SATAN
DIVIDES BUT
GOD UNITES
by: Pastor Max Solbrekken
Satan
is the Father of the 'Divide and Conquer' doctrine
which has been used effectively by totalitarian nations like the
Nazis, Communists and Muslims and others in the centuries past.
Of course, He has used it in democratic countries, as well as
others for centuries.
Therefore,
it should not be a surprise that he has employed that disastrous
tactic in almost all forms of government, academia, business,
society, the home and even in the church!
It
was LUCIFER who initiated the 'divide and conquer'
strategy. He alone is responsible for the divisiveness that
is so prevalent in the world today, pitting nation against nation,
race against race, gender against gender, brother against brother
and man against God! It was he was rose up in rebellion
against his Creator. It was Lucifer, the trusted archangel,
who influenced one third of the holy angels of God to follow him
in an unholy insurrection against the Almighty!
The
Bible states: "And there was a was in Heaven: Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and
his angels, and prevailed not, Neither was their place found any
more in Heaven. And the great Dragon was cast out, that old
serpent called the Devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole
world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast
out with him."
"And
I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven; Now is come salvation, and
strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ;
for the accuser of the Brethren is cast down which accused them
before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the
BLOOD of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they
loved not their lives unto the end."
"Therefore
rejoice, ye Heavens and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the
inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is
come down unto you, having great wrath because he knoweth that he
hath but a short time." (Revelation 12:7-12)
SATAN
TURNED MAN AGAINST GOD!
Satan
is a cleaver manipulator, divider, destroyer and destabilizer!
He destroys individuals, marriages, homes, churches, communities,
nations and civilization itself. In the beginning he
destroyed the beautiful relationship that our Heavenly Father had
with ADAM and EVE, which has had a catastrophic effect on the
human race ever since!
As
a consequence, man was banished from the Garden of Eden, lost the
beautiful Father/son intimacy with their Creator and God, Man's
innocence and right to eternal life was snatched away as sin, fear
and death loomed large before them, causing fear, guilt and a
terror filled leap into an unknown future!
Almost
immediately, the 'divide and conquer spirit' brought
discord between the sons of Adam and Eve. Satan injected
jealousy into the heart of Cain again Abel, causing
the first murder on planet earth. It is not a natural
impulse for a man to murder his brother, but Cain fell for Satan's
lies and took his brother's life. Murder has been duplicated
millions of times over the centuries!
SATAN
ENTICED JUDAS WITH GREED!
It
is almost unbelievable that our Lord would choose twelve disciples
and spend three years training and teaching them all about the
Kingdom of God, righteousness, holiness, mercy, truth, Heaven and
Hell, and one of them betrayed Him. Jesus had nurtured the
twelve Apostles, shared the deep mysteries of His incarnation,
role as God's Paschal Lamb, His death, resurrection and coming
Glory and yet His secretary Treasurer, JUDAS, stole from the Bag
and eventually sold Him for 30 pieces of silver.
The
Bible says: "And the chief priests and scribes sought how
they might kill Him, for they feared Him. Then ENTERED SATAN
into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being one of the twelve. And he went
his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he
might betray Him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to
give him money. And he promised and sought opportunity to betray
Him unto them in the absence of the multitude." (Luke 22:
3-6)
JUDAS’
betrayal of Jesus for money is a stark lesson to us of the
sinister and evil mind set of Satan in his war against the Gospel
and Christ’s Body, His Church!
Ever since
then, the Devil has on numberless occasions found dishonest,
jealous and greedy workers in God’s Kingdom who take advantage
of gullible, unsuspecting believers to support them economically
and psychologically, often to their own hurt and that of the
Church. Anyone who hurts the Church to gain his own ends is
Satan’s tool!
Remember,
that Satan DIVIDES but Jesus UNITES. Satan divided man from God,
but Jesus brought man back to God through His sacrificial death on
the Cross!
MUSLIM
NATIONS HATE ONE ANOTHER!
Fast
forward to our time and see the rage, hate, dishonesty, pillage,
mayhem and murder, happening now between Muslim nations, as they
reach for the golden ring of power over their brethren. Although
they hate each other, they hate Jews and Christians more and
according to their teaching will one day rule the world through a
Muslim Caliphate, led by the Grand Mahdi or the 12th Imam!
We
believe that horrific ‘Murderer in Chief’ could
very well be the Antichrist who will be cast into the Lake of Fire
together with the False Prophet and Satan himself. Here are
Jesus’ Words on the subject: "And the Devil that
deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where
the Beast (antichrist) and the false prophet are, and shall be
tormented day and night forever and ever." (Revelation
20: 10)
Their
Sharia Law gives them the right to kill every Jew and Christian to
set up a world Caliphate of Sharia Law. How Satan must exult in
his evilness as he sees the raping, beheadings, torture and
murders happening now in the Middle East, Africa and other nations
by al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, Taliban and the Muslim Brotherhood!
AN
ENEMY HATH DONE THIS
"Another
parable put He forth unto them, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is
likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while
men slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went
his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares."
(Matthew 13:24-26)
SATAN
has been busy sowing tares among the wheat. He has infiltrated
many churches with the promotion of his soft sell Gospel, greasy
grace, easy believism, same-sex marriage, abortion, Chrislam and
other damning doctrines!
The
Bible warns: "These six things both the Lord Hate: yea, seven
are an abomination unto Him...he that soweth DISCORD among
brethren." (Proverbs 6:16-19)
"Now,
I beseech you, brethren, Mark them which cause DIVISIONS and
offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned: and avoid
them." (Romans 16:17)
St.
Paul says: "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit
yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give
account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for
that is unprofitable for you.
"Now
the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep, make you perfect, through the
Blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good
work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in
His sight, through Jesus Christ: to Whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:17, 20, 21) PRAISE
THE LORD!
DEAR
FRIEND: Please write with your prayer requests. We
will pray for you and I will write you back! When you write,
please ask for a free prayer cloth over which we have prayed with
faith in Jesus' Name, for your deliverance and salvation.
- Pastor Max Solbrekken
PREPARE
FOR BATTLE
by:
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
How
to fight the Devil
How
to conquer the devil
How
to have power over the devil, demons & evil spirits
1
Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour."
THE
DEVIL IS REAL, HE IS YOUR ENEMY. THE DEVIL WANT TO DESTROY
YOU
"....that
through DEATH He might DESTROY him that had the power of death,
that is the DEVIL: And DELIVER them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to
bondage." (Hebrews 2:14-15)
For
the past
40 years, I have had the privilege of counseling people
who have written, telephoned or approached me privately
regarding family and personal problems or other crisis, in
which they were deeply involved.
People
often call, muttering on the other end of line, "Why
did I do it? What makes me drink? I've got to pull myself
together. I'm losing my mind."
They
often end up by saying, "I hadn't planned to do it,
Pastor. What went wrong"? Or they might
say, "The devil made me do it, the devil made me do
it".
A
few years ago a Hollywood comedian got a lot of laughs out
of his supposedly funny quip, "The Devil Made Me Do
It." That doesn't seem funny anymore, after the
movies that have stirred millions, like Rosemary's Baby,
The Exorcist and The Omen.
The
Son of Sam, the Hillside Strangler, Charles Manson and the
Sharon Tate killings, together with ritualistic killings
by the occultists and devil worshippers have proved that.
