Doctrine & Disciplines

The Jewish Mezuzah and Its Eternal Truth

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

One of the most precious gifts I ever received was a Mezuzah from Israel. It was given to my husband and me by our Pastor at the time from his trip to the Holy Land.

WHAT IS A MEZUZAH?

The Mezuzah is a small rectangular box, some simply decorated, and others extremely ornate. Every Mezuzah holds the same contents, a copy of the verses Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21.

WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?

The Mezuzah is a reminder of the most fundamental knowledge of God.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

This knowledge that GOD IS ONE LORD is so important in our understanding of Him that He instructs His People to speak of it daily to their children, when they are sitting, walking, and otherwise going about their days. He expects us to keep this knowledge at the forefront of our minds, continually.

The Mezuzah is not an amulet, nor a good luck charm. It is simply a reminder to those who possess it of their obligation to God.

HOW IS IT USED?

The Mezuzah has traditionally been affixed to the doorways of Jewish homes. When the people who lived there, or even guests, came through the door, they would be reminded, this is a home where people know the one, true living God. I must conduct myself in a proper and reverent way in honor of Him.

Also, when people would leave the home, they would be reminded to live appropriately and in honor of God while they go about their daily lives.


A CLOSER EXAMINATION

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

The knowledge that God is one is the core belief that every person who claims to know and love Him should confess. The belief in a TRINITY of Beings who make up the One God is against that most fundamental doctrine.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

We should hold this knowledge that our God is One Lord deeply in our hearts. It should resonate clearly and distinctly within us every day of our lives so that we do not begin to think of Him as the many gods of heathen nations.

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

God expects us to teach this knowledge of His ONENESS to our children at every opportunity. This mandate should make us rethink putting our children in situations where we know they will be taught trinitarian doctrine, even so called “Christian” schools.

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Again, whatever our hand finds to do, or our eyes look at, our minds should always retain the knowledge of God’s ONENESS, and the fact that we are to love Him with everything in us. When we go or come from our homes, this Truth should guide us in the way we go about our days, both inside and outside our homes. If we are truly in relationship with the One True Living God, we will behave ourselves in ways that please Him, both to the stranger, as well as to those closest to us.

 

Deuteronomy 11:13-21

And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

The blessings of God are contingent on whether we retain the knowledge of the One True Living God, and whether we serve Him with everything within us. IF we, THEN He.

That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.

The blessing of remembering and teaching that our God is One Lord, and loving and serving Him with our whole hearts, is that He will provide what we need to live productive and contented lives in His will.

Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

It is possible that we could be deceived into serving and worshiping other gods. We must guard our hearts and minds continually. It is difficult to imagine the possibility of being deceived in the day that we live in. However, believing that the trinitarian doctrine is biblical is one such deception.

And then the Lord‘s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you.

If we do not retain the knowledge of God’s ONENESS in our hearts, and instead, live our lives as if we are not accountable to the One True Living God, and forsake our relationship with Him, then we can expect God’s fierce anger to be against us. We should not be surprised when His blessings of provision do not follow. Nor should we expect to live out our days in health and peace.

Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

The knowledge of God’s ONENESS and our adoration of Him should not only be on display at every point in our lives, but should saturate our very hearts and beings.

And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

[bctt tweet=”We must use every opportunity to invest into our children the knowledge of the ONENESS of God and their need to love and serve Him with all their hearts.” username=”patvickdotcom”]

We must not assume that our children and grandchildren know and understand the truth of the Oneness of God simply because they witness our relationship with God. Nor should we assume they comprehend the magnitude of their obligation to God because they have heard us tell others. WE MUST SPEAK THE WORDS TO THEM ONE ON ONE as often as we can.

And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:

Hence, the reason that Orthodox Jews still attach the Mezuzah to their door posts even in modern times.

That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.

We don’t live for the Lord and retain the knowledge of His ONENESS only for ourselves. Our children’s very lives and futures depend on us imparting to them this same knowledge of the Almighty, deep love and desire to serve Him in Truth. Knowing that GOD IS ONE, not three, is basic, fundamental, and ESSENTIAL to our and our children’s salvation.

 

YOUR OBLIGATION AS A CHRISTIAN

You may not have a Mezuzah affixed to your door posts, but you are responsible for knowing and passing on this eternal Truth:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Blessings!

