Max & Donna Solbrekken have carried Christ's Gospel
around the world with much blessing since 1963
his home (with his mother's Bible) in Newfoundland, 1968
WHAT
IS MY AGENDA?
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
The
word 'agenda' means 'things to be done'. It can be categorized as a
plan or list of matters to be acted upon. “My
only agenda is to follow Jesus Christ and allow Him to lead me as He
sees fit. And that I may be a blessing to all I am in contact with
and to bear each loved one before the throne of God daily, in Jesus'
precious and holy Name, Amen.”
THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE & LIVE BY!
St.
Paul wrote: “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His
death: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:10,14)
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!
In
his book, The Cruciality of the Cross, Dr.
Henry Mabie writes: “The
Greek word used by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18 is Logos...not
preaching but “the subject matter of the preaching; with the very
essence of that which was to be preached; with the Logos of the
Cross, which constitutes a rationale, its Divine Reason which ...he
declares to be the Wisdom of God.
“This
Logos of the Cross is conceived by Paul to be the key which unlocks
the riddle of the universe, solves all mysteries and reconciles all
things.”
It is a subject so magnanimous and so
incomprehensible that mortal man can only stand in holy awe at its
immensity, enormity and grandiose love that we are left speechless!
The
blood of Jesus Christ which He freely gave for sinful, rebellious and
guilty hell-bound sinners, purges our conscience from all guilt,
delivers us from the power of sin and liberates us from Satan and his
evil kingdom for time and eternity.
As
Dr. Henry Mabie states, “The Logos of the Cross is conceived
by Paul to be the KEY which unlocks the riddle of the universe,
solves all mysteries and reconciles all things.”
JESUS
CHRIST IS THE CREATOR!
Jesus
Christ created the universe – no riddle there. The ONE who hung on
the cross made the universe. He understands everything about the
universe became He keeps it functioning perfectly according to His
Word!
The
Holy Bible declares: “God 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 Person,
and upholding all things by the Word of His power when
He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
Majesty on High.” (Hebrews 1: 2,3)
He
solved all Mysteries:
He knows where we came from, being our Creator. He knows why we are
here since He made us and placed us on the earth. He knows our
ability to change the world through our faith in Jesus Christ and by
the power of His Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
He
solved the mystery of who Satan is, why he sinned and was cast out of
Heaven and what the Devil's eternal destiny will be! Christ's death
on the cross fully and totally destroyed Satan's power over humanity
who trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour!
Jesus
said: “But 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 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8)
“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...In My name shall they cast out devils; They shall speak with
new tongues... they shall lay their hands on the sick and they shall
recover.” (Mark 16: 15-20)
He
reconciles all things: By
the cross, we are reconciled to God and one to another. His blood
cleanses us from all sin and His blood purges our conscience. The
pure and perfect Word of God and the life giving Holy Spirit fills
us with the Life of Jesus Christ.!
The
Bible says: “And He (Jesus) is the propitiation
for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world.” (1 John 2: 2).The word propitiation means the
satisfaction, the mercy
seat, the appeasement.
God
was satisfied with the blood of His Son to atone for the sins of the
entire world, past, present and future. Through the blood of the
everlasting covenant we are able also to forgive one another! His
shed blood reconciles us to Him, and our lives are so changed that we
are reconciled to one another!
THE
CRY OF THE SYNAGOGUE!
“Let
One Innocent Come and make Atonement for the Guilty.” Professor
Alfred Edersheim (converted Jew) wrote: “And still the 'Cry
of the Synagogue' comes
to us through these many centuries of past unbelief and ignorance:
'Let
One innocent come and make Atonement for the guilty',
to which no other response can be made then that of the Apostle:
“Such
an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the Heavens.”
(Hebrews 7: 26)
Year
after year, the cry for an Innocent ONE to step forth and declare
himself, had gone out with no credible response. From time immemorial
the Jews had waited because all their rituals provided only temporary
relief from their guilt and condemnation!
