Jesus Wants to Save You From Your Sins | Sr Mary Grace, S.V. | SEEK24 Keynote

good evening well I want to start with a story as sisters we typically respond to invitations worldwide but sister Veritas one day had a dream what if we invited ourselves to a secular Women's Conference so I did my research I Googled biggest Women's Conference in the USA we found the Ultimate Women's Expo in Austin Texas they showed up we set up our booth with banners saying things like your life is irreplaceable I see in you whatever your past the reflection of the Sacred to our left was a jewelry designer to our right a fashion designer and right in front of us was a tarot card reader excuse me I need that we talked to her I'll call her Lucy she was 26 years old but on the last day we invited her to pray with us she was moved to tears and a brave sister took an opportunity to say little more she said Lucy I believe God has given me a word for you he has great plans for your life but they do not involve tarot card reading I just shut my eyes and cranked up my prayers she said I've been wondering my whole life whether God was wanting me to stop doing this and I think I just got a sign friends God is using every circumstance of your life right now yes even your sins to save you to free you and to give you more we the ones that get caught out and figuring out what's next right fixing what's off frustrated by what's not working turning to ourselves to try harder to get it right we waste energy and time fighting the wrong battle as if it's all on me but the truth is that Jesus Christ has defeated every demon that's ever walked this Earth he's overcome every Temptation and he's already quashed every fear he's alive he's in this room and he's fixated on your freedom so let us pray Jesus open our hearts wide tonight help us to receive the word that you have for each one of us sing with me come Lord Jesus come come Lord Jesus one more time come Lord Jesus come amen sin has two debilitating effects on us one it is it imprisons us and limits us to a confined way of living and two it interrogates us and weakens us making us vulnerable to lies and distrust but where sin in prison trust liberates and where sin interrogates Jesus defends a man asked me recently something that I've never been asked as a sister before he said do you have a smoke and I was like no I said but we have something better we handed him a prayer card and uh that's all we had and uh he said sister I've done a lot I've done a lot of smoking would Jesus forgive me because it's hard being addicted yes we said he's more powerful and he said oh yeah what's he saved you from I said how long have you got he's freeing me from my own preoccupation with myself with my anxiety with my own with my own doubts that I'm enough and he interrupted me he said so you're saying you're not afraid anymore I said no but knowing Jesus is stronger than any fear in any of my lives we don't need to stay afraid and he said I want that sister I want that lies lead to anxiety anxiety means to constrict tempting us to believe that we're bound to them as if we're in some kind of solitary confinement and can't escape their torment but sin is no longer a blockage when we turn to Jesus Jesus walks through walls darkness is not too dark for him anymore no one is too far gone you know in Australia uh we boast some of the friendliest and the deadliest creatures quers kangaroos are the size of cats and recently they were voted the world's most happiest animal because they've been caught smiling for selfies and if you don't believe me I just want to share a photo of evidence of that you're welcome now because most Australian creatures you know uh little bit more deadly ones like the taian snake and the Sydney fous fwell SP F box jellyfish a kind of common place and lethally poisonous I kind of grew up with an instinct to protect with a desire and and I felt really a responsibility to rescue I was trained also in Ocean rescue and this had involved doing things like keeping shark Nets clean gauging underwater currents jellyfish stings things like that I honestly loved taking care of people and I love being the one people could rely on I stro drove to be first in sports like soccer surfing rugby running you name it this is my favorite part and I wasn't an a grade student but I was undefeated winning the annual academic effort award so I began to believe that if I tried hard enough I could get what I want and keep control of my life as if a good life was the result of my effort you know up to me to create something worth living and then maybe God would approve of me I saw God more like a coach to impress with a perfect performance and I got used to living like I was responsible for my own salvation but you and I know that our world makes it very difficult to think differently there's an unnamed pressure that detests dependence and despises any form of imperfection you know my life looks so stable on the outside but on the inside I was guarding my heart from the saving love that I needed most and I was getting tired of trying so hard but Jesus is not content with our captivity and you were not created to cope with life our struggle with sin and shame it's no longer the end of our story it's the starting place of Grace you know I wasn't really aware uh growing up of my own captivity that self-reliance was caging me in until I experienced the death of someone very close to me it completely shuted me actually I suddenly felt like I was living in another world you know I didn't know how to walk forgot how to talk life suddenly lost all its color and I despaired that there was even anything good for me left in the future I felt like a failure and uh my ways of coping and managing they weren't enough I couldn't handle it and for years I shed no tears of course I wanted to