“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Heb. 10:25. Our dear brother, friend, and shepherd, Kåre J. Smith, has on several recent occasions emphasized how important it is to attend our meetings and conferences. This is not merely a matter of outward faithfulness; it is crucial for our personal lives and for the church. God has blessed these conferences richly. He has revealed Himself to all who long for a life of discipleship, through His liberating word. Praise be to God for His calling and His election! Here are some excerpts from the meetings held during the conferences. During the Easter conference, Kåre J. Smith reminded us of something fundamental: Not many people truly understand who Jesus is. Most people know Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and as Christians we understand that it was a great and unfathomable grace that He died for us. The joy of having received forgiveness of sins should be deep and genuine, but is that where we are meant to stop? We are called to start a whole new chapter. John the Baptist also preached the forgiveness of sins. But if we want to follow Jesus, it takes more than that! He is our forerunner, and we are called to follow in His footsteps. When Jesus lived here on earth, not many people understood who He was either. And so it is today. “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets”—these were the answers when He asked. Matt. 16:13-14. But when Jesus asked His disciples this question, Simon Peter replied: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” V. 15-16. Peter could not have answered this way if he had not received a revelation from God. And it is this personal revelation that we need. Because there is a difference between knowing Jesus as the Redeemer and knowing Him as Lord. “The Rock is Jesus Christ!” This simple truth has sustained God-fearing people down through the ages. On the Rock, you are safe, even when the storm is raging. To build your life on the Rock, it takes more than receiving forgiveness for your sins. It is a matter of being set free from the sin that dwells in our flesh. Paul writes: “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Rom. 5:10. It is the life of Jesus that is the life-giving power at the center of salvation. Many people “stop short” at Jesus’ death, but we are called to live as He lived. We have now reached “the last days,” and God’s spiritual temple is still under construction. “Coming to Him as to a living stone,” Peter writes, “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house.” 1 Pet. 2:4-5. Everyone who comes to the Rock and builds their life upon it becomes a living stone in this building. This is the body of Christ, the church. But just as Jesus, the cornerstone, was rejected by people, in the same way the church is rejected today by those who are not upright and who have only a form of godliness. Nonetheless, this building stands unshakable. Jesus said it Himself: “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matt. 16:18. If we are to become living stones in this spiritual building, something will be required of us. “And the Lord added to the church daily those who allowed themselves to be saved.” Acts 2:47. [Norw.] Allowing ourselves to be saved is something we choose, actively and consciously. This means that we acknowledge that evil clings to our human nature, and that we understand we cannot manage it in our own strength. Rom. 7:20-21. Only when we are honest and sincere with God—and with ourselves—can this profound salvation begin. Anyone who is drawn to the glory and greatness of the world can never be built up as a spiritual stone in the house of God. Peter reminds us that judgment will begin with God’s own house. 1 Pet. 4:17. That is why we must listen to the Holy Spirit, who can guide us to the acknowledgment we need to have. Then we will see what only the pure in heart can see—something to lay hold of, leading us to a deeper salvation. Let us therefore stand unshakably in our faith in the Rock—Jesus Christ! His life will become our life—at home, in the church, and for all eternity. There is no safer foundation to build on. Easter is not merely about a historical event—it is about something that can completely transform our lives. It is almost impossible to fully grasp what Jesus Christ has done for us. Throughout His life on earth, He chose, time and again, to do God’s will rather than His own. This faithfulness continued right to the very end, right up to His death on the cross. Then came Easter morning. Matt. 28:1-2. Through His resurrection, the way to God was opened anew. As a result of the Fall, humanity became estranged from God. It was as if a wall had risen between us and Him. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, this wall was torn down. Sin received its final judgment, and all who long to return to God now have open access to His blessing and peace. A great and mighty grace came upon mankind on the day Jesus died on the cross. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’” V. 18. It was on the cross that Jesus gained power over death. The devil—the power that holds people captive in sin, fear, and torment—lost his power forever. But the resurrection wasn’t the end of the story; it was the beginning of something entirely new! Jesus sent His disciples out into the world as messengers: A way had now been opened, leading back to the Father. