The Healing Word

Guest (Male): The Healing Word program is a ministry of the Largo Community Church where Christ is honored and people are loved. You're invited to join us in worship via live streaming this Sunday morning at either 9 o'clock or 11 o'clock. Visit largoccedotorg and click on watch live.

Pastor Jack Morris: Friend, God wants to be glorified. God deserves to be glorified, but he can't be glorified until you and I hear his word and experience the miracle that comes from hearing his holy word.

Guest (Male): Do you feel if you've experienced the glory of God in your life? Join Pastor Jack Morris as he takes us to John chapter 1 and traces the word of God from creation to the entrance of Jesus into the world.

Pastor Jack Morris: Seeing the glory of God. I want to draw up a parallel this morning between creation in Genesis and creation in John chapter 1. I don't know how we can plumb the depths of this prologue of the Apostle John. I read it over and over again. Then I quoted it. This this prologue, friend, listen to me, it's filled with intense power. That power is available. That power is here. These first 18 verses are filled with power. How can my human mind takes take this in? I I'm trying. I have been trying all week long to take it in.

I felt overwhelmed with my inadequacy to preach from this passage of scripture. There's nothing like it anywhere in all the Bible, nothing like this. Several times I wanted to put my pen down and say, God, you've got to give me another sermon. I can't handle this. This is too holy, too divine, too transcending. My mind is the mind of a man, and I can only think the thoughts that I'm thinking right now. This goes far beyond. But then I would go back to my desk, pick my pen up, and pray and try again. So I'm going to give you what I can give you.

I can only give you what I can give you, but the Holy Spirit will give you Jesus today as you open your heart and mind to this passage of scripture. This passage of scripture. In John 1:1 there are three words that begin this great book of the New Testament. In the beginning, just three words. Go all the way back to the Old Testament Testament to Genesis 1:1 the first three words in the beginning. So the Bible starts out with three words in the beginning, and then thousands of years later, John the Apostle echoes Genesis 1:1 in the beginning.

My my cousin uh Rosie Beard her name was Rosie Morris at one time, and then she got married to this very fine man living up near Pittsburgh still. Rosie died this past week, and that meant when she died, that meant that I'm the only Morris left. All of our aunts, uncles, and cousins, all of the Morses are gone except one. And that's me. And I remember talking to Rosie. Rosie, are you ready? She's filled with cancer. Are you ready? Years ago she used to smoke, but she hasn't smoked for 30 years. And I said, Rosie, if you were to die today and you came before the Lords and God asked you, Rosie Beard, why should I let you into my heaven?

Now that that's a question. Why should God let any of us into his heaven? What did we deserve? We have done nothing but sin. And Christ came. When Jesus comes, the power of sin is broken. And Rosie, I was talking to her on the phone, and she thought for a moment. And she said, I would say, let me into your heaven because of Jesus came into my heart, saved my soul. And she went on, gave a little testimony. And I said, Rosie, you gave the right answer. I remember a couple, man and wife sitting in my office back here.

She um uh wonderful Christian lady. I know her. I've known her for years. I have known him nearly as long. And he was not a committed Christian, but he I mean, he wasn't a bad person. He was a very good person. And so I asked him that same question. If you were come to the throne of God's grace, God would say, why should I let you into my heaven? What would you say? And in all sincerity, such a nice fellow, he say, well, I you know, I've tried to live a good life. I've tried to respect people.

And he went on and on, and I said, and all of that that you've done, you now are attempting to become your own savior by being a good man because you respect people, because you want to be a good husband. We don't get into heaven that way. And I blurted out when he was finished, wrong answer. We don't go to heaven because we're good, because none of us are good. Jesus said there is one that is good, and that's God. He later became a Christian. He gave his heart to the Lord. Friend, either you have given your heart to the Lord or you haven't.

I'm not saying you have joined a church and been baptized. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm talking about a relationship with Jesus. You have sinned as well as I have, and we all have only one who hasn't. And that it was Jesus. But look what John is saying here. In the beginning was the word. Friend, it all starts with Jesus. And it must end with Jesus. And there must be Jesus from beginning to end, all in between. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

He was with God in the beginning. Now you try to explain that or plumb the depths of that with your thinking. Tell me about that. Explain it. Lay it out. I couldn't do it. Says through him all things were made, and without him nothing was made that had been made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. My Lord, Holy Spirit, speak to us today, and he will. He's talking to us. Everything God does and did and shall ever do is because he spoke.