Homosexual murdered like John W. Gacey, who sexually
violated little boys and then murdered them, have
left a solemn imprint on us all, regarding the devil's
ability to make people do his bidding.
The
Bible states that some people are led by the devil, to do
evil things. Those, however, who are taken captive
by him - at his will - are able to extricate themselves
from his evil grasp by calling upon Jesus Christ and
trusting in His shed blood for the redemption of their
souls! "And that they may recover themselves
out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by
him at his will." (2 Timothy 2:26)
Some
time ago a Protestant denomination spent in excess of one
million dollars to investigate and research the topic of
demons and other related matters. After a year of
studies they came up with the conclusion that there is no
devil.
Here
is their reasoning: "If they would preach that there
is a personal devil, people might become disturbed
emotionally, so it's better to do away with the doctrine
that there is a personal devil." HOW
ARROGANT, IGNORANT, UNCONSCIONABLE, DISHONEST &
UNBIBLICAL.
Beloved,
you can rely on God's Word and the truth is that there is
indeed a very alive, real, personal devil that is the
enemy of God and the enemy of man. This however,
does not disturb the children of God, because the Bible
says:
Greater
is He that is in you, that he that is in the world."
(1
John 4:4)
This
Scripture offers great comfort to multiplied millions of
Christians. Our faith in Jesus puts the devil on
notice, that we are off limit to his insidious attacks and
that we have the authority to disrupt his plans and
purposes.
WHEN
OUR FAITH IS IN JESUS CHRIST - SATAN HAS NO POWER OVER US
The
devil has absolutely no power over us when our faith is in
Christ, for Jesus said: "Behold
I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by
any means hurt you."
(Luke 10:19)
This
Scripture offers great comfort to multiplied millions of
Christians! Our faith in Jesus puts the devil on notice,
that we are off-limit to his insidious attacks and that we
have the authority to disrupt his plans and purposes.
He
has absolutely no power over us when our faith is in
Christ, for Jesus said: "Behold
I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy:
and nothing shall by any means hurt you".
(Luke 10:19) The Bible says "Submit
yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you."
As
the demons were afraid of Jesus and fled when He commanded
them to go, they must also obey us when we speak with
faith and authority in the name of Jesus.
The
demons screamed out, "Let us
alone, what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of
Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee
who thou art the Holy One of God. Art thou come
hither to torment us before our time"?
(Mark 1:24)
You
may say: "But that was Jesus"! True!
How about a Spirit-filled deacon by the name of Philip who
went down to Samaria and preached Christ to them?
Philip
had such a great revival that the entire city came to hear
him preach and multitudes received the Lord Jesus: "For
unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many
that were possessed with them: and many taken with
palsies, and that were lame, were healed."
(Acts 8:7)
The
Holy Record reports that the devil's power was broken and
evil spirits had to surrender to the commands of a
Spirit-filled servant of God. No wonder Philip had
such power of the devil. Jesus had promised: "And
these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name
shall they cast out devils." (Mark 16:17)
PAUL
CAST OUT THE SPIRIT OF DIVINATION
A
fortune-teller troubled Paul and Silas in the city of
Philippi for several days. After the spirit of
divination was discerned and cast out of her by St. Paul,
she was unable to continue 'telling fortunes'. Paul
and Silas were jailed and bound in a dungeon, but God sent
an earthquake to set them free. And the jailer was
converted through this great miracle.
"And
it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel
possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which
brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same
followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the
servants of the most High God, which shows unto us the way
of salvation. And this did she many days. But
Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I
command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of
her. And he came out the same hour." (Acts
16:16-18)
The
Scripture says: "And God
wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. So
that from this body were brought unto the sick,
handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from
them, and the evil spirits went out of them."
(Acts 19:11-12)
When
the exorcists heard of St. Paul's success in casting of
demons in Jesus' name, seven sons of a certain religious
man tried unsuccessfully to duplicate that miracle.
"Then
certain of the vagabond Jews, Exorcists, took upon them to
call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord
Jesus saying, We adjure you by Jesus Whom Paul preacheth.
And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief
of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit
answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know: but who
are ye?"
"And
the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and
overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they
fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this
was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at
Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the
Lord Jesus was magnified." (Acts 19:13-17)
The
evil spirit within this possessed man cried out to the
seven sons of Sceva. "Jesus I know, and Paul I
know; but who are ye"? The original Greek
actually reads: "Jesus I know, and Paul I am
beginning to know". Words had sprung through
the devil's kingdom, and demons everywhere were talking
about Paul's revivals. They knew Jesus and they were
beginning to know Paul, but who were these seven sons of
Sceva? They had no faith in God; they had no
standing of righteousness, and the devil would not obey
them.
The
Bible records: "And when He (Jesus) had called unto
Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against
unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner
of sickness and all manner of diseases." (Matthew
10:1) The Scripture declares that no only do we have
power against unclean spirits, but we also have power over
them. "And he called
unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two
and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;"
(Mark 6:7)
Our
Lord Jesus gave the apostles power to cast out devils: "As
ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast
out devils: freely ye have received, freely
give." (Matthew 10:7-8) The Holy
Record states: "And they
cast out devils, and anointed with oil many that were
sick, and healed them." (Mark 6:13)
JESUS
GAVE THE 70 HIS POWER TO CAST OUT DEVILS
"After
these things the Lord appointed another seventy also, and
sent them two and two before His face into every city and
place, whither He Himself would come."
(Luke 10:1) The Bible says that they returned with
great joy, and said: "Lord,
even the devils are subject unto us through Thy
name." (Luke 10:17) To this Jesus
answered: "I beheld Satan as
lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18)
Jesus was saying - I was there when the devil was
defeated; I saw him cast out of heaven - I saw him fall as
lightning to the earth. I saw his power broken and
his works destroyed.
WE
ALSO HAVE POWER OVER THE DEVIL, DEMONS & EVIL SPIRITS
Yes,
we also have power over the devil. We have POWER
OVER THE DEVIL and POWER AGAINST THE DEVIL. The
Bible says, "Behold,
I give unto you power to: tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by
any means hurt you."
(Luke 10:19)
Satan
had to obey when Jesus spoke to him! Demons screamed
out in terror when Jesus came near. The devils
trembled and feared and obeyed the command of the Master.
The devil, demons and evil spirits must also obey us, when
we use the name of Jesus in faith.
JESUS
CAME TO DESTROY SATAN'S WORK
The
Bible says: "As
He is, so are we in this world."
(1 John 4:17) NOW - TODAY. We have His power
today! "Now are
we the sons of God."
(1 John 3:2) We are children of God, heirs of God
and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. "And
if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs
with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may
be also glorified together."
(Romans 8:17)
JESUS
SAID: "HE THAT BELIEVETH ON ME, THE WORKS THAT I DO
SHALL HE DO ALSO"
No
wonder Jesus said: "He
that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do
also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I
go unto My Father."
(John 14:12) Yes, my beloved friend, you and I as
Christians have power over the devil, we have power
against the devil to bind him, to cast him out and to
destroy the works of the devil.
The
Bible says: "How
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and
with power; who went about doing good, and healing all
that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him."
(Acts 10:38) Jesus said: "The
thief (the devil) cometh not, but for to steal, and to
kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abundantly."
(John 10:10) No wonder St. John said: "For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might
destroy the works of the devil."
