The song “Just as I am” became Billy Graham’s signature song

…for good reason… it is a great message.

Sermon April 18 2021

OPENING
Good Morning
May all Glory be Gods that we are able to gather here together, in this place, to worship the one True God, in truth and spirit through song, prayer, and word.

STORY
In 1789 a child was born and was to live 82 years as an invalid. Charlotte Elliot of Brighton, England was either born, or in early life had become, an invalid.
Her life became a testimony to patient endurance in suffering, not only physical, but also emotional and spiritual.
But as ill health beset her, it also caused her the peculiar pain of living a seeming useless life while the circle around her was full of unresting service- for God.
Her brother, the Rev. H.V. Elliot, conceived the plan of St. Mary’s Hall, at Brighton —
a school designed to give a high education to the daughters of clergymen. . . . In aid of St. Mary’s Hall there was to be held a bazaar . . . Westfield Lodge was all busy with every member of the large circle occupied morning and night in the preparations,

with the one exception of the ailing sister Charlotte —eager to help, but physically fit for nothing.

The night before the bazaar she was kept awake by distressing thoughts of her apparent uselessness; and these thoughts turned into a spiritual conflict, until she questioned the reality of her whole spiritual life, and wondered her beliefs were anything more than an illusion of the emotions, an illusion ready to be sorrowfully ended.

The next day, the busy day of the bazaar, she lay upon her sofa. . . . The troubles of the night came back upon her with such force that she felt they must be met and conquered in the grace of God.

She gathered up in her soul the great certainties, not of her emotions, but of her salvation: her Lord, his power, his promise. And taking pen and paper from the table she deliberately set down in writing, for her own comfort, ‘the formula of her faith.’

Hers was a heart which always tended to express its depths in verse. So in verse she restated to herself the gospel of pardon, peace, and heaven.
Within a matter of years Ms. Elliott had the hymn published in The Invalid’s Hymn Book, and from there it spread and gained in popularity.

The name of that song?
Just as I am –

TALKING POINTS
I often correctly thought I didn’t deserve salvation, what I didn’t realize is no else did either.

But, God in His great mercy tells us we can come just as we are.
He welcomes us with open, and loving arms.

This morning I want us to look at the message of that song.

SERMON
One of the great dangers in doing the works of the Lord, is we often think the works is what saves us… and it isn’t…. those works whatever they might be is merely our common duty.

We are saved only by the work of Christ on the cross and His resurrection.

TALKING POINTS
I COME….. THAT IS THE FIRST DECISION… TO COME, AND THEN REALIZING IT MUST BE….
Just as I am

This last week I experienced the incredible realization that I am not some great man of God, but a failure…if my goal is perfection.
I am still a sinner… still undeserving of Gods grace…

but I accept that grace of the cross, embrace it, and cherish it… it is the overwhelming proof of His love for us.

When I returned to the Church, I came exactly as I was… I didn’t try to “clean up” my act.
I made no effort to change myself, other than attending church services.
I didn’t even start reading the bible at first.
God took it from me, and God changed my focus… He changed me… I did not change me.

Just as I Am

David was one of the all time great sinners, adulterer who tried to cover up his crime with the greater crime of murder.

BIBLE READING
Psalm 51
A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba.

51 Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and guilt
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them;
My sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned
And done that which is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak [Your sentence]
And faultless in Your judgment.

5 I was brought forth in [a state of] wickedness;
In sin my mother conceived me [and from my beginning I, too, was sinful].
6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Make me hear joy and gladness and be satisfied;
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right and steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted and return to You.

14 Rescue me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will sing joyfully of Your righteousness and Your justice.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.

TALKING POINTS
I hope you noticed in the bible reading that it was God doing the changing… not David… as it is with David, it is God that changes us when we come to Him.

“Just as I am! Without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, Oh Lamb of God, I come! I come!”

A. When we come to Christ, we have no argument to offer that we deserve to be saved.

a. We do not have a defense for our sin, no excuses… However

1. We all sin –

Romans 3:23 since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God,

2. And nothing we do can take that sin away from us. We can’t stand before God expecting God to say

“Here is a fine person who is just the type of person I want in heaven.”

3. The only reason we are saved is because of God’s grace –

BIBLE READING

Ephesians 2:8-9 Amplified Bible
Made Alive in Christ
In Ephesians 2: 8 & 9 restates that we were dead in our trespasses…. And dead men can do nothing… it is God that changed us and made us alive in Christ.
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

TALKING POINTS

Recap: We sin, we have no excuse, no defense, and there is nothing we can do to stop sinning, we cannot change ourselves and there will never be an excuse for our sin.

