Endtime & Prophecy

Are You Hoping For Heaven, But living Like The Devil?

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

Years ago, I knew a lady who lived like the devil. She had enough Church influence to know right from wrong. If you happened to get into a conversation on the Bible, she knew all the right answers, and could even quote scriptures.

She knew and believed the Oneness of God. She knew and believed the New Birth experience as taught in Acts 2:38-39. She knew and believed in Holiness. She had a general knowledge of Endtime events.

Did I mention she lived like the devil?! Being a young Believer, and full of zeal for the Lord, I was astounded at this phenomenon.

As is often the case with people who know the Truth, but aren’t living Him, she loved to engage others in conversation about the Bible. One evening, we were having one such discussion concerning the Rapture and the Mark of the Beast. She said to us, “I know I’m not living right. I know I won’t make the Rapture, but when the time comes, I have decided, no matter what, I won’t take the Mark.” (I’ll reserve my comments on her belief in a pretribulation Rapture for another post.)

Being a young Christian, I didn’t know what to say to her then, but in the years that have passed since, I have often thought of her remark. If someone were to say the same thing to me today, I would share with them Jeremiah 12:5.

“If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?” (Jeremiah 12:5)

I fear that there are many people that think like this lady did. They think that after living their lives in whatever manner they choose, that somehow, by sheer determination, they will be able to decide to do right “when the time comes.”

If you are one of those people, I would ask you the same question that Jeremiah did. If you can’t serve God and do right while living in peaceful times today, how do you think you will find the resolve to live for God when hard times come tomorrow? When persecution comes? When tribulation comes?

Willpower is a lousy disciplinarian when it comes to spiritual matters. If you are not truly CONVERTED to Christianity, If you are not truly BORN AGAIN of the WATER and the SPIRIT, your willpower is like a spider’s web in satan’s face.

[bctt tweet=”Willpower is a lousy disciplinarian when it comes to spiritual matters.”]

The Apostle Paul told the young minister, Timothy,

“In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. (2 Timothy 2:25-26)

You may think you are calling the shots while being backslidden. You may think that one day, in the future, when you have sown the last of your wild oats, when you have achieved a certain measure of success, when you have gained notoriety among your peers, when you have consumed all of this world’s pleasures…that you will simply “decide” to come to God.

You are being deceived, my friend, and it is the most delicious deception the devil offers on his buffet of deceitful delicacies. The Truth is that you are being held captive at his will. Not only is he calling the shots, but he is doing so in relatively peaceful times.

What true persecution does the North American Church know of? If you squirm when someone asks whether you go to that Pentecostal Church, do you truly think that you will have the fortitude to live for God when the “Horsemen” arrive? When the whole world is reeling out of control?

I implore you. I beg you. I reason with you. If you feel the tug of the Spirit reading these words, don’t wait to “decide” to serve God. Turn to Him now. FIND A CHURCH that teaches the Acts 2:38 New Birth message, and go there as soon as possible. Repent of your sins, be baptized in the name of Jesus’ Christ for the remission of those sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Commit to living a life of Holiness.

If you have known the Lord, but have walked away, if you have filled your life with the world’s delicacies, WAKE UP! Realize your soul has been snared. Turn away from satan’s table of deceit, and turn back to God, while His Spirit is dealing with you. The horsemen are fast approaching, and you need to be prepared for spiritual battle.

Warm Regards,
-Pat Vick

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

 

 

Seven Days And Counting…

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

Here we are, seven days from the election that will forever change our American story. It reminds me of Noah’s story. He worked steadily for over one hundred years, following specific instructions from God, to build a boat for the saving of whosoever would get on board. Whether or not anyone believed Noah’s crazy sounding preaching didn’t change the fact that a flood was coming, and nothing would ever be the same again. To believe or not only affected whether that individual or family would be saved from the sure and soon coming deluge.

Even though God is a God of judgement, He is also a God of mercy. This doesn’t mean He will not judge our sin. It means that He will continue to give opportunity to turn away from sin and to Him up to the end. This was the case for Noah’s generation. God gave Noah a seven day final warning:

“For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.” (Genesis 7:4)

Noah and his family had seven days to finalize last minute preparations before the divinely appointed day when the rain would begin.

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” (Genesis 7:11)

Scripture doesn’t give us any indication that it began with a sprinkle and splatter of warning raindrops. God’s Word was the warning.

“In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;” (Genesis 7:13)

“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.” (Genesis 7:16)

After the seven days of warning, on the same day that Noah’s family entered into the ark, the Lord shut the massive door, and the windows of heaven were opened and rain began to fall in torrents. There was no more opportunity for mercy after God shut the door. After a hundred years of hearing the preached Word, and seven days of final warning, only Noah and his family were on board when the door was shut and the rain began to fall.

So, here we are seven days from the election that will forever change our American story. No matter which candidate wins, it will cause a shift in the spiritual realm. I believe when this election takes place, a spiritual door will be shut by God Himself.

Am I saying you won’t have another chance to get right with God after the election? No. That’s not for me to know. I’m saying that God, in His mercy, is tugging at your heart right now, and it’s high time to get in the ark of safety. Seven days and counting…

“And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man…” (Genesis 6:3)

As always, feel free to leave a comment, share to social media, and email me at pat@patvick.com.

Warm Regards,

-Pat

Is America In Your Bible? (Daniel 7, Part 1)

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

American Bald Eagle

What would you say if I told you that America was mentioned in your Bible? If you saw it for yourself, would it make that old book not seem so outdated and archaic? Grab your Bible and some curiosity. Let’s take a look together.

In the book of Daniel, chapter 7, the prophet had a dream of four great beasts. Don’t let this word spook you. It doesn’t mean literal creatures. It’s a WORD PICTURE or IMAGERY depicting nations and their leaders.

The Lion With Eagle’s Wings

“The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.” (Daniel 7:4)

The first beast (nation) was like a LION. Is there a modern country whose national symbol is the lion? Think. Great Britain. The official national animal symbol of Great Britain is the Barbary Lion. You will find the image of the lion very frequently on most anything related to Great Britain.

The lion had EAGLE’s wings. What modern nation’s symbol is the EAGLE? You guessed it, the United States of America! Where did we originate from? Great Britain.

In his dream, Daniel watched until the EAGLE’S wings (America) were plucked from the back of the lion. Daniel 7:4 precisely and clearly shows the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in our Bible. Our founding fathers only thought they came up with the idea to break away from Great Britain and set forth across the ocean to find a land where they could freely serve their Creator. In truth, they were “plucked” by the very hand of God, transported across the sea, and divinely established in a new land.

It is worth noting here that once the eagle’s wings (America) were plucked from the back of the lion (Great Britain), they were no longer part of any of the four beasts in Daniel’s dream.

The final thing mentioned about the eagle’s wings in this passage is that “a man’s heart was given to it.” No other nation on earth, with the possible exception of Israel, operates with such conscience, showing compassion and benevolence all over the world. A secondary image relating to America is introduced here, a man with a heart lead by conscience. Uncle Sam.

Isn’t it exciting to realize that our All-Knowing God chose to use symbols in His Word that would be recognizable and have meaning to the last day Church? We can take comfort in where we are in history, knowing that He is in control.

I hope you will join me as we identify the bear and the leopard of Daniel chapter seven in THE BEAR AND THE LEOPARD -Daniel 7, Part 2. https://www.patvick.com/the-bear-and-the-leopard-daniel-7-part-2/

May God bless your study of His Word,

-Pat