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Spiritual Power – The Holy Spirit versus the Law

25 Mar

PowerI’ve been posting about the two different sources of spiritual power – the Holy Spirit and the law.  Remember, it’s the law that powers sin.  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 base 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.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
1 Corinthians 4:20

There’s a second difference – the Holy Spirit is true, but the law is deceitful.  What does that mean?  When it comes to the law, you can always talk a good game.

“I pray, read my Bible, and am always on time for church.”

You can make it appear that you’re very powerful in the Lord, if that’s what it takes.  It’s a good thing that most believers don’t know what true power is or the charade would be over.

With the power of the law, you can hold the batteries in your hand.  Show off how much voltage you’re capable of.  We can even hear other’s proclaim, “Boy, those are a lot of pretty big batteries.”

The reason I said that the law is deceptive, is because the batteries can be dead and no one would know the difference – unless they looked for change being produced.  I’m going to let you in on a little secret – even the little pink bunny that keeps going and going eventually dies.  His batteries run out.

When yours do, because you’re relying on how well you follow the law, then you’re left with only the appearance of power.  That’s when we get together and “Remember when…”  Remember when our batteries were charged and we saw someone saved, or healed so many years ago.

It’s time for the church to tap into the only reliable source of power – the Holy Spirit whom God has placed within us.

Question: How have your attempts at following the rules turned out?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2013 in Power of God

 

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Do You Know the Enemy’s Power Source?

22 Mar

BatteryIn my last post I talked about power and authority.  Power is the ability to produce change.  Authority is the permission to use power.

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.

“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.

This is 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.  To have this assurance, we need to ask a very important question.  If sin is a power source, then what is the power of sin?

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.

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 is 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, 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.

We, as believers, need to understand the differences 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?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on March 22, 2013 in Power of God, Spiritual Warfare

 

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Power and Authority – The Difference

20 Mar

SONY DSCA 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

 
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Posted by on March 20, 2013 in Power of God

 

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The Place of Signs and Miracles

01 Feb

One WayI believe that signs and miracles are a part of the true Gospel.  Without them, it’s difficult to impact the unbeliever.

The Apostle Paul refers to this truth throughout his writings.

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done – by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.  So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
Romans 15:18-19

Paul tells us how he led the Gentiles to obey God by announcing the Gospel and making disciples.  Notice, that he accomplished this by what he SAID and DID.  It was through the power of signs and miracles.  The difference between a sign and a miracle is that a sign is a miracle that confirms what you say about God.

The key issue is that by operating in this way, Paul fully proclaimed the gospel.  I believe that just talking about Christ is not the whole Gospel.  The Bible is clear that the kingdom of God is “not a matter of talk but of power.” (I Corinthians 4:20)

Last week I asked, what is it about the Gospel that we’re ashamed of ?  I used some illustrations.  If I won a new car I would call you over to look at it.  If I got a promotion at work, I would immediately show you my new business cards.  How is that different from the spiritual Good News?

I believe it’s because we have reduced the Gospel to clichés.  “Jesus loves you.”  “Jesus wants to bless you.”  “God loves you and I do too.”

The problem is that there’s no demonstration.  It’s not like the new car or the promotion at work because I offer you no proof of what I’m saying.

Based upon Scripture, if there’s no demonstration, then there’s no Gospel.  Many are ashamed because all they can do is tell about Jesus.  Some can’t even see the proof in their own lives because of the lack of power.  It makes many believers feel like charlatans when they share the Good News.

It seems we’ve lost the original Good News.  We don’t understand the power of God and we don’t understand the Gospel. The two go hand in hand.

Without the Good News, there’s no need for the demonstration of power.  Some American Christians want the power without proclaiming the Good News.  The fact is, that without the message of the Gospel there’s no need to demonstrate healing, prosperity, joy, freedom from depression, or anything else the Lord has provided for us through the cross.  I’m striving to spur the church on to get hungry to experience the full Gospel.

That’s why Paul could say that he had fully proclaimed the Gospel of Christ.  Not only did he tell about Christ, but he also demonstrated the love and power of the Lord.

Question: How can we return to the true Gospel?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on February 1, 2013 in Power of God, Revival, The Church, The Gospel

 

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How Can you Measure Spiritual Power?

