FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE

Somebody’s Children

Many years ago, after sensing the need for a change of pace, my husband and I drove to Montreal, Canada, the largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris. It was delightful and so relaxing. Just what we needed. The people were friendly, the old city intriguing, the food wonderful. Montreal is considered to be one of North America’s most interesting cities. And we found it to be true. In fact, we agreed Montreal is one of the most beautiful cities we’ve ever seen. In two weeks’ time we walked 150 miles savoring all the sights and delights, and learning about the history and the greater metropolitan area itself.

One afternoon we found an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. “It has to be a great place,” Jack said, “look at all the people!” He patted his “midsection” and I raised my eyebrows and we walked in. We found an empty table and placed our order.

Just as we were being served, two bedraggled-looking young people came in each carrying a backpack. They were obviously exhausted. They spied an empty table where the waitress hadn’t removed the plates from the previous customers, and they plopped down. But just that quickly, they snatched up the leftovers and wolfed them down. Eyes darting around, never making eye contact with anyone, they focused on other empty tables with plates containing food and quickly ran from one to the other, stuffing the food into their mouths. The young woman, whom I guessed to be about twenty, was more aggressive than the young man. They were just starved!

It happened so fast that everyone was in a state of shock. About the time we and others had recovered from seeing this, they grabbed their backpacks and were out of the door and gone. “Jack, if only they’d stayed long enough, we could have offered to buy them food!” I was dazed by the brief encounter. “Oh Jack,” I continued, “I wonder whose child she is …” my voice trailed off.

Jack leaned across the table and patted my hand. The food which had been served so attractively had somehow lost its appeal. I looked around and noticed others were feeling the same way. The charming place which just moments before had been the scene of animated conversation now seemed strangely silent.

Jack’s eyes were sad; mine were tearful.

As we left the ice cream parlor and continued our leisurely walk, my eyes glanced around. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the young couple. “There are so many like them in city after city all over Canada and the United States,” my husband said.

“Where are the parents?” I asked. Jack shook his head. Later, as I reflected on the incident, (in fact, I don’t think I will ever forget those two young people), I was reminded that one of the most wonderful things about being a Christian is that we are Gods children. Our needs are important to Him and He is always ready to supply (Phil. 4:19). He knows the way that we take (Job 23:9). I took comfort in the knowledge that God even knew their names (Isa. 45:4). I could leave them in the Fathers hands.

As we walk through life, we can do so with confidence, knowing that the steps, as well as the stops, of God’s children are ordered by Him (Ps. 37:23). Because we are His children, we can count on His promises, and they are so many! Our potential as His children is limitless.

But we need to be living up to our potential. How do people know we belong to God? Three things, it seems to me, characterize the life of a child of God: (1) Our conversation; (2) Our conduct; and (3) Our convictions.

Our conversation: She (or he) openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness (Prov. 31:26).

My mother had a little saying which I have called to mind many times: “He that thinketh by the by the inch, and speaketh by the yard, shall be kicked by the foot.”

The Bible is full of counsel about the need to guard our conversation. Consider just these few: A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous word stir up anger (Prov. 15:1). How many relationships would fare better if these words were called to mind when people were tempted to temperamental outbursts! The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is (of) little worth (Prov. 10:20). Silver reflects. What a beautiful word picture this presents! Our tongues should reflect the Lord.

Our conduct: We must back up our conversation with right conduct. Those beautiful graces depicted in Galatians 5 should exemplify the conduct of our lives: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (w. 22, 23). An entire article could be written around each word, but let me simplify it in this way: LOVE is a new constraint, JOY is a new cheer, PEACE is a new compassion, LONG-SUFFERING is a new continuance, GENTLENESS is a new characteristic, GOODNESS is a new character, PATIENCE is a new confidence, MEEKNESS is a new courtesy and TEMPERANCE is a new contentment.

Our Convictions: The story is told of David Hume, the agnostic, who was reproached by his friends because of his inconsistency. He used to like to go hear the famous preacher John Brown preach, and when questioned about this he explained, “I don’t believe all that he says, but at least once a week I like to hear a man who declares his convictions.”

How important for us to have strong convictions and to abide by them. The letter of James emphasizes that our “yes” should be a simple “yes,” and our “no” a simple “no” (Ja. 5:12). In other words, be convinced in your heart and stand by your convictions. Be a man or woman whose word is unquestionable. If you say you are going to do something, or you promise something, it ought to be as if you were in a courtroom and had taken an oath to speak the truth.

