EDITORIAL
Let's have some samples from the mailbag --
Dear Sir:
Would you please put me on your mailing list. A friend sent me some old copies she had of "Triumph." I really received a great blessing from them and sent them on to other handicapped friends ...
I was in a car wreck 10 years ago. My back was broken, spinal cord nearly severed, and am paralyzed from waist down . . .
Kansas
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Dear Sir:
"Triumph" came in today's mail. I just had a few minutes to look over my mail, but had to read most of the writings in "Triumph" before laying it aside. It surely must be an uplift to those who are shut-in.
Lillian's articles are always uplifting, and Mrs. Beers' message was an encouragement I am sure . . .
The Lord bless you richly as you continue sending forth His Word and messages of encouragement and cheer.
Pennsylvania
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Dear Sir
A friend of ours who is a shut-in has sent us two copies of "Triumph" and we think it is such a wonderful circular that I would like to send the names of a few other of our shut-in friends in hopes that they can be included in your mailing list.
Also enclosed is a small gift to help with your great work.
Indiana
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Dear Sir:
Thank you so much for "Triumph." It is a great help many times, to my husband and me. How I do enjoy and feel refreshed and better after reading Lillian's letters . . .
I think perhaps you would like to know this. Last month one evening I was so depressed and downhearted and just could not seem to get that heavy, gloomy load lifted, and I got different things to read . . . Just nothing seemed to have what I needed, so I started for my Bible, but going by the table in the living room, there was "Triumph" seeming to beckon to me. I took it up and opened it to your testimony, and there, right there, was just exactly what I needed! Of course I had read it earlier in the month, but not really as it should have been read, not the real meaning of it and understanding it. I have read it several times since and spoken of it to others, and they too liked it. What a comfort "Triumph" is. I went to bed and a good sleep, thanks to you and "Triumph."
May the Lord richly bless you and all your family.
Pennsylvania
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Dear Sir:
About two weeks ago a cousin of mine came to the house where I was working and brought five issues of your paper, "Triumph," for two elderly people, a married couple.
I read aloud from several pages to them . . . I was deeply thrilled to have access to your monthly "unusual" Christian periodical . . .
I wish to have it sent to me at once, and even if you have any January 1961 issues left I'd be deeply grateful if you'd send that issue so I would miss none during 1961.
. . . I can inform you herewith that I "did" begin praying for you and your precious ministry in propagating the priceless, blood-bought, eternal truth.
I'm going to let my pastor see my issues of "Triumph" . . . that he can learn of your efforts and remember you in prayer . . .
One who cannot express her gratitude for the wealth of spiritual food in "Triumph."
Ohio
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Dear Sir:
Several weeks ago I had a nervous condition, and it was prolonged as I was under conviction of not being saved. I was baptized and professed being a Christian for years.
When I received the January issue of "Triumph" and read your editorial, something seemed to tell me it was just for me. I believe it was the Sprit drawing me. I then prayed for forgiveness for my sins and invited Jesus into my heart.
Thanks be unto God, now I know I'm saved. One of the first promises that came to me was -- "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." This is a comfort to know in these trying times.
It is my desire to look unto Jesus and to remain true and faithful unto Him . . .
I am 23 years old and had polio in 1952. I'm using an electric typewriter with mouth stick for this . . .
Ohio
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Your Editor,
Arthur E. Gordon
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I Exchanged Spirit Of Heaviness
For Oil Of Joy And Praise
By Amy Collier
Isaiah 61:3
AS I SIT propped up in bed and look out into the beautiful sunshine, there is in my heart the most wonderful feeling of peace, joy, well-being, and security; and I am happy. Also in my heart is a longing to see every ill or shut-in person, or others who are faced with difficult and perplexing situations, enjoy this wonderful gift of peace. Many do not. I have not always. Perhaps if I tell you how it came to me, it will help you to accept it, too. It is for everyone.
