remember how he came to Adam and Eve? He said, did God really say that? Who cares? You go and do your own thing. You can be gods in your own right.

[17:06] You don't have to listen to him. You can become like God. You can decide, Adam and Eve, what is right and what is wrong. And that is what it means when it talks about eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That's what he's talking about.

[17:18] You can be the one, Adam and Eve, that determines good and evil. You get to choose. You don't have to listen to God. You can be your own God. Well, then there's the surprise.

[17:30] And look what's happening in verses 7 and 8. When Phinehas, the son of Eliezer, son of Aaron, the priest, saw it, he rose, left the congregation of Israel, took a spear in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the chamber, into the bedroom, and pierced both of them.

[17:47] The man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague of Israel was stopped. Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were 24,000.

[17:59] Let me just clarify something here. This is no justification for taking the law into your own hands. It's no justification for bombing, abortion clinics, or anything like that.

[18:11] This man is not acting as a private citizen. Do you notice what it says? It says he is a priest. He's the son of Eliezer, the high priest. He's the grandson of Aaron.

[18:23] The great high priest of Israel. And the priest's job description in Israel was to protect the worship of God. And it was to protect the honour of God. That was his job. That's what he was supposed to do.

[18:37] Martin Luther once defined zeal as love made angry. It's quite interesting. Love made angry. And that's what's happening here.

[18:48] Here is a man, Phinehas, who loves God. And he loves God's holiness and God's purity and God's greatness. And he is angry at the wicked contempt of God.

[19:03] And zeal for the Lord's house has consumed him. As it should. It was his job to be concerned about the Lord's house. And zeal for the Lord's house has consumed him. He is angry.

[19:13] And so while everyone else, including Moses, it just seems stands by and does nothing. While Zimri and Cosby, we know their names, we're given the names of the couple. While this couple defy God in the middle of the camp, Phinehas acts as a priest should act.

[19:30] What I dare say here is critics. I think his dad, Eliezer, might have been a little bit embarrassed. Because he should have done something. But he didn't. Moses, I expect, must have been very embarrassed.

[19:45] Who is this young upstart anyway? He needs to know things need to be done decently and in order. There are procedures to go through. And there are rules about this sort of thing. Who is he?

[19:55] This young Turk. This angry young man. But verse 10 is so shocking, isn't it? What does the Lord say? The Lord said to Moses, Phinehas, the son of Eliezer, son of Aaron, the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel.

[20:16] In that he was jealous with my jealousy among them. So that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore, he says, behold, I give to him my covenant of peace.

[20:32] And it should be to him and his descendants after him. The covenant, this kind of promise, this pledge of a perpetual priesthood. Because he was jealous for his God and he made atonement for the people of Israel. Whatever you think of this man.

[20:48] And whatever the people of Israel thought about this man. God says, I commend him. God says, I want more men like Phinehas. I want all my priests to be like him.

[21:00] Well, we are a kingdom of priests. We believe in the priesthood of believers. And God is saying, I want all my priests to be like him. He's a role model.

[21:11] T.C. Hammond said this. He said, if a young man has anything to offer, he will be a bit troublesome. Troublesome is okay with us, he says, if it is the fruit of zeal.

[21:29] And more of that troublesomeness is what we need in today's church. That is right, isn't it? What a mess. What a mess. These people are in. And they've got themselves into it by listening or by allowing themselves to be seduced by pagan religion.

[21:46] But there is a message in this passage for us. The second point. The message. Numbers is, I found it quite a difficult book to preach through. But it is a profoundly relevant book.

[21:59] I hear the people of God. They've been redeemed. They've been set free. And they're on their way to their inheritance. They're going to end up in the land flow with milk and honey. But they're not there yet.

[22:10] They're in the wilderness. And they are facing powerful temptations and problems and obstacles in the wilderness. And you and I can relate to that. As the people of God. As people who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[22:21] We've been redeemed. And we've been set free. And we're on our way to the new heavens and the new earth. But we're not there yet. Righteousness will dwell therein. But we're not there yet.

[22:32] We're on our way. We are here, aren't we? And we are a work in progress. And we face powerful temptations. We can be easily seduced by our culture.

[22:43] Along similar lines. And so sexual immorality is rife, isn't it? The statistics on internet pornography which does ruin lives.

[22:55] Are frightening. And so this tonight is very, very relevant. Let me make a couple of points. Counter-cultural applications.

[23:07] The first point is this. Sin, which is rebellion against God. Which is saying I'm going to live in your world, God. But I'm not going to follow you or obey you. I want to say sin is never a purely private matter.

