Thursday, December 29, 2011

"Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen." (Mark 16:14). Two of the greatest Sins in the Church today are these two: Unbelief and Hardness of Heart. Things haven't changed much since Jesus went away. He was concerned with His followers then and He is concerned about His Church today!

THE CHURCH HAS COMPLICATED,
MISUNDERSTOOD THE WILL OF GOD!
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
    “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye 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 thy heart.” (Jeremiah 29: 11-13)

     THE CHURCH has complicated, misunderstood and underestimated the Will of God as laid out in His Word for His Children, the Body of Christ! Unfortunately, Ministers of the Gospel have over long periods of time watered down, diluted and perverted God’s message of grace, forgiveness, healing and blessing!

     But, thanks be to the Blessed Holy Spirit of God - Who faithfully watches over the Church and when we move too far away from the truth - sends a leanness to our souls and finally a hunger into our hearts to again KNOW our Heavenly Father on a personal basis!

      If there is no repentance and renewal, this often requires a “changing of the old guard who have become complacent and too comfortable in their positions of power and prestige in order to allow a fresh group of genuine believers in Christ articulate and practice the old fashioned - yet ever new - Gospel of Jesus Christ in its wonderful simplicity and reality!

SLUMBERING, COMATOSE
OR DEAD RELIGIOUS LEADERS!

     This sometimes becomes a contentious issue confronting the well established but spiritually slumbering, comatose or dead religious leaders! How they respond to this work of the Holy Spirit will determine their future usefulness or demise in the extension of His Kingdom. The greatest temptation for them is to strike back in pride and repudiate any spiritual work NOT UNDER THEIR CONTROL as contentious, superficial and spurious

    The right way is to seek God in earnest, repenting of compromise, carnality and pride, while diligently searching the Holy Scriptures to know His Word and Will in every matter. Questions of proper theology are resolved only by the entrance of His Word into our hearts and minds.

    The Holy Scriptures state: “The entrance of Thy Words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. Order my steps in Thy Word… (Ps. 119: 130, 133); “Sanctify them through thy Truth: Thy Word is Truth.” (John 17:17); “Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

     Ever since the beginning of time, man has had a propensity to rebel and fall into sin. Our Heavenly Father has always been ready with the solvent to clean up our mess, with the solution to our problems and remedy for our ills!

      The SOLVENT is the blood of God’s Lamb which cleanses us and frees us from the pollutions of sin, evil, unrighteousness, oppression, fear and torment. The shed Blood of Jesus Christ gives us power over the Devil and his works of sickness, death and Hell!

      In the Holy Bible we find God making a way for His errant children to come back into His loving care. Sometimes it has been easy but more often, the hard way through tribulations, testing, trials and sorrows!

     The Almighty used prophets and priests and the sacrificial system under the Old Covenant, and later through HIS SON Who shed His holy blood for the redemption of sinning men and women. His Goodness continues to be poured out through His called-out Church of preachers who proclaim the Gospel of His grace, mercy and love!

    When the world had become totally corrupt, God spoke to NOAH instructing him build an ark to save his family and thereby the Messianic blood line, which was in danger of being compromised. (Gen.6: 1-8). After the deluge which the Creator used to purge the earth, Noah and his sons stepped onto dry ground in a new world. 

Their first duty was to build an altar to the Lord and kill sacrificial animals, shedding their blood as atonement for their sins. (Gen.8: 20-21). Every innocent lamb, goat or bullock that was sacrificed in Old Testament times pointed to Jesus Christ, God’s Lamb, Who would be slain for the sins of the world!

BUT FOR US ALSO!

When God spoke to ABRAHAM it was a totally new experience for him. He had to break free from his pagan relatives, leave his home and by faith go to a place he had never been. He had to submit himself to the rite of circumcision in order to complete the covenant God made with him and the nation of Israel. (Gen.12:1-3)

    Innocent blood was shed as God substituted a ram (in a figure) in the place of Isaac on Mount Moriah. By placing his total trust in God’s PROMISE, Abraham became known as the Father of the faithful. The Bible says: “Abraham, who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be.

     “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the PROMISE of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed unto him for righteousness.” (Rom.4: 16-25)

    By God’s grace Abraham banned the way for us to follow, by believing implicitly in the works of Christ and His PROMISE to us: “Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him. But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up JESUS from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification.” (Rom.4: 24, 25)

      ST. PAUL sought to convince his generation that as Abraham believed in the promised Christ unto justification, they too could be justified by faith. They believed that what Abraham received through faith was only for his time. It is much like today when Ministers say, “Miracles were only for Bible times. They are not for today.” They are as wrong as those who believed it was only for Abraham’s Day! The Bible says: “But for us also!

