HEALING
FOR HURTING PEOPLE
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
Please Note: This is an excerpt from a book I wrote in 2002 A.D. May it richly bless each reader, opening the eyes of sinners, turning them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they will receive the forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Jesus. That they may repent of their sins and turn to God, and do works meet (consistent, befitting) for repentance. (Acts 26:18-20). And may all Believers be blessed. Amen. - M.S.
PREFACE
For
more than four decades I have had the privilege of presenting the claims of
Jesus Christ to multitudes across our troubled world! It has been my joy to see many who have been
distressed, troubled and hurting, find peace and divine healing from our
blessed Lord, through this humble ministry!
It has been
said, “A person can live forty days without food, four days without water,
eight minutes without air, but not one second without hope”!
Hope is crucial for survival. Hope is
necessary for living. Hope is vital for success! Martin Luther
stated, “Nothing is done in this world
without hope”.In Biblical
terminology, the word ‘hope’ is stronger than that used in the context of our
everyday vocabulary.
For
example, Jesus is called “our hope”;
“Christ in you, the hope of Glory”. And the Second Coming of Christ is called “the blessed hope”. (Col. 1:27; Titus
2:13)
Based upon
God’s promises in the Holy Bible and a wealth of first-hand information
garnered from many who have been blessed spiritually, mentally, physically,
domestically and socially - through this ministry and elsewhere - I can say
with total confidence that there is ‘Healing For Hurting People’!
Max
Solbrekken
Edmonton,
2002 A.D.
DEDICATION
I humbly
dedicate this book to the multitudes of lonely, fearful, sinful, bitter and
tormented people, who are in desperate need of divine forgiveness, restoration
and healing in this nation and the world at large!
My heart reaches out to the young people who through peer
pressure or the lure of the unknown, have gotten involved with the unreal and
evil world of substance abuse. This book is dedicated to the families of those
young people, in the belief that God will turn things around for them!
May each
person reading this book or hearing these words read to them, find peace and
fulfillment, salvation and divine healing through Jesus Christ our Lord!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A huge, ‘THANK
YOU’ to my precious wife Donna, for her love and steadfastness to me, our extended family
and to this ministry - as office manager, lay out artist and book-keeper –
during many years of making Christ known in Canada and abroad!
I am
thankful to God for the privilege of being born into a wonderful Christian
family with loving parents and siblings, where the Bible was read and prayer
made to Almighty God, in both Norwegian and English. And for the Evangelical
Lutheran Church, where
the Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached uncompromisingly, with great conviction
and truth!
Finally, I
wish to personally thank God for the many friends and prayer partners whom He
has directed toward this Ministry and who have so faithfully stood by us to
fulfill His call upon our lives!
INTRODUCTION
A DIRECT INTERVENTION BY GOD!
A DIRECT INTERVENTION BY GOD!
In the summer of 1969 we
were conducting a month-long Camp Meeting in Fort Q’uappelle , Saskatchewan Canada
It was also
a great time of refreshing for preachers and their families, as a number of us
stayed in a large old house on a farm that our good friends Bob
and Ella Rosin had recently acquired.
One morning
as I awakened, I suddenly remembered that I had an appointment in Edmonton , Alberta
In desperation and faith, I called upon God to supply the $2,000 deposit which I needed to pay the owners of the property!
In desperation and faith, I called upon God to supply the $2,000 deposit which I needed to pay the owners of the property!
In my
prayer to the Lord, I decreed that before the sun would set that evening, I
would have the money in my hand to carry with me to Edmonton
“Thou shalt make thy prayer unto Him, and He
shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee,
and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” (Job 22: 27, 28)
At the 10:30 A.M. service, I shared my
belief that before the sun had set that evening, I would have the money in my
hand! We all prayed fervently that it would happen, because that was a lot of
money in 1969!
After
lunch, I went immediately to the meeting hall to pray. Some time during the
afternoon, Bob Rosin brought a man from Porcupine
Plains to see me. He was a stranger to me. After introducing me to him Bob left the room, saying that the gentleman desired to see me
privately.
I realized
that he must have been in a lot of pain because he had earlier been
seriously injured in an industrial accident. His face was terribly disfigured,
with one eye removed and a part of his skull crushed. He had a large piece of
blood-soaked cloth wound around his head, as the wound had not properly healed!
I said, “Please
sit down my friend. Let’s open the Bible and see what God’s
Word says about divine healing and then I will pray for you!” He answered abruptly, “No, please don’t. That is not why I’m here!
