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A Prophecy for 2015

31 Dec

 

2015I’ve found that the Psalms have lined up with current affairs since the year 1901. Over the past 10 years or so I’ve preached from a Psalm each year and it’s been amazingly accurate. The Psalm for the New Year is Psalm 115.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
Psalm 115:1

We need to start 2015 on the right footing. It’s all about the Lord’s glory and not ours. Sometimes we miss that in the quest for bigger ministries. Yes, we want the move of God to attract people, but it’s the name of Jesus that should be the goal.

Moving on from here, there’s a bigger issue at stake. I believe that 2015 is the year of the big question. It’s what we should have been asking long before now.

Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Psalm 115:2

Wow! Could there be any other question more appropriate for our present generation of believers? Notice that the question isn’t, “Where is their God?” It’s more a question to us, asking what are we doing that blinds the world to who our God is.

Why is the nation unaware of our God? Why do they believe that God is irrelevant to our lives? That’s the question of the hour.

The next part of the Psalm gives the answer to it all.

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
Psalm 115:3-8

We’ve forgotten the simple truth that our God is Lord over all. The things that the world runs after can never give life. These things can never help us in our time of need.

Money, entertainment, social media sites, and all the rest are merely distractions keeping us from experiencing the best God has for us. In their right place – under the authority of Christ – they can be beneficial. But when they take time away from our walk with the Holy Spirit, we’re headed for ruin.

We can’t afford to fill our lives with the world’s distractions. It’s time for God’s people to press into the place of intimacy with Him. That’s where the true source of power is found.

You who fear him, trust in the Lord — he is their help and shield.
Psalm 115:5

This year we need to remember where our allegiance should be. The rest of the Psalm is a blessing upon those who are willing to take the time to seek the Lord’s presence. Let 2015 be the year we turn things around. Make it the year that the world sees that truly there is a God who works in and through His church.

Have a blessed and prosperous New Year in Christ!

Question: What are you trust God for in this coming year?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on December 31, 2014 in Power of God, Revival, The Church

 

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Quartermaster Ministries News July 2013 #revivalnow

02 Jul

It’s a new day!  God is doing new things with me!

This is the first of monthly newsletters that I’m starting today.  My goal is that it will come out the beginning of each month, on a Tuesday or Thursday.

This is to update everyone on what’s happening in the ministry.  I expect new things to be taking place on a regular basis.

First off…

I have joined the Twitter community!

You can follow me @RevNickZacc.  Hopefully, it will encourage you with short thoughts throughout the day.  Sometimes I’ll retweet things that are encouraging me.  Also, you’ll find that I’m starting to use # in my titles, since they’ll be posted on Twitter as they are released. (They are also posted to Facebook and LinkedIn)

Speaking at Churches

I feel the Holy Spirit pushing me to get out and do more speaking (outside my home church).  I feel a need for the body of Christ to be prepared for the coming revival.  The Lord has blessed me with insight into how we should be getting ready and what to be ready for.  Because of this I have a spiritual pressure in me, that won’t let me keep it to myself.  So as these opportunities open up, I’ll start posting my schedule as to when and where these events will be.

Prayer

As a result of all of this…I ask you to pray.  Pray with me for revival to rock the church in the USA.  Pray for the lost to hear the clear message of hope in Jesus Christ.  Pray for me to faithfully follow the course God has for me.  I’ll pray for you, the followers of this ministry, that you would experience the highest and best God has for you in Christ.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on July 2, 2013 in Newsletters

 

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Holy Spirit or Spirit of Holiness

12 Jun

FlyingAs I was reading the Bible the other day, I came across a Scripture that caught my attention.  It was describing Christ and how He was revealed to the world.  It got me thinking about our relationship to God.

…and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 1:4

Jesus Christ was shown to be the Son of God.  Not just by someone’s testimony.  It was an act of power by God raising Him from the dead.

That in itself was not news to me.  The part that really spoke to my heart was who did the declaring.  The passage says that it was through the Spirit of holiness that He was shown to be the Son of God.

That’s what I found to be interesting – the Spirit of holiness.  Why did Paul not call Him the Holy Spirit?  Isn’t that the more common term?  Actually, this is the only place in Scripture where He’s called the Spirit of holiness.

Holiness is something that this generation of believers really needs to come to grips with.  It seems that we tend to back away from any mention of holiness.  We find it boring and old fashioned.

This is a subject of great importance in the Bible.  It’s found throughout the New Testament.  We are to be a holy people before God.

Holiness is related to separation.  It means to be set apart for God’s purpose.

