by
Rev. Max Solbrekken, D.D.
“Peace
I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world
gives do I give un: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
--JESUS
CHRIST
A
number of years ago - during the Arms Race - I wrote a very
important and timely article titled, ‘How To Conquer Inner
Space’! Mankind has the capabilities to send a man to the
moon - conquering outer space - but has been unable to conquer
inner space!
We
often hear of seminars or books dealing with the subject of
‘INNER HEALING’. Unfortunately, many of these have to do
with “regressive therapy” - some use hypnosis - which
delves into a person’s early childhood, and even as far back
“as the womb”!
Others
are steeped in the deceptive, occult and dangerous teachings
of the New Age Movement! This is not surprising since Jesus
Christ warned that in the last days, “many false prophets
shall arise and deceive many”. (Matt. 24:11)
St.
Paul also prophesied: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly
that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils…”.
(1 Tim. 4:1)
These
are certainly the “last days” to which the Scriptures
refer. My advice is to “keep your eyes trained on God’s
Word and hearts tuned to the Holy Spirit”, so that no one
will be able to deceive you!
JESUS
CHRIST IS WORLD’S
GREATEST MIND SPECIALIST!
Only
Jesus Christ can come into an individual’s heart and give
that person real and lasting peace, because He alone is the
“Prince of Peace”! Our Lord is the greatest mind
specialist the world will ever know. He said: “Come unto Me
all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest”. (Matt. 11:28)
Jesus
Christ declared: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because
He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath
sent Me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to
the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind and to set at
liberty them that are bruised”. (Luke 4:18)
NOW,
THAT IS A TALL ORDER!
Only
a ministry anointed by the Holy Spirit has the ability and
power to really preach the “TRUE GOSPEL”! And to bring
healing to broken hearted and hurting people, by healing the
sick and diseased and liberating those who are bound by
unclean spirits of witchcraft, occultism, perversion, lust,
greed and fear!
Our
mandate through Jesus Christ is to liberate - by the power of
the Holy Spirit - those who are enslaved! WHY IS THIS
NECESSARY? Jesus said: “Peace be unto you; As My Father hath
sent Me, so send I you”. (John 20:21) And St. John declared:
“...As He is, so are we in the world”. (1 John 4:17)
In
His name, we must do what He did when He walked among men! And
what did He do? The Holy Spirit reports: “How God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power, Who went
about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of devil,
for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38)
HE
PREACHED THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR! HE HEALED THE BROKEN HEARTED
AND THE SICK, AND LIBERATED THOSE WHO WERE POSSESSED BY EVIL
SPIRITS. HE GAVE OF HIS GRACE, MERCY AND PEACE, TO THOSE WHO
WERE SINFUL, LONELY AND FEARFUL!
After
His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ issued the “Great
Commission” to His followers, promising the power of the
Holy Spirit to all who believe and truly follow Him!
“But
ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you and ye shall be My witnesses...unto the ends of the world.”
(Acts 1:8)
He
declared: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel
unto every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned.
“And
these signs shall follow them that believe. In My Name shall
they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They
shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover.” (Mark 16:17-18)
When
John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to confirm
whether or not He was the Christ, the Holy Record states:
“And
in the same hour He cured many of their infirmities and
plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind He
gave sight.
“Then
Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John
what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.” (Luke
7:19, 21, 22)
Although
Christ does great miracles for us, there are some things we
also must do. My Dad used to say: “God doesn’t come down
to feed the cattle and milk the cows. We must do that”!
DUKE
UNIVERSITY STUDY:
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO INNER PEACE!
Here
is the list of the Duke University’s findings, together with
a brief commentary by myself: May these thoughts help you to
receive genuine “inner healing”!
1.
The Absence of Suspicion and Resentment!
Nothing
will grate on your nerves and steal your peace and rest more
than these twin enemies. Suspicion puts your wildest
imaginations in motion and resentment eats like a cancer!
It
has been said: “Jealousy is as cruel as the grave”.
Suspicion breeds jealousy and resentment spawns hatred, which
is latent murder!
Some
people are constantly looking for someone to blame and hate
for their own misfortune! It is better to be a bit naive, but
we must also be street -smart, like ‘once bitten, twice shy’!
Jesus
said: “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and
become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this
little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matt. 3,4)
The
Bible says: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all
malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake, hath
forgiven you.” (Eph. 4:31,32)
2.