Did you know that Isaiah 61:3 tells us that Jesus came to give the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness? He will do just that. And verse one says He came to bind up the brokenhearted.
Now I have known disappointment and also what it means to be alone and lonely. Financial difficulties arose and I am well acquainted with physical suffering and deep sorrow. But God had sustained me even though I sometimes struggled and tried to solve my own problems.
Then one day, something which I shall call my "thorn," came to me. It would not only pierce me but others whom I loved and who wanted to love me. Being of an affectionate nature, to me this was the proverbial last straw. What affected me, I could take, but if friends were involved -- never!
I began to question the love of God and His Word. I reasoned thus: If the things which I had been taught from childhood were true, could not God have intervened and prevented these circumstances? I was tempted to be bitter.
Having moved into a Christian Home (where I now live) where the matron and registered nurse were devout Christians, they sensed my struggle at once. Though I was not at first responsive to their efforts to help me, they continued to prevail in prayer, and their prayers bore fruit.
God was merciful, for He was soon wooing me back to Himself by His Holy Spirit. He knew I didn't want to doubt. Oh, how I wished I could believe! I became more responsive and allowed them to talk and pray with me. How glad I was that once more I realized my attitude had been very wrong. I knew then that God did love me and that his Word was true. Now I could trust Him once more for the salvation of my soul; but I was still trying to cope with the problems of life myself.
Then one night as I lay suffering in body while my tortured mind was weary from trying to find the answer to heal my thorn, Jesus whispered to me: "Come unto me -- I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Another verse was, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you" (I Peter 5:7).
My heart cried, "But, Lord, please won't You remove this distressing thing?"
Again He whispered, "My grace is sufficient for thee."
So I prayed, "Lord, circumstances are just what they are and I cannot change one thing. I place it all in Your hands. No matter what happens, I shall trust it all to You."
Oh, my friend, at that moment, while there was no outward show of emotion on my part, my room seemed to literally glow with God's presence as He reached down and lifted that heavy load. To me came the most precious sense of peace, joy, well-being, and security. I had never before had an experience to equal it. Instead of worry, doubts, anxieties, and fears, there was peace. What a relief it was to sweetly rest in Jesus. There were no more struggles, just rest and peace from that time until now.
What had I done to acquire this peace? I simply surrendered my all to Jesus in complete submission and rest in God. I quit struggling.
I could now not only trust Him for salvation, but could also trust Him fully to take are of the everyday problems of life. My circumstances are the same but as for the problems -- well they just aren't there.
We are not promised a flowery bed of ease. There will be testings, but Jesus says, "Come unto me." God is no respecter of persons. What He did for me, He will also do for you. He desires to help you.
If you are elderly, shut-in, and alone, and most of your friends and loved ones gone on before, Jesus says, "Come, I'll be your Friend." Talk with Him and let Him speak to your heart. He can bring sunshine into the sunset years of your life and ease your loneliness.
If you have never accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour, His invitation to you is: "Whosoever will, may come" (Revelation 22:17). "He that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). Your color, race, or station in life matters not. He loves you and pleads with outstretched arms, "Come."
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While unbelief sees only the difficulties,
faith sees God between itself and them.
-- Hudson Taylor
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THE FURNACE
He sat by a fire of seven-fold heat,
As He watched by the precious ore,
And closer He bent with a searching gaze,
As He heated it more and more.
He knew He had ore that would stand the test,
And He wanted the finest gold,
To mold as a crown for the King to wear,
Set with gems of a price untold.
So He laid our gold in the burning fire,
Tho' we fain would have said to Him "Nay,"
And He watched the dross we had not seen,
As it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire -- not the Master's hand
And questioned with anxious fears.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above
That bent o'er the fire, tho' unseen by us,
With a look of infinite love.
Can we think that it pleased His loving heart
To cause us a moment's pain?
Ah no; but He saw thro' the present grief,
The bliss of eternal gain.
