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Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

The Anointing – Right Place, Right Time

30 Dec

In my last post, I started talking about the Old Testament custom of anointing with oil.  Specifically, I was looking at David’s anointing as the King of Israel in I Samuel, chapter 16.  When Samuel approached David’s family, they thought that they were merely being called to a public sacrifice.

In reality, they were called to an anointing of power for kingship.  At some point, Jesse must have said to David, “It’s not important that you be there.”

That was probably fine with David.  As a teenager, he didn’t want to attend a boring church service anyway.  He’d rather watch the sheep.

Please understand this point.  The whole reason for the meeting was so David could receive the anointing as king.  Yet, both he and his father thought it wasn’t important for David to attend.

This should be a sobering thought.  Your invitation to the anointing of power will come wrapped in an envelope that looks like junk mail.  You didn’t know that God had planned to give you an anointing to heal the sick this Sunday at church.

All you knew was that an invitation somewhere else was more important to you.  After all, “I’ve attended faithfully for a while.  I deserve to miss a week.”

The calling to the anointing will seem very unimportant in comparison to what we want to do.

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:6-7

As a pastor, I want to find the ones in my church who are called to lead ministries.  But I have to be careful.  The first to arrive is not always the one God wants.  Maybe God’s choice is still in bed.

Don’t miss receiving the manifestation of God’s anointing upon your life.  Be faithful to show up where you’re supposed to be.  Don’t let the excuses and distractions of the world disqualify you for service in the Kingdom of God.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not condemning you for missing church.  There are many legitimate reasons we can’t make it.  God is big enough to work in us during those times.

I’m talking about not meeting with God’s people in order to please the desires of our flesh.  That’s where you run the risk of missing God’s anointing in your life.

If you remember, when I talked about the Shoes of the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace; that was the key.  Our preparation for battle is tied to our connection to the body of Christ.  If I have no connection to God’s people, then I’m not prepared for the work that I’m called to accomplish.

Don’t miss out on the good things that God has prepared for you.  Show up where God is calling you to be.

Question: What’s the difference between missing public worship for the right and wrong reasons?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on December 30, 2019 in Anointing, Ministry, Spiritual Walk, Spiritual Warfare

 

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Calling and Anointing

27 Dec

I’m posting for a while on how to walk in our anointing and how it relates to our approval before God.  In my last post on this subject, we saw that the power of the Holy Spirit follows the anointing.  Today, I want to start getting into some details that we may have missed along the way.  If I can find the key to the anointing, then the rest will fall into place.

It’s interesting to note that anointing is only mentioned 13 times in the New Testament.  Of those, it’s only referred to as a spiritual anointing for us 6 times.

There’s a reason for so little mention in the N.T.  It comes from an ancient practice in the Old Testament.  If we can understand that usage, then we’ll have a good foundation for understanding the anointing in us.

Anointing was a ceremony of pouring oil on something or somebody.  It was used for a lot of things.  Personally, I don’t care about how to anoint cooking pots.  What relates to us is the usage with prophets, priests, and kings.  I want to know how anointing brings power.

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel?  Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem.  I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
But Samuel said, “How can I go?  Saul will hear about it and kill me.”
The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’  Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
1 Samuel 16:1-3

God told Samuel to go and anoint a new king over Israel.  He gave Samuel a Word – Go to Bethlehem.  He told Samuel that He would show him what to do when he got there.

Once in Bethlehem, Samuel went to the house of Jesse as instructed.

Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
1 Samuel 16:5

According to the Word of the Lord he was given, Samuel invited – called them – to come to the sacrifice.  In actuality, he was calling them to come to the anointing of the new king of Israel.

It should be clear from this passage that anointing involves calling.  The two go hand in hand.  To reject your calling is to reject the anointing God has for you.

God has called you to do a great work for Him.  The anointing is what enables you to walk in the power to fulfill that calling.  The anointing is not a license to do whatever you want with God’s power.  It equips you to fulfill God’s plan in your life.

