The Lord's Table Revisited

By Pastor Gill Belec

The creative Holy Spirit of God moves (hovers, flutters) over the Lords Table typically as He did over creation (Genesis 1:12). There is a specific moment during the Communion service when a commemorative meal becomes alive with Gods power and glory. In this book you will discover riches of glory in Christ that are designed to affect your everyday life, uncover mysteries the early apostolic church experienced that empowered them to work the works of God, and learn divine principles and facts about how certain physical acts when done release spiritual dynamics that govern our lives. Many questions about the Lords Table are answered and offer clarity for solid expectation of the Table's benefits . Was Eve a type of the church? If so, where does that put the church today? What role does she have in preparation for Christs coming? Why has unity among churches remained so elusive? These and many other questions are addressed in this book, and Pastor Belec unveils a key component the church has missed out on for so long that it has, unfortunately, left her weak, anemic, and ineffective in the face of ridicule and mockery. The Lords Table Revisited is a must-read for believers in search of real faith, real witness, and a real and dynamic relationship with Christ.

The creative Holy Spirit of God moves (hovers, flutters) over the Lords Table typically as He did over creation (Genesis 1:12). There is a specific moment during the Communion service when a commemorative meal becomes alive with Gods power and glory. In this book you will discover riches of glory in Christ that are designed to affect your everyday life, uncover mysteries the early apostolic church experienced that empowered them to work the works of God, and learn divine principles and facts about how certain physical acts when done release spiritual dynamics that govern our lives. Many questions about the Lords Table are answered and offer clarity for solid expectation of the Table's benefits . Was Eve a type of the church? If so, where does that put the church today? What role does she have in preparation for Christs coming? Why has unity among churches remained so elusive? These and many other questions are addressed in this book, and Pastor Belec unveils a key component the church has missed out on for so long that it has, unfortunately, left her weak, anemic, and ineffective in the face of ridicule and mockery. The Lords Table Revisited is a must-read for believers in search of real faith, real witness, and a real and dynamic relationship with Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490867786

Pastor Gill Belec

Pastor Belec is originally from Montreal Canada and is fluent in both French and English. His life in ministry began in 1962 and he has since traveled in ministry to countries in Africa, South America, Europe, and to the countries of Israel, and Haiti. He is also a musician and singer. His spiritual heritage is The Welsh Revival. He was reared by godly parents and enjoyed the benefits of strong Christian family ties. The dinner table was generally filled with life and laughter. The bond that exists to this day among the siblings still adds joy at each family gathering. The Belec family was graced to have a rich musical heritage as well. Sunday afternoons were generally spent singing around the piano with friends from church. The spiritual and musical heritage continues on to his children and grand children. In 1999, Pastor Belec established Calvary Community Church in West Columbia, SC. He also has been serving as Bishop with The Communion of Evangelical Christian Ministers and Churches since 2005. He survived an electrical accident in 1995 that should have taken his life. However, God had other plans. On the lighter side, he can now claim that his sermons are electrifying and that he remains in the “current” of things.

Book preview

The Lord’s Table

Revisited

PASTOR GILL BELEC

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Copyright © 2015 Gill Belec.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-6779-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6780-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6778-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015901383

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/20/2015

Contents

Chapter 1

Who for the Joy That Was Set Before Him

Chapter 2

Steps The Church Must Take to Adorn Herself

Chapter 3

Removing Idols to Make Room for God

Chapter 4

In Search Of The Lord’s Table, The Missing Link

Chapter 5

An Objective Always Overrules An Objection

Chapter 6

Two Additional Gems Unity Produces

Chapter 7

Walking In The Glory Of The Lord

Chapter 8

With Fervent Desire I Have Desired To Eat This Passover With You

Chapter 9

Five Divine Blessings Of The Lord’s Table

Chapter 10

The Communion And Covenant Giving

Chapter 11

Inherent Riches In Christ

Chapter 12

Do It … Till He Comes

Acknowledgments

The following are very special people who recognized early on that this book was under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and were willing to not only be supportive with their prayers, but with their time, patience and assistance. Especially, I want to acknowledge my blessed spouse, Dianne, for devoting so much of her time and energy to help insure a satisfactory outcome. Our entire Calvary Community Church congregation displayed the wonderful love of God throughout. Fortunately, they were the first to benefit from the project as they were the first to be taught its insights. A special note of thanks to the following who were supportive in a monetary way to help set this project in motion. Vivian Bialy, Matt and Karen Colclasure, and Charlie and Natalie Thomson. A deeply felt appreciation and recognition is owed to each of these people, which occasions a prayer that they would be blessed beyond measure for displaying true righteousness.

