A Winning Life

There is only one life that wins; and that is the life of
Jesus Christ. Every man may have that life; every 
man may live that life.

To explain what I mean, I must simply tell you a very
personal and recent experience of my own. I think I 
am correct when I say that I have known more than 
most men about failure, betrayals, dishonoring Christ, 
and falling short of that which I saw others attaining.

The conscious needs of my life, before there came a
new experience of Christ were these:

1 There were great fluctuations in my spiritual life of
feeling close to God and then far away. I saw other 
men doing as I was not doing. Those men were ex-
ceptional; they were in the minority. Why not me?

2 Another lack was in the matter of besetting sins. Yet
I had prayed, oh, so earnestly, for deliverance and the
deliverance had not come.

3 A third conscious lack was in the matter of spiritual
power that would change others. I was not seeing re-
sults. I didn't see lives made over by Christ, revolution-
ized and turned into firebrands for Christ. Other men 
had such an impact, why not I?

About a year before I found myself intimidated by men
who seemed to have a conception of Christ that I did not
have. How could anyone have a better idea of Christ than
I? Did I not believe in Christ and worship Him as Savior
for more than 20 years? Did I not believe that in Him
alone was eternal life, and I had given up my whole life
to Him? Did I not ask His help and guidance constantly?
Was He not my only hope? I knew that I needed to serve
Him far better than ever, but that I needed a new concep-
tion of Him I would not admit.

Yet it kept coming to me from various directions. One day 
I came to know another minister whose work had been 
greatly blessed. He told me that his greatest spiritual asset 
was his habitual consciousness of the actual presence of
Jesus. His presence was with Him regardless of his failings. 
Moreover, he said that Christ was the home of his thoughts. 
Whenever his mind was free, it would turn to Christ. So 
real was the presence of his Savior.

Several months later in Edinburgh, I heard a man whose
opening statement set my heart to singing with a new joy.

'The resources of the Christian life, my friends, are just--
Jesus Christ.'

Later as I talked to the speaker he said to me, 'Oh, Mr.
Trumbull, if we would only step out upon Christ in a more
daring faith, He could do so much more.'

Before leaving Great Britain I was confronted once more
with the thought that was beyond me, a Christ I did not
know. The text was Philippians 1:21: ' To me to live is 
Christ.' It was the same theme--the unfolding of 'the life 
that is Christ,' Christ as the whole life and the only life. I 
did not understand all that he said, and I knew vaguely 
that I did not have as my own what he was talking about.

A few months later a Bishop spoke to us on the Water of 
Life. He told us it was Christ's wish and purpose that every 
follower of His should be a wellspring of living, gushing 
water of life all the time to others--a continuous irresistible 
flow.

The next morning, alone in my room, I prayed it out with 
God, as I asked Him to show me the way out. I studied the 
sermon, 'For me to live is Christ,' then I prayed again. He 
gave me a new Christ--wholly new in the conception and 
consciousness of Jesus that now became mine.

Wherein was the change? To begin with, I realized for the
first time that there are many references to, Christ in you,
and you in Christ. Christ our life, and abiding in Christ,
are literal, actual, a blessed fact and not a figure of speech.
I had always known He was my Savior, but I thought of
Him as being external to me, one who was ready to come
close and stay by me giving me power and strength. At
last I realized that Jesus Christ was actually within. More
than that He had constituted Himself as my very life, tak-
ing me into union with Himself--my body, mind and spirit--
while I still had my own identity and free will. Was this 
not better than having Him as an external Savior: to have
Him, the Son of God, as my own very life? It meant that
I need never again ask Him to help me, but simply do His
work, His will in me, and with me and through me. What
He asked me to recognize was, 
I have been crucified with Christ,
and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ liveth in me.  Galatians 2:20
Charles G Trumbull

Reader, can you begin to grasp this? This is the best
news I have ever heard! In the next blog we will look
at a few more things.

