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
As 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
Tags: Christ, commitment, exclusive use, God, God's purpose, holiness, holy people, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Lord, makes us holy, power of God, relationship with God, resurrection, savior, separation, set apart, Son of God, Spirit of holiness, the world
I’ve been posting about how Christ has fulfilled the requirements of the promises for us. Now, by faith, we’re free to walk in the blessings as adopted sons of God.
But there’s more that we need to grasp about this truth. Unfortunately, the response of most Christians in the USA to this teaching is, “Great! I don’t need to do anything to receive God’s blessing. I don’t need to tithe or go to church or anything.”
Please understand that I didn’t say that. What I said was that Christ fulfilled the requirements of the promises. The blessing side of the promise shows what God wants to do for us as sons.
However, there’s also a reason for studying the requirement side of the promise. The question at this point is, as a Christian, why do I need to know the requirements?
It’s the requirements of the promises that show us what pleases God. Remember:
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:7-8
We fulfill the requirements of the promises simply because we love God. I know the truth about Christ fulfilling the promise, but I continue to tithe because I love God and He deserves ALL my money. I read the Word of God because I want to know Him better. I go to church because He meets with me and the body of believers there.
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
John 15:6
If you’re not remaining in Christ in this love relationship, then you have no access to the power of Christ. You may not like this, but it’s the truth. Christians ask dumb questions that show their lack of maturity all the time.
“Do I really have to pray every day?”
“Do believers have to tithe?”
Let me explain to you the nature of these questions. Most believers have no idea about the implications of what they’re saying.
What kind of person would ask the question, “If I get married, do I really have to kiss my wife?” It’s simple – a five-year-old would ask that question. Only someone who is not mature enough to understand the beauty and intimacy of the marriage relationship would think that kissing a wife would be “yucky.”
The very fact that you’re asking those questions show that you’re an immature Christian who doesn’t yet understand the intimacy of our love relationship with the Lord. A mature believer wants to serve and please God no matter if there is a blessing promised or not.
Question: Are there ways that you’re serving God regardless of any promise?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: blessing, Christ, immature believer, Jesus, love God, loving God, mature believer, maturity, power, power of Christ, power of God, promises, promises fulfilled, promises of God, requirement, the rest of the story, tithing, word of God
I’ve posted in the past about the power of God and the power of sin. How do I know which power I’m using? When I understood the answer to this, I was shocked. I always thought that I was as far from legalistic as you could get. Be prepared, I think that the answer might change your whole outlook as well.
My goal is to answer two questions over the next few posts. Why does the church seem to have no power? And what do we need to do to get it back?
When I say this, I’m comparing us to what I read in the book of Acts. I’m also thinking about the stories I heard from my grandparent’s generation. They came to the Lord in the wake of the Azuza Street revival. When they were saved they saw miracles, healings, signs, and wonders. What has happened to us since then?
You may think as I did, “I’m not legalistic.” But do we even know what legalism looks like? Let’s find out what the New Testament has to say about it.
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 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?
Galatians 3:1-2
The word translated foolish in the above verse literally means not thinking. Paul is asking these Galatian Christians why they are not thinking about what they’re doing.
The next line he writes literally means, who has fascinated you by false representations? It’s obvious from the way he writes that these believers were not being convinced by the truth, but rather a clever counterfeit. Paul reminds them of the fact that they first believed Jesus Christ was crucified for them.
He then asks a simple question – how did you receive the Spirit? The implied answer is that the Spirit was received by faith, trusting in God to do the work.
Paul was re-emphasizing to them that the law can’t save anyone. The law only condemns. Paul, however, continues along this line with another question and we have all but ignored its implications.
Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
Galatians 3:5
What most people don’t realize is that the word translated miracles in the New Testament is the Greek word dunamis – POWER. Usually it is just the context that the translators use to decide whether to use miracle or power as the English word.
The question Paul asks is fundamental to our understanding of the power of God. How does God give His Spirit and work power in the church? Obviously, the answer is by faith.
Question: Why does following the law never lead to the power of God?
