FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE

Through the Eyes of a Child

The English poet William Blake said our eyes are “windows of the soul.” I’m sure you’ve noticed that the eyes of those around you communicate in a dramatic way their state of mind-anger, fear, mischief, tenderness, love, excitement, boredom, etc.

Doctors often look into the eyes of their patients while examining them to determine their state of health.

So it’s not really surprising to discover that the Bible has much to say about our eyes-there are numerous references throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Only recently have I begun to comprehend just how important our eyes are to our spiritual well-being-that where we look and what we see help determine who we are and what we become.

The Apostle John speaks of the lust of the eyes (1 John 2:16), and Peter warns against those having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin (2 Peter 2:14).

The psalmist, recognizing that what is fed into our eyes affects what we become, affirms, I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes (Psalm 101:3). And the Apostle Paul, in what may be my life’s foundation verse, urges us to continue looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

The lesson of a look

Several years ago, our ministry had an open house in which we invited friends and partners to come tour our World Outreach Center and visit personally with Dr. Van Impe and me and our staff. About 1,500 people toured our headquarters in a single afternoon-it was wonderful to greet so many friends.

I couldn’t help noticing how many little children came through with their parents. And inevitably, when I looked down at them, they would be looking directly into my eyes. I would find myself kneeling to get to their eye level… and happily, many times they ended up in my arms.

But I began noticing how children look at the world. They spend a lot of time looking up! And when they encounter an adult, they look into his or her face, up into the eyes.

Children are very perceptive. They can tell, almost at a glance, if a person is friendly or menacing, if they can trust the person or should run away. By looking into the eyes of the adults around them, they sense if they are welcome or are intruding. And they can tell almost instantly if their parents are pleased with them or disapproving.

“You are a delight!”

Jerry Dillon of Century HealthCare, the largest health-care provider for children in the country operates 52 youth programs and 19 facilities in nine states, specializing in treating emotionally-troubled youngsters.

“If parents would look for the things in their children that delight them, and tell them so, what a difference it would make,” says Dillon. “A great prescription to help build a better relationship and a stronger bond between parent and child is simply for the parent to find some reason each day to tell his son or daughter, “You are a delight!”

Much of what we feel-delight or aggravation-is communicated through our eyes, whether we verbalize it or not. So often I’ve noticed how a child will look into its mother’s (or father’s) face for approval, guidance, security, reassurance, and love. Without a word being spoken, so many important things are communicated… through the eyes of a child.

Suffer the little children

No wonder children were attracted to our Saviour during His earthly ministry. The New Testament tells how the children thronged about Him until the disciples were going to send them away. But the Lord said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God (Mark 10:14).

The Bible doesn’t tell us specifically, but I’m very sure each of those little ones came close to the Lord and looked up into His face, directly into His eyes. What they saw there-love, acceptance, safety-made them relax and feel free. I think they wanted to climb up onto His lap and just be near Him.

Many learned and wise theologians have speculated about the meaning of Jesus’ words concerning children and the kingdom of God. Certainly I do not claim to have greater knowledge or wisdom than they have. But I have my own idea about what He meant.

Perhaps He was suggesting that if we looked up into His eyes more often, we would find the peace, direction, and strength we need for our lives. We can find the answer for guilt, sorrow, pain, and loneliness in our Saviour’s loving gaze.

Keep your eyes on Jesus

Our problems come when we take our eyes off Jesus, when we look away from His love, guidance, strength, and sustaining power.

The Gospel of Matthew relates the thrilling story of Peter walking on the water toward Jesus. The Lord had come to the disciples as their boat was tossed by a stormy sea. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was fine. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and [began] to sink (Matthew 14:30).

I’ve found in my own experience that when I felt life’s problems were about to overwhelm me, it was because I had taken my eyes off Jesus and fixed them on my troubles. When I looked to Him, He saw me through.

From time to time, I meet an individual who is disillusioned-even cynical-about the Church. Sometimes they say they have lost their faith-they don’t believe in anything anymore.

As I visit with people like this, I usually discover that they have been disappointed in the mistakes and failures of a particular religious leader-their eyes had been fixed on a man. Once they looked back to Jesus, the bitterness and disillusionment lost its intensity, and the healing love of Christ could make them over again.

One of the most beautiful and powerful verses in all of the Bible, for me, is found in Matthew’s account of Peter, James, and John at the transfiguration of Christ. After the disciples had bowed down in the awesome presence of God, Jesus told them not to be afraid. And the scripture says-And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only (Matthew 17:8).

No wonder Jesus said we should become as little children to enter the kingdom of God. Their eyes are focused in the right direction. Lord help us to keep our eyes on You…to seek Your will by looking into Your face-through the eyes of a child!

A CLASSIC MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE

In the previous newsletters we studied the divinity and the personality of the blessed third member of the Trinity. In this lesson I want to discuss the presence of the Holy Spirit.

