Thursday, August 8, 2002
Our son had just arrived in the southwestern United States to begin his work with Native Americans. In fact, his supervisor in his non-profit work was a Native American. And our son was eager to show that he was coming with a servant spirit, you know. He had a tremendous opportunity to do just that. His supervisor needed his help in cleaning out a septic system. The job began with just our son's hands having to work in that sewage. But the job got more and more involved - and so did his body. Before he was finished, he was in that septic sewage up to his waist! Needless to say, he never felt more disgusting in his life. And then came the shower - that long, wonderful, heavenly shower! Now, he said he'd never been that dirty, and it had never felt better to be clean!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Shower Of A Lifetime."
Getting really clean after you've felt really dirty is a wonderful feeling. One that you might be ready for - on the inside.
So many of us carry inside the awful burden of the mistakes we've made in the past, or the people we've hurt, the wounds we've inflicted, the damage we've done. There are regrets and guilt that weigh us down - maybe for some destructive choices we've made or some compromises or some sin we wish we could go back and erase. Sometimes it can feel disgusting - like all that dirt that covered our son that day. We wonder if there's any way to get clean, to finally be free of the weight, the dirt, the guilt, the shame.
When Mark Twain was asked what were the two most important words in the English language, here's what he said. "Not guilty." But when we know we're guilty, how can we ever experience the freedom of those two glorious words?
There is wonderful, cleansing news in our wonderful word for today from the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. God is talking to people who've got a past. He mentions "the sexually immoral...idolaters...adulterers...homosexual offenders...thieves...the greedy...drunkards...slanderers...swindlers." And He delivers the bad news that those kind of people will never make it to heaven. It sounds hopeless - until God turns on His cleansing shower in the next verse.
He says, "And that is what some of you were." Were? You mean I can be free from the guilt and shame of the past? How? Well, He says, "But you were washed, you were sanctified (that means you were made special), you were justified (that means you were made right with God) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Now, the liberating message God has for you and me is this - whatever you've done, whatever you've become doesn't ever have to matter again. Jesus Christ offers you the shower of a lifetime, to forgive every sin you've ever committed, to declare you "not guilty," to open the doors of heaven to you as a new, spiritually clean person.
And how can this be? Because, as the Bible says, Jesus "bore our sins in His own body on the tree." (1 Peter 2:24) In simple words, you did the sinning and Jesus did the dying for it. It's all been paid for.
The forgiveness Jesus died to give you becomes yours when you tell Jesus you're trusting Him to be your Rescuer from your sin. And at that moment the shower of God washes you completely clean for the first time in your life - and forever.
If you're ready to experience that forgiveness, if you're ready to begin your relationship with Jesus Christ, I want to send you the booklet I wrote about it called "Yours For Life." We'll give you a way to let us know you want it in just a moment.
So many people have told me how they felt when they made Jesus their Savior. They've said, "It's like a huge weight was lifted off my back." That can happen to you right now, right where you are. And you can know how good it feels to finally get clean.
To read Ron's booklet "Yours for Life" online, click here.