     During one of his last sermons, D.L. Moody addressed the subject of the Holy Spirit thusly: “See how He came on the Day of Pentecost! It is not carnal to pray that He might come again and that the place may be shaken. I BELIEVE PENTECOST WAS ONLY A SPECIMEN DAY! I think the Church has made this woeful mistake that Pentecost was a miracle never to be repeated. I thought too that Pentecost was a miracle that is not to be repeated. I BELIEVE NOW, if we looked on Pentecost as a specimen day and began to pray, we should have the old Pentecostal Fire here in Boston.”

THE WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST
SHATTERS OUR WRONG THINKING!

    When our Lord Jesus was about to leave His disciples, He began to prepare them for His departure. Naturally, they were very sad and sorrowful. They had walked with him for more than three years. They had seen His miracle power in action and even experienced great works of God in obedience to His commands. But, what would happen now that He was leaving them?

     They could not forget seeing Him forgiving the adulterous woman, casting out seven demons from Mary Magdalene, freeing the demoniac of Gadara, opening the eyes of Blind Bartimaeus at Jericho, healing a deaf and dumb epileptic boy, curing the man at the Pool of Bethesda and raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead!

    His fame had spread abroad after He returned from His victorious wilderness temptation. He returned in the power of the Spirit after having put Satan in his place! He had healed the bedridden mother of Simon Peter’s wife from a serious fever. How could anyone fail to remember the awesome sight of the palsied man of Capernaum being lowered down through the roof of the house and Lazarus being propelled out of the tomb wrapped in his grave clothes at the loud command from the lips of Jesus, “Lazarus come forth.”

    There was much more. And in the evening when the sun had set, great crowds gathered at their door and “they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed of devils. And He healed many that were sick of various diseases and cast out many devils”. (Mark 1: 30 -34)

     Jesus breathed on them and said: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” (John 20: 22) He declared: “But ye shall receive power (authority) after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem…and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8)

    HIS PROMISES are so powerful and awesome! He said: “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15: 7); “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me...

     “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14: 11-14);

                                     THREE LAWS OF ANSWERD PRAYER!

     “Verily, I say unto you; Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heave: And whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.
Again I say unto you; That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them.” (Matt.18: 18-20)

    Our Lord and Saviour PROMISED: “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, I will be with thee unto the end of the world.” (Matt 28: 29; Heb. 13: 5); “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt.4: 19); “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”; “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10: 27)

    In His Great Commission Jesus Christ declared: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 

   "And these SIGNS shall follow them that believe: In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents (like St. Paul in Malta), and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” (Mark 16: 15-18)

    “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him be glory in the Church throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Ephesians 3: 20-21)

Sunday, December 25, 2011

We must thank God that the Prime Minister of Great Britain has made a powerful declaration that Great Britain is a Christian Nation with a clear-cut testimony that the Holy Bible and faith in Jesus Christ has made his nation what it is today. Our Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as well as Saskatchewan`s Premier Brad Wall also stand foursquare for the Gospel, while the US President toadies to the homosexual lobby, the corrupt Democratic Party and an assortment of Islamic leaders whose goal is the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a world-wide caliphate under Sharia Law. I pity Americans who see their Great Nation going down the tubes due to poor choices that were made in 2008. Let us pray for them as they suffer through the incompetence of their 'not so great' leader - Pastor Max Solbrekken

Prime Minister Defends Britain’s Christian Heritage
December 25, 2011
Great Britain’s Prime Minister has declared of his country what President Obama has notably denied of his own. Speaking to an audience of Church of England clergy at Christ Church, Oxford during one of the many official events celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of Scripture, Prime Minister David Cameron (left) unashamedly declared of Britain: “ … we are a Christian country,” adding that “we should not be afraid to say so.”

While he quickly emphasized that he was “not in any way saying that to have another faith — or no faith — is somehow wrong,” Cameron nonetheless acknowledged that “the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today.”

He challenged his audience that biblical morals and values were something “we should actively stand up and defend,” warning that the “alternative of moral neutrality should not be an option. You can’t fight something with nothing — because if we don’t stand for something, we can’t stand against anything.”

Challenging the moral neutrality that has infected British — as well as American — society over the past few decades, Cameron declared that “for too long we have been unwilling to distinguish right from wrong. Live and let live’ has too often become ‘do what you please.’ Bad choices have too often been defended as just different lifestyles.” But, he added, “To be confident in saying something is wrong is not a sign of weakness; it’s a strength.”

Cameron challenged that it is time for Britain to return to the Christian values which made it a strong nation in the first place, to “have the confidence to say to people — this is what defines us as a society, and that to belong here is to believe in these things.”

