during Military Rule in Argentina. Major Evangelists had
left, including Luis Palou and Omar Cabrera. Omar asked
Max to hold a crusade in Paraguay. God spoke to Max that
Argentina was ready for a revival. Omar resisted but finally
said, "Okay, we will try Cordova. Jesus Christ moved with
great miracles. Max spoke to the four ruling Colonials and
demanded that they stop their official persecution against
Evangelicals. They agreed and the Revival swept Cordova,
Argentina. On May 15, 1978 about 48,000 persons attended.
Staggering miracles of divine healing occurred daily. Omar
announced another crusade in two weeks and 17,000 were
in attendance. Within 18 months he had a congregation
of 9,000. He had 156 preaching points and ca. 400 preachers.
The great Argentina Revival that has swept millions into
the Kingdom of God, began May 10-15, 1978 in the Rocco
Football Field in Cordova, Argentina to God' glory alone!
WHY REVIVAL TARRIES
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
There are a number of
reasons why more of the mighty works of God are not manifested in this
generation, even though Almighty God has promised in His Word to work in and
through us for that purpose.
JESUS' Great
Commission has been routinely held up as the Church's Marching Orders for the
past 2,000 years. He issued it to His disciples and followers shortly before
his ascension to His Father's Throne in Heaven. It is recorded in the Gospels of
both Matthew and Mark and alluded to in the Book of Acts, as well.
He said: “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; they shall take up serpents and if they shall
drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them. They shall lay their hands on
the sick and they shall recover.” (Mark 16: 15-20)
The commands as well
as the promises of Jesus have been etched in the minds and hearts of His
servants down through the centuries, as the disciples of Jesus Christ have been
led by the Blessed Holy Spirit to make Him known around the world by preaching
His unadulterated Word and praying in His all-powerful Name!
Without doubt, His
followers took Him and His commands seriously which is proven by the historical
fact that every writer of the New Testament, with the exception of John the
Beloved, died as martyrs for Jesus Christ! They went to their deaths with the knowledge
that they were glorifying God through their preaching as well as martyrdom.
MARTYRS FOR JESUS CHRIST!
STEPHEN was mightily used
by God, yet was accused of heresy by Jerusalem's Religious Council and put to
death by stoning. The Bible says: “And
Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the
people.” (Acts 6: 8). After Stephen delivered a great sermon about God's
dealings with Israel and declared that they had crucified their own Messiah,
the Chief Priests went ballistic.
“When
they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him
with their teeth, but he being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly
into Heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of
God. And said, Behold I see the Heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on
the right hand of God. Then they cried with one voice, and stopped their ears,
and ran upon him with one accord. And cast him out of the city, and stoned him;
and the witnesses laid down their stones at a young man's feet, whose name was
Saul.
“And they stoned Stephen, calling upon
God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried
with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said
this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7: 54-60)
When the Holy Spirit
fell upon the 120 in the Upper Room in Jerusalem the Church of the Living God
was born, and thousands were saved, healed and filled with the Holy Spirit.
They were accused: “Did we not straightly command you that ye should not teach
in this name? And
behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend
to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles
answered and said: We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers
raised up Jesus Whom you slew and hanged on a tree.
“Him (Jesus) hath God
exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give
repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of
these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, Whom God hath given to those who
obey Him.” (Acts 5: 28-32)
The Holy Spirit worked
with the disciples as they went to the Gentiles with Christ's Gospel. The
pagans said: “These men who have turned the world upside down, have come
here also.” (Acts 17:6). When Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the Damascus
Road, he fell to the earth. His eyes were burned from the LIGHT which shone around
him and was blind for three days.
Lying in the dust he
heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” He cried out: “Who art Thou, Lord?” Jesus answered: “I am Jesus Whom
thou persecutest.” Saul asked two very important questions: “Who are You, Lord?” and, “What do You want me to do?” These are the two most
important questions everyone should ask the Lord!
