I’m posting about the link between revival and forgiveness. In my last post we looked at II Chronicles 7:14, which said that God’s people have the responsibility to pray and seek the face of God. Then God would hear, forgive, and send healing and revival to our land.
Yes, revival really is up to us. The Bible says, “If my people, called by My Name will do what’s necessary.” Then we would see the healing of God on our land. This is an important concept for us to learn.
The land and God’s people are linked. This has always been true. When Israel was going into captivity, God told them pray for Babylon to prosper. If things go well for the nation that we live in, then they’ll go well for us.
It’s a very selfish thing for us to only seek God’s blessing for ourselves. We need to care about the people around us. We are the only ones who can intercede for our nation. That’s where revival starts.
We need to understand the principles of how forgiveness relates to revival. Daniel understood the concept.
“Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
Daniel 9:18-19
This kind of repentance takes humility. Daniel was righteous. He wouldn’t eat the king’s meat and he kept himself pure. Of all Israelites, Daniel had the least to repent of. Yet he is crying out for forgiveness. We have to understand that he wasn’t asking for people to be forgiven, but for the nation.
Nations need forgiveness. I’m not talking about the people, but the nation itself. Throughout the Bible we see that God treats nations like people.
Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
Romans 14:22b
Nations are judged by what they allow or don’t allow. Just because a nation says something is legal, doesn’t make it right. So if my nation is allowing things to be done that are evil, then God’s people need to intercede for forgiveness. This is where true revival is birthed. It comes to pass when we take responsibility for our nation.
It’s up to God’s people to pray for forgiveness for their nation. This is where the battle for the USA will take place. It’s in the place of prayer. We need to be interceding for our nation. Then we’ll see the hand of God moving on the hearts and lives of those around us.
Question: What do we need to repent of for our nation?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: America, America needs forgiveness, blessing, blessing of God, forgiveness, God's people, intercede, intercede for our nation, intercession, our land, pray for forgiveness, pray for revival, prayer, responsibility, revival, take responibility, true revival
I’m posting about the different “heart soils” in Luke 8. Today I’ll deal with the rocky soil. This is about rocks with only a thin layer of dirt to cover them. The seed germinates and springs up quickly. But just as quick, the sun comes out, scorches the plant, and it withers and dies.
Jesus explained the spiritual application this way.
“Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.”
Luke 8:13
This verse literally says is that these people receive the Word in the middle of joy. It sounds like camp meeting to me. There’s excitement in the air. The whole atmosphere of the meeting is charged with a heavenly joy. It’s easy to believe in a place like that.
We’re not talking about people who don’t believe what they hear. They believe it’s for them. The problem is that what has sprung up so quickly, also withers just as quick. What is it that withers?
For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
1 Peter 1:24-25
What withers is the glory of man. This type of person hears the Word and believes that it’s “all about me.” That’s why there’s all the joy and excitement. They think that the Word is for my blessing, health, and prosperity. Forget about what God’s ultimate purpose is. It’s me that’s important.
The Lord says that in this rocky heart there is some faith exhibited for a while, but it doesn’t last long. Eventually trials and testings will come. When this happens, Jesus literally says that they will become offended. Why does Christ use this word?
When I go through a time of testing, I realize that it’s not all about me. I get offended that I’m not the center of all the attention. I don’t want the spotlight on Christ and what He’s trying to accomplish in me. I want the priority to be my comfort and happiness. The result is that I get offended and walk away from the Lord and His plan for my life.
If I want my heart prepared for an abundant harvest, I must assume that the Word of God spotlights Jesus Christ. I must desire to know His heart. There are many who read the Bible and pursue God only for what they can get from Him. The big question on their minds is, “What’s in it for me?”
Instead, we should be focusing on God’s eternal purpose – to draw all humanity into His kingdom. The blessings of God are great, but they’re not an end in and of themselves.
God has promised us prosperity, but it’s to finance the spread of the Gospel. God has promised us health and healing, but it’s so that we can minister the Good News of His love to the best of our ability.
All the promises of God should be viewed through the filter of God’s will and plans. That’s what’s missing in the shallow faith of rocky soil. We need to keep our hearts clear of the rocks of self-centeredness.