You can pray for me after you preach. But now I must tell you why I came to see
you.”
He then,
made this astounding statement, “I was awakened by the Lord at about 7:00 A.M.
today, instructing me to immediately get dressed and take the bus to Fort Q’uappelle
He said: “My servant, Max
Solbrekken, is conducting a Camp Meeting there and he needs a financial miracle.
Take the little satchel that contains the $20 bills you have been saving for years.
Go directly to the meeting place and give the satchel to My servant upon
arrival.”
Then,
he tossed an old brown leather satchel onto the table. Upon impact, one of the
leather straps broke and out rolled hundreds of twenty dollar bills, some so
old that they carried King George’s
likeness.
As that gentleman left that room, Bob re-entered and what a time he and I had counting a
God-sent gift of $2,240.00 in twenty dollar
bills. The sun was still high in the sky as I hurried to the pulpit that
evening, with my Bible in one hand and a little brown satchel in the other, to
publicly give God the glory!
And what a time of praise we had as we all glorified our Lord Jesus Christ for His timely and miraculous provision!
And what a time of praise we had as we all glorified our Lord Jesus Christ for His timely and miraculous provision!
That stranger has gone on to his reward
and it wouldn’t surprise me if he has already received a personal ‘thank you’ from Jesus Christ, since
entering into his heavenly home, for that beautiful gift he gave to us in 1969!
CHAPTER 1:
HEALING FOR
HURTING PEOPLE!
There are
a lot of hurting people! This
category includes the discouraged, lonely, fearful, suicidal, angry and
confused. As well as the sick, poor and
unemployed! Many feel betrayed and let
down by family, friends, employer, church, government and society in general!
Others hate themselves, believing that
they have failed in life! They are
ashamed and feel trapped! And they don’t
know which way to turn for help! Many
become depressed and turn to the bottle, drugs or the occult for answers. Still others end up in prison because of
criminal activities. And there are those
who succumb to Satan’s most clever lie, “Kill yourself and your troubles will be
over”!
How
sad! Only those who have gone through a
traumatic experience are able to identify with others who are hurting, unless
gifted with compassion!
COMPASSION IS REACHING OUT!
Compassion is God’s love and mercy touching those who are hurting! It is more than sympathy or consolation. It is feeling the pain, sharing the burden and reaching out to do something about the situation! Compassion is finding an answer, bringing about a solution and easing the hurt!
Jesus was ‘moved with compassion’ upon the sinful, diseased, dying, sorrowing and hungry! That is why He reached out in tenderness to a woman whom the hard-hearted religious leaders wanted to stone. He brought them ‘face to face’ with their own sinfulness when He invited, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her”. (John 8:7)
He knew
their sins and wrote their names in the sand. They got the message and withdrew,
without throwing a stone. Here is the Old Testament prophecy which Jesus fulfilled
that day: “O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me shall be
written in the earth.” (Jer.17:13)
When Jesus
looked up, only the woman remained.
Tenderly, Jesus spoke these words to her, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more”. (John 8:11) Hallelujah!
COMPASSION ON
AN INSANE MAN!
The Bible
says: “And when He was come out of the ship, immediately there met Him a man
out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit who had his dwelling among the
tombs; and no man could bind him, no,
not with chains;
“Because
that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been
plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces, neither could any man tame him.
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs,
crying, and cutting himself with stones.”
After Jesus
liberated him from the demons, HE BECAME NORMAL! The Bible says, “And they come to Jesus, and see him that
was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in
his right mind...” (Mark 5:3-5, 15)
When the multitudes followed Him to a
desert place - where He had gone for a rest - Jesus performed a ‘miracle of multiplication’ and supplied them with food!
He could
have sent them away hungry, but He did not!
He said to His disciples, “Give
ye them to eat” (Matt. 14:16 ).
Then, He blessed the bread and fish, and the miracle occurred!
Jesus had compassion upon a young couple
and their relatives who had run out of wine (refreshments) during a marriage
celebration. He simply turned the water
into wine and the governor of the feast, after testing the wine, not knowing
where it came from, declared,
“Every man
at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then
that which is worse, but thou hast kept
the good wine until now.” (John 2:10)
COMPASSION BRINGS HEALING!
People are hurting because of many and
varied reasons - spiritual, psychological, cultural, racial, economic, social
and domestic! There seems to be so much
strife, inequality, resentment, fear and frustration everywhere. Trouble is where you find it, however, and if
you're looking for it, it's not difficult to make contact!
