RSS

Monthly Archives: June 2016

Where Did We Lose It?

06 Jun

SunriseIn my last post, I talked about divine healing from James’ perspective. It sounds to me, from his writings, that he had a 100% success rate in the area of praying for the sick. Without a doubt the early church had a higher walk than we do. The miraculous was an everyday occurrence.

But, if you think about it, that’s to be expected. If we look at the life of Jesus, we see the exact same thing. He had a 100% healing rate as well.

The example of Jesus. There is no hint, in the Gospel record, of anyone coming to Him for healing and leaving disappointed. We are the ones who make excuses for not being healed.

“Maybe this is the only way God could teach me a lesson.”

There’s no record of Jesus ever refusing to heal someone because He wanted them to “learn something” they couldn’t get any other way. Praise God that you got closer to the Lord during your illness. We learn many things during times of affliction. But to think that the reason you’re not healed was for the purpose of teaching you something, goes against the clear Word of God.

The example of the disciples. From the Scripture we know that the disciples had a front row seat in observing the life of Christ. They ate, slept and traveled with Him. They saw His highs and lows. They saw Him with the crowds, as well as how He lived His life in private.

He was their example for how they were to live their lives after He returned to the Father. It’s not surprising, then, that the apostles of Christ also had a 100% healing rate in the Scriptures. There’s no hint that they ever prayed for someone with no results.

The next generation. The power of the Lord manifest through His people didn’t even end there. The next generation of believers – those first saved under the apostles – had the same success. Men like Paul, Philip, James and Jude walked in the power of the Spirit to a degree we can’t even imagine.

Were they any different from us? Was their God different from our God? No way! That’s what led me to ask the question – is something missing?

Where we lost it. It wasn’t until the next generation of believers that we start to see a change taking place in the life of the church. In talking to the Corinthians, Paul makes note of the fact that they were acting in carnality – like a bunch of babies. He then makes the following indictment.

That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 11:30

This was not an acknowledgement of what church should be like. Rather, it was a warning that something was wrong and needed fixing.

It should also serve as a warning to us. It should drive to seek the Lord and the power of His presence. It should bring us to a place of seeking and listening in the spirit.

Question: How much are you willing to change in order to position yourself for the next move of God?

© 2016 Nicolas Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 6, 2016 in Healing, Power of God, Revival, What's Missing?

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Prayer of Faith?

03 Jun

cross 2Divine healing is a controversial subject these days. Even among those who believe that God heals, there seems to be a discouragement surrounding it. I think we need to see what church life was like under the original apostles.

Based upon my studies, I believe that the book of James was the first of the New Testament to be written. James was the Senior Pastor of the church of Jerusalem. His book deals with the basics of living for Christ.

I’ve found that the book of James is a Holy Spirit inspired training manual for new believers. In it, James deals with many foundational issues. Toward the end he deals with divine healing. He uses very strong language to get his point across.

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
James 5:13-15

It seems to me that there are not many who teach healing out of this passage anymore. It’s far too radical for modern Christianity – even among “Faith Churches”. James is very bold in his declaration of the place of healing in the church.

He asks, “Is any one of you sick?” This is not reserved for only the strong in faith. This is not limited to those who have been “confessing their healing” for months. This is clearly written to anyone who’s sick.

He leaves no wiggle room for doubt in God’s purpose. There’s no mention of God wanting to heal some and leaving others sick in order to teach them something.

He states this in no uncertain terms. Not “maybe”, “sometimes”, or “in most cases”. He says, “The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.” He even repeats himself for emphasis, “The Lord will raise him up.”

More than that, he goes on to use the exact same wording for the forgiveness of sin. Would anyone ever doubt the forgiveness of the Lord? Would you ever add, “if it’s God’s will,” to a prayer for forgiveness?

You would never entertain the thought that if someone confessed their sin to God, they may or might not be forgiven, depending on God’s will for their life. Yet, in context, healing is portrayed with the same level of certainty.

As a matter of fact, James is so emphatic in the Greek, that I would be afraid to ask him about it if I had the chance. I could only imagine how that meeting would go. I can see myself sitting in his office asking him, “What should I do if I pray over someone for healing and they’re not healed?”

I am concerned that he would look me straight in the eye, and with a serious tone, say to me, “Then you need to get saved.”

Question: Do you have any experience with divine healing? Should it be more evident in the church?

© 2016 Nicolas Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 3, 2016 in Faith, Prayer, Revival, What's Missing?

 

Tags: , , , ,

How God Got My Attention

01 Jun

Cloud2I believe that we’re headed into a new move of God. As with all moves of the Spirit, God is restoring something that was lost. This new move will encompass every area of our Christian walk.

It will change the way the world views the church and even the way in which we minister. I believe that it will open the door for the end-time harvest of souls just before the coming of the Lord.

If God is restoring something, then by definition, something’s missing. What is this missing ingredient? To answer that question, I’ll bring you through the process God used to bring it to my attention.

I was pastoring a small but growing church in New England. We added staff. We were selling our old building and looking for a new one. During that process my wife and I were able to buy a house. Things seemed to be going well.

Why do we find it so hard to learn important lessons when things are running smoothly? At least that seems to be the question in my life.

This smooth sailing ended abruptly. The church had to go through a few moves into temporary facilities. The congregation lost about three-quarters of the people. We had to let staff go. Things began to look dark.

It eventually got to the point where we lost our house during a national housing crisis. We’re now renting an apartment. During these challenging years my frequent cry was, “Why, Lord?”

I’m pleased to report that God brought us through all of these difficulties. Along the way He taught me some valuable lessons about His grace and provision. I also learned what it means to be a son of God.

There was one final event that opened up my spiritual ears. My life-long mentor – the pastor who raised me up in ministry – was diagnosed with cancer. He wasn’t very old. He preached the healing power of God. He and his family were trusting God for his healing. I was praying and trusting God as well. Hundreds of people were standing with him in faith.

When he passed into eternity, it took a toll on me and many others. Where was God in all this? I began to cry out to the Lord. It was during this time that the Holy Spirit showed me the condition of the church in our generation.

I’d like to blame God, but He’s not the problem. Christ provided for our healing on the cross. The problem lies in how that healing power gets from the Healer to the sick person. Clichés just don’t cut it. It’s more than just an issue of our faith.

God made it abundantly clear to me as I cried out to Him in my confusion. There’s a key ingredient that’s missing from the lives of most Christians. I made it my goal to pray, meditate and study the Scripture to find and restore what was lost. This is the first post in a series about what I found on this quest.

I believe that there’s a hunger in the body of Christ today. We desire a more powerful walk with God.

Question: Is it just me, or do you feel it too?

© 2016 Nicolas Zaccardi

 
1 Comment

Posted by on June 1, 2016 in Revival, What's Missing?

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Newer posts →