Question: How is God working through you to bring about His purpose?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: abundant harvest, blessing, blessing of God, Christ, faith, glory of man, God's purpose, health, Jesus, joy, no root, offended, offense, parable, prosperity, rocky heart, setting yourself up for offense, soils, trials testing, trust
There are a lot of people who write about how you can have the blessing of God on your finances. I’ve been feeling lately that the Lord wants me to write about this truth for a couple of weeks in my posts. I’m hoping that it will be a benefit to you.
There’s a name of God that gets a lot of attention. Jehovah Jireh – which is Hebrew for the God Who provides. This is one of the names of God that has inspired so many songs and sermons.
It was on the mountain of sacrifice that Abraham used this term for God. This was the first and only time it was used in Scripture.
It happened just after God stopped Abraham from offering Isaac as a sacrifice.
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. [Jehovah Jireh] And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
Genesis 22:13-14
There are many people who view this name as a promise of provision. What they fail to see is that Jehovah Jireh is not a promise but a place. It’s a spiritual mountain that must be climbed. To get to that place in God, it will require the same thing from us that it did of Abraham.
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
Genesis 22:1-2
Of all the things that come with the spiritual walk, testing has got to rank among my least favorites. Yes, I understand from the Scripture that unless my faith is tried and tested it’s worthless. But that still doesn’t mean I have to enjoy the process.
When we think about Abraham, we usually refer to him as the “father of those who walk by faith.” A lot has been written about the faith of Abraham. I’ve heard many people say that they aspire to have that same level of faith.
What’s sometimes forgotten, however, is that along with great faith comes great testing. Abraham was no exception. Because his faith in God had risen to such a high degree, he endured trials that I can’t even imagine going through.
Just as he is our example of faith, Abraham can give us insight into how to stay strong under testing. For the next few posts we will take a close look at this aspect of his walk with God.
As we take this journey with Abraham, I hope that you’ll find that place of abundant provision in Christ.
Question: Have you noticed that with each new step of faith, you enter another phase of testing?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Abraham, blessing, blessing of God, Christ, faith, finances, God provides, Isaac, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Jireh is a place, Jesus, mountain of sacrifice, promise, provision, spiritual walk, testing, testing of your faith, the Lord will provide, trials
In my last post I talked about the differences between the power of the law and the power of the Holy Spirit.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13
There’s another big difference between the law and the Spirit. When you walk by the Spirit, you are totally dependant upon the Spirit. The law, on the other hand, allows you to be self-sufficient. All through Scripture we see this truth. If we are to minister for Him, then we must work in His strength. There is no other way to operate in the Spirit of God
The law gives you the appearance of self-sufficiency. That is, until the batteries die. That’s why it’s so hard to reach people in legalistic churches. They know what they’ve done to keep the law – to live right. They know the effort they’ve put forward.
“I’m okay because I’ve served God faithfully for forty long years.”
That brings us to the final difference that I want to cover. It’s actually the same as the last one, but from a little different perspective. To understand this we could look at the whole of the Gospel of John, chapter 15. Instead, I’ll only look at a few verses that emphasize the point I’m trying to make.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:7-8
REMAIN IN CHRIST! That’s the crux of the whole matter. In order to be entrusted with the power of God, we must remain in the Spirit of Christ. This is what trips most of us up. We don’t want to remain.
The law is a little more lenient, it allows you to be transient. What’s transient? Now there’s a word you don’t hear very often, but it describes the situation exactly. Let me explain it to you.
My parents used to have a summer home in the state of Maine. It was in a trailer park in the woods. We used to have a lot of fun going up there each year.
My parents spent most of the summer and fall there. They knew all of their neighbors and had a wonderful time living there. While my family and I visited, we heard about another section of the park, with a different sort of people. That was the “transient section.”
The transient section of the park was reserved for those who would come for only a week and then leave to go somewhere else. They didn’t remain there permanently, as my parents did. Instead, they wanted to come and go as they saw fit. This seems to be a problem of epidemic proportions in the body of Christ today.
We don’t want to remain in the Spirit. We want the freedom do what we want and have the blessing of God on our lives.
According to Christ, it is as we remain in Him that we enter the place of power.
