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 Joy (Front page poem by Carol Jantz)
The Guest (Second page article by Angela Gellenbeck)
Cain's Sacrifice (Third page article by James McMurrin )
Wisdom and Understanding Fourth page article by Earnest Moles
Editorials (From Editor Wayne Murphey)
Letters (Letters to the Editor)
Monthly Feature ( CYBERSPACE Exclusive!!!)
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bu Carol Jantz
Glory to God in the highest,
Peace on earth, good will toward men."
Sang the angels most divinely
Though there was no room in the inn.
"The fullness of the time" had come,
Our Lord in a manger lay,
The Light of the world appearing to us,
The darkness to vanish away.
Wherefore, God "so loved the world,"
"Gave His only begotten Son,"
That we can sing, "Joy to the world!"
None else was worthy, not one,
In Heaven nor on the earth below,
To be sacrificed for all sin.
Heaven was searched and earth
beneath,
Only CHRIST could atone for men.
Taking away our guilt and woe,
He offers a crown to win,
"Joy to the world the Lord is come."
And given His life for our sin.
-Carol Jantz
by Angela Gellenbeck
I would like to share some precious thoughts about the Holy Spirit. They came to me upon awakening and seemed to go like this:
The Spirit said quietly, "I am with you."
"Lord, do You just stay with me, night and day?" I asked.
"Yes, I live and abide in you. I will never go away, unless-"
"Unless what, Lord?"
And then He began to talk with me and remind me of all the things that Jesus has told us about the Holy Spirit, and share with me the knowledge that Paul and the other apostles have given us concerning the Holy Spirit.
To begin with, I thought of how Jesus was sent to earth to do His Father's will. (Hebrews 10:5-10.) After He had accomplished and finished His Father's work, He returned to heaven to sit at His Father's right hand-the right hand of power, authority, intercession and distribution. (Mark 16:19, Ephesians 1:20-23, 4:8-11, Philippians 2:5-11, Hebrews 1:3, 4:14-16, 9:24, 10:24.)
The next step was that God the Father, in fulfillment of His promise (Joel 2:28), sent the Holy Spirit, by His Son, Jesus, and in Jesus' name (John 14:26), to indwell and empower the believers on earth to do the work they would thus be sent forth to do. Jesus was sent, the Holy Ghost was sent, and we are sent.
Jesus did nothing of His own (John 5:19-20, 8:28-29), and as the Father spoke, moved, worked and instructed Him, so Jesus spoke, moved and worked. The Holy Spirit, as the very essence and fullness of Jesus Himself, does not act on His own. (John 16:13.) Whatever He hears from Jesus, the Great Searcher of all hearts, (Romans 8:27, Revelation 1:14), and the Head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23), all authority and power having been given unto Him by His Father (Matthew 28:18); so the Holy Ghost speaks, moves and directs. As believers, we can do nothing on our own. (John 15:5.) Our work is fruitless, our labors are vain, and nothing good can come from our efforts without the direction, leadership and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The apostles watched Jesus until He was out of sight, and then remembered that He had said, "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:49.) They could not go another step in the work of God until He came. They had no power. No doubt the void left in their lives by the departure of Jesus left them so earnestly longing, seeking and desiring for this One who would come and fill them with the very spirit and power of their dear Master, that they fell on their knees in one accord in the upper room, until He had come. For ten days (Jesus ascended forty days after Passover; Pentecost was fifty days after Passover-this leaves ten days) they fasted, prayed and tarried, entreating, supplicating, no doubt humbling themselves, becoming of one mind, laying down SELF and personal ambitions, dying to every desire except for that one all-consuming thirst and passion for the LIVING WATER.
Oh! What would happen if every soul sought for the Holy Ghost in this manner! If we casually, idly, half-in and half-out, every now and then, make a flimsy show of seeking for sanctification, as we call it, as if it were a thing to be had-when in truth He is a PERSON, our Master, our Life-is it any wonder that we sometimes go for months or even years and never see any answer or change or movement, and no infilling by the Holy Spirit? Is it any wonder why we then begin to doubt the whole thing?
We need to keep an earnest, seeking heart for this precious heavenly Guest to come and dwell in us, and when we reach the point of a perfect consecration, where we know and God knows that we are fully and totally His, He will put that sacred seal upon what is now completely His-that seal, the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13-14, II Timothy 2:19, 21.) Only then can we have the faith to grasp the promise and believe and receive the Holy Spirit.
