The Healing Word

Pastor Jack Morris: My goal now is to please Him. You know when you please Him, He takes care of all the rest. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these other things will be added. But when you get that thing turned around, and you go after all the other things and then you tack God on at the end, that's not the way of the Lord. But God has a blessing for every one of us if we'll put Him first, do His will, and seek first the kingdom of God.

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Healing Word. Today, Pastor Jack Morris is here. He's going to look at the heart of God and what the Bible has to say about maintaining a close relationship with Him. Let's go to the message, God's Unveiled Heart.

Pastor Jack Morris: The best-known scripture in the Bible, the hub of the Bible, the center of divine revelation, the very heart of God. We're going to have one of our young people, two of them, come with the microphone, and they're going to give us this scripture that is the center of divine revelation, the very heart of God, the unveiling of the heart of God. Fellows, would you come up here with me, please? All right. What is your name?

John Edmund and Andre Edmund: John Edmund. Andre Edmund. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Pastor Jack Morris: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen. Max Lucado points out that there are only 26 words in that verse. I want you to notice something. Look at that verse up there. The first word is "For," but the second word is what? God. What's the last word? Life. So this scripture begins with God and ends with life. Isn't that the way it is? God gives life.

Lucado said it begins with God, it ends with life, it's brief enough to be written on a napkin and memorized in a moment. This particular verse of scripture is solid enough that it has weathered 2,000 years of storms and questions. I want you to read it with me now in unison.

Congregation: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Pastor Jack Morris: Okay, now there are key words, and I want you to look at those key words. I'm going to pick out those key words and I want you to say them with me. What are the key words? God, loved, world, gave, Son, believe, life. It begins with God; it ends with life.

A few days ago, one of the sales executives of one of the television stations that Change Point is on made an appointment and came here to see me. She didn't come on business. We didn't do any business about Change Point at all. I thought it was a business appointment. She gave me permission to tell the story I'm going to tell now. She is Jewish and her husband is Jewish. She's a sales executive for one of the television networks. Now, we are not on any networks. We're on some individual stations, and we're on one individual station that is a member of a network, but they go off the network to show Change Point.

After we had our greetings and shook hands and we sat down, she said, "Do you wear makeup?" No, I don't wear makeup on TV. She commended the men and ladies who put the program together. She said, "Our technicians tell us that this is one of the best put-together mechanically programs of all the religious programs that we have." Well, that made me feel real good.

She asked me again, "You don't wear makeup for television?" I said, "No, I don't wear makeup. Nothing comes off." Then she said, "I listened and watched your Easter message." This was the Easter message last year. This is a Jewish lady. I told her I wouldn't use her name, but I would like to tell the story. She said it'd be okay to tell the story. She'd be happy for me to tell what she's asking.

She didn't criticize the sermon, but it was like it was an awful sermon. "It was a terrible story you told." At first, I was on the edge of my seat. I thought, "My land, you come over here and make an appointment to tear me apart?" I've got enough people to do that. I want to hear something good today. She said, "You told about the crucifixion. They treated that good man terribly. It was terrible, the story you told."

She asked me, "Why do you tell stories like that on the television?" She didn't tell me not to tell those stories, but she said, "That was terrible. They nailed that poor man to a cross. But before that, they flogged him and they beat him." She said, "The terrible things they did to him." She said, "We have a number of churches on our network. Pastor Morris, to my knowledge, you're the only church that has a cross in it."

I never thought of that. Then Greta and I started looking at some of these programs, and we have crosses. She said, "You're always talking about the cross. Those are sad stories because there was a good man that was just hurt something terribly, and it was just so unfair. Why do you talk about the cross so much in your church services? The other people are always saying, 'Hey, you're going to get rich. You sow a seed and something great's going to happen, you're going to get a promotion.'"

I heard one lady on television the other day. She was just ranting and raving, but it was close to it. She was just going on. She said, "God wants you to be on the front page of magazines. God wants to lift you up and make you popular. God wants to make you rich." She just went on and on. Hey, God wants to save your soul, forgive your sins, and take you to heaven when you die. That's what God wants to do.

He's not that materialistic. Yes, He will bless us in this life if we'll obey Him and do His will, and He will prosper us materially and with money and with nice things. God wants to do that. He's a heavenly Father. He wants to do that. But some of these programs, that's all you hear: prosperity, prosperity, prosperity. And it's always money, houses, lands, promotions, popularity, power.

She said, "But you always talk about the cross." Well, that made me feel good. That really made me feel good. She asked me, "But the cross is such a sad story. Such a good man that was nailed to that cross." Then I had the privilege to tell her. I said, "But to me, it's not sad. To me, I am so thankful for the cross." I had the opportunity to tell this Jewish lady that Jesus took my sins.

