COME
HOME TO JESUS:
HE IS CALLING YOU
By Pastor
Max Solbrekken, D.D.
Jesus
Christ said: “Come unto Me all ye who labour and are heavy laden and I
will give you rest.” (Matt.11: 28); “All that the Father giveth to Me
shall come to Me; and Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” (John
6: 37)
Our Lord issued a personal invitation to
all who are burdened, stressed and overwhelmed by the multiple problems in our
society. His offer is still valid today because He is alive and able to answer
our prayers and meet our needs!
YOU MAY ASK: “How is
that possible since He lived so long ago and was crucified on the ‘cross of
shame’ outside the walls of Jerusalem on Mount Calvary?
And what is your answer to all the atheists, agnostics,
dingbats, money hungry vultures, anti-Christian journalists and writers, film
producers and kinky Hollywood actors who continually spew out blasphemies
and outrageous lies about Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords?”
My Friend: Don’t
Worry. We often find that bigoted, hate-filled, shallow-minded,
little-learned, boozing, drug-taking, porno-loving and sexually perverted
junkies are like dogs barking at the heels of the horses as the caravan moves
forward. They could also be likened to someone constantly releasing
flatulence at a gathering. The sounds and the smells are there for a while to
annoy those around them, but are soon gone!
GOD’S
WORD FOREVER SETTLED!
It is possible
because He is ALIVE and the same yesterday, today and forever! (Heb.13: 8) That
is why Jesus Christ could say: “Come
unto Me all ye who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt.11:
28)
And that is exactly
what everyone needs: Rest from guilt and
condemnation; Rest from anxiety, worry and fear; Rest from sickness,
disease and pain; Rest from poverty and
heartache; Rest from Satan’s enslavement and a lost eternity. We are
secure, because Jesus is our REST!
Three days after His
sacrificial death for us, God raised our LORD from the dead and He is alive
forevermore and has all power in Heaven and in earth! Here is the Holy
Record about that glorious event that changed history for time and eternity!
“And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord
descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and
sat upon it. His countenance was like lightening and his raiment white as snow.
And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
“And the angel answered and said unto the
women; Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is
not here: for He is risen as He said. Come and see the place where the Lord
lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen
from the dead; and behold He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see
Him.” (Matt.28: 2-7)
AMAZING
GRACE: NO GREATER LOVE!
No greater love
story has ever been told and no greater love song has ever been sung, than the
amazing story of God’s love for His creation, mankind!
The Bible
says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God
sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved.” (John 3: 16, 17).
“He was in the
world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. He came unto
His own and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave
He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John
1: 10-12)
John’s Gospel records
the truth of the Incarnation (God becoming man) which is the greatest miracle
this world has ever witnessed. More than 700 years before His Virgin Birth in
Bethlehem, Isaiah made this prophetic utterance: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a
virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His Name Immanuel.” (Isaiah
7:14)
Leading Hebrew
Scholars state that “a virgin” is better read “the virgin”. The Hebrew
definite article ha indicates
that a specific woman is in view.
The word virgin
used here is the unique Hebrew term ‘almah. A
comparison of the six other instances where it occurs (Gen.24: 43; Ex. 2: 8;
Ps. 68: 25; Prov.30: 19; Song 1: 3; 6: 8) shows that it is the most precise
term the prophet could have chosen to indicate that the young woman in view was
indeed a virgin. The more common word betulah is
used twice to refer to a married woman (Deut.22: 19 and Joel 1: 8)
Thus the Septuagint
Translation of ‘almah as
parthenos (virgin) is
correct, as is Mathew 1: 23. Shall conceive is a feminine adjective
connected with an active participle (“bearing”)
and should be translated “is
pregnant”. Thus the scene is present to the prophet’s view, and he
sees the pregnant virgin about to bear a Son.
That
this prophecy must refer to the virgin birth of Christ is obvious since the
virgin is pregnant and is still a virgin. Immanuel is a symbolic name
meaning God is with us. He is the incarnate Son of God who is further pictured
as the Child-Prince in Isaiah 9: 6. – Taken from Nelson Study Bible.
NO-ONE ACCEPTED
LUTHER’S CHALLENGE!
MARTIN LUTHER threw
out this challenge: “If a Jew or a Christian or a Mohammedan can prove to
me that in any other passage of Scripture ‘almah means a married woman, I will give
him a hundred florins, although God only knows where I may find them.” No-one
took him up on his challenge!
Never in the history
of mankind has a virgin given birth to a baby without a man’s seed through
sexual intercourse or artificial insemination! Of such importance was the sign
that God gave concerning the birth of His Son that the prophet
emphasized, ‘The Lord Himself shall
give you a sign’!
