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Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Repost: Counter-Culture or Counterfeit?

20 May
Repost: Counter-Culture or Counterfeit?

I’ve been posting about the difference between the Christian culture and the culture of the world.  In my last post, we saw that there are two anointings in the world – the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the antichrist anointing.

The apostle John talked about these anointings in his first letter.  In that same context he also said the following…

See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you.  If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.  And this is what he promised us — even eternal life.
I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.
1 John 2:24-26 NIV

It is important that we remain in Christ – the Anointed One.  If we do, then we will also remain in His anointing.  The problem with many of us is that we try to jump back and forth.

Today we want the blessings of Christ.  The next day we try and chase after what the world is offering.  Sometimes we appear to be a little split in our loyalty.

We need to make a choice.  What is it that I want from life?  Do I want God’s best, or the world’s best?

After all, there are those who would try to lead us astray.  It literally means that they are trying to cause us to roam.  When that happens, we lose direction and focus.

It’s sad, but in many cases, there are believers who are teaching us how to live with our feet in both worlds.  While it’s true that we have to live within the present world system, we don’t have to embrace its philosophy of life.  The priorities of the world should not be our priorities.

As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in him.
1 John 2:27 NIV

The truth is that the Lord wants to place His priorities in us.  If we’ll listen to the Holy Spirit at work in us, we’ll walk in this anointing.  If not, then we become a counterfeit.

A counterfeit is something that looks real, but it’s not.  Usually, only something valuable is counterfeited.  The counterfeit anointing is referring to those who appear to love God yet really want what the world is offering.

Their priorities are in direct conflict with God’s, while appearing to serve, praise, and honor Him.  Don’t be a Christian in appearance only.  Remember, it’s what’s going on inside that counts.

Drink in the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Let Him change your priorities from the inside out.  Don’t fall victim to the counterfeit anointing that is so prevalent in the world today.

Question: Why is the world’s anointing so appealing?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 20, 2026 in Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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The Counter-Culture and the Counter-Anointing

18 May
The Counter-Culture and the Counter-Anointing

Did you know that the present culture of America has an anointing on it?  I’ve been posting about Christianity as a counter-culture.  Today I want to talk about the modern cultural anointing.

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
1 John 2:18-19 NIV

The word antichrist is very interesting.  When some people think antichrist, it brings images of The Beast or a world dictator.  Actually, antichrists have been around as long as the church has been in existence.

This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
1 John 4:3 NIV

What we need to understand is that there’s a spirit of antichrist that is constantly at work in secular society.  Let’s stop and think about it.  Here is a spirit that is anti – opposite – Christ.

In my last post I made the point that Christ means the Anointed One.  That means we’re talking about an anti-anointing that’s operating in the world.  Whether you know it or not, there are two different anointings at work in our society.  There are the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of antichrist.

The first verse above tells us that there are people in churches who have bought into the anti-anointing that’s in the world.  Eventually these people get offended at the Gospel of Christ – the true anointing – and they leave.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.  I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.  Who is the liar?  It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.  Such a man is the antichrist — he denies the Father and the Son.
1 John 2:20-22 NIV

It’s all about Jesus Christ – that’s the bottom line.  We live in such an accepting and tolerant world.  It’s okay, no matter what you want to talk about…that is until you mention Jesus Christ.  Suddenly the conversation gets shut down.

The reason is clear.  There are two competing spirits at work.  The spirit of antichrist wants no mention of the true anointing.  Christ, the Anointed One and His anointing can break the bondage of sin, sickness, depression, and a whole host of other symptoms of this age.

We need to walk in the boldness of the Holy Spirit.  Even if it means that we’re ridiculed, shut down or rejected.  We must be a light for the true anointing of Christ in our generation.

Question: Have you ever noticed intolerance for the name of Jesus Christ?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 18, 2026 in Revival, Spiritual Walk, Spiritual Warfare, The Church

 

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Repost: Christ – The Foundation of a Counter-Culture

15 May
Repost: Christ – The Foundation of a Counter-Culture

Our culture is our way of life.  Why, then, is modern Christianity so much like the culture of America?

It doesn’t matter what you talk about, the statistics are very close.  Divorce, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and a host of other issues seem very much a part of church life.  I’ve known Christian girls who couldn’t wait to turn 18 so that they could lose their virginity legally.

