Hear Dr. Peter Eppinga, M.D.

Oct. 4 - Sun. 10:30 & 6:30

Christ the Healer Gospel Church

136 Ave F S Saskatoon, SK

Pastor Max, Dr. Peter & Rev. Gerry Eppinga

Dr. Peter Eppinga. M.D. 

WHAT IS THE KEY TO 

EARTH SHAKING REVIVAL?

By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

     For years, pundits from the Religious world as well as those from the press, have written about the phenomena called variously ‘A Religious Awakening’ or ‘Revival in the Church’.

   The Bible says, "Wilt thou not Revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee? Show us Thy mercy, O Lord and grant us Thy Salvation." (Psalm 85: 6, 7)

    The most vital thing we need in Canada and elsewhere in this 'Midnight Hour', is a return to Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible! And that necessitates a deep conviction of SIN and sorrow for our cavalier and insulting attitude toward our Lord and His Word!

      Repentance toward God and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ are the two pillars of the Christian Faith. They are necessary for receiving His forgiveness, peace and the assurance of eternal salvation! Without repentance there is no saving faith and without faith there would be no salvation.

     The Bible says: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8, 9)

    “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men to Repent: Because He hath appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised him from the dead." (Acts 17: 30, 31)

 "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, Repentance toward God, and Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20: 21)

       Before his death in an alleged terrorist plane crash in 1956, Dag Hammarsjold, the First Secretary of the United Nation and a Swedish diplomat stated: "Unless the world in the very near future returns to the old time Evangelical Religion it is irredeemably lost."

                                 PRAYER IS ANOTHER KEY!

    Here is another powerful Key to Revival: "A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet upon Shigionoth. O Lord, I have heard Thy Speech, and was afraid: O Lord REVIVE Thy Work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy." (Habakkuk 3: 12)

      The prophet was concerned about Israel and his people. While in prayer God warned him about coming judgment upon His people because of their sinfulness. The prophet was afraid and cried out for mercy. He asked for a Revival of Righteousness. Instead of judgment he cried out for a spiritual awakening. And he wanted it immediately in the midst of the years!

    He was saying, “O Lord, don’t wait until it is too late. Make Yourself known to us while there is still mercy to be had. And it You must judge us, O Lord, in Your great WRATH, please be merciful!”

     The Bible gives us the key: “If My people which are called by My people shall humble themselves and PRAY, and seek MY face, and turn from their wicked way, then will I hear from Heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.” (2 Chron.7:14). 
    There are four things we must do if we are to see a gracious REVIVAL. They are: Repentance, Prayer, Seeking God and Forsaking Sins. We call this verse, 'The Blueprint for Revival'. When God's people are willing to repent, pray and seek God's face in sincerity and faith and forsake their sins, He is ready and willing to forgive, receive us and fill us with His Holy Spirit and bless our land!

   Rev. Charles Spurgeon was a powerful Baptist preacher in London, England in the 19^th. Century. He pastored a large church seating several thousand people. One day a group of Ministers came to visit his great Church.
     They wanted to know the source of his spiritual power. Spurgeon took them to the basement of the church and opened the door to a room with 300 praying parishioners. He said, “Gentlemen, this is the source of my power!”

                          THEY OBEYED GOD TOTALLY!

    They refused to compromise! Nothing could stop the early Church apostles, disciples, deacons and other believers. They counted it a joy to be persecuted for Jesus’ sake! Here is their defense: “And when they had set them in the midst, they asked: By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?  Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and the elders of Israel,  

       “If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole: Be it known unto you all. And to the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, Who God raised Him from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole.

      “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the Head of the Corner (Chief Corner Stone). Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4: 7-12)

      The Early Church leaders were so filled with God’s power and holy boldness that the Jewish Sanhedrin were taken aback when they witnessed the miracles performed under their hands, in Jesus’ name. They beat them, imprisoned them and warned them not to spread the Good News about Jesus the crucified and risen SAVIOUR around Jerusalem, however the disciples said: 

    “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4: 19, 20)  

                         MIRACLES WAS ANOTHER KEY!

      Here is another KEY to Revival. After they had been warned repeatedly that they MUST NOT use the name of Jesus of Nazareth anymore in preaching or praying, they rejected their commands and became even more engaged in spreading Jesus’ gospel!

       “And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice with one accord, and said, Lord, Thou art God, which made Heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is …

        “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy Word, by stretching forth Thine hand to HEAL; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Thy holy child JESUS. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4: 23-31)

   The Holy Record shows that these men of God didn’t buckle or cave in to the demands of God’s enemies but stood firm and true to the commands of Jesus the Head of the Church, and were led constantly by the blessed Holy Spirit.

