"(Jesus) came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name." -- John 1:11,12
EDITORIAL
An Open Letter To The Editor:
On the first Sunday of June of each year we observe Shut-In's Day in remembrance of those of our citizens who are confined to their beds or wheel chairs in their homes, hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions. We especially urge that war Veterans in government hospitals or in their homes be not overlooked, as many of them are shut-ins.
The observance of Shut-In's Day was originated by Ernest Barker, a young Canadian shut-in of Goderich, Ontario, Canada. He formed an organization of shut-ins and physically handicapped with the support of friends. He appointed Mrs. Wm. Francklyn Paris, "Five Acres," Greenwich, NJ, to head the movement in the United States. Mrs. Paris appointed chairman in each state and representatives in many counties, cities and towns. She was President until her death in 1957. Her brother, Mr. Donald R. Jones, is current President.
Sole object of this movement is to inform the public of the problems and trials faced by many of these unfortunates. They do not wish to become "out of sight -- out of mind" as the old saying goes. With war and politics occupying the public mind our shut-ins could become the forgotten people of this nation.
We would appreciate pastors of all churches including Shut-In's Day in their announcements. One year the Associated Press and radio networks called attention to this observance. We hope it will not be overlooked by the readers of "Triumph."
Miss Irene Bailey, Rep.
The Shut-In's Day Association
Fort Payne, Alabama
A REMINDER:
The Scriptural admonition along this line is: Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them" (Hebrews 13:3a). This doesn't mean just to recall the shut-ins to mind once in awhile, but remember them in some very practical, helpful way, just as you would want them to remember you if the situation was reversed and you were the one shut in. What would you want folks to do for you? -- do that for them. We are to "rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." Many are anxious to do the first, but what about the second?
There are many things we can do for the shut-ins of our communities, but the greatest of all is that we can take Christ to them. Has the love of God been shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit? Then let some of that love overflow into the life of the shut-in who lives just down the street or around the block or down the road. Some of these precious souls are ripe for the Gospel. Won't you "remember them?" You rejoice in the Gospel of Christ; give them that opportunity too. "To do good and to communicate forget not." "Remember them that are in bonds."
Your Editor,
Art Gordon
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HE'S SO NEAR, RIGHT NOW
"He is near that justifieth me . . . "
Isaiah 50:8
He's so near, right now: --
He's all I need and long for;
His presence fills and makes my heart o'erflow,
His love enfolds and binds me tightly to Him:
I know not why this Jesus loves me so!
He's so near, right now: --
He's here, so close beside me;
His tender eyes are looking down on me,
And I can hear Him say, "I love you dearly."
How can I help but whisper, "I love Thee!"
He's so near, right now: --
And Oh, I have to tell Him!
I could not live without His Presence sweet,
His smile, His voice, His love, His hands so nail-scarred,
Are everything that make my life complete.
He's so near, right now: --
And Oh, He'll never leave me!
I'll always have His tender love, His grace,
And if on earth He is so very precious,
What will it be to look upon His Face!
-- Yvonne Virginia Smith
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THE SHUT-IN BELIEVER
The fifth of a series on THE SHUT-INS OF THE BIBLE
By Louis Paul Lehman
THE BEST known of all the shut-ins of the Bible was a rich man of great power and reputation who was brought down to nothing except the miserable tenancy of a pain-racked body. The story of Job indicates that our physical and financial and material circumstances are sometimes more deeply a part of our spiritual life than we know, for the spiritual battle that is going on may bring its results into even our physical conditions. Such was the case of Job.
God has found Job a perfect man, and Satan desired to prove that Job was a hypocrite. The final strategy of Satan was aimed against Job's body, with the limitation set by God that Job's life must be spared. I can imagine the difficulty for a man in the midst of physical pain to appreciate the spiritual issues at stake in his boils and leprosy. There is only one thing of which he is definitely sure, and that is that he is sick. This picture of Job and his physical affliction leaps at us from Job 2:7 and 8: "So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and he sat down among the ashes."
It is not infrequent that a shut-in, afflicted person must bear his trouble alone as did Job: his wife admonished only. "Curse God, and die." It is not unthinkable that she wished herself to be the widow of a poor man rather than the wife of one who was also sick, for a widow might find another rich man, but the wife could do nothing but face the expenses of sickness and the hopelessness of poverty. Job's friends who came to behold him were stricken with the amazing change in his appearance from the days of his health and affluence, and for seven days and nights could only sit and look at him, absolutely speechless. As is usual with protracted illnesses, they were at first overwhelmed and then, accustoming themselves to the situation, tried to deal with it logically and philosophically, only adding to the burden rather than making it easier. Many a shut-in has dealt with the same problem: not only the pain of his affliction, but the problem of friends who offer only advice and give only sympathy without either spiritual strength or understanding.
