God's Way is Right: How Must We Please Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
“Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen.
But
without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him.” (Heb.
11: 1, 6)
According
to this Scripture, faith is defined as substance and evidence.
Substance
is
the reality of which something consists and has a tangible presence.
Evidence
is the proof that something is correct and is demonstrable when put
to the test.
Faith
is believing that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently
seek Him, and that He answers the prayers of those who seek Him with
all their heart! According to the Holy Bible, without faith we
cannot please God!
Faith
is a gift to the searching heart, to the sincere seeker after God,
truth and righteousness. Faith
is given to us by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God! It is not
natural but a supernatural miracle,
because the Bible is God-breathed. “Faith
cometh
by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Rom. 10: 17).
Faith
is
believing that God’s Word is true regardless of what others say.
There are many reasons for believing the Holy Bible is true, the
greatest being that Jesus Christ Himself believed the Holy Scriptures
and preached from them.
Faith
is believing that Jesus Christ is whom He claimed to be, the Word
made flesh: God incarnate – True
God from eternity and True man by His virgin birth!
That He Alone purchased our eternal salvation through His holy BLOOD
on the cross at Golgotha!
Faith
is believing that there is power and life in His precious blood to
grant us forgiveness for all our sins and an entrance into His
eternal Kingdom.
Martin
Luther
stated: “O’
when it comes to faith: what a living, creative, active thing it is.
It cannot do other than good at all times. It never waits to ask
whether there is any good work to do.”
St.
Paul warns: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an
evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort
one another daily, while it is called Today: lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of SIN. For
we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end.
UNBELIEF
IS SIN!
“While
it is said, Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts,
as in the provocation. And to whom sware He that they should not
enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So
we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
(Heb. 3:12-1415, 18, 19)
We
know that unbelief is Sin.
We know that rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is Sin. And we
know that breaking God’s law is Sin.
We know that breaking the Ten Commandments is Sin!
It is an affront to the Almighty!
What
else do we know about sin?
It is defined as an offense against moral law, an immoral act,
considered to be a transgression against Divine Law. It is doing what
is wrong and not doing what is right according to God’s rules.
The
Bible states: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
for sin
is the transgression of the law. And
ye know that He (Jesus) was manifested to take away our sins; and in
Him is no sin.”
(1 John 3:4)
“For
the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness, and
unrighteousness of men in righteousness, who hold the truth in
unrighteousness.” (Rom. 1: 18). Holding
the truth in unrighteousness is knowing the truth but not adhering to
it.
Repenting
of sin brings instant forgiveness
and mercy, and God's help to overcome it. There is nothing that our
Lord delights in more than a “broken and contrite heart”. (Ps.
51:7; Prov. 6: 16-19). God’s definition of sin is
found in the Ten Commandments, which Almighty God wrote with His own
finger on two tablets of stone! (Exodus 20: 2-17)
Famous
US Psychiatrist Karl Menninger said, "The
realities of personal guilt and sin have been glossed over as
symptoms of emotional illness or environmental conditioning for which
the individual is not considered responsible...There is sin which
cannot be subsumed under verbal artifacts such as disease,
delinquency, deviancy. There is immorality. There is unethical
behavior. There is wrongdoing!”
Sin
will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you
were planning to stay and cost you more than willing to pay! Sin is
an EVIL FORCE and the brain child of the Devil!
Sin
may be likened to mathematics: Sin adds to your troubles; sin
subtracts from your energy; sin multiplies your torments and pains;
sin divides your mind; sin takes interest from your work; sin
discounts your chances of success; sin squares your conscience!
Sin
blinds you to the truth. Sin binds you with chains of lust, greed and
hatred. Sin deafens your spiritual ears. Sin deadens your conscience.
Sin kills!
The
Bible says, “The wages of Sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal Life through Jesus Christ the Lord.”
(Rom.
6:23)
FROM THE
MANGER TO THE CROSS!
The
Love of God brought His only begotten Son from Heaven to earth, and
from the Manger to the Cross! Jesus shed His precious Blood to save
us from the penalty of a lost eternity when He suffered, bled and
died on the cruel Cross on Golgotha’s hill outside the city walls
of Jerusalem! Christ’s vicarious death and glorious resurrection
drives us to repentance and faith, as we see His hand of mercy
extended to a lost, fearful and sick world!
