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
I am posting about how Christ walked in the power of the Spirit. He’s our example for a life of victory over the power of the enemy.
You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Acts 10:37-38
This was the theme throughout the ministry of Christ. Whoever sought help to escape the enemy’s grasp was set free by the Lord. The reason He could accomplish this is because His anointing was based upon the power of the Holy Spirit. By the way, this is the same Holy Spirit who’s now resident in us.
So, the big question is why was He able to heal? Was it because of the Old Testament promises that spoke of healing? No, it was because God, the Holy Spirit, was with Him. What we need to come to grips with is the fact that God wants to heal. He doesn’t want anyone bound by the power of the enemy.
So we can see clearly that Jesus’ power was from the Spirit, not from the law. It’s vitally important that we understand this truth. This is the key.
To aid in our realization of this we’ll look at the best example that the Gospel record gives us. We will go to the section of Scripture where the devil and Jesus have their first battle – in the wilderness. The accounts of both Matthew and Luke, together, show the fullness of what happened during this time in Jesus’ life.
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert…
Luke 4:1
The first thing that we see is that the Lord Jesus allowed Himself to be led by the Spirit. That means that this encounter wasn’t an accident. This event was part of the strategy for victory over sin.
…where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
Luke 4:2
When Jesus went into the wilderness His intention was to meet with the Father. His desire was to fast and pray for the ministry He was about to begin. In order to do this, Jesus fasted for forty days.
This brings up an interesting question. How important to us is walking in God’s power? How far are we willing to go to obtain it? Are we willing to do a long term fast? Spend time in the wilderness, away from all distractions, seeking God? In most cases I see believers who live for themselves and are simply “trusting God for a breakthrough.”
If we want to see the results of Christ, we need to walk His walk.
Question: How far are you willing to go to walk in the power of God?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, Christ our example, example, fast and pray, fasting, healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus in the wilderness, law, led by the Spirit, legalism, life, life of victory, ministry of Christ, power, power of the spirit, prayer, victory
In my last post I talked about my struggle with legalism that I didn’t even know I had. I was like so many others who “stand on the promises.” They are trusting in the power of the law instead of the power of God working in them.
Then again, there are other Christians who have thrown out the whole idea altogether. They’ve tried to live up to the requirements of the promises and failed. They’ve come to the conclusion that they’ll never gain the blessings of the promises. So what they’ve done is to start living for themselves and chase after the things of the world. Unfortunately, if you throw out the promises altogether, and don’t remain in Christ, you’ll find yourself unplugged from the source of our power.
If my attitude is that I don’t want to read the Bible or go to church, then in essence I don’t love God. This is because love is an action, and I’m not showing it toward the Lord. You can say, “I love God” all you want, but that only means that you have good feelings toward Him.
That’s usually how the world defines the word “love.” In that sense you can love God without any of those things. However, I’m talking about true love – an action where all your heart, soul, mind, and strength are involved.
It’s clear from Scripture that there are two forms of power – the Spirit and the law. Both of them are strong forces for change, but the power of the Spirit is the greatest. We also know that trying to fulfill the requirements of the promises is a form of legalism.
Under the New Covenant, the promises serve two purposes, of which both are important. The blessings of the promises show us what God enjoys doing for us. The requirement side of the promise shows us what we can do to please God.
The real question we need to deal with is how did Jesus operate in the power? We will start by seeing how Jesus taught about the power.
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
1 John 3:8
This is a simple yet profound truth. One of the main purposes of Christ coming to the earth was to destroy the devil’s work. The Lord wanted to end Satan’s reign of terror on this planet. To do that Christ would have to wield a power much greater than that of the devil.
It’s this power that I want to talk about in these posts. Christ is our example. If I can grasp how He walked in the power of God, then I can get the same results by following His principles.
Question: What works of the devil need to be dealt with in our generation?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: blessing, Christ, Christ our example, faith, Holy Spirit, Jesus, law, legalism, loving God, power, power of Christ, remain in Christ, requirements, spirit, standing on the promises, trust
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18
In this verse, Paul is referring to Moses. When he was leading the children of Israel through the desert, they stopped for a while at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Moses went up to meet with God. As he spent time in the presence of God, he started to soak in some of the glory. At one point, upon his return, the people couldn’t look at his face because it shone like the sun.
The glory of God was reflecting off his face. Moses had to wear a veil until things were back to normal. It’s interesting that way the Bible relates it. It sounds like Moses wore the veil so that the Israelites wouldn’t see the glory fading. His experience was great, but it didn’t last a long time. He had an incredible encounter with God, but it eventually faded back to the way it was.
Understand this, the Lord has greater plans for us. The Holy Spirit is working in us to make us like Christ. Each day we are becoming more and more like Him, if we submit to His plan for our lives. This is the glory of God in us.
This glory that God is clothing us with is different than that of Moses. First of all, it doesn’t fade. It’s a glory that’s always on the increase. My prayer in the presence of the Lord is that throughout my life people will see more of Jesus and less of me.