A Story

A veteran missionary friend of mine told me that some
years ago the missionaries had said to each other that
their own daily lives were not of the sort described in
the New Testament as characteristics of the early
Christians. They did not know what the matter was; they
only knew that they longed for something they did not
have. So they agreed to go apart and lay the matter be-
fore God and ask Him to give them what they didn't
have. They did this. God took them at their word; and
my friend, consecrated Christian missionary and veteran
in the service of His Lord, came back a new man in
Christ, with a new life and with a new Christ.

He told of another missionary, a high spirited, high-tem-
pered young woman, about the whole matter. She saw
the truth, and was enabled of God to claim Christ in His
fulness as her Victory, by faith, in the same way.

A few months after my friend, then at a distance, received
a letter from this woman in which she told him her story.
'I wanted to write you at first, but I scarcely dared to, for I
was afraid it would not last. But it has lasted, and, oh, it is
just wonderful! Why, just as an illustration of what I
mean, do you know that not only for three months I have
not once slammed the door in the face of one of these stu-
pid Indian servants that used to get on my nerves so, but I
haven't even wanted to!'

And that was a miracle. Not keeping from slamming the
door--that is no miracle. Any ordinary, unsaved person
who is halfway decent can keep from slamming the door,
by setting his teeth, using his will, putting his hands be-
hind his back, and determinedly not doing what he feels
like doing. No, that is not a miracle. But to go three months
without once wanting to: without once feeling within your-
self that angry surge of irritation, of temper, that makes you
want to show your feelings...does not your heart tell you
that that indeed would be a miracle in your own life?

I don't know about you, reader, but most of us have people
in our lives who irritate on a regular basis. The story above
is truly remarkable. As the coming of our Lord draws near,
I am finding it more difficult, not less, to be in sweet fellow-
ship with the body of Christ, with my own family. I would
encourage you to go back over previous blogs. To many of
you the information is brand new.

Two Conditions

Last week we discussed the first condition which is to
surrender--every habit of your life, every ambition, every 
hope, every loved one, every possession, and yourself--
all these He must have if He is to make Himself not only
your Savior but your life. 

But this is only the first step. Perhaps you made this sur-
render long ago, and have been wondering why you did
not have the victory you longed for. The reason is that 
the Surrendered Life is not necessarily the Victorious Life. 
There is no victory without surrender, but there may be
surrender without victory. 

Once you have put yourself under His authority, then it 
be comes His responsibility, His--I say reverently--duty to 
keep you from the power of sin. He pledges to do so.
"Sin shall not have dominion over you."For you are 
not under law" (Where your works have something to do 
with it), "but under grace." (Where I do it all) Ro 6:14. 
Elsewhere He adds, "My grace is sufficient for you. 
2 Cor 12:9

So it is that our Lord has been waiting for you, not to pray 
for victory, but to praise Him for victory. Many surrendered 
Christians post-pone and prevent victory in their lives by 
praying for it, when Jesus is waiting for them to praise Him 
for it. We are not asking Him to make His grace sufficient 
for us. He tells us that it is already so; and it is our part 
simply to take Him at His word and say, "I thank you Lord."

Let us claim the whole blessed miracle of the Victorious 
Life by praying this sentence prayerfully, thoughtfully, reali-
zing the tremendous meaning of the words, and in our 
hearts praising God that it is true:
"I know that Jesus is meeting all my needs now, because 
His grace is sufficient for me." Charles G Trumbull

Reader, God says that "we are dead to sin"--have you ever
seen a dead man smoking? How ludicrous. But we are not
only dead to sin but, we are "alive unto God." Glory!

What Christianity?

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but
alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11

Is your kind of Christianity worth sending to the non-
Christian world?