Many people
have been hurting for a long time with chronic unemployment and a record -
breaking number of bankruptcies! It's easy for those who have good paying jobs
and secure, comfortable positions to say no one is suffering.
But, the
wise old Indian Chief said, "Don't criticize your neighbour until
you've walked ten miles in his moccasins". When the “shoe is on the other foot” and the pink
slip lands on your desk, it’s often a different story!
There are a lot of hurting people in this
word! Not only are some faring badly economically, but many are troubled by
fears, frustrations, anxieties and perplexities!
The Bible
says, “Casting all our cares upon Him (Jesus) for He careth for you”. (1 Peter
5:7)
Lonely people are often afraid to
trust anyone again, since they have already been hurt. Once bitten, twice shy! So they refuse to open their hearts to anyone
for fear of rejection, complications or simply being hurt again!
SICK &
DISEASED ARE HURTING!
Many feel
like social outcasts - especially those affected with mental problems, cancer
or AIDS!
They need our support, comfort and help through the difficult hours,
days and months that lie ahead.
The same
goes for those who have been widowed or divorced. And thank God, there is divine healing for
the bruised, sorrowing and sick - divine healing that comes only through Jesus
Christ our Lord, Who is the ‘Great
Physician’!
Seven hundred
years before the sacrificial death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Isaiah
foretold the good news: “But He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the
chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes WE ARE HEALED! All we like sheep have gone astray, but
the Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquities (sins)
of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)
Some fear
the PAST, hoping the skeletons in
their closets will remain hidden, others fear the PRESENT with its fast-moving, ever-changing
complexities!
Many fear the FUTURE, old age and death! And what about ETERNITY: Have you thought about that, my friend? Many have failed to plan for eternity and will go to their deaths unprepared!
Many fear the FUTURE, old age and death! And what about ETERNITY: Have you thought about that, my friend? Many have failed to plan for eternity and will go to their deaths unprepared!
My friend, I
admonish you not to allow that to happen to you. Please open your heart and invite Jesus to
come in!
WHERE WILL
YOU SPEND ETERNITY?
The Bible
says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten (one and
only) Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life”. (John 3:16)
Blaise Pascal stated, “There
is a blank space (vacuum) in every human being that only God can fill”. May that truth touch every person on earth so
that we may all find grace to humble ourselves and turn to God!
And may
each one invite Jesus Christ into our lives by faith and receive assurance of
sins forgiven and the “peace that
passeth understanding” in our hearts and minds! (Phil. 4:17)
TALK
ABOUT REST!
When we receive Him into our hearts, we automatically receive peace, joy, mental and spiritual health! Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”. (John 14:27)
When we receive Him into our hearts, we automatically receive peace, joy, mental and spiritual health! Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”. (John 14:27)
Unbelievers
do not possess this peace! Only those
who are redeemed and have had their sins washed away by the precious Blood of
Jesus Christ, know real peace.
How is this possible? God’s Word declares that, Jesus has “purchased our peace through the blood of His Cross”. (Col. 1:20)
How is this possible? God’s Word declares that, Jesus has “purchased our peace through the blood of His Cross”. (Col. 1:20)
The Bible
says, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose
waters cast up mire and dirt. There is
no peace, saith my God, to the wicked”. (Isaiah 57:20-21)
THE SIN
PROBLEM!
Mankind’s
greatest problem has always been ‘The Sin Problem! And the only remedy for sin
is a personal encounter with Jesus Christ!
Why is
this? First - All are sinners! Second -
Jesus Christ died for our sins! The Bible says, “All have sinned and come
short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23 ) “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23 )
The Bible
says, “If we say that we have fellowship
with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth, 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.
“If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is
not in us.” (1 John 1:6-10)
A
HAVEN OF REST - THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS. REST FROM OUR HEARTACHES, FEARS, SINS AND
SICKNESSES! THE GUILTY, FEARFUL AND
TORMENTED CAN FIND PEACE ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST!
An old gospel
song, however, brings reassurance, “Burdens
are lifted at Calvary ...so take your burdens
to the Lord and leave them there”!
Jesus took all our sins, fears and torments upon Himself, when He bore
our penalty on the rugged cross!
Jesus
Christ pardons our past sins when we come to Him in humility and
faith. He gives us power for the present by
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Our
Blessed Lord gives us purpose for the future and a promise
for eternity!
