Sermon Be Whiter than Snow
Surely you’ve seen an incandescent bulb? Like a 60 watt bulb. You say, that’s white light.
Then you see a fluorescent bulb and wow, that’s whiter! No, that’s white!
Then you see an LED bulb, and wow, that’s even whiter! No, that's white!
That first bulb, now you realize, it wasn’t white, it was sort of yellow!
How does that happen? Are you seeing the whole spectrum or just part of it?
Have you ever seen a white piece of paper? You say, yeah that’s white.
Then you see a whiter sheet of paper! What, no that’s white!
Paper is actually measured in whiteness like 85% white, 90% white, or 94% white. It gets even whiter than that! You think that paper is white, but really it’s not! It’s nearly white!
My wife had cataract surgery! She says that before the surgery all the colors look right and white looks white ya know. After the surgery, no, now she knows what white looks like. Everything looks brighter and more colorful!
How do you know if what white you’re seeing is really white or not?
You look at a white t-shirt in the closet and you think, yeah, that’s white and clean. Then you bring it out of the closet and into the light, and woah, that thing’s dirty! That needs to go back into the wash! How did I ever think that was clean? It’s filthy!!!
How is it we can think we know something is something but then seconds later, we realize that that thing was not what we thought it was but now this new thing is what we think?
Of course, people are that way too! You ask them if they are good people and they will say, “Of course!” Then, if you ask them if they have lied, or stolen, or thought bad thoughts, or have done other sinful things, they have to admit that yes they have. Only then they realize that their sins have put many black marks on them. They are not pure, they are tainted! The Bible associates whiteness with purity. (To be clear, and it’s sad to even have to bring this up in this day and age, but this has nothing to do with skin color.)
We are WHITE BLIND! We can see somewhere between 1M and 10M colors with our eyes!
Zechariah 3:1-5 Joshua the High Priest gets new clothes
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. 4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and [b]will clothe you with festal robes.” 5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.
Imagine, this is the high priest the Bible is talking about and even he had a lot of black marks on his spiritual clothes and hat! Imagine how many black marks we have on our spiritual clothes and yet many people absurdly think they are sinless!
Perhaps some realize that they are not good people but still others will say they are good people even though the Bible says otherwise (all have sinned and come short of the glory of God Rom 3:23, If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:10).
When we shine the light of God’s holiness, and righteousness vs our unholiness and unrighteousness, we realize that we are woefully sinful and inadequate. We are not worthy of heaven!
Isaiah 6:1-5
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
How would you measure up if you saw God high and lifted up? Would you too be instantly humiliated? Imagine, if you will, us in our unholy state, and yet God loves us and wants to save us from our sin. Only a loving God can do that. If God were unloving, He would just zap us dead, but God, because of His great love, provided a way of salvation for us sinful people. (But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8).
Psalm 36
1 I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Imagine that sinful wicked people, having no fear of God because of their sin. (“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10)
2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin.
3 The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good.
4 Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.
They say that people who are empty of the Lord are full of themselves. Imagine a sinful person, puffing themself up before a holy God! Seems absurd and unwise doesn’t it! Imagine that they can’t even reject what is wrong to do and just go headlong into evil and think that’s just fine. Ever seen that cartoon of the dog sitting in a burning house and saying, “this is fine”?
Drug addicts find it awfully difficult to stop taking drugs. Sin is a drug! Can you not repent of your sins? Sin wants to destroy you. Sin is not your friend. The wages of sin is death! Rom 6:23a
Yet, even though we were his enemies, God loves us, and saves us, and wants good for us. It’s totally unexpected and “flabbergasting” that God can love even us sinful people and wants to save those to take refuge in Him! The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord! Rom 6:23b
(Continuing Psalm 36)
5 Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Amazing! Fantastic! Super! Other superlatives! God’s righteousness is way up there! His justice is deep deep deep! God has big Love! Notice how it says, “in your light we see light”. With our own wicked eyes, we can’t see righteousness, but through His eyes and in His light, we see clearly. Whites become whites again!
11 May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 See how the evildoers lie fallen— thrown down, not able to rise!
We see David calling for God’s protection and for evil doers to be stopped. This is the fate of those who can’t turn to the loving God. Our loving God. Why do some people love to dwell in their sins and not be repulsed by them? Why can’t they turn and be redeemed? Why can’t they see that their whites are not whites?
Revelation 3:17-21
17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eyesalve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Do you have that eye salve? Have your spiritual cataracts been removed? Are the whites you are seeing really whites or are they ugly yellow or dirty filthy t-shirts that need to go back into the wash. Only Jesus can wash away your sins! Turn to Jesus before it’s too late! He can take away your filthy garments and give you a new robe that is whiter than snow! God loves you so much and doesn’t wish that any should perish. Will you perish in your sins, can you not get yourself to turn away from them? Please, repent today, and turn to the God who loves you and wants to save you!
Revelation 3:5
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Psalm 51:7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
Ephesians 1:18
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
What color are your spiritual whities? Are they super white or are they yellow or are they dirty white or that really really deep vanta-black - one of the blackest paints we can make!
You will only know when you stack yourself up against God and who can really do that?
But when you turn your life over to Jesus, He can take away your sins and wash your spiritual clothes as white as snow! Are you tired of being a sinner and being a slave to sin which is killing you day by day? Then jump into Jesus’ arms of Love and He will save you, clean you up and even adopt you and make you a joint-heir of Heaven! You will lose your own filthy unrighteousness and gain His righteousness standing. I hope you will do that and get that eyesalve He talked about so that one day you will see that white-white that is whiter than snow!
