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Who’s Disciple are You?

23 Dec

Question MarkI’ve been talking about righteousness and the power of God.  In my last post I looked at a healing that took place on the Sabbath day.  The Pharisees were upset and began an investigation into the details of the miracle.

They interviewed the parents of the blind man who was healed to make sure that the person really was blind.  They confirmed that he was their son, and that he truly was born blind.

The Pharisees then question the former blind man again.  This time the man starts getting frustrated with them.  He asks them, “Do you want to become His disciples?  Is that why you’re asking so many questions?”

Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple!  We are disciples of Moses!”
John 9:28

These Pharisees then proceeded to ridicule this man and to malign Jesus.  It’s amazing how emotional people get when you start messing with their traditions.  Their point was that it was better to be a disciple of Moses then to be a disciple of Jesus.

Eventually the man reached the end of his patience and he told the Pharisees exactly what he was thinking.  He showed a lot of insight in his remarks.

“Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
John 9:32-33

What a simple statement of this deep truth.  He made the point that he had heard of people who lost their sight and then regained it back again.  But a man who was born blind – his eyes have never worked – healing them was unheard of.

His statement raised a question that should resound through the ages.  Jesus and His disciples are healing the sick.  We see the power of God working through them.  If being a disciple of Moses is so great, then why aren’t you healing the sick?  If I were to judge by appearances I would say that the Pharisees are the ones needing to get closer to God.

This is where we find ourselves in the church today.  We’re powerless, yet complaining about and maligning those who do walk in a degree of the Spirit.  If they’re changing lives, seeing people healed and delivered from sin, then there are those who say that there must be something wrong.  They must be off base in their theology.  After all, my church isn’t that exciting.

What’s the truth of the matter?  God is a powerful God.  He desires to operate through His people.  He hates sickness, sin, and destructive habits that hold people in bondage.  It’s always His goal to set the captives free.  If these things are not happening in the church, then there’s something wrong on our end, not God’s.

Question: Why is it common for believers to speak against those who operate in the power of God?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on December 23, 2013 in Legalism, Power of God

 

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My Righteousness Doesn’t Work #powerofGod

20 Dec

TreeI have been posting about the relationship between righteousness and the power of God manifest in us.  It should be clear that our own self-righteousness is not enough.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Romans 3:21

This verse makes it clear that it cannot be by my works.  It’s apart, separate from the law.  This means that I have to access the power of God in order to live righteously.  Anything else is trying to put the cart before the horse.  If my goal is to live righteously in order to walk in the power of God, then I have chosen a path of weakness and frustration.

And yet, so many people are trying to walk this very way.  The Bible is clear on the outcome.  So let me ask, what if I try to obtain righteousness through obedience to the law?  What if I try my hardest to live up to what I’m told is right?

I can read my Bible daily, go to church on time every week, pray every day, and tithe.  On top of that, I can make sure that I don’t lie, cheat, steal, walk in anger, gossip, or envy.  What’s wrong with trying to live up to a godly standard with my own strength?

In the Gospel of John chapter 9 we’re told of a healing that took place in Jesus’ ministry.  There was a man who was born blind.  He came to the Lord for healing.  Jesus did something very interesting.  He spit on ground, made mud, and put it in the eyes of this blind man.

He then said for the man to go and wash in a nearby pool.  The blind man obeyed the Lord and was healed.  The trouble was that this occurred on the Sabbath – the Jewish holy day when no work was supposed to be done.

According to how the Pharisees interpreted the law of Moses, healing was a form of work that could not be done on the Sabbath.  Because of this, Jesus almost started a riot because of this healing.  For some reason, the Pharisees decided to make an example of this case.

They began an investigation into every aspect of it.  They talked to the man who was blind and now can see.  Because of their exposure to the truth involved in this healing, after talking to this man they are divided.

Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”  But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?”  So they were divided.
John 9:16

What was so divisive about this event?  It all centered on their understanding (or lack of understanding) of the power of God.  They had to ask themselves; where does the power to heal come from?