He paid the debt like the choir just sang. Did you hear what the choir sang? He paid the debt and made me free. I am a debtor. I have sinned. I have broken the law of God. Even my own heart condemns me. But God, through Jesus and His precious blood, forgives me. I'm so thankful. I had that wonderful opportunity to tell her about Jesus, about the cross, and why the Largo Community Church and Change Point is different from most of the other programs. Yes, we believe in the cross because the cross has made us free. The Apostle Paul said, "And I want you to look at the scripture, Galatians chapter six, verse 14. And I want you to read it in unison with me."

Congregation: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I have been crucified to the world.

Pastor Jack Morris: I've been crucified to the world. The old life, the old habits, the old values, the old priorities. Thank God they have died. I wanted to get ahead just like anybody else, of course. I'm thankful for the station in life and the things that the Lord has given me materially. But my goal now is to please Him. When you please Him, He takes care of all the rest. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these other things will be added.

But when you get that thing turned around and you go after all the other things and then you tack God on at the end, that's not the way of the Lord. But God has a blessing for every one of us if we'll put Him first and do His will and seek first the kingdom of God. This is what the Lord wants. Now I'm going to take those key words. Notice it says, "For God." God is the one that has done all of this. God. Say, "God."

Now say, "Abba God." Now say, "Abba Father." God so loved. The God that created the world and all things in it. This is the thing that amazed me. I sat down at my desk and I just jotted down some of my thoughts when I read this scripture that is the hub of the Bible, the center of divine revelation. When I sat down and began to think, I thought, "God so loved the world, and He loved me."

Why He loved me, I'm always amazed at that. I can't get over that because I have sinned. I'm of the flesh. My flesh is going to go back to dust. I'm only here for a short time. What can I offer God? He has all the gold, the silver, the cattle on a thousand hills. He's wealthy beyond words. I can't give God anything. And what I do give Him, I'm only giving back what He's already given to me first.

So what can I really give to God? Only what God gives to me. I want to give Him my heart because He's given me a heart. He's given me breath. He's given me life. I want to give my heart, my breath, my life, all that I have, I want to give it back to Him. But God, who created the world and everything that's in the world. God. First John 4:8: "God is love." Read that with me.

Congregation: God is love.

Pastor Jack Morris: Love is what He is. But whatever we think He is and whatever we say He is, He's still much more than that. God is love, but God is more than that. Now, I would like to define the word "love." I suppose through the years I have looked through my library and theological books and modern dictionaries and ancient dictionaries, trying to get a definition of the word "love." To define the word "love" would define God, wouldn't it?

And who can define God? So there really isn't any definition of the word "love." I can bring up some words, but whatever they are, they're going to fall far short of what the word "love" is. I don't know the definition that I can really put in words that really truly satisfies me. But I can see love, I can know love, I can experience love because when I look at this communion table and I think of what that Jewish woman said, how sad it was, I can't define it, but I can see it.

I can participate in it. I can enjoy love. That's what you're going to receive today when you come to this table. If you'll open your heart and give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, you will know His love. The only way to know His love is through the cross. So is there any other message? Why should I preach any other message? What the world needs is love. The world thinks it needs everything but love.

The world thinks it needs pleasure. The world thinks it needs money. The world thinks it needs power. The world thinks it needs prestige. But what the world needs is love, and God is love. That's what God gives. That's what He's giving to you and me this morning. He's giving us love, His love, His wonderful love, His gracious love. God so loved the world. The world. That's what God loved.

The world. You and me and everybody in the world. Not because we're good, because we're not good. Not because we have done righteous things, because we have done wrong things. We have done bad things. We have done evil things. We have had thoughts, we have had actions, we have had behavior that has alienated us from God. But God still loved us.

This is the important thing. God didn't say, "I'm going to love you, but I've got to come down there and get you ready," like the farmer has to plow the soil and get the soil ready and then drop the seed and then the crop comes. God didn't say, "I'm going to come down and get you ready and get you in a position so that I can love you. I'm going to clean your life up and make you good, and then when you get good and when you get cleaned up, then I'm going to reach out and embrace you. But I'm not going to embrace you while you're still in sin." No, God said, "I'm going to embrace you where you are, like you are, the sinner that you are. I'm going to embrace you. I'm going to put my arms around you. You don't have to do anything. You don't have to do any cleaning up. I'll clean you up. I'll do the cleaning up. I'll make you clean, and I'll love you and embrace you whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever your station is in life." God so loved the world. The scripture says in Romans 5:8, read it with me.