It’s like this.  When Christ found us, we were like a dirty, cast off piece of pottery in the trash heap of the world.  When we turned to Him as our Lord and Savior, He rescued us from that place – that’s our salvation.

He then took us as His own and placed us on display in His household.  We are now to be exclusively used for the Lord’s purposes.  That’s holiness.

As we remain in His house, Christ continues to clean us up and restore us.  That’s our sanctification.

By using the term Holy Spirit, we mean the Spirit of God who is set apart from the world and the things of the world.  The phrase Spirit of holiness brings it to a whole other realm.

He’s not only the Spirit who is set apart – but the Spirit who sets us apart.  He is the Spirit of God who makes us holy.  That’s where we try to water down the truth.

We like to think of the Holy Spirit as the power source of the church.  Miracles, healings, signs, and wonders always draw a crowd.  But separation, on the other hand, sounds too much like commitment.

This generation seems to want the power without the holiness.  I believe that it’s time for us to seek the Spirit of holiness.  At the place where we are separated for God’s exclusive use, we will find all the power we need to live victoriously and win the lost.

Question: Have you seen examples of the Holy Spirit setting you apart for His use?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on June 12, 2013 in Encouragement, Power of God, Revival

 

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Do You have a “Move On” Attitude?

24 May

BootGod is calling His church to a higher level in Christ.  The return of the Lord is very close, yet sometimes the church seems to act like we have all the time in the world.  Are you complacent about where you are spiritually?  Or do you want to see a greater move of God through your life?

At one point in his life, Moses had a similar choice to make.

Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”  So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt.  And he took the staff of God in his hand.
Exodus 4:19-20

Moses had been away from Egypt for a long time.  But in this time of his life, God was calling him to return to his former home.  The difference was that this time he had a mission from God – to set his people free.  Even so, it still required a long wilderness journey.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to start.  The planning and organizing are usually pretty easy.

I enjoy hiking.  There are times that I have spent a few days on the trail.

When morning comes and it’s time to move on, thats when the truth of this is made real.  It’s not that tough to break camp and put things away into your pack.  But when you finally put your pack on, and stand there with your trekking poles in your hand – a subtle transformation occurs.

Suddenly, without warning, the campsite that you’ve called home for the past twelve hours is no longer yours.  Now you’re a part of the trail and looking for a new destination.

We may be very satisfied where our life is right now.  But this isn’t our destiny – the Lord has a greater work He wants to do in us.  When God calls us to a higher level, we can never be satisfied this way again.

Remember that we need to be a people who are packed and ready to go.  This world is not our home and the things of this world will never truly fulfill us.

Sometimes we just need to go before the Lord and reiterate to Him our total commitment to following His path for our lives – no matter where it leads.  We need to thank Him for the destiny that He has prepared for us.  Then, we need to be open and listening for any course changes He may speak to us.

It all depends on our attitude.  Am I satisfied where I’m at, or do I hunger to see what God wants to do in these last days?

Question: Do you desire to move up to a new level in Christ?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on May 24, 2013 in Return of Christ, Revival, The Church

 

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Excellence – From the “Musts” to the “Oughts”

06 May

FlyingHow far into the realm of the excellent are you venturing?  In my last post I looked at a sobering statement that Jesus made to His disciples.

“So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”
Luke 17:10

If all you’re doing in your life and ministry are the things you’re supposed to do, then you’re unprofitable in the kingdom of God, according to the Lord.  There are always things that we must do or that we’re expected to do.

The word unworthy is derived from a Greek word that means, not ought.  The thought is that you are not what you ought to be.  To break into the realm of the excellent you must break through the “musts” and enter into the “oughts.”

Those who are not only doing what they have to do, but have found a way to do what they ought to do, are considered to be walking in the excellent.  When a person goes beyond the expected in his or her walk with the Lord we marvel at their spirit of excellence.

What does that mean to me?  I must stop saying, “I ought to have…”, “I ought to do…”, or “I ought to be…” then with the next breath say, “But I have so much I need to do; I can’t.”  When you develop the spirit of excellence, the Holy Spirit is now free to work in you to accomplish what wasn’t expected.

As excellence starts its work in you, you can tap into God’s “excellent power,” His “excellent grace,” and His “excellent love.”  You’ll find out that God has all the resources you need to fulfill the call to excellence that He’s placed inside of you.

In II Corinthians 12:7, Paul talks about being the recipient of excellent revelations.  He would not have received these had he not been walking in excellence.  Galatians 1:13 says that before he was saved, Paul excelled at persecuting the church.

