The Healing Word

Guest (Male): The Healing Word ministry on One Place is brought to you by the generous donations of people like you. At any time during today's message, feel free to send a prayer request or make a donation using the links provided. Now, I pray you will be blessed as Pastor Jack Morris delivers a message from the word of God that will encourage and strengthen your faith in him.

Pastor Jack Morris: How can you hide from God? Intelligent people, and yet we think if we just stay away from church and stay away from preachers and stay away from the word of God. But God knows us and knows everything we're doing and saying. And he's with us all the time. He's walking toward us.

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Healing Word. Pastor Jack Morris is here and has a special message centering around the presence of God and how he watches over those who are his and knows us better than we know ourselves.

Pastor Jack Morris: I told a story here some time ago. It's I don't know how many months ago it was, but you may have forgotten it and you may remember it, but it bears repeating. A young man left home, went to New York and his parents didn't know that he'd even gone as I can understand it and what his plans were.

After a while, the dad learned somehow that his son was in New York. He was in his early twenties and he was not living a good life up there at all. And the dad decided, "I'm going to New York and find my boy," which he did. And when the dad got to New York, he didn't know where even where to begin to look for his boy.

And he began to ask people, police department. He went to a place that was being directed him under a bridge where people were living in cardboard boxes and he wasn't there. But some of the people there said, "There's another group over here somewhere." So finally, finally making this long story short, the dad located his boy.

And the dad started down the street. And when he saw his son, his son was sitting on the sidewalk with his back up against the building and his hair long and dirty, hadn't had a bath and hadn't changed clothes in who knows how long. And the dad spotted his boy way down the way and he started down the sidewalk toward him.

And he got about halfway to where his son was. And the son looked up and saw his dad coming. Well, the young man scrambled to his feet and took off down the sidewalk. His dad kept going, following him, caught up with him. And dad, this is a true story, dad just got up close to him, shoulder to shoulder and never said a word but just walked with his son.

His son went here and went there and dad just kept walking with him. There was a charitable organization every day that would bring sandwiches to a little park. And this group of fellows and girls would go down and they would eat sandwiches and bring some beverage, the charitable organization. And so the dad would eat what his son ate.

And at night when the son would stretch out to sleep on a cardboard box, dad would stretch out and sleep with the son on a cardboard box. This went on for about two weeks and finally the boy broke. He said, "I can't stand this anymore. I can't stand it." And he turned to his dad and dad took him home.

I thought, isn't that a picture of Jesus coming to us in our sin, in our lost estate? He comes to us. Where would we go to find him? We have no idea where heaven is. The scripture says that the saints that have gone on before us are like a witness that's gathered about us and looking in on us.

And someone said it's almost like being in a bleachers. The saints have gone on who have died into heaven and we're down on the playing field and they're watching our actions, our move, our behavior and praying for us. We don't pray for them, they're already there receiving their reward. We're encompassed about, the scripture says.

And I begin to read that and it says we are compassed about. And somebody said, and when I read we're compassed about, that heaven is right here but in another dimension that we can't see. But our loved ones are near us, they're not far off. We are compassed about, not over. I don't know.

But I know this, there is a heaven, there is a God and there is you and me. And we were lost in our sins but God came looking for us. I read that scripture where Jesus was walking toward John the Baptist. Notice the very first verse, it says, "The next day, John saw Jesus coming."

Just like that boy saw his dad coming. And for the most part, you and I ran from God and I have met so many people here at the church and through my life of adult ministry who have been running from God for years. And God is calling, God is speaking, he's speaking tenderly. He's not being harsh.

He's being so kind. He wants to bless, he wants to forgive, he wants to feed, he wants to heal, he wants to take us to heaven when we die. He's not willing that any should perish. But friends, we are perishing for a lack of knowledge. Oh, we have the knowledge that there is a Jesus, there is a Christmas, there is an Easter.

We know that, but I mean a personal one-on-one, like the boy and his dad, together being loved by the Lord. God not leaving us. And I thought of the people, even Christians, who sometimes stray and their experience grows cold. And we have to call and invite them back to church and back to the word.

Why should we have to do that when the Holy Spirit is calling us and the Holy Spirit is coming to us? The next day, verse 29, meaning this. Let me go now to my sermon. The next day, the day prior to the day Jesus was walking towards John.

And believe me friends, my God, my God, he's walking toward us this morning, even through this message, even through the solo, even through the hymns. God is coming to us. We're not just going to sing a hymn and pray a prayer and preach a sermon and then go home. No, we've got to meet God and God has come to meet us.

