|
 JESUS
CHRIST
IS
THE ONLY WAY
TO HEAVEN
by Pastor Max
Solbrekken, D.D
"Casting
all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."
(1 Peter 5:7)
 JESUS
LOVES YOU
"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)
JESUS
CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN
Millions
of people have never heard these words - they do not know that the
great God of Heaven - the Creator of man and the universe, loves
them. Many sit in pagan darkness, fearful, tormented, sick
and lost without hope and without peace; still others have heard
the message of God’s love but seemingly it has not penetrated
their heart or their minds - their understanding had been clouded
and their spiritual eyes blinded.
No
more beautiful words were ever spoken by men or angels than these,
“I know God loves me!” Praise God. Say these precious words
and believe them and you will see what a change will be affected
within your life.
JESUS
KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU
"For
the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to
show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect
toward him." (2 Chronicles 16:9)
"Tis
so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him as His word; Just to
rest up on His promise; Just to know, "Thus saith the
Lord".
In
every situation of life God knows about you during every trial,
heartbreak and discouragement. In the temptations and struggles of
life Jesus knows about us and makes a way of escape.
(1
Corinthians 10:13) He knows and He is ready to help - Say it to
yourself, "God knows about my existence and loves me - His
eyes are upon me and I know everything will be alright."
JESUS
CHRIST CARES ABOUT YOU
"Casting
all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." (1 Peter 5:7)
Life
often seems like a rat race with dog eat dog and whoever gets in
first gets what he needs and whoever gets in last misses
everything. People can often be hardhearted and cruel -
circumstances and situations can make life almost unbearable and
many times Satan has filled peoples’ hearts and minds with such
tremendous disillusionment and depression that they have in utter
hopelessness taken their own lives.
The
hymn writer penned the words, "What a Friend we have in
Jesus, All our sins and grief's to bear! What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!" I am thrilled with the great
news of God’s love every time I hear it - that He loves me,
knows all about me and that He cares about me - my difficulties
and my needs. Thank God "He knows and He cares"! Praise
God! Say it to yourself - “I know God cares about me and will
help me".
JESUS
CHRIST DIED FOR YOU
"But
God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
"Oh
love of God so rich and pure, so measureless and strong. It shall
forever more endure, the saints and angels song."
You
can give without loving but you cannot love without giving. No
wonder the Apostle John wrote, "We love Him because He first
loved us".
There
is a word that is seldom used in today’s world but one which is
probably one of the most powerful in our vocabulary. It is the
word "Apodeictic" and it means "Evident beyond
contradictions".
It
is one of my foremost words because it relates to the gospel and
to Christ our wonderful Lord. When you speak about God, His power,
His words, His promises, His grace, His goodness and His mercy and
love - the word Apodeictic covers them all.
Evident
beyond Contradiction! His existence is so real that only a fool
could try to contradict the fact. No wonder the Bible says,
"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God".
(Psalm 14:1)
THE
LOVE OF GOD IS APODICTIC
Evident beyond contradiction - Calvary proved that
"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)
"A
rugged cross, became His throne. His kingdom was in hearts alone.
He wrote His love in crimson red, And wore the thorns upon His
head." Praise God. What a wonderful Saviour. He died that we
might live - that is real love and no one can dispute it.
He
died for me and He died for you - Say it to yourself, "Jesus
Christ actually died for me in order to save me".
JESUS
CHRIST IS ALIVE AND WILL HELP YOU TODAY
A
dead man has no power to help anyone - He cannot even help
himself! That is why so many traditional churches and nominal
Christians receive no answers to their prayers and have no victory
in their lives. They believe in and worship a dead Christ. They
wear crucifixes that have a resemblance of Christ, dead on the
cross. Beloved friends, the cross is empty - Jesus Christ is alive
for evermore with all power at His disposal.
He
has the power to set His children free from every bondage and
situation in which we find ourselves that is embarrassing,
improper, humiliating and painful.
"Lo
behold the man of sorrow, lo behold Him in plain view. There He
stands that mighty conqueror, since He rent the veil in two."
JESUS
CHRIST LIVES WITHIN YOUR HEART
"I
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. You ask me how I
know He lives, He lives within my heart." Hallelujah!
The
very essence of Christianity, the heart of the gospel and the
foundation truth of the church is that Jesus Christ, God’s Son
died upon a cross for our sins and that He was raised from the
dead on the third day for our Justification! (1 Corinthians
15:1-4)
Of
all religions only Christianity can boast a resurrection and only
Christ is a Saviour, for He only is Alive Forevermore. Praise His
Name.
JESUS
CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY TO SALVATION
No
wonder Peter said, "Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby
we must be saved". (Acts 4:12)
Why?
Because the name of a dead man can save no one but Jesus is not
dead HE IS ALIVE FOREVERMORE! Hallelujah.
The
entire ministry of Jesus Christ while he was upon this earth
revolved around preaching the gospel, healing the sick, forgiving
the sinful, restoring the diseased back to health, feeding the
hungry and raising the dead. When Jesus was crucified His
ministry came to an end abruptly - until 50 days later - after He
had risen from the dead and spent 40 days with His disciples He
ascended into heaven and poured out upon His followers the
"Baptism of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 1:4-8; 2:1-4
JESUS
CHRIST POURED OUT THE BAPTISM OF
THE HOLY GHOST (SPIRIT)
Then
the ministry of Jesus Christ continued greater than ever through
those who believed upon Him - The blind saw, the deaf heard, the
lame walked, the dead were raised and the gospel was preached to
multitudes.
“Now
Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of
prayer, being the ninth hour.
And
a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they
laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to
ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter
and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
And
Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of
them.
Then
Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have
give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and
walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and
immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And
he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the
temple, walking, and leaping and praising God." (Acts 3:1-9)
PEOPLE
SAW MANY SIGNS & WONDERS
"And
by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought
among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's
porch. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the
people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the
Lord, multitudes both of men and women."
"Insomuch
that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them
on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing
by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out
of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and
them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed
every one." (Acts 5:12-16)
WE
MUST PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE WORLD
It
is evident the Book of Acts is a continuation of the ministry of
Jesus Christ through His followers by the power of the Holy
Spirit, and that it is God’s will for His power to continue to
bring blessing and healing to His people in every generation until
the church age is over and Christ sets up His kingdom and ushers
in the millennium.
Notice
His words to all who believe, "And he said unto them, Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them
that believe, In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall
speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover". (Mark 16:15-18)
JESUS
COMMANDS US TO REPENT & BE BAPTIZED
The
Holy Bible says, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to
all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call." (Acts 2:38-39)
If
you are called, you are saved and if you are saved, the baptism of
the Holy Ghost and power is for you! Again see what St. James
writes to the church, "Is any sick among you? let him call
for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of
faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if
he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him". (James
5:14,15)
Now
in closing let us see what Jesus Himself said concerning praying
and receiving an answer...
"Ask,
and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and
he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened." (Matthew 7:7,8)
"Believe
me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe
Me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, 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.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in
My name, I will do it." (John 14:11-14)
ALL
THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO THEM THAT BELIEVE
"Jesus
said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to
him that believeth." (Mark 9:23)
"Again
I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as
touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them
of My Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 18:19)
"If
ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7)
JESUS
CHRIST OFFERS HOPE & PEACE
My
beloved friend, Jesus Christ is indeed alive and waiting to hear
from you. If you will accept Him as your personal Saviour and
trust in Him you will definitely receive answers to your prayers
and the assurance that all is well with your soul, for He has
promised and guaranteed you that His word is true and the
scripture cannot be broken. (John 10:35)
Amen.
HISTORICAL
EVIDENCE
Proof
of the
LIFE & DEATH of
JESUS
CHRIST
by Pastor Max
Solbrekken, D.D
"Uncovering
the lies & deceptions of the 'DaVINCI CODE' & 'JESUS
PAPERS' and providing Historical Evidence and proof of Jesus'
life.
"Evil
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being
deceived." (2 Timothy 3:13),
"Preach
the Word.... For the time shall come when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers having itching ears; And they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
(2 Timothy 4:2-4)
There
are those who say that the 'Day of Revivals' is over, that
the Gospel of Jesus Christ has lost its power. And
that the Bible has become an obsolete book, because of the
horrific attacks against its veracity ad evil and wicked forces.
They
intimate that the influence of the Church is passé
and the Gospel Ministry of saving souls, healing the sick and
restoring lives, marriages and homes belonged to a different time.
They also say we are now living in the Post-Christian era.
Without
doubt, the attacks by diabolical "enemies of the cross"
will harm the cause of Christ. The rebellious and
gullible will believe their lies and be attracted to their
hateful propaganda much like those drawn toward the occult, New
Age Movement, perverted sex, drugs, alcohol and pornography.
People
who are disgruntled by organized religion - especially the Roman
Catholic Church - are prime targets for the biased, distorted
views and down right lies that ooze out of the 'Jesus Papers'
movie;
and 'The Da Vinci Code'
movie.
Surveys
show that 60% of British people who read the "Da VINCI
CODE" believe Jesus had children with Mary Magdalene
The
Norwegian Lutheran Newspaper 'Dagen' (May 28, 2006) reprinted that
according to a recent survey, 60% of British people who had read
the book 'The DaVinci Code' believed that Jesus had children with
Mary Magdalene and 30% of those who had not read the book also
believed that pernicious, blasphemous lie. That is
deplorable!
That
normal people with a functioning brain, could become so deluded by
these fabrications in the book and movie, 'The DaVinci Code' is
very alarming. These fabrications and distortions
deliberately reconstructed the historical records regarding the
crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.
I
guess it does make sense, when you realize that these same people
flock to theatres to view flicks produced by people like Michael
Moore, and 'conspiracy advocates' who reject the holocaust, blame
the Jews and CIA for the 9-11 attacks on America and declare that
astronauts did not walk on the moon and that the U.S. Government
is hiding aliens in Roswell.
WHY
DO PEOPLE BELIEVE THE FALSE DISTORTIONS OF THE 'DA VINCI CODE' AND 'JESUS PAPERS'?
The
Bible gives the REAL REASON people accept and believe these false
doctrines and reject the Gospel instead of embracing it.
"And this is the condemnation, that men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For
everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved." (John 3:19)
It
is sad that millions are people are so warped intellectually, that
they would so easily believe such nonsense as is shown in 'The Da
Vinci Code' and the 'Jesus Papers'. This book and movie
are a total fabrication and rejection of the detailed historical
evidence validated by the Jewish Sanhedrin, the noted Jewish
historian Flavian Josephus, the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate and
the Centurion who crucified Jesus of Nazareth. Also the
Roman historians and the eye witness accounts of more than 500
people who saw Him after His crucifixion and resurrection.
Hollywood
makes the money from 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'The Jesus Papers'
but they will also be responsible for many souls lost.
Brown
and Baigent will make hundreds of millions of dollars for the
promotion of their blasphemous work. We know these people
have an agenda. They blatantly promote goddess worship, hate
the gospel of Jesus Christ, disdain the Roman Catholic Church and
will do anything for money.
The
Holy Record states, "And when they were assembled with
the elders, and had taken counsel, THEY GAVE LARGE MONEY unto the
soldiers, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night and stole
Him away while we slept. And if this comes to the governor's
ears, we will persuade him, and secure you."
"SO
THEY TOOK THE MONEY", and did as they were taught: and
this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this
day." (Matthew 28:12-15)
Some
people will do anything to get their name in the paper, their
faces on television and a multi-million dollar bank account.
Judas, however, sold Jesus for only 30 pieces of silver.
The
deceptive, money grabbling publicity hounds, like Michael Baigent
and Dan Brown have nevertheless pulled off a diabolical coup, with
a less than brilliant press corps eating up their blasphemous lies
as if it were the truth.
The
EVIL CONSPIRATORS behind the poisonous attacks on our Lord Jesus
Christ took into consideration the millions of Muslims who would
gloat at the depiction of Jesus as having escaped crucifixion,
seeing an opportunity to promote their false, blasphemous, twisted
teaching.
Hollywood
knew they had a ready audience among Jews who continue to reject
Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, although their meticulous
historical records prove His crucifixion.
