For Those Seeking The Truth & Dynamic Living

Christ is Victor

July/August 2010                                                                                     

Volume 23, Number 4

“Saying Sorry”

 

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:4)

 

“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.” (Matthew 18:1-5)

A little child does not consciously humble itself. It is a kind of an unconscious reflex. It just relates to the mother, even after being punished or corrected. But elder people do hold a little resentment. That resentment grows as they grow. It becomes a big mountain between them and God. Some people cannot remove that mountain. They try to remove only a part of it. The devil says, ‘It is enough now, you have done a great job. Removing all of it is not totally necessary. Let it be there.’ So once again that old root begins to grow. That mountain begins to grow. After some years they come back to the old state. The same anger, the same unforgiving spirit, the same resentment comes up with added vigor.

Some of you are very talented. But God is not able to use you because you find it very hard to humble yourself and say sorry. Jesus said sorry for all of us. The just died for the unjust. Should we not humble ourselves? There is something seriously wrong when I know where the light switch is and I do not want to turn it on. I have the power to turn it on and God has given me the direction to turn it on. If I am not willing to do it how could God use me? Why should God even admit me into heaven? If I am not prepared to say sorry and I like to put the blame on somebody else, my light goes out. If you feel you are right and the other person should say sorry, you are wrong. I should be the first one to say sorry. That is what the cross teaches us. Is there someone to whom you should say sorry? Is there someone with whom you are at loggerheads?

The Spirit of truth is in me. He is in you too. But the Spirit of truth is not in some of you. Is not that terrible? Even your entrance to heaven is in jeopardy. How many people struggle before they come out with all the truth? They will blame the circumstance or they will blame someone else. They will not acknowledge their fault. Is it the Spirit of truth? No! Let the Spirit of truth enter into you. Jesus said that He will guide you into all truth.

See, we have a lying spirit all round us—politicians, administrators tend to speak lies. Everywhere there is falsehood. But that is not the spirit that is within us. The spirit that is within us is the Spirit of truth. Whatever should happen to me, I must speak the truth. It does not matter who must speak the truth. Many of you know so much of truth. But is the Spirit of truth making you to live the truth?

Christ Jesus is the incarnate truth. He is the truth. He said, ‘I am the truth’. God wants to make you a guileless person, a truthful person. I have no fear to face anybody, because I can humbly tell the truth. So when I tell the truth, people believe it. It is amazing!

—    Joshua Daniel

 

“Reality Check”

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.” Psalm 14:1& 2

 

“Light Bulbs”

 

One of the history’s sharpest minds belonged to Thomas Edison, the great inventor. Despite only three months of formal schooling, Edison and his inventions changed the world forever. His secret? “One percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration,” as he put it; and he proved his definition by working days at a time, obsessed with his projects, neglecting family and friends, and stopping only for short catnaps. Failure never seemed to discourage him. When about ten thousand experiments with a storage battery failed to produce results, a friend tried to console him. “Why, I have not failed,” Edison quipped. “I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Of all his inventions, perhaps the most famous is the electric light. He devised the prototype, then spent two years looking for the right filament, sending associates to the jungles of the Amazon and to the forests of Japan. He even tried strands of red hair from a friend’s beard. Finally, he utilized carbonized thread, and it worked! The world gained electric lights.

Our light bulbs today have three parts to them. There is the glass itself—the bulb surrounding the filament. Inside the bulb is a mixture of gases, commonly argon and nitrogen. Finally, in the very center of the bulb, is the filament. Most filaments today are made of a very tough metal, and when electricity flows through them, they become very hot—about 4,500 degrees—making them glow and give off light.

Light bulbs bear a fascinating resemblance to you and me. There is the outside covering, the glass bulb, the body—the part people see. Inside, like invisible gases within the bulb, are our personalities. And at the very center of it all is that part of us that glows and enlightens—the human mind.

The mind is the sum and substance, the axis and pivot, of our existence. It is the base of operations, the core of our humanity. Our minds are the most important things about us, and our lives are simply the overflow of our thoughts.

Dale Carnegie was once asked on a radio program, “What is the biggest lesson you have ever learned’?” He quickly replied, “By far the most vital lesson I have ever learned is the importance of what we think. If I knew what you think, I would know what you are. Our thoughts make us what we are. Our mental attitude is the X-factor that determines our decisions. Emerson said: ‘A man is what he thinks about all day long.’ How could he possibly be anything else?”

Why? An old maxim states: “Thoughts produce acts, acts produce habits, and habits produce character” The Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius said, “Our life is what our thoughts make it.” Or as the Bible puts it, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)

— Selected

 

“Scotland’s Great King”

 

My heart was stirred as I heard A. H. Stewart tell a story of Scotland’s great king Robert Bruce. On one occasion he was fleeing from the English soldiers of King Edward. They were almost upon him, and he realized he was not maintaining the speed he should, so he left the path and started through the thick forest, hoping to escape. He ran mile after mile thinking that perhaps, at last, he had eluded the vengeance of his foes, when suddenly he heard a sound that caused his heart almost to stand still. It was the baying of his own bloodhounds. He knew the English had let loose his hounds and put them on their master’s track, and the animals that might be supposed to be doing Robert Bruce a favor in running him down were leading his foes to the place where he was hidden. He knew now that all was over with him, unless he was able to put something between himself and the dogs to throw off the scent.

