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Category Archives: Word of God

Igniting the Fire

02 Sep

Fire DangerIn my last post I started talking about the followers of Christ in Luke 24. They were discouraged and double-minded concerning Jesus’ death. After encountering the risen Lord everything changed.

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:32

They said that their hearts burned within them. In order to understand what happened we need to go back to that point. According to the men, it was when Jesus talked with them on the road. Let’s look at what He said to them.

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Luke 24:25-27

As they were walking along the road Jesus explained the Scripture to them. What would you give to have an experience like that? It turns out that you can.

The word explained that’s used in this verse is very special. It’s the word that’s normally translated as interpretation; as in the spiritual gift of interpretation. This explanation that Jesus gave them was no boring lecture. It was an anointed Word straight from the Spirit of God.

That’s what will ignite the fire, not only in those early saints, but in us as well.

“Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
Jeremiah 23:29

God declares to us that His Word is like a fire. That’s the Word that Jesus proclaimed to these men on the road to Emmaus. As He spoke to them, the Lord lit a fire in their hearts.

We can have this same experience today. As we spend time in the presence of the Lord, we must have a listening ear. When we hear a Word from the Holy Spirit it will ignite a fire in our heart.

My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue…
Psalms 39:3

God’s Word to us starts the fire burning. But as we meditate on it, the flames increase until it is all consuming.

I’ve heard people pray for God to “send the fire.” It’s not a matter of Him sending it, but of us receiving it. We need to hear a Word from God to get it kindled in our heart. Then meditate on that Word in order to heat it up.

Question: What has the Lord spoken to you lately by His Spirit?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on September 2, 2015 in Revival, Spiritual Walk, Word of God

 

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“No Pain, No Gain” (Repost)

08 Jun

JogThis is the fourth of six reposts of my most read articles. This was originally from a series in 2012. The series was about the uses of Scripture as listed in II Timothy 3:16.

To view the original series, click here.

This post is about training in righteousness.

This word training means to mentor or to train up like a child from infancy to adulthood. The Bible is written for all. It doesn’t matter where you are in your spiritual walk.

If you’re a baby Christian who was just saved, it can be your milk bottle. If you’re mature in the Lord, it has the meat of the deep truths of God. It can satisfy any hunger.

But what exactly does it train us in? Paul is very specific – training in righteousness.

In Scripture, you’ll find that righteousness is the whole package of what Christ paid for on the cross. Throughout the Word righteousness is associated with: Rewards, victory in battle, prosperity, salvation, honor, life, and healing. Scripture truly is the owner’s manual for our walk with the Lord.

When Paul speaks about training in righteousness he’s talking about the whole plan of God for your life. The job of Scripture is to take you from wherever the Lord found you when you were saved to the heights of His perfect plan for your life.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:11

The word discipline in this verse is the same Greek word as training in Second Timothy. The writer of Hebrews tells us that there is pain associated with this kind of training. Why is that?

The answer is simple. This training is what causes us to grow from infancy to maturity. Growth means change, and change hurts. Think about it – when I was an infant I could throw my toys all over the floor and my parents would joyfully pick everything up.

Then, there came a day when I was told, “It’s time to pick up your toys and put them away.” There must have been a look of pain and distress on my face when I had to clean my room.

Then, there came a day when I couldn’t just do as I pleased all day long. My parents came to me and informed me that I would be starting school next week. Suddenly there was a place I had to be every day, to read, learn, and take tests whether I wanted to or not. It was painful to me.

As a matter of fact, almost every new responsibility throughout our lives causes some degree of discomfort. That’s what this Scripture is talking about. As we are brought to maturity there are going to be painful changes. Things we used to do, that we’re no longer able to do. Thing we’ve never done that we’re now responsible for. We must let the Scripture do its work, so that we can be mature and complete – not lacking anything that the Lord has provided for us.

Question: What did you find most painful, so far, in the maturing process?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on June 8, 2015 in Revival, Scripture Series, Sonship, Spiritual Walk

 

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God Confirming His Word

05 Jun

LightningThis is the third of six reposts. It was originally from 2013. It was a part of a series on the Word of God and its relation to Scripture.

To view the original series click here.