If the power to heal is from God, then Jesus is a man of God.  On the other side, some were saying that there are rules to how you can heal.  If you break these rules, then you’re a sinner no matter what happens.

This is where we seem to be in the body of Christ today.  Divided over how the miraculous takes place.  Is it my righteousness that sets the stage, or is there something else at work?

In my next post I will share how this investigation turned out.

Question: Why is operating in the gifts of the Spirit so controversial?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on December 20, 2013 in Legalism, Power of God

 

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The Two Kinds of Righteousness

18 Dec

BeamIn my last post I started talking about the relationship between the power of God and righteousness.  There are so many believers bound in the notion that if we can just be righteous enough, we can walk in the power of the Spirit.

They spend their lives frustrated trying to live up to the righteous rules set out by their teachers.  Many give up on ever obtaining a walk in the power of the Spirit.  Little do they know that their quest is in vain.

And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
2 Corinthians 3:11

It’s the power of the law which, like batteries, eventually fades away.  Not so the power of the Spirit.  This verse literally says that it lasts, remains, stays perpetually.  What kind of power are you looking for?  A temporary boost that fades as your strength declines?  Or do you seek a power that comes from the Spirit of the living God?

The righteous life can only come from a walk of power.  Jesus not only walked in power, but also in the righteousness of the Father.  This means it’s possible for me as well.  I just need apply the truth of Scripture to my life.

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 1:17

Righteousness is not a function of my strength or my will power.  It comes from God through His Holy Spirit.  The key is that this truth is revealed in the Gospel – the Good News.  Truly, to many believers righteousness from God is Good News.

As I’ve said before, so many live their lives constantly failing to live up to the standards set by Christ in the Word.  The Good News is that you don’t have to.  But wait a minute!  Maybe you think I’m talking about the imparted righteousness that God gives to us when we’re saved.  I’m not.

The Bible teaches about two different kinds of righteousness under the New Covenant.  First, there’s imparted righteousness.  This is the righteousness that Christ places within you when you’re saved.

This means that when God the Father looks at you, He sees you in Christ.  This gives you access to God at all times so that your sin will not keep you from approaching the throne for forgiveness, praise, worship, or any other purpose.  We need this righteousness to establish a relationship with the Lord as we grow in our faith.

There is also another kind of righteousness that the New Testament talks about.  That’s the walk of righteousness.

This is the application of the righteousness of God to our daily lives.  This means that I live correctly before God.  This one is harder to see manifest in my life.  That’s especially true if I try to accomplish it in my own power, as so many Christians endeavor to do.

I believe that in the above verse, Paul is talking about the walk of righteousness.  It’s this righteousness from God that allows us to live righteously.  We can never hope to walk rightly before God in our own strength.  It’s going to require us to walk in the ability of the Lord in order to please Him.

Question: Why is it so tempting to please God in our own strength?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on December 18, 2013 in Legalism, Power of God

 

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Righteousness and the Power of God #powerofGod

16 Dec

PowerWe know that the manifestation of God’s power in our lives is directly linked to relationship.  But this brings up a very important question.  What’s the relationship between righteousness and the power of God?

I grew up always feeling unable to walk in the power of the Spirit, because I was never good enough.  We’ll now look at what the Bible says about the relationship between the power of God and righteousness.

The fact is that no Biblical principle exists in a bubble, even though we like to teach them that way sometimes.  Righteousness, mercy, love, and power all relate to each other.  Right now we need to see how power and righteousness relate.

Just to make sure we have the same understanding, I define righteousness as being right in God’s eyes.  It’s when God looks at you and says that you’re living correct according to His standards.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18

This is an incredible claim, when you think about it.  Ever-increasing glory.  This sounds powerful to me.  Remember that the definition of power is the ability to produce change.

Think about the amount of power required for this verse to be fulfilled.  We’re being transformed into the likeness of the Lord from our imperfect state.  This is the place Paul is bringing us to in Corinthians, chapter 3.  Listen to how Paul describes this change of living in the verses prior to this.