In his Pentecostal
message, St. Peter said: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted
out when the ‘times of refreshing’ shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send
Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, Whom the Heaven must receive
until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth
of all His holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:19-21)
THE TIMES OF REFRESHING!
The “times of
refreshing” which the apostle declared would come before Christ's return, most
definitely refers to times of seeking God. There have been numerous seasons
that God has stirred His people to Repent and seek His face during the past two
millennium. Revivals of righteousness must continue until the Church is
revived, believes the Word of God and puts into practice the commands of Jesus!
Repentance of sin and
genuine Conversion must occur in an individual's life before his sins are
blotted out. If there is no change in the life of sinners, even if they begin
attending church, does not amount to a revival. A genuine Refreshing from Above
entails heartfelt remorse for offending Him by an impure lifestyle, unbelief,
pride and rejecting the forgiveness He offers through the vicarious death of
His Son Jesus Christ!
We need go no further back in the history of the backsliding church than
the opposition by large denominations of so-called Christian churches to the
March 3-5, 2017 Vancouver, B.C. Franklin Graham Crusade. Why did those 'Yes-Men' denounce Franklin Graham,
who is a genuine 'man of God'
seeking to turn lost and dying souls to the Saviour Jesus Christ?
Here were their reasons:
They were offended because Graham was against the sins of Sexual Perversion,
Abortion and by calling the Muslim political/religion inherently evil. And
since when is it wrong to preach the Gospel and tell the truth?
MARTIN LUTHER, the
Leader of the Protestant Reformation stated: “ If
I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the
Word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil
are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may
be professing Him. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is
proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and
disgrace if he flinches at that point.”
If they can't stomach
the preaching of Franklin Graham, how could they handle the much more powerful
preaching of Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, Simon Peter,
Stephen, St. Paul, Martin Luther, John Knox, John Wesley, William Booth and
Charles Finney?
WHY REVIVAL TARRIES!
1. Because the Church is no
longer tarrying before the Lord in fervent prayer, for God's love and healing
to be activated in people's lives. The prayer room has been exchanged for the
TV and Lunch room. And the holy altar waits for the sweet smell of hot tears
from supplicants, desperate for God to save their friends and loved ones!
Just before ascending to Heaven, the
Crucified and Resurrected Lord, said: “And behold, I send the promise of the Father upon
you, but TARRY ye in the city of Jerusalem UNTIL ye be endued with POWER from
on High.” (Luke 24: 45-49)
“But ye shall receive power after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be Witnesses unto Me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the
earth.” (Acts 1:8)
The Key Revival
Scripture quoted since time immemorial, has very seldom been put into practice.
Preaching without practice is called hypocrisy.
The Lord states: “If My people which are called by My Name, shall HUMBLE themselves, and PRAY, and SEEK My face, and TURN
from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and will FORGIVE their sin and will HEAL their land.” (2 Chron.7:14)
Jesus promised: “And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask
anything in My name, I will do it. 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: 14-18)
The nearest place to the heart of God is the place of worship, repentance
and faith. The Holy Bible abounds with testimonies of people who came to the
end of themselves and cried out to the Lord and received forgiveness, healing
and deliverance!
The shed blood of Jesus
Christ makes it possible for fallen man to enter into the 'Holy of Holies',
the very Presence of Almighty God! Prayer is the channel through which we make
contact with our Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ!
Our Lord stated: “Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him and he with Me,” (Rev. 3: 20)
Dr. Ole Hallesby,
founder of Norway's Independent Theological Seminary (1931) stated: “I doubt that I know
of a passage in the whole Bible which throws greater light upon prayer than
this one does. It is, it seems to me, the key which opens the door into the
holy and blessed realm of prayer.
“To pray is to let Jesus
into our hearts. This teaches us, in the first place that it is not our prayer
which moves the Lord Jesus. It is Jesus who moves us to pray. He knocks.
Thereby He makes known to us His desire to come in to us.
