Friday, May 29, 2015

JESUS IS MY LORD, 
SAVIOUR & FRIEND
                                   By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
     The God of the Universe is my personal saviour, Lord and Friend! He is my Advocate, Physician, and Counsellor. His Name means, ‘The God who saves, the God who heals, the God who protects and the God who delivers from all EVIL’!
    He is Yeshua ha Mashiach - the Salvation of God and King Messiah - Jesus the Christ of God! Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father! (Phil. 2: 10)
    He is nearer than the breath I  breathe and the blood that flows through my veins, because He is in me and I am in Him and we are hid with Christ in God!(John 6: 48-63; 14:16-23; 15:7; 2 Cor.5:17;   )
   I am His doulos (gr. love slave) because He owns me, having purchased my eternal salvation at the cost of His own precious blood. And I will be eternally grateful to Him for His compassion, love and mercy toward me, a lost and condemned sinner afloat on the sea of life, filled only with plans for material wealth and worldly ambition!
    In His great mercy, He waited for me to realize that I needed Him. It took a miracle to recruit me into His Army. When my father was instantly healed in his gall bladder through the Radio Ministry of Oral Roberts and baptized in the Holy Spirit a few days later, I saw for the first time in my life the reality of God working in people’s lives.  (1 John 1: 1-7)
                                    NO LONGER ONLY A THEORY!
It was no longer only a theory, but Jesus Christ became a living reality whom I could no longer resist. By following Him, I was offered eternal life instead of having my own way which would end in eternal death! (1 John 5: 10-13)        
    When He called me I said, “Yes! I want this. This is real, not just a figment of  the imagination or a set of rules and regulations, but LIFE in its highest form. I humbled myself to embrace the Life Giver Himself, the God of Creation, the Lord of lords  and the King of all kings and Ruler Divine, Jesus Christ the Great Physician!
     St. Paul stated that he was not worthy to be an apostle because in his ignorance, he had persecuted the followers of Christ! (Eph.3: 7, 8; 1 Cor. 15: 9) In that respect, we are all guilty if we do not give God the praise, honour and glory that He deserves and demands.
    Praise be to the matchless name of Jesus Christ, my Faithful High Priest, who pleads my cause before our Heavenly Father (Heb.7: 24, 25) and my Deliverer who keeps the Evil One at bay and fleeing in terror! (James 4: 7)
                                            JESUS IS MY FRIEND!                     
    Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said: “Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you.” (John 15: 14,15)
      He shared with them His innermost feelings just before going to the Cross. He had prior knowledge. He knew His mission and He shared with His disciples what His Father had told Him; That He had come to earth to die for the sins of the world and rise again in power and great glory in order to redeem Adam’s fallen race!
     He divulged that He had come to do His Father’s Will. He spoke with them of His love and compassion for the lost, sick and dying, and He proved His great love and grace by forgiving the sinful, healing the sick and showing mercy to the outcasts.
    Jesus healed all who came seeking His merciful touch. He  had great compassion for the weak and struggling  souls who reached out in their desperation for His holy touch!
THE GOSPEL OF GOD’S GRACE, MERCY & LOVE; 
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT & NEVER WILL BE!
   In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus unburdened His heart to His Father as He cried out: “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; Nevertheless, not as I will, BUT AS THOU WILT.” (Matt. 26:39)
      Angels came to minister unto Him in his hour of temptation and we have come to understand that they are also messengers sent to minister to us in the time of need. (Psalm 34: 7 ; Heb.1: 14) )
     As Jesus prayed on the Rock of the Agony in Gethsemane, His sweat became like drops of Blood, knowing that He was entering the final phase of His Redemptive plan that had been formulated before the creation of the world!(Luke 22: 43, 44)
     The Gospel of God’s grace and mercy! WOW.!!! There is nothing like it anywhere. No love story as tender, no message as powerful, no News as far reaching and enduring as the Gospel and no Name as great as the name of Jesus Christ the WORLD’S ONLY SAVIOUR!!!
  St. Paul speaks of  “the unsearchable RICHES in Christ.” And the  “eternal purpose which God purposed in Christ Jesus.”
    He prayed: “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3: 17-21)
                                    GREAT MEN BELIEVE IN GOD!
     No wonder King David said: “The fool (idiot) has said in his heart there is no God.” (Psalms 14: 1)  An idiot can say that there is no God. He is an idiot and does not know any better!
      After more than fifty years of study, research and travel meeting people from all walks of life, I can certainly ascertain that infidels, atheists and New Age advocates are spiritually retarded, proud and ignorant about the real issues of life.
       By the same token, I can safely say that most of the great men I have studied or met, believed in the God of Creation and His wondrous works! The brutish man has the characteristics of a stupid and irrational person and a fool knows nothing!
     King David was a prophet of God. He stated: “For Thou, Lord hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in the works of Thy hands. O Lord, how great are Thy works! And Thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not: neither does a fool understand this.” (Psalm 92: 5, 6)
      ALBERT CAMUS said: “ I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out that there isn't, than to live my life as if there isn't and die to find out there is.”
       JOB, the oldest patriarch of the Bible stated: “For I KNOW that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter Day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” (Job 19: 25-27)
     ST. PAUL, the brilliant theologian, who met Jesus in a blinding light that charred his eyes, and was tutored by Him and even carried into Heaven and saw such things that he was forbidden to reveal, stated: “I believe God.” (Acts 27: 25).
      All Glory, Praise and Majesty be unto to God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost forever and ever, for He has redeemed us unto Himself for His good pleasure and our eternal blessedness and joy!
                                      ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED!
     The Bible says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath CHOSEN US in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
      “Having predestinated us unto the ADOPTION of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us ACCEPTED in the Beloved.
      “In Whom we have REDEMPTION through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His Grace. Wherein He hath abounded unto us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the Mystery of His Will, according to His Good Pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself:
     “That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in ONE all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him: In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” (Eph. 1: 3-11).
     The call of God still goes out to the lost, sick and suffering: “Come unto Me all ye who labour and are heavy laden and I will give your REST.” (Matt. 11: 28). Amen.

