The Healing Word

Guest (Male): 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: Why are we arguing over why are we so disturbed over that that we can't change? The only thing you can change is your relationship to God, is your heart and Jesus will do that for you.

Guest (Male): Welcome to the healing word, a ministry dedicated to offering strength and encouragement through God's word for anyone facing life's challenges. As believers, we want to serve God and walk in his will. Though the path isn't always easy, today's message is here to meet you at your point of need, bringing hope and renewing your faith now. Here's pastor Jack Morris.

Pastor Jack Morris: I'm going to talk about the convincing power of love. Going to contrast Christianity and Judaism. Going to also show the distinctive distinctions between these two great faiths and how Christianity is indeed the religion of love, for it all started with love and love keeps it going. Love is its empowerment. I read devotional books and I found this one by E. Stanley Jones entitled Growing Spiritually and I read this little story. I bought this for Quran a number of years ago and came across it in my library and it's entitled Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear and it tells this little story.

Now this this happened so many many years ago. E. Stanley Jones was a great United Methodist missionary to India and he tells this little story about Albert Schweitzer who was a missionary to Africa. These men died many many years ago, but he said Albert Schweitzer took for his attitude reverence for life. Schweitzer said I'm going to reverence life. I'm going to reverence everybody's life. Every time I look at an individual, I'm going to reverence that individual and E. Stanley Jones said what he was talking about was love. He's going to love everybody and he's going to look upon everybody with love and he said that Schweitzer was in Estes Park, Colorado.

He goes into a motel, a hotel, a large hotel and there was a huge big German Shepherd dog in the lobby. I don't know that they allow big German Shepherd dogs in lobbies of hotels, but this was a long time ago, but he said people would look at the dog and speak to the dog and the dog would just sleep. The dog wouldn't pay any attention to anybody who walked through the lobby and the dog just was silent, just spurned everybody's attention, but when Albert Schweitzer walked into the lobby of this very large hotel, that dog that was sleeping raised its head, got up and walked over to him and raised its paw to him.

They'd never seen each other before. Now you see even animals recognize love and Schweitzer said I'm going to respect life, all life and I'm going to love life and life wherever it is found. The little story is a cute little story goes on to tell how that when he went to dinner that night, he went into the the dining hall and sat down and that big what that kind of dog did I say it was? The saint it was a Saint Bernard. It was a Saint Bernard dog. That big dog walked in to the dining hall and lay down at his feet right where he was seated.

You know people respond to love and that's exactly why we have given our hearts to Jesus. We have responded to his love. We recognized in Jesus more than four, more than ceremony, more than ritual, more than religion. We recognized Jesus as God's love come down. Jesus is love with a human body built around it. Jesus is love and so is the church. When Jesus abides in the church, the church becomes that institution and each person in the church becomes that individual person of love. Listen, without the church, there's no love in this world, none whatsoever and I pray today that God will fill your heart and my heart with love.

That's what's going to convince people to receive Jesus. It's the love of God within us, not what we tell people, not what we exhort them, not what we preach to them, but it's love, God's love. Now in Galatians, we're going through the book of Galatians and my prayer is that as I started this at the beginning of the year, Paul said my dear children for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you. Here's a church, several churches in the region of Galatia who had been serving the Lord very faithfully and then some people come along and tell these dear new Christians that they need to practice Judaism, the ceremonies, the rituals, the the cleansing ceremonies of Judaism.

Be a Christian, but pack all of this other stuff on and it got the need these new Christians very confused. They they got all mixed up. They were just new Christians and some of them said well I want to be as close to God as I can be and if I need to do these other things, I'll do these other things and they started practicing the faith of Judaism as well as the faith of Christ, the faith of Christian. So they got the two mixed. They got them confused and Paul says I've got to come back and can get you converted all over again for there is freedom and love in Christ and the religion of Christianity is more than ritual and ceremony.

It's caring for God, caring for one another, letting God care for you and let others care for you. Religion the religion of Christianity is a religion of life and this is what Paul is telling these Galatians in chapter one and chapter two of the book of Galatians. Now take your outline and on line A, write down the word relationship. Let me for a moment talk about the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. They are two distinct religions, two distinct faiths, but number one, as it says in your outline, Christianity is an outgrowth of Judaism. Christianity, you and I have our our roots in Judaism.

This is where it all started. It started with Judaism. We accept Abraham as Christians do. We accept Abraham. We accept the Old Testament books. We accept the Psalms just as the Jews do. We do also and so we love Judaism. We love the Old Testament, for the Old Testament is the word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit just like the New Testament is inspired. So we accept the Old Testament. We accept Judaism. Our roots are in Judaism. Judaism began when God spoke to Abraham and made a promise to Abraham, a covenant, a promise that was to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Judaism started with Abraham. Christianity starts with Jesus. It started with Jesus and a promise that God made that all who believe in Jesus should not perish, but have everlasting eternal life. Judaism is a religion of ritual and law obeying. Christianity is a religion of life and resurrection. Now think of the difference between doing something ritualistic and obeying law that is so mundane, that is so earthly, that is so horizontal, but then you think of resurrection and life and here's where Christianity comes in, a religion of resurrection and life. Judaism, as I said, began with Abraham and it went on and it concluded with John the Baptist.