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:6

It’s obvious that he’s talking about the difference between the power of the law and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Life in the New Covenant isn’t based on the power of the law, but on the Spirit.  If we try to use the law, then death will be at work in us.  But it’s the next verse that’s even more revealing to us.

If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!
2 Corinthians 3:9

Did you catch what Paul said here?  He said that this ministry – the ministry based in the power of the Spirit – brings righteousness.  It is not the other way around as many people teach.  Some would have us believe that if you live a righteous life, you’ll receive the manifestation of the power of God.

This verse shows us the fallacy in that kind of thinking.  It’s just the opposite.  You need the power of God in order to live righteously. In actuality, righteousness is only obtained through God’s power.

Question: Why does living righteously require God’s power in you?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on December 16, 2013 in Power of God

 

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Will Your Gift to God be Returned? #greatestgift

13 Dec

PresentThe Christmas season is in full swing!  The stores are full of shoppers.  The TV is all about buying presents for people.  With all the hype going on around us; do we really understand giving?

I’m talking about what we give to God.  No, I’m not going to ask for an offering.  I’m thinking about how willing we are to give.

There are some things that we’re more willing to give than others.  Many are willing to give some time to the Lord on Sundays as well as a couple of hours during the week.  There are a lot of believers who give ten percent of their income to the work of God.

Here’s the problem.  Am I giving what God is asking for?  If not, then all my works count for nothing.

Is it any different than our Christmas experience?  We all get presents that we don’t want.  Check out the exchange lines the day after Christmas and you’ll see exactly what I mean.  No one wants to give a gift that gets returned.

How much more important is it to you, that God doesn’t return your gift?  We need to know what He’s looking for in a gift.

Actually, we can get some insight from the enemy.  Satan made an interesting statement while he was accusing Job before God.

“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life.”
Job 2:4

If anyone knows us well, it’s the devil.  After centuries of watching us, he came to this conclusion.

That’s how we know the value of the greatest gift God asks of us.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.  What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?  Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 16:25-26

Jesus taught the same thing.  A man will sell everything he has to save his life.  It’s the most precious possession we own.

That’s why it’s also the greatest gift we can give to God.  In reality, God doesn’t want your time or money if it’s just a replacement for you.  The Lord wants you.

This season, while we think about all the things we’re getting for others, don’t forget the highest name on the list.  Make it your first priority to give yourself fully to Christ.  Then, everything else will fall into place.

Question: How far are you willing to go for the Lord?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on December 13, 2013 in Encouragement, Worship

 

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Are You Living by the Word?

02 Dec

SpotlightWe understand the principle that the Word of God is like seed.  I want to discuss how this seed is received into our hearts.  If the Word is my life, then it’s important that I know how to handle it correctly.

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4

It’s the Word that gives us life – the essence of life, the abundant life.  That’s what we desperately need as believers in this generation.

How do we receive this life?  To answer that we’ll go to the beginning of the Gospel of John.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
John 1:4

We see in this verse that life is only found in Christ, the Living Word.  Not only is He life, but this life is the light of men.  If we’re truly going to be the light of the world, then we need this life – the life that only comes from Christ.

If Christ is the life, then how is that life transferred to us?

I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.
John 6:47-48

This is vital to our understanding of how to receive life.  Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life.  That’s the theme of the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel.  The Lord sums it up in this way.

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.  The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
John 6:63

We’ve now come to the bottom line.  In order to walk in the abundant life we must live by every Word of God.  Christ is the Living Word – the personification of the Word of God.  His Word is Spirit and life.  It’s a life that can only be received by the spirit.  This is the foundation of understanding how the Word works in us.  Now we must apply it in our everyday situations.

Over the next few posts, I’ll talk about how the Word of God relates to us.  How I receive the Word is important because without it, I’m powerless.

Too many believers are trying to live for God without placing the Living Word at the center of their being.  This is a sure recipe for disaster.  We need the understanding of Scripture to bring us to the place where we operate out of an overflow of God’s Word.

Question: How important is the Living Word of God to you?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on December 2, 2013 in Word of God

 

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Why Work for God?

