New Year’s Conference at Brunstad

New Year’s Conference at Brunstad

“[He] will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.” Acts 11:14. This was said to Cornelius when he was urged to send men to the apostle Peter. A brother mentioned this word at the New Year’s conference and thought it was quite fitting for our conferences. We hear words by which we are saved. At this conference we also heard an abundance of such words and exhortations. The following is a report of the conference, and in particular of brother K.J. Smith’s messages. The conference was brief, yet all the more powerful.

The Spirit of Judgment and Burning

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28. When the sea and the breakers roar—both in the natural and in the spiritual sense—then we should lift up our heads and look forward to the day when the Lord will return in glory. This should urge us on to prepare ourselves for the wedding day. We should consider all our days as days of preparation. Most people act like the bird that we read about in Proverbs 7:23, that hastens to the snare, not knowing that it would take its life. In Luke 21:36 we read the exhortation to “watch and pray always.” It is vital for us to remain standing before the Son of Man at His coming, undefiled by sin and the world.

Prayer leads us into new and positive thoughts. A person who prays constantly experiences that God intervenes. Then one’s thoughts come out of that which breaks down and destroys. Then we will come away from that corrupt circle that only has to do with our own person and ourselves. The one who prays is set free from old trains of thought, and the inheritance all of us have in the saints will become great and glorious for that person. Therefore, may the New Year into which we have entered be a year of prayer and grace!

The saints are written in the book of the living (Ps. 69:28), and they are cleansed and purified by “the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning.” Isa. 4:3-4. It is this spirit of judgment and spirit of burning (cleansing) that has produced the glory that we experience in the church until this very moment. God hides this glory under a cover of reproach. “For over all the glory there will be a covering.” V. 5. We must not seek to have this covering removed.

Satan exalted himself because of his radiance and was therefore cast down. A man of faith must be able to bear reproach. For example, the reproach he encounters when he speaks the word of faith. The truth makes us free, and each true disciple of Jesus loves to hear the truth about himself. The truth is that even the best person according to the flesh is worse than a thorn hedge. God cannot use any of it. Therefore we ought to follow Him who went outside the camp, bearing His reproach. In the “camp” one can attain a certain glory and honor, but not on the way to Calvary. Therefore it is a great folly and a deception to seek to build your own person up. Jesus, who was tempted in all things as we are, had to take up His cross daily, so that nothing of His own will would manifest itself—with the result that He increased in wisdom.

People are ruined on the way of seeking other people’s honor and favor. The church must never glide away from the cross and the offense of the cross. All human, imagined greatness is annihilated by the cross.

“. . . even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.” 1 Thess. 2:4. Many people seek God when they experience earthly needs. But true disciples of Jesus Christ love the cross that sets them free from all selfishness. In 1 Timothy 3:10 we read that even servants in the church must first be tested, and afterwards they can serve in the church if they are blameless. They must be tested whether they live before people or before God, whether they seek their own glory or God’s glory. These tests are applied in many different situations. For example, when a person agrees with a “poor wretch” and says that he is in the right because he is a “poor wretch,” instead of agreeing with the person who is in the right, then you can be sure that the desire to bask in his own excellence is at the bottom it, the desire to have a reputation of being “good.” Then such a person seeks his own, and not the things that pertain to Christ. “For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Gal. 1:10. In this area, all of us are in need of receiving treatment by the spirit of judgment and burning. This inclination to want to be honored by people can cling to us until we are old in any ministry in the church. Many people have gone astray and have ended up in a fog, and in darkness. They have not stood the test in this very important area. We will be tested over and over again in this area. If we stand the test, then God can rely on us, and we will be entrusted with the gospel. We learn to know Jesus in truth on the way of humiliation.

It is vital for a follower of Jesus to be pure. Seeking the honor of people is impure. Thoughts of envy and indecency are far from purity. The spirit of judgment and burning will also in this area do its liberating work in our lives. If you want to be beautiful, then be beautiful in your heart, in the hidden. Backbiting is a terrible sin. A person can even be so subtle in his backbiting that he himself believes that he is showing care for the others.

A person who lets the spirit of judgment and burning enter into his life will most certainly experience that when he speaks worst about himself, and gives himself a good tongue lashing, he will, as brother J. O. Smith wrote in one of his letters, come closest to the truth. Then we will come to the understanding that we can do something about the greatest of injustices: come to grips with sin in our own flesh. Then all backbiting will vanish, just as all criticism and judgment of other people. In Ephesians 6:18 we are exhorted to be watchful and persevere in prayer. We live in busy times, therefore it is important for us to take this exhortation to heart. Otherwise our minds and our thoughts are easily filled with the things that pass away.

Jesus Christ is the foundation on which we are building. On this foundation we must build with gold, silver, and precious stones. We do this only if we follow Jesus on the way of humiliation.