Who is He and what does He do in our lives? He is the Comforter. (John 14:15, 15:26, 16:7.) The Greek word for Comforter, parakletos, means intercessor, advocate and consoler. Only as Jesus had suffered as humans suffer, could He become the High Priest, and our Intercessor to the Father; even so the Holy Spirit, coming by Jesus and through Jesus, could only now be, because of the sufferings of Calvary, that Comforter and Advocate. Now He could know what we feel; now He could identify with humanity. (Hebrews 2:16-18.)
In His office as Comforter and Intercessor, He is the Helper. He helps our weaknesses and infirmities. (Romans 8:26.) The Holy Spirit, coming to our aid at this time of prayer, knows us in our deepest needs and He knows how to express those needs, when we can't, to our High Priest, Jesus. Jesus, thus communicating withus by the Holy Spirit, communicates and pleads for us to His Father. The Holy Spirit also expresses the will of the Father to us and causes us to pray an inspired prayer in accordance with the very mind of God. As the Holy Spirit inspires us to pray the very mind and will of God, God is then able to answer that prayer and work that will in our everyday lives. (Romans 8:26-27, John 15:7, I John 14-15, Philippians 2:13.) It is an unbroken circuit of Divine communication between us, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; for our good and in our behalf, for the Father's glory and purpose, and for the further completion of His will.
James McMurrin
"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." Genesis 4:3-5.
Those who have heard the story of Cain and Abel, know how that God accepted one sacrifice, and not the other. How many, though, have assumed that Cain did not offer a sacrifice? It is too easy to say, "Well, he didn't offer anything that was much of a sacrifice," or "His heart wasn't right." Some may say that God would have accepted it if Cain had been sincere, and if it had been a "real" sacrifice.
It must be pointed out that Cain did make a sacrifice. It was one in which he had put much effort. Only one thing was wrong with his sacrifice: it wasn't the one God wanted. No matter how much it meant to Cain, it meant nothing to God. His effort meant something to God, but God wanted more; He wanted a particular kind of sacrifice. In the end, it was not the lack of a sacrifice that caused Cain to fall, but it was a lack of obedience to God's wishes.
How many of us today make the same sort of sacrifice? How many of us assume, that if we just make a sacrifice to God, He will accept it and bless us for it? If we can say, "I am doing this for God," then we "score points" somehow. We can be totally sincere about the sacrifice, but if it is not what God wants, we will be in mortal danger.
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in that name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-23.
Here we see an awful trap. There will be people on the Judgment Day who think their good works and their sacrifices guarantee them a place in heaven. They will find differently. I pray it doesn't happen to any of us.
Too many think that God on His throne will be some sort of Santa Clause asking, "Have you been a good little boy or girl?" In truth, He will be a Father, asking, "Did you do what I told you to?" Let us earnestly seek God in our lives so that we can make a sacrifice which is more than just the sacrifice of Cain. Let it be the obedient sacrifice of Abel.
Earnest Moles
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:
and with all thy getting get understanding." Prov. 4:7.
We need wisdom to set things in their proper place and get ready for the road of life. "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death." Prov. 14:27. Then when we get understanding it is like fuel for the car. We all know that a car won't perform without gas. Neither will we get over the hills of life without understanding to propel us.
"For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." Prov. 8:11. As we journey, with understanding being our energy, we need to keep wisdom on board to guide us. Wisdom will lead us to heaven. You just can't separate wisdom and understanding and have success. Wisdom will establish your goings and understanding will cause you to press. "And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure." Isa. 33:6.
So let us use wisdom and understanding to press our way into the Kingdom of God. Once we are in the Kingdom, let us use wisdom and understanding in following all of God's instructions and thus make heaven our home.
by the editor
Greetings to all of our readers, each of whom we value greatly. Let me share a verse in I Thessalonians which contains only two words, but is full of exhortation. It says, "Rejoice evermore."
On the morning of Nov. 6th, the day after the presidential election, I went to get the mail for the Print Shop. As I was leaving the Post Office, I met a man I often see there. The man rarely speaks to me, but on this occasion, he offered a cheery hello. I thought, "This man is very happy. He is probably glad the president won a second term. I dare say he voted for President Clinton."
