The Healing Word

Announcer (Female): 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: You see, friends, you're made for heaven. You're not made for this world. No. We're citizens of heaven. God has redeemed us. We are made for Jesus.

Announcer (Female): Welcome to The Healing Word with Pastor Jack Morris. Today's message, "The Alternative Community", points us to the joy and unity found in Christ's people through worship, prayer, and the Lord's table. We discover that God has called us into a family set apart for His glory.

Pastor Jack Morris: The alternative community. You have it outlined and just a moment, I'm going to ask you to write down some words so you can follow along. The alternative community. Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes I feel like I just don't want to look at the news or on television or listen to it on the radio or open the newspaper and read it. But invariably, I do. Open the newspaper, read the news, listen to the news, particularly on the car radio, and then I will watch the news on television. And usually, most of the time, 99 and 44, 100% pure, it's negative. Somebody killing somebody, somebody rapes somebody, some child was molested, somebody was shot, and on and on it goes. It gets depressing after a while, doesn't it?

I'm glad I'm a citizen of the United States, but sometimes I feel like I I need a new citizenship, a new community, and thank God in Jesus Christ, that alternative community is provided. Can you say, praise the Lord?

Congregation: Praise the Lord.

Pastor Jack Morris: We're not only citizens of this world, but we're also citizens of that world. Our name is written in the book of life. And I know my name is there. You know your name is there. By faith we have received Jesus and Jesus has placed us in this alternative community. You see, there is an alternative. It's a choice that you have to make.

We can choose Jesus and be part of the alternative community. When I'm saying alternative community, it's just another word for church. The body of Christ. Being members one of another, being members of His body. Through conversion, we can somehow wonderfully transcend all this negativism that is going on about us, receive hope within us and know that we're an eternal being because we've been bought with a price, the blood of Jesus.

And we're going to celebrate His precious blood and His broken body in just a few moments when we come to this table. Now, we are the church. When we accept Jesus Christ, we become part of the church. I'm talking not about official membership where the pastor extends the right hand of fellowship, that's important too. We need to make a public, open confession of our faith. Just like when two people get married, they need to come to the pastor and they need to make a public confession that they're in love, that they're going to unite their life, they're going to live together in a one-flesh relationship. That's when we extend the right hand of fellowship when a person joins the church.

But what I'm talking about now is before that right hand of fellowship is extended by the pastor, Jesus Christ has heard our confession, come into our hearts, caused us to become a new creation in Him. Our names are written in heaven in the book of life. We are grafted into the body of Christ. Friend, when you accept Jesus, you're part of the church. That's why a person says, "Well, you know, I can accept Jesus, but I don't need the church." No, if you accept Jesus, you're part of His bride, you're part of His body. You have no choice, you become part of. And who wouldn't want to be that close to Jesus as His bride? Who wouldn't want to be? Don't tell me I can go to heaven without going to church. I can go to heaven without fellowshipping other Christians. I don't believe it. I don't believe the Bible teaches that. On the contrary, I believe the Bible says, we are part of the body of Christ, the church, the Ecclesia, redeemed by the blood of Jesus. When you accept Jesus, you're part of the church. You're part of the family of God.

We sing, "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God," right? I'm glad about this. I don't look at church as a chore, as a duty, as a responsibility, as a thing that, "Oh, I've got to grunt and do it." No, I go to church because Jesus loves me and I love the people of Jesus and I'm one with the people of Jesus.

I love you people. We love each other, don't we? You need to turn to somebody and said, turn to your neighbor and say, "I love you people." We're part of the people of Jesus.

Congregation: (Laughs)

Pastor Jack Morris: Isn't it great to be people? Especially when you're the people of God.

Congregation: (Laughs)

Pastor Jack Morris: Now, under point A, the new relationship with God. I don't know whether the word "new" ought to be in there or not, but it's a relationship with God that brings us into the community of Christ. Now, look at how God treated us before the cross. Write down the word "before." How God treated us before the cross. Now, before the cross, God treated us differently. But His feelings have never changed. From before the foundation of the world, God loved you and me, even when we were in sin. God loved us. His love has never changed. God's treatment of us has changed since we have become Christians, but His feelings toward us have never changed. Oh, friends, listen and get this point this morning. God has forever loved you. He has forever loved you, but now that you're saved, He treats you differently.

Now, before we were saved, we were lost, sin separated us. God wanted to treat us differently, but He couldn't get through that sin barrier. We were not in a son-daughter relationship. He couldn't treat us like sons and daughters because we were not sons and daughters. Not by the new birth. Sons and daughters by creation, yes, but not sons and daughters because we have been washed in the blood of Jesus and become new persons in Him. God loved us, though. He cared for us. He wanted us forever to be in His family. The cross did not procure His love to us. The cross is love is not the consequences of the cross. God loved us before the cross. Listen to me. Because He loved us, there was, there is the cross. Love caused the cross to become a reality.