(1 John 3:8)
Not
only did Jesus come to this earth to destroy the works of
the devil, but to destroy Satan himself. The write
to the Hebrews (probably St. Paul) states unequivocally: "Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He
also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through
DEATH He might DESTROY him that had the power of death,
that is the DEVIL; And to DELIVER them who through fear of
death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
(Hebrews 2:14, 15)
SATAN
- THE DEVIL IS THE HATED ENEMY OF GOD & MAN
Satan
is the hated enemy of God and man, but our Lord has given
His children power over him.
"There
shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come
nigh unto thy dwelling".
Jesus declared: "Nothing shall be any means hurt
you". "That wicked one cometh and
hath nothing in Me." St. Paul said, "Sin
shall not have dominion over you."
THE
DEVIL - SATAN HAS NO POWER OVER US
And
our Lord stated, "I give unto you power over all the
power of the enemy." Jesus has given us power
against all unclean spirits, to cast them out. SATAN
IS POWERLESS OVER US.
The
Bible does not say that Satan has power over us; to put
disease upon us, to make us fearful, to hurt us or to
injure us. A THOUSAND TIMES NO.
The
Bible says: "Submit
yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you." (James
4:7) "The
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he
may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the
faith." (1
Peter 5:8, 9)
IT
IS TRUE - YOU AND I AS CHRISTIANS HAVE POWER OVER THE
DEVIL
Jesus
said: "I
have overcome the world."
(John 16:33) St. Paul declared: "Nay,
in all things we are more than conquerors through Him that
loved us."
(Romans 8:37) The
Apostle to the Gentiles cried out: "I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
me."
(Philippians 4:13)
The
Word of God says: "Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved
us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Romans 8:35-39)
The
Bible speaks of Satan's total defeat: "At
the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:10-11) Praise God.
Jesus
called the devil Satan, which means the ADVERSARY, and
Satan is the adversary of God and the devil Satan is the
adversary of man. HE IS OUR GREATEST ENEMY!
The devil is responsible for sin, sickness, disease, fear,
depression, torment and death. Satan (the devil)
conspired against God. The devil led a revolt
against the Almighty. Satan (the devil) is indeed
the adversary. St. Peter said: "Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour."
(1 Peter 5:8)
The
Scripture tells us about a man who planted good seed in a
field and in the morning, tares had sprung up among the
wheat. The husbandman said: "An
enemy hath done this."
(Matthew 13:28)
YES
- THE DEVIL IS YOUR WORST ENEMY
Yes,
my beloved friend, the devil is your enemy! The
devil works through the flesh, through the world through
his evil emissaries, the demons. Satan (the devil)
is highly organized; the devil is out to defeat the
purposes of God even though he knows he has NO chance of
succeeding, for he has been defeated.
On
Calvary's cross Jesus cried, "It is finished."
(John 19:30) The Greek word that Jesus used here is
tetelastai. Tetelestai means that the work of Christ
to redeem lost mankind has been completed.
Jesus
cried out "Tetelestai", bowed His head
and gave up the ghost. At that moment the veil in
the temple in Jerusalem was torn from its top to the
bottom, opening the way to God through His Son's vicarious
death on the cross. The word 'tetelstai' comes from
a Greek verb teleo, which has three essential
meanings:
to
finish something
to fulfill something
to pay what is owed
Jesus
Christ had just completed the plan of the ages, the
salvation of the human race. He had fulfilled every
Old Testament Scriptures that the prophets had written
about the coming Messiah, and He had paid our sin debt in
full so that we could be saved.
Three
days and three nights later, God raised Jesus Christ from
the dead for our justification, and forever sealed the
doom of the devil in the lake of fire. (Acts 2:31-34;
Acts 3:14-15; Acts 4:1, 10; Romans 1:4)
SPIRITUAL
WARFARE - THE BATTLE WE ARE FIGHTING IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE
The
Bible reveals that the battle we are fighting is NOT
CARNAL. It is not a natural, ordinary battle, but is
of a spiritual nature. We have God's weapons and we
have power with God over the devil. "For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through
God to the pulling down of strongholds; Casting down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itseldf
against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ." (2
Corinthians 10:4)
We
have power over the devil (Luke 10:19) for we are
ambassadors of the kingdom of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
We are servants of the living God; (Romans 6:22) sons and
daughters of God; (2 Corinthians 6:18) heirs and
joint-heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
We
are bone of Jesus' bone and flesh of His flesh; (Ephesians
5:30) our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, (1
Corinthians 6:19) and we are members of the body of
Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
Sin
does not have dominion over us. (Romans 6:14) Satan
(the devil) does not have power over us. We have
power over the flesh, the world and the devil, because we
are God's people. We are God's children. (Galatians
3:26) As He is, so are we in this world! (1 John
4:17) The Bible states that the 'Old Man' is dead
and that we are "hid with Christ in God"!
(Colossians 3:3)
The
Scriptures reveal that there are demons who work against
God's children and against God's will:
"Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the
first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand,
and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were
heard, and I am come for thy words."
"But
the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and
twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes
came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of
Persia."
(Daniel 10:12-13)
I
believe that Satan is highly organized and has some
powerful generals, captains, lieutenants and others in his
diabolical army, whose duty is to harass, tempt, condemn,
seduce, deceive, destroy, steal, kill and murder God's
children and try to thwart the purposes of God and do harm
to His kingdom.
The
Bible says:
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus." (Philippians
2:5) We can have the mind of Christ. "Let
the word of God dwell in you richly." (Colossians
3:16) Jesus is the Living Word and the Bible is the
written word. When we read the Bible and allow God's
Word free course, Christ dwells within us. Upon
receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, Christ is
formed within us and we are born again. The Bible
says: "If
any man have not met the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
His." (Romans
8:9)
When
we receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, however, the
Holy Spirit fills us and takes up permanent residence
within us. Jesus said:
"He is with you and He shall be in you."
The Bible says: "And
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost..."
(Acts 2:4)
Even
though the devil is highly organized and seeks to destroy
us, and even though he is constantly try to afflict,
depress and torment, we can drive him out: "Draw
nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you."
When you draw nigh to God and God draws nigh to you, you
receive power over the devil. The Bible says: "If
our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward
God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of
Him..." (1
John 3:21-22)
The
Scripture says: "There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit." (Romans
8:1) Sin is what destroys the confidence we have in
God. Sin is a faith destroyer. Sin destroys
our confidence in God and in ourselves and allows the
devil to slip in with his evil, devious, wicked and
sinister devices to harass us, stop us, or destroy us.
We
have power over him, however, for the Bible says: "They
overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by
the word of their testimony."
(Revelation 12:11) We can stop the devil, for the
Bible says: "When
the enemy, (the devil) shall come in like a flood, the
Spirit of God shall lift up a standard against him." (Isaiah
59:19) The standard that the Holy Spirit lifts up
stops the devil and he can proceed only so far; he can go
no further.
The
devil complained to God: "You
have put a hedge around Job. You are protecting
him." And
that's true, God has placed a hedge around His people, and
I believe that when the devil comes in like a flood to
destroy, kill and murder, the Spirit of God raises up a
standard to stop him. We are surrounded by the power of
the Lord.
We
are covered with His blood and filled with His Spirit.
The Word of God is within our hearts. We have the
name of Jesus on our lips, the angels protect us and we
have brothers and sisters in Christ who pray for us and
stand with us. These are some of the agencies God
used for our benefit.