The
Cross of Christ has been referred to as the Axis of Salvation, the
Climax of the Cosmic Conflict between God and Satan and between good
and Evil!
The
Sovereignty of God demanded punishment for SIN and the cross of
Christ provided the Final Solution. For a time, God winked at our sin
in His great mercy, by allowing the sacrifice of innocent lambs,
goats and bullocks and occasionally a red heifer to suffice.
When the fulness of
time had come, Almighty God gave Himself in His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins and the sins of the whole world, past,
present and future!
God
the Son came down to this sinful world to redeem us from the power of
the Devil, through His vicarious death and glorious resurrection from
the dead!
THE
PINNACLE OF MERCY!
The
Cross is the expression of God’s love toward us!
It is the very pinnacle of His mercy and grace to an enslaved people,
bound by lust, greed, pride and hate! Jesus said: “Greater love
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
(John 15: 13). Jesus was referring to Himself laying down His life
for us all! (verse 14)
The
Blood of Christ avails:
It is available to all who desire to be washed in that soul cleansing
fountain of blood. The blood of Jesus also prevails
over every obstacle, temptation, sin, fear, torment and evil power!
It prevails over sickness, pain and even over death! The blood of the
bleeding Lamb prevails. Hallelujah,
the blood prevails!
Jesus
said: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish but have eternal 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.
“And
I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. This
He said, signifying what death He should die.” (John 3:16;
12:32,33). St. John stated: “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
IS THE PROPITIATION!
The
Bible says: “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. If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us or sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness,”
“My
little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And
if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the Righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins:
and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
(1 John 2: 1, 2)
The
word
propitiation
means satisfaction, mercy seat, expiation and covering.
The
vicarious death of Jesus Christ for us all, met the righteous demands
of Divine Justice in the Courts of Heaven. It means that God was
satisfied with the Redemptive work of Jesus Christ, to atone for the
sins of the entire world, past, present and future!
The
Bible declares: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested
that He might destroy the works of the Devil.” (1 John 3: 8); “How
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power: who
went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the
devil; for God was with Him.” (Acts 10: 38)
“Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also
Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; And
deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime
subject to bondage.”
(Heb. 2: 14, 15)
“And
the great dragon (Satan)
was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his
angels were cast out with him.
“And
I heard a voice saying in Heaven, Now is come salvation, and
strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ,
and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for
the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night.
“And
they overcame him (Satan)
by the BLOOD of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and
they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev.12: 9-12)
THE
WORLD’S GREATEST POWER!
The
world’s greatest power does not reside in Washington, Moscow or
Bejing. It resides within the Body of Christ. The Holy
Bible says: “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord,
even the devils are subject unto us through 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: 17-19)
Jesus
promised His disciples: “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 power of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8);
“Peace
I leave with you, My peace I give unto you;
not as the world giveth give I unto you: not as the world giveth,
give I you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid.” (John 14: 27, 28); “These things have I 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)
The
Bible says: “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); “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 at the right hand of the
Majesty on High…
“But
unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a
scepter of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy Kingdom… And, Thou,
Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the
heavens are the works of Thine hands.
“They
shall perish; but Thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth
a garment; and as a vesture shall Thou fold them up, and they shall
be changed; But Thou art the same and Thy years shall not fail.”
(Heb.
1:1-12)
JESUS
HAS THE FINAL WORD!
As
we observe the great men at the levers of power in this wicked,
sinful and desperately evil world and Satan often in the driver’s
seat, we
may be disheartened,
but when we read the Word of Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ in
the Holy Scriptures, we get a far different picture!
The
REAL power at work is the Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of
God’s people and in His Church.
He has the final word.
Jesus is the Creator
of
the worlds and the Author
of Eternal Salvation and we are so privileged to be members in His
Body and ambassadors of His Kingdom of mercy, love and grace.
Righteousness and Judgment will rule according to His Eternal Word
and Will!
Without
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, there would be no
gospel, no hope, no peace, no joy and no salvation! Without the
resurrection, there would be no Saviour, no forgiveness for sins, no
healing for the sick, no power over the devil and no entrance into
Heaven! And there wouldn’t be a Church!