There is no better time to come HOME to Jesus Christ than right now. He is waiting for you this very moment. God loves you my Friend, and sent His Son to this earth to make the Supreme Sacrifice to purchase your salvation from sin, fear, sickness, condemnation and the power of the Devil and hell. Ask the Saviour to break the chains of darkness that has enslaved you and our precious Jesus Christ will save you - Pastor Max Solbrekken

COME HOME TO JESUS                                         
      JESUS CHRIST said: “Come unto Me all ye who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt.11: 28); “All that the Father giveth to Me shall come to Me; and Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6: 37)
Our Lord issued a personal invitation to all who are burdened, stressed and overwhelmed by the multiple problems we face in our society. His offer is still valid today because He is alive and able to answer our prayers and meet our needs!
YOU MAY ASK: “How is that possible since He lived so long ago and was crucified on the cross of shame outside the walls of Jerusalem on Mount Calvary? And what is your answer to all the atheists, agnostics, dingbats, money hungry vultures, anti-Christian journalists and writers, film producers and kinky Hollywood actors who continually spew out blasphemies and outrageous lies about Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords?”
MY FRIEND, NOT TO WORRY: We often find that bigoted, hate-filled, shallow, little-learned, boozing, drug-taking, porno-loving and sexually perverted junkies are like dogs barking at the heels of the horses as the caravan moves forward.  They could also be likened to someone constantly releasing flatulence at a gathering. The sounds and the smells are there for a while to annoy those around them but are soon gone!
           GOD’S WORD IS FOREVER SETTLED IN HEAVEN!
It is possible because He is ALIVE and the same yesterday, today and forever! (Heb.13: 8) That is why Jesus Christ could say: “Come unto Me ye who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” And that is exactly what everyone needs: Rest from guilt and condemnation; Rest from anxiety, worry and fear; Rest from sickness, disease and pain; Rest from poverty and heartache; Rest from Satan’s enslavement and a lost eternity. We are secure, because JESUS IS OUR REST!
Three days after His sacrificial death for us, God raised our LORD from the dead and He is alive forevermore and has all power in Heaven and in earth!  Here is the Holy Record about that glorious event that changed history for time and eternity!
The Bible states: “And, behold, there was a great earthquake: 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 lightening 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 and 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.” (Matt.28: 2-7)
No greater love story has ever been told and no greater love song has ever been sung, than the amazing story of God’s love for His creation, mankind!

