DON'T
THINK THAT
GOD
IS ANGRY AT YOU!
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
"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)
This
message was born in my heart after I received a telephone call from a
young lady in Norway. She was very upset because she felt God was
"mad at her"!
She
was a young married woman in her early twenties, with a good job, but
was very unhappy. Her involvement in an automobile accident had left
her with a back injury, and her nerves were frayed!
The
young lady felt that the accident was God's revenge on her, because
as a teenager she had "drifted from Him"! Several things
happened which made her believe that He was "angry at her"
and had "washed His hands of her."
In
her loneliness, depression and constant pain, she became suicidal!
In that condition, she attended our gospel crusade and heard me
preach God's Word!
She
was completely delivered - physically, spiritually and
psychologically! Her miracle recovery still holds true today, 25
years later!
GOD IS LOVING,
MERCIFUL & GRACIOUS!
Many
people believe God is angry at them...that 'He has their number' and
is waiting to bring them to justice! They see God as a stern old man
who has been roused from his afternoon nap by noisy young people.
Nothing
could be further from the truth. God is kind, merciful and fair! And
He is available 24 hours a day!
John
3:16 is the central verse of the New
Testament and inspiration for fundamental spiritual change. Martin
Luther called it the "Bible in Miniature"!
Jerome
Harper is an anointed gospel singer and preacher. Some years ago I
was a speaker during a convention of Full Gospel Churches in Dauphin
River, Manitoba. Jerome stirred my soul with a song written by James
Payne. The song is called 'John
3:16' and is James
Payne's personal testimony.
Here are the lyrics:
John
3:16
"I
remember the night, at the end of my rope,
In a motel in
Nashville, searching for hope...
In my hand a Bible, I had read as
a child,
On the table was a bottle, that was driving me wild!
Well,
I poured the whiskey into the glass,
and prayed it would help me
forget my past.
Then I read how Jesus died on the tree,
I
poured out the whiskey, and fell down on my knees.
That
night old Jack Daniels met John 3:16,
God's word broke the hold
that he had over me.
I traded Tennessee whiskey for Calvary's
tree
That night old Jack Daniels met John 3:16.
Now,
when I see those old friends that I used to know,
Down at the old
place where I used to go,
They tell me I'm different than I used
to be,
And I love to tell them what happened to me."
Even though James
Payne had a history of alcoholism, drug abuse and wild living, God
reached down to him in mercy and forgiveness. And by faith he
received the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ! Since that
time he has written more than 2,000 songs and was recently featured
on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (T.B.N.), which is
seen around the world!
Jerome Harper has a
similar testimony. After he had wasted many years in heavy
drinking and debauchery, the Lord Jesus Christ gladly received him,
when he called upon His Name!
ANOTHER
ALCOHOLIC IS MADE FREE!
The
same could be said about Randy
Huisman of Telkwa, BC.
Although Randy was raised in the Christian Reformed Church, he did
not experience the redeeming power of the 'Gospel of Christ'.
At
an early age he left the church and went deeper and deeper into a
life of drunkenness. His wake-up call came at the age of 34
when his doctor said, "Randy,
you have sclerosis of the liver. If you continue drinking you
will be dead within 4 to 6 months."
Not
wanting to quit drinking and to prove the doctor wrong, Randy drank
even more excessively. Eight months later, he was still alive
but very sick, with dry heaves and vomiting!
Standing
at the well, he thought of committing suicide to end it all, but
remembered the terrible time a neighbor girl went through when her
father killed himself. He also remembered God's word, about
murderers going to Hell.
He
knelt by the old well and prayed, "Lord,
if you are real, show me the way and let me know that the blood of
Jesus Christ cleanses away all my sins."
Randy declares: "At
that moment (Dec 26, 1984) a glimmer of hope came into my heart and I
haven't had a drink since!"
A
couple of months later, Ted
Huntington went over to fix Randy's
pump and invited him to attend a Spirit-filled Men's Advance.
He was filled with the Holy Spirit and is full of God's great
compassion, love and power, to win lost souls for Christ!
Years
later, I was invited to share my testimony at a Full Gospel Business
Men's meeting in Smithers, B.C.
During the altar service, Randy's brother Theo
answered the alter call and wept his way into the kingdom of God!
JESUS
CAME TO EARTH TO SAVE SINNERS!
