The Healing Word

Pastor Jack Morris: Now, Jesus was indeed dead, and he arose from the dead. And he’s alive forevermore and present with us to give to us that power of resurrection that we all need.

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Healing Word, a radio ministry of the Largo Community Church. Here’s Pastor Jack Morris with today’s message that will grow your faith in God and lead you to a closer walk with Jesus.

Pastor Jack Morris: This morning, what I want to talk to you about is the power of resurrection now. We don't have to wait until we die to experience a resurrection at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the rapture of the church. But right now, right now we can experience a power that will lift us, elevate us, pull us up out of every disappointment, decision, sadness, and depression. Friend, there's help for the believer. It's the word of God and power by the Holy Spirit, the word of God.

Now, Jesus was indeed dead, and he arose from the dead. And he’s alive forevermore and present with us to give to us that power of resurrection that we all need. Now, there are some, I’m sad to say, that do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus because they don't believe that he was ever dead. One lady wrote to Dr. J. Vernon McGee—I don't know where I got this, where I wrote this down, but J. Vernon McGee has been in heaven for a number of years, but a great preacher of the word. And well, I'm just going to read her question, and then I'm going to read his answer. I don't do a lot of reading in the pulpit, do I? Okay, so I'm going to do a little bit of reading right now.

Here's the question she wrote to the minister. She said, quote, "Our preacher said that on Easter, Jesus just swooned on the cross and that his disciples nurtured him back to health. What do you think?" This is the answer. I'm only going to read the answer Dr. McGee wrote back to her. "Dear sister, beat your preacher with a leather whip for 39 heavy strokes. Nail him to a cross, hang him in the sun for six hours, run a spear through his heart, embalm him, put him in an airless tomb for three days, then you see what happens."

Friend, Jesus was dead. He was buried, and he arose again for you and me that you and I might experience resurrection now and in that last day be raised with him to live with him forevermore. Jesus was crucified. The reason he was crucified—there were a number of reasons, but the reason was to take the penalty of our sins. We have all sinned. We deserved punishment, but Jesus took that punishment.

Now, he was dead, absolutely dead. Two of his friends, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, knew he was dead, and they wanted to bury him. Now, you don't bury your friends who are still alive, do you? Of course not. How ridiculous. These two friends knew he was dead. They went to Pilate, and they asked for his body that they might take the body of Jesus and bury it. So, these two friends knew he was dead. Pilate then inquired of the Roman soldiers, and they certified that Jesus was dead. When the Roman soldiers certified that Jesus was dead, then Pilate released the body to Joseph and to Nicodemus to take the body.

But I see this cross. Jesus was nailed to a cross very similar to this one. The nails that were put through his hands were six inches to eight inches long. These were the nails that were used for crucifixion, six inches to eight inches. Now, a man on a cross, for Nicodemus and Joseph to take that cross and bring it up out of the ground, they needed a lot of help. So, they got the help that they needed. They lifted that cross up out of the ground, and then they leaned it down very reverently to the ground, and Jesus was there.

Now, they must extract those long nails from his hands and his feet. And I'm sure that reverently—I don't know what they did, use a crowbar or how do they get those nails out? But at any rate, they didn't want to tear his flesh any more than it was already torn because Jesus was marred like no man had ever been marred. Somehow they got those nails out, and they took his body and they put it in a tomb. It was Joseph of Arimathea's tomb. Joseph was a wealthy man, and he had already prepared for his burial someday in the future.

And he had everything prepared for himself, but he gave his tomb to Jesus, and Jesus was buried there in that tomb. But there was a resurrection. It wasn't over. Jesus came back to life again on the third day after his resurrection. Early in the morning, the ladies who were there at the cross and saw him die—now, all of those people (soldiers, Pilate, these two friends, all those women) they were not stupid or ignorant. They knew he was dead. And so, they went early in the morning to embalm his body. And when they got to the tomb, they saw that the stone was rolled away. There were angels there. The angel said, "He is risen. Come see the place where the Lord lay. He is not here. Go quickly and tell his disciples." And off they went to Jerusalem to where the disciples were, and they told them.

In the meantime, one lady came back to the tomb. Her name was Mary Magdalene, and she was heartbroken, and she wept. Now listen, friend, if Jesus is still dead, then weep, because you're lost in your sins forever and ever throughout all eternity. You have no hope whatsoever. And this was Mary Magdalene. She thought, "He delivered me from seven demons. He restored my soul. Now he is dead. I'm lost again." Friend, listen to me. Without the resurrection of Jesus, you are lost. I hesitate to say it. I don't want to say it, but I must speak the truth.

You are lost forever. Only those who believe on him and receive him are saved. So, here's this poor soul weeping again, thinking that he's gone. She’s back in her sin. She must return to a life perhaps of great temptation, even prostitution, that he had delivered her from, because she knew now she has no power to resist temptation. He’s lost, and she weeps. Somebody came up behind her, referring to her weeping. She thought he was the gardener, and she said, "Where have you taken and placed his body? I'll go get him and bring him."