So He waited there with a watchful eye;
With a love that is strong and true and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat
Than was needed to make it pure.
-- Grace Messenger
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When The Teakettle Burned Dry
by Lillian Graffam
Did you ever leave the teakettle on the fire, and by the time you remembered it, it was dry and burned out? I did that once -- in a home of a friend. Fortunately it was a heavy cast aluminum kettle. Forgetting is sometimes caused by a busy or burdened mind. I was in a state of emotional upheaval brought on by physical fatigue and spiritual defeat (often these attack us at the same time). My friend told me what I had done, and I offered to replace the kettle. She responded, "O that won't be necessary. It was actually a good thing, because it burned out the thick accumulation of mineral deposits, and now the kettle is clean."
What a spiritual lesson for me! The fire of trouble and misunderstanding had been so hot I thought it would consume me; but I learned that God didn't intend to destroy me, but only to remove the accumulation of hard deposits in my nature. We allow many things to accumulate day by day, such as sinful practices, anger, resentments, an unforgiving spirit, and need to "purge" ourselves from these in order to be a vessel unto honor.
Psalm 32:7 could literally mean, "Thou shalt preserve me from the ill effects of trouble." It is God's desire and design, by the controlled flame of His loving discipline, to consume the dross, not the vessel, leaving the vessel clean and usable. So trouble need not do us permanent harm, but can be beneficial.
Faithful Lord, we thank Thee that Thou dost stand by, so that we are not forgotten when exposed to the hot fire of affliction. We can be at peace even in the crucible, because we are sure we will not be left there one moment longer than necessary. May we welcome the fire that would separate the dross from the vessel, that we might be a "vessel unto honor, fit for the Master's use."
(Reprinted by permission from ETERNITY Magazine, copyright 1961. The Evangelical Foundation, Philadelphia PA.)
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THE UNKNOWN GOD
Some say they cannot know my Lord,
Call Him the "unknown God,"
And try to rule Him from the earth
Where His own feet have trod.
But I have known Him in His world--
In each fierce wind which blows,
In stately pines, in singing brooks,
In violet and rose.
And I have known Him in His Word;
Have often heard Him speak;
Have found th' Incarnate Word with me,
Before my heart could seek.
And I have known Him in my life--
In joy and hope and peace,
In love and fellowship divine,
Which nevermore shall cease.
Yes, I have known this "unknown God,"
Have found Him Saviour, Friend;
And sure I am that I shall find
Him faithful to the end.
-- Cosa Elizabeth Reynolds
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Village Visitation In North Africa
Kalaa Kebira and Akouda, Tunisia
by Don Rickards
This article relives a day in the life of a missionary, not of the first century, but in this our 20th century. It points up the hazard sometimes connected with spreading the gospel even in this modern age, and should remind us to be faithfully praying for our missionaries.
HAVING come to Sousse to escape the annual heat spell this year, we were anxious to make each day worthwhile. This morning, I got an early start and left Sousse in one of the many miniature busses going into the suburbs. My goal: Kalaa Kebira. My hope: to bring back a much lighter bag of books than I was then carrying on my sunburnt shoulders.
We left the main road shortly and went back into the hills, passed one village and quickly afterwards arrived in Kalaa Kebira. As we made our way up the principal winding street, lined on either side by a lot of small workshops and grocery stores, one-roomed Koranic schools, and some rooms with just a general confab going on, the usual problem presented itself: Where will you begin here? That is very important; it is wise to go through a village in such a way as not to retrace your ground and to be able quickly to head in the general direction of home. Here in Kalaa Kebira, I could see no other way but to continue to the end of the line and then come down the same road with my books.