If all shut-ins could be assured that like Job they would weather the storm, recover their health, grow richer and greater than ever, it would probably afford tremendous psychological benefit: but no such assurance can be given to even one shut-in. But Job did not know anything of his future happiness when in this horrible condition of misery and despair. It was out of the sufferer's pain and hopelessness that the great lessons were learned and the great truths established in Job's heart and mind, out of the crucible of agony and not out of the sweet cup of restoration.
There are three great convictions which seize Job's heart and mind and take form and shape under this miserable lot. It is perfectly possible that at least the first two were in Job's mind and heart before his time of trouble. Many of us drift along in some kind of faith and understanding of spiritual things; but when the pressure is on and the foundations are being tried you get those half-hidden thoughts out into the public view where you can see them and express them to your own satisfaction: First, Job's confidence in God's Purposes: "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15).
It is one thing to trust God when He is providing what you want and need, but when He withholds or withdraws the blessings you think you need, it is then you must have confidence that God purposes good toward you. It is this moment of confidence which turns over the reins of your life from your hands to God's hands: it is unthinkable that He is the Lord of your life unless you have confidence that even in sorrow and sickness and suffering He means and purposes your highest and best good. If you do not believe His Word when He declares that He loves you or if you imagine His love some perverted emotion and do not rightly esteem the Cross of Christ and the mercy of God, there is nothing in the world that can make you surrender to God with utter abandon. But if you do believe that God loves you, therefore cannot purpose anything but what will eventually gladden your heart and delight your soul and work your eternal glory, then you can cry with the shut-in of the ash-heap, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him"
Second: There was a confidence in God's Program: "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:25 and 26). This is a tremendous faith for a man whose body is gradually decaying and is face to face with the reality of death. Believing this he can afford to be quite detached from the present situation of his body, for he comprehends the program of God as including a resurrection and a final rightness. It is easy to understand how a sick, dying man without this faith and hope clings with all the tenacity of his will to the poor little carcass that is distressed with pain and miserable with disease. He has nothing else to cling to: but the confidence that God's program does not close down with the falling sod on the box in its little hole in the ground causes a man to climb above the agonies of his torturous dying and salute the morning with the smile of joy.
Third: A confidence in God's Person: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee" (Job 42:5). The contrast is not between ears and eyes, but between "of thee" and "thee." It is the difference between information and personal relationship. Such a distinction may indeed come by the way of the closed door and the miserable body. It is not necessary to have physical affliction to come to this confidence, for it is actually the message of the Gospel which brings this knowledge: not Christ as a person of history, but Christ as personal Saviour to those who believe. Yet some never think, never care to think, never are quiet enough to think, until God holds them physically incapable of doing anything but hearing and seeing Himself. It is also true that any physical incapacity would be lost indeed if it did not teach us some spiritual lesson. It is not only a tragedy that many people are wasting their health on sin, some are even wasting their ill-health on sin, for their shut doors even shut out the Saviour. But what a blessed privilege and what a glorious profit they have made of their affliction who use the infirmities of life as a communion chamber in which to learn more of heaven, who employ the limitations of their body to see more of Him who is Infinite, who from the bitter cup of illness have learned how to drink the pleasures of His presence, who quibble not at the inconveniences of bodily handicaps because they thus learn the secret of spiritual capacities.
(From "The 'Shut-ins' Of The Bible," copyright 1961 by the Author,
published by BIT OF HEAVEN MINISTRY, Grand Rapids, MI.)
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DEWDROPS
Hosea 14:5
Have you felt the shower of His sweet refreshing love?
It falls like dewdrops from the Heavens above;
After trial when the heart is bleeding sore,
The gentle dewdrops of His love outpour
And heal the hurt and aching heart,
And drive away the grief, and sooth the smart.
-- Yvonne Virginia Smith
JUST THINK
Just think:
Of being on Somebody's heart each moment of the day;
Of being cared for, kept, in a very special way;
Of being watched and guarded by Someone Who's never far,
But Who holds you closely to Him with one hand upon a star.