That’s what the approval of God is all about.  We have the spiritual weapons at our disposal.  God wants to see them used against the enemy’s kingdom.  We’re the ones who need to be prepared for the spiritual battle.

You may be called to bring about God’s plan, but have you submitted to how God wants to bring that about?  I’m going to deal with these issues in the next few posts as I continue to clarify how the anointing works.

Question: What is God calling you to do at this point in your life?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on December 27, 2019 in Anointing, Ministry, Spiritual Walk, Spiritual Warfare

 

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Seeking God’s Approval

20 Dec

In my last post, I talked about the fact that we need to be approved by the Holy Spirit in order to use the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit.  They are too powerful to be used by infants or the unfaithful.

Now I want to go into this truth in a little more detail.

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

This is an important verse to understand.  Here’s what the verse says in the Greek language: We speak as men who have been tested and approved by God.  He trusted us enough to allow us to use His Gospel.

I don’t believe that every single Christian should be sharing the Gospel.  I know there are some who would get mad at me for saying this.  But the truth is that there are certain believers that I don’t want anyone to know that they’re a Christian.

When they share about Jesus, they’re doing more harm than good.  Their lives don’t testify to God’s grace.  They actually make people not want to choose Christ.

We need to understand that the Gospel is the Word of God.  If we’re going to spread it with life-changing power, then it has to be done on God’s terms and not ours.

That’s why Paul makes it clear that the true Gospel is about pleasing God.  Too often we try to spread the Gospel with a message designed to please men.  We try to make the message more palatable.

That’s not how we should be operating.  It should be our goal to hear a Word from the Holy Spirit, then speak that to those who will listen.  This is the sword that there’s no defense against.

For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
2 Corinthians 10:18

This verse says it all.  We need to take it to heart.  We need to seek God’s approval.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

I talked about this verse a couple of posts back.  At that point, I emphasized the fact that we need to be approved.  Now I want to concentrate on the first part of the verse.

That phrase, do your best, literally, means be diligent or prompt.  In other words, stop putting off your approval process before God.  It should be a main priority of your life.

The verse goes on to say that we should desire to present ourselves to God in this way.  The words used in this verse are a word picture of standing beside yourself in order to present yourself.  There are times we need to take a step back and view our life from God’s perspective.

Then, we need to do what it takes to seek God’s approval.  This will require us to submit under the Holy Spirit’s training program.

Our flesh will definitely try to rebel against this plan.  But if we want to walk in the supernatural power of God, then this is the only road.

Question: What is the Holy Spirit prompting you to do for the next step in your training?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on December 20, 2019 in Spiritual Walk, Spiritual Warfare, The Gospel, Word of God

 

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Helmet and Sword – A Lethal Combination

18 Dec

Over the past few posts, I’ve talked about the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit.  I looked at them individually in order to understand what they are and how they operate.

But if you remember, when I first talked about them, I said that they were given to us as a set.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:17

After we lift up the Shield of Faith, the next step is to receive, accept, the helmet and sword.  As I’ve said, these are the two pieces of armor that God bestows on us once we’re sufficiently trained.

You may not like this teaching.  Most others preach that these are ours to use simply by faith.  However, I think that a quick look at the church today will prove that relatively few believers are victorious over the enemy and his kingdom.

Personally, I want to see results in my Christian walk.  To do that, I need to trust what Scripture says and not a good sounding preacher.

I need to first prepare myself for battle.  I take up the belt, breastplate, shoes, and shield.  I submit myself to the training of the Holy Spirit.  Only then am I in a position to receive the helmet and sword.

To review, the Helmet of Salvation is the authority of God working through me.  The Sword of the Spirit is the power of God.  This is a lethal combination against the enemy’s kingdom.

Authority is the permission you need to carry out your calling effectively.  Power is the ability to see it accomplished.  You can’t complete your assignment without both of these ingredients.

