The Healing Word

Announcer: 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: Don't just think about Jesus at the end of the week when Sunday's coming. Walk with Jesus every day, experience His love, and experience His power always. He's here to bless you and to help you.

Announcer: Welcome to The Healing Word, a ministry dedicated to offering strength and encouragement through God's Word for anyone facing life's challenges. 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: The gospel of free grace. Everything that we have in God is a gift given. God hasn't charged us, made us pay for anything, but he did make Jesus pay, and Jesus willingly paid because God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit so loved the world, you and me, that he gave Jesus, and Jesus gave himself willingly and freely to redeem us from all our sins. Now take your bulletin, open it up to the outline and follow along, would you please? Write down the word gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I talk about gospel, I'm talking about the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Gospel means good news, but never has there been news like this news, that someone came, his name is Jesus.

He lived on earth and he performed miracles. He died, and when he died, he died not for himself, but for us and for all who will believe on him. He died taking our sins. He was buried. He rose again from the dead. And today, all who will confess their sins to him, God will acknowledge that confession. All who will repent and stop their sinning. We confess and then we do it again, but confess and repent means I confess and I stop it. God will acknowledge that confession. He will acknowledge that repentance, and he will forgive and impart eternal life. This is what the word gospel means. It means you're saved by the grace, the loving kindness, the unmerited favor of Almighty God.

How greatly God loves us. Now, under A, look at point one, forgiveness. Let's go to Galatians chapter 1, verse 4. Who gave himself for our sins. Forgiveness. What does sin look like in the eyes of God? Sin in the eyes of God means only God's Son can put it away, and God's Son indeed put it away forever and forever, never to remember that sin against us again. That's how much he cares, and that's how much he loves us, with a great desire to forgive us, for we have sinned, and God in mercy, in grace, good news, gospel, has come through Jesus Christ and has forgiven us of our sins. Now continue to look at verse 4, Galatians chapter 1 verse 4.

Hold your Bible up and read this verse together in unison. Who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father. Now it was God's will to do this. God wanted to do this. No one coerced God or talked God into doing something that was against his will, and somebody coerced him and talked to him and persuaded him. No, not at all. It was his will. He wanted to do this. He wanted to come and save us and to forgive us and to help us to repent and to acknowledge that repentance. It was his will. Now, he has done that. He has forgiven all who have confessed and repented of their sins.

He's done that. But in addition to that, he's done something more. Look at what it says. Who gave himself for our sins to rescue us. To rescue us from what? This present evil age. We live in an evil age. Even Paul's time, in Paul's age, evil was abounding. But I think maybe today evil much more abounds than even in Paul's age. And the Holy Spirit is helping us to live above sin, to live a holy life, to live a life that will honor God. Not only has God saved us, listen, not only has God saved us, he has kept us saved. For the sin that dragged us down in the beginning, that same sin is very active in this present age to drag us down again.

Listen, friend, listen to me. You're no match for sin. Sin is stronger than you are. Evil abounds, and in our flesh, we have no power to resist it or to turn it away. You see, it is a supernatural thing, and we are natural, and the natural and the supernatural cannot compete. There is evil in this present age in which we live, and God not only rescued us, but he continues. He continues to rescue us from this present evil age. You see, there's something about evil that is enthralling, enticing, alluring. I mean, evil abounds. Evil is aggressive. Evil is not something that is passive, that is just out there lying dormant.

Evil is very active. It's not waiting for you to come to it. Evil is coming to you. In the magazines you read, you look at it, oh my, look at that. You'll turn your television on, and the evil is pumped right into your living room, right into your bedroom. You can't get away from it because it's pursuing you like the hound of hell. Evil wants you. Satan desires you. Satan lost you to Jesus, and now the devil wants you back again, and he's going to hound your heels with evil to bring you down, to cause you to do the wrong thing, to break the commandments of God and to become disobedient to the Lord.

But look at this scripture. This is such an encouraging scripture. It says, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil world. There's evil is like something floating, like you see a smog or you see smoke in the air. It's just floating. It's floating. It's in our thoughts. It floats in our thoughts. It floats in our imaginations. It's in the atmosphere. We inhale it. All of a sudden, these thoughts will pop in your mind, and you'll think, my God, where did that thought come from? Now, it's not a sin for that to happen because you're human. The devil will use your human emotions, your human impulses.

