Doctrine & Disciplines

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.

 

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.

THE REMNANT: What Does An Old Scrap Of Cloth Have In Common With The True Church?

~ Pat Vick ~ 2 Comments

We have lived on our farm for the last ten years. We purchased it from a family who had lived on the land for decades. Through the years, as my husband and and sons have worked the ground, they have unearthed many treasures. Not of monetary value, but bits of history. A tool here. A toy there. A piece of metal from a trailer or a tractor. Evidence of past generations that have lived here. Worked here. Died here.

There is one thing that has surfaced time and again. On the acreage in front of where our house now sits, was once a thriving sawmill. Now it is a small lake that hosts a family of Canadian geese and one mallard duck. When the lake was being dug, again and again, we would find scraps of fabric. Not just any fabric. Not multiple kinds of fabric. But remnants of one specific garment.

Even now, every Summer, when one of the men till the ground between the house and the lake or run the bush hog over it, there it will be. Another Remnant.

It always stands out against its surroundings, with its odd pattern and color scheme. Patches of black, orange and pink, interspersed with a trickle of yellow circles. We’ve asked the previous owners if they remember what it might have been. A worker’s shirt? A ladies’ skirt or apron? A table cloth or bed sheet? No, they have no specific memory of it. It could have been anything, really.

But I can’t let it go. It wears on my mind. Why does it matter what it was all these years later? The only reason that I can give is because it keeps turning up. It matters because it was, and still is. The fact that it remains is proof that it is real and vital and true.

That old scrap of fabric reminds me of the Church. Real people who chose to follow Jesus. Real people who repented of their sins and were baptized in Jesus’ name. Real people that He poured His Holy Spirit into. Real people who spoke in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Real people who separated themselves from sin and worldliness, choosing to live a holy and consecrated life to the Lord. Real people who gave all they had -time, money, talents, and even their lives. Real people who were persecuted and hunted and put on trial and killed. All the day long. Year after year. Generation after generation. Dark age to dark age.

The ungodly world would have you believe those people never existed. That what you predominately see today called “church” is what always was. No, my friend. Don’t you believe it. The bedazzled, self-centered, over indulged, superficial, drunk on entertainment, any way you like it thing that is heralded by so many in the name of our Savior isn’t the Church that Jesus built.

How do I know? How could I possibly know? Because every time the ground is stirred up, the evidence is brought to the surface. Another remnant. You can’t hide the Truth when another remnant rises to the top. Oh, it may not be pretty. A bit odd, really, with its awkward patches of patterns and colors. It may not look like the world, or act like the world, or talk like the world. That’s because it’s IN the world, but not OF the world.

You can keep going to that thing called church if you want to. You can blend in with everyone else, do like everyone else, and talk like everyone else. But in your heart, you know the Truth. There was a Church that was different, pure, holy. And the reason you know it, the way you can be sure, is that every so often, the ground is stirred, and another remnant turns up.

[bctt tweet=”CHURCH: Ekklesia (Called Out Ones, Set Apart)” username=”patvickdotcom”]

That co-worker that always wears skirts. That family member that never went to college, but prays in a language that you know she never learned. That teenager that refuses to be a part of the “fun” the rest of the crowd has going. The one that refuses to bend…and refuses to be ignored. For millennia there have been those like her, declaring their story. His Story.

They may have been torn asunder in the sawmill of persecution, yet they live. Just as righteous Abel’s blood cried out from the ground to his God, so does theirs witness of a True Church. Trust me when I tell you, the Remnant is alive and well.

“Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:5)

Warm Regards, -Pat

If you are dissatisfied with the church you attend because it doesn’t reflect the attributes of the Church that Jesus built, or if you are looking for a home Church, I invite you to check out the UNITED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH, INTERNATIONAL. It is one of several Church organizations that promotes true Apostolic Doctrine. (Including the Oneness of God, the New Birth Experience of Repentance, Baptism in Jesus’ Name & the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, as well as living a lifestyle of Holiness.

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER, and email me PAT@PATVICK.COM.

REMIND ME AGAIN…What’s Keeping You From Being Baptized In Jesus’ Name?

~ Pat Vick ~ 3 Comments

It’s a sincere question that begs a sincere answer.

You say you love Jesus. You say you’re a Christian. I can tell by your conversation and by your works that you are true-hearted about your love and service to Him. You wear Jesus t-shirts. You have a Jesus charm on your bracelet. Your car sports a “What Would Jesus Do?” bumper sticker. And it’s a good thing you’re serious about Him, because you know how hard those things are to get off. You end your prayers with a heartfelt, “in Jesus’ name.”

So, remind me again…What’s keeping you from being baptized in Jesus’ name?

I’ve heard you talk about where He brought you from; that old life of sin that He delivered you out of. I’ve seen the shame seep into your eyes and down your cheeks when you remember the old you. I’ve also witnessed the thankful joy that chases it away when you share how He changed you. I believe you when you say you’ll never be able to repay His sacrifice that purchased your freedom, but you’ll never stop trying.

So, remind me again…What’s keeping you from being baptized in Jesus’ name?

I know you say that you have already been baptized. It was according to Matthew 28:19, right? Let’s take a look at that.

“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)

I was baptized once using this formula, as well. Then I realized that Jesus was saying to do what He said, not just repeat what He said. I realized that the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost is Jesus. That explains why I didn’t feel clean when I came up out of the water, only wet.

Once I understood this, I was re-baptized. This time, the preacher said, “In the name of Jesus Christ” when he put me under the water. I can tell you it felt altogether different from the first time. I felt truly clean-not just wet.

So, remind me again…What’s keeping you from being baptized in Jesus’ name?

Would it make a difference to know that every account in scriptures where people were baptized, the name of Jesus was spoken over them?

“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 are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)” (Acts 8:14-16)

“Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.” (Acts 10:47-48)

“And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. then said Paul, John verily baptized with he baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

So, remind me again…What’s keeping you from being baptized in Jesus’ name?

Would it make a difference to know that it is baptism in Jesus’ name that remits (removes) our sins?

“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)

[bctt tweet=”Remind me again…What’s keeping you from being baptized in Jesus’ name?” username=”patvickdotcom”]

I think you meant it when you said you would do anything to please Jesus. You would go anywhere He asked you to. You would give up anything He ask of you. In your heart and mind, no sacrifice was too much to give because of your great love for Him, and His for you.

Could that great sacrifice possibly be something so simple as allowing a Man of God to immerse you under water in baptism while pronouncing the name of your Savior, Redeemer, Lover of Your Soul, Great God, Jesus Christ, over you? I’m confused as to why you wouldn’t do such a small thing.

“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) 

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

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” (Colossians 3:17)

SO, REMIND ME AGAIN…

What’s keeping you from being baptized in Jesus’ name?

Warm Regards -Pat

INVITATION TO SHARE

-Do you have a memory of being baptized in Jesus’ name that you would like to share?

-Were you baptized another way before you were baptized in Jesus’ name? Could you feel a difference?

-Does your Church baptize in Jesus’ name only?

-Do you want to find a Church near you where you can be baptized in Jesus’ name? VISIT UPCI.ORG.

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER, and email me: Pat@PATVICK.COM.