THE HOLY SPIRIT PROMISE OF THE FATHER
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost A.D. 29 fulfilled the Father’s promise to Jesus Christ. That event followed the vicarious death of the incarnated Son of God for the sins of the world, and His glorious resurrection from the dead!
On that day, the Church of Jesus Christ was born and set in motion, with a great show of power! On that day, fear turned into faith and cowardice was replaced by boldness forever changing the course of history!
Jesus had to pour out His blood on the Cross as the Lamb of God, before He could pour out the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room upon His church! On that Day, God the Father gave the Holy Spirit to Christ’s Church.
And today, the teachings of Jesus Christ are assimilated into the code of ethics, constitutions, and legal frameworks of religious as well as secular governments, institutions, and statues the world over!
Christianity has made such an impact upon the legal systems of the civilized world that all of the good, benevolent and just laws we presently have is the result of godly legislators influenced by the laws of Moses and the teachings of Jesus Christ!
William Gladstone, statesman, Prime Minister and unquestionable one on the most able, and greatest legal minds in the 1800's stated:
“Talk about the questions of the day. There is but one question and that is the Gospel. That can and will correct everything. I am glad to say that about all the men at the top in Great Britain are Christians. I have been in public position fifty-eight years, all but eleven of them in the Cabinet of the British Government, and during those forty-seven years have been associated with sixty of the master-minds of the century, and all but five of the sixty were Christians!”
The Sermon on the Mount, the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as they do unto you”, are quoted by philosophers, statesmen and theologians alike.
YE SHALL RECEIVE POWER!
The Jewish festival called ‘Pentecost’ was commemorated 50 days after the ‘Passover’. It was called the ‘Feast of Weeks’ (7 weeks), or ‘New Anointing’. It was on that day in A.D. 29 that approximately 120 followers of Christ gathered in an upper room, in obedience to His command:
“And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on High.” (Luke 24: 49)
They had been terrified and crushed by the terribly brutal and unjust death of their Master, whom they believed was their long- awaited Messiah. Can you imagine the great joy and anticipation they experienced when they saw the Risen Christ on that first resurrection morning, and the time they spent with Him before His ascension! For ten days they worshipped and magnified Jesus Christ in anticipation for the great power He had promised. And then suddenly the Holy Spirit filled the room where they were sitting! And the Church was born!
WHAT A WEEK THAT WAS!
Passover Week AD 29 will forever mark the unspeakable largess of God’s dealings with man and prove His great Love and Mercy toward us all: not just toward the Jews, His own people, but to all people everywhere.
The Feast of the Passover is when Jesus was crucified on a Roman Cross as our paschal Lamb – He is our Passover! The Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilled when Jesus' Body laid in the tomb, seeing no corruption. His Blood did not die, and His Body did not corrupt. He is our Unleavened Bread!
The Bible says: “But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept.” (1 Cor.15:20). The Feast of First Fruits was fulfilled when Jesus Christ arose from the dead on the third day. He is the first fruits of them that slept. This means that Jesus Christ was the first to die and rise, never to die again! Lazarus died, was raised, and had to die again. Jesus did not!
The Feast of Trumpets will be fulfilled when Jesus returns for His bride in the parusia (coming) harpazo (catching away) and epiphany (appearing). That will be the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ! On that day He will fulfill the Feast of Trumpets!
The Feast of the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled when He shall be revealed (apocalypse) to His Jewish people and they receive Him as their Messiah! He is our Day of Atonement! Finally, when Christ ushers in the 1,000 years of peace – the Millennial Reign – that will fulfill the ancient Jewish Feast of Tabernacles!
INCARNATION TO ATONEMENT!
The time between Christmas and Easter is about three months, and the time between the birth of our Saviour and His death is about thirty-three years. You cannot divorce His Incarnation from His Atonement. Jesus was born to die. If there had not been an incarnation, there could not be an atonement!
God is satisfied by the vicarious death of His Son on the cross and sinners who repent of their sins and receive forgiveness and reconciliation through His shed blood. The death of Christ in exchange for the pardon of guilty mankind, allowed God to keep His Law of Righteousness and Judgment for sin, and still freely show forth His Love, Mercy and Grace to repentant sinners!