Why are we so much like the world?

We would rather talk about religion than Jesus.  We try to be so careful not to offend anyone by what we believe.

I think an important word to use is counter.  Think about how we use it in society.  We have groups in counter-intelligence or counter-terrorism.  To be counter means that you are going the opposite direction than that group.

More than any other people, Christianity should be counter-culture.  We should have our own cultural lifestyle.  If you remember from my last post, that means our own way of doing things.  It should be different than how our society operates.

We need to see the Scriptural pattern.

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.  He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV

This verse tells us that it’s God’s job to make us stand firm in Christ.  How does He do that?  The Lord accomplishes it by anointing us.

Anointing – now there’s a rich word.  The very word Christ means the Anointed One.  His anointing came from the Holy Spirit that was upon Him.  Now we are standing firm in the Anointed One.  That’s where we have the power to fulfill what we’re called to do.

This passage states that the anointing upon us is one of the things that are guaranteeing what is to come.  That tells me that I have a future in Christ.  This anointing is taking us somewhere.

In the same way, this culture we live in is headed somewhere.  It leads to addiction, divorce, depression, guilt, and, worst of all, hell.  Personally, I don’t want to go where the American culture is leading us to.

As the church of Jesus Christ, our future – our direction – should be vastly different.  Actually, the world should want what our culture leads to.  The differences should be that obvious.  We need to get back to the basics of what Christ wants to do in us.  Then we must follow it through to the end.

Question: What are some differences that should be obvious to the world?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 15, 2026 in Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Loving God with an Undecaying Love

22 Apr
Loving God with an Undecaying Love

I’m continuing in my series about our love for God. In my last post I talked about the spiritual fragrance of that love. We are to portray the same aroma as Christ.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Ephesians 6:24 NIV

In this verse Paul tells us that there’s grace available to all who love Christ with an undecaying love. The problem is that we live in a world bound by decay. Everything runs down. We see it all around us.

Here we’re told that our love for God should not decay. How is that accomplished?

When a satellite is put into orbit, it immediately starts to decay. Eventually it will fall to earth and burn up in the atmosphere. That is, unless it uses power (thrusters) to maintain the orbit.

Where do we find the power to keep our love for God strong? Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment of Scripture was.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Mark 12:30 NIV

It turns out that these are the four thrusters that keep our love in orbit around God. These are not four separate issues – they overlap in some areas. We have to understand that our walk with God is not based upon a single issue. Everything we do affects everything else.

First of all, I must love God with all my heart. You have a body, soul, and spirit. Your soul is who you are. Within your soul is your mind, which is the storage area for all of your experiences.

Also within your soul is your heart. You can look at your heart as the garden, full of good soil. It’s where the spiritual seed that you plant grows. Please understand, whatever you plant in your heart will grow – good or bad.

Within your heart are your intentions, it shows where you’re headed. What you place into your heart is where you’re going to end up eventually. It doesn’t matter what your mind thinks. Your heart sets the direction for your life.

That’s the importance of loving God with your heart.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:5 NIV

Here’s where the power comes from for this thruster. God doesn’t just pour His love into our hearts. He uses the channel of the Holy Spirit. If I don’t give the Holy Spirit permission to pour into my life, then it’s not going to happen. If I spend time with the Spirit, then I get the reward.

The second thing Christ said was that I must love God with all my soul. As I’ve said, my soul is who I am. It’s the soul that’s the authority over my flesh. It’s the soul that decides to answer the demands of the spirit vs. the flesh.

If my heart is positioned to love God, then it’s that much easier for the soul to come into agreement. That’s because the soul has to do something that goes against its very nature.

John 15:13 NIV

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

What is your life? Many are more willing to die for Christ than to live for Him. How much of your money would you give up? How much of your time would you give up? How many of your plans would you give up? These are the issues of your soul.

What are you willing to put down in order to fulfill His plan? It’s easy to see that if God doesn’t have your heart, he won’t get your soul. Where your heart is, your treasure is. People are willing to lay everything down in search of treasure. Is God your treasure?

I’ll continue this in my next post.

