TAKING JESUS AT
HIS WORD
By Pastor Max Solbrekken,
D.D.
Jesus
of Nazareth made some of the most amazing statements and outstanding promises
ever uttered by anyone! Why should we believe Him? Who was Jesus of Nazareth
and what credentials does He have? Since He was born nearly 2,000 years ago,
how do we know that He is still alive? What proof exists to confirm His
impressive claims of having come from Heaven to do His Father's will? Can
we trust the Holy Bible? Can we trust His Words?
After
nearly 2,000 years, WE DO HAVE an
enormous wealth of solid historical, biblical and spiritual proof that Jesus
Christ of Nazareth was Who He claimed to be, God the Son from Eternity. And
that His promises are genuine and will all be fulfilled, as He said!
His
resurrection three days following His vicarious death for us all on Golgotha's
Hill is the foundation Stone of Christianity and the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
If He
had not risen from the dead, there would be NO Eternal Life, NO
Gospel Message of hope, peace or joy and NO forgiveness, healing or
blessing! There would be nothing but pain, fear and loss for time and eternity,
if Jesus Christ of Nazareth had remained in the tomb!
The
Gospel is Good News for fallen man. It is the Good Tidings of the great mercy,
grace and love of God projected towards a sinful and rebellious race! The
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology says: “The gospel is the joyous proclamation of
God’s activity in Christ on behalf of man enslaved by sin.”
St. Paul
wrote: "Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say
some among you that there be no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no
resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen,
then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
"And
if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then also
them that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we
have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
"But
now, is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them the
slept."
(1 Cor.15: 12-20)
WHAT
DOES THAT MEAN?? He was the first to die and ARISE from the dead, never to die
again! Poor Lazarus had to die the second time and will be raised on the ‘Great Resurrection Morning’! It means
that because Jesus arose from the dead, we will also rise from the dead. He led
the way and we will follow. Hallelujah. Amen!
TWO SUBJECTS
THAT UNSETTLE ATHEISTS!
The
two subjects that agnostics, atheists and evolutionists fear more than anything
else are: the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus!
The birth
of Jesus of Nazareth, His life and crucifixion were all well documented by the
Jewish Sanhedrin and the Roman Authorities. The earthquake, darkness at noon
and the rent veil in the Temple at the time of Christ's death, were AWESOME,
frightening and very unnerving!
Our
Lord's resurrection, however, rocked the Jewish Community bringing tens of
thousands to belief in Jesus as Messiah and God's Son!
His
resurrection from the dead on the third day, the huge stone rolled away from
the tomb, guards prostrated on the ground at the sight of angels and long dead
saints seen in Jerusalem, would have made a tremendous impact on the residents
of the Holy City.
How
could they dispute it? The Roman Centurion and his soldiers at the cross had
witnessed it all and they bowed down, saying: "Surely, this was the Son
of God." Certainly the Centurion would have investigated the damage at
the Temple, and how could anyone explain the supernatural force that rent the 66
foot high, 33 foot wide and 4 inch thick veil from top to bottom.
And if
there were no resurrection, WHERE was His body? Who could have moved His body
and WHY would kidnappers remove His grave clothes? HOW could they have gotten
the grave clothes off a ridged corpse and WHEN could they have done all that
with an entire detail of soldiers guarding the tomb?
And how
would the High Priest, religious scholars and the Sanhedrin explain, 'why
no-one died in the temple when the Holy of Holies was compromised'. They must
have realized that Almighty God had vacated the Temple.
Any man
entering the Holy of Holies, with the exception of the High Priest carrying
blood and only on the Day of Atonement, would instantly die. Yet, no-one
died! At the moment that Jesus Christ, God's Paschal Lamb cried out,
"It is finished; It is fulfilled; It is paid;" (gr.
'tet-telestai') and died, Almighty God tore the veil and left the Holy
of Holies! (John 19: 30)
WHY DID GOD REND THE VEIL? Jesus
was the Sacrifice, the Mercy Seat and the High Priest.
