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PREPARE
TO MEET
THY GOD
What
does the Bible say?
by:
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
"One
day an angel will place one
foot on the sea and the other
on the dry land and lifting
his hand to heaven, swear by
Him that liveth forever and
ever, that "Time shall be
no more"! (Revelation
10:5-6)
Jesus
said, "What shall it
profit a man, if he shall gain
the whole world, and
lose his own soul?" (Mark
8:34-38).
 DO
YOU KNOW WHERE YOU WILL SPEND
ETERNITY?
Prepare
to meet thy God!
This was the admonition
that Prophet Amos thundered
out in his day. God's people
had backslidden, corrupted
themselves and forsaken the
true and living way.
They
had gone after the strange
gods of the heathen, and were
worshipping at the altars of
pagan idols. They had
forgotten how gracious the
Lord is and turned their backs
on Him.
GOD
HAD A FEARLESS PROPHET THAT HE
COULD USE:
A MAN WHO HADN'T SOLD OUT!
But
God had a man He could use!
Amos was a prophet who had not
corrupted himself as others
had done. God had a vessel He
could use - a mouthpiece with
which to warn and admonish His
people of coming judgment for
sin and forgiveness for those
who would repent!
God's
message to the people then is
the same as now: "Prepare to
Meet Thy God"! One day every
living soul will stand before
God and give an account of his
or her life.
THE
BOOK OF LIFE WILL BE OPENED
& THE DEAD
WILL BE JUDGED
"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 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 into the lake of
fire." (Revelation
20:11-15)
The
Bible says, "And as it is
appointed unto men once to
die, but after this the
judgment:" (Hebrews
9:27) THE MESSAGE OF THE
PROPHETS was always the same
- they were two-fold - People
must repent to receive mercy
and forgiveness or reject
God's Way and be judged. It
was a message of mercy and
judgment!
It
is the same today. God has not
changed, but many of 'today's
preachers' have
compromised and are not
preaching ALL THE TRUTH
because of FEAR. They lack the
boldness, courage and faith to
stand up and tell the Truth.
JOHN
WESLEY
-
founder of the Methodist
Church - whose Ministry is
accredited with turning
England back to God and saving
it from the same fate as that
which befell France in the
ungodly, brutal and bloody
French Revolution, stated:
"I must preach law before
I preach grace."
What
did he mean? Simply this, that
in order for people to realize
that they need God's
FORGIVENESS, they must be
convicted of their sins! And
how does that take place? In
several ways: God can
arbitrarily speak to people by
His Holy Spirit in answer to
the fervent prayers of
relatives or other concerned
spiritual prayer warriors!
Usually,
however, sinners are convicted
through the anointed preaching
of God's Word. Millions of
believers are saved today
because of the powerful
preaching of anointed
Spirit-filled men and women of
God, who have refused to
compromise their message!
In
1970, Edmonton Transit bus
driver, Eric Dykstra and his
entire family, were converted
to Christ in our Church
because of the dozens of Bus
Seat benches which carried our
advertising with the clear-cut
message: "Get Right With
God!"
In
a letter to me, dated May 8,
2002, about five weeks before
his death, Eric wrote: "It has been 32 years
almost to the day that I
accepted the Lord's saving
message as preached by you
that Wednesday evening at the
Edmonton Revival Centre. That
was May 6, 1970.
"After
you laid your hands on me and
my family, the roof of the old
theatre didn't split open for
angels to descend, but I
received a depth of peace in
my inner being I had never
before experienced. Without
realizing it, we stood at the
jump-off point of an exciting
brand new phase of our lives."
"Our
kids all believe in their
Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ. (One is even an M. Div
and has been a pastor for five
years). Our grandchildren are
taught the Word and the ways
of the Lord Creator, at home
and at their respective
churches. Your faithfulness to
God and perseverance in your
Ministry has brought wonderful
blessings to countless
families around the globe!"
""
have at times speculated what
would have happened if in the
late 60s all these messages,
'Get Right With God!' hadn't
been scattered throughout the
city by way of bus stop
benches. Driving my routes and
spotting those ads gave me
repeatedly opportunity to
meditate on their
meaning!"
DR.
OSWALD SMITH SPEAKS OUT!
In
Dr. Oswald Smith's book,
'The Fire Of God' (1948), the
man that Billy
Graham called, "one
of the world's greatest
Missionary Statesmen"
wrote: "In my study
of revival and evangelism I
have discovered that those
most mightily used of God
always majored on five
subjects. These five subjects
inevitably produced
conviction. First, sin and
salvation, then heaven and
hell, finally judgment. You
see, a great many messages
must necessarily be given on
SIN for sin to be exposed if
there is to be genuine
conviction!"
