Thursday, October 10, 2024

                                                 EMMANUEL:

GOD WITH US

By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

 “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign:  Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel.” (Is. 7:14). “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

“Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice, from that time forward, even forever...” (Is. 9: 6)

 “… His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men. He is despised and rejected (forsaken) by men, A Man of sorrows (lit. pains) and acquainted with grief. (lit. sicknesses) And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised and we did not esteem Him.” (Is.52: 14; 53: 3)

     “Surely He has borne our sicknesses (heb. makob) and carried our pains (heb. nasa); yet we esteemed Him smitten of God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities; The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; And by His stripes we are healed.” (Is. 53: 4, 5)

WE HAVE ALL GONE ASTRAY! 

“All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise (crush) Him.” (Is. 53: 6, 7, 10)

     “Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had BY HIMSELF purged our sins, sat down on the Majesty on High.” (Heb.1: 1-3)

                                   FAIR-WEATHER CHRISTIANS!

     A visiting missionary arrived at the Vancouver Airport on a Sunday morning. As the Pastor hurriedly drove toward the church, it seemed as though every light was green.  Overjoyed, he jubilantly exclaimed, “My, isn’t it wonderful how we have had only green lights.  We haven’t even encountered one red light all the way from the airport.  Surely, God is with us”!

    The missionary wisely replied, “If we would have hit only red lights along the way this morning, would God have still been with us”?

   A 28 year-old preacher died in an East European Communist prison during the 1970s.  He had been incarcerated for eight years for telling little children about Jesus!  Beaten, bruised, tortured and brainwashed, he finally succumbed to the guard’s brutality and they found him dead one morning in a pool of blood on the dungeon floor.  Vital organs had ruptured as a result of the traumatic beatings and he hemorrhaged blood until he died.

    In the last minutes of life he had managed to stagger to the dungeon wall and with his finger write his testimony in his own blood.  So great was the impact of his testimony that the guards who found him the next morning accepted Christ as their Saviour. And they passed the story to Pentecostal Christians in Western Europe, via the underground route!  

    This is what he wroteI believe in the sun even when it’s not shining and I believe in love even though I feel it not. And I believe in God even when He is silent, so by faith I’ll hold on to what I have got”!

     He hadn’t seen the sun in 8 years.  He had felt and seen only hatred from his captors and for eight long years he had prayed for release from that living hell without an answer, but still he believed in God!  Hallelujah! Jesus said: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Heb. 13:5) 

    Even when things go wrong, we still have God’s abiding presence!  How wonderful, that God is with us always.  He never leaves us nor forsakes us.  In good times or bad times; in joy or sorrow; in sickness or health!  God is with us - Praise His Holy Name.

THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL:

THERE IS HOPE IF GOD IS WITH US!

    More than seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the prophet Isaiah - speaking by divine inspiration - declared that God would give His Son to become the Saviour of the world.  

     The Book of Isaiah is aptly called ‘The Gospel of the Old Testament’.  How precious to read of the birth, life and death of Christ in this Old Testament Gospel!  

     It is good news that even “before the foundation of the world”, God had a perfect plan for our salvation through the virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death and glorious resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah of Israel!  (Eph.1: 4,5)

      He would be rejected by men and judged by God – because of our sins - but brought back to life and restored to a place of glorification with His Father, so that you and I can receive eternal life.

The Sign of the Virgin Birth - What a Miracle!  To be supernaturally begotten by the Blessed Holy Spirit and born naturally of a virgin mother.  Talk about confounding the mouths and minds of those who rejected Him.

IT ALMOST BLOWS THE MIND!

    No wonder the Bible says: “The natural man understandeth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are spiritually discerned”. (1 Cor. 2:14)  Again the Scripture declares: “Had they known who He was they would not have rejected the Prince of life”. (1 Cor.2: 8)  

    They tried to reason it all out and couldn’t. The intellectuals failed miserably; and they are still messing up today trying to incorporate Jesus the Christ, into their natural-minded stereotype.  It can’t be done!

Why can’t puny little man take God’s Word at face value - accept the Gospel of Christ for what it’s worth and embrace it all, including the supernatural aspects of:  (1) Who He is, (2) Why He came, (3) What He did, and (4) What it all means and how it relates to us today?  

    But NO, the egotistical, proud earthling wants to find his own way, chart his own course and fly his own craft to the stars!  The Bible says, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.  But to as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God”. (John 1:11-12)  

      What a position we enjoy as redeemed blood-bought children of God.  I can hardly contain it all! Salvation is a FREE gift from our Creator! 

