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Category Archives: The Church

The New Man

20 May

 

MirrorI’ve been posting about the teachings that Paul referred to in his letter to the Ephesian church.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24

I’ve talked about the putting off of the old self and the renewal of the mind. The final piece that these early believers were taught was how to put on the new man that was created to be like God.

This process can take place slowly or quickly, depending upon our obedience and understanding. In looking at the modern church, it seems like this is the step that we know the least about. We definitely have very little experience with it.

But, before I get into the “how” of putting on the new man, I need to warn you. What I found in Scripture, as I studied it, totally changed my perception of how God works in us. As I got deeper and deeper into the Word, I found that my definition of the words I was reading was inadequate and, in some cases, inaccurate.

As we go along, I will have to redefine some words that the church has watered down over time. It wasn’t done maliciously, but it’s had a negative effect on us none the less. Please keep an open mind as you prayerfully take in what the Word of God teaches us.

Keep in mind that this is what the early believers were taught, at least under Paul’s ministry. Through prayer in the spirit, they overcame and put off the old man. They won the war against the flesh and its misdeeds.

Also through prayer in the spirit they were able to grasp and retain the mind of the Lord. It caused their minds to be renewed in the process. They no longer thought the way they used to.

Now there’s a need to put on the new man. The old is gone, but we must replace it with something better. God wants to give a new nature that’s been manufactured, fabricated, to be like God.

What’s the sign of this transformation? According to the Scripture, it’s true righteousness and holiness in the lives of those who accept it. I’m not talking about positional righteousness and holiness. As important as these are, they don’t always manifest in the lives of believers. They must be laid hold of by faith.

I’m talking about the actual, physical walk of righteousness. It’s living out the holiness that God has for us. When this happens, the world sees something different in us.

Unfortunately, based upon this definition of the new man, much of modern Christianity has missed it. What we have is a church that can’t get out of its own way. God’s people are too busy chasing after the world and its pleasures. All the while we’re confessing Scripture and believing for the blessing of God. Any talk of commitment or devotion to God is seen as condemnation and we avoid it.

The simple truth is that we’ll never be like Jesus until we put on this new man. The phrase put on literally means to sink into like a robe. We must be immersed in it.

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:12

It’s clear from this verse, and many others, that putting on the new man is a matter of our choice. It’s not automatic. Why would we be exhorted over and over again to do it if it would just happen by itself? It’s another step in our Christian growth.

For the next few posts I’m going to share what I learned as I looked deeply into the Scripture concerning this truth.

Question: How does the modern church compare to the life that Jesus Christ exemplified for us?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on May 20, 2015 in Power of God, Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Living the Truth

04 May

 

ButterflyGod wants us to understand that living for Him is not just a single decision, but an ongoing walk. Sometimes I think that the modern church has lost sight of the spiritual life that the early church walked in. It’s a principle that many believers in former generations understood. We need to relearn some of the truths that we’ve let slip over time.

I like looking at church history. I read how those in the past lived for Christ. Sometimes the walk of these early Christians, and even my grandparents, amazes me. I see a walk of righteousness that we only dream about. It causes me to ask, why do we struggle with things that they overcame on a daily basis?

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24

I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve lost something over time. In the above verse Paul said, “You were taught…” What was it that they were taught? I believe it was how to walk according to the Spirit.

It’s not something you just grow into. You don’t just wake up one day mature in the Lord. These are things that we need to be taught. More than that, we must accept, apply and perform them.

We sometimes get in trouble theologically because we rip things out of context. We apply things to our lives that are not for us or that we haven’t attained to yet. We need to know who this verse was written to.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus…
Ephesians 1:1

Scripture wasn’t written in a vacuum.   There were things surrounding what was written. The letter to the Ephesian church was sent to a group of mature, faithful believers who were walking in the truths Paul was writing about. They understood these things – and I’m convinced that many of us in the modern church don’t.

Here’s what happens. We read the words in chapter 4, above, and we think that it’s true about us. We think that Paul is writing these words to us. No, on the contrary, he’s writing to a people who are living it; as an example to us.

If the things Paul wrote in that verse were true of us, then we would be experiencing it in our daily walk. Why then are we still corrupted by our deceitful desires? Why do so many in the church still have the same attitudes as the world? Why, in the church today, do we still not live like Jesus, with the same love and works that He operated in?