“Our prayers are always a result of Jesus'
knocking at our hearts' doors. This throws new light upon the old prophetic
passages: “Before they call. I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I
will hear.” (Is.65: 24)
I have often used that
Scripture text as an invitation for sinners to open their hearts to the
Saviour. Dr. Hallesby, however, reveals the heart of Jesus longing to spend
time with His children. “Open your heart to me”, He says. “I
want to sup with you. I want to have fellowship with you.”
PRAYER is the way to
fellowship with Jesus! “Come and dine”, He called to the disciples who had fished all
night and “taken
nothing.” There are times we also may feel as though we have failed the
Lord. Then we cry unto Him and are refreshed once more in His presence.
The Bible says: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In Thy
presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.”
(Psalms 16:11). The place of prayer has been nearly abandoned by most Christians
and replaced by a place of fellowship and other activities.
Dr. Andrew Murray wrote: “It is in Prayer
that promises have their fulfillment, the Kingdom for its coming and the glory of
God for its full revelation. How quickly we are deceived into resting in the
form of prayer, while the power is missing.
“Our early training, the teaching of the
church, the influence of habit, the stirring of the emotions, any of these can
lead to prayer that has virtually no spiritual power to be taught true prayer –
that which takes hold of God's strength and to which the Gates of Heaven are opened wide.”
2.
Because the Church is not eagerly awaiting and longing for
Christ's Return, and is delinquent in disobeying His urgent call to
prepare ourselves for that earth shaking event!
The Word of God says: “Behold, what manner of
love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of
God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.
“Beloved, now are
we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know
that, when He shall Appear we shall be like Him: for we shall see Him as
He is.” (1 John 3:1-2)
Jesus said: “And
this gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations:
and then shall the end come...For as the lightning cometh out of the east and
shineth even unto the west, so shall also the Coming of the Lord
be.
“But of that day
and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels in Heaven, but My Father only. But
as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as
in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew
not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of
the Son of man be.
“Then shall two be
in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two shall be grinding
at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore:
for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come...Therefore be ye also READY: for
in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matt. 24: 14, 27,
36-42, 44)
“Teaching us that,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly in this present world, LOOKING
for that blessed Hope, and the glorious APPEARING
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us...”
(Titus 2: 12-14)
SERVING GOD WHILE WAITING!
“For yet a little
while, and He that shall come will come and will not tarry.” (Heb.10:
37); “For they themselves show us...how
ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to WAIT for
His Son from Heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered
us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thes.1: 9,10)
JESUS promised that He would return: “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. 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. I will not leave comfortless; I will come to
you.” (John 14: 1-3,18)
“And ye now therefore
have sorrow: but
I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man
taketh from you,” (John 16: 22); “And now little children, abide in Him; that, when
He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at His
Coming.” (1 John 2:28)
“Beloved, now are we
the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall do: but we know that,
when He shall APPEAR, we shall be like Him: for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that
hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure. (1 John
3:3,4)
“And when the Chief
Shepherd shall APPEAR, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away,”
(1 Peter 5: 4); “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When
Christ, Who is our life, shall APPEAR, then shall ye also appear with Him in
glory.” (Col.3: 4)
“Behold, I show you a
MYSTERY; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor. 15: 51,52)
“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).
The first time Jesus
came, it was as the sin bearer, as God's Paschal Lamb and our Substitute to put
away sin forever through His vicarious death for us all. The next time He comes,
it will be as the glorified Reigning King!
Here is the KEY – Unto
them that LOOK for Him and are waiting patiently for His return, He will abide
and work His miracle power! When that happens Revival fires will burn again in
the Church!
3.
Because the Church has become LUKEWARM in its love for our Saviour and is in
grave danger! There is nothing more dangerous than having only a little oil in
our lamp and feeling that we are safe. We must keep our lights burning brightly
for Christ continually!
JESUS warned: “Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven
be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom. And five of them were wise and five were foolish. They that were foolish took
their lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels
with their lamps.
