TRIUMPH -- April 1959
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"THEN I can wear my pretty dresses," happily reflected my five year old, when I suggested she might go to Sunday school for the first time after four weeks of sickness. This started me thinking: why do people go to church and Sunday school? Why to YOU go? What is your motive? May not your reason be like my little girl's?
Do you go so you can wear a new outfit, or make a business contact, or get the preacher off your neck, or please a friend, or satisfy a relative, or salve the conscience, or bribe God, or impress a neighbor, or garner a few votes, or rest, OR FOR SOME OTHER UNWORTHY MOTIVE?
Why do we go to church? To meet our Lord, to worship Him, to fellowship with kindred hearts, to be built up in the faith: these are proper motives. Anything less or more is improper, and profitless.
Seek Christ in the services. Draw near Him through the hymns, the Scripture reading, the prayers, the sermon. In the Sunday school class concentrate on Christ. See Him in every verse, every illustration, every activity. If, upon leaving, you haven't been drawn closer to the Lord, your going was in vain. If all you gained was a little more local gossip, you would have done better to stay at home. If only your vanity (not your spirit) was built up, you were the loser. If your mind was miles away, you might just as well have been, too.
I don't intend to be critical nor unkind. I only want you to examine your motives. For God's glory and your own benefit you should. Go to church this Sunday as a true worshipper; worship God in spirit and in truth.
Yours in Christ,
Art Gordon
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DEAR SHUT-IN
"I feel so useless," wrote a lady recently. I have said this myself. Maybe you have too. And certainly it is true of most of us that we are not as useful as we should--or could--be. And yet is not even the weakest child of God fruitful to some degree?
As I read in the first chapter of Luke recently I came to the words: "and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren" (1:36).
Elisabeth had been childless for years. Now she was past the age for childbearing. In the eyes of all, including herself, she was barren. But, not in the sight of God. The angel, who communicated with Mary concerning Elisabeth, assures us that "with God nothing shall be impossible." And indeed it wasn't. She who was called barren bore a son in her old age. His name was John. He was chosen of God to go before and prepare the way of the Lord. The fruit of this woman's womb literally changed the course of history. and she had been called barren.
Have we the right to judge one Christian barren--the other, fruitful? Does not God work in each one to fulfill His own purposes? Cannot He make of the frailest vessel, one unto honor?
As for you who call yourself useless, have you taken into consideration that "with God nothing shall be impossible?" You may not change the course of history, but may you not change the course of a precious life for whom Christ died? You say you can't preach, teach, or sing, but your smile and cheery "Hello" may make the difference between eternal life or death for some acquaintance.
Mary, having heard of these miraculous prospects for herself and Elisabeth, subscribed: "be it unto me according to thy word." With such a responsive spirit who knows what fruit will be produced?
As long as you chafe under the load God has permitted you to bear, you can be sure no fruit will follow. Once you yield to His will and way and begin to rejoice, not in the burden itself but in the opportunities for growth and service the dry bones will come alive, the barren fig tree will begin to bud, the corn of wheat will burst through the ground.
Are you called barren? You need be no longer. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Make this your own.
The secret lies not in desiring to bear fruit but more, with your desire to live close to God and to permit Him to bear fruit through you. Be wholly taken up with Him and fruit will come in its season.
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FROM THE PASTOR'S PEN
HAND OF POWER
by Charles N. Garrett, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy, California
"By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage." Exodus 13:14.
TWO things God manifested when He brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt were: deliverance by blood and deliverance by power. God always provides power for the children of God when they experience deliverance by blood.
The reports of world conditions are alarming. But we are not depending upon the hand of man; we are depending upon the hand of God. That doesn't mean we can be presumptuous, careless, or indifferent. But let us turn our attention to the One who is over all.
God told Israel that by the hand of strength He had brought them from the land of Egypt. The word for "strength" is the word power. By the HAND OF POWER He brought them out of bondage.