EMINENT
HISTORIAN SPEAKS
Here
is an excerpt from 'The Early Jewish & Gentile Writings'
by the eminent theologian and historian F.F. Bruce:;
"As
the Mishmah is a law code, and the Talmud's commentaries on this
code, there is little occasion in these writings for references to
Christianity, and what references there are, are hostile in
nature. Such as they are, these references do show there was
not the slightest double of the historical character of Jesus.
According
to the earlier Rabbis whose opinions are recorded in these
writings, Jesus of Nazareth was a transgressor in Israel, who
practiced magic, scorned the words of the wise, led people astray,
and said he had not come to destroy the law but to add to it.
He was hanged on Passover Eve for heresy and misleading the
people. His disciples, of whom five are named, healed the
sick in his name.
"It
is clear that this is just such a portrayal of our Lord we might
expect these elements in the 'Pharisaic Party' which were opposed
to him. Some of the names by which he is called bear witness
directly or indirectly to the Gospel record. The appellation
Ha-Taluy - 'The hanged One' - obviously refers to the manner of
His death."
"But
we have earlier and more important Jewish literature or our
purpose than anything found in the Talmud. The Jewish
historian Flavius Josephus who was born of a priestly family in AD
37 writes about Jesus. In the 'Antiquities' (xx.9.1),
Josephus describes the high handed acts of the high priest Ananus
after the death of the procurator Festus (AD 61) in these words:
'....As
therefore Annus was of such a disposition, he though he had now a
good opportunity, as Festus was no dead, and Albinos was still on
the road; so he assembled a council of judges, and brought before
it the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, whose name was
James, together with some others, and having accused them as
law-breakers, he delivered them over to be stoned.'
"The
story of the death of 'James the Just' (as the Lord's
brother was called) is told in greater detail by Hegesippus, a
Jewish Christian writer of c.AD 170. The account in Josephus
is chiefly important because he calls James 'the brother Jesus the
so-called Christ',. in such a way as to suggest that he has
already made some reference to Jesus. We do find reference
to him in all extant (existing) copies of Josephus, the so called
Testimonium Flavianum in Antiquities xviii.3.3.
"There
Josephus narrates some of the troubles which marked the
procuratorship of pilate, and continues:
'And
there arose about this time Jesus, a wise man, if indeed we should
call him a man; for he was a doer of marvelous deeds, a teacher of
men who receive the truth with pleasure. He led away many
Jews, and also many of the Greeks. This man was the Christ.
And when Pilate had condemned him to the cross on his impeachment
by the chief men among us, those who had loved him at first did
not cease; for he appeared to them on the
third day alive again, the divine prophets having spoken these and
thousands of other wonderful things about him: and even now the
tribe of Christians, so named after him, has not yet died
out.'o-called'
"This
is a translation of the text of this passage as it has come down
to us, and we know that it was the same at the time of Eusebius
(275-339 A.D.), who quotes it twice: 'Some acute critics have
found no difficulty in accepting the Testimonium Flavianum as it
stands'."
The
passage certainly contains several characteristic features of the
dictation of Josephus, as has been pointed out by the late Dr. H.
St. John/Thackeray (the leading British authority on Josephus in
recent years) and others.
THACKERAY:
LEADING BRITISH AUTHORITY ON JOSEPHUS
"It
has also been pointed out that or omission of words, short phrases
is characteristic of the textual tradition the Antiquities, which
makes it easier to accept a suggestion that the word 'so-called'
has dropped out before 'Christ', and some such phrase as 'as they
said' or possibly 'as they say' after 'for he appeared to them'.
Both these suggested emendations are attractive, the former
especially so, because the very phrase 'the so-called Christ'
occurs in the passage where Josephus related the death of James.
"Two
other emendations have much to commend them. One is a
suggestions of Thackeray, that instead of 'the truth' (Greek aethe)
we should read 'strange things' Greek aethe). The
other is a suggestion of r. Robert Eisle, that some words have
fallen out at the beginning. If the passage, which
originally commenced: "And there arose about this time a
source of new troubles, one Jesus.' If then, we adopt these
emendations of the test, this is what we get as a result:
'And
there arose about this time a source of new troubles, one Jesus, a
wise man. He was a doer of marvelous deeds, a teacher of men
who receive strange things with pleasure. He led away many
Jews, and also many of the Greeks. This man was the
so-called Christ. And when Pilate had condemned him to the cross
on his impeachment by the chief men among us, those who had loved
him at first did not cease; for he appeared to them, as they said,
on the third day alive again, the divine prophets have spoken
these and thousands of other wonderful things about him: and even
now the tribe of Christians, so named after him, has not yet died
out.'
"...This
version of the Testimonium has got rid, by one or two very simple
devices, of the difficulties of the traditional while it preserves
(or even enhances) the worth of passage as a historical document.
The flavour of contempt is a little more marked as a result of the
addition; and the closing reference to 'the tribe of Christians'
is not inconsonant with a hope that though have not yet died out,
they soon may.'
HISTORIAN
JOSEPHUS VERIFIES CRUCIFIXION
OF JESUS CHRIST
"We
have therefore very good reason for believing that JOSEPHUS did
make reference to Jesus, bearing witness to (a) His date, (b) His
reputation as a wonderworker, (c) His being the brother of James,
(d) His crucifixion under Pilate at the information of the Jewish
rulers, (*e) His messianic claim, (f) His being the founder of
'the tribe of Christians', and probably (g) the belief in His
rising from the dead."
"The
first Gentile writer who concerns us seems to be one called
Thallus, who about AD 52, wrote a work tracing the history of
Greece and its relations with Asia from the Trojan War to his own
day. He has been identified with a Samaritan of that name,
who is mentioned by Josephus (Ant.xviii.6.4.) as being a freed man
of the Emperor Tiberius:
"Now
Julius Africanus, a Christian writer on chronology about AD 221,
who knew the writing of Thallus, says when discussing the darkness
which fell upon the land during the crucifixion of Christ: 'Thallus,
in the third book of his histories, explains away this darkness as
an eclipse of the sun - unreasonably - as it seems to me'
(unreasonably, of course, because a solar eclipse could not take
place at the time of the full moon, and it was at the season of
the paschal full moon that Christ died).'"
"From
this reference in Julius Africanus it has been inferred (a) that
the gospel tradition, or at least the traditional story of the
passion, was known in Rome in non-Christian circles towards the
middle of the first century; and (b) that the enemies of
Christianity tried to refute this Christian tradition by giving a
naturalistic interpretation to the facts which it reported."
"But
the writings of Thallus have disappeared; we know that only in
fragments cited by later writers. Apart from him, no certain
reference is made to Christianity in any extent (existing)
non-Christian Gentile writing of the first century."
"There
is, indeed, in the British Museum an interesting manuscript
preserving the text of a letter written some time later than AD
73, but how much later we cannot be sure. This letter was
sent by a Syrian named Mara Bar-Serapion to his son Serapion.
Mara Bar-Serapion was in prison at the time, but he wrote to
encourage his son in the pursuit of wisdom, and pointed out that
those who persecuted wise men were overtaken by misfortune.
He instances the death of Socrates, Pythagoras and Christ:
'What
advantage did the Anthenian, gain from putting Socrates to death?
Famine and plague came upon them as a judgment for their crime.
What advantage did the men of Samos, gain from burning Pythagoras?
In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage
did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was
just after that that their kingdom was abolished.'
'God
justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of
hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea; the Jews, ruined
and driven from their land, live in complete dispersion. But
Socrates did not die for good; he lived on in the teaching of
Plato. Phythagoras did not die for good; he lived on in the
statue of Hera. Nor did the wise King die for good; He lived
on in the teaching which He had given.'
"This
writer can scarcely have been a Christian, or he would have said
that Christ lived on by being raised from the dead. He was
more probably a Gentile philosopher, who led the way in what later
became a commonplace, the placing of Christ on a comparable
footing with the great sages of antiquity.
ROMAN
HISTORIAN RECORDS PILATE'S ROLE
IN JESUS DEATH'
"...Certainly
some ancient writers believed that Pilate did send in such a
report, but there is no evidence that any of them had any real
knowledge of it. About AD 150, Justin Martyr, addressing his
'Defense of Christianity' to the Emperor Antoninius Pius, referred
him to Pilate's report, which Justin supposed must be preserved in
the imperial archives."
"But
the words, 'They pierced my hands and my feet; he says, 'are a
description of the nails that were fixed in His hands and His feet
on the cross; and after He was crucified, those who crucified Him
cast lots for His garments, and divided them among themselves; and
that these things were so that you may learn from the
"Acts" which were recorded under Pontius Pilate.'
Later he says: 'That He performed these miracles you may easily be
satisfied from the "Acts" of Pontius Pilate.'
"The
greatest Roman historian in the days of the Empire was Cornelius
Tacitus who was born between AD 52 and AD 54, and wrote the
history of Tome under the emperors. About the age of 60,
when writing the story of the reign of Nero (AD 56-68), he
described the great fire which ravaged Rome in AD 64 and told how
it was widely rumored that Nero had instigated the fire, in order
to gain greater glory for himself by rebuilding the city."
"He
goes on: 'Therefore, to scotch the rumour, Nero substituted as
culprits, and punished with the utmost refinement of cruelty, a
class of men, loathed for their vice, whom the crowd styled
Christians.
'Christus,
from whom they got their name, had been executed by sentence of
the procurator Pontius Pilate when Tiberius was emperor, and the
pernicious superstition was checked for a short time, only to
break out afresh, not only in Judaea, the home of the plague, but
in Rome itself, where all he horrible and shameful things in the
world collect and find a home.'
"Tacitus
was in a position to have access to such official information as
was available; he was the son-in-law of Julius Agricola, who was
governor of Britain in AD 80 to AD 84. If Pilate did send a
report to Rome, Tacitus was more likely to know of it than most
writers, his language is too summary to make any such inference
certain."
"One
point in worth noting however, apart from Jewish and Christian
writers, Tacitus is the one and only ancient author to mention
Pilate. It may surely be accounted one of the ironies of
history that the only mention Pilate receives from a Roman
historian is in connection with the part he played in the
execution of Jesus."
"The
Great Fire of Rome is also mentioned by Toning, who about AD 120
wrote the lives of the first twelve Caesars, from Julius Caesar
onwards. In his 'Life of Nero' (xvi.2) he says:
'Punishment
was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men addicted to a
novel and mischievous superstition.' Another possible
reference to Christianity occurs in 'Life of Claudius' (xxv.4), of
whom he says: 'As the Jews were making constant disturbance at the
instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.'
PLINIUS
ASKS HOW TO DEAL WITH WORSHIPPERS OF JESUS
"In
AD 112, C. Plinius. Secundus (Pliny the Younger), governor of
Bithyia in Asia minor, wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan,
asking his advice on how to deal with the troublesome sect of
Christians, who were embarrassingly numerous in his
province."
"According
to evidence he had secured by examining some of them under
torture, 'they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day
before it was light, when they sang an anthem to Christ as God,
and bound themselves by a solemn oath (sacramentum) not to commit
any wicked deed, but to abstain from all fraud, theft and
adultery, never to break their word, or deny a trust when called
upon to honour it; after which it was their custom to separate,
and then meet again to partake of food of an ordinary and innocent
kind."
"Whatever
else may be thought of the evidence from early Jewish and Gentile
writers, as summarized in this chapter and the preceding one, it
does at least establish for those who refuse the witness of
Christian writings, the historical character of Jesus Himself'
"Some
writers may toy with the fancy of a 'Christ-myth', but they do not
do so on the ground of historical evidence. The historicity
of Christ is an axiomatic for an unbiased historian as the
historicity of Julius Caesar. It is not historians who
propagate the 'Christ-myth' theories.'
"The
earliest propagators of Christianity welcomed the fullest
examination of the credentials of their message. The events
which they proclaimed were, as Paul said to king Agrippa,
"not done in a corner", and were well able to bear all
the light that could be thrown on them."
"The
spirit of these early Christians ought to animate their modern
descendants. For by an acquaintance with the relevant
evidence that will not only be able to give to everyone who asks
them a reason for the hope that is in them, but they themselves,
like Theophilus, will thus know more accurately how secure is the
basis of the faith which they have been taught."
