The Healing Word

Guest (Male): He knows your heart whether you're going to live for Him and do as He pleases or live for yourself and do as you please.

Pastor Jack Morris: We live in a world of words. Have you ever noticed? I'm sure you must have. Words all about us: television, computers, emails, books, magazines, radio, conversations with friends, with neighbors, with family. Words on the internet. Words have just inundated us. We're just baptized in words. We hear words all the time. Words, words. We're even hearing words now. Where do you go when you don't hear words?

One pastor who is now in heaven, but he tells this story when he was a young pastor. He was preaching, and right on the front row was a lady with her little child. About halfway into the message, he said, "I was really into that message." And he said that little child started crying, and it cried loud. And so the mother—it's a small congregation—she gathers it up and steps out into the aisle to leave.

He spoke to her and said, "Madam, it's all right. I'm not being bothered. He's not bothering me." She turned and she looked and she said, "Well, you are certainly bothering him." So words affect people differently in different ways. But I want to look at this in another vein. There was a man, he was a New York columnist, and he set out to do some research to prove a point that people really do not listen.

They politely smile, but they're not hearing what is said. So he started with cocktail parties. He said, "I'm going to start my research at cocktail parties because I believe everybody's talking to everybody. Everybody's holding a drink, everybody's talking, but nobody's really listening to what the other person is saying." So he shows up late at this cocktail party, this New York columnist, and the hostess met him at the door.

He apologizes for being late and he said, "I'm sorry I'm late, but I had to stop for a moment and murder my mistress, and it took a little longer than I thought." Without blinking an eye, the hostess said, "I understand perfectly. I was almost late myself." She said, "Now you just have a good time and enjoy yourself." So he mingled among the people, and he struck up a conversation with a gentleman.

The gentleman said, "By the way, what do you do for a living?" The columnist said, "Oh, I'm an executioner at the state penitentiary." The person continued, "Well, that must be an interesting line of work. How's business look to you this year?" Words, just words. Now we have the word of God, but I pray with all my heart that it won't be just words, but that we will be listening with the intent of worshiping Him with an obedient heart.

Most of us believe the testimonies we hear from others when they give those testimonies with words that they have received healing, that they have had an answer to prayer, that God has done a great thing in their life. We believe that, but secretly we think, "Why doesn't God do those kinds of things for me?" Don't raise your hands. Why doesn't God do those things? What about my situation?

I think it has something to do with words. Matter of fact, I'm convinced it has something to do with words because Jesus said in Luke chapter 2 verse 18, "Be careful how you hear." It's hard to keep our mind focused on the subject, on what we're listening to, and so Jesus said, "Take care. Be very careful how you hear." Well, here's a man with leprosy. He comes to Jesus.

He came to Jesus because he heard about Jesus and he believed what he heard, and he got the miracle he received because he came to Jesus because he heard about Jesus. Jesus is here to bless us if we'll come to Him to meet our needs. He'll touch us and bless our lives. He'll do a great thing. Notice it starts out in Mark chapter 1 verse 40, it just says "a man." No name, no name recognition, just a man, that's all.

The Bible does tell us about people who came to the Lord whose names were given like Bartimaeus and Nicodemus and Mary and Elizabeth and Salome. Some names were given, but other times names were not given. The woman that had the hemorrhage, she came and reached out and touched the hem of his garment and was immediately healed. No name given. There was the woman at the well that Jesus spoke to.

She had five husbands. She was later used mightily to win the whole city to the Lord. No name given. So it doesn't matter whether the name is a recognized name or it isn't a recognized name, just a nobody so to speak. Jesus hears and answers the prayer that is prayed in faith, and when we pray believing, God is there. Now this man had leprosy, a dread skin disease. It harms a person physically and emotionally.

In Leviticus chapter 13, a person with leprosy had to do these several things. This dread, very harmful, communicable, foul, even foul-smelling disease, this person was to tear their clothes. Every time they'd change clothes, they were to tear their clothes in some way. They were to keep their hair all disheveled. They were to cover the lower part of their face, and this was their uniform.

This was their way of saying, "I have leprosy. Stay away from me." But if a person still didn't recognize the torn clothes, the covering of the face, and the disheveled hair, then the person was to cry out, "Unclean! Unclean!" But here comes Jesus, and this leprosy meets Jesus and comes to Jesus. Notice it says he came to Jesus begging on his knees. This man was desperate. Leprosy had spread throughout his body.

People with leprosy, their ear would fall off, their fingers start falling off, their nose would fall off. There was just no hope. No hope. Now those are the kind of people that Jesus cares for very deeply and comes to minister to. This man came to Jesus and begged Him on his knees. Leprosy in that day, doctors couldn't do anything to help at all. This man was imploring Jesus, and he was aware of his severity and his hopelessness.