He will do everything he can to inflict evil upon you. And there are people in the world, and I think of the man who has succumbed to evil, who has fallen in sin, who is not content in his own fallenness. No, he's not content until he pursues you. He wants you to fall just like he falls. They're out on the street corner where your children go to school saying, here's some free drugs, here's some free dope. Come on, just try it. They're out there pursuing you, pursuing your children. Alcohol, sin, pornography, it floats in the air. But look at this scripture. Look at this scripture and shout glory.

He rescues you from this because this will bring you down without the rescuing power of the Lord Jesus Christ. I read this scripture and I thought to myself, hallelujah to God, for there is another supernatural power that is greater than the power of sin, the greater than the power of Satan. The scripture tells us in the book of Job, the very first chapter, and it's thought that Job was the very first book that was part of the Bible that was put in the canon. It says that Job was a righteous man, a man of God. And then it goes on to tell us that Satan appeared before the Almighty. The fallen angels, now we know them as demons.

They appeared before God, and God speaks to Satan. See, Satan at one time was an archangel. I'm going to have to tell you the story of how he was an archangel. He was second only in command to God, and he thought himself so great, so powerful, he became so arrogant that he said, I'm going to be like God. I'm going to go up there and dethrone God. Look at all of my beauty. And the Bible says God dethrones him, casts him out of heaven, and sends him to the earth. Now Satan, traveling throughout the earth, roaming throughout the earth, seeking whom he may devour, the Apostle Peter says. But on this particular occasion, he appears before God Almighty, Satan does.

And God says, where have you come from, Satan, oh fallen one? Satan said, I've come from the earth. I roam the earth. I devour. I look. I seek. God said, but if you consider my servant Job, he's a righteous man. He's a good man. He said, yeah, he's righteous and he's good because you're good to him and you're taking care of him and you put a hedge around him and you won't let me get at him, but let me get at him and he'll curse you. He'll curse you. You know, God has faith in you. God has more faith in you and me than we have in him. God said he won't do it because he's a righteous man. I've got faith in Job, God says.

I wonder if God can say that about you and me. I know he'll be true. I know she'll be true. Can God say that about you? Can God say about you, I know she'll do right? I'll tell you this, sin is coming, and you're either going to do right or you're going to do wrong. You'll have to make a choice, but the choice will be yours, and if you choose God, there will come to you a supernatural power, an unction of the Holy Spirit. You will have resistance and power to overcome like you never thought before, but you have to walk with God, and that power comes from God and God alone. And this is what the good news is.

You're saved, and God keeps you safe.

Announcer: 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.

Unidentified Speaker: 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 to the saving of souls and to the healing of lives, emotions, and bodies. God bless you, dear one, in Jesus' name, amen.

Announcer: 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: I want you to turn over to, or just listen, I'm going to turn to Romans chapter 8. I was so encouraged as I read Romans chapter 8, beginning to verse 37. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Friend, you don't have to be afraid of sin if you love Jesus with all your heart, because sin won't conquer you. Sin can't conquer you. You will be the conqueror. You will overcome. But sadly to say, there's a lot of God's people who are falling, who are giving in, who are succumbing, who are acquiescing. And this is sad because it doesn't have to be that way, because we have a rescuing God.

But look at this. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Now look at verse 38, Romans chapter 8, verse 38. Paul says, for I am convinced. You know, there he was convinced. There are some things we can really be convinced of. He said, I'm convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any power, neither height nor depth, nor any thing else in all creation will be able, listen to this, listen, will be able to separate you, separate us from the love of God. Hallelujah! Nothing, look at it. Death can't separate.

When I die, I'm not going to be separated from the Lord. I'm going to go to be with the Lord, and so will you. There's nothing in life that can separate you and me from the Lord. Nothing. There's angels or demons can't do it. Things present, there's nothing right now in this present world, and there's nothing in the world to come tomorrow, next year, 10 years from now, in the present, in the future. There's nothing coming that can separate you from the love of God. Heights or powers in all of creation, there is nothing. Now look back at Galatians chapter 1, verse 4, who rescues us from this present evil age.

Hallelujah. Friend, if you're under pressure to sin, don't yield to it. Turn to the Lord. He will reach out. He will rescue you. You can't do it. I know there are people, I know there are people who cannot resist. They cannot resist. The impulse is there, and they cannot resist. Friend, it's the Lord who empowers you to do the resisting. And in Christ, you can resist. If you go to church but you continue to sin, then you are a sinner and you're lost, and you need to come to Christ and confess your sin, stop your sinning, repent of your sin, and give your heart to Jesus. Just coming to church and taking communion, going through a ritual, will not cut it with God.

