A Revival Conference

Approximately 7000 friends from many different countries were gathered for the Easter Conference at Brunstad. Again we experienced a conference whose blessed content could fill an entire book. However, since the intention with these lines is to write a brief précis of the meetings, and not a book, we will render only a short summary of the main messages, particularly those from Br. Kåre J. Smith’s rich ministry. A large number of brothers from Norway as well as from other countries took part and contributed substantial and weighty testimonies and messages. The entire conference was a mighty revival to godliness.

The First Love—Not Seeking Your Own

The angel of the church at Ephesus had a good name and a life that was to be respected. Yet he was given this message: “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Rev. 2:4-5. He was reminded of how it had been at first, and how it was only Jesus’ name and a life in His presence that had meant anything to him. The Word can only penetrate deeply into us and do a transforming work in our inner man if we live in the presence of the Lord. All self-interest and self-love have the effect of “sand in the gears” and excludes further progress. Then a person will also not see clearly; he will pass the wrong judgment and make the wrong decisions.

Jesus sought only one thing: the glorification of the Father. This must also be our single desire: to glorify Jesus with our life and our works.

A person will become so restless if his thoughts and mind are busy with the honor of man. Then he will say things that should not have been said, or he will be quiet when he should have said something. The apostle Paul was the same, steadfast person; he was in rest whether he was praised or dishonored. He was thankful for the share he had in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, most people seek their own whenever the circumstances permit, and lying and hypocrisy follow in the wake of self-interest.

When Paul gave Timothy the testimony that he did not seek his own, he also, at the same time, gave the others this testimony: “For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.” Phil. 2:21. This should be a powerful wake-up call for us, for seeking one’s own is not so far removed from any of us, whether we are young or old, whether we are a beginner or distinguished by wisdom and understanding.

For example, we can test ourselves in the light of 1 Corinthians 10:24: “Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.” Let us be radical in settling this matter of self-love and self-interest! Let us pray for a shepherd’s mind. A shepherd is there for helping the sheep, and only for that! “But that the members should have the same care for one another.” 1 Cor. 12:25. How about that Lazarus who is lying at your doorstep? You will not see him if you seek your own. If we do not serve God according to the grace He supplies, we will end up outside the laws that apply to His church. Of course, there is much in this area that is on the subconscious level. Therefore it is also good and necessary to come together. In fellowship with each other we also learn to suffer with each other and rejoice with each other.

In Romans 12:3 we are exhorted not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. If we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think it is because we seek our own. It is good to test ourselves. How much has God actually been able to do in me up until today? And through me? We are exhorted to think soberly. How many souls have we won for Christ? How often have you “lied down” so that others could go forward and further “over your back”? Where were you when someone needed economic assistance? Why are you not more awake to God’s working in your heart? We cannot lead the life of a disciple and seek our own at the same time!

In Ezekiel 34 we read about Israel’s shepherds who fed themselves instead of feeding the flock. For example, let us test ourselves in the light of verse 4. Have we strengthened the weak? Have we sought those who are lost? Have we visited someone who has left the fellowship of the saints, or have we just confirmed the fact that—unfortunately—he has left?

A mother is a shepherd in her home just as much as the father. Soon the children will be grown-up. What kind of memories do they have of your shepherd ministry? We should always have the children’s eternal well-being in mind and not just take care of ourselves or (for example) seek honor or recognition by means of our children. Oh, may all desire for “greatness” in this world be cursed in our lives and in our homes! The generation of the God-fearing will be blessed!

Fire and Purification

“But who can endure the day of His coming? . . . For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.” Mal. 3:2. Yes, He will come to each one of us who has a heavenly calling. He will appear to everyone who loves light and judgment. When His light shines into our heart, we need to walk according to the light—especially if the light shows us more of our pride. We have only a short time, and we need to make use of it for our salvation.

God is the One who works in us to will and to do according to His pleasure. Phil. 2:13. At a conference, for example, at a conference like we have just had during the Easter weekend, He works to will and to do through the light He sends. We must walk in this light if we are to reach the goal He has set for us. The judgment begins with God’s house. 1 Pet. 4:17. The Lord gives us light, and more light. It is the Lord who speaks to us so that we can experience transformation in our life. “Whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” Heb. 3:6. Yes, then we will be among those with whom the judgment will begin, the judgment that gives us light and with which all the upright of heart agree, as it is written so blessedly in Psalm 94:15. We are not among the upright of heart if we do not love to meet the Lord on the ways of His judgment. Let us be honest and upright before our Creator. Let us say it the way it is with us. He knows how we are, but He wants to hear our acknowledgment of the truth that can set us free.

“Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word . . . .” Isa. 66:5. The vast majority simply do not “tremble.” They have no desire for the holiness of God. Those who are upright in heart love to receive more and more light over their lives. They let the refiner’s fire and the fuller’s soap do its purifying work. This fire and soap will also enter into our thought life. Our thoughts need to be purified. A thorough purification is required for us to present offerings in righteousness. Mal. 3:3. For God’s Word is pure, and the one who brings God’s Word must be pure from seeking his own. We must not draw back when the Lord appears by fire and judgment for cleansing. It is these trials by fire that enrich our life.

Everything We Do

“For the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.” 1 Sam. 2:3. “But the Lord weighs the spirits.” Prov. 16:2. The Lord pays close attention to each and every one. He humbles and He exalts. He knows how to judge the work we do—whether it weighs heavily in the scales and whether there is weight in our spirit.

The scribes and the Pharisees observed all kinds of things in the law, but they did not regard “the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.” Therefore they ended up in opposition to the Father in the midst of their worship service.

