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Prepare
to Meet thy God
by Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D. |
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 pastored 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 his 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” (Heb.
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!
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." (Matt.
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." (Rom. 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 Cor.
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 Tim.
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”. (Matt. 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”. (Matt.
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!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.” (Matt. 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 Cor. 12:28) He commanded that we
turn away from those who have “a form of godliness and deny
the power of God”. (1 Tim. 3:5-7)
Surely, Jesus Christ will
return for the same glorious Church (Eph. 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.
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