The next morning as I walked out of the Post Office, I met another man I see now and then, but with whom I never recall having spoken. He also offered a congenial greeting. I thought, "I wonder if he voted for President Clinton?" Then it came to me so forcibly, "When it comes to being happy, the Christian doesn't have to take a back seat to anyone."
There are those who look forward to what President Clinton has promised them. It remains to be seen, however, if he will deliver on what he has said he would do. Regardless of his effectiveness, we can have the assurance that God will care for our needs. Not one promise He has made us will go unfulfilled. "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments. . . ." Deut. 7:9
Many people were very happy when the candidate they voted for won office in the last election. It was a time of relief for them when it was finally settled and they could lay their apprehensions about the outcome to rest. One concern we need never have is that God will lose His position. He is Lord of the universe and always will be. If an election were held between God and the devil for the office God has occupied so long, there is some question in my mind as to whether this nation, with its current trend, would elect God over Satan. But if a vote was held, would you campaign for God with all your strength, and sigh with relief when He came out on top?
There is no threat to God's position of sovereignty, but let us campaign for Him just as though there were, because it may mean the difference between heaven and hell for many souls. And let us be just as joyful as if God had recently won reelection.
We will soon have in stock and ready for sale, bound volumes of the 11 issues of the Faith and Victory paper for the year of 1996. The price is $1.00 per book, plus $1.25 for postage and handling. Also soon to be in stock are the 1996 Beautiful Way yearbooks for Juniors (52 papers for the year) at $1.00 each, plus 90¢ for postage and handling. The limited supply of these books will be sold on a first-come basis.
Wall calendars for 1997 are now in stock and ready for sale. Featuring a colorful nature scene with a Bible verse for each month, the calendars make nice Christmas gifts. They measure 7 1/4" X 13 1/2" and are available for the cost of $3.00 each, which includes postage and handling.
Income tax time is right around the corner. If you have contributed to this work during 1996 and need a receipt for the purpose of deductions, please let us know.
This will be the last issue of the Faith and Victory for the year of 1996. We wish everyone a spiritually prosperous and happy holiday season. Amid all the activities this time of the year brings, remember that the Christmas celebrated in the heart is the truly rewarding one.
-Wayne Murphey
by the readers
KY-Brother Wayne Murphey: Greetings from a humble servant of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May His mercy and grace entreat your heart unto righteousness for His name's sake.
We have enclosed a check for you to wire to Brother Titus Enu in Nigeria, to help with his car repair needs, and whatever else he may need it for in his work of the ministry. When I read his article the other morning, my heart was immediately moved by the Holy Spirit. God spoke, and I shall obey.
The Lord knows that I often have been hesitant to obey immediately when He speaks, but He is so long-suffering and merciful with me. He just keeps on "training me up," so I will be sure and choose His way. I am so thankful that He is such a good "Dad!" Lately, however, I have been working to bless Him by submitting and obeying Him with a cheerful heart and a willing spirit. And what a blessing I receive in return! "Joy unspeakable, and full of glory!" are the only words I can think of to describe it.
The last time we wrote, we were in Colorado, but the Lord has brought us to Kentucky now, and we are blessed! He gave me my job back with a very good company that I worked for before in Colorado, and we are thankful.
There is a need here for helping unwanted children, and children in bad home situations. We desire to help them, and we ask for like-minded prayers to receive God's blessings and guidance in this matter of service. So far, most of them seem to be found through the D.S.S. or C.P.A., and we are very apprehensive about these agencies, based on experience and research. But, God IS greater than even them, "...And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18. I realize Jesus was speaking of Peter the rock, and of the Church being built upon the rock, and I also see that He (Jesus) is the rock, that Peter and the Church are to be "built" upon.
Anyone in construction or farming, who has ever had to move imbedded rocks, knows how well established they are. So we are to be; well established. Thus we will have the foundation for a right relationship with the Lord, and with each other. "...And the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." John 10:3-4. Let us all be exhorted daily to hear our Shepherd's voice, who calls us by name. Hallelujah!
In service to the Lord,
-David and Christine Koenig
NC-Dear Bro. Wayne and saints: Once again we give thanks to our God for His many blessings. We trust that all are doing fine in the Lord.
My daughter is thinking about getting saved. She is reading her Bible now, and she said that she wants to get saved the Bible way. So pray much for her as I am praying also.