God doesn't do anything until he speaks first. Oh, I pray the Holy Spirit will come through to me today, get that through to me. God speaks first, and if anything happens today to you or me, it'll be because you and I have heard him speak. If we don't hear him speak, oh, I don't mean just hear him now with my ears, you hear my voice. Yes, and I hear my voice too. But to hear his word in my heart, to hear it, it'll be transforming. It'll be supernatural. Uh it'll be over overwhelming in creation, going all the way back to the very beginning.

Let me go back let me go back here to Genesis chapter 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now it starts at verse 3, Genesis chapter 1 verse 3. And God said, let there be light, and there was light. Verse 6. And God said, let there be expanse between the waters and separate water from water. Verse 9. And God said, verse 14. And God said, verse 11. And God said, verse 20. And God said, a verse 24. And God said, verse 29. And God said, there was creation because God said something, and he is saying something today through his word to you and me.

May our ears of our understanding be open to hear. And God said, and when that comes in and when you hear it, even when he went out on the sea walking on the water, he said, he said, listen. It wasn't because he was walking on the water that the waves died, the winds died down. But he speaks to the wind. He speaks. He speaks. He speaks. And when he spoke, even the disciples said, even the wind and the waves obey him. Friend, nothing is going to happen and no prayer is going to be answered until we hear God speak.

And he is speaking, and faith is coming into our hearts today. The word of God. You see, in creation and in creation now, as he does a new creation in each of our hearts, create when God said, and God said, the word that he said creates an activity of divine energy. Friend, there is power coming forth when I read the word and when I quote the word, when I speak the word, there is a divine power, a divine energy comes forth. We're not just going to sit back and hear another sermon and so to speak twiddle our thumbs.

No. Not at all. We're not going to do that. Every word is a unit. Listen to me. Every word of God is a unit charged with divine supernatural power, a creative power. When God speaks, something is set in motion. Now you may not see it. I may not see it. But we don't have to see it. It's his work of grace within us. Well, this God back in Genesis 1:1 who spoke and the worlds came into existence. The worlds didn't come into existence because God was there. The word came in the worlds came into existence because God spoke.

God's going to speak and say, you are forgiven. You are healed. You are blessed. God is with you. If you don't hear that you hear that from me, but if you don't hear it from him, well, nobody can help you. But you must hear it from him. Oh, we've been hearing noises and speech and car horns and cars zipping by and watching television. I mean, we've been hearing and hearing. Our ears have been full of the words of man. We've been hearing and all we're going to hear more from the politicians. Talk, talk, talk, and it's all worldly talk.

But then we come to church for an hour and 15 minutes. We've got to have more. We have to take his holy word into our hands and into our hearts. And when we do, watch out. A power is going to come forth from the word. And God said, the word became flesh. That's what it says here. The word being Jesus became a human. I read that and I read that. I think this is this is charged with the divine, meaning God came near. Let me open the scripture again. Verse 14. The word became flesh or became human and made his dwelling among us.

The meaning God stood on the ground. That is awesome. God stood on the same ground that you and I are standing on. God came just to get to us, to bless us, and to help us. A staggering concept. When God came, eternity and time met. The divine became human. God and man became reconciled. You see, in the Old Testament in chapter 1 that I read I don't know how many times I should have counted them. And God said, and God said, and God said, and God said. Over and over. What God did was he spoke in into the chaos.

There's darkness, nothing but confusion. And God spoke into it and said, let there be light. Then, and only then, was there light. Let dry land appear. Then, and only then, dry land appear. Only after he speaks. That I've heard that before. Let's hear it again for the very first time. I think I read it on on the box of cornflakes. It said, taste them again for the first time. Let the word of God ever be fresh and new and a blessing to us. He spoke into the chaos, and what he is doing today, he is speaking into people's hearts.

Friend, people need the word because we need God. And God comes to us through the word. He sent his word and healed them. You see, watch what happens. Jesus goes to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Lazarus is dead. He's been dead for days. Uh his body decaying. And he asked to be taken to the cemetery. He goes to the cemetery. He weeps. But nothing happens until he speaks and the people hear him speak and Lazarus hears him speak. And he speaks into the tomb. This is the God that spoke in Genesis 1:1 in the beginning.

