EDITORIAL
At the beginning of this new year, and in fact throughout the year, I would like to think of TRIUMPH as a guided missile. We hear much today of guided missiles. Its target will be the heart of its many readers. The chief engineer and operator will be the Holy Spirit. Its explosive will be the power (dynamite) of the gospel. And the desire of all here at the home base will be that it doesn't miss the target.
I'm afraid sometimes our missile has hit the wrong target. Sometimes it may land in the wastebasket, or furnace, or under a pile of magazines. It may strike right above the target, hitting the head of the reader, getting a mental response rather than a heart response. But I am sure of one thing, the fault lies not with the Operator. May it not be ours, however? I think so.
As the missile, TRIUMPH, is prepared and launched each month in 1960, let's add to it the fins of prevailing prayer. Let all of us who know the dear Lord pray that TRIUMPH may be guided to many hearts, making direct hits all over the U.S. and the world. If its message doesn't get below the collar it will not profit the reader very much. Neither will it bring the intended blessing in the wastebasket or furnace.
So please PRAY--PRAY--PRAY!!!
Pray for the editor as he fills the missile with its explosive, that it might do the the best job and please the heavenly Captain. Pray that it might be under the special control and direction of the Holy Spirit. Pray that the gospel may explode in many hearts, blowing away the lust for lesser things, and spraying the "shrapnel" of salvation, love, joy, and peace throughout them.
I want you to pray that this paper will be a missile of God--prepared of God, directed of God, used of God.
Yours in His name,
Arthur E. Gordon
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DEAR SHUT-IN
EXCERPTS from
LILLIAN'S LETTERS
Life is like a cake in the making, says Lillian.
It takes a little flour (every day consistency), salt (to bring out the flavor), eggs and milk (nourishment for healthier growth. This could be reading God's Word, attendance in church), sugar (God's love brings out sweetness in the Christian life), baking powder (prayer will make one rise to greater heights in Him). The dates, nuts, and raisins are optional, but would add a wonderful extra, putting in a richness, making it very much more appealing putting a yumminess into each bite (this could be the extra, not--requited time you give to the means of grace, that of studying more of the Word, maybe reading a good, God-inspired book. There are also benefits derived in doing for the Lord, which is a very wide field. In other words give more devotion to God which brings about those added unto's spoken of in the Word.)
Then the batter is beaten, and beaten, and beaten so the cake will be fluffy and light, not stiff, heavy, and undesirable. The beating is not fun, but required. (We need the hard places too so that all the ingredients of life will unite in a masterpiece of His loving choice.)
Then it must be baked. This takes a bit of fire. No, the cake is not done with just the beating. It takes--must have--the baking; surrendered, quiet, it resists not. (We too must take more of the dying of the mortal, a continual consecration, being completely yielded so as to graduate when finished in this school of fiery heat.)
Then comes the testing, sometimes done with a tooth pick that is used to pierce in several places, seeking a weak, unyielded spot in the cake which could spoil it all. If it is not done, bits of the "old nature" come out on the tooth pick. This must not be, more heat is needed. (We too are tested, and others look to see if our reactions are really Christian. God allows the test for good. We want to be our best for Him.) Alas, the test is passed, and the cake is given a time to cool, and is iced (glorified), and then it is ready to present to the honored ones. (We too shall graduate in glorious splendor if we pass the test.)
Then the taste. Ummm, the cake is delicious. Why? Because the recipe book was followed. (We too shall be tasty, flavorful, attractive for Christ, and eventually be in heaven if we follow the recipe in The Book--the Bible.)
Miss Lillian Butt suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Before her illness she was a nurse.
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HIS PRESENCE
I know it is not the sense of His Presence, it is the fact of His presence that is our strength and stay. And yet it is comforting when a mother makes some little sign or speaks some little word to a child who does not see her. And when our Father deals so tenderly with us, then we are very humbly grateful and we store such memories in our heart. And when there is not any feeling we rest on His bare word, "Lo, I am with you always, all the days, and all day long," and are content.
-- Amy Carmichael
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The POTTER and the CLAY
A Christian view of sickness
By JOHN THOMPSON
A CHRISTIAN IS not a fatalist. For him things do not just happen. He sees in the circumstances of life the hand of God working out His purposes in the world. Even circumstances that might otherwise be painful and unpleasant become part of God's overall plan.