Monday, May 25, 2015


                      AND THERE WAS A
              VALLEY BETWEEN THEM!
                                                By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
   "And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath...” (1 Sam. 17: 3)
    The historical account of David's outstanding victory over Goliath is a picture of Christ's victory over Satan and our victory over the world! It is also a picture of the two opposing camps, the Philistines against Israel and the Church against the World, and the VALLEY that is between us!
       It also shows the differences in the natural size and strength of each side in the battle! Goliath was a seasoned warrior about 9 feet 9 inches tall, armed with the best weapons and protected with the finest armour, while David was a young shepherd boy without any protective gear and armed only with a sling shot and five stones!
      Goliath had faith in himself and his pagan gods, while David had faith in the Living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Goliath had a long list of victories in battle going back to his youth which had catapulted him to hero status on the battlefield. David also had very impressive victories in destroying both a lion and a bear while protecting his sheep!
      The battle between the World and the Church has similar statistics in where our sentiments lie and in whom we have faith. The world has their gods and the glory of their accomplishments, while the Church has a great legacy of supernatural events and miraculous happenings going back nearly 2,000 years
     The world has only the promises of flawed human beings often mired in scandals, conspiracies, lies, false narratives and conflict. And no guarantee for the future and a sad and dismal ending! On the other hand, while the Church has great numbers of faithful members, we have a Supreme Leader Jesus Christ our Lord, Who is perfect in all respects and has purchased our eternal salvation at the cost of His pure and holy blood!
     The well known atheist and lawyer Clarence Darrow, who was responsible for bringing the Evolution Theory into the US Educational System by his victory over William Bryan Jennings during the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, said it best: “Many honors have come my way but there is a line in the Bible that best describes how I feel;
We have toiled all night and taken nothing.” The atheist had to resort to God's Word to describe the emptiness and depression he experienced near the end of his life!
                                THREE ENEMIES OF SPIRITUALITY!
      According to God's Word, there are three enemies of spirituality, three enemies of power with God! These enemies are listed as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life!
      St. John declared: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)
      The Apostle of Love was straight forward in his condemnation of the world, saying that these three enemies are not of God, but of the world which stands in direct opposition to God and righteousness! Our Saviour repeatedly warned His followers of the world:
      “If the WORLD hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the WORLD, the WORLD would love his own: but because ye are not of the WORLD, but I have chosen you out of the WORLD, therefore, the WORLD hated you.” (John 15: 16-18)
      In His teaching about God's love and mercy which He had come to earth to give sinful man through His Works of Compassion, Healing and Deliverance, He identifies the demonic opposition of Hatred exhibited by the World against the Scriptures of Truth and His Ministry!
     Our Lord warned that if the World had persecuted Him, it would also persecute His followers. He then explains why that had happened: “But all these things will they do unto you, for My Name's sake, because they know not Him that sent Me. He that hated Me, hateth My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin.
     "But now have they both seen and HATED both Me and My Father. But this cometh to pass, that the Word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They HATED Me without a cause.” (John 21-25)
     Jesus declared: “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather GRAPES of THORNS, or FIGS of THISTLES. Even so every good tree bringeth forth GOOD fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth EVIL fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth EVIL fruit, neither can a corrupt tree ring forth GOOD fruit.” (Matt.7: 16-18)
                                  A DIVIDING OF THE WAYS!
        There has been and always will be 'a dividing of the ways' between those who love righteousness and those who hate righteousness, between those who serve God and those who serve the devil, between those who are saved and those who are not saved!
      The Holy Scriptures says: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
        “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
       “Wherefore COME OUT from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (2 Cor. 6: 14-18)
       The Word of God asks: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3: 3) The answer is: No, they cannot! All through the Scriptures we find that God hates a MIXTURE! And St. Paul warned:
     “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, coveteous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy; Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good; Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. From such TURN AWAY.” (2 Tim. 3: 1-5)
       Here are Seven Teachings of Christ which emphasis the phenomenon: There Was A Valley Between Them!
1. Two Roads
        “Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and may there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7: 13,14)  This is the dividing of the Ways!
     Jesus Christ spoke of the two roads leading to eternity; the wide gate and the broad way versus the straight gate and the narrow way. He made a very strong argument for travelling on the narrow road which leads to Heaven and home and rejecting the wide and the broad road which leads to Hell.
      He was sending us a message that the path we take in life will determine our final destination, the one leads to destruction and the other to life! The broad road is a picture of a life with no restraints, doing your own thing, obeying the lusts, greed, carnal and rebellious out-of-control lifestyle, while the narrow road depicts the morally sound, balanced, in-control and disciplined lifestyle.
2. Two Masters
       “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6: 24)  Here we see the valley between them!
      Jesus could not have more plain in His position on the choosing of allegiances. It is about following a leader and giving allegiance to a master! It is also about the devotion to that master, the love and hate that is generated between the two opposites!
     The choice is between God and mammon! Mammon is a Chaldee or Syriac word meaning wealth, earthly goods or riches, also by personification, 'the god of riches'. The implication is that Riches and Wealth is often connected with powerful land owners and the the World System.
      The BIBLE says: “For the love of MONEY is the root of all evil; which while some have coveted after they have erred from the truth, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of FAITH, lay hold on Eternal Life, where unto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (1 Tim. 6:10-12)
      St. James comes down strong on respect of persons, zeroing in on wealthy people: “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not RICH MEN oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy NAME by which ye are called? (James 2: 5-8)
      WHO is the 'god of riches'? SATAN, of course! Did he not offer our Lord Jesus Christ the kingdoms of this world, when he temped our Saviour? (Matt.4: 8-10) The two masters are God and the evil, wicked Liar called Satan, the enemy of God and man! When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you will love Him forever, and despise and resist the hateful devil!
3. Two Foundations
       “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
     “And everyone that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matt. 7: 24,25)
      Here we see the two very different approaches to life; one of wisdom and the other of stupidity!
     Jesus reveals the wisdom of obeying His teachings, and the ramifications of disobeying them. There is no middle ground! The blessings of hearing and obeying Jesus' Words is likened to a man building his House on a solid ROCK that would withstand the storms of life.
      The flip side is the utter folly of rejecting His instructions and building his house on the sinking, shifting sand! Living your life according to the philosophies of carnal, proud, humanistic Christ rejecters and following the precepts of the 'enemies of the cross' is tantamount to building your house on the sand!
       St. James warned: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4: 4)
4. Two Treasures
         “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6: 19-21)
        Jesus makes it clear that there is a huge difference between those who live for themselves only and those who care about eternal things!
      Our Lord said: “Well hath Esaias prophesied if you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (Mark 7: 6,7)
     The Bible says: “Will a man rob God? Yet, ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have ye robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation.
      “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
      “And I will rebuke the Devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Mal. 3:8-11);
      “And here (on earth) men that die receive tithes: but there (in Heaven) He (Jesus) receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.” (Heb.7: 8)
     Is tithing still God's will for us today? Some Bible Scholars argue that it is not, however, this Scripture states that Jesus Christ our Heavenly High Priest receives our tithes! That settled the debate for me, because I bow to the Word of God and so should everyone else!
         Jesus said: “Give and it shall be given you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that ye meet, it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6: 38)
5. Two Rewards
      “When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall SEPARATE them one from another, as a shepherd DIVIDETH his sheep from the goats:
     “And He shall set the sheep on the His right side but the goats on His left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, COME, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world:
      “Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, DEPART from Me , ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into Life Eternal.” (Matt. 25: 31-34, 41, 46)
       Jesus made it very plain that at the end of our lives we must all appear before the Lord and that there will be a separation and a dividing between the righteous and the unrighteous and that there will be rewards and consequences for our actions that are eternal in duration!
     The BIBLE states: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap Life Everlasting.” (Gal. 6: 7,8)
     In this Scripture, our precious Lord Jesus Christ uttered a very solemn warning. He warned of everlasting fire and everlasting punishment. This is very serious, indeed, and should be heeded by each one of us. He made it clear that this everlasting fire was prepared for the DEVIL and his angels who had sinned against Almighty God.
     IS HELL REAL? Jesus said that it is, and that's good enough for me! C.S. Lewis wrote: “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power.” He realized, of course, that he had no power to remove that doctrine or any other doctrine which God has declared to be. That is not within our ability!
       Only a fool would trifle with God's Word. He warns: “Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you.” (Deut.4: 2); “Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou NOT unto His Words lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Prov.29: 5,6);
       “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book; If any man shall ADD unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall TAKE AWAY from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev. 22: 18,19)
6. TWO JUDGMENTS
      There are two Judgments:The Great White Throne Judgment for unbelivers, and the (Bema) Judgment Seat of Christ for Believers:
1). The Great White Throne Judgment:
        “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the Books were opened: and another Book was opened, which is the BOOK OF LIFE: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
        “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hell were cast into te Lake of Fire. This is the Second Death. And whosoever was not found written in the BOOK OF LIFE was cast into the Lake of Fire.” (Rev.20: 11-15)
11.) The Judgment Seat of Christ
         “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body , according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the TERROR of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God.” (2 Cor. 5: 9-10).
    St. Paul was concerned about communicating the Gospel to his fellowmen and fulfilling his call from Jesus Christ to do so! We will not be judged for our sins as they have already been judged. Christ Himself took our place when He bore our sins on the cross. He has made us, “accepted in the Beloved.” (Eph.1: 7 )
      The Judgment Seat of Christ is for Believers only. While all unbelievers must stand for judgment before the Great White Throne Judgment, we will be judged for our works. It will be a time of receiving commendations from our Lord Jesus for the work we have done for His Kingdom. It is a thorough evaluation of our Christian lives:
    The Bible says: “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of DARKNESS, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God.” (1 Cor. 4:5)
     “Now if any man build upon this foundation (Jesus Christ) gold, silver. precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed BY FIRE:
      “And the Fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a REWARD. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
     “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the SPIRIT OF GOD dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him will God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, Whose temple ye are.” (1 Cor. 3: 11-17); “So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.” (Rom.14: 12)
V11. Two Resurrections
       There will be two Resurrections: one for the Righteous and the other for the unrighteous! The Resurrection of the Just is for those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. This will also include Old Testament saints that through the Sacrificial System believed in the Coming Messiah, Who would shed His blood for their sins. The lambs, goats and bullocks that were slain were types of Christ, Who would die as God's paschal Lamb for the sins of the world!
     The Resurrection of the Unjust is for those who have not received God's Gift of Eternal Life through the sacrifice of His Son. They will be resurrected to stand in the presence of God to be sentenced to eternal damnation!
     The Bible states: “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. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he HATH NOT believed on the Only Begotten Son of God.” (John 3: 16-18)
               RESURRECTION OF THE JUST & THE UNJUST!
      “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12: 2,3)
     “So is also the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption; It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
      “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Behold I show you a MYSTERY; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be CHANGED, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be changed incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
   “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on IMMORTALITY. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this MORTAL shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in Victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is SIN; and the strength of sin is the Law, But thanks be to God, which giveth us the Victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor. 15: 42-57)
                           BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD!
       Christ was RAISED first and we will follow at His Coming: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came DEATH, by man came also the RESURRECTION of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made ALIVE. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His Coming.” (1 Cor. 20: 23)
       St Paul preached Christ's Death and Resurrection: “And though they found no cause of death in Him, yet desired they Pilate that He should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree, and laid Him in a sepulchre. But God RAISED HIM from the dead. And He was seen many days of them that came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses unto the people.
       “And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise that was made unto the fathers. God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that He raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee.” (Acts 13: 28-32)
    While preaching to the philosophers on Mars Hill, St. Paul introduced them to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection and the Day of judgment.
       “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commanded all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a DAY, in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath RAISED Him from the dead.” (Acts 17: 30)
     In his defense before Governor Felix, St. Paul declared: “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my Fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets; And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.” (Acts 24:14, 15)
     JOB, the oldest of the Patriarchs believed in the Resurrection of the Dead. He stated: “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the Latter Day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh, I shall see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 20: 25-27)
       ABRAHAM: As a type of what Almighty God did to save a world of sinners by sacrificing His Only Begotten Son, He asked Abraham to do with his only son. After a night of soul searching Abraham obeyed believing that if he must do it, God would raise his son from the dead. Of course God would not let it happen and had a ram nearby as a substitute. (Heb. 11:19)
       DAVID said: “I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (hades); neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.” (Ps. 16: 8-10).The Psalmist prophesied Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead! And here, he is shares his own belief: “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake with Thy likeness.” (Ps. 17: 15)
        ST. JOHN says : “Beloved, 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 3: 1-3) Hallelujah!
      Jesus declared: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice , and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done EVIL unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5: 28,29)
                     SATAN CONFINED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE!
      “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the Bottomless Pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should DECEIVE the nations NO MORE till the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he must be loosed a little season.
      “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the FIRST RESURRECTION Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”
      “And I saw a Great White Throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the DEAD, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the DEAD were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
       “And the sea gave up the DEAD which were in it: and Death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works'. And Death and Hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the Second Death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.” (Rev. 20: 11-15)
                                      DECISIONS DETERMINE DESTINY!
      My dear friend, your decision now will determine your eternal destiny! The Bible says: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath; but it passed from death unto life. everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming and NOW is, when the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” (John 5: 24,25)
    AN INVITATION FROM OUR LORD HIMSELF: All sinners are dead in trespasses and sins, however, Jesus Christ has purchased our eternal salvation through His shed blood, meeting the Demands of Divine Justice for a world of sinners: Here is His Offer to us all! His Word says: “All have sinned and come short of the Kingdom of God.” (Rom.3:23).
    We were all sinners by birth, by nature and by choice. As you read these words, God is speaking to you to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour! His Word states: “The wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord!.” (Rom.6:23)
       “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My , and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath Everlasting Life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily I say unto you, the Hour is coming, and NOW is, when the dead (spiritually) shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and Live.” (John 5:24, 25)
      If you refuse, however, His Word declares that one day you will the hear the Voice of God again, but it will then be too late:
       “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and they shall come forth; they that have done good unto the RESURRECTION OF LIFE; and they that have done evil, unto the RESURRECTION OF DAMNATION.” (John 5:28, 29). Amen.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

