JUST AS I AM
10/3/04 A.M.
In honor of Ethel Peters 8/25/22-9/24/04
If you have attended this church or other evangelical churches for very long, you are undoubtedly familiar with the hymn that we just sung, Just as I am. The words were written in 1836 by Charlotte Elliot and the music we sing this hymn to was written by William Bradbury.
Miss Charlotte Elliott was visiting some friends in the West End of London, and there met the eminent minister, César Malan. While seated at supper, the minister said he hoped that she was a Christian. She took offense at this, and replied that she would rather not discuss that question.
Dr. Malan said that he was sorry if had offended her, that he always liked to speak a word for his Master, and that he hoped that the young lady would some day become a worker for Christ.
When they met again at the home of a mutual friend, three weeks later, Miss Elliott told the minister that ever since he had spoken to her she had been trying to find her Saviour, and that she now wished him to tell her how to come to Christ. “Just come to him as you are,” Dr. Malan said. This she did, and went away rejoicing. Sankey, Ira David. My Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns. Harper & Brothers, 1906.
About the words or this hymn her brother said: “In the course of a long ministry, I hope I have been permitted to see some of the fruit of my labor, but I feel that far more has been done by a single hymn of my sister’s.” http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/u/justasam.htm
Just As I Am is one of those Gospel hymns that has been used as what we call an “invitation hymn”.
It is generally sung at the end of a service and is used to invite people to trust Christ as Savior. This hymn also encourages Christians to bring their problems to their Savior.
This hymn has a great Biblical message. And this morning, for reasons that I will disclose later, I would like to do something unusual. I will preach on this hymn instead of a passage from the Bible. Lord willing, we will return to our study of 1 John next week.
The theme of this hymn is “I Come”. There are five verses that we use of this hymn. Each one stresses a different aspect of coming.
VERSE 1 – I COME WITH ONE PLEA
VERSE 2 – I COME FOR COMPLETE PURIFICATION
VERSE 3 – I COME WITH MANY PROBLEMS
VERSE 4 – I COME FOR GREAT PROVISION
VERSE 5 – I COME BECAUSE OF GREAT PROMISES
VERSE 1 – I COME WITH ONE PLEA
Just as I am, without one
plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
The words, Just As I Am are profound in themselves.
Most people think that they must do something to get into heaven.
· They think that they have to do good works.
· They think that they must obey the Ten Commandments.
· They think that they have to be moral.
· They think they must give money.
· They think they must attend church.
While all of these things are good in themselves, they are not the basis on which I can approach God and expect to get into Heaven.
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Titus 3:5 - Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
If we are honest before God and ourselves, we will realize that we have no righteousness that would commend ourselves to God. We are not good enough to earn Heaven.
Isaiah 64:6 - But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
So we must come to God without one plea. We have no righteousness of our own. We do not deserve Heaven.
But there is one and only one plea we can make.
Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, shed His blood for me.
John 1:29 - The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1 Peter 1:18-19 - Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; [19] But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
And Jesus, the Lamb of God bids me come to Him!
Matthew 11:28 - Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The last invitation in the Bible is to come!
Rev. 22:17 - And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Charlotte Elliot wrote:
Just as I am, without one
plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
She came to Jesus with but one plea.
She came in faith.
She trusted Jesus Christ. She believed on Him and that His shed blood was sufficient or enough to pay for her sins.
Have you come?
Have you believed?
As you stand before the gate of Heaven and if God should ask you why He should let you in, you will have only one acceptable plea. That plea is that Jesus died for you and that you trusted Him as Savior.
John 3:36 - He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
VERSE 1 – I COME WITH ONE PLEA
VERSE 2 – I COME FOR COMPLETE PURIFICATION
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.
There are two thoughts that I see in this verse.
First, I am reminded that there is no sin that the Lord Jesus didn’t die for.
In other words, the shed blood of Jesus is enough to pay for every sin committed.
Therefore, nobody can say that their sin is unforgivable.
Don’t hold back from coming to Christ this morning because you feel that you have done something that can not be forgiven.