Foreword

If only I had known. How many times have we heard that statement? In most cases when that statement is made, it is coupled with regret and remorse. It is also accompanied by a great sense of loss of not knowing or being aware. Thus it is when we live unaware. The Lord’s Table Revisited gives us great insight into a fuller content of the package deal. How we fall short when we don’t know of certain benefits that are included in a package deal! For Christians who feel they are missing something in their Christian walk and can’t quite put their finger on it, this project will surely delight that hungry, searching soul. Not being aware is nothing new. It reaches as far back as the earliest Christians of the apostolic age. In Acts 19:2, it is described as such when the Apostle Paul came across believers in Ephesus. Although these believers’ teachers knew something about the Holy Spirit, they were unaware of the developments of Pentecost. When Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit since believing, they confessed that they had not even heard that there was a Holy Spirit to receive.

Upon Paul’s expounding on the issue, being glad believers of such, they immediately followed his instruction, were baptized, and were blessed with the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Their lives were changed forever, and the church was strengthened in consequence. It is very simple. One cannot look for, ask for, or otherwise expect something they were not told was available to them in the package deal.

Such it is with the Lord’s Table. We don’t know what we don’t know (Hosea 4:6). Too much has been left at the table unclaimed and unappreciated. But in the following pages, we have instructional teaching on how to discover and experience blessings that are designed to enlighten and affect believers’ lives.

Through his book, Pastor Belec opens realms of possibilities that God has been eagerly desiring His church to experience. Higher heights, deeper depths, longer lengths, and wider widths await the glad communicant. It is clear that lack of knowledge could be a great detriment in anyone’s life. But particularly here, although the church has had some knowledge of God’s power, she has been unable to identify it adequately and harness it effectively to apply its influence to her mission. Revealed in the following pages are the means for the church to climb out of her anemic condition into full vigor and vitality, by applying her newfound riches to her faith and witness.

Pastor Belec put it this way: Experiential knowledge gains transformational power for communicants who come to the table honestly, transparently, and with an unveiled face to encounter God’s majestic glory in the face of Jesus Christ and be transformed into the same image. One can pray with a veiled face, witness, preach, testify, and otherwise live a quiet life undetected behind a veiled face. But one cannot come to the Lord’s Table with a veiled face and escape His warranted displeasure. Such transformative change does, however, require humility and confession, the quintessential and paramount qualities of character needed to enter the kingdom of God. Forgiveness has that qualifying effect on a repentant soul. One can know true humbleness when forgiveness has been granted. The same quality of character is also needed to effect forgiveness toward others.

Pastor Belec unveils God’s universal law of the table. It is a law that applies to both the secular family and to the redeemed family. As with any law, if it is broken or ignored, there are consequences to pay. The secular family and the church family have suffered long enough, and it is time for God’s human family to discover its recuperative blessings.

The last-day church especially needs to rise to the level of its destined glory, lead with moral authority, and regain its prophetic voice. Pastor Belec argues that a church gathering in the apostolic age had to offer more than mere rituals, traditions, and icons to entice a man and his family to put their lives in jeopardy by simply going to church. Nothing short of a touch of the heavenly would command their attendance. One sure way to effect that heaven on earth experience today is for the church to once again declare, Did not our hearts burn within us.

The disciples to Emmaus learned that broken bread is the key to opened eyes. The Emmaus meal is pivotal because it continues Jesus’ preresurrection table fellowship and begins the church’s table fellowship in celebration of resurrection day through the sacrament. The wings of fire that create the burning hearts in the disciples are the flames of the divine Scripture as they were expounded upon by Jesus (Ambrose, Ancient Christian Commentary on Luke. Inter Varsity Press, page 383).