The very first man I approached was a reader who saw right away that the book I was selling (Gospel according to John) could never have had the seal of his prophet Mohammed. But -- and for this I was extremely thankful -- he did nothing to dissuade his friends from buying; he just stood there smiling at me. The usual crowd gathered around and came with me as I went from door to door. I was presenting a "special" -- with each two gospels purchased, the buyer received free a neatly printed booklet, "The Way of Salvation." In that way, several more gospels were sold. To be frank with you, one has to be careful not to take advantage of the Arab's natural tendency to buy books even if he cannot read them. As long as he believes the product is not against his religion, he will buy anything.
Going from door to door down that long sloping road of shops, past a new clinic and a lovely post office building -- here I managed to lose the crowd. One or two had spoken out boldly against the Gospel and I was glad to be relieved of their interference. After selling two more gospels to a few young fellows, I left the town on foot to go to Akouda, before returning to Sousse. My sales were hardly encouraging; sixteen gospels sold plus four small booklets. But "HIS Word shall not return void" -- that is the sure anchor of our faith.
Between the two towns, four more gospels were sold; this was my recompense for not having taken the bus. Akouda situated on a hill like Kalaa Kebira, did not look inviting. Before entering the town, I turned down a side road and talked with some workmen on a construction job. Then I began climbing the hill, entering the shops as I went. You see, my idea was that the road went in a semi-circle and came back to the main road further down from where I entered. It was too late when I found out my mistake.
It was wonderful at first, the books were really going and the general atmosphere was friendly. I had sold twenty books when the noise started. Just one man, unable to read and therefore suspicious, suggested strongly that these books were propaganda against their religion. That sufficed -- everyone who had bought a book was immediately afraid. So I turned about to begin the descent through a hostile, fanatical populace and refunding money as the books were thrust upon me, walking fast all the while. Perhaps you're tempted to think that is being a bit chicken-hearted. My answer would be that in those circumstances, "a soft answer turneth away wrath" and acquiescence is better than argument.
Nevertheless, when I found myself walking alone, I knew full well what was to follow. I walked faster -- only a hundred yards to the main road where surely a bus must pass soon. The rocks caught up with me -- fortunately, passed me! And so the game began: they -- throwing to hit; I -- dodging this way and that to escape, and moving doggedly on. No way, to be sure, for an ambassador of the KING to make his exit, but I was really too pressed to be more dignified. Besides, many of HIS ambassadors have left towns in a more hurried manner than that!
And now the construction men I had been friendly to on entering began shouting and threatening the fellows and making them retreat -- which all but two were timid enough to do. Ah, the bus down the road; what a good sight! And now, scrambling in the back of it, I went on my way home. Counting my books, I found in spite of the number returned, ten books were still in that town somewhere.
Let us pray for this seed sown. As the most delicate flower requires the utmost care for growth, so HIS Word must be properly watered and cared for if it is not to be robbed from their hearts by the evil one.
Don Rickards, a missionary with the North Africa Missions, spent seven years on the field his first term, and has just returned with his wife and three children for a second term in Tunisia.
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ENCOURAGEMENT
(I Samuel 7:12)
When our souls are much discouraged,
By the roughness of the way
And the cross we have to carry
Seemeth heavier every day.
When some cloud that over-shadows,
Hides the Father's face from view,
Oh 'tis well to remember
He hath blessed us hitherto.
-- Selected
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SERMON SERIES
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER
No. 25
THE END IS NEAR
Good Stewards Needed
I Peter 4:10,11
IF YOU HAD only one week to live, how would you spend the time? I dare say you would put aside everything of an earthly, transient nature and begin doing those things which you know to be of an eternal nature and pleasing to God. Things of earth would grow strangely dim.
The fact is, maybe we don't even have a week to live on this earth. Our Lord may come at any moment. Eternity may set in this very day.
Because of this fact of the imminent return of our Lord and the end of this present dispensation, Peter here in our text exhorts us to good stewardship.
"As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (10).
A steward is one who dispenses and cares for goods placed in his hands. A good steward is one who performs his duties faithfully. We who love the Lord are called to be good stewards for Him.
