FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE

I Need a Nap!

On the closing night of our citywide crusade in Rochester, New York, I went down front after the service to greet people, sign Bibles, and just enjoy a time of fellowship with our friends there.

As always, several children gathered around me — we seem to have a special affection for each other. The photographer who was covering the crusade for us asked if I’d pose for a photo with his two children. When he finished taking the shot, one of the youngsters, a little boy, crawled up in my lap.

“I’m tired,” he said, “I need a nap.” Then he nestled inside my arms, laid his head trustingly on my shoulder, and started to go to sleep.

In a few minutes his dad came and took him from me, but as I sat looking down at that beautiful child resting in my arms, I remembered how Jesus taught that we must receive the kingdom of God in simple, childlike faith and trust… and rest in Him.

The Lord invites us to come to Him when we are tired and worn out and “take a nap,” secure in His care. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

Why, then, are so many plodding along, worn out and exhausted, loaded down with burdens and care? For these people, life almost seems to be an endurance contest, each day providing another grim challenge.

Could it be because we haven’t really learned to trust… or have gotten our eyes on the frailties of men instead of the everlasting arms of the Lord?

A lesson in trust

When my brothers and I were quite young, Dad sometimes would take us swimming in a beautiful fresh water stream. There was a little waterfall that dropped into a natural pool, and my older brother would plunge over that waterfall and splash into the water below.

It looked like such fun… but I was afraid to try it myself. I was four years younger than my brother, and when I climbed up above the falls, the jump down took my breath — and my courage — away! No amount of coaxing or wheedling by my brother could convince me to try it.

Finally, my father went into the pool below and looked up at me. “Jump down here, Rexella,” he said. “I’ll catch you!” And he held out his arms.

Immediately I jumped into the waterfall, down in and under the torrent, deep into the water below. As I came up out of the deep, half laughing, half crying, Dad’s strong arms caught me and lifted me up.

After a few more jumps, I was ready to try it on my own… and I was never afraid to go over the waterfall again.

What made the difference? Trust! I knew my father would take care of me and never allow me to be injured. So if he had said to follow him through fire, I would have put my hand in his and started walking!

How much more should we trust our Heavenly Father? When the burdens and troubles of this life are wearing us down, we should come into the presence of God and say, “Lord, I need a nap.” Then, casting all our care upon the One who knows and understands all things, we can put our heads upon the bosom of Christ and rest in Him.

Dare to trust God

But we can relax and rest only when we trust God and turn loose of our load of care. It is possible to come to Jesus and present our problems, then go away just as burdened and weighted down as when we came.

We sometimes think we’re the only ones who understand just what’s at stake. We can’t turn loose and fully trust the Lord or anybody else. So we go away sorrowful, trying to worry our way through.

Perhaps you are carrying a heavy load today that has you exhausted, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Dare to trust God.

He sees your concern for those loved ones.

He knows the financial needs you are facing.

He understands the anxiety and indecision that has stolen your peace of mind and kept you awake so many midnight hours.

What would happen if you really trusted the Lord with all of your life? What if you threw yourself into His arms and said, “I need a nap,” and let Him take care of you? Would He let you fall, or turn His back on you?

Of course not! He will not — cannot — fail. So cast all your care upon Him for He careth for you (see 1 Peter 5:7).

But we must trust Him, yield to Him, wait for Him. How often do we get too impatient, even in prayer? Do we kneel to pray, and instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us, blurt out our frustration and tell God how we think He should meet our need?

In the beautiful words of the poet —

He knows, He loves, He cares,
nothing this truth can dim.
God gives the very best to those
who leave the choice with Him.

The beautiful old gospel song, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” reminds us of the help that is ours when we come, trusting, into His presence.

“Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God… in prayer.”

Trust God, my friend. Hear His invitation to come to Him and find rest. Join me in looking up into the wonderful face of Jesus and saying, “I’ve come to You, Lord, because I need a nap!”

A CLASSIC MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE

Hindering Sins – part 1

In the last two newsletters we discussed humility prayer and confession as prerequisites for revival. Let’s continue by considering sins that hinder the working of the blessed Holy Spirit of God in our life. Remember, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Psalms 66:18). A destructive sin called “gossip” deafens the ears of Almighty God as one prays to Him.

The Tongue

Nothing in the history of mankind has wrought more havoc and sorrow than the uncontrolled tongue of human beings. A wise proverb states, “He that thinketh by the inch and speaketh by the yard should be kicked by the foot.” Again, “Loose tongues get their owners into tight places.”

God says in James 3:6, The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. Verses 9, 10: Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

A slanderous, vile, malicious tongue is indicative of one of two conditions:

(1) The slandered maybe a hell-bound sinner. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain (James 1:26). A wagging tongue is usually a symbol of an empty heart. God said so.

The Lord, speaking about those who are filled with all unrighteousness in Romans 1:28-32, mentions fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispering, backbitings, and other abominable practices. Now notice carefully that maliciousness (character assassination), envy (jealousy which produces gossip), debate (leading to boisterous argumentation), malignity, whispering (gossip in quiet, hushed tones), and backbitings are all partakers of the same judgment that shall be pronounced upon fornicators (sex-hungry maniacs) and murderers. Look at verse 32: Who knowing the Judgment of God, that they which commit such things are. worthy of death.