In that series I showed that the power of the early church was based upon their hearing from God. God spoke to them, they obeyed, and God confirmed His Word.

Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Mark 16:20

Scripture says that the Lord confirms His Word with the signs – healings and miracles – that accompanied it. What’s our problem? Do we serve a different God? Of course not. Is He still on the throne? That’s a dumb question.

We serve a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Then what’s the problem? It should be clear to us. We’re trying to get God to confirm the Bible verses that we’re preaching, when all along He wants to confirm the Word that He speaks to us.

He never told us to go out and read the Scripture to people for them to be saved – He tells us to proclaim His Word. I submit to you that our society has heard enough Scripture – it’s everywhere.

They’re sick of hearing Scripture. Many unbelievers can quote as much of the Bible as some Christians. What the world is desperate for is a Word from God. That’s what’s going to change their lives. They can argue with the Scripture, but a Word from God will cut straight to their heart.

In our exuberance over the enormous availability of Scripture, we have taken it too far. It doesn’t seem to matter what anyone says. As long as there’s a Scripture verse attached to it, we call it the Word of God.

It doesn’t take much listening to Christian radio or cable channels to see that many preachers are using Scripture to support their own teachings and philosophies. Hear me well. They may be preaching Scripture, but they are NOT proclaiming the Word of God.

In these cases, God is under no obligation to confirm what they’re preaching. God doesn’t have to confirm a quote from the Scripture; He only endorses His Word – what He wants said at that particular time and place.

Please don’t think, based upon what I said, that I have no respect for the Scripture. I cannot live without it. Daily, I read, memorize, study, and meditate on the Scripture. I use it prayerfully. I expect and seek God to speak to me through the pages of my Bible.

The difference is that now I’m also listening for God to use other means as well. I want to hear God’s voice – however He wants to speak to me. I believe that this was the basis for the power in the life of Christ and in the early church. One of my goals in this blog is to share how this works in a practical way.

Question: Is it your desire to hear a Word from God?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on June 5, 2015 in Ministry, Power of God, Revival, Word of God

 

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The Truth about Mountaintops – The Grind

25 Feb

MountainHave you ever heard people say, “Some days you find yourself on the mountaintop, and other days you’re in the valley?” What they mean is that there are good days and bad days. It also shows that they don’t really understand what it means to be up on a mountaintop.

I’ve told you before that I’m a hiker. I love going out on the trail for days at a time. This summer I plan on doing a two-week section of the Appalachian Trail. It allows me to have a lot of uninterrupted prayer time.

I’ve learned a great deal about how hiking in the natural parallels our walk in the Spirit with Christ. In my hikes I’ve been to the tops of many mountains. These summits are interesting places. I want to share a few things that I found as I listened to the Holy Spirit relating to spiritual mountaintops.

The first thing I want to do is to dispel one of the biggest myths about spiritual mountaintops. In all my years of hiking – hundreds of miles and many nights on the trail – I have never once gone to sleep in a valley and woke up on a mountain. It just doesn’t happen that way, even though I wish it would.

There’s only one way to find yourself at the summit. You have to put one foot in front of the other and continue walking uphill. There’s a natural resistance to your efforts that’s called gravity.

But it’s more than that. You have to continue this repetitive motion, step after step, indefinitely until you reach the top. It can become a boring, monotonous grind even if you enjoy hiking.

To make matters worse, every so often you come to a false summit. Up ahead you see what you think is the top of the mountain. Then when you get there you find out that it’s only a place where the trail flattens out for a bit.

What does this have to do with the spiritual?

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. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:7-9

This is a great spiritual truth. If we want to see the move of the Holy Spirit in our lives, then we have to continue to do the things we know to do. This is true even when we don’t feel like it, or it’s not convenient.

It continues on day after day, week after week. Sometimes it feels like you’re not making any headway. Sometimes the resistance of our flesh has to be dealt with. But if we want to see the outcome God’s promised, we have to continue on.

I’d love to tell you that there’s an easier way. Just pray this simple prayer and you’ll wake up on the mountaintop. It doesn’t work that way.

Reading, confessing and meditating on the Word of God. Prayer in the Spirit and praying with your understanding. Fellowshipping and worshipping with other believers. These are a part of the sowing that is required for us to reap.