It
is EVIDENT from the above historical facts that Jesus of Nazareth
was crucified on Calvary's cross by the Romans at the behest
and prodding of the Jewish Sanhedrin, as the New Testament
proclaims.
It
is also EVIDENT that the 'pin-heads' who wrote the Jesus' Papers
and the Da Vinci Code have not studied history and are among
'the most ignorant of peoples", or are the "most cunning
liars" and deceptive "distorters of history" on the
planet today.
The
devil's crowd has tried unsuccessfully to derail the 'Gospel
Train" for 2000 years. Its just not going to work!
We are aware of Satan's 'same-old, same-old' tired, worthless,
worn out tricks.
Dr.
Bart D. Ehrman, Department Chair of Religious Studies at
University of NC, Chapel Hill states, "Not a single one of
our ancient sources indicates that Jesus was married, let alone
married to Mary Magdalene."
THERE
ARE ONLY TWO SOURCES OF
SUPERNATURAL WISDOM
There
are only two sources of supernatural wisdom - God and Satan.
Therefore, we need a divinely formulated rule book as a guide or
measuring stick. The Bible is that rule-book.
Jesus
Christ endorsed the Holy Scriptures. He even said, "For
verily I say unto you, Til heaven and earth pass, one jot or one
tittle (iota) shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled." (Matthew 5:18, 24; 35)
Multitudes
are looking for a reliable voice of authority. They know
they cannot trust treaties between world leaders or statements
made by philosophers, modernistic theologians and scientists.
THE
BIBLE - GOD'S WORD - IS THE ONLY REAL
AUTHORITY WE HAVE
Proven trustworthy throughout the centuries, the
Holy Bible sheds
light on human nature, world problems and human sufferings.
Beyond that, it clearly reveals the way to God.
WHO
WROTE THE BIBLE? Where did it originate and why is it so
important? Biblical scholar Dr. Moshe Katz, and computer
expert Dr. Menachen Wiener of 'The Technician' - Israel's
Institute of Technology - have concluded that God is its author.
Their
conclusion is based on the notion that significant words are
concealed in the Hebrew text of the first five books of the Bible,
spelled by letter, separated at fixed intervals; a system alluded
to in Rabbinical literature used much later.
Dr.
Katz said the researchers' evidence contradicts the belief that
the Pentateuch is a collection of documents written and edited by
different persons at different times.
The
patterns of letters repeated throughout all the text dismiss this
theory, because the statistical probabilities of the pattern are
information appearing at set intervals. By chance, it is
extremely low - sometimes one to three million.
Katz
pointed to the repetition of the Hebrew word "Torah"
(law), which appears in the book of Genesis repeatedly ever fifty
characters, and the word "Elohim" (God), which appears
in the same book, then skipping 26 letters. The numbers 50
and 26 have great significance in Jewish tradition.
The
burial site of Adam and Eve is never mentioned in the text in the
Bible, but by the letter skipping method the names, "Adam and
Eve" appear in the the where the burial place of Abraham and
Sarah, the patriarch's tomb, is described.
THE
BIBLE IS NOT WRITTEN BY HUMAN HAND
Another
extra ordinary aspect to emerge from the research is the prophetic
nature of many words revealed in the text, which gives ammunition
to Dr. Katz conviction that the Old Testament was not written by a
human hand.
In
the book of Esther, which is read during the Jewish holiday of
Purim, the story of Haman's treachery and execution was
graphically told. Haman's 10 sons were hanged and their
names are listed in the same book. After the hangings, Queen
Esther, was asked by the king what more could be done for her and
her people, the Jews. Her reply was that she want "Haman's
10 sons hanged upon the gallows."
This
puzzled scholars for centuries, since they had already been
hanged. A major hint explaining this mystery, said Katz, is
the appearance of 3 letters. These 3 letters are
"tas, shin and savin" in the list of Haman's 10 hanged
sons (written smaller than the other letters).
"TAS, SHIN, ZAYIN" spell out the number in the Jewish
calendar for the year 1946 on the Gregorian calendar.
On
October 16, 1946, explained Dr. Katz, 10 Nazis were hanged
following their conviction and sentencing at the Nuremberg Trials.
(11 had been convicted by Herman Goering committed suicide, by
poisoning an hour before the execution). Julius Steicher,
one of the 10 hanged, seconds before the noose tightened cried
out, "Purim Fest, 1946""
"Additionally",
said Katz, "In 1946 according to the Jewish calendar, October
16th fell exactly on the annual Jewish holiday, "Hoshna Raba",
which is considered the last 'day of judgment' in a chain of high
holidays, including Hoshana, Raba and Yom Kippur, a period of
judgment."
"Such
a phenomenon cannot be explained rationally", commented
computer expert, Dr. Weiner. "So we need a
non-rational. And ours is that the Bible was written by God,
through the hands of Moses."
In
his book, 'Rapture before the Russian Invasion of Israel', Dr.
Emil Gavberluk, M.A., Ph.D, Ed.D., writes: "How do we know
what happened to the universe? The only book in the world
that can give us that information is called The Bible. It is
a book that cannot be destroyed in spite of nations and
individuals who have tried to destroy it down through 3000 years
of its existence.
"No
other book has this track record. It is important because it
is the only book that God speaks through with authority, wisdom
and power. it is the only book that changes men's lives.
It is the only book that gives us hope for a glorious future.
THE
HOLY BIBLE - IS SEALED WITH A COMPLEX CODE
"It
is sealed mathematically with a code that has just recently been
discovered as the subliminal language of science. Ivan Panin
a professor at Harvard spent some 50 years working 15 hours a day
decoding it. The Israelis have just rediscovered it.
Rabbi David Ordman who directed a 5 year study with 20 rabbinical
scholars at the Hebrew University revealed this in prestigious
London Sunday Mail (1988).
"They
stated: 'The codes are so complex that it
took thousands of computer hours to unmask them, and it would have
required an ultra-modern hi-tech computer to devise them and hide
them in the tet - an obvious impossibility 2,400 years ago.
The Torah, therefore, could only have been written by someone
given explicit divine direction on how it was to be done',
Rabbi Ordman stressed.
"He
suggested that the texts were encoded as a sign to future
generations that the Torah is much more than a history of the
roots of the ancient Jewish people, but instead a time capsule
awaiting a generation with the advanced technology to decode its
contents. Scholars, he said, have long noticed that the
number 7 has a mystical significance."
"For
example, all the key names in Genesis such as God, Adam and Noah
are always mention seven times! Other examples of this:
Starting with the first letter T in Genesis, and counting ever
49th letter (7 times 7), the word Torah is spelled out. In
Exodus, if you start with the first Y, then add every 7th letter,
the Hebrew name of God, Yehovah is spelled out."
"Using
these and other examples of the number 7's key importance, Rabbi
Ordman and his colleagues programmed all 125,000 words in the
Torah and combed through billions of combinations, a job that
would have taken humans hundreds of years to complete without
computers."
"To
their amazement they found that the Bible contains numerous
messages hidden in number codes, the significance of which they
have yet to understand. He went on to say that the
statistical odds against The Bible being written humanly are
impossible."
JESUS
SIGNATURED ALSO IN NEW TESTAMENT
Dr.
Emil Gaverluk states that the Greek alphabet is also adaptable to
mathematics, and this shows that the 2 Testaments are really one
revelation from God. He writes: "In the Greek the
number for Jesus is 888. The same number reveals Him in the
Old Testament."
"The
first 2 Hebrew words of Deuteronomy and the last 2 Hebrew words of
the same book add up to: 'These be the words - all Israel.'
The first 2 add up to 297 and the last 2 add up to 591. Each
letter having the equivalent number, as does the Greek. The
sum total is 888."
"The
Gospel of John opens with this test, "In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made
by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the life of men. And the
light shineth in darkness; and the darkness was overpowered."
Dr.
Gaverluk writes: "Jesus is signatured in the Old Testament:
Malachi 3:6, "I am" is 63; "Jehovah" is 770;
and "Not" is 31; all adding up to 888. Another:
Genesis 13:1, "Almighty God" is 345; and Exodus 3:14
"I am that I am" adds up to 543. The total
signature for Jesus again in 888."
"Special
thanks to Albert Nobell for digging these out. He has more
including the prime numbers 37 and 73 in "And the Numbers
Cam' along with 'Gematria and a Priori Data' published by
Micro-Text, 3221 S. Colfax, Min. Mn. The number 3 stands
for trinity and the number 7 stands for perfection."
CAN
THE BIBLE BE TRUSTED?
The
Bible can certainly be trusted. The Bible is the
living Word of God. Over the centuries, a number of very
sincere doubters have set out to prove the Bible to be incorrect.
One
of these was William
Richard Ramsay, who determined to use historical
events - especially the 'Book of Acts' to disprove the validity of
the Sacred Writings. His strategy was to travel to every
place and do all the things - recorded by Dr. Luke, which St. Paul
and his party experienced.
Using
similar modes of transportation and reconstructing the great
Apostle's missionary journeys, he discovered Luke's accounts so
accurate and convincing that he received Jesus Christ as his
personal Saviour.
At
the conclusion of his study, William Richard Ramsay concluded:
"Luke is an historian of the first rank; not merely are his
statements of fact trust worthy, he is possessed of the true
historical sense; he fixed his mind on the idea and plan that
rules in the evolution of history, and proportions the scale of
his treatment to the importance of each incident...In short, this
author should be placed along with the greatest of
historians."
The
historical accuracy of the Bible overwhelmed Sir William Ramsay!
Another 'notable' to be converted to Christ by the outcome of his
own research is mathematician, Dr. Ivan Panin. Immigrating
to the USA more than a hundred years ago from his native Russia,
the famous atheist was challenged by friends to prove the Bible
erroneous, using mathematics.
The
results of Dr. Panin's scientific research convinced him that the
Bible is indeed a 'mathematical marvel'.
He
discovered a miraculous numeric pattern and consistency, which ran
like a thread throughout the entire Bible - Old and New
Testaments! Using the same scientific approach to Greek
classics, the Apocrypha and books of literature, Dr. Panin found
no such divine design.
Falling
upon his face he cried out for mercy and received Jesus Christ as
his personal Lord and Saviour! And he devoted the rest of
his life speaking publicly at universities across the USA, proving
that the Bible is inerrant, infallible and divine.
WHAT
ABOUT THE ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS OF THE BIBLE?
C.H.
Irwin stated: "Mighty empires have arisen, flourished and
fallen, but God's Word endures. And in times of skepticism
and unbelief, buried records have been brought to light, and
forgotten nations, whose very existence was questioned, have been
rediscovered. Science, anthropology, philology, and
archaeology have all thrown light upon the historic truth of the
Scriptures."
In
his powerful book, 'The Story of the Bible', Sir Fredric
Kenyon,
the Director and Chief Librarian of the British museum wrote,
(1937),
"For
all the work of classical antiquity we have to depend upon
manuscripts written long after their original composition.
The author who is in best case in this respect is Virgin: yet the
earliest manuscript of Virgil that we now possess was written some
350 years after his death. For all other classical writers,
the interval between the date of the author and the earliest
extant manuscript of his works is much greater. For Livy it
is about 500 years, for Horace 900, for most of Plato 1,300 and
for Europides 1,600.
"On
the other hand the great vellum uncials of the New Testament were
written perhaps some 250 years after the date when the gospels
were actually composed, while we now have papyrus manuscripts
which reduce the interval by a hundred years. And while the
manuscripts of any classical author amount at most to a few score,
and in some cases only to a few units, the manuscripts of the
Bible are reckoned by thousands."
The
following quotes are from the British and Foreign Bible Society's
book, 'The Master Light'. "Not one of the manuscripts
already mentioned goes back to an earlier date than the fourth
century, and it almost came to be assumed that no manuscript of a
prior time would ever be unearthed.
"This
assumption, however, was falsified by the discovery near the site
of the ancient city of Aphroditopolis in Egypt of a group of
papyri, afterwards known as the "Chester Beatty Papyri' (so
named after Mr. Chester A. Beatty, who purchased most of them).
