Christ
is Victor
January/February 1999 Vol. 12, No.1
"A
Vessel with a Hole"
"And of his (Jesus’) fullness have all we received, and grace for
grace" (John
Drinking from the bottom of a vessel does not give you satisfaction because there may be too little there to satisfy you. Many of us seem to show that God is a poor person, as if He is only giving drop by drop. How is it that we are not able to see His fullness? We are not able to take of His fullness. A vessel with a hole in its side cannot be filled above that hole. It can never get full because there is a hole. If there is a second hole at the bottom, the water leaks out through that hole also. However much you pour into this vessel it will soon be empty.
"Of His fullness have we all received." I do not know how many tricks the devil uses to make holes in us. If you do not block those holes, that fullness will never be seen in us. Some people have a hole at the bottom of the vessel. Pride—spiritual pride- is that hole. Nothing can fill such a vessel. The very fullness of God cannot fill this vessel, as the hole is right at the bottom. All that is poured in will flow out.
How many mercies God has been extending to us! As we enter this New Year, let our hearts be full of gratitude for the innumerable blessings we have received from Him in 1998. The hymn writer says, "Count your blessings, name them one by one." If our hearts are full of praise, Satan cannot come close to us."
Fellowship with the Lord means, entering into His fullness and leaving many
things behind. There are things that hamper spiritual progress which must be
cast away. Only then you are ready for something more. So
"For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Col. 2:8 & 9). "You are complete in Jesus Christ." There is no question of an imperfect product. You are complete, you are perfect. Are we at least pressing on to perfection?
"And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fullness
of the blessing of the gospel of Christ" Romans
Let us be very careful. Static Christianity, stale Christianity, futuristic obedience, these are all big holes. Everything is drained away and nothing remains; no fullness. Are we getting into the full span of service? Very often I tell God, "Lord, you know my age. By this time I should have reached spiritual maturity. When will I grow into the full stature of Christ? We must go to the Lord and pray like this: "Lord, so many years are passing. Where is the fullness?"
Let us not be satisfied with our Christian life. Have you received of His fullness? Or, have you already become empty? Whose fullness are you getting? Let us be careful. It is not something we are working out amongst ourselves, but it is His fullness.
What you need is a clean vessel without any hole in it. The rest He will do. And all you have to do is to be clean through His grace and through His Blood. Be clean in your thoughts and dealings. Then the Lord will fill you with His fullness.
-- Joshua Daniel
"Cuff-
The Slave"
Cuff was a slave. He was a joyful Christian, and a faithful servant. His master, however, was in need of money, who was an infidel, came to buy Cuff. The price was agreed upon and the Christian slave was sold to the infidel. But in parting with him the master said, "You will find Cuff a good worker and you can trust him; he will suit you in every respect but one."
"And what is that?" asked the infidel.
"He will pray, and you can’t break him of it; but that is his only fault."
"I’ll soon whip that out of him," remarked the infidel.
"I fear not," said the former master, "and would not advise you to try it; he would rather die than give it up."
Cuff proved faithful to the new master, the same as he had to the old. The master soon got word that Cuff had been praying, and on calling him said, "Cuff, you must not pray any more; we cannot have any praying around here; never let me hear anymore about this nonsense."
Cuff replied, "O Massa, I love to pray to Jesus, and when I pray, I love you and Missus all the more, and can work all the harder for you."
But he was sternly forbidden to pray anymore under penalty of a severe flogging. That evening, when the day’s work was done, he talked to his God, like Daniel of old, as he had aforetime.
Next morning he was summoned to appear before his master, who demanded of him why he had disobeyed him. "O Massa, I have to pray. I Can’t live without it," said Cuff. At this the master flew into a terrible rage and ordered Cuff to be tied to the whipping post, and had his shirt off. He then applied the rawhide with all the force he possessed, until his young wife ran out in tears and begged him to stop. The man was so infuriated that he threatened to punish her next, if she did not leave him, then continued to apply the lash until his strength was exhausted. Then he ordered the bleeding back to be washed in salt water; had the shirt on and the poor slave was made go to his work. Cuff went away singing in a groaning voice:
"My suffering time will soon be o’er, when I shall sigh and weep no more."
He worked faithfully all that day, though in much pain, as the blood oozed out from his back where the lash had made long, deep furrows.
Meanwhile, God was working on the master. He saw his wickedness and cruelty to that poor soul, whose only fault had been his fidelity, and conviction seized upon him; by night he was in great distress of mind. He went to bed but could not sleep. Such was his agony that at mid-night he awoke his wife and told her that he was dying.
"Shall I call a doctor?" she asked.
"No, no; I don’t want a doctor—is there anyone on the plantation that can pray for me? I am afraid that I am going to hell."
"I don’t know of anyone," said his wife, "Except the slave you punished this morning."
"Do you think he would pray for me?" he anxiously inquired.
"Yes I think," she replied.
"Well, send for him quickly."
On going after Cuff they found him on his knees in prayer, and when called he supposed he was to be punished again. On being taken to the master, groaning, said, "O Cuff, can you pray for me?"
"Yes, blessed
Cuff was immediately set free. He never worked another day on the plantation. Master took Cuff and went out to preach the Gospel; they traveled all over, witnessing to the power of Christ to save to the uttermost. This is what the love of God does to a person. "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" Matthew 5:44.