but I was so scared that if I started crying I'd never stop that if I got angry maybe I'd lose control or if I really grieved I'd be overwhelmed but God is not a Punisher scripture says God did not make death death is not his doing and was never part of his original plan for us God created all things that they might exist and he wants you to exist and exist forever sin doesn't ruin God's plan he's incomparably creative and he's unafraid of the mess that we're in you know in the gospels we hear about uh men who opened a roof to lower their paralyzed friend down to the feet of Jesus Jesus said Son your s sins are forgiven everyone was expecting a miracle of physical healing but Jesus sees our greater paralysis the world tells us if you fix this have that subscribe here upgrade try this GI try this diet change this about your body all will be well we're burdened with a task of saving and making ourselves but the biggest threat to our well-being isn't what we don't don't have but the sins that keep us captive sin causes paralysis and because of sin death but friends you are not God's project you're his child and when God sees you he sees you deeper than our sins and setbacks he sees a son he sees a daughter and he never fails to see that Jesus offers us the only cure that go that can cure us from our captivity the Forgiveness of sins and for every sin and setback in your life Jesus has pre-planned a rescue for you on our campus visits uh we learned recently that there's two items that students never reject free food and stickers and one day we had like the perfect combo live music sisters were offering free donuts in one hand and stickers in the other instant hit but after our Outreach in the campus Plaza sisters had meetings with students except Sister Anne and I strangely had one meeting slot open at the same time so we sat in the D in the dining hall when I'll call her Rachel walked right up to us without an introduction and said this is risky but I have something to say to you suddenly I felt uncomfortable she said I hate people like you you come on our campus giving out your stuff stuff makes me so angry she said I got on my bus all worked up seeing you on campus When the Thought came to me stop judging them go talk to them she said so I got up and I told that bus driver to pull over I'm going back I walked all the way across campus and I thought I'll give it one shot if they're there and available I'll talk to them so do you meet with people cuz I have questions that's when Sister Anne and I proceeded to have an arm wrestle of who was going to meet with her I'll let you decide who won but like many Rachel had a lot on her heart you know the world has an extensive list to answer our need for Endless Love sexual promiscuity drugs alcohol competition to the backbreaking pressure of perfectionism redefining our identity but hearing more about God's truth opened her heart to just a little bit wider at the end of our conversation she left with one request she said next time can I bring my best friend so two months later she did just that we met again and they had questions about every Hot Topic that you can imagine but what surprised them most was the good news of Mercy Mercy Rachel said I came angry and judging but I was met with love next time I'm bringing more friends Rachel listened to what probed her heart and she didn't let what lacked or what she disagreed with her stop her search in fact it led her to the truth that resonates in every one of our hearts so we can ask ourselves what am I stuck in right now what distresses me what are the places that I don't have it all together don't get what God's about what is the bus that I'm on tonight that Jesus is is inviting me to get off you know is it patterns of self-reliance addiction to porn or masturbation is it a struggle with body image of video games unforgiveness comparison or self-hatred we all experience the imprisonment that sin sentenced us to but turning to God has one guarantee you will be met with love when we're strugling we're prone to lies lies that say things like it'll always be this way that's never going to change that something's wrong with me or I'm bad but we can let our distress and our desires be a doorway to Jesus God never asked you to save yourself he sent you his son you know when it comes to Ocean rescue there's three options in a way to get to someone in distress first is a boat second is a board and the third is a tube the tube is where a lifeguard will literally strap a rope around his body and swim out to you wrap the tube around you and bring you back to shore Jesus is not a bystander in your life storms don't delay his help he doesn't merely meet us where we are he binds himself to you and Carries you out you know when I experienced loss it was hard to believe Jesus even heard me but that's when I started crying out for the first time at times God will grant an instant rescue miraculous healings immediate freedom but mostly it's a journey back while the storm rages on our need for the savior is our secret strength but one particular day I know I hit rock bottom you I couldn't go striving solo any longer and I felt actually lost Beyond even a rescue but let me tell you something this is a testimony I remember lies were interrogating me that day and I literally had no strength left to defend myself I knew deep down that I knew I needed a god remedy and I just cried out with an unplanned prayer I want God I need God and just when I felt like I had nothing good left to show in my darkness and confusion the Savior came to me I didn't hear booming words I didn't get a great vision but in my heart I heard I am your salvation I am your deliverer and at that moment God's light broke into my life like I never had before and I knew in an instant we are not alone we have never been alone