Oswald
Smith states: "When I was
converted in the year 1906 in
the great Torrey-Alexander
campaigns which was held in
Massey Hall, Toronto, I
noticed, as I walked along the
streets or through the stores,
or rode in the street cars,
thousands of little white
cards, one inch wide and six
inches long. On both sides
these four words were printed
in bright red type, "Get
Right With God."
"It
made no difference which way
the card fell, the message was
always there. As a result,
thousands
were convicted. So many tens
of thousands of these little
white cards had been
distributed that it was
impossible to get away from
them. Everybody saw them. They
were lying about on every side
and those four little words
preached a sermon that could
never be forgotten."
I
remember hearing Oral
Roberts - while in
his prime - speaking on the
sin of compromising
the truth. In his anointed
message, the man who won ten
million souls to God and
brought the healing
power of God to our
generation, thundered out
these words: "I hate
compromisers!"
PREPARE
TO MEET THY GOD
It
was the same during the time
of MICAH THE PROPHET. Micah
prophesied against the
backsliding preachers, who had
been bought off and corrupted
by worldly minded and sinful
people around them, which
caused them to prophesy only
what the people wanted to
hear. He declared, "But
truly I am full of power by
the Spirit of the Lord and of
judgment and might, to declare
unto Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin".
(Micah 3:8)
God
is very merciful and will
forgive all who come to Him in
humility, desiring forgiveness
and salvation (John 6:37;
3:16), but He also is a God of
judgment and justice!
The
Bible says, "I the Lord
thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto
the third and fourth
generation of them that hate
Me; and showing mercy unto
thousands of them that love
Me, and keep My
commandments". (Exodus
20:5-6)
Remember
my friend, you reap what you
sow (Galatians 6:7-8), and be
sure your sin will find you
out (Jonah 1:7). And don't
forget "It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands
of the living God" (Hebrews
10:31). SIN MUST BE PAID
FOR IF IT ISN’T REPENTED OF,
and "The wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord". (Romans
6:23)
We
are living in a day when
preachers have given in to
'political correctness' with their
'seeker sensitive'
philosophy, so that there is
no longer conviction of sin!
It's easy to get swayed by
great crowds who applaud a
"God loves you",
with no strings attached
preaching, but the Bible says:
"Therefore if any man be
in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are
passed away; behold all things
become new."
In
my crusades around the world,
I have noticed how everyone
wants to say the sinner's
prayer and be healed
physically, but many in
reality do not desire to make
Jesus their Lord and forsake
their idols and leave their
pagan beliefs. If a preacher,
therefore, isn't clear
on God's hatred for sin and
idolatry, he leaves them in a
very precarious position!
JESUS
WARNED PREACHERS THAT WE
MUST
PREPARE TO MEET GOD
Our
Lord Jesus Christ emphasized: "Woe
unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
compass sea and land to make
one proselyte, and when he is
made, ye make him twofold more
the child of hell than
yourselves." (Matthew
23:15) He said: "All
that the Father giveth Me
shall come to Me: and him that
cometh to Me I will in wise
cast out." (John 6:
37). He also stated:
"...but except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise
perish." (Luke 3: 13)
St.
Paul warned: "And
that, knowing the time, that
now it is high time to awake
out of sleep: for now is our
salvation nearer than when we
believed. The night is far
spent, the day is at hand: let
us therefore cast off the
works of darkness, and let us
put on the armour of light.
Let us walk honestly, as in
the day; not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering
and wantonness, not in strife
and envying. But put on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and make
not provision for the flesh,
to fulfill the lusts thereof."
(Romans 13: 11-14)
"For
we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ; that
everyone may receive the
things done in his body,
according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or
bad. Knowing therefore the
terror (wrath) of God,
we persuade men..." (2 Corinthians 5:10-11)
The
great Apostle admonished: "I
charge thee therefore before
God, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, Who shall judge the
quick (living) and dead at His
appearing and His kingdom.
Preach the WORD; be instant in
season , out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all longsuffering and
doctrine." (2 Timothy
4: 1-2)
You
may be able to fool your
husband, wife, friends or even
the preacher, but you cannot
fool God. He knows all about
you, and if you reject Him as
your Saviour, He will be your
Judge on that day.
"When
the Son of man shall come in
His glory, and all the Holy
Angels with Him, then shall He
sit upon the throne of His
glory, and before Him shall be
gathered all nations and He
shall separate them one from
another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the
goats - and these shall go
away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous
into life eternal".
