EDITORIAL
One of our readers writes us as follows:
"I feel that I should write you and let you know how 'Triumph' is working for us.
"Sunday, Aug. 9th, I had the opening service for our Sunday school. I used the wonderful lesson in your paper, 'To Their Will.' I thought it very good to read to our Sunday school and was glad that I had (it) . . . .
"This last Sunday my husband (a layman) had to give the sermon, and again we thank you, as he used the sermon, 'Be At Peace . . . .'
"Thank you very much for your paper . . . ."
Needless to say, we were pleased and encouraged to know our paper was used in this way. It occurred to me that maybe others are using it in a similar manner. If you have used TRIUMPH thus, we would be glad to know about it, drop us a line and tell us.
"Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways."
In His service,
Arthur E. Gordon
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DEAR SHUT-IN
EXCERPTS from
LILLIAN'S LETTERS
Lillian begins her June letter, thus: Lend me your ear. I tell you, I've got a malady, or is it a melody, anyway, a swollen heart. there are just so many good things to share. Pull up an ear and listen. No! Not that one. Put that back. I want the ear of your heart.
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Concerning rainy weather she says: One thing cheering about such weather, fellow arthritics, is that Jesus may spear those clouds, and in that instant we will never feel another even itsy-bitsy pain, and weakness will scamper like a scared rabbit. We'll be so strong. How that thrills me. We'll be gathered in the sky (if we're ready. If not, why not? What kind of an excuse can you give, you who have had every opportunity?) to meet Him whom we love and who is our very life. How I do look forward to it. I get all blessed just a finger-talking it to you. Our joys here will be mere flimsy excuses for what our joys will be up there. Our rough going will show then that it was just a treatment to fashion us into that special mold He needed, and we would have wanted, had we had the hindsight view, foresightedly. Oft' times we do not cooperate, and He must break us down again and again to get us to yield or strengthen those weak areas. I know it's no fun. I've had many a treatment. Feel like a chronic patient thus wise. Sometimes I feel hopeless, but the Doc in the skies says stick with Me and I'll bring you through, and I sure "is."
How often we judge others cruelly when they are going through a hard place that we don't understand. Lots of times we don't begin to have the contributing facts, or perhaps but few. God is probably training that person for special service in the future. When dear souls mirror distress, oh that we would have enough of God's love to overlook minor things, and to realize we're all defects as far as our being perfect. Let's pray, and show the kind of a spirit we'd like shown us in our own need. It -- need -- hits all, at one time or another. When God teaches lessons He too gives exams. Sometimes I think He has us cramming for the test ahead so we'll be ready for it. He's a loving teacher, but He wants our best, and He'll do His part. The devil will see to it that it's as hard as possible; let's be sure to be as uncooperative as possible as to helping him -- the devil.
These are, I do believe, the last days. The devil seems to be at his last fling, before the rising of the Church. Let's be stamp-footedly determined in going through, step by step, day by day. We often hear it said, "Hold tight to God." I don't like that saying too well. Guess I feel too weak oft' times, but I'm often saying, "Oh, Lord, hold me tight." Oh the things He brings me through. Then when I go numb it doesn't matter so much, for He is the One who is doing the holding. That doesn't mean we quit. It means we live yielded lives, though. Ready to suffer. (That, I find hard to say, but do.) Ready to go. Ready to stand the test. Are we? Not my brother nor my sister, "Butt" it's me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer. May that be our first prayer till His love saturates us, till we have lost ourselves -- our wills, our identity. It will not be I, but Christ working in and through us. Oh that we resemble Christ in His love -- God is love -- till the lost are magnetized to Him through us. He has no feet but ours, no arms but ours. We are members of the body of Christ.
I know many of your roads are very hard, but let's look beyond -- hold it, not there, I mean way beyond, and that may not be as far off as it seems. I mean beyond this mere vapor of life. "Twill be all JOY for the one who holds yielded.
Folks, we've got a future. Let's make it at all cost. Some of us have suffered very much in this veil. Let's not have suffering of the long end.