Our Saviour
said, "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give
you rest!" (Matt. 11:28)
We can’t
forgive our own sins. Only God can do that! We can’t solve most of our problems, so we
bring Him the mess we created and pray for forgiveness, help and guidance. Often, sickness and disease strikes us at the
most inopportune time and in our weakest and most vulnerable area.
WHAT CAN WE
DO THEN?
Our only
recourse is to present our needs to God our Heavenly Father, in the Name of
Jesus Christ - our Saviour, Healer and Redeemer - and He has promised to give
us rest! The Blessed Holy Spirit will do
the rest as He ‘comes alongside to help’ and heal!
Jesus
promised, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee - I will be with thee until
the end of the world”. (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5)
In the original Greek we find that Jesus used ‘a double imperative’. He
emphasized, “I will never, no
never leave thee. I will never, no never forsake thee”.
My friend,
believe the words of Jesus Christ and appropriate His promises for yourself. Approach His throne by faith and you will
receive His answer to your urgent prayer request! Call upon His Name in sincere prayer and you
will not be disappointed!
The Bible
says, “He is faithful who promised”.
(Heb. 10:23) That’s good enough for
me. I believe it and will patiently wait
until my answer comes from His nail-pierced hand! DROP THAT HEAVY LOAD, friend and let Christ carry it for you - He's a lot
stronger than all of us!
CHAPTER 2:
WHY SO MUCH
HURT?
The Bible
says: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose
waters cast up mire and dirt.” (Isaiah 57:20)
Seeking a
solution for the problems of mankind, I have been forced to consider the WHYS
and WHEREFORES that have made our society so sick, spiritually, psychologically and
morally!
The dilemma
of broken
marriages, broken homes, broken hearts and shattered dreams are an every day reality and affect us all. Child abuse, juvenile delinquency, drug
addiction, pornography, pre-marital sex, alcoholism and
homosexuality are all signs of a rapidly deteriorating society.
The
epidemic of suicide which is sweeping the world, coupled with the increased
acceptance of euthanasia, assisted suicide and infanticide is alarming!
And last but not least, the ‘holocaust of the unborn’ - the
systematic destruction of millions of ‘unwanted children’ is without
doubt, an abomination in God’s eyes and a stench in His nostrils!
The prophet catalogued the sins of his
generation and when we look around us today, nothing has changed! The
wickedness of sinful mankind is just as defiant, violent and in-your-face now
as then, perhaps even more so!
The Bible
says, “The wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (Rom.
6:23) The bottom line is that SIN
PRODUCES DEATH!
God warned
Adam and Eve, “...in the day that thou doest eat thereof thou shalt die”. (heb - in dying thou shalt die) He said, “You
will begin to die and eventually die”.
And ever since that dreadful day when Adam and Eve partook of the
forbidden fruit, babies have been born with death in their mortal bodies!
It is also interesting, however, that “one day
with the Lord is like a thousand years with us and one thousand years with us
is like one day with Him”. (2 Peter 3:8)
And no one has ever lived 1,000
years! The man who holds the record is Methuselah, who was 969 years old at
the time of his death.
The Bible
says, “And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment,” (Heb. 9:27) Again the Word of
God states, “The soul that sinneth, it
shall die”. (Ezekiel 18:20)
WHAT DID GOD
DO THEN?
After they
had sinned, God slew an innocent animal and spilled its blood to cover their
sins, while its skin provided clothing to cover their naked bodies! Then, he
drove them out of the Garden so that they could not eat of the fruit of the ‘Tree
of Life’ and live forever in their sins!
Why was
this important? First, while in the Garden of Eden they ate of the fruit from
the ‘Tree
of Life’ and as long as they ate of it they lived without any death in
their bodies! Why? The ‘Tree of Life’ was a symbol of God
the Son, Jesus Christ, “The Way, the
Truth and the Life.” (John 14: 6)
The Bible
says: “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. And 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 light of men.” (John 1:
1-4)
The moment
they sinned, they died spiritually and were overcome by fear. Guilt flooded
their souls. Their innocence was gone and they realized that they were naked.
When they were driven out of the Garden, they began to die physically as they
could no longer eat of the ‘Tree of Life’ which symbolized
Jesus Christ, the ‘Life Giver’! As long as they were allowed to eat of the ‘Tree
of Life’, no death could come to them!
WHAT DOES
THAT MEAN TODAY?
Jesus is
the only Saviour and life giver! None other will do! Without Jesus, there is only death! On the other hand, by partaking
of Him we have life and that more
abundant! (John 10: 10).