And then he speaks her name. And when he said her name—friend, let me tell you something, he knows your name. He knows your address. He knows where you live. He knows all about you. You say, "I'm a believer," he knows whether you're a believer or not. If you're a believer, then serve him. If you're a believer, then worship him. If you're a believer, then obey his word. And if you're not doing any of those things, you can mouth off you're a believer all you want to, go to church all you want to, take communion as often as you like. If you're not a believer, you're lost.

But Jesus came and died that all might become believers. Only those who believe on him and confess their sins and repent of their sins are truly saved. Friend, he loves you. He died for you. He took the penalty of your sins. He wants to save you and bring you into the kingdom of God. Can somebody say, "Praise the Lord"? Praise the Lord, indeed. Well, after he arose from the dead, for the next 40 days, he remained here on earth before he ascended back to heaven.

So, he arose from the dead on that first resurrection Easter morning. Then for 40 days, he appeared at least 11 times to the disciples. He may have appeared more than that, but 11 times are recorded. 12 disciples—well, Judas was gone. But 11 times. And then according to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, he appeared to over 500 at one time. So, how many are here today? About 400 people? So, all of you people, you don't know what you're talking about. All of those 500 people didn't know what they were talking about.

Listen, any lawyer can prove his case and can bring about a conviction with that many witnesses. Listen, he’s alive, and there’s proof that he is alive. Matter of fact, the proof is you being here today worshiping the Lord. He’s alive from the dead and is present. So, there you have it, 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. That’s the story of the word of God. But now, now in his holy name, I want to emphasize and I want you to hear and receive the purpose of it all. Why was it done? Just to take you to heaven when you die? Oh yes, that's part of it. To give you hope in this life? Yes, indeed. And give you hope in the life to come.

Why did he die and raise from the dead? Well, to pay the penalty for our sin. That's number one. You see, we had a debt we couldn't pay. Jesus paid a debt he didn't owe. He paid your debt and mine. He paid for all the wrong and ugliness and sin in your life and in my life. He paid it. Now, we believe on him and receive him and acknowledge, and that debt is paid in full. Thanks be unto God for his goodness and mercy.

Isaiah 53: "Surely he took our infirmities and carried our sorrows." 1 Peter 2:24: "He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree." Do you want to know how to get the sin out of your heart and off your shoulders? Confess it to him. And as you confess and name those sins one by one, they fly upon the Lord Jesus. He took them all. You now are a free person, a new creature, a new creation in Christ Jesus. So, the first thing he died for was to deliver us from our sins.

Secondly, he died giving us a great promise that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. He died so that in that day, you and I who die and are buried, we will be resurrected just like he was resurrected. You have loved ones that are in the grave today, don't you? Won't be long, just a few years, 25, 50 years, most of us are going to be in that same grave. Friend, if you're postponing, you're putting it off, then turn to the Lord and don't do that anymore.

You know, we have a way of trying to postpone death. And maybe we can. We can't avoid it entirely, but I suppose there are ways of postponing it. Somebody says, "Well, you eat a lot of vegetables and fish and stay away from red meat, do a lot of exercising, walk three miles or four miles a day like James McCann and eat a lot of bananas." You know, you might add two or three or four more years to your life. You might postpone.

But listen, it's appointed unto man once to die. The scripture says in 1 Thessalonians 4, "Jesus died and rose again that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. The dead in Christ will rise. We will rise first." So, the first thing, the purpose of his death, deliver us from sin. The second thing, to give us hope that the grave doesn't have the last answer, that you and I and our loved ones who have died, they’re going to come out.

And the third reason he died and rose again is to give us resurrection power today. To give us that power now. We don't have to wait. We can receive that power, that wonderful resurrection power now. Power over evil now. Now, those are the three things that man has no control over. Are you listening to me? You have no control over sin. You cannot get rid of sin. You cannot do it. It's there. It's in your heart. You can't get it out on your own. You have no power over it. The second thing you have no power over, when you go in the grave, there is no way you can resurrect yourself. When they put the dirt over you, you’re gone forever.

The third thing is power over evil now. And when I speak of evil, I'm referring to anything that is harmful, anything that is hurtful and morally bad. That's what evil is. We have no power over it. That's why it says in the word we have all sinned because we have no power to deliver ourselves or to keep us from sinning. Now, this is what Paul prayed in this passage of scripture that was read just a moment ago. He prayed that our eyes might be opened, that we might see this. Not just hear it from Pastor Morris or read it in the New Testament, but that our eyes—that's figuratively speaking—that the eyes of our understanding, the eyes of our heart might be opened.