    COMPLEX? Yes, God’s part was profound, complex and elaborate! Our part, however, is easy! It is so simple that many feel it is too elementary.  It’s a fact of life that in everything from religion to politics, people like to make things as complex as possible.  Yet no tool or gadget is as good and effective as the one that is user-friendly.  The simpler anything operates the more valuable it is and the more reliable and easy to maintain!

Here is the plain, simple and yet profound truth:  “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)  

    Jesus confirmed that statement when He declared:  “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”. (Mark 2:17);  “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost”. (Luke 19:10)

WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

4.  Emmanuel - “The prophet answered by saying, And ye shall call His name Emmanuel. (Is. 7:14); God With Us ...Which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matt. 1:22-23)

5.  Jesus ... And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus.” (heb. Yeshua ~ meaning ‘The Salvation of God; the God who saves, heals, makes well, protects, delivers’)

6.  Saviour ... “For He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matt.8: 21); “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

7.  The Lord ... “And thou, child, (John the Baptist) shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord (Jesus Christ) to prepare His ways.” (Luke 1:76); 

8.  Lamb of God …“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto Him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John1: 29)

9.  The Christ, Anointed One, Messiah ... “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16)

WHAT JESUS SAID OF HIMSELF!

                “Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58; Ex. 3:14)

                “Moses wrote of Me.” (John 5: 46)

                “I am the Bread of Life.” (John 6:35; 6:41, 48, 51)

                “I am the Light of the World.” (John 8:12)

                “I am the Door.” (John 10:7)

                “I am the Good Shepherd.” (John 10:11)

                “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” (John 11:25)  

                “I am He (the Christ).” (John 4:25-26)

                “I am from Above.” (John 8:23-24, 28)

                “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” (John 14:6)

                “I am the True Vine.” (John 15:1)

                “I am the Alpha and Omega.” (first and last) (Rev. 1:8)

                “I am the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8; Is. 9:14)

 

    In the 1980’s the well-known radio commentator and author Charles Templeton from Toronto, was a guest on our 2-hour weekly radio talk show “Nightwatch”.  When I questioned him about his agnosticism and his relation to Christ, he replied, “Jesus in my estimation is a moral genius...He has influenced my life more than any other person that has ever lived”!  That’s quite a statement.

    I asked him, “Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God”?  Charles Templeton answered, “No, I do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”! Then I pinned him with this question:  “How can Jesus Christ be a moral genius and also be a colossal liar, for He claimed He was the Son of God”?

WHAT DO THE 

SCRIPTURES SAY OF HIM!

    The Bible says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.  In Him was life; and the life was the light of man.” (John 1:1-4)

   “God...hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Heb. 1:2-4)

    “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called the Word of God.  

   “And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.  And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  

      “And He hath on His vesture and His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Rev. 19:11-16); “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9:6)

WHAT DOES GOD 

THE FATHER SAY OF HIM?

    “For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son?  And again, when He bringeth in the first begotten (the first in rank) into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him.  

    “But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:  A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.  

    “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine handsThey shall perish, but thou remainest: and they shall be changed:  but Thou art the same and Thy years shall not fail.”  

    “But to which of the angels said He any time, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool?” (Heb. 1:5-6, 8-13; Ps. 2:7)

    “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:16-17) 

     “While He yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him.” (Matt. 17:5)

WHAT DOES GOD THE 

HOLY SPIRIT SAY OF HIM?

    “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 things to your remembrance, whatsoever I (Jesus) have said unto you.” (John 14:26)

    “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me.” (John 15:26)

“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 shall show it unto you.” (John 16:13-14)

     “BBBBBBB

WHAT DO THE 

PROPHETS SAY OF HIM?

    “...which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.  For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you.  

     “And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.  Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.” (Acts 3:21-24)

“Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken; Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)

To Him give all the prophets witness that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.” (Acts 10:43)

      It is also important to know what His mother had to say about Jesus:  “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” (Luke 1: 46, 47); “His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.” (John 2:5)

WHY DID JESUS COME?

    “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

...That He (Jesus) should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him.  And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:2-3)

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39)

   “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10; Matt. 18:11); “...For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

    “But 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 53:5; Matt. 8:16-17)

WHAT DID HE ACCOMPLISH?

     “...Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47)

     “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  

    “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: 

    “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:5-11)

Who (God) hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” (Col. 1:13); “And (Jesus) having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Col. 2:15)

HOW DOES ALL THIS 

RELATE TO US TODAY?

    “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 1:12)

     “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath quickened them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.  For all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.  

    “He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation: but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:22-24)

    “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36)

      “Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me.” (John 12:44); “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me.” (John 13:20)

    “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.  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 Me 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.  If ye love Me, keep My commandments.  

   “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.” (John 14:11-18)

     “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 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

     “And He said unto them, 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; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)

     “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

     “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)

      “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matt. 7:7-8)

    “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)

     “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Heb. 9:28)

     “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:25)

EMMANUEL: GOD IS WITH US!

