The Healing Word

Pastor Jack Morris: If we are a reflection of Jesus, if the light of him who is the light of the world has shined into me and now is shining out through me, if I walk in that light, I'm going to get along with everybody.

Guest (Male): On today's Healing Word broadcast, Pastor Jack Morris explores God's great salvation and his never-ending forgiveness that goes along with it. In this world, we're surrounded by sin and sometimes tempted to give in to wrongdoing. But when we do and acknowledge it before him, he is faithful and just to forgive us.

Pastor Jack Morris: First John chapter one verse nine says, "If we... he is." Now, if we do our part, he's already done his part. If we, he is available, present to bless, to heal, to do great and mighty things. I want to ask you a question. You think about it now for just a moment. Do Christians ever sin, fail, or do something unchristian? Oh, I think I get both answers.

But if your answer is yes, that Christians do fail sometimes, that they do sin, they do unchristian things, not because they want to or they determine they're going to just do something to hurt somebody, but we're human. We don't have a crystal ball and we don't know everybody else and their feelings. But if the answer is yes, does this make them an unchristian? Does this cause them to go back to the altar and confess their sins and repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and be baptized all over again?

Let me tell you about a friend of mine, a dear friend who is now in heaven. His first name is Forest. He was the coach at the Bible college that I attended. At his funeral, he just died this past year. At his funeral, his son spoke a few words, and his son told a story about his dad that I'd never heard before. I don't think any of us had heard it before. And it was this.

Now Forest was one of the finest Christian men I ever knew, and he still is. He preached in the church I pastored in Baltimore. He was an all-American basketball star at his university and then he came to the Bible college. He had been a pastor and he was a wonderful, wonderful man of God.

But on one occasion, with his family out on an outing, it really wasn't at his family that he lost his temper, but he just got over-anxious about something and he said a word that he regretted ever saying. Now, it wasn't an expletive. It wasn't an obscene word. But to him, it bothered him. It caused him grief. He apologized to his sons and his wife. He went and he apologized to God, and he asked God to help him and forgive him.

Now, I wouldn't have considered that an obscene word. It really wasn't. At the funeral, instead of speaking the word, his son spelled the word to the congregation that was there. It really wasn't anything, certainly didn't seem like anything to me, but to him, to my dear friend Forest, it was something that caused him to be disappointed in himself. It grieved him very much.

God forgives sins, does he not? Forgives all our sins. I'm going to turn quickly over to Romans 4:7 and 8. Just listen to this: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." Blessed. Friend, if you know Jesus and you know your sins are forgiven, you are blessed. You are a privileged recipient of divine favor.

We need to rejoice and give thanks to God because that forgiveness and that salvation is the greatest, most wonderful thing that can possibly happen to a human being. And it's happened to you. To me, it's happened through Jesus and his great and wonderful love, the highest good.

Now just think about it for just a moment, the highest good. The greatest thing that's ever going to happen to you for the rest of your life. You can hit the lottery; it won't even compare to this. This is the highest good. I've been redeemed. I've been saved and forgiven of my sins. This is what Jesus has done.

Some people know the time, the date, and the place where they were saved and Christ came into their hearts. Some people don't know the time, the date, and the place, but that doesn't really matter if you know it or if you don't know it. Now, I do know the time, the date, and the place where I received Jesus as my savior. Many, many years later I preached in that church and obviously they had a new pastor and I pointed at that place at the altar where I knelt and asked Jesus to come into my heart.

My daughter accepted Jesus when she was five years old and asked Jesus. She doesn't remember the time, the date, and the place. So that isn't the important thing, knowing the time, the date, and the place. The important thing is you know your sins are forgiven. That's the important thing. You know you'll go to heaven tonight if you die and you never wake up. That's the important thing that you know, that God has forgiven you, that Christ has come into your heart.

How can God do that? Knowing that God condemns sin, that God hates sin, that God condemns the sinner, that God even says I'm going to punish the sinner. How then can God forgive, especially after such declarations as that? God made his son sin for us. The scripture says in Second Corinthians 5:21, "God made him, the Lord Jesus, who had no sin to become sin for us, so that in Jesus we might become the righteousness of God," or that in Jesus we might become right with God.