    They prayed for more miracles, not less! The modern church of today believes for less miracles in total opposition to the commands of Jesus, the ability of the Holy Spirit to produce those miracles in Jesus’ name and the example of the Early Church. 

   I stand with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God in opposition to the weakling compromisers of today who are making the Word of God of none effect by their refusal to obey God rather than man! Amen.

        A MESSENGER BOY FOR JESUS

        After discussing the outstanding miracle healings that had occurred under his ministry, the editor of a major Norwegian newspaper asked, “Who is Max Solbrekken?” He replied, “The boy delivering telegrams does his job and gets back on his bicycle, often without being thanked. The boy is not important but the telegram is.  Max Solbrekken isn't important but the message is very important. “I am just a messenger boy for Jesus!”  Next day's Newspaper had a large picture of the preacher, and the article covered a full page.  The headline screamed, “Max Solbrekken: A Messenger Boy For Jesus!”

      For more than 50 years, Max Solbrekken has carried the Gospel of Jesus Christ to multitudes across the world, the Lord working with him and confirming the Word with miracles, sign and wonders! In 1989 to 1995 he conducted major crusades across the former Soviet Union. 
     In 2004 and 2005, he preached in four Ministers Conventions with a total of 10,000 preachers and in large Parque Brasil in Paulinia, S.P. Brazil he preached to more than 300,000 people on April 13, 2005. His latest Gospel Unity Crusade was in Kampala, Uganda in 2011.

    One of his greatest joys was preaching to Muslims in Darfur, Sudan in 2006.

Donald Bouchard is a powerfully anointed preacher. Join Donald and me for 3 miracle services at Christ the Healer Gospel Church 136 Ave F S, Saskatoon. - Pastor Max Solbrekken

DONALD BOUCHARD 

COMES TO SASKATOON

OCTOBER 17 & 18 

Sat. 7:00; Sun. 10:30 & 6:30

              - Meet Dr. Max Solbrekken & Donald Bouchard -

                         Donald Bouchard preaching the gospel of Christ!

THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL

By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

     "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2 Cor. 11:3)

      Many years ago in Greece there lived a very intelligent and wise old man called Simonides.  One day a group of philosophy students came to this great teacher and philosopher for some help.  They wanted to know, ‘Who or What is God’?

      After a few minutes meditation the grand old man asked the group of students to return the next day, so he could think on the matter.  The following day the students came expecting an answer.  They said, "Most noble Simonides tell us Who or What is God"!

      He scratched his beard and thought for a moment and said, "This is a very deep subject.  I need thirty days to study and think, research and philosophize". In one month's time the students returned only to be told by the scholarly poet, that he needed more time.  He still had no answer.  They were asked to come back in a year's time.

      After 365 days the group of inquisitive, anxious students were ushered in before the great man.  "Most noble Simonides", the spokesman began, "We have come to you for some words of wisdom and understanding.  Would you tell us Sir, What or Who is God?  We are troubled and would like an answer from you."

      The great philosopher stroked his beard and scratched his head as he sat in deep thought.  Then he rose to his feet and said, "Men of Greece:  For 365 days I have pondered and thought.  I have meditated and researched.  I still have no answer - I do not know and I cannot tell What or Who is God!"

       The early Hebrews believed that God was Holiness.  The Greeks believed He was Wisdom, the Romans thought He was Power, and the heathen advocate that God is Mystery.  The Scientists say God is Energy. He is all these and more.  The New Testament tells us what He is:  "God is Love!" (1 John 4:8)

      God is Holiness and Wisdom.  He is Power and Mystery, He is Energy and He is greater than all these.  He is Love, and He loves us all! His love is greater than the love of a mother for her child, a husband for his wife - greater than human love.  His love is heavenly and pure.  It is divine, eternal and past finding out, and it is unconditional!  Don't forget it, my friend; God loves us all.  Let it sink deep into your heart – God loves you!

                                         THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL!

      St. Paul was one of the most educated and learned men in Israel and the founder of the Church among the Gentiles. He wrote more than half of the New Testament. He had received so many visions and dreams that he was given a thorn in the flesh, lest he be exalted above measure. (2 Cor.12: 1-9)

     He had been caught up to Heaven and witnessed things he was not allowed to speak of publicly, and yet he said: “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but LOSS for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them but dung (garbage), that I may win Christ.” (Phil.3:8) 

      The great Apostle wrote: “"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2 Cor. 11:3)

      A number of years ago, a West Indian Anglican Bishop condemned Evangelists for presenting the Gospel and "Reading the New Testament in simplistic terms, and third world countries are being victims of this". He singled out Oral Roberts, Max Solbrekken and Billy Graham in his attack.