PENTECOSTAL POWER NEEDED 
     IN THE CHURCH TODAY!
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
    
    "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come  upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." (Acts 1: 8) 
     Today is Pentecost Sunday and how desperately we need the Blessed Holy Spirit in our lives, in our homes and in our churches! Jesus knew that, so He received from the Father the promise to pour His Holy Spirit upon His Church. 
      One of the reasons our Lord was incarnated so that He could come and dwell among us and finally die upon the Cross on Golgatha as God's Paschal Lamb to redeem the world, was to empower us with the Holy Spirit!
    Jesus of Nazareth had to pour out His blood for the salvation of mankind before He could pour out the Holy Spirit upon His followers! 
     The great American Evangelist D.L. Moody stated: "God has a good many children who just barely got life, but NO POWER for service! The Holy Spirit coming upon them with power is distinct and seperate from conversion. 
        "I believe we should accomplish more in one week than we should in years if we had only His FRESH BAPTISM. A great many think that  because they have been filled once, they are going to be filled for all time. But, my freinds, we are leaky vessels and have to be kept right under the fountain all the time in order to keep full."
      Many years ago, the Pope of Rome showed Francis of Assisi around the Vatican, and pointing to all the wealth and treasures there, said: "No longer do we need to say with Peter of Old, Siver and Gold have I none!" 
      Francis of Assisi answered, "True, O Pope, but no longer can you say with Peter to the crippled man, Rise up and Walk." How True! That church and many others are only hollow shells of the Genuine article!
      O' how we need the power of the Holy Spirit in the Church today, to point lost and dying souls to the Lamb of God, Who poured out His blood and made the supreme sacrifice, so that He could pour into us His Blessed Holy Spirit! Amen.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