Some of thes go back to the third century, and one even to the
second century - this oldest manuscript giving us Numbers and
Deuteronomy. There are two manuscripts of Genesis, a
fragmentary copy of Isaiah, a leaf of Jeremiah, a manuscript of
Ezekiel, Daniel and Esther, a leaf or two of Ecclesiasticus."
"In
all, therefore, it will be seen that in these three papyrus
manuscripts we have all the books of the New Testament, with the
exception of the Pastoral and Catholic (general) Epistles,
represented more or less in copies which can be confidently
assigned to the third century. A large part of the gap
between the original writers and the earliest manuscripts which we
possessed of them has thus been filled: and who knows what the
future may bring."
HISTORICAL
EVIDENCE: THE OLDEST BIBLE LEAF
"The
question: Who knows what the future may bring? This
question is already being answered. The oldest manuscript of
the Chester Beatty papyri was the Numbers and Deuteronomy of the
Bible, but a further discovery was made a year or so ago
(1935-1936) - a fragment of Deuteronomy for the Septuagint
belonging to the second century B.C. The story of this
precious leaf can only be hinted at:
"In
1917, Dr. Rendel Harris purchased for the John Rylands Library,
Manchaster, a bundle of papyri, and among them two pieces of 'cartonnage',
as it is called - the papyrus used for wrapping up mummies.
When the various fragments had been disentangled there were found
to be portions of a roll of the book of Deuteronomy - small parts
of chapters 23 to 26, and a verse or two of chapter 28."
Professor
Deissmann sums it up this way: "The chief value of the new
discovery lies in the fact that the certainty of the handing on
through millenniums of the text of the Holy Scripture - which
hostile critics have often ventured to dispute - has been
established with convincing force in one example."
“The
earliest translations were in Syriac,
Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Latin, Gothic and
Slavic, and scholars have devoted much to these versions in
order to determine what Greek manuscripts were used, and, that
questioned settled, what can be gleaned concerning the text of the
manuscripts.
Dr.
Caspar Rene Gregory, in 'Canon and text of the New Testament, p.
306 stated: "The value of the translations attaches
especially at first to the localizing of texts or of readings, or
we may say to the perceiving of the extent to which readings were
spread abroad. For it is clear that a reading, whensoever it
may come, if to be in the Syrian language, must have been in
Syria: if it be in the Coptic translation, must have been in
Egypt. Furthermore, in so far as we may succeed in dating a
translation approximately, its text offers us a clue to the age of
a given form or given readings."
In
'The Story of the Bible' (p.144), Sir Fredric Kenyon summed it all
up as follows: "It is reassuring at the end that the general
result of all these discoveries and all this study is to
strengthen the proof of the authenticity of the Scriptures, and
our conviction that we have in our hands, in substantial
integrity, the veritable Word of God."
POWERFUL
NEW HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF
THE BIBLE DISCOVERED
The
London Times priinted and article by Matthew D'Ancona (Dec 24,
1994), who wrote of the astonishing discovery made by Dr. Carsten
Thiede on three fragments known as the Magdelen Papyrus.
"The
casual observer would not look twice. Yet these ancient
scraps of papyrus, which have been locked away in an Oxford
College library for most of the century...may transform our
present understanding of Christianity and the Gospels."
Dr.
Thiede was taken aback by what he found...the strong possibility
that the Gospel according to St. Matthew is not the second century
version of an oral tradition, but an eye witness account.
The New Testament, in other words, may have been written and read
by men who walked with Jesus in Galilee.
Since
the Magdalen fragment was dated four decades ago, important
research has been carried out which enabled Dr. Thiede to estimate
far more accurately the years in which the papyrus was likely to
have been written. His conclusions were bold.
"In
the course of four trips to Oxford, it became clear to him that
the papyrus was written in a distinctive script common in the
first century B.C,. but petering out by the middle of the first
century A.D. The hand, he gradually realized, was a hundred
years older than was previously thought. He will not deny
the extraordinary implication of his analysis."
"IF
THE NEW DATING IS CORRECT, the Magdelen papyrus would turn out to
be not only the oldest known fragment of Matthew, but the oldest
of all listed New Testament manuscripts."
And
don't forget that when the 'Dead Sea
Scrolls' were found in some
caves in 1948, the Book of the Isaiah was perfectly intact. Even
though the scrolls had been hidden away for more than 2,000 years,
the Book of Isaiah is exactly the same as contained in the Holy
Bible we have today.
THE
BIBLE IS STILL THE WORLD'S BEST SELLER
It
is small wonder then that the Holy Bible is still the world's
'best seller'! The American Bible Society reported in
1982, that the Bible had been translated into 1739 languages and
dialects, which are spoken by 97% of the world's population.
According
tot the General Secretary of the Associated Bible Societies,
Fergus MacDonald, more than 40 million Bibles and New Testaments
were distributed world-wide in 1998, in more than 200 nations and
through more than 130 Bible Societies! The total of Bibles
sold were 20,751,515 - which is an increase of more than 1/2
million over the year before, and a gain of more than one million
New Testaments, totaling 20,116,627 copies.
MacDonald
stated: "We have good reason to praise God for the increase
we see, but we have a long way to go, before we can say that we
have accommodated the growing hunger after God's Word."
WHAT
DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THIS?
"Day
unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to
the end of the world." (Psalms 19:2-4)
And
what of the loud noises made by some 'Johnny-come-lately', like
the humanistic philosophers and supposed theologians who call
themselves, 'The Jesus Seminar'? As well as opportunistic
'play actors' like Baigent Brown, Ron Howard and Hanks? I
would say, "Much like the proverbial story of the dogs that
run after the caravan - The dogs bark, but the caravan moves
on."
EVIDENCE
MORE SCIENTIFIC THAN SCIENCE
Dr.
T.A Pierson says, "There is a danger is pressing the word in
the Bible into a positive announcement of scientific fact, so
marvelous are some of these correspondences. But it is
certainly a curious fact that Solomon should use language entirely
consistent with discoveries as EVAPORATION and STORM
CURRENTS (1:6,7). Some have boldly said that Redfield's
theory of storms is here explicitly stated. Without taking
such ground, we ask, who taught Solomon to use terms that readily
accomodate facts that the MOVEMENT OF THE WINDS which seem
to be so lawless and uncertain, are ruled by laws as positive as
those which rule the growth of the plant: and that by EVAPORATION,
the waters that fall on the earth are continually rising again, so
that the sea never overflows."
"Ecclesiastes
12:8 is a poetic description of death.
How
the 'Silver Cord' describes the spinal marrow, the 'Golden Bowl'
the basin which holds the brain, the 'Pitcher' the lungs, and the
'Wheel' the heart. Without claiming that Solomon was
inspired to foretell the Circulation of the Blood, 26
centuries before. Harvey announced it, is it not remarkable
that the language he uses exactly suits the facts. A wheel
pumping up through one pipe to discharge through another."
C.S.
LEWIS' FAMOUS STATEMENT
A
number of years ago, US President, Ronald Reagan, quoted C.S.
Lewis - the renowned Oxford professor - about Jesus Christ, when
he made his profession of faith. Here is the famous quote in
full:
"I
am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish
thing about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great
moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God."
That is the one thing we must not say.
A
man who was merely a man and said the things that Jesus said would
not be a great moral teacher, he would either be a lunatic - on a
level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or else He would
be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or
something worse. But let us not come up with any patronizing
nonsense about Him being a great human teacher. He has not
left that open to us. He did not intend to."
After
his close encounter with death at the hands of a deranged
assassin, President Ronald Reagan was asked by his pastor,
"Were you ready to die?" He answered, "No, I
have much more to do!" The pastor continued, "No,
I meant, were you ready to meet God?" President Reagan
answered, "Yes." The pastor questioned,
"Why?" With a knowing smile, President Reagan
replied, "I have a Saviour!"
DO
YOU HAVE A SAVIOUR?
My
dear friend, reading these lines: My question to you is,
"DO YOU HAVE A SAVIOUR?" When the Philippian
Jailor asked Paul and Silas, "What must I do to be
saved", they answered: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved and thy house." (Acts 16:31)
ITS
NOT GOING TO WORK
The
Jewish Sanhedrin tried 'early-on' to stamp out the followers of
Jesus, but they couldn't do it. Five thousand were converted
when a crippled beggar was healed. The High Priest and
Jewish leaders got extremely nervous when these great things
happened in the name of Jesus, Whom they had crucified.
Commenting
on the miracle, Peter declared: "And His name (Jesus Christ)
through faith in His name made this man strong, whom ye see and
know: yea, the faith which is by Him hath given Him this perfect
soundness in the presence of you all." (Acts 3:16)
As
word of the 'AWAKENING' spread through the city of Jerusalem, the
disciples were brought before the High Priest and his associates
for questioning: "And when they had set them in the midst,
they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done
this?" (Acts 4:7)
Peter
answered: "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Whom
ye crucified. Whom God raised from the dead, even by Him
doth this man stand here before you whole."
"This
is the STONE which was set at naught by your builders, which is
become the HEAD OF THE CORNER. Neither is there salvation in
any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved."
DISCIPLES'
BOLDNESS SHOOK THE JEWISH LEADERS
They
conferred among themselves, saying, "What shall we do with
these men? For that indeed a notable miracle hath been done
by them is manifest to all in Jerusalem: and we cannot deny it.
But that it spread no further among the people, let us straightly
threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in THIS
NAME."
"And
they called them, and commanded them not (never) to speak at all
nor teach in the name of Jesus." (Acts 4:16-18)
Peter
and John were no pussy cats! They were tough fishermen who
had been with Jesus, and they had witnessed first hand the awesome
power connected with His name. He had instructed them -
before His crucifixion - to pray to the Father in His name. (John
16:26)
After
observing the great power wielded by the name of Jesus, do you
think they would listen to a group of stodgy old religious men who
had no contact with God? A thousand times, "NO!"
They answered, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to
hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot
but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts
4:19, 20)
After
Peter and John were threatened, they went back to their own
company of believers and reported what the chief priests and
elders had said. When the believers heard the report, they
lifted up their voices to God with one accord:
"Lord
Thou art God, which has made heaven, and the earth, and the sea,
and all that in them is: And now, Lord, behold their
threatenings: and grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness
they may speak Thy Word."
"By
stretching forth Thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders
may be done by the name of Thy holy child Jesus. And when
they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they
spake the Word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:24, 30, 31)
Vicious
attacks on Jesus Christ and the Bible have happened many times
before, and the Church has survived and grown as a result.
Christianity hasn't gone into extinction and today the Bible is
still the world's best selling book.
APOSTATES
RATCHET UP ATTACKS ON
JESUS CHRIST
The
December 1936 issue of 'The Witness' carried an article on the
Virgin Birth of the Saviour by T. Ernest Wilson. He wrote,
"Many years ago Dr. Dale of Birmingham made the statement:
"The storms of criticism now are bursting about the venerable
head of Moses, but Moses is not the objective; the time will soon
come when the tempest will break about the One Holy Head."
Wilson
continued: "And that time has come, apostate Christendom
takes every opportunity of attacking the Person and work of our
Lord Jesus Christ."
What
Wilson was referring to was the wicked onslaught by the so called
higher critics who were erroneously charging that Moses did not
write the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible). Of
course, they have since been conclusively proven wrong. But
the devil never gives up, so he grooms more lapdogs to attack the
Bible.
Now
he's going after the Head of the Church, the Chief Cornerstone
Himself, Jesus Christ the Messiah. How does he do it?
The same way he deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, through
deception, lies and planting doubts about the veracity of God's
Word.
He
planted doubt in Eve's mind: "Hast God said...? Ye
shall not surely die...You can become like God yourself. God
wants to keep you ignorant..." (Genesis 3:1-5) That
LYING DEVIL even had the audacity to tempt our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Incarnate Son of God, Who had come down from heaven to redeem
us from our sins and Satan's shackles.
He
said: "If Thou be the Son of God..." (Matthew 4:1-10)
That lying tricksters KNEW that Jesus was the Son of God. He
knew why Jesus had come down to this planet. He knew what
Jesus was about to do to his kingdom.