      Here is a strange PARADOX. While St. Paul was concerned about people getting away from the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ, a twentieth century Church Leader is afraid that Evangelists are preaching it in easy-to-understand terms!

      The reason large crowds came to hear Jesus Christ preach, was because He was honest, sincere, truthful and had the power to back up His message with signs, wonders and miracles. THERE WAS ONE MORE FACT - HIS MESSAGE WAS SIMPLE AND PLAIN. (John 16:29)

     Ever since the beginning of time, some have tried to confuse the issue by complicating it. We all know however, that the simpler the device, the easier to construct and maintain. The simpler the instruction, the easier to understand and follow and the simpler the message, the easier to comprehend.

     During the Dark Middle Ages, only certain theologians of the Roman Catholic Church were allowed to read the Bible, while the laity were kept in total ignorance and darkness. The vernacular used in the liturgy was Latin - and the people were told that they were too uneducated to read the Bible for themselves.

      Dr. Martin Luther - an Augustian monk - who hadn't seen a Bible until he was more than 20 years of age - got the opportunity to study it. The Word of God changed his life and the gospel message he began to preach changed the world!

         And Martin Luther’s co-worker in the Reformation, Dr. Carlstadt, had attended the best Roman Catholic Seminaries and Universities, graduating with a Doctor of Theology degree, without ever reading the Bible! That is the fallacy of Religious Organizations which favour tradition over the Bible and works over the Grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

      Trying to gain prominence and respect from the people, some clergymen in their arrogance and pride like to "grand stand" by using words, phraseology and terminology which the average person does not understand. The result is that the preacher is left alone in the pulpit with a few half-asleep parishioners, while the rest have stayed at home.

      Before entering the full time ministry, I spent about ten years in the business world. A manager of a large supermarket in Prince Rupert, British Columbia once remarked, "Isn't it strange, I can sit here and listen to you for hours as you talk about Jesus and the Bible, and yet the longest hour of my entire week is attending church Sunday morning and trying to stay awake from 11 AM to 12 noon. I understand what you are saying but my Pastor's message goes over my head".

       The reason Oral Roberts, Billy Graham and Max Solbrekken are able to draw large crowds and reach the multitudes, is because we preach the simple message of Jesus - His death, resurrection, love, power and present day ability to meet the needs of all who come to Him by faith!

                                   IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED!

      The Bible states: “In the beginning God created the heaven    and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Gen.1: 1-3)

      HERBERT SPENCER, a recognized scientist and highly acclaimed philosopher and sociologist writes about, five factors as the most general forms into which the manifestation of the Unknowable (God) is redivisible: time, space, matter, energy and force!

      He explains that to define the Unknowable or GOD, these five factors must be in place: 1. Time, 2. Space, 3. Matter, 4. Energy, 5. Force. In His great wisdom, Almighty God gives us the ANSWER in the first three verses of His holy, infallible and inspired Word.

     HERE IT IS: Time: beginning; Space: heaven; Matter: earth; Energy: Spirit; Force: moved!

      The Evolutionary Theory has been proven untenable among genuine scientists for quite some time. The ‘Ape Doctrine’ took a big hit in Israel in 1983: Evolution Theory found wanting at Local Trial!

      The Jerusalem Post on April 2, 1983 carried the following report: “Evolution was on trial in Jerusalem last week and found GUILTY of failing to meet the standards of a scientific theory by the First Congress of Inquiries into the Origin of Life and Evolution….But most, after rejecting the theory of evolution on scientific grounds, failed to offer an alternative theory to account for the origin and development of life.

    “Instead, they affirmed their belief in Divine Creation…The aims of the Conference were to explain that it is INCORRECT to present the theory of evolution as unchallengeable, and to show much of it as having been refuted. The Education Ministry circularized all schools, principals and supervisors to attend. The Congress was organized by the Ben Gurion University of the Negev sponsored by Israeli’s Minister of Education. It was held on Mount Scopus Campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.”

                               CHARACTER KNOWN BY BELIEF IN GOD!     

      Many of the great breakthroughs in Science have been made by Jewish scientists so it is good to see that they have mostly kept their brains free from the devil’s evolutionary lies; that nothing added to nothing, multiplied by nothing and divided by nothing, created everything!

      What is Science: Encyclopedia Britannica states: In its ‘broadest sense science is learning and knowledge’. Oxford Dictionary says: “Science is systematic and formulated learning.” Another dictionary says: “Science is knowledge gained and verified.” 