Yes
indeed, when the enemy - the devil - shall come in like a
flood to devastate and destroy, the Spirit of God will
lift up a standard against him and stop him! The devil is
like a dog on a leash, with only limited capabilities.
SATAN
CAN ONLY GO SO FAR
If
God hadn't allowed the devil to attack Job, Satan couldn't
have touched him. God
gave the devil permission to touch Job's cattle, and his
body, but not his life. (Job 2:6) Satan had to leave
the presence of God to smite Job with sore boils.
The Bible instructs us to remember the patience of Job and
the end of the Lord.
Job was sick for approximately six months to a
year, and then God healed him. He lived for another 140
years and never had another boil, as far as the Scriptures
record.
God
gave Job twice as much as he had before the devil
afflicted him. Many people laughingly speak about
Job's boils and say that Christians have to suffer
similarly, but the Bible records the "patience of
Job" and it also speaks about "the end of the
Lord". (James 5:11) The end of the Lord was
blessing, prosperity, healing, health, joy, peace and
power over the devil.
St.
Paul wrote to Timothy: "God
hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind."
(2 Timothy 1:7) Evidently, Timothy was afraid and
St. Paul writing to his son in the faith saying: "You
don't have to be afraid, Timothy. God hasn't given
us a spirit of fear." Fear is a spirit and fear
hath torment. The Scripture says: "Perfect love casts
out fear." (1 John
4:18)
Fear
is an evil spirit. God
has not given us any evil spirits; He has given us power
over evil spirits.
God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but God has given us a
spirit of power: Power over fear: power of
sin: power over the devil: power over
sickness: power over disease and even power over
death, which is the last enemy.
It
seems that Timothy had gotten cold in his soul, because
St. Paul wrote: "...that
thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the
putting on of my hands...Be not thou therefore ashamed of
the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner:
but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel
according to the power of God."
(2 Timothy 1:6,8)
Apparently,
Timothy had become ashamed of St. Paul and he was afraid
of persecution; afraid that he would also be persecuted.
Paul said: "You don't
need to be afraid; God didn't give you that; the devil put
that on you. God has given you power, love and a
sound mind."
Hallelujah.
BE
PREPARED FOR BATTLE - - PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD
Writing
to the Ephesians, St. Paul stated. "Finally,
my brethren, be
strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able
to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places."
"Wherefore
take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able
to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of
the gospel of peace;"
"Above
all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is he word of God; Praying always with
al prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints." (Ephesians
6:10-11)
Satan
is organized and has power, but God has all power.
God is omnipotent. The devil has wisdom, but God has
all wisdom. He is omniscient. The Wicked One,
Satan is strong, but God has all strength. The
Adversary (Satan) has many demons working for him, but God
has more angels than Satan has evil spirits. Satan
has many lost souls in his camp, but God has hundreds of
millions of believers across the world, that are equipped
with His mighty power. And one man with God's power
is a majority.
JESUS
GAVE US POWER OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY (THE DEVIL,
SATAN, DEMONS, EVIL SPIRITS)
Jesus
Christ said, "Behold,
I give unto you power over all the power of the enemy, and
nothing shall by any means hurt you."
The Scripture says that 'one day' an angel will come from
heaven and bind Satan, casting him into the bottomless pit
for a thousand years. It won't take ten thousand
angels; it won't take a hundred angels' it will take one
angel to bind the devil and cast him into the pits of hell
forever. (Revelation 20:1-3) Hallelujah!
Amen.
CHRIST'S
CROSS
and the Final
Solution
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
Watching
the almost apocalyptic beheading of twenty-one Egyptian Christians
by hate filled, demon possessed Islamic terrorists - following in
the steps of their genocidal seventh-century leader - almost makes
any normal person sick.
"They
are not human; worse than beasts", you say! Yet, the
Bible says that God loves them and Jesus died
for their sins, as evil as they are. By looking into their eyes
you see what happens when the devil takes control of a soul! Pray
for their salvation!
Remember
that Saul of Tarsus was a Jewish Terrorist who killed
believers in Yeshua Ha Maschiach (Jesus the Messiah) and
how Jesus changed him! He changed his name to Paul and
under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, wrote nearly one-half of
the New Testament! Can these evil men change? Yes! With God all
things are possible! (Mark 9: 23; 10:27)
Having
said that, "Would you want these inflamed criminals, who have
innocent blood on their hands living in your neighbourhood? To be
free to molest, rape and brainwash your children and take over the
country?" I think not!
These
barbarians are taught from early childhood to hate, rape and
murder defenseless people who do not bow their heads to the ground
in worship to their 'moon god'. They are slaves to a
politically dangerous system of cruelty and inhumanity!
Yet,
as children of God and believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, we are
commanded to love them, pray for them and to win them for Christ
and His Kingdom.
JESUS
CAME TO SAVE SINNERS
The
Good News is that Jesus Christ came into the world to "seek
and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10) He didn't
come for the righteous, but He came for sinners. The Holy Bible
states: "All have sinned and fallen short of the Kingdom
of God." (Romans 3:23) That includes us all, no
exceptions!
The
Scriptures declare: "God hath concluded all under
sin", so that we are all guilty and without excuse: "…That
every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty
before God." (Romans 3: 19). Again, St Paul writes:
"The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6: 23)
We
are saved by Grace alone, through Faith alone,
and in Christ alone! It is not by works of
righteousness, but by His grace that we are saved. (Ephesians 2:
8, 9). Christ alone suffered, bled and died for our sins to
bring us to God.
The
Bible says: "Being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set
forth to be a propitiation (satisfaction,) through
faith in His BLOOD, to declare His righteousness for
the remission of sins that are passed, through the forbearance of
God;
"To
declare, I say at this time His righteousness: that He might be
just, and the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus."
(Rom. 3: 24-26). The Sovereignty of God demanded punishment for
SIN and the CROSS provided the FINAL SOLUTION.
For
four thousand years, God, in His great mercy and kindness allowed
the sacrifice of innocent lambs, goats and bullocks
(occasionally a red heifer) to suffice.
When
the ‘fullness of time’ had come, Almighty God gave Himself in
His SON, to be the propitiation for our sins. The word
propitiation means the covering, satisfaction and
expiation. The only RIGHTEOUS ONE, Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
had to die to cover our sins and satisfy the demands of Divine
Justice!
Our
righteous, just and merciful God had to bring judgment upon
all sinners through the VICARIOUS death of a righteous man. No man
could qualify for all are born in sin, therefore He had to pay the
sin debt Himself.
The
INCARNATION of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, settled the
sin question for time and eternity, through His sacrificial death
on Golgotha!
JESUS
WAS BORN TO DIE IN OUR PLACE
That
is why Jesus of Nazareth had to be crucified. He was born to die;
to be crucified in order to pay the sin debt for all unrighteous
humanity, to meet the demands of Divine Justice for our awful sins
against the Almighty.
This
is possibly the Bible’s greatest verse: "He that
spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans
8:32)
In
1978, I was preaching in Ghana, Africa in a large
Gospel Crusade. I became very homesick. I could not eat their
food. The netting around my bed was broken and since I had
forgotten to take my anti-malaria pills, I didn't get much sleep.
I
was very unhappy even though we were seeing many souls come to
Christ and powerful miracles were taking place. I was studying
Romans when suddenly it jumped out at me with such force that I
was shocked. Our Heavenly Father let me know what it cost Him to
provide the Great Salvation that I was proclaiming so freely!
