JUDGMENT IS COMING:
IT’S TIME
FOR A REVIVAL
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
On a Sunday morning in February 1977,
I awakened with a stirring message burning in my soul and spirit. The
Holy Spirit had been speaking to me while I was yet sleeping and the words, "Canada
- Turn Around" were on my lips.
In an instant, the voice of God came to me saying, "Son,
bring a message to the nation of Canada". He instructed me to
spread the message by television, radio and printed page. The message
'Canada - Turn Around, Canada - Come Back to God' would be a message from God
to all Canadians.
There was an urgency in my spirit as I thought about the other times God
had spoken to me to bring a message to our nation. The first time was in 1967.
I delivered a powerful Centennial message entitled, "A Salute to Canada."
This message stirred a lot of Canadians. It also brought a personal greeting
and thanks from our Justice Minister, the Honorable Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
Then in 1972, I
was given a word from God to deliver a hard hitting message by radio and
printed page called, "My Message
to Prime Minister Trudeau" in which I warned all Canadian
and world government leaders across the world to turn to God for direction and
help, both for themselves and for the people.
I gave Biblical examples of what happened to kings and heads of
government who became proud and egotistical and served pagan gods and bowed
down to idols and images. That message was sent to world leaders as well
as Canadian Members of Parliament (MPs) in Ottawa and Members of all Provincial
Legislatures (MLAs). I received a lot of mail thanking us for that very
direct and stirring prophetic message.
CANADA - ITS TIME TO COME BACK TO GOD!
CANADA - ITS TIME TO COME BACK TO GOD!
During 1977-1978, I immersed myself in the words of
Jesus Christ regarding God's coming Judgment on all ungodliness, as well as His
message of grace and mercy toward all who repent of their sins and return to
our Heavenly Father! My heart was aflame with God's love and compassion
with a burden for those who are still in heathen darkness, perversion and
deception. And for those who are backslidden and lost, both in the church
and the world.
God's Word is crystal clear. God
hates our sin but LOVES US! We cannot judge His Word, but His Word judges
us. We cannot expect God to change His Word to please us. We must
change to please Him!
The Bible says, "For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
And by God's grace I shared the message "Canada Turn
Around" to multitudes across our wonderful nation of Canada and
around the world, personalizing it for those countries, with great blessing.
God granted us many revivals during that time period! All glory to His
name. Now, God has spoken to me again!
During the last few months of 1998,
God stirred my soul to again crusade across our nation with the gospel of Jesus
Christ, I had been invited to again preach at the large interdenominational
crusade in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. They were expecting crowds to reach
over 200,000 people. Before I was able to respond to the affirmative, God
instructed me to decline the invitation.
I asked Him, "Why"? He said, "There is more revival
in Africa than in Canada. Your own nation needs you NOW. Take the
message of Jesus Christ to Canada before it is too late."
REPENTANCE IS TURNING FROM
SIN!
The definition of repent is: “To be
sorry for your sins and a determination to turn from sin; to change one's mind.”
Jesus is calling you. It is time to answer the call of Jesus. Christ
is calling the world to turn away from sin, Satan and rebellion, and to turn to
Him, our Saviour and Creator.
The LORD is calling for you to repent and to completely reject the god
of the world, Satan (the devil). St. John declared, "For this
purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the
devil." (1 John 3:8)
Jesus said, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall
all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3). We have turned our backs on
God and have become self-centered, selfish and spiritually
dead. During the past 30 years or more, our nation has taken a major
turn away from God. At present, we are a people divided, despondent and
depressed; politically, economically and spiritually.
Unhappy, fearful and depressed people are the norm these days, without
hope for the future. To say we are living in a very dangerous and
frightening time is an understatement. We are living in the end times and
are facing world war and one crisis after another. The Bible clearly draws timelines
with world events, and we are drawing ever nearer to the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ and the Tribulation.
IT'S TIME TO GET SERIOUS!
We need to get serious about the consequences of rejecting
God. A divine call, however, has gone out to our Nation and the world
to repent. Now is the time to turn around, to repent to Christ Jesus and
forsake sin. We MUST surrender our wills to God and give up the
futile effort of "doing things
our own way."