God loved us and gave Himself for us. Notice those scriptures, Ephesians 5:1, Christ loved us, past tense, and gave Himself for us. First He loved us. Then He sent His son to die on the cross for us. God has always loved you. He has always loved you. He always will love you. But sin came between you and God, between me and God.

Now, I know that there are numerous pastors today that rarely mention the word sin anymore because people don't like that word. It's a word that they think is archaic, it's out of date, but Jesus mentioned that word frequently in the Bible. And when we don't talk about sin and we only talk about the love of God, we're only ministering half of the gospel. It is not a complete gospel because, friends, the broken body and blood of Jesus is the result of our sin. This is so watered down and becomes almost meaningless if we do not realize that we have sinned. And until we realize we have sinned, we can't confess the sin.

But because we have sinned, we have done our own thing, we have gone our own way. We have behaved like ungodly people, all of us have. All of us. We all need a savior and the only way to get rid of that sin is to confess it and turn away from it. He will immediately forgive us and take us into the family of God. But He loves us before we confess our sins. He loves us after we confess our sins. His love is forever the same, but He treats us differently now. We're going to look at the word. Look at number two in your outline. How does He treat us now after the cross?

Before the cross, He loved us, but He couldn't treat us like He treats us now. God's love for us has never changed. He has forever loved us, but watch now His treatment of us. God now treats us like sons and daughters. We were estranged. We were outside the faith. We were outside the community of love, but now we are in the community of love and God accepts us and treats us. We now are receiving an inheritance from Him even before we get to heaven.

Let me tell you a little story. Luke chapter 15, the prodigal son. You know the story, so I won't go into much detail. But the son went into a far country. He lost everything he had. That's what sin does. Sin will steal everything. It will steal your joy, it will steal your happiness, it will take away your peace. You will forever be looking for peace, joy and happiness, unable to find it. You might catch a little oasis of joy, but soon it'll be gone and you'll be craving it and looking for it again. Looking at things and possessions to bring you that peace and security, but sin is a thief and a robber. It continues to take away. So the young man goes into the far country and sin did a big job on him. Like it does on everybody. We may look prosperous, but our soul is in poverty. Our soul is lacking. But then he came to his senses.

That's what I'm praying that all people, and that's what God is praying that all people will come to their senses. Some of us here this morning have come to our senses. And we said, "Hey, this is ridiculous. I'm out here in the world looking for something that God can give me freely. I don't have to work for it, I can't earn it. There's no need to strive for it. It's a gift from Him." The young man said, "I'm going to go home to my father's house. He's got servants there. They're not hungry, they're well-fed, they're dressed properly. And they have shelter, and here I'm out here starving. I'm going home." And so he goes home. Did the father love him? Yes, the father loved him in the far country. The father loved him while he was in the pigpen. The father loved him when he was in dirt and filth. God's love never changes. God's love is forever. Whether we're in tight with God or we're separated from God, God still loves us. But He cannot treat us as sons when we're in the pigpen.

Congregation: (Shouts)

Pastor Jack Morris: When we're in the far country. This father loved his son. He wanted to treat him as a son, but the son left and the son lived an independent life. And the father couldn't treat him as a son. This man, this young man did not have sonship privileges, even though the father loved him. Are you listening to me today? So the son decides, "I'm going to come home." And when he comes home, he says to the father, "I have sinned."

Now that's where it begins. We have to acknowledge it. And there are those today and my heart is heavy, they stand in the pulpit and just saying, telling people, "God loves you and everything is all right." No. God loves you, but everything is not all right. God loves you and wants you to confess your sins and forgive your sins so He can treat you like sons, so He can treat you like daughters. You've got to get out of the pigpen. You've got to get out of sin. You've got to leave the filth of the world behind, the lust of the eye, the pride of life. You've got to leave it behind. This young man did. And when he said to the father, he said, "I have sinned." What did the father do? The father said, "Let's have a party. Let's have a Jubilee." This was my son who was lost. Now he is found. He has come home. He's home. So the father said, right away, he said, "Get the best robe and put, put the best robe on him. Put a ring on his finger. Put sandals on his feet. Kill the fatted calf. Let's have a Jubilee. Let's have a celebration."

Well, to put the best robe on him. The father, more likely, that was his robe. That was the father's robe. The father is putting His own robe on the son. That is a sign of privilege. That is a sign that one is a privileged person, a king or a priest. This person no longer a pigpen resident. He has been elevated. Now the father can do differently. This is what the father has always wanted to do, but the son was out there not allowing the father to do it. And now put the robe on him. Put a ring on his finger. Look at that ring.