Everyone else was persecuting Christians in the normal way.  Paul, however, went above and beyond the call of duty.  He dragged people out of their homes, and if they tried to move away, he even tracked them to other towns.  Once saved, He carried over this same spirit of excellence into his work for Christ.  That’s why the Holy Spirit entrusted him with all the revelation that he received from the Lord.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
II Corinthians 4:7

The word all-surpassing is the Greek word hyperballo – excellent.  This excellent power does not come from our own strength.  Don’t ever take the credit for the excellence in your ministry.  The glory belongs to God.

Walking in the spirit of excellence is one of the earmarks of the power of God in your life, showing that you hear from God and are obeying His voice.

Question:  What are some of the marks of God’s excellence in your life and ministry?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on May 6, 2013 in Spirit of Excellence

 

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Church Dinners or Fasting and Prayer

12 Apr

DinnerThere were times in His ministry that Christ taught some things that the crowd didn’t like, mostly because they didn’t understand it.  As a result, a lot of people left Him, even some of His disciples.  These are some of the Lord’s most important teachings.

I want to take a few posts to look at one such section.  Here’s some background to help you understand what’s happening in this passage of Scripture.  Jesus had just miraculously fed 5000 people.

They were all on a hillside listening to Jesus and hadn’t eaten all day.  The disciples found someone with five loaves of bread and two fish.  They took this meager provision to the Lord.  Jesus then broke the fish and bread and fed the whole crowd with what started out as just a little bit.

He then sent the disciples out on a boat to cross the lake and meet Him on the other side.  As they were in the middle of the crossing a huge storm came up and the disciples feared for their very lives.  In the midst of the storm, Jesus comes to them walking on the water and gets them safely to the other side.

Now, on the far end of the lake, the crowd catches up to the Lord on foot.  They were surprised at how fast He got there.  Of course, He went straight across.  He didn’t have to go the long way around!

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”
John 6:25-26

Here we see Jesus going right to the heart of the matter.  “Why do you care where I go and how I get there?  The reason you’re following Me is for what you can get materially.  You only want a free lunch.”

The trouble with the crowd was that they didn’t want to hear and obey His teaching.  Instead, they liked the spread He put on.  They weren’t following Him because He had the words of eternal life.

It’s a sad truth, even in Christian circles today.  If you throw a church dinner everybody comes.  If, on the other hand, you call for a week of special fasting and prayer you get a lot fewer people involved.  It’s easy to see that the desires of the flesh haven’t changed in 2000 years.

Question: Why does it seem so hard to deepen our spiritual walk?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2013 in Encouragement, Prayer

 

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Recognizing the Spirit of Antichrist

15 Mar

TreeMany people are looking for “the Anti-Christ.”  Even Hollywood has done movies about it.  If you’re a believer, then you need to realize that we are already facing the spirit of antichrist that’s at work in the world.

Can you recognize the working of this spirit?  Do you even know what to look for?   This knowledge is important for our spiritual well-being in these last days.

But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. 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

The Apostle John tells us that there is a spirit of antichrist.  According to him, it was already at work in his day.

What is it?  Well, let’s think about it.  The title Christ means the Anointed One.  It was a description of the Messiah.  Anti means that this spirit is actively working against the Anointed One.

When we bow our knee to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we place ourselves under His anointing.

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

We now have the Anointed One and His anointing active in our lives.  This anointing is leading us somewhere.  It is guaranteeing what the Lord want to accomplish through us.  That’s the Spirit of Christ in us.

The spirit of antichrist is active in the world.  There is an “anti-anointing” at work trying to neutralize what Christ is doing through us.

What we have to realize is that it’s all about Christ.  Have you ever noticed that if you talk about God or a “higher power,” it’s okay?  You can even talk about religion to some extent.

But, as soon as you try to talk about Jesus Christ, the conversation gets shut down.  Using that precious name to swear is socially acceptable.  Yet when I want to show how that name can transform a life, it becomes an “off limits” topic.

There is power in the name of Jesus.  That’s where the source of our anointing comes from.  We cannot minister without it.

That’s why the kingdom of the enemy is so adamant about trying to shut it down.  The spirit of antichrist – this anti-anointing that’s in the world – wants us to remain silent.

That’s why it’s so important to recognize where this comes from.  Even more important to know, is that our anointing is greater, stronger, and more effective than anything in the enemy’s arsenal.  If we stand in Christ, then we cannot be stopped or silenced.

As believers, we need to recognize that this anti-spirit is active around us.  But we must never fear it.  Neither will we submit to it or compromise with it.

Question: Have you seen this antichrist spirit active in the people around you?

 
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Posted by on March 15, 2013 in Spiritual Warfare, The Church

 

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