A
study of history chronicles the struggle of Satan and his evil
forces against the Church of the Living Go during the last 2000
years. Repeatedly, we see the ebb and flow and against all
odds, the constant and steady growth of the Church.
Here
is an excerpt from 'The Wonder of the
Bible' by Professor Dyson Hague, M.A.: "Another wonderful thing about the Bible is that
it has stood ages of ferocious and incessant persecution.
Century after century men have tried to burn it and bury it.
Crusade after crusade has been organized to extirpate it.
Kings of the earth set themselves, the rulers of the church took
counsel together, to destroy it from the face of the earth."
(click here to read the entire pamphlet
called 'THE WONDER OF THE BIBLE" by Dyson Hague.)
"DIOCLETIAN,
the Roman Emperor, in 303 inaugurated the most terrible onslaught
that the world has known against a book. Every Bible almost
was destroyed; myriads of Christians perished; and a column of
triumph was erected over an exterminated Bible with the
inscription: "Extincto nomine Christianorum." (Extinct
is the name of Christians.)"
"And
yet, not many years after, the Bible came forth as Noah from the
ark to re-people the earth, and in the year 325 Constantine
enthroned the Bible as the Infallible Judge of Truth in the First
General Council."
"Then
followed the prolonged mediaeval persecutions. You all know
how the Church of Rome denied the Bible to the people. The Church
of Rome never trusted the people with the Bible. For ages it
was a practically unknown book. Martin Luther was a grown up
man when he said that he had never seen a Bible in his life.
No jailor ever kept a prisoner closer than the Church of Rome has
kept the Bible from the people."
HIGHER
CRITICS HAVE THEIR OWN AGENDA
"Yet
perhaps the worst opposition to the Bible has been during the last
150 years. Its bitterest foes, curiously enough, were men
who claimed liberty of thought, and Bolingbroke and Hume and
Voltaire seemed so confident of the extermination of the Bible,
that the Frenchmen declared that a hundred years after his day not
a Bible would be found save as an antiquarian curiosity."
"Then
came the German rationalistic host, with the fiercest and
deadliest of all the attacks. Yet here the Bible is today,
stronger than ever. It stands, and will stands. The
adversaries have done their worst. They have charged their
heaviest charge. They have fired their deadliest volley.
Whatever unexpected adversaries appear in the future, no more
destructive trios than Julian and Celsus and Porphyry, than
Voltaire and Strauss and Renan, than Eichorn and Wellhausen and
Kuenen, will probably ever be confederate against it."
"Yet
in spite of all these age-long persecutions and assaults, the Word
of the Lord is having free course, and is being glorified.
The Bible is being circulated at about 12,000,000 copies a year,
in about 500 languages."
"Let
us remember here that the adversary has cunningly changed his
tactics. Under Christian garb, by professedly Christian men,
under the high sounding term of "higher criticism" the
Bible is assailed in its very foundation as God's Word, God's
revelation to man. It is no less Satan's work, and more to
be feared than the violent opposition of former days."
There
have been terrible times of persecution against God's people.
Dr. David Barrett, a statistician who has tracked this world wide
phenomenon for the past 30 years, reports that an average of about
150,000 people have given their lives for Christ annually, and
that millions are presently persecuted in one way or another for
the name of Jesus.
Jesus
said, "Thy kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and violent
taketh it by force." (Matthew 11:12) The literal
translation states, "Thu kingdom of God is advancing
powerfully and men of faith take hold of His promises and carry it
forward with an ardour that resembles violence."
God
is still showing His awesome power in Communist China and other
totalarian countries, including Muslim dominated nations.
Here is a recent awesome testimony of the power of Jesus Christ.
AMAZING
NEWS FROM EGYPT - GIRLS FOUND
ALIVE AFTER 15 DAYS
A
Muslim man in Egypt killed his wife and then buried her with their
infant baby and 8 year old daughter. The girls were buried
alive. He then reported to the police that an uncle killed
the children. 15 days later, another family member died.
When they went to bury him, they found the 2 little girls under
the sand - ALIVE.
The
country is outraged over this incident, and the man will be
executed. The older girl was asked how she had survived.
"A man wearing shiny white clothes, with bleeding wounds in
his hands, came every day to feed us. He woke up my mom so she
could nurse my sister," she said.
She
was interview on Egyptian National T.V. by a veiled Muslim woman
anchor. She said on public T.V. "This was none
other than Jesus, because nobody else does things like this."
Muslims
believe Jesus would do this, but the wounds mean He really was
crucified, and its clear also that He is alive. But, it is
also clear that the child could not make up a story like this, and
there is no way these children could have survived without a true
miracle.
Muslim
leaders are going to have a hard time to figure out what to do
with this, and the popularity of the 'Passion of the
Christ' movie
doesn't help. With Egypt at the center of the media and
education in the Middle East, you can be sure this story will
spread. Christ is still turning the world upside down!
Recently,
I spoke with a young Muslim man from Tanzania whose forbears were
from India. He stated that he could believe that Jesus was
born of a virgin and therefore was very special, but he could not
believe in the Trinity.
I
replied that if he could understand God, then I wouldn't be able
to believe in God, for then He would be as weak as I am and couldn't help me, or I
would be as great as God is and I wouldn't need Him. No my
friend, it is impossible for us to understand the One who has
created us in His own image.
JOHN
WESLEY asked, "How can a worm understand a man?"
It is impossible for a finite being to understand the invisible,
immortal, infinite God. It is almost insane to believe that
created human beings could understand - with our limited
intellectual capacity - the One who made us and knows our DNA and
our human genome and is the giver and sustainer of physical and
eternal life.
ALBERT
EINSTEIN stated: "The most incomprehensible thing about the
universe is that it is incomprehensible."
THOMAS
CARLYLE - Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher - declared:
"I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual
ignorance - I don't pretend to understand the universe - it's a
great deal bigger than I am."
If
we are unable to understand the universe, how could we possibly
understand God? The real danger presenting itself to the
human race is the totally unrealistic notion that we can thing of
Almighty God in human terms. Thinking of God as though
He were a human being, instead of the Immortal. God is
Eternal, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent and Transcendent Lord
God of all flesh. He is the creator, Saviour, sustainer,
healer, deliverer and Judge.
How
can a sin laden, disease bearing, guilt ridden mortal hope to
under the pure, righteous, holy and immortal Lord God of all
flesh? How can an ignorant, unknowing creature such as man,
think we should be able to understand the omniscient (all wise,
all knowing) God?
It
is irrational to think that we could understand our Maker.
We are unable to even understand ourselves. Millions of
people go to counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists or pastors
for help in understanding themselves. If you can't
understand yourself, stop trying to analyze the One who made you.
When
people who are unbelievers of God and intellectuals that don't
have God in their lives, try to understand God, they are
thinking of God in human terms. Man will never understand
God by rationalizing or thinking of God in human terms.
God
is transcendent and so far above us that we could never understand
Him. This is why God sent His Son Jesus. Jesus was
wrapped in human flesh, to show us what He is like.
Our Lord visited this planet to redeem us and deliver us from the
powers of darkness that are seeking to destroy us.
Jesus
Christ said: "If ye had known Me, ye should have known My
Father also.... Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast
thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen
the Father; and how sayest thou then, show us the Father?"
(John 14:7,9)
ANDREW
MURRAY, Dutch Reformed theologian, declared: "Everything is
of the Father, everything is in the Son, everything is through the
Spirit. The entire carrying out of the counsel of God is
through the Holy Spirit, and the sanctification and the
impartation of divine holiness which He works."
HOW
SHOULD WE REACT TO THESE
BLASPHEMOUS ACTS?
What
should we do in light of these outrageous blasphemous attacks on
the divinity of Jesus Christ? How should Christians conduct
themselves when facing such lies, blasphemy and injustice?
What is the Scriptural route to take?
Should
we organize demonstrations, and take to the streets starting riots
across the world? How about burning movie studios in
Hollywood and theatres showing the movie or bookstores selling the
blasphemous books? Should we threaten those involved with the
Jesus Papers and Da Vinci Code, like Muslims would have done if
such attacks were leveled against Muhammad?
The
answer is a resounding, "NO". We live by a
different code of ethics employing sanity, holiness and tolerance.
We have not filled the world with the glorious Gospel of Christ by
using the sword.
We
do not gain converts to Christ through intimidation, kidnappings
or forced starvation like the Muslims are doing in Sudan and else
where in the world.
Christian
martyrs have died by the millions during the last 1000 years,
while trying to win souls for Christ and helping the poor of the
world. Our martyrs dies to save someone, instead of trying
to see how many they could kill in a suicide attack.
Christians are opposed to Satan's work.
Christians
are used to being discriminated against. Christians are used
to being persecuted and killed as martyrs while seeking to save
lost souls, feed the hungry and heal the sick.
Unlike
Islamic suicide bombers who die as martyrs trying to kill as many
people as possible, millions of Christian martyrs over the last
2000 years have gladly given their lives while sharing Christ's
love.
Trying
to defend Jesus from the Temple Guard who were led to the Garden
of Gethsemane by Judas Iscariot, Peter used his sword to cut off
the ear of Malchus. Malchus was the servant of the high priest.
Jesus
said to Peter, "Put up thy sword into its sheath: the cup
which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?" (John
18:10) Then Jesus healed the man's ear.
WE
MUST STAY FOCUSED ON THE WORD OF GOD AND KEEP OUR EYES ON JESUS
Our
job is to stay focused on the Word of God. We must keep our
eyes on Jesus. We must stay focused on the Holy Spirit and
keep on preaching the Gospel of Christ. We must continue
by praying for the sick and casting out devils. We have a
job to do and a world of sinners to win to Christ. We need
to bring healing to the hurting people of our generation.
When
the Samaritans refused to give Jesus and His disciples lodging,
James and John asked, " ... Lord wilt Thou that we command
fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias
did? But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not
what spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to
destroy men's lives, but to save them." (Luke 9:52-56)
We
do know that after King Herod had killed 'James the Just' -
the younger brother of Jesus - he was judged by the Lord:
"And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in Royal apparel, sat upon
his throne, and made an oration to them. And the people gave
a shout, saying, it is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave
not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the
ghost." (Acts 12:21-23)
God's
Word states: "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but
rather give place unto wrath: For it is written, Vengeance is
Mine; I will repay, sayeth the Lord." (Romans 12:19)
It
appears that HOLLYWOOD is already cursed by its own imbecilic,
pornographic and perverted actions. Look at the broken
homes, scarred children, alcoholism, drug addition, suicides,
sexual perversion, depression and mental illness. What a
sorry mess Hollywood is.
Hollywood
needs to be pitied rather than emulated. Hollywood needs to
be prayed for rather than envied. Hollywood must be
challenged and rebuked when they pervert society with their filthy
immoral movies.
We
must pray for the salvation of those in Hollywood; the actors,
writers, directors and owners of these Hollywood movies need
prayer and salvation. We need to pray that Baigent, Brown,
Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are convicted because of their sins and
that they are saved, born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.
PROTEST
AGAINST THE COMPANIES WHO BLASPHEME JESUS IN BOOKS AND MOVIES SUCH
AS THE "DA VINCI CODE' AND THE 'JESUS PAPERS'
Many
Christians are sleeping and hiding in complacency. May
God awaken us all. Protest against the lies, fabrication and
diabolical attacks that have been used against our Lord Jesus
Christ. Protest against the companies who blaspheme the name
of Jesus and defame His character in books and movies such as the
'Da Vinci Code' and the 'Jesus Papers.'
THE
VICIOUS ATTACKS FROM THE 'DA VINCI CODE' AND THE 'JESUS PAPERS'
PROVE THE BIBLE SCRIPTURES ARE TRUE
The Holy
Bible records the amazing prophecy of the aged and righteous Jew,
Simeon, who took the baby Jesus in his arms, in the Temple,
saying: "Behold this Child is set for the fall and rising
again in Israel; and for a SIGN which shall be spoken
against." (Luke 2:34)
The
directors, producers and companies that produced the movies the
"Da Vinci Code' and the 'Jesus Papers' are certainly speaking
against Jesus Christ. They spoke against Jesus in the past
just as they are today. The hate filled mobs cried:
"Away with Him. Crucify Him" even though Pontius
Pilate said: "I find no fault in Him." (Luke 23:4, 14)
The Bible says: "But this cometh to pass, that the Word might
be fulfilled that is written in their law, THEY HATED ME
WITHOUT A CAUSE." (John 15:25)
The
directors, producers, writers and movie studios producing movies
such as the 'Da Vinci Code' and 'Jesus Papers' are enemies of the
cross.