MY CONFESSION OF FAITH
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
      My body is the temple of the Living God. He lives in me and I live in Him. I am hid with Christ in God therefore I am secure!
   No weapon that is formed against me will prosper and every tongue that shall rise against me in judgment I shall condemn. This is the heritage of God's children, and because I am God's child it belongs to me!
     I do not deserve the great honour to be called a son of God. In no way, am I worthy or even close to being worthy of such an honour. It is because of Jesus Christ's Redemptive work on Golgotha that this grace has been given to me. His love and mercy has been given and is available to all who will believe and receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life!
     You might say: "How can a lost and condemned individual, who was once a sinner by birth, nature and choice, lay claim to so great an inheritance? And to be cleansed, redeemed and lifted to a position of son-ship with the Eternal God, the Ever Living One Who is pure, righteous, all knowing and all powerful?"
     Eternal Salvation is a gift from God. It had nothing to do with me. It is all because of Calvary and what happened there! The spotless, holy Son of God took upon Himself my sins and my diseases and by His precious BLOOD paid the awful price to SATISFY the Demands of God's Justice!
GIVEN A SEAT AT HIS TABLE!
     I am saved by the grace of God, through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. It is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has foreordained that we should walk in them. In short, I have been lifted from my previous position of spiritual poverty, condemnation and shame, and given a seat at His table!
      Oh, the wonder of it all! How can it be that my God would die for me? Yes, He took me by the hand and led me to the Promised Land. Oh, how can it be that my God would die for me and grant me Liberty? It is only and all because of Calvary!
       I repeat, it is only because of His great love, mercy and grace to a poor lost sinner like me, and to millions more who have trusted in His Promises. St. Paul assures us that we are now, "heirs and joint heirs with Christ!"
      It sounds too far - fetched, unreal and impossible, but there it is in black and white in the Holy Scriptures; and in actual reality, a changed life by the power of the Holy Spirit:
     "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children then heirs; heirs and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him that we may be also glorified together." (Rom. 8: 14-17)
     Like St. Paul, I cried out: "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom.7: 24). And Jesus came to me in my despair and washed me whiter than the snow and made me an heir and a joint heir with Him.
     We died with Christ through the New Birth. We were buried with Him through water baptism. We were raised from the dead with Him as we came up from the water. We sat down with Him in Heavenly places when we received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. And when Jesus Christ returns, we will come with Him and forevermore live with Him!
     I am bone of His Bone and flesh of His Flesh and a member in particular of His Body, the Church. There shall no Evil befall me, neither shall any plague come nigh unto my dwelling! WHY IS THIS? My Lord, Saviour and God has promised: "I am the Lord that healeth thee." (Ex.15:26):
    "And He hath sent His Word to deliver me" from all sickness, disease, fear and untimely death. (Psalms 107:20); "For He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53: 4, 5)
      I join with King David who said: "Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities and healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that they youth is renewed like the eagles." (Psalms 103: 1-5)
     I have no reason to fear because Jesus Christ is my PEACE! He said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14: 27)
     Again my Lord has promised: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” (Isa.41:10); “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim.1:7)
CHILDREN: FOR SIGNS & WONDERS!
    Almighty God chose the Children of Israel as His peculiar nation. He raised them up as His Covenant people. They were to be for SIGNS and WONDERS and to preach by Word and deed His Mighty Salvation.
    What a blessed People the Jews are, beginning with the great MIRACLE that the Lord gave Abraham and Sarah! Abraham being impotent due to his advanced age of 99 years and the deadness of Sarah’s womb did not hinder His will in their lives. Down through the centuries the Jews have been for Signs and Wonders!
     When Napoleon Bonaparte’s Army was camped on the outskirts of Milan, Italy he demanded the Archbishop to prove the existence of God. The Archbishop pointed to his leading General, Messina, who was a JEW. Napoleon got the message – No God, No Jew! He shouted a command to his troops, swung his horse around and galloped away from Milan without firing a shot!
      When Sarah was 90 years of age, she gave birth to Isaac the son of Promise! And by the Word of the Lord, Isaac’s son Jacob was renamed Israel, thereby making Abraham the father of the Jewish people. And since he was justified by FAITH in His Word, we are the children of Abraham through faith in God’s Crucified, Risen and Glorified Son, Jesus Christ!
      The Holy Bible states: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us…that the BLESSING of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through FAITH.
      “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many. But as of One, And to thy SEED, which is CHRIST…And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to Promise.” (Rom.7:13-29)
   By God's grace, I have carried His Gospel to multitudes across the world for the past 51 years and have witnessed His great Signs and Wonders, compassion, love and power out-poured upon the heathen. I am so grateful to our Lord Jesus, for His wonderful presence wherever His name has been exalted and His Gospel preached!
    I sense, however, as the years come and go that we are witnessing far too little of His power in the Church, than we need to fully declare His Goodness, Greatness and Majesty to an increasingly lost and needy world and hurting Church!
    I cry out: “Forgive us, O Lord, for our lack of love for Thy Word, dedication for Thy Church, compassion for Lost and reverence for Thy Presence! We thirst for the manifestation of Thy almighty, unlimited and enduring power in our midst and the notable miracles which attended the Early Church on a daily basis!
     “Personally, as Thy servant, O’ Lord, I confess that I am totally dependent on Thy presence at all times. I trust Thy Truthfulness, Faithfulness and Righteousness in hearing and answering my PRAYER for a out-pouring of the Holy Spirit and His accompanying Gifts with SIGNS, WONDERS and MIRACLES.”
      As my good friend, BOB ROSIN, used to say: “It is one thing to start. It’s another thing to finish.” He was speaking, of course, about the Christian life. My point, however, concerns God’s Word which promises that He will answer our prayers when we approach His throne in humility, repentance and faith.
     And secondly, that we will be privileged to witness the glorious finish or wrap-up of the End-Time Church which our Lord started on the Day of Pentecost. St. Luke wrote: “The former treatise have I made O Theophilis, of all that Jesus BEGAN TO DO and teach, until the day in which He was taken up…” (Acts1:1,2)
                CHRIST IS STILL WORKING MIRACLES!
     The implication is that JESUS would continue to DO His works and teach His truth through His followers. He had spent about one third of His time teaching and preaching and about two thirds of His time healing the sick and casting out demons! And He gave much time in private prayer to His Heavenly Father!
     It seems clear to me that this should be the pattern we must follow if we are to see the desired results our hearts yearn for! In His High Priestly Prayer, He stated: “As Thou has sent Me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world.” (John 17: 18)
    St. Mark states: So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into Heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following. Amen.” (Mark 16: 19, 20).
    What were the SIGNS that followed the preaching of God’s Word, the Gospel of Christ? They cast out unclean spirits, believers received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and spoke in unknown tongues, supernatural protection was given them, and the sick and deceased were healed!
THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER!
   The Holy Record states: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power who went about doing GOOD and healing all who were oppressed of the Devil for God was with them.” (Acts 10:38)
    Jesus promised to send upon His followers, the same blessed HOLY SPIRIT which had anointed Him, and that even greater miracles would occur after His arrival. His presence and power would implement the fledgling Church in His absence and it would be so great that they would carry His Gospel to the ends of the world!
    He promised: “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 14:12-14)
     “Dear Lord, without Thy Presence and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit we are useless and Thy Church is ineffective. Come Holy Spirit and direct Thy Church, lead us in Thy way and give us the same compassion, love, faith and power as our Saviour had and Thy apostles, disciples, deacons exhibited in the beginning of the Church!
   "In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord, I pray. Amen.”

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

REVIVAL IS POSSIBLE AND MUST HAPPEN FOR THE CHURCH TO BE RELEVANT IN THESE LAST DAYS OF APOSTACY & OF OPPORTUNITY!

SOCIALISM IS A 
PHILOSOPHY OF FAILURE!
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
Sir Winston Churchill made this profound statement: "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries."

 The unexpected political upset we have witnessed in Alberta with the huge Protest Vote against the tired, old Progressive Conservative Government had the opposite affect, in that it brought a Socialist Government into power. 

The Bible instructs us to pray for those who have the RULE over us! (1 Timothy 2: 1-3). We continue to pray for the blessings of God upon Alberta and our new Government. May He bless Rachel Notely as she leads this great province as well as the Loyal Opposition Leader Brian Jeans of the Alberta Wild Rose Party!

There is an old proverb that could be appicable, "When you play with fire you will get burned." And among Bible believers,  we know that when Samson embraced Delilah he lost his hair, eyes and eventually his life!  We know all too well how that the NDP almost destroyed British Columbia and kept Saskatchewan in the have not categaory for decades until the Saskatchewan Party demanded better for that province!  And we know that Socialism has all but destroyed Europe for a very long time! 

There is something, however, that the Church can learn  from the solid campaign of Rachel Notely and the excited attitude of her supporters. We need to 'get excited about Jesus' and that we MUST export the glorious message of Christ, His love and His grace, to our families, neghbours and others across this nation! 

No-one expected the Progessive Conservative Party to lose so bady and that the NDP would  win so hugely. And with the lethargic attitude many Believers have toward Christ and His Church and the worldliness that has crept into our ranks, it will take a genuine Miracle to turn things around in the Church!

It can be done and we must do it,  to perserve the Church and the Gospel Message for  generations to come  should Christ tarry!  Join with us to pray one hour a day for a national REVIVAL and fast the morning and noon meals each Wednesday and Friday!

REVIVAL IS POSSIBLE AND MUST HAPPEN FOR THE CHURCH TO BE RELEVANT IN THESE LAST DAYS OF APOSTACY AND OF OPPORTUNITY!

In Jesus' name,
Pastor Max Solbrekken
2 Corinthians 4: 5

Monday, May 11, 2015

                       HOLY SPIRIT'S FIRE:
KEY TO REVIVAL
~ A Desperate Call to God for Help ~
                              By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
"Oh that Thou would Rend the heavens, that Thou would Come Down, that the mountains would flow down at Thy presence. As when the melting FIRE burns, the fire causes the waters to BOIL, to make Thy NAME known to Thine adversaries that the nations may tremble at Thy presence." (Isaiah 64: 1)

In his powerful appeal to Almighty God for help in bringing Israel back to a place of repentance and righteousness, Prophet Isaiah used words like “the melting FIRE burns” and “the FIRE causes the water to boil”.

Isaiah was zealous for His Lord and wanted the godless nations to give glory to the Almighty. A Revival of Righteousness among the Hebrews would also have a godly, moralizing effect on the pagan nations!

He would have known of ELIJAH the great prophet who brought Israel back to the worship of the Jehovah. He had challenged the prophets of Baal and the prophets of the Grove to a showdown on Mount Carmel. The great Prophet stated: The God who answers by fire; Let Him be God.” Israel would then KNOW the true and Living God!

Elijah prayed: “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the FIRE of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD He is the God; the LORD He is the God.” (1 Kings 18:37-39)

             DON’T PUT OUT THE SPIRIT’S FIRE!
The Holy Bible states: “Our God is a consuming fire. (Heb.12: 29) Wherever He is, there is always Fire! What happened on Mount Carmel was expected. God always backed up His prophets who spoke the truth in His Name. And He often used FIRE to demonstrate His power and bring about His will on earth!

ST. PAUL admonished the Church: “Quench not the Spirit.” (1 Thess. 5: 19). He was saying, “Don’t put out the Spirit’s FIRE” or “Don’t extinguish the Spirit’s FLAME.”

He knew the tendency of human carnality and pride, in wanting to do everything ourselves, to be self-sufficient! Fire can burn itself out if not stoked and fed with oxygen. We must guard the fire in our spirits, by staying full of the Holy Ghost!

