In my last post I talked about a statement that Jesus made to the church. In it He warns us that the last days before His return would be similar to the days of Noah. What was that like? Things were going along business as usual.
The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
Genesis 6:5
That sounds very familiar. God saw how great man’s wickedness had become. People’s thoughts would turn in the direction of evil all the time. Our society is like that today. The main concern of most people is, “How can I satisfy myself?” That’s fallen man’s cry from morning until night. Both Noah’s society and what we see happening around us today sound the same to me.
You know the rest of the story. God shows Noah His plan. Noah obeys and builds the ark for the saving of his family. But what does all that have to do with the return of Christ? Jesus is making a comparison here.
The world was filled with violence during the days of Noah. Our society is plagued with the same things as well. We see wickedness, evil thoughts, corruption, and violence all around us. If you live in the inner city, violence is a way of life. Unfortunately, it’s moving out more and more into the countryside, just like it was in the days of Noah. What is this leading to?
On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind…Then the Lord shut him in.
Genesis 7:13-16
Just like it was in THE DAYS of Noah, they were eating, drinking, and marrying right up until THE DAY Noah entered the ark. Scripture says “the very day” Noah entered the ark. At that point the flood came.
Did they have any warning that the flood was coming? They sure did! Noah had been warning them for about one hundred years. That’s how long it took him to build the ark.
What we need to understand is that when the door to the ark was finally shut it was too late. Here is a very important question. Who shut the door to the ark? Please pay careful attention to this fact. It was God who shut the door. Noah didn’t shut it, and he couldn’t open it.
Once that door was shut, no one could change their mind and get in. It was too late. I’m sure that when the rain started falling, there were people pounding on that door. But when God shuts the door, the time of repentance is over.
I believe that there will be a day when God will close the door to salvation. That’s why it’s imperative that we preach the Good News while God’s ark of salvation remains open.
Question: What are you doing to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: business as usual, Christ, evil thoughts, fallen man, good news, good news of Jesus Christ, Jesus, Noah's ark, obedience, obey, repentance, return of Christ, salvation, second coming, the days of Noah, the last days, violence, wickedness
In my last post we saw Jesus answering the Pharisees’ question about the kingdom of God. When they leave, the Lord turns to His disciples and starts teaching them about the last days.
Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.”
Luke 17:22
Jesus begins to tell them what the Pharisees were really asking about. He told them that they would not see one of the days of the Son of Man. It turns out that there’s a special reason why He gave this teaching to His disciples. He needed to warn them that none of the disciples would be alive when Jesus Christ was to return.
“Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.”
Luke 17:23-24
The Lord knew that as soon as He died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, there were going to be people who claimed to be the Messiah. There would be those who proclaimed, “Jesus has returned, He’s back again”.
After all, even when Jesus was ministering, the people thought He was the return of Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. He knew that there would always be those who claimed to be a new incarnation of the Christ. In this teaching, the Lord wanted to nip that heresy in the bud.
He told His disciples clearly that if anybody said that the Lord had returned, they would automatically know it was a lie. They wouldn’t have to check it out. They wouldn’t have to verify it. He was saying, “Know for sure that I will not come back in your lifetime.”
This verse then was specifically for the disciples. As it turned out, they were very glad that the Lord gave them this wisdom. Following the ascension of Christ, there were plenty of false Messiahs that came along. The disciples were fortunate in knowing that they didn’t have to worry about whether they were the real thing or not.
Even Paul ran into this problem. He had to write to the Thessalonian church dealing with this issue. They were all upset because somebody told them Jesus had already returned and they had missed it. Paul had to tell them, “No, it hasn’t happened yet.” He didn’t have to go find out. He didn’t have to call up anybody or check it out. He knew with a certainty that Christ had not yet returned.
As a matter of fact, Jesus said, “When I come, it’s not going to be in secret. It will be like lightning flashing from one end of the heavens to the other. Everybody is going to see Me.”
I believe that we are the generation that will see His return.