Jesus
Christ came into the world to save us – Not to condemn us! The
Bible says, “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:17)
A
number of years ago, Thomas Allen was hopelessly lost in a life of
alcohol, gambling, the occult and broken dreams. At 25 years of
age he had graduated from being a juvenile delinquent kicked out of
school and home, to prison with a broken marriage and shattered
hopes!
He
was hooked by sin and degradation.
At the end of his rope, he heard the voice of God call his name.
On two occasions the voice said, "Go
to church." The third
time, God spoke
with a firm command: "Tom, go to
church!"
He
picked up the Winnipeg City Directory and dropped it on the floor,
not knowing where to look. Miraculously it opened at the W's
and 'Waves of Glory'
jumped out at him. He began to attend church but was still
bound by horrible nightmares, which haunted him from the past!
A
year later, I preached in Winnipeg. Tom came forward for
prayer. As I began to pray, the evil spirits threw him off the
platform. He foamed at the mouth and screamed horribly as we
exorcised the demons from him in Jesus' Name!
Since
that time, there hasn’t been any more nightmares or epilepsy.
His testimony is that God has given him a new life with peace and
joy! And he began studying under Pastor
Edwin Wiebe.
His
heart’s desire is to become
a minister of the gospel!
HE’S
THE GOD OF THE SECOND CHANCE!
Some
people believe God is portrayed as wrathful and uncaring in the Old
Testament and loving and kind in the New Testament, but that isn’t
true!
The
mercy of God is seen in His dealings with mankind from the
beginning. He gave Adam
and Eve a second chance, when He
drove them out of the Garden of Eden after their rebellion, so that
they would not eat of the ‘Tree of Life’ and live forever in
their sins. He killed an innocent animal as an atonement.
Its skin covered their naked bodies and the blood covered their sins!
Then
God instituted the sacrificial system, which pointed to Jesus the
Messiah, Who fulfilled the type and died on the cross for the sins of
the whole world, as the lambs had died on the alters of Jerusalem to
atone for the sins of Israel!
God's
justice can also be seen in His dealings with Satan, who was once a
trusted archangel called Lucifer. God could have destroyed
Satan, but let him remain free until the final judgment, when he will
be cast into the Lake of Fire! (Rev. 20: 10)
God
loves us all and allows the sun to shine and rain to fall on the just
and the unjust. His laws of gravity, seed time and harvest,
life, death and salvation apply to everyone. The words of
prophet Isaiah are relevant today:
"Come
now, and let us reason together saith the Lord. Though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
(Isaiah 1:18)
The
love of God is constantly being revealed to us! Each new baby
that is born is a miracle of co-creation with the Creator. And
what a gift that newborn baby is to its parents, siblings,
grandparents and close friends!
In
the various stages of life, development and maturing - from youth to
adulthood and on to the golden years of retirement - God's blessings
are new and exciting every day as we walk with the Lord!
Answered
prayer, peace that passes all understanding, 'joy unspeakable and
full of glory' is only a small part of the "pay-back" we
receive from our fellowship with our Heavenly Father, through Jesus
Christ our Lord!
JESUS
APPEARED TO SUNDAR SINGH!
Sadhu
Sundar Singh was known across India as 'The
Apostle with the Bleeding Feet'
because he chose to go barefoot, in appreciation of the horrible
sufferings Jesus endured for him. Sundar Singh -
sadhu means holy man - travelled the
length and breadth of India as a preacher of righteousness for many
years!
Every
year he would climb the rugged mountain ranges to the forbidden land
of Tibet. The jagged rocks often cut his feet, leaving little
trickles of blood in his footprints. Upon
arriving in that dark foreboding land, he would regularly
receive hostile and violent treatment from the hands of the Buddhist
authorities, because of his
preaching!
Sundar
Singh was born into a pagan religion but had lost faith in all
religions, so when a Christian missionary gave him a Bible, he threw
it into the fire.
After
this act of defiance, however, he was unable to sleep. He felt
guilty as well as frustrated over his life. Feeling hopelessly
lost, with nothing to live for, he decided to end it all!
He
would take his own life the very next morning, by lying down on the
railroad track in front of the fast moving express train!
His
plans were foiled, however, by the appearance of Jesus Christ in the
middle of the night. A bright light filled the room and the
'glorified Saviour of the world'
stood before him with His nail-pierced hands outstretched in welcome.
Instead
of being rebuked and judged for burning His Holy Book - as the young
man expected - Jesus simply looked at him in love and compassion, and
he melted at His feet. All superstition, fear, unbelief, hatred
and torments vanished in a moment of time and Sundar Singh gave his
entire life to Jesus Christ.