Now God not only forgave sins past tense, he still forgives sins present tense that Christians commit. We're still human. We're not perfect. The scripture says that God remembers our frame. He knows that we are but dust, meaning he knows we live with a human brain in a human body and sometimes things happen inadvertently, not by design.

We used to sin by design. We planned on it. We did it. We called it a good time and then we paid for it the next day or next month. But not now. Friend, we're human and even God recognizes that, thanks to him that he does and he forgives sins. You see, we live in a world gone wrong. We live with evil, with temptation, with hate. In this world there's the love of money, the love of pleasure, the love of power.

We are acted upon by these influences. We do business with these influences. We work side by side and we are associated with such. These are powerful influences. Daily, hourly, we're out there in this world gone wrong. The Apostle Paul said this in Romans chapter seven. Paul said, "Who shall deliver me, or deliver us, from this power of death? Who shall deliver us? How are we going to get away from it?"

Friend, you can't get off of earth. You're stuck on this planet with imperfect people with evil influences. We're here for the remainder of time and Paul says, "Who shall deliver us from this body of death?" And then he asks, "Who shall deliver us? Who shall deliver us?"

There's a body of death. The thought behind this is that we are handcuffed to a body that is dead. We are handcuffed to a corpse. Wherever we go, we have to drag that dead body around with us all the time. Paul says, "I want to get free from this dead body. I want to be liberated." What he's saying is, I'm living on an earth that has been cursed, an earth that has fallen. This earth is dead against God and everybody in it except those who have accepted Jesus are dead. I'm handcuffed to planet Earth. I can't get off. I'm here. Who shall deliver us?

Now, this is what he says, that we are now susceptible, we are easily affected, we're all sensitive to this body of death that is around us. Well, the good news is God cleanses us even after we become a Christian. God cleanses us. Now, listen to this friend. Just a moment ago, everybody in here prayed the Lord's Prayer. And what did you pray? "Forgive us our debts, our sins, our transgressions."

Jesus taught the disciples to pray that. Forgive us. Who are us? Us believers who are followers of Jesus need to pray, "God forgive me my sins." This is the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. Then in First John chapter one verse seven, let's read it in unison again: "But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son purifies us from all sin."

Now notice it said if we walk in the light. If, listen, if we are a reflection of Jesus. That's what it simply means. If the light of him who is the light of the world has shined into me and now is shining out through me, if I walk in that light, I'm going to get along with everybody. And if I'm not getting along and loving, isn't that what it says? Look at it for yourself.

"We have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us or purifies us from all our sin." Now look at the bottom. Here is the literal rendering: "The blood of Jesus his son keeps cleansing us from all our sins." It keeps cleansing us. Why? Because we live in a world that has gone wrong, a world of sinful influences, a world of hate, a world of discrimination, a world of pride, a world that is a lover of money, the lover of power.

The world says I want to get everything I can get and I want everybody to look at me, take care of me. I want to get the most out of this world. Friend, this world doesn't give very much. This world only deceives. This world is lost without Jesus. But when we do sin, when our hearts condemn us, remember that's why we're coming to this altar today. Otherwise, this becomes a ritual. We're going to look at the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all our sin.

We're going to remember his body is broken, but don't come unless you have first confessed what you've done wrong this week, last week, last month since you were here the last time. If you come up just to remember him, you have to come up to remember him, but why he was who he was and why he did what he did and how it affects you and how it affects me. I've got to put my mind in gear and look at these scriptures and be moved upon by these scriptures.

I've got to come down before the cross and say, God, I have been a human and I have allowed the humanity within me to take over and to express itself with attitudes, with dispositions, with feelings, with behavior. Don't tell me you haven't had an unclean thought or a behavior that has not been a good behavior, or said something that shouldn't have been said. We need to come to this altar and get cleansed again. And if we don't have that ongoing daily cleansing, forgive us, us. Us who name your name, us who have accepted Jesus, us who have been baptized, us who have joined the church, forgive us our debts, our sins, our transgressions.

Then we can forgive those who have sinned against us, transgressed against us. Then it can be done. Only, only then. Only as I am keenly aware of God in me, only as his light is shining upon me and now my life is a reflection of that light, only then can I truly be the life of Jesus in this world.

You see, Jesus, the custom was there was no sewage system in Jerusalem in that day. Sometimes when it would rain, the sewage would just come down into the street and run down the middle of the street. And then when the sun would come out, it would bake it and all that would be in the sand. And they walked with sandals and they walked through dirty places and that's why they washed their feet. That sand and that dirt would get under the straps of the sandals and it would rub their feet raw.