The Bible
says: “For there is ONE God and ONE mediator
between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus: Who gave Himself a ransom for all…” (1 Tim. 2: 5, 6)
Secondly, God
wanted to save them, so He had devised the ‘Plan
of Redemption’! In the fullness of time, He would send His Son – the Life
Giver – to shed His precious blood to take away the sins of the world. And by the sacrifice of Himself He would
restore the fellowship between God and man and give us eternal life!
Every
innocent animal that was slain on Jewish altars was a type of Jesus, God’s Lamb,
Who would die on a rugged cross for us! Through the shed blood of Jesus the
Christ, we receive life more abundant!
When Jesus
instituted the Lord’s Supper - the Holy Communion – He said: “Take,
eat: This is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of
Me…This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink
it, in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor.11: 25) Praise God, we are still eating of Jesus the
‘Giver of Life’!
And what do
we find in the NEW JERUSALEM? “And he
showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb.
“In the
midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the TREE
OF LIFE, which bare twelve manner of
fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the TREE were for
the healing of the nations.” (Rev.
22: 1, 2)
Without doubt, Jesus is the central theme of the Bible and the only way to reach
God! He said: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by Me.” (John 14: 6);
“He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not
God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of
His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of
God hath not life.” (1 John 5: 10-12)
DEATH: DIRECT
RESULT OF FALL!
St. Paul
writes, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,” (Rom. 5:12)
Death is an horrible enemy because it is
the opposite of life. Death is the
result of sin. It is Satan’s invention
because it is the result of rebellion against God, Who is the Creator of life
and is LIFE itself!
The Bible
says: “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father),
full of grace and truth”. (John 1:1-4, 14)
Let us re-examine
these key words - “In Him (Jesus Christ) was life and the life
was the light of men...” (v. 4) Our Lord stated, “I am the Way, the Truth and the
Life and no man cometh unto the Father but through Me”. (John 14:6). He
said, “I am the light of the world, he that followeth Me shall not walk in
darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
WHY SO MUCH HURT?
There is so
much hurt in this world, because there is so much sin! There is an abundance of greed, hatred,
prejudice, jealousy, fear, murder, injustice, poverty and evil because there is
so much SIN!
Evangelist Franklin Graham (son of world-famous
preacher, Dr. Billy Graham) addressed this question so well at the memorial
services for 14 dead students and one teacher not long ago at the Columbine High School in Littleton , Colorado
He stated,
as I have just done, that sin is the enemy and sin must be dealt with in the
human heart through ‘A MEETING WITH JESUS’,
Who forgives the sin and changes the hearts and lives of those who receive Him
as their personal Lord and Saviour!
And there
is so much sickness, disease, pain, death and grief because there is so much
sinning, and “the wages of sin is death”! There was no sin, fear,
sickness, disease, pain, death or sorrow in the Garden of Eden. There were
no drug stores, wheel chairs, iron lungs, hospitals or graveyards there, and
there won’t be any in Heaven!
Sickness
and disease is ‘incipient death’ or
death on the installment plan. It is a
sign that death is working in our bodies and will eventually win, taking our
lives from us! It is a result of ‘The Fall’.
WHY IS THIS?
Death
rules in the kingdom of men, because ‘Man
is a Sinner’ and the ‘Wages of Sin is Death’!
Adam and
Eve - our first parents - broke God’s law and until this present time we
continue to pay the price for their disobedience, rebellion and
transgression.
We are all sinners by nature, because we were born with a sinful, Adamic
nature that is prone to sin. We
inherited a sinful nature!
St. Paul
states, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the
children of disobedience,
“Among
whom also we all had our conversation (lifestyle) in times past in the lusts of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and
were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
“But God,
Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved.”
(Eph. 2:2-5)
SINS OF THE
FATHERS!
We must not
underestimate the terrible toll exacted upon children whose parents and
grandparents lived ungodly and wicked lives.
Some of our forefathers may have been involved in abominable practices
like idolatry,
witchcraft or occultism!
God warns:
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them (heathen
gods), nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation
of them that hate Me”. (Ex. 20:5)
He also
promised to “show mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My
commandments”. (v. 6)
Some people
carry generational curses! When that
individual receives Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour and is born-again, however,
the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST cleanses away every sin.
And
when the Blessed Holy Spirit comes into an individual, every evil spirit has to
go and must leave! Those curses are then broken!
The Bible
says, “Submit yourselves therefore unto God.