It's time for our NATION to turn from all rebellious ways in repentance and
confessing to Christ sins of unbelief, pride, immorality, jealousy, envy and
prejudice. The time has come for a complete rejection of Satan and evil in
total repentance. The Bible says, "Submit yourselves therefore unto
God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)
It’s time to confront the devil (who
is our enemy) and call upon the name of Jesus Christ. We must resist
Satan and turn away from lust, greed, hatred, selfishness, anger, bitterness
and deceit. Jesus Christ our Lord has given us power over the devil. We
are instructed to confront the devil - in the Name of Jesus Christ - telling
him that he's not welcome in our lives!
It's time to WAKE UP and think about eternity and where you will spend
it. We must reject and renounce the many dangerous, deceptive and
occultist doctrines of the New Age Movement. As well as the cult of Secular
Humanism that teaches, 'man ascended from the world of monkeys and apes, is
self-sufficient and is his own God'.
WHAT DOES GOD
REQUIRE OF US?
We must humble ourselves and pray. We must call upon the Name of
the Lord and turn away from evil. Satan (the devil) is the creator of evil,
death and destruction and wants to destroy you and all things around you.
St. Peter warned, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of
God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all of your care upon Him, for
He careth for you. Be sobre, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast
in the faith…” (1 Peter 5: 6-9)
The Bible speaks about humility,
repentance and submission to the Almighty God and a total rejection of Satan,
who is the god of this world! St. James states, "Submit yourselves
therefore unto God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
(James 4:7)
It's time to come home and be reconciled to our Heavenly Father, through
Jesus Christ our Lord; to accept the invitation of our LORD Jesus Christ to
talk things over. We need to straighten out past failures and right
wrongs. We need to receive total forgiveness and assurance, with new direction
for the future.
The Bible says, "Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord and He will have
mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah
55:7)
The divine call of God does not differentiate between rich or poor,
educated or illiterate, men or women, young or old. There is no class
distinction or favoritism due to race, color, nationality or culture with the
Almighty.
ALL
MAY APPROACH GOD’S THRONE!
The invitation of salvation is
available to all. Every person alive may approach the throne of God and
repent of their sins. We all can receive the mercy and grace of the
LORD. We all receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour, through faith in His finished
work on Calvary's cross.
How is this possible? The Gospel is free to everyone! We are saved
by Grace through Faith. The Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God: Not of works, lest any
man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Christ is calling you and waiting for
you to answer Him! There is no entry fee, cover charge or red tape to delay
our coming to Jesus Christ and repenting of our sins. There is nothing to
stop the process of salvation from functioning in our lives. Christ waits
for you to repent. Christ Jesus our Lord is willing to accept all that
will repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour!
The prophet invited, "Lo, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; come, ye, buy wine
and milk without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1)
And Jesus assures us: "All that
the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh unto Me, I will in
no wise cast out." (John 6:37)
FREEDOM PURCHASED BY CHRIST!
The enormous cost of our freedom - redemption from sin and the power of
Satan - has been paid for us on the Cross, through the substitutionary death of
Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "...except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish." (Luke 13:3)
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." (John 3:16); St. John declared, "For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of
the devil." (1 John 3:8)
St. Paul emphasized, "That through death, He (Jesus
Christ) might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and
deliver those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage." (Hebrews 2:14)
God is waiting for you to turn to him, ask for forgiveness and be
cleansed in the Blood of the Lamb.
The good news is that God wants us. He
wants you and me. No exceptions, and no questions asked. We come just as we
are. He knows all about us and yet He wants us, even though we are sinners.
WHY? He is a specialist in the
field of cleansing, reconciliation and re-birth! The Bible states, "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteous." (1 John 1:9)
JUST AS I AM AND WAITING NOT!
"Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was
shed for me
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee. O Lamb of God, I come. I come!
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee. O Lamb of God, I come. I come!
Just as I am, and waiting not, To rid my soul of one dark
blot
Because Thy blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come. I come!