I believe it’s because we’ve lost some of the truth that these other generations possessed. There are three things in the above verses that need to be done. Paul said that they put off their old man, renewed their minds and put on the new man.

I’m convinced that these milestones are worked on after our initial salvation. Paul makes it clear that these were things that they were taught. Teaching requires time, and I don’t think it was time spent being taught before they received Christ.

This has been on my heart for a while now. I’m burdened not only for myself but for the church as a whole to experience this renewal. Because of that, I may be posting about this subject for longer than I normally take for a series. But I really think that it’s needed and relevant to the church today.

Question: What would the church look like if we were “like God in true righteousness and holiness”?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2015 in Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Sharing Fellowship

24 Apr

meLyRzsThe Bible talks a lot about the fellowship that we share as believers. Fellowship is an interesting word. We throw it around a lot in Christian circles. Usually we just mean that we get together for meetings. I believe that we need a deeper understanding of it.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42

This verse talks about what it was like in the early days of the church. These are the things that the Christians of that era devoted themselves to. One of the things mentioned was the fellowship.

The word fellowship in this verse is the Greek word koinonia. It meant a sharing or a participation. That’s different than what some people think. Many times we assume that just because we come together for church meetings we’re having a fellowship. Many churches even use the word fellowship in their names.

The reality is that without any sharing or participation there can be no true fellowship. It’s when God’s people come together and participate in each other’s lives that true koinonia takes place. It’s giving and receiving help, encouragement, love and strength.

Even in the English language this word fellowship has a much deeper meaning than most church people realize. It actually comes from an Old English word. It has two parts. Fell, which means property, and low, which means to lay down. All together it means laying your property down. How often do we think of fellowship in those terms?

It seems that many Christians go to church for what they can get out of it. Does the church have everything I’m looking for? Does it have childcare, great music, and a comfortable sanctuary?

That’s not the attitude of fellowship. Fellowship is all about what I can contribute to the whole. What can I put in that will make the church better.

No, it’s not just about money. It’s about ministry, encouragement, leadership and a whole lot more that you’ve been gifted with. You’re blessed with the talents and resources that others need. That’s what you bring with you into the body of Christ.

We shouldn’t be trying to find the church that can best fulfill our wants and desires. Instead, we should be looking for a body of believers that will be blessed by the things that God has placed in us. We need to be sharers rather than just consumers.

We are not to live and act like the world does. Attending a church should not be like choosing a restaurant to go to or finding a daycare for our children. It’s a local manifestation of the Kingdom of God where I can plug into for mutual edification.

Be a part of the church in the true spirit of fellowship. Seek to be a blessing to others.

Question: How are you a blessing to the church you attend?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on April 24, 2015 in Encouragement, Ministry, The Church

 

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Healing 201 – Let the Crumbs Fall!

22 Apr

CrumbsIn may last post I talked about healing as the children’s bread. I said that this was talking about healing under the covenant we have with God. This is how Jesus healed the sick in Israel.

There were times Jesus healed a sick person even when doubt was there. Some came to Jesus not being sure that He was willing to heal them. But in the end they left healed. Jesus never told them to come back when they had more faith.

The fact is that bread is the right of children. Through Christ I have been adopted into the family of God. As a result, He has agreed to feed me. Those are not my rules, but His.

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:9-11

How much plainer could the Lord have made it? It’s clear that in the Jesus’ mind the Father is obligated to feed His children. The teaching that God only heals under special circumstances or for great faith is man’s teaching, not God’s.

Think about what the woman said to Jesus. How does this apply to the church today?

“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Matthew 15:27

Think about the implications here. Having raise three children from infancy I understand the truth of this statement. Crumbs are only falling when the children are eating.

If there’s not much healing taking place in the church…then there are fewer crumbs falling. If fewer crumbs are falling…then there’s not much miraculous healing taking place in the world. All because the children aren’t eating.

We need churches where the table is set. We need pastors and churches who are willing to serve the bread. Then the children will eat and the crumbs will fall.

You may not like what I’m saying or even agree with it. But it’s God who made the rules, not me. He says that if I go to the Lord I will get bread.

Stones and bread. We’ve heard that in another place in the Bible. Jesus was tempted by the devil to take a stone and turn it onto bread. Jesus’ response was, “No, the Father gives bread.”

