FIRST THINGS
FIRST!
By Pastor Max
Solbrekken, D.D.
"For I delivered unto you First of
All that which I also received, how that Christ DIED for our sins,
according to the SCRIPTURES; and that He was BURIED, and
that He ROSE again the third day,
according to the SCRIPTURES." (1 Cor.15: 3, 4)
This short treatise sets forth in no
uncertain terms the Foundation Stone of our Christian Faith: JESUS CHRIST
Himself! The solid, unmovable, bedrock doctrine of Biblical Christianity is as
St. Paul stated: The DEATH of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world
according to the Holy Scriptures, His BURIAL and RESURRECTION from
the dead on the third day, according to the Holy Scriptures!
Anything less than that is
unacceptable! Anything less than that is heretical! Anything less that that is
spurious! Anything less than that is apostate! Anything less than that is
non-Christian! Anything less than that carries the anathema of God upon it! (1
Cor.16: 22)
The Word of God states: "If any man
love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema (gr. cursed, censured)
Maranatha (gr. the Lord comes)." (1 Cor.16: 22). What did
St. Paul, writing under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, mean by that serious
admonition and warning? He meant that
there is eternal salvation ONLY in
Jesus Christ and without Him there is NONE!
The Lord will return and when He does, it
will be a bitter sweet day. Great JOY and Rapture for believers in Christ, but
a day of judgement and SADNESS for unbelievers. Believers will forever be
rejoicing with their Lord Jesus, while unbelievers will be doomed forever with
Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet!
THE WORD OF GOD: INSPIRED & INNERENT!
How sad and tragic, when you consider
the amazing love of God projected toward us, the incomprehensible grace made
available and the immeasurable divide from Eden’s Garden to the Hill of
Golgotha that was overcome!
The Holy Bible says: "And
without controversy great is the Mystery of Godliness: God was manifest in the
flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles,
believed on in the world, received up into glory." (1 Tim. 3: 16)
Jesus Christ (God the Son) came in the
flesh. He lived a perfect life before God (the Father) and man and therefore
declared JUST and without sin. Angels visited Him and ministered to Him. He
preached to the Samaritans at Sychar. Multitudes believed on Him as Messiah the
Christ. After his glorious resurrection from the dead He ascended to Heaven
from the Mount of Olives!
There can be no doubt that He is True God
from eternity and True Man by His incarnation born of the Virgin Mary,
Crucified, Buried, Risen and Seated on His Father’s Right Hand in Heaven. My
heart cries out: O’ what a wonderful Saviour is Jesus Christ our Lord!
Jesus Christ is True God, being eternally
in the Bosom of the Father; before His incarnation, during His earthly
Ministry, Death and Resurrection and after His Ascension to Heaven! The Bible
says: "No man hath seen God at any time; the Only Begotten Son, which IS IN
THE BOSOM of the Father, He hath declared Him."
(John 1: 18)
The Holy Scripture says: “Now from the
sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with
a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sa-bach-tha-ni? that is to say, My God, My
God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Some of them that stood there, when they
heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias (Elijah).” (Matt.27: 45-47)
The Bible translators drew from PSALM 22 to
translate the unique Aramaic as in Eli, Eli, lama sa-bach-tha-ni, but
not all of Psalm 22 is Messianic. Some of it pertained to David’s situation when
he said: “I cry unto thee in the daytime,
but
Thou hearest not; and in the night
season, and am not silent.” (Ps.22: 2). Jesus was not on the cross at
night, so this part of Psalm 22 must have been David’s prayer for himself
personally.
JESUS WAS NOT ON THE CROSS AT NIGHT!
Jesus of Nazareth died at 3:00 pm and was
taken down from the cross and buried before the Jewish Sabbath began at 6:00
pm. Those who heard His cry thought He was calling for Elijah. The translators were not sure of their meaning, so retained
the exact words which He spoke along with their translation.
