THE BOOK OF GOD
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
“Oh, give me that book. At any price, give me the Book of God! I have
it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be a man of One Book.” - John Wesley
JOHN WESLEY founded the Methodist Church in
England after losing his parish in the Anglican Church, for preaching the true
evangelical Gospel of Jesus Christ. He stood on his father's grave and preached
to the people. They asked him, “What will you do
now that you have lost your parish?” He answered, “The world is my parish!”
Before long, he was preaching to 50,000 people in cow pastures and
elsewhere and the Revival swept England, and Methodist Churches were springing
up everywhere! Historians now believe that John Wesley's Revivals could well
have kept Britain from a similar fate of that which almost destroyed the nation
of France!
In his great humility, that mighty man of God
wrote, “I am
a creature of a day, passing through life, as an arrow through the air. I am a
spirit come from God, and returning to God. Just hovering over the great gulf;
till a few moments hence, I am no more seen! I drop into an unchangeable
eternity!
“I want
to know one thing, the way to Heaven: How to land safe on that Happy Shore. God
Himself has condescended to teach the Way; for this very end He came from
Heaven. He has written it down in a BOOK! Oh, give me that Book! At any price,
give me the Book of God. I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be
a man of one Book!
Many religious books were
available, but JOHN WESLEY wanted none of them. He wasn't in the habit of
reading nonsense, false prophecies, mere speculation and down-right lies! His
heart was set on the Holy Bible, which promises a man eternal life if he seeks God with a true heart
and sincere spirit!
Jesus Christ
declared: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he
cannot see the Kingdom of God. That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.” (John 3: 3,
6, 7).
THE
HOLY BIBLE IS THAT BOOK!
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 anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life
was the Light of men.
“He was in the world, and the world was
made by Him, and the world knew Him not. But as many as received Him, to them
gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His
name. And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John
1:1-4,10,12,14)
You
cannot divorce Jesus Christ from His Word. He is the Living Word and the Holy
Bible is the Written Word! JESUS the Word was incarnated (God in human flesh) to become God's
Paschal Lamb and die vicariously for the sins of the world! He was born to die
so that we could live. His death was victorious and His Resurrection was
glorious!
Some people ask: “On what basis have you derived that the Holy
Bible is the inspired, sacred, inerrant Word of God?” I could cite
hundreds of reasons but I only need one. Jesus Christ the Son of God, Who is
all Wisdom and all Knowledge, believed it to be the very Word of God and quoted
from it regularly!
“For
had ye believed Moses: ye would have
believed Me; for he wrote of Me. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day:
and he saw it, and was glad... Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 5:45, 46; 8:58);
“And have ye not read this Scripture; the one which the builders rejected is
become the head of the corner?” (Mark 12: 10)
“But He
said unto them, Have ye not read what David did when he was an hungered, and
they that were with him and they that were with him... Or have ye not read in
the law, how that on the Sabbath days...?” (Matt. 12: 5,6; “Then He said unto
them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken?” (Luke 24:25)
St.
Paul enumerates some of His grandeur, power and attributes: “In Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And
ye are complete in Him, which is the Head of all principality and power.”
(Col. 1:2 ,9,10)
The Bible records the historical birth
of Jesus of Nazareth in Bethlehem, as was prophesied by Isaiah the prophet
seven hundred years earlier. His vicarious death by crucifixion was recorded
by Jewish Scribes and officials of the Roman Authority.
His glorious resurrection from the dead was recorded
and magnified by the Holy Spirit through the ministries of His Apostles, disciples
and followers, who preached the Gospel, healed the sick and cast out devils in
His name. The Roman guards who were overcome by the presence of God's angels at
the tomb of Jesus, quite possibly secretly spread the news of what happened
that morning.
