WHY WE NEED
REVIVAL TODAY
By Pastor Max
Solbrekken, D.D.
The Bible says: “Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may
rejoice in Thee?” (Ps. 85: 6); “For My people have committed two evils;
they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out
cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer. 2: 13)
“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 sins and heal
My land.” (2 Chron.7: 14)
“Come now, and let us reason together,
saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Is. 1: 18)
“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)
FRANCIS SHAEFFER, a celebrated
theologian wrote in 1971: “We are on the verge of the largest revolution
the world has ever seen – the control and shaping of men through the
abuse of genetic knowledge and psychological reconditioning.”
Francis Shaeffer based his projection on what was happening in the
beginning of the seventies, as well as the prophecies given in the Holy
Scriptures 2000 years ago! Undoubtedly, Shaeffer was referring to the brain
washing technique used in the Soviet Union and Communist China.
The most dangerous ‘psychological
reconditioning’ however, has been slyly and cleverly forced upon
millions of children in our schools and unsuspecting parents by
the media, during the last two or three decades through ‘political
correctness!
POLITICIAN’S HAVE SET
DESTRUCTIVE! COURSE
In the early seventies, Pierre Trudeau
charted a course that would destroy our civilized, respectable and
time-honoured laws on capital punishment, divorce, homosexuality and
bestiality, abortion and marijuana use!
Regrettably, he succeeded in making
things “abhorrent” to most Canadians “seem less reprehensible” to
a gullible public! His political cronies have since escalated his concepts and
now the brain washing is almost complete!
In
this little booklet I try to convey the heart - beat of God regarding the Church,
for which Jesus Christ “gave His life as a ransom”
and rose from the dead in power and great glory!
As true believers in the Eternal God
and His Son Jesus Christ whom He sent to redeem lost mankind, we embrace the
Holy Bible as “the only rule for faith, morals and ethics”. We reject
all other teachings and philosophies that do not agree
with His Word!
The Protestant Reformers rejected the
corrupt church of the Middle Ages, by taking a definite position on ‘What
is truth and what is only human invention’, regarding Eternal Salvation
and the rule for faith and morals!
GOD’S WORD: THE ONLY
RULE FOR FAITH & MORALS!
The
term used to articulate this belief was ‘Sola Scripura’, meaning
‘The Scriptures Alone’! The Bible alone is the final authority in
matters of faith and morals. We rely on none other! We reject all teaching that
adds to the Word of God or takes away from the Word of God.
Sola Scriptura means that
the Holy Bible is the ONLY revelation from God to mankind for salvation that we
possess today. It is the only basis for truth!
The Old Testament states: “Thy Word is
truth” (Ps. 119:142), and in the New Testament Jesus Christ confirms that
statement to the letter. In His high priestly prayer to His Heavenly Father,
Jesus declared: “Thy Word is truth.” (John 17: 17)
Our Lord confirmed the authority of the
O.T. Scriptures: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till
heaven and earth pass, one jot (Greek, iota) or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matt.5 17,18;
24: 35)
“Jesus answered and said unto them: “Ye
do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.” (Matt.22: 29).
Our Master warned those who put tradition before the Word of God: “Making
the Word of God of none effect through your traditions which ye have delivered:
and many such like things ye do.” (Mark 7: 13)
Since only the Holy Scriptures are
inspired, we reject TRADITION as being necessary for salvation! Forty six
times in the Bible we find the words: “It is written.”
Renouncing the devil in the ‘wilderness
temptation’, our Lord said: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every Word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.”
(Matt.4: 4). And He stated: “The Scripture cannot be broken.”
(John 10: 35)
The Bible says: “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, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim.3: 16-17)
“Knowing this first, that no
prophecy of the Scriptures is of private interpretation. For the prophecy came
not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1: 20-21)
HERE IS A STRONG WARNING!
The Holy Scriptures declare: “Every Word
of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add
thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee and thou be found a liar.”