PSALM 22 says: “I cry unto thee in the daytime, but Thou hearest Me NOT; and in the night season, and am not
silent”, but at the grave of Lazarus Jesus prayed: “…Father, I thank Thee that hast
heard Me. And I knew that Thou Hearest Me ALWAYS…” (John 11:41-42)
DR. LAMSA, whose native tongue is Aramaic,
states that Jesus used a unique dialect peculiar to an area near Nazareth where
He grew up, and actually said: “My God, My God, for this I was spared.”
The Lamsa
translation is from The Peshitta translation from the Aramaic, instead of the Greek.
Some texts in that translation are not true to the original, but this text
seems to be right on! (An atheist has
attacked the Bible citing the improper translation of this text.)
Earlier Jesus stated: “Now is My soul troubled;
and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I
unto this hour.” (John 12:27) The NASB translates this Scripture text as: “For
this purpose came I to this hour.”
There were a number of attempts on the
life of Jesus of Nazareth, but God deterred them so that He could fulfill His
chosen role as God’s Pascal Lamb shedding His blood for the sins of the world. (Matt.1:
21; John 3: 16, 36).
JESUS FULFILLED ALL MESSIANIC PROPHECIES!
He had to be crucified outside the city
walls of Jerusalem, at a precise time and on a certain day and year! His
life, death and resurrection had to be fulfilled exactly as the ancient
prophecies stated and they were! (Micah 5:1,2; Is.7:14; 53:1-12; Luke 24:
25-27). King Herod tried to kill Him when He was a baby. (Matt.2: 12-23). God
protected Him from the JEWS who hated Him:
“And
all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with
wrath, and rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the brow
of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down
headlong. But He passing through the midst of them went His Way.” (Luke 4:
28-30)
“Then they sought to take
Him: but no man laid their hands on Him, because His hour was not yet come.” (John
7:30); “Then took they up stones to cast
at Him: but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the
midst of them, and so passed by.” (John 8:9)
How He hid Himself we are not told,
however, ANGELS were sent to minister to Him at various times and may have
given our Saviour protection! (Mark 11:30, Luke 22:43)
Just before going to the cross JESUS said
to His disciples: “Behold, the hour
cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and
shall leave Me alone: And yet I am not
alone, because the Father is with Me.”
(John 16: 32).
For years, we preached that God forsook
Jesus while He hung on the cross, but that didn’t happen! He told His disciples that while they would all desert Him, He would
not be alone, because His Father would be with Him.
I struggled with that for a long time,
knowing what Jesus had told His disciples and what St. Paul stated about God
being in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. And St. John declared that
Jesus, “being in the BOSOM of the Father”.
MARTIN
LUTHER also wondered about: “God forsaking God!”
In the early 1990’s, I conducted
numerous Crusades in the former East Bloc. Riding on a Bus travelling to Norway
from a Crusade in Poland, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart about this very
serious aspect of the Redemption Story! Here are the thoughts that came to me
at that time!
The Holy Spirit did not leave Jesus in His
awful,
dreadful hours on the cross. While God the Father was judging His Son for our
sins, the Holy Spirit was in Jesus reconciling the world unto Himself. While
our Saviour was enduring the fiercest onslaughts of Divine judgement - for the soul
damning sins of this world - the blessed Holy Spirit was in Christ performing
the Great work of Redemption!
HERE IS THE GLORIOUS TRUTH!
God the Father had to judge His Only
Begotten Son on our behalf. Jesus Christ was God’s ordained Pascal Lamb Who
carried our sins, fears, sicknesses and diseases to the cross in order to
destroy them forever. He died voluntarily as our Substitute and arose
victoriously on the third day for our justification!
I
repeat, while the God the Father was
judging His Son for the sins of the world, God the Holy Spirit was in Christ
reconciling the world to Himself!
The Holy Record states: “And all things
are of God, Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, that God was in Christ, reconciling
the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto us the Word of reconciliation.