RECEIVING AND GIVING
Stewardship involves receiving and giving. "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same . . . " This refers not primarily to "the gift" of salvation but to "a gift" or talent or endowment God has given you to care for and dispense.
"Every man" has something he may contribute to the Church. Some may question this, saying, "I don't have anything. I'm not wealthy. I don't have any talents. I can't preach or teach. I can't administer." Maybe the trouble is that we have categorized the gifts, making some more important than others, and if we don't have the supposedly more important, then we feel we don't have anything.
May not your gift be just to show yourself friendly to someone in the service on Sunday morning or evening? It may be that you could sit beside an elderly person who is slow in turning to the proper page in the hymnal or Bible and help that one find the page. Do you think this is too small a thing to be important? It may be small by our standards, but we are not to judge by our standards but God's. Somehow, I believe some service like this that went wholly unnoticed by us will receive great acclaim in heaven. "Many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first."
"Moses, what is that in thine hand?" "Oh, just a shepherd's crook, Lord." "Dedicate it to Me, Moses and it shall become the instrument to bring a mighty overthrow of one nation and a great deliverance for another." Just a stick, but under God an instrument of destruction and deliverance.
"Poor widow, what is that in thine hand?" "Oh, just two mites, Lord." "Offer them to Me, widow, and I shall consider them more than all the riches cast in by the wealthy, for they have given of their abundance but you of your penury." Just a small offering, but under God, of great worth.
"Young lad, what is that in thine hand?" "Oh, just five loaves and two small fish, Lord." "Present them to Me, lad, and I shall feed a multitude." Just a little lunch, but under God enough to feed many thousands.
Christian, what is that in thine hand? You name it. It may seem ever so small to you, but under God it can become a blessing to many brethren. Possibly it is a "thorn" the Lord has entrusted to you. Yes, even a "thorn," an affliction can be a blessing. Paul praised God for his, knowing that in his weakness Christ was his strength and comfort and that he in turn could minister the same to others in like circumstances.
Who can say how much comfort and blessing Lillian Butt (who contributes regularly to this paper) has brought to countless sufferers everywhere with the proper use of her thorn-entrustment? Who can say what you may do for your brethren with your "thorn" or "stick" or "mites" or "loaves and fish" or what-have-you.
There is enough grace for all, for every type of personality, for every kind of circumstance, for every application; for it is "the manifold (many-fold) grace of God."
Now, more specifically --
"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (11).
A WORD TO PREACHERS
Here is a word to preachers and teachers: "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." In these last momentous days we need more preaching and teaching of "Thus saith the Lord."
The thing that characterized the preaching of John the Baptist and our Lord and the apostles was that they spoke with authority. This was something new for the people. Their leaders had not spoken so. But why did Christ and His followers preach with authority? Because they preached God's Word. Jesus said, "And the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." He prayed to the Father, "For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me."
We have far too many men standing in our pulpits and before our Sunday school classes speaking not "the oracles of God" but something of man's origination, either what they themselves think or what someone else thinks. Jesus could say, "the word which ye hear is not mine," yet today too often the word we hear is only the word of the preacher: what he thinks of the political trend, or the latest book or movie, or news-story; what his philosophy is, or he might even give his views of the validity of the Bible.
To all such, let me say, firmly but kindly, the people don't need your word; what they need -- desperately need -- in this day is "Thus saith the Lord." Let God speak from your pulpit. It is His Word that begets life, eternal life. It is His Word that the Holy Spirit honors and prospers. It is His Word the souls before you need to hear.
Sometimes the Word of God may take more the form of a wounding sword than a healing balm, and folks may not receive it kindly; nevertheless, the part of a good steward is to proclaim it faithfully.