After having defeated death, Hell and the grave, He rose victoriously from the
dead and carried His shed blood into the Holy of Holies in Heaven, where it
is now interceding for us before the throne of God! (Heb.2: 14; 9: 11-14,
24)
THE PHENOMENON OF
PENTECOST!
The
phenomenon of Pentecost was so powerful that it swept 3,000 souls into the
Kingdom of God. Jesus had promised His disciples: "But ye shall receive
power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be My witnesses
in Jerusalem and in all Judæa and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth." (Acts 1: 8)
JESUS
promised: "Peace be unto you; as My Father hath sent Me, so send I you.
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and He said unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost." (John 20: 21,22); "And, behold, I send the
promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued
with power from on High." (Luke 24:49)
The BIBLE says: "To
whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs,
being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the
Kingdom of God.
"And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the PROMISE of the Father which
saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall
be baptized with Holy Ghost not many days hence." (Acts 1: 3-5)
John
the Baptist had prophesied: "...I indeed baptize you with water; but
One mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to
unloose. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and Fire." (Luke 3:
16)
THE FIRE OF
THE LORD FELL!
"And
when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one
place. And suddenly there cane a sound from Heaven as of a mighty rushing
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting and there
appeared cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as
the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2: 1-4)
When the
HOLY SPIRIT fell, thousands of people rushed near to hear and see this great
thing. St. Peter quoted the Holy Scriptures, reproving, challenging and
inviting them to repent of their sins and promising them forgiveness of sins
and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, if they would receive the Lord Jesus Christ
and believe the Gospel!
He
challenged: "Ye men of Israel, hear these word: Jesus of Nazareth, a
man approved of God among you by miracles, wonders in the midst of you, as ye
yourselves also know. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, Whom God hath raised up,
having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be held of it." (Acts
2: 22-24).
"Therefore let the all the House of Israel know assuredly, that God
hath made that same Jesus, Whom ye have crucified, both LORD and CHRIST. Now
when they heard that, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and
to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and ye shall
receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your
children, and
to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
(Acts 2: 36-39)
SAUL OF TARSUS
MEETS JESUS!
Christ's
resurrection from the dead and His appearance to Saul of Tarsus, the notorious
enemy of the fledgling Christian Church, opened the Gentile World to the Gospel
and eventually the acceptance of Christianity by pagan Rome!
Can you
imagine the impact of Saul's apprehension by Jesus Christ of Nazareth on the
Damascus Road had on the Sanhedrin, the scribes, Pharisees and the Jewish
Priesthood!
Saul of
Tarsus was their leading light and a ferocious enemy of Jesus Christ and His
followers. He was a 24-karat-gold religious fanatic who suddenly was struck
down to the earth, blinded by the appearance of Jesus Christ and soundly
converted and filled with the Holy Spirit.
He had
held the clothing of the men who threw the stones that killed Stephen, the
first Christian martyr. By his own testimony, he had "wasted the
church, and destroyed it." (Gal.1: 13-16, 23)
The Holy
Scripture says: "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter
against the disciples of he Lord, went unto the High Priest, and desired of him
letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way,
whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
"And
as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about
him a light from Heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying
unto him, Saul, Saul, Why persecutest thou Me? And he said, Who art Thou, Lord?
And the Lord said, I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to
kick against the pricks (goads).
"And
he trembling and astonished said, Lord, What
wilt Thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the
city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed
with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no man.
"And
Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but
they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days
without sight, and neither did eat nor drink." (Acts 9: 1-9)
HE SHOWED
HIMSELF ALIVE!
The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth
changed the world! Nothing like this had ever happened before! It was the great
event that triggered the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
The
Holy Spirit could not be poured out on the Church before Jesus Christ, God's
Pascal Lamb, had poured out His blood for the sins of the world. And Jesus
had to ascend the Throne, before receiving from the Father the right to pour
out the Blessed Holy Spirit upon the Church!