The Bible says: “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).   
 “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 them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1: 10-12)
 John’s Gospel is about God the Son becoming a man through the INCARNATION (God in human flesh) which is the greatest miracle this world has ever witnessed. More than 700 years before His Virgin Birth in Bethlehem, Isaiah made this prophetic utterance: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His Name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
Leading Hebrew and Greek Scholars state that “a virgin” is better read “the virgin”. The Hebrew definite article ha indicates that a specific woman is in view. The word virgin used here is the unique Hebrew term ‘almah. A comparison of the six other instances where it occurs (Gen.24: 43; Ex. 2: 8; Ps.68: 25; Prov.30: 19; Song 1: 3; 6: 8) shows that it is the most precise term the prophet could have chosen to indicate that the young woman in view was indeed a virgin. The more common word betulah is used twice to refer to a married woman (Deut.22: 19 and Joel 1: 8)
Thus the Septuagint Translation of ‘almah as parthenos (virgin) is correct, as is Mathew 1: 23. Shall conceive is a feminine adjective connected with an active participle (“bearing”) and should be translated “is pregnant”. Thus the scene is present to the prophet’s view, and he sees the pregnant virgin about to bear a Son. That this prophecy must refer to the virgin birth of Christ is obvious since the virgin is pregnant and is still a virgin. Immanuel is a symbolic name meaning God is with us. He is the incarnate Son of God who is further pictured as the Child-Prince in Isaiah 9: 6. – Taken from Nelson Study Bible.
NO-ONE ACCEPTED LUTHER’S CHALLENGE!
MARTIN LUTHER threw out this challenge: “If a Jew or a Christian or a Mohammedan can prove to me that in any other passage of Scripture ‘almah means a married woman, I will give him a hundred florins, although God only knows where I may find them.” No-one took him up on his challenge!
Never in the history of mankind has a virgin given birth to a baby without a man’s seed through sexual intercourse or artificial insemination! Of such importance was the sign that God gave concerning the birth of His Son that the prophet emphasized, ‘The Lord Himself ’ shall give you a sign!!!
The Holy Scripture says: “Behold while he (Joseph) thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in  a dream saying, Joseph thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
“And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins. Now, all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the LORD by the prophet, saying, Behold a VIRGIN shall be with child, and shall bring forth a SON, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD WITH US.” (Matt.1: 20-25)
Jesus of Nazareth was born to die. He was born crucified! Facing the humiliation of the cross, He said: “Now is My soul troubled’ and what shall I say, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” (John 12: 27)
Answering Pontius Pilate, Jesus said: “Thou sayest I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. Everyone that is of the Truth heareth My voice.” (John 18: 37)
St. John stated: “… For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3: 18). And Jesus declared: “The thief (Satan) cometh not but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I am come that that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10: 10)
Our LORD warned: “And ye have not His Word abiding in you; for Whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not. Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me that ye might have Life.” (John 5: 38-40)
“And He said unto them, Ye are from beneath: I am from ABOVE, ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: For if ye believe not that I AM HE, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8: 23, 24)
Again He stated: “I am the Vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me ye can do nothing. If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15: 5, 7)
                    SAUL’S CONVERSION BAFFLES CHRIST REJECTORS!
What are two most powerful arguments that atheists and agnostics cannot overcome, that rattles their chain? The resurrection of Jesus Christ and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus! If Jesus did not rise from the dead, what happened to His body? Any normal person would understand that because the Jews kept meticulous records of His crucifixion and with the chief priests witnessing JESUS’ death and asking Governor Pontius Pilate to guard His tomb, that He was crucified, dead and buried!
When St. Paul arrived in Rome to preach the Gospel he found many had already been converted to Christ. How did that happen, being so far away from Jerusalem. Who had preached the Gospel in Rome? They called him Centurion Longinus. He was probably the soldier who pierced JESUS’ side with his long spear. He was the man who witnessed the darkness at noon and the earthquake that opened the earth that collected JESUS’ blood and ripped open the veil in the Holy of holies and shook the temple. It was Centurion Longinus who cried out with his soldiers, “Surely, This was the Son of God!”
SAUL OF TARSUS was one of the most learned and brilliant young men in Palestine who had become a Zealot for Judaism causing havoc and great harm to believers in Jesus the Messiah. He hated and despised the very name of Jesus of Nazareth and travelled far and wide, visiting every synagogue in every town and village, even going as far away as Damascus to track down, beat, imprison and force Christ’s followers  to blaspheme His Worthy and Holy Name.
While on such an unholy vendetta, Jesus Christ met him in a blinding light on the Damascus Road. And Saul cried out: “Who art Thou Lord?” Jesus identified Himself by saying: “I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks (goads)”. Then, trembling and astonished, Saul the persecutor of ‘believers in Christ’, who earlier had been “breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord” cried out; “What wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts 9: 6)
That proud Pharisee humbled himself before the Lord Jesus Christ and spent the rest of his life travelling, fasting, praying, writing and preaching the Word of God while building the Kingdom of God on earth. He was consumed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and never stopped declaring the unsearchable mysteries of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and eternal Life! And in the end, he gladly gave his life as a martyr for our Saviour!
St. Paul wrote: “For when we were yet without strength (hopeless), in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much 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.” (Rom. 5: 6-10)
                                                   REALLY, WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?
No other human being was privy to the great mysteries of God and the secrets of the Almighty like St. Paul. To him was revealed the great hidden secret and purpose of the INCARNATION. He wrote: “Even the MYSTERY which hath been hid from ages and generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this MYSTERY among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the Hope of Glory.
“Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect (mature) in Christ Jesus.” (Col.1: 26-28)
WHO IS JESUS CHRIST? He is the Sin Bearer. He is the Heart Healer. He is the Mind Restorer. He is the great Physician. He is the Demon Expeller. He is the Holy Ghost Baptizer. He is the Joy Bringer. He is the Fear Remover! He is the Prince of Peace. He is the Liberator of mankind and the Saviour of the world!                                                                    

And He wants to be your Lord and Saviour, my dear Friend! Open your heart to Him and He will come into your heart and life. He will forgive all your sins and take away the condemnation in your conscience. He will heal the hurts in your spirit soul and body because He is the Great Physician!

Here is His call to you: “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear My voice, and open the door (of his heart) I will come in to him and will sup (fellowship) with him and he with Me.” (Rev.3: 20) Amen.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

The Bible declares: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." (1 Tim.1:15). Before his conversion to Christ the Jewish terrorist Saul of Tarsus (St. Paul) was guilty of killing Christians. That tells us that anyone with blood on their hands can be saved if they truly repent and believe on Christ. There is hope for the many Muslim terrorists who have killed Christians. Follow the example of Saul of Tarsus and ask the True God Jesus Christ our Lord, to forgive you and come into your heart and He will. That is the reason He came into this world. - Pastor Max Solbrekken

My name is David Bennett. After many years of Alcohol & Drug use, Jesus Christ Saved Me from certain Death & an eternal Hell!

Praise the Lord, Brother Max! My name is David Bennett and I am from the Northern Tutchone First Nation, Pelly Crossing, Yukon Territory. I am employed as a T.B worker and an Ambulance Supervisor in my Community for the Yukon Government.

I strongly believe that the Lord has put me in this position to win souls for His glory. I also like to play my guitar and sing praises unto the Lord Jesus Christ and be wherever He wants me to be, just for Him.