Satan is the one who gives stones in place of bread. It’s God the Father who give good gifts to His children. You couldn’t ask for a better parent. How could we even imagine that an earthly parent would treat his children better than the Lord? God, forgive us for our unbelief!

Jesus paid for our healing with the stripes on His back. He is the bread of Life. We celebrate this every time we partake of the communion bread. We need a fresh revelation of Christ the Healer.

Spend time in His presence. Look to Jesus, knowing that in your covenant is everything you need for life and godliness. He’s provided the bread, we just need to see the Lord as our Healer and receive what He’s already provided.

Question: What would the church look like if it were walking in this to the extent that Jesus did?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on April 22, 2015 in Faith, Healing, Power of God, The Church

 

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Healing 201 – Our Covenant of Healing

20 Apr

BreadI’ve been posting about the healing that Christ purchased on the cross for us. We saw that sickness is a part of the sin package and that our healing is a part of our righteousness. We will now turn to an incident in Jesus’ ministry.

This encounter was recorded in both Mark 7 and Matthew 15. These two sections together give us the whole picture.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
Matthew 15:21-22

Here we see that a Canaanite woman had a daughter with a demon, manifesting in sickness. We know that she begged Jesus to do something about it.

He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
Matthew 15:26

In Jesus’ response, the Bible literally says it is not proper etiquette, not right in appearance to give her the children’s bread. Of course God never worried about surface appearances. Jesus had no problem eating with tax-collectors and prostitutes.

‘Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Matthew 15:27-28

We always use this for an example of supernatural healing, but there’s more going on than meets the eye. Some teachers look at this and say that the daughter was healed because the woman had great faith. So, therefore, it takes great faith for healing. NO!!!! We miss the whole point.

According to Jesus, healing is the children’s bread. In this response we can see God’s priority.

“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
Mark 7:27

Did you hear what the Lord said? First fill up the children with all they want to eat. In other words; first heal the church, then the world. So in this statement of Christ we see two kinds of healing.

The first is a covenant healing which is by right. I’m not trying to be arrogant when I say this. He calls us His children. Parents obligate themselves to feed their children. God decided to do it this way. It’s all a part of a normal faith relationship.

The other healing is for those outside the covenant, by special faith. This is because it originally takes faith to enter the covenant. A majority of Jesus’ ministry was covenant healing.

The sick person came to the Lord, He laid hands on them, and they left healed. There was no stirring up of their faith required – He just did it.

That’s because healing was a part of the covenant that God’s people had entered into. A quick search of the words heal and healing will show the many places that God promises to heal His people in the Old Covenant.

At this point, we have entered a Better Covenant. Through the blood of Christ we have the fulfillment and not just the shadow. How much more does the Lord desire to bring healing to those who are in Christ? In my next post I’ll take this a bit further.

As I’ve said before, the church needs a greater understanding of Jesus Christ the Healer.

Question: How do you see the New Covenant as being better than the Old?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2015 in Faith, Healing, The Church

 

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Healing 201 – Righteousness Brings Healing

17 Apr

BeamIn my last post I started talking about God’s provision to heal His people. But let’s take this a step further. I said that God wants to remove all sin; and sickness is a part of that package.

When God removes something, He always replaces it with something else. What’s the opposite of sin?

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
Romans 6:13

It’s clear from Scripture that the opposite of sin is righteousness. You can read all of Romans, chapters 5-6, and see how God replaced sin with His righteousness.

The fact is that I can’t be righteous on my own – it had to be a work of God’s power.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21

On the cross, Christ became sin so that we might become righteousness. This is a divine truth, but how does it apply to healing? If you can grasp this it will set you free.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24

This recaps everything that we’ve been saying. Sickness is a manifestation of the sin nature. In the same way that sickness is a part of the sin package, healing is a part of our righteousness.

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
Malachi 4:2

I’ve heard this verse preached in the past. Usually the preacher or teacher will transform the word sun into the word son and speak about the Son of God. Christ is the Healer, but there’s more to it than that.

In order to really lay hold of what the prophet is saying in this verse, we must understand the ancient Hebrew mindset. Think about what it looks like when the sun rises on a new day. Maybe there’s a small cloud or two in the sky.

As the light of the sun breaks forth you see the rays of light emanating from the sun and reaching to the earth. We call these the rays of the sun or sunbeams. The ancient Israelites didn’t use this terminology. They called these rays the wings of the sun.