    When God made Salvation’s Plan, He included you and me - We are the recipients of His divine grace!  Hallelujah!

    The Bible says, “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Ps. 84:11); For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:13)  

     “How great and majestic is the glorious salvation of our Blessed Christ and Redeemer.  The very word ‘Jesus’ in both Hebrew and Greek means ‘Saviour’.  The angel spoke to Joseph in Hebrew and said “Ye shall call His name Jesus (the salvation of God) and He shall save (salvage) His people from their sins”. (Matt. 1:21)

    What good news, God is with us - Jesus is God and He is with us.  God is not only with us but through the baptism of the Holy Ghost, He is in us!

     Jesus said, “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; 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”. (John 14:16-18)  Note these precious words:  “At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you”. (v. 20)

    “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4)

  GOD IS WITH US AND ALSO IN US.  HOW MARVELLOUS, HOW WONDERFUL!  Let this Scripture grip your heart as it has mine:

    “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love Him, and will manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21)

IF GOD BE FOR US:

WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? 

    Oh, what a Saviour we have! Oh, what a Gospel is ours! ‘Blessed assurance Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of Glory Divine, Heir of salvation, purchase of God; Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song; Praising my Saviour all the day long.’

    The Apostle Paul spared no words in assuring us of God’s great power that is available and readily accessible to His people.  Let me share only a few:

    “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)

     AND WE KNOW! There is nothing ambiguous, doubtful or uncertain here! Definite, definitive and unfailing are the promises of God.  We need not worry, fret or doubt.  

  St. Paul knew many things about our Blessed Lord and His marvellous salvation which unfortunately, many so-called preachers seem to be ignorant of or doubtful about today.  

    This Scripture gives one of the keys to his success: namely, his sincere desire to know Jesus in a deeper and fuller way: “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection...” (Phil. 3:10)

WE KNOW THAT WE KNOW!

    Here are several more of his confessions of faith: “...I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” (2 Tim. 1:12); “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  

    “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35-39) 

     “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31)

    “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s Elect?  It is God that justifieth.  Who is he that condemneth?  It is Christ that died, yeah rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us”. (Rom. 8:33-34)

THEY THAT ARE WITH US ARE 

MORE THAN THEY THAT ARE WITH THEM!

     Let me share with you a little about the great miracle that happened at Dothan.  A miracle of God’s power, provision and grace, indeed!  

    It was told to the King of Syria that the reason he was unable to defeat the Israelites was due to Prophet Elisha’s supernatural God-given gifts whereby he was able to warn Israel of the plans, designs and purposes of their enemy! 

   The King then sent his army to Dothan to capture the prophet. Elisha’s servant was greatly concerned when he saw the place surrounded by hostile men of war.  He cried out, “Alas my master, How shall we do”?

    The Prophet answered:  “Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them”. (2 Kings 6:16)  Elisha then prayed for God to open the spiritual eyes of the young man and he saw, “The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha”. (v. 17)

    Jesus said, “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth… and lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world”. (Matt. 28:18-30). 

    WHAT A PROMISE!  I am with you always!  Even to the very end of the age.” Our Lord said, “...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”. (Heb. 13:5) The literal Greek is even stronger. Using a double imperative Jesus actually said: “I will never, no never leave thee. I will never, no never forsake thee!” Hallelujah!

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER:

  JESUS WILL NEVER LEAVE US!

     He will be with us in good times and bad times, in sickness and in health, in success or failure, in testing, trials, tragedies and sorrows.  He will be with us in times of poverty or prosperity right to the end; including the journey through the valley of the shadow of death! (Ps. 23)

    Jesus promised, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.  My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all: and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand”. (John 10:27-29)

 

NO ONE CAN SEPARATE US FROM GOD...NO ONE CAN PLUCK US OUT OF OUR FATHER’S HAND; NO ONE, NO ONE, NO ONE!  WE ARE PROTECTED FOR TIME AND ETERNITY, PROVIDED WE WALK IN THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL TO GO HIS WAY!  WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN CHOOSE TO DEPART FROM HIS LOVE.  HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US, IF WE WANT HIM TO STAY!

    

    St. Paul said, “Now, the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul”. (Heb. 10:38-39)

Remember, dear friend:  “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin”. (1 John 1:7)  

     We must never forget that there are conditions as well as promises: “If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.  If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:14-15)

  St. Paul said “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” (Rom. 8:37); “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”. (Phil. 4:13)  

   We can do the same because God is: “No respecter of persons, places or times”. (Acts 10:34) And our dear Lord has not, cannot and will not change because: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8)

GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU!