and we will never be alone the bravest thing that we can do isn't getting ourselves out of the messes that we find ourselves ourselves in but the courage to call out the courage to call out I haven't stopped calling out my life hasn't been the same God has designed a rescue to redeem you from every darkness and it's Jesus's job to do it the only the only hindrance to the rescue is our resistance we all have a history of sin but the history of your goodness goes back way further way further all Jesus is asking is us for us to be open to him and get used to letting Jesus save us we walked with a woman named Taylor after she got pregnant and stuck in an abusive relationship and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't let go until she till she found a voice that she once suppressed inside of her and met the Savior who loves to save she said I called out and he healed me Jesus Set Me Free from my addiction to that relationship and now I call on the Messiah every moment of my life you know when Jesus rose from the dead he didn't change his name from savior no we don't graduate from being saved Holiness happens when we hand ourselves over to his help again and again and again Saints are sinners who let themselves be saved by Jesus CLA told us that after her abortions she said I tried 12-step programs self-help books acupuncture every morning she said I'd look in the mirror and say to myself 15 times affirmations but this didn't make me feel better tried fixing my life but I couldn't it was years before CLA cried out but when she did she said the darkness the shame and my attitude of thinking that I can heal on my own began to melt now God just doesn't just want our healing he wants way more where Jesus comes he saves and where he saves he sets us free God is not expecting you to overcome something to be someone where you can't where you don't get it where you have a problem with it Jesus is inviting you to raise your voice in that place we had a retreat recently where we invited young adults to do this and we witnessed healings from the shackles of obsession with control unforgiveness unlocked identity restored freedom from plagues of fear one said I felt like I had surgery and Jesus came to remove my cancer living with a crippling fear of death all my life I needed real hope and God gave it to me and another left with her arms raised I am free friends Miracles are the Daily Bread of Believers they're common place for us so we can ask God without shame ask ourselves without shame where are my dead ends where am I tempted to despair what sin seems unshakable because the truth is Jesus could have risen anywhere could have been a Mountaintop could have been a temple could have been a throne where does Jesus reveal his light Jesus chose a messy manger and a cold tomb places no one else sees others avoid Jesus rises in dead places they are a problem to God they're his priority what does that mean the darkest place in your life right now is the destination of his resurrection St Mary Magdalene needed Jesus to cast out demons after a heavy history of promiscuity and sin Pharisees accused her disciples lost patience Jesus defends he sees more than a sinner he sees a child a child worthy of love he sees you St Gertrude she had a vision of St Mary Magdalene in heaven she was beautiful on Earth and renowned for it but in heaven she was adorned with as many jewels and flowers as she once had sins because she let Jesus rise in every fall her wounds became a witness to the light Jesus Takes the worse sins Jesus Takes tragedies Jesus Takes bad news and transforms them into testimonies of hope you know I have a scar on my pinky and I wish I had a great snake story for it but I didn't it just got badly infected recently and uh when I went in to see the doctor about it he said to me these wounds of this kind can only be healed when they're cut and kept open so that that the bacteria can get out you know when Jesus rose he made a choice to keep his wounds open he preferred to keep his side open wide so that you and I have a way to healing in his saving body and blood sin starts in the inside with a choice to distrust we don't need to stop sinning we need to start trusting we're all sick in sin we all carry symptoms of the fall and need daily doses of Grace we need his remedy and Jesus heals From the Inside Out know friends I spent the first half of my life relying on myself it was dangerous and in all honesty it was boring Jesus isn't content with our captivity he's captivated by you the only you there is and he's invested in liberating you from everything that holds you back from becoming you I want to end with just a quote from a letter that I received two weeks ago that I believed Jesus planned for you it started like this dear sisters we met at the Ultimate Women's Expo years ago I don't know if you remember me I was the tarot card reader she said well I've renounced my old work I've publicly repented and I've given my life to Jesus Christ God has forgiven me given me a brand new life and led me to know who he is how much he loves us how he lived and died for me and it is such a joy to know amen you are not a burden to God you are God's Delight trust touches the heart of God and saving you is his Joy saving you is his Joy Saints aren't perfectionists they're Sinners that got used to surrendering to Jesus at every moment of their life so do not be afraid to call out and let's get used to letting his saving love Define us amen so Jesus we just turn to you you are our savior we can't do this on our own come and do what only you can do give us life amen God bless [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: FOCUS Catholic

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Length: 23min 47sec (1427 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 06 2024