(Matthew 25:31-46)
Listen
to the words of invitation
given by our blessed Lord and
Redeemer, Jesus Christ:
"Come unto Me all ye that
labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you
rest".
(Matthew 11:28)
DO
NOT TURN A DEAF EAR TO THIS
GREAT OFFER OF SALVATION AND
BLESSING, BUT BELIEVE ON THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST TODAY!
Receive
Him into your heart by faith,
repent and turn away from your
sins, and you will receive the
gift of Eternal Life. DON'T
DELAY, BUT CALL OUT TO THE
LORD FOR MERCY TODAY!
"For
God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in
Him shall not perish, but have
everlasting life."
(John 3:16) Amen!
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A
Message From Ingvar Solbrekken
(Max's Father)
Written in 1959.
Jesus
said, "But seek ye first
the kingdom of God, and His
righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto
you." (Matthew
6:33)
'Attending
Church' is not enough! One
should make every effort to
find a church where there are
signs, wonders and miracles - where God’s power is
recognized.
How
else can you prove it is 'the
Church'? St. Paul
stated that God "has placed
miracles" in the Church. (1
Corinthians 12:28) He
commanded that we turn away
from those who have "a form
of godliness and deny the
power of God". (1 Timothy
3:5-7)
Surely,
Jesus Christ will return for
the same glorious Church
(Ephesians 5:27) which He had
in New Testament times! Will
you, my friend, be a part of
His glorious Church or a cold,
lukewarm or dead church? The
Bible says, "Be ye holy,
for I am holy, saith the
Lord". (1 Peter 1:16)
Amen.
FILL
MY HEART WITH A BURNING DESIRE
FOR GOD
AND STIR ME, O LORD
"Now
while Paul waited for them at
Athens, his spirit was stirred
in him, when he saw the city
wholly given to
idolatry."
(Acts 17:16)
If
there ever was a time
Christians need to open their
eyes and to be filled with a
burning desire for God, it is
now.
Fill
my heart with a burning desire
and stir me to get
involved - filled with a
burning desire to spread the
word of God with, righteous indignation and
missionary zeal!
Fill
my heart with a burning desire
for God and stirred in my
heart regarding the onslaught
of Satan, the Evil One, in his
"urgent campaign" to
enslave billions of lost souls
across the world!
Fill
my heart with a burning desire
for God and stirred about the
scary rise of the deceptive
New Age Movement, and their
subtle infiltration of our
educational systems,
governmental agencies, business
corporations and churches!
FILL
MY HEART WITH A BURNING DESIRE
FOR GOD AND STIR MY HEART
ABOUT THE TRAGIC BREAK UP OF
MANY HOMES, THE SPIRALING
DIVORCE RATE, HIGH INCIDENCE
OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE AND
VIOLENCE AMONG OUR YOUTH!
Fill
my heart with a burning desire
for God and stir me about the
complacency and acquiescence
of an increasing number of
spineless politicians and
clergy - who in order to
please vocal constituents and
parishioners - are caving in
to demands by sodomists and
lesbians!
Fill
my heart with a burning desire
for God and stir my heart
about the sins of child abuse,
incest and molestation by parents,
relatives and family friends!
And about the acceptance by
many, of suicide as a valid
way out of depression,
terminal illness and other
unpleasant situations!
Fill
my heart with a burning desire
for God and stir me about the
awful carnage in our
hospitals, the aborting of
millions of unborn babies
across the world. And stirred
because in some cities, the
authorities are jailing "the rescuers"
who
seek to save these precious
lives.
It
is ironic, when you think
about laws that jail someone
killing certain species of
animals and birds, while
protecting abortionists
(medical doctors are trained
to save lives), who legally
kill large numbers of human unborn
babies regularly!
The
heart of our Heavenly Father
must be stirred to the "boiling point",
of
unleashing upon this wicked
world His unprecedented wrath
and judgment, because of these
infamies!
SHOULD
WE NOT THEN BECOME STIRRED,
SHOULD OUR HEARTS NOT BE
FILLED WITH A BURNING DESIRE
FOR GOD AND SPREADING THE WORD
OF GOD, LIKE ST. PAUL?
We
need to be stirred, we need
our hearts filled with the
desire for God enough to get
off the Comfortable Pew; in
order to change the spiritual
complexion of our communities,
our cities, our nation and our
world...to turn them from
darkness to light and from the
power of Satan unto God! (Acts
26:22)
We
need to be stirred and our
hearts filled with a
burning desire to warn this
generation of coming judgment,
upon a world that has rejected
its Saviour and a Church that
has become lukewarm, complacent
and uncaring!