Question: Are you ready and looking forward to the day Christ will appear?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, Christ return in our lifetime, days of the son of man, disciples, every eye will see him, Jesus, lightning, private return, return of Christ, second coming
There are some things about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ that I think we’ve lost sight of. I want to take a few posts to take a detailed look at the Gospel of Luke, chapter 17. There are some very surprising things that Jesus said in that text. But first, He had to correct the Pharisees’ view of the kingdom.
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
Luke 17:20-21
The Pharisees were always looking for an occasion to accuse Jesus. They wanted to find something against Him. So they came up with this question. When is the kingdom coming? They knew that the Messiah was supposed to establish the kingdom. So they decided to see how smart He was.
Please understand what these men were doing. They didn’t want to believe in Him. They weren’t looking for the arrival of the kingdom of God. They were just looking for a chance to test the Lord and to trick Him into saying something that would open Him up to some accusation.
How does Jesus respond to their question? In dealing with these men, He turns the tables on them and gives them an answer that refers to the spiritual kingdom instead of the physical. The Lord’s exhortation to them is that you will not find it by careful observation.
They first needed to understand what “kingdom” means. A kingdom can be any place. A king-dom is the domain, or place of dominion of a king. It’s any place or person over which the King has authority.
So, if the King of kings has authority in your heart, that’s where the kingdom of God is. Wherever the King has authority to rule is where the kingdom has been established. The kingdom of God could be among you or in you. It all depends upon whether or not you have received the King.
If you’re submitted to the King, you’re a part of the kingdom. If you’re not submitted to the King, then you are not in the kingdom and the kingdom is not in you. Instead, you will find that the kingdom of God is among you, just like in the parable of the weeds and the wheat (Matthew 13:36-43).
The wheat is a part of the kingdom, the weeds aren’t. Jesus was explaining the same concept to these Pharisees. He gives them the spiritual truth even though it wasn’t what they wanted to hear. They were asking Him for the physical manifestation of the kingdom.
The same applies to us today. Many believers want to receive the blessings of the kingdom without submitting to the King. We need to learn that you can’t have one without the other.
Question: What does it mean to be submitted to Christ as King?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: among you, arrival, Christ, domain, dominion, establish, God, in you, Jesus, king, King of Kings, kingdom, kingdom of God, Luke, Pharisees, second coming, submission, submit, understanding the kingdom of God
My last post talked about positioning yourself to flow in God’s power. It all comes down to the truth that agreement with Christ is the place of power. Do we always agree with Him? Or do we make excuses?
“You can’t know God’s will for certain.” “He may not want to heal.” After all it can’t be our fault. We feel there’s nothing wrong on our end so it must be God’s decision not to manifest His power.
In some cases we’re more like the Pharisees than we want to admit. Jesus explained their problem to them. I believe that it’s our problem as well. We need to hear the Lord, and meditate on His words.
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
Many believers spend a great deal of time pursuing the study of Scripture. There are radio and cable channels devoted to the study of the Word of God 24/7.
Just like Jesus said to the Pharisees, many of us think that by them we possess life and power. We believe that if we just know the Word enough, it will increase our faith to the point where nothing will be impossible for us.
The Scripture is given to testify about Christ. It was NOT given to grant us access to power or life. Jesus Christ is the grand focus of the Word. It’s IN HIM that we have power and life.
Our problem is that we refuse to go to Christ to have access to power and life. Jesus said, “I have come that you would have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Power rests solely in Christ. If we don’t abide in Christ, then we don’t have access to the power.
The very Scriptures that we recite, confess, and memorize are telling us who Christ is and what He’s done. This should cause us to run to Him. Instead, we embrace the Word and think that it will give us power. It’s so much easier to live for ourselves and quote promises, then to abide in Christ. That requires spiritual effort, and we like to look for the shortcuts.
This is the instant generation. We want everything now without any waiting. By constantly using our credit cards we will give away our future for a momentary pleasure. We have to have everything now.
Well, this is something that’s impossible to get instantly. It requires the work of an intimate relationship with God. Power flows from Christ to us if we’ll do what it takes to position ourselves to receive it. It’s time for the church to wake up and view relationship with Christ as the priority of the hour.