Pat

~~~~~~~
As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, or email me: PAT@patvick.com

Also, if you’d love to read more about the Oneness of God, be sure to check out my past articles on the topic below.

Are All Pentecostal Churches Created Equal?

The Oneness of God: It Isn’t Just Semantics.

What Is The First Commandment Of All?

 

6 Reasons You Should Be Baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

The choice to be baptized in Jesus’ name was neither difficult, nor complicated for me, once I saw the Truth of it in scripture. I had previously been baptized in the titles, “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” When I came up out of the water, the only difference I felt was wet instead of dry. I was very disappointed that I didn’t feel a difference on the inside. I knew that I had missed something, but wasn’t sure what.

Years later, I learned of baptism in Jesus’ name. I saw it. I understood it. I acted on it. I can testify to you that when the man of God put me under the water, actually calling on the NAME OF JESUS, everything was different than my previous baptismal experience.

I can tell you the exact moment my sins were “washed away.” It was in the approximate two seconds that I was under the water. I remember opening my eyes, seeing the lights above me, and thinking that I could stay there forever. When I broke the plane of the water, I knew without a doubt that I was clean on the inside.

Because I’ve had this extraordinary experience, I desperately want you to experience it also. Here are six reasons why you should be baptized in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST:

1. Jesus commanded it.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28:19)

Father, Son and Holy Ghost are titles. What is THE NAME of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost? It is JESUS, of course! Going through the motions of baptism without using His name is powerless.

2. The Apostles obeyed Jesus’ command by baptizing in Jesus’ name.

On the Day of Pentecost, when Peter preached the first message of the early Church, he very plainly told the people what they must do to be saved -repent, be baptized in Jesus’ name, and receive the Holy Ghost.

We can see what Jesus meant by how the apostles followed through. There isn’t one scripture that even suggests they spoke the titles, Father, Son and Holy Ghost over new converts when they baptized them.

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38)

“Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)” (Acts 8:14-16)

3. Jesus’ name baptism is for the remission (removal) of sins.

How did the apostles have the power to remit (remove) people’s sins? It was by baptizing them in Jesus’ name. The ministry has this same power today. WOE to a minister who refuses to baptize new converts in the name of Jesus! That man or woman will stand before the God of all Glory with much blood on their hands.

“Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” (John 20:23)

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38)

“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16)

4. Being baptized in Jesus’ name allows us New Life and hope of the Resurrection.

A bride is due all the benefits that taking on her husband’s name in marriage allows. So it is that we are due all that taking on Jesus’ name in baptism allows.

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” (Romans 6:3-5)

5. Historical records prove Jesus’ name baptism to be the original formula.

Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, (Thirteenth Edition, Vol. 1, Page 241): The original form of words as ‘into the name of Jesus Christ’ or ‘the Lord Jesus.’ Baptism into the Trinity was a later development.

Schaff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia, (Vol. 1, Page 435): “The New Testament knows only the baptism in the name of Jesus.”

Canney Encyclopedia, (page 53): “The early church always baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus until the development of the Trinity, afterward they were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

6. We are commanded to do all things in Jesus’ saving name.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Colossians 3:17)

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

We are so quick to proclaim the name of Jesus in every other area of our lives; doesn’t it seem only right that His name should be spoken at our baptism? People will pray over their food, their choices, their health, and their children, calling on the name of Jesus. Yet, they will refuse to have His name spoken at the most pivotal point in their lives.

…This sounds like a trick of the enemy to me.

Spirit & Flesh

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment


I was driving to work when I realized I hadn’t even knelt and prayed before I left the house. I had read the Word, written my daily devotion, scanned Facebook, and then gotten ready and left for the day.

When I realized that I hadn’t made the time to pray, I immediately began making excuses…”Lord, this flesh is so hard to keep under control.”

He reminded me of Adam and Eve in the garden. Adam said pretty much the same thing about Eve…It was this woman you gave me…

If we take a look at Adam and Eve as spirit and flesh, we see Eve (flesh) being tempted. Adam (spirit) could and should have disciplined the flesh, but he didn’t. He chose to partake of the forbidden fruit when Eve offered it to him. Because of this, they were both judged.

