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Spreading the Fire

29 Oct

FireI’m taking a few posts to talk about personal revival from David’s perspective.

What is revival?  I experience revival when I’m open and honest about the condition of my life.  Then I go to the Lord to be forgiven and changed by His presence as I spend time before Him.  The Psalmist David tells us the next stage in the process.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.  Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Psalm 51:13-15

After you’ve started experiencing God’s renewal in your life, your desire is to see this same spirit of revival catch on in the lives of others.  That’s the way it should be.  The change God’s working in me brings such joy, that I want others to experience the same thing.

Unfortunately, in many cases, we cause problems by doing things our way.  We haven’t changed.  The power of God is not working in us.  And yet we try to get others to change what they’re doing.  That’s when we’re accused of being hypocrites, and rightly so.

When it comes to producing change in a life, I’ll never be as powerful or effective as the Holy Spirit.  It’s actually kind of arrogant to think that I’m able to change someone for the better.

That is not what we’re called to do.  The best we can hope for is to introduce people to a God who is abundantly able to transform their lives.  It has to be done God’s way – from the inside out.

I don’t know why it’s so easy for me to see what you need to change, yet so hard to look at my own failures.  No matter, in Christ the change needs to start in me before I can ever get it to reach out to you.

We need to stick to the Lord’s plan.  Let Him work His renewal in us first, then lead others into His life changing presence.  That’s the way personal revival can spark a revival in the church.  Make this your prayer.  “God, send revival.  Start the work in me.”

Question: How have you seen the Holy Spirit change you over the years you’ve served Him?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on October 29, 2014 in Power of God, Revival, The Church

 

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Change Where it Counts

27 Oct

PowerlessI’m taking a few posts to approach the subject of personal revival.  We’re using the example of David in Psalm 51 as our guide.  So far we’ve seen that we need to examine ourselves, and go to God for His forgiveness and cleansing.  But the work doesn’t stop there.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalm 51:10-12

According to Scripture, it isn’t enough just to wipe the slate clean.  Especially if you head right back into the pigpen.  What we need is to change our direction.  In order to do this, the renewal must take place on the inside.

All my wants and desires spring from my heart.  That’s where the purifying work of the Lord needs to access.  I must allow Him to make my heart pure – that His desires would become my desires.  That’s the only way to achieve lasting changes.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalms 37:4

I’ve heard people comment on this verse.  They said that whatever you desire, the Lord will give you.  That’s not what the Psalmist is trying to convey to us.

What he’s saying is that if you delight in God – if you take pleasure in Him – then He will place the desires into your heart that line up with His.  I want to desire the same things that God desires.  So I let Him do the work in my heart.

There’s another work that must be done as well.  I need to feed my spirit on the Word of God.  Only when my inner man is healthy and strong can I maintain the purifying work of God in my life.  My spirit is the greatest ally I have against the flesh.  It’s with my spirit that I can access the Holy Spirit and the power of the Lord.

Always remember that God loves us with an everlasting love.  He’ll never leave or forsake us.  If we want His cleansing process in our lives, then He’ll be there to do the work.  After all, He’s the only one with the ability to totally change our lives.

Let Him do that work in you today.  Give the Lord free reign to rearrange your life and priorities.  Let Him give you new purpose and direction.  Say “yes” to the life changing power of the Holy Spirit.

Question: How do I open my heart for God to place His desires in me?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on October 27, 2014 in Power of God, Revival, Word of God

 

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God doesn’t Need to Cool Off

24 Oct

MeditationThis continues the subject of personal revival which we started in my last post.  The road to revival begins by taking a long, hard look at your life in comparison to Jesus.

Once you see your condition, you’re ready for the second step.  David describes it to us in Psalm 51.

Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.  Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.  Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.  Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Psalm 51:6-9

The next logical step, after self examination, is to run into the presence of God for forgiveness.  Don’t ever fall into the trap of thinking that God is mad at you.

It’s never too soon after a failure to go to Him.  Our Heavenly Father doesn’t need any “cooling off time”.  He loves you as much right now as He ever will.  As soon as you’re aware of your fault, seek out His presence.

That was one of David’s greatest character traits.  When he was confronted with his sin, he was quick to repent.  We need to follow his example.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

That’s where true forgiveness can be found.  Remember, it’s God’s forgiveness that can totally wash us clean of our sin.  Don’t try to rely on good intentions, will power, or turning over a new leaf.  Let God work His cleansing power in you.  Lay your sin under the blood of Christ.