One day, some 900 years before Christ, two Heads of State got together for a summit conference. Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Samaria to pay a visit to Ahab king of Israel. During their consultation Ahab persuaded Jehoshaphat to make an alliance and to declare war on their common enemy at Ramoth-gilead. But before they should march forth on this military venture, Jehoshaphat wanted to consult the Lord. Ahab called in four hundred prophets who happened to be more interested in the good will of the king than the truth of God. These prophets, to a man, declared, "Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand."
Not altogether satisfied Jehoshaphat asked if there might not be another prophet available. "There is yet one man," said Ahab, "by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah." Nevertheless at Jehoshaphat's insistence Ahab "called for one of his officers, and said, 'Fetch quickly Micaiah.'"
"The messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, 'Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of their's, and speak thou good.'" (Sounds like some of our pulpit committees). But what was Micaiah's reply? The same any God-fearing man would give. "And Micaiah said, 'As the Lord liveth, even what my God saith, THAT WILL I SPEAK.'" As it turned out this prophet's message was just the opposite of the four hundred. "Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil?" bellowed Ahab to Jehoshaphat. And they went up to the battle and were routed as the good prophet had said.
How was Micaiah rewarded for speaking God's Word truthfully? One of the other prophets slapped his face and Ahab threw him in jail, on a diet of bread and water. Not so pleasant, was it, for a good steward of the manifold grace of God, speaking the oracles of God? Sad to say, many preachers have sold out for less than this. For fear of the ministerium or the denomination or the congregation some have left off preaching the unvarnished truth of God. They stand each Sunday declaring only "good," when God would have them warn the people of sin, hell and the judgment. God bless all those who, regardless of the consequences, stand firm and say, "Even what my God saith, that will I speak."
HE THAT MINISTERS
"If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth." Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself said that he "came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." To illustrate His point He donned a towel and kneeled to wash the disciples' feet. When He had finished He said, "I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you."
But there are some Christians who apparently believe they have become Christians to be ministered unto. They have yet to learn that Christianity is giving, not receiving; serving, not being served; ministering, not being ministered to.
Yes, we are to minister, but in whose strength? "Let him do it as of the ability (strength) which God giveth."
In the early Church, just following Pentecost, when the need arose for some men to take over the duties of ministration, they chose "seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom." Naturally they wanted honest men and men full of wisdom, but why men full of (or controlled by) the Holy Spirit? The obvious answer is that they might minister not in their own strength but in the strength which God giveth.
Today we want someone to take over such a job in our church. What do we look for? We want him to be honest, by all means. We want him to have some good, common horse-sense, too. But do we care about his spirituality? Too often we don't.
Let's make it personal. You are serving in your church as a deacon or trustee or Sunday school teacher or even pastor, or in some other capacity. Are you dedicated to Christ? Are you living under the control of the Holy Spirit? If you aren't, your ministry is being done in your own strength and not God's. God wants you to minister to your brethren, but even more, He wants you to "do it as of the strength which God giveth." And why?
"That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." But unregenerate man glorifies the creature more than the Creator. Thus it falls to us who are regenerated to glorify God on earth. And we have double reason for doing so -- we are children of God by creation and by re-creation. Created in Adam; re-created in Christ Jesus.
This last phrase sets the bounds for glorifying God. There is no way of glorifying God, even with all our ministering, except "through Jesus Christ." Christ came to glorify the Father. And He did. His death, burial, resurrection made it possible for us to do likewise. One of the primary ways we can glorify Him is by receiving His Son. Stewardship follows, which when faithfully performed in the strength of the Lord glorifies God, "to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
To you who are not saved, I would give this reminder. God has also given you an entrustment. It is three-fold. He has given you life, time, and salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. He expects you to care enough for your life, realizing the shortness of time, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." Your gift of life will not last forever; your gift of time will have its consummation (perhaps very soon); the gift of salvation will not be forever offered to you. If you would be a good steward of these gifts from God, you would immediately respond with your "Amen," saying with Thomas, of Christ, "MY Lord and MY God."
In the light of eternity, let us be "good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
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