The Transforming Power of the Bible

                             by Rev. Max Solbrekken, D.D.

  "England has two great books, the Bible and Shakespeare.  England made Shakespeare and the Bible made England     - Victor Hugo

   There is an inherent power in God's Word to change the lives of those who trust its holy precepts and worship the Living God!

"Transforming" and "revolutionary" are terms that are compatible with the message of the Gospel.

Evolutionist Charles Darwin visited Tierra del Puego in 1833 and found a people whom he thought were incapable of being civilized.

He wrote, "The Fuegians are in a more miserable state of barbarianism than I ever expected to have seen any human being".

Thirty six years later Darwin revisited the same people, and was astounded by the change wrought by the power of the Word of God preached to them by missionaries!

He wrote, "I should have predicted that not all the missionaries in the world could have done what has been done.  It is wonderful and it shames me, as I have always prophesied a failure.  It is a grand success".

In a letter to the London Missionary Society, together with a gift the equivalent of US $125, Darwin wrote, "I shall feel proud if your committee shall think fit to elect me as honorary member of your society".

St. Paul states, "The Scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Jesus Christ our Lord". ( 2 Tim. 3:15)

Books of mathematics, sciences, philosophies and medicine can make one wise in those fields, but only the Bible makes one wise unto salvation!

Jesus Christ declares, "You are now clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you". (John 15:3)  And St. Peter emphasized that the New Birth is attainable only through the Word of God (Holy Scriptures) and the Holy Spirit!

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” (1 Peter 1:23)

 We are Saved by God’s Grace alone, through Faith alone and in Christ alone! All Glory, Honour and Praise be our Heavenly Father for His goodness and mercy that we receive through His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord!

REDEMPTION comes to us by the grace of God (Eph. 2:8-9), through our faith in His finished work on Calvary (Rom. 5:1) and by Christ Alone. (Heb. 1:3)

The Bible says: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain converasation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish or spot.”

 THE BIBLE HAS MANY WITNESSES!

There are many witnesses which testify to the Bible's transforming power.  The following historical data shows the power of both faith and unbelief.

Jonathan Edwards, the nationally known evangelist and Max Jukes, the avowed atheist, were contemporaries living in the USA.

Max Jukes lived a godless life and married a girl of the same caliber.  This union produced 310 paupers, 150 criminals, 7 murderers, 100 drunkards.  And more than one-half of the women were prostitutes! Jukes' 540 descendants cost the State 1.25 million dollars.

Jonathan Edwards was a Minister of the Gospel.  He married a girl from a Christian family and from that union, there were 1,394 descendants.

An investigation of Edwards' posterity revealed 13 college professors, 65 college presidents, 3 US Senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 prominent authors, 1 US vice-president and 60 other public officials, 295 college graduates, among whom were State governors and ministers to foreign governments. And the preacher's descendants did not cost the State a penny,

WHY IS THE WORD OF GOD IS SO EFFECTIVE?

 1)  It is God-breathed and inspired!

 The Bible says, "For prophecy came not at any time by the will of man:  but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost". (2 Peter 1:21). Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life". (John 6:63)

2)  It is alive and active!

"For the Word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 4:12)

“He hath sent His Word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Ps. 107:20)

3)  It is authoritative!

Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will pass away, but not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law until it is fulfilled". (Matt. 5:18)

The Bible says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

4)  It is immutable! 

God stands behind His Word.  It cannot fail.  It is permanent! "God is not a man that He should lie...Hath He said and shall He not do it?  Or hath He spoken and shall He not make it good"? (Num. 23:19)

 "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 thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)

5. It is eternal!

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, but by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. But the Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Peter 1: 23-25)

 “In  hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested His Word through preaching…” (Titus 1:1-30)

6. It is holy and pure!

 “Every Word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in them. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Prov. 30: 5,6)

7. It is infallible and true!

“The sum of Thy Word is truth: and everyone of righteous ordinances endureth forever.” (Ps. 119:160)

 The 'Christian Century' editorialized:  "The Bible towers in content above all earlier religious literature; and it towers just as impressively over all subsequent literature in the direct simplicity of its messages and the catholicity (universalism) of its appeal to men of all lands and all times."

THE BIBLE AND ITS AFFECT ON THE USA!

A Newsweek report dated December 12, 1982 carried the headline:  'How The Bible Made America'.