Question; How far are you willing to go for Christ?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 22, 2026 in Encouragement, Spiritual Walk

 

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Loving God with a Clean Heart

15 Apr
Loving God with a Clean Heart

For the past few weeks I’ve been posting about the love of God. His love is so amazing that I probably only scratched the surface.

My goal was to give us what we need in order to show our love for the Lord. We needed that foundation to know how to love our God.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

John 15:9 NIV

Jesus, in His time with the disciples, passed on the love of the Father to us. By seeing how Jesus loved, we understand the Father’s love. He has asked us to remain, live, dwell, or abide in this love. This tells me that to love God we must draw from His love.

It’s only as I live in and experience the love of Christ, that I’m truly equipped to show love to Him. If I can’t receive His love, I can’t return it. I love Him because He first loved me. How is it that His love helps me to love Him?

Let’s look at one of the first places in Scripture that it tells us about how to love God.

The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Deuteronomy 30:6 NIV

Because of the wholehearted love which God has for us we need to return it. The problem is that we’re unable to. Our hearts are sinful, full of baggage, junk, and sin. Only He can perform the necessary surgery my heart needs.

In order to love God, our hearts must be circumcised. But, what does it mean to circumcise our hearts?

In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ,

Colossians 2:11 NIV

The fact is that there’s no way my sinful nature could ever love God. Or even want to love God, for that matter. There must be a work done in us by the Spirit of Christ.

This is why time with Him is so important. He does not do this work in us without our permission. In Philippians 3:18-19, Paul wrote that many believers live as enemies of the cross. Their focus is on earthly things. The way God loves us, He doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment.

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh…

Philippians 3:3 NIV

This is how a life of loving God should be. We must allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into the love and worship of God.

The truth is that our flesh cannot and will not free itself from the stain of sin. The clean-up process must come from an outside source – the Holy Spirit.

As I spend time in the spirit, I am allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work of spiritual circumcision that only He can do. He can bring my heart to the place where I can truly love God in the way that He deserves.

It’s not a matter of more will power or trying harder. It’s making yourself available to the Spirit for Him to accomplish that transforming work. That’s why it’s so important to spend time daily in the Lord’s presence.

Question: How much time do spend daily in prayer and in the Word of God?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 15, 2026 in Encouragement, Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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God’s Love – Sowing and Discipline

30 Mar
God’s Love – Sowing and Discipline

I’ve been posting about the beauty of God’s love for us. Since He loved us first, it’s difficult to love God without this knowledge.

In my last post, I talked about how God’s love overturns the curse into a blessing. Today, I’ll show you more important aspects of His love.

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

God enjoys being with you. He longs for you to remain in His presence. It should be a place of peaceful safety for us.

The Hebrew word for quiet, in the above verse, is hard to translate. It’s main definition is to plow. Secondarily, it also means to be quiet and meditate.

This tells me that two things happen in His presence. He plows, plants His Word in us, and we meditate. In God’s love we see the sowing of His Word.

The fact is that real love sows into someone else’s life. God is the great Gardener. He plows our hearts with His love. Then we must meditate on what we see in Him.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:5 NIV

God’s love is poured out from God into our hearts. He’s sowing this love into us through the Holy Spirit. If we spend time with Him, then we’ll have the resources and ability to sow into the lives of others.

Of course there’s another aspect of God’s love that we may not readily enjoy.

And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

Hebrews 12:5-6 NIV

This is probably the aspect we like the least. In God’s love we see discipline. Yes, that word, discipline – we all need it – but we don’t look forward to it.

The word, discipline, means to be trained toward maturity or mastery. According to this passage, it involves two things we find uncomfortable.

First of all it requires rebuke which means we must be told our faults and failures. Secondly, it sometimes involves punishment.

How is this accomplished?

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 NIV

Punishment is a short, temporary discomfort to remind you of the of the consequences of your actions. This verse makes it clear that there’s a present uncomfortable situation and an afterwards restoration.

In the natural, with every child it’s different. With some, if you talk sternly to them they’ll burst into tears. Others, you must take away phone privileges. God deals with us in the same personal way.

If we read the whole section, however, we see that the goal is a harvest of righteousness and peace. That means He wants our health, prosperity, safety, joy, fruitfulness, and fulfillment. It’s a temporary discomfort to aim your life at the goal.

