Summer Conference at Brunstad

Summer Conference at Brunstad

The future that lies ahead of us, and which includes the further development of the Brunstad Conference Center, turns our thoughts to the extensive work that Nehemiah started. In Nehemiah 4:10 we read, “The work is great and extensive . . . .” And in verse 20 we read, “Therefore, wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” Of course we want to work together in this great effort that the construction work at Brunstad represents, and there are many— both young and old—who have wholeheartedly taken up this challenge! It is particularly encouraging that the youth are so wholeheartedly along in this work. Bro. Kåre J. Smith expressed his enthusiasm for the contribution of the young people. He reminded us of all the harm and problems that sin and vices create for society, and of all the blessings that come with times like this when we can put all our energy into an endeavor that has been and will continue to be such a great blessing for so many people all over the world.

The following is a brief summary of the summer conference.

Abide in love! Do not drift away!

In Hebrews 2:1 we are exhorted to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. In verse 3 we read about the message we have received—for example, the word about “so great a salvation.” We must not drift away from this salvation. Winds and currents come from all directions; therefore we must pay earnest heed so that we do not drift away.

In verses 20 and 21 of the last chapter in the epistle to the Hebrews we read the following: “Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ.” This is God’s will for us. Make you complete! In every good work! To do His will! Working in us what is well pleasing in His sight! In Philippians 2:14 we are exhorted to do everything without murmuring and doubting, for God is working in us. When He works in us, it goes against our self-will; therefore it is easy for murmuring and doubting to arise.

The law could not make anyone perfect by means of the sacrifices they offered continually. Heb. 10:1-4. However, the new covenant has given us a better hope. We can receive help in time of need so that we can overcome sin. Yes, Jesus can “save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him.” Heb. 7:22-26.

Jesus offered Himself. Heb. 9:14. In chapter 10:7 we read that His prayer was, “‘Behold, I have come . . . to do Your will, O God.’” This is also the way for us—to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. This way leads to where He is. It leads to the resurrection from among the dead. On this way we learn to humble ourselves so that we can abide in love. In life’s different situations we learn to surrender our soul to the faithful Creator while we do the good. Whatever we meet on life’s way, whether it be unjust treatment, other people’s evil, etc., we learn to abide in love. Knowledge puffs up. We can only serve to the edification of the body of Christ if we abide in love. Whoever does not abide in love has not learned to offer himself.

Rooted and grounded in love! Eph. 3:17. Only then can we enter the development we read about in verse 19: “. . . that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” What a race this is! What a life! What a development!

If it is not going as well in a church as it should, it is vital that our roots shoot deeper down into love. Then we will not blame the leading brother, the youth leader or someone else. All churches have experienced various times when things have not been so easy; but those who have understood to walk in Jesus’ steps have then put their roots deeper down; they have remained in love instead of giving room to the devil.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us . . . .” V. 20. What power is this? It is the power of love. God will do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think if we abide in this power of love. However, we limit God’s power and work in us if we come out of love. Then we pray in vain and make no progress. We can abide in love by humbling ourselves—abide in the love that bears all things, endures all things, believes all things, and hopes all things. Then God is glorified by our life. V. 21.

God is love. 1 John 4:16. If a person falls out of love, he is no longer in God. Concerning the one who loves his brother we read, “There is no cause for stumbling in him.” Ch. 2:10. A person will stumble if he falls out of love. A church abiding in God is a church abiding in love. Blessed is the church that has its roots in love. They will experience that God blesses their children, their homes, and their families.

The power of love is that divine power that has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. 2 Pet. 1:3-4. By it we have also received exceedingly great and precious promises about partaking of divine nature. When this divine power is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit we will overcome sin and become partakers of divine nature. We are not tempted in an area where we have partaken of divine nature. When this area in our life is expanded through sanctification the result is a better and easier life. From such a life flow the virtues of Christ, just as we read in 2 Corinthians 4:10: “. . . always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”

Love as the driving force

In Hebrews 2:4 we read, “. . . God also bearing witness . . . .” Then love also bears witness. When the love of Christ bears witness through our life we live to His glory. Love for our brothers and sisters must constrain us to serve. In this ministry we meet the egotist within ourselves and thus we receive ample opportunity to take up our cross. Here we must be on guard so that we are not afraid to suffer, and so drift away. “Let all things be done for edification.” Edification must always be our first priority.