That’s the joy and gladness that David talks about.  We’re not just going to try harder.  We’re going to the Lord for Him to clean us by the Holy Spirit.

There’s no need for a guilty conscience.  There’s no need to work extra hard to get God to accept you again.  When God does the work, it’s done and final.

Elsewhere in Scripture it says that God throws our sin into the sea of forgetfulness.  He removes it as far as the East is from the West.  Those are powerful statements about God’s ability to remove the stains of sin.

If you see places of fault or failure in your walk with God – take the time to seek Him for His cleaning process.  Let Christ totally wipe the slate clean.  Then you’re ready to continue your walk toward personal revival.

Question: Why do we sometimes feel that God is mad at us?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on October 24, 2014 in Power of God, Prayer, Revival

 

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Revival Starts with Me (and You)

22 Oct

 

LightningRevival – a lot of people talk about it, but few understand it.  For the most part we like the idea of revival, but lack the drive to see it through.  Like it or not, if we want to see revival in the church, then it needs to start in the individual.

For the next five posts, I want to go through David’s experience with revival as recorded in Psalm 51.  I believe that it will give us the understanding we need to head in that direction.  The desire is up to you.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.  Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Psalm 51:1-5

The conditions surrounding the writing of this Psalm are very important.  David was the king of Israel.  His word was law.  One day, from the rooftop of his palace, he saw the wife of one of his generals taking a bath.  He was infatuated with her and eventually they had an affair that got her pregnant.

Since the general was away at the front lines, this would be an awkward situation unless it was taken care of quickly.  After a few failed attempts at a cover-up, David had the general assassinated.  He then took the “grieving widow” as one of his wives.  Now everything was fine and they could live happily ever after…or could they?

The prophet, Nathan, was given a Word from God about the situation.  He confronted David with the truth.  This Psalm is David’s response.  I’m glad to say that David was able to turn around and renew his walk with God.  By writing it in a Psalm, we can see the principles of personal revival.

In order for us to experience the joy of a personal revival, it always starts in the same place.  We must see the condition of our lives from God’s perspective.

Please understand me.  I realize that we’re righteous, by position, in Jesus Christ.  That’s not what I’m talking about.  I’m looking at the day to day condition of our physical walk with God.  Are we where we should be?  Am I living up to the high calling of God?

It seems that one of the most dreaded exercises for most Christians, is to take a long, hard, look at themselves.  We must be brutally honest in our assessment – comparing ourselves with the example of Christ.  No whitewashing, no excuses, and no justifications.  I can’t compare myself with anybody else – after all, I can always find someone doing worse that me.

This, then is the first step toward personal revival.  Taking inventory of your spiritual walk as a believer.  Finding and admitting those areas in which you fall short of your calling to walk as Christ did.

Only then can you truly seek God’s power to change you.  Let this be your prayer.  “God, help me to see myself as I really am before you.”  Then take the steps necessary to bring the revival of God into your life.

Question: Why do we hesitate to take spiritual inventory of our lives?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on October 22, 2014 in Revival, The Church

 

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What are we Fighting For?

06 Oct

JailI’m posting about the spiritual battle we’re in. I think that the church gets in trouble when it loses sight of this. If we don’t understand the battle, then we’ll never walk in victory.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12

The Scripture is clear. The battle takes place in the unseen world. My fight is not against people or even the issues that I can see with my eyes.

The people around me are the casualties – prisoners of war held captive in unseen detention centers. Sometimes they don’t even want to be set free because the deception feels so good at the moment. My job is not to try and convince them to join with me.

The role of the church is to fight the unseen enemy. Tear down the invisible walls. Then turn the light on in the prison cells so that the captives can see the truth of their situation. Only then will they run to Christ the Savior.

But this seems to be the hardest thing to get believers to understand. Our struggle is not in the physical world, but the spiritual. It’s not us vs. the world. I’m not trying to get them to change sides. That will never bring about the desired results.

I want the same mindset that Jesus had when He walked the earth.

…The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
1 John 3:8b

We need to know that there’s a spiritual world, and that’s where our battle is being fought right now. But how many of us really understand what that means? While many believers can quote 2 Cor. 2:4 – the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world – we don’t get the whole picture.