The Roman Centurion who witnessed the earthquake
and verified Jesus' death to Pontius Pilate, undoubtedly investigated the
damaged temple including the torn veil which had opened the Holy of Holies to public view. Tradition says that
the Centurion became a missionary and died as a martyr for Jesus. The Empty
Tomb proved that Jesus had risen from the dead on the third day. There was no
trace of a body, but His burial clothes and napkin were left behind.
There are three things that
humanists, atheists and Christ haters can't figure out. It almost drives them
crazy, namely the Empty Tomb, the Missing body of Jesus and the Conversion of
the Saul of Tarsus, the Jewish Enforcer!
JESUS CHRIST THE WORD OF GOD!
Our
Saviour stated: “No-one knows the Father except the Son.” (Matt. 11: 27); “My
teaching is not Mine, but My Father Who sent Me.” (John 7:16); “Verily, verily I
say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not
our witness.
“If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man
hath ascended up to Heaven but He that came down from Heaven, even the Son of
man which is in Heaven.
He declared: “And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 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: 11-16)
The
reason that I trust Jesus Christ is because He is the Word of God and the
Author of the Bible. Even though He was incarnated (God in human flesh),
He was still in “the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18) and as verse 13
confirms: “even
the Son of man which is in Heaven.” In the natural, this is beyond human
reasoning because the Mystery of the Triune God is incomprehensible. He does
not ask us to understand Him, however, but simply to believe Him. And that is
not difficult!
God still answers PRAYER! He has not
changed His Word or methodology to please some airy- fairy, arrogant, proud,
puny, so-called intellectual academics who parade themselves as knowing more than
the Holy Spirit and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yet, the Church of Jesus Christ has pulled
back from the front lines of battle with the Devil. Fear has overcome faith and
secular humanism has trumped genuine spirituality. Some of God's servants are
intimidated by the pervading philosophy of political correctness, evolutionary
theories and new age teaching.
They have traded the truth for a lie, and
bought into the philosophy that God no longer does miracles and that we must
discount the Bible and put our trust in the arm of flesh. Many preachers have inadvertently
been deceived by the phraseology of the so-called 'Higher Critics' who have cleverly
implanted doubts by parsing certain words in the Bible. They have insidiously
driven a wedge between Almighty God and His Own Word.
SOME
TRADED THE TRUTH FOR A LIE!
How can you trust God,
if you cannot trust His WORD in totality? Those men in the interest of their
profession as theologians trained in linguistics singly or in concert with colleagues –
often make pronouncements, depending on their own preconceived ideas which
often leads to doubts about the meaning of certain texts.
In his book, 'God Has Spoken' J.I.
Packer writes: “Mesmerized by the problems of rationalistic criticism, we can no
longer hear the Bible as the Word of God. Liberal theology, in its pride, has
long insisted that we are wiser than our
fathers about the Bible and must not read it as they did, but must base our approach to it on the 'assured results'
of criticism, making due allowance for human imperfections and errors of its
authors.
“This insistence has a threefold effect. It
produces a new papalism – the infallibility of the scholars, from whom we learn
what the 'assured results' are. “It raises a doubt about every single biblical
passage, as to whether it truly embodies revelation or not. And it destroys the
reverent, receptive, self-distrusting attitude of approach to the Bible,
without which if cannot be known to be GOD'S WORD
written.”
There is only one Word to describe the
insidious work of such deceived or deceptive men and their work and that is “DEVILISH'! The
Bible declares: “For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.” (Heb.4: 12).
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly
furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17); “For prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1: 21)
JESUS CHRIST: CREATOR OF ALL THINGS!
“Who hath delivered us from the power of Darkness, and hath
translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son: In Whom we have Redemption through His BLOOD,
even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of every creature:
“For by Him were all things created, that
are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: ALL things were created by
Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.
And He is the HEAD of the body, the Church; Who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased
the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.
“And
having made Peace through the BLOOD of His Cross, by Him to reconcile all
things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things
in Heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by
wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled. In the body of His flesh, through
Death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.”