     In short, science is knowledge that rests on proof. It is demonstrated knowledge! Where do you suppose knowledge comes from? Naturally, all knowledge and wisdom comes to us from our Creator, Almighty God. God is Omniscient, with all Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding!

     NAZI GERMANY’S Scientists stated: “Science has demonstrated that the Nazis are the Master Race.” The Soviet Union’s School teachers taught for seventy long years that: “Science has proven that there is no God.” In 1972, Soviet Union’s Prime Minister Leonid Breshnev stated: “We are no longer homo sapiens – modern man.  We are homo – sovieticus: A Super Race.”

      From 1989 to 1995, I was privileged to minister a lot in the former Soviet Union and since we drove thousands of miles, especially in the Ukraine, we experienced what Communism had done to that country. Hitting the pot holes and smelling public washrooms at a distance, I once remarked, “The Russians sent their space craft to the moon, but they can’t build a toilet.”

      Infidel Science in Canada, USA and world -wide teach that the theory of evolution is the only viable, rational approach to the origin of all things! How incredibly incredulous our pin-head evolutionary scientists have become! Infidel science is a revolutionary philosophy better known as ‘Foolosophy!”

     No wonder the Bible states: “The fool (idiot, insane person) has said in his heart, there is no God.” (Ps.14:1) The simple truth is that an idiot could say there is no God, because he is an idiot and doesn’t know any better. A person with a normal functioning brain wouldn’t make such a foolish statement!

     MALCOLM MUGGRIDGE, former BBC Radio and TV Commentator and world famous journalist, atheist and evolutionist was soundly converted to Jesus Christ and turned the Academic and Journalistic World on its head. Regarding the Evolutionary Theory, he stated:

      "I myself am convinced that the theory of evolution, especially the extent to which it's been applied will be one of the GREAT JOKES in the history books in the future. Posterity will marvel that so very flimsy and dubious an hypothesis could be accepted with the incredible credulity that it has. I think I spoke to you before about this age as one of the most credulous in history, and I would include evolution as an example.

        “I'm very happy to say that I live near a place called Piltdown. I like to drive there because it gives me a special glow. You probably know that a SKULL was discovered there and no less than 500 doctoral theses were written on the subject and then it was discovered that the SKULL was a PRACTICAL JOKE by a worthy dentist in Hastings who'd hurriedly put a few bones together, not even from the same animal, and buried them and stirred up all this business. So I'm not a great man for bones." 

                                      FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD!

      The Bible says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him  should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). Martin Luther called that verse, ‘A Miniature Bible’. It has been called, ‘The Gospel in a Nutshell’ and ‘The Central Verse of the Bible.”  Multitudes have found eternal life through reading the Holy Scriptures and John 3: 16 is the Gospel of Christ packed in a very concise and powerful life-giving statement.

     The Devil constantly tries to pervert everything he can and he often does so by infiltrating the theological field and especially the area of Bible Translators. They have subtly done so with this verse through translators who have taken it upon themselves to modernize the text thereby undercutting the strength of God’s Word.

     Dr. Henry Morris, a great Bible scholar and Creation scientist stated: “The Greek word for “only begotten” is monogenes, the very form of which clearly denotes “only generated.” As monotheism  connotes only one God and monosyllable means a word of only one syllable, so “mongenes”  means only one genesis or only one generated…or, more simply, “only begotten.” It does not mean “one” or even “one and only.” It is worth noting that, although Christ is called the Son, or the Son of God, frequently in the New Testament, He is never (in the Greek original) called “the only” son of God.

      “The fact is, that to call Him the only Son of God would make the Bible contradict itself, for He is not the only Son of God, and certainly not the “one and only” Son of God. Angels are several times called the sons of God (e.g. Job 38: 7), since they had no fathers, being directly created by God. Likewise Adam was called the son of God (Luke 3; 38), because he was directly created. The same applies even to fallen angels (Gen.6:2), and even to Satan (Job 1:6) because they also were created beings.

      “The term is also used in a spiritual sense, of course, for those who have become new creations, in Christ Jesus by faith. (2 Cor. 5; 17; Eph. 2: 10, etc.). In this sense, we also are “sons of God”. (e.g. 1 John 3:20) by special creation? By special creation, not physically, but spiritually.

     “But it is never applied in this sense to Christ, for He is not a created son of God (as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cultists teach), but the Only Begotten Son of God. He never had a beginning, for He was there in the beginning (John 1; 1). In His prayer to the Father in the upper room, He spoke of “the glory I had with Thee before the world was.” (John 17: 5).” See Micah 5: 2, 3; John 1: 18; John 10:30; Col.1: 15)

     “Jesus Christ did not become the only Son of God by Hi virgin birth, for He is also the ‘eternally begotten' Son of the Father. He is eternally, in His bosom” “yet always “going forth” to declare the Father – once as the creating Word, occasionally in pre-incarnate theophanies, also through the Holy Spirit conveying the written Word, which had been “eternally settled in heaven” (Psalm 119: 89) down to man through divinely chosen prophets, then ultimately appearing as the incarnate Word to live forever as the God/man.”