Only confession and repentance. That means you confess it and stop it. Now, our right to heaven lies in Christ. Our right to pardon and forgiveness lies in Christ. The power that keeps us from falling lies in Christ. Our present situation lies in Christ. Our future life lies in Christ. Everything lies in Jesus. Don't just think about Jesus at the end of the week when Sunday's coming. Walk with Jesus every day, experience his love, and experience his power always. He's here to bless you and to help you. There were teachers in Paul's day. Look at verse 10. Paul said, I am now trying to win the approval of men or of God, or am I?

Question mark. Or am I trying to please men? There were people that were telling Paul, Paul, you're making it too easy to be saved. You're making it too easy to become a Christian. You're making it too easy to go to heaven. And Paul is saying, in Christ, in Christ it is easy. It's the easiest thing in the world to be saved, to get your name in the book of life. All you need to do is confess. You don't have to do anything else other than confess and repent and stop sinning. Jesus did it all. I'm not trying to make it easy. This is what Paul is saying. I'm not trying to make it easy. I'm trying to help people to experience what he has already done.

Friend, I want to tell you about a lady. I want you to open your hymnal to number 342. Would you do that? Number 342. The lady I want to tell you about, her name is Charlotte Elliott. You see, just as I am, look down at the text, down in the left-hand column, and you'll see the text, Charlotte Elliot. Here was a woman who was so vivacious until, and so happy and so active until she was about age 30. And then she became ill. Her health began to fail her. And for the next 50 years, are you listening to me today? For the next 50 years, until she was 82 years old, she was an invalid. She became so discouraged, so sad, and great bouts of depression.

And one day it's told that a minister came by to see her, and she, being an invalid, said to her, Charlotte, come to Jesus just like you are. And when he left, she got the idea. She called for pen and pencil, and she wrote, just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Now notice that the blood was shed, and then the call was given. This is what I've done. Come to it. Come to me. Then she said in verse 2, just as I am and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Again, it's Jesus, it's not what you can do, because you can't do it and I can't do it, but he can and he will, and he will do it today. Verses 3, 4, and 5 tells of her condition, her physical condition. She said, just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within and without. 50 years at Invalid. She said, I'm still coming, O Lamb of God, I come with my conflict, with my doubts, with my fightings, with my fears. Look at verse 4. Just as I am, I'm poor, wretched, blind, sight rich as healing of the mind. Yea, all I need in thee I find, O Lamb of God, I come.

Then she concludes, just as I am, thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve, because thy promise I believe. That's all you have to do. Just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved. And then walk with him, and you'll not fail, you'll not succumb. He'll continue to rescue you when the tempter comes. The tempter will come. I pray for you, I really do. I pray for you. The other day you were so on my heart in my study. I saw you. I saw the whole congregation. I could see your faces. I knew your names. Sometimes Corinne will say, was so-and-so there? I said, oh yeah, she was on the back row.

Was so-and-so there? Yeah, they were right in the middle. They were over there. They were late, but they came. And I started praying for you, and I lifted you up to the Lord, and I looked at you right in the face. And I prayed for you because I know it's difficult out there. I know you're under pressure. I know the tempter is there. I know you live in an atmosphere of this present evil age. But I know one, and you know him too. You're going to come to this table in just a moment, and come, no matter what has happened. You might say, Pastor, you don't know what I've done this week or even yesterday or last week or that's okay, you come.

Just come, just as you are. There's nothing you can do, and that's what they were saying to Paul, the apostle, those evil teachers. They were telling him, you're making it too easy, Paul. Friend, it's easy. Jesus took the hard part. It's easy now for you. We're without excuse.

Announcer: Prayer is such a vital part of our journey as Christians. It helps us keep connected to God, our source of power and peace. Through prayer, we find guidance, overcome temptation, discover our purpose, and draw closer to God by expressing our gratitude and our need for Him. With the Pray Now app available at thehealingword.com, you can choose a topic that speaks to what you're facing, pray with Pastor Jack Morris, and receive an uplifting message grounded in God's word and strength. Visit thehealingword.com today and find the encouragement you need to walk forward in faith. Join us tomorrow for another Healing Word message.

Until then, blessings on you.