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REPENT
& BE SAVED
JESUS
IS
CALLING YOU
by Pastor Max Solbrekken
God's
Word says: "The eyes of the Lord are over the
righteous and His
ears are open unto their prayers but the face of the Lord is
against
them that do evil." (1 Peter 3:12)
St.
Peter declared, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in
the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38)
Softly
& tenderly - Jesus is calling you. It
is time to answer the call of Jesus. Christ is calling you
to repent. Christ is calling the world to turn away from
sin, Satan and rebellion and to turn to Him, our Saviour and
creator.
The
LORD is calling for you to repent from sin and completely reject
the god of the world, Satan (the devil). St.
John declared, "For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil."
(1 John 3:8)
Jesus
said, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish." (Luke 13:3)
And
St. Peter declared, "Repent and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". (Acts 2:38)
We
have turned our backs on God - and have become self-centered,
selfish and spiritually dead. During
the past 30 years our nation, and the world has taken a nose
dive, and taken a major turn away from God. At present, we
are a people divided, despondent and depressed; politically,
economically and spiritually.
Unhappy,
fearful & depressed people are the norm these days, without
hope for the future. To
say we are living in a very dangerous and frightening time is an
understatement. We are definitely living in the end times
and are facing world war and one world crisis after another.
The
Bible clearly draws time lines with world events and we are
drawing near the second coming of Jesus Christ and the
Tribulation.
IT'S
TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF REJECTING GOD
We
need to get serious about the consequences of rejecting
God. A
divine call however, has gone out to our Nation and the world to
repent. Now is the time to turn around, to repent to
Christ Jesus and forsake sin. We MUST repent
of our sins, surrender our wills to God and give up the futile
effort of "doing things our own way."
It's
time for the NATION to turn back from their rebellious ways;
repentance & confessing to Christ our sins of unbelief,
pride, immorality, jealousy, envy and prejudice. The time has
come for a complete rejection of Satan and evil - for a complete
repentance.
Its
time to confront the devil (who is our enemy) and call upon the
name of Jesus Christ. We need to rebuke Satan (the devil)
and turn away from lust, greed, hatred, selfishness, anger,
bitterness and deceit!
Jesus
Christ our Lord has given us power over the devil. We are
instructed to
confront the devil - in the Name of Jesus Christ - telling him
that he's not welcome in our lives anymore. The Bible
says, "Submit
yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil and he will flee
from you." (James 4:7)
WAKE
UP & CALL UPON THE NAME OF LORD
It's
time to WAKE UP and think about eternity and where you will
spend it. We must reject and renounce the many dangerous,
deceptive and occultist doctrines of the New Age Movement. As
well as the cult of Secular Humanism that teaches, 'man ascended
from the world of monkeys and apes, is self-sufficient and is
his own God'!
WHAT
DOES GOD REQUIRE OF US?
We
need to humble ourselves and pray. We need to call upon
the Name of the Lord and turn away from evil. Satan (the
devil) is the creator of evil, death & destruction and wants
to destroy you and all things around you.
The
Bible speaks about humility, repentance and submission to the
Almighty God and a total rejection of Satan, who is the god of
this world! St. James states, "Submit yourselves therefore
unto God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
(James 4:7)
IT
IS TIME TO REPENT & COME HOME TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
It's
time to come home and be reconciled to our Heavenly Father,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. To accept the invitation of our
LORD Jesus Christ to talk things over. We need to
straighten out past failures and right wrongs. We need to
receive total forgiveness and assurance, with new direction for
the future!
The
Bible says, "Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord
and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will
abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7)
The
divine call of God does not differentiate between rich or poor,
educated or illiterate, men or women, young or old. There is no
class distinction or favoritism due to race, color, nationality
or culture with the Almighty!
ALL
MAY APPROACH THE THRONE OF GOD AND REPENT OF THEIR SINS
The
invitation of salvation is available to all. Every person
alive may approach the throne of God and repent of their sins.
We all can receive the mercy and grace of the LORD.
Through faith in the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross
you are saved.
How
is this possible? The Gospel is free to everyone! WE
ARE SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IT IS A GIFT OF GOD.
The
Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God: Not of works,
lest any man should boast." (Ephesians
2:8-9)
SALVATION
IS FREE - CHRIST IS CALLING YOU AND WAITING FOR YOU TO ANSWER
HIM
There
is no entry fee, cover charge or red tape to delay our coming to
Jesus Christ and repenting of our sins. There is nothing
to stop the process of salvation from functioning in our lives.
Christ waits for you to repent, Christ Jesus or Lord is willing
to accept all that will repent and Jesus Christ will
forgive your sins.
The
prophet invited, "Lo, every one that thirsteth, come ye
to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat;
come, ye, buy wine and milk without money and without
price." (Isaiah 55:1)
And
Jesus assures us: "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)
OUR
REDEMPTION AND FREEDOM FROM SATAN WAS PAID BY JESUS CHRIST
ON THE CROSS
The
enormous cost of our freedom - redemption from sin and the power
of Satan - has been paid for us, through the substitutionary
death of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "...except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke
13:3)
The
Bible says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
St.
John declared, "For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil."
(1 John 3:8)
St.
Paul emphasized, "That through death, He (Jesus
Christ ) might destroy him who had the power of death, that is
the devil, and deliver those who through fear of death were all
their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2:14)
GOD
WANTS YOU. GOD IS WAITING FOR YOU BE FREE OF SIN
& MADE NEW
God
is waiting for you to turn to him, to submit yourself, ask for
forgiveness and be cleansed in the Blood of the Lamb.