The vicarious death of Jesus Christ for our sins is the only cure for our guilt, condemnation and separation from a loving God, and the Peace that we all crave. The ‘Blood of His Cross’ purchased our eternal redemption!
Jesus Christ is the only hope of the Church and of the world! All must bow before Him, for He is the Saviour of the world and the glorified Son of God! JESUS is the fountainhead of Truth and the Healer of broken spirits, wounded hearts, devastated lives, and a corrupt humanity!
Jesus works on a personal basis through the Blessed Holy Spirit to spread the light of the Gospel into the whole world. Amen.
DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Even in the time of St. Paul many were ignorant of the mighty workings of the Holy Spirit. In his letter to the Corinthian Church, he wrote: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, I would not have you to be ignorant.” (1 Cor. 12: 1).
Nearly 2,000 years later, the Church is still ignorant of the Holy Spirit and His gifts! The blessed Holy Spirit is a Person; the third person of the Godhead. One must never refer to Him as “an influence, a power or a manifestation of God.” He is God the Holy Spirit!
Disclosing that He would soon be leaving them, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit: “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you.
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things; and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I give with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14: 16-18; 26, 27)
CHRIST’S VICTORY OVER SATAN!
“But when the Comfortable is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient that I go away: for if 1 go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
“Of Sin, because they believe not on Me; of Righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; of Judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now.”
The Holy Spirit has come for three reasons: To convict men of their Sin of unbelief and rejection of Jesus: To convince men that Jesus is the Son of God and the only Saviour of the world: To demonstrate to the world, Jesus Christ’s Victory over the Satan!
JESUS said: “Howbeit when He the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak: but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and he will speak: and He will show things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you.” (John 15:26; 16:7-14)
The blessed Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. He is needed in the Church to protect and cleanse it from the sin of unbelief, false doctrine, pride, lust, and fear! He works through the ‘gifts of the Spirit’ and heals the sick and suffering. The Holy Spirit reveals things to come through the ‘gift of prophecy’. He glorifies Jesus Christ through the ‘gift of tongues and interpretation.’ He imparts the ‘gift of faith’ to cast out demons, heal the sick and work miracles of divine deliverance!
St. Paul stated: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given by the Spirit to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” (1 Cor. 12: 7-11)
JESUS CHRIST IS LIFE ETERNAL!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God and the Word was God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-4, 14)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have Eternal Life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him should be saved. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see Life but the wrath of God abideth on Him.” (John 3: 16, 17, 36)
Jesus 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 enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not but to steal, kill and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9,10)
“I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (John 10: 11-15); “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: He that believeth on Me, though he were dead yet shall he live.” (John 11:25)
THE ONLY TRUE GOD!
Jesus prayed: “Father, the hour is come: glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give Eternal Life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is Eternal Life, that they might know Thee the Only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.
“I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have Finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine Own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy Name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word.
“That they all may be one as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in US: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy Name and will declare it; that the LOVE wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them.” (John 17: 1-6, 21,22, 26)
HERE IS THE INVITATION!
Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
“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.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” (John 3:16,17; 5:24,25)
“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God 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 Everlasting Life; and he that hath not the Son hath not Life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have Eternal Life, and that ye may believe on the Name of the Son of God.
“And we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself; and that Wicked One toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is True, and we are in Him that is True, even in His Son Jesus Christ.
“This TRUE GOD and ETERNAL LIFE.” (1 John 5:10-13, 18-20)
CHRIST IS THE ANSWER!
If you desire a miracle from the hand of the Lord you are in God's will, because He repeatedly invites us to ask, desire and implore Him to give us what we need and desire!He says, “Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you, For everyone that asketh receiveth, he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7,8)
Then our precious, compassionate Saviour expands on His invitation, saying: “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son asks bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, How Much More shall your Father which is in Heaven give good gifts to them that ask Him?” (Matt.7:9-11)
“When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils; and He cast out the spirits with His Word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoke by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took out infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” (Matt.8: 16,17)
Jesus invites those who are spiritually dead to hear His voice through His Holy Word as presented here, and in humility and faith answer the Holy Spirit’s call. Ask Him to forgive you and save your soul. And He will do it! If you wait until it is too late, this will be your sad state:
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice. And come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection to life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of.” (John 5: 28,29).