FOUNDATION
STONE OF CHRISTIANITY!
The
Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Foundation Stone of the Gospel!
It is the divine power, impetus and authority that makes the Church
stand alone as the House of God and His servants as stewards,
representatives and ambassadors of His Kingdom!
When
St. Paul preached on Mars Hill in Athens, the message he declared was
so profound that many philosophers went away believing that he had
presented two gods, Jesus and the Resurrection. Others heard his
message and opened their hearts to the Lord!
No
one in Athens had heard about the resurrection of the dead.
They could not believe that a man who had been crucified and buried,
could came back to life three days later, even though more than 500
men testified that they had been with Him. They had spoken to Him,
eaten with Him and touched the nail prints in His hands.
And
many declared that they had witnessed His ascension into the clouds
in His return to Heaven, forty days after His resurrection!
I
AM JESUS WHOM THOU PERSECUTEST!
Years
later, St. Paul spoke of his faith before King Agrippa and Governor
Festus. He testified that earlier he had persecuted followers of
Jesus Christ, and of his dramatic conversion on the Damascus Road
when he was apprehended by the Lord on his way to arrest Christians.
He
declared Christ’s resurrection:
“Why
should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should
raise the dead? At midday O king, I saw in the way a light from
Heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and
them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the
earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew
tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to
kick against the pricks.
“And
I said, Who
art Thou?
And He said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand on
thy feet: for have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make
thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast
seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee;
Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now
I send thee.
“To open
their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and this thing
was not done in a corner.
King
Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
“Then
Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost
thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that
hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I, except
these bonds.” (Acts 26:8,13-29)
PAUL
CALLED THE GOSPEL THIS THING?
This
Thing had become Saul’s life. It was radical and powerful. It was
shaking the Jewish Sanhedrin and was starting to make inroads into
the Roman Empire! It was not done within closed doors to only a few
people of a certain people or region. He was talking about the death,
resurrection and the Living Jesus Christ!
He
knew that his ministry of preaching the cross, healing the sick and
raising the dead had made such an impact that even the king knew
about it! It was not hidden away in a corner but publicly displayed!
St.
Paul was engaging a pagan king with the True Gospel and it shook him
to the core!
It
has been called the
'Roman
Road to Salvation', because
in his Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul systematically lays out the
Gospel: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
(Rom. 3: 23); “Therefore being
justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1);
“But
God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Much more then, being
now justified through His blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Rom.5: 8,9); “For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom.6:23);
“There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin
and death.” (Rom. 8:1,2)
SALVATION
THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST!
The
Salvation of God is freely given to those who appropriate His love
and mercy for themselves and receive by faith His gift of eternal
life. The Bible says: “Therefore
it is of faith, that it might be by grace;
to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed: not to that
only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the
faith of Abraham, who
is the father of us all.
“He
(Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief;
but was strong in faith, giving glory to God: and being fully
persuaded that, what He had promised, He was also able to perform.
And therefore, it was imputed to him for righteousness.
“Now
it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
but
for us also,
to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up
Jesus from the dead; Who was delivered (to the cross) for our
offences (sins) and was raised again for our justification,”
(Rom.4: 20-25)
As
I see it, faith is love in action! God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, knowing that He would be faithful to the
end. And God's Son left Heaven's glory to become a man, knowing that
death couldn't hold Him captive because there was no sin in Him. His
love for us drove Him to the cross and His sinless blood and the
promise of His Father, brought Him out of the grave!
Jesus
of Nazareth had complete faith in the Holy Scriptures. He prayed to
His Heavenly Father for His disciples, prior to His crucifixion:
“Sanctify
them through Thy truth: Thy Word is Truth.” (John 17:17)
BELIEVING
GOD'S RECORD OF HIS SON!
St.
John warns against the seriousness of rejecting the testimony that
God the Father has given of His Son. He says it is tantamount to
calling God a Liar:
“If
we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for
this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself:
“He
that believeth not God hath made Him a LIAR: because he believeth not
the record that God gave of His SON:
And this is the record, that God hath given unto 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)
The
Word of God is direct and straight-forward! It doesn't mince words.