Question: Are you willing to wait in God’s presence rather than seek for instant success?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: abide, abide in Christ, Agreement, agreement with Christ, Christ, confess, confession, excuses, healing, in Christ, Jesus, life, manifestation, memorize, position, positioning, power, power is agreement with Christ, power of God, promises, recite, relationship, Scripture, study, testify, testify to Christ, word of God
I’ve been posting about how Christ walked and ministered in the power of God. It’s all about how He positioned Himself to receive it.
A good example of this is found in a parable that the Lord told to His disciples. We usually call it the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector. They were both in the temple praying next to each other. The Lord lets us in on what they were saying.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
Luke 18:11-12
We read this, but we don’t take it to heart. We know how it ends and who the Lord commends. But do we really listen to the prayer of the Pharisee. If we look closely at it, it sounds like a prayer that a modern Christian would offer up, filled with good confessions.
“I thank you that I’m the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath. I thank you that because I tithe you will rebuke the devourer and open the windows of heaven so that I cannot contain your blessing.”
His prayer was filled with good confessions and it was all true. He was different than the tax-collector. He did fast and tithe. The problem was that he had no power.
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Luke 18:13
Which prayer produced life changing power? Christ was clear about it.
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14
It’s obvious, from the Lord’s perspective, that the person who dealt with relationship tapped into God’s power. The Pharisee was focused on self. The tax-collector was dealing with that which separated him from God.
Is the power of God about what I’ve done or what the Holy Spirit wants to accomplish in and through me? When I go before God, my telling Him what I’ve done doesn’t impress Him. It will never move Him to work through me.
It’s only as I work on my relationship with Christ that I’ll see the changes necessary. If you want to flow in the power of God, then your relationship with Him is the positioning agent. It’s not about what you’ve done, but what He is able to do in you.
Questions: How well are you positioned for the move of the Holy Spirit? What do you need to do to make it better?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, good confessions, Jesus, life changing, ministry, Pharisee, position, positioned to receive spiritual power, power, power of God, power of the spirit, pray, prayer, praying, publican, receive, relationship, self, sinner, spiritual power, tax-collector
In my last post I talked about how Christ ministered on a different level than the Pharisees. The power of God flowed out of Him without His control. In the case of the woman with the issue of blood, it was even without the Lord’s knowledge.
Now that’s a definite problem for us in modern day Christianity. We want control. We want to be able to turn it on and off. We want people to know who the power came from.
It seems to me that God wants us to be a hose, and we want to be a faucet. This brings my mind back to a post I wrote months ago. It was about II Timothy 3:5.
This was the verse in which Paul warned us that in the last days there would be those who had a form of godliness but denied the power. If you remember, the Greek word for deny was a-rheo – not flowing.
So many people want to control instead of flow. We cannot have that kind of attitude and be greatly used by God. We must see ourselves as a channel of the Lord’s power, and not a container.
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases…
Luke 9:1
This is the next logical step in this line of thinking. Because the power of God flows, it can be given and received. Jesus was able to give the disciples power because it flowed through Him. This is good news for us also, because we have the same Holy Spirit living in us that Jesus had within Him.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
What a great verse! Power is given by the Holy Spirit and we can receive it. This seems a little too simple for our liking. We try to make it so complicated. So we have come up with all kinds of laws, disciplines, steps, and rituals that we say are necessary in order to walk in this power.
We have placed tithing, confession, and a whole host of other requirements in people’s path. But the truth of the matter is that I must abide in Christ. Then the power will flow through the Holy Spirit to me if I’m in a position to receive it. It’s actually all about positioning ourselves correctly. That’s what a majority of my blog is about.
I’m trying to get the church to reposition itself for revival. That’s where we need to be. In a position to receive the power of the Holy Spirit the same way that Christ did. Then, the world will see the difference and be drawn to the Lord. After all, it’s all about Him, not us.
Question: How would our church look different if we ministered like Jesus?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, church, control, disciplines, flow, flow in power, flow in the Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit within us, in control, Jesus, laws, out of control, position, power, power of God, revival, rituals, steps, submitted to Christ, walking in power
I have posted about what happened when the most powerful user of the law (Satan) attacked the most powerful user of the Holy Spirit (Christ). The battle wasn’t even close.