                                          GOD’S LOVE IS APODICTIC!

     The word apodictic is from the Greek word apodikticos, meaning ‘evident beyond contradictions’. I discovered it many years ago while studying the dictionary. Instantly I thought, that word belongs only to God and the Bible; not to humans! The Majesty, Power, Wisdom, Grace and Righteousness of God are evident beyond contradictions. No-one could dare to contradict God  Love; Calvary proved that!

     God’s love is so amazing and beyond comprehension and yet so personal, accessible and real. Here are several more Scriptures that reveal the love of Jesus Christ toward us: “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on Him.” (John 3: 17, 36)

       Here is a Scripture that has blessed multitudes of people across the world through radio, television and in our large crusades, and has brought healing and deliverance to many: “He that spared not His Son, but DELIVERED Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also, freely give us all things?” (Rom.8: 32)

      This reveals the length to which our Heavenly Father went to redeem a lost, sinful and perishing world. He did not spare His own Son but turned Him over to wicked men who blasphemed Him, spit in His face, pulled out His beard, lashed Him with the razor-sharp Roman cat-of-nine tails until His back looked like a plowed field, and pounded spikes through His hands and feet to a cross at Jerusalem’s garbage dump on Golgotha’s Hill.

     The hymn writer penned these most appropriate words:

   He came to earth the promise to fulfill

   A rugged cross He bore up Calvary’s Hill

   And for my sins He cried, Father forgive

   Born to die, that I might live.

   Born to die, a cruel cross to bear

   Born to die, that I His love may share

   Between two thieves, He bowed His head and cried

  Tis finished, I came to die

                                ALL SINNERS GUILTY BEFORE GOD!

     The Bible says: ‘All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ my Lord.” (Rom.3: 23; 6:23). “For when we were yet without strength (hopeless) in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

      “Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Rom. 5: 6-10)

       The greatest message anyone could hear is that Jesus Christ died for their sins so that they could be forgiven, liberated from bondage and servitude to the world, flesh and the Devil, Hallelujah! The Bible states: “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 sins.” (1 John 1: 7)

      Many years ago during the California Gold Rush, a man lay dying in his little shack. A kind Christian lady came to be with him and was reading the Bible. She read John 3: 16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

      Suddenly, he quickened and speaking in a weak voice asked: “Is that in the Bible?” She answered, “Yes, it is in the Bible.” He asked: “To whom is He speaking? Is He speaking to me?” The lady responded: “Yes, He is speaking to you.” Again the dying man inquired: “Did He say anything else?” Quickly, she answered: “Yes, He did. He said, ‘To as many as received Him, He gives the power to receive eternal life.’” Quietly, the dying man said, “I receive Him. I am satisfied.”

              He had found peace with God and himself! Then, he closed his eyes and was gone. Angels came down and carried his spirit away and brought him safely into the arms of Jesus! What a glorious gospel. What a glorious message of hope and life, we have through the blessed crucified, buried and risen Lord Jesus Christ!

                                   THE BLOOD OF CHRIST OUR ONLY HOPE!

     The blood of Christ is mankind’s only hope! For many years, the Christian church has presented the claims of Jesus Christ to be able to save lost souls, heal the sick and liberate the suffering and wounded, granting eternal life on the basis of His shed blood, vicarious death and glorious resurrection from the dead!

      St. Paul wrote: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; BUT UNTO US which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor.1: 17, 18)

      “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but One. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many, and lords many.) BUT TO US (believers) there us BUT ONE GOD, the Father of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things, and we by Him.” (1 Cor. 8: 4-6)

      “Now it was not written for His sake alone, that it was imputed to him; BUT FOR US ALSO, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences (sins) and raised again for our justification.” (Rom.4: 23-25)

            St. Paul didn’t pull any punches. He cleared the decks and told it like it was and still is! He stressed the fact that there are many false prophets worshipping god of no value for they are only ‘make believe gods’, and if the pagan want to believe in them that is their own business and to their folly, however, we are Christians, believers in Jesus Christ our Lord, Saviour, Master and God!

              We do not mix pagan faiths with the Pure Gospel of Christ! We do not compromise the Word of God to please anybody. There is only ONE GOD: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Amen.

                                             PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN!