The Lamb who had opened the Scriptures for the Emmaus disciples is the cause of their burning hearts (Origen). Faith goes on to create the fire of love that now reigns in their hearts (Augustine). (Origen and Augustine, Ancient Christian Commentary on Luke. Inter Varsity Press, pages 382-383). The question for us as we move into the pages of this book is What coals of fire will be found in those who are not set on fire by the declaration of the Lord, never aflame by the Holy Spirit, or by the Lord’s Table? If the fire of anything other than Christ Himself wows us, that flame will burn out quickly and with unwanted consequences. Fervor from the Lord’s Table and of Christ whirls you upward and lifts you to heaven’s delight. If your soul seeks such heights in the Lord, this book is sure to ignite a fire of love in you and cause a spiritual inferno within. Our fellow Christians share in a joint interest, communication and intimacy and the foundation of this fellowship is, that infinitely precious atoning blood of Jesus Christ our Blessed Savior" (Matthew Henry Commentary, Luke 24).

Join others in this book’s spiritual excursion that will lead you to great riches, and surely your soul shall prosper. Pastor Belec’s spiritual heritage is the Welsh Revival. His pastor (the Reverend William Gummer) was in Wales during the Welsh Revival and personally experienced salvation there. He came to Montreal in the late 1930s where he officiated at the dedication service of Pastor Belec in 1945 (he was three months old at the time). A serious interest in the Welsh Revival has recently surfaced at the church where Pastor Belec currently pastors. An unusual flame seems to have been kindled reminiscent of the Welsh Revival. This can only lead to good things for the saints as well as for the community. Given what is written (1 John 5:13) and what has been imparted to us, the eyes of our understanding being enlightened, we can safely ascertain that God has purposed that Christ, His bride, and His table are the center of God’s universe. This reasoning comes from a clear understanding of whose table it is (He brought me to His banqueting table), who is at the center of it (it is about Christ and His bride), the divine preparations offered (redemption and sonship), the atmosphere surrounding it (His banner over me is love), and with the ambience of an eternal feast. Thus we have the law of the table, a satisfying and life-giving force, a table-ready empowerment.

Preface

The church is God’s ultimate preoccupation and Christ’s most cherished possession. In the Old Testament God referred to His people as precious stones, gems, a royal diadem and crown of glory (Isa. 62:3–5). The last thing God created was Eve, the crown jewel of all creation. Such extravagance. He presented her to Adam with great delight and joy; He was proud for Adam. It is well accepted theologically that Adam is known as the First Adam, and Christ is known as the Last Adam. In the light of this analogy, it is not a stretch to see Eve representative of the church. After all, she was the first lady of creation. Should not the church then be viewed as the last lady of re-creation? Truly a chaste virgin, the church is His crown jewel of re-creation, adorned in and arrayed with fine linen (Isa. 61:10, Rev. 19:7–9).

Just as Eve was presented to Adam to be his bride, will not God also present the church to Christ as His virtuous and glorious bride? Indeed. A number of other fascinating similarities between Eve and the church will be unveiled. Christ certainly did His part to purchase her by sacrifice and by cleansing her in His blood. Now, is it not equally incumbent upon the church (His bride) to ready herself for her groom and for that great wedding feast? And so it is of any bride anticipating her wedding day. How does she go about doing that? What is the most effective way she can adorn herself if not to see herself as a reflection of Him? We will explore these avenues as we dig deep into a newly found excavation site, all within the parameters of apostolic truth, of course. Hebrews 12:2 indicates that what Jesus was focused on, in fact, helped Him endure the cross and despise the shame. His focus, or objective, had to be more than merely being replenished with what He had before the foundation of the world. He was set on a reward, a recompense that He did not have before. My heart tells me that the reward was His bride-to-be. The certainty of His Father’s promise was so real to Him that He prayed not only for the ones He already had but also for those who would later believe on Him and become part of His bride (John 17). This man Jesus was in love! Jesus was smitten! An objective will always overrule an objection. The objection of the cross and its shame was insufficient (as horrendous as they were) in themselves to prevent Him or detract Him from acquiring His beautiful bride. He knew she was to become God’s domain and His sanctuary (Ps. 114:1–2, Eph. 2:19–22).

