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Jack Van Impe Ministries
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each day on our A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE Last week 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, l 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. Reasons for the Holy Spirit's Presence Let's consider further reasons for the Holy Spirit's presence among us: The Holy Spirit Strives Genesis 6:3 states that the Holy Spirit strives with sinners. This striving of the Spirit is closely related to His convicting work . . . when he [the Holy Spirit] is come, he will reprove [or convict] the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8). God gave His Son to die for sinners. Christ went through the atrocious agonies of Calvary in His quest for sinners. The Holy Spirit lovingly, tenderly, and compassionately strives, convicts, woos, and wins every sinner who turns to Jesus. The Holy Spirit Restrains He also restrains sin in this wicked, hell-bent world. This does not mean the discontinuance of all evil. He could do this by making men robots. However, His purpose is simply to check the evil so that there is still a semblance of sanity left upon the earth. But during the 7-year period of Tribulation when His restraining influence will have been removed, all hell will unleash itself upon this globe. Second Thessalonians 2:7,8 states: For the mystery of iniquity [lawlessness] doth already work: only he [the Spirit] who now letteth [restraineth] will let [go on restraining], until he [the Restrainer] be takers out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed . . . . That will be hell on earth. The Holy Spirit Regenerates Another ministration of the Holy Spirit concerns regenerating souls. We touched briefly on this in the earlier part of the study. When one is born again of the Spirit (John 3:5), he receives a new nature - God's divine nature. As human generation begets a life after its kind, so divine regeneration means the impartation of life from God. This is what the Apostle Peter had in mind when he said: that . . ye might be partakers of the divine nature . . . (II Peter 1:4). At salvation, regeneration - or the imparting of God's nature to the repentant sinner - takes place. Over 85 New Testament passages verify this truth. Church membership is not the answer. A woman cannot become a hen by sitting in a chicken coop. Neither can one become a saint with a divine nature by sitting in church. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again (John 3:6,7). The Holy Spirit Illuminates We again see that the Holy Spirit illuminates or enlightens a sinner. Some young people accept the putdowns of the Bible from conceited professors with Ph.D. degrees because they feel these educated nincompoops know everything there is to know about the Bible. Students, I have news for you. To understand the Holy Bible one must know the Author personally - the Holy Spirit of God. First Corinthians 2:11 declares: . . . the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Verse 12: Now we have received . . . the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Then He dogmatically states in verse 14: But the natural man [or unsaved man laden with all of his academic degrees] receiveth not [or understands not] the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. They do not know the Author who holds the key to unlocking the Book. We will have much to say about the anointing of and the filling with the Spirit in subsequent weeks. The Holy Spirit's Comforting Ministry Jesus said: I will not leave you comfortless . . . (John 14:18), so when He departed He promised to send the Comforter unto the disciples. The actual Greek word which Christ used was Paraclete, which means a helper or one called to another's side to aid the person. Oh, if we Christians could only realize that He is always there to aid and comfort us, we would not have to depend upon men. There is someone far greater than ministers, psychologists, or psychiatrists. He is the blessed Comforter - the Paraclete, who never leaves or forsakes a child of God. An unsaved man sitting next to a Christian on a train began weeping. The Christian asked, "May I share your burden?" The stranger replied, "I have just lost my wife and our home is so empty. All I have now is her parakeet for company." The Christian answered, "I, too, have lost my loved one, but I have the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, and He never leaves me." This testimony led to the man's conversion. Oh, child of God, how we miss the glorious truth of the Paraclete's comforting ministry This Holy Spirit not only abides with us throughout our earthly pilgrimage but stays with us - hovering over our graves - until the redemption of our bodies. You see, the body of the Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19). Since it is His temple, He watches over it. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, preaching at Dayton, Ohio, to a group of ministers, said: "I was sitting in my home in the country, reading the account of an address delivered by Dr. Moorehead at a Bible conference. He said that when one became a son of God the Spirit of God came into that person to dwell, and would continue to dwell in that body until the resurrection." Dr. Chapman continued: "I started thinking about that and tears filled my eyes. I told my man to hitch the horse to the carriage, and my wife and I rode out to the little grave where we had buried our firstborn son, and as we stood there that morning we said, `Thank You, Lord, for keeping watch.' Immediately peace filled our souls. Then years later I stood by the grave of my mother and again said, `Thank You, Holy Spirit, for staying with your temple and keeping watch."' Unsaved reader, you do not know what you are missing by not knowing Jesus. Get saved - receive Christ. When Christ comes in, immediately the Holy Spirit also enters to abide with you forever. He will comfort you daily and stay with your corpse in the grave. Then at the resurrection of the just, He will touch your body with new life, reunite it with the soul, and sweep your triune person - body, soul, and spirit - into His presence. CHANGED LIVES-one at a time Dear Jack and Rexella, I just wanted to take a minute to say thanks for choosing to serve God in I mighty way. I have followed your ministry for approximately 35 years. After receiving it, I use my JVI Prophecy Bible every day. I read the daily devotionals and the ones on your web site as well. I also read the daily global news. If I were to happen to miss one of your weekly TV Programs on the cable station, I always watch it on the internet. Your ministry has been a blessing to me. The one thing that you point out so often is that Jesus is coming back very soon, and because of the way the entire world is getting, "Iniquity shall abound", it can't be very much longer. I just praise God that because of your love for God that many have received Jesus as their Savior. I watch and pray daily for His gathering of His church, as indicated in Luke 21:36. Very Sincerely,
Dr. and Mrs. Van Impe, Thank you so very much for brightening my day with your words. The bad news of the world overwhelms me at times, but I know these things have to come to pass in order for our Savior to complete His glorious plans for those who eagerly await His return. Thank you for your unwavering faith and integrity reflected in not only your lives, but your ministry as well. Speak boldly, for the time is short. Shalom my brother and sister, HIGHLIGHTED PRODUCT OFFERS Baptism
of the Holy Spirit Dr. Jack & Rexella Van Impe present the clear, biblical truth regarding this often misunderstood member of the Godhead Trinity, the Holy Spirit. In this fast-paced video, you will discover:
Let the Holy Spirit infill and empower you today!
Like Jacob of Old A Life-Changing Encounter With the Almighty Can You Say, "I've Been With Jesus"? Mike Evans passionately challenges Christians to "get low with Jesus," to seek Him and invite Him to live through us. As Jacob wrestled with God, so do we need to wrestle with Him. The result will be a Spirit-driven life rather than a self-driven life. When Jesus has all of you, your life will change. You will live a life in light of eternity. You'll be able to say with Hudson Taylor, early missionary to China, "Lord, I pray you'll get me out of your way so you can do your work, unhindered." WE ACCEPT PRAYER REQUESTS HERE We receive prayer requests from far and wide via the mail, fax, phone, email and now through the prayer section of our website. FEEDBACK: Please help us with your valuable input. Let us know if you enjoyed this electronic newsletter. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!! CONTACT INFORMATION: E-MAIL: jvimi@jvim.com PHONE: (248) 852-5225 (8am-4:30pm Eastern Time) FAX: (248) 852-2692 MAIL: Jack Van Impe Ministries JVIM FAMILY OF WEBSITES: JVIM PROPHECY
PORTAL ON THE WEB Privacy Notice: Jack Van Impe Ministries is a non-profit, religious corporation registered in the state of Michigan in the U.S.A. and a registered charity in the province of Ontario in Canada. Our policy has been and will always be to never sell, rent, or barter the names and/or information about those who contact our international ministries. Stewardship: Independent CPA reporting confirms that only 5% of JVIM income is used for fundraising and only 7% is used for administrative costs, including all salaries. A full 88% or more of JVIM income is used directly to fulfill its non-profit mission to share the Good News of salvation and Christ's soon return with the world. You can view past issues of the JVIM Weekly Newsletter by going HERE. |