(Prov.30: 5-6);
“And when they shall say unto you, Seek
unto them that have familiar spirits and unto wizards (spiritualist mediums)
that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their
God, for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they
speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
(Is.8: 19-20)
“For I testify unto every man that
heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these
things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And
if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the Holy city, and
from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev.22: 18-19)
The HOLY BIBLE says: “If we receive the witness of
men, the witness of God is greater: For this is the witness of God, which He
hath testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness
in himself: he that believeth not hath made Him (God) a Liar,
because he believeth not the record God gave of His Son.
“And this is the record that
God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath
the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1 John 5: 9-12)
Recently, a survey was taken among Norway’s
Lutheran State Church pastors in the region of Oslo and district,
regarding ‘belief in Hell’! Out of nineteen pastors who were
asked if they believed in a literal Hell as the Bible and the Lutheran Church
teaches, all answered that they did not!
The great philosopher and theologian, C.S.
LEWIS, wrote regarding Hell: “There is no doctrine which I would more
willingly remove from Christianity than this. I would pay any price to be able
to say truthfully that all will be saved.”
Being true to the Holy Scriptures,
however, was more important to C.S. Lewis than to allow his natural mind to be
convinced otherwise!
The Roman Catholic Church, which
used to say that it never changes, changed again recently regarding
the doctrine of Hell.
During his weekly address to the general
audience of 8,500 people at the Vatican on July 28, 1999, Pope John Paul II
rejected the reality of a physical, literal hell as a place of eternal fire and
torment. Rather, the pope said hell is separation, even in this life, from the
joyful communion with God.
According to an official Vatican transcript
of the pope's speech, Pope John Paul II noted that the Scriptural references to
hell and the images portrayed by Scripture are only symbolic and figurative of "the
complete frustration and emptiness of life without God."
He added, "The thought of hell
and even less the improper use of biblical images must not create anxiety or
despair." Rather, he stated, it is a reminder of the freedom found
in Christ.
The Religion News Service reported that a
Vatican-approved editorial published in the Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica
agrees with the pope's latest pronouncement.
The editorial explicitly pronounced, "Hell
exists, not as a place but as a state, a way of being of the person who suffers
the pain of the deprivation of God" (Los Angeles Times, 7-31-99).
The pope said that eternal damnation is "not God's work but
is actually our own doing."
Only a week earlier the pope stated that
heaven is neither "an abstraction nor a place in the clouds, but a
living, personal relationship of union with the Holy Trinity. "
JESUS STATED: HELL IS REAL!
St. Paul taught that the reality of hell
is a vital Bible doctrine (Heb. 6:1, 2). Jude taught that believers are
to contend for the faith (doctrine) once delivered unto the saints and that hell
is a real, literal place of fire and torment. (Jude 3, 7).
The Bible teaches that those who
know not Christ will suffer the vengeance of God, which entails everlasting
damnation (2 Thes.1: 8, 9). St. John stated that hell was a real place (Rev.
14: 1 0; 20:10-15; 21:8).
And, Jesus Christ Himself taught that
hell literally exists, that it lasts forever and that those who reject His
perfect salvation would spend eternity therein (Matt. 13:41, 42; 18:8, 9;
25:41-46; Luke 16:19-31).
Rejection of the Biblical doctrine of
hell by the pope and others does not nullify the fact that a literal hell truly
exists. "Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom. 3:3, 4).
At his heresy trial at Worms, Germany
on April 18, 1521, Martin Luther – the brilliant scholar and
theologian - was asked to recant his Gospel writings. At the risk of being
burned at the stake like John Hus, Bishop Latimer, Bishop Ridley and other
reformers before him, Luther replied:
“Unless I am convinced by Scripture and
plain reason I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have
contradicted each other. My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot
and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither
right nor safe. Here I stand. I cannot do help me. Amen.”
CHURCHILL MAKES A STATEMENT!
Sir Winston Churchill made a great point
when he said: “If there was more Hell preached from the pulpit, there would
less Hell in the pews.” Shortly after World War 11, Churchill was invited
to speak at the University of Norway in Oslo.
Here are some of his remarks: “To
make excuses for myself I could name the teachers of my youth who denied
Christianity. But I will rather lay the blame on myself. Then, perhaps, I will
find One Who will carry that load for me. Nothing can come up against the
Christian ethic as the leading light for a people’s future. Christianity is the
safest spiritual foundation for a people.”