     Shortly after President Ronald Reagan was seriously wounded by a deranged gunman, his pastor asked him, “Mr. President, were you ready to die?” He replied: “Oh no, I have so much more work to do!” His pastor continued: “Mr. President, I meant were you ready to meet God?” Ronald Reagan answered: “Oh, Yes!” The pastor probed: “Mr. President, why would you say that?” to which Ronald Reagan replied: “I have a Saviour!"

     My question to you, friend is this: “Do you have a Saviour?”  The Bible says: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32). He stated: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.” (Luke 19: 10).

     St. Paul said: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Tim.1:15).  Our Lord invites: “Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11: 28); “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6: 37)

                                           JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW!

        In Billy Graham: Personal Thoughts of a Public Man, British TV commentator David Frost wrote: “I once asked Billy Graham what his goal was when he took the pulpit. He replied: “First of all, I want the content to be accurate. I want it to be biblical and I want it to be simple. I study to be simple.” I pressed him. “Can’t a message be too simple?”

       He answered: “When Dr. Karl Barth, the great Swiss theologian, the greatest theologian of his generation, was visiting America a couple years ago, he was at one of our great seminaries, and a student asked him the question, ‘Dr. Barth, what is the greatest single thought that ever crossed your mind?”

      The students thought some tremendous statement was coming forth and they were all on the edge of their seats and he said, ‘Jesus loves me; this I know for the Bible tells me so.’” 

     No more beautiful words have ever spoken by men or angels than these: “I know God loves me!”  Praise God.  Say these precious words and believe them and you will see what a change will be affected within your life. May God bless you, in Jesus’ name! Amen.

JESUS HIMSELF:

THE REVELATION OF GOD'S WILL

         By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

      “Then said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of the Book it is written of Me, to do Thy Will, O God.” (Heb.10: 7, 9); “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. “And He that sent Me is with Me; the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.” (John 8: 28, 29)    

      Moses spoke of the coming Redeemer (Deut.18: 15-22), David wrote of Him (Ps.22: 16) and Isaiah foretold His miraculous birth, sacrificial death and glorious resurrection (Is.7:14; 6: 6; 50:5; 53:1-12).

     St. Paul says: “God, Who at sundry times and in divers (various) manners spoke in times 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.” (Heb. 1: 1, 2)

       The Word of God is the Will of God! The Will of God and the Word of God are the same. No pronouncement by a Theological College or Seminary can change the Word or Will of God. Nor, will any new revelation put forth by a would-be prophet, in any way alter the Word or Will of God. God’s written Word is inspired, infallible, unalterable, eternal and authoritative!

       The Bible declares that Jesus of Nazareth is the Word of God: “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 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).

      St. John declares: “That which was in the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life.” (1 John 1
                      CHRIST THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD!

      Jesus Christ declared Himself the Eternal Son of God: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14: 6); “If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him …He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

     “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me… And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it. If ye love Me, keep My commandments.

     “And 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; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

    “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 them, and 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 will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.

     “He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings: and the Word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14: 7-31)

      Jesus Himself is the REVELATION of the will of God regarding every doctrine in the Bible. He came to earth to do the will of God. He lived out the will of God before men. His life was perfect and no man could condemn Him!

      He challenged His critics: “Which of you convinceth Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me?” (John 8:46)

      “And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will do His WILL, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself.” (John 7: 15-17)

     Even Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who finally consented to His death, declared Him faultless: “Pilate saith unto Him, What is truth: And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in Him no fault at all.” (John 18: 38; Luke 23: 4)

                    JESUS: THE WILL OF GOD IN ACTION!

       Regarding repentance and faith, forgiveness and healing, peace and joy, Jesus of Nazareth was not only an example, He was the WILL OF GOD in action. Everything He said and did showed forth the mercy, grace and kindness of our Saviour toward mankind!

      Beginning with the Healing Covenant that Almighty God made with His Chosen people at Marah following their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, we see His declared Will to save and heal His people.

     “And he (Moses) cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree (type of the cross) which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there He made for them a statute (law) and an ordinance (an order, decree) and there He proved them,

     “And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee which I have brought upon the Egyptians: For I am the Lord that healeth thee.” (Ex. 15: 25, 26)

       SEVEN HUNDRED years before the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in Bethlehem, the Isaiah prophesied His birth, death and resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit: “Surely He hath borne our sicknesses (heb. makob), and carried or pains (heb. nasa): yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed.” (Is.53: 4,5)

      JESUS Himself is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s Atonement Chapter and the Revelation of God’s Will in Divine Healing: “When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His Word and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” (Matt.8: 16, 17)
               GOD’S WILL IN FORGIVENESS & HEALING!

