HOW TO HAVE
POWER
OVER
THE DEVIL!
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
For
the past 40 years, I have
had the privilege of
counselling people who
have written, telephoned
or approached me privately
regarding family and
personal problems or other
crisis, in which they were
deeply involved!
People
often call, muttering on
the other end of the line,
“Why did I do it? What makes me drink? I've got to pull myself
together. I'm losing my
mind”.
They often end up
by saying, “I
hadn't planned to do it,
Pastor.
What went wrong”?
Or they might say, “The
devil made me do it, yes
the devil made me do
it”!
A
number of years ago a
Hollywood
comedian got a lot of
laughs out of his
supposedly funny quip, “The Devil Made Me Do It”. That
doesn't seem so funny
anymore, after the movies
that have stirred
millions, like Rosemary's
Baby, The Exorcist and The
Omen.
The
Boston
Strangler, the Son
of Sam, the Hillside Strangler, Charles
Manson and the Sharon
Tate killings, together
with ritualistic killings
by the occultists and
devil worshippers have
proved that!
Homosexual
serial killers like
John W. Gacey, who
sodomized and murdered 33
young men, and Jeffrey
Dahmer who ate the
flesh of some of the 17 that
he sodomized and killed,
have left a solemn imprint
on us all, regarding the
devil's ability to make
people do his bidding!
The Bible states
that some people are led
by the devil, to do evil
things. Those,
however, who are taken
captive by him – at
his will - are able to
extricate themselves
from his evil grasp by
calling upon Jesus
Christ and trusting in
His shed blood for the
redemption of their
souls! (2 Tim. 2:26)
Some
time ago a Protestant
denomination spent in
excess of one million
dollars to investigate and
research the topic of
demons and other related
matters.
After a year of
studies they came up with
the conclusion that there
is no devil.
Here is their
reasoning: “If they would preach that there is a personal devil, people might
become disturbed
emotionally, so it's
better to do away with the
doctrine that there is a
personal devil”.
How arrogant, ignorant, unconscionable, dishonest and
unbiblical!
Beloved,
you can rely on God's Word
and the truth is that
there is indeed a very
alive, real, personal
devil that is the enemy of
God and man.
This however, does
not disturb the children
of God, because the Bible
says: “Greater
is He that is in you, than
he that is in the
world”. (1 John 4:4)
This
Scripture offers great
comfort to multiplied
millions of Christians!
Our faith in Jesus puts
the devil on notice, that
we are off-limit to his
insidious attacks and that
we have the authority to
disrupt his plans and
purposes!
He
has absolutely no power
over us when our faith is
in Christ, for Jesus said:
“Behold
I give unto you power to
tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all
the power of the enemy:
and nothing shall
by any means hurt you”.
(Luke 10:19)
The
Bible says: “Submit
yourselves therefore
unto God.
Resist the devil,
and he will flee from
you.” (James 4:7).
As the demons
were afraid of Jesus and
fled when He commanded
them to go, they must
also obey us when we
speak with faith and
authority in the name of
Jesus.
The demons
screamed out, “Let
us alone, what have we
to do with Thee, Thou
Jesus of
Nazareth
? Art
Thou come to destroy us?
I know Thee who
Thou art, the Holy One
of God. Art Thou come
hither to torment us
before our time”?
(Mark
1:24
)
You
may say: “But that was
Jesus”!
True!
How about a
Spirit-filled deacon by
the name of Philip who
went down to
Samaria
and preached Christ to
them? Philip had such a
great revival that the
entire city came to hear
him preach and multitudes
received the Lord Jesus: “For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that
were possessed with them:
and many taken with
palsies, and that were
lame, were healed”.
(Acts 8:7)
The
Holy Record reports that
the devil’s power was
broken and evil spirits
had to surrender to the
commands of a
Spirit-filled servant of
God!
No wonder Philip
had such power over Satan.
Jesus had promised: “And
these signs shall follow
them that believe; In My
name shall they cast out
devils”. (Mark
16:17
)
SPIRIT
OF DIVINATION
A
fortune - teller troubled
Paul and Silas in the city
of
Philippi
for
several days.
After the spirit of
divination was discerned
and cast out of her by
St.
Paul
,
she was unable to continue
‘telling fortunes’.
Paul and Silas were
jailed and bound in a
dungeon, but God sent an
earthquake to set them
free. And the jailer was
converted through this
great miracle!
“And
it came to pass, as we
went to prayer, a
certain damsel possessed
with a spirit of
divination met us,
which brought her masters
much gain by soothsaying:
The same followed
Paul and us, and cried,
saying, These men are the
servants of the most High
God, which show unto us
the way of salvation.
And this did she
many days.
But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee
in the name of Jesus
Christ to come out of her.
And he came out the
same hour.” (Acts
16:16-18)
The
Scripture says: “And
God wrought special
miracles by the hands of
Paul.
So that from his
body were brought unto
the sick, handkerchiefs
and aprons, and the
diseases departed from
them, and the evil
spirits went out of
them”. (Acts 19:11-12)
When
the exorcists heard of
St.