Now,
the 'ENEMIES OF THE CROSS' are at it again, re-writing
history and trying to destroy people's faith in the living Saviour
Jesus Christ. They will upset some people, they will turn
many people away from the Lord and in the end they fulfill another
Scripture from the Bible, where Jesus said:
"I
am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be
already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with;
and how am I straightened till it be accomplished. Suppose
ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay,
but rather division." (Luke 12:49-51)
Jesus
prophesied that divisions would arise because of Him. This
is literally being fulfilled through the lies, hatred and strife
generated against Him by the enemies of the cross, as well as the
use of these blasphemous books and films such as the 'Da Vinci
Code' and 'Jesus Papers.'
The
Christian Church is now rising to the challenge and going on the
offensive. Jesus said, "The Gates of Hell (opinions,
plans, attack of Satan) will not prevail against the Church."
(Matthew 16:18) Praise the Lord and glory be to the Lamb of
God forever. Amen.
SATAN
IS AT WORK, A.D. April 18, 2006
The
Kentucky Board of Education has voted to take the first step in
re-defining how America dates time. The board voted to
include a new secular system of dating the calendar, BCE (means
Before Common Era) and AD (Anno Domini, Latin for 'in the year of
our Lord') method.
The
new secular system of time dating will appear in the curriculum
and other materials used by Kentucky educators. This new
system is already being included in textbooks across the nation.
The
new method will replace the birth of Christ as the dividing point
in history. For example, the new system would change 2006 AD
(Anno Domini) to 2006 CE (Common Era).
This
also opens the door for the ACLU to find a liberal activist judge
who will forcefully remove the use of BC and AD. The ACLU
types will claim that the use of BC and AD are a violation of the
First Amendment because it dates history based on the birth of
Christ.
I
WILL NOT COMPROMISE
I
will not be a part of the Antichrist's plan that seeks to
eradicate the EVIDENCE OF JESUS CHRIST'S influence in the earth
during these past 2000 years.
Some
compromising preachers have fallen for the trick of the enemy.
They hope to reach Jewish people by amending their teaching and
re-writing history. Jewish people are not fools.
Jewish people are intelligent people who want to know the truth.
I
HAVE HUNDREDS OF JEWISH FRIENDS
I
have hundreds of Jewish friends. The Jewish people know
there are those of us who tell the truth and also stand with them
and the nation of Israel against their enemies.
If
you try to re-write history in this case, how could they ever
trust you if the Muslims, who hate them, gain power in Israel?
Compromisers are not to be trusted. Lets always tell the
truth, even if it is unpopular.
Like
Martin Luther stated so many years ago, I declare: "Here I
stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.
- Max Solbrekken
Dear
Christian Friend: If you
find it in your heart to remember this ministry and your humble
servant in your prayers on a daily basis, we would be so thankful
to you and the Lord. Thank you and God bless you. Amen.
 THE
ETERNAL GOSPEL
OF CHRIST
Incomparable,
Indestructible
by: Pastor Max
Solbrekken, D.D.
"For
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth." (Romans 1:16)
St.
Paul was a preacher of the gospel for many years and was
called the 'Apostle to the Gentiles.'
His
encounter with Jesus Christ on the 'Damascus Road' made
such an impact on his life that he recounted it repeatedly
in his preaching and before important people like Governor
Felix and King Agrippa.
Writing
to new converts in Rome, he stated: "The Gospel of
Christ is the power of God unto salvation..." (1
Corinthians 1:16) The gospel is the power of God.
What an awesome statement.
Paul
was anticipating a visit to Jerusalem and ultimately to
Rome - where he knew he would suffer imprisonment - so he
wrote the epistle to educate, prepare and strengthen the
saints, who would also suffer such a fate for their belief
in Jesus Christ.
Christians
everywhere were being persecuted and undoubtedly, many
believers were afraid to witness their faith publicly or
were ashamed of being a part of a movement that was so
maligned, and that made them a laughing stock before their
peers!
Apparently,
Timothy was feeling the pain of Paul's persecution and
having anxious moments about his own life being so closely
allied to the great Apostle!
 JESUS
DEMANDS TOTAL SURRENDER!
St.
Paul admonished Timothy: "God hath not given us the
spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.
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:
"Who
hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works; but according to His own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began." (2 Timothy 1:7)
"Onesiphorus
oft refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain."
(1 Timothy 1:16) To Church at Philippi, he
wrote: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is
gain." (Philippians 1:21)
Jesus
didn't pull any punches. Jesus didn't make it easy
for people to follow Him. He demanded all or nothing
and because He gave all, He expected His followers to do
the same.
Our
Saviour said: "Whosoever will come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but
whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the
Gospel's, the same shall save it." (Mark 8:34-36)
To
the man who exclaimed: "Lord, I will follow Thee
whithersoever Thou goest", Jesus answered, "The
foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but
the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head."
Our
Lord said to another, "Follow Me", but he said,
"Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my
father." Jesus answered, "Let the
dead bury their dead, but go thou and PREACH the Kingdom
of God."
According
to Jewish tradition, the eldest son had first right to the
inheritance and had to take charge of family matters when
his father died. In this case, the man's father may
have still been alive but he felt it his duty to stay at
home until his passing.
Jesus
had a different view on the matter. His message
is this, if you are called to follow Him and proclaim His
Gospel that trumps other obligations that are not as
important. Even if the man's father was already
dead, others could be assigned to bury him!
In
other words, let those who are spiritually dead bury their
dead and allow those that are spiritually alive to preach
the gospel and save precious souls to Christ!
"And
another also said, Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me
first go bid them farewell which are at home at my house.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to
the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of
God." (Luke 9:57-62)
What
is Jesus teaching us through this? Jesus is serious
about our spiritual life and eternal salvation.
Everything fades into insignificance when you compare
temporal things with the spiritual needs of the
individual. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.
He came to heal the broken hearted and mend sick bodies
and spirits. (Luke 4:18-19)
Nothing
is as important as pleasing God and sharing His mercy and
love to family, friends and neighbors. He stated:
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This
is the first and great commandment. And the second
is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself." (Matthew 22:37-39)
JESUS
IS STILL THE GREAT PHYSICIAN
Jesus
gave His life so that we may live. Jesus is our
Saviour, Redeemer, Deliverer, Healer and Sustainer.
His Gospel is the greatest news our sinful and sick world
could ever hear.
He
stated: "Greater love hath no man than this
that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are
My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."
(John 15:1)
"I
am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of
Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the
Father and I lay down My life for the sheep." (John
10:14-15)
"For
when we were without strength (hopeless), in
due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God
commendeth His love toward us, in that, whole we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6,7)
At
the Council of Nicea in AD 325, ATHANASIUS the intrepid
Champion of the true deity of Jesus Christ vigorously
opposed the spurious attacks of ARIUS and the UNITARIANS
who denied our Saviour's divinity. A wishy-washy
friend warned the great Man of God thusly:
"Have a care Athanasius: The world is against
you!" Athanasius answered: "Then,
I am against the world!"
WHAT
MAKE THE GOSPEL SO POWERFUL?
What
was it about Jesus of Nazareth that so captivated the
apostles and early disciples that they forsook all earthly
conveniences, fortunes and zones of comfort to follow Him,
even to their deaths?
What
impressed Matthew the tax collector, Luke
the physician and Zenas the lawyer, to
forsake all and follow the Master? And what has
inspired millions more down through the last two Millennia
to worship the Lord Jesus Christ as very God and to make
known His name to multitudes everywhere, often at the cost
of their lives?
What
was it that caused Peter and Andrew, Thomas and Bartholomew
to
follow in the footsteps of Jesus? What was it that
caused the proud Pharisee Saul of Tarsus to humble
himself, repent of his folly and become the greatest of
all Gospel preachers, after his encounter with Jesus
Christ on the Damascus Road?
What made this 'Jewish
terrorist' and injurious persecutor of Christians and
blasphemer of Jesus, make this sudden switch?
What
inspired Silas and Timothy, Barnabas
and Apollos, Jude and Agabus,
to pick up the torch of this Evangelical Gospel?
What was the reason that Justin Martyr and Polycarp
declared their faith in Jesus Christ at the cost of their
lives?
What
made John Huss go to his death so that the
Gospel of Christ would not be compromised? What
inspired Bishops Lattimer and Ridley to
shout God's praises and continue to confess Christ from
Papal Rome's Burning Stake?
It
was, my beloved friend, the indisputable, indestructible,
unmistakable call of the Holy Spirit of God upon those
whose love for Jesus Christ and His gospel had become
greater than life itself!
JESUS
CHRIST: GOD INCARNATE
Jesus
stated: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them
and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal
life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave
them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck
them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are
one.
"Say
ye of Him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into
the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son
of God. If I do not the works of My Father, believe
Me not. But, if I do, though ye believe not Me,
believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the
Father is in Me, and I in Him." (John
10:27-29, 36-38)
It
is the amazing truth that Jesus of Nazareth who was born
in a stable in Bethlehem was more than a man. He was
the Eternal Son of God from Heaven and the Creator of all
life. He was God incarnate (God in human flesh).
He
came to earth on a specific mission to redeem Adam's
fallen race from sin, fear, sickness, disease, death and
demons.
JESUS
OF NAZARETH was born to die in order to defeat Satan, the
enemy of our souls. And to rise from the dead,
victorious over death, hell and the grave! Jesus
Christ is truly the Saviour of the world, the Liberator
of sinful man, the Healer of every sickness, the
Emancipator of the human race and the Possessor
of Eternal Life!
Here
is the final victory speech of St. Paul who was personally
recruited by the Lord Jesus Christ to spread His glorious
Gospel across the Gentile world:
"For
I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure
is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall
give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them
also that love His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6)
The
Gospel is the GOOD NEWS of God's unconditional love, unmerited mercy and
prevenient grace toward
lost and perishing humanity. How do I know all this?
God Himself says so. His Holy inerrant Word
proclaims that it is so. And He cannot deny Himself,
change, make a mistake, fail or lie!
 HISTORICAL
RECORD VERIFIES AND CONFIRMS THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND MERCY OF GOD
The
historical record verifies and confirms it. God's
dealings with mankind recorded in sacred as well as
secular writing show His unconditional love for carnal,
lost and ungodly men by providing a way of escape from
Satan the perverted Evil One called Satan the Hater,
Oppressor and Adversary of God and man.
His
greatest mission of unconditional love, overcoming all
barriers of sin, death and judgment was manifested on
Calvary's cross nearly 2,000 years ago when the incarnated
SON of God paid the ransom price for the souls of lost
humanity, meeting the demands of Divine Justice through
His perfect, vicarious and all atoning death and glorious
resurrection from the dead.
He
sought us before we knew Him or even thought of Him!
The songwriter scribbled these words: "When He was
on the cross I was on His mind. He loved me before I
knew Him.." And St. John wrote: "We love
Him because He first loved us." (1 John)
It
is the power of God because it changes those who receive
its life giving message. It not only transforms the
inner man but it heals sick and diseased bodies through
the efficacious power of the shed blood of Jesus that was
given freely for us on Calvary's tree.
THE
RIDDLE OF THE CHANGED CALENDAR
Almost
2,000 years later, Dr. A.U. Michelson, another prominent
Jew wrote in 'The Riddle of the Changed Calendar'
as follows:
"What
mighty earthly monarch decreed and ordained the rise and
fall of the tides? We all know there was none.
It is a decree of nature, of a force not set in
motion by man. Nor could the entire human race do
anything to check its regular flow and ebb.