Just think:
Of being drawn to Someone's side and finding it is torn;
Of gazing on a brow that was pierced with crown of thorn;
Of being led by a hand, and finding a nail-scarred one;
Of being loved by a Friend, and finding it is God's own Son!
-- Yvonne Virginia Smith
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IN THE WATERS
By Louis Paul Lehman
PETER MARTIN, an old man at Helston, Cornwall, was 97 years old. His wife was 94. He had been a sexton for 65 years. Peter Martin talked about John Wesley -- "remember him well." The old man was fond of telling one story.
"I first heard him 74 years ago. Wesley was preaching in the street. But I had one experience with him while working at the London Inn. Wesley came in a carriage driven by his servant who did not know the road farther west."
Peter Martin was employed to drive the carriage to St. Ives. At Hayle, the sands over which they had to pass were overflowed by the rising tide. Wesley determined to make it. At the water's edge they hesitated, and the captain of a vessel tried to dissuade them.
Wesley called, "Take the sea! Take the sea!
They started, Martin was in a world of waters, trying to maintain the saddles. The horses were plunging in the waves. Carriage wheels were going down into deep pits and hollows in the sands. At crisis-point, Peter Martin heard Wesley's voice. "I turned my head with difficulty, and I saw the long white locks dripping salt water over his countenance, but he calmly looked forth from the carriage window undisturbed. He called, 'What is your name, driver?' 'Peter,' I shouted.
" 'Peter, Peter, you shall not sink. Fear not!' "
Spurring the horses with rough riding they made it through. "I will always think of it as a miracle," said Peter Martin, "and we went on to St. Ives without further hindrance."
You can almost imagine the scene of Wesley looking forth from that carriage window. Then I think of another who journeys with us. These are troublesome days. We are overwhelmed on every hand. It is like handling plunging, frightened horses; but do not forget the One who rides with the children of God. It is wonderful to be a Christian and have Christian fellowship, but we also have a Heavenly Passenger in the carriage.
He does not ask our name, for He knows us, and says "Fear not, Mary," or "Jim," or "Bill," or "Sally." "Fear not, you shall not sink!"
Wesley was a great man, but Jesus is the Christ of God in whose hands the waters are held. Let His Word of assurance and love quicken your faith, and you can walk on or drive on through the midst of the flood. The carriage of God's purpose shall not be upset by the tides of earth. God will make His appointments on time. "Feat not!"
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THIS IS MY BELOVED
"Yea, He is altogether lovely . . . "
(Song of Solomon 5:10-16)
The darkness fades, and dawns the morning bright,
An angel puts out each last twinkling star,
And all the earth is filled with radiant light;
But there is One to me Who's brighter far.
A small bud opens in the springtime sun,
And lo, a rose of beauty blossoms there!
But in my heart of hearts there liveth One --
The Rose of Sharon -- far more sweet and fair.
A box of alabaster, shattered, spills.
And all its scented fragrance fills the room,
But I know One Whose Name my being thrills,
Far sweeter than earth's finest, rate perfume.
His head is like unto the finest gold,
His locks are bushy speaking of His strength;
His eyes like doves', the tend'rest love do hold,
And tell love's breadth, its depth, and height and length.
His cheeks are as a bed of spicy flowers,
His lips, like lilies, drop with liquid myrrh;
And when He speaks to me in quiet hours,
He all my heart and mind and soul doth stir.
His hands, as gold rings set with chrysolite,
Are marred and pierced by sin's condemning nails;
His form of sapphire and of ivory bright
Reveals the Sinless One Who never fails.
His legs like pillars, marble on fine gold,
Magnificent as Lebanon He stands;
Majestic is the Son of God from old;
And I am graven there upon His hands.
His mouth, most sweet, tells o'er and o'er His love,
Until, enraptured with this Christ Divine,
My heart cries out with praise to God above --
This ALTOGETHER LOVELY ONE is mine!
-- Yvonne Virginia Smith
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"I'M A POOR SINNER"
CHARLES H. SPURGEON used to tell years ago the story of a huckster. His name was Jack and he was one of the happiest men in London. He went about singing a little verse:
I'm a poor sinner, and nothing at all,
But Jesus Christ is my All in all.
Those who knew him were astonished at his constant composure. They had a world of doubts and fears, and so they asked him why he never doubted. "Well," said he, "I cannot doubt but what I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all, for I know that and feel it every day. And why should I doubt that Jesus Christ is my All in all? For he says He is." "Oh!" said his questioner, "I have my ups and downs." "I do not," says Jack; "I can never go up, for I'm a poor sinner, and nothing at all; and I cannot go down, for Jesus Christ is my All in all."