JESUS
WAS SMITTEN OF GOD
I
had read that verse many times but never fully understood it. I
was torn to pieces as I saw how the Father had ‘TURNED
OVER’ His only begotten Son to murderers who would mock Him,
spit in His face, scourge Him and nail Him to the Cross of shame
for us.
I
wondered how He could do that, as I personally would never allow
anyone to harm my wife or children. Only over my dead body, would
anyone molest, rape or kill my family!
Then
He took me to Isaiah: "Surely He hath borne our
sicknesses (heb.makob ) and carried our
pains (heb.nasa): yet we did esteem Him stricken,
SMITTEN OF GOD and afflicted.
"But
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for
our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and
with His stripes we are healed.]
"All
we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his
own way; and the Lord hath LAID
UPON HIM the iniquity of us all. Yet it pleased to BRUISE
HIM; He hath put HIM TO GRIEF..." (Isaiah 53:
4-6, 10)
God
the Father laid our sins, sicknesses and pains on His Son. It was
God the Father Who smote His Son for us, and
what really tore me up was that God was pleased
when Jesus suffered, bled and died for us! I prayed and
wept for several days after God had spoken to me!
Shortly
after that crusade, God opened the door to ARGENTINA. No
crusades were held there because of the Military Rule,
but God opened the door for Omar Cabrera and me
to reach Cordova for Christ.
Great
Miracles happened every evening and the crowd grew to 48,000 on
May 15, 1978. Omar Cabrera then continued the Crusades and his
Cordova Church grew from zero to 8,000 in 9 months and within 18
months, Vision de Futuro had 150 churches with 450 pastors.
Then,
Carlos Anacandia got saved and began to preach and the rest is
history as he and others have reached several millions.
I
SPOKE TO THE MILITARY
Interestingly,
when Omar contacted me his heart was to go to Paraguay, but that
wasn't working out. The Holy Spirit put Argentina on my heart.
Omar had been forced to leave his country when his name was found
on a Rebel hit list. He said he was finished with Argentina and
would never return, but I was adamant that we should hold the
crusade there. Finally Omar said: "Okay, we'll try
Cordova."
We
started with 6,000 in attendance the first night. By the
fourth night we had 10,000 and the Chief of Police finally
came back to town and signed the permit. The Roman Catholic Church
which had opposed the Crusade, lost control over their people.
Nuns and priests attended openly rejoicing in the great things
which God did and carrying their tape recorders to get the
messages I brought.
I
had requested a meeting with the Military Junta and
demanded that they stop their persecution of the Evangelicals and
Pentecostals to which they agreed. From that day onward the
persecution stopped and the Revival steam rolled ahead.
After
preaching to the four Colonels
for 20 minutes about God and
the Devil, Heaven and Hell, the Cross and the Blood
of Christ, the leading COLONEL said loudly, "What do
you want from us?" I
said: "Stop persecuting the Evangelicals and the
Pentecostals!" He said: "O.K. What else do
you want?"
I
answered: "Get down on your knees and give your
hearts to the Lord." They were shocked. Omar
let out a big laugh, I smiled and they relaxed. I
said: "I would like to pray for you and
your families."
Immediately, he said: "Yes, please do."
After prayer, thy all shook my hand and told me about the good
things they had heard about the crusade.
That
is how the official persecution stopped and how the REVIVAL
started in Argentina in May, 1978. Praise the Lord.
JESUS
COMMANDED: GO
INTO ALL THE WORLD, AND PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE
This
Gospel is for ALL people of ALL the world including
the Muslim World! Jesus Christ commanded: "Go ye
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ...."
(Mark 16: 15-20)
King
David prophesied: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord,
and against His ANOINTED, saying, Let us break the
bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. (Psalms 2: 2, 3)
The
Apostles prayed, quoting David: "For a truth
against Thy Holy Child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod,
and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the
people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do
whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be
done." (Acts 4:25-28)
The
whole world was involved in carrying out the will of God in
the sacrificial death of Christ for us all. King Herod, Pontius
Pilate, the Gentiles and Israel is a representation of the
Entire World that stands guilty in the SIN of crucifying the Son
of God.
And
the entire world is invited to receive God's forgiveness,
peace, healing, blessing and deliverance which has been purchased
for us all through the shed BLOOD of Jesus Christ our Lord
and His glorious resurrection from the dead.
The
Bible says: "Looking for that blessed HOPE and the
glorious appearance of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ
Who GAVE HIMSELF for us, that He might redeem us from all
iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of
good works." (Titus 2:13, 14)
"But
after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man
appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
"Which
He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that
being justified by His GRACE, we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3: 4-7) All
glory to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Is
God able to save and fill with His Holy Spirit, the tough, evil,
perverted Muslim terrorists? Read Acts chapters 9, 22 and 28. If
He can reach a Jewish terrorist He can reach a Muslim terrorist!
Nothing is too hard for our God.
PREPARE
TO MEET THY GOD
by:
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
Prepare
to meet thy God!
This was the admonition that Prophet Amos thundered out in his
day. God’s people had backslidden, corrupted themselves and
forsaken the true and living way.
They
had gone after the strange gods of the heathen, and were
worshipping at the altars of pagan idols. They had forgotten how
gracious the Lord is and turned their backs on Him.
GOD
HAD A FEARLESS PROPHET THAT HE COULD USE: A MAN WHO HADN'T SOLD
OUT!
But
God had a man He could use! Amos was a prophet who had not
corrupted himself as others had done. God had a vessel He could
use - a mouthpiece with which to warn and admonish His people of
coming judgment for sin and forgiveness for those who would
repent!
God’s
message to the people then is the same as now: “Prepare to Meet
Thy God”! One day every living soul will stand before God and
give an account of his or her life.
THE
BOOK OF LIFE WILL BE OPENED & THE DEAD WILL BE JUDGED
“And
I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose
face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no
place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before
God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which
is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books according to their works and death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire.”
(Revelation
20:11-15)
The
Bible says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this the judgment:” (Hebrews
9:27) THE MESSAGE OF THE PROPHETS was always the same - they
were two-fold - People must repent to receive mercy and
forgiveness or reject God’s Way and be judged. It was a message
of mercy and judgment!
It
is the same today. God has not changed, but many of ‘today’s
preachers’ have compromised and are not preaching ALL THE TRUTH
because of FEAR. They lack the boldness, courage and faith to
stand up and tell the Truth.
JOHN
WESLEY
-
founder of the Methodist
Church - whose Ministry is accredited with turning England
back to God and saving it from the same fate as that which befell
France in the ungodly, brutal and bloody French Revolution,
stated: "I must preach law before I preach grace."
What
did he mean? Simply this, that in order for people to realize that
they need God's FORGIVENESS, they must be convicted of their sins!
And how does that take place? In several ways: God can arbitrarily
speak to people by His Holy Spirit in answer to the fervent
prayers of relatives or other concerned spiritual prayer warriors!
Usually,
however, sinners are convicted through the anointed preaching of
God's Word. Millions of believers are saved today because of the
powerful preaching of anointed Spirit-filled men and women of God,
who have refused to compromise their message!
In
1970, Edmonton Transit bus driver, Eric Dykstra and his entire
family, were converted to Christ in our Church because of
the dozens of Bus Seat benches which carried our advertising with
the clear-cut message: "Get Right With God!"