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye
reconciled to God. For He hath made Him
to be sin, (sin offering) who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:18-21)
The Scripture is clear that Jesus Christ
was SINLESS, born without sin, died
without sin and was raised from the dead without sin! He was God’s Pascal Lamb. He was
the SIN OFFERING and the PROPITIATION for our sins and those of the entire
world. The word propitiation
means the covering, the expiation and the SATISFACTION.
IF JESUS WERE NOT SINLESS
DEATH WOULD HAVE HELD HIM!
That means that God was satisfied with the VICARIOUS (substitutionary) death of His Only
begotten Son in meeting the demands of Divine Justice for the sins of the human
race! It means that the shed blood of
Jesus Christ would appease the wrath of God and cover and cleanse away our
sins!
JESUS OF NAZARETH could
not have been Jehovah’s Pascal Lamb
if He had not been sinless. If there would have been any sin in Him, death
would have held Him fast in Hades until the Great Judgement day. Pointing to
Jesus of Nazareth, John the Baptist boldly declared: “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.” (John
1: 29).
The
pure and perfect BLOOD of Jesus Christ not only purchased our eternal salvation
but also brought our Saviour back from the dead and opened the Gates of Heaven
for Him. (Heb.9: 11-14; Ps.24: 7-10).
St Peter stated: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed by silver and gold,
from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with
the precious Blood of Christ, as of A
LAMB without blemish or spot!
“Who verily was
foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you. Who by Him believe in God that raised Him up from the dead, and
gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” (1 Peter 1:
18-21)
The WORD OF GOD states: “For
Christ also hath ONCE suffered for
sins, the JUST for the unjust that He might bring us to God, being put to death
in the FLESH, But quickened (made
alive) by the Spirit: By which
also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were
disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah…”
(1 Peter 3: 18-20)
Jesus died in the flesh only ONCE. He did NOT die spiritually! That is a
diabolical doctrine concocted by dark forces and embraced by little-learned
minds! Such an evil, spurious teaching,
if it were true, would destroy the Godhead! God is triune and if one member
were separated from the other members, there would no longer be God! What a
blasphemous teaching!
A VERY DANGEROUS DOCTRINE!
From time to time well-meaning preachers
get trapped by the spurious teachings of some of the ancients, and feel that
they have discovered a great spiritual truth. Others are opportunists who latch
onto something no-one else is currently preaching to gain a following. Mohammed
of the Mohammedans, Joseph Smith of the Mormons, Charles Russell of the Jehovah
Witnesses and Mary Baker Eddy of the Christian Science are some of the
purveyors of cultic teachings, which have led millions of unsuspecting souls to
Hell!
One of the most diabolical doctrines
taught by some today is the twisted and blasphemous “Born Again Jesus Doctrine’.
It states that the cross was not enough!
And that Jesus died spiritually and became a sinner, suffered in Hell for three
days and was born again before rising from the dead! Talk about hodgepodge:
That takes the cake for utterly absurd, unbiblical and spurious doctrine!
The Bible states: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, IT IS FINISHED: and He bowed His head and gave up the ghost.” (John 19: 30) When
Jesus uttered those words He spoke in Greek. The word He used was tet-telestai
which comes from the Greek verb teleo. The Greek verb teleo has three essential meanings:
To
finish something or bring something to an end; to fulfill something; to pay
that which is owed.
When Jesus cried tet-telestai
He was saying, “I have FINISHED the work of Redemption. I have brought to an END the
power of the devil over those who believe in Me! He was saying, “I
have FULFILLED all the Old Testament Scriptures pertaining to the Messiah. My
BLOOD has been shed for the sins of the world. My Work of Redemption is
complete. A Fountain is now open for sin and uncleanness!
When
Jesus cried tet-telestai He was saying: “I have paid the penalty for all mankind’s
sins, fears and diseases. Everything pertaining to the redemption of the human race,
past, present and future has been paid in full!”
THE VEIL RENT WHEN JESUS DIED!
After Jesus cried, “It is finished”, He
bowed His head and died. Immediately, the VEIL in the temple was rent in twain!
My question is “WHY was the veil in
the temple torn in two? The veil was a type of the Body of Jesus which had been
beaten and torn!