Miss Lillian Butt suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Before her illness she was a nurse.
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One church member says to the other: "If you don't speak to me, I won't speak to you."
Sounds kind of like the children who sat in the market, calling to one another: "We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented," or like the children today: "I'm not going to play; I shot you but you didn't fall."
Oh! baby, baby Christians. When will we grow up, throw away our toys, and have the mind of Christ?
"When I became a man, I put away childish things." Have we?
"Christ Jesus . . . made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form or a servant . . . and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself."
Help us, O Lord, this mind to be, that we might be that much like Thee.
The work of Christ suffers as you sit and pout.
"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all things be done by you in love."
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FRET NOT THYSELF
Why do the wicked prosper? Why does the ungodly man suffer no ill?
"Fret not thyself," thus, "because of evil-doers." O child of the King, "neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb" (Ps. 37:1,2 ASV). Their life is short enough, and their prosperity. Let them enjoy their stay. It shall soon end. And what shall be their end? Destruction shall be their end, swift and sure. They shall reap as they have sown. The angel of God shall cast in his scythe and mow them even with the ground. They shall be gathered as the dry grass and thrown into the furnace of fire.
Envy them not their present prosperity, or their trouble-free existence. One day, and that soon, their cup shall be filled to the brim with the wine of the wrath of almighty God.
But consider thy end, O blood-bought one. Thou findest no reason to fret thyself. Thou shalt inherit the land. Thy troubles overwhelm thee now, but ere long thou shalt enter into thy rest. Soon thy tears shall be wiped away. Soon, yes, soon, thou wilt be with thy God. A short time now and thy Lord shall break through the clouds and catch thee away from thy trials. Trust and be not afraid; rest in Him who is thy strength. Look not wistfully about thee at others, nor yet despairingly at thyself. Thy God will reward thee, without fail.
Let the wicked man prosper and the unrighteous man suffer no ill. This is all the good he shall ever know. Thy prosperity follows, after thy ills. It is eternal. Rejoice. Hope thou in God.
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THE JEWISH FIELD IN SAO PAULO
by Leonard M. Meznar
In the afternoon it is our custom to go into the districts where Jewish shops are and seek to reach those of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, there are five or more centers of Jewish business: Good Retreat (almost like a ghetto with its concentration of Israelites), Saint Ann, American Garden, Bras, and Lapa.
Good Retreat is the most interesting. Streetcars and rickety buses spider-web the bumpy streets. The main thoroughfare is asphalt which has long gone down to defeat, full of depressions and ripples, cracks and patches, and these all combine to test the mettle of the vehicles that bounce along. The sidestreets are of large paving brick, or cobblestone, just like those that make up the narrow avenues of the older sections of Philadelphia.
Up from the crowded sidewalks rise the ancient buildings, usually of two or three high stories, only here and there interrupted by five and six story modern apartment buildings. Everywhere the sign "Malharia" appears, labeling building after building. It means "dry goods." Israel is evidently the world wide clothing merchant. On the first floor is the outlet, the salesroom, wholesale and retail. Above, is the factory where U.S. and European-made knitting machines, usually old and well worn, hum their drab tunes as thread turns into cloth which soon becomes merchandise. The drab tune of the machines is for us a symbol of Jewish life without Christ, who is the joy of His people, and so we seek to introduce them to Him.
There are five synagogues in Good Retreat, two Jewish bookstores, several Jewish schools up to the high school level, but no Kosher butcher shop. The growing force of Jewish orthodoxy in Brazil, which reflects the world picture, will probably soon change this last item. Yiddish is the language heard in the conversations on the sidewalks. Portuguese is reserved for business, for Gentiles. In the crowds, bearded orthodox men make their way. Here and there a little Jewish boy may be seen, clothed most plainly, with long locks of hair resting on his cheeks, which mark the lad as dedicated to what is strictest in Jewish traditionalism.