HIS PRESENCE

In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit made visitations to men on earth but did not abide in them. A most enlightening statement to this effect is found in John 7:37-39: In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)What does it mean; the Holy Spirit was not yet given? Was not this Spirit seen brooding over the water in Genesis 1:2? Did not He descend as a dove at the baptism of the Saviour? The answer to all these queries is an unequivocal Yes! However, these were only visitations upon men to empower them for service. He did not abide in or remain upon them for an entire lifetime. This He would do after the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Saviour predicted this in John 14:16: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Then in the next verse, Christ states: . . . he dwelleth with you, and shall be [future tense] in you. The Lord again says in John 16:7: Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

There can be no religious quibbling about statements such as these. The Holy Spirit was not on earth as an abiding indweller while Christ was on earth. He could only take up this ministry after Christ’s ascension or glorification. When did the blessed Holy Spirit come into the world to live in believers? The answer is simply on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2:1, 2 states: And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. The result – (verse 4) . . . they were all filled with the Holy Ghost . . . . Wind is often connoted with the Holy Spirit. For instance, Jesus said that a man must be born of the Spirit in John 3:5 and adds in verse 8: The wind bloweth where it listeth [wills], and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. So this wind which hit them with the force of a hurricane on the day of Pentecost was the fulfilled promise of the Christ who had sent the other Comforter to abide in believers. From that point onward, the prayer of the psalmist in Psalm 51:11 was outdated. He said: . . . take not thy holy spirit from me. This could only happen when the Holy Spirit made visitations upon men but could never happen after He had come to abide and dwell in men. Amen and amen! Please do not insult the Lord with erroneous prayers. The same Holy Spirit which baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ at the time of salvation (I Corinthians 12:13) also seals that one into the Body for all eternity (Ephesians 4:30). Do not take my word for it but God’s.

The Holy Spirit’s Sealing

Ephesians 4:30 states: And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. What a thought! We are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God unto the day of redemption. What day is that? It is the day when our very bodies are resurrected and redeemed in the presence of God (Romans 8:23). First Thessalonians 4:16, 17 declares: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. It is at this moment that the bodies of the dead and living in Christ are redeemed and – praise His Holy Name – the blessed Holy Spirit seals us to the very moment.

The sealing does not depend on man’s perfection but upon Christ’s completed work at Calvary and the Holy Spirit’s keeping power. If you cannot accept this statement, look at Ephesians 4:30 again: And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. It does not say, If one grieves the Holy Spirit, the seal is broken. Instead, it declares that even the one grieving the Spirit remains sealed.

Now, the Holy Spirit may make the erring child miserable because when He, living in the believer, is grieved, the same believer automatically partakes of the grieved Spirit’s feelings. And the Lord may give that child a good spiritual paddling (Hebrews 12:5) to bring him to holiness (verse 10), but the fact is that the one doing the grieving is still sealed for time and eternity. Paul again rejoices in this truth in II Corinthians 1:22 as he cries: [God] hath also sealed us, and given the earnest [or guarantee] of the Spirit in our hearts. And again: . . . in [Christ] also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13). Beloved, the Comforter has come to abide and live in believers forever. The genuinely saved need never pray, “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me,” and the professors of religion certainly cannot pray it because they never had Him. So dispensationally the prayer is obsolete. Why? Because on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to dwell in believers for the entire Church Age. When the Church shall be evacuated at the Rapture, the Holy Spirit and those in whose heart He lives will be caught up and out in the twinkling of an eye, thus ending the Spirit’s present program of abiding and dwelling in the bodies of believers. At the Rapture He goes back to the Old Testament method of coming upon individuals and then they will again pray: “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.

The Holy Spirit’s Omnipresence

All of the foregoing does not mean that the Holy Spirit is limited to a particular place. He is omnipresent or everywhere at all times. He always was, is, and always shall be present in all places because He is God. The psalmist said in Psalm 139:7: . . . whither shall I flee from thy presence? He then enumerates places in heaven, earth, and hell proving that the Spirit is everywhere. Though He is God and everywhere present, still He chooses to work differently in various eras of time. This is what we have discussed to this point.

Next week we will look at the reasons for the Holy Spirit’s presence.

CHANGED LIVES-one at a time

I  just wanted to say hello to you and check on you.  I sure miss watching you and Jack on tv.  He was and is my favorite preacher of all time.  It’s hard even now to accept the Lord took him home.  But I know he is in Heaven serving and loving the one who Saved and redeemed him.  I want you to know that he has not been forgotten on this Earth.  And neither have you been forgotten.  I have watched you all since I was a little boy around 7 years old.  I am now 35 years old.  I honestly feel like you all are family and close friends even though we have never met.  I love you all Rexella and pray God’s blessings, favor, and love greets you every day until we see the Glorious appearing of our Lord. 

Jeffrey S.

I am riding to let you know that I look so forward to your weekly newsletter. Please please never discontinue it!

The world needs to hear the truth!

In Jesus’s name!

Steve

HIGHLIGHTED MINISTRY OFFERS

Counting Down to Armageddon

The countdown is on —
The clock is ticking –ARMAGEDDON is almost here!

Dr. Rexella Van Impe and her team have condensed Dr. Jack Van Impe’s teaching to trace the truth about Armageddon through the Scriptures and give you a complete view of earth’s final battle —

How soon will it take place? The prophetic timeline is far advanced — it could be much sooner than you think!

• Where will it happen?
• Who will be involved?
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• What about the Antichrist?

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Seasons of Faith

What season of life are you in?

What season of faith are you in?

This deeply personal book of reflections and insights from Dr Rexella Van Impe offers words of wisdom plumbed from the depths of God’s Word, practical concepts you can apply to any moment in your spiritual journey

Rexella’s perspective is always one of compassion She has “walked the walk” Now, in a single, remarkable volume, she shares with you the key truths that guide her journey with the Lord

Let the Holy Spirit guide you as you enter into this extraordinary excursion with Rexella, through the seasons of faith