[23:19] And that is counter-cultural. Let me say that. Sin is never a purely private matter. You might say, well, Zimri and Cosby, in this passage, they're consenting adults, aren't they?

[23:38] What they do in private, in their own tent, is their own business. What they get up to in that tent is nobody's business but their own. Private is private. But that is wrong. Let me tell you why that's wrong.

[23:52] That is wrong because God says that sex outside the covenant of marriage, whether it's heterosexual or homosexual, outside of the covenant of marriage, a man and a wife is fraught.

[24:07] And it's destructive of society. That's why the writer to the Hebrews says, in Hebrews 13, verse 4, marriage should be honoured by all. And the marriage bed kept pure because God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

[24:30] That's a difficult line to take, isn't it? And you might say that's really judgmental. And I want to say it's not judgmental. It's just saying clearly what the Bible says.

[24:41] It's not judgmental to say that something is wrong. And the Bible says that sex is so powerful. It's so, so powerful. It's so wonderful that it is to be kept between the covenant marriage of a man and a wife.

[24:57] And any sexual activity outside of that, the Bible says, is wrong. The second application, and I want you to hear this, is this. The primary issue here is not sex.

[25:08] I think that's really important that you understand. The primary issue here is not sex. The primary issue is idolatry. And immorality and idolatry often go together.

[25:18] Often the one leads to the other. It was Israel's idolatry. It was Israel's idolatry. They're worshipping a false god that brought God's anger down upon them. It was sex and sexuality.

[25:31] That was the avenue by which it came about. But it was idolatry that God judged with the plague. And that is really counter-cultural too, isn't it? The Ten Commandments.

[25:42] If people in Ealing knew what the Ten Commandments are, they don't know what the Ten Commandments are. But if you asked them what is the most important of the Ten Commandments, they would say, you shall not kill.

[25:54] I think, probably. That's the most important commandment, I think people would say. But that isn't the first commandment, Sid. The first commandment is, you shall have no other gods before me.

[26:05] I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other commandments before me. That is the first commandment. And our culture regards the things that we do to other people. That we offend and hurt other people.

[26:17] That is far more important in our culture's eyes than anything we might choose to believe or do against God. But that isn't right. God said actually, in his novel, The Brothers Karamasav.

[26:32] Have I pronounced that right? I literally... No, I've not. But you can correct me afterwards. One of the characters in the novel puts it like this. I've not read the novel. It's just a good quote I found. Alright?

[26:44] If God does not exist, then everything is permissible. If God does not exist, everything is permissible. If there's no transcendent being to define us, if there's no God to say what is right and what is wrong, there can be no absolute right or wrong.

[27:01] There's only personal preferences, aren't there? And if there's no one with the authority to command us that you shall not kill, well, you shall not kill becomes an opinion. And why is your opinion worth more than my opinion?

[27:14] It's a suggestion, isn't it? More than a commandment. However, if there is a God, who is a transcendent being, who has commanded what our behaviour should be, well, then it's perfectly logical that the first commandment should restrict us from worshipping any pretenders to his throne.

[27:32] I am the Lord your God, you shall not bow down and worship any other gods. That's what Paul is arguing in Romans chapter 1, when he talks about the anger of God and the wrath of God. God's anger is against all the godlessness and wickedness.

[27:44] It is being revealed. But do you notice how Romans 1 works? It says godlessness leads to wickedness. It's because people have decided they would rather worship the creation than the creator.

[27:57] It's because they don't believe in God anymore. That's why our society is in such a mess. Godlessness is what leads to wickedness. The godless suppression of truth leads to all manner of wickedness.

[28:16] And that's so counter-cultural, isn't it? How do you address knife crime in our city? How do you do that? You kind of give anger management?

[28:29] You give education on mouth, you have an amnesty on mouth. Well, of course, that's right, isn't it? But it's much deeper than that, isn't it? But the human being that you want to starve is made in God's image.

[28:45] And you see, it is the godlessness that leads to the wickedness of our society. Something else we don't appreciate, we don't appreciate, do we?

[28:55] I don't appreciate the seriousness of sin. We say, look, here's a priest, and he drives a spear through this couple in the act of sex. How shocking, how shocking.

[29:09] And yet, we put a crucifix around our neck, and we're not shocked at that. How serious is sin? Well, sin is so serious, isn't it, that God did not spare his own son, but he delivered him up for us all.

[29:23] When sin was found on Jesus by imputation, by our sin being put onto him, when he took that sin upon himself, God did not spare his own son.