(Col. 1: 13-22)
MOSES stated: “Ask now of the days that
are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth,
and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any
such thing as this great thing is or hath been heard like.” (Duet.4:32)
ISAIAH declared: “For thus saith the Lord
that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath
established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am
the Lord and there is NONE
else. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together:
“Who hath declared this from ancient time?
Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? And there is NO God else beside Me; a just God and
a Saviour; there is NONE beside
Me. Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and
there is NONE else.” (Is.
26:18, 21,22)
“Remember
the former things of old: for I am God, and there is NONE else; I am God and
there is NONE else, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient
times the things that are not yet done, saying, My Counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” (Is.
46: 9, 10)
King David stated: “For ever, O Lord, Thy
Word is settled in Heaven.” (Ps. 119:89). And St. Paul commanded: “Preach the Word; be instant in season,
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will
come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Tim.4: 2-4).
NOT
ONE WORD HAS FAILED!
King Solomon stated:
“Blessed be the Lord that hath given rest unto His people Israel, according to
all that He promised: there hath not failed one word of all His good promise,
which He promised by the hand of Moses, His servant.” (1 Kings 8: 56)
As children in DVBS and church we used to
sing: “Jesus
never fails, Jesus never fails; Heaven and earth may pass away, but Jesus never
fails.” We were, of course,
saying what God's Word, the Holy Bible declares: “The promises of God in Him
(Christ) are YEA, and in Him AMEN, unto the glory of God by us.
Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God.
Who hath also SEALED us, and given us the earnest of the
Spirit in our heart.” (2 Cor. 1:20-22)
Another hymn we
cherished is, 'Standing
on the Promises of God'. Some of the words were: “Standing on the
promises of Christ my King. Through eternal ages let His praises sing; Glory in
the Highest, I will shout and sing. Standing on the promises of God. Standing
on the promises which cannot fall, Listening every moment for the Spirit's
call; Resting in my Saviour as my all in all, I'm standing on the promises of
God.”
The
promises of God in the Holy Bible are sure and steadfast and will be fulfilled,
as stated. The Scripture says: “Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast seen
well: for I will hasten My Word to perform it.” (Jer. 1: 12). “Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest
unto His people Israel, according to all that He had promised: there hath not
failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised by the hand of Moses
His servant.” (1 Kings 8: 56)
God is transcendent, other worldly, above and beyond. He is omnipotent,
everywhere present at once. He is holy, pure, righteous, infinitely good,
compassionate and gracious. He is merciful and just and changeless, the same
yesterday, today and forever.
He
kept His Word to Adam. He kept His Word to Noah. He kept His Word to Abraham.
He kept His Word to Joseph. He kept His Word to Moses. He kept His Word to
Jesus. He kept His Word to Peter, He kept His Word to John. He kept His Word to
Stephen. He kept His Word to Philip. He kept His Word to Paul and He will keep
His Word to us!
THAT IT MIGHT BE FULFILLD!
Repeatedly, the Bible
records that things which happened to our Lord Jesus Christ were fulfillment of
the prophecies given earlier by prophets of God! The Bible says: “Knowing this
first that no prophecy of the Scriptures is of any private interpretation. For
the prophecy came not by the will of man: but Holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1: 20, 21)
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof. For correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2
Tim.3: 16, 17); “For the Word of God is quick (alive) and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12)
Jesus said: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not
pass away.” (Matt. 24: 35); “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. And the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1: 1,2, 14)
“Of His Own Will begat He us with the WORD of TRUTH, that we should be a
kind of first fruits of His creatures. Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every
man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Wherefore lay apart all
filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted
WORD, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:18-21)
After His resurrection, Jesus spoke to His disciples: “And He said unto
them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses,
and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me.” (Luke 24: 44)
In his message to the household of Cornelius, St. Peter stated: “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...To him give all the prophets
witness, that through His Name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive
remission of sins.” (Acts 10: 38)
PROF. FREDERIC HARRISON, in a lecture
given at Oxford, stated: “The English Bible is the best that our literature can give us in
simple noble prose.” SIR WALTER SCOTT stated: “In the whole world it is THE BOOK; all other books are mere leaves, fragments.”