     This final truth: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them (evil spirits): because GREATER IS HE that is in you (Jesus, the Holy Spirit) than he (the devil) that is in the world.” (1 John 4: 4)

    “Submit yourselves unto God, resist the devil and he SHALL FLEE FROM YOU.” (James 4: 7); “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: 8). Amen.  

Max Solbrekken World Mission Box 44220 RPO Garside Edmonton AB T5V 1N6; Email: [email protected]; comehometojesus.ca; Facebook; Youtube; Blog:  MSWM; Donations can be made by e-Transfer. Send your donation to [email protected]. Thank you and may God reward you for your kindness!

Monday, October 7, 2024

JESUS: GREAT PHYSICIAN
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D

The Word of God declares:“Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But 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.”(Is. 53:4,5). “Who His own Self bare our sins in His own body on the tree (cross) that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: By whose stripes we were healed.”(1 Peter 2:24)

“When the even was come, they brought unto Him (Jesus) many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His Word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” (Matt. 8:16,17)

“After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come. And HEAL the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The Kingdom of God is come unto you. And the Seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even, the devils are subject unto us in Thy Name. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning FALL from Heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the ENEMY: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10: 10,9,17-19)

THESE SIGNS SHALL FOLLOW BELIEVERS

“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel unto 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; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)

“And a woman having an issue of blood, which had spent ALL her living upon physicians, but had NOT been healed of any, came behind Him and touched the hem of His garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

“And Jesus said, Who touched Me? And when all denied, Peter and they that were with Him, said, Master, the multitudes throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?

“And Jesus said, somebody hath touched Me: for I perceive that VIRTUE is gone out of Me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately. “And He said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: Thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” (Luke 8:43-48)

MAKING A DEMAND UPON HIS ABILITY!

The Amplified Bible translates this passage this way, “Somebody has made a demand upon My Ability.” And that is exactly what the woman did. She made a demand upon Christ’s ability to make her well! This marvelous account of the ministry of Jesus Christ reveals many truths about God’s great love, power and how we may tap into His Healing Stream for our needs as well.

Our Lord was always busy doing wonderful and miraculous things. When He wasn’t teaching or preaching, He was healing the sick and suffering, casting out demons or performing other signs and wonders.

The Bible states: “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

“And His fame went throughout all Syria:  And they brought unto Him all sick  people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments, and those that were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them.” (Matt.4: 23, 24)

When Jesus saw the people as sheep having no shepherd, He ministered His love, mercy and grace to them through the Word of God and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. He declared: “My Father worketh and I work…Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He will show Him greater works than these that ye may marvel.” (John 5: 17, 19, 20)

 “Then said Jesus unto them: When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. And He that sent Me is with Me: for the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.” (John 8: 28, 29)

THE HOLY SPIRIT DID THE MIRACLES!

The Bible states: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10: 38)

Jesus relied totally on the Holy Spirit which was given Him at the time of His baptism. (Mark 1:9 -11). He said: “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God then the Kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil His goods, except he first bind the strong man and then he will spoil his house.”  (Matt. 12: 28)

When our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ returned to the Gadarenes where He had earlier liberated an insane man from many demons, the people eagerly welcomed Him back:

“Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with Him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house and show how great things God hath done unto thee and he went he way and published  throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done for him.

“And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received Him: for they were all waiting for Him.” (Luke 8: 38-40)

This is the key to Revival and to the advancement of the church. It is the key to an awakening and changing the spiritual complexion of an entire community. Jesus knew the value of a great miracle to influence relatives and friends, so He sent the man who had been insane and living among the tombs back home to witness to his healing by Christ.

POLIO VICTIM HEALED IN MANILA!

In our 1966 Gospel Crusade in Manila, seven-year-old Sal Gadula's stunted leg grew out between 12 to 15 inches in a moment. Many people were moved upon by our Lord and 100 members of his extended family gave the hearts and lives to Christ!

Sal's life had been dominated by the terrible disease called polio. His right leg was hard like wood and 12 to 15 inches shorter than his other one. His mother Josephine Gadula carried him to the Crusade. Her husband had deserted them. She did not even have crutches for Sal but had heard about the miracles that Jesus Christ was doing at the Crusade and decided to attend.

She said, “Please heal my son.” I said, “I cannot heal your son.” She said, “You have healed my neighbours.”I answered, “If they were healed, Jesus did it.” Josephine said, “Then, ask Jesus to heal my son Sal.”

I answered, “I do not have the faith and you don't know anything about this. Fast and pray for three days, read the Gospel of John. Then, I will pray for Sal.”