As far back as I can remember in my childhood while I was growing up, there was always alcohol in my home with my mother and my stepfather. I was physically abused by my stepfather and told that I would never amount to anything. It was pretty hard.

At the age of nine I had my first taste of alcohol and at the age of thirteen I was introduced to marijuana. From there on I started to lead a life of rebellion which led to my self-destruction. I started running away from home and getting into a lot of trouble. In my early twenties I became homeless and living on the streets of Whitehorse. When the bars would close I would either go to sleep on the ground under a tree or at anybodies home.

At the age of 39 I got introduced to crack cocaine. At first I thought that one rock of crack cocaine would be enough for me and then I would stop but it was not that way at all. I wanted more, so I began to take things from my own family and friends and from my job site just to support my habit!

One night, I was travelling back to Pelly Crossing from Whitehorse when a friend of mine and I decided to pull over on the highway to smoke a rock of crack cocaine. Suddenly, my heart began to beat very fast and I was having a hard time to breathe. I thought to myself: I do not want to die like this, but that did not make me stop. I kept on smoking crack cocaine!

It was not until I got very ill from what is called H-PYLORI that I was put on medications for that. Then, again I thought to myself: If I die, where am I going to go?There are two places, either Heaven or Hell, and I did not want to go to Hell.

October 15, 2005 was the day that I went to see Sister Lizzie Hall (Hager) and her husband Teddy and told them how I felt and what I wanted to do. So, right there, that very night in their home, I got down on my knees and Sister Lizzie and her husband Teddy led me to the Lord Jesus.

And right there, I was delivered and freed from all the drugs and alcohol, diseases and other infirmities that I had! And to this day I have been serving the Lord Jesus and I will never turn back because this world has nothing to offer me anymore! That is my testimony, Brother Max!

Your brother in Jesus Christ our Lord,
DAVID J.BENNETT, December 22, 2011

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

I plead the precious blood of Jesus and the promises of God's Word over every believer reading this column. As we see the great destruction that is about to take place, we know that God is wrapping things up and prophecy is being fulfilled. What does that mean? We must all be busy doing His work of strengthening the Church and winning the lost for Christ because the Return of our Lord is drawing ever nearer - Pastor Max Solbrekken

A Cup of Trembling & An Oracle Against Damascus

This is the word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, Who stretches out the Heavens Who lays the foundations of the Earth, and Who forms the spirit of man within him declares, “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.

On that day when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves” (Zech 12:1-3).

True, the ultimate fulfillment of this passage will come at the very end of the age, but a careful reading shows the progressive nature of the prophecy. First the surrounding nations will be sent reeling, with both Judah (West Bank) and Jerusalem besieged. Ultimately all the nations of the earth will be involved, and those who move against Jerusalem will wind up injuring themselves.

And please don’t miss the way the Author identifies Himself: the One Who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth and forms man’s spirit within him. Not much doubt as to Who’s speaking, so we better pay attention.

When Will These Things Happen?

It’s safe to say that all the nations of the earth are troubled over Jerusalem today. They realize the ease with which the whole world could be drawn into a conflict in the Middle East. And almost all are already aligned against Jerusalem. Remember, the prophecy is initially focused on the surrounding peoples and indicates that Judah and Jerusalem will be besieged.

The degree to which this part of the prophecy is already being fulfilled is frightening. Much of the land bordering Israel has become little more than an armed camp, filled with troops at the ready.

Hezbollah has been moving their rockets and missiles into position again with Lebanon’s full support, while steadily increasing their inventories of weaponry. Syria also has troops along Israel’s northern border as well as missiles set to fire upon Israeli cities. In the South Hamas and the PA are no less prepared. Recent reports confirm that large numbers of rockets and missiles from Libya have turned up in Gaza.

Together, these next door neighbors claim that every city in Israel is now within missile range. In it’s headline report on Dec. 5, 2011 Debkafile assessed the likelihood of war in the Middle East, including an Israeli attack on Iran, to be very high between mid-December and mid-January.

The US and Russia have both stationed powerful fleets in the Eastern Mediterranean against this possibility. There’s still time for diplomacy but for now no one believes a diplomatic solution will be forthcoming.

Psalm 83

As a result, this is beginning to look like a run-up to Psalm 83, a battle that’s never happened, but involves all of Israel’s next door neighbors in an effort to “destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more” (Psalm 83:4).

The Psalmist pleads with God to pursue Israel’s neighbors with His tempest and terrify them with His storm so they will perish in disgrace (Psalm 83:15-17). I believe his prayer will be answered because this outcome is necessary to set the stage for Ezekiel 38-39.

Isaiah 17, An Oracle Against Damascus

We should also consider what could be a related prophecy from Isaiah 17. It was partially fulfilled in 732 BC when the Assyrians conquered Damascus (Aram). But never did Damascus cease to be inhabited as the prophecy requires (Isaiah 17:1). In fact to this day Damascus is described as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, over 5000 years and counting. The fortified city in vs. 3 was Samaria, capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC.