Now, this new relationship of this new community comes with high and holy privileges and gifts. The first thing, the first characteristic, there are about three, there are more than that, but there are three main characteristics to being in that new community, being back in Father's house, being restored to a right relationship, being restored to son relationship. The first is prayer. Write down number one, prayer in your bulletin. We can come boldly to the throne of grace. Friend, I'll tell you something, you can do something today that you can't do anywhere else. I couldn't go down to the State House or the governor's mansion and walk in boldly, I can't do that. Certainly I couldn't do it down at the White House. But you can come boldly to the throne of grace. That's what the scripture says. Look at what it says in Hebrews 4:16. It says, "Let us." Those of us who are of the new community, the believer, the new community, the alternative society. "Let us. Let us approach the throne of grace." Come on, that's what God is saying, "Come on. Come on. Come on." You have sonship privileges. "Come on, approach the throne of grace." You have to do the approaching. God has already approached us. Just look up here and see His approach. He approached us. Now He is saying, "Come on, you approach the throne of grace with confidence." That means, "Don't come apologetically and say, 'Oh, I know I'm disturbing you, God, is it okay, do you have time to talk now or should I call back later?'" No, you don't have to do that.

People do that with me, "Are you free to talk, pastor, can you talk now?" Or, "Should I call back later?" Call back later. No, I don't do that. God never does that. God says, "Come with confidence." There's a throne. God sits upon that throne. But you're welcome at that throne because you are a son and a daughter of the Lord. And there you're going to receive or find grace to help in the time of need. And there's always going to be those times of need. You can't live in this world without having a need. So, if you have a need, if you're a son or daughter of the Lord, you can have that need met this morning. You can come to the throne of grace, be honest, open with the Lord, and He says, "You will find grace to help in the time of need." You see, when you pray, you find something. He said, "You will find grace," or, "You will find loving kindness." You will find it.

Now, the first characteristic of being in that alternative community or in the church or in the family of God or being saved is that you can pray, you can come to the throne of grace. And I want you today to think of what you need and talk to the Lord in just a few moments. Take it to Him. He's here to help you. You have sonship privileges, so don't deny yourself anymore. The wall that separated you is gone, now that you've confessed it. The second thing on line two, write down the word love. It says in John 4:19, "We love Him because He first loved us."

God first loved us. He has always loved us. His love that brought Him to us. That's why He came, because He loved us. It was love that caused Him to take our sins and go to the cross. That's why He went to the cross. It was love that held Him on the cross when they said, "Come down from the cross if you're the son of God. Come down and we'll believe." No, He knew that there was a world lost that didn't have sonship-daughtership privileges and He had to bring them in. Come down from the cross. It was love that held Him there, not those nails. The song says, "Oh, love that will not let me go." Now I belong to Jesus. Even as He loved me, now I love Him. It was love that brought Him to me. It was love that caused Him to carry my sins. It was love that held Him on the cross. It's going to be love that's going to bring Him back to rapture me and rapture you. You're loved, greatly loved. But He can't love you the way He wants to. He can't treat you the way He wants to treat you if there is unconfessed sin in your life. You have to get that out of the way, and then the love will come through like a dam that is broken, the floodgates of heaven will open, and the love of God will flow upon you.

And the third thing is joy. Write down the word joy. "When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, they were like men who dreamed." Oh, I read this and I thought, this is like a dream. This is like a dream to become a Christian, to have my sins forgiven, that I'm no longer feeling guilty and condemned. It's like a dream. Am I dreaming? Oh, let me keep on sleeping. Let me keep on dreaming. This is wonderful. I'm in the world, but I'm not of it. I'm in the world, but the world is not in me. Jesus took it out. Look at this. "When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy." "Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.'" Even the world will start saying, "Hey, look how happy she is." I know what's going on, I know the the trouble she's going through or he's going through. I know what's going on in their home and in their family, but look at the peace that she's manifesting. I mean, the sinners will look at you and your countenance itself will be a testimony to them. "The nations were saying, 'The Lord has done great things for them,'" "And for us, and we are filled with joy." Joy, that's what the Lord will do. He'll put joy and fill our hearts with joy.

You see, friends, you're made for heaven. You're not made for this world. No. We're citizens of heaven. God has redeemed us. We are made for Jesus. We're made for heaven. We're made for prayer. We're made for love. We're made for joy. So don't let sin stop or block it. Get it out of your heart quickly. If it happens in a thought, a word or a deed, get it out quickly. Confess it wherever you are. Say, "Lord, I sinned. Forgive." And immediately it'll be eradicated and erased and taken away. See, you're made for greater things. You're made not for the pigpen of the world, but you're made for sonship privileges. And God wants to restore and give this. See, God wants you to come to Him today. And when we come to this table, we want to remember how much He loved us. We want to look into the cup. We want to look at the wafer and we want to know, "Yes, today, God's putting a robe on me." His own, His very.