REDEEM THE TIME By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
There is an old saying, ‘TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN’! How true. And time is no respecter of persons either. The years pile up whether we want them to or not, and when our time comes to say goodbye to loved ones and friends and to this old planet, we will have to go! Some even leave without saying goodbye, because time is very short at the best and sometimes it can be very uncompromising, firm and even cruel!
The Capitalist with all his money cannot stop it. The Atheist’s unbelief coupled with the Secular Humanist’s faith in his own worth, cannot derail it. The Preacher with his faith in God cannot hinder time from passing. It is true that the rich can live better, dress nicer, buy cosmetics to cover wrinkles, wear wigs to cover bald pates, colour gray hair, and even have face-lifts to appear younger, but the aging process continues. And one day it is all over. Death, the enemy of life will have won!
TIME MARCHES ON!
The Atheist dies and has to meet God. The preacher also has to keep his appointment with death, even though he can claim God’s promises (together with all Christians) for healing, health and peace. Yet, the day will come that he must honour God’s Word: “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment”. (Heb. 9:27)
In writing to the Church, St. Paul warns: “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil”. (Eph. 5:14-16)
WHY MUST WE REDEEM THE TIME? Because the days are evil! In other words, let us not allow “that wicked one” to destroy our testimony, defeat our purposes or steal our crown! (Rev. 3:11). It is important that we make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10) and “Lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”. (Heb. 12:1). To ‘redeem the time’ means to put to the best use every available moment. Do what is the most spiritually profitable with our time; “Be not to be slothful in business”. (Rom. 12:11)
May we be good stewards of the Kingdom of God, using every available opportunity to further His work in reaching lost souls for Christ! If we waste our time, we are wasting our life and if we waste our money on unprofitable things, we are also wasting our time and not redeeming! Be not weary in well doing!
Often, Christians become discouraged and begin listening to Satan, the tempter and “accuser of the brethren”. He may drop negative thoughts into your mind, especially in the area of service. He may suggest that you are doing too much for God, spending too much time helping the unfortunate, or that you are giving too much money to the Church! Perhaps your husband, wife or neighbour may give you the odd dig that you are going overboard for God and the Church.
DON’T LET THEM GET TO
YOU!
The Bible says, “And let us not be weary in well
doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do
good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith”.
(Gal. 6:9-10)
This Scripture is referring to our commitment to God and to those who labour in spiritual things among us, and to their material needs. We must not tire of doing GOOD, for if we do not faint, we shall reap in due season! St. Paul exhorts us to walk circumspectly, which means to conduct ourselves in an orderly fashion; in the fear of the Lord, and not carelessly go through life in a haphazard way.
There is only one way to heaven! Jesus is that way! There is only one book that is truly the Word of God . Let us be sure to read it. There is only one way to please God and that is to receive His Son, Jesus Christ, into our hearts as personal Saviour and then obey His words in all things.
By shunning evil, doing good works and serving God with gladness, we are walking circumspectly. A good question to ask ourselves is this, “Will what I am planning to do, or am now doing, please God?” By receiving Christ as our personal Saviour, our lives are changed and “… we walk in the newness of life”. Since we walk by faith and “not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), our experience is totally spiritual as we reach out to God for guidance and direction!
THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO HEAVEN!
St. Paul admonishes us in Gal. 5:16 to: “…walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh”. We are also exhorted to “… walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Eph. 4:1), and to walk in love as Christ hath loved us (Eph. 5:2). In order to be true followers of Jesus Christ, we ought to abide in Him, and we should walk as He walked (1 John 2:6) and worship Him in Spirit and Truth (2 John 4; 3 John 3). The Bible says: “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 sin”. (1 John 1:7)
Everything we do in this life should be done with ‘Eternity in Mind’. As Christians, we should be concerned about our spiritual welfare, state and eternal destiny. We should be vitally concerned about other believers, standing ready to lend a helping hand, as well as reaching out in kindness to the lost with Christ’s message of hope and peace. The Bible says, “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without (the unsaved), redeeming the time”. (Col. 4:5)
TIME IS SHORT! We must do all we can to reach the lost while
we have an opportunity. Jesus said,
“I must work the works of Him that
sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”.
(John 9:4)
To redeem the time means to seize every opportunity without allowing any to slip out of our hands. It means to labour unceasingly in prayer, Bible study, witnessing and giving, while the doors are still open. As well as helping people materially, emotionally and socially! Thank God for all the open doors into which to take the Gospel, open channels or freeways by which we may publish the Gospel!
WITH ETERNITY IN MIND!