The Northern Kingdom consisted of the 10 tribes of Israel who rebelled in the religious upheaval that followed King Solomon’s death and was allied with Damascus against Assyria. Like Damascus it was defeated and its people carried off into captivity.

Since Damascus was never destroyed and never ceased being inhabited, the world may have seen a partial fulfillment in history that points to a total fulfillment yet future to us.

Validating Prophecy

This is not unusual in Bible prophecy where the complete fulfillment of a passage may unfold over thousands of years. You receive an example of this in the mail every Christmas. It comes in the form of a Christmas card that says,
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6).
The passage goes on to explain that He will sit on David’s throne and reign in peace forever.

Only the first phrase of this passage has come to pass. The Child was born, the Son was given. The rest of the passage awaits His 2nd coming, but the fact that He was born confirms that the rest will take place as well. Partial fulfillment is the Lord’s way of validating End Times prophecies thousands of years in advance.

The Oracle against Damascus is a lot like the one against Babylon in Isaiah 13-14, where Babylon is also described as being so totally destroyed that it would never be inhabited again. For many years scholars believed this prophecy was fulfilled when the Medes and Persians conquered Babylon about 535 BC.

It took the Gulf War to show us that Saddam Hussein had spent billions re-building Babylon, and to realize that Babylon was never destroyed in the manner the Bible describes. It has in fact been occupied almost continuously since its construction 2700 years ago. The City of Babylon will play a major role in world events at the end of the age before its final and total destruction, foretold in Rev. 18.

Back To Damascus

Admittedly the Oracle against Damascus in Isaiah 17 is somewhat more obscure. Scholars who place fulfillment of this passage in our time rely on four things:

1.The phrase in vs. 1 “Damascus will no longer be a city”

2.The multiple use of the phrase “in that day” through out the passage (vs. 4, 7, 9) which often hints of the end times

3.Men will “Look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel,” see below,

4.The mention of many nations in vs.12-14 would seem to include more than just Assyria.

Regarding point 3 there was a temporary revival in the southern kingdom under King Hezekiah that spared Jerusalem from the Assyrians, but nowhere is a revival in the northern kingdom or among the Arameans (Damascus was the capital of Aram) or Assyrians mentioned in history.

And yet in Isaiah 19:23-25 Assyria is mentioned with Egypt and Israel as being called “My people, My handiwork, and My inheritance” by God in the millennium. This reconciliation with God is still in the future.

Soon And Very Soon

The USA and Europe have been warning Israel that an attack on Iran would not only result in a wider war in the Middle East, but would also deliver a severe blow to an already reeling world economy. Because of this US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta recently said that Israel has to come to terms with a Nuclear Iran, an Islamized Middle East, and reliance on the US for protection.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said sometimes making a risky decision carries a heavy price, but the price for not making it would be heavier. Reliable observers interpret this to mean when the time comes to attack Iran, whatever repercussions it could cause will not be considered in light of the threat to Israel’s continued existence. We’ll soon know whether that time has come.

You can almost hear the Footsteps of the Messiah.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." (Revelation 21: 27)

WHERE IS HEAVEN & WHO WILL BE THERE? 
                 By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.



Heaven is where God dwells and where no sin, corruption and death can enter. It is a place of purity, love, peace and joy. It is where Jesus came from when HE DESCENDED to this earth to be incarnated (God in human flesh) so that He could fulfill God's plan of eternal salvation for a lost, sick and dying world. 

Through His all atoning death on Calvary's Cross and glorious resurrection from the dead, our precious Saviour met the demands of divine justice on our behalf.

Heaven is the future abode of all the REDEEMED who in faith and by God's grace have received the eternal salvation provided for us in Jesus Christ's holy blood which was shed for the sins of the whole world. (Eph.1: 7; 2: 8, 9)

Heaven is a REAL place located above this earth and situated above the atmosphere, stratosphere, the stars and other planets in the northernmost area of the sky. It is the Heaven of heavens.

Jesus stated: "In My Father's House are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a PLACE for you that where I am ye may be also. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, ye may be also." (John 14: 2,3)

"And when He had spoken these things, He was taken UP, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And when they looked steadfastly toward HEAVEN as He went UP, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee: Why stand ye gazing UP into Heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken UP from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven." (Acts 1: 9-11)

"After this I looked and a door was opened in Heaven; and the first voice ...said, Come UP hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.  And immediately I was in the spirit; and behold a throne was set in HEAVEN, and One sat on the throne.(Rev.4: 1,2)

"Behold, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 1: 2)

"How art thou FALLEN from HEAVEN, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ASCEND into Heaven, I wilt exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the NORTH.