In no possible way can mere mortals exhaust the glad eternal provisions of Christ and the revelations of Himself found at the Communion. These are riches that the Apostle Paul describes as unsearchable or unfathomable (Eph. 3:8). The mistake of not searching them out is assumed by some in the term unsearchable. However, it is not that Paul would for one moment discourage people from seeking deeper and more meaningful experiences and comprehension of the Lord’s Table, but rather that, no matter how fulfilling one’s findings and discoveries are, one could never exhaust the eternal riches of God that are yet to come in one’s life. For instance, Paul writes about a peace that passes understanding in Philippians 4:7. He points out that when you have discovered a new dimension of understanding and application of the peace of God in your walk with Him, God will have other and greater experiences for you that will surpass the current experience of increase.

It is likewise with the Lord’s Table. I point out that although Christians around the world celebrate this rite, for too long and for too many, it hasn’t been much more than a perfunctory practice rather than a meaningful act of worship. Personally, I have enjoyed participating in Communion all my life. My spiritual heritage is the Apostolic Church of Wales (founded as a result of the Welsh Revival), and although the Apostolic Church preached sound doctrine and celebrated the Lord’s Supper weekly, I kept experiencing a deep longing and hunger for greater significance, understanding, and encounter from my indulgence.

Over the years we’ve heard many discouraging disputes and arguments about the proper way to serve Communion, the correct measurements, when and how often it should be served, how long it should last, and so on. Well, we knew instinctively that what was being disputed could not be the true essence of the table. I would hear disputes about the use of wine or grape juice, wafer or bread, a single chalice or individual cups, but we knew that it wasn’t about the wine or juice; it was about the blood! It wasn’t about the bread or wafer; it was about His broken body. It wasn’t about the duration of the service but rather its transformative power. The inevitable results of these unnecessary disputes were divisions and separation. It’s not about aesthetics. It’s about substance. What was intended to bring God’s family together was being used as a tool for separation and alienation. As given by Paul, there are consequences to inordinate use of the table. A pursuit for answers ensued.

The very birth of faith in God through Jesus Christ was begun in a Communion setting. It is agreed that Abraham was the father of the faith. When he had completed his military engagements successfully, the king of Salem/High Priest after the order of Melchizedek approached Abraham at the Valley of Shaveh, bringing bread and wine. Faith began at a table of communion. Christ Jesus being the Author and Finisher of our faith, He will finish (or complete) our faith at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Christ was there at the beginning, He is here in the middle (while the church is on earth), and He shall be at the end of faith in direct communion with Him.

Following the principle of cause and effect, it must be assumed that the church today is pretty much in the same type of conundrum as Israel was when Hezekiah became king. As a nation, Israel found herself anemic, divided, impoverished, broken, and trying to survive outside of God’s ordinances. To restore Israel, Hezekiah soon discovered that he had to investigate what had made her great in her glory days. Her best days were during the reign of King David.

What was missing in Hezekiah’s days that had been present in David’s days that made Israel so great? First, we have to find out what alienated her from God’s blessing. It turns out that not only had the priests and Levites defamed themselves, but the temple in Jerusalem had been fully desecrated. It was to the point that idolatry was rampant within the temple as well as in the lives of God’s people. The first thing on God’s agenda to restore Israel’s greatness was to restore the table (the Feast of the Passover), which had been neglected for almost 250 years! Look at how it is practiced in general in the church today. The table is barely acknowledged. Its position suggests an act of no real importance with no ill suffered. This is sad. But I believe a turnaround is taking place.

Looking back to the early apostolic age, the church knew a real presence. The apostles gave the early church four devotions, or disciplines, to adhere to. In Acts we see the church steadfastly continuing in the apostles’ doctrine, prayers, fellowship, and the breaking of bread. We practice the first three today with little effort. But where is the table? I find it altogether interesting that the table is the one least practiced among the brethren. As for the apostles’ doctrine, Jude (1:3) and Paul