God bless you, my friend! Amen.
To be continued….M.S. `
THE HOLY SPIRIT: PROMISE OFTHE FATHER
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost A.D. 29 fulfilled the Father’s promise to Jesus Christ. That event followed the vicarious death of the incarnated Son of God for the sins of the world, and His glorious resurrection from the dead!
On that day, the Church of Jesus Christ was born and set in motion, with a great show of power! On that day, fear turned into faith and cowardice was replaced by boldness forever changing the course of history!
Jesus had to pour out His blood before He could pour out the Holy Spirit! On that Day, God the Father gave the Holy Spirit to Christ’s Church.
And today, the teachings of Jesus Christ are assimilated into the code of ethics, constitutions, and legal frameworks of religious as well as secular governments, institutions, and statues the world over!
Christianity has made such an impact upon the legal systems of the civilized world that all of the good, benevolent and just laws we presently have is the result of godly legislators influence by the laws of Moses and the teachings of Jesus Christ!
William Gladstone, statesman, Prime Minister and unquestionable one on the most able, and greatest legal minds in the 1800's stated:
“Talk about the questions of the day. There is but one question and that is the Gospel. That can and will correct everything. I am glad to say that about all the men at the top in Great Britain are Christians. I have been in public position fifty-eight years, all but eleven of them in the Cabinet of the British Government, and during those forty-seven years have been associated with sixty of the master-minds of the century, and all but five of the sixty were Christians!”
The Sermon on the Mount, the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as they do unto you”, are quoted by philosophers, statesmen and theologians alike.
WHAT A WEEK THAT WAS!
The Jewish festival called ‘Pentecost’ was commemorated 50 days after the ‘Passover’. It was called the ‘Feast of Weeks’ (7 weeks), or ‘New Anointing’. It was on that day in A.D.29 that approximately 120 followers of Christ gathered in an upper room, in obedience to His command:
“And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on High.” (Luke 24: 49)
They had been terrified and crushed by the terribly brutal and unjust death of their Master, whom they believed was their long- awaited Messiah.
Passover Week AD 29 will forever mark the unspeakable largess of God’s dealings with man and prove His great Love and mercy toward us all: not just toward the Jews, His own people, but to all people everywhere.
WHAT A WEEK THAT WAS!
The Feast of the Passover is when Jesus was crucified on a Roman Cross as our paschal Lamb – He is our Passover! The Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilled when Jesus' Body laid in the tomb, seeing no corruption. His Blood did not die, and His Body did not corrupt. He is our Unleavened Bread!
The Bible says: “But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept.” (1 Cor.15:20). The Feast of First Fruits was fulfilled when Jesus Christ arose from the dead on the third day. He is the first fruits of them that slept. This means that Jesus Christ was the first to die and rise, never to die again! Lazarus died, was raised, and had to die again. Jesus did not!
The Feast of Trumpets will be fulfilled when Jesus returns for His bride in the parusia (coming) harpazo (catching away) and epiphany (appearing). That will be the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ! On that day He will fulfill the Feast of Trumpets!
The Feast of the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled when He shall be revealed (apocalypse) to His Jewish people and they receive Him as their Messiah! He is our Day of Atonement! Finally, when Christ ushers in the 1,000 years of peace – the Millennial Reign – that will fulfill the ancient Jewish Feast of Tabernacles!
INCARNATION TO ATONEMENT!
The time between Christmas and Easter is about three months, and the time between the birth of our Saviour and His death is about thirty-three years. You cannot divorce His Incarnation from His Atonement. Jesus was born to die. If there had been no incarnation there could not be an atonement!
God is satisfied by the vicarious death of His Son on the cross and sinners who repent of their sins and receive forgiveness and reconciliation through His shed blood. The death of Christ in exchange for the pardon of guilty mankind, allowed God to keep His Law of Righteousness and Judgment for sin, and still freely show forth His Love, Mercy and Grace to repentant sinners!
The vicarious death of Jesus Christ for our sins is the only cure for our guilt, condemnation and separation from a loving God, and the Peace that we all crave. The ‘Blood of His Cross’ purchased our eternal redemption!