The concept of “issued armor” is not only a spiritual truth.  It works this way in the physical as well.  Think about what it takes to become a Police Officer.

First, they have to undergo classroom training.  They need to learn the law, tactics, and procedures.  Then they need weapons training.  After that, they need to practice their fieldwork.  If they pass all their training, they can graduate from the Police Academy.

However, even then, they can’t hit the streets and start arresting criminals or issuing tickets.  There’s one more important step.  They need to be accepted and hired by a police force.

Let’s say that a graduate from the academy is hired by the NYPD.  Only then are they issued their two most important pieces of equipment.  I’m talking about their badge and their gun.

The badge tells the city they work for, their rank, and the authority they have in the department.  The gun gives them the power to enforce the authority that’s been given to them.

The Scripture teaches that it’s the same way in the spirit.  We need to be issued a helmet and sword.  Unfortunately, because of a lack of teaching about this, there are many believers trying to battle the enemy hand-to-hand.  We were never called to do that.

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

We get into trouble when we ignore verses like this.  Paul clearly taught that God has an approval process before He’ll entrust you with His Word of power.  It’s the Holy Spirit that does the testing.

This concept is found all through the New Testament.  We would do well to understand it and walk in it.  Only then will we see the power and authority of Christ affecting the world around us.  I believe that this is the next step on God’s agenda.  He wants to train His church to live and minister as Christ did.

Over the next few posts, I’m going to talk about this approval process.

Question: How does the spiritual helmet and sword increase the effectiveness of our evangelism?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on December 18, 2019 in Power of God, Spiritual Walk, Spiritual Warfare, Word of God

 

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God’s Armor – Using the Helmet of Salvation

11 Dec

In my last post, we saw that the Helmet of Salvation speaks of the authority we’re given in Christ.  If you remember, all of the armor is put on by my choice.  This piece is received once I’m trained in its use.

Think about when Jesus entered the Temple courts and overturned the tables of the money-changers.  At that point, the priests asked Him, “Who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23)

That’s because authority is like a chain.  Each link is connected.  Authority must be given and received.

So how does salvation enter into all of this?

Salvation means that we’re safe and defended.  When I say that I’m saved, I mean that I’m safe in Christ.  However, there are three distinct works that the word, salvation, refers to.

The first took place when I bowed my knee to Christ and prayed for Him to save me.  I was saved.  I was taken out of the world’s trash heap and placed in God’s house for His use.

Now, in God’s kingdom, I’m experiencing an ongoing cleaning process.  All that “stuff” from the world that stuck to me is being removed – sin, sickness, poverty, anxiety, depression, bitterness, etc.  I’m in the process of renewal.  I am being saved.

Then, someday Christ will return to take physical possession of the earth.  At that point, I’ll receive my new resurrected body.  I will be saved from decay and death.

The question is; which of these works does the helmet speak of?

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 5:8

If you read this verse in the original, you’ll see that it’s not saying that we’re hoping for salvation.  Instead, it’s the hope, literally the expectation, that comes from our salvation.  So it speaks of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

If I submit to the process of salvation, I am being saved.  It’s this ongoing work that protects my authority in Christ.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Romans 1:16

This verse makes it clear that salvation requires power.  That’s important because, like I said in my last post, authority is the permission to use power.  Submitting to this cleaning process allows God’s power to flow through me.

Please understand what I’m saying.  You don’t have to be absolutely clean and perfect to walk in God’s power.  But you do have to be submitted to the process.

How then do I receive and put on this helmet?

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13

It’s obedience to God that works out this salvation in us.  The reason Paul tells us to use such respect – fear and trembling – is because it’s the God of the universe who’s working in us.  Simply put, obedience is the acceptance of His process at work within us.

I put on the Helmet of Salvation as I submit myself to God’s ongoing work in me.  That brings an expectation of the good things to come as a result of this.