This is a wonderful thought. God is doing greater things in us than He did in Moses! We sometimes look to the pages of Scripture and wish we were a part of what God did back then. In reality, there’s no need to go back. God is working just as powerfully today – if we let Him.
Another aspect of this glory is that we reflect it with unveiled faces. It’s not a glory that frightens others and pushes them away. It’s the warmth of love and freedom that draws men and women to the cross. Don’t ever use your walk with Christ as an excuse to condemn or put down other people. That’s not what the glory of God is about.
We are here to draw men to Christ. It’s the love, patience and passion of the Lord that brings people to a knowledge of His grace. We need to use the same tactics that He does.
What should our goal be? We must desire to spend time in the presence of this glory. Let it continue to do its transforming work in us. By doing this we are making it our goal to reflect more of His beauty. That’s what will attract people to Christ.
Question: How much quality time do you spend in God’s presence?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Bible, Christ, draw men to Christ, fading, glory of God, God's glory, Holy Spirit, increase, Jesus, love patience, Moses, Mount Sinai, passion, pray, prayer, presence of God, reflecting, reflecting God's glory, unveiled faces
This is the last post in a series I’m writing about the anointing. It seems that the church is under the impression that just because we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have the same anointing as Jesus. Hopefully, based upon my last few posts, you understand why that’s not the case. We need to seek God’s approval to walk in His power.
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
We’re now in a position to understand what Paul was telling Timothy in this verse. Do your best – be diligent – to present yourself to God as one anointed. When you’re approved before God there’s no need to be ashamed.
This is a big problem among God’s people in our generation. We’re full of boldness when we’re in praise and worship. But on the job or at school it’s a different story. We keep our faith inside, not wanting to “offend” anyone. That’s foolishness, since every other group will openly declare what they believe to be true.
It all comes down to power. I want to say to those I work with, “God loves you. He will change your life. He’ll heal you and bless you.” But I worry that if they let me pray with them, nothing will happen. Furthermore, I’m not healed and my life isn’t blessed. What if they ask me about that? I’d rather just keep quiet and avoid the embarrassment.
The church needs to be on its knees seeking the approval for ministry. Then, when the anointing is upon us, we will not worry about what the world or our friends think.
I believe that the next great revival will involve the church coming to an understanding of this truth. But we will have to attain to a certain level of intimacy before the Lord will manifest His anointing in us. This is probably going to be the hardest move for the church to enter into.
I don’t think it will come as a wave, but as individuals begin paying the price for God’s approval. Then, they must show up at the place and time of their anointing. It could be a big or small meeting. It will not matter as long as it’s God’s appointed place.
Do what it takes to secure your anointing. Follow the example of Christ. Seek intimacy with the Father. Then, as the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart, walk in obedience to His voice.
Question: What could happen if the whole church walked in the anointing of the Lord?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: anointed, anointing, ashamed, be diligent, boldness, Christ, church, embarressed, God's approval, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, intimacy with the Father, Jesus, next great revival, power, prayer, revival, revival and anointing, the Anointed One
I’ve been posting about David’s anointing as king and how it relates to us. It’s surprisingly similar to what we go through in the church today.
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.
1 Samuel 16:13
It’s clear from this verse that the Holy Spirit and power follows the anointing. That’s what Christ was referring to when He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me BECAUSE He has anointed me.” (Luke 4:18)
I believe that this is a special move of the Holy Spirit to work signs and miracles. It’s not the same as the Holy Spirit simply being in us because of salvation. It’s the power of God, present to confirm His word.
If you’ve been following these posts, you may remember I said how little the word “anointing” was used in the New Testament. If you check it out, except once by Paul, all the usage was Jews writing to Jews.
Paul wrote most of the New Testament to Gentiles. What would a Greek know about the Hebrew anointing? Paul wrote to people who had no knowledge of it. How did he describe it?
To understand it, let’s talk about the priesthood in Israel. To become a priest, you didn’t just walk up to the temple and say, “I’m a Levite and I want to be a priest.” ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
To be anointed as priest, you had to attend and graduate a school of the law taught by a Rabbi. Then you had to prove that you’ve memorized the Pentateuch (The first five books of the Bible). You had to show your family records proving priestly lineage. Then you would strip and every inch of your body would be inspected by a board of priests who were looking for any defect that would disqualify you.
Only when you had passed every test would you be robed in priestly clothes and the oil of the anointing was poured on your head. Being in the right family was only the beginning. It wasn’t until you were tested and approved to be a priest that you could be anointed.
In reality, our spiritual anointing involves being approved by God. That’s the word Paul used throughout his writings to the Gentiles. They wouldn’t understand anoint, but approve they could grasp.
The Greek word that Paul used is translated as approve, commend, chosen, or election depending upon the context. But these words were used by Paul the same way anointing is used in the Old Testament.
What we miss sometimes, is that we can be saved, but not approved to walk in the power of God. We think that just because we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have the same authority as Christ. We have to be approved to walk in God’s authority.
That’s the true anointing of power.