Spent and worn, he toiled on several more weary miles until he came to a clear rapid mountain stream. He plunged in and then hastened down the stream a mile or so and came out on the other side of the forest. There he hid from the sight of his pursuers and listened as the hounds came to the water and ran up and down, baying and crying out for the scent. The water had washed it away. They were unable to follow their master, and Robert Bruce escaped from the vengeance of the enemy.

Oh, my friends, there is only one stream that will wash out the scent of sin, and that is the precious blood of Christ that cleanses from all sin. All who come to Jesus, all who trust in Him, are forever free from the judgment their sins deserve. So David tells us that the time came when it was impossible for him to hide his own sin, impossible to cover his own transgression, and he says, “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 3 2:5). We read that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

—Henry A. Ironside

 

“Endless Resources”

 

“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. “(Romans 8:6)

 

Here in the beginning of this chapter the life on the higher plane is differentiated from the life in the flesh. People who live in the flesh and work in the flesh get quickly worn out. Carnally minded men die. Very soon they come to the end of their resources. A machine, which is not properly lubricated, will not last long. Lubricating oil reduces frictional forces to the minimum and prevents metal coming into contact with metal and getting worn out. A carnal man who is not lifted into the higher plane in which Christ lived, with spiritual love and faith will not live long. The spiritual forces of love and faith prolong life and ennoble the quality of fruit you bear. A God-fearing man never comes to the end of his resources, because he is drawing upon the endless resources and the heavenly forces are sustaining him. To be carnally minded is death.

Once Mr. John was preaching on the theme “Faith as much as a mustard seed.” Even while he was preaching on this text, a sick woman was brought in by some Hindus from a neighboring village for healing. The woman was bitten by a snake. She was in the last convulsions which precede death. Mr. John said that this was a challenge to prove whether they had faith as much as a mustard seed or not. All the believers knelt down and prayed and the woman was healed. A man does not come to the end of his resources as long as he is spiritually minded.

“If ye live after the flesh ye shall die.” If we live after the flesh we die to usefulness. The spirit mortifies the low and destructive activities of the carnal mind. It keeps the physical body in tune to function by His spirit. “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live.” As soon as you are born of the Spirit, the carnal desires are kept in subjection and you have a spiritual guidance. As you obey that guidance, the human frame will last till God’s great purposes are fulfilled.

“Be not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit.” Life in the Spirit is full of praise to God. As you are praising, the spiritual buoyancy increases and lifts you into the presence of God. Suppose you pump hydrogen into a balloon. As it gets bigger, it goes higher. There is always buoyancy when you are praising. “Not slothful in business.” When a Christian does business, he sometimes likes to take liberties with God. “I will not study hard. I shall pray,” is the devil’s thought. God wants us to be equal to any one in business. There is no place in Heaven for lazy people.

In Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy. A spiritual man has a deep peace. God is with him and he goes on working till the work is done. “Joy in the Holy Ghost”. Joy is a great lubricant. It prevents frictional forces. Joy makes things very easy and much lighter. Do not think you are doing too much work. Through God you can do more. God says, ‘You are My son. Your capacity to do work will be like Mine.’ Though everything may be dark around you, you will be abounding in hope.

“Likewise greet the church that is in their house.” (Romans 16:5) There is a church in a house. What is a church? It is a place where true believers meet. When husband and wife meet in prayer with true devotion, they are a church. ‘Be careful about evil, but God is going to bruise Satan shortly.’ To St. Paul Satan is a defeated foe. Man is an inexhaustible power when in touch with God. The moment you are lifted from the carnal plane to the spiritual plane, you will receive great power. If you will obey God’s voice and let his word dwell in you, you will do his will and allow the higher spiritual ambitions to have right of way in your life. Nothing can prevent your prayers being answered. You will become an inexhaustible power and an endless resource.

— N. Daniel

 

“More Moravians”

 

Not long after the first Moravian missionaries had left for the West Indies, John Wesley, unconverted at the time, found himself aboard ship alongside another group of them. It was January 25, 1736, and the weather was rough. Three storms had already battered the boat, and a fourth was brewing. Wesley scribbled in his journal, “Storm greater: afraid!” But the Moravians were trusting God so simply and so completely that they evidenced no signs of fear, and they even persevered in their plans for worship service. In the middle of their singing, a gigantic wave rose over the side of the vessel, splitting the main-sail, covering the ship, pouring water like Niagara Falls between decks “as if the great deep had already swallowed us up.”

The English passengers screamed as the ship lurched and pitched between towering waves. A terrified Wesley clung on for dear life. But the German missionaries didn’t miss a note. Wesley, awestruck by their composure, later went to the leader and asked, “Weren’t you afraid?”

“I thank God, no.”

“Were not your women and children afraid?”

“No,” replied the man. “Our women and children are not afraid.”

Back in London, Wesley was so struck by their sturdy faith that he attended a Moravian meeting on Aldersgate Street on May 24, 1738. He later said, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given to me that He had taken away my sins, even mine.”

Wesley became a famous evangelist and social reformer, with the world as his parish. But he himself was won to Christ by the power of a small group whose faith in Christ was strong enough to keep them unflappable in a storm.

 

This newsletter is produced six times per year by the Laymen’s Evangelical Fellowship International. It is printed and distributed in the US, UK, Germany, Singapore, Canada, and Australia and is supported by unsolicited sacrificial gifts of young people. For a free subscription or for other enquiries, please contact any of the addresses below.

This Fellowship is an inter-denominational missionary and prayer group working for revival in churches and amongst students in several countries. We invite every layperson to become God’s ally in changing his or her corner of the world. We train people in evangelistic work and to be self-supporting missionaries.

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