Paul
’s
success in casting out
demons in Jesus’ name,
seven sons of a certain
religious man tried
unsuccessfully to
duplicate that miracle!
“Then
certain of the vagabond
Jews, Exorcists, took upon
them to call over them
which had evil spirits the
name of the Lord Jesus,
saying, We adjure you by Jesus Whom Paul preacheth.
And there were
seven sons of one Sceva, a
Jew, and chief of the
priests, which did so.
And the evil spirit
answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know: but
who are ye?
And the man in whom
the evil spirit was leaped
on them, and overcame
them, and prevailed
against them, so that they
fled out of that house
naked and wounded.
And this was known
to all the Jews and Greeks
also dwelling at
Ephesus
;
and fear fell on them all,
and the name of the Lord
Jesus was magnified.”
(Acts 19:13-17)
The
evil spirit within this
possessed man cried out to
the seven sons of Sceva,
“Jesus I know, and Paul
I know; but who are ye”?
The original Greek
actually reads:
“Jesus
I know, and Paul I am
beginning to know”.
Word had spread
through the devil's
kingdom, and demons
everywhere were talking
about Paul’s revivals.
They knew Jesus and they
were beginning to know
Paul, but who were these
seven sons of Sceva?
They had no faith
in God; they had no
standing of righteousness,
and the devil would not
obey them!
The
Bible records: “And
when He (Jesus) had called
unto Him His twelve
disciples, He gave them
power against unclean
spirits, to cast them out,
and to heal all manner of
sickness and all manner of
disease”. (Matt.
10:1)
The Scripture
declares that not only do
we have power against
unclean spirits, but we
also have power over
them. (Mark 6:7)
Our
Lord Jesus gave the
apostles power to cast out
devils:
“As ye go,
preach, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is at
hand.
Heal
the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead,
cast out devils:
freely ye have
received, freely give”.
(Matt. 10:7-8)
The Holy Record
states: “And
they cast out many devils,
and anointed with oil many
that were sick, and healed
them”. (Mark
6:13
)
JESUS
GAVE THE SEVENTY
HIS
POWER TO CAST OUT DEVILS!
“After
these things the Lord
appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two
and two before His face
into every city and place,
whither He Himself would
come.” (Luke 10:1) The
Bible says that they
returned with great joy,
and said: “Lord,
even the devils are
subject unto us through
Thy name.” (Luke
10:17)
To this Jesus
answered: “I
beheld Satan as lightning
fall from heaven”.
(Luke 10:18)
Jesus was saying:
“I was there when the
devil was defeated; I saw
him cast out of heaven; I
saw him fall as lightning
to the earth.
I saw his power
broken and his works
destroyed”.
We also have power over the devil.
We have power over
and against him!
The Bible says that
we shall tread on serpents
and scorpions, and have
power over all the power
of the enemy and nothing
shall hurt us! (Luke
10:19) Satan had to obey
when Jesus spoke to him!
Demons screamed out
in terror when Jesus came
near.
The devils trembled
and feared and obeyed the
command of the Master! He
must also obey us, when we
use the name of Jesus in
faith!
JESUS
CAME TO DESTROY SATAN'S
WORK!
The
Bible says:
“As He is, so are we in
this world”. (1 John
4:17)
Now!
We have His power
today! “Now are we the sons of God”. (1 John 3:2)
We are children of
God, heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus
Christ.
“And
if children, then heirs;
heirs of God, and
joint-heirs with Christ;
if so be that we suffer
with Him, that we may be
also glorified
together.” (Rom.
8:17
)
No
wonder Jesus said: “He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
greater works than these
shall he do; because I go
unto My Father.”
(John 14:12)
Yes, my beloved
friend, you and I as
Christians have power over
the devil. We have been
given power against
the devil and have the
authority to bind him, to
cast him out and to
destroy his works!
The
Bible says: “How God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and
with power; Who went about
doing good, and
healing all that were
oppressed of the devil;
for God was with Him”.
(Acts
10:38
) Jesus
said: “The thief (Satan)
cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to
destroy; I
am come that they might
have life, and that they
might have it more
abundantly”. (John
10:10)
No wonder
St.
John
stated: “For
this purpose the Son of
God was manifested, that
He might destroy the works
of the devil”. (1
John 3:8)
Not only did Jesus come to this earth to destroy the
works of the devil, but
to destroy Satan
himself! The writer to
the Hebrews (probably
St. Paul) states
unequivocally:
“Forasmuch then as the
children are partakers
of flesh and blood, He
also Himself likewise
took part of the same;
that through DEATH
He might DESTROY
him that had the power
of death, that is the DEVIL; And to DELIVER them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to
bondage.” (Heb. 2:
14,15)
Satan
is the hated enemy of God
and man, but our Lord has
given His children power
over him.
The Scripture says:
“There
shall no evil befall thee,
neither shall any plague
come nigh unto thy
dwelling”. Jesus
declared: "Nothing
shall by any means hurt
you"; “That
wicked one cometh and hath
nothing in Me”.
St.
Paul
said, “Sin
shall not have dominion
over you”.