Question: How well do you see yourself submitting to God’s process of renewal in your life?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on December 11, 2019 in Power of God, Revival, Spiritual Walk, Spiritual Warfare

 

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Spiritual Warfare – What it is and isn’t

06 Nov

I’m posting about the spiritual battles that we find ourselves in.  Having explained the difference between the conflict in the Old and New Testament, I now want to concentrate on how we walk in victory.

The fact is that we’re in a battle.  Not against people, but unseen spiritual forces.  Do we really understand the nature of this conflict?

I’ve heard Christians use the term spiritual warfare in many different contexts.  Does our teaching line up with Scripture?  That’s what matters.

After watching many self-proclaimed spiritual warriors get flattened by the enemy, I have to ask myself what exactly is this about?  We need to base what we’re doing in the Scripture if we want success.

The Bible is clear.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
2 Corinthians 10:1

Unfortunately, many take this verse too far out of context.  Then the church ends up looking like an army of clowns going off to do battle.  They’re unarmed and untrained in this spiritual war.  Then we wonder why the church is so devastated.

At one point the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and made a statement I found hard to accept.  What I heard on the inside was, “Do you realize that there’s been no spiritual warfare for hundreds of years?”

How can this be true?  I hear people say they’re doing spiritual warfare all the time.  We sing about it.  We preach about it.

Eventually, I was able to understand what the Spirit of God was trying to get across to me.  The keyword is warfare.

In the above verse, the phrase wage war literally means to serve in a military campaign.  This is where our definition of spiritual warfare falls short.  Our skirmishes are not warfare.

According to the Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary, war is “a contest between or among nations…carried on by force or with arms.”  That’s where we miss it.  War is between nations, not individuals.

For instance, what if I got upset about some things that Canada is doing (I’m not!).  What if I then covered myself in weaponry, Rambo style, then walked to the border of Canada and declared that I was going to war against them.  How long do you think that “war” would last?

As crazy as that sounds, that’s what many believers do in the spirit.  Then they call what they’re doing spiritual warfare.

We need to realize that true spiritual warfare will not take place until the church wakes up from its sleep.  Then, in the spirit, we must begin to pull down the strongholds of Satan.  This is not just the job of one or two bold Christians.  It’s something that the Lord is calling us all to take part in.

We can either spend our time complaining about our society or do something that will make a difference.  Time on our knees before God will bring great change on the earth.  Prayer, fasting, intercession, and prayer in the spirit are what it will take to bring revival to our land.

Over the next few posts, I’m going to talk about how we prepare ourselves for the spiritual struggles ahead.  It’s all about knowing how our attitudes, weapons, and armor work together to bring the victory we need.

Question: What’s your part in this spiritual battle?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on November 6, 2019 in Revival, Spiritual Walk, Spiritual Warfare, The Church

 

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Friendship with Christ

16 Oct

As Paul closes his first letter to the Corinthian church, he makes a number of concluding remarks.  Most of them are private greetings.

The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings.  Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.  All the brothers here send you greetings.  Greet one another with a holy kiss.
I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
If anyone does not love the Lord — a curse be on him.  Come, O Lord!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.  Amen.
1 Corinthians 16:19-24

As I read through these statements, there’s one that grabs my attention.  Is Paul really pronouncing a curse on someone?  What’s that all about?

It’s important that we understand what the apostle is saying here.  To start with, the love that he’s speaking about is not the normal word, agape, that’s usually translated as such.

Paul uses a word that speaks of the emotional feelings of affection that two friends have toward one another.  He’s talking about being a friend of Christ.

As believers, we should have a deeper level of love for Christ than just a choice to love Him.  There should be an emotional component as well.  Just thinking of all He’s done for us should cause us to desire to be with Jesus.

This goes right along with something that James said.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
James 4:4

In this verse, James uses the same word that Paul used.  It’s an emotional desire for friendship.

We know that the Lord wants to be your friend.  But what He reveals about Himself is that you can’t be both His friend and the world’s friend.