In
a letter to me, dated May 8, 2002, about five weeks before his
death, Eric wrote: "It has been 32 years almost to the day
that I accepted the Lord's saving message as preached by you that
Wednesday evening at the Edmonton Revival Centre. That was May 6,
1970.
"After
you laid your hands on me and my family, the roof of the old
theatre didn't split open for angels to descend, but I received a
depth of peace in my inner being I had never before experienced.
Without realizing it, we stood at the jump-off point of an
exciting brand new phase of our lives.
"Our
kids all believe in their Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. (One is
even an M. Div and has been a pastor for five years). Our
grandchildren are taught the Word and the ways of the Lord
Creator, at home and at their respective churches. Your
faithfulness to God and perseverance in your Ministry has brought
wonderful blessings to countless families around the globe!
"I
have at times speculated what would have happened if in the late
60s all these messages, 'Get Right With God!' hadn't been
scattered throughout the city by way of bus stop benches. Driving
my routes and spotting those ads gave me repeatedly opportunity to
meditate on their meaning!"
DR.
OSWALD SMITH
SPEAKS OUT!
In
Dr. Oswald Smith's book, 'The Fire Of God' (1948), the man
that Billy Graham
called, "one of the world's greatest Missionary
Statesmen" wrote: "In my study of revival and
evangelism I have discovered that those most mightily used of God
always majored on five subjects. These five subjects inevitably
produced conviction. First, sin and salvation, then heaven and
hell, finally judgment. You see, a great many messages must
necessarily be given on SIN for sin to be exposed if there is to
be genuine conviction!"
Oswald
Smith states: "When I was converted in the year 1906 in the
great Torrey-Alexander campaigns which was held in Massey Hall,
Toronto, I noticed, as I walked along the streets or through the
stores, or rode in the street cars, thousands of little white
cards, one inch wide and six inches long. On both sides these four
words were printed in bright red type, "Get Right With
God."
"It
made no difference which way the card fell, the message was always
there. As a result, thousands
were convicted. So many tens of thousands of these little white
cards had been distributed that it was impossible to get away from
them. Everybody saw them. They were lying about on every side and
those four little words preached a sermon that could never be
forgotten."
I
remember hearing Oral
Roberts - while in his prime - speaking on the sin of
compromising the truth. In his anointed message, the man who
won ten million souls to God and brought the healing power
of God to our generation, thundered out these words: "I
hate compromisers!"
PREPARE
TO MEET THY GOD
It
was the same during the time of MICAH THE PROPHET. Micah
prophesied against the backsliding preachers, who had been bought
off and corrupted by worldly minded and sinful people around them,
which caused them to prophesy only what the people wanted to hear.
He declared, “But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of
the Lord and of judgment and might, to declare unto Jacob his
transgression and to Israel his sin”. (Micah 3:8)
God
is very merciful and will forgive all who come to Him in humility,
desiring forgiveness and salvation (John 6:37; 3:16), but He also
is a God of judgment and justice!
The
Bible says, “I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto
thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments”. (Exodus
20:5-6)
Remember
my friend, you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7-8), and be sure
your sin will find you out (Jonah 1:7). And don’t forget “It
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”
(Hebrews 10:31). SIN MUST BE PAID FOR IF IT ISN’T REPENTED
OF, and “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (Romans 6:23)
We
are living in a day when preachers have given in to 'political
correctness' with their 'seeker sensitive' philosophy, so
that there is no longer conviction of sin! It's easy to get swayed
by great crowds who applaud a "God loves you",
with no strings attached preaching, but the Bible says:
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold all things become new."
In
my crusades around the world, I have noticed how everyone wants to
say the sinner's prayer and be healed physically, but many in
reality do not desire to make Jesus their Lord and forsake their
idols and leave their pagan beliefs. If a preacher, therefore,
isn't clear on God's hatred for sin and idolatry, he leaves them
in a very precarious position!
JESUS
WARNED PREACHERS THAT WE MUST PREPARE TO MEET GOD
Our
Lord Jesus Christ emphasized: "Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one
proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child
of hell than yourselves." (Matthew 23:15) He said:
"All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me: and him that
cometh to Me I will in wise cast out." (John 6: 37).
He also stated: "... but except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish." (Luke 3: 13)
St.
Paul warned: "And that, knowing the time, that now it is
high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer
than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand:
let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on
the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in
rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in
strife and envying. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not
provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."
(Romans 13: 11-14)
"For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that
everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore
the terror (wrath) of God, we persuade men..." (2
Corinthians 5:10-11)
The
great Apostle admonished: "I charge thee therefore before
God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the quick (living)
and dead at His appearing and His kingdom. Preach the WORD; be
instant in season , out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all longsuffering and doctrine." (2 Timothy 4: 1-2)
You
may be able to fool your husband, wife, friends or even the
preacher, but you cannot fool God. He knows all about you, and if
you reject Him as your Saviour, He will be your Judge on that day.
“When
the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the Holy Angels
with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, and
before Him shall be gathered all nations and He shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
goats - and these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but
the righteous into life eternal”. (Matthew
25:31-46)
Listen
to the words of invitation given by our blessed Lord and Redeemer,
Jesus Christ: “Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest”. (Matthew 11:28)
DO
NOT TURN A DEAF EAR TO THIS GREAT OFFER OF SALVATION AND BLESSING,
BUT BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST TODAY!
Receive
Him into your heart by faith, repent and turn away from your sins,
and you will receive the gift of Eternal Life. DON’T DELAY, BUT
CALL OUT TO THE LORD FOR MERCY TODAY!
“For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting
life.”
(John 3:16) Amen!
A
MESSAGE FROM INGVAR SOLBREKKEN
(Max’s
Father) Written in 1959.
Jesus
said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
(Matthew 6:33)
‘Attending
Church’ is not enough! One should make every effort to find a
church where there are signs, wonders and miracles - where God’s
power is recognized.
How
else can you prove it is ‘the Church’? St. Paul stated that
God “has placed miracles” in the Church. (1 Corinthians 12:28)
He commanded that we turn away from those who have “a form of
godliness and deny the power of God”. (1 Timothy 3:5-7)
Surely,
Jesus Christ will return for the same glorious Church (Ephesians
5:27) which He had in New Testament times! Will you, my friend, be
a part of His glorious Church or a cold, lukewarm or dead church?
The Bible says, “Be ye holy, for I am holy, saith the
Lord”. (1 Peter 1:16) Amen.
WHY
WAS
JESUS CHRIST BORN?
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
Jesus
of Nazareth, True God and True Man, was born to salvage a lost
world of sinning men, to destroy the works of the devil and to
build His Church. He came to this sin curses world to
introduce us all to His Heavenly Father, to redeem mankind through
His sacrificial death on the Cross and His glorious resurrection
from the dead. He came to heal us and to fill us with His
Blessed Holy Spirit!
Sin
was in the world because Satan was in the world. The devil,
who is the father of sin and death, had been cast out of Heaven
and is called the 'Prince of the power of the air', as well as the
'god of this world'. (Ephesians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:4)
The
devil had caused previous disruption and chaos. (Genesis 1:2;
Ezekiel 28:-13-19); Isaiah 14:12-17)
Because
of Satan's rebellion and hatred for God, he had cunningly planned
his strategy by tempting Eve, with the 'Tree of Knowledge of Good
and Evil' in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:1-6; Job 1:8-22; Job
2:1-8)
GOD
CALLED - "ADAM WHERE ART THOU?"
