RSS

Category Archives: Ministry

Experiencing God’s Work

Experiencing God’s Work

We’re now going through the epistle of Jude, that tiny book toward the end of the Bible. He helps us to understand and identify false teachers and preachers in the body of Christ.

This is a very important verse that we need to pay careful attention to. Again, the word he uses for speak abusively against is the Greek word for blaspheme. But, what is it that they blaspheme in this verse?

That word, understand, literally means to know by seeing. In other words, they blaspheme things that they haven’t personally experienced.

Jude goes on to say that these people have a level of understanding. The Greek words that he uses mean that the knowledge they stand upon is in the natural.

That’s an important concept. He says that this natural knowledge will cause them to shrivel, wither, and become ruined.

The Apostle Paul dealt with this exact same issue in his first letter to the Corinthians.

That phrase, man without the spirit, is literally natural or soulish man in the Greek. In other words, like Jude tells us, they don’t accept what they don’t understand.

I’ve seen this many times in my ministry. If you were to label me, I’d be called a Charismatic preacher. That means I’ve received the baptism in the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in tongues.

I regularly pray in the spirit (in tongues). I know, by experience that I cannot minister fully in God’s power without it.

However, I also know that there are many believers who haven’t experienced this manifestation in their lives. I don’t judge them or look down on them.

But, there are also those who preach and teach against this experience. Many of them go as far as to say that what I experience is of Satan. I have a big problem with this.

I’m about to say something that may sound like I’m bragging. I assure you I’m not because it’s all based upon the power of God and not my own strength or intelligence.

I have brought many people into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I have laid my hands on the sick and have seen them healed in the name of Jesus Christ. I have cast out demons in the name of Jesus Christ.

Why would the devil ever allow me to do that if I was operating in the power of the enemy. Like Jesus said to His accusers…

I believe Jude is talking about this. These people are blaspheming what they haven’t experienced. We need to be very careful about how we treat others in the body of Christ, especially if we don’t understand their ministries.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Warning Signals

Warning Signals

I’m currently studying the epistle of Jude. In my last post, we were looking at some characteristics of false teachers in verse 8.

Continuing with along this line, Jude tells us that they reject authority. That literally means that they cast off lordship.

I believe this is referencing the lordship of Christ. There are many Christians today who are embracing Jesus Christ as their Savior. On the other hand, they’re definitely not serving Him as Lord. This is a part of what I talked about in my last post. They claim to know Him, but by their actions they deny Him.

As church leaders, we need to be constantly aware of Christ’s lordship. He is Lord and we are not. Too many get in trouble by forgetting that one fact.

The next thing Jude talks about is what the NIV translates as slandering celestial beings. The actual Greek translation of this is that they blaspheme glory.

Personally, I see an important theme in the context of this verse. These false teachers are spiritually asleep, they’re not walking in righteousness, and they reject Christ’s leading.

All of these things are directly a part of our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Now Jude uses the word, blasphemy. I believe the glory he’s talking about is the Holy Spirit working in us.

Blasphemy is speaking evil about something or someone. This is speaking evil about the Holy Spirit or His work. That’s something the Jesus Christ expressly warned against.

Jesus said this when the Pharisees were saying that the Lord was casting out demons by the power of Satan. They were attributing God’s work to the devil. That’s speaking evil about the Spirit.

There are so many self-proclaimed teachers today who are speaking out against modern “revivals” and “moves of God”. This especially true online. Please be aware – you can remain anonymous to other online people – but not to God.

Be very careful about your criticism of other ministries. Many times, God does things that don’t fit into our neat little theological boxes. You don’t want to be found guilty of saying something the Holy Spirit is doing as being of the devil.

Too many people want to make a name for themselves by blasting others. Don’t fall into that trap. Take Jude’s advice.

If you have a problem with what you see happening in another ministry, pray for them. Let God handle the rebuke. Jesus Christ is the final judge of His people.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 13, 2026 in Leadership, Ministry, Power of God, The Church

 

Tags: , , , ,

Jude Begins

Jude Begins

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know that I’ve been systematically going through the New Testament in the order that the Holy Spirit revealed it to the church.

I started a few years ago, with the four foundational books – James, First Thessalonians, Galatians and Mark.

The next thing on the Holy Spirit’s agenda was to inspire books that dealt with our personal walk with the Lord. These books include Second Thessalonians, First and Second Corinthians, Romans, and Luke.