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” V. 19-20. Jesus became an atoning sacrifice for our sins, but we must believe that the message of Easter is also about a work that is to take place within us today. When Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), the veil of the temple was torn in two. Matt. 27:51. It was a visible sign that the way to the Father now lay open before us. To walk on this way means doing God’s will in every situation in life. “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—in the volume of the book it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God.’” Heb. 10:7-9. Jesus offered Himself to God as a spotless sacrifice, through the power of an eternal Spirit. Ch. 9:14. He has sent the same Spirit to us so that God can create something entirely new within us. In Eph. 2:15-16, we read that it is on the cross that the enmity is abolished. Not only the enmity between God and mankind, but also that which divides people from one another. Imagine a marriage or a home where people choose to set aside their own will in order to seek God’s will instead. When we follow in Jesus’ footsteps and truly live according to God’s will, we are joined together into a building characterized by a wonderful spiritual fellowship—the body of Christ. Not many people are willing to walk this way. But on this way, a mystery is revealed to us: When we walk on it, sin loses its power over us. We are set free, not through our own strength, but through a salvation that runs deeper than we can comprehend. Jesus, our forerunner, has made it entirely possible for us to follow Him! There are people who are hardly noticed, yet who have great significance. They are not interested in attention and do not try to stand out. There is a peaceful atmosphere around such people, and they are often described as reliable and responsible. It is people like this that Jesus had in mind when He said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matt. 5:9. Paul knew people like that, and held them in high regard. He sent special greetings to Andronicus and Junia, who had been his fellow prisoners. Rom. 16:7. These two may not have held any visible position in the church, but they served God wholeheartedly with the gifts He had given them. It is possible to achieve peace on a purely human level. Some people have a natural ability to defuse tension, and others are good at creating a positive atmosphere, but such peace quickly hits its limits because it is based on good human intentions. The peace Jesus spoke of was on a completely different level. It is the fruit of a conscious inner work, in which we allow the sword of the Spirit to cut through our own thought life, so that our own reactions and the demands we may place on others are brought to light and can be judged. James said it clearly: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable . . .” Jas. 3:17. True peace always goes hand in hand with purity. The believers in Corinth serve as a serious example for us. They had been given abundant spiritual gifts, but they became puffed up because of their gifts. They had such great thoughts about themselves that they even wanted to reign without the apostle Paul. 1 Cor. 4:7-8. And the result? Paul feared that it would lead to strife, jealousy, anger, self-seeking, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder. Read 2 Corinthians 12. That is precisely what happens when spiritual gifts are used to seek honor and praise, rather than being used in the service of others. A peaceful person knows deep down that he does not wish to draw the honor and favor of others to himself, because he immediately feels uneasy if such thoughts come to mind. Kåre J. Smith exhorted us to read 1 Corinthians 9 and to spend time thinking about this chapter. We read there about how Paul lived and how he served God. He explained the rights that his ministry could have given him, but which he deliberately chose not to make use of. The fact that he refrained from doing so spared him from many missteps in his ministry. This is how both Paul and the many who have gone before us have worked from the very beginning, and this is also how we must work today. Making peace is inseparably connected to our personal life with God: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Heb. 12:14. God works with us so that we may partake of His holiness. V. 10. This is not something that can be accomplished overnight; it is a lifelong journey which must be lived in sanctification. Those who know the art of making peace are noble people who have learned to allow God’s Spirit to work within them. First, they acknowledge their own sin, give up their own rights, and choose to serve and sacrifice their lives. And that is precisely why Jesus calls them children of God—not because of their great achievements, but because of what they reflect: the very nature of their heavenly Father. God made two covenants with us. The old covenant brought earthly glory, and many today—including Christians—seek to obtain these earthly blessings. The new covenant came with Jesus Christ and God wanted Him to open the way into the sanctuary. That is what He did; not by the power of outward laws, but by the power of an indestructible life Jesus obtained eternal redemption. Heb. 7:16-17. The law made no one perfect. It made it possible to achieve a certain degree of outward purity and to live a life of high moral standards. Paul could say about himself that he was blameless according to the law. Phil. 3:6. But the law could do nothing about that inner lust, that demand that came from the depths of the flesh, which had been corrupted by sin. Those who wanted to remain faithful to the law had to come and make sacrifices, time and time again. After all, the blood of goats and calves could not take away sin. The law could punish those who had committed a sin, but it was powerless against the lust hidden in the depths of the heart. Heb. 9:9-10. Jesus entered the sanctuary once and for all, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, and obtained eternal redemption. Read V. 11-14. What the law could not do, God did by sending His own Son. Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh, and it was in this flesh that sin was condemned. Rom. 8:3-4. The new covenant that Jesus invites us to opens up a whole new way for us: not only can we receive forgiveness of sins, but we also have the opportunity to draw near to God by ceasing to sin. This is not a reality we might experience someday in the future—or, in the best case, in heaven. No, it can become a reality today, and that goes for every single new day. God’s desire is that we might partake of His divine nature and become new creations. 