The Holy Scripture
says: “Behold while he (Joseph) thought on these things, behold, the
angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying, Joseph thou son of
David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost.
“And she shall bring
forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His
people from their sins. Now, all this was done, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold a virgin
shall be with child, and shall bring forth a SON, and they shall call His
name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matt.1:
20-25)
JESUS OF NAZARETH was
born to die. He was born crucified! Facing the humiliation of the cross, He
said: “Now is My soul troubled’ and what shall I say, save Me from this hour: but
for this cause came I unto this hour.” (John 12: 27)
Answering Pontius
Pilate, Jesus said: “Thou sayest I
am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world,
that I should bear witness unto the Truth. Everyone that is of the Truth
heareth My voice.” (John 18: 37)
St. John
stated: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might
destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:18). Jesus said: “The
thief (Satan) cometh not but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy.
I am come that that they might have life and that they might have it more
abundantly.” (John 10: 10)
Our LORD
warned: “And ye have not His Word
abiding in you; for Whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not. Search the
Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which
testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me that ye might have Life.” (John
5: 38-40)
“And He said unto
them, Ye are from beneath: I am from ABOVE, ye are of this world; I am not
of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: For
if ye believe not that I AM HE, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8: 23,
24)
Again He stated: “I am the Vine, ye are the branches. He
that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without
Me ye can do nothing. If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you, ye shall ask
what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15: 5, 7)
A ‘HEADS UP’ TO AGNOSTICS & ATHEISTS!
My advice to
agnostics, atheists, infidels and Christ haters is: “Stop looking at
your navel and listening to men and women who only listen to others who are
navel gazers! Stop reading the trash that has been written by losers who have
closed their minds to the only truth there is and that is Jesus Christ and His
Gospel. And then read the final words of leaders of the Religion of Atheism and
Agnosticism and their sad obituaries!”
Clarence Darrow, famed atheist,
criminal lawyer and winner in the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925 stated
at the end of his life: “My
colleagues say that I am a success. Many honors have come my way, but in the
Bible is a sentence which expresses the way I feel about my life: We have
toiled all night and taken nothing.”
The Holy Bible is the greatest and
grandest of all books because it is the inerrent, infallible and holy Word of
the Living God to mankind! This is a classic example: Clarence Darrow who didn’t believe the Bible, ultimately
had to use a passage from the Bible to express his emptiness and the futility
of a life without God.
Here are some of the
comments by these men during the trial: “The confrontation between Bryan and
Darrow lasted approximately two hours on the afternoon of the seventh day
of the trial. It is likely that it would have continued the following morning
but for Judge Raulston's announcement that he considered the whole
examination irrelevant to the case and his decision that it should be
"expunged" from the record.
“Thus Bryan was
denied the chance to cross-examine the defense lawyers in return, although
after the trial Bryan would distribute nine questions to the press to bring out
Darrow's "religious
attitude".
The questions and Darrow's short answers were published in
newspapers the day after the trial ended, with the New York Times characterizing
Darrow as answering Bryan's questions "with
his agnostic's creed, 'I don't know,' except where he could deny them with his
belief in natural, immutable law".[28]
Stewart
objected, demanding to know the legal purpose of Darrow's questioning. Bryan,
gauging the effect the session was having, snapped that its purpose was "to cast ridicule on everybody who
believes in the Bible". Darrow, with equal vehemence,
retorted, "We have the
purpose of preventing bigots and ignoramuses from controlling the education of
the United States." (299)
William Jennings
Bryant was a passionate Christian, orator and 3-time Democratic
presidential candidate who was blocked by a technicality from cross examining
Clarence Darrow.
Bryant had a heart
attack and died shortly after the court case. His name appears on
Universities and other places in Tennessee. Darrow’s comments, however, should
tell us how his life ended! The Clarence
Darrow Octagon House, which was his childhood home in the small town of Kinsman, Ohio, contains a memorial to him. That’s about all that remains!
HOPE FOR THOSE WHO REPENT!
There is hope,
however, for those who truly repent and ask for God’s forgiveness and receive
the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, like Saul of Tarsus who
was responsible for a reign of terror, imprisonment and martyrdom of large
numbers of Jesus Christ’s followers shortly after our Lord’s crucifixion and
resurrection from the dead!
The two greatest headaches for Agnostics and Atheists are, number
one: The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, and number two: The
conversion and ministry of Saul of Tarsus!