After that, the Lord gave us books dealing with our corporate walk. We need to understand life as a church. These epistles are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

We then transitioned to the next series of letters given to us by the Holy Spirit. They center around raising up mature Christian leadership.

These books are (in the order they were revealed to the church): 1 Peter, Jude, 1 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, Acts, 2 Peter, 2 Timothy, and Matthew.

In my last post we finished 1 Peter, so today we’ll begin with the tiny letter from Jude.

What you need to know about the Apostle Jude, is that he shows a great deal of humility. He calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James. Yes, he was the brother of James, but that’s not the whole story.

James was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem. At one point the largest and fastest growing church in the world.

Also, both James and Jude were the physical sons of Mary and Joseph. That makes them the half-brothers of Jesus Christ. But, instead of using this as a point of pride, he simply calls himself a servant.

I think about some of the “Christian personalities” we see on TV and online these days. I can only imagine some of them publishing the claim that they were “raised in the same household as Jesus”. They might use this to enhance their credibility.

This is not the case with Jude (or James). They both acknowledge the fact that they needed a Savior. And, as far as we know, they didn’t accept Christ as Messiah until after the resurrection.

So, why did the Holy Spirit inspire this little letter in the section concerning leadership?

Simply put, he will be dealing with traps that Christian leaders fall into when they take their eyes off of Christ and their calling. This is the subject I’ll be dealing with over the next few posts.

It’s a very important topic in the body of Christ today. If you haven’t already done so, you may want to subscribe, so you won’t miss any of these posts.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 4, 2026 in Leadership, Ministry, Spiritual Walk

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Don’t Be Unaware

Don’t Be Unaware

In this post we’ll finish our walk through the book of 1 Peter. In my last post he exhorted us to resist the devil.

We saw that the enemy is out to directly attack your calling in Christ. Peter is probably thinking back to his days with the Lord. Jesus gave him a warning.

Jesus knew that Satan desired to bring Peter (Simon) down. He wanted to put him in a position where his faith would fail. The enemy wanted an easy kill. In Peter’s case it was the accusation of a slave girl.

James tells us that if we resist the devil, he’ll flee (James 4:7). This should be our first response to the enemy.

According to Peter, it’s because we know something valuable. We know that our brothers and sisters in Christ are undergoing the same kinds of attacks.

That literally means that we know by seeing others going through the same stuff as us. Because of their examples of faith under pressure, we can follow in their footsteps. Along with that, we know where this road of faith is leading.

Praise the Lord, we serve the God of all grace! He has called us to eternal, unending glory. Yes, there may be a little suffering now. But soon we will be restored and strengthened. He will plant us firmly in our calling.

At one point in his ministry, the Apostle Paul pleaded this the Lord to remove the attacks of the enemy. He got this response from God.

The God of all grace was working in and through him. Yes, we have an enemy, but we also have a mission to complete, examples to follow, and a great God at work with us. Don’t become a casualty. Be a mighty, victorious warrior in these last days.

Peter ends his letter with some final greetings.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Resisting the Enemy

Resisting the Enemy

As we go through Peter’s first epistle to the church, he’s been teaching us to be “battle ready”. We need to be spiritually awake and sober for the struggles we’ll face. He tells us that the enemy is stalking us like a lion.

This word, resist, means to stand against. And not just to stand, but remain stiff, solid, and unmovable. But, how are we to accomplish this?

The apostle qualifies it by saying that this standing is in faith. We are firmly trusting God that His way is the only option. But what exactly does it mean to “resist the devil”?

Unfortunately, many Christians have no idea what this means. They think it’s simply talking about resisting temptation. The fact is that resisting temptation is against your own natural tendencies.

James 1:14 tells us that temptation happens when we’re dragged away by our own desires. There are times that the Scriptures teach us to flee the place of temptation.

Here, Peter is telling us to resist the devil – the accuser. Don’t fall victim to the cartoon where the devil is sitting on your shoulder trying to get you to sin. He’s not going to waste his time trying to accomplish what your flesh is already doing.
The devil is actually out to destroy your calling.

He wants to steal. He is attempting to take what’s not his. He wants to steal your children, money, or health.

The enemy also wants to kill. That word specifically means to sacrifice. He doesn’t want to take your life, but to sacrifice you on the altar of the world. He’ll distract you with everything the world has to offer.

His end-goal is to destroy you. That word means to destroy fully and totally. His plan is to absolutely abolish your witness for Christ. To do so, he’ll attack your family, your health, or anything else important to you.