These are just some of the identifying characteristics that mark us as children of God. The Psalmist said, Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace (Ps. 37:37). None of us have arrived, we aren’t wholly perfect, progress is perhaps a more accurate word to describe our condition. But we should be progressing.

Perhaps a good prayer would be: “Lord, help me to reflect the fact that I am your child.

A CLASSIC MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE

To Be Lost: Trust in the Lord’s Supper

In the last two newsletters we saw that if one trusts in water for salvation, he will be eternally lost. It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17:11). In this chapter we will discuss the Lord’s Supper and the Sermon on the Mount.

There was a time in my life when I honestly believed that I was receiving Christ as the wafer was laid on my tongue by my priest. I even felt that the wafer should be untouched by my teeth because this might injure the Christ who was present in the “Pillsbury-baked flour.”

Later I discovered that my belief in transubstantiation, or “Christ’s actual presence in the wafer,” was a man-made doctrine not found in the Bible. Upon searching the Word of God I discovered the true meaning of communion or the Lord’s Supper.

Christ instituted this supper as recorded in Matthew 26:26-30 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Fathers kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

Mark also records the incident in chapter 14:22-26. The point in question is: “Was this the actual body and actual blood of Christ?” The answer has to be “NO!” Christ was still in His body as He held the bread and still had all of His blood in that same body as He held the cup. Had flesh and blood been ground and drained into the bread and juice, these would have been statements of fact. Since neither occurred, we must look for a spiritual meaning and spiritual it is.

Christ makes this dogmatically clear in John 6:51-54: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

The Jews replied in verse 60: This is an hard saying; who can hear it [or understand it]?

Then Christ simplified the meaning in verse 63: The flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit [or spiritual], and they are life. A rule of thumb in interpreting God’s Holy Word is this: ”All scripture is to be taken literally unless God himself tells us to take it in a spiritual sense.” This He does concerning the eating of His flesh and the drinking of His blood.

The symbol of eating that which one cannot pos­sibly eat is again given in Jeremiah 15:16: Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the Joy and rejoicing of mine heart. I promise you that if you take this text literally and eat the cover and pages of the Bible, it will produce stomach cramps and pain rather than joy and rejoicing. So, the meaning has to be spiritual. By meditating upon the Word of God, one feasts spiritually.

This idea of feasting upon Christ spiritually through meditating upon His death and bloodshed is in total harmony with the teaching of the Holy Spirit through Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 :23-26: For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying. This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lords death till he come (emphasis mine).

Study this text again and see for yourself that the entire supper is an act of remembering Christ’s broken flesh through which His blood flowed for sinners. Remembrance has to do with the intellect. As one’s mental apparatus meditates upon Christ at Calvary. he feeds and feasts spiritually upon the Saviour. This and this alone is so, otherwise the skeptic’s cry of “cannibalism” would be true. Let’s believe God. He said it in such simple terms that its meaning is abundantly plain.

From this we also see that the swallowing of bread and juice does not render one acceptable for an eternity of bliss. Anyone can swallow and many swallow this teaching. One could take communion every hour upon the hour for life and be the worst hell-bound sinner in the annals of history. Many who swallow, wallow in the mire of sin. It takes a genuine experience with Christ, of which the symbols only speak, to do an about-face for God and righteousness. Bread and juice cannot save a human being, but a genuine trust in the shed blood, symbolized by the bread and juice, can.

The old song says, “Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean; Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb.”

So, dear friend, though the Lords Supper is a precious experience for the redeemed, it can never do the redeeming. Instead it is for those who have tasted the redemption provided by Christ and now through communion’s remembrance cry: “Thank You, Lord Jesus, for allowing Your precious holy blood to flow out of Your broken flesh for my sin. As I take these symbols remembering that crucifixion scene, I thank You for the salvation I already have because of having trusted in that sacrifice. I will continue to do this until that day when I will be able to thank You in person. Amen and Amen!”

Are you able to partake of this body and blood spiritually? Do you have remembrance of a time when His shed blood was personally accepted for sin? One does not have to know the day and the hour, but should remember at least the experience. If not, the SUPPER OF REMEMBRANCE IS NOT FOR YOU. Get saved now and join those who feast spiritually on this sacrifice.