“. . . not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” Rom. 12:11. Just think that it is possible to be diligent and yet be lagging in it—to be lukewarm! Then we have lost God’s testimony. Perhaps one is zealous in the “ministry” and receives a good testimony from people, but that fervent love, in which our nature has to die, is lacking. This was the state of the angel in Laodicea. He had become lukewarm. It is not sufficient just to be zealous. The exhortation was to be “fervent in spirit.” Then we serve the Lord. Then we do not measure our zeal according to the testimony of men. It is God’s testimony that counts.

“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” 1 John 5:11. There is tremendous power in our love for the Father. In verses 14-15 we read about the power that is in prayer—that when we pray, we have the petition that we have asked of Him. The love of Christ drives us into caring for the others.

True love for God is that we love Him for His sake. There are divine powers within this love. We will love much if we acknowledge that much has been forgiven us. Luke 7:47. Then Christ will let us find His steps. Then we will always seek God, He who gives songs in the night. In Job 35:10 we read about those who do not ask, “Where is God?” Such people do not find the steps that He has left behind. Neither will they come to the songs He gives, even at night. But if we love the way of the cross, being followers of Jesus Christ, we will come to these songs. We read about Jesus that on the same night in which He was betrayed He took bread, gave thanks, and broke it. He was thankful and could sing songs of praise in the middle of the night.

What we read of the seven angels of the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 should urge us on to greater seriousness. All of them continued to serve, but most of them stood more or less before the face of men and did not serve in that first, fervent love for Christ.

Jesus is coming! Make yourself ready!

In Hebrews 9:28 we read that to those who wait for Him, Jesus will appear a second time, for salvation. They are the ones who partook of the salvation with which He came the first time. Let us therefore live in the spirit of expectation!

“. . . and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven . . . .” 1 Thess. 1:9-10. When we receive the Spirit of truth into our hearts, we also wait for the Lord on the ways of His judgments. We agree to God’s judgments, and judgment will return to righteousness. Then our hearts will be filled with the spirit of expectation—the expectation of His return. In the context of the Lord’s return Paul writes In chapter 4:18, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” Those who have wholeheartedly turned to God with the result that they long for the salvation with which Jesus came the first time do not need to fear His second coming. The tragedy of the five foolish virgins (Matt. 25) was that they awoke too late. They were more or less influenced by the spirit of the world. They were, in a manner of speaking, pure; nevertheless, they were not free from living before the face of men. We ought to test ourselves in life’s situations: In which direction do our thoughts go? Are they “buried” in earthly things or, are we anxious to receive the honor of men? Our spirit has to be set free from all this so that we can come into fellowship with God. He who practices the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21) will not inherit the kingdom of God. We must enter into rest from all such things; i.e., impurity, fornication, bitterness, and envy.

In Colossians 3:1 we are exhorted to “seek those things which are above.” That is living before God’s face. As natural human beings we like it when other people think well of us and speak well of us. However, how interested are we in how God thinks of us? Do we have a life that is hidden with Christ in God? Such a life is hidden to the world and to people.

Many people worship the great things in the hidden. For example, they are very interested in getting their children to make progress in this world and they push them beyond their abilities; in other words, they “sacrifice them on the high places.” We should rather encourage our children to live godfearing in the present world, to seek God’s kingdom first. You, who are young, do not defile yourselves with the sins of the present world! It is absolutely possible to live a pure life from your youth on—in thought, word, and deed. Instead of playing around with sin when you are tempted, rather be obedient to the exhortation in Colossians 3:5: “Therefore put to death . . . .” And in verse 8 we read about putting off sin. In this passage we read about sins which we shall quite simply put off once and for all, and not cleanse ourselves from them in the process of sanctification. After that comes sanctification. In that process we meet our human nature, our egotism, and everything else that we can surrender into the death of Christ. Those who have this hope of seeing Him as He is (1 John 3:1-3) purify themselves, just as He is pure. The pure in heart shall see God. It is possible to keep a pure heart throughout an entire life. If we have this living hope of seeing Him as He is, we will be thankful for the opportunities we have to discover our egotism. Then we can cleanse our souls in obedience to the truth. Our reasoning and our feelings are in our soul. The Word must be allowed to separate and divide between soul and spirit and judge the thoughts and intents of the heart. If we are faithful in this cleansing, we will advance to the perfect day, with our faces turned toward heaven and living in the spirit of expectation. Jesus exhorts us to pay heed to the signs of the times. Luke 12:54 flg. Most people are blind to all this. They understand nothing when the spirit powers whip up the sea of mankind. However, the godfearing see it and prepare themselves. As we see the times approaching, we need to be filled even more with the spirit of expectation. Those who wait on the Lord receive new strength. Is. 40:31. God has engraved both the earthly and the spiritual Jerusalem in His hands. Then it is interesting to follow the developments.