"Again,
what earthly monarch decreed or commanded, or even
suggested that all civilized peoples should date their
calendars backward and forward, B.C. and A.D. from the
birth of Jesus Christ?"
"History
furnishes no clue to this question; for there never was
such an edict; no such suggestion ever came from the lips
or the pen of any world potentate. Each human ruler
would much prefer to impose upon the face of history a
date system whereby some great deed or victory of his own
should forever be commemorated. Such futile attempts
were repeatedly made; some even simultaneously with the
slow, but inexorable, forward march of the Christian
calendar."
"The
most notable attempt in modern days to find a new starting
point for civilized time was that undertaken by France in
1793. This revolutionary calendar fell with the
cause it represented. It lasted just thirteen years,
and its only legacy to history is the tangle of dates
which confuses the record of these thirteen years."
"Ancient
history also is strewn with these forgotten way marks of
time - Babylonian Eponyms, Greek Olympiads, Roman
Consulates. For centuries before the birth of
Christ, the letters A.U.C. designated the founding of that
great city, And, yet when, and by whom, was it decreed
that the letter A.U.C. should give place to A.D. and B.C.?
No imperial edict forced this change; yet all civilized
time bears the signature of Jesus Christ. How did
this come to pass? Again history is mute in answer
to this question."
"Who
is the person to whom the whole civilized world gives
daily recognition?"
He
was a humble inhabitant of an obscure town in a small
province of the then existing Roman Empire. His
public life was short. He wrote no book. He
overthrew no government. He left no great band of
highly influential followers. In fact, after three
years of pedestrian itineraries, He was put to death as a
criminal. His followers, few and humble, forsook Him
and fled.
To
reject the claims of Jesus as being equal with God, as
being God the Son, the very almanac of the modern world is
an incredible absurdity.
If
a jury of historians had to explain, on purely historical
grounds, the letters A.D. and B.C. which now serve
universally as the point from which civilized time is
reckoned, they must report that "some force",
mysterious in origin, and independent of human will, but
with range and energy sufficient to affect all civilized
nations, and persistent enough to run through all the
centuries, has "somehow" put the impress of
Christ's hand on all history.
What
possible explanation is there for this enigma?
Here
is a man of the darkest age of the world. He lived
in a subject province. He never wrote a sentence
that has been preserved. He died when He had
scarcely reached manhood; and He died cast out by His own
race, and abandoned by His scanty band of followers.
And
yet, twenty centuries after He hung upon a cross, His
birth is accepted by believers and unbelievers alike, at
the point from which all centuries are dated. Every
morning all the newspapers of the world, even though some
are impregnated with hatred and ridicule of Jesus Christ,
adjust their dates to His cradle. The very dates on
our cheques and letters, all governmental records, all
legal documents, all literature, yes, all are
unconsciously a testimony to the birth of Jesus Christ.
There
can be but one explanation for this riddle of the 'Changed
Calendar.' It is that He who hung upon that Roman
cross, was, at He claimed, more than a man, that he was,
in fact, God incarnate. God in the person of His Son
- Himself the Creator of Time. And this Lord of
Creation performed upon that cross a far mightier work
than all human achievements put together - namely, the
redemption of the human race; available to all who will
believe and receive Him as Redeemer and Lord.
DEATH BED CONFESSION OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
Frederick
W. Kates, writing in The Churchman says,
"It is hardly to such a man as Napoleon Bonaparte one
would turn for spiritual enlightenment: but it is
interesting indeed to note what he said about Jesus of
Nazareth and the Christian Religion"."I
see in Lycurgus, Numa, and Mohammed only
legislators who, having the first rank in the state, have
sought the best solution of the social problem"; said
Napoleon, "but I see nothing there which reveals
divinity ... nothing announces them divine. On the
contrary, there are numerous resemblances between them and
myself, foibles and errors which ally them to me and to
humanity."
"It
is not so with Christ", he continued in this
conversation with General Bertrand, one of his companions
during the twilight days of his meteoric career.
"I
search in vain in history to find the equal of Jesus
Christ, beyond the march of events and above the human
mind."
"Everything
in Him astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and
His will confounds me. Between Him and whoever else
in the world, there is no possible term of comparison.
He is truly a Being by Himself. His ideals and
His sentiments, the truths which He announces, His manner
of convincing, are not explained either by human
organization or by the nature of things."
"His
birth, and the history of His life; the profundity of His
doctrine, which grapples the mightiest difficulties, and
which is, of those difficulties, the most admirable
solution; His Gospel, His apparition, His empire, His
march across the ages, and the realms, is for me a
prodigy, a mystery insoluble, which plunges me into a
reverence which I cannot escape, a mystery which is there
before my yes, a mystery which I cannot deny or explain.
Here I see nothing human."
"The
nearer I approach, the more carefully I examine,
everything is above me, everything remains grand - or a
grandeur which overpowers."
"His
religion is a revelation from an intelligence which
certainly is not that of man. There is a
profound originality, which has created a series of words
and of maxims before unknown. Jesus borrowed nothing
from our sciences. One can absolutely find nowhere,
but in Him alone, the imitation or the example of His
life."
In
another place Napoleon wrote: "I know men;
and I tell you that Jesus is not a man. Superficial
minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of
empires, and the gods of other regions. That
resemblance does not exist. There is between
Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of
infinity...."
Napoleon
states his conception of the Christian religion in the
following words when he says it is "neither ideology
nor metaphysics, but a practical rule which directs the
actions of man, corrects him, counsels him, and assists
him in all his conduct."
"The
Bible contains a complete series of facts and historical
men, to explain time and eternity, such as no other
religion has to offer. If this is not the true
religion, one is very excusable in being deceived for
everything in it is grand and worthy of God.
Referring
to Christ's empire and His Church in contrast to his own
passing fame and glory, Napoleon who has been described as
the "world's greatest traveling man of
slaughter" said:
"You
speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests, and of
the enthusiasm they enkindled in the hearts of their
soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making
conquests with an army faithful and entirely devoted to
his memory? My armies have forgotten me, even while
living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal.
Such is our power!"
"Such
is the history of the invasion and conquest of the world
by Christianity. Such is the power of God of the
Christians; and such is the perpetual miracle of the
progress of the Faith and the government of His Church.
Nations pass away, thrones crumble, but the church remain.
What is, then, the power which has protected this church,
thus assailed by the furious billows of rage and the
hostility of ages? Whose is the arm which for
eighteen hundred years, has protected the church from so
many storms which have threatened to engulf it?"
"Alexander,
Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires. But
on what did we rest the creations of our genius?
Upon force! Jesus Christ alone founded His Empire
upon love; and, at this hour, millions of men would die
for Him."
Then,
and rather pathetically, the great Napoleon remarked to
his companion: "We are mere lead now, General
Bertrand, and soon I shall be in my grave. Such is
the fate of great men! So it was with Caesar
and Alexander, and I, too, am forgotten, and the
name of a conqueror and an emperor is a college
theme."
"Behold
the destiny, near at hand, of him who has been called the
great Napoleon! What an abyss between my deep misery
and the eternal reign of Christ, which is proclaimed,
loved, adored, and which is extending over all the earth!
Is this to die? Is it not rather to live? The
death of Christ - it is the death of God!"
TO GOD THE FATHER BE GLORY - THROUGH
JESUS CHRIST OUR
LORD
St.
John the Apostle had been exiled to tohe Island called
Patmos for his testimony about Jesus Christ. It was while
he was serving his sentence there, that he was visited by
the Eternal living and resurrected Son of God in all His
glory.
At
the very presence of the Glorified Christ, John fell at
His feet as dead but Jesus laid His hand upon him, saying:
"Fear not; I am in the first and the last:
I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive
forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of
death." (Revelation 1:17, 18) To God be
all the Honour, Praise and Glory forever and ever.
Amen.
JESUS CHRIST DIED
on
the
CROSS
FOR YOU
by: Pastor Max
Solbrekken, D.D.
2000
YEARS AGO, ON AN OLD RUGGED CROSS, AT A PLACE CALLED
GOLGOTHA, JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU
Yes,
my friend, Jesus died for you nearly 2000 years ago on a
rugged cross outside Jerusalem's city wall, at a place
called 'Golgotha'.
NOW
THAT IS REAL LOVE
It
was the greatest expression of love and the greatest price
ever paid for anything! When Jesus paid the supreme
penalty - His life's blood - He purchased eternal life for
every human being who would accept this wonderful gift.
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)
God loved the world so dearly - that’s you and me
- that He sent Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our
sins and purchase our freedom!
All
I had to do to receive this wonderful gift of salvation
was to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to receive Him
into my heart by faith, turn from my evil ways and live
for Him by His strength and grace. That's all you
have to do to be saved, as well! If you accept Jesus
Christ and His gift of love, you will never be sorry.
THE
GIFT OF SALVATION IS ABSOLUTELY FREE
Here's
something else - This gift is absolutely
free! In
fact, you couldn't buy it if you wanted to.
The Bible says: "For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it
is the gift of God: not
of works, lest any man should boast."
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
You do not pay for a gift!
All that is necessary to receive a gift, is to
accept it! God
gave His Son to die on the cross and Jesus died willingly.
He died that we might live.
Hallelujah.
The
Bible says, "But
God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us."
(Romans
5:8)
WHY
DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE ?
My
friend, that is real love.
You ask, "WHY
DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE"?
It
was because of your sin and mine.
God is so holy, righteous and pure that He could
not look upon sin, and our sins had separated us from God!
The
prophet declared, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not
shortened, that it cannot save: neither His ear heavy,
that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have
separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid
His face from you, that He will not hear." (Isaiah
59:1-2)
Because
of man's rebellion, we became partakers of Satan's penalty
and were consigned to an eternal death!
GOD
DOESN'T
WANT PEOPLE TO GO TO HELL, SO HE MADE A WAY OF ESCAPE
FOR US ALL!
A
law in God's
Word stated: "Without
the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sins".
(Hebrews 9:22).
In other words, innocent blood had to be shed!
Jesus had to die so that everyone who accepts God’s
promise could be forgiven.
WITHOUT
THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD - THERE IS NO REMISSION FOR SINS
When
Jesus died, He poured out His precious blood for the sins
of the whole world! And
all who receive His Word can be free, cleansed from their
sins and pardoned of their guilt!
The Word of God states:
"And
the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all
sins."
(1 John 1:7,9)
But
you say, "I
do not feel I am too bad a sinner.
Why must I be saved?"
The Bible says,
"All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
(Romans 3:23) "All
we like sheep have gone astray and the Lord hath laid upon
Him the iniquity of us all."
(Isaiah 53:6)
THERE
IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE
The
Bible says: "There
is none righteous; no, not one."
(Romans
3:10)
“If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the
truth is not in us”. (1 John 1:8)
By
now, you will sense the need to be forgiven of your sins.
The Bible says:
"If
we confess our sins (to
God),
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
(1
John 1:9)
 YOU
MAY FEEL YOU ARE TOO WICKED FOR MERCY
You
may feel you are too wicked to find mercy, but listen to the words
of Jesus: "Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise
cast out." (John 6:37) And in Luke 19:10: "I
am come to seek and to save that which was lost."
JESUS
CAME TO SEEK AND SAVE THOSE WHO ARE LOST
You
may think, "I
could never live a Christian life, because I have no power."
You
are right. You
cannot live a Christian life in your own strength, but God
will give you the needed power.
The Bible says, "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
CHRIST IS OUR HOPE & OUR STRENGTH
When
you invite Jesus Christ into your heart, He will be your
strength. Your life will be changed and God will
give you direction and purpose, ever leading in the way of
truth.
If
you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart Christ is risen - you are saved and never
forget, GOD CARES ABOUT YOU! 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: buot 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.”
(Luke 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.