He’s not trying to get you to say a white lie. He’s trying to destroy your God-given mission. Yes, you have mission from the Lord.

That’s why in the Gospels we’re told that his attack on Jesus started with the words, “If you are the Son of God…” The enemy directly comes against your calling.

That’s why we’re told to “stand firm in faith”. You need to be rock solid in what you believe. You’ve heard from God. You know what you’re called to do. Don’t let the enemy undermine it.

© Nick Zaccardi 2026

 
 

Tags: , , , , ,

Leaders – Sober and Awake

Leaders – Sober and Awake

We’ve been looking at the Apostle Peter’s exhortation to leaders in his first epistle. In my last post I talked about the call that all believers have to become a leader.

Now Peter gives us a warning. As you rise to leadership, the enemy puts a bigger target on your back. This is a realization that all Christian leaders need to understand.

In this verse, Peter literally tells us to stay sober and awake. I believe that he’s talking about not being intoxicated by the distractions of the world. Also, we need to be awake to the voice of the Holy Spirit, guiding and directing us.

The Apostle Paul talks about this same thing.

He makes it clear that we’re not like the world. We walk in the light of the Holy Spirit. So, we’re awake and sober, armed for battle. That’s the attitude of a warrior, trained for victory.

Yes, we’re in a battle. We need to know our enemy. Peter describes him to us in the above verse.

He calls the devil our adversary. In the Greek, that’s a compound word that means anti-right. He’s against everything the Lord stands for.

Unfortunately, many think the devil is simply a fairy tale. All I can say is that if you try to do a major work for God, then you’ll find out the truth of the devil’s existence.

This verse tells us that the enemy hunts like a roaring lion. But normally they’re absolutely silent. A roaring lion is one who has gotten too old for that kind of hunting. He may have even lost some of his teeth.
So, the younger lions move out in front of the prey, while the old toothless lion roars, and scares the prey so that they run right into the trap set by the younger ones. This older lion then lets the young ones rip the prey apart. Then he eats the carved-up pieces.
That word devour, in the above verse, literally means to gulp down in one bite. The roaring lion is not looking for a fight. He doesn’t want to go one on one with the prey. All he wants to do is to scare it into a trap.
As leaders, we need to realize the devil is looking for someone with a victim mentality. The last person the devil wants to deal with is a Christian fully armed and standing on God’s Word.
Stay in prayer and in the Word so that you are spiritually self-controlled and alert. Then you will not become the devil’s punching bag.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

The Call to Leadership

The Call to Leadership

As we go through Peter’s first letter to the church, he’s just finished speaking to elders. Now he changes his focus.

Here Peter comes to the heart of the matter. In this verse, the phrase younger people literally means new or fresh. I don’t believe this is about age as much as spiritual maturity.

In actuality, all mature Christians should be leaders. As I said in my last post, we should all have a “forward passion”.

The Bible teaches that we must all submit to one another. All lead in some way and all of us have a leader to follow.

There seems to be an epidemic in the modern church. That is the desire to simply be a follower.

“I will show up on Sunday. Tell me what I need to do. I’ll do my job, then go home.”

That’s not God’s best for His people. Many of the apostles were frustrated by this.

The problem was that these people were slow learners on purpose. We see this today in our society, but especially our churches. These people want to stay followers – but why?

The true problem is the worldliness of God’s people. We realize that a commitment to lead comes at a price. There are things I can’t do in the world, if I commit to lead something in the church. So we don’t live up to our potential.

Everyone would say, given the choice, they’d want their church to grow. However, they’d prefer others to put in the time to accomplish it.

We need to humble ourselves before God and accept His call to leadership. Then we can give our anxiety to Him. Usually, we’re anxious because we’re afraid we’re going to miss out on what the world is offering us.

Follow God’s calling and walk in His freedom!

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 27, 2025 in Leadership, Ministry, The Church

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Elders as Shepherds

Elders as Shepherds

I’m continuing through the book of 1 Peter. In my last post, I started talking about elders. It’s not just the office of an elder, but anyone who is mature in the faith.

In speaking to these mature people, Peter tells them to be shepherds of God’s flock under their care. It’s obvious, that in the church, there are leaders and followers. The flock are those who follow.

He tells the mature to serve as overseers. That’s an important concept. To oversee means to watch over a certain aspect of the ministry. But there are some key attitudes that must be a part of their mindsets.

First of all, it must be voluntary. They’re not being made to do it. There’s no coercion involved.