Jesus Christ is not known, therefore these are "lost sheep," but, loved sheep. He would give to them "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning." Your missionaries carry this message of salvation. Into these shops, into the homes, God would send His light. Into Good Retreat, Saint Ann, American Garden, Bras, Lapa, and wherever Israel is found, the gospel must be taken. Your part is found in the 122nd Psalm: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love thee."
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What has the world done for you, that you love it so much? Did the world die for you? Will the world blot out your sins or change your heart? Will the world carry you to heaven? No, No! You may go back to the world if you please, but it can only destroy your poor soul. -- Robert M. McCheyne
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I -- A JEW -- MET JESUS
by Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus)
I AM a Jew. I was born in Tarsus, the greatest city of the province of Cilicia, in Asia Minor. I grew up, however, in the city of Jerusalem. I studied under Gamaliel who taught me according to the law of our fathers. I lived the life of a Pharisee, the strictest sect of the Jewish religion, from my boyhood up. All my contemporaries know this, if they would tell you.
As the law prescribes I was circumcised the eighth day after my birth. As to my ancestry I am of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; I am, if you please, a Hebrew of Hebrews. And, as I said, I was a Pharisee. As far as the righteousness which is in the law is concerned, I was blameless.
All these things were gain to me, and in a certain sense praiseworthy, however, what things were gain to me, I have found them -- and now count them -- loss for Christ. Yes, in fact, I consider everything as loss that doesn't add to the highest calling of all -- that of knowing my Lord better, even Jesus Christ. I didn't always think this way, as you can well imagine. Let me tell you how it came about.
At one time I had made up my mind that I should do everything in my power against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. In Jerusalem I put many of his followers in prison and when it came time for their execution I cast my vote against them. I did this with the full approval of the chief priests, having in fact gotten my authority from them. I punished many of the Christians on numerous occasions in the synagogues, trying my best to make them blaspheme against the one they called Christ. I was so furious at them that I even went to foreign cities to hunt them out.
On one of these trips, I was on the way to Damascus, having the sanction of the chief priests, when at noon a bright light shone out of heaven and encompassed our whole party. This light was even brighter than the sun. We all fell to the ground in great amazement. About then I heard a voice, it was in the Hebrew language, saying, "Saul, Saul why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad." Greatly perplexed I asked, "Who are you, Lord?" He said to me, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Stand up on your feet, for I have appeared unto you to appoint you as a minister and a witness of the things you have already seen of me, and the things you will in the future see of me. I will deliver you from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send you. You will go to them to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God. Thus they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among the ones who are sanctified by faith in me."
I was not disobedient to this heavenly vision, but began immediately to preach in Damascus, and then later at Jerusalem, and eventually throughout all Judea, and as well to the Gentiles, that they should repent of their sins and turn to God, and do works to show that their repentance was genuine. Because I preached this, the Jews seized me one day while I was in the temple and tried to kill me. In fact I have had many scrapes with death since my conversion. The Jews have had me flogged five different times, thirty-nine lashes each time. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. I suffered shipwreck three times. For a night and a day I was in the deep, clinging for my life to a piece of wreckage. I have traveled often. I have been in danger often of rivers, of robbers, from my own countrymen, from the Gentiles in the city, in the desert, in the sea, among false brethren. I have worked hard, to the point of exhaustion, spent many sleepless nights in prayer vigil; I have been hungry and thirsty, in fastings often, cold and naked.
Yes, I have literally suffered the loss of all things for Christ my Lord. But it makes no difference, for all of those things to me are as valueless as refuse. My one desire is to gain Christ, and be found in him. I am forgetting the things which are now behind me, and am stretching forward to the things which are before. I press on toward the goal and the prize that awaits -- the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Acts 22:3; 26:4,5; Philippians 3:5-8; Acts 26:9-21; II Corinthians 11:24-27; Philippians 3:8b, 9a, 14. Paraphrased and adapted for TRIUMPH by the editor, from the American Standard Version of the Bible.
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GOSPEL CORNER
God's Word Says:
"All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
"The wages of sin is death (the second death--lake of fire); but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
"And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
Romans 3:23; 6:23, John 3:16, I John 1:7.