Any rational person
with even a less than average IQ, if they have done any research at all
of the Roman Empire's reach and power in the time of Jesus'
crucifixion, would know that precise records were kept of all executions.
And the same was true
of the religious scribes of the Jews, who kept meticulous records and
Jewish Historians like Josephus and Pliny the Roman and many others.
The Holy Bible
records that the Chief Priests and Jewish religious leaders demanded of the
Roman Governor - both privately and publicly - that Jesus be
crucified. The crowd which was pressured by the religious leaders, were given a choice to have Jesus
released, but they chose Barabbas, a murderer. (Mark 15:1-39; Matt.27:16-26)
“Pilate therefore,
willing to release Jesus, spake again
unto them. But they cried, saying, Crucify Him, Crucify Him. And he said unto them the third time, Why? What
evil hath He done? I have found no cause of death in Him: I will therefore
chastise Him and let Him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring
that He might be crucified. And
their voices of them and the Chief Priests prevailed.” (Luke 23: 13-37)
When Pontius
Pilate sought to release Jesus, the crowd which was persuaded by the Chief
Priests and the Elders, shouted: "If
thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar`s friend: whosoever maketh himself a
king is not Caesar`s friend.” (John 19: 12)
After His crucifixion the Chief Priests went to Governor Pilate with
this request: "Sir, we remember
that that deceiver said, while He was yet alive; After three days I will rise again. Command
therefore that the sepulcher be made sure unto the third day, lest His
disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is
risen from the dead; so the last error shall be worse than the first.
“Pilate said unto
them, Ye have a watch: Go your way, make it as sure as you can. So
they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a
watch.” (Matt.27 63-66)
THE
MAN WHO STILL LIVES!
After his
much-publicized conversion to our Lord Jesus Christ, Malcolm Muggeridge - former Marxist, celebrated writer, broadcaster
and actor - poured his time and talents into writing Christian apologetics
which portray a Living Saviour!
In his book, The Man Who Lives, Muggeridge
wrote: “That the resurrection
happened, and that in the consequence of it Jesus’ followers who had scattered
drew together again, and resolved to go about their Master’s business, seems to
me indubitably true.
“Likewise Jesus’ claims to be the
Light of the World and His related promise that through Him we may be reborn
into new men, liberated from servitude to the ego and our appetites into the
glorious liberty of the children of God…
“If the story of Jesus ended on Golgotha,
it would indeed be of a Man Who Died, but as two thousand years later the Man’s
promise that ‘where two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am in the
midst of them’ manifestly still holds, it is actually the story of a Man Who
Lives.”
Muggeridge’s
counsel to a troubled world is worth listening to. He writes: “Christ is the only answer to an insane
world…they will not understand that the trouble with the western civilization
is not economics, but more – good and evil! They are thinking they can make
things work by policies, inventions, but man will never live on this planet
without God.”
It is
therefore surreal that a 7th Century
Caravan Driver - who couldn’t read or write - received a
revelation while lying on the ground under an epileptic seizure, that JESUS of
Nazareth Who was delivered to Pontius Pilate by the Jewish High Priest and
Elders, crucified by Roman soldiers and confirmed dead by the Roman Centurion
and by His enemies in the Jewish Sanhedrin, didn’t really die!
And more than a billion people believe
that satanically inspired fairy tale today! That is a travesty, extraordinaire! And then,
money hungry author and blasphemer Dan
Brown and his Hollywood lap dogs, film maker and actor Ron Howard and Tom Hanks - produced a lying movie
called Da Divinchy Code,
that perpetrated that preposterous and damnable LIE!
What are the two most
powerful arguments that atheists and agnostics cannot overcome and that rattles
their chain? The resurrection of Jesus
Christ and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus!
If Jesus did not
rise from the dead, what happened to His body? Any normal person would
understand that because the Jews kept meticulous records of His crucifixion and
with the chief priests witnessing JESUS’ death and asking Governor Pontius
Pilate to guard His tomb, that He was crucified, dead and buried!
When St. Paul
arrived in Rome to preach the Gospel he found many had already been converted
to Christ. How did that happen, being so far away from Jerusalem? Who had
preached the Gospel in Rome?
They called him CENTURION LONGINUS. He
was probably the soldier who pierced JESUS’ side with his long spear. He was
the man who witnessed the darkness at noon and the earthquake that opened the
earth that collected JESUS’ blood.
As the Centurion in charge of Jesus’
crucifixion, he would have examined the thick veil which secured the Holy of
Holies from public gaze, torn from top to bottom, as God the Father vacated the
Temple!