Here is an excerpt of their report:  "Since the Puritans and the Pioneers, through Wars and Social Conflicts,  a sense of Biblical Mission has united us, divided us and shaped our National Destiny”.

A month earlier, President Ronald Reagan declared:  "For centuries it (the Bible) has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics and social life.  Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the constitution, is our founding document.  The source of the powerful view of the model society, a beacon in the world".

In 1665, Sir Isaac Newton - one of the world’s most renowned scientists - said, “No sciences are better tested than the religion of the Bible”.

In 1787, Daniel Webster wrote, “God’s Word contained in the Bible has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct”.

In 1850, America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln declared, “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to mankind and that all things and desires for man to know are contained in it. All of the good from the Saviour of this world is communicated through the Book; but for this Book, we could not know right from wrong.  All of the things desirable to man are contained in it. And in 1870, Charles Dickens stated, “The New Testament is the best book the world has ever known or will know."

U.S. PRESIDENTS & THE BIBLE!

 George Washington:  “It is impossible rightly to govern the world without God and the Bible.”  

Thomas Jefferson:  “I always said, I always will say, that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands.”

John Quincy Adams:  “In what light soever we regard the Bible, whether with reference to revelation, to history, or to morality, it is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue.” Andrew Jackson:  “The Bible is the rock on which our republic rests.”

Ulysses Simpson Grant:  “Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties:  write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives.  To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future.”

William McKinley:  “The more profoundly we study this wonderful Book, the better citizens we will become, and the higher will be our destiny as a nation.”

Theodore Roosevelt:  “I plead for a closer and wider and deeper study of the Bible, so that our people may be in fact as well as in theory “doers of the Word and not hearers only”.”

Woodrow Wilson:  “When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the WORD OF GOD, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty.”

Warren Harding:  “I have always believed in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, whereby they have become the expression to man of the Word and Will of God.”

Calvin Coolidge:  “The foundation of society and of our government rests so much on the teachings of the Bible, that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings should cease to be practically universal in our country.”

Herbert Hoover:  “We are indebted to the Book of books for our national ideals and institutions.  Their preservation rests in adhering to its principles.”

Harry S. Truman:  “The Bible is the moral code of our nation and of civilization.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower:  “In the highest sense the Bible is to us the unique repository of eternal spiritual truths.  In the most tangible sense, it is the ultimate and indispensable source of inspiration for America’s life in freedom.”

Ronald Reagan: “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.

 In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting the USA, made this  statement:

            “I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbours and her ample rivers, and it was not there:  in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there.  Not until I went into the churches of America, and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness, did I understand the secret of her genius and power.”

 WOMAN CONFRONTED BY AGNOSTIC!

The great English preacher, Spurgeon, told the story of a poor woman who was confronted by an agnostic.

 "What are you reading?" "I am reading the Word of God", she answered.  "Who told you that?"  "He told me so Himself", she countered.  "Told you so?  Why, how can you prove that?"

 Looking skyward, the poor woman said, "Can you prove to me that there is a sun up in the sky"?  "Why of course; the best proof is that it warms me and I can see its light."

"That's it", she shouted.  "The best proof that this book is the Word of God is that it warms me and lights my soul."

BRITAIN’S  QUEEN VICTORIA!

Here is the glorious testimony of how England’s Queen Victoria was born again! A beautiful incident in the experience of Queen Victoria is worth remembering. 

 It has been published and is unquestionably authentic.  The Queen had attended a service in St. Paul’s Cathedral and had listened to a sermon that interested her greatly; then she asked her Chaplain, “Can one be absolutely sure in this life of eternal safety?”  His answer was, “I know of no way that one could be absolutely sure.”

            This was published in the Court News and fell under the eye of a humble minister of the Gospel John Townsend, an intimate friend of George Mueller, whose life of faith led to the founding of his well-known orphanages.  This John Townsend was the father of the famous “Sister Abigail”, another Christian of extraordinary faith and service.

 After reading of Queen Victoria’s question and the answer she received, John Townsend thought and prayed much about the matter, then sent the following note to the Queen:

   “To her gracious Majesty, our beloved Queen Victoria, from one of her most humble subjects: With trembling hands, but heartfilled love, and because I know that we can be absolutely sure now of our eternal life in the Home that Jesus went to prepare, may I ask your Most Gracious Majesty to read the following passages of Scripture - John 3:16; John 5:24; Romans 10:9-10?