Some find it difficult to reconcile sickness and pain with the care of a loving God. However, even human experience demonstrates the pleasant is not always the best. Every good father administers painful discipline to his son for proper training. A good father teaches his son to work and to endure long years of study--things that are certainly not enjoyable to a carefree youth. How much more does the heavenly Father direct the paths of His children in ways that are not always pleasant but still the best.
One of the basic tenets of Christianity is man's dependence upon God. Man is unable to atone for his sin, make himself righteous, or even control the days of his life. Yet his proud heart likes to say, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." It is this proud spirit in man that separates him from God. If by means of sickness a man can learn his own weakness and dependence upon God, then sickness has been a blessing.
Life moves at a rapid pace and many live in such a way that they see nothing more important than pleasure, money and success. If sickness can teach a man that life is more than physical, a sound mind more important than muscles, and the character of a person more important that the body, then sickness has been a blessing.
In learning the true values of life, the Christian learns that what happens to himself is not as important as his obedience to God and service to others. Christ said of himself that He came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and instructed: "He that would be greatest among you let him be servant of all." The process by which we are made useful for ministering to others is never easy or pleasant. The doctor who is able to minister to the body has spent many years in preparation, and the same is true in other realms of life. It has well been said: "Only sunshine all the time only makes a desert." If sickness can prepare a man to better serve others in faithfulness to God, then sickness has been a blessing, for "ill is good, if God is in it."
The master potter sitting before his turning wheel took a lump of clay and with apparent ease began to shape a simple pot, but just as it seemed to have neared completion, he crushed it back into just a lump of clay.
Someone asked, "Why?"
"Because," explained the potter, "this little piece of grit here in the clay would have made the pot crack if it had been put into the fire." Then he began to work the clay again, moistening it and reshaping it. This time he formed it into an exquisite vase that would endure for years as a tribute to the skill of the master potter. The apparently cruel blow that crushed the first pot resulted in something much finer and of greater glory to its maker.
"Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?"
"Hath not the potter power over the clay?" (Romans 9:20-21)
Rev. Thompson was stricken with polio in 1956 while he and his family served as missionaries to the Philippine Islands under the China Inland Mission. He was confined to a wheel chair.
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IF THY PRESENCE GO NOT
(EXODUS 33:15)
O Lord, I have not passed this way before;
How can I know the turnings of the road?
Maybe the year will bring me sorrows more
Than any year that's gone. Maybe a load
Of grief or pain, or it may bring the loss
Of things, or even life. Lord, I am Thine--
Sharer with Thee in death upon the Cross.
If Thou but go before, no fears are mine.
And Thou hast gone before, and Thou dost know
The road--e'en all the way to Calvary.
May I not seek to see the way I go,
But bravely follow with Thee trustingly.
What'er's ahead, O Saviour, have Thy way.
This is my prayer upon a New Year's Day.
--Cosa Elizabeth Reynolds
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BACKWARD, FORWARD, UPWARD
I don't look back; God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets;
I leave them all with him who blots the record,
And mercifully forgives, and then forgets.
I don't look forward; God sees all the future,
The road that, short or long, will lead me home,
And He will face with me its every trial
And bear for me the burdens that may come.
But I look up--into the face of Jesus,
For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled;
And there is joy and love, and light for darkness,
And perfect peace and every hope fulfilled.
--Annie Johnson Flint.
(Copyright. Reprinted by permission, Evangelical Publishers, Toronto, Canada)
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God Cured My Desire
I smoked for 12 years.
Five things helped me quit.
I DEEPLY SYMPATHIZE with anyone who finds it difficult to stop smoking--or to control any physical appetite.
I smoked heavily for 12 years. My physical craving for tobacco seemed impossible to throw off. All the arguments in the world had no effect.
I received lung-cancer scares. I got shortness of breath. I developed a severe smoker's cough. I was spending $375 a year for cigarettes. But none of these common-sense arguments could convince me I should stop.
I smoked because I wanted to smoke--I enjoyed it.
I was willing to pay the price.
And the price was high. At the rate I was smoking it would cost me about $10,000 over my lifetime (the average smoker spends a little over $6,000.)
As a Christian, one who had owned Jesus Christ as Savior, the cost became higher still. I found that my fellowship with other Christians was strained by my feelings of guilt. My usefulness in Christian work--if not entirely eliminated--was certainly limited.
Worst of all, my fellowship with Jesus Christ grew colder with every puff of smoke.
"I simply can't quit!" I told myself.
My body craved tobacco smoke. My heart desired to live for Christ. It was physical craving versus spiritual desire.
I had a choice to make. And I made it.
I decided, by the grace of God, that my spiritual desire should be encouraged, and that my physical craving should be discouraged.