Through faith and patience

In Hebrews 6:11 we read the exhortation to “. . . show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end.” The Hebrews had begun with zeal, but had now become dull of hearing and did not have the same zeal as before. In verse 12 we read that we inherit the promises through faith and patience. We get converted through faith, we put off manifest sin by faith, and we are baptized in the Holy Spirit by faith. However, on the way of sanctification our faith needs to be strengthened by patience.

In the parable of the sower we see that the seed that fell on stony places did not have any root, and after it had sprung up it withered away. Patience was lacking. Many people are gripped by the moment, but when the trials of life come they wither away. Perhaps they were among the most visible ones during times of revival, but they lacked patience in life’s trials.

We read about those who have “good ground” that they bear “fruit with patience.” Luke 8:15. They endure patiently when the meet tribulations and temptations, and they bear abundant fruit.

In Heb. 12:1-3 we read about running the race that is set before us with patience. Further on we read about Jesus who endured [patiently suffered] the cross and “. . . endured such hostility from sinners.” We have boldness to enter the sanctuary in the blood of Jesus. We must not cast this boldness away when the trials rise up and not everything goes the way we would like it to go. Heb. 10:35. “For you have need of patience.” V. 36. Then we will also obtain the things that were promised: divine nature.

Patience is of great value in God’s kingdom. James writes clearly about this and exhorts us to count it all joy when we fall into various trials. Temptations and trials have a purpose that leads to a result: they produce patience! And patience must lead to a perfect work. Jas. 1:2-4. What a glorious result that is produces by the trials: perfect works! That is God’s own nature of which He wants us to be partakers.

In 1 Pet. 4:1 we read about suffering in the flesh and ceasing from sin. Finished! How glorious it is to be finished with something. But then we have to be patient. The one who is willing to be a grain of wheat experiences the great miracle God performs in death. There we meet God’s creative power.

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” Jas. 5:7. Patient by abiding in that which is good regardless of what we meet. “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it . . . .” We do not harvest as soon as we have sown. Time goes by, and so we mature until the harvest; we mature for heaven. The grain gains weight when the winds blow in the autumn. Everything that meets us has to do with us being molded. The weight we receive in our spirit in life’s trials will go with us into eternity.

It is a life filled with the fruit of the spirit.

“You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” V. 8. Through patience our hearts are strengthened by grace. We receive nourishment for our spirit and experience growth and development until we reach the full measure of the stature of Christ. Let us seek a greater fullness for our spirit.

“Do not grumble against one another.” V. 9. All such secret grumbling is a hindrance in our development. In verse 11 we read about the perseverance, or patience, of Job and the glorious end of all his trials. Just think of the end Job had because of his patience! How blessed it is with older brothers and sisters who are full of thankfulness in their old age—no complaints, no anxiety, but rather rich in the fruit of the Spirit. A glorious conclusion to a life of patience!

Jesus is Lord!

Before the Law came Israel knew God as the Almighty. After that they learned to know Him as their Lord. When He becomes our Lord, we also learn to know His goodness. Ex. 33:19. Many people are “carried away to these dumb idols.” 1 Cor. 12:2 flg. They are carried away to something that is great in this world, and their interests are in that which is corruptible. These idols exercise power over them so that they are not free to serve the Lord with their body. When He becomes Lord in our life, He gives us gifts and ministries, so we can serve, and by means of these diverse ministries the diversity of God’s nature is also manifested.

“. . . no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”

V. 3. When Jesus is Lord we learn to walk in the Holy Spirit. In chapter 6:12 flg., we can see that even though all things are lawful for us we are not to be brought under the power of any. We must not use our liberty in the wrong way. Verse 13 tells us that our body is for the Lord and the Lord is for the body. Then we are a complete sacrifice and experience God’s tremendous power for transformation. Then our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. V. 19. We have glorious promises(also for our body) when the Holy Spirit is allowed to use our body. He will “. . . also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit . . . .” Rom. 8:11. Therefore we do not sorrow as those who have no hope if someone dies.

“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Rom. 8:10. This means that we cannot do just anything we want with such a body. We also cannot be wherever we want to be with such a body, according to our own thinking. For example, can you sit in a movie theater with such a body and partake of the ungodliness of the ungodly? Ask yourself when you are in a certain place: Why am I here? Am I here because I was led here by the lusts of my flesh?