2 Pet. 1:3-4. To walk in the Spirit means to fight against the lusts of the flesh. “. . . but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Rom. 8:13. The Spirit can lead us on this way, and the Spirit is far quicker than the law. He helps us take up our battle stance and go on the offensive before sin has gained a foothold in our hearts. And how are we to equip ourselves for such a battle? It is possible if we love the Lord. Jesus had a burning love for His Father: “Behold, I have come . . . to do Your will.” Heb. 10:7. This love was genuine and deep. It gave Jesus the strength to wage a relentless battle against everything that arose within His flesh. Heb. 5:7. If we receive this burning love in our hearts, we can serve God in the newness of the Spirit. We have a choice between two paths: living confined within the “letter of the law,” surrounded by rules that restrain us but do not transform us, or living and serving in the newness of the Spirit, where we can grow and be transformed into the image of Jesus. Let us choose the right path! “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with these words. Matt. 5:3. When you sense this inner poverty—this deep awareness of your inadequacy before God—you can also have the same certainty that Paul expressed to the Philippians: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:6. By nature, none of us has the right standard by which to judge spiritual matters. “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Cor. 2:14. That is why the Spirit needs to help us. He intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Rom. 8:26. These groanings are always directed at our own flesh, the indwelling sin that we must rid ourselves of. The Spirit seeks out the sacrifices in our lives, even the most hidden ones—those we would never have found on our own. That is how you can be kept in a poverty of spirit. The mind of the Spirit is life and peace. V. 6. The moment we stray from the way the Spirit is leading us on, we lose our peace and become restless. There are many kinds of groanings in this world: sighing against one another, and groaning due to illness or want. But this is not the “groaning of the firstfruits.” The groaning of the firstfruits comes from those who long for more of God. We see this clearly in Paul: “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Rom. 7:22-23. And then the groaning of the firstfruits comes forth: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” V. 24. This is the groaning of one who is unable to do God’s will, even though he desires it so deeply with all his heart. Where this groaning is present, the Spirit is at work, and there is growth and development. Many are content to have victory over manifest sin, so that their conscience no longer judges them. But without the groaning of the firstfruits, it is a short step to becoming great in our own eyes, or to beginning to lord it over others, or to loving the world and the things that are in the world. 1 John 2:14-17. We must watch over ourselves so that we may always remain in the groaning of the firstfruits. For those who live with this longing for the divine nature, there is a glorious promise. They receive a hope that serves as an anchor for the soul and that helps them on the way that Jesus went as their forerunner. Heb. 6:17-20. We must hold fast to this confession of our hope and never stray from it. Ch. 9:28. It will keep us poor in spirit and will grant us a share in the kingdom of heaven. May we all allow ourselves to be saved, so that we may be set free from this natural man and that we may enter into life in God!Marc Tombre

By Sverre L. Riksfjord “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” Gal. 5:6. “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” 1 Cor. 13:2. From this we see how central love is, and that together with faith it can accomplish mighty things. In the church of the living God, we experience a powerful preaching of faith, and faith comes from preaching when it is based on the word of God. Rom. 10:17. Why is it, then, that I have achieved relatively little after hearing the word of God for many years? I have not received a love of the truth. Had I done so, faith would have been much more effective, because faith can work miracles. By faith Noah built the ark; by faith Abraham sacrificed; by faith Sarah received strength; and by faith Isaac blessed. All these obtained a good testimony for their faith, and it was the love of God working within them that led them to carry out these acts of faith. Faith without works is dead, and James strongly rebukes those who think they have faith but have no works. Jas. 2:14-20. When the word of God is preached in spirit and truth, the Spirit will convict people of sin—their own sin. John 16:8-11. The truth is often that things are worse than you thought. Here we face a choice. Those who receive a love of the truth experience that the word works in them, judging the hidden thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb. 4:12. There, deep within the chambers of their heart, the most crucial decisions are made—decisions that only God can observe—yet it is there that the foundation is laid for progress in God and growth in the virtues of Christ. A love of the truth makes faith effective, and God can create what wasn’t seen before. A glorious development in grace and knowledge. The Thessalonians had been taught by God to love one another, so there was no need for Paul to write to them about brotherly love. 1 Thess. 4:9. Their love was warm, heartfelt, and burning. Their encounters with God had taught them that His mercy was exceedingly great, and they had learned to deal with their brothers as God had dealt with them. They had become wise unto salvation. They fit in as members of Christ’s glorious body. The faith of the Romans had been spoken of throughout the whole world, because Paul had preached the obedience of faith to them. Rom. 1:8. He proclaimed that they had to follow in the footsteps Abraham left behind when he sacrificed his son on the altar. At that time it was likely that the Christians were being persecuted in Rome, and many of them lived in caves and desolate places, and had to flee their homes to save their lives. Their faith was put to the test, and it became widely known. Paul writes in Ch. 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” It was his love for God that enabled Paul to see things that way, and he met his end with confidence. He was able to say: Follow me, just as I have followed Jesus. 1 Cor. 11:1. The faith of his brothers in Rome had become effective through love, and this enabled Paul to exhort them as he does in Ch. 12. Let us follow those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Heb. 6:12.