 These passages prove there is full assurance of salvation by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ for those who believe and accept His finished work.”

  I sign myself, your servant for Jesus’ Sake, John Townsend

 John Townsend was not alone in praying about his letter to the Queen.  He took others into his confidence, and much prayer from many hearts went up to God.  In about a fortnight he received a modest-looking envelope containing the following letter.

 To John Townsend;

“Your letter of recent date received and in reply would state that I have carefully and prayerfully read the portions of Scripture referred to.  I believe in the finished work of Christ for me, and trust by God’s grace to meet you in the Home of which He said, ‘I go to prepare a place for you’.”

(Signed) Victoria Guelph.

 Please Note:   The above testimony was excerpted from the tract, ‘Can We Be Sure?’ by Hull Publishing Co. Ltd., Winnipeg, Canada.

The people of Taiwan were spared the tyranny of the ‘Butcher from Bejing’, Mao Zedong who murdered and killed his opponents by the millions.  They were spared the inhuman agonizing deaths of between 40 and 80 million whom Mao - the corrupt, unconscionable and filthy emissary of Satan - destroyed through a mass famine, while exporting grain to prove to the world how great his lying ‘cultural revolution’ really was.

 Yes, thank God that the people of Taiwan escaped the kangaroo trials, murders by the inquisitional Red Guards because of that godly man President Shaing Kai Shek and his belief in Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour!

THE TESTIMONY OF TAIWAN’S PRESIDENT CHIANG KAI SHEK’S PERSONAL FAITH TO HIS PEOPLE. Taken from the book  translated from Norwegian into English

“How I wish that all the people would read the Bible, worship and believe in the one and only true God!  The Bible which is God’s Living, inspired and true Word teaches us about the triune God:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The Bible also declares that we can attain righteousness by our faith in His Son Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself through His death on the cross, and shed His blood as an offering for sin.  God’s righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ exalts a nation.  That has been proven historically. Christ is Freedom’s Rock!  His love covers a multitude of sins.  Everyone who believes on Him shall receive eternal life!”

PRAISE GOD FOREVER!

JESUS CHRIST
the Light of the World
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

    The Bible says: "He was in the WORLD, and the WORLD was made by Him, and the WORLD knew Him not.  He came unto His own and His own received Him not.  But as many as received him, to him gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name."  (John 1:10-12)

     During the Gold Rush, a minor lay dying in a little shack in the hills of California.  A kind Christian lady came to be with him during his last hours on earth.  She read these words from the New Testament: "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)

     The dying man asked, "Is that in the Bible?"  The woman answered, "Yes it is in the Bible."  He asked, "Is He speaking to me?"  She answered, "Yes, He is speaking to you." 

   The dying man asked, "Did He say anything else?"  The lady answered, “He said: As many as received Him to them gave He the power to become the sons of God." Then, she said softly, “Yes, He is speaking to you.” The dying man answered, "I receive Him. I'm satisfied."

   Then, he closed his eyes and went directly into the loving arms of JESUS.  How powerful and reassuring, indeed, are the inspired life-giving words of the Holy Bible!

   "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."  What an amazing promise!  Peace flooded his soul and he died knowing that he had been accepted into God's Kingdom.

    God's Word says: "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will."

    "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us Accepted in the Beloved; in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." (Eph. 1:4-6)

 CHRIST:  GOD'S PASCAL LAMB

   He LOVES us!  He KNOWS about us!  He CARES for us!  He DIED for our sins!  He AROSE from the dead for our justification!  And He will RETURN for us!  The Bible states that Jesus "was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Romans 4:25); '
    "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Heb. 9:28)

    Our OFFENCES speaks of the sins of unbelief, pride and treason against our God, Maker, Life-Giver and Saviour.  Our sins nailed Him to the Cross!  He was delivered, meaning: He was arrested, condemned, scourged, crucified and died for our sins!  The Bible teaches the substitutionary (vicarious) Death of Jesus the Messiah, for the sins of the entire world!

    The Bible states: "Therefore being, justified by FAITH we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  For when we were yet without strength (hopeless), in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  But God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

    "For 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." (Romans 5:1, 6; Romans 8:10)

    The hymn writer penned these amazing words: 'O love of God so rich and pure, so measureless and strong.  It shall forevermore endure the saints and angels song.  If you could with ink the ocean fill and were the sky of parchment made and every stock on earth a quill, To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry and could the sky contain the whole would stretch from sky to sky.'

