AN AIR OF GREAT EXPECTANCY

By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

     There is an air of genuine expectancy in the hearts of spiritually alert Christians today. A sense that something big is about to happen on the ‘spiritual front’ in the battle for lost and dying souls. The Battle is enjoined between right and wrong, between good and evil, between God’s elect and Satan’s emissaries.  It goes right back to the prophecy made by the Creator in the presence of Adam and Eve which was directed to the Liar, the defrocked Lucifer, who had instigated the High Treason coup.

    The Big Question is: 'What are we expecting'? Is the prophetic Word of God in the Holy Scriptures speaking to us? Is the Blessed Holy Spirit revealing truths from the Word which have been hidden to our spirit man? Is He divulging truths of coming events, yet not revealed? Is God using His Word, the Holy Spirit and His Blood to make a deliberate statement to us about the need for a Revival of righteousness, so that an Awakening happens in the world of sinning men and women?

     We are all familiar with the last words spoken by our Crucified, Risen and Glorified Saviour, before His ascension to the Right hand of God’s Throne. Reading the Great Commission always stirs my heart to pray. It grips my spirit until I can hardly lay down the Holy Bible. It stirs me to go out and win souls on a one-to-one basis, as well as in crusade services!

    THE GREAT COMMISSION of our Lord Jesus commands: “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)

REPENT OR ELSE...!

      As great and powerful as those words are, they were not the last words of command uttered by our Lord. On the Isle of Patmos Jesus Christ issued His last command to the church. It was not “GO YE...”, but “REPENT---OR ELSE.” Unto five of the seven churches, His message was: “Repent” or He would remove their candlestick or worse! (Rev.2; 5, 16, 22; 3: 3, 19)

     Taking the pulse of today’s deteriorating world does not generate HOPE! There isn’t a lot to look forward to with the recent bombing in Boston, planned terrorist attacks on Canada / US Trains, North Korea's nuclear posturing, Iran coming close to possessing Atomic bombs, economic chaos in Europe, terrorists in the USA, tottering Superpower status, together with staggering Natural Disasters.  

      When you add to that, the growing apostasy of the Protestant Churches in the Western World and the Roman Catholic Pope Francis' rush to draw closer to the Religion of Islam and the Eastern Orthodox Church, we realize that we are living in a time unparelleled in human history.

      There is, however, an excitement IN MY SPIRIT as I daily draw near to our Lord through His life-giving Word and prayer, in close fellowship with the Father and the Son through the Blessed Holy Spirit. I sense, as never before, His quickening presence and a deepening of my understanding of the Mystery of the Godhead and His Eternal Plan, Purpose and Will for His Church. We are seeing more and more miracles and answers to our prayers, for which I am so very grateful to our Lord. 

      The Holy Scripture states: "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with PERPLEXITY; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

     “And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your Redemption draweth nigh." (Luke 21: 25-28) 

    We are EXPECTING God's power to be poured upon His people in a greater measure than ever before as we see the end approaching. Remember, our Lord said: "Ye shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And ye shall be WITNESSES unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the end of the world." (Acts 1:8)

HOW WILL THIS HAPPEN?

    Jesus said: "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may ABIDE with you forever, Even the SPIRIT OF TRUTH; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come unto you. And at that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me and I in you. 

     "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of My Father, and I will LOVE him and I will MANIFEST Myself to him. Jesus Answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My Words, and My Father WILL LOVE HIM, and We (The Father & His Son) and make OUR abode with him." (John 14: 16-23)

      Here is a great truth: All we need to do for the Heavenly Father to love us, is to love Jesus, believe His Words and keep them. God is then obligated to love us and manifest Himself to us. Praise the Lord!

      I am excited because I am EXPECTING a mighty REVIVAL of God consciousness across the world, even though spiritual darkness is creeping across much of the planet and evil forces of Satanic nature, dressed in religious garb, is on the march as Satan knows he has but a short time left to make his desperate move to control the world.

     The great TRUTH is that SIN is an abomination to GOD and that when God the SON was incarnated (God in human flesh) He did so that He could DESTROY sin! And that is exactly what He did when He poured out His pure and perfect blood as solvent for our sins, purchasing eternal life for all who would believe on Him as Lord and Saviour!

  THE BLOOD OF HIS CROSS!

      In his book ‘The Blood of His Cross’, Dr. Andrew Murray writes: “The great event which moved Heaven, earth and Hell; for which the world had to wait for four thousand years; the results which will endure forever – the shedding of the blood of the Son of God on the Cross – had an unspeakably great object: – It was to bring about the destruction of sin itself, and of its consequences.”

      The Bible states: “Wherefore as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

     “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” (Rom.5:12,17,20) Here is the glorious truth: WHEN SIN ABOUNDS, GODS GRACE IS EVEN MORE ABUNDANT.

      The Bible says: “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins.” (Heb. 9:22); “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 our sins.” (1 John 1: 7). Amen.

        WE HAVE A SIN PROBLEM!

      Dr. Billy Graham lamented: “Yet, the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control. My heart aches for America and its deceived people.” Shortly after the 2012 Aurora Movie Massacre, Fox News Commentator Mike Huckabee stated: “Ultimately, we don’t have a Crime Problem or a Gun Problem. What we have is a SIN Problem. And since we ordered God out of our schools and communities, the Military and public conversations, you know we shouldn't act surprised when all hell breaks loose.”

    Many years ago Dr. Oral Roberts stated: “I have read the last chapter in the BOOK (Holy Bible) and it says that, “We Win.” Praise the Lord!