DOING BUSINESS WITH GOD
By Pastor Max Solbrekken,
D.D.
Business ads in a Canadian newspaper in 1980 were alluring. Everything was on "Special." Some of the headlines read, "Clearance Sale"; "Everything on Special"; "50% off"; "Reason for clearance - going out of business!" Another read, "Fire sale - smoke damage - everything goes at greatly reduced prices."
A humorous story: A certain company had gone out of business and to soothe his heart, the owner took his family to the Bahamas for a vacation to get away from all the unpleasantness. There had been a flood. He lost everything and was forced to go out of business temporarily, while the Insurance Companies made final settlements.
While taking a leisurely walk with his wife - enjoying the sub-tropic sun - suddenly he spotted a friend sitting under the shade of a palm tree, dressed in Bermuda shorts, tennis shoes and sunglasses. He was reading the stock market report in an American daily. The businessman walking along the beach stopped and greeted his acquaintance: "Hey, Mr. A. what are you doing here? I thought you were back home, struggling with the cold Canadian winter".
Dejectedly, Mr. A. answered, "Mr. B. we had a real tragedy. Haven't you heard? We had a fire that destroyed everything. It put us totally out of business, so I thought we may as well take a holiday and get away from it all for a few weeks. What happened to you, Mr. B.?"
"We lost everything too and are out of business for the time being. We had a flood." "You had a flood?” "Yes," answered Businessman B, “We had a flood and lost everything." Businessman A was trying to grasp it all. "You had a flood and lost everything! Tell me, Mr. B., how do you start a flood?"
That joke may be a little ironic or crude, but I believe it makes a point or two. Human tragedy or nature can affect business. Everything is so temporary. Inflation, recession, or depression can put a man or company out of business almost overnight. Some time ago, Time Magazine carried a story about the American family that was losing the farm. Their grandfather had pioneered the farm, and they continued the family tradition for as long as it was viable. They called it “quits” in 1978. They were selling everything and going out of the farming business. They couldn't cope with the inflated costs of farm machinery, rising interest rates and unreal fuel bills.
GOD IS UNLIMITED!
Driving through our cities you often see signs like: Hudson's Bay Co. Ltd., Nelson Brothers Ltd., etc. These groups or corporations have formed a limited company. If the company does well their shareholders do well. If the company goes bankrupt the individuals involved will lose any profits they might have gained, but their individual fortunes or assets cannot be touched, since the company is limited only to the assets of the company and not that of the stockholders or directors.
It proves how shaky the business community really is. Each year, thousands of small, as well as larger businesses go bankrupt in North America. Even some of large independent banks have taken the same downward path in declaring bankruptcy. During the crash of 1929 and 1930, in the beginning of the great depression, thousands of businesses folded, and many rich and important people lost their life's fortunes. Some committed suicide as they couldn’t face the future!
And now in 2022, a wrecking crew of demonic proportions are salivating to gain control of our Judaea/Christian Heritage and replace it with a mix of Marxist/Hate/Woke Culture. There is no doubt that the Democrat Party of Nancy Polosi, Chuck Schumer and the Big Guy, are demon possessed and controlled! For what purpose? To destroy the U.S.A. of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan and replace it with perverted, stupid, hate-filled atheists like George Soros.
AL GORE BRIBED & LIED FOR MONEY! According to a document
published by DC Leaks, Soros used his Open Society Institute to pay Al Gore $10
million dollars per year in order to make Gore exaggerate claims about man-made
climate change to the public.
GOD IS NOT LIMITED!
God is not limited in any way! Man is limited to time, space, finance, health, and life span. God has NO limitations. The Psalmist David said it perfectly, "They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed: But Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end." (Ps. 102: 26-27)
Man is limited - God is unlimited; man is finite - God is infinite; man is weak - God is strong; man is human - God is superhuman; man is mortal - God is immortal; man fails - God never fails; man dies - God always lives; Man is limited in power and wisdom - God is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all wise), omnipresent (everywhere present at once). Man is a created being, while God is eternal, without beginning or end!
God has no problems with shortages, bankruptcies, strikes, limitations, old age, or death. He never runs out of supplies, is never tired, weak or grows old. There is no death with God, for He is Life. There is no darkness or fear with Him, for He is Light and Faith. Hatred, Defeat and Anxiety are foreign words to Him, because He is Love, Power, Confidence and Assurance!
God is Love and desires to help us. His love and mercy sent Jesus to the Cross on our behalf. Jesus suffered all the anxiety, anguish, pain, separation, and death to redeem us, save and heal us! After six hours on the Cross Jesus cried, “…It is finished, and He bowed His head and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30).