BLAISE PASCAL, French mathematician,
scientist and philosopher (1623-1662), stated: Man is an incomprehensible
Monster, at once Sovereign Greatness and Sovereign Misery… If they turn their
back on God, one of two things can happen. They will think they are gods and
become insane or turn to carnality and become animals.”
ABRAHAM LINCOLN said: “I now see
as never before the preciousness of God’s love in Jesus Christ, and how we are
brought near to Him as our Father through Him. Intelligence, patriotism,
Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, Who has never yet forsaken this
favored land, are still competent to adjust in the best way, all our present
difficulties.”
GEORGE
BERNARD SHAW stated: “I am ready to admit after contemplating the world and
human nature for sixty years, that I see no way out of this world’s miseries
but by the way that would be found by Christ’s will.”
AUGUST STRINDBERG, the noted Swedish
author stated shortly before his death: “Clearly said, I ascribe all my
misfortune to this one fact, that I have been Godless! An individual that has
broken contact with God cannot receive any blessings. All this talk about being
‘being your own man and making your own happiness’ is chaff.
“If the Lord does not build the house,
they labour in vain who build it. That is the whole truth! That misfortune can
also strike a person of faith, we know. But the outcome is not the same. These
accidents seem only like trials that pass over and leave peace in their wake.
“A curse rests upon
everything that an ungodly person puts his hand to. If money comes his way, it
will disappear like it came. Nothing remains, nothing prospers in the life of
the ungodly!”
MALCOLM MUGGERIGE, well-known British
writer and former atheist, observer at World Council of Churches Convention
(before 1980) wrote: “One may be excused for noting that institutional
Christianity is inexorably extinguishing itself. At Uppsala one could clearly
see that they agreed on almost everything as they believed almost nothing. They
reminded me of a group of drunks that I observed in a country bar, in my youth.
Individually they would have fallen over, but collectively they managed to
remain upright.”
Muggeridge’s counsel to a troubled world
is worth listening to. He writes: “Christ is the only answer to an insane
world… they will not understand that the trouble with the western civilization
is not economics, but more – good and evil! They are thinking they make things
work by policies, inventions, but man will never live on this planet without
God.”
CHURCH OF ENGLAND:
IN SPIRITUAL TROUBLE!
The
Church of England has been challenged by Paul Eddy to proclaim
Christianity as the only way to salvation and offer strategies on how to
evangelize Muslims.
Senior church leaders as well as some
Muslim figures have voiced anger at the motion proposed by Paul Eddy – a
lay member of the church’s General Synod, according to BBC. Eddy, along with
traditionalist Anglicans, argues that the church should stop avoiding hard
questions about its beliefs.
The Church of England must make it
clear that it believes in what the Bible says about Jesus being the only way to
salvation, he said. Currently training to become a priest, Eddy believes that
being upfront about the church’s beliefs will be helpful to Muslim-Christian
relations.
“Most Muslims that I’ve talked to say, ‘I
really wish that Christians would stop watering down their faith and expecting
us to do the same,’ Eddy said on BBC Radio Four on Sunday: “Until we
start really saying what we really believe in our faith, there will be no
respect.”
Also,
Muslims expect Christians to believe that Jesus is the only way to God, Eddy
noted. “They will expect us – if we’re true Christians – to try to
evangelize them, in the same way they will expect us, if they’re true Muslims,
to adopt their faith.” he said.
But the problem is that the church, in an
effort to be inclusive and to avoid offending people of other faiths, has “lost
its nerve” and is “not doing what the Bible says,” he
noted.
"Both Christianity and Islam are
missionary faiths," Eddy pointed out. "For years, we have sent
missionaries throughout the whole world, but when we have the privilege of
people of all nations on our doorstep, we have a responsibility as the state
church to share the gospel of Jesus Christ."
He urges Anglican bishops to give church
members advice on how to evangelize, and how to better support Muslims who have
converted to Christianity and are now ostracized by their communities.
WILLIAM
PENN, after whom the great state of Pennsylvania is named made this powerful
statement: “If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing that I
can do for my fellow human beings, let me do it now, and not detour or neglect
it. I shall not pass this way again.”
DO NOT THINK ANY SIN IS TRIVIAL!