Three days later they returned. Josephine confessed that they were upset: “I thought it was because we were Catholics, but I realized that my neighbourswere Catholics. The Holy Spirit told me that what I was asked to do was not difficult; just fast for three days and read John's Gospel.”After reading St. John's Gospel they both realized that they needed to be born again. And even if Sal did not get healed, they still wanted to be saved.

I knelt with them at the altar and they asked Jesus to come into their hearts. Then I placed Sal on a large communion table and with hundreds watching, I laid my hands on his head and prayed. Suddenly, his dead leg began to jump up and out and both legs became the same length. I lifted him up and he stood for the very first time.

As I stepped away from the table his mother wanted to steady him. I said, “Don't touch him. God has healed him”. I put him on the floor, slapped him on his seat and said, “Run.” He walked, fell, and ran. And he is still walking today.

The truth is that both Sal's mother and I touched Jesus with our faith. She wouldn't give up, and by placing him on the Communion Table for everyone to observe the miracle taking place, I was inadvertently touching Jesus with my faith.

Thirteen years later, I was preaching in an Assembly of God Church in Brooklyn, New York and 13 members of their family were there, together with his grandparents. Sal was playing his guitar and singing for Jesus.

His outstanding miracle was so shocking that his relatives abandoned the Roman Catholic Church, and his uncle Conrad Gadula became a preacher of the Gospel of Christ in the United States. Praise His holy name!

 RULER OF THE SYNAGOGUE!

Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, fell at Jesus’ feet and besought Him to come to his home to minister life to his dying daughter: “For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged Him.  While He yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole.

“And when He came into the house, He suffered no man to go in save Peter, and James, and John, and the father, and the mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her: but He said, Weep not: she is not dead, but she sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.  And He put them all out, and took her by her hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and He commanded to give her meat.”  (Luke 8: 42-48)

Not only did Jesus have compassion on the people who had earlier driven Him away from their coasts, but He responded immediately to the urgent request of the Ruler of the synagogue. While on His way to Jairus’ home, a desperately sick woman reached out by faith by touching His garment receiving an instant miracle!

Jesus immediately turned around asking, “Who touched Me?” When those near Him remonstrated, He said: “Somebody touched Me, for I perceive that virtue has gone out of Me!” (Amp). When the woman who had been healed admitted that she touched Him and received a miracle, He said: “Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace.

JESUS IS ALWAYS DOING MIRACLES!

The Miracles of Christ are given to needy people who truly believe in Him. He knows when someone has touched Him by faith. He compliments us for our faith in Him. Jesus was true God from Eternity and true Man by the virgin birth, and He ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit to all who came to Him with their needs.  He healed all whom He touched and all those who touched Him in faith.

The truth is that the woman who reached out in faith by touching the Master made a demand upon His ability. She knew that she was unable to help herself and that all the physicians had failed her.  She also knew that Jesus Christ had the power to heal her and unlike the physicians,He didn’t charge for the healing!

By sheer determination and heart-felt faith in the ‘Man from Galilee’, who had cast out a myriad of demons from the “Maniac of Gadara’, this woman who had hemorrhaged for twelve years, pressed through the crowd and took her Miracle from God. She touched the hem of His garment - the Ribbon of Blue – which devout Jews had sewed into their robes, that spoke of the Righteousness of God.

She was not disappointed! Immediately, the blood flow stopped and her strength returned. The miracle happened when by faith she made a demand on His Ability! You can do the same!

THE SNAKE'S HEAD WAS CRUSHED!

Many people have heard me preach a message titled, ‘The Snake is Dead’.  In it, I share God’s Word about the Prophecy that Almighty God delivered to Satan after Adam and Eve’s tragic fall. God told the Devil: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her SEED. It shall bruise (Crush) your head and thou shalt bruise His heel.” (Gen.3:15) 

 

In this prophecy Almighty God laid out His great plan of salvation: He would send the Deliverer to crush Satan’s head thus destroying him conclusively. The Deliverer would be born of a virgin and thereby sinless, and through His vicarious death would meet the demands of God’s Justice thus satisfying His anger against the sin of High Treason committed by our first parents.

 

The Deliverer would be His own incarnated Son whose heel would be bruised through death, but healed in His resurrection from the dead! God the Father has arranged everything for our benefit. By praying in faith and binding the demons of infirmity and disease in Jesus’ name, the gift of faith touches the hem of His garment!

MY MOTHER WAS INSTANTLY HEALED!

My Mother, Anne Nikoline Hestikind was accompanied by her brother on the train to the Bethesda Healing Home, situated on the shore of the North Sea near Oslo, Norway. She was instantly healed of a serious 6-year-long illness while waiting her turn to go into the water. As she stood thinking about the ice cold water of the North Sea, a warm feeling came all over her and she walked into the water and out again perfectly well. She took the train home, walked 28 kilometers to her home. She got married, bore six children and was never sick a day in her life of that disease.