Question: Why does remaining in Christ sound so difficult to this generation?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: blessing of God, Christ, dependant, dependant on God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, law, legalistic, power, power of God, power of the spirit, remain in Christ, self-sufficient, transient Christian
We live in an age of hero worship. It seems that people are more inclined to follow those with the most glitz and showmanship. It has, unfortunately, carried over into the body of Christ.
When it comes to the teachings we accept, how do we decide who to listen to? We need to be asking the right questions. This was something that was clearly portrayed in the ministry of Christ.
The following is taken from the Scriptural passage found in the Gospel of Luke 4:16-40. You will want to read that first to understand what I share in this post.
In that section of Scripture, Jesus preaches at two different synagogues. One was in His hometown of Nazareth, and the other in Capernaum. In both cases He preached the same message. Knowing that it was the Lord, I am assuming that both messages had the same level of anointing.
In spite of these similarities, only one of the towns, Capernaum, received a blessing out of the visit. It is clear to see from the narrative, that the reason was the questions that they asked themselves as Jesus was ministering.
This is important to us because we are guilty of the same type of attitudes that these people had. I believe that we have missed out on countless blessings because our attitudes got in the way. What makes the difference?
Verse 22 shows the question the people of Nazareth were asking. It demonstrates what they were focusing on.
They spoke well of Him. They were amazed at the words from His lips.
“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
They were concentrating on who was speaking – was He all that they were expecting?
Capernaum was a different case altogether. Verse 32 and 36 make it clear that they were amazed at His teaching. They recognized that His Word had power and authority. Who He was and what He looked like didn’t figure into their acceptance of the Word.
As a result, revival fell in Capernaum that day. Demons were cast out and all the sick that lived in that area were healed (Verse 33-40).
We need to learn this lesson. Sometimes the biggest show has the least anointing. On the other hand – there are times God wants to perform great miracles through His “unknown servants”.
We need to be asking, “What is the anointing, authority, and power upon this Word.” How big a following someone has shouldn’t figure into it. It’s all about the spirit behind the message, not the person God is using.
If we keep this in mind, then we’ll find the blessing of God in some of the most unlikely places. We will also open ourselves up to the miraculous.
Question: Have you ever received a blessing from God’s unknown servants?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: anointing, asking the right questions, authority, blessing, blessing of God, body of Christ, Christ, expectations, hero, hero worship, Jesus, message, ministry, power, preaching, questions, revival, showman, showmanship, teaching, unknown servants, word, word of God
In my last post I talked about how Jesus rebuked the Pharisees (and us) for using the Scripture superstitiously. In effect, Jesus told them, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess healing. Yet you refuse to come to Me, the Healer.”
The Lord could say the same thing to us, these days. “You think that by Scripture you will possess prosperity, yet you refuse to come to Me, the Provider.”
Please understand what I’m saying. The Holy Spirit can speak a Word of healing to me through the Scripture, but He’s not limited to this avenue. All that I need for life and godliness is found in Christ.
I will never obtain God’s blessing through my works – not even through intensive study and memorizing of the Bible. Healing will come by the Word of God – no matter how God chooses to send it to me.
We need to hear a Word from God. That Word will only come from time spent in His presence. When I study the Bible instead of cultivating intimacy with the Lord, I’m going to lose out. That’s the very problem that the Pharisees had.
…and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior…
Titus 1:3
In this passage, Paul tells Titus that the Word of God is made visible by the command of God. It is God’s Word made manifest in God’s time. That’s why time spent with the Lord is so important. I need to be quiet and listening to hear His voice. Hearing from God is actually the greatest theme of the New Testament. It’s the foundation for everything we need in our walk with God.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16
This is one of the greatest misunderstandings that we have in looking back to the early church. We think that they were just like us. On the contrary, they knew the importance of seeking a Word from God. They spent time in His presence listening for His voice.
What I’m saying is this – the study of Scripture and hearing from God are not replacements for each other. We need both, in order to have an abundant life in the Lord. In our generation, the study of Scripture has been elevated out of proportion to listening for God’s voice. That’s why my message is so strong for the church to spend time listening to God.
