PREPARE
TO MEET THY GOD
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!
"I
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)
D
O
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!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 - 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!
Stir
Me O Lord!
Stir
me, Oh! stir me, Lord I care not how, Stir me,
oh! stir me, Lord! Thy heart was stirred
But
stir my heart in passion for the world; By
love’s intensive fire, til Thou didst give
Stir
me to give, to go, but most to Pray. Thine only
Son, Thy best Beloved One,
Stir,
till the blood-red banner be unfurled E’en to
the dreadful Cross that I might live;
O'er
lands that still in heathen darkness lie, Stir
me to give myself so back to Thee,
O'er
deserts where no Cross is lifted high. That Thou
canst give Thyself again through me.
Stir
me, oh! stir me, Lord, for I can see.
Stir
me, oh! stir me, Lord, till all my heart
Is
filled with strong compassion for these souls,
Thy glorious triumph - day begin to break;
Till
Thy compelling "Must" drives me to
prayer, The dawn already gilds the eastern sky;
Till
Thy constraining love reaches to the poles Oh!
Church of Christ, arise, awake! awake!
Far
north and south, in burning deep desire Oh! stir
us, Lord, as heralds of the day,
Till
east and west are caught in love's great fire.
For night is past; our King is on His way!
~
Author Unknown
Stir
me, oh! stir me, Lord till prayer is pain,
Till prayer is joy, till prayer turns into
praise;
Stir me till heart and will and mind, yea All
Is wholly Thine to use through all the days.
Stir, till I learn to pray
"exceedingly".
Stir, till I learn to wait
"expectantly".
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