Refusal to Live in the Past, and to be Preoccupied with
Mistakes and Failures!
It’s
good to learn from past mistakes in order not to repeat them.
We must not, however, dwell on them, or they will seek to
control our lives!
The
Bible says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
(1 John 1:9)
St.
Paul said: “...forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus”. (Phil. 3:13-14)
3.
Refusal to Waste Time and Energy Fighting Conditions Over
Which You Have No Control.
The
Bible says: “Submit yourselves unto God, resist the devil
and he shall flee from you”. (Jas. 4:7) “Commit thy way
unto the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to
pass.” (Psalms 37:5)
May
we always do as the famous, hit - parade song said: “Put
your hand in the hand of the MAN who stilled the waters. Put
your hand in the hand of the MAN who calmed the sea.”
Wherefore,
if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and
tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe
you, O ye of little faith?
“Therefore
take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we
drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all
these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father
knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
“But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no
thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for
the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day, is the evil
thereof.” (Matt. 6: 30-34)
4.
Determination To Stay Involved with the World Around You and
to Resist the Temptation to Withdraw From Life!
Jesus
said: “I pray NOT that Thou shouldest take them out of this
world, but that Thou shouldest keep (protect) them from evil.
They are not of the world, as I am not of the world”. (John
17:15-16)
It
is not God’s will to hide away in a monastery for years or
decades to get away from our fellowmen!
Spending
a few weeks of fasting and prayer alone, is admirable, in
order to receive God’s power to help people! Then, we must
meet the people and share God’s power and blessing!
5.
Refusal to Engage in Self-pity When Life Seems to Hand You a
Raw Deal!
When
calamity repeatedly came to Job - the man of patience - he
wisely stated: “What, shall we receive good at the hand of
God, and shall we not receive evil”? (Job 2:10)
One
of the most foolish attitudes to adopt - when troubles come
our way - is to blame God, our family or others! Charles
Spurgeon, the great English preacher said: “Many men owe the
grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.”
Tough
times come to all of us from time to time, because we live in
a world beset with sin, sickness and death...And don’t
forget, there is a real devil, who fathered all of those evil
happenings! If you are going to blame anyone, put the blame on
Satan for he is the enemy of God and man! Refuse to go on a
“pity-party”!
JESUS
said: “The thief cometh but for to steal, kill and destroy.
I am come that they might have life, and more abundantly.”
(John 10:10)
St.
Peter warned: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he
may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8)
Remember:
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (Jas. 1:17)
6.
Cultivation of Old-Fashioned Virtues - Love, Honour,
Compassion and Loyalty!
Good
habits are made by consistently doing good things over and
over again! The world needs to see and experience genuine
unconditional love that lasts through the test of time.
Honour
is doing the right thing, being fair and keeping your
commitments! And compassion is more than pitying or feeling
sorry for someone. Compassion finds a solution to the problem
and only genuine Christianity understands that word properly,
since Jesus Christ gave His all to save us!
Loyalty
is going out of fashion, in our “dog eat dog” world of
selfishness, pride and unfaithfulness!
7.
Establishment of Reasonable Goals, Accompanied by Realistic
Standards of Self-Expectation!
St.
Paul said: “I can do all things through Christ, Who
strengtheneth me”. (Phil 4:13); “Now thanks be unto God,
Who always causeth us to triumph in Christ…” (2 Cor. 2:14)
Christians draw strength from Jesus Christ. The Blessed Holy
Spirit helps us!
In
the natural, however, we must not “shoot for the stars”.
There are too many roadblocks, pitfalls and uncertainties. It
is far better to live everyday to the best of our abilities,
and put our trust in God for the future! In the 1970’s, I
coined the slogan: “We must face the future with faith, for
only GOD knows the future and only faith pleases God!”
9.
Belief in Something Bigger Than Yourself!
Allow
me to change that to, “SOMEONE”, and we all know that HIS
Name is Jesus. He is able to make the difference in all our
lives!
The
Duke University study concluded with the words: “The
foundation for inner peace is a faith that inspires you to
greater things and that will bring meaning to your life”.
Jesus Christ said:
“If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that
believest.” (Mark 9:23) If you accept that, you will
certainly “live and die a happier person”, as President
Abraham Lincoln stated so emphatically~