PROF. DYSON HAGUE said: “Yes, it alone is the
universal Book, the eternal Book. It is a Voice; all others are merely books
for the hour. The Bible is the book of all time. It stands alone;
unapproachable in grandeur; as high above all other books as heaven is above
the earth, as the Son of God above the sons of men.”
MARTIN
LUTHER said: “God
writes the Gospel not only in the Bible, but creation itself. O Lord, how
manifold are Thy Works. In wisdom Thou hast made them. The earth is full of its
riches.” (Ps. 104: 24). “Martin Luther lived and moved in the heart
of the Scriptures and this was the secret of his strength.” -
Philip Schaff, noted historian
ST. AGUSTINE said: “If God is Love,
then there must be in Him a Lover, a Beloved and a Spirit of Love.” JEAN-JACQUES
ROUSSEAU (1712 - 1778) a French philosopher stated: “Behold the works of our philosophers, with all their pompous diction,
how mean and contemptible are they in comparison with the Scriptures.”
A REALLY GREAT QUESTION!
“Who is a God like unto Thee, that
pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in Mercy. He will
turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities. And
Thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7: 18, 19)
The prophet asks the question: “Who is a God like
unto Thee? That is a really great question. First, no other God exists.
There may be imitators, demon impersonators or man-made gods, but there is only
one TRUE GOD! Second, look at what He does. He is Righteous, Just, Good,
Merciful, Long suffering, Patient, Forgiving, Gracious and Compassionate!
He
pardons iniquity, meaning He has power to forgive Sins. He retains not His
anger forever. He knows our weaknesses. He overlooks our errors when we
repent. He delights in mercy. He doesn't
delight in punishing us because He loves us. He has compassion on us. He
subdues our iniquities by giving us power to overcome sinful habits. He forgets our sins when He forgives them. He
shows great mercy upon us! There is no god like God the Father, Jesus Christ,
the Son and the Holy Spirit!
“For as the heaven is high
above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the
East is from the West, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like
as a Father pitieth His children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For
He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” (Ps. 103: 11-14)
“Behold for PEACE I had great bitterness:
but Thou hast in LOVE to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for
Thou hast cast all my SINS behind Thy back.” (Is. 38: 17). The Hebrew word used
here refers to the part of the back between the shoulder blades. It is
impossible to see anything that is behind your back, between your shoulder
blades!
“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is
within me, bless His Holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all
His benefits: Who FORGIVETH all thine iniquities; Who HEALETH all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with loving kindness
and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth
is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for
all that are oppressed.” (Ps.103: 1-6)
The BIBLE states: “And Moses said unto
God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them,
The God of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is
His Name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus
shall thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent you ... This is My
name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.” (Ex. 3:13-15).
“I AM the Lord thy God, the Holy One of
Israel, thy Saviour ... Fear thou not, for I am with thee...Ye are My
witnesses, saith the Lord...I even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is none
else, there is NO God beside Me: I girded thee, though thou thou hast not known
Me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that
there is none beside Me. I AM the Lord, and there is none else.” (Is.43:3,5,10;
45:5,6)
For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore
ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Mal. 3: 6); “Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb.13:8
CAN MORTAL MAN DEFINE GOD?
The
Character of God: How can mortal man define it? It is impossible to define the
character of Almighty God. How can mortal man define the Righteous, Holy, Pure,
True and irreproachable character of the
Heavenly Father Who offered the inexpressible gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, to
deliver lost humanity?
Incomprehensible is the word that best lends itself to this most
difficult task. Here are some of the characteristics which we carefully call
the attributes of God: justice, merciful, gracious, love, goodness, holiness,
eternal, righteous, sovereignty, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, self
-existence, transcendence, immanence, immutability.