When we become aware, that's so important, that we need Jesus, that we are in a situation or have a situation that we can't really resolve ourselves. When we realize that and we believe that Jesus has the power to do what we can't do, then Jesus is available to do that for us. If we'll just humble ourselves and say, "Lord, I've tried and tried to fix it. It's not fixed. Things haven't gotten any better."

Things are about the same or it may be even worse. Nothing's happening. But when we come to Jesus in that kind of desperation, we need help. And then he fell on his knees. Do you know the body has a lot of joints in it, but the knee has a very special place in the economy of the human body? It was in Old Mesopotamia many years ago, it was thought of as the place of affection and devotion: the knee.

Don't we still take our children on our knee? Isn't that interesting? This man came, he didn't have no doubt much education at all, he didn't know a whole lot, but he knew that he needed help and he believed that Jesus could help him, and so he got on his knees. In the book of Matthew chapter 8, it says he fell on his face. When you get serious and you get desperate, most of us are not to that place yet.

We think it's all going to work out. Time heals everything. No, Jesus heals everything. Jesus is the healer. He's the great physician. Oh, I want to tell you about Jesus today. I want to tell you about His love and His grace and what He will do. The man came to Jesus. He had faith, but he didn't have much faith. He had little faith. But listen to what he says.

And here's the part that moved me so deeply when I was preparing this message, and it moves me right now. I pray that it'll move you. He said to Jesus, "If you are willing, you can make me whole." Now listen to that. "If you are willing." Now the leper believed that Jesus had power. Where did the leper get this belief? Well, he had heard of the goodness of Jesus. He heard the good news.

He had heard of Peter's mother-in-law being healed. He heard about how the people came to Peter's house after the mother-in-law was healed, and they gathered about the door, and Jesus was preaching and teaching and forgiving and healing even up until and beyond sunset. He had heard this, and it was what he heard. That's all he had heard, but he had heard enough to believe that Jesus had the power to do something if Jesus was willing to do it.

And he comes to the Lord Jesus Christ seeking help and seeking healing from God. Notice again, I have to say it, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." In other words, you can do this, but will you do this? That's exactly what he was saying. I believe you can, but will you? Now this is where most of us get hung up. I believe that every person in here this morning would say, "Yes, I believe Jesus can do anything."

I believe Jesus can heal lepers, heal cancer. I believe Jesus can raise the dead. We believe that He can do anything, but He's not doing anything for us. Why doesn't He do something for me right now? Now this man had faith, but he didn't have great faith, this leper. But listen to me closely. It doesn't take great faith to get a miracle in your life. It doesn't take perfect faith. It doesn't take super faith.

This man had such little faith, but he believed what he heard and he went to Jesus. That's all it takes: going to Jesus with your need. Notice he said, "If you are willing." Now what do you make of that statement? I'd love to do a little bit of interviewing and go around the room today and ask you, what is it about that statement? What do you make of that? "If you are willing."

Some might say that's an indication of a lack of faith. If that's an indication of the lack of faith, he got healed! So can that be an indication of a lack of faith? I know it says that in the margin of the New King James Bible, if you ever put an "if" in there, that's an indication of lack of faith. But I read this story where this man says, "If you are willing, you can make me whole."

If that's an indication of a lack of faith, I don't understand the paradox. He got healed. He got healed. So your faith might waver, it might not be all that strong, but go to Jesus. Take your problem to Jesus and just tell Him, "Lord, I don't have much faith. Be open and be honest. I should have a whole lot more faith. I've been a Christian a long time, but I don't have a lot of faith."

He'll honor that kind of honesty. When you open up that way with that kind of openness and that kind of honesty, Jesus will bless. He'll hear it. He'll recognize it. "If you are willing." Now didn't Jesus pray Himself in Gethsemane, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done"? Jesus Himself prayed, "Thy will be done." And then Jesus turned around even before Gethsemane and He taught the disciples when you pray.

And He gave them the prayer that we pray today: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done." You and I sometimes do not understand some of the things that are going on in our lives and some of the circumstances and some of the problems and troubles that we're confronted with. We just don't understand. But present your need to the Lord, but always remember this: pray, "Lord, Your kingdom come, Your will be done."

You're the King. Pronounce a kingdom decree in this situation according to Your perfect plan, according to Your perfect will. Sometimes God is saying, "Just wait just a little longer. I'm working out something in your life, I'm working out something in the family's life, I'm working out something with the people of the church. Just give me just a little more time." So we pray, but we want the miracle right now.

And we don't get it right now, we're disappointed. We believe He can do it, but He didn't give it to me. But I hear somebody else say He gave it to them. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. Seek God. Don't be a child that just wants everything, "Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme," and we want it right now. "My name is Jimmy, I sit on the floor and ask and seek all you give me."