In Galatians 5:19-21, the Holy Spirit lists seventeen abominations, and uncleanness (a dirty, smut-filled mouth), hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, heresies, and envyings-all having to do with the REASON FOR or the RESULT OF a poison-filled, uncontrollable tongue-are under the anathema or condemnation of God. The devil’s reward, at the end of the trail, for gossipers is stated in verse 21: They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

God hates these sins. How easy it is for self-righteous church members to condemn the sins of the flesh practiced by some, and overlook the wickedness of their own lives as they lacerate, mutilate, and cut to shreds other members of the human race with their razor-sharp tongues. However, Proverbs 6:16-18 states, These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Friend, what about the deadly tongue you possess? Will your tongue, described in the Bible as a fire, lead you into the fires of eternal doom? Fall on your face, confess your sin, get washed in Christ’s blood and be saved for eternity.

(2) Second, a loose-tongued person may be saved, but carnal. Each hearer must determine his own spiritual condition before God. Both situations are taught in God’s Holy Word, and a true messenger must present both viewpoints, and then allow the individual, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to determine his own personal state before God.

The Corinthian church was filled with fighting, carping Christians. Paul, in writing to this carnal assembly, says, I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (1Corinthians 3:1-3).

Fighting, bickering, and sowing discord among brethren is not a sign of spiritually, but of extreme carnality. Many who claim to be dominated by the Holy Spirit are constantly running off at the mouth. You are professing a lie if this is the case. It is easy to call the working of the Holy Spirit a second work of grace, an infilling, a baptism, and loudly proclaim an experience with the third member of the Trinity through signs and wonders. The real evidence, however, is in a love-filled heart and Spirit-controlled tongue. You don’t believe it? Hear God in James 3:2: If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man. Again, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5:22,23).

I was asked, “Do you believe in the infilling of the Holy Spirit?” Amen. “Have you had the evidence?” Which one-there are at least nine in 1 Corinthians 12-14, and a host of others found throughout the New Testament.

They replied, “Tongues.”

I answered, “I am seeking a greater evidence than tongues; I am seeking to control the one I have.” That’s right; the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, long-suffering, gentleness. These have to do with getting along with others and loving them when they treat you like dirt. You don’t retaliate by spreading venom about them with the tongue. That is not the mark of a Spirit-filled human being.

You argue that the gifts and the fruit are two different things? Quit quibbling; they go hand-in-hand. That is what God is trying to say in 1 Corinthians 13. Charity, which is love, is the evidence of the blessed Holy Spirit’s presence in one’s life. One can talk about his experiences and visions until doomsday, but if the fruit of the Spirit-LOVE-is absent, all the speaking in tongues is but projected from the diaphragm. Don’t get angry now, because that will prove my point that LOVE-the true evidence-is missing in your experience.

Listen to the Spirit of God as He writes, through Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:1: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. (More simply: Though I speak with angelic tongues and fight with everyone, I am just a lot of noise). The real evidence is found in verses 4-7:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not [is not jealous]; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up [saying “I have the gift and you don’t; I am spiritual and you apparently aren’t”], doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things [yes, endures all things and will not try to get back with the tongue).

Is this your experience? If so, you have the evidence of the Spirit. Languages, signs, and wonders can be faked; but the above-mentioned love can only be produced by the Holy Spirit.

Some of you have roast preacher every week. You talk against every spiritual leader of the Church. One day your children will curse God and turn their back on religion, and your uncontrollable tongue will have been the cause. God hates gossip. The Word proves it:

Lying lips are abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 12:22).

A true witness delivereth souls; but a deceitful witness speaketh lies (Proverbs 14:25).

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones (Proverbs 16:24).

A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue (Proverbs 17:4).

A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish (Proverbs 19:9).

Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Let your speech be always with grace (Colossians 4:6).

Next week we will look at an unforgiving spirit.

CHANGED LIVES-one at a time

Hello, my name is Robert, and I live in Vassar, MI. Way up in the thumb area. I just wanted to say that I watch you and Jack almost all the time on YouTube. Both you and Jack have been a major part of my life and both of you along with the Lord are the reasons I became an ordained minister. I will be enrolling into a Bible college this weekend and will be studying more of God’s word to not only have a better understanding of what God is trying to tell me, but so I can also help lead others to the Lord. I just wanted to personally thank you for all the work you and Jack have done for the Lord and thank you for being such a positive influence on my life.

Many blessings

Rev. Robert C.

Hello Mrs. Van Impe!

My name is Tim R. near the Lapeer, MI area. Just wanted to reach out and say my family has enjoyed your TV program for a very long time with its biblical truths and care for people’s souls. 

On a side note, we used to have a summer trailer at the tip of MI”s thumb, and our across-the-drive neighbor was Mrs. Betty W… I believe she worked for JVIM years ago. It was such a neat connection to have her and her husband so nearby to us!

Hope all is well and continue the good work!

Tim R.

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