“While the bridegroom
tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at MIDNIGHT there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go
ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish
said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
“But the wise answered,
saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to
them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And when they went to buy, the
bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and
the door was shut.
“Afterward came also the other virgins,
saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily, I say unto
you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour
wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matt. 25: 1-13)
BECAUSE THOU ART LUKEWARM!
Appearing to St. John in a blinding light, JESUS warned: “And
unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: I know
thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. So then because thou art LUKEWARM, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
“Because thou sayest,
I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not
that art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of
Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment that
thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and
anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I
rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and Repent.” (Rev. 3: 14-19)
Out of the seven
churches our Lord addressed on Patmos, five were commanded to Repent
or Else! The Laodicean church which mirrors many of the churches of
today was singled out as needing a strong revival of repentance and
righteousness. May Almighty God have mercy upon us all and send us a gracious
REVIVAL.
4.
Because the Church has taken away from the Holy Spirit the leadership of His
Church, placing it into human hands. The One Whom Jesus Christ, the Head
of the Church, sent to lead His Church has been replaced by men like the Pope,
Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and Pastors!
JESUS CHRIST stated: “And behold, I send the Promise
of the Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be
endued with power from on High.” (Luke 24: 49)
“And being assembled
together with them, commanded that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but
wait for the Promise of the Father, which ye have heard of Me. For John truly
baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days
hence.
“But ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth.” (Acts 1: 4, 5, 8)
“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 unto you.” (John 14: 16, 17)
“And Jesus answered and
said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love
him, and WE will come unto him and abide with him.” (John 14: 23).
Almighty God is One in
Three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ declared that He would
return together with the Father in the Person of the Holy Spirit and abide with
us. If we love Jesus (verse 21) and keep His Word, the Father is obligated to
love us and live within us! (John
15: 5-7; Col. 3:3; Eph. 3: 17; 4: 6)
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN CHARGE!
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is
expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the COMFORTER will not come unto you, but if I depart, I
will send Him unto you.
“And
when He is come, He will reprove the world of Sin, and of Righteousness, and of
Judgment; Of sin, because they believe not on Me. Of righteousness, because I
go unto My Father, and ye see Me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of
this world (Satan) is judged.
“I have yet many things to tell
you, but ye cannot bear them now. 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 give it unto you. All things
that the Father has are Mine: therefore said I, He shall take of mine, and show
it unto you.” (John 15: 26; 16:13)
In 1968, God
gave us amazing Gospel crusades in the West Indies, Norway and Newfoundland,
where our Saviour poured out His Spirit in an extra ordinary way resulting in
thousands of souls being saved, many filled with the Holy Spirit and a number
of notable miracles. Our crusades across Norway lasted 3 1/2 months with
newspapers writing about the amazing Move of God in that nation.
During our Crusade at the F.G.
Bursey Memorial Tabernacle, near Lewisporte I was invited to go on
their Radio Network across Newfoundland.
During the interview their leading Radio Commentater began to tear-up. I realized
what was happening and asked, “Are you a backslider? He said, “Yes. Would
you please speak for ten minutes on the greatest mistake the Church has
made in the last 2,000 years.”
Immediately God gave me answer. I said, “The Greatest
Mistake the Church has made since its inception is two- fold. Number one:
The Church has taken the authority and leadership out of the hands of the Holy
Spirit and put that authority into human hands. Instead of the Blessed Holy
Spirit of God leading the church, men like the Popes, Cardinals, Archbishops,
Bishops and Pastors are leading the Church.
“And number two: The Church has rejected the authority of the
Word which the Holy Spirit has anointed, the Holy Bible!
I had the privilege of praying
with the interviewer and for the listeners. After signing off, he and
I were walking toward the front desk when I noticed two men walking quickly
toward us. I thought possibly they were going to 'chew me out' for causing their leading interviewer to become emotional,
but they were as happy as could be. They said, “All the telephone lines
are jammed. More than 70,000 people are listening. We have a TV Station across
the street, please go over there and do the same thing.”