Step by step we approach the summit. Sometimes it doesn’t look like we going very far at all. Then, all of a sudden, there it is. We’re on top of the mountain. But we didn’t get there by magic. It took a determination to reach the top and a consistent walk with the Lord.

In my next post I’ll talk about what exactly it is to be on a spiritual mountaintop.

Question: What are the daily steps you’re taking to reach the summit God has for you?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on February 25, 2015 in Prayer, Revival, Times in the Wilderness, Word of God

 

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The Faith – Obedience Connection

10 Nov

ClimberSometimes we may get the idea that faith is just a matter of getting our thoughts right.

“As long as I trust God on the inside, everything will be okay.”

That’s a good place to start, but will it be enough to carry you through to your destiny? Actually faith is more than just the internal. It’s a continual process of revelation and response. We can learn a lot from Abraham’s example.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8

This verse tells us how Abraham applied the principles of faith to his life. If we boil down all the extra words, we’re told that by faith Abraham obeyed. He heard the Word that God spoke to him and chose to obey it by faith.

Up to this point in our Christian walk no obedience necessary. If you never hear from the Holy Spirit, then you’re not responsible to respond. Of course, neither do you see any miracles that come with your obedience.

It’s at this level that we start to mature in Christ. We want to do more than just fill a pew. We’ve accepted Christ as our Savior. Now we want to experience growth.

It’s unfortunate that so many believers want to stay at the infant stage of their spiritual life. They come out on Sunday morning, read the Bible, sing, clap, and pray. They continue to drink in, yet they feel no need for obedience.

To understand this, we need to know what it is that we’re to obey. The above verse makes it clear. We are to obey God’s calling. This is the normal process of growth in the life of a believer.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2

This is probably one of the clearest Scriptures on growth in the Bible. We’re told to offer ourselves to the Lord on His altar. Then comes the renewing of our mind. Finally, I can approve (obey) God’s will.

Sometimes our problem is that we put the cart before the horse. We want to know what God’s will for our life is before we decide to obey Him. That’s not faith. I need to trust Him with my life first, then He’ll make his will know to me.

That’s why I need to know Him. It’s hard to trust someone, if you don’t really know them.

In my next post, I’ll explain why this call to trust God in obedience is one of the hardest things we’re asked to do.

Question: Why does it seem so hard to obey God’s calling?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on November 10, 2014 in Faith, Word of God

 

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Have You Been Gospel Approved?

07 Nov

ApproveIn my last post I talked about the true Gospel. I said that it was more than just words, but included the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit. Why is there so little of the whole Gospel of Christ being presented in our generation?

The same letter of Paul that we looked at last time gives us the answer to this question.

On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
1 Thessalonians 2:4

In the last post we saw that Paul understood the true Gospel as including power, the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, and deep conviction. That might have been surprising to some. But I believe his words in this verse would totally shock many preachers if they understood their significance.

According to Paul, you need to be approved by God to preach this Gospel. Actually it’s deeper than that. He said that you need God’s approval even to be entrusted with this Gospel.

Is this what’s taught in Bible schools? I don’t think so; at least I’ve never heard it taught. In my experience preaching the Gospel is simply coming up with a Scripture for an opening text. Then we apply it to the need for the hearers to “get saved.”

Where’s the power? Where’s the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, and the deep conviction? I believe that there’s too much unapproved Gospel being preached these days. That’s why many have written off Christianity as a dead horse that needs to be removed from society.

How do you become approved to be entrusted with the true Gospel? The answer to this is why there’s so little of it in our generation. It’s not about college degrees or denominational accreditation. No, it’s much deeper than that.

Paul makes it clear that this approval can only come from God. Furthermore, the test takes place in your heart. It’s what Jesus talked about in the parable of the sower.

“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop — thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”
Mark 4:20

The test is in your heart – where you hear and plant the Word. This requires time in the presence of the Lord. It means that we have a listening ear toward the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Then, when Gods sees the quality of the crop produced by the Word planted in our heart, He grants His approval. Then we see the manifestation of the Word of God when we present the Gospel. Then the lives of the hearers are changed by that powerful Word from God.