Jesus Christ is the only hope of the Church and of the world! All must bow before Him, for He is the Saviour of the world and the glorified Son of God! JESUS is the fountainhead of Truth and the Healer of broken spirits, wounded hearts, devastated lives, and a corrupt humanity!
JESUS works on a personal basis through the Blessed Holy Spirit to spread the light of the Gospel into the whole world. Amen.
DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Even in the time of St. Paul many were ignorant of the mighty workings of the Holy Spirit. In his letter to the Corinthian Church, he wrote: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, I would not have you to be ignorant.” (1 Cor. 12: 1). Nearly 2,000 years later, the Church is still ignorant of the Holy Spirit and His gifts! The blessed Holy Spirit is a Person; the third person of the Godhead. One must never refer to Him as “an influence, a power or a manifestation of God.” He is God the Holy Spirit!
Disclosing that He would soon be leaving them, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit: “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you.
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things; and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I give with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14: 16-18; 26, 27)
CHRIST’S VICTORY OVER SATAN!
“But when the Comfortable is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient that I go away: for if 1 go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
“Of Sin, because they believe not on Me; of Righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; of Judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now.”
The Holy Spirit has come for three reasons: To convict men of their Sin of unbelief and rejection of Jesus: To convince men that JESUS is the Son of God and the only Saviour of the world: To demonstrate to the world, Jesus Christ’s Victory over the Satan!
JESUS said: “Howbeit when He the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak: but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and he will speak: and He will show things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you.” (John 15:26; 16:7-14)
The blessed Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. He is needed in the Church to protect and cleanse it from the sin of unbelief, false doctrine, pride, lust, and fear! He works through the ‘gifts of the Spirit’ and heals the sick and suffering. The Holy Spirit reveals things to come through the ‘gift of prophecy’. He glorifies Jesus Christ through the ‘gift of tongues and interpretation.’ He imparts the ‘gift of faith’ to cast out demons, heal the sick and work miracles of divine deliverance!
St. Paul stated: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given by the Spirit to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” (1 Cor. 12: 7-11)
JESUS CHRIST IS LIFE ETERNAL!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God and the Word was God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-4, 14)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have Eternal Life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him should be saved. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see Life but the wrath of God abideth on Him.” (John 3: 16, 17, 36)
Jesus 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 enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not but to steal, kill and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9,10)
“I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (John 10: 11-15); “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: He that believeth on Me, though he were dead yet shall he live.” (John 11:25)
THE ONLY TRUE GOD!
Jesus prayed: “Father, the hour is come: glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give Eternal Life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is Eternal Life, that they might know Thee the Only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.
“I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have Finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine Own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy Name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word.
“That they all may be one as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in US: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy Name and will declare it; that the LOVE wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them.” (John 17: 1-6, 21,22, 26)
HERE IS THE INVITATION!
Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
“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.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” (John 3:16,17; 5:24,25)
“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God 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 Everlasting Life; and he that hath not the Son hath not Life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have Eternal Life, and that ye may believe on the Name of the Son of God.
“And we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself; and that Wicked One toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is True, and we are in Him that is True, even in His Son Jesus Christ.
“This TRUE GOD and ETERNAL LIFE.” (1 John 5:10-13, 18-20)
MY MESSAGE IS URGENT!
If you desire a miracle from the hand of the Lord you are in God's will, because He repeatedly invites us to ask, desire and implore Him to give us what we need and desire!He says, “Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you, For everyone that asketh receiveth, he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7,8)
Then our precious, compassionate Lord and Saviour expands on His invitation, saying: “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son asks bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, HOW MUCH MORE shall your Father which is in Heaven give good gifts to them that ask Him?” (Matt.7:9-11)
Jesus invites those who are spiritually dead to hear His voice through His Holy Word as presented here, and in humility and faith answer the Holy Spirit’s call. Ask Him to forgive you and save your soul. And He will do it! If you wait until it is too late, this will be your sad state:
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice. And come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection to life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of.
” (John 5: 28,29).
God bless you, my friend! Amen.
TO BE CONTINUED….M.S. `
THE HOLY SPIRIT
Promise
of the Father
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D
The
outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the Day of
Pentecost A.D. 29 fulfilled the Father’s promise to Jesus Christ. That event followed
the vicarious death of the incarnated Son of God for the sins of the world, and
His glorious resurrection from the dead!
