REVIVAL IN CANADA WILL COME WHEN GOD'S
CHURCH BEGINS TO PRAY. JOHN WESLEY SAID,
GOD DOES NOTHING EXCEPT THROUGH PRAYER
AND EVERYTHING BY IT. BRETHREN, LET US PRAY!
Christ prayed just before His vicarious death for us all on
Golgotha (place of the skull) outside Jerusalem's city walls.
WE
ARE SECURE IN JESUS
By Pastor Max Solbrekken,
D.D.
"If
ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth. For
ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When
Christ Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with
Him in Glory."(Col.3: 1-4)
As Believers, we live by faith
and are being transformed by our Heavenly Father into the image of
His Son (Rom.12:1,2). It is miraculous, indeed, that we who were
sinners by birth, nature and choice, can be born again through faith
in His shed blood. (John 3:3,7)
The Bible says: "And you
hath He quickened (made alive) who were Dead in trespasses and
saints; 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 works in the children of disobedience.
"Among whom we also had
our conversation (life style) 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 are ye
saved; And hath raised us up together, and made us to sit in
Heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
“That in the ages to come
He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His Kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus." (Eph. 1:1-7)
The Word of God states: “He
that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that
believeth not God hath made Him a Liar." (1 John 5: 10-15). We
who were slaves to the old Adamic nature, have received the Nature of
God and are now the children of God!
WE
ARE IN CHRIST JESUS!
In Christ Jesus, we are
safe and secure for time and eternity! In His holy presence, our
safely is assured throughout the timeless future. We are protected by
the precious blood of the Lamb. Through Christ, we are preserved unto
the Heavenly Kingdom by our adoption into God’s family. We are
sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise. We are hidden with Christ
in God!
He has given us His Holy
Word. He has given us His Holy Spirit. He has given us His Holy Name.
He has given us His Holy Nature. And He has given us His Holy power.
He has given us His Holy Gospel. We are seated together with Christ
in Heavenly places. We are hidden with Christ in God!
We fell at His feet in
repentance. We blurted out our remorse with tears. We begged for
forgiveness and mercy. We renounced our sins and failures. We
received His extended hand of pardon. We bowed our knees in humility. We embraced His love in gratitude. We partook of His grace with
thankfulness.
We received His Holy Spirit eagerly with joy. We walk
with Him in peace. We are hidden with Christ in God!
WE
ARE ONE WITH CHRIST!
An old Gospel song puts it
all in perspective:
The
windows of heaven are open, The blessings are falling tonight;
There's joy, joy, joy in my heart, Since Jesus made everything right;
I gave Him my old tattered garment, He gave me a robe of pure white;
I'm feasting on manna from Heaven, And that's why I'm happy tonight.
St. Paul repeatedly brings
out the amazing truth of our oneness with Jesus Christ
through His vicarious Death for us on Golgotha's Hill
and His victorious Resurrection from the dead. He also
stresses that Satan is still busy undermining the work of God,
wherever possible.
He states: "But if our
Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of
this world Blinded the eyes of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, Who is the image of
God, should shine unto them.
"For we preach not
ourselves, but Christ Jesus our Lord; and ourselves your servants for
Jesus sake. For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
"But we have this
TREASURE in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power
may be of God, and not of us." (2 Cor.4: 3-7). And what a
Treasure that is, which is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. No
wonder the Holy Scriptures calls Him the, "Unspeakable Gift."
(2 Cor.9: 15)
THE
RICHES OF THAT GIFT!
SATAN is the Prince of
Darkness. He is the epitome of Evil and
Unrighteousness. He is the citadel of Horror and Pain.
He is the architect of sin, falsehood, lies, treason
and murder. He is the purveyor of stress, sickness,
disease, death and destruction!
Jesus called Satan by three
names; Satan, Devil and Beelzebub. The word Satan means
enemy, opposer and adversary. Devil means liar,
slanderer, traducer and Beelzebub means god of flies.
Satan is the enemy of God and man.
Satan is a Defeated Foe, a
Vanquished Enemy but, nevertheless, a Ruthless Tyrant who uses every
opportunity to advance his lying, deceptive and corrupting agenda of
hatred, fear, violence, sickness, disease and death!
He has been soundly and
eternally defeated by our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, Who purchased
our FREEDOM from the powers of Darkness by paying the
ransom price of His own precious Blood to meet the demands of divine
Justice on our behalf.
Almighty God was satisfied
when His own dear Son took our place on the ‘Cross of Shame’
as our propitiation, thereby liberating us from servitude to the Evil
One, and placing us into the Kingdom of His Eternal Son, Jesus
Christ, forever and ever!
PARTAKERS WITH CHRIST!
PARTAKERS WITH CHRIST!
Could anyone in a million
years, even fathom the greatness of that Gift? Indescribable,
unspeakable and incomprehensible, are a few of the words my mind is
able to grasp in describing what St. Paul meant by those memorable
words, "Thanks be unto God for the Unspeakable Gift".