You see, this power of Christ has been here all the while, but most of us or a lot of us haven't seen it yet. We're Christians. He's talking to Christians. Paul is writing this to the Ephesian church. These readers are believers, but he says, "Father God, open their eyes that they might know that they don't have to live in sin. They don't have to live with discouragement and depression. They don't have to live with sorrow and disappointment and grief. They can be alive. Open their eyes to this." Now friend, listen to me. Atomic power or atomic energy has always been here. We just didn't see it until recent times.

In recent times, it was 1789 that uranium was discovered by a German scientist. Radiation was discovered in 1895. And then there was another discovery in 1902, and another one in 1911, and on and on these discoveries were made until we knew now, hey, we have atomic hydrogen power. But that has always been here, but it wasn't until a certain year, certain years that it was discovered. This power of God, friend, listen to me today. You may be a Christian. But there is a great discovery that the Lord wants you to make today.

He wants you to live in victory. He wants you to be an overcomer in him. You may not have discovered that yet. Things have gotten you down. People have gotten you down. People have disappointed you. There's been a lot of disappointment in your life. But there is resurrection power. Say, "Pastor, I'm a Christian, but I haven't experienced what you're talking about." Today you can. Today you can. There is power in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is what he said, Paul the Apostle said in verse 19.

Would you put verse 19 on the screen? Read it with me in unison: "His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength." Now, here is what God wants you to see today. One pastor said one time, "Preachers are always talking about death and life after death. What about life right now?" Well, I agree with him. We need to talk about both. But many of us today are not living the abundant Christian life.

We're Christians. We're going to heaven when we die, but friends, God wants to help you now with your problems and with your troubles. Notice that. His incomparably great power. This is what Paul was praying about, that their eyes might be opened, that their understanding might be enlightened to that incomparably great power. We're living in weakness. We're living in defeat. We don't have to live that way any longer. Incomparably great power. I need to say it over and over again.

Incomparably great power. I want you to think of your problem right now. What it is, whatever it is that's troubling you, getting you down, defeating you, hurting you. And it's been around for a long time. You've tried to get over it, but it keeps coming back. I want you to think. You got it in your mind? Is it there? Okay, now say "his incomparably great power." Say it. "His incomparably great power." Take that incomparably great power. Notice, "for us who believe." If you're not a believer, friend, just stay in your sin unless you want to get out of it.

All you have to do is confess it to the Lord. But if you don't want to confess it and you don't want to repent of it, you don't want to live for God, you don't want to obey the Bible, but you still want to say, "I'm a Christian," tell it to the birds. It doesn't work that way. You and I cannot fool the Lord. He knows our heart. He knows us better than ourselves. But if you're a Christian and you have things troubling you, hurting you, that are problematic, remember this: Christ arose.

And Paul prayed for Christians, for you and me, that we would experience that incomparably great power. Incomparably great power. Friend, rise up. Be gone with lesser things. Church of God, rise up. That habit, it can be defeated. That sorrow can be taken away. That hurt, that pain can be healed. Incomparably great power. He arose from the dead. He's not in the grave, but he's with us. That power that is great and mighty. Incomparably great power for us. Now, I must close this message, but I want you to hear this with your heart. Oh, in Jesus' name, hear it with your heart.

Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you always." Did he not say that? Yes, he did. He said that, didn't he? "Lo, I am with you always." Who's with us always? Well, now if you look at the scripture from verses 19 through the end of this chapter, it says he is the one who conquered death. Okay, the one who conquered death is with me always. Now keep reading that scripture. It goes on to say that he's been enthroned at the right hand of power in the heavenly realm.

So, the one who is now enthroned at the right hand of God in heavenly realms, he's with me always. Keep reading that scripture. It says all things are under his feet. So, the one who has now all things under his feet, he’s with me always. And then it concludes that he is the head over everything. Think about it. Think who you have on your side. The resurrected Christ who has conquered death. The resurrected Christ who is enthroned. The resurrected Christ who has all things under his feet.

All your troubles are under his feet, all your problems and all your disappointments. That is the one who's with you, and he’s the head over all things. Everything, he’s the head. Jesus Christ, with us now to bless us. "Lo, I am with you." He’s with you, friend. Paul is saying, "Oh God, open our eyes or our understanding that we'll realize who is with us: the mighty conqueror, the mighty living Christ, the triumphant one seated at the right hand of God, the one who has put all things under his feet, the one who is head of heads, King of kings, Lord of lords. He's with me. Friend, come on, live in victory. Overcome. Be healed, be blessed, be forgiven, be made whole. Jesus Christ is alive. Resurrection power now. Amen. Amen.

Will you bow your heads with me, please? Father God, I thank you for your holy word. We only know this because of your word. And we have faith that comes to us through your word to believe and receive the promise that Jesus has made. Thank you for coming into our hearts. Thank you, Lord. Bless your church. Bless every believer. Help each one of us today with an open understanding, with open eyes to see and personally experience your incomparably great power. We thank you in Jesus' name. Hallelujah.

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