What was that warm feeling that came over her? It was the blessed Holy Spirit. He is the Healer Whom Jesus sent to the church on the Day of Pentecost so many years ago! It was the Holy Spirit of God that enveloped her and made her perfectly well.

A wonderful miracle happened in the beginning of our 1968 Revival at Filadelfia Assembly in Oslo. During my message, a woman lifted her hand to get my attention. I stopped preaching and asked what she wanted. Excitedly, she said: “I have suffered terrible pains affecting the mobility of my leg for ten years. Just now, I FELT a large warm hand on my thigh and all the pains are gone. I can move my leg without pain. Praise God”.

I asked her to walk down the aisle. She did with great joy. All pains were gone! All the people rejoiced as the Revival leaped forward with God answering prayer and blessing for the next three weeks!

MELBA PHILIPS HEALED BY CHRIST!

In the 1980’s I was conducting a Divine Healing Service in Vancouver, BC together with Dr. D.H. Phillips. He shared the testimony of his miraculous recovery after a tragic automobile accident. His wife Melba came to be with us in that meeting. Unknown to me, Melba had suffered many years with raynaud's syndrome.

Her feet and legs were ice cold and when at home in California in the summer she wore sheepskin shoes around the house. Her husband Durwin stated that if his wife’s feet touched his leg while in bed, he would wake up from the freezing cold in her feet. Two of her uncles had suffered from the same disease and had to have amputations.

That evening I preached on, ‘EMMANUEL: GOD WITH US!I declared that Jesus is called Emmanuel and that He is with us and through the blessed Holy Spirit He is in us. I declared that because He is with us and in us we have His peace, love, joy, assurance of sin’s forgiven and power over Satan!

The Bible declares: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.  (1 John 4.4)

The devil must bow before Christ our Lord, when we speak in His holy name! He that is in us is greater than the devil who is in the world. Sin must bow, fear must bow, sickness must bow and the world, flesh and the Devil must bow before Him.

I quoted St. Paul: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found the death of the cross.

 

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of JESUS every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil.2: 9-11)

While I was preaching about  Jesus Christ, Who was God in the flesh and had been wounded, bruised, chastised and scourged for our total deliverance, the Holy Spirit reached out and touched Melba. Suddenly, a warm feeling came over her and she reached down to touch her ankles. They were warm as toast.

Jesus Christ had touched her as she listened to the inspired Word of God. She had made a demand upon His Ability and He delivered her from a very serious disease! To God be the glory, honour and praise forever and ever!

A MIRACLE IN LYTTLTON, NB!

Here is an e-mail we received from Terry Somers on September 3, 2019.

Hello Pastor Max! It is 25 years today since I received my Miracle! Thank you, Jesus! Sept 3rd 1994. There is a significance of the 3rd day for me! It was confirmed as a Miracle on Oct 3rd 1994 by Dr. Edward Abraham! All power and glory to God!

The Lord granted us a notable creative miracle during our September 1994 Gospel Crusade at the Pentecostal Church in Lyttleton, New Brunswick.  Pastor A.W. Rowe, a very dear friend and one of Newfoundland’s great preachers had come out of retirement to shepherd that flock.

Living in the area was Terry Somers a young man who had been seriously injured during an accident while working in a mine. While trying to repair a large water pipe, the pressure returned and knocked Terry off the platform onto the railway tracks below. He was taken to the hospital and underwent several surgeries, leaving him with constant unbearable nerve pains!

For the next seventeen years Terry suffered enormous nerve pain, taking three times the amount of pain killing pills, to no avail. He saw doctors in Halifax, St. Johns and Toronto and no one could help him. He was ordered not to drive the logging truck as he would sometimes lose all feeling in his legs. He was placed on permanent total disability by Workmen’s Compensation.

Once he parked his rig on the side of the road and when he stepped onto the ground he had no legs, but fortunately was able use his arms to pull himself out of harm’s way. Terry had never been able to hold his children when they were young or lift anything over ten pounds. And he prayed nightly that he could die.

Then, one day he heard the good news that people were being healed by the Lord at the Pentecostal Church. Mervin Mutch, a leading Deacon in that Church visited Terry and told him about our coming crusade. He brought with him a tape of Betty Baxter’s miraculous healing.

Due to the intensity of the pain, Terry had to remain in the foyer of the Church because he could not sit still during the service and before coming to the meeting Terry doubled up on all his pills but was still in enormous pain. After my message Pastor A.W. Rowe brought Terry Somers to the platform expecting a miracle!

Terry was instantly healed by God’s supernatural power as I prayed in the matchless name of Jesus of Nazareth. After prayer, he stated that the pain was gone and leaped in the air, shouting hallelujahs.