By the medium of television, it is possible to reach millions of people across Canada and other nations regularly. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to preach the Gospel by TV to Europe (East and West) with good success. Whenever I am in Europe, I have the privilege of broadcasting in the Norwegian language to Scandinavia via Satellite TV. Our literature, as well as our massive overseas crusades is being used to win souls across the world!
By the grace
of God, I shared the GOOD NEWS to multitudes in Brazil. I was invited to preach
at the Assemblies of God (Maduereira) Conference with 4,500 pastors and later
to about 300,000 people at the Plaza Brasil in Paulinia, SP in April, 2005. A
large part of the great crowd had been transported there in 4,000 highway
buses. We had a great and glorious time Donna and I had in Brazil!
We are
presently seeking to reach many souls on the internet so that Canadians and others
can hear the unvarnished Gospel Message of Sin and Salvation, God and
the devil, Repentance and Faith, the Cross and the Resurrection, Heaven and
Hell! My mission is to bring men and women to Christ, and there are no
short-cuts.
By
God’s grace, we have won hundreds of thousands of precious souls to Jesus
Christ in more than fifty years of world-wide ministry! People have asked me
why so many of our converts stay saved and healed! It is because I have
remained true to the Word of God, and still preach hell hot, sin black,
eternity long and God’s grace unfathomable! We are pouring out as many books, videos and audio messages we can on youtube and other avenues, like streaming, to reach more soul for our Saviour!
Will you help me, my dear friend, to make this happen? We are dependent on God and His people, who truly believe that Jesus Christ still saves, heals and delivers from the power of the ‘Evil One’! These are dark and evil days with the deadly covid-19 virus and the horrible fear that accompanies it. Surely this is the work of the devil who came only to steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10)
SATAN is an evil tyrant who works through wicked people, sickness and disease to hinder the work of God. Jesus has given us authority over Him, to bind him and drive him out, by the power of God's Word, the BLOOD of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the precious Name of Jesus Christ!
I urge you to pray about supporting these
important end-time outreaches
for the kingdom of God, which I have shared!
Please help us lift the financial burden for these mammoth undertakings
in Jesus’ Blessed Name. Remember, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past – only
what’s done for Christ will last.”
THE CHURCH MUST AWAKEN!
St. Paul admonishes the Church to awaken out of sleep,
receive new life and power from Christ and to rise to the challenge of the
hour. The Bible warns, “How long wilt
thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?” (Prov. 6:9)
We are admonished to take an example from the little ant, “which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth his meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest”. (Prov. 6:6-8). We have the Bible as our guide, the Holy Spirit as our overseer, to help us when we err and to comfort us constantly. We have Jesus Christ as our ruler, and the Head of the Church!
The Scripture admonishes us not to be as fools but be
wise in our approach to life. Unfortunately, many people are acting foolishly
by living for the world, the flesh and the devil. They have no concern for their
soul’s salvation or about their eternal fate.
No time for God, the Bible
or the Church!
What fools! St. Paul tells of some who rejected the Creator, our wonderful Heavenly Father, and worshipped the creature instead of the creator, “Professing themselves to be wise they became fools” (Rom. 1:22-25). HOW SAD! And tragically, there are Christians, who truly believe in Christ and have experienced the New Birth, but have no spiritual hunger, no desire to read the Bible or attend prayer services!
They have no burden for
the lost or desire to give missionary offerings to reach the heathen
for Jesus. They are totally contented
with their experience and have no time for a deeper walk
with God, or a message that stirs them to do more for God!
UNDERSTANDING THE WILL OF GOD!
I pity such people! They attend Church once a week,
pay their tithes and live respectable lives, but have not experienced Jesus in
a life changing way or filled with God’s fire! What so many Christians are
missing is the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ and the joy of the Lord that comes
through service to Him!
St. Paul then says, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is”. (Eph. 5:17). We know the “will of God” for the Christian is to live a pure, holy and consecrated Spirit-filled life, to abstain from evil and to do good works. It is to be ‘sold-out’ to God and become a burning and shining light spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world!
My friend, if you do not have a burden for lost souls,
fall to your knees and ask God to give you a hunger for His Word, a desire to
pray regularly and tell others about Jesus before it is everlastingly too late!
The Bible warns: “And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it: and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev.20:11-15). Beloved, let us redeem the time because the days are evil!
NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME!
I began this short message by stating, “Time waits for no man” and that “Father Time Marches On”. I admonish you to put your time to the best
available use. Budget your time wisely, for we all have only a limited amount!