Now there's still Israel, there's still Jews, there's still synagogues, but Judaism ceased to be a viable force when they rejected Jesus Christ. The Jews continued to accept this prophet, this prophet, this prophet, this prophet. John the Baptist was the last prophet, but then after John the Baptist, Jesus came and they said not Jesus, not Jesus. We we'll go up to John the Baptist, but here's where we stop and indeed Judaism stopped at that time. At that time, Judaism became a terminal religion. But Jesus Christ being resurrection in life continues to serve, continues to bless and Christianity is a dynamic a dynamic force in the world today.

It is resurrection and it is life, Jesus. The angel came to Joseph and Mary and said for he shall be great and of his kingdom there shall be what? No end. Say it, no end. No end. No end. Jesus, they didn't want to have anything to do with him. They cut him off. They cut off eternity when they cut off Jesus. Listen, friend, there's no other way but through Jesus Christ. He is the way. He is the only way. He is God's son. He is God's gift and to reject him as an individual, as a family, as a nation, as to reject him is to damn ourselves.

In the book of Revelation, it speaks of this great one, this great savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, our savior, our king of his kingdom. There shall be no end. It says to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be power and honor and glory forever and ever and ever and ever, world without end. Friend, you are part of eternity right now if you know Jesus as your Lord and savior. If you know him as your Lord and savior, that means you are going to live forever. If you do not know him as your Lord and savior, you are soon going to be terminated.

That's it. Now the choice is up to each of us. We make the choice, not God. God made his choice. God said that he is not willing that any should perish, whether they be Jew or Gentile, whether they be a slave or a free man. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But he has given each of us a free will and God will indeed respect your will. If you don't want Jesus, you don't want him. That's all, period. But he will love you forever even after you're terminated.

He will love you forever. He loves you now. He wants you in his kingdom. He wants to save you, forgive you, give you a home in heaven, protect you, bless you. He wants to, he wants to, he wants to. He's done everything in God's power to take care of us. But if you don't want him, it's over. That all there is.

Guest (Male): We'll be back with the conclusion of today's message in just a moment, but first here's an invitation for you to make an impact on reaching souls with God's word.

Pastor Jack Morris: Hello friends. I'm pastor Jack Morris. I just want to take a moment to thank you for your prayers and your donations. In that order, prayers and donations, I need both from you and if this ministry is to continue and I believe it's God's will for it to continue, I'm going to need your partnership more so than ever before. I thank God for you. I trust that the healing word is a blessing. Pray that God's word will go forth in mighty power for the saving of souls and for the healing of lives, emotions and bodies. God bless you dear one in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Guest (Male): If the healing word has blessed you or someone you love, we invite you to prayerfully consider pledging your financial support. Simply visit thehealingword.com and click on donate now to make your tax deductible contribution. Together, let's continue to share the beautiful blessings of God's word with a world in need.

Pastor Jack Morris: Now in Galatians chapter two verses 11 through 13, here is the apostle Peter. The you have to see the picture now. They're at a love feast. Every week the church at Galatia had a love feast and that was a time when the people of God would come together and they would share everything that they had. Remember if you read on, he'll say remember the poor. Well every week they would come together because people were becoming Christians. They were fired from their jobs. They had nothing. They were they were the outcast to the earth and so those Christians that had gave to those that didn't and they had all things common.

It was a love feast and Peter along with Barnabas and I think it was Titus and some of the others were seated at a table with with some Gentiles. They were eating with Gentiles. Now in that day, Gentiles and Jews had absolutely nothing to do with each other. And when I say Gentiles, I I simply mean everybody who isn't a Jew. Everybody who isn't a Jew is called a Gentile. The word Gentile means nations, the people of the nations. So Paul said that the Peter sat down with these Gentiles and they were no doubt laughing and talking and eating together and then Peter looked up and in through the door came a group of Jews who had become Christians, but they were they were Jews.

They came in into the love feast and Peter blushed and got embarrassed and he cleared his throat, I would imagine, and said excuse me please and he gets up and Barnabas said excuse me he also and they got up and they went over and they sat down somewhere else because they didn't want those Jews to see them eating with Gentiles. And the apostle Paul saw what happened and before everybody face to face with Peter. You know there's a time to come face to face with people. There really is. There really is. Paul came face to face with Peter and said man, what are you doing?