So when they would come in to eat, they would not only wash their hands but they washed their feet because their feet were sore and had all that filth on it and they walked it all around their living room and their house. And not a one of those guys, those 12, would do what the common courtesy thing was to do.

So Peter said, "Whoa, you don't wash my feet. You're my savior. You're the one that stood on the edge of eternity with the Father and the Holy Spirit and spoke worlds into existence and you get a pan of water and get down on the floor like this?" Now he not only was teaching humility, he was teaching humility, but we sometimes think that's all he taught.

But even those who sometimes say we need to be humble and wash feet, they don't humble themselves and do any foot washing. They can tell it and talk it, but come on, let's love one another and serve one another and be kind to one another. Let the light of Jesus reflect itself out through us.

And so Jesus gets that pan of water and Peter says, "Oh no." And Jesus said, "Okay, all right, I hear what you're saying. But you don't know what you're saying because if I don't wash you..." Now these were already followers of Jesus. "If I don't wash you, you will have no part with me." Friend, that scares me. It worries me.

I wonder if there are Christians who think they're Christians or who are going to find up at the last day at the hour of death that they have no part with the Lord because they think, "I'm saved, I'm forever clean, I'm okay." Friend, we have to come and have this ongoing cleansing. Jesus said, Jesus said, Jesus said, "You will have no part with me."

This isn't Pastor Jack Morris's sayings. This is Jesus. Will you listen to Jesus? "You will have no part with me." Peter, a follower, a miracle worker. You might go to hell? Jesus said you'll have no part with me. You won't be where I am. You'll have no part with me.

Then Peter says, he goes, the pendulum swings the other way and he said, "Oh, not only my feet, but my hands and my head, my whole body." Then Jesus corrects him. He said, "Peter, those who have already taken a bath, you've already had your shower, you don't need another bath, you just need to wash your feet."

Now what it was, they would take their baths at public bathhouses and then when they would go home, they would walk down those dirty streets and go in the house. They don't need another bath. They don't need to turn around and go back to the bathhouse. They just need to wash their feet.

And Jesus says, "Peter, you walk among people. You walk in dirty places. You don't need to get saved all over again. You are cleansed. But you've done business with the world. You need to have your feet washed." That's what we're doing today when we come here. We're having a cleansing. Blessing forevermore. We're having a cleansing.

Now, Paul says, "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" And then he answers his own question. "Thanks be unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus is here to hear our prayers, to hear our confession, to make this the most beautiful and wonderful cleansing and renewal reality.

Friend, you can be cleansed. You can feel like you've just had a nice warm shower on the inside. You can leave feeling new with all of those hates and attitudes and dispositions that are so unchristianlike. You're not a reflection of Jesus when that comes forth.

Some say that's a reflection of the devil. No, I don't think so. That's just a reflection of you. We blame everything on the devil. The devil has nothing to do with this and you. This is between you and God today.

We live in the tension between two worlds: this world and the next. Between physical life and daily living and our Christian life. We need daily confession and daily cleansing. We need it and he is here to hear our prayer. That's why Paul wrote in Corinthians that don't come unworthily to this altar. If you don't come with confession and repentance, don't come. This is a cleansing place. This is a healing place. This is a cleansing stream. He can only cleanse what I confess and acknowledge. Let's bow our heads in confession and acknowledge before him now.

Guest (Male): We hope that today's message has been a blessing and has strengthened your faith in God. But before we go, here is Pastor Jack Morris with a special invitation.

Pastor Jack Morris: Have you ever asked God why? Why this sickness? Why this divorce, this disappointment? Why these troubles and problems? Why, God? Friend, I've just completed an ebook entitled "From Asking Why God to Trusting Him." It's a faith journey. I'll be glad to send it to you free of charge simply for asking. Some of the life situations addressed in the ebook are: God's timing in answering prayer, a journey of faith through suffering, reasons for unanswered prayer, and more. For your free copy, go to thehealingword.com and sign up. That's thehealingword.com and I'll send you a free copy of "From Asking Why God to Trusting Him." I'm Pastor Jack Morris. Join us tomorrow for another Healing Word message. Until then, blessings on you.