Jesus Christ says: “Come
unto Me all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
(Matt. 11: 28); “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass
away.” (Matt. 24: 35); “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and on 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
whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end
of the world. Amen. (Matt.28: 18, 20).
MY PERSONAL TESTIMONY!
The God of the Universe is my personal Saviour,
Lord and Friend! He is my Advocate, Physician, and Counsellor. His Name
means, ‘The God who saves, the God who heals, the God who protects and the God
who delivers from all Evil’!
He is Yeshua
ha Mashiach - the Salvation of God and King Messiah - Jesus the Christ
of God! Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father! (Phil. 2: 10). He is nearer than
the breath I breathe and the blood that flows through my veins, because He
is in me and I am in Him and I am hid with Christ in God! (John 6: 48-63; 14:16-23; 15:7; 2 Cor.5:17)
I
am His doulos (gr. love
slave) because He owns me, having
purchased my eternal salvation at the cost of His own precious blood. And I
will be eternally grateful to Him for His compassion, love and mercy toward me,
a lost and condemned sinner afloat on the sea of life, filled only with plans
for material wealth and worldly ambition!
In His great mercy, He waited for me to realize
that I needed Him. It took a miracle to recruit me into His Army. When my
father was instantly healed in his gall bladder through the Radio Ministry of
Oral Roberts and baptized in the Holy Spirit a few days later, I saw for the
first time in my life the reality of God working in people’s lives.
(1 John 1: 1-7)
NO LONGER ONLY A THEORY!
It was no
longer only a theory, but Jesus Christ became a living reality whom I could no
longer resist. By following Him, I was offered eternal life instead of having
my own way which would end in eternal death! (1 John 5:
10-13)
When He called me I said, “Yes! I want this. This
is real, not just a figment of the imagination or a set of rules and
regulations, but LIFE in its highest form. I humbled myself to embrace the Life
Giver Himself, the God of Creation, the Lord of lords and the King of all
kings and Ruler Divine, Jesus Christ the Great Physician!
St. Paul stated that he was not worthy to
be an apostle because in his ignorance, he had persecuted the followers of
Christ! (Eph.3: 7, 8; 1 Cor. 15: 9) In that respect, we are all guilty if we do
not give God the praise, honour and glory that He deserves and demands.
Praise be to the matchless name of Jesus
Christ, my Faithful High Priest, Who pleads my cause before our Heavenly Father
(Heb.7: 24, 25) and my Deliverer who keeps the Evil One at bay and fleeing in
terror! (James 4: 7)
Speaking
to His disciples, Jesus said: “Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I
command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not
what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have
heard of My Father I have made known unto you.” (John 15: 14,15)
He shared with them His innermost
feelings just before going to the Cross. He had prior knowledge. He knew His mission and He shared with His
disciples what His Father had told Him; That He had come to earth to die for
the sins of the world and rise again in power and great glory in order to
redeem Adam’s fallen race!
He divulged that He had come to do His
Father’s Will. He spoke with them of His love and compassion for the lost, sick
and dying, and He proved His great love and grace by forgiving the sinful,
healing the sick and showing mercy to the outcasts.
Jesus healed all who came seeking His merciful
touch. He had great compassion for the weak and struggling souls who
reached out in their desperation for His holy touch!
GOD’S GRACE, MERCY &
LOVE!
The Gospel of God's grace, mercy and
love: There is nothing like it and never will be! In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus unburdened His heart to His Father as
He cried out: “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me;
Nevertheless, not as I will, BUT AS THOU WILT.” (Matt. 26:39)
Angels came to minister unto Him in His hour of
temptation and we have come to understand that they are also messengers sent to
minister to us in the time of need. (Psalm 34: 7; Heb.1: 14) )
As Jesus prayed on the Rock of the Agony in
Gethsemane, His sweat became like drops of Blood, knowing that He was entering
the final phase of His Redemptive plan that had been formulated before the
creation of the world! (Luke 22: 43, 44)
The Gospel of God’s grace and mercy! There is nothing like it anywhere.