Now I want to relate how Jesus lived and taught about power on a daily basis. The last thing I want is to be in error, trying to defeat the devil on his level. I want to face each battle from a position of strength in the Holy Spirit.
In order to understand this truth, we’ll look at the differences between the Pharisees and Jesus. It’s no secret that the Pharisees walked in the power of the law. But…they were powerless in the spirit, so they were usually jealous of Jesus’ power.
All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!”
Luke 4:36
When Jesus ministered, the people saw something different. He wasn’t like the Pharisees who simply made excuses why people were sick or poor. They would point out people’s sin as the answer for everything. With Jesus, it was a whole different way of ministry.
…and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
Luke 6:19
The people could see the power of God at work through the Lord. It got to the point where they were not even asking Him to touch them any more. They were trying to touch Him. Power was flowing, issuing out, all around Him. They simply had to put their faith in Him to receive this life transforming flow. And that’s exactly what it was – a flow of power.
That’s because power is like a liquid. If the channel is clear, it will move like a river from one person to another. It was for this reason that a woman tried it later on in the Gospel of Luke. As He was with the crowd, suddenly Jesus stopped and turned around.
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.
Luke 8:46-47
As I was meditating upon these verses, a very interesting question popped up in my mind. In both Luke 6:19 and Luke 8:46-47 power was flowing out of the Lord. The question is, was Jesus “controlling” the power? According to the verses above, He was not consciously deciding who to pray for. The people were touching Him and the power of God was healing them. He was simply the avenue through which the Holy Spirit worked.
Questions: Do you want to be used of God in this way? Are you willing to walk the same road of relationship with the Father that Jesus walked?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, divine healing, faith, flow of power, healing, Holy Spirit, issue of blood, Jesus, law, life transforming, like Jesus, like the pharisees, Pharisees, power, power of God, strength in the Holy Spirit
I have been posting about how Christ was tempted in the wilderness. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He overcame all the assaults of the enemy. But there’s more to the story than just the devil’s defeat.
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
Luke 4:13-14
The story goes on. After the devil had done everything he knew to do, he was finished. The enemy had totally drained his battery. He had to leave for a while to recharge.
Jesus, on the other hand, didn’t miss a beat. He’d been fasting in the wilderness for 40 days. Then the Lord experienced a spiritual battle the likes of which we’ve never seen in our lives.
Was He drained? Did he have to recuperate? Absolutely not! Jesus Christ came out of the wilderness experience just as powerful as when He entered 40 days before.
We need to walk in this kind of power. But in order to do this we must let go of our reliance upon the promises and start acting like spiritual adults. We need to truly tap into the full potential of the power of the Holy Spirit who is at work within us.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.
Ephesians 3:16
Without a doubt, this is the key – the Holy Spirit living within us. Being led by the Spirit is the earmark of a son. We must remain in Christ if we are to access this potential. Christ is our example.
I don’t know why we’ve turned it around and made it all about us. As if we have the power to change anything. We think that if we find the right promise or confess the right Scripture verse, then a miracle will happen. Maybe if we put together the correct formula of words in a prayer the power will manifest.
What’s the secret of how Christ consistently walked in the power of the Spirit? It wasn’t confessions or formulas. It was the time He spend remaining in the Father’s presence. He prayed, He listened, and He obeyed.
It’s time for us to learn this lesson. We need to stop looking for an easy way to tap into the Spirit while continuing to live for ourselves. I need to submit to the Lord’s agenda for my life. Time in the presence of God is the only thing that will bring about this transformation.
Question: What would have to change in order for you to spend more time in the Lord’s presence?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, continuing in power, devil's defeat, Father's presence, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit within us, Jesus, listen, obey, power, power of God, power of the Holy Spirit, pray, promises, remain in Christ, spiritual adults, time, transformation
In my last post I talked about how we needlessly put God to the test. It was something Christ refused to do during His earthly walk.
When I began this series, I shared how I personally went through one of the worst points in my life. During this time we were one of the families who lost their homes in the recent mortgage crisis.