And our Lord
stated, “I give unto you power over all the power of the enemy”. By the
power of the Holy Spirit
and in Jesus’ name, we
have been given power
against all unclean
spirits, to cast them out!
SATAN
IS POWERLESS OVER US!
The
Bible does not say that
Satan has power over us;
to put diseases upon us,
to make us fearful, to
hurt us or to injure us.
A thousand times
NO!
The Bible says: “Submit
yourselves therefore to
God.
Resist the devil,
and he will flee from us.”
(James 4:7); “The
devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour. Whom
resist steadfast in the
faith.” (1 Peter
5:8, 9) Jesus said: “I
have overcome the
world”. (John 16:33)
St.
Paul
declared: “Nay,
in all things we are more
than conquerors through
Him that loved us”.
(Rom.
8:37
)
The Apostle to the
Gentiles cried out: “I
can do all things through
Christ, which
strengtheneth me”.
(Phil. 4:13)
The
Word of God says:
“Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or
distress, or
persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril,
or sword?
Nay, in all these
things we are more than
conquerors through Him
that loved us.
For I am
persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor
angels, nor
principalities, nor
powers, nor things
present, nor things to
come, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able
to separate us from the
love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our
Lord.” (
Rom.
8:35-39)
The
Bible speaks of Satan’s
total defeat: “At
the name of Jesus, every
knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under
the earth; And that every
tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the
Father.” (Phil.
2:10-11)
Praise God!
Jesus called the
devil Satan, which means
the ADVERSARY,
and Satan is the adversary
of God and the adversary
of man.
He
is our greatest enemy!
Satan is
responsible for sin,
sickness, disease, fear,
depression, torment and
death.
He conspired
against God.
He led a revolt
against the Almighty.
He is indeed the
adversary.
St. Peter said: “Be
sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour”.
(1 Peter 5:8)
The
Scripture tells us about a
man who planted good seed
in a field and in the
morning, tares had sprung
up among the wheat.
The husbandman
said: “An
enemy hath done this”.
(Matt. 13:28) SATAN
IS THAT ENEMY!
Yes, my beloved
friend, the devil is your
enemy!
He works through
the flesh, through the
world and through his evil
emissaries, the demons.
Satan is highly
organized; he seeks to
defeat the purposes of God
even though he knows he
has no chance of
succeeding, for he has
been defeated!
On
Calvary
's
cross Jesus cried, “It
is finished.” (John
19:30) The Greek word that
Jesus used is tetelestai.
That means that the work
of Christ to redeem lost
humanity had been
completed!
Jesus
cried out “Tetelestai”,
bowed His head and gave up
the ghost.
At that moment the
veil in the temple in
Jerusalem
was torn from its top to
the bottom, opening the
way to God through His
Son’s vicarious death on
the cross. The word
‘tetelstai’ comes from
a Greek verb teleo, which
has three essential
meanings:
1)
To
finish something
2)
To
fulfill something
3)
To
pay what is owed
Jesus
Christ had just completed
the plan of the ages, the
salvation of the human
race.
He had fulfilled
every Old Testament
Scripture that the
prophets had written about
the coming Messiah, and He
had paid our sin debt in
full so, that we could be
saved!
Three
days and three nights
later, God
raised Jesus Christ from
the dead for our
justification, and forever
sealed the doom of the
devil in the lake of fire!
(Acts 2:31-32;
3:14
-15;
4:1, 10; Rom. 1:4)
The
battle we are fighting is
not carnal! It is not a
natural, ordinary battle,
but is of a spiritual
nature.
We
have God’s weapons and
His power over the devil!
“For the weapons
of our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty through
God to the pulling down of
strongholds; Casting down
imaginations, and every
high thing that exalteth
itself against the
knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity
every thought to the
obedience of Christ.” (2
Cor.10:4)
We
have power over the devil
(Luke
10:19
)
because we are ambassadors
of the
kingdom
of
God
.
(2 Cor.5:20)
We are servants
of the living God;
(Rom.
6:22
)
sons
and daughters of God;
(2 Cor.6:18) heirs
and joint-heirs with
Christ. (Rom.
8:17
)
We are bone
of Jesus' bone and flesh
of His flesh; (Eph.
5:30
)
our
bodies are the temples of
the Holy Ghost, (1
Cor.6:19) and we are members
of the body of Christ!
(1 Cor.12:27)
Sin does not
have dominion over us!
(Rom.
6:14
)
Satan does not have power over us! We
have power over the
flesh, the world and the
devil, because we are
God’s people! We are
God’s children! (Gal.3: 26)
As He is, so are we in
this world! (1 John 4:17) The Bible
states that the ‘Old
Man’ is dead and that
we are “hid with
Christ in God”! (Col. 3:3)
The Scriptures reveal that there are demons who work against
God’s purposes, as well
as His children:
“Then said he
unto me, Fear not, Daniel:
for from the first
day that thou didst set
thine heart to understand,
and to chasten thyself
before thy God, thy words
were heard, and I am come
for thy words.