Without
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit there would not be a Church, because the
Church was born on the Day of Pentecost. Through the power of the Holy Spirit,
the early followers of Jesus "filled
Jerusalem with Christ's doctrine" and "turned the world upside down." (Acts 5: 28; 17:6)
For
forty days after His resurrection our precious Lord and Saviour appeared on a
number of occasions to His disciples while strengthening His Church and
preparing them for the descent of the Blessed Holy Spirit.
The Holy
Record states: "To whom He showed Himself alive after His passion by
many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the
things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." (Acts 1: 3)
St.
Paul, formerly a bitter, hateful enemy of Jesus of Nazareth and His Church,
lays out in concise words what is the pure Gospel:
“For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received how that Christ DIED for our sins according to the
Scriptures, And that He was BURIED,
and that He ROSE AGAIN the third
day according to the Scriptures:
"And that He was SEEN of Cephas, then of the twelve: after
that He was SEEN of above five hundred
at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are
fallen asleep. After that, He was SEEN of James; then of all the
Apostles.
"And last of all, He was SEEN of me also, as one born out of
due time. For I am the least of the Apostles, that am not meet to be called an
Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was
bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all,
yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Cor.15: 3-10)
WHAT DID THE
PROPHETS SAY?
When the
Risen Christ encountered the two disciples on the Emmaus road, He stated: "O
fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not
Christ to have suffered these things; And beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning
Himself." (Luke 24: 25-27)
Jesus
appeared to His disciples and others: "And as they thus spoke, Jesus
Himself stood in their midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed they had seen a spirit.
"And
He said unto them, why are ye troubled?
And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet,
that it is I Myself: handle Me and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones,
as ye see Me have. And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His hands and
His feet.
"And
while they believed not yet for joy, and wondered, He said unto them; Have ye
here any meat? And they gave Him a piece
of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb, And He took it and did eat before them.
"And
He said unto them: These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet
with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written
in the LAW OF MOSES, and in the PROPHETS, and in the PSALMS concerning
Me.
"Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the
Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ
to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.
"And, behold, I send the PROMISE
OF MY FATHER upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be
endued with power from on High." (Luke 24: 36-49)
I BELIEVE, I
BELIEVE GOD!
The father of a demon
possessed boy said: "Master, I have brought to 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." (Mark 9: 17, 18)
When he
was brought to Jesus, the spirit threw him to the ground. The father stated: "And
often it has cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but
if Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and HELP us."
"Jesus
said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things all possible to him that
believeth and straightway the father answered, I BELIEVE. Help Thou mine
unbelief." (Mark 9: 24). Then, Jesus cast the evil spirit out of the
boy and he was made well!
Our
Master stated: "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with
God all things are possible." (Mark
10: 27) Hallelujah
DAVID ACCEPTS
GOLIATH'S CHALLENGE!
"And
the Philistine said to David, COME TO ME, and I will give thy flesh
to the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. Then David said to the
Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear, and with a shield:
But I come to thee in the name
of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
"This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will
smite thee and take thine head from thee; and give the carcasses of the host of
Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the
earth; that all the earth may
know that there is a God in Israel.
"And
all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: For
the BATTLE IS THE LORD'S and He will give you into our hands. And it
came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came nigh to meet David that David
hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
"And
David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and it
smote the Philistine in the forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and smote the
Philistine and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
"Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his
sword and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him and cut off his head.
And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled." (1
Sam.17: 44-51)
ST. PAUL SAID,
'I BELIEVE GOD!
The
Bible records the devastating storm during St. Paul's sea journey to Rome: "And when neither sun nor stars in
many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be
saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the
midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened to me, and not have
loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
“And now I exhort you to be of good cheer:
for there shall be no loss of any man’s life, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of
God, WHOSE I AM and Whom I serve, saying, Fear not,
Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them
that sail with thee.
“Wherefore,
sirs, be of good cheer: for I BELIEVE GOD, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit,
we must be cast upon a certain island.” (Acts 27: 20-26)
THE FULFILLMENT: Everything the angel of
God told St. Paul came to pass and a great revival broke out when JESUS
protected His servant Paul from the deadly snake bite and brought healing to
the father of Publius.
