About to jump to his death, a voice spoke,
"Don't do it Arne. I have a better way for you."
What a Miracle!
THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
“Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20)
THE MINISTRY A LABOUR OF LOVE
The Ministry is indeed work. It is praying, preaching, counselling and instructing. It is the work of compassion and healing. It is sharing the life of Jesus Christ with the sinful, sick, needy, troubled, distressed, fearful and bereaved!
The Work of the Ministry is forgiving and helping others to forgive. It is helping people bring their sins, shame, failings, troubles, and torments to the Cross of Christ, and burying them there in His precious blood!
It is saving souls from death! Not just physical or spiritual death, but the death of friendships, marriages, relationships, and ministries! And ultimately, it is saving eternal souls from Satan’s grasp and the fires of a never-ending hell!
It is also hiding a multitude of sins from public exposure, to save a person’s reputation and protecting God’s Family from the wicked tongues of the enemies of Christ! It is saving homes, businesses, partnerships, and churches!
By the grace of God, I have had the privilege of praying with many repentant sinners who have failed – saved and unsaved – bringing them through to victory, in Jesus’ Name! And thank God, I have been granted the grace, wisdom, and common sense to leave everything under His Blood!
NOT JUST FOR PREACHERS!
The norm for all Christians should be to win souls for the Kingdom, and help weak believers back to Christ, wherever possible. When we do, we are saving souls from death! And we are hiding a multitude of sins from the public gaze of friends, acquaintances, loved ones and foes!
St. James was the pastor of the first Pentecostal Church in Jerusalem. He was a practical man with the Spirit of wisdom and counsel. And he shows us, how we may also receive spiritual wisdom from above. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5)
Let us heed the counsel of St. James in seeking God for wisdom, sharing our troubles with fellow believers, praying for one another as we draw nigh to God in faith. (James 5:16) And let us help the repentant ones back into fellowship with God and fellow believers, by hiding a multitude of sins!
Let me admonish each one with these words. We cannot improve upon the work of the Holy Spirit or the cleansing of Jesus’ blood. And if God has forgiven and forgotten, let us strive to do the same with His help!
Remember St. Paul’s words: “Who shall lay anything to the charge God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” (Rom. 8:33-34)
It is a serious sin indeed, for mere mortal man to accuse the Holy Spirit of an inferior performance in the life of a repentant sinner. By criticizing a Christian brother or sister, we are attacking the work of God in that life!
If God has forgiven an individual, He has justified him through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By an arrogant act of gossip or judging, we immediately put God on trial. We are in fact belittling and downgrading the power of the Gospel and the blood of Jesus Christ!
CHRIST’S BLOOD CLEANSES SIN, REMOVES CONDEMNATION
Let us think twice or thrice, before we point a finger of reproach against another child of God, regardless of their weakness or failings. And may we all remember that the sin of judging another opens the door to the Spirit of Pride and a disastrous fall!
St. Paul declared: “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. But this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He EVER liveth to make intercession for them.
“For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher that the heavens…we have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the Majesty in the Heavens. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more...
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Spirit offered Himself to God, PURGE your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God? And their sins and iniquities will remember NO MORE. Now where remission of there is, there is NO MORE offering for sin.
“To enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil; That is to say, His flesh.” (Heb.7:22-28; 8:1, 12; 9:14; 10:17-20)
“And the great dragon was CAST OUT, that old Serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world’ he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 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, by the BLOOD of the LAMB, and by the Word of
their testimony, and they loved not their lives, unto the death.” (Rev. 12:7-11)
“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 unto thee 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)
“And these SIGNS shall follow them that believe: In My name shall the cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents, and if the drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them, they shall lay their hands on the Sick and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:17-18). St. Paul was bitten by a venomous snake in Malta without harm (Acts 28:3-6)
In the former Soviet Union, I met preachers who had knowledge of Soviet prisons where Pentecostal pastors were forced to drink poison, but God preserved them alive! In Bodily Healing in the Atonement’, Dr. T.J. McCrossan, Hebrew and Greek scholar writes: “A few scholars have denied the authenticity of the verses in Mark 16, but Irenaeus quotes these scriptures as a part of Marks’ gospel and remember, he was a pupil of John the Apostle. This is positive proof that these verses are genuine.”