© Nick Zaccardi
Tags: Azuza street, book of Acts, church, dunamis, faith, healings, Holy Spirit, law, law and the power of God, legalism, legalistic, miracles, power, power of God, power of the spirit, powerless church, signs, Spirit of God, truth, wonders
How 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
Tags: beyond the expected, Christ, disciple, excellence, excellence from musts to oughts, excellent, expected, glory of God, God, Jesus, life and ministry, Lord, ministry, must, ought, power of God, profitable, spirit of excellence, unprofitable, unworthy, walking in excellence
I have said that the United States desperately needs a revival. What is that? Is it a church full of weeping, “falling down under the power of God”, or huge crowds on Sunday morning?
Is it something we plan into our schedules? “Revival Meetings the first week of December.”
The truth is that it’s not something we put on, but a work that God performs in us. It’s a special presence of Christ revealing Himself to our society.
I believe that revival is birthed out of desperation. When we reach the end of what we can do, all we can rely on is the work of God in us.
It’s kind of like the condition of Israel as they prepared to leave Mt Sinai in the book of Exodus. They had already turned from God before Moses had even come down from the mountain with the law.
Now God has cleansed the camp and they are about to move out. They are headed for the Promised Land.
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
Exodus 33:15-16
Now there’s a desperate prayer! What if the modern church prayed like this and meant it? Most churches would close their doors the first week.
Unfortunately, we just go on with the show. We’ve learned how to experience growth without the move of God. A great music team and a charismatic preacher is all you need for success.
We need to learn that growth doesn’t mean that God is in the work. It grieves me to say it, but if the Holy Spirit left us today, 90% of churches would be unaffected. Much of the church in America is leaning on the arm of flesh to sustain it.
We need the presence of the Lord. What else will distinguish the church from any other good social program?
The key is transformed lives. That’s the proof of the power of God. When Christ works through His people, we don’t remain the same.
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
Exodus 33:18
This is the prayer of desperation that needs to go up from God’s people. We must put aside our goals, and seek the glory of God in our lives. If He does the work, then He gets the glory.
It’s time for revival in our nation.
Question: How desperate are you for a move of God in our nation?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: America, arm of flesh, Christ, church, desperation, foundation for revival, glory of God, God, God's people, Holy Spirit, Jesus, modern church, move of God, power of God, prayer, presence of Christ, presence of God, revival, the Lord, transformed lives, United States, weeping
I’ve been posting about the power of God at work in us. How far are you willing to go to walk in the power of the Spirit? Experience tells me that we would rather talk a good game and make excuses, than to put forth the effort to see the real thing.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:7-8
This is the last verse I looked at in my previous post. It deals specifically with the power available to those who remain in Christ. It says that they can ask what they wish and it will be done.
Think about the trust God places in that kind of believer. I personally wouldn’t give that kind of power to most Christians that I know. It would be dangerous.
The fact is that in this fifteenth chapter of John, the Lord referred to us remaining in Him 8 times in 4 verses. I think He’s trying to make a point. It’s required that we remain in Him if we want Him to manifest His power in us.
I asked a question four posts ago – in the first of this series (Power and Authority – The Difference). I asked which form of power – AC or DC – was better?
You probably answered the question as most people do. They say that they prefer DC batteries because they can go where they want. They can take their device with them when they leave the house. When you have to plug it in the wall, you’re confined to stay at home to use it.
This is the big problem in the body of Christ today. We want to be able to leave the house. If your goal is to go in and out of the house, then batteries are better.
If you intend on doing that in the spirit – living for Christ sometimes and living for self at other times, then the power of the law is better than no power at all. Christians of this generation have a real problem with remaining in the spiritual “house.”
There are two forms of power. The greater of these requires you to remain in Christ. Our goal seems to be to live with one foot in the world, and one with Christ. You can’t do that and use the power of the Spirit to any great extent.
We need to take an honest, hard look at our walk with God to see where we fit into this picture. We must then be willing to make the changes necessary to remain in Christ.