-
Powerful AUDIO Bible sermons/messages
by: Pastor Max Solbrekken
- click on
message to listen -
Bible
Scriptures verses about
 death
crucifixion of Jesus Christ, resurrection of Jesus Christ, Easter
(King James Version
-KJV)
Isaiah
7:14 - (kjv) - "Behold,
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Emanuel." Luke
1:35 - (kjv) - "...the
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest
shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Galatians
4:4 - (kjv) - "But
when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His
Son..." John
5:24 - (kjv) - 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. Matthew
26:49-50 - (kjv) - "And forthwith he came to
Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed Him. And Jesus said unto
him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid
hands on Jesus, and took Him away." Matthew
26:55-56 - (kjv) - "In
that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as
against a thief with swords and staves for to take Me? I sat daily
with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on Me. But
all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be
fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook Him, and fled." Matthew
26:2 - (kjv) - "Ye know that after two days
is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be
crucified." Matthew
27:3-10 - (kjv) - "Then
Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned,
repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to
the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have
betrayed innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see
thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple,
and departed, and went and hanged himself." "And
the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not
lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price
of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's
field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The
field of blood, unto this day." "Then
was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him that
was valued, Whom they of the children of Israel did value; And
gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me." Matthew
28:1-10 - (kjv) - In
the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day
of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the
sepulcher. And,
behold there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord
descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the
door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his
raiment white as snow: And
for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And
the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I
know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for
He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the
dead, and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall
ye see Him: lo, I have told you. And
they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy;
and did run to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell
His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they
came and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him." Then
said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell My brethren that they
go into Galilee, and there shall they see Me. Luke
13:3 - (kjv) - I
tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish. Acts
17:30 - (kjv) - At
the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commanded all
men every where to repent: Acts
3:19 - (kjv) - Repent
ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the
Lord; 1
John 1:9 - (kjv) - If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our]
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Revelation
2:5 - (kjv) - Remember
therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the
first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will
remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Acts
2:38 - (kjv) - Then Peter
said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 2
Peter 3:9 - (kjv) - The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Mark
1:15 - (kjv) - And
saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2
Corinthians 7:9 - (kjv) - Now
I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to
repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye
might receive damage by us in nothing. Matthew
3:2 - (kjv) - And
saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Joel
2:13 - (kjv) - And rend
your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your
God: for he [is] gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of
great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Jeremiah
18:8 - (kjv) - If that
nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I
will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. Revelation
3:19 - (kjv) - As
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and
repent. Matthew
4:17 - (kjv) - From
that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jonah
3:10 - (kjv) - And God saw
their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God
repented of the evil, that he had said he would not do unto them;
and he did [it] not. Acts
20:21 - (kjv) - Testifying
both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God,
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts
8:22 - (kjv) - Repent
therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the
though of thine heart may be forgiven thee. Jonah
3:9 - (kjv) - Who
can tell [if] God will turn and repent, and turn away from his
fierce anger, that we perish not? 2
Timothy 2:25 - (kjv) - In
meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the
truth; Mark
1:4 - (kjv) - John
did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of
repentance for the remission of sins. Hebrews
12:17 - (kjv) - For ye know
how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he
was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he
sought it carefully with tears. Romans
2:4 - (kjv) - Or despisest
thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering;
not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Acts
26:20 - (kjv) - But
shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and
throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and [then] to the Gentiles,
that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for
repentance. Luke
3:3 - (kjv) - I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke
3:3 - (kjv) - And
he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins; Mark
6:12 - (kjv) - And
they went out, and preached that men should repent. Mark
2:7 - (kjv) - When Jesus
heard [it], he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need
of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew
27:3 - (kjv) - Then Judas,
which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned,
repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to
the chief priests and elders, Matthew
9:13 - (kjv) - But
go ye and learn what [that] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance. John
6:50 - (kjv) - This
is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat
thereof, and not die. Matthew
6:13 - (kjv) - And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen. Isaiah
57:15 - (kjv) - For thus saith
the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name [is]
Holy; I dwell in the high and holy [place], with him also [that
is] of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the
humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Philippians
1:23 - (kjv) - For
I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be
with Christ; which is far better: Romans
6:23 - (kjv) - For
the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Galatians
6:8 - (kjv) - For he that soweth
to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that
soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Jeremiah
10:10 - (kjv) - But the
LORD [is] the true God, he [is] the living God, and an everlasting
king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall
not be able to abide his indignation. Psalms
90:2 - (kjv) - Before
the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the
earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou
[art] God. Psalms
72:17 - (kjv) - His
name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as
the sun: and [men] shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call
him blessed. Psalms
41:13 - (kjv) - Blessed
[be] the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting.
Amen, and Amen. Matthew
5:8 - Blessed
are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Matthew
5:12 - Rejoice,
and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so
persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew
5:20 - For
I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew
6:20 -
But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal. Matthew
8:11 - And I say unto you, That
many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with
Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew
13:30 - Let both grow together until the harvest: and
in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye
together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them:
but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew
13:43 - Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who
hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew
13:49 - So shall it be at
the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the
wicked from among the just. Matthew
18:10 - Take heed that ye despise
not one of these little ones: for I say unto you, That in heaven
their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in
heaven. Matthew
19:21 - Jesus said unto him, If
thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow
me. Matthew
22:30 - For in the resurrection
they neither marry; nor are given in marriage, but are as the
angels of God in heaven. Matthew
25:34 - Then shall the King say
unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world: Matthew
25:46 - And these shall go away
into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Luke
10:20 - Notwithstanding in this
rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather
rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Luke
12:8 -
Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him
shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God. Luke
12:32 - Fear not, little flock;
for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke
12:33 - Sell that ye have, and
give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure
in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth,
neither moth corrupteth. Luke
15:6 - And when he cometh home,
he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them,
Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. Luke
15:7 - I say unto you, that
likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,
more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no
repentance. Luke
15:10 - Likewise, I say unto you,
there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
that repenteth. Luke
15:32 - It was meet that we
should make merry, and be glad for this thy brother was dead, and
is alive again, and was lost, and is found. Luke
16:22 - And it came to pass, that
the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; Luke
20:34 - And Jesus answering said
unto them, The child of this world marry, and are given in
marriage: Luke
20:35 - But they which shall be
accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from
the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Luke
20:36 - Neither can they die any
more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of
God, being the children of the resurrection. Luke
22:29 - And I appoint unto you a
kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; Luke
22:30 - That ye may eat and drink
at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve
tribes of Israel. Luke
23:43 - And Jesus said unto him,
Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. John
5:28 - Marvel not at this: for
the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall
hear his voice, John
5:28 - And shall come forth; they
that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that
have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. John
10:28 - And I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand. John
12:26 - If any man serve me, let
him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if
any man serve me, him will my Father honour. John
13:26 - Simon Peter said unto
him, Lord, whither goes thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I
go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me
afterwards. John
14:2 - In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not
so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John
14:3 -
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John
17:22 - And the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are
one. John
17:24 -
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me
where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. Acts
7:55 - But he, being full of the
Holy Ghost, look up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, Acts
7:56 - And said, Behold, I see
the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand
of God. Romans
5:17 - For if by one man's
offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in
life by one, Jesus Christ. 2
Corinthians 5:1 - For we know
that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens. 2
Corinthians 12:2 - I knew a man
in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot
tell, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
such an one caught up to the third heaven. 2
Corinthians 2:3 - And I knew such
a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell:
God knoweth;) 2
Corinthians 2:4 - How that he was
caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is
not lawful for a man to utter. Ephesians
1:18 - The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope
of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints, Colossians
1:5 - For the hope which is laid
up for you in heaven; whereof ye heard before in the word of the
truth of the gospel; Colossians
1:6 - Which is come unto you, as
it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also
in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in
truth. Colossians
1:12 - Giving thanks unto the
Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light. Colossians
3:4 - When Christ, who is our
life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 1
Thessalonians 2:12 - That ye
would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and
glory. 1
Thessalonians 4:17 - Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever
be with the Lord. 11
Thessalonians 1:7 - And to
you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall
be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. 11
Thessalonians 2:14 - Whereunto he
called you by our gospel, to the obtaining the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Hebrews
10:34 - For ye had compassion of
me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods,
knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an
enduring substance. Hebrews
11:16 - But now they desire a
better country, that is, an heavenly : wherefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a
city. Hebrews
12:22 - But ye are come unto
mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. Hebrews
12:23 - To the general assembly
and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to
God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, Hebrews
12:24 - And to Jesus the mediator
of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh
better things than that of Abel. Hebrews
12:28 - Wherefore we receiving a
kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may
serve God acceptably: with reverence and godly fear. Hebrews
13:14 - For here have we no
continuing city, but we seek one to come. 1
Peter 1:4 - To an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled; and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you, 2
Peter 1:11 - For so an entrance
shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2
Peter 3:13 - Nevertheless we,
according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness. Revelation
2:7 - He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the
midst of the paradise of God. Revelation
3:21 - To him that overcometh
will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame,
and am set down with my Father in his throne. Revelation
4:4 - And round about the throne
were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and
twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on
their heads crowns of gold. Revelation
5:9 - And they sung a new song,
saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals
thereof for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy
blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. Revelation
7:9 - After this I beheld, and,
lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne,
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands.  Bible
Scriptures verses on Values, morals
Moral & values taught by
Jesus Christ
(King
James Version)
Matthew
6:24 - (kjv) - No man can
serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the
other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Acts
20:35 - (kjv) - I have shewed you
all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak,
and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is
more blessed to give than to receive. Luke
6:32 - (kjv) - For if ye
love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also
love those than love them. Romans
14:1
- (kjv) - Him
that is weak in the faith receive ye [but] not to doubtful
disputations. Mark
11:25
- (kjv) - And
when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that
your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your
trespasses. Leviticus
19:18
- (kjv) - Thou
shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy
people, but thoo shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I [am] the
LORD. Leviticus
19:9-10 - (kjv) - And when ye
reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the
corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of
thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither
shall thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave
them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God. Colossians
3:12-14
- (kjv) - Put
on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels
of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have
a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of
perfectness. 2
Timothy 3:16
- (kjv) - All
scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: Colossians
3:1 - (kjv) - If ye then be risen
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ
sitteth on the right hand of God Philippians
3:18-19 -
(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you
even weeping, [that they are] the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Philippians
3:1 -
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same
things to you, to me indeed [is] not grievous, but for you [it is]
safe. Ephesians
5:5 -
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor
covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians
5:1-7 -
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; Ephesians
4:32 -
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians
4:1-6 -
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, Galatians
6:7-8 -
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. Romans
14:10-12 -
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at
nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment
seat of Christ. Romans
13:1 -
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no
power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Romans
12:2 -
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans
12:1 -
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
[which is] your reasonable service.
Romans
3:23 -
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
John
8:1-8 -
Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
John
3:17 -
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 -
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
2:3-6 -
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him,
They have no wine.
John
1:8 -
He was not that Light, but [was sent] to bear witness of that
Light.
John
1:1 -
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.
Luke
16:13 -
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one,
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise
the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke
10:25-28 -
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying,
Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Matthew
1:16 (kjv) - And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Matthew
1:18 (kjv) - Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on the wise: When
as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came
together, we was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Matthew
27:22 (kjv) - Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with
Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be
crucified. Mark
1:1 (kjv) - The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son
of God. Mark
12:35 (kjv) - And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the
temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? John
1:17 (kjv) - For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ. John
17:3
(kjv) - And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John
20:31
(kjv) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name. Acts
2:36
(kjv) Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that
God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord
and Christ. Acts
2:38
- Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts
3:6
(kjv) - Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as
I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise
up and walk. Acts
3:20
(kjv) - And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached
unto you. Acts
4:10 (kjv)
- Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that
by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom
God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here
before you whole. Acts
5:42
(kjv) - And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased
not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Acts
8:12
(kjv) - And when they believed Philip preaching the things
concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they
were baptized, both men and women. Acts
8:37
(kjv) - And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart,
thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Acts
9:34
(kjv) - And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee
whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.
CONTACT
INFORMATION
For further spiritual counsel,
prayer or gospel literature, please contact us!
www.mswm.org
www.maxsolbrekken.com
email: max @maxsolbrekken.com Max
Solbrekken World Mission, PO Box 44220, RPO Garside, Edmonton,
AB T5V 1N6 (780) 460-8444
The House of Prayer, New Sarepta, AB (780)-941-2372
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