The
story is told of how Sundar Singh was persecuted on numerous
occasions by the Buddhists as he penetrated the "forbidden
land of Tibet" again and again!
On
one occasion he was condemned to death for preaching the gospel
there. He was lowered into a dry 60 foot well and left to die
of hunger and thirst sitting among the filth of human skulls and
bones, rats, snakes and scorpions.
The
noise of the heavy cement cover being placed on the well's top,
cutting off the beam of light signaled 'the end'! Sitting there
in terrible pain from the severe beatings he had received from the
hands of his captors, Sundar Singh prayed: "O
Lord get me out of here. Do not allow me to die here. Let
me preach the gospel one more time."
Very
early in the morning, a shaft of light appeared showing a rope being
lowered towards him. He tied the rope
to his midsection. Strong arms rapidly pulled him upwards.
He stood to his feet and when he turned o say "thank you"
to his liberator, there was no one there!
THE HAND OF GOD
BROUGHT HIM OUT!
Overjoyed
he prayed, "What shall I do?"
The Holy Spirit whispered, "Go
and stand in front of the pagoda and preach the Gospel!"
The
Buddhist monks and authorities were so amazed at his rescue and
because his "death sentence" had been executed - no one had
ever escaped before - they could not try him again. Of course,
he was beaten and chased away repeatedly, but he kept returning to
present the claims of Christ to the pagan.
One
day, his footprints (with the trickel of blood) came to an abrupt halt
on the mountainous terrain on the way to Tibet. The 'Apostle
with the bleeding feet' had undoubtedly slipped and fallen and his
frozen body is waiting for the "great getting-up-morning"
when Christ shall come to rapture His Church! Hallelujah!
St.
John writes: "If the princes of this world would have known who
Jesus is, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." (1
Corinthians 2:8)
How
sad, that all too few leaders of nations, corporations, educational,
medical and financial institutions do not really know Jesus Christ as
Lord and Saviour. And even clergymen, who should know better do
not worship Him as God!
GOD PERFORMS
STAGGERING MIRACLES!
In
1980, five year old Julio Diaz was
brought by his mother to our crusade in Santa
Fe, Argentina. He was born
without urethras. He was also afflicted with a number of other
abnormalities.
He
had suffered through 6 operations and spent 3 years in the Children's
Hospital there. Because Julio was being used as a "guinea
pig", nurses attending him spoke confidentially to his parents
warning against another exploratory surgical operation.
There
were thousands of people in the stadium that cold, blustery evening
when my faith touched God for Julio! And God performed a
miracle for us! As
the huge throng was led in the healing prayer, Julio's mother
believed.
The
next morning his parents awakened to find the plastic tubes pushed
out of his sides and their little boy urinating on the floor.
They rushed him to the hospital; the x-rays showed 2 urethras!
God had done His wonderful work and created 2 urethras for Julio.
His
parents called Omar & Marfa Cabrera with the good news.
They informed me that the media wanted to interview us regarding this
great miracle! The miracle was so great the the Roman Catholic
Radio Station - as well as their weekly magazine - reported the news
nation-wide, and the gospel of Christ was heard far and near across
Argentina!
God's
mercy came to the Diaz family in such a beautiful way and He loves us
all just as much as He does them!!
SPINAL BIFIDA
HEALED BY JESUS!
In
1981 Larry
& Donna Pascal
of Pikangikum, Ontario had taken their 8 month old baby Savillia for
extensive tests in a hospital at Sioux Lookout. She was
diagnosed with Spinal Bifida. The specialists told her parents
that Savillia would never walk and as she grew older, she would need
a wheelchair!
Naturally,
Larry & Donna were down-hearted but believed in their hearts that
God would do a miracle. A short time later I flew to the
isolated village of Pikangikum
for a gospel meeting.
They
brought little Savillia to me and I prayed in Jesus' Name for a
miracle. Several
days later the large opening (hole) in her lower spine began to fill
in and she was miraculously healed.
Today she is a happy, healthy teenager who can run, skip and jump
like anyone else! And she is a talented gospel singer as well.
GOD'S
MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER!
By
His grace a little baby doomed to be a cripple all her life is
perfectly well today, radiating God's grave and love! No wonder
the prophet wrote: "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 53:5)
GOD
HEALED A DEAF & MUTE BABY!
Some
time ago, while preaching in Meadow Lake, SK, Doris Goulet from
LaRonge
stood up to testify. I had not seen her for years.