It may feel like you have no control over your flesh, but that is a lie from the enemy of your soul. We must continually strengthen our spirit so that our flesh can stay disciplined.

“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:12)

Are All Pentecostal Churches Created Equal?

~ Pat Vick ~ 4 Comments

I see it all the time -another “Pentecostal Church” sign in front of a church that I’m pretty sure is quite different from the Pentecostal Church we pastor. It’s no wonder there is so much confusion about what being Pentecostal means.

Not too many years ago in America, it was almost taboo to say you were Pentecostal. Not so today. More and more people boast in the fact that they have some association with Pentecost, as if they have risen above some social barrier. 

While it’s great that people are excited about visiting a Pentecostal Church, it’s often difficult for those who are actually trying to find one to attend.

With so many different flavors of Pentecost to choose from, how do you know what to look for? How do you know what’s important? What does Pentecostal even mean for Heaven’s sake???

PENTECOST

The word Pentecost actually means Fifty. It was fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead that He poured out the Holy Ghost (Spirit of God) on the hundred and twenty disciples who had waited in the upper room in Jerusalem for the promised gift. 

When the promise came to them, everyone in the upper room began to speak in unknown tongues (languages) as the Spirit enabled them. This supernatural phenomenon, along with lively worship, is what most people refer to when they think of being Pentecostal. While it is the first thing, it shouldn’t be the only thing.

Speaking in tongues is the initial sign of receiving the Holy Ghost (God’s Spirit), but being Pentecostal is more than speaking in tongues. Many congregations, denominations and religious organizations allow for being filled with the Holy Ghost (evidenced by speaking in tongues), yet never continue on into the fullness of the Pentecostal experience.

WHAT’S IMPORTANT?

There is one core difference that separates one Pentecostal Church from another -whether it is Oneness or Trinitarian. Every other teaching trickles down from this core doctrine.

Oneness Doctrine

The biblically correct teaching that God is one, based on Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:”

God is one. He is a Spirit. He manifested Himself in the form of a man (the son of God/flesh) so that He could become the sinless sacrifice for our sins, and die in our place, allowing us to have access to eternal life.

Trinitarian Doctrine

The erroneous teaching that God is three, based on the Catholic Nicene Creed, adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.

God is three separate beings, co-equal and co-eternal. This was not what the prophets taught. It was not what Jesus taught. It was not what the Apostles taught. It was not what the early Church taught. It was manufactured 325 years after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.

Why does it make a difference if a Church is Oneness or Trinitarian?

A Oneness Pentecostal Church will teach Acts 2:38 as the only plan of salvation. Repentance, Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the in filling of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues. A Oneness Church most often promotes some level of holiness and separation from worldliness, as well.

A Trinitarian Pentecostal church (or any trinitarian church, whether they are Pentecostal or not) will allow, and might even seek to be filled with the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues. However, they will not teach that it is essential to salvation. 

A trinitarian church will baptize using the titles, “Father, Son and Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost,” but not in the name of Jesus. 

Most Trinitarian churches teach that you are saved when you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, and that anything else you do is good, but not necessary for your salvation.

Can You See The Difference?

As you can hopefully tell, there is a big difference between these two doctrinal beliefs.

-The Oneness of God

-Acts 2:38 as the essential Plan of Salvation 

-Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.

-The infilling of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues.

-Holiness/Separation from worldliness

These are the key factors you should start with when visiting or looking for a Pentecostal Church to call home.

Blessings,

-Pat

The Keys of the Kingdom

Video ~ ~ Pat Vick ~ 4 Comments
Peter was given the Keys of the Kingdom (plan of salvation) by Jesus in Matthew 16. He revealed what those keys were when he preached the first message of the New Testament Church in Acts 2.

When Did “Fundamental” Become A Bad Word?

~ Pat Vick ~ 2 Comments

I bought a dictionary in the fall of 1985 when I started my first and only year of college. I still have that dictionary today. I used it to look up the word “Fundamental.”

When did “Serving as an original or generating source, Primary, Basic, Of central importance” become a bad thing? I’ve always thought being authentic, rather than fake, was a good thing, and something to be sought after and pursued.

If you are a bike rider, you want to ride a bike that has all the BASIC parts: Tires, Frame, Seat, Peddles, Handlebars, brakes.

If you go to a pet store to buy a puppy, you don’t ask, “Do you have any in the back, maybe one with a broken leg and only one eye?” No…You want one with all the BASIC parts!

If you buy a house, you want it to have all the BASIC parts: Footer, Floor, Walls, Roof, Windows, Doors, Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom.