Because Thy blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come. I come!
Just as I am; poor, wretched, blind, Sight, riches, healing
of the mind
All that I need, in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
All that I need, in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon,
cleanse, relieve
Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come. I come!"
Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come. I come!"
The Bible says: "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout
the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is
perfect toward Him..." (2 Chronicles 16:9)
And God's Word says: "The
eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto their
prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do
evil." (1 Peter 3:12)
The very first sermons preached by our LORD were the call to
repentance and salvation: "Repent and believe the
gospel." (Mark 1:15); The same was true of the great
prophet, John the Baptist, “And he came into all the country about Jordan,
preaching the baptism of repentance for the emission of sins.” (Luke 3:3;
Matthew 3:2), as well as all the Apostles: “And they went out and preached that
men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that
were sick, and healed them.” (Mark 6:12)
And St. Peter declared, "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." (Acts 2:38)
WHAT DOES REPENTANCE MEAN?
To repent means to turn, to change course! Repenting is godly
sorrow for sin. Repentance means, being sorry enough to stop committing
sin, and to change your life.
After St. Paul’s letter reached the Corinthian Church, they were sorry
for their sins and repented, changing their evil ways. He writes: "Now I
rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for
ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in
nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation..." (2
Corinthians 7:9-10)
Repentance is a forsaking of evil,
unrighteousness and unbelief. It is
casting yourself into the loving arms of God, renouncing the works of the
world, the flesh and the devil. When you repent you turn from darkness to
light, from Satan to Christ, from condemnation to total peace. It is placing your
life under the guidance of the Holy Spirit!
Jesus said, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish." (Luke 13:3). In his Mars Hill sermons, St. Paul shared with
pagan Greek intellectuals the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His glorious
resurrection from the dead.
Then he challenged them: "And the times of this ignorance God
winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Because He hath
appointed a day, in the 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."
There will be two judgments: the first judgment is called, "The
Great White Throne Judgment' where all sinners and unjust persons shall be
judged in relation to their acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ the Jewish
Messiah.
Here is Christ Jesus' solemn warning: "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 out into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15)
BEMA SEAT JUDGMENT
OF SAINTS!
The second one is called the Bema
Seat Judgment of the Saints. That is where all believers who have trusted in
Jesus Christ as personal Savior will be judged for our works. St. Paul warns:
"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ.
“Now if any man build upon this foundation 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." (1 Corinthians. 3:8)
In his defense before King Agrippa, the great Apostle rehearsed his
Damascus Road conversion experience, and the words of Jesus Christ to him:
"Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom
now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of
sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in
Me." (Acts 26:17-18)
So urgent is the call for people to repent of their sins, the Bible
says: "Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." (2
Corinthians 5:11) The Bible specifically declares: "All have sinned and
come short of the glory of God". (Rom. 3:23)
SIN MUST BE PAID UNLESS
REPENTED FOR!
"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23). The great
apostle wrote to the church in Rome concerning those committing sinful acts and
others who condemn them, being guilty of the same sins.
"But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth
against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that
judgest them which do such things, and doest the same that thou shalt escape
the judgment of God? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up
unto thyself wrath against the DAY OF WRATH and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God;"
"Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who
by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality,
ETERNAL LIFE: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth,
but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon
every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the
Gentile;" (Romans 2:2-9)
GOD'S GOODNESS REACHES OUR HEARTS!
Jesus said, "Behold, I come quickly" - literal Greek: Without
delay, at once, soon. (Revelation 22:12). St. Peter gave two reasons why Jesus
had not yet returned: 1. One thousand years with us is like one day with
the Lord! 2. God's mercy is reaching out for more sinners to be saved.
"But, beloved, be not
ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise,
as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter
3:8-9)
The Bible says, "Repent and be baptized...and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38-39). "Repent
ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out..."
(Acts 3:19)
And Jesus says, "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. 3:19-20)
May the Lord bless you and give you peace.
Write me a letter if you have accepted the LORD Jesus Christ as a result of
reading this message.
