In the world, but not a part of it

1. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19)

2. “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:14)

3. “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)

4. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15)

5. “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

Seven Musts Of A True Christian

How can you tell the true from the false?

Matt 7:17-20
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
7:17 ???????????????????????????????7:18 ?????????????????????????????????????????????7:19 ??????????????????????????????7:20 ?????????????????????????????????????

1. You must recognize Yashua as the Messiah
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
14:6 ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

2. You must repent and be baptized.
Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
18:18 ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????18:19 ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 18:20 ??????????????????????????????????????????
Matt 16:16
16Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
16:16 ????????????????????????????????????

3. You must be filled with the Holy Spirit
Rom 8:14
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
8:14 ????????????????????????
Gal 5:18
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
5:8 ??????????????????????????????????????
Acts 8:26-38
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

4) You must regularly fellowship with other believers- You’ve got to get to church
Heb 10:23-25
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
10:23 ????????????????????????????????????????????????? 10:24 ?????????????????????????????????????10:25 ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

5) You must celebrate Communion regularly
1 Cor 11:26
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
11:26 ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????

6) You’ve got to know the Word of God and apply it to your life
Heb 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
4:12 ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

7) You must be a giver
2 Cor 9:6-8
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
9:6 ????????????????????????????????????????????? 9:7 ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 9:8 ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Ripped Off, Blessed Even More

Have you ever been ripped off? I think all of us have.

In the world, what comes around goes around. If you do evil things, evil will come back to you. Better yet, if you do good, good will come back to you. This doesn’t matter if you have repented and know Jesus or not.

However, as a believer, we have something better. If someone steals from you, you have to do two things.
1) Make the thief known (whether it be spiritually or sometimes to their face).
2) Never lose your joy, even if you get ripped off.

You’ve got to know that the thief has to repay you seven fold. Proverbs 6:30-31 makes that clear.

As a believer, we have to really work to keep our joy. Below are eight reasons why you must keep your joy.

8 Reasons for Believer’s Have Joy

1. Yahweh is your strength-
Neh 8:10
10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
8:10 ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

2. There is full joy in Yahweh’s Presence
Ps 16:11
11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
16:11 ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

3. We Yahweh’s Saints can shout for Joy!
Ps 132:16
16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
132:16 ?????????????????????????????

4. Joy realizes Your Salvation
Isa 12:3
3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
12:3 ??????????????????????

5. Yahweh’s Joy is Ever Lasting
Isa 35:10
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
35:10 ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

6. God’s Joy Remaining In You Makes You Full
John 15:11
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
15:11 ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

7. Yahweh wants us to ask in His Name.
John 16:24
24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
16:24 ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
8. Yahweh’s Kingdom is Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the HS.
Rom 14:17
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
14:17 ???????????????????????????????????????

Everybody Wants Love

Today I preached a message on how everyone wants love. And why they want love.

At the time of the writing of the New Testament, there were actually 4 words for love.

1) Eros- Sensual or self pleasing love
2) Stergo- A love between family members
3) Phileo- A love based on mutual satisfaction
4) Agape- Unconditional love

Check out my message on Itunes, just search on Spencer Patrick or
Victory Word Church.

Have a great week!

Building A Strong Family of Faith

skypeme

These are some great insights a picked up while listening to a message from Brian Zahnd. Very good insights!

Faith Family Steps

1) Be in church, believe in the church, love the church. You children project your attitude toward church on God. Teach them to tithe. JF Powers- This is a big old ship, she creeks she rocks, she gets you where you are going.

2) I believe in free will, excepts when it comes to my kids. My kids are going to be saved and they are going to serve God. Luke 18 (first 18 verses are the secret).

3) Recognize the risks of us versus them separatism. Beware of a fear-based strategy. World is bad, church is good. NO! You must teach your children how to live in our culture. Ie. Music- some Christian music is lame. The line separating good and evil runs through the heart of every man. Teach your children how to discern things.

4) Make your marriage work. This is one thing that will bless your family. Take your time choosing your mate. A good marriage is something you build. You have to find A right one. Not THE right one. Divorce will have a detrimental impact on your children.

5) Never become estranged from anyone in your family. People not going to a wedding because they don’t like the spouse they have chosen. Keep your family as your family. Always keep the door open to reconciliation.

6) Use your faith for family vacations. Always reasons why we should not vacation. Family best memories are from Christmas and vacations.

Dealing With Fame

Prov 27:20-21

20 Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
so human desire is never satisfied.

21 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,
but a person is tested by being praised. NLT

Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson

When the media reported on the death of two famous personalities yesterday, I knew we were in for a flurry of stories on both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Now we are starting to see a deluge of analysis of their lives.

Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett

Why are we talking about the dead, when we should be talking about the living?

What are you doing while you are here?

Unfortunately, we all die physically. It is definitely not something to look forward to…. Unless you know the Author of Life.

Undoubtedly, we are going to see these lives analyzed to the micron. Rather than analyzing the dead, let’s analyze the living. You and I!

Again, I say, what am I doing while I am here? Do I know God and am I leaving a legacy for God? Even as I become well known, how am I handling it?

Two Empty Boats

Today I preached about two empty boats. Sounds somewhat strange from to some I would guess. But really the message is about empty lives. Without Jesus, you are running on empty.

Check out the podcast here

Thoughts On Religion

Today I preached on real humility. It seems that there is such confusion in the world as to what is humility, meekness, weakness, and strength. Hebrews 10:19 talks about “having boldness” to enter into God’s presence.
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus

As I preached today on Luke 18:9-14, some thoughts on religion and religious people really became clarion clear. Religion and religious people like to-
1) Dress themselves up
2) Show off
3) Give people directions that they don’t follow themselves.
4) Lacking in spiritual power
5) Pretend to know, but are actually lost themselves.
6) Go with the gaudy- buildings, events, dress.

As a Christians, we need to take the Lord Yashua’s direction and love the Lord God Yahweh with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We also have to remember to love our neighbors as ourselves.