In the sides of the NORTH.!!!

Lucifer, the fallen archangel boasted: "I will ASCEND above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high." (Isaiah 14: 12-14)

Moses said: "And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar."  (Leviticus 1:11) 

Without doubt, this Scripture implies that the Lord is in the north:  "Northward before the Lord."
"For promotion (blessing) cometh neither from the EAST, nor from the WEST, nor from the SOUTH. But God is the Judge; He putteth down one, and setteth up another." (Psalms 75: 6,7)  

It is obvious, then, that it comes from the NORTH where Heaven is located!

"He stretcheth out the NORTH over the EMPTY place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." (Job 26: 70

Thirty five hundred years ago, the Prophet JOB stated that GOD had stretched out the NORTH over the EMPTY place and hung the earth on NOTHING. 

Scientists tell us: "The earth is held up by the force of GRAVITY"And when we ask them to define gravity, they state with great pomposity: "Gravity is that which holds up the earth." Job got the answer from Almighty God, the Creator of all things including gravity!

"And I looked and behold, a whirlwind came out of the NORTH, a great cloud, and a fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire....This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when  saw it I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one that spake to me." Ezekiel 1: 4, 28)

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the City of our God, in the MOUNTAIN of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the Joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the NORTH, the city of the great KING. (Psalm 48: 1, 2)

With their powerful telescopes, astronomers have discovered a LARGE EMPTY PLACE in the NORTH where there are no stars. In my humble opinion, and that of many great scholars, that is where Heaven is located. Regardless, where one lives, NORTH is always UP. It is the same on every continent, when you point towards the North you are pointing up! 

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth: and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming DOWN from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride for her husband.

"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." (Rev. 21: 1-4; 22:  1-5)

"Nevertheless, we according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless." (2 Peter 3: 12-14)

One day God will create new heavenly bodies and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, and the New Jerusalem that St. John saw coming down from God out of Heaven will enter earth orbit and we will see it and enter our Eternal heavenly Home forever! 

Dear Friend:  Call upon the Lord today and He will save, heal, bless and deliver you from sin, fear, torment, disease and Satan's evil power!  Amen.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Thank God for Franklin Graham, a knowledgeable man of God, who is not like the majority of mealy-mouth, politically correct spokesmen in Church Leadership across the world, whom the Lord likens to "sleeping, ignorant and blind watchmen" who don't have enough sense to sound the alarm when the enemy is approaching and to "greedy, dumb dogs" who can't bark as well as "overfed, lazy shepherds that cannot understand." (Isaiah 56:10,11) - Pastor Max Solbrekken

Rev. Franklin Graham: Mideast Furor Threatens US, Christians in Region
Sunday, 18 Dec 2011 08:51 AM
By Henry J. Reske and John Bachman

The upheaval in the Middle East and the rise of fundamental Islamists threaten not only the security of the United States but also the millions of Christians who call the region home, the Rev. Franklin Graham tells Newsmax.

The Arab Spring toppled long-term despots in countries such as Libya and Tunisia, and a civil war is being waged in Syria between the Sunnis and the Alawites that could spread to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Graham, son of the legendary evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham, said during an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV.

The Muslim Brotherhood is moving into the power vacuum and wants to “establish Shariah law in every one of these countries and they will roll back the clock in the Middle East.”

“So it’s a threat and it’s a threat to the United States, a threat to our security because so much of our oil comes from the Middle East,” he said. “But For the Christians that are there — and there’s something like 13 million Christians inside of Egypt —their lives are at risk. Churches are being burned, Christians have been killed but it rarely makes the news in this country. So I fear for the church in the Middle East. I have many friends there, I have been working in the Middle East for years and I spoke to one of the pastors today from the Middle East he called me from northern Iraq very afraid as to the situation in their county.”

Graham’s comments reverberate even as Egyptian troops and protesters clashed again today in Cairo for the third straight day, pelting each other with rocks in skirmishes near parliament in the heart of the Egyptian capital. At least 10 protesters have been killed and 441 others wounded in the three days of violence, according to the Health Ministry. Activists say most of the 10 fatalities died of gunshot wounds.

Also today, about 30,000 Islamists in Pakistan staged a protest to condemn the United States and show support for their country's military. Pakistan's military was humiliated by the unilateral U.S. special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town in May, facing unprecedented public criticism.

But many Pakistanis rallied behind the military after a Nov. 26 cross-border NATO air raid killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, and plunged already troubled ties with Washington to a low point.

Another threat in the region is Iran’s rush to acquire nuclear weapons, which some see as a prelude to fulfilling the biblical prophecy of Armageddon, said Graham, a noted evangelist in his own right and president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the international relief organization Samaritan’s Purse.