Are you ready to meet God? He sees us, he knows where we are, he knows our hurt, our every pain. He's a wonderful God, full of tender mercies. What a Savior. But the next day, the first day before the next day, the religious leaders went to John the Baptist. And they said, "Are you the Christ?"

"No," John said. "Are you Elijah?" "No," John said. "Are you a prophet?" "No." Well, they said, "Then who are you?" John looked like a wild man. He's dressed in camel's hair. He ate locusts and wild honey. He lived in the wilderness. But he was drawing big crowds and the people were interested.

Particularly the religious community, interested. Why all these crowds? You must be Elijah. You must be Christ. You must be a prophet. You are somebody. Who are you? Friend, let me tell you, you are John the Baptist. You are filled with the spirit. You are Jesus. People are looking at you and me and watching us and we're out there.

John said, "I'm just a voice. I'm just a voice pointing souls to Jesus." How many people need the Lord today? And they're not going to find him unless you and I say something about him. And John was saying something. And the people were coming in flocks and being baptized, being converted.

John looked up the next day and he saw Jesus. The boy looked up and saw his dad. Friend, if you look up, listen, if you look up, you'll see Jesus coming to you this morning. I pray that he won't let you alone. He won't let us alone. People watching, people in other parts of the world are streaming this very sermon.

Others will be catching it on YouTube and One Place. What the world needs is Jesus. But who's going to tell the world about Jesus but you and me? John the Baptist had a mission. When I read about Jesus walking toward John the Baptist, my mind went back to Genesis chapter 3 where God in the cool of the day began to walk toward Adam and Eve who broke that relationship.

Can you believe that people break their relationship with God after having a relationship with God? Well, Adam and Eve did. Where would Adam and Eve have gone if God hadn't come walking looking for them in the cool of the day? Why did it tell us the time of the day? Isn't that interesting?

The cool of the day. Sundown. The heat is over. The cool of the day. Now, counselors will tell you that many people, that's how they find some degree of relief from their anxiety at the end of the day. People with anxiety like the end of the day better than the morning because at the end of the day, businesses are closed.

There's no business to be done, they can't do any business, handle any problems and they just sort of, hey, it's over, the day is over. Thank God the day is over. People with anxiety. You talk about having anxiety? Adam and Eve had anxiety. They knew they had broken the law of God.

They had disobeyed God. God had given them everything. He withheld nothing. And so God thought, well, I've got to give them at least one law that they could break. Otherwise, no matter what they do, it's going to be okay. So God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil there and he said, "Only one thing I ask you to do."

Friends, God's not asking and requiring, he just wants our heart. And sure enough, Adam and Eve broke the law of God, they felt they'd do better. And they ran and hid from God. And I wonder today, how many Christians are backslidden, don't go to church anymore, read the Bible? Something happened, discouraged them and they just quit on God.

They quit on Christianity. They just quit. And they carry. I talked to a person one time and I said, "You don't come to church anymore." "No, I'm upset with somebody." "Well, is that somebody still there?" "Yeah, that somebody is still there." I mean, why are you going to allow somebody to take Jesus out of your spiritual life?

Let's look at the Lord. We don't live in a perfect world and even Christians are not perfect people. Even God knows that. The Lord said in his word that he remembers our frame that we are but dust. He knows we are human. And when we do something we shouldn't do, say something we shouldn't say, think something we shouldn't think, when we go to him, he is a tender shepherd and he forgives us.

Guest (Male): We'll return to the message today following this invitation for you to check out thehealingword.com. There you'll find inspirational testimonies, messages from the word of God to empower your spiritual life, and the Pray Now app that you can access to pray with Pastor Morris over a need in your life. Everything we offer on thehealingword.com is our free gift to you. So go there today and be healed. Now, let's return to the conclusion of today's message.

Pastor Jack Morris: God takes off the leaves of man's excuses and man's hiding. How can you hide from God? Intelligent people and yet we think if we just stay away from church and stay away from preachers and stay away from the word of God. But God knows us and knows everything we're doing and saying.

He's with us all the time and he's walking toward us. So God takes away the leaves and then God takes an animal, slays the animal. Now, the tree had no feelings. The animal had feelings. The tree was no substitute. But the animal died in pain. The innocent animal who did nothing but good.