[29:36] He was pierced for our transgressions. The punishment of our sin was upon him. So what Phineas does, shocks us and horrifies us, driving a spear through them both.

[29:47] And we say, surely sin is not that serious. But Jesus said, if your right hand offends you, pluck it out.

[29:58] And if your right eye offends you, pluck it out. And if your right hand offends you, cut it off. And it's better to enter heaven, maimed, than go to hell, intact. He's not talking about physical mutilation.

[30:10] He's talking about being drastic, unruthless with sin in our lives. And John Owen said, if you don't kill sin, sin is going to kill you.

[30:23] Paul says in Romans 8, if you live by the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit of God, you put to death the flesh, you will live. And if you don't kill your sin, your sin is going to kill you. It's that serious. And do you see that's so counterculture.

[30:37] It's so offensive. I'm really happy to see myself as a victim. I see myself as a rebel. I'm just not willing for that. But we live, don't we, in a culture that gets entertained by people doing the very things that brought down God's judgment on people.

[30:57] And those things are in my heart and in our lives. And we're not shocked or horrified. We're half-hearted like Moses. We read this story and it offends us.

[31:08] How can we believe in a God like this? It's a barbaric and sub-Christian. But you see, if that's what you think, you've not understood the cross. And that's my final point, the Messiah.

[31:20] Because like all scripture, this scripture points us forward to the cross of Jesus Christ. Do you remember when the disciples, and what they said about him in the temple, he drove out the money changers.

[31:32] And they remembered, where it was written somewhere, in their Bibles, that zeal for your house will consume me. Zeal for your house will consume me.

[31:42] So, what we see when Jesus drives out the people that have turned this temple into kind of a bric-a-brac market, we see that here is one greater than Phineas. Phineas, in his zeal for God's glory, pierced sinners.

[31:59] It's a horrific picture. But Jesus, in his zeal for God's glory, was pierced. But instead of making atonement by executing sinners, which is what Phineas did, quite correctly, and properly in obedience of God, instead of making atonement by the shedding of the blood of sinners, instead of executing sinners, Jesus is executed.

[32:27] Jesus makes atonement by his death on the cross. And by his death on the cross, he turns away the anger of God. That's why the word propitiation is not a word we use.

[32:40] It's the word matters. Because the word propitiation is at the heart of the gospel. The word propitiation, it means to turn away the anger of God.

[32:52] And Jesus went to the cross. He went to the cross out of love for us. He did. Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

[33:08] But Jesus laid down his life for his enemies. And yes, the cross is a message of love, but it's also a message, isn't it, about the holiness of God. Jesus didn't go to the cross just out of love and concern for you.

[33:23] He went to the cross because he was zealous for the glory of God and his blood was a propitiation. And it turned away God's anger and it satisfied God's just demands because sin must be punished.

[33:36] And my sin must be punished. And it has to be dealt with. It can't just be swept under the carpet. And Jesus went to the cross because of that. And he went to the cross zealous for the glory of God full of love and compassion.

[33:48] And that's what this passage is telling us. That here is a great high priest who's even greater than Phinehas. Whoever lives and pleads for us. And so let me say to you tonight, I don't know you, I don't know your hearts, do I?

[34:05] But I want to say as I close, there is no sin, not even in our debate society, there is no sin that is too gross that cannot be forgiven. Isaiah said to me in chapter 1 that great verse where the Lord says to his people come, come, let's reason together.

[34:26] Though your sins are like scarlet, they can be made white as wool. White as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they should be white like wool.

[34:41] We're told, aren't we, that God enters into a covenant, an agreement, a pledge, a promise of peace through the blood of his own son. Through this everlasting priest, one who ever lives to make intercession.

[34:58] Peace, perfect peace in this dark world of sin. The blood of Jesus whispers peace within, peace that you need, peace that you want. Do you know that the children sing, that we sing sometimes on Sunday, what can wash away my sin?

[35:14] Well, church attendance won't do it. Turning over a new leaf won't do it. Trying to be respectable won't do it. What can wash away my sin, children?

[35:26] Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And you need atonement for your sin like I do. You need a sacrifice for your sin. You need someone to stand in your place before a holy God to take away your sin.

[35:39] I want to urge you tonight if you've never done that, you may know all about it but you've never trusted yourself to Jesus. Will you do that this evening? Will you take this great provision that God has made for your sin in the saviour?

[35:55] There is a fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness which you can wash in the prophet says. Sinners that jump into that flood lose all their guilty stains.

[36:08]  Let's pray. Let's pray.