The prophet Malachi saw a day when the Messiah would usher in God’s righteousness. He saw it rising like the sun in all of its glory. But he saw something else that should make us rejoice.

Emanating from that righteousness, like the rays of the sun, was healing for all who came into its light. What an incredible truth to lay hold of! Healing emanates from righteousness.

Just as sickness is a part of the sin package, healing is a part of the righteousness that Christ purchased for us. Healing is not something that God decides to do or not do on a case by case basis. It was provided once and for all at the cross.

The church needs a fresh revelation of Christ the Healer. When that happens, His righteousness will bring the healing we seek.

Question: What else has Christ provided through His righteousness?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on April 17, 2015 in Faith, Healing, Power of God, The Church

 

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Healing 201 – Sickness is not a Friend

15 Apr

PowerlessLast year I did a series of posts titled Healing 101. In it I talked about God’s provision of healing for His people. One of the important points was the fact that sickness was a part of the package we call the sin nature. Sickness misses the mark of the health we were created to enjoy. To read this teaching click here.

In this series I want to take that teaching a little further. Healing 101 was important because you need to know that God treats sickness like any other part of the sin package. He hates it and wants it removed.

As a matter of fact, God wants the church today to flow in the healing anointing like Jesus and the early church did. We have yet to grasp Christ as Healer to that extent.

God has provided all we need. He told us sickness misses the mark – It’s a manifestation of the sin nature. We know that God wants to remove sin in all its forms. It was demonstrated in the lives of Jesus and the disciples.

The question is; how do we deal with sickness? The answer: just like any sin.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Romans 6:1-3

I realize that in context Paul is talking about evil sin. But because the Holy Spirit used the generic word sin, this can apply to all the forms it takes, not just evil. This verse tells me not to get comfortable with it even though God can give me the grace to cope with it.

I’ve talked to some people with medical conditions who said that they had decided not to seek God for their healing. They said that God was giving them the grace to work for Him in spite of their sickness. Paul is saying here, “Shall we continue in sickness so that grace may increase? By no means!” We shouldn’t get comfortable with our sickness even though the Lord’s helping us cope with it.

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
Romans 6:4-5

Christ wants His resurrection power to flow though us.

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Romans 6:6-7

In Christ we’ve died to sin and sickness. Therefore we must hate it as we would any other form of sin. Remember I said in the past that we don’t get sick because of our sin. Rather sickness itself is a form of sin – missing the mark of God’s perfect health.

So when we ask is healing for me; we’re really asking the wrong question. The right question is; is sickness for me? God answers a resounding NO! Sickness is not our portion. It’s never God’s will for you to be sick.

Over the next few posts I want to talk about God’s provision for our healing.

Question: Can you think of some other forms of sin that aren’t necessarily evil?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on April 15, 2015 in Faith, Healing, Power of God, The Church

 

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Whose Temple are You?

10 Apr

TempleI’m taking a few posts to talk about the jealousy of the Holy Spirit. It’s clear from Scripture that we serve a jealous God. We need to understand that if we continue to ignore and reject His attempts to cultivate a relationship with us, we start to arouse this jealousy.

What does this look like?

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I am a temple to the Holy Spirit. Think about it like the ancient Greek temples. My temple says Holy Spirit on the front.

What would you expect if you came to that temple? What if you entered it and saw a Star Trek Convention going on inside? You may question the priest about it.

“It’s only for this week.”

What if for the next few weeks you visited this temple and saw a beauty pageant, a chili cook-off, and a real estate seminar.

You’d ask; is this a temple to the Holy Spirit or is it something else? With that thought in mind, consider what happened when Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple.

To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
John 2:16-17

Notice the righteous anger that Christ displayed. What was it that aroused such an attitude? The disciples realized that Jesus was consumed by a zeal for the house of God.

When Christ told His disciples about the Holy Spirit, He said that He was sending “another counsellor just like Me.” (John 14:26 – My paraphrase!) The difference is that the Holy Spirit lives in us. He lives permanently in His temple; our body.

The first verse we looked at in this series of posts said He was intensely jealous (James 4:5). Do we really get the point? We’re living in the Last Days. The Holy Spirit is starting to cleanse His temple. We need to submit to His program or face the loss.

Remember – the Holy Spirit will not hurt His temple. But He will start to ruin that which would try and steal our affection. In my experience, I’d rather willingly give up something, than have the Lord remove it from my life.