I was a boy of thirteen when I first made a public con-
fession of Jesus Christ as my Savior; but it was not un
til twenty five years later that I knew that Jesus offered 
to anyone the power to have victory over sin. I was 
paralyzed by thinking that I must share in doing what 
only God can do. You see, Jesus makes two offers to 
everyone. He offers to set us free from the penalty of 
our sin. And He offers to set us free from the power of 
our sin. Both of these offers are made on the exact 
same terms: we can accept them only by letting Him 
do it all.

Every Christian has accepted the first offer. Many Chris-
tians have not accepted the second one. They mistakenly
think, as I did, that they must have some part in over-
coming the power of their sin; that their efforts, their 
will, their determination, strengthened and helped by 
the power of Christ, is the way to victory. As long as 
they mistakenly believe this they are doomed to defeat.

How did you accept Christ's offer of freedom from the
penalty of your sins? You took it as an outright gift. By
faith you let Him do it all. Will you not accept His offer 
of immediate and complete freedom from the power of 
your known sins, on the same terms, and do it now? 
This is just as much a miracle as the miracle of regener-
ation. And it is just as exclusively the Lord's work.

This is Christ's offer to us now and here--freedom im-
mediately and completely from all the power of known
sin. Listen to Romans 8:2: 'The law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and
death.' Are you rejoicing in Christ as your victory in 
this miraculous way? I am not speaking of sinless per-
fection. No. This miracle is sustained and continued in 
our life only by our continuing, moment by moment 
faith in our Savior for his moment-by-moment victory
over the power of sin. But He Himself will give us that
faith, and will continue that faith in us moment by mo-
ment. Charles G Trumbull

Reader, I did not hear about the victory over sins until
very recently. Trumbull is not the only writer on this
subject and when one studies Romans 6-8, and then
applies it ones self, it becomes obvious that Christ did
more than die for our sins, He has made a way for us,
enables us, to avoid sinning.
'"Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit" says 
the Lord.'

Suddenly

Suddenly and without warning a congregation in Texas
was mowed down. One family lost eight and three gen-
erations plus one unborn baby. All of them rose that
morning and got ready for church never dreaming that it
was their last day on earth. Some had no understanding--
it happened so fast. The carnage started at 11:20 CST
which was 10:20 MST. We were praying for the persecu-
ted church world-wide never dreaming that it was unfold-
ing at that very minute. Sunday the fifth of November
was
the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church.
As I ponder this and think of the deep sorrow and pain that
so many are enduring, my heart turns to the Lord.

Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His godly ones.
Ps 116:15

For you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to
believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. Phil 1:29

That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to
His death. Phil 3:10

For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and
transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in 
whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Col 1:13,14

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep but
we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall
all be changed. For this perishable must put on the im-
perishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But
when this perishable will have put on the imperishable,
and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will 
come about the saying that is written, 
"DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 
O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? 
O DEATH WHERE IS YOUR STING?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through
Jesus Christ our Lord.  1Cor 15:51-57

The Life That Wins

The past few blogs have dealt with 'surrender' in every way.
Today I am going to lay the foundation for an excellent
book entitled, Victory in Christ, by Charles G Trumbull,
a man who lived from 1872 to 1941.

Dr Trumbull had been serving God for a couple of decades
but he had a growing need based on three things:
'1 He was aware of great fluctuations in his spiritual life.
It seems to me that it ought to be possible for me to live
habitually on a high plane of fellowship with God
2 There was the matter of 'failure' before besetting or
habitual sins. Despite earnest prayer for deliverance, abi-
ding victory had not been his experience.
3 He was conscious of lack in the matter of a dynamic,
convincing spiritual power that would change the lives
of others.'

'About a year before, I had begun to notice that certain men,
who were conspicuously blessed in their Christian service,
had a Christ consciousness that I did not have...one that was
beyond, bigger, and deeper than any thought of Christ I had
every had. I rebelled at the suggestion, when it first came to
me. "How could anyone have a better idea of Christ that I?
Did I not believe in Christ and worship Him as the Son of
God and one with God? Had I not accepted Him as my per-
sonal Savior twenty years ago? Did I not believe that eternal
life was in Him alone? Was I not trying to live in His service,
giving my whole life to Him? Did I not ask for His help and
guidance constantly, and believe that in Him was my only
hope? I was doing all this. How could a higher or better con-
captain of Christ than mine was possible."'