“But
the prince of the
kingdom
of
Persia
withstood me one and twenty days:
but, lo, Michael,
one of the chief princes
came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of
Persia
.
(Dan. 10:12-13)
I believe that
Satan is highly
organized and has some
powerful generals,
captains, lieutenants
and others in his
diabolical army, whose
duty it is to harass,
tempt, condemn, seduce,
deceive, destroy, steal,
kill and murder God's
children and try to
thwart the purposes of
God and do harm to His
kingdom!
The
Bible says: “Let
this mind be in you which
was also in Christ
Jesus”. (Phil. 2:5)
We can have the
mind of Christ!
“Let
the word of God dwell in
you richly”. (Col.
3:16)
Jesus is the Living
Word and the Bible is the
written word.
When we read the
Bible and allow God’
Word free course, Christ
dwells within us. Upon
receiving Jesus Christ as
Lord and Saviour, Christ
is formed within us and we
are born-again!
The Bible says: "If
any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is
none of His".
(Rom. 8:9)
When
we receive the baptism of
the Holy Ghost, however,
the Holy Spirit fills us
and takes up permanent
residence within us.
Jesus said: "He
is with you and He shall
be in you".
The Bible says:
"And they were all
filled with the Holy
Ghost...” (Acts 2:4)
Even
though the devil is highly
organized and seeks to
destroy us, and even
though he is constantly
trying to afflict, depress
and torment, we can drive
him out:
"Draw
nigh to God and He will
draw nigh to you".
When you draw nigh
to God and God draws nigh
to you, you receive power
over the devil.
The Bible says: "If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
And whatsoever we
ask, we receive of
Him..." (1 John
3:21-22)
The
Scripture says: "There
is therefore now no
condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh,
but after the
Spirit". (Rom.
8:1)
SIN
DESTROYS OUR CONFIDENCE IN
GOD! Sin is a faith destroyer. Sin
destroys our confidence in
God and in ourselves and
allows the devil to slip
in with his evil, devious,
wicked and sinister
devices to harass us, stop
us, or destroy us!
We
have power over him,
however, for the Bible
says: "They
overcame him (the devil)
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their
testimony". (Rev.
12:11)
We can stop him,
for the Bible says: "When
the enemy, (the devil)
shall come in like a
flood, the Spirit of God
shall lift up a standard
against him".
(Is. 59:19)
The standard that
the Holy Spirit lifts up
stops the devil and he can
proceed only so far; he
can go no further!
The
devil complained to God: "You have put a hedge around Job. You are protecting him".
And that's true!
God has placed a hedge
around His people and I
believe that when the
devil comes in like a
flood to destroy, kill and
murder, the Spirit of God
raises up a standard to
stop him. We are
surrounded by the power of
the Lord!
We are covered with His blood and filled with His
Spirit!
The Word of God is
within our hearts. We have
the name of Jesus on our
lips. The angels protect
us and we have brothers
and sisters in Christ who
pray for us and stand with
us! These are some of
God’s agencies employed
for us!
When
the enemy - the devil -
comes in like a flood to
devastate and destroy, the
Spirit of God lifts up a
standard against him and
stops him! The devil can
be likened to a dog on a
leash, with only limited
capabilities!
HE
CAN ONLY GO SO FAR!
If
God hadn't allowed the
devil to attack Job, Satan
couldn't have touched him.
God gave the devil
permission to touch Job's
cattle, and his body, but
not his life. (Job 2:6)
Satan
had to leave the presence
of God to smite Job with
sore boils.
The Bible instructs
us to remember the
patience of Job and the
end of the Lord.
Job was sick for
approximately six months
to a year before God
healed him. He lived for
another 140 years and never
had another boil, as
far as the Scripture
records.
God
gave him twice as much as
he had before the devil
afflicted him!
Many people
laughingly speak about
Job's boils and say that
Christians have to suffer
similarly, but the Bible
records the "patience
of Job" and it
also speaks about "the
end of the Lord".
(James 5:11) The end of
the Lord was blessing,
prosperity, healing,
health, joy, peace and
power over the devil!
St.
Paul
wrote to Timothy: "God
hath not given us the
spirit of fear; but of
power, and of love, and of
a sound mind". (2
Tim. 1:7)
Evidently, Timothy
was afraid and
St. Paul
writing to his son in the
faith said: "You
don't have to be afraid,
Timothy, God hasn't given
us a spirit of fear".
Fear is a spirit
and fear hath torment. The
Scripture says: "Perfect
love casts out fear".
(1 John 4:18)
Fear is an evil
spirit.
God has not given
us any evil spirits. He
has given us power over
evil spirits!
God has not given
us a spirit of fear, but
God has given us a
spirit of power:
Power over fear:
power over sin:
power over the
devil:
power over
sickness:
power over
disease and even power
over death, which is the
last enemy!
It
seems that Timothy was
struggling spiritually,
because
St. Paul
wrote: "...that
thou stir up the gift of
God, which is in thee by
the putting on of my hands…
Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, nor of me His
prisoner:
but be thou
partaker of the
afflictions of the gospel
according to the power of
God". (2 Tim. 1:6,8)
Apparently,
Timothy
had become ashamed of
St. Paul
and he was afraid that he would also be persecuted.