It is the fullness of the virtues of Christ that makes our works valuable before God—not the work itself. For example, God loves a cheerful giver. To give without joy is without value for the giver in his or her relationship to God.

In Galatians 4:19 we read that the goal of the apostle Paul’s work with the Galatians was that Christ might be formed in them. That means that the life of Christ—the virtues of Christ—should become visible. In the religious world they are usually occupied with mission work, but Paul exhorted first and foremost to godliness in the individual’s personal life. Mission work takes second place. For example, he writes about brotherly love, and he exhorts them that they should “increase more and more” in it. 1 Thess. 4:9-10. Gifts do not give us any weight in our spirit. Only the life we live can give it to us. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount that many will say on that day that they have worked many great works in His name, and yet the Lord did not know them. They knew how to use the gifts in Jesus’ name, but they did not know how to live their lives in Jesus’ name.

Paul’s exhortations to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:15-16 show how he could gain weight in his spirit. Then our words will have authority. “In doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” When we proclaim the gospel, it is the fullness in our life that lends authority to our words—a fullness of goodness, mercy, and love. This is so plainly written in 1 Corinthians 13. And in 2 Peter 1:8-10 we read that it is important to have the virtues of Christ in our life first of all, and then that they should grow. For example, when the word about patience shines like a great glory in our eyes, we will overcome in life’s various circumstances (“you will never stumble”), but we will suffer defeat if we walk in the vanity of our mind. We need to fight the fight of faith in order to stay in contact with God in life’s circumstances. “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31. We can see that it is not a question of doing certain works, but rather of God’s glory. Then everyone has an equal opportunity, whether he has a more visible or a more hidden ministry. “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Col. 3:17. Whatever we do! Then life will be blessed. Then we will gain a tremendous treasure for our spirit; we will become strong in our inner man, and the things that normally cause people to have great difficulties won’t even bother us.

“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail . . . .” Deut. 28:13. The Holy Spirit is a spirit that leads. The person who makes himself out to be the head will meet with misfortune, but the one who is filled with the Spirit will have a drawing power in his words and in his works and will become the head.

Life and Abundance

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. In Deuteronomy we can clearly see what life and death actually are. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil . . . .” Deut. 30:15. We can simply state it like this: The one who does good lives the life, whereas the one who does evil lives death. The good gathers. The good creates fellowship. The evil separates us from God and from each other. Death means separation. The desire of the flesh is death, but the desire of the Spirit is life and peace. Rom. 8:6. The works of the flesh about which we can read in Galatians 5:19-21 appear wherever death rules. But the fruit of the Spirit (verse 22) is a wonderful aroma of life: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control! Oh, how glorious it is when the fruit of the Spirit is evident. The more we possess of these glorious virtues, the easier and more blessed it is to live.

We can seriously ask ourselves why confessing Christians have put such a vast distance between themselves and this life—this abundance of life. They usually admire the gifts, but they do not pay any attention to the life that we should live and to which we are exhorted so often by the Scriptures.

Our calling is to be one just as the Father and the Son are one. One in that which is good. One in the same life. One in the same abundance of life.

In Acts 20:31 we gain some insight into the true labor of an apostle: “Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn [exhort] everyone night and day with tears.” Paul exhorted them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Peter exhorts us to give all diligence to add virtue to our faith. This gives us a glimpse into an apostolic seriousness and apostolic exhortations. We can be thankful that this apostolic seriousness and these exhortations are a reality in the church in these days.

When the flesh is on the cross, the result will be as it is written in Ephesians 2:15-16: “So as to create in Himself one new man.” This is life! This is church life! This is abundance of life!

Clay in the Potter’s Hand

“Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!” Jer. 18:6. At first we are in the potter’s hand, and then all that is hard and inflexible must be purified from the clay. All hardness, stubbornness, self-exaltation, conceit, and pride must be cleansed out—preferably before we have to experience fiery trials. If these hard lumps are not removed, the vessel is apt to crack when it is put in the fire.

If a servant of the Lord falls in manifest sin, this will, of course, affect the confidence people have in this person. He will not become the vessel that God had had in mind he should be to begin with. But God is good, and He will in any case make him into another vessel, as it seems good to Him. V. 4.

“I see it my way, and I do it my way.” People may say this in their arrogance and self-confidence without realizing that they should have cleansed out something that is hard and inflexible in the lump of clay. This reminds us of the people of Israel who did not attain to the righteousness of faith because they strove to establish their own righteousness. Rom. 10:2, ff. They were zealous, to be sure, but there was stiffness and stubbornness in their spirit. They wanted to make it on their own. We need to cleanse ourselves if we want to be acceptable to God and grow in favor with people.

We must love the truth without reservation if all the hardness is to be cleansed out of our life. We must live crucified with Christ and no longer for ourselves, as Paul testifies in Galatians 2:20. The works we do while we live for ourselves are dead works. They do not produce any growth or development in Christ. We will be “New Testament Pharisees,” sitting in a tree like Zacchaeus, coolly and conceitedly observing everything and everyone. These hard lumps can be removed through humility.

“Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Cor. 15:10. We must have this understanding in life’s situations. You can be praised for much at an anniversary, but if you require some attention, honor, or esteem, you are holding on to something that Paul considered loss and dung so that he could gain Christ. Paul’s desire was to be found in Christ with the righteousness that is from God by faith—something that by far exceeded what he could attain to in his own strength. Then he was at rest and rejoiced whether he was honored or dishonored. This goes for us as well! Everything that is hard and stiff melts in this fervent love for Christ. We can rejoice and be at rest in all of life’s circumstances when He gets the glory.

Arild Tombre