She
told about her daughter Angel
Mahoney, whom she and her
husband Phillip had brought to our crusade in Prince Albert in 1974.
Neither Doris nor Phillip were born again Christians at the time but
their friend Louisa - who was a Christian - had told them of our
crusade.
Phillip
brought little Angel (less than 1 year old) for prayer. This
was their last hope - as there was
nothing medical science could do for her.
Angel was totally deaf and mute. She also had severe ear
infections and was allergic to milk and wheat.
As
I was praying for the hundreds who came for a miracle, Phillip had to
wait quite awhile in the prayer line. Doris declares that when
I came to Phillip and Angel, I did not ask what their need was.
I simply snapped my fingers behind her back in Jesus' Name!
Angel
was instantly healed and turned her head abruptly toward me!
From that moment, she could hear perfectly and began to speak.
With the help of some speech therapy, Angel speaks perfectly today!
All her allergies and infections left instantly and she is well
today. Praise God!
For
more than 55 years I have traveled the world bringing salvation and
healing to hurting people through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What a blessing to serve such a wonderful Saviour!
OWNER
OF CLUB 7 WAS PUSHING DRUGS !
Hundreds
of people were attending the services and God was saving and healing
the people, but I was concerned about the loud music coming from an
auditorium below us!
I
asked someone what was going on and that is when I learned of Club 7
and Jerry Eppinga, the man who ran the club.
Jerry
had a tainted reputation and was banned from every bar and drinking
places in Prince Rupert because he was an alcoholic and it was
rumored that he peddled dope to the patrons who frequented the bars.
Immediately
I saw the problem as an opportunity for God to show His great Power.
“Let' close that Hell-Hole down” I declared! The
next evening Jerry came up to the service, was deeply convicted and
answered the altar call to receive Jesus Christ as his personal
Saviour.
During
the altar service, I asked everyone to repeat the sinner's prayer and
renounce the devil publicly in Jesus' Name. When
the prayer and confession of faith was made, Satan threw Jerry
Eppinga into the air and he screamed at the top of his lungs as the
demons came out of him!
Since
that time, Jerry closed down the nightclub- the next day - got
married (he had been living common-law), was restored back to health,
prospered in business, went to Bible College and spent several years
as a missionary to the Heida Indians in the Queen Charlotte Islands!
Today, his ministry is centered in British Columbia's lower mainland
and reaches even into his native Holland.
God
forgave him, healed him and filled him with the Blessed Holy Spirit.
God was not angry with him but "showed Himself alive"
toward him as a loving Heavenly Father full of compassion and mercy!
WHAT
A GREAT GOD WE SERVE!
God
is not angry at us. He loves us so greatly that nothing will
stand in His way to help us all in our special need! Praise the
Lord! It still thrills my soul and warms my heart to be able to help
people who are struggling with lusts, fears, torments, bitterness,
pain, disease and grief.
St.
James answers the age-old question about the "whys and
wherefores" of WAR and its aftermath: "From
whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence,
even of your lusts that war in your members?"
(James 4:1)
It's
not fair to blame God for the wars, storms, natural disasters or
diseases that plague mankind. People foolishly blame God for
famines, poverty, earthquakes, killings, disease and almost
everything else.
Most
of our problems are self-inflicted because of greed, hatred, lust and
disobedience. People lie, steal, rape, murder, cheat and then wonder
why God's blessings have lifted off their lives.
In
my opinion, it should be clear to anyone that when a nation forsakes
God and decides to "go it on their own", they will get in
trouble. To compound the situation, how can we expect God to
bless nations and individuals who have not only forsaken Him "the
fountain of living water and hewed themselves out cisterns, broken
cisterns that can hold no water" but who turn to the pagan gods
of the New Age Movement, Eastern (Hindu) Mysticism and blatant
Spiritism, Occultism and Satanism?
GOD
IS AGAINST DEMON SPIRITS!
God's
wrath is against the evil spirits and demons involved in witchcraft
and idolatry! Dear friend, unless such individuals and nations REPENT
of those most evil, obnoxious and wicked sins, they can expect
nothing but the fruit of their unrighteousness!
St.
Paul declared, "To be carnally minded is death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind
is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh
cannot please God.
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His."
(Romans 8:6-9)
When
we get rid of the sin in our lives, by God's grace through faith in
Jesus Christ's finished work on Golgotha, our problems disappear.
And His peace floods our souls! And remember my dear friend; God is
not angry at you. Amen.