Question: How would churches be different if we sought the approval of God?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on November 7, 2014 in Anointing, Ministry, Power of God, Word of God

 

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Change Where it Counts

27 Oct

PowerlessI’m taking a few posts to approach the subject of personal revival.  We’re using the example of David in Psalm 51 as our guide.  So far we’ve seen that we need to examine ourselves, and go to God for His forgiveness and cleansing.  But the work doesn’t stop there.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalm 51:10-12

According to Scripture, it isn’t enough just to wipe the slate clean.  Especially if you head right back into the pigpen.  What we need is to change our direction.  In order to do this, the renewal must take place on the inside.

All my wants and desires spring from my heart.  That’s where the purifying work of the Lord needs to access.  I must allow Him to make my heart pure – that His desires would become my desires.  That’s the only way to achieve lasting changes.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalms 37:4

I’ve heard people comment on this verse.  They said that whatever you desire, the Lord will give you.  That’s not what the Psalmist is trying to convey to us.

What he’s saying is that if you delight in God – if you take pleasure in Him – then He will place the desires into your heart that line up with His.  I want to desire the same things that God desires.  So I let Him do the work in my heart.

There’s another work that must be done as well.  I need to feed my spirit on the Word of God.  Only when my inner man is healthy and strong can I maintain the purifying work of God in my life.  My spirit is the greatest ally I have against the flesh.  It’s with my spirit that I can access the Holy Spirit and the power of the Lord.

Always remember that God loves us with an everlasting love.  He’ll never leave or forsake us.  If we want His cleansing process in our lives, then He’ll be there to do the work.  After all, He’s the only one with the ability to totally change our lives.

Let Him do that work in you today.  Give the Lord free reign to rearrange your life and priorities.  Let Him give you new purpose and direction.  Say “yes” to the life changing power of the Holy Spirit.

Question: How do I open my heart for God to place His desires in me?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on October 27, 2014 in Power of God, Revival, Word of God

 

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Love Letters vs. the Lover

24 Sep

Garden PathIn my last post I talked about spending time in God’s presence and hearing a Word from Him. Maybe you got the impression that I don’t encourage the reading of Scripture. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I believe that daily time in the Scripture is absolutely essential for a strong spiritual walk. Nothing can replace that.

But in the same light, by redefining the term Word of God in Scripture, many have totally ignored intimate time with the Lord. They seem to think that reading the Bible and then praying for God to meet their needs is enough.

The fact is that we need intimacy with our Lord. Here’s how Jesus explained it to the Pharisees.

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
John 5:39-40

As important as the reading of the Bible is, it doesn’t replace quality time with the Holy Spirit. We need both to mature in Christ.

Think about it this way. A soldier stationed in Afghanistan loves his wife and regularly writes her letters from the field. He shares his heart with her – what he’s doing and feeling, how much he misses her and things he looks forward to doing with her when he returns.

The wife loves and misses her husband as well. She reads each letter over and over, imagining him speaking directly to her. Now that she has a collection of these letters, she spends time every day reading them. It comforts her.

When the husband’s tour is over, he returns home to the embrace of his wife. This was the hour they’ve both been waiting for. They’re together again.

But there’s a problem. The next day the husband wants to take a walk in a nearby park, hand in hand with his wife. Does she agree to this? No.

She tells him that it’s her habit to take a couple of hours each day to read his letters. She doesn’t want to stop doing this simply to walk outdoors. The husband is confused and sits on the couch, waiting for her to read his letters and to have the time to be with him.

Does this sound far-fetched? In real life it does. Normal people don’t act that way. Or do they?

I hate to say it, but that’s the practice of many believers. We have access to the intimate presence of Christ. Yet we’re content to merely sit and read His letters to us.

We must read the Bible to understand the heartbeat of God. But there’s more to it than that. Don’t just read the love-letters. Spend time with the Lover of our souls. He’s patiently waiting for our quiet time together. It’s at those times that I receive things that are for no one else but me.

Take the time to hear from the Lord.

Question: Why does it seem easier to read Scripture than to spend time with the author?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on September 24, 2014 in Prayer, Word of God

 

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Hearers and Doers of What?