We don’t use physical weapons, but does that mean that the war itself is any different than a natural war? The enemy’s kingdom is very organized. The verse I started with talks about many levels of authority in their ranks. It’s time that the church gets organized for battle as well.

Do you realize that Satan has never personally attacked you? He has probably never even planned anything to come against you. We only face the lower levels of the dark forces; the rulers and authorities.

That’s why when you step up in ministry there’s a shift to a more intense battle. You find yourself moving up the ranks and facing tougher opponents in the spirit.

This is also why I started this series. In the first post – The Truth About Spiritual Warfare – I said that there’s been no spiritual warfare for hundreds of years. Here’s what I meant. In all that time there’s been no organized attack by the church on the territory of the enemy, especially in the USA.

It’s time for the church to wake up. Not just a few local congregations here and there who are making a little headway.

We need a revival.

Question: What needs to take place for the church as a whole to wake up?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on October 6, 2014 in Power of God, Revival, Spiritual Warfare, The Church

 

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The Truth about Spiritual Warfare

29 Sep

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

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

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

The Bible is clear.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on September 29, 2014 in Prayer, Revival, Spiritual Warfare

 

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Revival’s Secret Assumption

19 Sep

FireI think we can all agree that America needs a spiritual revival. I’m not talking about simply a lot of people being saved – as wonderful as that would be. I’m speaking about a radical waking up of the church.

Knowing the need is not enough. There are some deeper questions that need to be asked. Do we truly want a revival to sweep through our nation? More importantly, are we willing to do whatever it takes to lay hold of revival?

In talking to the crowd at the Temple in Jerusalem, the Apostle Peter made an interesting statement.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you — even Jesus.
Acts 3:19-20

He talked about times of refreshing that come from the Lord. This is what we need in our generation. The refreshing wind of revival needs to blow through our cities.

That’s not what we have an issue with. It’s what the Apostle began with that we stumble over. He used that nasty little word that nobody seems to like these days – REPENT. It’s this repentance that ushers in the Spirit of revival.

Revival doesn’t just show up at regular intervals for no reason. As a matter of fact, God doesn’t even send revival because He knows we need it. It’s actually a response to the church beginning to move in the right direction.

Repentance is not very popular in mainline Christianity anymore. We like to think that we’re doing okay and only need a little tweak now and then. Repent sounds too drastic.

To repent means to change your mind, to turn around 180 degrees and head in a new direction. This means that you have to turn away from something.

But more than that, he said that they needed to turn to God. That’s the assumption that keeps us from experiencing the move of God that we really need.

If I say that the church in the USA needs revival, then what I really mean is that we need to turn back to God. That sounds good until you realize that to turn back to God assumes that we’re looking in the wrong direction to begin with. That’s the last thing that many believers would want to admit.

I hate to say this, but a majority of Christians are looking to the world for their fulfillment in this generation. They’ll do their obligatory hour or two in church, Sunday morning. But the rest of their time is spent on their own pursuits and interests.

It’s time for us as God’s people to turn around – to repent of leaving God out of our everyday lives. It’s time to head back in the direction of a radical walk before the Lord. That’s what a desire for revival assumes. It’s what America needs. It’s what the Holy Spirit is longing for us to enter into.

Question: How far are you willing to go to see revival sweep our nation?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on September 19, 2014 in Revival, The Church

 

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How to Purchase Revival

28 Jul

Fake MoneyI’ve been posting about why revival seems to be delayed. I ended my last post by saying that we are not waiting for revival, but revival is waiting for us. The Apostle Paul wrote about this principle.

And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Ephesians 1:9-10

In this verse Paul talks about the mystery of God’s will. He’s not talking so much about what God’s will is. The mystery is how God’s will comes to pass on the earth. Even today, how God’s will works is a mystery to most Christians.

“We may never understand the way God moves.”

Paul makes it clear that this mystery has been made known to us. It doesn’t matter what you call it. The verse uses God’s will, good pleasure, and purpose to describe what He plans to do on earth. What we need to understand is how His will is put into effect.

That’s the mystery that He has made known to us. This verse literally says that His will is put into effect in the economy of filling the time. The word economy is usually used to describe our monetary system. It’s a way of tracking the flow of assets in society.

We need to understand that filling time is a part of God’s economy. Think about the financial words we associate with time. We spend time, run out of time, save time, and lose time just to name a few. There is an economy of time in the Kingdom of God.