Every thing that Jesus
is, we partake in. He is the Gift of God to us! He is in us and
we are in Him! St. Paul stated: “I am crucified with Christ,
nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal.2: 20)
We were crucified with Him.
We identify with Him in His death, because He is our Substitute. We
were guilty. He was innocent, pure and holy. His compassion forced
Him to EMBRACE the Cross for us! (Phil.2: 5-11)
We should have gone to
the cross. We couldn’t, however, because only a truly sinless,
righteous man could die for the sins of the world. Anyone else
desiring to die for us would NOT have been able to rise from the
dead, because Death would have held Him fast until the Day of
Judgment!
The Blood of Jesus Christ
not only purged our sins, but His blood empowered our Lord to break
the chains of Death, and opened the Gates of Heaven for His entrance
with the captive souls from Abraham’s bosom. (Psalms 24: 7-10).
WE
IDENTIFY WTH JESUS IN
HIS
BURIAL THROUGH BAPTISM!
Water Baptism speaks of
walking in the newness of life. After Jesus arose from the dead, He
said: “All power is given Me in Heaven and in Earth” (Matt. 28:
20). When believers come out of the waters of Baptism, they are
immediately candidates for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire!
(Acts 2: 4, 38, 39)
Water Baptism also speaks
of the ‘resurrection from the dead.’ As He arose from the dead,
we will also Rise from the Grave at His Coming! We identify with our
Lord’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension and being seated
with Him in Heavenly Places!
The Bible says: “Therefore
we are buried with Him by BAPTISM into death: that like Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in the newness of life. For if we have been planted
together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the
likeness of His resurrection.
“Knowing this, that our
old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Rom.6: 4-6).
St. Paul's Epistles are
bulging with thanksgiving, honour, glory and praise for Jesus Christ
our Lord: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly Places
in Christ Jesus.” (Eph.1:3)
He reminds us of the
marvellous transformation that takes place in a sinner’s life
through the Redemptive work of Jesus Christ! We are lifted into
Heavenly places in Christ. God CHOSE us in Christ us before the
foundations of the world were laid, so that we, “should be holy and
without blame before Him in love.” (Eph.1:4)
Jesus Christ has ADOPTED us
as His own children, “according to the good pleasure of His will
and to the praise of His glory” and the Father has, “made us
accepted in the Beloved.” (Eph.1:4,5)
He said: "I am the
TRUE VINE, and My Father is the husbandman. Abide in Me, and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in
the vine; no more can ye, except ye ABIDE in Me. I am the VINE, ye
are the branches:
“He that abideth in Me,
and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye
can do nothing. If ye ABIDE in Me and My Word ABIDE in you, ye shall
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:1-7)
The Bible says: "And
when they saw Him, they worshipped Him: but some doubted. And Jesus
came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in
Heaven and in earth.
GO
INTO ALL THE WORLD!
"Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world." (Matt.28:18-20)
The word ALWAY is a measure
of distance, while ALWAYS is a measure of time. He will be with us
for the entire distance until He carries us Home to Himself. He won't
leave is nor forsake us even if we get old and frail. He will walk
with us, talk with us, strengthen us and lead the way until we see
the lights of that City and enter into our Heavenly Home!
The BIBLE says: "Let your
conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things
which ye have: for He (Jesus) hath said, I will never leave thee nor
forsake thee." (Heb. 13:5). Jesus used a double imperative here.
He actually said: "I will NEVER, NO NEVER leave thee. I
will NEVER, NO NEVER forsake thee."
Our Lord stated: "For as
the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son
quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath
committed all judgment unto the Son.
"That all men should
honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not
the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, He that heareth My Word and believeth on Him that
sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation;
but is passed from death unto life." (John 5: 21-14)
THE
BOTTOM LINE: GOD IS
OBLIGATED
TO KEEP HIS WORD!
Jesus
Christ said: “Ask and is shall be given you, seek and ye shall
find, knock and it shall be opened: For everyone that asks receives,
he that seeks finds and to him that knocks, it shall be opened.
“Or what man is there of
you, whom if his son asks bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he
asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know
how give good gifts unto your children, HOW MUCH MORE shall your
Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that the ask Him?
“(Matt. 7: 7-11)
God has obligated
Himself to keep His Word and He will! God has not changed.
His Word has not changed! God has not lied. He cannot lie and He will
not lie. God has not failed and He will not failed. Our Lord is the
same Yesterday, Today and Forever. (Heb.13: 8)
He stated unequivocally:
“Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am
God, and there is none else. I have sworn by Myself, the Word is gone
out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me
every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” (Isaiah 46:22, 23)
“So shall My Word be that
goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the
things whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
Jesus
Christ stated: “I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE: no man cometh
unto the Father but by Me.” (John 14: 6). He said: "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 to Me, I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:
37).
He offers us His Peace, Rest,
Strength and Eternal Life! (John 3:16). Amen.