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SERMON SERIES
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER
No. 2
STRANGERS -- BUT TO WHOM?
I Peter 1:1-2
It is difficult to bear up under affliction. It is doubly so when you find yourself among strangers. Though they may do their best to make us comfortable, still the hand of a loved one, the familiar face, the voice, minister to the heart-strings long before the body responds to the medication. Who can measure the good done to the patient, just to know a loved one is standing by? You know what I mean if you have ever visited the valley of the shadow.
Peter, an apostle of Christ, writes some Christians in Asia Minor who found themselves in the throes of affliction, and at the same time, among strangers. His opening remarks should bring any lagging spirits back, however, to the plus side of the gauge. He addresses these people as "strangers." But, we must ask, strangers to whom?
STRANGERS TO THE WORLD (1)
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia."
These followers of Christ, scattered throughout Asia Minor, were strangers to the areas in which they lived. They were strangers to Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. They were strangers to their way of life. Their way of life is presented elsewhere in this epistle, in these words: "For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries." It is well to be a stranger to these things. These Christians, before their conversion to Christ, had themselves run in the ways of the world mentioned here. But now things were different. No longer did they let run wild their lust for physical pleasures and material gain. No longer did they participate in drinking orgies. No longer did they lend their bodies to the sexual immorality which was customary at that time in certain temple worship. Now they lived to the will of God, not any longer to the lusts of men. They had new desires, new aspirations. In fact their whole life became new.
These ones still lived in the same houses, on the same streets, in the same zone numbers. In fact very little had been changed, as far as the naked eye could see. Yet, having had their hearts changed -- their lives transformed by the living God, they set their affection on another home, an eternal one in the skies. This present abode became to them only a temporary one. They became as sojourners, pilgrims here. They came to hold lightly to the things of this world, while their grasp on eternal realities tightened. They were laying up treasure in heaven, accounting the here-and-now as of little worth.
Strangers? Strangers indeed -- to this world and its ways. You might class them as "tent-dwellers."
It is said of Abraham that "by faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles (tents) with Isaac and Jacob." God called Abraham from his homeland to become a tent-dweller in a strange land. To live in a tent would suggest that the occupants were ready to move at a moment's notice. Abraham and his household, if they had wished, could have moved into the already established cities of this land, or even built some of their own. They could have sunk their roots keep into this old world, but Abraham had his sights fixed on a better world, an abiding city whose maker and builder is God.
On the other hand, Abraham's nephew, Lot, had other designs. When given his choice of location he "lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan that it was well watered everywhere . . . Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan . . . and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom." And you know well the end of the story. Lot was saved by the skin of his teeth. His possessions were burned up. His wife was slain. His daughters played the harlot's role. His latter state was one of disgrace. And why? Because he "lifted up his eyes" to worldly possessions. He "pitched his tent toward Sodom." His affection was so much directed toward the here-and-now that he neglected the things of eternity.
You who have been called out of darkness into light, from the power of Satan unto God, are only dwelling here temporarily. It might be said of you that you are a "tent-dweller." May you be of the Abraham type, rather than Lot. There are far too many Christians who have lifted up their eyes to worldly possessions who have pitched toward Sodom. This doesn't mean they have themselves run to the excesses of the world, but they have linked arms with them that so run. They have become unequally yoked with the world. They dwell at peace with sin even though they do not partake. They are content to "co-exist" with their enemy It must be said of them that they look more like bosom friends than strangers to the world. This remains true of many professing Christians, even though the Bible plainly declares that friendship with the world is enmity with God.
May we live as true tent-dwellers -- ready to move at a moment's notice, ready to pull up stakes here in this desert called earth to take up residence in our mansions on high. May we relax our grasp on things visible which are temporal, and tighten it on things invisible which are eternal.
But if we are strangers to the ways of the world, we are
NOT STRANGERS TO GOD (2)
We are "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."