The
great transgression had been made by Adam and Eve. Now, for
the moment of truth..... How would Adam and Eve feel? Would
they now be.
GOD
CALLED: “ADAM WHERE ART THOU?”
The
great transgression had been made by Adam and Eve. Now, for
the moment of truth. How would Adam and Eve feel?
Would they now be wise as God, as Satan had promised them?
Was the rebellion and disobedience towards God worth it? No
- A thousand times NO.
Adam
and Eve's eyes were opened. But, what did they see?
Adam and Eve saw their own vulnerability, stupidity, weaknesses,
sin and nakedness. Fear stalked them and filled their
spirits. They had not felt fear before sin entered their
lives. They realized they were naked, vulnerable and
inadequate. Now, they understood they must face the music,
and meet God alone.
But
where was Satan? Where was the Evil One who had been their
wise counsellor such a short time before?
The
devil was gone to gloat over his victory. I'm sure that the
devil, the liar and deceiver was not far away, probably hiding
behind a tree, excitedly waiting to see the outcome of their sin.
The inevitable outcome was the separation, dis-fellowshipping of
God and His special creation, man.
THE
DEVIL REJOICED OVER ADAM & EVE'S FEAR AND TERROR
Evil
satisfaction must have filled the devil's mind as he observed Adam
and Eve's plight, their complete confusion, perplexity, fear and
terror.
Adam
and Eve heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in
the cool of the day. God said, "Adam, where art thou?
ADAM, WHERE ART THOU?"
As
God called Adam that day, He is still calling you and me.
"John, where are you? Mary, where are you?"
Adam
answered, "We are hiding; we are naked; we are afraid"!
God questioned, "Who told you that you were naked? You
were clothed with My glory. Have you eaten of the fruit that
I forbad you"?
Adam
gave a typical answer from a typical sinner! He said,
"The woman you gave me, she gave me of the fruit. It is
Eve's fault, she gave me the forbidden fruit and it's really Your
fault, Lord, because You gave me the woman".
EVERYONE
LIKES TO PASS THE BLAME TO SOMEONE ELSE
It
seems normal for people to justify themselves. It's much
easier to pass the buck or to blame someone else rather than take
the blame, saying, "I made a mistake, I am wrong, please
forgive me."
It's
similar to the Minister who enjoyed portraying women in a negative
way. One Sunday morning as he was preaching on 'The Fall of
Man', he vigorously attacked Eve. If Eve, the weaker vessel,
hadn't fallen, the world wouldn't be in the mess it's now in.
The preacher nailed Jezebel and Delilah: "Women are the
ruination of many good men", he shouted.
At
the close of the service, the Minister stood at the door shaking
hands. Some complimented him on a wonderful sermon, while
others were glad to get out the door.
A
tall lady shook his hand and she wasn't smiling. She
squeezed his hand until he said, "Lady, you are hurting
me". She looked him square in the eye and asked,
"Pastor, what is the telephone number of the Garden of
Eden"?
He
answered, "I don't know what you are talking about".
She squeezed his hand again until he said, "Ouch".
She spoke again, "Pastor, do you know the telephone number of
the Garden of Eden"? He answered, "Woman, I do not
and by the way you are hurting me." She said,
"Well, I know the telephone number of the Garden of Eden.
It's Adam 8-1-2", and she let go of his hand and left.
Adam
ate one too! Eve wasn't the only one to blame. Adam
also disobeyed God, but really the blame goes into further -
straight to the evil one, the Devil.
THE
DEVIL IS TO BLAME
God
didn't argue with Adam. He turned to Eve and said, "Woman,
what is this that thou hast done?" Eve made
more sense than her husband. She put the blame where it
belong: "The
serpent beguiled me and I did eat."
I
agree with Eve. Satan is the culprit. The devil is to
blame for all the sin, fear, heartbreak, divorce, alcoholism, drug
addiction and juvenile delinquency. He is the architect of
all that is evil, wicked and destructive. Riots, anarchy,
thievery, murder, sickness, disease and war are the outcroppings
and results of his plans, goals, purposes and seduction.
SATAN
IS TO BLAME. Shout it loud and clear - the devil is the
troublemaker.
JESUS
CALLED THE DEVIL A LIAR & MURDERER
Jesus
called him a liar, deceiver, murderer and thief. (John 8:44; John
10:10) Our Lord said, "The
thief cometh not for to steal, kill and destroy. I am come
that they might have life and more abundantly." (John
10:10)
YES
- THE DEVIL IS TO BLAME FOR ALL SIN
God
said, "THE SEED OF THE WOMAN SHALL BRUISE THE SERPENT'S
HEAD."
Almighty
God called out: "Because
thou hast done this, cursed art thou among all the beasts of the
field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go all the days of thy
life..." (Genesis 3:14-15)
It
is noteworthy that some scientists believe that at one time
serpents and snakes walked upright and didn't crawl on their
bellies as today.
"And
I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed
(the wicked) and her seed (the righteous). It (Jesus, the
seed of the woman) shall bruise thy head..."
JESUS
DEFEATED THE DEVIL WITH HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS
On
Golgotha's Hill, Jesus defeated the devil. When Jesus paid
the supreme sacrifice for the sins of the world, and rose again
from the dead. He had delivered the death blow to Satan.
When
Jesus cried, "It is finished", He had defeated Satan and
since that very hour the blood of Jesus Christ washes away all the
sins of the repentant sinner, and His stripes bring healing to the
believing, sick person.
The
Bible says, "He
(Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and by His
stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
WHY
DID JESUS COME INTO THE WORLD?
The
Bible says, "For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that
whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting
life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world through Him might be saved."(John
3:16-17) Hallelujah.
The
Bible says: "Neither
is there salvation through any other, for there is none other name
under Heaven given among men whereby you may be saved, but by the
Name of Jesus"! (Acts 4:12) "There
is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." (1
Timothy 2:5)
JESUS
CAME THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE
Jesus
said, "I am come
that they might have life and have it more abundantly." (John
10:10) And St. John stated: "For
this purpose was the Son of God manifested that He might destroy
the works of the devil". (1 John 3:8) The
Scripture says, "When
the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed
with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed
all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our
infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (Matthew
8:16-17)
WHAT
DID ISAIAH PROPHESY?
Hear
it and hear it well: "But He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The
chastisement of our peace was upon Him (Jesus) and by His stripes
we are healed."! (Isaiah 53:5)
The
Bible says, "Who
His own self (Jesus) bare our sins in His own body on the tree
(cross) that we, being dead to sins should live unto
righteousness, by Whose stripes ye were
healed"! (1 Peter 2:24) "He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him." (John 3:36)
THERE
IS ONLY ONE WAY - JESUS CHRIST IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH & THE
LIFE
Jesus
said, "I am the
way, the truth and the life and no man cometh unto the Father but
by Me." (John 14:6); "I
am the door, by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved..." (John
10:9) Again He said, "Come
unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you
rest." (Matthew 11:28)
WHY
DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE?
The
Bible says, "Without
the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins." (Hebrews
9:22) "It is
the blood that maketh atonement for the soul." (Leviticus
17:11) Again, "The
soul that sinneth it shall surely die." (Ezekiel
18:20)
In
Old Testament times, an animal - without spot or blemish - would
be sacrificed, spilling his blood. (Atonement means
"covering") AS THE LAMB DIED ON THE ALTER IN THE
TEMPLE, JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD, DIED ON THE CROSS TO PAY FOR THE
SINS OF THE WORLD.