May I go one step further? Please, Christian, I plead with you in the name of Christ for your own health’s sake, do not ever partake of the Lords Supper with unconfessed sin in your heart. I am now talking to those who are already redeemed, who do have a remembrance of the experience of salvation, but have slipped. For you it is severely dan­gerous to partake of the Holy Supper.

First Corinthians 11 :27-31 states, Whosoever shall eat this bread, and drtnk this cup of the Lord, unworthily … eateth and drtnketh damna­tion to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. Again may I warn you, do not ever, ever touch this supper until all known sin has been confessed.

By the way, one of the sins that brought these Corinthians into sickness and death is listed as divisions (vs. 18). Church-splitting, backbiting, gossips better beware! Your tongue may be silenced through judgment.

Now allow me to deal with one more difficulty before moving on to the next portion of this lesson. Study the four Gospels and look for the word “wine” in connection with the Lord’s Supper. It cannot be found. Never once does the Holy Spirit use the ter­minology “wine” in connection with this Holy Sup­per. Why? Because fermented or rotted juice cannot picture the untainted sinless blood of Jesus.

In Leviticus 10:9, 10 the children of Israel were not permitted to drink fermented wine before entering the Temple. Why? Because they were not to mix the holy with the unholy. That is about the best reason in the world to omit wine from the Lord’s Supper. Let’s stick to the Book which uses “the fruit of the vine,” pure, unadulterated juice, to symbolize the pure sinless blood of the Lamb. Amen again! (If you care to study this subject further, order my book entitled Alcohol: The Beloved Enemy.)

CHANGED LIVES-one at a time

I have been presenting the Book of Revelation to our Church’s Adult class. It has been a real learning experience. I do want to thank you for book “Revelation Revealed”. It has provided much needed clarity and explanations. Thank you and Blessings.

Bob W.

Thank you so much for this Newsletter.  It sends chills up and down my spine in thinking as you do as to how close all these events are shaping up to take place.  We pray diligently every day for the rapture to occur.  We’re living in a very wicked and evil world.  It isn’t going to get any better, but worse.  Each day we’re one day closer to our heavenly goal and eternal life and thank God every day for it.  What a day that will be when we see Jesus face to face.  I can hardly wait for this.  Patience is not one of my virtues.  In the meantime, we’ll keep praying for that last lost soul that God wants in His kingdom, keep looking up and listening for the shout.  One of these days it will happen. 

Norma B.

HIGHLIGHTED MINISTRY OFFERS

Jesus is Coming Back Any Day Now

JESUS IS COMING AND IT

COULD BE TODAY

WELCOME to the Common Man’s Commentary Series.  You’ll discover a fresh, easy-to-understand look at the two Books of Thessalonians, which are highly eschatological (about end-time events).  Dr. Dave Williams served as pastor of Mount Hope Church for over thirty years, written more than 60 books, taught on global television for 19 years, radio for over 20 years, and now brings you The Common Man’s Commentary Series.

In our study of the Books of Thessalonians, you’ll find a whole lot more than eschatology.  If you are a Bible Study leader or young pastor, you’ll enjoy great illustrations you can use in your leadership role.  You’ll learn:

• How to Develop a Model Church
• How to Handle Opposition and Deceit
• How to Live Pure in an X-Rated World
• How to Accurately Approach the Last Days
• How Faith Works for You
• How to Use God’s Success System that Doesn’t Fail
• How Deception will Increase in the End Times
• How to Scripturally Deal with Troublemakers

Join Dave Williams now for this intense – and fun look at Paul’s writings to the Thessalonians and watch your faith in God’s Word be miraculously activated!

Terrorism Accelerating…But Peace Coming / God’s Good Plan

The headlines are ominous and threatening. New extremist groups appear on the world stage daily — more violent and deadly than their predecessors.

In this new special, Dr. Rexella Van Impe is joined by Bible prophecy expert and friend Dr. Carl Baugh to answer your most pressing questions about terrorism…

• Where does it fit into these latter days?
• What does the Bible say about it?
• What is the root of terrorism?
• Will it ever STOP?

And, most importantly: Can the chaotic world we live in ever have peace?

With bonus footage not included in the broadcast special, this DVD will inform and educate you — and renew your confidence in Christ and His good plan!

As a bonus with your order you will receive the booklet God’s Good Plan – A Look At Revelation