I wonder what the animal rights people would say about that one. Friend, there's a lamb of God who felt the pain. You could hear the sobs of the cry. He experienced lostness for us. Even he felt the absence of God. Everything that we feel, he felt, Jesus did on that cross.

And so in the garden, Genesis chapter 3, the whole story begins way back there. Chapter 3. The innocent for the guilty. And then it goes on throughout the scriptures. The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Was this a lamb that God took skins and clothed their nakedness?

Now, before they were clothed with sin, it is believed from the scripture that Adam and Eve were clothed with light. You couldn't see their exposure because the Shekinah glory of God covered them. The light of God covered them. And I think of the people who are living and sitting in darkness.

But how many have seen a great light and have had their sins forgiven and their past cleansed and made whole in the Lord? God is with us to bless us. The innocent dying for the guilty. Again, the innocent dying and the blood from that innocent one put on the signpost that the death angel would pass over.

And the firstborn of Egypt died. Friend, you have some firstborn in your family and they must not die without the blood to cover them and the death angel to pass over. Otherwise, they are dead like we were in trespasses and sins. There's something we need to pray about, get anxious about, become disturbed over.

And God will help us to reach our family and reach our friends. And so again, over and over, the innocent for the guilty. We are the guilty, the innocent one. And then he was led as a lamb to the slaughter. Slaughtered. He wasn't shot or stabbed or no, he was slaughtered.

I've heard people say something like this, "Don't come to me with that slaughterhouse religion." People don't want to hear it. They want to hear nice sermons, sweet sermons. Friend, sin isn't nice. Sin is a killer. It's damnable. But sin is forgiven quickly in a moment of time when we turn to the Lord.

The innocent for the guilty, the one who takes away the sin of the world. And John the Baptist says, "Look, behold, contemplate, fix your eyes on him. This is the one who loves you and has given you life now and life everlasting, Jesus." Now, when we get to heaven, that that started in Genesis chapter 3, the lamb of God, we're going to see the lamb of God in heaven.

I'm going to turn over very quickly to Revelation chapter 5. Listen to this. People say, "Oh, if I only knew what was going to happen." Well, you do. Here it is, if you're a saint of God. "And they sang a new song." That's why we sing hymns and we sing choruses. We're getting ready.

We're rehearsing. We're practicing. Listen to this. "And they sang a new song. Here it is. You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men of God from every tribe and language and people and nation."

People say, "Pastor, we've got a lot of problems here at home. Why do you send out missionaries?" Every tribe, people and nation. "You have made them a kingdom of priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth." And then John said, the one who wrote the gospel of John, "Then I looked. Friend, it's time to look and look with seriousness. Then I looked and I heard a voice of many angels numbering thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand."

A lot of people are going to go to heaven. There's already a lot of angels up there. In a loud voice they sang, "Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise." Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that in them singing, "To him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be honor, praise, glory forever and ever."

Friend, you need to begin singing his praises down here. rehearsing time. We're still alive. We're getting ready to sing the new song. We're on our way to heaven. Jesus is coming again soon. A man was talking to me telling me, he said, "My life feels so empty. I just feel empty."

I listened. He said, "I feel depressed, a shadow." He said, "I just feel depressed. Why are you so depressed?" He's still a young man. He said, "Because by this time in my life, I thought I would be further along and that I would be in this position." But he said, "I'm not there."

And he said, "I'm not where I had hoped to be at this age that I am now." I heard this person say to me, basically the same thing. "I've been a Christian. I've been living for the Lord. The years have gone by. I had hoped by now to be married and at least have started a family but I'm not even dating anybody."

Depression. The man then said to me, he said, "I have fear. I'm empty. I'm depressed. I have fear." I mean a good job, good education. "What are you fearing?" You heard the sound of his voice this morning. I read it. I expounded on it. You heard it prior, years past. In some of those old Sunday school songs, "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine."

I remember those little Sunday school songs. Remember. Friends, we know so much already. "God, I heard the sound of your voice and I heard you walking inside." God's been walking toward each of us. He's trying to catch up to us. He's trying to make us into the people that he wants us to be.

And we're here seeking him today. And we're going to Sunday school classes. We're reading the Bible. How many Bibles I have in my library? We all have at least one. And you love the Lord. You're here. He loves you. He comes to you. I want you to listen to it again. Listen and look his way.

Guest (Male): Isn't it heartwarming to know that God watches over us so tenderly regardless of our actions, both good and bad? Reach out to him in prayer and with thanksgiving in your heart and let him draw even closer to you.

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