In 1987,
Donna and I were invited to the First Pentecostal Conference of Latin America
in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There were
six of us preaching at the 35,000 seat stadium. The theme of the Convention
was, 'The Holy Spirit in the World'. Earlier, Newsweek Magazine's cover stated:
'LATIN AMERICA
PREDOMINANTLY CARDINAL RED, TURNING PROTESTANT BLACK.'
The large article stated that every hour
400 people were converting from the Roman Catholic to the Evangelical Faith. In
my column for the Edmonton Sun that week, I wrote: “The Roman Catholic
Church believes that the Pope is the Vicar or vice Christ of the Church and in
that position is in charge of the Church. I'm sorry, Pope John Paul 11, I did
not know that the Holy Spirit had taken Early Retirement.”
5.
Because the Church has forgotten the words of Jesus Christ's Great Commission and
have lost the burden for the unsaved. The Church has grown listless in this
late hour and needs a massive revival and refreshing to right the ship and
return to being a people of “called
out ones from the world”; the soul winning Church!
The Great Evangelist, D.L.
Moody stated: “Shame on the
Christianity of the 19th Century. It is a weak and sickly thing.
Would to God that we had a few men like Daniel living here today.”
Vance Havner, the powerful Baptist Preacher,
stated: “Many
years ago in Scotland in a certain community the fires had all gone out. They
searched everywhere to see if anyone had fire. Finally they found a humble
house where the hearth stone glowed with a cheery flame. Soon they were
carrying coals here and there to replenish their own blackened fire places.
Today, there are weary hearts, discouraged souls, needy churches looking for a
soul with fire, someone kept aglow in spite of the world, flesh and the Devil.”
Robert Murray Mcheyne said: “Men return again and again to the few who have mastered the spiritual
secret, whose life has been hid with Christ in God. These are of the Old Time
Religion, hung to the nails of the cross.”
Leonard Ravenhill stated: “The greatest tragedy is a sick church in a dying
world.”
The Bible says: “And Jesus went about all the
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of
the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But
when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they
fainted and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
HARVEST IS TRULY PLENTEOUS!
“Then
saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous but the labourers
are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest, that He will send forth
more labourers into His harvest.” (Matt. 9: 35-38)
The Bible says: “Be
patient therefore, unto the Coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth
for the Precious Fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it,
until He receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient; establish
your hearts: for the COMING of the Lord draweth nigh.” (James 5: 7, 8)
We are asked to be
patient with a long patience and not give up, throw in the towel or stop in our
quest for souls. The work of sowing and reaping must continue. We cannot, must
not and will not stop until our Lord returns. He is counting on us to finish
the work He began so long ago at such a tremendous cost!
The Bible states: “Grace be to you
and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself
for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according
to the will of God the Father.” (Gal.1: 3, 4)
“But
for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up
Jesus our Lord from the dead. Who was delivered for our offenses, and was
raised again for our justifications.” (Rom, 4: 24, 25)
“For as much as ye know
that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold but with
the precious BLOOD of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish or without spot, Who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world. But was manifest in
these last times for you.
“Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him
up from the dead, and gave Him glory, that your faith and your hope might be in
God.” (1 Peter 1: 18-21).
JESUS said: “Say not ye,
There are yet for months and then cometh Harvest, Behold I say unto you, Lift
up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And
he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that
both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.” (John 4: 35, 36)
“I must work the works of Him Who sent Me (Father in Heaven) while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am
in the world, I am the Light of
the world.” (John 9: 4, 5)
DR. CALVIN MILLER wrote: "Missions is a divine madness
that hears the voice of God's only begotten, crying from a mountaintop, into
all the world (Matt. 28:18-20).