ROBERT MURRAY McCHEYNE – the mighty man of
prayer – wrote in a letter: “I am deepened in my conviction, that if we are
to be instruments in such a work (revival), we must be purified from all
filthiness of the flesh and the spirit.
“O, cry for personal holiness, constant
nearness to God, by the Blood of the Lamb. Bask in His beams, lie back in the
arms of love, be filled with His Spirit – or all success in the ministry will
only be your own everlasting confusion.
“Do not think any sin trivial; remember it
will have everlasting consequences. O, to have Brainerd’s heart for perfect
holiness, to be holy as God is holy, pure as Christ is pure, perfect as our
Father in heaven is perfect…
“How much more useful might we be, if we were
only more free from pride, self conceit, personal vanity; or some secret sin
that our heart knows. O, Hateful sins that destroy our peace, and ruin our
souls.”
McCheyne
stated: “Men return again and again to the few who have mastered the
spiritual secret, where life has been hid with Christ in God. These are of the
old time religion, hung there to the nails of the cross!”
WILLIAM BOOTH said: “There have
been more than enough conferences and congresses, and committees and
deliberations. It is time to act! We have not a moment to lose. No more doubt!
No more delay!
“Arise ye children of Light, and buckle
on the armour bright, and now prepare yourselves to fight against the world and
Satan. We are called to fight with
Him and for Him with every particle of strength we have to the last gasp. That
is enough!”
A.W. TOZER declared: “Any Revival that comes to a nation, and leaves people as much in love with money as they
were before, is a falsehood, and it’s from the devil.” JOHN WESLEY said: “God does nothing apart
from prayer and everything through it.”
ANDREW MURRAY stated: “The power of
the Eternal world have been placed at prayer’s disposal. It is the very essence
of true religion, the channels of all blessings, the secret of power and
spiritual life.
“It is at the same time the highest and
holiest work to which man can rise. It is fellowship with the unseen and most
‘Holy One’! It is on prayer that the promises of God wait for their
fulfillment, the Kingdom for its coming, and the glory of God for its full
revelation!”
GIROLAMA SAVONAROLA, Roman Catholic bishop
who was martyred by the ‘bloody old Vatican wolf’ in 1497, stated: “Come here,
wretched Church…In your lechery, you are a shameless whore.
"Once you blushed for your sins, but not now. The priests used to call their
sons nephews: now they are not nephews, but sons plain and simple.” –
from the ‘Men of the Renaissance’ by Ralph Roeder.
LET THE PRIESTS MARRY!
A recent news release was
titled: ‘Catholic Church Faces Fresh Scandal as
'Wives' of Priests Speak Out’,
published June 02, 2010 by NewsCore. “Pope Benedict XVI, still
struggling to repair the damage wrought by a wave of pedophile scandals,
now faces a fresh challenge, from women loved -- and often abandoned - by
Catholic priests, AFP reported Wednesday.
About a dozen women have written
an open letter to the pope challenging the Church's position that priestly
celibacy is a sacred commitment.
"As far as I'm concerned, celibacy is completely useless," said
one of the signatories, Stefania Salomone, 42, who had a five-year relationship
with a priest.
"It was introduced for financial reasons,"
she argued, alluding to the fact that clergy without family were less expensive
to house. Pointing to the Church's earlier history, she added: "People
forget that there were 39 married popes."
MARTIN LUTHER stated: “Three things make
a preacher: prayer, the Word of God and suffering. The greatest trial to
undergo is to have no trial.” Regarding prayer, Martin Luther said: “If
I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory
through the day, I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three
hours daily in prayer.”
A preacher said on the 70th
anniversary of his ordination: “God cannot stop loving us.”
LEONARD
RAVENHILL stated: “The greatest tragedy is a sick Church in a dying
world. If Jesus preached like we preach today, He never would have been
killed.”
ST.
PAUL declared: “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and
ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Cor.4: 5)
“I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to
the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise, so as much as in me is, I
am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also.
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of
Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth;
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Rom. 1: 14-16)
“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my
conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost. That I have great
heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish that myself were
accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsfolk according to the flesh.”
(Rom. 9: 1-3). Amen.