He wanted to join the church, and they said he must tell his experience. He said, "All my experience is that I am a poor sinner and nothing at all, and Jesus Christ is my All in all." "Well," they said, "when you come before the church meeting, the minister may ask you questions." "I can't help it," said Jack, "all I know I will tell you, and that is all I know --
I'm a poor sinner, and nothing at all,
But Jesus Christ is my All in all."
He was admitted into the church, and continued with the brethren walking in holiness; but that was still all his experience, and you could not get him beyond it. "Why," said one brother, "I sometimes feel so full of grace, I feel so advanced in sanctification, that I begin to be very happy." "I never do," said Jack, "I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all." "But then," said the other, "I go down again and think I am not saved, because I am not sanctified as I used to be." Said Jack, "I never doubt my salvation, because Jesus Christ is my All in all, and He never alters." The old huckster knew the secret of the Gospel and of true Christian experience, which is "Not I, but Christ."
-- Selected
(From "3000 Illustrations for Christian Service" by Walter B. Knight,
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids MI)
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In the center of the circle
Of the will of God I stand:
There can come no second causes,
All must come from His dear hand.
All is well! For 'tis my Father
Who my life hath planned.
-- Author unknown
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SERMON SERIES
Romans 8
No. 2
FREEDOM
by the law . . .
from the law . . .
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made
me free from the law of sin and of death."
Romans 8:2
FREEDOM! A word that is cherished by most people, whether they have it or not. Our nation was founded under this banner by noble men who had enough of tyranny. "Give me liberty or give me death," was their cry.
But liberty without law is absurdity. So our fathers established a system of law not equaled anywhere else in the world to preserve and advance our freedom. They exchanged the law of tyranny in the old world for the law of liberty in the new.
It is expressed thus:
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death."
Two laws: "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," and "the law of sin and death." We shall look at the last one first.
THE LAW OF SIN
"The law" in both occurrences here indicates "a given principle acting uniformly." We are familiar with the "law of gravity." No matter how many times an object is dropped it always falls down to the ground. This is the law of gravity in action. Gravitational pull is always down, never up. So it is with "the law of sin and of death." Sin always pulls downward and always ends in death. It is a law written into the warp and woof of the human family just as surely as the law of gravity is an integral part of this globe on which we live. There is no getting around the fact.
And what's worse, sin is woven into the spiritual fabric of every individual on the face of the earth. "There is none righteous, no, not one . . . there is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one . . . for all have sinned." The "law of sin and of death" operates in every human under the sun. Some would like to get rid of it, which is commendable. Some would ignore it or deny it. But the "law" remains. It cannot be ignored forever, it will not be denied. We must recognize and admit it, just as we recognize the law of gravity. The sooner we do, the better off we will be.
Paul describes the workings of "the law of sin and of death" in these words: "For that which I do I know not: for not what I would, that do I practice; but what I hate, that I do. So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me. For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practice. I see a . . . law in my members . . . bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members." (Romans 7:15, 17, 19, 23).
We dare not judge by outward appearances as to whether this law is operative in a man or not. Many men appear to be good and upright, and from our standpoint they are, but nevertheless this law is at work in their inner being. It is so of everyone, not only the criminal who is sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, but the judge who sentenced him. Both the obviously bad and the obviously good. It is a law of life and is present in the best of men; and the worst.
We observe this "law of sin and of death" at work in Judas Iscariot, our Lord's betrayer. No doubt Judas as a baby was just as cute and cuddly as any baby, loved by his parents and admired by the neighbors. Probably he was quite ordinary as a boy, mischievous, unpretentious. Even in manhood and as an apostle of Christ, he seems to have been outwardly respectable and trustworthy. He was appointed treasurer of the twelve and nowhere throughout the Gospels do we find any hint that he was ever suspected by the others of being anything but a loyal follower of Christ.
But in spite of his innocent exterior, Judas was a traitor and an adversary; Jesus said he was. The "law of sin and of death" was at work in his life. It came to the surface once in awhile. When Mary anointed Jesus' feet, Judas complained: "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and he had the bag."