Reader, what does it mean to be 'dead unto sin; alive unto 
God?' Well, in the latter part of Trumbull's life this is what
was said: 'Those who knew Dr Trumbull in his late years
remember him as a buoyant, joyous, earnest, unassuming,
Spirit-filled Christian, journalist and leader. He understood
that the life that abides in Christ and draws all of its resour-
ces from the risen Savior was a wonderful reality that he
experienced.' 

Trumbull gave this testimony in 1911:
'There is only one life that wins; and that life is in Christ.
Every person may have this life; every person can live this
life.

I do not mean that everyone may be Christ-like, I mean 
something much better.
I do not mean that a person may always have Christ's help,
I mean something much better.
I do not mean that a person may have the power of Christ,
I mean something much better.
I do not mean that a person shall be merely saved from his
sins and kept from sinning; I mean something better than
that victory.'

The Blessings in Surrender

'This absolute surrender to God will wonderfully bless.

You may not have such strong and clear feelings of deliver-
ance as you would desire to have, but humble yourself in
His sight, and acknowledge that you have grieved the Holy
Spirit by your self-will, self-confidence, and self effort.
Bow humbly before him in the confession of that, and ask
Him to break your heart and to bring you into the dust be-
fore Him. Then, as you bow before Him, just accept God's
teaching that in your flesh "dwells no good thing," and that
nothing will help you except that another life comes in.
You must deny self once for all. Denying self must every
moment be the power of your life. (Are you still with me,
reader?)

When was Peter delivered? The change began with Peter
weeping, and ended with the Holy Spirit coming down to
fill his heart.

God the Father loves to give us the power of the Spirit. We
have the Spirit of God dwelling within us. We now ask the
Father that He would strengthen us with all might by the
Spirit in the inner man, and that He would fill us with His
mighty power. God says to us, "I will do it all for you, dear
one."

How much Christian work is being done in the spirit of the
flesh and in the power of self! How much work is done day
by day, in which human energy--our will and our thoughts
about the work--is continually manifested, and in which
there is but little waiting upon God, and upon the power of
the Holy Spirit! Who is there who truly longs to be deli-
vered from the power of the self-life, who truly
acknowledges that it is the power of self and the flesh, and
who is willing to cast all at the feet of Christ?

What are we to think of separation and death? This death
was the path to glory for Christ. For the joy set before Him
He endured the cross. The cross was the birthplace of His
everlasting glory. Do you love Christ? Let death be to you
the most desirable thing on earth--death to self. Do you think
it a hard thing to be called to be entirely free from the world,
and by that separation to be united to God and His love.
Surely one ought to say: "Anything to bring me to separa-
tion, to death, for a life of full fellowship with God and
Christ."

Trust Him! Do not worry yourselves with trying to under-
stand all about it, but come in the living faith of Christ,
that Christ will come into you with the power of His death
and the power of His life; and then the Holy Spirit, will
bring the whole Christ--Christ crucified and risen and
living in glory--into your very being.' Andrew Murray

Reader, just think of the Christians around you. He is not
speaking "of nominal Christians, or of professing Christians,
but of the thousands of honest, earnest Christians who are
not living a life in the power of God or for His glory. So
little power, so little devotion or consecration to God, so
little perception of the truth that a Christian can be utterly
surrendered to God's will. We are members of a sickly body
that is worldly and cold toward each other."

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! This was written either late in the 19th
century or early in the 20th century. What would Andrew
Murray say about the church today? After reading this,
does it not put a whole new slant on the God's purpose in
our suffering? Paul says, "...until Christ be formed in you."