Understand – you can have friends in the world.  But the Spirit of God doesn’t want you to be a friend of the world system.  We can’t be chasing after the same things that the world does.

What is Paul trying to tell us by cursing someone who befriends the world system?  Actually, he doesn’t use the normal word for a curse.

He uses the Greek word, anathema.  In that society, this word meant a religious ban.  Paul is talking about someone who claims to be a Christian, yet shows no emotional attachment to Christ.  In other words, if you know someone like that, then don’t hang around with them.

You don’t want to have an intimate friendship with someone who doesn’t have an affection for Christ.  A love for the world will rub off on you.  Your walk with the Lord will suffer for it.

We need to be wise in our choice of intimate relationships.  They’ll affect our devotion to Christ – either for good or bad.

Don’t just choose to love Christ.  Cultivate an emotional friendship with Him as well.

Question: What does friendship with Christ look like in your life?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on October 16, 2019 in Fellowship, Relationships, Spiritual Walk

 

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Planning for the Future

07 Oct

In the closing chapter of First Corinthians, Paul talks about the future.  He lets the church know where he and his team are going.  This gives us some insight into how we should look forward.

After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you — for I will be going through Macedonia.  Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go.  I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.  But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
1 Corinthians 16:5-9

One of the things that I notice right away is Paul’s reliance upon knowing God’s will for his life.  It’s something that we need to come to grips with, in our generation.

The apostle sought out God’s best every step of the way.  So when he looked ahead, he kept that in mind.  He knew what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go.  But he always qualified it by saying “if the Lord permits.”

All that means is that he didn’t yet know God’s perfect will concerning that trip yet.  He had faith that at some point it would become clear to him where he was to go.

It’s unfortunate that in our generation there are many believers who take no thought of what God wants them to do.  They make their plans based on their own wants and desires.  Then they bring these plans to God for His blessing.

We’ve fallen into the trap of planning out our lives without first seeking God’s will.  That’s the very definition of godlessness.  Yes, it is possible to be a godless Christian.

We need to learn to hear from God first and then set our plans according to His will.  In this way, we’ll know that our path is blessed even before we ask God to bless it.

Of course, there’s another side to the issue.  Just because it’s God’s will for us to do something doesn’t always mean that it’s going to be easy.  God opened a door of ministry for him, but Paul acknowledged that there was going to be great opposition.

That seems to be the story of most successful ministries.  A great door opened for a powerful work.  While at the same time, there’s great opposition.  That’s why problems are never an indicator of whether or not you’re in God’s will.  You need to hear from Him before you start.

I also notice Paul providing for those under him in ministry.

If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.  No one, then, should refuse to accept him.  Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.
Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers.  He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.
1 Corinthians 16:10-12

The thing that I see is that there’s no sense of competition.  Paul never felt the need to prove he was better than anyone else.

Too often in ministry, leaders seem to think that they have to keep others down.  They don’t want to see their “protégés” reaching a higher level than them.  Leaders don’t want to lose their status.  Personally, I think that it would be an honor to have trained someone who is doing a great work for Christ.

We need to be seeking the wisdom of the Holy Spirit for every aspect of our ministry.  Only then will we see the results that will point to the power of God at work.

Question: How do you plan what you’ll be doing in the future?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2019 in Ministry, Prayer, Spiritual Walk

 

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Don’t Power-Up the Enemy

30 Sep

In my last post, I talked about the power of the resurrection in our lives.  This power affects every aspect of our walk with God.

Jesus told us that we had authority over all the power of the enemy.  This causes me to question our current church experience.  If what the Lord said is true, then why does the enemy seem to be winning?

To understand this you must realize that just like electricity, there are two forms of spiritual power.  Paul writes about one of these in his first letter to the Corinthian church.

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:56-57

That should be an eye-opener.  Most Christians have no idea that the power of sin is the law.  We seem to have missed this fact even though it’s plainly taught in the Scripture.  This means that without the law, sin would have no power.