I began to see what Paul meant when he wrote, "Make no provision for the lusts of the flesh."
So I encouraged my spiritual desire by doing five things:
1. I read the Bible every day -- especially the practical epistles of the New Testament.
2. I prayed every day -- anytime, anywhere -- with a special effort to pray when I was tempted to smoke.
3. I did my utmost to speak to others about their souls, and how Christ had given me eternal life through faith. I did this every day.
4. I attended as many Christian meetings as I could.
5. I visited with deeply spiritual Christians as often as possible.
These five spiritual exercises began to create an atmosphere for me in which I found it impossible to smoke. I found that first I lost the desire to smoke. Second, I lost the physical craving for tobacco.
If you are a Christian to whom the Spirit of God is speaking about control of some physical appetite, I know what you must be going through. But I know, too, how God showed me that He wants just our simple obedience. This He honors -- and grants victory through the power of Christ.
It worked for me. It can work for you.
-- George M. Bowman
Reprinted by permission from CHRISTIAN LIFE Magazine, Copyright October, 1959 CHRISTIAN LIFE PUBLICATIONS, Inc. Chicago, Illinois
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INDISSOLUBLE UNION
The person who hates Christ -- hates the Father as well;
he who rejects Christ -- rejects the Father;
neglects Christ -- neglects the Father;
avoids Christ -- avoids the Father;
denies Christ -- denies the Father;
deserts Christ -- deserts the Father.
The person who loves Christ -- loves the Father as well;
he who receives Christ -- receives the Father;
knows Christ -- knows the Father;
hears Christ -- hears the Father;
honors Christ -- honors the Father;
obeys Christ -- obeys the Father.
The person who is in Christ -- is in the Father as well.
Jesus said:
"Believe me . . . I am in the Father, and the Father in me . . . and ye in me, and I in you" (John 14:11, 20).
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JOHN BUNYAN'S CONVERSION
took place when the Scripture, "He hath made peace by the blood of his cross," came with power to his soul. He saw that what he had been so long and vainly trying to DO had been DONE by Another, and that One the Son of God. "From that moment," he said, "I saw that through the blood, God and my soul were friends."
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Till to Jesus' work you cling
By a simple faith,
Doing is a deadly thing,
Doing ends in death.
-- John Bunyan
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SERMON SERIES
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER
No. 5
SALVATION
Is It Important To You?
I Peter 1:10-12
"Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you (10): searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow (11). Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into (12)."
Recently I received a letter from a friend who told me that he thought I dwelt too much on salvation in my writings. This, I know, is the opinion of many. I cannot share this opinion, however. Nevertheless, let's face the question honestly: is salvation important?
What is it that makes anything such as a movement, an organization, or a drive important? May there not be three basic elements: 1) the celebrities who are connected with it, 2) its intrinsic value, and 3) the publicity? If you would make a drive for some cause, you are assured success if you consider carefully these elements.
These same principles may be applied to our subject, and are found in the text. If salvation is important we must ask: who has an interest in it? What is its intrinsic value? and how has it been publicized?
First:
"WHO'S WHO" IN SALVATION
A quick glance at our three verses soon turns up an imposing list of worthies who are interested, yes, intensely interested in salvation.
The holy men of old were interested. We read: "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently."
Let us go back to a mountain in upper Galilee. Jesus ascends with three disciples to a place of prayer. While on the mountainside a startling scene transpires. Jesus is transfigured before their eyes and two Old Testament patriarchs make their appearance, talking with Jesus. And what do they talk about? The Bible says, "And behold, there talked with him two men which were Moses and Elias . . . and spoke of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." These men represented the old economy. They were given this one opportunity to return from paradise to earth; it is only natural they would talk of the thing which interested them most; they talked of salvation, of which Christ's death was the central feature. When they lived on earth they had seen and spoken of the shadow, now they were rejoicing in the substance which had cast the shadow -- man's salvation.
The angels of heaven are interested in salvation: "which things," says the text, "the angels desire to look into." Our salvation is of such magnitude that all of God's other creatures long to look into it. Though they can never partake of it they are interested. Possibly the fallen angels wish they had this opportunity we have to be saved. The angels who didn't fall, though they need not our salvation, yet have not had their interest dampened. In fact the Bible declares that "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."
The early disciples of the Lord were interested in salvation. The text says that these "things (i.e. concerning salvation) . . . are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you . . ." One who has read the New Testament cannot deny that the theme of their message was salvation.