Question: How have you experienced God’s discipline in your life?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 30, 2026 in Encouragement, Power of God, Prayer, Sonship, Spiritual Walk, Word of God

 

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God’s Unstoppable Love

25 Mar
God’s Unstoppable Love

In my last post, I started talking about the love of God towards us. It’s amazing and infinite. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we’ll never be able to fathom it. I want to continue with this today.

By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me – a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42:8 NIV

We’re told something interesting about the love of God in this verse. It says that God directs His love toward us.

That word, direct, means to command. It’s like a general giving orders to those soldiers under him. It literally says that God commands His love to reach us.

I think that there’s something incredible about it. The verse makes it clear that it’s by day that He commands his love.

I think about it this way…I have three daughters. When they were little, I remember seeing them while they were sleeping. The fact is that at night, while a child is sleeping, it’s very easy to look at them with love in your heart.

This verse tells us that He commands His love when we’re awake. It’s during the daytime while we’re doing whatever we happen to be doing.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Romans 8:35 NIV

These are great questions. What can possibly put a space between you and God’s love? Can pressure, hardship, or persecution? Can hunger, danger, nakedness, or the sword? Paul then answers his own questions.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39 NIV

The simple answer is – nothing! There’s no place or no one that God’s love cannot reach. Why? Because God commands it to be that way. The same command that created light, commands love to reach to you. When God commands it, nothing can stop it.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…

Ephesians 3:17b-19a NIV

This is a prayer to God. It’s a prayer for power. This power can only come from God. That’s because it takes supernatural power to grasp God’s love.

I cannot understand His love, without His power to do so. I cannot love God without knowing God. (Because God is love) I cannot know God and His love without His power at work in me. He has to reveal His love to me.

This passage tells us why we need power to grasp the His infinite love. It’s because we need to grasp or literally lay hold of this love. With His power we can know this love that’s beyond knowledge.

How can you know something that goes beyond knowledge? How can something infinite fit inside something tiny? Only by the power of God.

We need a revelation of the love of God. The more time with Him – the more we know His love.

Question: Is it your prayer to be able to grasp the infinite power of God’s love?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2026 in Encouragement, Power of God, Prayer, Spiritual Walk, The Gospel

 

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Natural vs Spiritual

16 Mar
Natural vs Spiritual

As we read through Jude’s letter to the church, he begins to show us the differences that need to separate us from the false teachers. It’s a very important concept.

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

Jude 17-19 NIV

This is an age-old problem that we’ve faced in the church. It’s the difference between serving God in the natural versus serving Him in the spirit.

It’s important for us to understand the phrase, natural instincts, in this context. Jude uses the Greek word from which we get words like psychology. It speaks of the mind.

When you only use your mind in the worship and service of Christ, you end up getting only the results that mankind can do. If you want to see supernatural results, then you must minister in the spirit.

The Apostle Paul understood this intimately.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV

The phrase, without the Spirit, in the above verse is the same Greek word that Jude uses for natural instinct. It should really be translated as the soulish man. It’s just living for Christ with what you can figure out on your own.

You need to be able to tap into the Holy Spirit if you want to fully understand God’s will. That will require you to spend some time praying in the spirit.

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV

There are so many who just don’t want to come to grips with this verse. The fact is that you can read the whole Bible from cover to cover (and you should!) and you can hear every sermon ever preached. You can brainstorm for the next ten years and you still won’t know God’s total plan for your life.

The only way to know what God has prepared for us to accomplish is time spent with the Holy Spirit. That’s where He can reveal to us His heart.

The Galatian church was struggling with this truth.

I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Galatians 3:2-3 NIV

So much of what we see in the church today is the result of human effort. Don’t let that be your legacy. Live and minister by the spirit. Spend time with the Holy Spirit and don’t follow your own human natural instinct.

Question: How much time do you spend in the presence of the Lord?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 16, 2026 in Leadership, Ministry, Power of God, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Experiencing God’s Work

16 Feb
Experiencing God’s Work

We’re now going through the epistle of Jude, that tiny book toward the end of the Bible. He helps us to understand and identify false teachers and preachers in the body of Christ.

Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals — these are the very things that destroy them.