The other source of spiritual power should be obvious to us.

“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

These were some of the last words of Jesus before He was taken up into Heaven.  We must realize that our power comes from God Himself through the Holy Spirit in us.  This means that the two sources of spiritual power are the Holy Spirit and sin.

That’s a very important fact to know if we’re to grow in our spiritual walk.  Our goal should be to only receive our power from the Holy Spirit.  We must be certain that we’re not powered by the same thing that powers the enemy’s kingdom.

As a matter of fact, Satan’s power is derived totally from sin.  So if there were no law, then the enemy would have no power.  Everything that Satan is able to do is powered by the law.

Whether you realize this or not, every accusation and attack that he makes are all based upon the law.  The problem we have is that just knowing this truth isn’t enough to defeat him.

Like AC and DC electricity, both forms are very powerful.  AC is the type of electricity that powers your house.  DC is the type that starts your car in the morning as well as supplying power for the lightning we see in a thunderstorm.  In the same way, the two forms of spiritual power can be very potent.

There are some important differences between the law and the Holy Spirit.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8

Literally, this verse says God is powerful enough to do everything you need according to His grace.  In all things, at all times – this means that the power of the Holy Spirit is permanent, whereas the law is temporary.

If I base my walk on how well I follow the law, I’ll soon be in big trouble.  Everything is fine while I’m at church, especially if I just went to the altar and repented.  I go on my way feeling strong spiritually.

Then it happens, on my way to the car, I get into an argument.  It all goes downhill from there.  Now Satan has a basis for accusation again and I can feel my power dwindling.

On the other hand, I can base my spiritual walk on the Holy Spirit within me.  I know that He’s always there.  I can run to Him in all things, at all times, and I know that He’s able to meet my need no matter what.  We, as believers, need to understand this truth so that we’ll not fall into the trap of trying to use the enemy’s power to defeat sin in our lives.

Question: How do we sometimes try to use our sinful nature to defeat sin in our lives?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on September 30, 2019 in Legalism, Power of God, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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An Inheritance of Dirt

25 Sep

As we continue going through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, we can see that he’s trying to give them an eternal perspective.  Paul wants them, and us, to be looking forward to the return of Christ on Resurrection Day.

Our inheritance is going to be glorious in Christ.  That means we need to be focused on what is ahead of us.

To do that, we need to understand the difference between us and the world.

As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.  And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:48-49

We know from Scripture that we were created from the dirt.  Even the name, Adam means red, because of the color of the clay God used to form him.

That’s important because the word, earthly in the above verse literally means dirt-like.  Just like Adam was dirt-like, we have the same makeup.

I’m glad that the story doesn’t end there.  There’s a higher calling that we can share.  This verse also talks about the Man from heaven – literally, the one from beyond the sky.

So now we have a choice.  This passage tells us that we can wear like a garment, the likeness of dirt or the likeness from beyond the sky.

That’s the two different perspectives before us.  You can have your eyes on the dirt, or on heaven.  What do you focus most of your attention on?

But you might ask me why that’s so important.  I’ll let Paul explain it.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
1 Corinthians 15:50

To put it simply, dirt can’t inherit that which is beyond the sky.  Unfortunately, too many of us want the inheritance of dirt.

What do I mean by that?  Every material thing that we have in this world is either dug out of the dirt or grows from the dirt.  Yes, even your computer chips are made of silicone which is simply refined dirt.

Why are we so mesmerized by the things from dirt, that we ignore the things from heaven – beyond the sky?  We need to retool our priorities.

Scripture teaches us that this is how we do our best for Christ.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24

We need to be eternity minded.  That’s where our treasure resides.  Allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse you from the “dirt mentality”.  God’s kingdom offers us so much more.

Question: How do you know the difference between being earthly-minded vs. heavenly-minded?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on September 25, 2019 in Ministry, Return of Christ, Spiritual Walk

 

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