When Paul and Silas and party first entered Europe they were accosted by a demon-possessed woman who cried out, "These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation." And truly they did; on every occasion. If we would do this more today, the Lord could do as He did then, adding "to the church daily such as should be saved."
The Trinity is interested in salvation. Although the Father is not specifically named, He is here by implication. He bestowed the grace that is mentioned; He sent the Son and the Holy Spirit who minister the grace. Christ shed His blood to purchase our salvation; the Holy Spirit prophesied and preached it through the lips and pens of consecrated men. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit know salvation is important; and They have shown Their interest. Can you show a more impressive list of celebrities? And yet there is one name missing.
It is your name. Salvation can never be truly important to you until your name is listed in its membership. The prophets "prophesied of the grace that should come to YOU." The preachers "reported unto YOU," they "preached the gospel unto YOU." Regardless who else is interested in anything, it can never hold the interest to you that it might until you have a share in it. When you become a shareholder in salvation, you then, like the others, will know its importance.
So much, for the ones who have interest in salvation. Now let's consider the
INTRINSIC VALUE OF SALVATION
We usually consider a thing valuable if it gives benefits to a large or needy segment of human-kind. Those of us who have been afflicted with polio can thus testify to the worth of the NFIP. But what of salvation in this respect?
Scofield says, "The Hebrew and Greek words for salvation imply the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness." He continues: "Salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification." We have, don't you agree, quite an array of implications and applications in salvation? Can anything of man's creation come even near this, though it be ever so beneficial?
Our text mentions four of these inclusions of salvation. One is "grace," found in verse ten. Elsewhere the Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved . . . it is the gift of God: not of works." Here is the reason some people will not -- cannot -- be saved. They are not ready to admit that salvation is the free gift of God, wholly apart from any merit or work on their part. But how wonderful salvation is to the one who realizes his own unworthiness, and who gladly receives it as God offers it -- freely, without cost.
Again in the text, salvation is seen to include the "sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." Salvation is indeed without cost to us but it cost Christ dearly. It cost Him His life, after much suffering. He suffered in body and spirit; He suffered for sins He never committed; He suffered separation from the Father for several agonizing hours; and He suffered for our salvation. Praise His dear name! But He endured this suffering for the glory that should follow." Salvation in one of its applications means "glory," such glory as we mortals have never yet seen. When we set foot on heaven's shore, any doubt we may have had concerning the importance of salvation will forever flee, lost in the splendor of His glory . . . and ours.
Salvation also includes "the gospel" which was preached. The gospel simply means "good news," or "glad tidings."
Some shepherds kept watch over their flocks one dark night in the country of Judaea, when suddenly they were startled with a most unusual announcement. A messenger of the Lord appeared to them and said, "Feat not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy."
What could these good tidings be?
"Unto you," continued the angel, "is born this day in the city of David a Saviour." Some time before, the angel appeared to Mary's husband and said, "thou shalt call his name JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins." Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, had "prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us." God in grace has provided our salvation; Christ through suffering has made it possible; eternal glory awaits us; this is good news for all who receive it. Need more be said of the intrinsic value of salvation?
A final element which makes for the importance of anything is the publicity it has had.
HOW WAS SALVATION PUBLICIZED?
It was foretold hundreds of years before it happened. If anything should convince us of its importance, this should. What else has been publicized so long in advance and in such detail, and come to pass just as predicted? We must stand in awe at such a miracle. We must recognize that this is of God and IS important.
But it was also forthtold. After Christ's death and resurrection the early preachers and converts heralded forth the good news throughout their world. They put the message in a Book, our Bible, and thus it continues to go forth even until now.
The publicity department, consisting of the prophets and preachers, has done a phenomenal job. Of course the publicity Director, the Holy Spirit, has constantly worked behind the scenes and has been the power in salvation's advance. Surely we cannot -- dare not -- doubt the importance of this great work of God.
But to conclude, let me again remind you, if salvation is to be important to you, you must have a share in it. And you may. It is God's free gift to you, purchased with the blood of His Son. Trust in Christ as your own personal Savior, and salvation will be yours, and will be of utmost importance to you from then on.
"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation."
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THE YEAR BEFORE US
Standing at the portal
Of the opening year,
Words of comfort meet us,
Hushing every fear;
I, the Lord, am with thee,
Be thou not afraid!
I will keep and strengthen,
Be thou not dismayed!
Resting on His promise,
What have we to fear?
God is all-sufficient
For the coming year.
-- Francis Ridley Havergal
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