That is why King David prayed: “Therefore I esteem all Thy precepts
concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore doth my soul keep them. The
entrance of Thy words giveth light: it giveth understanding to the
simple.” (Ps. 119:128-130)
WALKING
IN THE HOLY SPIRIT!
“There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For
the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from
the law of sin and death. For
they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but
they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
“For
to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life
and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is
not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
“But if the
Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead dwell in you,
He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (make
life in)
your mortal
bodies
by
His Spirit that liveth in you.
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die, but if ye through the
Spirit do mortify (kill)
the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
The
Holy Spirit makes
life
(heals,
makes well)
our
mortal bodies
that are susceptible to aging and wearing out. If we live in the
Spirit, we will live healthy lives, which also keeps us well! And
since we are children of God through Jesus Christ our Lord, we are
also free from the bondage of fear!
Some
teach, that Scripture speaks about God raising us from the dead on
that great resurrection morning. The Holy Spirit, however, does not
live in a corpse!
“For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. For ye
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The
Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God.”
We,
who have given ourselves totally to God, have been adopted into the
marvelous family of God. Our hearts cry out, ‘Abba
Father, meaning
Daddy
God’.
We are His very own sons and daughters of God, heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ. We have an inheritance that is incorruptible and
undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for us.” (1
Peter 1: 4)
HEIRS
OF GOD THROUGH JESUS’ DEATH!
“And
if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ;
if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified
together. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities (takes
a hold of against our infirmities)
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit
Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings cannot be uttered.”
Sometimes,
we do not know how to pray so the Holy Spirit (holds at arms-length
the infirmity) and prays through us (in the Spirit) to the Father,
for our healing! “And
He that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will
of God.
“And
we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to His purpose. For whom He did
foreknow,
He also did predestinate
to be confirmed to the image of His Son, that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren.
“Moreover,
whom He did predestinate
them He also called
and whom He called,
them He also justified:
and whom He
justified,
them He also
glorified.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us?” (Rom. 8: 1,2,5-17, 26-31)
What
does all this mean? How can we understand all this? We cannot in our
limited ability even attempt to understand a plan of such magnitude!
By God’s grace, our Lord has granted us the faith to believe it
because of Whom He is, the Creator and giver of life!
All
this was planned in the Councils of Heaven before the worlds were
formed. The amazing purposes of God are so great that no human mind
could even begin to imagine, that we poor unworthy sinners could be
transformed into the image of His pure, perfect and holy Son who
through His vicarious death for us all on Calvary’s Cross outside
the walls of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, are now His children!
UNBELIEF
DOES NOT PLEASE GOD!
The
Bible states: “For to be carnally minded is death: but to be
spiritually minded is Life and Peace. Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be. So,
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
(Rom. 8:6-8)
Walking
in the Spirit pleases God but living in unbelief does not! Believing
God’s Word and trusting in His promises brings LIFE and PEACE. The
opposite is true when you trust in yourself alone!
The
Word of God says: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean
not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct thy path. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the
Lord and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and
marrow to thy bones.” (Prov. 3: 5-8)
Walking
with God is a win-win situation, but going our own way is a tragic
mistake because the natural man does not understand the things of the
Spirit! When the Holy Spirit calls upon an individual, the important
thing is to answer Him and allow Him to minister His love, mercy and
grace unto you.
It
has been said that God always call a person at least three times,
even though many may not be aware of it. I believe that He always
calls the young and tender because He does not want
that person to go astray. Then He calls in the beginning
of adulthood when He wants to shape that person’s
life. And finally, He calls nearing the end of life
when people are thinking about dying and eternity!
God
called Samuel when he was a lad. He thought it was Eli the priest,
who said, “If
He calls again, say, Here I am Lord. Thy servant heareth.”
Samuel became one God’s greatest prophets!
Jesus
personally called Saul of Tarsus in early manhood, “Saul,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?
He answered, “Who art Thou Lord?” He changed his name to Paul,
the little one, and became the greatest of all the apostles and
founded the Church in the Gentile world!