But I can state, without reservation, that at my worst financial point, I was still better off than most of the world’s population. I had a roof over my head and a full belly. How dare I even entertain the idea that God failed to provide for my needs. If I’m truly walking in faith, then I acknowledge that I serve a faithful God, who I never need to put to the test.
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Matthew 4:8-9
The devil continued his assault using the promises of God. This time he used a promise specifically aimed at Christ, the Messiah. He was making a deal with Jesus in which the Lord could obtain the Messiah’s blessing without having to endure the pain of the cross. As far as the Lord was concerned, this was the last straw.
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Matthew 4:10
Jesus saw right through the devil’s smokescreen, and rejected the offer without even giving it a second thought. How dumb can we be? So often we fall when the enemy tempts us to do foolish, unscriptural, and even ungodly things…all for spiritual reasons, of course. We sometimes make crazy decisions all under the guise of “God wants me blessed, happy, and wealthy”
I’ve heard things like, “God told me that this is the woman He created for me.” My question is what about the woman you’re married to right now? What about “God hates divorce”?
By His life, Jesus showed that He lived above the promises. He lived as a Son empowered by the Holy Spirit.
We’ve lost the whole concept of sonship. I desire to post about it in depth someday. But for now we need to see how very differently Jesus lived than we do. He didn’t feel the need to spend His life rehearsing the promises. Neither did the Lord try, in His power, to fulfill the requirements so that He could obtain the blessings.
Jesus lived His life in the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s my goal, and the goal of these posts. That the church of the living God would wake up to our impoverished condition, and rise up to the potential that the Lord placed before us when He said that we would do the same works that He was doing (John 14:12).
Question: How have you experienced people doing foolish things for “spiritual” reasons?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, empowered, faith, faith or foolishness, faithful, foolishness, God is faithful, God's provision, Holy Spirit, Jesus, presumption, promises of God, sonship, spiritual, trusting God
In my last post I showed that Christ refused to be tempted to claim a promise. This is the opposite of what many believers do today. We’re trusting God to provide things we don’t even need just because we found a convenient Scripture to “stand on.”
Paul talked about this in his letter to Timothy. Paul warned Timothy about people…
…who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:5b-6
I believe that there’s something inherently wrong with a message that continually focuses on my happiness, my comfort, and my pleasure. It’s true that God loves us and wants the best for us. I also believe that there is a scriptural prosperity that God wants for His people.
But I also believe that many have taken this too far. As a result, God’s people are spending too much time, prayer, energy and “faith” running after the things of the world that they think will satisfy them. At the same time, they ignore the work of the Kingdom of God. As a result, they never lay hold of what will ultimately fulfill the desires of their souls.
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Matthew 4:5-6
Again, the enemy tried to use a promise to tempt the Lord. He wanted Jesus to prove that God was protecting Him, by throwing Himself off the roof of the temple. Satan uses this same strategy on us as well. Of course, the results are usually different when we’re involved.
How do you respond when you’re tempted to test God? Do you trust Him or not? There’s no need to put God to the test. He’s already proven Himself in Christ. We need to follow the example of Jesus, who once again did not take the bait that the devil put before Him.
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Matthew 4:7
This usually turns out very differently when the devil runs this scenario before us. We love to do foolish things, then “trust” God to get us out of the mess. We spend our money on movie tickets, CD’s, video games, and new cars. Then, when we can’t pay the bills, we “trust God” for the money.
How foolish! Don’t you realize that the money you spent on your toys was the money God provided for your bills? But we just sit back in bitterness and say, “I tested God and He failed me.”
As the people of God, we need to get our lifestyles back in line with the Word of God.
Questions: How do our faith and our actions work together? How do they oppose each other sometimes?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, Christ's example, comfort, faith, foolishness, God, Jesus, pleasure, scriptural prosperity, temptation, test, testing God, trust, trusting God, trusting the promises
In my last post I talked about a statement that Jesus made to the church. In it He warns us that the last days before His return would be similar to the days of Noah. What was that like? Things were going along business as usual.
The Spirit and the Word 