When Jesus gave up the
ghost, the VEIL in the temple was RENT from top to bottom signifying that God had
left the Holy of Holies, and the Blood of Jesus was immediately affective,
taking the place of the blood of lambs, bulls and goats.
When Jesus cried, “It is finished; It is fulfilled;
It is paid”, the BLOOD OF THE
LAMB immediately began functioning in Heaven and the O.T. sacrificial system in
the Temple in Jerusalem had become null and void!
That is why Jesus could promise the
repentant thief on the cross: “Verily, I
say unto thee, TODAY shalt thou be
with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23: 43). Immediately, that sinful criminal was
cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus and was taken at once with Jesus Christ
into Paradise (Abraham’s Bosom).
“And when Jesus had cried with a loud
voice (It is finished), He said, Father
into Thine hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the
ghost.” (Luke 23: 46). We see the beautiful relationship between God the
Father and His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, in this final prayer of committing
His spirit into the hands of God!
The only time Jesus was in Hell was
after spending three days in Abraham’s Bosom (PARADISE), when he preached “to
the spirits in prison” just prior to rising from the dead. (1 Peter 3:
18-20)
“Wherefore He saith, When He ascended
on High, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now that He ascended,
what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
He that descended is the same that ascended up far above all heavens, that He
might fulfill all things.” (Eph.4: 8-10)
JESUS CHRIST: THE ALPHA AND OMEGA!
Here is an awesome word picture of the
amazing redemptive work of Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Pascal Lamb:
“And
I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and read the book, neither
to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not, behold, the
Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David hath prevailed to open the book,
and to loose the seven seals thereof.
“And I beheld, and lo, in
the midst of the elders stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns
and seven eyes and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth
into all the earth. And He came and took
the book out of the right hand of Him who sat upon the Throne.
“And when He had taken the
book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb,
having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints.
“And they sung a new song
saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for
Thou was slain and has redeemed us unto God by Thy BLOOD out of every kindred, and tongue and
people and nation; and has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall
reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5: 4-10)
Our Saviour declared: "I am Alpha and Omega; the
beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is
to come, the Almighty." (Rev.1: 8); "I am He that lives, and
was dead; and behold I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell
and of death." (Rev.1: 18)
Seven hundred years before His
incarnation, Jesus Christ the Eternal Son of God gave these words of prophecy
through His faithful prophet: "Come ye near unto Me, hear ye this; I
have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was,
THERE AM I: and now the Lord God (God the Father), and His
Spirit (God the Holy Spirit) hath sent Me (God the
Son).
“All the words uttered by the prophets were
given them from the Almighty directly or through inspiration, and God the Son
had appeared as the Angel of the Covenant to numerous people such as Jacob,
Moses, Isaiah and Joshua!
Without fear of contradiction we can
truthfully declare that the foregoing statement is in fact the unvarnished,
unedited truth and as St. Paul stated: "Let God be true and every man (who
denies His Word) be a Liar." (Rom. 3: 3, 4)
"Knowing this first that no
prophecy is of private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by
the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost. (2 Peter 1: 20, 21);
"All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Tim.3:16)
In this Foundation Declaration I do
not seek to lean on philosophical arguments or draw on the sciences to prove my
point. Since the title of this apologetic is 'First Things First',
I build upon the Holy Scriptures alone, thereby giving one hundred per cent
credence and absolute authority to the Word of God!
GOD IS TRANSCENDENT!
The Bible declares: "God is not a
man that He should lie; neither the Son of man that He should repent: Hath He
said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" (Num.23 19)
God is ABOVE and BEYOND human kind, this
universe and our society! He does NOT think like we do, He does not speak like
we speak nor does He act like we act!
King David stated: "The Lord is
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not
always chide: neither will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us
after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
"For as the heaven is high above the
earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is
from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a
father pities his children so the Lord pities them that fear Him. For He knows
our frame; He remembers that we are dust." (Psalms 103: 3-14)
Prophet Isaiah reminds us of God's
goodness and mercy: "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye
upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
"For My thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts
than your thoughts." (Isa.55: 6-9)
THE SUPERIOR
WISDOM OF GOD!