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"New
Year"
As a New Year dawns, we stand before an open door. Looking through its arch, we see all things new. Every New Year is an adventure into which we must, as Abraham of old, go out, not knowing whither we go.
The famous St. Gotthard Tunnel through the
God makes your year a happy one-Not by shielding you from all sorrow and pain, but by strengthening you to bear it if it comes. Not by making your path easy, but by making you sturdy enough to tread any path. Not by taking hardships from you, but by taking all cowardice and fear from your heart as you need hardships. Not by granting you unbroken sunshine, but by keeping your face bright even in the shadows. Not by making your life always pleasant, but by showing you where man and his cause need you most and by making you zealous to be there and to help. Not by keeping you from battle, but by bringing you off every field more than conqueror through Christ who loves you.
Yesterday’s mistakes and failures can teach us wisdom and yesterday’s triumphs can suggest what is possible. We can make the year ahead glorious by following the footsteps of our Guide faithfully and steadfastly.
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"Frightened to Death"
Thousands of animals now a days are transported from place to place by plane. But mixed animal cargoes may be potentially hazardous.
"Several years ago an airline had a well-crated leopard from Java in the same compartment with a crate of canaries. The leopard, which normally preys on birds, growled ferociously all night, tearing at its cage, trying to get to the canaries. When the plane put down, every canary in the crate was dead- of fright.
The Christian must remember that his enemy, the roaring lion—the devil’ (1 Peter 5:8)—‘walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’ And thousands of Christians are frozen into complete shock when they hear the growling of their enemy, the devil.
But this is the blessed truth God wants all His people to know: the devil is a conquered foe; he is chained and caged; and though he can growl and bellow with a blood-curdling roar, he actually cannot harm the believer who is sheltered under the precious Blood of Christ. The only way the devil can claw and hurt the Christian is when the Christian gets away from his Lord and gets on the devil’s territory. Then the devil will claw him.
The place of safety for the believer is close to the Lord Jesus, with the heart centered on Him, and the will wholly subject to Him.
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Say What?
Life is like a coin; you can spend it in any way you
wish, but you can only spend it once.
Lost time is like the water that runs over the dam—it
never returns.
"The
Lean Year"
The story is told of an aged Scotch pastor who was asked to resign because there had been no conversions in the church for the entire year.
"Aye," said the old preacher, "it’s been a lean year, but there was one!"
"One conversion?" asked the elder. "And who was that?"
"Wee Bobbie," replied the pastor.
"That one lad had not only given his heart to Jesus that year, but he had also given his life to God for service. It was ‘wee Bobbie’ who, in a missionary meeting when the collection plate was passed for an offering, asked the usher to put the plate on the floor, then stepped into it with his bare feet, saying, "I’ll give myself- I have nothing else to give.’"
This ‘wee Bobbie’, we are told, became the world-renowned Robert Moffat, who with David Livingstone gave his life to the healing of the open sore of Dark Africa.
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"Be
Nothing to Have Everything"
"And the earth was without form, and void:…And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 2:2)
When the earth was without form and void the Spirit of God was able to create form, beauty and fullness. God commanded that the world should come into being. How exactly it came to be, we do not know. But God said it and it was done. Until a man becomes void and knows that he is without form in his heart, God cannot work on him.
Man must know that he is nothing and worthless. Prayer helps him to come to this knowledge. Before meeting Jesus, a man thinks he is a great person and wants to become still greater.
It is good to come to Jesus to know you are nothing. A man who prays very
soon comes to know that he can do nothing by himself. Jesus came to this
position. "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my
judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father
which hath sent me" (John
By yourself you can do nothing. Prayer teaches us to be as nothing before God. Moses said, "Who am I, that you should send me to Pharaoh?" If you think you can do something for God, God can do nothing with you. A true Christian comes to the place of saying, "Lord, I know nothing, I can do nothing. All that I have attempted for You before are nothing."
A devout lady who was serving God was praying that God should use her. She saw a white hand holding dirty rags and a voice said, "All your work is like filthy rags. Your righteousness and your service are like filthy rags." If you realise this, then God can take hold of you. God came when all was void and created the world. He created man in His own likeness. He wants to give man His nature.
The world has yet to see the spiritual energy that can come out of one man. We belong to the broken Christ, whose body was wounded, whose hands and legs were pierced. The Cross will make us feel we are nothing. As we pray we become smaller and Jesus becomes bigger and bigger till He fills the Universe.
Jesus can come into you because He was broken for you. The nothing that you are can blend with Him who is everything. People will see Christ in you. Your touch and words and life will be just like those of Christ.
Into the void came God and created the world. More wonderful than the world is man whom He created. Prayer makes us nothing before God. Into this ‘nothing’ comes God and makes us new creatures who are in the likeness of Christ.
--Late Mr. N. Daniel
Francis
Ridley Havergal
When she wrote the hymn with the words, "Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold", she was suddenly convicted of inconsistency.
She possessed an unusual collection of fine jewelry, mostly by gift or inheritance and an unusually fine jewel box.
She packed the jewel box with every piece of jewelry, except for half a dozen pieces which were special memorials of her loved ones, and sent it to her church missionary society. She also included a cheque to cover the value of the jewels she kept. She testified, "I never packed a box with such pleasure."
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