Question: What does it take to be approved to walk in the authority of the Holy Spirit?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: anointed, anointed one, anointing, approval, approved, approved for the anointing, authority, chosen, Christ, church, commend, election, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Jesus, move of the Holy Spirit, power, power follows anointing, tested and approved
I’m posting for a while on how to walk in our anointing. In my last post 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 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. 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.
Question: What is God calling you to do at this point in your life?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: anoint, anointing, anointing and calling, calling, God's plan, Holy Spirit, king, power, power of God, power of the Holy Spirit, priest, prophet, spiritual
I believe that God is about to pour out a revival upon His church. Right now, we’re in the preparation stage. Our concern should be, with positioning ourselves to receive it.
Jesus is our example in ministry. If we see how He positioned Himself, then we can follow His lead.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19
Christ’s ability to walk in the power of God was brought about in three major events. These were His baptism, temptation, and His announcement of ministry. This verse shows us His entrance into the public ministry.
After reading this portion of Scripture, the Lord announced that it was being fulfilled in their presence. I believe that this holds the key to positioning ourselves. It’s all about the anointing.
We’ve heard a lot of teaching on the anointing over the years. Unfortunately, some of it has been a little off base. Where was it wrong?
First, let’s look at where we were right. The anointing removes burdens and destroys yokes. That’s a true statement based upon Isaiah 10:27. Furthermore, that was Jesus’ whole ministry in a nutshell.
Another part is that the word Christ encompasses the Anointed One and His anointing. Since that’s true, it is also the case that as Christians, we are little anointed ones. That’s the meaning of the name.
The final truth that we must embrace is that we all have an anointing from God. Scripture is clear on that point.
With all of this truth, then where are we off? My question is this; with this entire teaching being proclaimed, why are burdens NOT being removed and yokes NOT being destroyed in much of the church?
I’ve also heard it taught that the Holy Spirit is our anointing. That’s where we’ve misunderstood the Scripture. Look at the above verse carefully.
Jesus clearly said, “The Spirit…is on me BECAUSE he has anointed me.” What we’ve missed is that the Spirit follows the anointing.
This is a different work than salvation. Yes, the Holy Spirit lives in me when I receive Christ as Lord. But the anointing for the power of the Holy Spirit is a different thing. That’s why there are so many believers in the body of Christ that live powerless in this generation.
We need to understand exactly what the anointing is and how to receive it. Then, like Christ, we can walk in the power of the Holy Spirit that this anointing opens up.
I’m going to take the next few posts to try and explain how this works in our Christian walk. If you haven’t subscribed to this blog yet, you should do it now so that you won’t miss any of this vital message to the church.
Question: Are you content with the level of power evidenced in the church today?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: anoint, anointed, anointing, Christ, Christian, destroy yokes, Holy Spirit, Jesus, ministry, misunderstood the anointing, power, power of God, powerless, remove burdens, revival, the Anointed One
In my last post, I talked about the church’s descent into the Dark Ages. It was a horrible time in history. Many people ask, “How could all this have happened?” What about all that the Bible teaches?
The bottom line is, that at that time, the Church was the ultimate authority in the life of the believer. Their teaching was viewed as infallible. The clergy would not allow the common people own a Bible.
“We’ll explain to you the truth you need to know.”
Around 1300 A.D., it seems that God finally said, “Enough – I’ve got to prepare my bride for my coming.” The Lord had to rearm his church. As I look at the flow of history, I see that God was restoring the armor of Ephesians 6. The bride had to be dressed and ready for the Lord.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
Ephesians 6:14a
First thing that was needed to be restored was the Belt of Truth. This is what the church desperately hungered for at that time. We need a foundation of truth.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
I would never have known truth without Scripture. I need to be taught the principles of God.
It seems that the church was without hope at this time. The door to heaven was locked and the priests had the only key.
I think that it’s no coincidence that the printing press was invented during this period. I also believe that it was a direct result of the move of God. The first book printed with this new technology was the Bible.
The above verse tells me that sometimes I need to be rebuked, to be told when I’m wrong. It’s how I react that tells whom I serve. Am I willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and change, or am I hard-hearted and rebellious?
Thus, some of the greatest persecution of God’s people began. Unfortunately it was not from unbelievers, but from the organized church, itself.
God started moving in the lives of His servants. It was small at first. Believers who wanted to read and study the Bible for themselves.
It’s hard for us in the United States to fathom this. Most Christians have more than one Bible in their home. We have access in stores and online. We’re free to read Scripture whenever and wherever we want.
Throughout history this has not always been the case. In my next post I’ll wrap up this series by recounting some of the precious saints of God who laid down their lives for us to have the abundance of Scripture that we now enjoy.
Question: How much do you appreciate your access to Scripture? How do you show it?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: armor of God, authority of the church, belt of truth, Bible, Bible teaching, church, church history, dark ages, first move of restoration, foundation of truth, history, Holy Spirit, hopeless, move of God, organized church, persecution, principles of God, printing press, rebuke, restoration, revival, Scripture, truth, without hope
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.
The Spirit and the Word 