HOWELL HARRIS, (1714-1773) preached in large open air meeting across Wales. In two years He walked 2500 miles between crusades. In twenty years he had reached Wales. He stated: “A fire was kindled in my soul and I was clothed in power…I could have spoken to the king were he within my reach…such power and such authority did I feel in my soul…”

It was said, the words flowed scorching hot from the preacher’s heart. He would go on thus, pouring out old things and new for 2, 3, and even 4 hours. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, hearts were broken and it was not uncommon for people to come under such conviction that they would cry aloud to God for mercy while he preached. Twenty thousand people attended his funeral.

WILLAM BOOTH and his wife Catherine founded the Salvation Army in 1865. They chose as their slogan, ‘Blood and Fire’, referring to Jesus Christ’s BLOOD shed for the remission of sins and the Fire referring to the FIRE of the Holy Spirit.” He stated: “The tendency of fire is to go out; watch the fire on the altar of your heart. Anyone who has tended a fireplace knows that it needs to be stirred up occasionally.”

In 1892, William Booth wrote the well-known hymn, ‘SEND THE FIRE’. It is filled with Gospel Truth, Biblical Doctrine and Great Commission Admonition. You can sense the presence of God by reading the words and the Holy Spirit fire burns when it is sung!

                                    SEND THE FIRE
Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost;
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight,
For pow’r to walk the world in white,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!
Oh, see us on Thy altar lay
Our lives, our all, this very day;
To crown the off’ring now we pray,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!

The one thing we must NOT do, is rely on our own wisdom and strength! We must never think that we can do the work of God ourselves, without relying totally on the Holy Spirit! The great Apostle realized that the Blessed Holy Spirit can be easily grieved (Eph.4: 30, 31) and marginalized. That is a major error on the part of the Church today!

                  GOD MOVED  IN NEWFOUNDLAND!

In 1968, our Crusades with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland shook the Central district,  as thousands attended nightly for about a month. During a live interview over Newfoundland’s Radio Network, the interviewer became convicted by HOLY SPIRIT and asked if I would take the remaining ten minutes to answer the question: “What is the greatest mistake the Church has made in 2,000 years?”

I answered: “The greatest mistake the Church has committed in its nearly 2,000 year history is two-fold: Number one: They have taken the leadership of the Church out of the hands of the HOLY SPIRIT and placed it in the hands of mere mortals, and Number two: They have rejected the Word of God, the Holy Bible, which He (the Holy Spirit) has anointed.”

After I finished, I invited all the listeners to pray the Sinner’s Prayer with me. As we were walking together toward the main entrance, the Manager and an Associate came walking quickly toward me. I wondered if they were going to ‘ball me out’, for making their head commentator and interviewer break down on the air.

But, NO! They said: “All the lines are jammed. Seventy thousand people have been listening. Our Television Station is across the street. Please, do the same thing over there. They are waiting for you now!”

The two most important things the Church needs today is the Power of God and the Fire of God! Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church promised: “But ye shall receive POWER after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

And JOHN THE BAPTIST stated: “I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with FIRE.” (Luke 3:16).

He was speaking about JESUS, the Baptiser in the Holy Ghost and fire! He would accomplish two great things: Shed His holy Blood on the Cross for the sins of the world, and Baptize His Church with the Holy Spirit and Fire!

When the Jews heard him utter those words, they knew that something special was about to happen in the spiritual life of their nation. When God chose Israel through which He would send the Messiah, He called ABRAHAM to be the Father of the nation. The Lord promised him a son even though Sarah was barren. After about twenty – five years the miracle happened and Isaac was born.

                    GOD CALLS ABRAHAM BY FIRE!

The Holy Record states: “And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a BURNING LAMP that passed between those pieces. In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.” (Gen.15: 17, 18)

The HOLY SPIRIT was present in the FIRE that awesome night as the Almighty revealed to Abram His supernatural power. Later, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and confirmed the everlasting covenant He was making with the Nation of Israel! He had confirmed the COVENANT with Blood, symbolized by circumcision of all males and through the Holy Spirit by the presence of the coals of FIRE.

The Bible says: “As it is written, I have made thee a Father of many nations, before Him whom he believed, even God, who quickens the dead, and calls those things which be not as though they were.

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.4:17-22)

GOD CALLS MOSES BY FIRE!

After the Hebrews had been in Egypt for four hundred years, God brought them into a land flowing with milk and honey as He had promised Abraham. He called His chosen leader by FIRE. Through the providence of God, Moses had survived the Egyptian genocide against Hebrew male babies, and was even adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter.

When Moses was "come to years", he killed an Egyptian who was abusing a Hebrew slave. Fearing retribution from Pharaoh, he fled to the land of Midian where he became a shepherd. After forty years in the desert, Moses was ready to lead the children of Israel to the Promised Land. God would fulfill His promise to Abraham!

The Bible says: “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb and the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Him in a FLAME of FIRE out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said MOSES, MOSES. And he said: Here I am. And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

“Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

“And I am COME DOWN to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey…” (Ex.3:1-8). The Angel of the Lord was none other than God the Son, in a Theophany - God the Son appearing as the Angel of the Covenant’!

God said that He had SEEN the affliction of His people, He had HEARD their cries for help and He KNEW their sorrows. He was going to DELIVER His people from Egyptian bondage and He was commissioning Moses, the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, to LIBERATE them and lead them into the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey!

The Lord had prepared His man! MOSES had spent forty years tending sheep. He was prepared to lead a rebellious nation of slaves for another forty years through the wilderness. After hearing the VOICE of GOD and seeing the burning BUSH of FIRE, his life was changed and he became the Great Lawgiver under God, giving Israel and the world the 'Ten Commandments', from which came the British Common Law used by all civilized, democratic nations.

Unfortunately, out of agitation with the Hebrews he made a colossal mistake by striking the ROCK twice instead of only speaking to it. God was angry with Moses and barred him from entering the Promised Land. The Rock was a type of Christ! (Nu. 20: 10-12; 1Cor.10: 4). His DEATH was final. He does not need to be struck again!

After ten powerful plagues against the ten gods of Egypt, Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery "with a high hand", the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of FIRE by night. The Holy Spirit was leading them and protecting them!

"And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; by night in a pillar of FIRE, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of FIRE by night, from before the people." (Ex.13: 21, 22)

GOD CALLS SOLOMON BY FIRE!

Although Elijah is called 'The Fire Prophet', God always came down in FIRE when sacrifices were made in His name. Going back to Cain and Abel's sacrifices at the Gate of the Garden of Eden, we read: "The Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering, but unto Cain and his offering, He had not respect". (Gen.4: 3-5)

Why did the Lord accept Abel's offering but not Cain's offering? When Adam and Eve sinned, God immediately instituted the sacrificial system. He killed an innocent animal which would be their substitute. The blood would atone for their sins and the skin would clothe them.

How did Cain know that God was not pleased with his sacrifice of "the fruit of the ground"? The HOLY FIRE that burned up Abel's sacrifice did NOT consume Cain's bloodless sacrifice! Whenever God was pleased with a sacrifice the FIRE always fell!

When SOLOMON dedicated the temple, he rehearsed before Israel the history of God's dealings with his father David and with His people. Solomon prayed an awesome and powerful prayer unto Almighty God (2 Chron.6: 14-42)

Then the FIRE fell, as was expected. Here is the Holy Record on this momentous event: "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the FIRE came down from Heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the GLORY of the Lord filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the House of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house.

"And when the children of Israel saw how the FIRE came down , and the GLORY of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good: for His mercy endureth forever." (2 Chron.7: 1-3)

Almighty God said: "If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilences among My people; If My people, which are called by My 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: 13, 14)

GOD CALLS ISAIAH BY FIRE!

Isaiah was about eighteen years old when King Uzziah died. He went into the temple to seek God, not knowing what would happen to his nation. It was then that the Holy Spirit showed up. The Bible records:
"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly."

What an experience this man had, as he actually saw God the Son, in all in His glory. He saw The LORD sitting upon a throne. He saw the seraphims which covered their faces and feet in God's presence and heard them cry, Holy is the Lord!

"And one cried unto another, and said, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of Him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Then said I, Woe is me! For I am UNDONE; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."

God's holiness made Isaiah cry out: "I am a sinner. I am undone. I live among a sinful and unclean people, because my eyes have looked upon the thrice holy God!" In the presence of Almighty God, the prophet felt his nothingness and his weakness and his sinfulness. He cried out for mercy! Oh, how we must reverence Almighty God!

"Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having A LIVE COAL in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it on my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy SIN PURGED. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and Who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me." (Is.6: 1-8)

The Holy Spirit was in the FIRE that touched the prophet's lips! When the LIVE COAL from the holy altar touched the young man's lips, he received the assurance that his sins were gone. And immediately, he heard the Voice of the Lord calling him into service for Him!

The Book of Isaiah is called 'The Gospel of the Old Testament' and every major doctrine of Christ is found in that book! They include the virgin birth of Christ (7:14); Names of Deity given to Christ (9:6); the Spirits of God resting upon Him (11:1,2); Satan's defeat by Christ (14: 12-17); Day of resurrection and judgment (26: 19-21); and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (28: 11,12).

THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER!

"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." (John 20: 21,22)

"But when the COMFORTER is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth which proceeds from the Father He shall testify of Me. Nevertheless I tell you the Truth; It is expedient that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you
.
"But when HE IS COME, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment: Of sin because they believe not on Me; Of righteousness, because I go unto My Father, and ye see Me no more; Of judgment because the prince of the world (Satan) is judged.

Howbeit when He, the SPIRIT OF TRUTH, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.

He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine and, and show it unto you. All that the Father hath are Mine, therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you." (John 14: 26; 15: 26; 16: 7-11, 13-15)

HOLY SPIRIT FIRE FALLS!

The Holy BIBLE records the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, ten days after the ascension of our Lord and fifty days after Christ's resurrection from the dead. St. Luke writes:

"To whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me.

"For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be BAPTIZED with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth…" (Acts 1: 3-5, 8)
More than five hundred men saw Christ at one time in Galilee after His resurrection from the dead (1 Cor.15: 6) and I'm sure that all 500 would have heard His command to tarry in Jerusalem and WAIT for the Promise of the Father, the Blessed Holy Spirit, to empower them for His service!

The QUESTION is, "WHY did they not all wait for the Blessed Holy Spirit's arrival with His great power? And is this a pattern that we see in the Christian Community of Believers today, with many not waiting in His presence until they are filled with the Holy Spirit? Is it laziness, a lack of desire for God or plain and simple ignorance on the part of Pastors who have come out of Bible College or Seminary like so many sausages out of Schneider's Meat Packing Plant?”

Where were the 380 who had been commanded to WAIT for the 'Promise of the Father'? Apparently, they were too busy or afraid or felt they were good enough and didn't need this 'noisy, shouting, tongues-talking religion'. Think of what they missed: The blessed Holy Spirit coming into them with His love, mercy, grace, and power!

The Bible states: "And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Mathew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes and Judas the brother of James.

"These all continued with one accord in PRAYER and SUPPLICATION, with the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren...the number of names were about an hundred and twenty." (Acts 1: 3-15)

TONGUES LIKE AS OF FIRE!

"And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord, in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven TONGUES like as of FIRE, and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

"For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the Last Days, saith God, I will pour out of MY SPIRIT upon all flesh:

"And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will POUR out in those days of MY SPIRIT; and they shall prophesy. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall CALL on the name of the Lord shall be SAVED." (Acts 2: 1-4, 14-21)

Jesus kept His Promise: "And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on High." (Luke 24: 49); "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever:

"Even the SPIRIT OF TRUTH; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

"But the COMFORTER, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all bring to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14: 16-18)

The Church was born on the Day of Pentecost as God poured out His Holy Spirit upon about one hundred and twenty hungry souls! Again, He moved by FIRE! "

"And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they weee all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came  a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of FIRE, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4)

And what was the outcome? After St. Peter preached His Pentecostal message, multitudes cried: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter answered: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

For the PROMISE is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even to as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts 2: 38, 39)

FERVENT IN SPIRIT!

ST. PAUL wrote: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." (Rom.1: 1,2)

Included in his list of duties to the leadership of the Church, he adds: "...Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." (Rom. 12: 11)
How does one remain FERVENT in the spirit? The answer is in total consecration to Jesus Christ, obeying His Holy Word and being filled with His HOLY SPIRIT! It is in complete dedication to His Body the Church, and the extension of His Kingdom!

The BIBLE says: "That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation: in Whom after ye believed ye were SEALED with that Holy Spirit of Promise, which is the EARNEST of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the prise of His glory." (Eph.1: 13, 14)

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye were SEALED unto the Day of Redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be KIND one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Eph.4: 30,31)

These verses prove that when a believer is born again by the Word of God and Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1: 23) and receives the Mighty Baptism of the Holy Spirit, he is SEALED until the day of his redemption.

THE HOLY SPIRIT SEALS US!

We are secure in Jesus when we give ourselves totally in repentance and faith to Him and receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The words 'SEALED until the Redemption of the Purchased Possession...' means that He will keep us safe and secure until our life on earth is over and we are in our eternal abode! We have been purchased by the precious BLOOD of Christ (1 Cor.6: 20) and are SEALED until we see Him face to face in Glory!

The Holy Spirit is the Guarantor of our salvation; of course this means that we must continue believing in and trusting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour! There is great JOY in the Holy Spirit and the Bible says:

"Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of God is. And be not DRUNK with wine, wherein is excess, but be FILLED with the SPIRIT." (Eph.5: 14-18)

History proves that only by obeying this holy precept is a revival of righteousness possible. Down through the ages we have seen this pattern repeated: Repentance of sin, receiving God's forgiveness, the infilling of the Holy Spirit, intercessory prayer, the Spirit of love and compassion exhibited, and souls won for Christ!

In his book ‘When the Spirit Came’ (1928), Moravian Evangelist Rev. JOHN GREENFIELD wrote: “Of the Apostolic Church in Jerusalem a certain writer has said: ‘Before thirty years had elapsed from the death of Christ, His followers had spread from Palestine throughout Syria; throughout almost all the districts of Asia Minor; through Greece and the Islands of the Aegean sea, the coast of Africa, and even into Italy and Rome’

“And at the close of the First Century JUSTIN MARTYR could truly testify: ‘There is not a nation either Greek or Barbarian or of any other name, even those who wander in tribes or live in tents, among whom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered to the Father and Creator of the Universe in the name of the Crucified Jesus.”

John Greenfield writes: “Sprung from the labours and martyr-death of the great Bohemian Reformer, JOHN HUS, ‘the Brethren’ had passed through centuries of persecution. Many had sealed their testimony with their blood.

“Imprisonment, torture and banishment had caused them to forsake the homes of their fathers and flee for refuge to Germany where a young Christian Nobleman, Count Zinzendorf, offered them an asylum on his estates in Saxony. They named their new home Herrnhut, the Lord’s Watch. And from this place after their Baptism with the Holy Spirit, they became the world’s evangelists and missionaries.”

THE GREAT MORAVIAN REVIVAL!

  The Moravian Church received a powerful Baptism in the Holy Spirit in Herrnhut, Germany on August 13, 1727. The congregation of about 300 persecuted Christians from various denominations, who had been given sanctuary by Count Zinzendorf, stopped criticizing one another and began in earnest prayer and were all filled with the blessed Holy Spirit.

During the first 30 years after their spiritual Pentecost, they carried the Gospel of Salvation through the blood of the Lamb not only to nearly every country in Europe but also to many pagan nations in America, North and South, Asia and Africa, the West Indies and Greenland.

Greenfield writes: “Fifty years before the beginning of modern Foreign Missions by WILLIAM CAREY, the Moravian Church had led the way into pagan countries both by precept and example.

“Their English Missionary magazine, ‘Periodical Accounts’ inspired Dr. Carey and in a meeting of his Baptist brethren he threw a copy of the paper on the table with these memorable and historic words: ‘See what the Moravians have done! Cannot we follow their example and in obedience to our Heavenly Master go out into the world, and preach the Gospel to the heathen?”

On August 27, 1727 an around-the-clock prayer chain was started that lasted for 100 years! The well-known German historian of ‘Protestant Missions’ Dr. Warneck testifies: “This small Church in twenty years called into being more Missions than the whole Evangelical church has done in two centuries.”

IT IS JESUS, JESUS ONLY!

“Matthew Henry’s comment on this passage was fulfilled in their case: ‘When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a praying.’

He also sent them a human leader and deliverer in the person of the young German nobleman, COUNT ZINZENDORF, who so kindly offered this persecuted Church a place of refuge on his own estates.