On that day, the Church of Jesus Christ
was born and set in motion, with a great show of power! On that day, fear
turned into faith and cowardice was replaced by boldness forever changing the
course of history!
Jesus had to pour out His blood before He could
pour out the Holy Spirit! On that Day, God the Father gave the Holy Spirit to Christ’s
Church.
And today, the teachings of Jesus Christ are
assimilated into the code of ethics, constitutions, and legal frameworks of
religious as well as secular governments, institutions, and statues the world
over!
Christianity has made such an impact upon
the legal systems of the civilized world that all of the good, benevolent and
just laws we presently have is the result of godly legislators influence by the
laws of Moses and the teachings of Jesus Christ!
William
Gladstone, statesman, Prime Minister and unquestionable one on the most
able, and greatest legal minds in the 1800's stated:
“Talk about the questions of the day.
There is but one question and that is the Gospel. That can and will correct
everything. I am glad to say that about
all the men at the top in Great Britain are Christians. I have been in public
position fifty-eight years, all but eleven of them in the Cabinet of the
British Government, and during those forty-seven years have been associated with sixty of the
master-minds of the century, and all but five of the sixty were Christians!”
THE GOLDEN RULE!
The Sermon on the Mount, the Golden Rule, “Do
unto others as they do unto you”, are quoted by philosophers, statesmen and
theologians alike. The Jewish festival called ‘Pentecost’ was commemorated 50
days after the ‘Passover’. It was called the ‘Feast of Weeks’ (7 weeks), or
‘New Anointing’.
It was on that day in A.D.29 that
approximately 120 followers of Christ gathered in an upper room, in obedience
to His command: “And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but
tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on High.” (Luke
24: 49)
They had been terrified and crushed by
the terribly brutal and unjust death of their Master, whom they believed was
their long- awaited Messiah.
Passover Week AD 29 will
forever mark the unspeakable largesse of God’s dealings with man and prove His
great Love and mercy toward us all: not just toward the Jews, His own people,
but to all people everywhere.
WHAT A WEEK THAT WAS!
The Feast of the Passover is when Jesus was
crucified on a Roman Cross as our paschal Lamb – He is our Passover! The
Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilled when Jesus' Body laid in the
tomb, seeing NO corruption. His Blood did NOT die, and His Body did NOT
corrupt. He is our Unleavened Bread!
The Bible says: “But now is Christ risen
from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept.” (1 Cor.15:20).
The Feast of First Fruits was fulfilled when Jesus Christ arose from
the dead on the third day. He is the first fruits of them that slept. This
means that Jesus Christ was the first to die and rise, never to die again!
Lazarus died, was raised, and had to die again. JESUS did Not!
The Feast
of Trumpets will be fulfilled when Jesus returns for His bride
in the parusia (coming) harpazo (catching away) and epiphany
(appearing). That will be the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ! On
that day He will fulfill the Feast of Trumpets!
The Feast
of the Day of Atonement will be fulfilled when He shall be revealed (apocalypse)
to His Jewish people and they receive Him as their Messiah! He is our Day of
Atonement! Finally, when Christ ushers in the 1,000 years of peace – the
Millennial Reign – that will fulfill the ancient Jewish Feast of Tabernacles!
INCARNATION TO ATONEMENT!
The time
between Christmas and Easter is about three months, and the time between the
birth of our Saviour and His death is about thirty-three years. You cannot
divorce His Incarnation from His
Atonement. Jesus was born to die. If there had been no incarnation there could
not be an atonement!
God is satisfied by the vicarious death of
His Son on the cross and the sinners who repent of their sins and receive
forgiveness and reconciliation through His shed blood. The death of Christ in
exchange for the pardon of guilty mankind, allowed God to keep His Law of
Righteousness and Judgment for sin, and still freely show forth His Love, Mercy
and Grace to repentant sinners!
The vicarious death of Jesus Christ for our sins is the only cure for our
guilt, condemnation and separation from a loving God, and the Peace that we all
crave. The ‘Blood of His Cross’ purchased our eternal redemption!