GOD IS FOR US:  NOT AGAINST US

    There are those who believe that God is against us and wants to punish us for our sins.  Nothing is farther from the truth.  The Scripture states: "As I live saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked TURN from his way and live: Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways for why will die....? (Ezekiel 33:11)

    "For I know the thoughts that I have toward you saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (hope and a future).  Then ye shall call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.  And I will be found of you saith the Lord..." (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

     This Scripture holds out hope for us all, even those who have fallen into gross sins.  Israel had sinned by breaking His laws and God judged them with seventy years in Babylonian captivity.  His extended hand of love, mercy and grace reached out to them again letting them know that they were still His people and that if they would call upon His name He was ready to forgive and give them a bright future in Palestine as well as an eternal Home in Heaven!

    St. Peter writes: "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9).  So great was the love of God toward us that He sent His only begotten Son into this wicked, desperately evil WORLD to save us all through the SACRIFICE of Himself!

GOD'S LOVE IS UNIMAGINABLE

  His love toward us is incomprehensible, inconceivable and beyond the scope of human understanding!  That God the Son would wrap Himself in human flesh and come down in our midst and offer Himself as a ransom to pay for the sins of the world - past, present and future - to meet the demands of Divine Justice, exceeds the limits of our intelligence!

    The Bible declares: "To wit (that is), that God was in Christ reconciling the WORLD unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the Word of reconciliation.  For He hath made Him to be SIN (sin offering) for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:18; 2 Corinthians 19:21)

    The word GRACE means unmerited favor.  We are saved by grace and kept by the power of God through His mercy.  St. Paul stated: "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." (Ephesians 2:8,9) 

     It is by Grace alone, through Faith alone and in Christ alone that we  enter God's Kingdom!

    The Gospel is all about JESUS CHRIST and what He has done to redeem sinful and lost humanity.  The mercy, grace and love of God was extended to us in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, "Who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the CROSS, despising the shame and is set down on the right hand of the Majesty on High." (Hebrews 12:2)

    Jesus Christ said: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me." (John 14:6)  "I am the Door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be Saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.

JESUS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN

    There is no other road one may travel, no other way one may go and no other entrance into the Kingdom of God, except through God's Pascal Lamb, Jesus of Nazareth, Who was crucified on Golgotha nearly 2000 years ago.

     No one else could have filled the role of the God-man, the Jewish Messiah, and no one else could have RISEN from the dead three days later!  He is not only the sole Saviour of the world, but also the King of kings and Lord of lords and the ultimate Judge of all mankind!

    That is GREAT NEWS if you are a believer in Christ, but very scary, indeed, if you know not Christ as personal Saviour and Lord.  St. John makes this definitive, judicially proper and theologically correct statement:

    "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in Himself.  He that believeth not hath made Him a liar, because he believeth not the RECORD that God gave of His Son.  And this is the record that God hath given to us Eternal Life, and this LIFE is in His Son.  He that hath the Son hath LIFE, and he that hath NOT the Son of God hath NOT Life." (1 John 5:10-12)

     The Bible states: "The Thief (Satan) cometh not but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy.  I am come that they might have LIFE and have it more abundantly.  I am the Good Shepherd: the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep." (John 10:9-11)

    Saul of Tarsus, a rabid enemy of Jesus of Nazareth and His followers, was apprehended by the RISEN LORD on the Damascus Road.  The encounter was supernatural and life changing as our Lord appeared in a light brighter than the sun, blinding the murderous religious Jewish Enforcer! (Acts 9, 22, 26)

     St. Paul states: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.

     "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is ABOVE every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)

LOVE NOT THE WORLD

    There are three obstacles that impede our ability to receive power with God.  The three giants that must be defeated to experience power with God are the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the eyes and the Pride of life!  With God's strength in us we can do it, and we will by His grace!

      St. John issued this directive to the Church: "Love not the WORLD, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the World, the love of the Father is not in him. 

     “For all that is in the World, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the WORLD passes away and lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:15-17)

     Satan used these three temptations to snare EVE in the Garden of Eden.  The LIAR promised that she would not die if she ate the forbidden fruit, but rather become wise.  He accused the Creator of withholding something good from her.  The word devil means: Liar, slanderer, false accuser.