Question: Have you ever been guilty of seeking blessings from Scripture rather than Christ?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Bible, blessing, blessing of God, Christ, church, diligent study, God's word, hear his voice, Holy Spirit, importance of a word from God, Jesus, listening, manifest, Pharisee, Scripture, study, study of Scripture, superstition, voice of God, word, word from God, word of God, word of healing
2012 is over. We’re now in new territory! What does this new year hold for us? There is a way to safely navigate the unknown that lies before us.
Society is taking a dim view of the future. With talk of fiscal cliffs and higher taxes, many are worried. There are those who fear an increase in violence and unpredictable weather patterns. Where can we turn to for answers? The same place the truth has always been…
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:11
Our God didn’t get stuck in 2012! He is with us today. He knows all about the latest technology – before it’s even invented. He is well able to bring though to a victorious new year.
It’s a blessing to know that God will never leave us nor forsake us. According to this verse, He’s the Guide that never fails. He can find water in the driest desert. He gives strength in the time of trouble. If we rely on Him, we will be just like a spring whose source never fails.
Many times people look at us and wonder what’s the secret of our strength. There seems to be nothing special about us. On the outside we’re as weak and mortal as everyone else.
What they don’t know is that our strength comes from far below the surface – deep within – where we have tapped into the presence of an Almighty God. This is the secret to the abundant life. We must learn to remain in the presence of the Lord.
Because of the hand of God upon our lives, we seem to have an ability to move forward in ways that others cannot comprehend. This only happens when we take a spiritual drink from the springs of living water that come directly from the Lord. This is the road to victorious living.
Spend time with your Guide today. Let Him empower you for the year ahead. Become that “well-watered garden” in His presence. That is the only way to assure an outcome of fulfillment and joy throughout 2013.
I pray God’s richest blessing upon you in the coming year!
© Nicolas Zaccardi 2013
Tags: 2013, blessing of God, fear, fiscal cliff, God, guidance, guidance for the new year, guide, living water, new year, presence of God, strength, taxes, the Lord, victorious, victory, violence, weather, wisdom of God, worry
In my last post I started talking about music as a spiritual force. Did you know that music has the power to transform your life? It can lift you up, or bring you to your knees.
The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy was Moses’ last exhortation to Israel before he died. In it he made some very interesting comments as he was led along by the Holy Spirit.
It also includes what happened in the last few days of his life. As he was nearing the end, he had a very interesting encounter with God.
At that point, the Lord summoned Moses and Joshua (his second in command) to the tent of meeting. They were to appear before the presence of God for some instructions. Joshua was to be commissioned to lead Israel after Moses was gone. This is all found in Deuteronomy, chapter 31.
When they came to the tent God spoke to them out of a pillar of cloud. He told Moses of his soon departure. Then the Lord spoke of the future of Israel. He said that very soon after Moses was gone, the Israelites would begin to worship some of the gods of the peoples around them.
Because of their condition, they would lose the blessing of God upon their nation and face many devastating hardships. This must have been frustrating news to Moses, knowing that he was about to leave and could do nothing about it – or could he?
God gave Moses a special instruction that would bring the people back to repentance.
“Now write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.”
Deuteronomy 31:19
What can a song do to help?
And when many disasters and difficulties come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants.
Deuteronomy 31:21a
The Hebrew phrase, testify against them, literally means to announce in their face. God would use this song to bring conviction and repentance upon the nation of Israel. God knew that the only way to turn a backslidden nation around was to transport them back to a time when they were under His blessing.
That’s what the force of music can accomplish. There are times when I’m in the mall and suddenly I’m transformed into a teenager on summer vacation – because that’s when I first heard the song. If that’s what a secular song can do, just think what godly music, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit can do.
Spiritual songs have the power to hit the “reset button” in our lives. That’s why we should surround ourselves with the music of worship and praise.
Question: Has God ever used a song to bring you to repentance?
© Nick Zaccardi 2012
Tags: anointing, backslidden, blessing of God, conviction, godly music, Holy Spirit, Israel, Joshua, Moses, music, presence of God, repentance, song, spiritual force, spiritual songs, transformation, transformed, transforming power of music
I’m posting about the link between revival and forgiveness. In my last post we looked at II Chronicles 7:14, which said that God’s people have the responsibility to pray and seek the face of God. Then God would hear, forgive, and send healing and revival to our land.
The Spirit and the Word 