Paul said:
"You don't need to be
afraid; God didn't give
you that. Even if you are
persecuted, you must not
fear!
God has given you
power, love and a sound
mind".
Hallelujah!
PUT
ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF
GOD!
Writing
to the Ephesians,
St. Paul
stated:
"Finally, my
brethren, be strong in the
Lord, and in the power of
His might.
Put on the whole
armour of God, that ye may
be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood,
but against
principalities, against
powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places.
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to
stand.
Stand therefore,
having your loins girt
about with truth, and
having on the breastplate
of righteousness; and your
feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel
of peace;
“Above all,
taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall
be able to quench all the
fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet
of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which
is the word of God;
Praying always with all
prayer and supplication in
the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all
perseverance and
supplication for all
saints." (Eph.
6:10-19)
Satan has power,
but God has all power. He
is omnipotent! The devil
has wisdom, but God has
all wisdom. He is
omniscient!
The Wicked One is
strong, but God has all
strength!
The Adversary has
many demons working for
him, but God has more
angels than his evil
spirits!
Satan has many
emissaries in his camp,
but God has hundreds of
millions of believers
across the world, equipped
with His mighty power! And
one man with God's power
is a majority!’
Jesus
Christ said: "Behold,
I give unto you power over
all the power of the
enemy, and nothing shall
by any means hurt
you".
The Scripture says
that ‘one day’ an
angel will come from
heaven and bind Satan,
casting him into the
bottomless pit for a
thousand years.
It
won't take ten thousand
angels; it won't take a
hundred angels; it will
take one angel to bind the
devil and cast him into
the pits of hell forever! (Rev.
20:1-3) Hallelujah! Amen.
January,
2007
Dear Partner: I invite all our friends to share a special Missions
gift
of $100.00 or more to
help us in the great
harvest field!
By the grace of Jesus Christ, my beloved husband
Max, is
reaching more and more people
with God’s Word! He
shows no signs of slowing down.
The fire of God burns
in his heart! Won’t you help
him this month?
Sincerely, Donna Solbrekken
Redeem
The Time!
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
“See then
that ye walk
circumspectly, not as
fools, but as wise,
redeeming the time,
because the days are
evil.” (Eph.5: 15-16)
There is an old
saying, ‘TIME
WAITS FOR NO MAN’! How true.
And time is no
respecter of persons
either.
The years pile up
whether we want them to or
not, and when our time
comes to say goodbye to
loved ones and friends
and to this old planet, we
will have to go!
Some
even leave without saying
goodbye, because time is
very short at the best and
sometimes it can be very
uncompromising, firm and
even cruel!
The
Capitalist with all his
money cannot stop it. The
Communist with all his
hatred for God cannot
detain it.
The Minister of the
Gospel with all his faith
in God cannot hinder time
from passing.
It is true that the
rich can live better,
dress nicer, buy cosmetics
to cover wrinkles, wear
wigs to cover bald pates,
colour grey hair, and even
have face-lifts to appear
younger, but the aging
process continues. And one
day it is all over!
TIME
MARCHES ON!
The
Communist dies and has to
meet God.
The preacher also
has to keep his
appointment with death,
even though he can claim
God’s promises (together
with all Christians)
for healing, health and
peace.
Yet, the day will
come that he must honour
God’s Word: “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment”.
(Heb. 9:27)
In writing to the
Church, St. Paul warns:
“Awake
thou that sleepest, and
arise from the dead, and
Christ shall give thee
light.
See then that ye
walk circumspectly, not as
fools, but as wise,
redeeming the time,
because the days are
evil”. (Eph. 5:14-16)
WHY
MUST WE REDEEM THE TIME? Because the days are evil!
In other words, let us not
allow “that wicked
one” to destroy our
testimony,
defeat our purposes or steal our crown! (Rev. 3:11)
It is important that we
make our calling and
election sure
(2
Peter 1:10) and
“lay
aside every weight and the
sin which doth so easily
beset us, and let us run
with patience the race
that is set before us”.
(Heb. 12:1)
To ‘redeem the
time’ means to put every
available moment to the
best use.
Do what is the most
spiritually profitable
with our time! The Bible
tells us “not to be slothful in business”.
(Rom. 12:11)
May we be good
stewards of the kingdom of
God, using every available
opportunity to further His
work in reaching lost
souls for Christ!
If we waste our
time, we are wasting our
life and if we waste our
money on unprofitable
things, we are also
wasting our time and not
redeeming it!
BE
NOT WEARY IN WELL DOING!
Often,
Christians become
discouraged and begin
listening to Satan, the
tempter and “accuser of
the brethren”.
He may drop
negative thoughts into
your mind, especially in
the area of service.
He may suggest that
you are doing too much for
God, spending too much
time helping the
unfortunate, or that you
are giving too much money
to the Church!
Perhaps
your husband, wife or
neighbour may give you the
odd dig that you are going
overboard for God and the
Church. DON’T LET THEM GET TO YOU!