Question: What will it cost you to remain in Christ? Are you willing to pay the price?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: body of Christ, Christ, Jesus, one foot in the world, plugged in, power, power of God, power of the spirit, remain in Christ, spiritual power, spiritual walk, the law, this generation, trust
In my last post I talked about the differences between the power of the law and the power of the Holy Spirit.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13
There’s another big difference between the law and the Spirit. When you walk by the Spirit, you are totally dependant upon the Spirit. The law, on the other hand, allows you to be self-sufficient. All through Scripture we see this truth. If we are to minister for Him, then we must work in His strength. There is no other way to operate in the Spirit of God
The law gives you the appearance of self-sufficiency. That is, until the batteries die. That’s why it’s so hard to reach people in legalistic churches. They know what they’ve done to keep the law – to live right. They know the effort they’ve put forward.
“I’m okay because I’ve served God faithfully for forty long years.”
That brings us to the final difference that I want to cover. It’s actually the same as the last one, but from a little different perspective. To understand this we could look at the whole of the Gospel of John, chapter 15. Instead, I’ll only look at a few verses that emphasize the point I’m trying to make.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:7-8
REMAIN IN CHRIST! That’s the crux of the whole matter. In order to be entrusted with the power of God, we must remain in the Spirit of Christ. This is what trips most of us up. We don’t want to remain.
The law is a little more lenient, it allows you to be transient. What’s transient? Now there’s a word you don’t hear very often, but it describes the situation exactly. Let me explain it to you.
My parents used to have a summer home in the state of Maine. It was in a trailer park in the woods. We used to have a lot of fun going up there each year.
My parents spent most of the summer and fall there. They knew all of their neighbors and had a wonderful time living there. While my family and I visited, we heard about another section of the park, with a different sort of people. That was the “transient section.”
The transient section of the park was reserved for those who would come for only a week and then leave to go somewhere else. They didn’t remain there permanently, as my parents did. Instead, they wanted to come and go as they saw fit. This seems to be a problem of epidemic proportions in the body of Christ today.
We don’t want to remain in the Spirit. We want the freedom do what we want and have the blessing of God on our lives.
According to Christ, it is as we remain in Him that we enter the place of power.
Question: Why does remaining in Christ sound so difficult to this generation?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: blessing of God, Christ, dependant, dependant on God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, law, legalistic, power, power of God, power of the spirit, remain in Christ, self-sufficient, transient Christian
A few months ago, I talked at length about the power of God that’s working in us. In that discussion we saw that true power is the ability to produce change. It should be obvious that the power of God changes everything that it touches.
At some point, we also talked about the two components of power – love and a saved mind. In that regard, faith is the fuel that energizes our love to action. This is the nature of the power of God working in our lives. It should be our goal to act just the opposite of those who “have a form of godliness but deny its power.”
Over the next few posts I want to continue to look at the power of God and how it parallels natural electric power. One of the things that we know about electricity is that it can come in two different forms. We know them as Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC).
The fact is that both are useful. As a matter of fact, I can use both of these forms of electricity to power my portable DVD player.
I can choose to use the DC batteries or plug the AC adapter into the wall plug. Which is better? Think about that and we’ll talk more about it in a later post. You will probably be surprised at how closely the answer to this simple question relates to Christians today.
In talking about spiritual power, Jesus said the following to His disciples…
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
Luke 10:19
We need to learn that authority goes hand in hand with power. I haven’t talked about the concept of authority yet, so we need an understanding of how it fits into the whole picture. While power is the ability to produce change, authority is the permission to use power. In the natural realm the Electric Company gives you the authority to use electricity in your home or you will have no power.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Matthew 28:18
Jesus said that He had been given permission to use all power in Heaven and on earth. It is a blessing to know that He has given some of this power to us. According to the Lord, our power is effective over all the power of the enemy. Now that’s good news, that our power is greater than Satan’s kingdom.
There is no reason for me to fear, because God’s power is operating in me.
Question: How should the above knowledge affect our walk with God?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: ability to produce change, alternating current, difference, direct current, greater, love, permission to use power, power, power and authority, power of God, power of the spirit, saved mind, spiritual power
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.
The Spirit and the Word 