I shared my book, The Cleansing of The Sanctuary, with her, and it started her to thinking about her soul.
Also, pray that the Lord will work out a project that she is trying to get started. She believes it will get started if no one else has it on the market.
Thank you for your prayers for me and my family. We can always count on the saints of God.
In Christian love, -Sis. Julia Holt
KS-Dear Bro. Wayne and brethren: I just want to testify to still being saved, and that my soul is yet satisfied. Truly, this glorious salvation is all complete and perfect. It supplies what God intends for man to have. I am still enjoying my journey to heaven and mean at all cost to arrive there safely.
Many things are happening and different changes are taking place but since God never changes, we can feel safe in His everlasting arms. I praise God for real security and a divine assurance that no matter what happens, God will care for us and keep our soul from harm.
-Sis. Shirley Knight
AZ-Dear Bro. Murphey: From the Lord to me to you; grace, mercy and peace.
I am writing to ask if you would send my brother, Tony Davis, a copy of the November issue of the Faith and Victory. I also ask that the saints pray for him. My brother has had a difficult life and has for many years been ensnared by the deceit of drugs and fornication. He is currently in jail in Phoenix, Arizona. This is not the first time he has been there either. The last time he was in jail, he told me that he gave his life to the Lord. Unfortunately, the Lord was nothing more than a handkerchief, because as soon as he got out of jail the Lord was forgotten. This time when he was caught, he faced up to ten years in prison. By the Lord's mercy he was sentenced to some time in jail, and then a drug rehab program. When I found out that he went to jail again, I began to seek the mercy of God on his behalf. I told the Lord I would be at the foot of His throne every day until my brother had a real experience of complete salvation. Praise the Lord! Again, I say, praise the Lord! I praise Him for He has delivered my brother. After receiving a letter from my brother, I wrote back to him. In the letter, I reminded him of how he has used and mistreated the Lord and those who care about him. To say the least, I rode him pretty hard. After I sent the letter, I was curious to see his response. Praise the Lord! He wrote back an uplifting and encouraging letter that persuades me to believe the Lord has answered my prayers. So now I pray daily that the Lord will keep and direct him, and I ask the saints to join me....
Again, I thank the Lord for your service to Him. May He richly bless your life.
Your brother in Christ Jesus,
-Don Elwell
The following is taken from the November Lamp of Youth. Subscription to this publication is free. If you are interested in having it mailed to you on a by monthly basis please send you postal adress to our email accoun t at faithpub@wildstar.net.
Just For Today
There are three days-yesterday, today and tomorrow. Each person in the world lives in one of these three days. Some are living in the present, some in the past, and some in the future. Where we are living with respect to time has a great influence upon our lives. Perhaps we do not know just where we are living. It might pay us to make a careful examination and see whether the past, the present or the future is bulking most largely in our thoughts and conversation.
Those who live in yesterday are living on memories. Yesterday is gone forever. We can never recall it. I once knew a home where the wife had died. It was a gloomy place. The husband was a gloomy man. He had tired to leave everything in the home as nearly as possible as his wife had left it. The musical instrument had been untouched. This man was living in the pat. All his brightness, joy, love and happiness were in the past. The present meant nothing to him. The future held no hope. On the journey of life he was walking backward. His gaze was ever behind him.
Many are like this man. Their circumstances may be different, but they are facing the past. Their only joys are the memory of past joys. Their sorrow over past troubles, mistreatments, losses, failures and sins shrouds their lives in gloom. Why should we keep these memories ever present with us? Bring not the cares of the past, its regrets, sorrows, or anything from it that can cast a gloom upon our today, into the lives we are now living. Yesterday is only a memory. Let us carefully cover its scars. Let us not exhibit them to the world. Let us not be ever looking upon them and thinking over them. Paul's example is a good one to follow, "Forgetting that which is behind I press forward." We should let yesterday be yesterday. Someone has said, "The tears of yesterday are like passing showers." After the shower should come sunshine. After yesterday's troubles should come forgetting. Yesterday's joys should be succeeded by the joys of today. let us not live in yesterday. Today is too full of opportunity. It is heavily laden with good things. Let us dry the tears of yesterday. Let us turn to today.
