Pentecostal

What If Church Isn’t What You Think It Is?

~ Pat Vick ~ Leave a comment

WHAT YOU THINK CHURCH SHOULD BE Most people think church is a building. A place to go. A weekly check in point. A social gathering to be seen, mix and mingle. A time to pull out the Good Book and talk to the Man Upstairs. Perhaps you equate church with Potluck Sunday or Dinner On The Ground.

WHAT YOU WANT CHURCH TO BE

Most people want church to fill in the gaps of their already hectic lives. They want to add church to whatever they’ve already got going on. It’s not Biker Church, Cowboy Church, Sports Club Church or any other aspect of your life that you want to add the word “church” to.

WHAT CHURCH IS

Church isn’t a what; It’s a who. It is the ECCLESIA: The Called Out. The church is a people who have responded to the call to come out of the world into the Kingdom of God.

“Church isn’t a what; It’s a who. It is the ECCLESIA: The Called Out. The church is a people who have responded to the call to come out of the world into the Kingdom of God.” Click To Tweet

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.“ (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

Church is coming OUT and AWAY from previous lifestyles, cultures and beliefs INTO the culture and Kingdom of the Living God. It is a MAJOR change. A new way of THINKING and LIVING.

“Church is coming OUT and AWAY from previous lifestyles, cultures and beliefs INTO the culture and Kingdom of the Living God. It is a MAJOR change. A new way of THINKING and LIVING.” Click To Tweet
  • Church Is Apostolic.

Jesus left His Church in the hands of his disciples, who came to be known as Apostles. He left them with instructions on how His Church should function. It is impossible to have true Church in a way other than the way the Apostles had Church. You can find a very detailed account of the first generation church in the Book of Acts. (of the Apostles) If the Apostles believed it, preached it and lived it, that is what Church should be.

-The Apostles’ teaching and lifestyles included the necessity of the New Birth (Repentance, Baptism in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost evidenced by speaking in unknown tongues.)

-The Apostles’  teaching and lifestyle included signs, wonders and miracles done in Jesus’ name.

-The Apostles’ teaching and lifestyle included the belief in the Oneness of God. This meant very specifically that God, who is a Spirit, manifest Himself in the son to become the sacrifice for our sins. They believed this to their death and in the face of much persecution.

-The Apostles’ teaching and lifestyle included consistent fasting and prayer to subdue flesh and stay in communion with God,

-The Apostles’ teaching and lifestyle included extravagant worship.

-The Apostles’ teaching and lifestyle included the belief in Jesus’ second coming to the Earth to set up a natural Kingdom.

-The Apostles’ teaching and lifestyle included the belief in the Rapture or Catching Away of the Church to be with the Lord forever, at which time they would be changed from mortal to immortality.

-The Apostles’ teaching and lifestyle included the belief in Jesus’ Millennial Reign -When Jesus returns for His Church, He will rule and reign from Jerusalem for one thousand years, and we will rule and reign with Him.

  • Church Is Oneness.

The early Church was totally, 100%, unequivocally believers in the Oneness of God. When early converts were Born Again, they left their beliefs in multiple gods behind them. They came out from these idol worshiping beliefs of the surrounding heathen nations to believe in the one, true, living God whose name is Jesus. The erroneous doctrine of the trinity did not even exist and take root in the Church until the Nicene Council in 325 AD. Until this time, the early Church only baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, not in the titles, father, son and Holy Ghost.

  • Church Is Pentecostal.

No matter what sign is on your church building, the early Church was Pentecostal. Before denominations were a thing, when Believers were simply called “Christians,” they all experienced the fundamental infilling of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues. Pentecost means fifty. It was the Holy Day that occurred fifty days after Passover. It is God’s Holy Day that commemorates the giving of the Law to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai. On this day in Acts (of the Apostles) 2, God’s Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus’ followers. They all spoke in languages unknown to them as evidence that they had been filled with the Holy Ghost. To be the Church is to have this Pentecostal experience.

  • Church Is Holiness.

The early Church didn’t try to fit Jesus into their way of living. They forsook everything about their former lives that was contrary to godliness. They were serious and persistent about rooting all sin from their lives. They didn’t have a list of rules to check off. They simply shed everything that related to worldliness: Lifestyles, culture, language, wardrobe, habits, vices, excesses, passions, pursuits, hobbies and pastimes. They walked away from it all into a life of service to Jesus.

BE THE CHURCH

Hopefully, what you want church to be, what you think church is and what church truly is has come into clear focus. One thing is for certain. Church will never be more or less than the example left by Jesus and His Apostles. Church isn’t a what; It’s a who. Be the Church.

 

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 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.

CHURCH: Ekklesia (Called Out Ones, Set Apart) Click To Tweet

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.