     Jesus revealed the will of God regarding FORGIVENESS. To the woman caught in the act of adultery, He said: “Neither do I condemn. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11). To the thief on the cross He said: “Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23: 43. The story about the Prodigal Son’s return to his Father is a classic example of God’s dealing with Mankind:

      “And he arose and came to his father, but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. And the Father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.”(Luke 15: 20-22)

      He revealed the Will of God regarding HEALING. He healed everyone who touched Him or asked for prayer.  He commanded His Apostles and Disciples to heal the sick, cast out devils and raise the dead! That is why He gave the Great Commission to all believers to preach the Gospel and heal the sick! (Mark 16: 15-20)

     “And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these SIGNS shall follow them that believe,

     “In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands on the sick and they shall recover. And THEY went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with SIGNS following.” (Mark 16: 15-20)

     And that is why St. James wrote: “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall RAISE him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (James 5: 14, 15)

     The REASON this gift was given to the Church, and why Jesus HEALED the multitudes and commanded His disciples to do the same, was to do His Father’s WILL, fulfill Holy Scripture and to destroy the works of the Enemy! It was to lay out the ground rules with definite instructions to His apostles, disciples and all believers on the purpose, program and work of His Church!

        It was to demonstrate the Holy Spirit’s power over Satan through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His glorious resurrection from the dead! And it was to liberate lost, fearful, sick and tormented human beings from the cruel and torturous onslaught of the devil in continuance until Christ’s Return! And FINALLY, it was to reveal to everyone Who Jesus is and to glorify His Father in Heaven! Amen.

      St. John was very excited and stirred about the great healing Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. He stated that our Lord did so many miracles that if they had been all recorded, all the libraries of the world could not contain all the books!

     “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

      “And there are many other things which Jesus did the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” (John 20: 30, 31; 20:25)

     Jesus stated: “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

     He said to His disciples:  “And when they had found Him, they said unto Him, All men seek for Thee. And He said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, for therefore came I forth. And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and CAST OUT DEVILS.” (Mark 1:27-29)

               THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD ANOINTS!

     He came to Nazareth where He had been brought up and He stood up and he read from Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath ANOINTED Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to HEAL the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the CAPTIVES, and recovering of SIGHT to the blind; to set at LIBERTY them that are bruised.”  (Luke 4:18)

      After His commentary on that Scripture, they sought to kill Jesus in His home town: “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath He escaped out of their hands.”

      Some theologians believe that Almighty God made Jesus invisible when they brought Him to the brow of a hill planning to cast Him down headlong, but He walked away unscathed. The Jews were not allowed to kill Jesus even though they hated Him, because the Scripture stated that He must die outside the Gates of Jerusalem by crucifixion at the hands of the Romans!

      I repeat, the major reason that Jesus of Nazareth healed the sick and suffering was to do HIS FATHER’S WILL. Going back to the time of CREATION, the Word of God states: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiple, and replenish the earth…And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was VERY GOOD…” (Gen.1: 27, 28, 31)

     There was no sickness, pain or death in the Garden of Eden, until Satan came with his insidious lies through the serpent and Eve fell for it. Adam and Eve SINNED and their rebellion brought sickness, pain, death and sorrow onto the human race, which had previously been completely and totally well, free from sin, worry, fear and death!

     God the Father through His Son Jesus of Nazareth, was restoring man back to his original and giving the human race a taste of what will be the norm when Jesus reigns supreme on the earth! In His wrath against SIN and the FRUIT of sin, He was showing Satan that He would no longer be the master of planet earth and his prisoners. Jesus came down from Heaven to show us what Life in Christ could and should be. He was restoring man to what he was intended to be before the Fall of Adam!
              SICKNESS: THE DEVIL’S OPPRESSION!

  ORAL ROBERTS, a great man of God who was used greatly in bringing deliverance to the sick and suffering stated: “Jesus gave His disciples power. This is an impartation of power that is against something – against the sin in your life, against the sickness in your body, against any evil spirit or fear that torment your mind or spirit. This power is given to a man who has Christ. It is not a power we possess by ourselves or within ourselves. It is not resident within the individual. This power is in every person who has Christ, but it is in an accelerated form in a Minister of the Gospel who is fully committed to Him.

      “Sickness is torment: it is the devil's oppression. It is a frontal attack of Satan against the Kingdom of Heaven. Really, Satan isn't striking at you or me. He is striking against God. But Christ, in His power, comes to deliver us. Healing is God's counter attack against Satan.” - Commentary on Matthew

      JESUS CHRIST healed the sick and suffering because of God’s LOVE for mankind. His mercy, grace and compassion drove Him to go beyond human endurance to heal multitudes everywhere He went and to demonstrate God’s intense love for His creation! It was also, I repeat, to destroy the works of the Devil who had brought such devastation and chaos through his diabolical attack on man, who was made in the image of God!