   The DECEIVER convinced her that he was concerned about her well-being.  Satan is still the greatest of all deceivers.  He promises everything but delivers only death!  Eve believed that the fruit which was pleasant to her eyes (lust of the eyes) would be good to eat (lust of the flesh), and it would make her wise (pride of life).

    When Satan, which means Enemy and Adversary, tried his three knock-out punches on our Blessed Lord and Saviour, he was soundly trounced and beaten and had to retreat!  Jesus refuted and finally rebuked him and he had to back off.  WE CAN DO THE SAME!

      St. James stated: "Submit yourselves unto God, RESIST the devil and he will FLEE from you" (James 4:7) and St. Peter warned: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil (LIAR), as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the Faith...." (1 Peter 5:8)

    Jesus used the Word of God to stop the devil.  Three times Jesus of Nazareth authoritatively said: "IT IS WRITTEN."  We can do the same!            The Bible states: "The Word of God is quick (alive) and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

     The devil confronted JESUS with these words: “If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” (Matthew 4: 3). The Liar knew full well that Jesus of Nazareth was the incarnated Son of God and the Deliverer that the Almighty God had promised would one day crush his head, yet he tried to seduce the very Son of God! (Genesis 3:15)

HOLY SCRIPTURES FROM GOD'S MOUTH

     The Lust of the flesh was a powerful tool to use on a man who had fasted for forty days and forty nights, but out Lord countered: “IT IS WRITTEN man shall not live by bread alone but by every WORD that proceeds out of the MOUTH of God.” (Matthew 4: 4)

    The LORD told the Devil and everyone else that He believed the Old Testament Scriptures. What a powerful answer! Jesus said two things: Man is a spiritual being and should not be controlled entirely by his flesh and the reason the Holy Scriptures are so powerful is that GOD Himself is their Author.

    The Second Temptation that the Adversary used was the Pride of Life. Again he challenged our Lord’s position as the Son of God, trying to make Him demonstrate the fact that He could cast Himself down and be protected. That would have shown PRIDE. Jesus did not fall for the temptation, but rather quoted the WORD of God: “IT IS WRITTEN again, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God.” (Matthew 4: 7)

     Jesus lectured Satan by reminding him that He was the Son of God and deserved worship, and that Satan was only a created being and still under the jurisdiction of the “Lord thy God.” And that he was clearly out of order in tempting Him!

     The Third Temptation is called the Lust of the Eyes.  Satan took Jesus up into a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them, saying: “All these things will I give thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4: 9). What possessed him to believe that Jesus would fall down and worship such an Evil one? Why did the LIAR think he could seduce the Son of God, Who had created the universe and every living creature?

     PRIDE blinds people and no doubt the Deceiver thought that since he had influenced one third of the angelic host to follow him, he would try it on the very Son of God. He is twisted in his mind and knows no shame! One day he will be cast into the LAKE OF FIRE forever! (Revelation 20:10)

   Jesus, the Perfect and Holy Son of God ordered the devil: “Get thee hence, Satan. IT IS WRITTEN; Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew 4: 10).

      The Lord commanded the fallen archangel to “Get away from here.” The contest was over and Satan was gone: “Then the devil leaves him and behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.” (Matthew 4: 11)

THE WORLD, THE FLESH & THE DEVIL

    The World had no attraction for the Son of God. He had come to EARTH for one purpose only and that was to SAVE the world! The Plan and Purpose of Redemption had been in the heart of God from before the foundations of the world. (Romans 8:29; Eph. 1: 1 4; 1 Peter 1:20)

    And Jesus of Nazareth, Who was in the bosom of the Father (John 1: 18), knew His great part in the deliverance of lost humanity! (Luke 19:10; John 3:16-17; 18:37; Luke 24:27). He had come to die in our place in order to save us for time and eternity. He stated: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of God be lifted up.” (John 3:14)

     He had witnessed Lucifer’s rebellion and his eviction from Heaven by the Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Revelation 12: 7-14). He had seen him fall to the earth and observed the great carnage that ensued there. (Ezekiel 28:13-17; Isa.14:12-17). He had witnessed the Traitor’s verbal assault on ‘the woman” in the Garden of Eden.

    He knew full well the pain, agony and eternal doom that Lucifer had wrought on the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. And He knew the price He had to pay to meet the demands of DIVINE JUSTICE in order to redeem the sick and suffering and lost and dying of the earthlings. (Luke 24: 25-27; 1 John 3:8)

     The Jewish Messiah would be rejected by His own people and judged by His Heavenly Father, suffer, bleed and die the most humiliating, ignominious and torturous death upon the cursed cross outside the city walls of Jerusalem, and after three days rise again in power and great glory.