The
Bible says, “And
let us not be weary in
well doing: for in due
season we shall reap, if
we faint not.
As we have
therefore opportunity, let
us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who
are of the household of
faith”.
(Gal. 6:9-10)
This Scripture is referring to our commitment to God and to those who
labour in spiritual things
among us, and to their
material needs.
We must not tire of
doing GOOD, for if we do not faint, we shall reap in due season!
St.Paul
exhorts us to walk circumspectly,
which means to conduct
ourselves in an orderly
fashion; in the fear of
the Lord, and not go
through life carelessly in
a haphazard way.
There
is only one way to heaven!
Jesus is
that way!
There is only one
book that is truly the
Word of God –.
Let us be sure to
read it.
There is only one
way to please God and that
is to receive
His
Son, Jesus Christ, into
our hearts as personal
Saviour and then obey His
words in all things.
By
shunning evil, doing good
works and serving God with
gladness, we are walking
circumspectly.
A good question to
ask ourselves is this, “Will
what I am planning to do,
or am now doing, please
God?”
By
receiving Christ as our
personal Saviour, our
lives are changed and
“… we walk in the
newness of life”.
Since we walk by
faith and “not by
sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), our
experience is totally
spiritual as we reach out
to God for guidance and
direction.
THERE
IS ONLY ONE WAY TO HEAVEN!
St. Paul admonishes
us in Gal. 5:16 to: “…walk
in the Spirit, and ye
shall not fulfill the
lusts of the flesh”. We
are also exhorted to
“… walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith ye are
called” (Eph. 4:1), and
to walk in love as Christ
hath loved us (Eph. 5:2).
In
order to be true followers
of Jesus Christ, we ought
to abide in Him, and we
should walk as He walked
(1 John 2:6) and worship
Him in Spirit and Truth (2
John 4, 3 John 3).
The
Bible says: “But if we
walk in the light, as He
is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son cleanseth
us from all sin”. (1
John 1:7)
WITH
ETERNITY IN MIND!
Everything
we do in this life should
be done with ‘Eternity
in Mind’. As Christians, we
should be concerned about
our spiritual welfare,
state and eternal destiny.
We should be
vitally concerned about
other believers, standing
ready to lend a helping
hand, as well as reaching
out in kindness to the
lost with Christ’s
message of hope and peace.
The Bible says, “Walk in wisdom toward them
that are without (the
unsaved),
redeeming the time”. (Col. 4:5)
TIME
IS SHORT!
We must do all we
can to reach the lost
while we have an
opportunity.
Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night
cometh, when no man can
work”. (John 9:4)
To redeem the time
means to seize every
opportunity without
allowing any to slip out
of our hands.
It means to labour
unceasingly in prayer,
Bible study, witnessing
and giving, while the
doors are still open. As
well as helping people
materially, emotionally
and socially!
Thank God for all
the open doors into which
to take the Gospel, open
channels or freeways by
which we may publish the
Gospel!
By the medium of
television, it is possible
to reach millions of
people across Canada
and other nations
regularly. Over the years,
we have had the
opportunity to preach the
Gospel by TV to Europe
(East and West) with good
success. Whenever I am in
Europe, I have the
privilege of broadcasting
in the Norwegian language
to Scandinavia via Satellite TV. Our
literature,
as well as our massive
overseas crusades is being
used to win souls across
the world!
By the grace of
God, I shared the GOOD
NEWS to multitudes in
Brazil during the last
few years. In
2005, I
was invited to preach at
the Assemblies of God (Maduereira)
Conference with 4,500
pastors at Sumare, S.P.
and to
about 300,000 people at
the Plaza Brasil in
Paulinia, SP on April
23,
2005. A large part of
the great crowd had been
transported there in
4,000 buses. We
had a great and glorious
time!
In November, Donna and I
were invited to 16
cities in the State of
Rio de Janeiro, where I
ministered to another
circa 5,000 Assembly of
God pastors in three
Regional Conventions and
more than 6,500 women in
two Women's Convention
and thousands more in 11
other venues!
My desire is to get back on TV across Canada, so that
Canadians can hear the
unvarnished Gospel Message
of Sin and Salvation, God
and the devil, Repentance
and Faith, the Cross and
the Resurrection, Heaven
and Hell! My mission is to
bring men and women to
Christ, and there are no
short-cuts.
By God’s grace,
we have won hundreds of
thousands of precious
souls to Jesus Christ in
more than forty years of
world-wide ministry!
People have asked me why
so many of our converts
stay saved and healed! It
is because I have remained
true to the Word of God,
and still preach hell hot,
sin black, eternity long
and God’s grace
unfathomable!
And God willing, as
He enables me that is
exactly what I will do on
TV across this nation!
Will you help me, my dear
friend, to make this
happen? We are dependent
on God and His people, who
truly believe that Jesus
Christ still saves, heals
and delivers from the
power of the ‘Evil
One’!
The cost for such
outreaches is high, but
we are obligated to
declare the claims of
Christ to this sinful
generation! Everyone
should have an opportunity
to hear the Full Gospel
confirmed by miracles,
signs and wonders! We
thank God for the
television ministries of
preachers who tell it like it is!