“This godly youth and pre-eminent genius had been divinely prepared for his great work of spiritual leadership. Converted in early childhood he composed and signed at four years of age the following covenant: “Dear Saviour, do Thou be mine and I will be Thine.” He had chosen as his life-motto the now famous confession: “I have one passion: It is Jesus, Jesus only.”

So effective and fruitful was this leadership that nearly two centuries later Professor BINNIE of Scotland declared: “It would not be going too far to affirm that Count Zinzendorf did more than any other man to redeem the Eighteenth Century from the reproach of barrenness, in relation to evangelical teaching and work.”

JOHN WESLEY, who founded the Methodist Church, was converted to Christ through the powerful testimony and ministry of the Moravians! Dear friends, let us follow their example and begin PRAYING earnestly, fervently and effectually!

THE BLUE PRINT FOR REVIVAL!

● GEORGE FOX (1624-1691) stated: “The Lord had said unto me: If but one man or woman were raised up by His power to stand in the same spirit that the apostles and prophets were in, that man or woman would shake all the country for miles around.”
● WILLIAM BOOTH said: “Go for the lost and go for the worst!”
● JOHN WESLEY prayed: “Give me 100 men who love nothing but God and fear nothing but sin, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the Kingdom of Heaven on earthHeaven on earth.!”
● GEORGE WHITEFIELD prayed: “O’ Lord, give me souls or take mine!”
● JOHN KNOX prayed: “O’ God, give me Scotland or I die!”
● MARTIN LUTHER stated: “I live as though us Jesus Christ died yesterday, arose today, and is coming again tomorrow!”
Seven times in John’s Gospel - chapters 14,15 & 16 - Jesus invites us to pray, declaring that God will answer us when we approach the ‘Throne of Mercy’ in His Name! My hope is that multitude of Christians will realize that God invites us to pray because He delights in answering our prayers!
● D.L. MOODY heard the British preacher Henry Varley say, “The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to him." Moody determined in his heart that he would be that man and God used him in a wonderful way for many years in the USA and Great Britain.
● WILLIAM SEYMOUR – the son of former slaves – who was used mightily in the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California (1906-1909) stated: “Before I met Parham the hunger to have more of God was in my heart that I prayed for 5 hours a day for 2 ½ years. I got to Los Angeles, and there the hunger was not less but more.
“I prayed to God, ‘What can I do?’ The Spirit said: ‘Pray more.' I said: 'But Lord, I am praying 5 hours a day now.' I increased my hours of prayer to seven, and prayed on for a year and a half more. I prayed to God to give me what Parham preached, the real Holy Ghost and Fire with tongues with love and power of God like the Apostles!”
JONATHON EDWARDS (1703–1758), who is considered America’s greatest theologian is known for his sermon, ‘Sinners in the hands of an angry God’, was a mighty man of prayer. He usually sought God in agonizing prayer for 18 hours before delivering His powerful sermons!

Before preaching his renowned sermon on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut, Jonathon Edwards agonized for three days and nights in intensive intercessory prayer. The results were staggering! Many who heard his message trembled and cried out for mercy. Others fell under the Holy Spirit’s power. Five hundred people were converted that day.

Edwards was a Dedicated Vessel for the Lord. He said: “If it were re­vealed to me that in any stage of history there could be but one man who were in all to fulfil the will of God, I would strive with all my might to be that man." 

JONATHON EDWARDS cried out to God: “Give me New England or I die.” The revival that followed was the outcome of his agonized prayers! Undoubtedly, the godly example of his prayer-filled son-in-law David Brainerd, who persevered through much adversity in reaching the American Indians for our Saviour - also impacted Edwards greatly!
ROBERT MURRAY McCHEYNE said: "Men return again and again to the few who have mastered the spiritual secret, whose life is hid with Christ in God. These are of the Old Time Religion, hung to the Nails of the Cross."
RICHARD BAXTER declared: "I preach like a dying man to dying men. Every time I preach, I preach as though it were the last time I would preach."
ABRAHAM LINCOLN said: "I want my preacher to preach like he's fighting bees when he's preaching."
CALVIN COOLIDGE stated: “America was born in a revival of religion. Back of that revival were John Wesley, George Whitefield and Francis Asbury.”
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT said, “No greater thing could come to our land today than a revival of the spirit of religion. . . . I doubt if there is any problem, social, political or economic, that would not melt away before the fire of such a spiritual awakening.”
LEONARD RAVENHILL challenged: "The greatest tragedy is a SICK church in a dying world." He charged: "If Jesus would have preached like many preach today, they never would have crucified Him."
GENERAL WILLAM BOOTH spoke prophetically when he said: "The thing that I fear for the next century is that there will be: 1). Religion without the Holy Ghost; 2). Christianity without Christ; 3). Salvation without Regeneration; 4). Forgiveness without Repentance; 5). Politics without God; 6). Heaven without Hell."
DR. OSWALD J. SMITH (1948), in 'The Fire of God' stated that he had studied the lives and ministries of great men of God like Luther, Knox, Wesley, Whitefield, Finney, Moody and Booth. What was their key to reach nations for God? He discovered they all majored in: Sin and Salvation, Heaven and Hell and Judgment!

Not long before the tragedy of Katrina, Oral Roberts shared a vision God had given him. He saw a dark cloud hanging over the USA and God told him that judgment would fall on America because His preachers were not preaching the Gospel. They were preaching everything but the Gospel. And they were not preaching about the soon return of Jesus Christ.

ORAL ROBERTS said: "I began to weep and ask God to forgive me because I could not remember the last time I had preached an entire message on the 'Second Coming of Christ." Then he called on preachers, saying: "Get the fire of God in your belly and preach the Gospel and tell people that Jesus is Coming Soon."

BILLY GRAHAM prayed this prayer many years ago: "Lord, do it Again! Do what you did when the Apostles were called. Do what you did following Pentecost. Do what you did for Saul of Tarsus, Augustine, Luther, Whitefield, John Wesley and William Booth! Lord, do it again and help us to win this world for Jesus Christ!"

         CHRIST' LAST MESSAGE: REPENT OR ELSE!

Jesus Christ's last words to His followers before He ascended to the throne are referred to as 'The Great Commission'. These were His words: "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 (St. Paul in Malta); and if the drink any deadly thing (Pentecostal pastors in Soviet prisons) it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark 16: 15-18)

The LAST WORDS spoken by our Crucified, Risen and Glorified Lord to the Church were given to St. John on the Isle of Patmos. They were powerful and demanding and to five of the seven churches, He said: "REPENT OR ELSE!" That is very disturbing!

In our desperate need for a genuine Revival in the Church, we must go to Jesus Christ’s messages to seven churches in the Book of Revelation. I believe we can find the key to REVIVAL in these verses!

To the Church at LAODICEA, Jesus said: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou were cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot I will spew thee out of My mouth.” (Rev.3: 15, 16).

JESUS WARNS: “Because thou say, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing; and knows not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked:
"I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou may be rich; and white raiment, that thou may be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou may see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent. Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with Me.” (Rev. 3: 17-20)

Although five out of the seven Churches Jesus critiqued needed to repent, Laodicea was the worst. The Church at EPHESUS, had been a model Church sixty years earlier when Paul had preached there. Now they were charged by our Lord of having “left their first love” (Rev.2:4).

The Church at PERGAMOS was allowing the seriously perverted teachings of Balaam as well as the Nicolaitans to gain inroads into the congregation. Jesus warned them: “Repent or I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against them (false teachers) with the sword of My mouth.” (Rev.2: 16)

To the Church at THYATIRA, He said: “Notwithstanding I have somewhat against thee, because thou suffers that woman Jezebel which calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit fornication and to eat things offered unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” (Rev.2: 20-22)

To the Church in SARDIUS our Lord said: “I know thy works; that thou hast a name that thou lives and are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
"Remember therefore how thou has received and heard, and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shall not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shall not know what hour I will come upon thee.” (Rev.3:1-3)

To the Church at SMYRNA our Lord Jesus had no words of rebuke. He said: “These things saith the First and the Last, which was dead and is alive… Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a Crown of Life.” (Rev.2: 8-10).

To the Church at PHILADELPHI our Lord Jesus Christ said: “These things saith He that is Holy, He that is True, He that hath the key of David, He that opens and no man shuts; And shuts and no man opens. Behold I come quickly; hold fast that which thou hast, that no man takes thy crown.” (Rev.3: 7, 11, 12)
The Head of the Church was not pleased with five out of the seven churches. They were admonished to repent. The sad state is that they had put Jesus out of His Church and He was trying desperately to get back in, and that is where we find ourselves in many churches in this End Time! If ever we needed a Revival of Righteousness, Intercession and Soul winning, it is now!