It takes this cry to bed and pillow every night. It wakes at every dawn,
as Christ whispers in the heart, "I was dead, but look-I am alive forever
and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. You must arise for I have
come to seek and to save that which was lost. There is no time to waste, the
world is loved and doesn't know it.”
JOHN HARPER'S LAST CONVERT!
RMS Titanic with 2,224 passengers and crew aboard
on its maiden journey from Southampton to New York City, sank in the North
Atlantic Ocean at about 2:00 AM, April 15, 1912. Four days after their launch
they struck a massive ice berg and sank a couple hours later. Some were so sure they would be rescued and
refused to get into the life boats, so many left less than filled.
There were only enough
lifeboats for half of those aboard. Between 1490 and 1635 perished. They had
received 6 warnings of sea ice on April 14, but the owner refused to slow down or
take a longer and safer route. They wanted to set a record. The Owner stated
that nothing could sink the Titanic and the builder had boasted, “Not even God
could sink that ship!”
A Baptist preacher John
Harper gave his life jacket
to an unsaved person and had the band play 'Nearer my God to Thee'. Harper carried his little daughter to
the life boat and kissed her goodbye. He went about urging people to pray and
call upon the Lord. He said, “Let the women, children and the unsaved
into the boats.”
When the ship went down he found himself in
the freezing water holding on to a piece of the wreckage. People were crying,
praying and screaming all around. He noticed a young man near him and shouted: “Young
man, are you saved?” He answered, “No.” The preacher
shouted, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” A wave came and carried him away.
A few minutes later,
he saw the young man near him again and he shouted: “Are you saved now?”
The young man answered, “Not yet.” John Harper shouted, “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” And then, the
young man saw the preacher's hands lose their grip and watched him slide down
into the water.
A couple weeks
later, a young man rose to his feet in a Gospel meeting in New York City to
give his testimony. He recounted what I have just written. In closing he said, “I
am that young man and I'm here to tell you that with several miles of water
under me I believed and I'm here to tell you that I am John Harper's Last Convert.”
Remember, Jesus
Christ said: “Come unto Me all ye who labour and are heavy laden and I will
give you rest.” (Matt. 11: 28); “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to
Me; and him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6: 37).
Although we have not
experienced the fierceness of such drastic persecution in the Western World,
millions of our brothers and sisters in the Islamic world and other
totalitarian nations are presently being tortured, raped, beheaded and even
crucified for the name of Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen.
MOODY NEWS wrote: "90,000 Christians were murdered for their
faith around the world in 2016 according to the Center for the Study of Global
Christianity, the number of Christians martyred in the last decade at 900,000
which amounts to one Christian killed every 6 minutes. Amy Kellogg explained
that their definition for a martyr is anyone who lost their life prematurely as
a result of human hostility, while they were upholding Christianity.
"This makes Christians
the most persecuted religious group in the world", Kellogg said. - From Special Report on CSGC – (02/07/17)
Although, I have listed five reasons, 'Why
Revival Tarries' there are more. I can with honest heart and great
sadness, lay much of the blame upon compromising theologians who have
independently and in concert with others, had the audacity to inject their own
interpretation of key texts, instead of being faithful to the original Word of
God!
This has brought a watering down of God's
Word and planted doubts in the hearts of the reader. The Holy Bible warns: “This know also, that the last days perilous
times shall come…Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:
from such turn away. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall
suffer persecution.
“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse
and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 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 perfected, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works.”(2 Tim.3: 1,3,12, 13, 16, 17)
We have been given a mandate and command
by our Lord Jesus Christ and yet so few are obedient to His call. Yet, the
Church of Jesus Christ has pulled back from the front lines of battle against
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 theory and New Age teaching.
They have traded the truth for a lie and
bought into the philosophy that God no longer works 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 High 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. 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 – singularly or in concert
with like-mined 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 – 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 it cannot be known to be God’s Word written.” (Article XX).
My Prayer is: Help
us O Lord, in this momentous time of need for Thy Gospel to be preached with great
Holy Spirit Unction and Power. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