I
urge you to pray about
supporting these important
end-time outreaches
for the kingdom of God,
which I have shared!
Please help us lift
the financial burden for
these mammoth undertakings
in Jesus’ Blessed Name.
Remember, “Only
one life, ‘twill soon be
past – only what’s
done for Christ will
last.”
THE
CHURCH MUST AWAKEN!
St.
Paul admonishes the Church
to awaken out of sleep,
receive new life and power
from Christ and to rise to
the challenge of the hour.
The Bible warns, “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?
When wilt thou arise out
of thy sleep?” (Prov. 6:9)
We are admonished to take an example from the little ant, “which
having no guide, overseer,
or ruler, provideth his
meat in the summer, and
gathereth her food in the
harvest”. (Prov.
6:6-8)
We have the Bible
as our guide, the Holy
Spirit as our overseer, to
help us when we err and to
comfort us constantly. We have Jesus Christ as our ruler, and the Head of the
Church!
The
Scripture admonishes us
not to be as fools, but be
wise in our approach to
life. Unfortunately, many
people are acting
foolishly by living for
the world, the flesh and
the devil, and by giving
no thought about their
souls, salvation or
eternity.
No
time for God, the Bible or
the Church!
What
fools! St.
Paul tells of some who
rejected the Creator, our
wonderful Heavenly Father,
and worshipped the
creature instead of the
creator, “Professing
themselves to be wise they
became fools” (Rom. 1:22-25).
HOW
SAD! And
tragically, there are
Christians, who truly
believe in Christ and have
experienced the New Birth,
but have no spiritual
hunger,
no desire to
read the Bible or attend
prayer services!
They have no
burden for the lost
or to give missionary
offerings to reach the
heathen for Jesus.
They are totally
contented with their
experience and have no
time for a deeper
walk with God or a
message that stirs them to
do more for God!
UNDERSTANDING
THE WILL OF GOD!
I
pity such people! They
attend Church once a week,
pay their tithes and live
respectable lives, but
have not experienced Jesus
in a life changing way or
filled with God’s fire!
What so many Christians
are missing is the
‘Baptism of the Holy
Spirit’ and the joy of
the Lord that comes
through service to Him!
St. Paul then says,
“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the
Lord is”. (Eph. 5:17)
We know the “will
of God” for the
Christian is to live a
pure, holy and consecrated
Spirit-filled life, to
abstain from evil and to
do good works.
It is to be
‘sold-out’ to God and
become a burning and
shining light spreading
the
good news of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world!
My
friend, if you do not have
a burden for lost souls,
fall to your knees and ask
God to give you a hunger
for His Word, a desire to
pray regularly and tell
others about Jesus before
it is everlastingly too
late!
The Bible warns: “And
I saw a great white
throne, and Him that sat
on it, from Whose face the
earth and the heaven fled
away; and there was found
no place for them. And I
saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God;
and the books were opened:
and another book was
opened, which is the book
of life: and the dead were
judged out of those things
which were written in the
books, according to their
works.
“And
the sea gave up the dead
which were in it: and
death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in
them: and they were judged
every man according to
their works.
And death and hell
were cast into the lake of
fire.”
(Rev.
20:11-15) Let us redeem
the time for the days are
evil!
NOW
IS THE ACCEPTED TIME!
I
began this short message
by stating, “Time
waits for no man”
and that “Father
Time Marches On”.
I admonish you to
put your time to the best
available use. Budget your
time wisely, for we all
have only a limited
amount!
Here
are the words of King
David:
“Lord
make me to know mine end
and the measure of my
days.
What it is: That I
may know how frail I am…
”.
(Psalm 39:4)
Again
he writes, “My times are in Thy (God’s)
hands…”
(Psalm 31:15)
And finally the
king confesses: “Remember
how short my time is”
(Psalm 89:7).
St.
Peter warns of not being
frivolous with our life
but be sober and watch
unto prayer (1 Peter 4:7)
and have a healthy respect
and fear of God as we live
out this short life. (1
Peter 1:17)
The
Bible warns: “For
the time is come that
judgment must begin at the
house of God: and if is
first begin at us, what
shall the end be of them
that obey not the Gospel
of God”.
(1
Peter 4:17);
“And
that knowing the time that
now it is high time to
awake out of sleep: for
now is our salvation
nearer than when we
believed.
The night is far
spent the day is at hand:
let us therefore cast off
the works of darkness, and
let us put on the armour
of light.
“Let
us walk honestly as in the
day: not in strife and
envying.
But put ye on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and
make not provision for the
flesh to fulfill the lusts
thereof”. (Rom. 13:11-14)
One day we will all
have to give an account of
ourselves to God. (Rom.
1:12).
Listen
to me sinner, backslider,
lukewarm Christian:
Now
is the time to repent of
your sins and turn from
your wicked ways.
Now
is the time to forsake
your sins and be
converted, for time is
very short and your soul
is worth more than the
entire world (Mark
8:36-37).