Jesus Christ is the only hope of the Church and of the
world! All must bow before Him, for He is the Saviour of the world and the
glorified Son of God! JESUS is the fountainhead of Truth and the Healer of
broken spirits, wounded hearts, devastated lives, and a corrupt humanity!
JESUS works on a personal basis through the
Blessed Holy Spirit to spread the light of the Gospel into the whole world. Amen.
DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Even
in the time of St. Paul many were ignorant of the mighty workings of the Holy
Spirit. In his letter to the Corinthian Church, he wrote: “Now concerning
spiritual gifts, I would not have you to be ignorant.” (1 Cor. 12: 1).
Nearly 2,000 years later, the Church is still ignorant of the Holy
Spirit and His gifts! The blessed Holy Spirit is a Person; the third person of
the Godhead. One must never refer to Him as “an influence, a power or a
manifestation of God.” He is God the Holy Spirit!
Disclosing that He would soon be leaving them, Jesus promised to
send the Holy Spirit: “And I will pray
the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit
of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him
not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you and shall
be in you.
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy
Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things;
and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Peace I give with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John
14: 16-18; 26, 27)
CHRIST’S VICTORY OVER SATAN!
“But when the Comfortable is come, whom
I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth
which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient that I
go away: for if 1 go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I
depart, I will send Him unto you.
And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment:
“Of Sin, because they believe not on
Me; of Righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more;
of Judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many
things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now.”
The Holy Spirit has
come for three reasons: To convict men of their Sin of unbelief and
rejection of Jesus: To convince men that JESUS is the Son of God and the only Saviour
of the world: To demonstrate to the world, Jesus Christ’s Victory over the Satan!
JESUS said: “Howbeit when He the Spirit of
Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak: but whatsoever He shall
hear, that shall He speak: and he will speak: and He will show things to come. He
shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you.” (John
15:26; 16:7-14)
The blessed Holy Spirit is the Spirit
of Truth. He is needed in the Church to protect and cleanse it from the sin
of unbelief, false doctrine, pride, lust, and fear! He works through the ‘gifts
of the Spirit’ and heals the sick and suffering. The Holy Spirit
reveals things to come through the ‘gift of prophecy’. He
glorifies Jesus Christ through the ‘gift of tongues and interpretation.’ He imparts the ‘gift of faith’
to cast out demons, heal the sick and work miracles of divine deliverance!
St.
Paul stated: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given by the Spirit to
profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another
the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles;
to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds
of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh
that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.”
JESUS CHRIST IS LIFE ETERNAL!
“In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in
the beginning with God and the Word was God. All things were made by Him; and
without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life
was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and welt among us, and we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth.
“For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but
have ETERNAL LIFE. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world through Him should be saved. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see LIFE but
the wrath of God abideth on Him.” (John 3: 16, 17, 360
JESUS 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 enter in, he shall be saved, and
shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not but to steal, kill
and to destroy: I am come that they
might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9,10)
“I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep and am
known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father and I lay down
My life for the sheep.” (John 10: 11-15); “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection
and the life: He that believeth on Me, though he were dead yet shall he live.”
(John 11:25)
In His High Priestly Prayer to His Father,
Jesus said: “Father, the hour is come: glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may
glorify Thee. As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give
Eternal Life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is Eternal Life, that
they might know THEE the ONLY TRUE GOD, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.
“I have glorified Thee on the earth; I
have Finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify
Thou Me with Thine Own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world
was. I have manifested Thy Name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the
world: Thine they were and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word.
“That they all may be one as Thou, Father,
art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in US: that the world may
believe that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy Name and will
declare it; that the LOVE wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them.” (John
17: 1-6, 21,22, 26)
HERE IS THE INVITATION!
Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for
I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke
is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
“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.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth
My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice
of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” (John 3:16,17; 5:24,25)
MY MESSAGE IS
URGENT!
Jesus invites those who are spiritually dead to hear
His voice through His Holy Word as presented here, and in humility and faith answer
the Holy Spirit’s call. Ask Him to forgive you and save your soul. And He will do
it! If you wait until it is too late, this will be your sad state: “Marvel not
at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall
hear His voice. And come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection
to life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of.” (John 5:
28,29). May God bless you, my friend! Amen.
TO BE CONTINUED….M.S. `
(John 14: 16-18, 26