22 Sep

Letter“Don’t just be a hearer, be a doer.” I’ve heard that exhortation many times, and in many situations. What does it really mean? It was first spoken by a pastor hundreds of years ago.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
James 1:22-24

James was the Pastor of the church in Jerusalem at the very start of the church age. Hundreds of people were being saved every week and the body of Christ was growing at an incredible rate.

I believe that he wrote this book as a sort of handbook for new believers. It was something they could continue to refer to as their walk with Christ matured.

I also believe that this was the first New Testament document to have been written. Before any of the Gospels or the letters of Paul, we have the book of James. But that’s where my questions begin. What does he mean by the term Word of God?

Over time, we’ve come to assume that when the Bible says Word of God, it’s talking about itself. Is that a correct assumption? After all, the New Testament wasn’t written yet.

On top of that, the normal believer of that day had no access to the Old Testament. It wasn’t until the invention of the printing press that the Bible became available to the average Christian. This brings me to my original question – hearers and doers of what?

The answer to this is also the destiny God has for His people right now. I’m talking about hearing a Word from God Himself. The early church had no other choice for knowing what to do. They had to seek the direction of the Holy Spirit.

The key here is the word listen. James isn’t talking about reading the Bible. He’s assuming that God’s people are spending time in the Lord’s presence listening to Him. The word he uses is actually an intense form of listening – giving your total attention to the one speaking.

One of our biggest problems in this generation is that we’re not even listeners yet. James is not talking about listening to a great sermon and then trying to be a good person. He’s looking for someone to deepen their relationship with the Father.

We can’t be a doer of God’s Word until we actually spend some time listening to the Holy Spirit. The Lord has so much He wants to share with us. There’s a great deal we need to hear if we would just take the time in His presence.

This is the lesson that the modern church needs to learn. God wants to speak to us. He wants us to hear a Word from His Spirit. Then we can walk in it and know that we will see God’s hand at work in us and in those around us.

We need to spend time listening – then doing.

Question: What would the church look like if we truly listened to God?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on September 22, 2014 in Revival, Word of God

 

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The Word of the Cross

10 Sep

Cross SunsetAs believers, most of us know that the goal is to walk in maturity. What I’ve found is that in order to understand the road to maturity, we must first understand the significance of the cross.

Usually when we think about Christ, and all that He accomplished for us, we mention the cross but immediately focus on the resurrection. Don’t get me wrong, the resurrection of Christ was the most important event in all of history. It sealed our redemption. Without the risen Lord, we would still be dead in our sins.

Our problem is that we usually don’t give the cross a second glance. We sometimes downplay the cross. We’ve become too familiar with it. We see crosses everywhere. It has become the most recognized symbol of Christianity.

But do we really understand its significance in our growth process? I want to take a few posts to show you some things that seem to have gotten lost along the way.

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:17-18

When I meditate upon what Paul is saying in this passage, it causes me to take a step back. Paul said that Christ did not make me an apostle to baptize. This statement should capture our attention.

The apostle was not sent out to make converts. That wasn’t his goal and it shouldn’t be ours. In some circles this needs to be emphasized.

We’re not in the Kingdom of God to “get people saved.” We’re simply here to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. How people respond to the message is up to them. The only thing I’ll be judged on is how accurately I gave that message, not on how many believed it. I think this distinction is lost on many believers.

However, there is a deeper truth here than just to preach the Gospel. We must preach this Good News without emptying the cross of its power. By expressing the Gospel through my human wisdom and reasoning, I lose the power that is resident in the cross. That’s why I need to hear a Word from God, and preach that Word.

The Word of the cross has the power to save. But it’s how we understand this statement that makes all the difference. Remember, being saved is not a one-time thing. It’s an on-going process. That’s why the Word of the cross is for those who are being saved.

I need the saving power of God on a daily basis. This is the power that saves me from my sinful actions, sickness, poverty, depression, and a whole host of other issues I have to deal with in my old nature. The message of the cross speaks to all of these and brings victory. It’s because we have watered down the message of the cross, that we have such battered down church in our generation.

When we give the Word of the cross a back seat, we miss out on the victory that God has made available to us. That’s why I feel it necessary to write about the cross of Christ for a little while. My hope is that it will help us in becoming more like the Lord.

Question: What do you see as significant about the cross?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on September 10, 2014 in Power of God, The Church, Word of God

 

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