This law working in Judas finally erupted into open rebellion. "Then entered Satan into Judas," says the record. "And from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him." And finally he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. "The law of sin . . . " "And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Before His betrayal Jesus had said. "Truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom He is betrayed." Indeed it was "woe unto" Judas. Recognizing his awful sin, Judas threw down the blood money in the temple, "and went and hanged himself . . . and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."
But even this wasn't the end of the story. "Judas by transgression fell," said Peter, "that he might go to his own place." What was "his own place?" The same place where all will end who have "the law of sin and of death" operating in them. Physical death? Yes, but more. Eternal death is their appointment as well, called in the Revelation, "the second death." "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
You, like Judas, may be ever so respectable outwardly. You may be elected by your friends number one citizen of the year. Nevertheless, in you like in everyone else operates that insidious principle of sin unto death. It may not break out into open revolt as did Judas' , and be recorded for all the world to see, it may not end in so tragic and spectacular a physical death, but you may be sure it is there and the end result will be the same. "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire -- second death." Sin -- death! An unchanging, immutable principle in every life. Eternal death is the appointed destiny of all as a result of sin. Unless . . .
. . . unless another and higher law comes into play. As with the law of gravity which can be counteracted by other laws, so with this "law of sin and of death."
THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT
There is another God-given law -- "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," which counteracts "the law of sin and of death." For centuries man was held glued to this earthly ball by the pull of gravity. It was not until the last couple centuries when man discovered the laws of aeronautics and aerodynamics and jet propulsion that he knew any freedom from the relentless pull of gravity. But with the discovery of these other laws man has soared into the starry heavens: free at last from the law that bound him to the earth.
Just so in the spiritual realm. The higher law will free man from the lower. No longer need mankind be hopelessly bound to sin and consigned to eternal death. the downward pull of sin and death must give way to the upward pull of "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." Man can -- if he will -- be free. Indeed the unchanging principle of sin and death is woven into the fabric of every person's life, but so is the all-powerful, life-changing principle "of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" available to every person. It is up to you. We might say that the law of gravity was counteracted by the law of the human will: man willed to go up, so he found a way. If you want your freedom from sin's power over you, you may have it. "Whosoever will may come." Come to Jesus.
Jesus said, "I am . . . the life." "I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." "He that hath the Son hath life." "This is life eternal that they might know . . . the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom (He) has sent." "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."
Everyone receives his natural life by natural birth. If we want spiritual life, it comes by spiritual birth. Jesus told religious Nicodemus one night: "Except a man be born again (or from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God . . . . Except a man be born of water (the Word) and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
So the order, at least from our standpoint, is: 1) "as many as received Him . . . them that believe on His name;" 2) "born . . . of God." Such individuals have a new law at work in their lives -- "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." This new law effectively overcomes the old one -- "of sin and of death."
Under the old, sin was the master and eternal death the result. Under the new, God the Holy Spirit is Master and eternal life the result. In such a life no longer does the sin principle reign, no longer is there a constant fearful looking for of death and judgment. Sin is no longer the rule, but the exception. The ruling principle now is the Spirit of life. The Spirit begets the new life and sustains it. It is the life of Christ. And it is this new life in Christ through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit that frees from sin's rule and death's terror.
The Apostle Peter is a good example. After he met Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit, his life was a constant witness to the operation of this law in the inner man. This is not to say that the old was eradicated. Every so often we observe it popping out in his conduct. He doubted the Lord on occasions; he vehemently denied Him once, with cursing; he forsook his call to the ministry at one point; he acted presumptuously and unwisely on several occasions. No, the old law was still there, but the new law was there too, and it was dominate throughout his life from the moment the Holy Spirit planted it in his heart. It held in check the old, and caused him to live consistently unto God and free from sin.
Even in death this principle shines forth. Jesus told Peter one day "by what death he should glorify God." What a contrast to the man Judas. Judas' death, like his life, was anything but God honoring. He lived his life under the influence and power of sin; Satan energizing him to do his most dastardly deed; and he died in dishonor and shame, separated from God forever. On the other hand, Peter lived under the influence of God the Holy Spirit; empowered by Him to live godly in Christ Jesus; and even in his death he glorified God, and departed to be with God forever.
Life may be yours in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit. It is your part to believe; God will perform the miracle of the new birth when you do. Life eternal becomes your immediate possession at that moment.
From then until you meet the Saviour face to face your life will be one of constant victory as you daily yield to the working of the Holy Spirit who dwells within you.
Freedom: by "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus"; from "the law of sin and of death."
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