Since the beginning of time, a battle has been waged in the spirit world between good and evil. The devil, referred to as the serpent of old in Rev. 12:9, has been very active in this battle. It is clear that he is now more active than ever when we see all the evil taking place in the world. The fact that young people choose to become disciples stirs him into action. That is why he stands in fierce opposition to the body of Christ and to what God is working through His servants in His church. Throughout history, the devil has sown doubt about God’s prophets and he works in secret to lead the chosen ones astray with his wiles. His intention is to divide and destroy what God intends to bring to completion in this age of grace. There are also powerful spiritual forces that seek to bind people to the earth and to the things of this world. In the battle against these evil forces, the members of the body of Christ stand united. They are not fighting against people, but against the spiritual forces that seek to lead the chosen ones away from the Father and the Son. This is a battle and a warfare that we must enlist in. We are experiencing an extraordinary battle being waged in our time against the ungodly powers of unfaithfulness. The word of God is being brought into focus to awaken a calling to discipleship among young people, and we are seeing many of them making good choices and being born again. As has been said, children and young people must be drawn into the net and saved from Satan’s cunning ways in our modern age. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Eph. 6:10-13. In order to defeat the spiritual hosts of wickedness, we must have a living faith in our Almighty God. We must continue to fight alongside Jesus and against the spiritual forces that seek to lead people astray from the way of life. Without seeking our own interests, we as disciples must join in and help each individual toward a life with Jesus—to the One who is mighty to save and, through the cross, transform us into new people. There are also humanistic spirits that want a different Jesus and an easier way. To defeat them, we must have the full armor of God, spiritual weapons, and the power of the Holy Spirit. By living in fellowship with Jesus and having an ear for the voice of the Spirit, we will gradually develop a sensitivity to recognize and discern the ungodly and divisive spiritual forces that seek to exploit people for the devil’s purposes. If we are to expose the serpent’s hidden activities, we must also practice distinguishing between God’s promptings and those that come from our natural self—our flesh. “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Cor. 11:3. Simple and sincere faithfulness leads to a life that is well-pleasing to Jesus. We must learn and practice testing spirits—whether they are from God—and open ourselves more to the help found in the body of Christ. Our fellowship must be with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. If we live a crucified life, sin and Satan will lose their power, and we will triumph in the battle against the ungodly spiritual forces at work in the heavenly places. Let us be steadfast in prayer and support and fight alongside those God has placed in the church in our time, so that with uplifted hands they may lead the church with a steady hand, despite the “spirits of the Amalekites” that are still very much alive in the spirit world. Ex. 17:10-13.Oddmund Risnes

“. . . for in You I put my trust.” Ps. 16:1. This is what we cried out as we surrendered ourselves to God. This cry must also preserve us until the end. We must continue to be preserved, even after we have put off the old man, that which is conscious. Paul says: “For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.” 1 Cor. 4:4. We must never become so self-assured that we think the Lord has nothing to judge in us. We must not forget we were cleansed from our old sins, as Peter writes in 2 Pet. 1:9. If we do that, we cannot be preserved. Then we stop praying to be preserved! I must be preserved from everything that hinders my fellowship with God and with the saints. “O my soul, you have said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.’ As for the saints who are on the earth, ‘They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.’” Ps. 16:2-3. We must be preserved in this wholehearted relationship with God and the saints. “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Heb. 12:14. That pursuit preserves us; we must be preserved from a bitter root, from immorality and worldliness, so that the good, pure spirit, happiness, and joy—indeed, the anointing—may be preserved. Then I will be preserved within the brotherhood, and I will be preserved from rebelling against God and His saints. “Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.” V. 15-16. Many people begin well, but are not preserved as time passes by. It is a very great thing when a person is preserved in that first love throughout their entire life, in that need and acknowledgment where they take refuge in God and are preserved as a happy brother or sister within the brotherhood. It is only when a “good beginning” also results in a “good ending,” that I will be with Jesus when He comes to fetch His own. Then I will not have squandered the grace of God.David Nooitgedagt