We are resting upon One who has promised He will meet every need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. We are depending upon One who said: "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." And what He has promised He will supply. We are depending upon the One who took Israel out of Egypt.
It is said of Israel that "they borrowed of the Egyptians," when they left Egypt. This would seem to indicate that the children of Israel were a little underhanded in their dealings, and that they were to return what was borrowed. But in the marginal reference of your Bible you will notice the word, "asked." (Exodus 12:35). They "asked," and the Egyptians gave readily. Do you know why they gave readily? They were happy to get rid of Israel.
If you loan me something I'll have to give it back. But if you GIVE me something, that is the end of it as far as you are concerned; I'm going to keep it.
The children of Israel were given many things that they needed for their journey. But it was the HAND OF POWER that made the Egyptians happy to give to get rid of them. God works in many ways that we do not understand.
We need to recognize that God will work on our behalf. But it must be in the line of trust and faith. We cannot, with a doubting heart, expect God to do for us. Doubt and faith cannot live together.
There wasn't just a handful, nor a couple hundred people who left Egypt, but "about six hundred thousand" men beside women and children. Can you visualize six hundred thousand people, and more, moving out of the land of Egypt on foot? All they had was what they asked of the Egyptians and they couldn't carry much. Yet, God told them to move out. They needed the HAND OF POWER.
These people were not without fault. They were just like you and me. The context says they were a mixed multitude. and It was the mixed multitude that kept things stirred up. They were the dissatisfied folks, not dissatisfied with each other nor with Moses, perhaps, but with their own lot. Scofield says that this is a picture of the unregenerate group. It doesn't matter who they were, but it does matter--the fuss they kicked up. They were dissatisfied with what God had given them, wanting more.
Dissatisfaction creates tremendous barriers to the blessing of God--the hand of power. God told Israel to ask and they received. He led them, six hundred thousand strong, out of bondage, on their journey to the land of promise. He not only promised, but it was a finished transaction as far as He was concerned. How was He going to do it? That was His problem. Israel's problem was to be obedient to God. We, too, need to keep in mind that when God speaks we need to obey.
God has a leader for every occasion. The leader interprets the message from God. In this instance it was Moses. The people were not satisfied with what Moses told them. They were always finding fault. It wasn't a question as to what Moses wanted to do; rather, it was: did Moses receive a message from God? If he did, it was his responsibility to execute it no matter what the mixed multitude said.
You will find them in the churches today. They will not bend the knee nor bow the nor bow the heart to the will of God, no matter who conveys the message.
God led Israel through many difficulties. One such, was when they came face to face with the Red Sea. On both sides were mountains. Bearing down on them from the rear were hoards of Egyptians in chariots. Here was an impossible situation. How were they to escape?
The people began to find fault. They said it would have been better to serve the Egyptians than die in the wilderness. But they didn't mean a word of it; they were just griping and grutching. They were the ones who fussed in Egypt. Now they were out and the first situation that arose they began to blame Moses. Before their problem could be solved, the people had to get their eyes on the Lord.
Moses told them, "fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." He wanted the people to focus their attention on God's ability, strength, power, and might to perform the humanly impossible. God was in this and was going to carry it out; He would do exceeding abundantly above all they could ask or think.
"The Lord shall fight for you," Moses assured the people. God will take care of the situation. God then told Moses to so something--just a simple act. But this simple act became one of the great miracles performed in Egypt.
He said, take the rod that is in your hand, stretch it over the sea, to divide the sea, and the children shall go over on the dry land. Moses did just that. The sea parted. I want you to note: God did it. It was God's power. It was the hand of strength, the HAND OF POWER that divided the Red Sea. The Egyptians tried to follow but were swept into the sea, that is, the sea closed upon them.
It was the hand of power for Israel ONLY. No one but the people of God have claim upon the hand of power. You who have trusted Christ as Savior are the people of God today.