No love story as tender, no message as
powerful, no news as far reaching and enduring as the Gospel and no Name as
great as the name of Jesus Christ the World's Only Saviour!
St. Paul speaks of “the
unsearchable Riches in Christ,” and
the “eternal purpose which God purposed in Christ Jesus.”
He prayed: “That Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,
that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3: 17-21)
No wonder King David said: “The fool (idiot) has said
in his heart there is no God.” (Psalms 14: 1) An idiot can
say that there is no God. He is an idiot and does' not know any better!
After more than fifty years of study, research
and travel meeting people from all walks of life, I can certainly ascertain
that infidels, atheists and New Age advocates are spiritually retarded, proud
and ignorant about the real issues of life.
By the same token, I can safely say that
most of the great men I have studied or met, believed in the God of Creation
and His wondrous works! The brutish man has the characteristics of a stupid and
irrational person and a fool knows nothing!
King David was a prophet of God. He
stated: “For Thou, Lord hast made me glad through Thy work: I will triumph in
the works of Thy hands. O Lord, how great are Thy works! And Thy thoughts are
very deep. A brutish man knoweth not: neither does a fool understand this.”
(Psalm 92: 5, 6)
GEN. DOUGLAS MacARTHUR said: “Believe
me, Sir, never a night goes by, be I ever so tired, but I read the Word of God
before I go to bed.”
THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON: January 25,
1941. To the Armed Forces:
As
Commander-in-Chief I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to
all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the
centuries men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the sacred Book
words of wisdom, counsel and inspiration. It is a fountain of strength and now,
as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul.” Very
sincerely yours, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
GEORGE WASHINGTON
(1789-1791) stated: “It is impossible to govern the world without God and the
Bible.” Fifty two of the fifty six signers of the Declaration of Independence
were Christians!
ROBERT R. LEE said, “The Bible is a Book
in comparison with which all others are in my eyes of minor importance.”
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE stated: “The Bible is
more than a book. It is a living being with an action, a power which invade
everything which opposes its extension.”
The HOLY BIBLE is the first book ever to
be printed in 1452. Miles Cloverdale printed the first English translation of the Holy Bible in the year of 1535.
ALBERT CAMUS said: “I would rather live my life as if there is a
God and die to find out that there isn't, than to live my life as if there
isn't and die to find out there is.”
JOB, the oldest patriarch of the Bible
stated: “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the
latter Day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes
shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” (Job 19:
25-27)
ST. PAUL, the brilliant theologian, who
met Jesus in a blinding light that charred his eyes, and was tutored by Him and
even carried into Heaven and saw such things that he was forbidden to reveal,
stated: “I believe God.” (Acts
27: 25).
All Glory, Praise and Majesty be unto to
God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost forever and ever, for He has redeemed us
unto Himself for His good pleasure and our eternal blessedness and joy!
ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED!
The Bible says: “Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before Him in love:
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His
will. To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted
in the Beloved.
“In Whom we have REDEMPTION through His
Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His Grace. Wherein
He hath abounded unto us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us
the Mystery of His Will, according to His Good Pleasure which He hath purposed
in Himself:
“That in the dispensation of the
fullness of times He might gather together in ONE all things in Christ, both
which are in Heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him: In Whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will.” (Eph. 1: 3-11).
The call of God still goes out to the
lost, sick and suffering: “Come unto Me all ye who labour and are heavy laden
and I will give you REST.” (Matt. 11: 28).
DR. OLE HALLESBY, Evangelical Lutheran
Church, Norway (Devotional Jan. 28): “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.”
JOHN WESLEY stated: “Give me
one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and
I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake
the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.” Amen.
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