Don’t allow
Satan to rob you of
Eternal Life, by procrastinating and putting off the decision to
accept Christ and to yield
fully to Him!
The Scripture says, “…Behold
now is the accepted time;
behold now is the day of
salvation.”
(2 Cor. 6:2; Isaiah 49:8; Ps. 69:13)
The Bible warns
that there will be a time
to die, for each of us
(Eccl. 3:2).
Do not gamble with
your eternal soul, but
give your life to Christ
today!
Jesus stands at
your heart’s door and
knocks (Rev. 3:20).
Let Him come in
today!
One day, the angel
of God will come down from
Heaven. He will place one foot upon the sea and the other upon the
dry land, raise his hand
to heaven and swear by Him
that liveth forever that “time
shall be no more”.
At
that time, it will be too
late for all “whose
names are not written down
in the Lamb’s book of
life”! (Rev. 10:6; 20:
15)
It
will be too late for every
backslider and lukewarm
Christian!
It’ll be too late
for all of us to do more
for Christ or be a
blessing to our fellowman!
TIME
IS RUNNING OUT!
My
friend, time is running
out – for the Church,
for the World
and for the devil.
One day, it’ll all be
over for all of us.
Let us fight the
good fight of faith, lay
hold on eternal life and
reach the masses of lost
souls with the glorious
Gospel of Christ before
it’s too late.
The Bible says, “Therefore
rejoice ye heavens and ye
that dwell in them.
Woe to the
inhabitants of the earth
and the sea!
For the devil is
come down unto you having
great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a
short time”.
(Rev. 12:12)
The
devil is working overtime
trying to corrupt,
deceive, destroy, kill and
steal and do as much
damage to God’s kingdom
as he can NOW, because he
knows his time is very
limited. Why do not we
triple and quadruple our
efforts to reach
multitudes more with the
Gospel before it is too
late?
Ask yourself this
question and then be ready
to do something about it!
I have again
promised God that I will
pull all the stops and
press forward at “full
speed ahead” to reach
this generation for Jesus,
before the devil gets to
them through atheism,
secular humanism, false
cults and
unbelief!
In June 1957, I experienced God in a real way in a motel in Prince
Albert, Saskatchewan and He
saved my ‘never –
dying soul’.
The very next day
in the home of my
Spirit-filled Lutheran
parents, I received the
mighty Baptism of the
Holy Ghost. I have never looked back since!
Oh, it’s true
that I have not yet
reached the state of
perfection, but like Paul,
I also press on “toward
the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus”.
(Phil.
3:12-14)
Ever since 1957, I have tried with all my heart and mind to walk in Christ’s
will and way and to obey
Him completely.
My heart is just as
set to do that today as it
was then, or in 1961
when I released our
first radio broadcast, or
in 1963
when I entered the
full-time ministry for
Christ!
My heart has burned for Jesus, as I have by His grace and power blazed a
trail of revivals and
awakenings across the
world. I’m glad that “God keeps the books”!
He knows my heart
and He alone knows the
results.
And I’m prepared
to let it rest there!
I alone know His
call on my life and I
alone had to answer that
call, and I alone am
answerable to God for what
I have done with my life
and how I have responded
to His call!
MANY
LOYAL SUPPORTERS!
I
thank God for the many
loyal friends, supporters
and prayer partners, who
believe one hundred per
cent in what I am doing
and have done!
It is this army of
God’s people, hard
working, spiritual men and
women who have been the
thrust behind this
ministry in helping me to
reach millions with the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and
His Full Salvation. Hallelujah!
Amen.
MY
DEAR FRIEND:
It is
people just like you who
are reading this short
message – ordinary
people like you who have
helped put Christ on TV,
radio, massive crusades
and literature by sending
His servant, with the
message of Jesus and His
love, power and grace to
multitudes for more than
40 years!
Thousands of people
sacrifice, give and pray
for the whitened harvest
fields, because they are
redeeming and budgeting
their time wisely.
Winston
Churchill said, “Give
me the tools and I’ll
finish the job”,
and he did!
Please, beloved
friend, give me the tools
and I’ll do my best to
finish the job God has
asked me to do!
As I write these
words (2:00 AM), I feel
divinely led to ask for
365 of my friends who will
sacrifice, do with a
little less and who will
dedicate a special gift of
$1,000
or more to this ministry
within the next 12 months.
I am asking God for
365 prayer partners who
will do this – one for
every day of the year!
Some of course can
give more and many others
can give less.
If God is speaking
to your heart, will you
please respond by writing
and telling me about it
today?
Thank you so very,
very much!
Remember, ‘Only
one life, it will soon be
past and Only what’s done for Christ, will last’!
Please write me
today and pray for me as
often as you can!
Also, send us your
prayer requests so that we
can pray for you!
Amen.
For
further spiritual
counsel, prayer or
gospel literature,
please contact us!
MAX
SOLBREKKEN WORLD MISSION
Box
5000, Edmonton, AB
T5P 4C1
Canada
Ph.
(780) 460-8444
TRIALS,
TESTING & THE PATIENCE
OF JESUS!