29 Nov

WorkThere are many believers who never enter into their calling.  Are you one of them?  Don’t miss the point of why God wants us to work for Him and with Him.

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:3

Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church, commending them on their work for the Lord.  He mentions three aspects that speak volumes to us as God’s people.  We need to take these things to heart if we’re going to be productive in the Kingdom of God.

Our work is produced by faith.  The word for work means what we do for God.  It’s the task to which we’ve been assigned.

We’ve all been called to do something different in the Body of Christ.  Your personality, strengths, weaknesses, and skillsets all combine to bring about the plan God has for your life.

The key is that you must seek God to find out what you’re called to do.  That’s where faith comes into the picture.  How well do you trust God for your future?  Are you willing to give up your agenda for His?

Then, by faith, we must let the Holy Spirit train and prepare us for the work.  Too many believers want to rush ahead and get “on the job training.”  Usually they become tripped up when they run ahead of the Lord.  You need to trust God to bring about the plan He has for your life.

Our labor is prompted by love.  This word labor, in the Greek, literally means your toil that results in weariness.  It speaks of using your strength to accomplish something.

We’re willing to do this for our bosses, because they pay us cash for our strength.  The Kingdom of God has a different economy.  What we do for the Lord is based upon our love for Him, or at least it should be.

Your love for God is expressed in how much time, money and energy you’re willing to expend in His work.  There’s no way around it – there’s something that you need to do for the Lord.

Our trouble is that we want to reap without sowing.  We wait until we want to eat a salad, then go out and plant the garden.  At that point, we blame God that our “salad bowl” is empty.

If you cultivate a love for the Savior, your work for Him will be a lot easier.

Our endurance is inspired by hope.  The word endurance speaks of our ability to persevere through the completion of the work.

This is the hard part.  Once we’ve started the task, we need to keep going.  Hardships, opposition, and even the daily grind of repetition saps our will to continue.

Our attitudes often surprise me.  We’re willing to drag ourselves to our job, even though we’re sick – and our boss will pay us to stay home – just to impress our employers.  Why aren’t we so inspired to impress the King of kings?  This is the secret to walking in the abundant life.

As I focus on the hope, the expectation, held out in the Gospel, I’m able to endure through the hard times.  Then I can see the power of God released in my life.

Question: What do you find to be the hardest part of enduring in your work for God?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on November 29, 2013 in Ministry

 

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Thanksgiving Bread – The Spirit and the Word #thanksgiving

27 Nov

BreadUnder the Old Testament law, many different types of offerings were to be presented to God.  Some were called Fellowship Offerings because they were given simply out of love for God.  An offering of thanksgiving was one of these Fellowship Offerings.

If he offers it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering he is to offer cakes of bread made without yeast and mixed with oil, wafers made without yeast and spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour well-kneaded and mixed with oil.  Along with his fellowship offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of bread made with yeast.
Leviticus 7:12-13

There are four different kinds of bread that were associated with this offering.  The common elements in all of them are flour and oil.  I believe that they correspond to the word and the spirit.  This is central to thanksgiving since everything I receive from God is through the Word and by His Spirit.

The first bread is cakes of bread without yeast and mixed with oil.  The term “unleavened” comes from a root which means to greedily devour because it is sweet.  It was made with flour mixed with oil.  To make these today, we would use shortening or butter.  They would be more like shortbread or butter cookies.

Sometimes the word is sweet to me.  I devour it greedily.  It satisfies my inner longing and refreshes my spirit.  I’m thankful for the Word of God that lifts me up.

The next bread is the wafer – literally, a matzah.  This matzah cracker was to be anointed with oil.  The matzah is very dry and pierced at regular intervals throughout the cracker.

Sometimes the Word pierces me, like a sword.  It’s in times like this that God is doing surgery on me.  The Bible teaches that faithful are the wounds of a friend.  I need it because this is the place of the anointing.  I’m thankful for the Word of God that corrects me.

Another bread is made with fine flour and cooked in oil.  Fine flour is like our bakery flour.  When we cook something in oil, we call it deep fried – like fried dough or donuts.