Or am I here because my body is “dead because of sin”? The body has to be “dead” so that the Lord can use it according to His will. And if we continue to walk like this in the Spirit, we will experience that the cross is a tremendous instrument for the purpose of committing our flesh into death. The fruit of the Spirit is made manifest; it will appear more and more like the right thing, and have the right taste.

Then we will learn to know Jesus more and more as Lord. We judge ourselves in the light that shines, and our bodies manifest Jesus’ life. We mature as we fight and strive. Then God can reveal us as those who have wisdom and goodness and who can lead people to God. May none of us miss our calling. In all the many ministries in the church, and also in earthly situations (i.e., in the work for Brunstad), we can experience Jesus as Lord and share in His glory. When the body is for the Lord, the Lord is also for the body, and we have a share in a glorious development.

Humility—Grace

“And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— the sure mercies of David.” Is. 55:3. There was abundant mercy, or grace, over David, and there was also an abundance of humility in David’s life. He himself says, “Before I was afflicted [humbled] I went astray.” Ps. 119:67.

A person can do many foolish things when he goes astray. For example, he becomes a busybody in other people’s matters. Then he has to suffer as an evildoer. A person will not come out of such a desperate situation unless he acknowledges his true condition before God. It is a great thing when a person humbles himself when he has no other choice; but it is far greater, when he humbles himself and voluntarily assumes this humble position before God, that he reckons himself as nothing, and acknowledges that even his best works are “filthy rags,” and that he always needs to learn from the Lord. Humility is the very soil in which the virtues of Christ grow.

It is possible to live in such a way that we, like Naphtali (Deut. 33:23) are satisfied with favor [grace], and the fullness of the blessing of the Lord. Then we are not busybodies in other people’s matters. Then grace and blessings will flow out in our homes and in the church.

David prays in Psalm 25:4, “Show me Your ways, O Lord.” This is our attitude when we are humble of heart. Then we wait on the Lord (verse 5) and do nothing on our own authority. David acknowledged his sin. Vs. 7-8. Many people minimize their sin out of fear of losing the honor and confidence of man. We need to have confidence in God, and we will have it if we acknowledge our sin from the depths of our heart. The humble person receives grace, but the proud person has God as his opponent. God does not show partiality to anyone who is conceited. Job 37:24. Neither does a godfearing person have fellowship with a conceited person.

“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.” Ps. 25:14. It is always good in such intimate fellowship with the Lord. The soul of the godfearing pants for God as the deer pants for the water brooks. Ps. 42:1-2. Then it is natural to humble oneself under God’s mighty hand.

The younger ones who understand this also know how to submit themselves under their elders, as they are exhorted to do in 1 Peter 5:5. They also know quite well who these elders are to whom they should be in subjection. These elders make no demands on the younger ones. They have had to humble themselves many times under the younger ones in order to help them or save them. The younger ones should think about this before they comment on the actions of elder brothers, for example in their local fellowship.

In Daniel 10:10-11 we can read how God speaks to a humble man. “. . . man greatly beloved . . . .” Those who turn their back on all self-confidence and who humble themselves can rest assured that their prayers will be heard.

The goal of faith is that our works are to be perfect in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Our soul is to be saved. 1 Pet. 1:6-9. Among other things, we are to learn to speak well of our neighbor, thus experiencing the edifying power of this kind of conduct in contrast to all derogative criticism and backbiting. “. . . all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power . . . .” 2 Thess. 1:11. There is much work going on. However, it is the work of faith that bears fruit for God. For example, it is through the work of faith that we are preserved in humility. The way of humiliation touches the soul, and as a result it can become restless. But through the work of faith we enter into rest in our inner man where the Spirit testifies to the sacrifices that need to be brought. The Word is living and powerful and judges the thoughts and intents of the heart. We must be faithful in the depths of our heart and be glad for each opportunity we have to receive a tested faith.

“. . . to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Heb. 4:13. We can only experience the salvation of our soul if we live before His face. Then we do not have to give account to people (strictly speaking), but only to the Lord. We will miss out on sanctification if we are satisfied with the testimony of men.

In Nehemiah’s time the word went out that “wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there.” The trumpet sounds clearly at our conferences at Brunstad, and this conference was no exception. Therefore it is not strange that friends from all corners of the world gather there. May this conference bear abundant fruit in times to come to the glory of the Lord.