Other people live in tomorrow. Their joys are the joys of anticipation, not of realization. True, anticipation has its real joys, but we should not picture a tomorrow so bright that it obscures today. We should not exalt tomorrow so much that today loses its meaning. The hopes of tomorrow, the bright pictures we paint, are not reality. We know not whether they ever will be. Sometimes people cannot enjoy today because of their foreboding for tomorrow. Instead of filling the future with bright anticipations, they fill it with a thousand ghostly fears. They cross their bridges before they get to them and because they are ever looking at the bridges which their imagination pictures before them they cannot see the beauties inside the roadway they are traveling.
For them the flowers bloom in vain. The songs of the birds are not heard. The beautiful prospects on each side of their way are lost. The bridge ahead is what they see. Their attention is so focused on it that they have no eyes or ears for today. A writer said, "I am the champion bridge crosser. I not only cross them but I help build them." He has many relatives today scattered all over the world. They are in the same business. There fears of tomorrow are a blight of many todays.
Jesus, who understood life better than anyone else, said, "Take therefore no thought for tomorrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." His meaning is-do not live in tomorrow, do not borrow trouble. Live tomorrow when you get to it. Live in today. We know not what tomorrow will bring forth. When it comes it will take thought for itself. There will be time enough to meet its problems, to overcome its difficulties, to fight its battles, and to rejoice in its victories when we have reached them. Let us not neglect today for tomorrow.
Whittier says, "No longer forward or behind, I look in hope or fear, But grateful take the good I find, The best of now and here."
Our lives are wholly made of todays. Let us live in the time that is ours; make the best of it while we may. Let us enjoy its joys and do its work. Let us live to the full today, giving to the past and to the future only what is justly theirs and only what will profit us in the giving.
It is important that we properly meet things as they come. Someone has said, "Tomorrow we shall smile over today's worries; so why not begin today?" This is an excellent philosophy and well worth consideration. If adopted it will be a profitable rule of life.
If we are given now the strength and grace we shall need tomorrow we could not use it. It would profit us nothing. if we are strong enough for today, tomorrow need give us no concern. We shall be strong enough for it when it comes. Sufficient for today is God's way of giving. Suppose you try using today the strength and grace you had yesterday. Does it avail you anything? Then do not look for tomorrow's grace today, for if you had it today you could not use it either tomorrow or today.
We should not attempt to solve all the future's problems now or to see our way entirely clear before us. Face whatever is right a hand. Sometimes the difficulties of today have a way of projecting themselves into the future so that when we look forward we feel we never can bear what will be.
Perhaps a little more of my own experience may be helpful. When I was forced to remain bedfast my sufferings were very great. These continued month after month. The future loomed before me so dark, so discouraging, so hopeless, that I felt I never could face it. I asked myself, "How can I endure it?" I was appalled by the prospect. While I was in this melancholy state it seemed the Spirit of God drew near and whispered to me, "You do not have to live tomorrow now. You do not need to bear tomorrow's pain or suffering now. God knows what you can bear. He will not let more come upon you than you can bear. Live today, not the days that are before you."
I said within myself, "Yes, God knows what I can bear. He will not let that come which is too great for me. I will live today. I can bear this today. I will not think of tomorrow." And so again and again I said to myself, "I can bear it today." This attitude was a great help to me, and the sense of God watching over my life became much more real.
Yes, you can bear it today. Whatever your troubles, whatever your sorrow, whatever your perplexity, you will find a way of getting through today. When tomorrow comes there will be a way for tomorrow. Not long ago I was reading they hymn, "Lead, Kindly Light," and was deeply impressed by some of its ideas. The author says, "I do not ask to see the distant scene, one step enough for me." He had come to live in today. But was this a natural characteristic? By no means. He continues, "I was not ever thus.... I loved to choose and see my path." How human he was. How like the rest of us! But he learned the wisdom of living in today, until he could say, "One step enough for me." In confidence he close: "So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on, O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till the night is gone."
Today has enough for us to bear, enough for us to conquer, enough work for us to do. But we shall be sufficient for it. Many of our troubles of today will pass with today. We need not carry them into the future. We can meet our troubles of today as Abraham Lincoln met his. "Lincoln even when assailed by such anxieties and griefs as you never will know used to say, 'And this too will pass.'"
Yes, today will pass and tomorrow will come, and when tomorrow comes we shall have tomorrow's strength for its needs. Let us live today, in the strength that God gives, and not permit the shadows of yesterday or forebodings for tomorrow to hide the sunshine and beauty and gladness that come from trust and obedience today.
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