Congregation: God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Pastor Jack Morris: Yes, only sinners or forgiven sinners or confessing sinners need to come to this table. When you come to this table, what you're saying is what God wants you to say and what you need to say in order to experience His love. You're saying, "I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner." For we have all sinned. "Well, I'm not as big a sinner as some people." Listen, there's no such thing as a big sin and a little sin. No, we have all sinned. We're all guilty. We're all in debt. But Jesus paid it all, and He did it on the cross.

He did it on the cross. God forbid that I should boast or glory save in the cross. Then the scripture says, "God gave. God so loved the world that He gave." Say that: "that He gave." Love is not a passive word. Love is an action word. Love acts. And when God loved the world, He just didn't say He loved it. He came down to it. He became part of it.

He tasted sin for every man. Every sin that has ever been committed was put on His beautiful sacred body that was bruised and beaten and bleeding for you and me. God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son. God only knew the extent of our sin. How sinful, how lost, how lost. And we couldn't find our way to God. We couldn't find our way back. But He found us. He came to us. He rescued us.

God so loved the world that He gave. What, an angel? No, His Son. His Son. What best? There isn't anything best or better. God so loved the world. You see, love couldn't be complacent. God wanted you to know. And again, when I think about it, I can't understand my God in heaven, my heavenly Father. I can't understand Him. I mean, how many of us, even after we have been saved, we have done things, said things, embarrassed Him, embarrassed ourselves, did something ugly, kicked God in the teeth, and God keeps taking us back, taking us back, taking us back.

That's what I don't understand about Him. But His nature is love. The scripture says, "God is love." That means the very essence of God is love. The properties of God, the attributes of God. Love. This is our God. He loves us and He loves us forever, and He'll always love us. He will forgive our sins. That's how much He loves us. He loves us that much, to hear our confession and to forgive us when we sin. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, for you and me.

Now, the way to receive Him is to believe on Him. we have to believe that He loved us, that He gave Himself for us. We have to believe that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us our sins. We have to believe that. Read Acts 16:31.

Congregation: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Pastor Jack Morris: Now look at that. Look at that. You don't have to do anything but sit where you are in that pew and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in His love for you. Believe in what He's done for you. Believe that He promised to forgive you and save you if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. You just have to believe that. Read Hebrews 10:39.

Congregation: But we are of those who believe and are saved.

Pastor Jack Morris: So that's when I come to this table and when I think of Jesus, it humbles me because Americans want to do something. We don't want a handout. We are an industrious nation and an industrious people. We want to earn. We want to earn. We want to be proud. We are a proud people. And to a degree, that's good. We need to earn our own way. But there's one way you cannot earn, and that's your way to heaven. That's your way to Jesus. That's your way to salvation. Jesus did the earning. He paid the price. All you have to do is receive the price and to receive what He's given. He gave His only begotten Son, and in receiving His Son, in believing on His Son, we will receive life. I want you to read John 10:10. This has to be maybe my very favorite. They're all my very favorite. This has to be certainly one of them. Well, the whole Bible's one of them. John 10:10.

Congregation: I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.

Pastor Jack Morris: And in the New King James and in the King James, I like the word "abundant." "I have come that they may have life and have it abundant." I mean, He didn't give us a thimbleful of life. He's not measuring it out in little doses. He's giving it to the full. He gave His life to the full that we might have life to the full. Life abundant in the Lord. It's John 3:16. God so loved the world. Let's put it up again, John 3:16, that we could read that verse of scripture that we read in the very beginning. Read it together.

Congregation: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Pastor Jack Morris: Now notice, some people are going to perish. Now, the scripture says God's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But there's a lot of people that are not going to do it. They're just not going to do it. I suppose it's maybe too easy to get saved. It might be too easy for them. They want to do something. They want to live a good life.

Ask somebody, "Do you believe you're going to go to heaven?" "Well, I've tried to treat my neighbor right, I've tried to do good by people." They'll give you that long list, puffing themselves, holding themselves up. Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, if I be lifted up, let the Holy Spirit draw you to Jesus." And notice, God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever. Now, whoever can come to Him. Whoever. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever your station or condition in life, you're welcome. Jesus invites you. Come to the Lord. Be saved. Come to the Lord. Rejoice. Come to the Lord. Experience abundant life. Come to the Lord. Come to Jesus. Shall we bow our heads in prayer? Hallelujah.

Guest (Male): We thank you for joining us for today's Healing Word message, God's Unveiled Heart. As Pastor Morris shared today, God loves you and invites you to accept Him into your life. If today's message strengthened your faith, we invite you to stand with The Healing Word through your prayers and your generous support. Every gift helps us take the gospel to more people who desperately need to hear that Jesus still saves. Join us tomorrow for another Healing Word message. Until then, blessings on you.