God
called Abraham in his old age and promised him a son. The
Bible says: “And when Abraham was ninety years old and nine, the
Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am Almighty God, walk
before Me, and be thou perfect; And being not weak in faith, he
considered not his own body now dead, when he was nearly an hundred
years old, neither the deadness of Sarah’s womb;
“He
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong
in faith giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that what He
had promised, He was able to perform. And therefore, it was imputed
to him for righteousness.” (Gen. 17: 1; Rom.4: 20-22)
WE
MUST LOVE & EXALT HIS SON!
“Jesus
cried and said, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on
Him that sent Me. And he that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me. I am
come as a LIGHT into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should
not abide in darkness. And if any man hear My words, and believe not,
I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world but to save the
world.
“He
that rejecteth Me and receiveth not My words, hath One that judgeth
him: the Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the
last day. For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father
that sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I
should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting;
whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I
speak.” (John 12: 44- 50)
“Jesus
saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life: no man cometh
unto the Father but by Me. If ye had known Me, ye should have known
My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him.
Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father and it sufficeth us.
“Jesus
saith unto Him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou
not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the
Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou
not, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words
that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself: but the Father that
dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” (John 4: 6-10)
All
we must do to get God the Father to love us is to LOVE His Son Jesus
Christ and receive Him into our lives; to believe the record that God
gave His Son as His paschal Lamb to bring us back to Him again. It
has been a long journey for the human family to become one with God
again, since the fall of Adam and Eve. Through Jesus Christ we have
been adopted back into His Kingdom.
Jesus
said: “Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye
see Me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know
that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and in you. 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.
“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 make our abode with him. He that loveth
Me not keepeth not My sayings: and the word which ye hear is not
Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.” (John 14: 19-21, 23, 24)
HOLY
SPIRIT: PROMISE OF THE FATHER!
Jesus
declared: “And, behold, I
send the promise of My Father upon you:
but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power
from on High.” (Luke 24: 49). “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
11:13)
“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; for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. I will not leave
you comfortless: I will come to you.
“These
things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 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 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: 15-18, 25-27)
The
Bible says:
“To
whom He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible
proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the Kingdom of God:
“And,
being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should
not depart from Jerusalem, but
wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with
water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy host 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 Sameria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And
when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up;
and a cloud received Him out of their sight. (Acts 1: 4-9)
During
one of his last sermons, D.L. MOODY addressed the subject of the Holy
Spirit: “See
how He came on the Day of Pentecost! It is not carnal to pray that He
might come again and that the place may be shaken. I believe
PENTECOST WAS ONLY A SPECIMEN DAY! I think the church has made this
woeful mistake that Pentecost was a miracle never to be repeated. I
have thought too that Pentecost as a miracle never to be repeated. I
BELIEVE NOW, if we looked on Pentecost as a specimen Day and began to
pray, we should have the old Pentecostal FIRE here in Boston.”
TO
PLEASE GOD, WE MUST OBEY HIM!
An
old Gospel hymn admonished: Trust
and Obey; For there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to
trust and obey!
The
Bible says: “Then Peter and the other disciples answered and said,
We ought to OBEY God rather than man. And we are His witnesses of
these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to
them that OBEY Him.” (Acts 5: 29,
We
are in the kingdom now (Col. 1:13), but there is a more glorious
phase to yet be entered (2 Pet. 1:11). We enjoy salvation presently
(Mk. 16:16), but there is a greater dimension — a heavenly
salvation — to be received at death (2 Tim. 4:18).
Robert
Murray McCheyne
declared, “A
Holy Minister is an awful weapon in the hands of God.” Samuel
Chadwick
stated, “The
sign of Christianity is not a cross, but a tongue of fire.”
Dr.
R. Moffat Gautrey
said: “The
Gospel is not an old, old story freshly told. It is a fire in the
spirit, fed by the flame of immortal love. And woe unto us, if
through our negligence to stir the Gift of God, which is written
within us that fire burns low.”
Richard
Baxter stated,
“I
seek to preach as a dying man to dying men. I preach each tie as
though it were time I would preach.”
There
is a sense in which we are with Christ now (Matt.
18:20; 26:29; 28:20),
but there is a more exalted state in which we will be with him for
all eternity!(Phil.
1:23; 2 Cor. 5:8). God bless you, my dear friend, in Jesus' dear
Name! Amen.