Resist the devil and he shall flee from you”. (James 4:7)
And
finally, we are sinners by choice! We sin because we choose to do so! The Bible says, “Men loved darkness rather
than light because their deeds were evil”. (John 3:19) We can choose to serve God and to live right
if we so desire! Becoming a Christian is
a CHOICE we make, a decision to repent of our sins and change
our lifestyle!
When we DECIDE to
receive Jesus Christ and invite Him into our lives, the Holy Spirit takes over
and the grace and mercy of God “kicks in for us”. The Word of God states, “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”. (Eph. 2:8-9)
We must also do our part! The Bible says: “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 neighbour as thyself”.
(Matt. 22:37-39)
Perhaps,
you have wondered where evil thoughts come from, as well as the filthy jokes,
perverted sex acts and all the inhumane deeds performed by humans on other
humans as well as on animals!
Jesus said,
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness,
wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, All these evil things come from
within, and defile the man”. (Mark 7:20-23)
“...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh. A good man out of the
good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of
the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” (Matt. 12:35-35) “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out
of it are the issues of life”. (Prov. 4:23)
WHERE
DO WARS AND TROUBLES COME FROM? St. James writes, “From whence come wars and
fighting among you? Come they not hence, even of your
lusts that war in your members”? (James 4:1)
“Let no man
say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with
evil, neither tempteth He any man, But every man is tempted, when he is drawn
away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it
is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:13-15)
WHO BIRTHS
THESE THINGS IN MEN’S HEARTS?
What is the
origin of sin and evil? Satan is the
architect of sin, fear, sickness, disease and death! Eve told the truth. She said, “The serpent beguiled me and I
(disobeyed) ate.” (Gen.3: 13)
I agree with Eve! The lying devil is “to blame”! He is the culprit! Satan is the troublemaker!
He was so
brazen and arrogant that he even sought to trap Jesus Christ - God’s Son, Who
had divested Himself of His position and power in order to become a man
(incarnated) during His wilderness temptation!
Jesus - Who was vulnerable and weak after forty days of fasting - rebuffed him with the Word of God and the devil had to leave! (Matt.4: 1-10)
Jesus - Who was vulnerable and weak after forty days of fasting - rebuffed him with the Word of God and the devil had to leave! (Matt.4: 1-10)
Our Lord
said: “Satan was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his
own, for he is a liar and the father of it”. (John 8:44);
“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)
HISTORY
REPEATS ITSELF!
Satan
attacked the truthfulness, the veracity of God’s Word in the temptation of Adam
and Eve, and also of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Martin Luther stated: “By God's grace, I know Satan very well. If Satan can turn God's Word upside down and pervert the Scriptures, what will he do with my words or words of others?”
Eve fell
for his temptation together with her husband, while Jesus Christ rebuffed Satan
and drove him away using God’s Word, which he was seeking to discredit!
When Satan
came to Eve, he very cunningly sowed these seeds of suspicion and unbelief in
her heart,
(1) God didn’t
mean what He said: “You won’t die”.
(2) God is
trying to keep something good away from you:
“You will become wise”.
(3) You will be
like God Himself.
The same
spirit of pride that caused Lucifer’s fall is again showing up in the teaching
of the cults like the Mormons and the New Age Movement, namely: “Mankind is progressing toward godhood”.
When Satan
tempted Jesus, he tried to bring a doubt into His heart about whether or not He
was divine: “If thou be the Son of
God...” He knew that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God and as such the LIVING WORD OF GOD. Jesus didn’t fall for his
temptation, but rather overcame the devil.
In His Name and the power of the Holy
Spirit, we can do the same!
And St.
Peter declared, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”. (1 Peter 5:8)
We have the proof - the Word of God indicts
Satan. He is the Culprit, the Evil One
and the Terrorist of all Terrorists.
He was personal tutor to men like Nero,
Attila, Stalin, Hitler, Mao and Osama bin Laden! And he is still at his evil work. The Bible states: “...for the accuser of the brethren is cast down, which accused them
before our God day and night.
The Bible
declares: “And they overcame him by the
blood of the lamb...Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for
the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he
hath but a short time.” (Rev. 12:10-12)
Jesus
called him by three names, Satan -
the enemy, opposer, adversary; the devil
- liar, false accuser, traducer and Beelzebub
- the god of flies, master of filth!
Remember,
there was no sin, sickness, disease, war or death in the Garden of Eden, before
Lucifer’s immoral victory over God’s special creation – Man! And
none of those things will be present during the ‘Millennial Reign of Christ’ or
in Heaven!