Also, the keyword in this Scripture is serving. You can never be thinking, “What’s in it for me? What are you willing to pay me for this?” Just like Jesus, you’re not there to be served, but to serve.

Not only is this the case, but there must be an eagerness to serve. That word means to be forward passioned. You don’t have to be told to serve; you’re looking for opportunities to serve.

Peter continues along these lines.

He tells us not to lord it over those entrusted to us. The implication is that we’re not there to carve out a little kingdom for ourselves. Church people have one Lord, and it’s not me.

I realize that this is a problem in many churches of our generation. In a lot of cases, it’s about which committee has the most power. There are constant political struggles.

Instead, we should strive to be an example to those under our care. Paul understood this as well

Those who follow the pattern of service correctly, soon become the pattern to follow. If we live out this truth, there’s a great reward waiting for us.

This is one of those crowns that we will be able to lay down at the Lord’s feet.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 24, 2025 in Leadership, Ministry

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Elders – A Walk of Maturity

Elders – A Walk of Maturity

As you know, I just took two weeks off from posting. Now I’m back in 1 Peter and we’re starting chapter 5.

Peter’s letter up until this point has been about spiritual growth. Now he’ll talk about the end result of that growth.

As I said when we first started looking at this letter, Peter is actually writing to Christian leadership. It is to leadership that the Lord wants all believers to be headed.

In context, Peter has just talked about going through suffering and trials. That’s where our growth is tested.

James tells us the same thing.

This is the goal of our faith. To be mature and complete, not lacking anything. That’s not the description of a new-born believer. It should be the life of an elder in the church.

This is who Peter is writing to. This is a special note to elders – an invitation to those who are mature in the Lord.

Peter describes himself as a co-elder and witness of the suffering of Christ. But more than that, he’s also a partner in the glory to be revealed in the future. This begs the question; what is an elder?

The Bible talks about elders who preach, teach, pray, and lead. In the modern church, it’s a title of leadership. These are people who are recognized for their maturity and experience.

The Apostle Paul showed his spiritual son, Titus, what to look for in an elder. Titus was to establish elders in all the churches under his oversight.

These are the things a mature believer cannot be accused of. But there are also some positive characteristics that should be evident.

An elder must be mature enough to encourage other believers and refute those who oppose the truth. In my next post, I’ll continue this line of teaching.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 20, 2025 in Leadership, Ministry, Spiritual Walk

 

Tags: , , , ,

What is Spiritual Power? (Repost)

What is Spiritual Power? (Repost)

I’m taking a couple of weeks off from writing, so I’m reposting some of my most popular articles.

At one point I started praying about walking in the power of God. Why does the church seem so powerless? How do you walk in God’s power? All of these and more were going around inside of me as the Holy Spirit started to work on me.

At one point the Lord spoke to my heart and I realized that because of my background in Electrical Engineering, I already had an understanding of the natural concepts of power. This revelation started a whole new string of questions in me.

Is spiritual power the same as electrical power? Are the laws that govern them the same? Are there parallels between spiritual and natural power? I began from that point and dove into the Word of God.

I realized right from the beginning that most people, ministers included, have no idea what true power is. We have no concept of the nature and function of power.

Paul’s words to us are very clear. When it comes to power in the kingdom of God, we had better do more than just talk. The problem is that most of what we call power in the kingdom today is just that – talk. The first step toward walking in the power of God is to understand what true power is all about.

Let’s start by looking at things from a natural perspective. When we talk about “power” it’s usually in the context of electrical power. We use phrases like power lines, power plant, and power outages. We think of electricity as being a form of power. How can this help us to understand what power is?

Very simply put, the definition of power is the same whether you’re talking about electricity coming into your house, or the power of God to heal the sick. The International Edition of the Webster Comprehensive Dictionary defines it in the following way:

“Power is the ability to act. It is the property of a thing that is manifested in effort or action, by virtue of which that thing produces change.”

Let me boil it down for you. True power is the ability to produce change. Change is the key word in that sentence.

It takes power to transform water at room temperature into hot water for a cup of tea. It takes power to get a one-ton car to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour. It takes power to transform a body from sickness to health. It takes power to change a liar into a saint. It takes power to replace guilt with innocence.

If we understand this correctly, then the verse above should bring new understanding. It’s the assignment of the Kingdom of God to produce change. It’s not about how well you can speak about it. Change is the priority.

© 2025 Nicolas Zaccardi

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 17, 2025 in Ministry, Power of God, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

Tags: ,