PREACHING & HEALING THE SICK 

    Preaching and healing the sick is necessary for the proclamation of the Gospel. The miracles of healing confirms the message preached. It proves the love of Christ in His kindness and caring Spirit. It is also a witness to the fact that sickness and disease is the result of Adam's fall. It shows everyone that God is still in charge and one day we will be restored again to the perfect form from which Adan fell.

    JESUS had chosen twelve men as His apostles whom He sent out to preach the Gospel and heal the sick and suffering. They returned with glowing reports of great victories that multitudes had received the Good News of the Kingdom of God and that the very same works of healing the sick and casting out of demons had occurred also in the their meetings.

      "And when He had called unto His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease...

     “And as you go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devil: freely ye have received, freely give." (Mark 10:1, 7-8)

    “And they went out, and preached that men should Repent, and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.” (Mark 6: 12-13); “And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere.” (Luke 9: 6)

    “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven.

     “Behold, I give unto you POWER to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the Enemy (Satan): “And NOTHING shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice that your names are written in Heaven.” (Luke 10: 17-20)

JESUS CHRIST LOVED THE WORLD

    Jesus stated: "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.  For God sent not his Son to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16, 17)

     JESUS stated: "I am the light of the world." (John 8:12); "My Kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:6).  "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10); "Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends," (John 15:8);

    "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you."

    Jesus Christ said: "Remember the word I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord.  If they have persecuted Me they will persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep your also.  But all these things will they do for My name's sake, because they know not Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken with them, they had not had sin:  But now they have no cloak for their sin.  He that hates Me hates My Father also.

     "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father.  But this comes to pass, that the Word might be fulfilled that is written in their Law, they have hated Me without a cause." (John 15:18-25)

JESUS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

    The BIBLE states: "Jesus cried and said, He that believes on Me, believes not on Me but on Him that sent Me.  And he that sees Me sees Him that sent me.  I am come as a LIGHT into the WORLD, that whoever believes on Me should not abide in darkness and if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not, for I came not to judge but the save the world."

    "He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, hath one that judges him.  The Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His commandment is LIFE EVERLASTING: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak." (John 12:44-50)

    St. Paul wrote: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to Life Everlasting. Now unto the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory forever and ever.  Amen." (1 Timothy 1:15-16)

     The world is that which is sin and rebellion against God.  To Jesus, the world was the Jewish religious leaders who rejected Him as Messiah and turned others away from the Truth of who He was, even though they had the writings of the prophets and the Holy Scriptures.  He stated: "But woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For ye shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."  (Matthew 23:13)

     For us, the world is anything that opposes God, Christ and His Gospel.  The great preacher James Denney stated: "If God has really done something in Christ on which the salvation of this world depends, and if He has made it known, then it is a Christian duty to be intolerant of everything which ignores, denies or explains it away."

 THE FLESH VERSUS THE SPIRIT

St. Paul declared: "This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things ye would.  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."

   "Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (lustful), idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (conflict), emulations (jealousies), wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in the past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God."

     "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: Against such there is no law.  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections (passions) and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Galatians 5:16-25)

   St. Paul again exhorts us to holy living and fruit bearing in God's Kingdom: "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are of the Spirit, the thing of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  For if ye live after the flesh ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."

    "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 

    “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God: And if children of God, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we also be glorified together." (Romans 8:5,6,13-17)

O’ THE JOY OF LOVING HIM

     In our Gospel Meetings, we love to praise and worship to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ. A song that always blesses my soul says: O’ the Joy of knowing Him. O’ the joy of loving Him, and O’ the joy of praising Him, and O’ the joy, joy, joy of serving Him! 

      Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! What an honour to know Jesus Christ as our Lord, Saviour, Healer, Master and God! What a joy it is to serve Him and be led by the blessed Holy Spirit.

     The secret of a joyous Christian life is to fully dedicate ourselves to the Lord in sincerity and humility and to submit to God’s Word in repentance and faith. Through prayer and intercession, we must seek God for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. He will give us the grace to follow the path of righteousness and become living epistles of Christ’s love, mercy and grace! Amen.