      Christ’s intense desire to heal the SICK and to cast out devils was a foretaste for Satan of his total DEMISE when Jesus would CRUSH his head on Golgotha’s Cross! The Bible says: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her SEED; It (the seed of the woman) shall bruise (crush) thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” (Gen. 3: 15)

     God foreordained the enmity between snakes and humans and between Satan’s followers and Christ the SEED of the woman, and finally Christ would crush Satan’s head at the cross. The bruising of His heel was His death which would only be a bruise because He would rise from the dead, victorious over death, Hell and the grave!

                   THE SERPENT’S HEAD IS CRUSHED!

      As a young minister, I used to preach that Satan and his demons were joyful around the cross thinking they had achieved a victory, but after studying the power of Jesus’ blood for more than fifty years, I preach a different message now!

     There were not many demons around the CROSS when the spikes were driven into Christ’s hands and feet (Greek word for hand includes wrist). Most of them left when Jesus was brutally scourged by Roman soldiers wielding razor-sharp cat-of-nine-tails whips in Pilate’s Judgment Hall. I believe that when those demons saw the life-giving and death-dealing BLOOD of Jesus Christ being shed, they screamed in terror and fled.

     And finally, if Satan was still near the cross, when he heard Christ shout ‘It is finished’, he trembled in fear and he shook with delirium tremens as he slouched his way to a cave somewhere to lick his chops!

      Satan knew the Holy Scriptures: “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Heb.9:22); “It is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul.” (Lev.17:11): “When I see the Blood I will pass over you,” (Ex.12: 13). He had no doubt heard John the Baptist declare: “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.” (John 1: 29).

       Just before Jesus died on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished.” (John 19:30). Jesus spoke in Greek, using the word ‘tetelestai’! The word tetelestai is taken from the Greek verb teleo which has three essential meanings: to finish something and bring something to an end; to fulfill something; and to pay that which is owed. He had finished His work and completed His mission. He had brought to an end Satan's domination over the human race for those who would trust in Christ. He had fulfilled every O.T. prophetic Scripture about the coming Messiah.  And He had paid for our Eternal Salvation, which includes forgiving all our sins and healing all our infirmities!

       Divine Healing was God’s Will during Old Testament times. It was God’s will during Christ’s earthly Ministry. It was God’s will in the Early Church. It is God’s will today and until the end of time! If it isn’t, then Jesus must have disappointed His Father in Heaven, yet He said that He did all things to please Him and on two occasions our Heavenly spoke publicly: “This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.”

      Some Evangelicals are worse than the Pharisees, whom they criticize! The Bible states: “Jesus asked: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? And He took him and he healed him and let him go.” (Luke 14:3, 4).

      The Pharisees believed in healing, but not on the Sabbath: “And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath Day, and said unto the people. There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” (Luke 13: 14)

      Some Evangelicals and Jehovah’s Witnesses say: “No, we don’t believe in healing. We won’t come to Jesus and don’t want to be anointed with oil in His name!

                 ONE AND ONLY ONE TRUE GOD!

      The Athanasius Creed states: “The Father is made of none, neither created or begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten – the Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding!

       There is only One True God, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit! In the Divine Economy of God there is no room for counterfeits or manufactured, man-made-gods! The very first of the Ten Commandments, written by the Finger of God in two tables of stone, says: “Thou shalt have no other gods beside Me.” (Exodus 20: 3)

         St. Paul stated: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel; not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; BUT UNTO US which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:17, 18)

        “…We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but One. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or earth, (as there be gods many and lords many) BUT TO US (Christians) there is but ONE GOD, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and One Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things, and we by Him.”  (1 Cor.8: 4-6)

      The Word of God states that if the pagan want to believe in their man-made, pretend gods, that is their business. We cannot partake of their folly. We, who are believers in Christ have only one God, the True God, Who is our Lord, Creator, Father and God!  

      We do not, cannot and will not embrace the demonic, false teachings of pagan religions! We embrace only the Word of God, the Holy Bible and Jesus Christ God’s Son, Who was incarnated (God in human flesh), suffered bled and died for our sins and rose again, victorious over death, hell and the grave!

       “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the Only Wise God our Saviour, be glory and Majesty Dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 24, 25)

      Jesus said: “Be ye healed” and St. Peter stated: “Jesus Christ maketh thee whole.” My dear friend, I say to you: “Receive ye the gift of the Holy Ghost and be well. In Jesus’ name!” Amen.