Jesus used the word ‘TETELESTAI’ from the Gr. verb teleo, with three essential meanings: ‘It is finished; to make an end of something’; ‘to fulfill something; and ‘to pay what is owed’! Jesus had finished His work of Redemption and put an end to Satan’s power. He had fulfilled all Messianic prophecies and paid for our sins. He had met the Righteous Demands of Divine Justice for the sins of the entire world from Adam until His return, for all who receive Him as Saviour and Lord!
GOD IS STILL IN CHARGE!
The Bible states: “The Fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is not doeth good. The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no not one.” (Psalm 14: 1-3)
Those who say that there is no God or that He does not care for us, are committing a grievous sin! Quite to the contrary, God has total and complete control. He never slumbers nor sleeps and because He is eternal and omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, He has His finger on the pulse of everything!
I have no doubts as to God's ability to cope with Satan, man, or the universe. I am sure that He is well able to do all things right. I have confidence in His goodness, mercy, grace, power and just judgment. I rest my case with Him. He is too wise to make a mistake, too good to do wrong and too kind and merciful to be hasty, unfair, or harsh with His children.
I would be a fool and a liar to say that I have never had any problems, or that I have never made a mistake. I am far from perfect because I am a man. And man at best is weak, frail, and temporary. Jesus answered the rich young ruler, "None is good but one; that is God." (Luke 18:9). St. Paul said, "In this flesh dwelleth no good thing." (Rom. 7:18)
Only by the righteousness of Jesus are we saved. Through His death on the cross and His resurrection we are saved, delivered, justified, and made righteous. The Scripture sets the record straight, "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Cor. 1:30)
GRIEVE NOT THE HEART OF GOD!
Almighty God was grieved with His people in times past: “Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart and have not known My way.” (Ps. 95:10). The Bible warns, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God..." (Eph. 4:30). Without doubt, we also become problem children to God because of our waywardness, lack of faith, love, and loyalty to Him, and because of our stubbornness and selfishness!
I am equally sure that God has no problem correcting, chastening, forgiving, loving, restoring, and helping us when we truly love Him and ask for His help. We become problems to Him when we rebel and refuse His admonition! One who controls this vast universe and has dealt with Satan for millennia, and who knows the number of the stars, as well as each one of us by name, has everything under control. And everything is unfolding according to Divine plan!
Even Satan's futile attempts to sabotage God's work become miserable failures, because God turns troubles into triumphs, sicknesses into miraculous recoveries, backslidings into glorious renewals, and defeats into victories! God is a God of order! He is perfect and quite capable of looking after each one of us.
His Word says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:48) St. Paul says, "Let everything be done decently and in order." (1 Cor. 14:40) This of course, refers to God's order and not what man would term as being "in order." He wants to do business with us, but besides His promises there are also conditions that we must keep.
It is estimated that there are more than 3,000 promises of God to His children, found in His revealed Will and Word! It is important to remember that His Word is His Will, and His Will is revealed in His Word, the Canon of Scripture we know as the Holy Bible!
The last Will and Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ is the New Testament of our Bible. Since Jesus came “not to destroy the law but to fulfil it”, we know that whatever Jesus purchased by His death and resurrection, He purchased for us! “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, “Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree:” (Gal. 3:13
The Bible says, “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Cor. 1:30). Again, God’s Word states: “We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17) which means that everything He owns, we own! He is our peace and has purchased our peace through His death on the cross. We are one with Him and are safe since we are “hid away with Christ in God”. (Col. 3:3)
GOD HAS EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL!
Everything is proceeding as it should; nothing happens by accident. It is not by mere chance that the world is unfolding as it is! God has everything under control and not even a sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing it! The Bible says, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Ps.24:1)
What about these Scriptures? "...The whole world lieth in wickedness." (1 John 5:19) and that Satan is, “the god of this world” and “the prince of the power of the air”? (Eph. 2:2). Very definitely, the devil is exerting great influence over people, of that there is no doubt. Satan also, “goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour”. (1 Peter 5:8). That is a fact! That he has the ability to set-up people within the political and materialistic framework of this world is ‘a given’.
Jesus’ wilderness temptation was a realty! Satan tempted our Lord by saying, "...All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine." (Luke 4:6-7). Almighty God allowed that wicked, evil personality to tempt His pure, Holy Son! Jesus rebuked him by answering, "It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." (Luke 4:8)
IT WAS A REAL TEMPTATION!
It was not just a bluff on Satan's part! Satan can only go so far and no further, however! He's like a dog on a leash. We evidence that where God spoke to Satan concerning Job: "...Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand..." (Job 1:12). The Scripture says, "...When the enemy (Satan) shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against him (to stop him)”. (Isa. 59:19)
Everything is under control. The universe is operating exactly as it
should under the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. "For by Him all things were created,
all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and
by Him all things consist." (Col. 1:16-17)
JESUS said, "Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11: 28). "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am they God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10); "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of Power, and Love and a Sound Mind." (2 Tim. 1:7). Amen.