The
good news is that God wants us. He wants you and me. No
exceptions, and no questions asked. We come just as we
are!
He
knows all about us and yet He wants us, even though we are
sinners. WHY? He is a specialist in the field of cleansing,
reconciliation and re-birth!
IF
WE CONFESS OUR SINS, GOD IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US
The
Bible states, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteous." (1 John 1:9)
JUST
AS I AM
An
old hymn JUST AS I AM says:
"Just
as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee. O Lamb of God, I come. I
come!
Just
as I am, and waiting not, To rid my soul of one dark blot
Because Thy blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come.
I come!
Just
as I am; poor, wretched, blind, Sight, riches, healing of the
mind
All that I need, in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just
as I am, Thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse,
relieve
Because Thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come. I
come!"
The
Bible says: "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf
of them whose heart is perfect toward Him..." (2
Chronicles 16:9)
And
God's Word says: "The eyes of the Lord are over
the righteous and His ears are open unto their prayers but the
face of the Lord is against them that do evil."
(1 Peter 3:12)
THE
FIRST SERMONS OF JESUS WERE ON REPENTANCE
The
very first sermons preached by our LORD were the call to
repentance and salvation, "Repent and believe the
gospel." (Mark 1:15) The same was true of
the great prophet, John the Baptist, (Luke 3:3; Matthew 3:2) as
well as all of the Apostles! (Mark 6:12)
And
St. Peter declared, "Repent and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts
2:38)
WHAT
DOES REPENTANCE MEAN ?
To
repent means to turn, to change course! Repenting is godly
sorrow for sin. Repentance means being sorry enough
to stop committing sin and to change your life.
After
St. Paul’s letter reached the Corinthian Church, they were
sorry for their sins and repented, changing their evil ways. He
writes: "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but
that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a
godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For
godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation..." (2
Corinthians 7:9-10)
REPENTANCE
IS FORSAKING EVIL - TO REPENT IS A CHANGE OF LIFESTYLE AND THINKING
Repentance
is a complete forsaking of evil, unrighteousness of the world,
the flesh and the devil. When you repent you are changing,
turning around.
Jesus
said, "..except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish." (Luke 13:3)
In
his Mars Hill sermons, St. Paul shared with pagan Greek
intellectuals the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His glorious
resurrection from the dead.
GOD
HAS APPOINTED A DAY HE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD
Then
he challenged them: "And the times of this ignorance
God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained;
whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath
raised Him from the dead."
THERE
WILL BE TWO JUDGMENT SEATS
Don’t
let anyone deceive you, my friend, there is going to be a 'Great
Day of Judgment’' when all of us will stand before
Almighty God to give an account of our lives. We are living in
the end Times, the second coming of Jesus and rapture of the
Church is near.
THE
FIRST JUDGMENT IS 'THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT'
There
will be two judgments: the first judgment is one is called,
"The Great White Throne Judgment' where all sinners
and unjust persons shall be judged in relation to their
acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ the Jewish Messiah!
Here
is Christ Jesus' solemn warning: "And I saw a great
white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth
and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the
book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which
were written in the books, according to their works."
"And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged
every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast out into the
lake of fire."
(Revelation 20:11-15)
THE
SECOND JUDGMENT IS CALLED 'BHEMA SEAT JUDGMENT OF THE SAINTS'
The
second one is called the Bhema Seat Judgment of the Saints.
That is where all believers who have trusted in Jesus Christ as
personal Savior will be judged for our works!
St.
Paul warns: "For other foundation can no man lay than that
is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this
foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay stubble;
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall
declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire
shall try every man's work of what sort it is."
"If
any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall
receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall
suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by
fire." (1 Corinthians. 3:8)
In
his defense before King Agrippa, the great Apostle rehearsed his
Damascus Road conversion experience, and the words of Jesus
Christ to him:
"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 from the power of Satan unto God, that they may
receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which
are sanctified by faith that is in Me." (Acts
26:17-18)
THE
CALL TO REPENT IS URGENT
So
urgent is the call for people to repent of their sins, the Bible
says: "Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade
men." (2 Corinthians 5:11) The Bible specifically
declares: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of
God". (Rom. 3:23)
SIN
MUST BE PAID FOR UNLESS YOU REPENT OF YOUR SINS
"The
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans
6:23)
The
great apostle wrote to the church in Rome concerning those
committing sinful acts and others who condemn them, being guilty
of the same sins!
"But
we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth
against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O
man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same
that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? But after thy
hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath
against the DAY OF WRATH and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God;"
"Who
will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by
patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and
immortality, ETERNAL LIFE: But unto them that are contentious,
and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that
doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;"
(Romans 2:2-9)
GOD'S
GOODNESS & PATIENCE CAUSES US TO REPENT & TURN TO
HIM
Jesus
said, "Behold, I come quickly" - literal Greek:
Without delay, at once, soon. (Revelation 22:12)
St.
Peter gave two reasons why Jesus had not yet returned:
1)
One thousand years with us is like one day with the Lord! 2)
God's mercy is reaching out for more sinners to be saved!
"But,
beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
(2 Peter 3:8-9)
The
Bible says, "Repent and be baptized...and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38-39)
"Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be
blotted out..." (Acts 3:19)
And
Jesus says, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be
zealous therefore, and repent. 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."
(Revelation 3:19-20)
May
the Lord bless you and give you peace. Write me a letter if you
have accepted the LORD Jesus Christ as a result of reading this
message.
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