This one is brought about in the heat of the spirit.  It takes the fire of the Holy Spirit, heating up the Word to produce change in my life.  A prophet said to God that Your Word is like a fire in my bones.  This fire pushes you to action.  Christ has said that He wants you either cold or hot.  Lukewarm just won’t cut it.  I’m thankful for the Word of God that fires me up to action for the Lord.

The last bread of the thanksgiving offering is made with yeast.  Yeast usually speaks of our imperfections.  It amazes me that God will entrust His divine Word to imperfect humans.  The Lord gives me a word to share with others.  If I were God…it would never happen.

But He knows best.  He gives us a word to share, even in our humanity.  This is something that my imperfect life can give to others.  I’m thankful that Christ lets us represent Him by His Spirit.

Thank God.

Question: What are you thankful to God for at this moment?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on November 27, 2013 in Encouragement, God's Provision, Word of God

 

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God’s Approval #theanointing

25 Nov

SpotlightI’ve been talking about walking in the anointing of God.  In my last post I discussed being well pleasing to the Lord.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.
Ephesians 5:8-10

This verse tells us that we should live the way a child of the light should live.  The fruit of the light is the evidence that we’re walking in the light.

This passage literally says that as children of the light, we need to test and approve what is well pleasing to the Lord.  The more we walk in His light – the more we learn about pleasing Him.

It’s by pleasing the Lord that we secure the anointing.  That’s a key concept that many miss out on.

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.
1Thessalonians 2:4

I’ve asked this before.  Where is your heart set?  Who are you trying to please?  Your anointing (God’s approval of your ministry) is resting on that answer.  It’s not about how much you want it; instead, it’s wrapped up in the direction your heart is taking you.

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21

What we have to realize is that in our own power we can never be well pleasing to God.  It only comes from time spent in His presence.  Only God’s power can secure our anointing.

We have to position ourselves to receive His power that works through us.  We have to be driven to walk in the anointing.

This means that we have set our heart on it.  It’s all about getting close enough in the spirit, to find out what’s well pleasing to Him.  It’s the only way to get ourselves in the position to receive.

In the final analysis it can only be accomplished by His power at work in us.

So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
2 Corinthians 5:9

Be driven to please God.

Question: What is God calling you to do that will require His power to accomplish?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on November 25, 2013 in Anointing

 

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Where is Your Heart Pointing? #theanointing

22 Nov

Snow HeartIn my last post I used Christ as our example for preparing ourselves for the anointing.  I talked about being driven in the spirit.  How far are we willing to go to see God work through us?

…and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:22

Think about the Father’s testimony of the Son.  We’re all sons and daughters of God.  We’ve been adopted into His family.  Beyond that, we’re all loved.

I believe that the key term here is well pleased.  We have to come to this understanding.  We don’t just want God to be pleased, but well pleased.

Sometimes we learn more by negative examples.  Israel had a problem in this area.

Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.  Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
1 Corinthians 10:5-6

They did not make it their goal to be pleasing to God.  If we’re going to go beyond their failure, then we must set our hearts on securing the anointing.  Whatever you set your heart on is what you are driven to do.

Have you set your heart on things?  Some people are driven to make money.  What’s the driving force of your life?  Some want position or fame.  Have you set your heart on power with God?

What you’ve set your heart upon determines what you’re driven to do.  Your heart is the driving force in your life.

Paul was driven.

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
1 Corinthians 9:26-27

Paul literally says that I will give my body a black eye, if I have to, in order to obtain the prize.  The prize is the anointing of power.

Peter understood the power of being driven.

Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and forever!  Amen.
2 Peter 3:17-18

All around us are those who are driven for self.  It looks very tempting.  Their rewards are instantaneous.

The blessings of a heart after God are long-term.

Drive yourself to grow in grace.  Increase your knowledge of the Lord.  That’s the road to the anointing of power.  Drive yourself down that path.

Question: How do you seek to be well pleasing to God?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on November 22, 2013 in Anointing

 

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