The
GUILT of wrong doing with no recourse or forgiveness lies heavy on
human hearts. The Jewish prophets had promised that a Deliverer would
bring peace to their hearts. Through Jesus, God's only begotten Son,
the Lord would satisfy the righteous demands of Divine Justice. Jesus
would offer Himself as God's Pascal Lamb to redeem us all.
The
Prophet wrote:“Surely he hath borne our sicknesses (makob) and
carried our pains (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.” (Isaiah 53: 4,5)
THE
SON OF GOD WAS INCARNATED!
This
Righteous One had to be innocent, pure and declared sinless. Almighty
God had promised to send such a Saviour to bring Redemption to the
human Race, because of Adam's high treason and rebellion against the
Almighty! He would give His only begotten Son to suffer, bleed and
die and be raised from the dead on the third day to Redeem the human
race!
The
Word of God stated: “The soul that sinneth it shall die”.
(Ezek.18: 4). Their regular offerings in the Temple, together with
the yearly Day of Atonement did not suffice to produce a permanent
solution. They kept waiting and continued to wait, and then one day
it happened!
John
the Baptist
stood forth with the crystal clear message of Hope and Freedom. He
cried: “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh
away the sin of the world.”
(John
1:29)
When
He did come, they rejected Him accusing him of sorcery and turned Him
over to the Roman Authorities to be scourged and crucified publicly
on Golgotha, outside Jerusalem's city walls!
ONLY
IN CHRIST JESUS!
By
the grace of God alone have we received Eternal Life and become the
children of God. And only through the vicarious death of Jesus Christ
and His holy, pure and life-giving blood have we been redeemed from
the world, the flesh and the devil.
The
Bible declares: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again
unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
“Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to
His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
“To
an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away, reserved in Heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
(1
Peter 1:3-5)
The
Holy Bible states: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus, that
though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye
through His poverty might be rich.” (2 Cor.8: 9); “Thanks be unto
God for His unspeakable gift.” (2 Cor. 9:15)
In
His great mercy and by His grace, “God hath chosen the foolish
things of this world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty.”
(1 Cor. 1:27).
St. Paul wrote: “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,
Who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness and sanctification
and redemption.” (1 Cor. 1: 30)
ACCEPTED
IN THE BELOVED!
Only
by the grace of God have we been chosen to become partakers of
Christ's nature, thereby making us children of God, heirs of God and
joint-heirs with Christ. In His great mercy, kindness and love, He
has made us accepted in the Beloved.
Not
only has He saved us from Satan's evil power and our carnal and
sinful ways, but He has given us through the Lord Jesus Christ, His
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
He
has taken the foolish things of this world, like us, and made us His
very own sons. His blood redeemed us from the curse of the law, when
Jesus became a curse for us. (Gal. 3: 13). The underlying purpose was
that no flesh should glory in is presence! Redeemed and sanctified,
by His precious blood alone!
“Why
did Almighty God did all this for us? What was the purpose of
Christ's incarnation, miraculous Ministry, His meritorious, vicarious
death on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the Grave?”
It
was the out flowing of our Father's great mercy, love, grace and
goodness toward the human race! His great heart of love planned and
executed it all, before the worlds were created. He would have a
Church, a people and family to love and cherish and to use as the
expression of His mercy and grace!
WHO
CAN UNDERSTAND SUCH LOVE?
No-one
is able to comprehend His greatness and the magnitude of His grace.
It is beyond our human power to assimilate or even imagine. He wanted
us. He called us. He forgave us! He saved us from our sins, our
filthiness, pride and unrighteousness. He lifted us from the muck and
mire to sit with His Son Jesus Christ at His Heavenly Throne.
No
wonder St. Paul says: “...that no flesh should glory in His
presence.” (1 Cor. 1:29). We have nothing to gloat about! It was
all His plan, His work and His goodness that gave us all this!