If God could take six hundred thousand people across the Red Sea safely, He can take care of you. There is a hand today that is caring for you and me. It knows no obstacles, no difficulties, no problems. Nothing can hinder God's care for us. Cast yourself upon Him; He careth for you. Be satisfied with His provision.
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TESTIMONY TIME
by Howard Robinson, Howard was a senior at Oxford High School
AT ONE time I never would have thought I would be writing something like this. But who are we to say what is possible and what is impossible? "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27).
The first thing I did when asked to write this testimony was to pray. Every day I prayed that I might write a testimony that would bring glory to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, and that others by reading it would be brought closer to God. I have one request to make of you who read, especially teenagers: STOP AND THINK! Don't make the same mistake I did.
I took Jesus as my Savior in my early teens, but I didn't do much to let people know I was born again. I wasn't concerned about others. I never told them about Christ. I wasn't exactly "bad" in school, but I didn't let others see Jesus in my life.
I was more interested in the things of the world than in the things of the Lord. I went dances and movies. I was seeking money, fame, fortune, and a good name, not the blessings of the Lord; and you can be sure I did not receive the blessings I could have had. Two verses describe my life at this point: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." Proverbs 14:12; Philippians 3:7.
Then my life was completely changed by a miracle of God. I had been to Youth For Christ rallies occasionally, but in my senior year in high school I started to go regularly. The Bible quiz intrigued me, and when I had a chance to be on the Oxford team, last December, I didn't hesitate. The quiz that week was on Galatians, chapter five. There were two verses that stood out:
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." -- v. 1.
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." -- v. 25
These verses started me to thinking, and seeking something more than the world offered. I was on the quiz team regularly.
The next week the quiz was on Galatians six. This brought more verses to make me sit up and think:
"For every man shall bear his own burden." -- v. 5
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." -- v.7
The Lord was working in me. He was beginning to change my life. He was getting me ready for something better. Then came the miracle--Pinebrook, youth camp. Every year YFC has a Holiday Club-A-Rama. Over the Christmas holidays the quiz team, officers of the YFC clubs, and anyone else interested were encouraged to go.
I felt sure God was leading me. God provided a way. I didn't argue. I wasn't sorry I went. The first day, under the wonderful teaching and coaching of Jim Smith, I found Christ as my LORD. Certainly I had been saved but I did not know the meaning of the verse in Second Corinthians: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (5:17)
It was here I learned that Jesus was either "Lord of all or not Lord at all." It was here I made my stand for Christ. I asked Christ to take my life and use it to His glory. The days following, I learned lessons of life and leadership.
I shall never forget Pinebrook and what it did for me. I came home determined to live for Christ. It wasn't hard, for I found that the things of the world had grown "strangely dim."
I was made captain of our quiz team. Many blessings came from studying the Bible in this way. Never have I known such peace and joy. There are many things I still do not understand, and life may not be easy at times but "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).
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SERMON SERIES - XXI
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS
Chapter 4, verses 13-18
"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." I Thessalonians 4:13-18
COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS
WHAT is the destiny of my loved one who has died? This may have been the question in your mind as you looked at the coffin in which your departed lay. It was the question of the Christians at Thessalonica.
They believed that Christ was coming back to establish His kingdom on earth, but that only the ones living at the time would participate. What then would become of their loved ones who had died? Where did they fit into the picture?
Paul sets out to clarify the point when he says: "I would not have you to be ignorant (non-informed), brethren, concerning them which are asleep." He used the New Testament word for death. Jesus used the same word when He said: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." And it was reported of Stephen, as he fell under the stones of his persecutors, "he fell asleep."
Christ Himself bore the sting of DEATH. They who receive Him, are no longer under its condemnation. When they die it can rightly be said, "they sleep." Jesus puts them to sleep here; in an instant of time they awake with Him there.
For them, Paul exhorts:
SORROW NOT . . . AS OTHERS (13)
Does the Scripture forbid us to sorrow for our departed? Not at all!