Beloved, we are no strangers to the Trinity. Let this wonderful truth sink down into the depths of your soul, until you can hold your head high and declare for the world to hear -- no matter how strong the winds of adversity, "I am no stranger to God; I am known by Him!"
The Father knows us. Better yet, He foreknew us. This can only mean that He knew us before we ever made our appearance on the scene. In fact, since He is God, and omniscient, He knew us before even the worlds were formed by His hands. He chose us in those long ages past to be the recipients of His grace and to inherit eternal life. I don't know what this does to you, but it sends my spirit soaring, to realize that I am no mere afterthought to the Almighty. This speaks security to me. He knew me -- He knows me -- He shall always know me.
But why did He elect me to taste of His eternal grace? The text says that it was according to His foreknowledge; does that mean He saw something of merit in me that He chose me? Don't harbor that thought for a moment. Whatever was the reason for His choice it was NOT that He saw something of worth in us. Rather, the opposite may very well be true. Paul, speaking of sinners, said, "I am chief." He continues with the observation: "Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy." As the chiefest of sinners, Paul was shown mercy. This was to teach others of God's longsuffering patience with sinners. Christ Jesus came to save sinners. If we were chosen for some reason in ourselves, it surely must have been that God knew we were worse sinners than most. Was there any merit in us that He foreknew? Not at all! Rather, there was much demerit. Second Timothy 1:9 reads; "(God) hath saved us, and called us . . . , not according to our works, but according to HIS OWN PURPOSE and GRACE, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Our calling was according to His own purpose. He has not seen fit as yet to reveal that purpose. Let's leave it that way, and, instead of so many questions and doubts, let us rejoice in the fact that we are eternally known by the Father.
We are known by the Holy Spirit. That which the Father planned, the Spirit executed. The Spirit, knowing perfectly the will of the Father and the need of man, has come to reveal to us that divine will and to apply it to our needs. He sanctifies us. He makes us a people fit for the presence of God and the society of heaven. He works in us the miracle of the new birth. From that moment forward He works in us constantly to bring us progressively and practically nearer to the image and holiness of Christ.
Of the Spirit's coming, Christ said, ". . . he (the Father) shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth . . . ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." We are strangers to the world but not to the Spirit of God, for He dwells with us and is in us. He, moreover, abides with us forever. At the new birth our bodies become His temple. And it must follow that He who dwells in us must surely know us. Yes, we are indeed known by the Spirit. We are no strangers to Him.
Likewise, we are known by Jesus Christ, Jesus told His listeners one day: "I am the good shepherd, and KNOW my sheep, and am known of mine." The Father laid the plans, the Spirit executed them, the Son has made it all possible by His sacrifice. His blood was shed.
The old covenant was given with blood. We read in Exodus: "And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." With the death of Christ a better and everlasting covenant was brought in. It could be summed up in the words: "For by grace are ye saved through faith." But to have the new covenant, blood had to be shed. This time the blood of an animal would not do. To institute the perfect and everlasting covenant a perfect sacrifice had to be offered. Christ offered Himself as that sacrifice. His blood was shed, or as it is in our text, was "sprinkled." It avails for all who will place themselves under its efficacy. Now comes the question, how do we avail ourselves of this soul-cleansing blood of Christ? The answer is in our text, in the words: "unto obedience."
We are known by the Trinity, we are given eternal favors by them, but not without our obedience. If we don't receive the benefits, we shall never enjoy them. Before Moses sprinkled the people with the blood "he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient." Our part, like Israel, is to obey. We are obedient when we receive Christ by faith as our own Savior, as God has commanded us. At such a moment the blood becomes efficacious for us. Thus, to obey is to believe--believe the gospel of Christ, receive it. May we prove our election by our obedience.
To whom are you a stranger? Are you a stranger to the Trinity? If you are, then your proper course is clear--obedience to God in receiving the gospel, believing in Christ as your own personal Savior.
Are you a stranger to the world? If you are, rejoice that you are no stranger to God. He knows you and abundantly provides for your eternal welfare.
In conclusion, "Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
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