OH,
THAT GOD WOULD BURDEN OUR
HEARTS TO FAST, PRAY AND
INTERCEDE FOR A LOST WORLD
THAT HAS "GONE OUT OF
CONTROL"!
Our
prayer should be: "Dear
Heavenly Father, by Thy great
wisdom, power and grace,
please lead me in Thy perfect
will, so that I may reach key
people for Thy Kingdom. Be
merciful O God, and spare the
people by sending a gracious
revival to our Land. Begin in
me O Lord; forgive and cleanse
my spirit, soul and mind. I
give myself to Thee; to be Thy
servant and a channel through
which Thy great love and power
will flow out to others!"
Amen.
THERE
IS CAUSE FOR CONCERN
St.
Paul saw the rampant idolatry
in Athens and his heart was
stirred, to do something about
it!
Immediately,
he involved himself in
preaching the Gospel on Mars
Hill at the Acropolis - across
from the Parthenon - to the
learned men of Greece!
His
message was Jesus Christ and
His resurrection. He preached
repentance and warned of
coming judgment - the end
times, rapture, second
Coming of Jesus and Heaven &
Hell.
"...God
now commandeth all men
everywhere 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 raised Him from the
dead." (Acts
17:30-31)
Some
scoffed but others said,
"We will hear thee again
of this matter".
We
must fill our hearts with the
burning message of God and
become stirred enough, to
begin reading the Bible
seriously, praying fervently
and witnessing aggressively
for our Blessed Lord Jesus!
WE
MUST FILL OUR HEARTS WITH A
BURNING DESIRE AND NEED FOR
GOD. WE NEED TO BE
STIRRED SO GREATLY, THAT WE
WILL GLADLY DEDICATE MORE OF
OUR MATERIAL GOODS AND
FINANCES TO THE WORK OF THE
MINISTRY!
It's
too late "in the
game" to expect things to
turn around quickly, if we
don't "go all out"
in this last and vital inning
of the world's history!
Now
is the time to decide for
Christ. Now is the time
to turn your life and heart
completely over to God and let
him fill us completely. Now is the time to dedicate
ourselves totally, without
reservation to the task of
winning our loved ones,
neighbors and friends to Him,
before it is too late!
May
all Christians totally repent
of envy, pride, jealousy,
back-biting, gossiping and
lying! Let us all pray, "Not
my will, but Thy will O
God"! My prayer is
that all lust, greed, jealousy
& tormenting fears will
disappear from the Christian
community as everyone
dedicates their lives totally
unto the Lord!
And
may we have no hatred,
animosity or despondency in
our hearts as we seek God's
help in totally forgiving
those who have wronged us!
Then, the Holy Spirit will
have free course to work in
our lives, so that we can
reach the lost for Him!
PRAYER
FOR REVIVAL
Billy
Graham prayed a powerful
prayer for revival some time
ago. I wish to share it with
everyone so that we will all
pray together with him to that
end!
"Lord
do it again! Do what You did
when the apostles were called.
Do what You did following
Pentecost. Do what You did
with Saul of Tarsus,
Augustine, Luther, Calvin,
George Whitefield, John
Wesley, D.L. Moody and William
Booth. Lord, do it again and
help us to win the world for
Jesus Christ!"
May
we become men and women of
prayer, piety, love &
compassion! And may we emulate
men of God such as mentioned
in Billy Graham's prayer.
When
John Wesley felt that the
Methodist Church was cooling
off, he gave this advice to
the preachers of the
denomination he had founded:
"Read the life story of
David Brainerd".
Here
is an excerpt of David
Brainerd's account of his
missionary exploits to reach
the early American Indians for
Christ.
"I
cared not where or how I lived
or what hardships I went
through, so that I could but
gain souls for Christ. When I
was asleep, I dreamed of these
things, when I awoke the first
thing I thought of was this
great work. All my desire was
for the conversion of the
heathen and all my hope was in
God."
-
David Brainerd
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BIBLE
SCRIPTURES / VERSES ON SALVATION
Isaiah
1:18-19
God
invites: "Come now,
and let us reason
together... though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow; though
they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool."
(Isaiah 1:18-19)
MARK
8:34-38
Jesus
said, "What shall it
profit a man, if he shall
gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul?"
(Mark 8:34-38).
JOHN
3:16-17
"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."
"For
God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the
world: but that the world
through Him might be
saved:"
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