Faith and Zeal

“But since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke, ’we also believe and therefore we speak.” 2 Cor. 4:13.

There are tremendous powers in the Spirit of faith. It is the Spirit of Jesus Christ. All the saints have fought and overcome in this Spirit. There is no lack of power, no weakness, nor cowardice in this Spirit; neither is there any indication of discouragement in this Spirit. We are kept up by faith; and if we become tired, we receive new strength by faith and lift up our wings like eagles.

By faith Sarah received strength to conceive seed, even though she was past the age. By faith the martyrs did not accept deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Eph. 6:10. How strong can we be? Our strength is relative to our faith and zeal. Without faith and zeal we have no power to act in our life. The Spirit of faith believes firmly and unshakably in the God of wonders. This Spirit is fully convinced that all things serve us who love God, for our good. Rom. 8:28. We are to fight and overcome in this Spirit of faith.

David fought against Goliath in faith and confidence toward God. Eliab, his oldest brother, thought that he was arrogant. It happens even in these days that older brothers have looked askance at younger brothers when they went ahead in the Spirit of faith and zeal.

David fought the battle against a visible enemy. Jesus was the first one who fought against the enemies in our flesh. This is where He gained a victory that is valid for all eternity, and He has called us to overcome in that same Spirit. We serve a sovereign God. He rewards hundredfold both here on earth, and then in all eternity. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matt. 6:33. “. . . who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time— houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.” Mark 10:30. Can you imagine such riches? Such fellowship? To have fellowship with people whom we love and who love us!

The Spirit of faith causes us to understand our own way, what we have to do in the various situations. In this Spirit there is a zeal against all self-exaltation, envy, and honor seeking. “I do not receive honor from men,” was Jesus’ glorious, personal testimony. He was tempted just as we are. This was a battle that was necessary for Him to fight when He went aside to pray. It is good to take the words in Isaiah 48:11 to heart: “And I will not give My glory to another.”

For example, it is by the Spirit of faith that Brunstad was built, not by reasoning and human ideas. Joshua and Caleb fought in the Spirit of faith. Jericho’s walls were brought down by the Spirit of faith, and the town was conquered. We meet many walls in our life on the way that goes through the flesh. All of them shall fall before the Spirit of faith. We sing in New Songs #170: “Fiery trials and tribulation try your faithfulness.” In this Spirit of faith we shall overcome all trials, so that no accusation, no criticism, and no reproaches see the light of day, but only thankfulness.

Be Not Deceived

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:24. Let this also be our heart’s attitude. The things that come from “myself” shall not move me. The important thing is the race and the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus. Paul declared the “whole counsel of God.” V. 27. The whole counsel of God concerning all of God’s will. It takes a considerable amount of “godly sorrow” to pursue, as Paul did, the perfection that is in the fullness that is in God. In Ephesians 3:18 we read about being rooted and grounded in love, and about comprehending the breath, length, depth, and height of it. We cannot make any exceptions when it concerns our neighbors. If there are some individuals whom we cannot bear then we are far from being rooted in love. We must become so rooted and grounded that nothing can move us.

For example, when we read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we read the thoughts that were hidden in God—God’s counsel for you and for me. May we truly receive a proper understanding of the possibilities we have through the gospel. Think of the entire counsel of God concerning the entire fullness of God! Think that the life the Sermon on the Mount presents to us can in fact become ours!

In James 1:16 we read, “Be not deceived, my beloved brethren.” There are many possibilities for our soul to be deceived. Therefore we read in verse 21 about the word that is able to save our souls. We are also exhorted to purify our souls in obedience to the truth in sincere brotherly love. 1 Pet. 1:22. Purify our souls so that we are not deceived by our souls. Many people have come to a terrible end because they were deceived by their souls. One can use one’s human reasoning and place oneself above God, even in one’s thoughts, and thus exalt oneself. The result will be envy, jealousy, and bitterness. Unfortunately, we have seen sorry examples of this in the course of time. God be praised that we have this opportunity: Purify our souls! Purify ourselves in sincere brotherly love. True love, without the least amount of hypocrisy. Many “stars” that have gone astray have lost the ability to mourn over themselves. They give the impression that it is going well with them, but that is because they are no longer poor in spirit. They were deceived in their soul. They have lost their “godly sorrow.” May there be a fervent spirit in us for as long as we live, so that one day we can surrender a fervent, faithful, and pure spirit into the Father’s hands.

The fact that we can purify our souls in obedience to the truth in sincere love of the brethren is a glorious, liberating message. All insincerity is to be done away with. Love in all sincerity, without any trace of hypocrisy! What a glorious and happy life!

One brother said toward the end: This conference has given us the necessary push forward that we needed. It is as it is written about the Holy Scriptures: It is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Tim. 3:16.