If you must have surgery, you want your doctor to have all the BASIC knowledge, education, internship and residency.

Why is it that when so many people look for a CHURCH, they don’t mind it being a mamby pamby, wishy washy, anything goes, double minded, anyway you want it, quickshod, inkblot, quicksand kind of assembly?

COME ON NOW!

Shouldn’t we expect THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD to be comprised of the ORIGINAL, Bible-based, Non-negotiable, BASIC PARTS???

And shouldn’t we expect that when we hold churches accountable to those BASIC INDICATORS OF TRUTH, that we aren’t labeled “FUNDAMENTALISTS,” as though it meant the same thing as HERETIC or BLASPHEMER or ABOMINATION?

-If Fundamentalist means that I believe the Bible is the infallible Word of God, so be it.

-If Fundamentalist means that I take God at His Word, so be it.

-If Fundamentalist means that I stand on Deuteronomy 6:4, “Here O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” and NOT A TRINITY, so be it.

-If Fundamentalist means that I believe what Jesus told Nicodemus, Unless a man is born of water and Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God, So be it.

-If Fundamentalist means that I believe the basic plan of salvation that Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two is the New Birth that Jesus spoke of, so be it.

-If Fundamentalist means that I believe NO PERSON AFTER THE DAY OF PENTECOST will be saved and see the kingdom of God without being born again of the WATER (which is Jesus’ name baptism) and the SPIRIT (which is the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance), SO. BE. IT.

-If Fundamentalist means I believe a Christian must live a sanctified life of HOLINESS, “without which no man shall see the Lord,” so be it.

People may look at me narrowly and say, “She’s one of those Fundamentalists. Basically, she thinks the Bible means just what it says, and God really expects us to repent, be baptized in Jesus’ name, receive the Holy Ghost, speak in tongues, dress, act, speak and live a certain way…and Oh, she doesn’t even believe in the trinity.

I’m sure those people will mean this description as an insult, but THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I will take it as a COMPLIMENT.

 

IN THIS 22 MINUTE VIDEO, I TEACH FROM 1 CORINTHIANS 11 ON THE DOCTRINE OF UNCUT HAIR FOR LADIES.

Video ~ ~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

 

Why I Haven’t Cut My Hair In Over a Quarter of a Century

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

As a junior in high school, I had never been introduced to teaching on the New Birth, Holiness, nor the doctrine of Uncut Hair for women. At that time, my hair wasn’t uncut, but it was considered long, hanging all one length, a third of the way down my back, with the exception of “fly back” bangs.

Even though I had worn my hair like this for years, immediately after visiting a Oneness Pentecostal Church for the first time, I had the notion to get my hair cut. Suddenly, I wanted a new look.

I remember sitting in the salon chair after I told the stylist how I wanted it cut with her looking at me in hesitation. She told me how pretty my hair was and tried to talk me out of cutting it off. I continued to encourage her to do her job. She stood with the scissors open against my hair and literally begged me, “Please don’t make me cut your hair.”

I remember the metallic shearing of the scissors as they came together, the dull tug of severing, followed by the slight spring back of blunted ends. Even though I would have never let the stylist know it, something happened in the spiritual realm at that moment. I would not have been able to understand it or explain it at the time even if I had tried, but I can tell you with certainty that something was taken from me in that chair. I felt it leave me just as surely as if it had been spilled out onto the ground.

When I stood up I saw a sight that is permanently etched into my memory. Layers of long, golden hair discarded in a full circle around the now empty chair. I paid for the cut, ran my hands through my now short layers of hair, and plastered on a confident smile as I walked out the door with a heaviness in my heart.

Another incident happened several years later, after I had experienced the New Birth. After being born again, I was eager to embark on a journey of discipleship. I enthusiastically embraced a life of Holiness and spiritual disciplines. When I read and understood the topic of women’s uncut hair in 1 Corinthians 11, I stopped cutting my hair.

It was during this time that a friend from my childhood was passing through and came to stay with us for a week or so. She wore her hair in a very short wedge cut, with the crown of her head a bit longer, gradually getting shorter to the nape of her neck, which she kept shaved.

One day in passing conversation, she commented that she hadn’t been able to get to the hair salon for a while, and the hair on the back of her neck had grown out longer than she liked. Would I mind shaving it for her? Now, mind you, I was completely sold out to the doctrine of women’s uncut hair, and had not cut my own hair in any way for several years at this point. Without even thinking, however, but just trying to be a help, I replied, “Sure.”

It was at that very moment that a searing pain shot through my chest, as if a hot firebrand had been plunged into my heart. I have never felt that kind of pain before nor after, and thankfully, it only lasted a split second. That was all it took to bring me to myself. It was only then that I realized what I had agreed to do, and that it had displeased the Lord.