Jude 10 NIV

This is a very important verse that we need to pay careful attention to. Again, the word he uses for speak abusively against is the Greek word for blaspheme. But, what is it that they blaspheme in this verse?

That word, understand, literally means to know by seeing. In other words, they blaspheme things that they haven’t personally experienced.

Jude goes on to say that these people have a level of understanding. The Greek words that he uses mean that the knowledge they stand upon is in the natural.

That’s an important concept. He says that this natural knowledge will cause them to shrivel, wither, and become ruined.

The Apostle Paul dealt with this exact same issue in his first letter to the Corinthians.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV

That phrase, man without the spirit, is literally natural or soulish man in the Greek. In other words, like Jude tells us, they don’t accept what they don’t understand.

I’ve seen this many times in my ministry. If you were to label me, I’d be called a Charismatic preacher. That means I’ve received the baptism in the Holy Spirit as evidenced by speaking in tongues.

I regularly pray in the spirit (in tongues). I know, by experience that I cannot minister fully in God’s power without it.

However, I also know that there are many believers who haven’t experienced this manifestation in their lives. I don’t judge them or look down on them.

But, there are also those who preach and teach against this experience. Many of them go as far as to say that what I experience is of Satan. I have a big problem with this.

I’m about to say something that may sound like I’m bragging. I assure you I’m not because it’s all based upon the power of God and not my own strength or intelligence.

I have brought many people into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I have laid my hands on the sick and have seen them healed in the name of Jesus Christ. I have cast out demons in the name of Jesus Christ.

Why would the devil ever allow me to do that if I was operating in the power of the enemy. Like Jesus said to His accusers…

“If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?”

Matthew 12:26 NIV

I believe Jude is talking about this. These people are blaspheming what they haven’t experienced. We need to be very careful about how we treat others in the body of Christ, especially if we don’t understand their ministries.

Question: How do you respond when you hear someone preaching against other ministries?

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on February 16, 2026 in Healing, Ministry, Power of God, Prayer in the Spirit, Spiritual Walk, The Church

 

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Leaders – Sober and Awake

29 Oct
Leaders – Sober and Awake

We’ve been looking at the Apostle Peter’s exhortation to leaders in his first epistle. In my last post I talked about the call that all believers have to become a leader.

Now Peter gives us a warning. As you rise to leadership, the enemy puts a bigger target on your back. This is a realization that all Christian leaders need to understand.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8 NIV

In this verse, Peter literally tells us to stay sober and awake. I believe that he’s talking about not being intoxicated by the distractions of the world. Also, we need to be awake to the voice of the Holy Spirit, guiding and directing us.

The Apostle Paul talks about this same thing.

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 NIV

He makes it clear that we’re not like the world. We walk in the light of the Holy Spirit. So, we’re awake and sober, armed for battle. That’s the attitude of a warrior, trained for victory.

Yes, we’re in a battle. We need to know our enemy. Peter describes him to us in the above verse.

He calls the devil our adversary. In the Greek, that’s a compound word that means anti-right. He’s against everything the Lord stands for.

Unfortunately, many think the devil is simply a fairy tale. All I can say is that if you try to do a major work for God, then you’ll find out the truth of the devil’s existence.

This verse tells us that the enemy hunts like a roaring lion. But normally they’re absolutely silent. A roaring lion is one who has gotten too old for that kind of hunting. He may have even lost some of his teeth.
So, the younger lions move out in front of the prey, while the old toothless lion roars, and scares the prey so that they run right into the trap set by the younger ones. This older lion then lets the young ones rip the prey apart. Then he eats the carved-up pieces.
That word devour, in the above verse, literally means to gulp down in one bite. The roaring lion is not looking for a fight. He doesn’t want to go one on one with the prey. All he wants to do is to scare it into a trap.
As leaders, we need to realize the devil is looking for someone with a victim mentality. The last person the devil wants to deal with is a Christian fully armed and standing on God’s Word.
Stay in prayer and in the Word so that you are spiritually self-controlled and alert. Then you will not become the devil’s punching bag.

Question: How spiritually sober and awake are you?

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on October 29, 2025 in Leadership, Ministry, Spiritual Walk, Spiritual Warfare

 

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