He picked up a ten- year- old girl standing nearby, lifted  me up and finally lifted 245 pound A.W. Rowe and danced all over the platform with him in his arms. Terry has not had a pain or taken pill for anything since Jesus healed him!

New Brunswick’s leading orthopedic surgeon wrote a letter to Workmen’s Compensation Board requesting that Terry be released from his total disability pension because he was perfectly well. In his letter he twice stated that Terry believed that he was divinely healed, as he also did. His Examination proved that the discs that had been damaged or removed by surgery were supernaturally replaced.

The well-known, Dr. Edward Araham told Terry that if any medical doctor examining the x-ray he had taken, and had not seen the scars on Terry’s back or the hundreds of x-rays and doctor’s reports taken earlier, that Doctor would say that Terry was a liar and had never been in an accident or had any surgery because his spine was like a 20 year old man and everything injured or removed had been replaced.

I was fully convinced that Terry would be healed that evening in Lyttleton. And when Terry and I together touched the hem of His garment, Jesus Christ heard us and performed that glorious miracle for His glory and honour! We made a demand upon His ability and the Sign and Wonder of God happened!

HOW MUCH ABILITY DOES JESUS HAVE?

Jesus said: “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoeverI  have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matt.28:18);

“Then said Jesus unto them again, Peace be unto you, as My Father hath sent Me so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed upon them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” (John 20, 21)

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 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: 26, 27)

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away.” (Matt.24:35). "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." (Mark 9: 23); “...With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10: 27)

Jesus said, "As thou hast believed so be it unto thee," (Matt.8: 13); "Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace, and be whole of thy plague" (Mark 5: 34); "Great is thy faith: Be it unto thee as thou wilt." (Matt.15: 28);

"And Jesus answering Have faith  God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things shall, which he saith shall come to pass: he shall have whatsoever he saith.” (Mark 11:22-24 )

THE AWESOME POWER OF JESUS' BLOOD!

There is purging, cleansing and divine healing through the precious Blood of Jesus Christ. The Bible declares our freedom from the power of Darkness through the devastating power of the life-giving blood of the Lamb:

“To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has 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. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wallof partition between us.” (Eph.1:6,7; 2:13,14)

“But if we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1: 7)

“In whom we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace; Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.” (Eph. 1: 7,8)

WHAT IS DEMANDING FAITH?

1. THREE LOAVES

“And He said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and shall say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves: For a friend of mine in his journey I come unto me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.   

“And I say unto you, Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?


“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? (Luke 11: 5-13)


2. CANANITE WOMAN

“And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David: my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

“Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me. But He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” (Matt. 15: 22-28)

3.  BLIND BARTIMAEUS

“And they came to Jericho: and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace; but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, be of good comfort, rise, He calleth thee.   

“And he casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way.” (Mark 10:46-52)

4.  AND ALL THINGS

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matt 21: 21, 22)

Dr. Ole Hallesby, Norway’s famous theologian and founder of the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary, wrote: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21: 21, 22)

Now and then, we make discoveries which almost take your breath away, namely, when we see what great powers are present in this realm of the invisible. This is especially true when these powers are put to our disposal, when God performs a mighty miracle simply because we ask Him to do so.” (Devotional Jan. 28)

 5.  MOVING MOUNTAINS

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

"Therefore, I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.”  (Mark 11: 22-24)

6. PRAYER OF FAITH

“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church: and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick: and the Lord shall raise him and if he have committed any sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (James 5: 14, 15)         

7.  THESE SIGNS SHALL FOLLOW

“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved and 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; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

“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.” (Mark 16: 15-20)                                         

BRITA GLOPPEN OF BERGEN, NORWAY

Bergen's Labour Newspaper carried a large front page report of Brita Gloppen's amazing miracle healing at the 'Bergen Tabernacle' in May, 1968.  'I WAS HEALED -THREW MY CRUTCHES'.

Brita Gloppen at Mannserk: “It is the Lord that has healed me. A Wonder has happened. Jesus has healed me!” Brita Gloppen has enthusiasm in her voice. She does not have the tiniest doubt in her mind that it is He who has given her health and earlier life back again.

After many years of being in a wheelchair, Brita goes about, healthy and active! While Brita was totally depend on help from others, she can now look after her cosy apartment in Manannverk 32. During the day, she goes out and travels about visiting friends and relatives, and above all she tells about the great thing that has happened to her.

It was a Sunday in May, at one of the meetings the well known Canadian preacher Max Solbrekken had in the Tabernacle. - I was pushed forward, and with help of crutches and others steadying me, I was able to get a place to sit down, tells frk. Gloppen in a conversation with Bergen's Labour Paper.