The
Scripture says, "If
we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one
with the other, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us
from all sin." (John 1:7)
Jesus
is the Lamb of God, Who was slain for our sins: "One
of the elders saith unto me, weep not: behold the Lion of the
tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the
book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld,
and, lo, in the midst of the throne...stood a lamb as it had
been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.
And
He came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat
upon the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four
beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb,
having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors,
which are the prayers of saints."
And
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation;....Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour,
and glory, and blessing."
"And
every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the
earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard
I saying, Blessing, and honour, and power, be unto him that
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and
ever." (Revelation
5:5-13)
JESUS
SPOILED SATAN'S KINGDOM
The
Bible says, "And
you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all
trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was
against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way,
nailing it to His cross, and having spoiled principalities and
powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in
it."(Colossians 2:12-15) Oh, Praise God.
We
serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today. I know
that
He is living, whatever men may say...
I see His hand of mercy....I hear His voice of cheer....And just
the time I need Him....He's always near.
He
lives....He lives...Christ Jesus lives today.
He walks with me and talks with me, along life's narrow way.
He lives...He lives....Salvation
to impart....
You ask me how I know He lives....He lives...within my heart.
What
power! What might! What strength, and what great
ability Jesus has.
St. Paul brings it out so graphically in his epistles. Drink
in these truth and be set free and filled with all knowledge, joy
and Holy Ghost power.
The
WORD of God declares: "The
eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know
what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of glory of
His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness
of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of
His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when he raised Him
from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world,
but also in that which is to come. And hath put all things
under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the
church." (Ephesians 1:18-22)
"Now
unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." (Ephesians
3:20)
St.
Paul writes, "Who
(God) hath delivered us from the power of darkness (Satan) and
hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son (Jesus Christ)
IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, even the forgiveness
of sins." (Colossians 1:13)
In
referring to Jesus, John the Baptist made the startling statement, "Behold
the Lamb of God which taketh away from the sins of the
world." (John 1:29) To this agree the angel's
words to Joseph, "Ye
shall call His name Jesus (Salvation) for He shall save (salvage)
His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21)
"Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but
made himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in
fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name is above
every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
things in heaven and in earth, and things under the earth; and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father." (Philippians
2:5-11)
THIS
DAY IS THE SCRIPTURE FULFILLED
The
book of Isaiah is called the "Gospel of the Old
Testament". The 53rd chapter prophecies the
death of Messiah Who would bring forgiveness and healing to His
people. Isaiah 7:14 speaks of His virgin birth;
Isaiah 9:6 speaks of His Kingship and the fact that He
is very God; Isaiah 28:11-12 foretells the gift of
the Holy Spirit and the end-time phenomena of glossalalia,
or "speaking with other tongues" as a gift
of God to bring stability, rest and peaceful strength to the
Church in times of pressure and tension. Isaiah 61:1-3
prophecies the Gospel Age of His salvation with forgiveness,
healing, deliverance and joy!
"And
he came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His
custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and
stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto Him the
book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book,
He found the place where it was written,
"The
Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because he hath anointed Me to
preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, the
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
"And
He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister and sat
down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue
were fastened on Him. And He began to say unto them, This
day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." (Luke
4:16--21)
Jesus
entered the synagogue in Nazareth and read from Isaiah the
Prophet. He ended the reading by saying, "This
day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears". He declared Himself the Son of God and Jewish Messiah by those
words.
The
year of Jubilee could not begin until first the Great Day of
Atonement had taken place. He would die on the cross like
the lambs died on the alters of Jerusalem because He is the Lamb
of God which taketh away the sins of the world."
(John 1:29)
He
would fulfill the Old Testament 'Great Day of Atonement'
when the high priest entered into the Holy of holies with the
blood of the sacrificial animal. Jesus was not only the Sacrifice
but also the High Priest Who carried His own blood into the
Holy of holies in Heaven itself. (Hebrews 9:11-14)
The
scapegoat (Leviticus 16:7-21) is also a type of Jesus
carrying away our sins He is our substitute! Every 50th
year Israel celebrated the 'Year of Jubilee' when all the
prisoners and slaves were freed and debts were forgiven.
This is a picture of the Gospel Age when everyone is set free by
the blood of Christ and His everlasting Gospel!
My
dear friend, Let me admonish you to receive him into your heart
and life as your Lord, Saviour, Redeemer, Healer, Baptizer and
King.
JESUS
CAME TO SEEK & SAVE THE LOST
Jesus
said, "I
am come to seek and save that which was lost." (Luke
19:10) You are included in that number, for "All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God". (Romans
3:23) You say, 'I cannot live a Christian life in my own
strength'!
You
are absolutely right. You can't do it in your own power, but
He will change you and give you the power to live for Him.
The
Bible say: "He
came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many
as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name." (John
1:11-12)
Jesus
promised, "Ye
shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you...." (Acts 1:8) Finally Jesus said, "I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee." (Hebrews
13:5)"...and lo I am with you always, even unto the end of
the world." (Matthew
28:20) Receive Him today,
as your Lord and Saviour! Amen.
WHAT MUST
I DO TO BE SAVED?
Jesus
said, "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
Yes,
my dear friend, God is still in the business of setting men and
women free from their sins, sorrows, heartbreaks, fears and
troubles. In this age of frustrations, nervous tensions and
mental collapses, Jesus Christ is still granting peace to the
troubled, joy to the discouraged, strength to the weary and
healing to the sick!
1
- YOU MUST ADMIT THAT YOU ARE A SINNER
The
Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God”. (Rom. 3:23) “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the
iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
2
- YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD
You
MUST believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that Jesus died
on the cross, was buried and rose again from the dead.
“That
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already.” (John 3:15,18) “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on
Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24)
3
- YOU
MUST REPENT OF YOUR SINS
The
Bible says, “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish.” (Lu.13:3) “Let the wicked forsake his way and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord,
and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will
abundantly pardon”. (Isaiah 55:7)
4
- YOU MUST RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOUR
The
Bible says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life”. (John 3:16)
“Behold,
I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with Me.” (Rev. 3:20) “He that hath the Son hath life: and he
that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1 John 5:12)
5
- YOU MUST CONFESS JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD
The
Bible says: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation”. (Romans 10:9-10)
“…Whosoever
shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man confess
before the angels of God: But he that denieth Me before men shall
be denied before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:8, 9)
HOW
DO I INVITE
JESUS CHRIST INTO MY LIFE?
Pray
to God, a prayer - from your heart.
Tell Him that you
are a sinner and that you need forgiveness. Tell him that
you believe Jesus Christ died for your sins. Tell him that
you are willing to change, to turn away from sin. Ask Jesus
Christ to come into your heart and life and be your personal
Saviour.
"But
as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12)
"Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2
Corinthians 5:17)
If
you prayed and ask Jesus Christ into your heart - YOU HAVE NOW
RECEIVED THE GIFT OF SALVATION - YOU HAVE BECOME A CHILD OF GOD.
God Bless You.
BIBLE
SCRIPTURES ON:
Satan,
the Devil, evil, evil spirits, demons, the full amour of God
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