When you’ve got a REALLY tough clean up job, do you have a “secret weapon” you turn to? If you ask Procter & Gamble, they’ll tell you “There’s no clean like Mr. Clean.” As good as he is, there’s some things even Mr. Clean can’t touch. But I’ve got a solution for those.
Before we get to the cleaning tip of the century, let me say “Welcome to Mornings with Bishop Robert.” I appreciate you stopping by. My goal is to introduce people to the Jesus they never knew, and help them get to know Him and His word personally – and better ! If our time together today shows you how to cleans up any tough messes in your life, then let me invite you to like, subscribe and share it with a friend!
Since his introduction in 1958, Mr. Clean has developed a nearly global reputation for being tough on dirt and gentle on the things he cleans. A man of few words and many muscles, his eponymous cleaning liquid claims to be able to cut through 100% of dirt and grime. His Magic Eraser is said to clean “impossible” messes, and his Clean Freak mist offers “deep cleaning” power. According to his website (yes, he has a website) Mr. Clean embodies everything that makes his products so special. He’s tough, fearless, inventive, helpful, and has the muscle to knock out dirt, grease, and grime no matter where it’s hiding. But there are actually quite a few very important things that Mr. Clean can’t even touch.
That brings us to today’s verse, which says IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS TO HIM, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL WICKEDNESS.
God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. He is totally pure and clean. He sent Jesus into the world to deal with a particularly nasty, dirty problem – SIN.
Thankfully Jesus is also tough, fearless, inventive, helpful. He’s tough enough to deal with a legion of demons and inventive enough to feed thousands of people with a small boy’s bag lunch. And fearless? He wasn’t afraid to go to the cross and pay the full price for your sin and mine. But when you get to “helpful” that’s where Jesus really shines. He deals with the “impossible messes” on the inside of us, because He’s the only one who can. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of God’s faithfulness, because his offer of forgiveness is made to all who will come to Him.
His grace is kind of like Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser. We can give Jesus the pain of addiction, the grime and mess caused by divorce, the filth of pornography — anything making a mess of your life. Jesus steps in and proceeds to clean it up as we follow His instructions. In the UK and Ireland, Mr. Clean is sold under the brand name “Flash,” and that’s how quickly Jesus can deal with your sin. Quick as a flash of light.
You see, with faith as with anything, the instructions are a critical element. You could buy cases full of Mr. Clean’s Magic Erasers and set them unwrapped on every surface of your house. They won’t clean a thing all by themselves. You have to follow the instructions, and actually USE THEM as they were designed to be used if you want the benefit.
IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS TO HIM, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL WICKEDNESS
Those are the instructions we find in God’s word. You’ve got to confess to your mess. Whoever conceals their sins is stuck with the grime and the pain, but everyone who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Once we confess, He cleanses us. That’s right, He shows up to do the job personally. Mr. Clean makes you do the work at home all by yourself, but not God. He says, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your filth and dirt, and I will cleanse you from everything that keeps polluting you.”
Christ makes us so clean that we don’t even want to defile ourselves anymore with detestable things. He saves us from all the backslidings and screw-ups in which we have sinned. He’s a faithful God who keeps His covenant, and cleanses us so that we can keep in covenant with Him. It’s NOT a Magic Eraser, it’s a miracle. And it’s based upon His love for us.
I have a sister who’s a “clean freak.” I’ve never seen her house when it wasn’t immaculate and spotless. But Jesus is even more of a “clean freak” than she is, and He wants to make us immaculate and spotless from the inside out. He’s tough on sin, but oh so gentle on the people He cleans.
What Peter said to the crowds gathered in Jerusalem still applies today. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Now THAT’S the best cleaning tip you’ll ever hear.
IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS TO HIM, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL WICKEDNESS
