From a skeptic to a believer

John 1:46And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

48Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

49Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

It took Jesus only one sentence to turn Nathanael from a skeptic to a believer. From asking can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Till, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God. Why did Nathanael swing from doubt and skeptic to faith and confession? Because Jesus saw him, at a place and moment when he was sure no one did. Because Jesus understood him and noticed him when no one else did.
Many people today are skeptic that Jesus knows them or understands them. When they find out and realizes that Jesus knows about them, and cares about them, and most importantly, sees something good and valuable in them, they become believers. That’s the message we need to communicate. Jesus sees you, and knows you, and he thinks that you are valuable.

I am the door

Ex 27:16And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.

The door into the Tabernacle represents Jesus. Jesus said in John 10 that I AM the door… That’s why it is 4 pillars. It was one for each Gospel in the New Testament. Each Gospel has a purpose. Matthew shows him as the Messiah, and the King, Markus shows him as the servant, Lukas shows him as a man, and John shows him as God. All of them are true and important testimonies that show the different sides of Jesus. There are also 4 colors, each representing a truth about Jesus. The blue represents heaven. The purple represents royalty. The Scarlet represents the blood, and the white linen his righteousness. That is revealing that Jesus was a King coming down from heaven, giving his blood so we can enter in through his righteousness.
That was the only entrance. Around the Tabernacle was a fence with white linen walls. The white linen is the righteousness of the saints according to Rev 19. That tells us, we cannot come in through our own righteousness, but we must enter in through Jesus righteousness. He is the only door in...

Jesus is the blueprint

Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished by God when he was about to make the Tabernacle: for see saith he, that though make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount

The Tabernacle was a blueprint and copy of that which was in Heaven. When they saw the Tabernacle, they also saw what Moses saw on the mountain. It was the exact copy. In the same way, Jesus is the exact copy of what's in heaven. He is the IMAGE of the invisible God. He said, when you have seen me, you have seen the Father. I am the image, and the reflection of the true divine Father in heaven. Jesus said that no man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him... He has revealed him, or made him visible.
You want to study God, then study Jesus. Every detail, every word, and every miracle was a revelation of God in heaven. Since we could not come to God, he brought God to us.

Three things in the ark

Heb 9:4 ...and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant...

Inside of the Ark of the Covenant was three items. It was a jar of Manna, the rod of Aaron, and the tablets of stone. The manna represented the word of God, the rod represented the leadership, and the tablets represented the law. By placing them in the Holy of Holiest where the Spirit dwelled, God was letting us know that the goal is to have a spiritual law in that the Holy Ghost writes the law on our hearts, and that we must receive a LIVING word made alive by the Spirit, and follow a spiritual leadership. This is the fivefold ministry in the church. When we are led by his Word, His Spirit and his leadership, we are safe and moving in the right direction.

Have you checked your destination?

Most people have not given their destination in life many thoughts. With destination I mean what happens after death. Some think there is nothing after death, so I dont need to worry. Others think, there is something, but I don’t know what it is, but I will find out when it happens. Others again think we all end up in heaven anyway. Like the saying: all roads leads to Rome, they think all ways of life, and all religions end up in heaven.

The Bible however, teaches us that there is only two kind of gates out of this life. One is the gate of Heaven, the other is the gates of Hell. So in contrast to the view that all roads leads to heaven, there is only ONE way to heaven, and only one gate. To Hell however there are many roads. Thats why the bible talks about the GATES of hell in plural, and the GATE of heaven in singular. The only way, and the only gate that leads to heaven is Jesus. He said I AM the door. And I am the way. All other gates, and all other ways leads to Hell.

So how do we check our destination? How can we know where we end up? If you follow your own way / will, or some other religion or philosophy, your destination is hell. But if you follow Jesus, and his will and way, you will end up in heaven. Remember that Jesus is the only one that has come down from heaven, and he is the only one that knows the way back. He said, take up your cross and follow after me. Where did Jesus go? He died, so we must die. He was buried, so we must bury. He resurrected, so we must resurrect. We die in repentance, we are buried in baptism, and we resurrect by receiving his spirit.

Heaven on earth

Gen 28:12 ”And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father….”

Heaven is for many something very abstract and far away. Few people have ever been able to peek into and get a glimpse of Heaven. The truth is that you have to be 100% pure and free from sin to enter therein. And since there is NO ONE that is pure or righteous, no one has ever had access into it.

Jakob had a dream when he saw a ladder from heaven to earth, and God standing at the top of the ladder. He might got a little peek very far away into heaven, behind God who was standing in the gate.

The ladder is telling us something. Since we cannot come up to heaven, God would come down and bring heaven to us. God came down the ladder, and walked among us. Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. He is God who came down the ladder. His message was, the Kingdom of God is near. It was as near as he was. He was the gate. He said I AM the door. He said that no one could come to the father, but through him. He brought the Kingdom DOWN, and invited us to enter in through him, that was the door.

When you find Jesus, and enter in through him, you will experience HEAVEN on earth. Every time we enter into the Kingdom of God, whether through prayer, worship or the word, we are entering into a heavenly atmosphere and heavenly environment. And the best part is this. If you have Jesus when you die, you have the door, and you have access into Heaven.

Hell is not cancelled

Some time ago I heard on the radio that the Norwegian state church had ”canceled” Hell. Even though that might sound nice, I dont think they have that much athority, that they can make the word of God unvalid.

I am afraid that there is still a place called Hell. And it is still for all eternity.

Why is there no one talking about Hell anymore? Because we dont want to scare people. And we dont want people to accuse us for making people afraid and filled with anxiety. But, should we stop talking about death or cancer? So that people didnt have to go around and be afraid? Should we tell people that all wars for the next 100 years is cancelled? Should we tell them, global warming and climate change is cancelled? (no matter who or what is the cause) Maybe we should tell people that there is no more chance for any epedemy anymore. We have cancelled all dangerous sicknesess so at least you dont have to go around and be afraid.

I dont think it will help people to stick their head in the sand and think that because we dont like to be confronted with the truth it just disapears. When you lift up your head from the sand, your problems is still there. When you wake up on the other side of death, eternity is still there waiting for you. The only question that remains is: Where are you going to spend it…

They that wait...

Josh 2:18 unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down,

Rahab knew destruction would come. She believed in her salvation message. But she was not told WHEN it was going to happen. She just WAITED in her house believing. It’s the waiting part that are the hardest part in faith. She waited, looking out the window with anticipation. Today maybe…. IF not today, surely tomorrow. Time has a way of attacking our faith. Sometimes people do the mistake of getting impatience with our waiting. We do things on our own, thinking we are “helping” God. Abraham did that mistake with Ismael. King Saul did that mistake, when he couldn’t wait for the Prophet Samuel anymore, and did the sacrifice himself.  For that he lost his Kingdom.
Sometimes we ACT on our faith. Other times we must WAIT. The same faith that gives us strength and boldness to ACT can give us the strength and patience to WAIT.

“But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Is 40:31)  

Stay in the church

Josh 2: 17So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 18

unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. 19So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless….

The message was clear. Only inside the house there is safety. Do NOT leave the house. The cord, and message of salvation belongs in the house. When the entire wall came crushing down, one part remained intact. That’s where the house of Rahab was.

Some people think: I don’t need the church. I can just take the cord with me everywhere I go in the city, and the cord will save me. No, the cord can only save you in the house. Salvation is given to the church, and those in it. The house of Rahab represents the church. Jesus said: I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall NOT prevail against it.
Don’t leave the church. Only in the church are you safe.