“In the same quarters were possessions
of the chief man of the island whose name was Publius; who received us, and
lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass that the father of Publius
lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed,
and laid his hands on him, and healed him
“So when
this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were
healed.” (Acts 28: 7-9)
WHY DO I BELIEVE
THE BIBLE?
People sometimes ask: “Why do you believe
the Bible? My answer: “After thousands
of hours of deep study of the Scriptures, historical records, fulfilled prophecies
and current events and fifty years of preaching His Gospel across the world, I
could give hundreds of reasons why I believe that the Holy Bible is God’s Word.
One reason suffices: Jesus Christ believed the Old Testament and that is good
enough for me!”
Here is a COMMENTARY of what GOD, the Father
says of His SON:
“God, Who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last
days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom
also He made the worlds;
“Who
being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His Person, and
upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged
our sins, sat down on the Majesty on High; Being made so much better than the
angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
“For unto
which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten
Thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son? And
again, when He bringeth in the First Begotten into the world, He saith; And let
all the angels worship Him.
“But
unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of
righteousness is the sceptre of Thy Kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and
hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of
gladness above Thy fellows.
“And Thou
Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens
are the works of Thine hands: They shall perish; but Thou remains; and they all
shall wax old as doth a garment.
“And as a
vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the
same, and Thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said He at any
time, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.” (Heb.1:
1-3)
INTELLIGENT PEOPLE BELIEVE IN
GOD!
I believe in God because it is OBVIOUS that
He exists and rules over His creation! King David, the greatest king to rule
over Israel was also a Prophet of God. He made this staggering statement: “The
FOOL (insane person, idiot) hath said in his heart: There is no God.” (Psalm
14: 1)
He conveyed the truth that every person
with a normally developed brain would be able to understand that there is a God
Who has created the worlds and all things therein. An idiot, however, cannot be
held responsible for saying that there is no God, because he doesn’t know any
better!
King
David stated: “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!
who has set Thy glory above the heavens. When I consider Thy heavens, the work
of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained,
“What is
man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of Man, that Thou visitest him?
For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him
with glory and honour Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy
hands; Thou hast put all thing under his feet.” (Psalm
8: 1-6)
THOMAS is known for his doubts about
Christ’s resurrection. On His first appearance to the eleven apostles, after
His resurrection, Thomas was not present. When he was told that the MASTER was
alive and had visited them, he said: “Except I
shall see in His hands the prints of the nails, and put my finger in the print
of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John
20:25)
The Holy Record states: “And after
eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: Then came
Jesus, the door being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto
you.
“Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither
thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither Thy hand, and thrust it into
My side, and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said
unto Him, my Lord and my God.
“Jesus saith
unto him, Thomas, because Thou hast seen thou hast believed, blessed are they who
have not seen and yet believed.” (John 20: 26-29)
Here is the Key to Peace, Joy, Assurance, Fellowship and Power with God! Like Thomas we must fall before the Lord Jesus Christ and worship Him, Who is the Great I AM, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Resurrection and the Life! He must truly be our LORD and our GOD. As Lord, He is our Master and we must OBEY Him, and as God we must WORSHIP Him!
WE ARE THE CHURCH: THE BODY OF CHURCH!
If you, my dear friend, have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and God as did St. Thomas, then you are a member of the body of Christ and can in good faith, by God's grace and through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant make the following Confession of Faith on a daily basis:
* We are sheep of one Flock
* We are stones on one Building
* We are branches in one Vine
* We are limbs in one Body
* We are washed in one Blood
* We are bread of one Loaf
* We are lights of one Light
* We are epistles of one Book
* We are nourished by one Word
* We are baptized into one Body
* We are servants of one Master
* We are filled by one Holy Spirit
* We are bone of His bone, flesh
of His flesh, members in particular
of Christ's Body, the Church which
is the pillar and the ground of the
Truth! (1 Timothy 3: 15) Amen.
St. John writes: “And many other
signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciple which are not written in
this book. But these are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His name.”
(John 20: 30, 31). Amen.
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