A qualifying phrase follows: "Sorrow not EVEN AS OTHERS which have no hope. We must not sorrow as the heathen. An Old Testament contrast gives us the picture.
The heathen neighbors of Israel had a unique way of showing their sorrow during calamity and death. They regarded their hair as a special ornament. When death visited them they would shave the head. To do this denoted an utterly hopeless condition.
God strictly forebade the people of Israel to shave the head. They were a people with a knowledge of the future life. They needed not to despair at death as their neighbors. They had hope beyond the grave.
Missionaries tell us of the hopeless death wail among the people of other lands. But, we sorrow not as they; and for good reason. We have HOPE; "and hope maketh not ashamed."
From whence this hope?
WE BELIEVE (14)
Here lies the difference between heathen and Christian mourners. Christians are believers. They believe something which is distinct from all other religions. Our text expresses it: "We believe that Jesus died and rose again." This central truth of Christianity has made it different from all other systems. Our Lord died AND rose. None other dare make such a claim.
We not only believe that Jesus died and rose, but also that this holds special significance for us. So then our confidence remains that "even so them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
Christ died FOR OUR SINS. He arose FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION. Whether we live or die we are the Lord's. If we fall asleep, we "sleep in Jesus." Because one's body lies in the cemetery, does not mean he ceases to exist or forfeits his position in Christ. When God sets about to establish His holy kingdom, they whose bodies sleep "will God bring with him." They have not been cheated of their inheritance. They have merely passed through the veil to wait by the side of Jesus for the consummation of time.
THE COMING OF THE LORD (15)
We also believe that Christ, who died and rose, is coming back again. And the Lord has promised that the ones living would not precede the ones who have died.
Paul expected to be one of the living. He knew not the time of the Lord's return (5:2), but expected it always. And so should we.
"But," you say, "a thousand and more years have passed."
Yes, and He may come tomorrow--perhaps today. One preacher expressed his hope thus: "My first thought in the morning is: Maybe He'll come today; my last thought at night: Maybe He'll come tonight."
Of this you can be sure, He shall come, for He has promised: "I will come again."
The order of events follows.
THE LORD . . . SHALL DESCEND (16)
Oft methinks I hear His footsteps,
Stealing down the paths of time,
And the future dark with shadows,
Brightens with this Hope sublime . . .
He "shall descend , , , with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." The picture is that of the marshalling of a mighty army. The Captain shouts commands; Michael, the great prince and protector of the people of God, voices approval; and the trump calls assembly. And what an assemblage follows!
THE DEAD . . . RISE (16)
Grave yards will bristle with life. The bodies of Christians, long dead, shall burst from their tombs. They rise FIRST. Sorrow not, then, your sleeping loved ones are not only considered, but considered first.
THEN WE WHICH ARE ALIVE (17)
First Corinthians reminds us: "The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and WE SHALL BE CHANGED." After the sleeping bodies rise and the living are changed, a glorious meeting transpires. The redeemed of all ages are "caught up together . . . to meet the Lord in the air."
"The clouds" may be clouds of glory, as overshadowed Israel in the wilderness, or clouds of humanity; but whichever, the scene shall be majestic and (by-the-way), only for redeemed eyes.
"In the air" is the place of meeting; not on the earth. Other Scriptures tell us that seven years of tribulation, such as never was, nor ever again will be, falls upon the earth and its godless inhabitants. But we shall be with our Captain in the air, awaiting the proper time when with Him we descend, when He puts down all earthly rule, and sets up His own kingdom.
Nothing shall ever again separate us from our Lord. "We shall ever be with the Lord, . . . " assures our text.
If you have not the Lord as your Savior, don't worry about the dead; worry, rather, over your own condition. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. You dare not delay to decide for Christ.
If you know Him, may the words of our text comfort you, not only with respect to your sleeping loved ones, but with respect to your blessed hope.
"Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