CHAPTER 3:
SATAN
DESTROYS: JESUS HEALS!
“With Jesus in the family
Happy, happy home
Happy, happy home
Happy, happy home
With Jesus in
the family,
HAPPY, HAPPY HOME!
With the devil in the family
Trouble all the time
Trouble all the time
Trouble all the time
With the devil in the family,
TROUBLE ALL THE TIME!”
That’s telling it like it really is! It is so true to life! Satan has a way of destroying everything he
lays his hand on, because he is “abaddon” (heb), and “apollyon”
(gr.) the destroyer. (Rev. 9: 11)
Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal,
kill and destroy. I am come that they
might have life and that more abundantly.” (John 10.10)
Satan is the
‘trouble maker’! He is the culprit! Everything he gets involved with becomes
corrupted, twisted and tainted. If there
is trouble in the vicinity, he can’t be far away. Jesus
called him “a liar and the father of lies” and “a murderer from the beginning”.
(John 8:44)
His motives, objectives and goals are well defined in
the Bible! Without doubt, he has an axe to grind, an agenda to fulfill and is
on an unholy rampage!
Witness the destruction of fine young people through drug
addiction, illicit and perverted sex, gambling and occultism! Read the statistics of “death on the highway due to
drunkenness”, the sordid spiral of perversion, insanity and suicide
among people of all ages!
HAS THE
WORLD GONE MAD?
If not totally insane...certainty it’s off to a good
start! Hard Rock and Heavy Metal with
their demonic beat and sensual, filthy lyrics, as well as anti-God leanings and glorification of promiscuous sex,
perversion, violence, sadomasochism and
drugs, have marked this generation!
GROSS, IMMORAL,
FILTHY, CORRUPTING and OBSCENE are words that partially describe the private lives as well as public acts of some of today’s Rock
Musicians and Movies Stars, who unfortunately have become role models to
millions of teenagers and even preteens across the world!
HOW SUBTLE THE DEVIL IS!
How deceiving and extraordinarily cunning the “old
slewfoot” really is! He steals our young
people right from under our noses. And a
lot of us don’t even see it, and some couldn’t care less!
May God open our eyes and give us the desire and will
to stop him in his tracks. And turn the
tables on the devil! That foul ‘hell spawn’ was totally defeated by our
Lord Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago on GOLGOTHA, when He suffered, bled and died for our sins on the ‘cursed tree’!
The “Defrocked Arch Angel” must be
exposed at all costs!
WE MUST WARN THE
PEOPLE!
We must warn the unsuspecting masses of his evil and wicked
designs! But how do we do it?
First
- We must arm ourselves with the facts and secondly, pray to
receive a burden for lost souls. And finally,
we need to unashamedly and aggressively declare the truth, in love, to those
who are at risk!
He loves to cater to our flesh - which is one of
humanity’s weak points - titillating, exciting, deceiving and enslaving through
sensuality, carnality and lust - filled music!
His goal is to get young people so hooked on the music
and lyrics that they will IDOLIZE and WORSHIP the undisciplined,
unclean and unholy rock musicians, some of whom have
literally sold their souls to Satan and who boldly proclaim their faith in occultism, suicide, pornography,
homosexuality and other
perversities!
Warning! Don’t
get involved with that crowd of losers!
All Satan cares about is getting his foot in the door. Once he gets you started, the temptation
continues to grow stronger and suddenly...YOU’RE HOOKED!
SATAN IS A MASTER DECEIVER!
No wonder the
Bible says, “Flee youthful lusts that war against the soul and “avoid the very appearance of evil”. (1 Thes. 5:22)
Be clear-cut, my dear friend, in your conviction and
actions. Don’t play games with
Satan. You will reap what you sow and
“be sure your sins will find you out”. (Num. 32:23) The Bible says, “If a man take fire in his
bosom he shall be burned.” (Prov. 6:27)
Don’t compromise with Satan! He’s too clever, deceptive and strong for you
to handle alone. Turn your cares over to
Jesus and follow Him and you’ll find a way out of your troubles!
TO STEAL, KILL AND DESTROY!
Jesus said: “The thief cometh not but for to steal,
kill and destroy, I am come that they might have life and they might have it
more abundantly”. (John 10:10).