Interceding for the wicked city
of Sodom, Abraham cried out for mercy. He asked God for clemency; to hold back
the judgements that were about to fall upon Sodom, Gomorrah and the cities of
the Plains. Abraham pushed the Almighty to the limit and still God said, "OK."
At one point in his desperate prayer he
cried out: "Behold now that I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord,
which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure
there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt Thou destroy all the city for
the lack of five? And He said: If I find there forty and five I will not
destroy it."
Even Abraham knew when he had reached the
limit. Trembling in God's presence, the 'Father of the Faith',
asked one final time: "And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, And
I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten should be found there. And He
said, I will not destroy it not for ten’s sake." (Gen.18: 23-27)
St. James wrote: "Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of
lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of His own
will begat He us with the Word of Truth, that we should be kind of first fruits
of His creatures." (James 1: 17, 18)
SAUL OF TARSUS was one of the most educated
young men in Palestine at the time of his conversion to Christ. He had studied
under Gamiliel, one of the greatest Hebrew theologians. It is reported that Saul
could speak seven languages and had acquired the equivalent two PhDs, yet he
declared:
"But
what things were gain to me, those I counted but loss for Christ. Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord: for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
do count them but dung (garbage) that I may win Christ.
“And be found in Him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." (Phil.3: 7-10)
This former BLASPHEMER speaks in glowing
terms about Jesus Christ, Who had changed his life. He realized that his own
good works and impeccable pedigree could not save him. His own righteous were
like filthy rags in the sight of God Almighty! (Is.64: 6)
THE GOSPEL ALWAYS COMES IN POWER!
St. Paul wrote: “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of
speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined
not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
“And my speech and my
preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of
the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men,
but in the power of God.” (1 Cor.2: 1, 2, 4)
The great Apostle to the Gentiles wrote: “And I am sure that, when I come unto you,
I shall come in the fullness of the Gospel of Christ.” (Rom.15: 29); “For our Gospel came not unto you in Word only, but also in power, and in the
Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among
you for you sake…and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the Living and
true God;
“And to wait for His Son
from Heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, EVEN JESUS, which delivered us from
the wrath to come.” (1 Thes.1: 5, 9, 10) Amen.
The Evangelical
Dictionary of Theology states: “The Gospel is the Joyous Proclamation of
God’s Activity in Christ on behalf of Man.” The Gospel is the Good News. It
is Good News for Fallen Man! The Gospel is the glad tidings of the great mercy,
grace and love of God projected toward a sinful and rebellious race!
Jesus Christ Himself is the Revelation of
God to man. He said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man cometh unto
the Father but by Me. If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also;
and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.
“Believest
thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak
unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth
the works.” (John 14: 9, 10); “If ye abide in ME and My Words abides in you, ye
shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15: 7)
To the father of a deaf and dumb
epileptic boy, Jesus declared: “If thou
canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” (Mark 9:
23). And to the disciples who asked Him why they could not cast the demons out
when they prayed but He was able to do it easily, He replied:
“Because
of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard
seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it
shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth
not out but by prayer and fasting.” (Matt.17:20-21)
JESUS CHRIST IS THE ANSWER!
“Jesus
is the answer to this world today. Without Him there’s none other. Jesus is the
way.” Those words were a
part of a popular Christian song several decades ago. It should be sung
everywhere presently because if ever the world needed His help it is now!
His timeless promises, however,
are still being quoted and prayed and believed to a great deal of good and
blessing in the lives of many.
As I constantly devour the Word of God my
desire to know Jesus Christ intimately grows and my desire is like unto St.
Paul who said: “That I might Know Him
and the POWER of His RESURRECTION…” (Phil 3: 10) and John Knox who cried out: “Lord, Give me Scotland or I die!”