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through Death, He might Destroy him that had the power of death, that is the Devil and Deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2: 14,15)
“Christ 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. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His CROSS. And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Col. 1: 13, 14; 2:14, 15).
JESUS’ GREAT COMMISSION
“Afterwards he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat and unbraided them with their Unbelief and Hardness of heart, because they believed not them that has seen Him after he was Risen. And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and Preach the Gospel to every creature.
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be Saved: In My Name they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly it shall not hurt him; They shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into Heaven and sat on Right hand of God.
“And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following.” (Mark 16: 15-20)
The Work of the Ministry is preaching the glorious Gospel of Christ to everyone possible! It is casting out unclean spirits from those tormented. It is healing the sick and suffering; The vicarious death of God’s only begotten Son, to destroy Satan’s power over the human race and redeem the world from his evil power! The Work of the Ministry is to share the Gospel in Word and in deed to as many as possible for as long as possible until Jesus returns for us!
I WAS ON DRUGS, ALCOHOL & CRIPPLED
Says Arne Erik Tommasen, Gjovik, Norway
Twenty-nine years ago, I was a hopeless alcoholic and drug addict and had planned to kill myself. I was also crippled. At 17 my right leg stopped growing after an accident. A speeding vehicle struck me while walking, throwing me high into the air! A growth began to develop on my right hip, but I didn't do anything about it at the time, thinking it would go away.
I went to sea and worked on ships and boats and the tumor kept growing. As a 22-year-old sailor I was taken to a hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina where I stayed for 8 months and endured several operations, leaving my leg 3 inches shorter. To walk, I had to swing my body awkwardly forward with each step. I also became addicted to morphine!
Life was tough when I returned to Norway. People stared and began calling me, 'den halte pinken' (the halting cripple). From 1969 to 1973, I lived and slept on the streets of Oslo. In early December, I planned to kill myself. I had climbed up on the high railing overlooking a river and in a drugged and drunken stupor I was about to throw myself into the ice-cold water when suddenly, I heard a voice, saying “Arne, don't do it. I have a better way for you.”
I was shocked and looking around, I saw no-one. I thought, have I flipped out?
Then, I heard the voice again, “Arne, don't do it. I have a better way
for you!” Then I thought, “Maybe this is God”, remembering what my
mother had taught me.
Suddenly, in my stupor of drugs and alcohol, I remembered what a street friend
told me, “If you are ever in trouble, Filadelfia is a good church.”
My head had cleared, and I knew that I had to get to that church. God had
called my name. With all my strength and a new lease on life, I headed to
Filadelfia.
AN USHER ASKED, “WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”
An usher asked me where I was going, and I pointed to the preacher behind the pulpit in that large church. I must not let anyone stop me. I must meet the One whose voice I had heard on the bridge! Evangelist Max Solbrekken stepped down and stood waiting for me. He asked, “What do you want?” I said, “I want God.” He threw his arms around me and began to weep, calling upon God to save me and heal me.
And then, it happened! My leg lengthened and straightened out, my head
jerked back, and I stood as straight as an arrow. And I was stone sober! I was
born again and became a member of Filadelfia Tabernaklet!
I am now living in Gjovik and serving the Lord here. God gave me another miracle on January 27, 2002, when Max preached at the Gjovik Pentecostal Church. I had suffered a major hemorrhage of my right eye resulting in complete loss of the sight in that eye!
As Pastor Max prayed for a lady from
the Salvation Army Band, total vision returned to me as God's servant
prayed for her. God's power swept the sanctuary. Everyone there knew of my
plight and word of that miracle has spread throughout the city. We are waiting
for Max Solbrekken to return to Gjovik!
THE WORD OF GOD CANNOT FAIL!
We know that God cannot lie. We know that God cannot
change. We know that God cannot fail. We know that God is no respecter of
persons, places, or times. We know that His Word is true and will stand for
time and eternity!
Jesus said: “Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find, knock
and it shall opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that
seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matt. 7:
7, 8)
“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him
that believeth.” (Mark 9:23); “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men this
is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark
10: 27)
The Bible says: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we
ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. And if we know that He hear
us, whatsoever we ask, we KNOW that we have the petitions that we
desired of Him.” (1 John 5: 14, 15). Amen.