“They’ve already said that they’re going to use them,” he said. “If we don’t stop them then Israel will be forced to stop them. I’m afraid the Iranians are going to use their nuclear weapons against Israel when they have them. I believe it’s a real threat.”

© Newsmax. All rights reserved.



Friday, December 16, 2011

Climategate Lies & Cover-up is far more destructive than Watergate. How many more LIES is the Obama Administration guilty of? When Politicians knowingly cover for Lying Scientists, it is far worse than politicians lying to one another or about one another. A number of high ranking US Lawmakers are publicly stating that the OBAMA Administration is the most corrupt in the history of the United States. If that is really true. then that great nation is in very deep trouble! - Pastor Max Solbrekken

Climategate Bombshell: Did U.S. Gov't Help Hide Climate Data?
Published December 16, 2011
| FoxNews.com
·       
University of East Anglia

The Climatic Research Unit, a key climate science facility at the School of Environmental Sciences, a part of the University of East Anglia in the UK.
Are your tax dollars helping hide global warming data from the public? Internal emails leaked as part of “Climategate 2.0” indicate the answer may be "Yes."
The original Climategate emails -- correspondence stolen from servers at a research facility in the U.K. and released on the Internet in late 2009 -- shook up the field of climate research. Now a new batch posted in late November to a Russian server shows that scientists at the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit refused to share their U.S. government-funded data with anyone they thought would disagree with them.

RELATED STORIES
·       
Professor Phil Jones asked a colleague to delete e-mails relating to a report by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Making that case in 2009, the then-head of the Research Unit, Dr. Phil Jones, told colleagues repeatedly that the U.S. Department of Energy was funding his data collection -- and that officials there agreed that he should not have to release the data.

“Work on the land station data has been funded by the U.S. Dept of Energy, and I have their agreement that the data needn’t be passed on. I got this [agreement] in 2007,” Jones wrote in a May 13, 2009, email to British officials, before listing reasons he did not want them to release data.

Two months later, Jones reiterated that sentiment to colleagues, saying that the data "has to be well hidden. I’ve discussed this with the main funder (U.S. Dept of Energy) in the past and they are happy about not releasing the original station data.”

A third email from Jones written in 2007 echoes the idea: "They are happy with me not passing on the station data," he wrote.

The emails have outraged climate-change skeptics who say they can't trust climate studies unless they see the raw data -- and how it has been adjusted.

"In every endeavor of science, making your work replicable by others is a basic tenet of proof,” Anthony Watts, a meteorologist and climate change blogger, told FoxNews.com. “If other scientists cannot replicate your work, it brings your work into question.”

Is the Department of Energy to blame? The Climategate emails reveal correspondence only between Jones and his colleagues -- not between him and the DoE.

"What’s missing," Watts said, "is a ... directive from DoE that they should withhold station data gathered under their grant. The email may be there, but ... still under lock and key.”

Chris Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, wants that key. He recently filed Freedom of Information acts with the DoE, requesting the emails they exchanged with Jones.

"So far no administration department has bothered to respond, indicating they … believe the time bought with stonewalling might just get them off the hook for disclosure," Horner told FoxNews.com. "Not with us, it won't," he said.

The Department of Energy has until December 29 before it must legally respond to Horner's request. When contacted by FoxNews.com, DoE spokesman Damien LaVera declined to comment.

However, climate change researcher and blogger Steve McIntyre forwarded FoxNews.com an email exchange from 2005 in which climate scientist Warwick Hughes asked an official at a DOE lab if he could get the data that the government paid Jones to collect.

"I am asking you to provide me with the following data … DoE has been funding [the data] since the 1980s," Hughes noted in his request.

But Tom Boden, of the DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, told Hughes at the time that the DOE itself did not have the data, and that "you will need to contact Phil [Jones] directly. I spoke today with the DOE program manager who indicated Phil was not obligated un

McIntyre said he himself later had a similar exchange with the DOE, after which "I suggested that they amend this as a condition of further financing."

"I was surprised that the new emails show them actively taking the opposite approach," he added.

Asked about the connection with the Department of Energy, Simon Dunford, a spokesman for Jones’ Climatic Research Unit, told FoxNews.com that Jones has changed his tune since the emails were made public. 

"Prof Jones has already accepted he should have been more open, and has since made all the station data referred to in these emails publicly available," Dunford told FoxNews.com.
Watts said that while much of the data itself is now available, the methods of adjusting it -- statistical modification meant to filter anomalies, "normalize" the data, and potentially highlight certain trends -- remain a secret.

"Much of climate science, in terms of the computer processing that goes on, remains a black box to the outside world. We see the data go in, and we see the data that come out as a finished product -- but we don’t know how they adjust it in between.”

Watts said he would like to be given the adjustment formulas to make his own determination.
"The fact that they are trying to keep people from replicating their studies -- that's the issue," Watts noted. "Replication is the most important tenet of science."