The Scripture
declares: “...For this purpose the Son
of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil”. (1
John 3:8)
The Holy Spirit testifies: “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)
The literal translation says that, Jesus healed all “those
who were under the domination or lordship of Satan”. And Jesus stated that the
Holy Spirit would come “to demonstrate Christ’s victory over
Satan”. (John 15:11)
Satan’s desire is to enslave, ruin,
destroy and eventually lead as many slaves as possible to Hell where they will
join him forever in eternal torment!
SATAN IS
EVIL & ROTTEN TO THE CORE!
He is a terrorist, masquerader, deceiver, thief and
murderer! Jesus Christ left Heaven’s glory for the express purpose of
destroying Satan’s work and defeating him totally through His vicarious (substitutionary) death for us on the cross and His subsequent,
glorious resurrection from the dead!
You may ask, “If Jesus came to this earth to destroy
the works of the devil, WHAT ARE HIS WORKS?”
In answering this question, let me enumerate what
Jesus did while He was here in His flesh. About
one third of His time was spent in teaching and preaching, while two thirds of
His time was used in healing the sick and casting out devils!
The works of the devil are these: 1) sin; 2) fear; 3) sickness,
disease and death; 4) poverty; 5) satanic oppression and demon possession!
He forgave
sinners and died on the cross to save us from our sins and then
commissioned us all to “go preach”
the Gospel to the “ends of the earth”!
He spoke
peace to the troubled saying, “Fear
thou not; peace be unto you; My peace I give unto you, My peace I leave with
you, let not your heart be troubled”.
He healed
the sick and diseased and raised the dead! Since sickness and disease is
‘incipient death’ or death-on-the-installment-plan, he defeated sickness,
disease and death.
And He gave His apostles, disciples and all believers the power and
authority to heal the sick and cast out devils in His Name! (Matt. 10, 8; Mark
6:7, 13; Luke 10: 9, 17-19)
He fed the
hungry by multiplying the loaves and fishes (Matt. 14:17), raised a widow woman’s son from the dead so she would
have someone to look after her (Luke 7:13), and also gave us the key to
prosperity:
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure,
pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your
bosom. For with the same measure that ye
mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)
He cast
thousands of demons out of those who were possessed! (Mark 1:23-27; 32-34, 39; 5:1-15)
And finally, through His death on the cross, shedding
His precious blood, He delivered the DEATH BLOW TO SATAN thereby destroying
his evil power over all who reject that Wicked One, and receive Jesus Christ as
personal Lord and Saviour!
The Bible says, “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 deliver them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:12-14)
SATAN EVEN HATES LITTLE CHILDREN!
In St. Mark’s account of the deaf and dumb epileptic
boy whom Jesus healed, we learn two things: Satan's venom against Children and Jesus' love for Children!
“And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I
have brought unto Thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he
taketh him, he teareth him, and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth
away, and I spake to Thy disciples that they should cast him out; and
they could not.
“He answereth him, and saith, O faithless
generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring
him unto Me.
“And they brought him unto Him, and when He saw him, straightway
the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
"And He asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, of a child. And oft times it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him, but if Thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.” (Mark 9:17-22)
"And He asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, of a child. And oft times it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him, but if Thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.” (Mark 9:17-22)
Satan had
purposely tormented that child with epileptic seizures and a deaf and dumb
spirit since he was a little baby!
When I learned that, I developed an even deeper dislike and
hatred for Satan and his evil kingdom than ever before!
I have six children and fifteen grandchildren, the
last two being one year old twins, and I am prepared to do anything and
everything within my power to protect them from harm and evil! And from Satan and corrupt, wicked people!
JESUS LOVES LITTLE
CHILDREN!
“And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him
in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted; and become as little children, ye shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven.
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this
little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child
in My name receiveth Me.
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which
believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matt. 18:2-6)
“Then were there brought unto Him little children,
that He should put His hands on them, and pray, and the disciples rebuked
them. But Jesus said, Suffer little
children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me, for of such is the kingdom of
heaven.” (Matt. 19:13-14)
I
thank God for the great compassion He has given me to pray for babies and
little children!
Even hardened criminals in ‘maximum security’ prisons
- who have robbed and murdered - have a soft spot in their hearts for
babies. They will often kill a convicted
child molester if they have the opportunity.
Yet Satan - That Wicked Impostor - hates little babies. He is even worse than any Terrorist or Mobster. In fact he is the instigator, the teacher of dark insanity and gross perversion. One day he will be cast into the Region of the doomed and the damned. Hell is far too good for the Devil. He will end up in the Lake of Fire forever. Amen.
.....To be continued
W