I thank God for the writings of great men
of God like Andrew Murray, A.J. Gordon, E. W. Tozer, R.A. Torrey, E.M. Bounds, William
Booth, Charles S. Price and others. They stir me to seek God anew for
the Gifts of the Spirit and Compassion, to reach more precious souls for Christ
and make Him known through His mighty signs and miracles!
My
heart will not rest until He bears His powerful arm in REVIVAL FIRE in Canada as I’ve seen Him do across the world during the
last fifty years! That He will rend the Heavens and come down in our midst as
He did at Pentecost and the Early Church. As we turn to the Lord in fasting and
prayer and hold onto the horns of the altar in supplication, He will answer!
“If
My people, which are called by name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and
seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven,
and forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chron.7: 14)
JESUS
invites us to come to Him in prayer and He has promised to answer us and meet
our every need. In John’s Gospel, Jesus invites us repeatedly to come to Him
and ask for His intervention and help in time of need. He wouldn’t invite us to
ask Him for something if He didn’t intend to answer! He will answer because He does
KEEP His promises! His WORD is True, because He is FAITHFUL, Who has promised!
ASK AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU!
“Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; For
everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it
shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask 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: 7-11)
Shall We Pray:
FROM HEART TO
HEART:
A PRAYER OF
GOD'S SERVANT
~ Given
to Max Solbrekken by the Holy Spirit, June 9, 2014 ~
Dear Lord Jesus Christ:
In Your precious Name I extol the God and Father of all life, the
Giver of peace and the Destroyer of sin, sickness and death, and exult in His goodness, grace, mercy, peace and
joy!
To Him be glory, honour, praise and
exaltation for He is Good, Gracious, Honourable, Merciful, Kind, Just,
Compassionate and Long Suffering!
Awesome, Wonderful, Blessed and
Glorious are His thoughts and actions toward us and His ways past finding out.
Our minds are too miniscule to assimilate just a
fraction of His Attributes, Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom!
I marvel at His Grace toward me and my
fellowman. In all humility, I must ask: "Why should He love us so much that He sent His only
begotten Son to be the propitiation - covering and satisfaction - for our
grievous sins and that of the entire human race?"
That in itself is radical, mind
boggling and extraordinaire! What did He see in a world of sinning,
manipulative, greedy, proud, destructive and dishonourable human beings that
caused His great heart to do the unimaginable, unthinkable and incomprehensible
to save us, by Himself becoming the Sacrifice for our lost, doomed and damned
souls?
Only through the Bible - Your Holy Word - are we able to make sense of it all.
Our minds are too limited, too restricted, too narrow and too cluttered with
many mundane thoughts and things, to be able to comprehend Thee, my precious
Saviour. Your total Greatness, absolute Goodness and never failing Mercy helps
me to understand, in part, the answer to these important queries!
Only by Thy Blessed Holy Spirit are we
able to piece together the Amazing and Wonderful Plan and Purpose of Thy
Incarnation, Ministry, Death, Resurrection and Heavenly Kingdom, and Thy
prayer, "Thy Will be done in earth as it is
in Heaven."
Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, my hope is
in You, my trust is in You, my peace is in You, my healing and health is in
You, my provision is in You, my Future for time and eternity is in You!
Thank You for listening to me and for
putting into my heart and mind these profound thoughts - which I would have
been unable to generate apart from Your inspiration - because without
You, O' Lord, there would be no reason for this Prayer!
In You, I am guarded from Evil,
protected from the Enemy, furnished with Truth and equipped with supernatural
Power to preach the Gospel, cast out demons, heal the sick, liberate the lost
and bring peace to the fallen sons and daughters of Adam and Eve!
Only in Your name Lord Jesus
Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, upon the authority of Your Holy
Word and through Your precious and pure BLOOD shed for me, do I have the right to be
called a child of God, Your servant and an ambassador of Your Kingdom!
Unto Thee O' Lord do I subscribe
all the honour, praise and glory both now and forevermore! Amen.
Thy insignificant and grateful servant,
Max Solbrekken,
Heb. 13:5; 2 Cor. 4:5