HEREIN LIES THE KEY TO REVIVAL!

Going back to our text, Isaiah cries out for God to "… Rend the heavens…and Come Down that the mountains would flow down at Thy presence. As when the melting FIRE burns, the fire causes the waters to BOIL, to make Thy NAME known to Thine adversaries that the nations may tremble at Thy presence." (Isaiah 64: 1)

This is about taking hold of the horns of the altar and holding on until He answers. It is about repenting, asking, believing and by faith receiving His promised REVIVAL! And then, going out and possessing our inheritance as children of God!

It is Earth crying out to Heaven. It is a heart wrenching prayer to the Eternal God from a Prophet whose people have gone astray. It is an Emergency Call for Divine Help and intervention in the affairs of sinful men. It is an SOS directed to the ears of the Almighty God and Saviour of the world. It is the beginning of a Revival of Righteousness!

When conditions become so desperate that human nature, which is sinful at best, revolts against the deplorable, despicable perversion and violence in society, decent human beings feel compelled to call upon the Lord for help.

Prophet Isaiah was undoubtedly looking back to the times God had come down to this earth in judgment upon sinful flesh, sending a flood that wiped out the entire population except Noah and his family, destroying Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, delivering Moses and the Children of Israel by parting the Red Sea and allowing the waters to return destroying the ‘Might of Egypt’.

He cried out: "When Thou did terrible things which we looked not for, THOU CAME DOWN, the mountains flowed down. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waits for Him." (Is. 64: 3, 4)

       GOD’S PROMISES: BEYOND UNDERSTANDING!

St. Paul refers to the great things which God has promised for those “who WAIT for Him.” These promises are so great that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea the deep things of God.” (1 Cor. 2:9, 10)

The great ‘Apostle to the Gentiles’ reveals the blindness of the Jewish leaders who condemned their Messiah and the pagan Romans who crucified Him: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a Mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the PRINCES of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.” (1 Cor.2: 7, 8)

These great promises are in effect today and will carry right on into eternity! Many unknowing Ministers take this to mean that all these things will begin happening only after we are in Glory. The truth is found in verse 10, where it states: “But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.”

VANCE HAVNER, one of America’s most powerful Baptist preachers, stated that the great things God promised, is not referring only to Paradise but also for the church now, if by faith we press in to receive them for His glory! I believe that UNBELIEF has robbed the Church of our effectiveness to turn back the powers of darkness that has invaded our ranks and is making us ineffective Messengers of God’s Kingdom!

Isaiah prayed in repentance with humility: "Thou meets him that rejoices and works righteousness, those that remember Thee in Thy ways: behold, Thou art wroth; for we have SINNED; in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. But we are all as an UNCLEAN thing, and all our righteousnesses are as FILTHY RAGS; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind have taken us away.

THE KEY TO UNLOCK REVIVAL FIRES!

"And there is none that calls on Thy name that stirs up himself to take hold of Thee, for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of iniquities. But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father; we are the clay and Thou our POTTER and we all are the work of Thy hand." (Isa.64: 4-8)

Here is the key to unlock the REVIVAL Fires of God in our land! It is also the key verse that informs us why we do not have a revival. It reveals the prognoses of our spiritual sickness and also the prescription for the kind of medicine that will cure our serious illness.

First, it reveals that God had hidden his face from us because we have sinned grievously. The previous verse states that our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. The terribly bewildering fact is that there isn’t anyone getting stirred up enough to “take a hold of Him!”

There is no-one laying hold on the promises of God, like Job of old, when he cried out: “Though He slay me yet will I trust Him…” (Job 13:15). Or, like St. Peter when during the height of the raging storm, cried out: “Lord if it be Thou, bid me come to Thee on the water.” (Matt.14: 28)

NO-ONE is calling upon His name in desperation. No-one is crying out for mercy, forgiveness and healing. No-one has confronted the Almighty and taken a hold of Him, like Jacob of old, saying, “I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me.”

There is no-one like John Knox crying out: “O God, give me Scotland or I die,” or Jonathon Edwards interceding in prayer for three days and night before preaching his powerful sermon, ‘Sinners in the Hands of the Living God’ which brought 500 souls to Christ on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut.

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?

Where are God’s holy Ministers today crying out for Revival on their knees crying out: “Help me or I die; I need some answers; We need a genuine, Holy Ghost, Heaven sent revival from the hand of God; What do you want me to do? Here am I, send me!”

The Bible says: "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was STIRRED in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." (Acts 17:16); "And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was PRESSED in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that JESUS was Christ." (Acts 18: 5)

St. Paul wrote to Timothy: "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou STIR up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Tim.1: 6.7)

Apparently, Timothy was fearful and apprehensive realizing the great responsibility he had in advancing the Gospel message, in a time when Rome was pouring on the persecution. The possibility that Paul, his great mentor, could soon be martyred was very real and then, what might happen to him. He was a young preacher and was expected to do the work of a seasoned soldier of the cross, but St. Paul knew that the gift of God which lay dormant in Timothy could be stirred up!

KING DAVID had sinned grievously and then he calls upon God in earnestness and desperation. He is afraid that he is near the point of no return; that he may be close the end of God’s mercy. He cries out in desperation:

Have MERCY upon me, O God, according to Thy loving kindness. WASH me thoroughly from iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression: and my sin is ever before me. PURGE me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Hide Thy face from my sins, and BLOT out all my iniquities, Create in me a clean heart O God; and RENEW a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. RESTORE unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit.” (Psa.51: 1-12)

            FREDRIK FRANSEN: THE FIRE PROPHET

Fredrik Fransen was an itinerant Gospel preacher in Norway around the turn of the 19th Century. At that time it was almost impossible for a Minister to conduct Gospel meetings outside the Lutheran State Church. Fredrik Fransen had been invited to stay at the home of an elderly man while evangelizing the city of Ã…lesund, which lies near the Ocean.

His work came to an abrupt end when an agitated crowd turned ugly and threatening. The preacher was told in no uncertain terms that he was not wanted in that city and a very large gathering of town’s people literally chased him out of Ã…lesund.

He stopped on the edge of town and faced the mob with these words, "As you have driven me out of your city, one day all of you will flee from this city on this very road." 

About a year or so later a fire started when a cow kicked a torch in the Ã…lesund Preserving Company’s factory at 2:00 AM on January 23, 1904. A gale from the sea propelled the fire forward and almost the entire City burned to the ground. The fire leaped over the house belonging to the man who had given the preacher lodging. It is still preserved as a ‘heritage site’ until today.

As the fire swept across the city devouring almost everything in its path, the owner of the house fell to his knees and prayed. His relatives said: "Hurry, you old religious nut. Get out and run for your life." He answered: "I didn't start the fire and I'm not leaving." They said: “We are all carrying what we can to the top of the mountain. We will take your furniture, you old fool. You will die." He answered: "You are free to take what you want. I didn't start he fire and I'm staying."

The fire raced up the mountainside to the look-out (A restaurant is there now) and burned every one's furniture. True to the Preacher's words, thousands of people literally ran for their lives out of Ã…lesund down the very road they had chased Fredrik Fransen.

At the 100th anniversary of the fire January 23, 2004, I was preaching in that city and was invited to the Museum at Midnight to hear the history and enjoy some musical renditions performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra. At midnight several hundred brave souls made a two to three hour walk about the city to hear the Curator / Historian relate some facts about the fire 100 years earlier.

Pastor Haaken Nilsen introduced me to the Curator and informed him that I could speak Norwegian and that I knew the history of Fredrik Fransen. The Museum’s Curator said that the House had been recently struck from the tour, and he would be pleased if I would relate to the crowd the story of Fredrik Fransen and the reason the dire did not engulf that house, because many had not heard it.

I stood on a chair at about 2:00 AM and shared with several hundred die-hard History buffs the great historical event of the Ã…lesund Fire and why it happened, and that God not only loves us but also Judges mankind because of our sins. Everyone there were very attentive and I prayed for their City and all their loved ones!

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

God still answers by FIRE! He has not changed His Word or methodology to please some airy-fairy, arrogant, proud, puny, so-called intellectual academics who parade themselves as knowing more than the Holy Spirit and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.