"Sweet Will of God" is a hymn that I don't think we even have in our hymnal, but I remember singing it in chapel in Bible college. "My stubborn will at last hath yielded. I would be thine and thine alone. And this the prayer my lips are bringing, Lord, let in me thy will be done." The chorus says, "Sweet will of God, still fold me closer till I am wholly lost in thee."

Jesus looked at this man, and verse 41 says, "He was filled with compassion." Come on, read that with me. "Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' and immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured." How long that man had had leprosy, it had just about eaten him alive physically. But there came a time, a confrontation with Jesus' compassion.

The scripture says the word compassion means "my inner being, my inner parts are moved." Inside I'm constrained and I'm compelled to stretch forth. This past Thursday evening, some of you were in that service on the National Day of Prayer, and I brought in this lady and she shared her request. I got her permission. She came from another church that was going through a very difficult time.

And I listened to her story: seven children and her life was being threatened by her husband, and these children are being threatened, and she's 39 years old. And I sat there and my heart just moved. I told her, "Look, I've got a group of praying, believing people of faith that are going to meet here in just a little while. Would you like to stay and pray with us? They'll pray with you. They'll love you. They'll not condemn you. These are God's people."

She said, "I will." And I said, "Well, would you tell them what you've told me?" She said, "I'll tell them. I'll tell them everything," and she came into that meeting. But I felt that compassion. Compassion is something other than saying, "I feel sorry for you," and then you go your own way and forget what you've heard. Compassion will move you to do something in that particular situation.

And if it's no more than prayer—and I'm almost making prayer sound like something that is inferior—prayer is the greatest thing you can do for anybody, to hold their hand, to pray with them, and to believe with them. Jesus was moved, something inside Him that was invisible that nobody could see. But when He reached out His hand, what was inside of Him became visible through the motion physically, and He touched that horrible-looking man eaten alive with this cancerous leprosy.

Unheard of. That would have made Jesus Himself unclean according to the Jewish law, but listen, Jesus will move heaven and earth. He's not concerned about religion, He's not concerned about rights, He's not concerned about ceremony, He's concerned about you! No matter what your situation. You say, "Oh, you know, I'm so bad. I've done so many things." He already knows it and He loves you.

There's nothing that you have done or ever will do that will turn Him away from you. He loves you and He cares for you. He'll hear your prayer of confession and repentance where there's remorse. He'll forgive sins. If there's sickness that needs healing, come to Him and seek His favor, seek His face, and He will hear and He will answer. But give Him His sovereignty, or recognize His sovereignty.

"God, it's Your way, it's Your time, it's Your kingdom. I'm a subject of Your kingdom." One final note and then I must close. Verse 44 says Jesus told this man, "See that you don't tell this to anybody." Someone said, "Well, I'm supposed to testify. I'm supposed to tell everybody." Well, look at this particular situation. This man had a miracle. He had heard about Peter's mother-in-law being healed.

He had heard about the people and all the people that had come to Jesus and how He had forgiven their sins and healed them. Then after sunset, after Jesus had healed all these people, everybody else went to bed. Jesus went up into the hills of Capernaum. There it is. They couldn't find Him. The next morning they looked for Him, the disciples looked for Him.

The scripture says that those people that had been healed the night before, they went out and told their relatives and their friends, and the whole city had come out to see Jesus and to be healed of Jesus. You see, what had happened, they were making Jesus a miracle worker. They thought they had found a magician that could pull rabbits out of hats. They were not looking for a redeemer, a savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

They were just looking, "God, fix me! Fix my situation and then I'll go live and do as I please." No! He knows your heart whether you're going to live for Him and do as He pleases or live for yourself and do as you please. And this is what Jesus said. This is what Jesus said. They said to Him, "Jesus, everyone is looking for you." Verse 38, Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."

The words. The words. Hearing the word. "I've got to preach the word that will bring salvation, that will bring redemption, that will bring cleansing if people will believe the word." Yes, I will do these miracles and help people with their problems and bring about healings, but they must hear the good news that a redeemer has come, that people now can turn and be reconciled to God, saved from their lostness and brought into the kingdom of God.

I'm not just pulling rabbits out of hats. I'm redeeming the lost. Friend, have you sinned? Then tell Jesus. "I must tell Jesus. There's a 'must' within me. I must tell Jesus." Jesus will hear me. Jesus will heal my soul. It may be His will also to heal my body.

Guest (Male): Every day, the Healing Word reaches people with the life-changing truth of God's word, bringing hope to the hurting, peace to the anxious, and salvation to the lost. But we can't do it alone. If this ministry has blessed you, would you consider standing with us in prayer and financial support? Your faithful partnership helps us stay on the air, expand our outreach, and continue proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to a world in need.

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