It was Centurion
Longinus who cried out with his soldiers, “Truly, This was the Son of God!” (Mark 15: 38,39)
SAUL
MET THE RESURRECTED JESUS!
SAUL OF TARSUS was
one of the most learned and brilliant young men in Palestine. He had become a
Zealot for Judaism causing havoc and great harm to believers in Jesus.
He hated and
despised the very name of Jesus of Nazareth and travelled far and wide,
visiting every synagogue in every town and village, even going
as far away as Damascus to track down, beat, imprison and force Christ’s
followers to blaspheme His Worthy and Holy Name.
While on such an
unholy vendetta, he was apprehended by the resurrected CHRIST in a blinding
light on the Damascus Road. And Saul cried out: “Who art Thou Lord?” The Lord identified Himself by
saying: “I am Jesus Whom thou
persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” Then, trembling and
astonished, Saul the persecutor who earlier had been “breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the
Lord”, cried out: “What wilt Thou have me to do?” (Acts
9: 6)
That proud Pharisee
humbled himself before the Lord Jesus Christ and spent the rest of his life praying,
fasting, writing, travelling and preaching the Word of God, while building the
Kingdom of God on earth!
He was consumed
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and never stopped declaring the
unsearchable riches of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus for the
forgiveness of sins and eternal Life! And in the end, he gladly gave his life
as a martyr for our Saviour!
St. Paul
wrote: “For when we were yet
without strength (hopeless), in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His Blood, we shall
be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall
be saved by His life.” (Rom. 5: 6-10)
REALLY,
WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?
No other human being
was privy to the great mysteries of God and the secrets of the Almighty, like
the Apostle Paul. To him was revealed the great hidden secret and purpose of
the Incarnation.
He said: “Even
the MYSTERY which hath been hid from ages and generations, but
now is made manifest to His saints: To whom God would make known what is
the riches of the glory of this MYSTERY among
the Gentiles; which is Christ in you,
the Hope of Glory.
“Whom we
preach, warning every man, and teaching every man
in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect (mature) in
Christ Jesus.” (Col.1: 26-28
WHO
IS JESUS CHRIST?
He is the Sin Bearer. He is the Heart
Healer. He is the Mind Restorer. He is the Great Physician. He is the Demon
Expeller. He is the Holy Ghost Baptizer. He is the Joy Bringer. He is the Fear
Remover! He is the Prince of Peace. He is the Liberator of mankind and the
Saviour of the world!
The Holy Scriptures
declare: “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 Him.” (Acts 10:38)
Everywhere our Lord went spreading the Good
News He did GOOD by healing the sick and forgiving sinners. He was
filled with the Holy Spirit at His baptism and after 40 days of fasting and
prayer won a decisive victory over the devil in His wilderness temptation.
(Luke 4: 1-14)
“And Jesus returned
in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of Him
through all the region round about. And He taught in their synagogues, being
glorified of all. And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His Word was
with power.” (Luke 4:14,15,32)
EVIL
SPIRITS RECOGNIZED JESUS!
“And in the
synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried
out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Let us alone; what have we to do with thee,
Thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art;
the Holy One of God.
“And Jesus rebuked
him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him, and hurt him not. And they
were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a Word is this! For
with authority and power He commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
And the fame of Him went out into every place of the country round about.” (Luke
4: 33-37)
Great multitudes
followed Jesus everywhere He went because “the people were astonished at His doctrine” and He healed
the sick and suffering among them. He met their spiritual, psychological and
physical needs. Lepers were cleansed, the blind saw, the deaf heard and the
lame walked after hearing His message of forgiveness, hope, deliverance and
salvation! He liberated Satan’s captives with His Word and Holy Spirit.
JESUS
CHRIST IS ALIVE TODAY!
He is
still the same compassionate, kind, loving, merciful and powerful Lord who “came
to seek and to save the lost” and was “wounded for our transgressions, bruised
for our iniquities, chastised for our peace and scourged for our diseases”.
(Isaiah 53:4-6) He is even now waiting for an opportunity to bless those
who truly put their trust in Him! (Rev. 3:20)
Jesus Christ
stated: “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. If the
Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:32,
36); “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth give I unto thee. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid.” (John 14:27)
And He wants to be
your Lord and Saviour, dear Friend! Open your heart to Him and He
will come into your heart and life. He will forgive all your sins and take away
the condemnation in your conscience. He will heal the hurts in your spirit soul
and body because He is the Great Physician!
Here is His
call to you: “Behold I stand at the
door and knock. If any man hear My voice, and open the door (of his heart) I will come in to him and will sup (fellowship) with him and he with
Me.” (Rev.3: 20) Amen.