Here are the words of King David: “Lord make me to
know mine end and the measure of my days.
What it is: That I may know how frail I am”. (Psalm 39:4); “My times are in Thy (God’s) hands.” (Psalm 31:15); And finally the
king confesses: “Remember how short my
time is” (Psalm 89:7).
St. Peter warns of not being frivolous with our life but be sober and watch unto prayer (1 Peter 4:7) and have a healthy respect and fear of God as we live out this short life. (1 Peter 1:17); The Bible warns: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if is first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God”. (1 Peter 4:17);
“And that
knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our
salvation nearer than when we believed.
The night is far spent the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light.
“Let us walk honestly as in
the day: not in strife and envying. But
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill
the lusts thereof”. (Rom.
13:11-14)
One day we will all have to give an account of ourselves to
God. (Rom. 1:12). Listen to me sinner, backslider, lukewarm Christian: Now
is the time to repent of your sins and turn from your wicked ways. Now
is the time to forsake your sins and be converted, for time is very short and
your soul is worth more than the entire world (Mark 8:36-37).
Don’t allow Satan to rob you of Eternal
Life, by procrastinating and putting
off the decision to accept Christ and to yield fully to Him!
The
Scripture says, “…Behold now is the
accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2;
Isaiah 49:8; Ps. 69:13); The Bible warns that there will be a time to die, for
each of us (Eccl. 3:2). Do not gamble
with your eternal soul but give your life to Christ today! Jesus stands at your heart’s door and knocks
(Rev. 3:20). Let Him come in today!
One day, the angel of God will come down from Heaven. He will place one foot upon the sea and the other upon the dry land, raise his hand to heaven and swear by Him that liveth forever that “time shall be no more”. At that time, it will be too late for all “whose names are not written down in the Lamb’s book of life”! (Rev. 10:6; 20: 15)
It will be too late for every backslider and lukewarm Christian! It’ll be too late for all of us to do more for Christ or be a blessing to our fellowman!
TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
My
friend, time is running out – for the Church,
for the World and for the devil. One day, it’ll all be over for
all of us. Let us fight the good fight
of faith, lay hold on eternal life and reach the masses of lost souls with the
glorious Gospel of Christ before it’s too late.
The Bible says, “Therefore rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the
sea! For the devil is come down unto you
having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time”.
(Rev. 12:12)
The devil is working overtime trying to corrupt,
deceive, destroy, kill and steal and do as much damage to God’s kingdom as he
can NOW, because he knows his time is very limited. Why do not we triple and
quadruple our efforts to reach multitudes more with the Gospel before it is too
late? Ask yourself this question and
then be ready to do something about it!
I have again promised God that I will
pull out all the stops and press forward at “full speed ahead” to reach this
generation for Jesus, before the devil gets to them through atheism, secular humanism, false cults
and unbelief!
In June 1957, I experienced God in a real way in a motel in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and He saved my ‘never – dying soul’. The very next day in the home of my Spirit-filled Lutheran parents, I received the mighty Baptism of the Holy Ghost. I have never looked back since! Oh, it’s true that I have made mistakes and not yet reached the state of perfection, but like Paul I also press on “toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”. (Phil. 3:12-14)
Ever since 1957, I have tried with all my spirit, soul and body to walk in Christ’s will and way and to obey Him completely. My heart is just as set to do that today as it was then, or in 1961 when I released our first radio broadcast, or in 1963 when I entered the full-time ministry for Christ!
My heart has burned for Jesus, as I have by His grace and power blazed a trail of revivals and awakenings across the world. “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5: 15-16)
I’m glad that “God keeps the books”! He knows my heart and He alone knows the results. And I’m prepared to let it rest there! I alone know His call on my life and I alone had to answer that call, and I alone am answerable to God for what I have done with my life and how I have responded to His call!
MANY LOYAL PRAYER PARTNERS!
I thank God for the many loyal friends, supporters and prayer partners, who believe one hundred per cent in what I am doing and have done! It is this army of God’s people, hard working, spiritual men and women who have been the thrust behind this ministry in helping me to reach millions with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Full Salvation. Hallelujah!
My dear friend,
it is people just like you who are reading this short message – ordinary people
like you who have helped put Christ on TV, radio, massive crusades and
literature by sending His servant, with the message of Jesus and His love,
power and grace to multitudes for more than 50 years!
Remember, ‘Only one life, it will
soon be past and Only what’s
done for Christ, will last’!
Please write me today and pray for me as often as you can! Also, send us your prayer requests so that we
can pray for you! Amen.