Where
would I be? Where we would all be without His MERCY? Lost in
our sins, bound by chains of lust, greed and pride – Doomed forever
in a lost eternity, filled with fear, agony, pain and torments!
O'
what a Saviour! O' what blessedness in Christ our Lord? To Him be be
all the honour, glory and praise forever and ever. World without end.
Amen.
Jesus
said: “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 and 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.'' (John 15:4, 5)
WITHOUT
ME YE CAN DO NOTHING!
St.
Paul wrote: “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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them.” (Eph. 2: 8-10)
I
firmly believe that the reason the Apostle Paul was called by Jesus
Christ on the Road to Damascus to be the founder of the Christian
Church among the Gentiles, was his great humility and total love and
commitment to our Saviour!
He
never deviated from the very trying and dangerous situations he found
himself in, throughout his entire Ministry. He never waffled or
wavered. He simply obeyed and believed that God was with him and in
him and working through him, and it was so!
Nobody
ever suffered like he did as he preached and ministered the Gospel of
Jesus Christ among the Jews and among the Gentiles; hungry, cold,
imprisoned, beaten, scourged, stoned to death, and finally beheaded
in Rome, giving his life freely for our Lord.
The
Bible records St. Paul's great faith in Jesus Christ: “And
when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought
him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What
mean ye to weep and to break mine heart. For I
am ready not only to be bound only, but also to die in Jerusalem for
the Name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21: 12-14)
When
we read of the great devotion the early Church had for Christ and His
Gospel it shames us to see the anemic condition of His Church today.
As we consider how near we are to the 'Coming
of the Lord', we must stir and awaken the sleeping Church
to become a soul winning Church!
William
Booth and his wife Catherine founded the Salvation Army in
1865. They chose as their slogan, ‘Blood
and Fire’, referring
to Jesus Christ’s Blood shed for the remission of sins
and the Fire referring to the FIRE of the Holy Spirit.
He
stated: “The
tendency of fire is to go out; watch the fire on the altar of your
heart. Anyone who has tended a fireplace knows that it needs to be
stirred up occasionally.”
In
his book ‘When
the Spirit Came’ (1928),
Moravian Evangelist Rev. John Greenfield wrote: “Of the Apostolic
Church in Jerusalem a certain writer has said: ‘Before
thirty years had elapsed from the death of Christ, His followers had
spread from Palestine throughout Syria; throughout almost all the
districts of Asia Minor; through Greece and the Islands of the
Aegean sea, the coast of Africa, and even into Italy and Rome’
“And
at the close of the First Century JUSTIN MARTYR could truly
testify: ‘There
is not a nation either Greek or Barbarian or of any other name, even
those who wander in tribes or live in tents, among whom prayers and
thanksgivings are not offered to the Father and Creator of the
Universe in the name of the Crucified Jesus.”
QUESTION:
What has happened to the Christian Church? Let us examine ourselves
to see whether we are still in the Faith of Jesus! God has promised REVIVAL in His Church by the cleansing FIRE of the Holy Spirit!
I have been deeply touched again by the Holy Spirit, telling me that it is not too late. When you consider that God revealed Himself repeatedly by fire, we know He desires to cleanse His Church from sin, heal the sick and deliver the afflicted. Sinners will then rush to church and become a part of His great army of saints!
Pray with me that He will lead us to reach our nation for our Saviour while it is still time to do so! Write me with your thoughts! max@maxsolbrekken.com /www.mswm.org
I have been deeply touched again by the Holy Spirit, telling me that it is not too late. When you consider that God revealed Himself repeatedly by fire, we know He desires to cleanse His Church from sin, heal the sick and deliver the afflicted. Sinners will then rush to church and become a part of His great army of saints!
Pray with me that He will lead us to reach our nation for our Saviour while it is still time to do so! Write me with your thoughts! max@maxsolbrekken.com /www.mswm.org