B. I frequently run into people who ask, “If I do x, y, and z, do you think that it will be enough for God to save me?”

C. Or, I’m a good person, why wouldn’t I go to heaven?

D. Or, “I can’t be a Christian. I’m too deep in sin.”

E. I normally like to add verse 10 which says we have work to do,

F. or the verse that tells us if we say we believe yet do not do as He commands we are liars.

G. But, that’s not the point today. Without the work of the cross there would be no work for us…. It all begins with the cross of grace provided by God Himself.

H. The point to all of this… we are saved by the work accomplished on the cross, and by nothing else.

I. We know we have work to do, and again people often confuse work and salvation… the work does not save us… The death and resurrection of Christ is the only work worthy for salvation.

J. Now granted, without the work we can lose our salvation.

D. The amazing thing is that God isn’t asking perfection from us.
He is offering salvation to sinners – to you and I –

We come to Him just as we are….
BIBLE READING
Romans 5:6-10 Amplified Bible
6 While we were still helpless [powerless to provide for our salvation], at the right time Christ died [as a substitute] for the ungodly.
7 Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to willingly give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a good man [one who is noble and selfless and worthy] someone might even dare to die.
8 But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today].

TALKING POINTS
E. But the song reminds us that we are saved while we are still in our sins. God bids us to come to Him, leaving our sins behind –

TALKING POINTS

“Just as I am! And waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, to Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”

A. When God offers salvation, despite our sins, there should be no question or hesitation in accepting the offer –

BIBLE READING
II Corinthians 6:1-2 Working together with Him, we strongly urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain [by turning away from sound doctrine and His merciful kindness].
2 For He says, “At the acceptable time (the time of grace) I listened to you, And I helped you on the day of salvation.”

Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”—

TALKING POINTS

C. Thus, Ananias asked a murderer and persecutor of the church, “What are you waiting for?” –

Acts 22:16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

D. Isn’t that the question for each of us? What sin do you really want to keep? When you realize just how horrible you’ve been and God is offering a way out, why stay in the filth?

“Just as I am! Tho’ tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, with fears within and foes without, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”

A. While the choice is obvious, it doesn’t mean the choice is always easy.

B. There are going to be problems:

1. Sin’s attraction remains. Satan is going to keep trying to pull us back in –
BIBLE READING
I Peter 5: 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

TALKING POINTS

2. When striking out on a new path, there are doubts and uncertainties but God is there to guide –

BIBLE READING
Psalm 73: 23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
24 You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
28 But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord God,
That I may declare all Your works.

BIBLE READING
Matthew 10:34-37 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’;
36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’
37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

TALKING POINTS

We often see conflict in families because one is a faithful believer, and the other rejects… but one must hold tight… eventually the other will possibly come around.

3. There will be pressure from the wicked –
BIBLE READING
Psalms 31:11-16 11 I am a reproach among all my enemies,
But especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the slander of many;
Fear is on every side;
While they take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.

“Just as I am! Poor, wretched, blind – Sight, riches, healing of the mind, yea, all I need, in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”

“Just as I am! Thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”

A. The point is that God wants you, broken as you may be, not to stay broken, but so that HE can repair your life –
We come as we are, we come expecting acceptance from God, we come with our temptations, and our rejection from friends, and attack from the enemy.
And Let God take care of the business of changing you.

BIBLE READING

B. God heals. God saves –

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise.

C. What God promises, He keeps –

Hebrews 6:16-20 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.
17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

“Just as I am! Thy love unknown has broken every barrier down; now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come! I come!”

A. It did not start with our desire for God. It started with God’s love for us –

I John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

TALKING POINTS

B. 2,000 years ago – long before you or anyone you’ve known were born, God sent His Son to die on your behalf that you might be restored from your sins

C. The offer stands, solid as the rock who offers it, but will you accept the offer?

1. God is not going to make anyone take His gift, though He desires to bestow it to everyone. He insists that you choose.

2. And the choice for God is one you’ll never regret

SO THE QUESTION IS:
4. Will you listen to the call?
5. Will you trust God with your life?
6. Will you confess your belief in Jesus, who died on your behalf?
7. Will you change your life, repenting of sin and follow the Spirit?
8. Will you be buried in the watery grave to start a new life?

CLOSING… CALL TO ACTION.
So Joe will close us out with that beautiful song,

But first

Number 6: 24 – 26
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord [a]lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” ’

I pray as we leave here today, you will always keep in mind, that it was God who loved us first… that it was God who accepts us as we are… and it is God who will keep changing us towards perfection if we remain in Him.
Thank you for your time… and the lesson is yours.