Max Solbrekken prayed for me and suddenly I was able to walk over the floor without crutches and without help from others. It is totally impossible for me to describe how it happened! But I know that it was our Lord Jesus Christ had mercy upon me and made me well and strong!”(Bergen Labour Paper)

Brita Gloppen used a wheelchair and special crutches for 8 years. For 10 years she was forced to wear a steel corset. Her spine was deteriorated severely and beyond repair. She had spent considerable time in the hospital over the years and had been designated as incurable.

 I was conducting a Gospel Crusade at the Pentecostal Tabernacle in Bergen, Norway when I learned about Brita. For five years Pastor Roald Andersen had dutifully picked her up every Sunday morning in his station wagon and taken her home after the service.

In our May 1968 Crusade, Brita came to receive a miracle from Jesus. She was instantly healed and ran down isles and down the steps and around the church. She walked home after the service! Pastor Roald Andersen stood behind the pulpit and wept, saying, “I have waited 40 years to see such a miracle.

Brita's life was changed overnight. The next morning she was outside washing down her steps and her neighours saw her and heard her testimony, The ladies in the department store wept as they witnessed her trying on dresses two sizes smaller because she no longer needed the steel corset. She travelled by airplane, train, boat, bus, and automobile to visit her siblings, and all but one or two fell on their knees and received Christ as their Saviour! Amen.

 I WAS ON DRUGS, ALCOHOL & CRIPPLED

8Says Arne Erik Tomassen, Gjovik, Norway

 Twenty-nine years ago, I was a hopeless alcoholic and drug addict and had planned to kill myself. I was also crippled. At 17 my right leg stopped growing after an accident. A speeding vehicle struck me while walking, throwing me high into the air! A growth began to develop on my right hip, but I didn't do anything about it at the time, thinking it would go away.

I went to sea and worked on ships and boats and the tumor kept growing. As a 22 years old sailor I was taken to a hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina where I stayed for 8 months and endured several operations, leaving my leg 3 inches shorter. To walk, I had to swing my body awkwardly forward with each step.I also became addicted to morphine!

Life was tough when I returned to Norway. People stared and began calling me, 'den halte pinken' (the halting cripple). From 1969  to 1973, I lived and slept on the streets of Oslo. In early December, I planned to kill myself. I had climbed up on the high railing overlooking a river and in a drunken stupor I was about to throw myself into the ice-cold water when suddenly, I heard a voice, saying “Arne, don't do it. I have a better way for you.”

I was shocked and looking around, I saw no-one. I thought, have I flipped out? Then, I heard the voice again, “Arne, don't do it. I have a better way for you!” Then I thought, “Maybe this is God”, remembering what my mother had taught me.

Suddenly, in my stupor of drugs and alcohol, I remembered what a street friend told me, “If you are ever in trouble, Filadelfia is a good church.” My head had cleared, and I knew that I had to get to that church. God had called my name. With all my strength and a new lease on life, I headed to Filadelfia.

 

An usher asked me where I was going, and I pointed to the preacher behind the pulpit in that large church. I must not let anyone stop me. I must meet the One whose voice I had heard on the bridge! Evangelist Max Solbrekken stepped down and stood waiting for me. He asked, “What do you want?” I said, “I want God.” He threw his arms around me and began to weep, calling upon God to save me and heal me.

And then, it happened! My leg lengthened and straightened out, my head jerked back and I stood as straight as an arrow. And I was stone sober! I was born again and became a member of FiladelfiaTabernaklet!

I am now living in Gjovik and serving the Lord here. God gave me another miracle on January 27, 2002, when Max preached at the Gjovik Pentecostal Church. I had suffered a major hemorrhage of my right eye resulting in complete loss of the sight in that eye!

As Pastor Max prayed for a lady from the Salvation Army Band, total vision returned to me as God's servant prayed for her. God's power swept the sanctuary. Everyone there knew of my plight and word of that miracle has spread throughout the city. We are waiting for Max Solbrekken to return to Gjovik!

 THE WORD OF GOD CANNOT FAIL!

We know that God cannot lie. We know that God cannot change. We know that God cannot fail. We know that God is no respecter of persons, places, or times. We know that His Word is true and will stand for time and eternity!

Jesus said:“Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall opened unto you. For everyone that askethreceiveth; and he that seekethfindeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matt. 7: 7,8)

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible o him that believeth.” (Mark 9:23); “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men this is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10: 27)

The Bible says: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, I we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we KNOW that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” (1 John 5: 14, 15). Amen.

 Max Solbrekken World Mission, Box 44220 RPO Garside, Edmonton, AB T5V 1N6; Email:[email protected]. comehometojesus.ca; Face Book, YouTube. Donations can be made by e-Transfer. Send it to: [email protected].