We're not Jew anymore. We're not Gentile anymore. We are one new race. We're Christians and I saw you get embarrassed when those Jews come in. You didn't want them to see you eating with Gentiles. You are turning back. Peter, you're going right back and behaving exactly like you used to behave before Jesus came into your life. Now people that problem still exists to this very day. We sometimes forget that we are not white or black or yellow or red, but we are children of God redeemed by the blood of Jesus. God doesn't look at your color because he can't see through blood.

It's Jesus. You still with me this morning? It's Jesus and Paul says to Peter you are wrong man. You are wrong. You are so race conscious. You are still so Jewish conscious. You are still so aware and conscious of your roots where you came from is still more important to you than your relationship to the church. Now you read it yourself. It's in Galatians chapter two. Right now right now your Christianity should be much more important to you than being an African American. Your Christianity should be so much more important to you than being a European or being an Asian or being anything else.

Listen, are you redeemed? I don't know. Am I redeemed? I can only answer that. Only you can answer that and Paul looked at Peter and said man, you are a hypocrite. The words in the Bible he called him a hypocrite because of what he acted. Friends, Christianity changes people. When you're bought with the blood of Jesus and you know you're bought with the blood of Jesus, then you know you're bought with the blood of Jesus and that becomes your relationship. Do you know him? Have you experienced his love and are you loving even those who don't love you because everything isn't going to be to our satisfaction.

There are people that are still going to judge us by our nationality, by our sex, by the color of our skin. People are still going to do that. The whole world isn't the church, but the church is in the world to be the light to the world and to be the the salt of the earth. In Christ, you are precious, whoever you are and Christ died to bring you and me into his kingdom. Religion of Christianity is a religion of unity. It's a religion of oneness. In Christ, we're neither Jew nor Gentile. We're sinners saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Sinners saved. No matter where did you come from? I come from I came from sin and the Lord saved me. Where you going? I'm going to heaven. I know where I came from. I know where I'm going. My spirituality is so much more now real to me that anything of early connection because of Jesus. It's a religion of love. The scripture says in first John chapter four, God is love. Can you say that God is love?

Guest (Male): God is love and love is the most convincing argument in the world.

Pastor Jack Morris: No one can change their nationality. No one can change their complexion. No one can change their sex. We can't change things. Why are we arguing over? Why are we so disturbed over that that we can't change? The only thing that you can change is your relationship to God, is your heart and Jesus will do that for you. But we are so caught up with things that we can't do anything about. Let's be filled with the love of Jesus, the very love that put him on the cross for you. That's how much he loved you, the cross.

Let us now love one another. That's the most convincing argument in the world. You know the stench of sin is still on the earth. The stench, the smell of division is still here. Let it not be in the church. If it's in the church, then the church is still in the world, even though it goes by the name church or it goes by the name Christianity. There's a stench of sin, the smell of corruption and death. It's the odor of sin and wherever there is exclusion, listen to me, wherever wherever there is exclusion, there is a stench of flesh in the nostrils of God and God turns away from it.

So we need to examine our hearts and be honest and look deeply within us. But let me tell you a story. There was a woman named Mary who had an alabaster box and she took that alabaster box to the feet of Jesus, Jesus who was soon to be crucified and the only thing she could think of was Jesus. The only one she loved was Jesus. She didn't know any surroundings of the people in the house. All she knew that was Jesus was there and she wanted to worship him and she breaks the most precious thing that she has.

She wants to worship and in her simplicity and even in her naivety and in her ignorance, she breaks the alabaster box and she anoints the feet of Jesus. Friend, when you break the alabaster box, everybody knows it because the house becomes filled with sweetness, not the stench of separation and difference, but the smell of sweetness. The alabaster box was broken. The beautiful fragrance filled the entire house. Now the scripture says Jesus went to the cross. His body the alabaster box of his body was broken on that cross and from that precious body of our Lord Jesus Christ, there came a redeeming fragrance, a redeeming fragrance that flowed out.

It was heaven's perfume and that perfume filled all the house of this earth and the universe and they're settled down over this earth a sweetness such as the world has never known and never will know. The sweetness of redemption, the sweetness of love and that's how Jesus comes to us today in beauty, in sweetness. You know what has happened? Mary broke the alabaster box on Jesus and Jesus breaks the alabaster box of his body on you, on me. I hope he didn't waste it. Came from heaven and died for nothing, only for rejection.

Guest (Male): Feeling stuck in habits or struggles that hold you back, the new e-book God's Power for You written by pastor Jack Morris is your guide to breaking free and transforming your life. This book isn't just about inspiration, but real change through God's love and grace filled with faith stories, practical steps and biblical wisdom. You'll learn to tap into God's power to overcome obstacles and find lasting transformation. Don't let life's burdens weigh you down. With God's Power for You, discover the courage, strength and faith to live in victory. Go to thehealingword.com and click on resources to receive your free copy today.

Join us tomorrow for another healing word message. Until then, blessings on you.