14 Nov

We have been talking about the nature of God’s power in your life – how His Spirit produces change in us and in those around us.  We also saw that in nature, power is composed of two components, voltage and current.  How about spiritual power?  Scripture gives us some insight into this.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7

It’s obvious from this passage that the Lord doesn’t want us operating in fear.  What He desires for His people is a spirit of power.  It seems that the more I meditate on this verse, the clearer I see it.  I believe that this verse is telling us that the spirit of power is evidenced by two component parts – love and self-discipline.

The natural power law says that power is voltage times current.  It’s a known fact that in the natural, power is always measurable.  I believe that if you know the Word of God, you should be able to gauge your level of power.

The first component of power we’ll look at is voltage.  In the natural realm voltage is electrical pressure.  It’s the force that’s pushing the electrons through the wires in your home.  How does this translate into the spiritual?

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
2 Corinthians 5:14

It’s Christ’s love in us that compels us to work for the Lord.  By using the word compel, Paul means that it’s the love of Christ that puts pressure on us to minister for the Lord.  This verse makes it obvious that love is the spiritual equivalent of voltage.  It’s love that puts pressure on us to serve God, to reach out, and to help others.

Jesus Christ walked in more power than anyone who ever walked the earth.  Do we see the evidence of this love putting pressure on His life?

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matthew 14:14

This incident in the life of Christ happened just after the death of John the Baptist.  Jesus had recently been told that Herod had beheaded John.  Not only was John a colleague in ministry, he was also a family member.  If you read through Matthew chapter 14, you’ll find that Jesus went to a remote place to get away from the crowds so that He could mourn the death of John in private.

When He arrived at what He thought would be a secluded spot, Jesus found that the crowds were waiting for Him.  What would we do in that situation?  We know what Christ did.  Scripture says that He was moved, pressured by compassion to minister to the people in spite of His grief.

Question: Have you ever been pressured by the compassion of Christ to go beyond your normal boundaries?

© Nick Zaccardi 2012

 
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Posted by on November 14, 2012 in Power of God

 

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Are You Dimming the Power of God?

12 Nov

True power is defined as the ability to produce change.  Do you know how this relates to spiritual power?  Do you understand the nature of the power of God working in you?  For a few posts, I want to explore these issues.

To see this, I relate spiritual truth to the physical world.  In the natural realm there are laws of power.  One of these basic natural laws can aid in our understanding of how power works in the spiritual.

As an Electrical Engineer I had to calculate power usage in a number of applications.  I had to learn all the formulas associated with those calculations.  Is there a way to determine how much power we have in the spirit?  It’s remarkably similar.

The electrical power law is as follows: Power is calculated as the Current multiplied by the Voltage.  This law tells me that there are two components of power.  There must be two aspects, voltage and current, that are both operating together.  These are two things, without which there’s no power.  No voltage, no power.  No current, no power.

Let’s translate that to our walk with God.  Paul wrote to his spiritual son, Timothy, about what religious church people would be like in the last days.

…having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with them.
2 Timothy 3:5

This verse tells us a few important things about what some church people will be like in the last days.  They appear to be godly, religious people.  Their problem is that they deny the power.

Deny, now there’s an interesting word, especially for an Electrical Engineer.  The Greek word translated as deny is a-rheo.  It literally means not pouring out.  It so happens that this Greek word is also the root word for a common electrical device.  It’s called a rheostat.  Of course, you would know it better as a dimmer switch for your dining room lights.  It’s basically a faucet for electricity.

This gives me an excellent picture of what’s going on in the spirit.  These people appear to be godly, but no power pours from them.  They have shut off the faucet to the power of God in their lives.

If you say that you’re a godly person, and yet no change is being produced, something is wrong.  Somewhere you’re shutting down the power before it can affect anything.  You can’t be a light to the world if your dimmer switch is set to the off position.

This is why it’s so vitally important to understand the components of power.  If I can understand how the power of God works in me, I can keep the lines open and clear for the Holy Spirit to operate through me.

Question: Do you desire to see God’s power producing change in your life?

© Nick Zaccardi 2012

 
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Posted by on November 12, 2012 in Power of God

 

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