God created. Watch him. And he says, Lazarus, come forth. His word went in and resonated into the body and mind and soul of that dead decaying man. And Lazarus came forth. Why did he come forth? Because God spoke first. It always has to be first. The miracle is always after the speaking, after the hearing of the word of God. He said, Lazarus, come forth. Oh, watch me one more. Give me let me give you another one. He goes to the home of Jairus. They said, Jesus, no love, no need to come. The little girl is dead.

Only 12 years old. She's dead. The mourners are there making sounds of mourning. Uh it's it's a big ritual that is going on. Your daughter is dead. Friends, nothing is dead where Jesus is. When Jesus speaks, there is life, there is healing, there is wholeness, there is oneness. And he is speaking to our hearts today. And he goes into that little girl. He takes her by the hand, and he speaks these Aramaic words. He says, meaning little girl, get up and walk. He gave her to her parents and said, give her something to eat. Remember last week I said to the Holy Spirit told me go get something to eat.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He's saying the same things. And when we hear the things that he says, the miracles happened at that time. God sent his word into the eyes of the blind people. I mean, he looked at them. Jesus looked at them. He looked at their eyes. He sent his word not only into their ears, but into their eyes that couldn't see him, but he could see them. And he said, eyes be open. Sent his word into the ears. The ears stayed deaf until he said, ears be open. There was mental sickness, even demon possession, but nothing happened until he said, be free and be made whole.

Then they were free and then they were made whole. You see, friends, God has come to our planet. He has stood on the ground right where you're standing and I'm standing, our God. Now notice let me read it again. The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. His dwelling. He didn't just come and go and come and go, come on Sunday and go Sunday afternoon and come back next Sunday. No. He made his dwelling. He came. He's here. He made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full of grace and truth.

We have seen his glory. When do we see his glory? When he forgives us of our sins, when he says forgiven, when he says blind eyes be open, deaf ears be unstopped, confusion be healed. Then we begin to glorify the Lord, praising him, thanking him, glorifying him. We sing of his majesty. He has done great things. Friend, God wants to be glorified. God deserves to be glorified, but he can't be glorified until you and I hear his word and experience the miracle that comes from hearing his holy word. Notice it says in let me look at it again.

Verse 14. And the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory. We who are we? We have seen his glory. Today I believe we're going to see the glory of God. And God is going to be glorified. We have seen his glory. The we first there there was the 12 disciples. Then the group grew in the New Testament to 70. And then the group grew to 3,000. And now the group grew to you. We I have seen his glory. I see it when I hear his word and receive his word into my heart.

You see, Jesus said, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I mean, we treat God so casually. We're just casual about worship, prayer, ministry, the word. We're casual. God doesn't want to thrill us. He wants to bless and heal us and make us a whole and a complete being. But you have to hear the word and you can hear it on the run. It doesn't work that way. I didn't cause it to work that way or not work that way. This is not my doing. This is what the word says. It says we beheld.

Now the word beheld, listen to this now, and I'm going to close, meaning to look steadfastly, to look intently with fixed eyes in a steady gaze that will stimulate our mental facilities. Friend, God wants to shake up your brain this morning. Our brain has gotten out of order. Our brain is paying a lot of attention and hearing a lot of words and sounds from all around us. But when God speaks and the word comes in, it'll be because we have looked for it, expected it, prepared our hearts to receive it. We haven't caught it on the fly.

Friend, this is Christianity, New Testament Christianity. And we are a New Testament Christian people, and God is here to bless. Are you ready to hear? Have you heard? Well, here comes the miracle. We're going to bow our heads before the Lord, the speaking God, the talking God. We you see, sometimes we think that the God only has ears that we can talk to him when we really need need something. We can talk to him. He only had his but he has a mouth and he has tongue, and he wants to speak. This is his holy word, sanctified and blessed forever.

So now bow with me, please.

Guest (Male): We experience the glory of God when he forgives our sins, heals us physically or emotionally, and answers our prayers. Thank him today for all he has done, is, and will do. Do you need Pastor Morris to pray with you about a struggle or decision you're wrestling with? The pray now app is available to you right now. Go to the healingwordcom click pray now and select the topic that matches your request. Pastor Morris will provide encouragement, pray with you, and deliver a brief message on overcoming and living in victory. Again, pray now at the healingwordcom If today's message has blessed you and strengthened your faith in God, would you consider partnering with Pastor Morris and supporting the Healing Word ministry with your prayers and donating to keep the gospel of Jesus Christ reaching thousands?

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