                       JESUS' BLOOD DEFEATED SATAN

                            By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

 Some enemies of Christianity have called the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “a bloody religion”. That stems from their ignorance of the Bible and the history of God's dealing with mankind from the beginning of time! When Lucifer led a revolt among Heaven's angelic host, Almighty God judged him and cast them out of Heaven!

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven. Behold I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10: 17-19)

Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden after their disastrous fall. Again, God their creator had to judge them. He also judged Lucifer which had hidden in the serpent to deceive Eve: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15)

God not only foretold the eternal destruction of Satan, but also the coming of the Messiah who would crush the serpent's head. This is the first mention of Messiah Jesus, the SEED of the woman (virgin birth) who would give His life's blood to redeem the world from Satan's evil kingdom.

The Bible states: “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. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3: 16,17). Our Lord declared: “I have come to seek and to save them that are lost.” (Matt.18: 11)

                 CHRIST’S DEATH & RESURRECTION!

“And they spit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head. And they crucified Him, and parted His garments, casting lots...” (Matt. 27: 30, 35); And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the land until the ninth hour, and the sun  was darkened, and the veil in the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father into Thy hands I commend My spirit and, having said thus, He gave up the ghost.” (John 23: 44-46)

 “In the end of the sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.  And, behold there was a great earth quake: for the angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and came and rolled back the STONE from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

“And for fear of Him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is RISEN from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him: lo, I have told you.

“And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, JESUS met them, saying, All hail. And they came and worshipped Him.” (Matt. 28:1-9)

                          JESUS CONQUORS SAUL!

“And Saul, yet breathing out threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest. And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this WAY, whether there were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

“And as he journeyed, he came  near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a light from Heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, Why persecutest thou me?

“And he said, Who art Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I AM JESUS whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks (goads). And he trembling and astonished said, What wilt Thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

“And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink… And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

“And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized….And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:1-9, 17, 18, 20).

                     PURE GOSPEL OF CHRIST!

     St Paul writes: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for your sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures.” (1 Cor.15: 3,4)

 The Gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed BRUTAL! It is difficult to write about such holy things as God sacrificing His own Son; being incarnated, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a Virgin and dying on the CROSS of shame to save lost humanity, rising from the dead and carrying His own Blood in the Holy of Holies in Heaven!

  “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. And having an high priest over the House of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised.” (Heb.10: 19-23);

“Neither by the blood of bulls and goats, but by His own BLOOD Jesus entered in once into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth  to the purifying  of the flesh; how much more shall the Blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, PURGE your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God? (Heb. 9:11-14)

                 REDEMPTION BY THE BLOOD!

    The Blood of Jesus Christ shed for the entire world has effectively stopped Satan in his tracks! He cannot cross the Blood Line. Our Saviour's blood saves and forgives us, cleanses and purifies us, heals us and delivers us. The Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord is the only Solvent that can Purge the conscience of sinning mankind.

     The Bible says: “God hath delivered us from the power of Darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have Redemption through His BLOOD, even the Forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13)

     He has purchased our PEACE by the blood of His cross: “And having made PEACE through the Blood of His Cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say,  whether they be things in earth, or things in Heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled.” (Col.1:20,21). 

“According as he hath Chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before in love: Having predestinated  us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. To the praise of the glory of His grace, whereon He hath made us accepted in the beloved.

“In whom we have REDEMPTION through His BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.

“In whom also ye trusted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise. Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1:4-14). The blessed Holy Spirit lives in and works from Jesus' Blood, to bring eternal life and vibrant victory in our hearts! 

                 JESUS’ BLOOD OVERCAME SATAN!

 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you…” (James 4:7,8); “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith…”  (1 Peter 5:8,9)

“He that spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely GIVE US all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth; It is Christ who DIED, yea rather, that is RISEN again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay in all things we are more than CONQUERORS through Him that loved us.   

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 8:32-39)

                    THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB!

“And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of  His Christ: for the ACCUSER of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him (Satan) by the BLOOD of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev.12: 10-11)

 “And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away tears from their eyes; and their shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

“And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto Him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be His God, and He shall My Son.” (Rev. 20: 3-7).

The Bible says: “…It is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul.” (Lev.17:11); “Without shedding of blood there is no remission for sins….” (Heb.9:22); “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).

[A1] Thanks be to God who gave us Jesus Christ as His Paschal Lamb to purchase our salvation: “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father; To whom be glory for ever and ever.” (Gal.1:3,4). Amen.