What do we do?

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:7-8

If you really want what the Holy Spirit’s desire, then sow to please the Spirit. He doesn’t say to summon up all your will power and live right. No! Simply submit to His plan and sow the Word and prayer. Spend time with the Spirit.

Question: What do you need to do to sow to please the Spirit?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on April 10, 2015 in Power of God, Prayer, Revival, The Church

 

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One More Week

08 Apr

TimingI’ve been posting about the fact that the Holy Spirit in us is jealous over us. He’s passionate about His love for us. Ignoring or rejecting His attempts to work in us gives the Holy Spirit emotional pain.

We talk a lot about faith. Without it we can’t receive anything from God. If we truly trust God, then we’ll delight in His plan to renew our lives.

Rejecting the Lord’s instruction is the opposite of faith. We can see this in the example of Moses.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
Hebrews 11:24-26

I’ve heard different people teach about this verse and I think we’ve missed the real point. The writer isn’t saying that sin only gives you pleasure for a short time. Actually, if you spend enough money, you can sustain the pleasure of a sinful lifestyle for quite a long time before it catches up with you.

This verse literally says that Moses chose not to enjoy the pleasures of sin for this little time only. In other words, he didn’t say to God, “Let me have one more month as a royal Egyptian before I follow your plan for my life.”

“Pharaoh’s birthday is in two months. That kind of celebration will never happen again. I’ll attend it, then after that I’ll identify with Israel.”

The trap is that it will never be the right time to live for God. It will never be the right time to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit in us.

Scripture says that Moses was looking ahead to the reward. Do I look ahead to the reward that the Holy Spirit is holding out to me? The choice is – do I want to go where the world is leading me to or where the Holy Spirit wants to take me?

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
Galatians 5:16-18

That’s why we need the Holy Spirit’s leading. If we submit to His process then there’s no need for the law. It’s when our heart sides with the flesh that the conflict starts. My spirit wants to submit to Christ and my flesh wants to chase after the world.

I need make the choice to follow the Spirit’s leading. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today – while the Holy Spirit is seeking my attention. Don’t ignore His gentle voice calling for your fellowship.

Question: Is there something in your life that’s been hindering you from fully submitting to the Holy Spirit’s leadership?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on April 8, 2015 in Faith, Prayer, Revival, The Church

 

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Have You Met El Qanaa?

06 Apr

Lightning 3In my last post I showed the first thing the Holy Spirit wrote about Himself. This was found in James 4:4-5. It declared in no uncertain terms that the Holy Spirit is intensely jealous over us.

Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?
James 4:5-6

But what really caught my attention was the phrase Scripture says. I started to ask myself where the Bible talks about this jealousy. So I searched the Old Testament.

Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Exodus 34:14

In this section of Scripture God is giving Israel the Law through Moses. As I read it I was taken by surprise to find out that His name is Jealous.

Please understand, I’ve heard a lot of teachings about the names of God. He’s Jehovah-Rapha, the Healing God. He’s Jehovah-Tsidkinnu, God our Righteousness. These names don’t even scratch the surface.

But in all of these teachings that I’ve heard about the names of God I was never told about El Qanaa. The Jealous God. (Pronounced like El Kanaw)

We need to lay hold of this. For purposes of comparison I started counting. Jehovah Jireh, the God who Provides, is only used 1 time in Scripture. Abraham was inspired to use this name for God when He provided a ram for sacrifice in place of his son.

In contrast, God calls Himself El Qanaa 7 times in the Old Testament. I think that this is a part of God’s character that shouldn’t be ignored.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30

This verse literally says do not make the Holy Spirit sad, mournful. I think we lose sight of the fact that He’s a person with feelings. How many times do we make Him feel rejected or ignored?

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 4:7-8

This verse tells us that God did not call us to a life that’s not cleaned. That phrase could also mean not pruned. We think it’s okay to say, “I just don’t want to be cleaned up right now.”

The truth is that we’re called to a set apart life. This is accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit within us. So He starts the cleaning process when we’re saved.

When I reject the process – His instruction and guidance – I reject God, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit wants to do a work that He’s proud of in us.

Then we tell Him, “Not now. Come back later.” That makes Him sad. He knows the destiny He’s leading us to. We need an increased sensitivity to the Holy Spirit working within us.

Question: What has the Holy Spirit been working in you lately?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2015 in Revival, The Church

 

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