If you want forgiveness and everlasting life God will give it if you humbly come and trust His Son. He will forgive it all.
The chorus of another great hymn says:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow. Elvina M. Hall
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/p/jpaidall.htm
Second, Christians sometimes labor under guilt because there are things they have done after becoming Christians that were wrong, that were sin.
Christian, sin is still a problem for us after we become Christians. We still sin.
Sin does not keep us out of Heaven. Jesus died for all our sins, past, present and future.
But sin hinders our fellowship with God, our peace with God, and our fellowship with other believers.
Psalm 66:18 - If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
But if we come to God as Christians, confessing all known sin, He cleanses us. Every sin is forgiven!
1 John 1:7-9 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. [8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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.
Come to Him for complete purification.
Come and be forgiven for eternal life.
Come Christian, confess those sins, and let Jesus cleanse you completely.
VERSE 3 – I COME WITH MANY PROBLEMS
Just as I am, though tossed
about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Right now this is my favorite stanza to this hymn.
Like you, I can relate to what Charlotte Elliot was saying.
There are times of conflict.
There are times of fightings and fears within me and going on around me.
Many of you are aware that this has not been a good year for the Peters family in many ways.
· I dislocated my shoulder and I’m still taking therapy, and it still aches.
· My son was pressured into resigning his church pastorate.
· We discovered that we needed to spring for a new car.
· All three kids have had financial problems.
· Both my Mom and Dad had sickness.
· My Dad died on May 28th.
· My Mom died a week ago Friday, just four months after Dad.
And yet the Lord Jesus says, “Jack, bring all these cares to me!” He wants them. He’ll bear them.
When it hurts the most Jesus is there.
When it hurts the most Jesus will listen!
Hebrews 4:14-16 - Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. [15] For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Many of you have been hurting too.
Make your response to your problems, “O Lamb of God, I come. I’m bringing my heartaches and heartbreaks to you!”
Just as I am, though tossed
about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
VERSE 3 – I COME WITH MANY PROBLEMS
VERSE 4 – I COME FOR GREAT PROVISION
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.
Before we come to Jesus we are spiritually poor, spiritually wretched and spiritually blind.
When we come to Jesus and believe on Him, we receive many blessings.
Once I was spiritually blind, now I see!
Once I was spiritually poor, now I am rich!
Ephesians 1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Once I was spiritually wretched, now I am healed.
Isaiah 53:5 - But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
And whatever I need to live this life I have in Christ!
1 Corinthians 1:30 - But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Philippians 4:19 - But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Christian, whatever you need, ask God for it Jesus name!
He’s either already provided it and you need to appropriate it, or He will provide whatever you need in answer to prayer.
Matthew 7:7-8 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: [8] For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
VERSE 4 – I COME FOR GREAT PROVISION
VERSE 5 – I COME BECAUSE OF GREAT PROMISES
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.
God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit keep their promises.
There is a promise of welcome.
Revelation 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
There is the promise of pardon.
Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
There is the promise of cleansing.
1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
There is the promise of relief.
Psalm 55:22 - Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
The Word of God is full of the promises of God.
When these promises apply to us we can come to God expecting to receive them.
As we believe them, as we claim them, we will enjoy them and find them to be true.
Do you believe the promises of God?
Especially, do you believe the promise of God for forgiveness and eternal life?
It is time to come to God just as we are and receive the help we need!
VERSE 1 – I COME WITH ONE PLEA
VERSE 2 – I COME FOR COMPLETE PURIFICATION
VERSE 3 – I COME WITH MANY PROBLEMS
VERSE 4 – I COME FOR GREAT PROVISION
VERSE 5 – I COME BECAUSE OF GREAT PROMISES
Oh! I said I had reasons for preaching this message this morning.
The primary reason is this is my Mom’s favorite hymn.
She told us so.
I believe she came to Jesus for salvation.
I believe she came to Jesus with her problems.
I believe she came to Jesus when she was hurting.
So this message this morning is dedicated to her.
Let’s pray!