I turned to her and said, “I am so sorry. I know that I told you I would, but I don’t cut my hair and I can’t cut yours.” Her response was understandable from someone who had never been taught 1 Corinthians 11, “Oh, I’m not wanting you to cut it! I just want you to shave the stubble at the bottom.” But I knew that stubble, if let grow, would be long hair. Beside that, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would be displeasing to the Lord. Again, I told her that I couldn’t do to her hair what the Word of God and my strong conviction restricted me from doing to my own.

I shared with her as much of 1 Corinthians 11 as she was able to receive at that time, but knew that the experience was more for me than her. In His mercy, God had a hair stylist try to talk me out of cutting my hair years before. He, also mercifully sent me a piercing reminder when He knew I had agreed to something in thoughtless haste.

So, just as the title of this articles claims, I haven’t cut my hair in over a quarter of a century, and have no plans to ever cut it. To the world, this may seem like a strange notion, and terribly lacking in any fashion sense. To me, and according to 1 Corinthians 11, my uncut hair is my GLORY, the SYMBOL OF SUBMISSION to spiritual authority, and my SOURCE OF POWER with the angelic host.

*Please see the ACCOMPANYING VIDEO on 1 Corinthians 11:1-16, the biblical teaching of the Doctrine of Uncut Hair as a symbol of submission to spiritual authority.

Your feedback is welcome.

Warm Regards, -Pat Vick

Let’s Move Some Mountains!

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

Have you been dealing with the same spiritual strongholds for years?

Do you need more faith to get the victory?

If you have been asking God again and again for more faith, with little or no results, it’s a good time to figure out where faith comes from. We can go to a familiar scripture to find the answer.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Is this all there is to acquiring faith, and more of it? If so, it seems simple enough. Go to church. Listen to the preaching. Apply it to our lives. Enter, FAITH…

Yet, there are people who sit in church services three times a week plus prayer meetings, read the Bible daily, and pray faithfully, who, apparently, do not have the faith to get victory over the situations in their lives. Maybe you are one of them.

There must be more. What are we missing?

In Matthew 17, a man brings his devil-possessed son to Jesus, only after he had taken him to the disciples, and they could not cure him. Jesus responded with frustration at what He called a “FAITHLESS and perverse generation.” He then rebuked the devil, which immediately left the young man. What did Jesus know that the disciples did not? What had He been doing that they had not?

Afterward in private, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why could not we cast him out?”

“And Jesus said unto them, BECAUSE OF YOUR UNBELIEF: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE to you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out BUT BY PRAYER AND FASTING.” (Matthew 17:20-21)

From Jesus’ words, we understand that there are deeply entrenched spirits that cannot be overcome without prayer and fasting.

[bctt tweet=”We have thrown a lot of PRAYER at our situations, which is needful, but FASTING is the missing element.” username=”patvickdotcom”]

Our Oneness, Apostolic, Pentecostal, Holiness Churches are filled with faithful saints, loving pastors, great orators, anointed teachers, generous givers, and even powerful prayer warriors. Those same churches, however, have very few people who FAST with any degree of depth or consistency.

It is understandable, then, that our church families continue to be weighed down and oppressed by deeply entrenched generational spirits such as:

-Depression
-Anxiety
-Confusion
-Bitterness
-Rage
-Unforgiveness
-Abuse
-Addictions

-Poverty
-Disease
-Promiscuity
-Pornography
-Occult
-Suicide

On and on the list could go. What spirits continue to oppress your family even after years of consistent Word and prayer?

[bctt tweet=”If we want New Testament RESULTS, we must practice Early Church DISCIPLINES.” username=”patvickdotcom”]

A discipline must be practiced consistently to be effective.

Of all the spiritual disciplines, fasting is by far the most challenging. Yet, as we have already learned, it must be implemented if we are to be overcomers, as God’s Word assures us that we can be.

Flesh must be crucified. It’s the only way.

How much longer will we allow the same strongholds to keep us oppressed that oppressed our parents’ and grandparents’ generations?

MAKE A FASTING PLAN.

If you have never fasted, start small. One meal this week is a start. Two meals next week is progress. Three meals the next week is one whole day.

Here is a simple, long-term fasting goal to work toward:
1 day a week
3 days a quarter
7 days bi-yearly
21 days a year

Let’s move some mountains!

FASTING IS THE ANSWER.

*Please consult with your doctor before you begin any fasting regimen.
*Let him/her know of your plans to fast.
*Do not stop taking prescription medications without counseling with your doctor.
*Remember to drink plenty of water while fasting.

 

INVITATION TO LEAVE FEEDBACK
Do you have a testimony from a fasting experience?

I’d love for you to share it in the comments.
Do you have questions on fasting?

Leave them in the comments, and we’ll discuss them.