We must realize that time is a commodity. It’s something tangible. It can be traded and exchanged for stuff. That’s what we do on our jobs; we are trading our time for our employer’s money.

In God’s Kingdom, it’s time that purchases the fulfillment of vision and prophecy. Here’s the problem. We’ve learned to become cheerful givers of money. But we’ve become stingy misers with our time.

Getting back to the original question – how do we lay hold of revival? God wants us to repent – change our thinking. He wants us to turn around. Then He’ll send times of refreshing – revival.

We need revival – we may even want revival. But are we willing to do what it takes to initiate revival? If I said that revival would cost a million dollars, someone would come up with it. If I said revival will cost 2 weeks of your time, very few people would make the investment. It’s going to take our time – that’s the commodity of the next revival.

I wrote the outline for this series of posts a while ago. Since then I had the opportunity to meet with a friend of mine with a prophetic ministry. She said that the Lord had been speaking to her about the coming revival.

She said that God impressed her that it won’t be a revival as much as a revolution. Later on I thought about it. The word revolution comes from the word “revolve.” A turning around. It’s time for the church to turn around.

God’s people are spending too much time on their own desires. We have become a generation who gives God the bare minimum that we can get away with. It’s time to turn the tide. Are you willing to give God your time?

Question: Why is our time so hard to turn over to the Lord?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on July 28, 2014 in Revival, The Church

 

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Why is Revival Delayed?

25 Jul

ClockIn my last post I started talking about America’s need for revival and why it seems to be delayed. I said that it’s a matter of knowing God’s timing and understanding how to work with it. We can’t afford to be like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who could predict the weather, but didn’t understand the times they lived in.

And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
Romans 13:11

In this verse Paul tells us that we should understand the times that we live in. That word understand means to know by seeing. If we’re watching what’s taking place in society around us, then it should be obvious what we need to do. It’s the hour for the church to WAKE UP!

I don’t want to be rebuked for the same thing that Israel got wrong. We must understand the times.

God is moving. He wants to bring about His will in our generation. Many people talk about it. “Revival is coming – it’s on God’s agenda.”

Why does it seem to be taking so long?

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3

There is a truth here that we’ve missed. The revelation of God is for an appointed time. When the verse says that it speaks of the end, it implies that God’s will is like a puff or gust of wind. It’s different than a steady wind.

It’s a gust that the Lord releases and it moves steadily to its intended end. Make no mistake; it will take place.

But here’s the important part. The next line literally says, “Look! It hesitates, it’s reluctant, it questions.” It’s all a matter of timing. The revealed will of God is asking, “Are you ready?”

Then we are told to do something. The original Hebrew of this verse says that if it hesitates, then attach yourself to it. This is not just a passive waiting. It means to nail yourself to God’s revealed will. Don’t let it go.

The final statement tells us that it will come and not loiter or hang around. God isn’t just hanging around doing nothing until His “revival timer” goes off. The fact of the matter is that we are not waiting for revival – revival is waiting for us. We must have the time available for the fulfillment of God’s will. We have to open the space up for revival.

In my next post I’ll show why this is the hardest part of the process. It will require a great sacrifice from this generation of believers.

Question: What will it take for us to lay hold of revival?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on July 25, 2014 in Revival, The Church

 

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Let’s Talk about the Weather – Spiritually

23 Jul

Cloud2I believe that revival is coming to America. Many others do as well. The question I’ve heard a lot these days is; why is revival taking so long to arrive?

As I’ve been praying and reading Scripture, I think I know the answer to that one. But it’s not what we want to hear, and it’s certainly not going to be popular. The principle is found in the first sermon that Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you — even Jesus.
Acts 3:19-20

I believe that the times of refreshing he talked about is what we now call revival. It literally means times of catching your breath.

In talking with believers from many different places, I think it’s clear that America needs revival. The bigger question is; do we really want revival? By that I mean will we do whatever it takes to lay hold of revival?

The church needs to understand that revival doesn’t just happen. God doesn’t look down at the earth and say, “They sure need revival. I think I’ll help them out and send it.” Revival doesn’t come simply because it’s needed.

In talking to the people, Peter said that they needed to repent.   That word means to change your mind and turn around. He continued by saying, then your sins are erased and times of refreshing will come.

I believe that the key word there is times. If we’re ready, then God will send us revival times. As His people, we must understand that God wants to send us times of revival. It’s us that need to cooperate with His plan.

It’s all a matter of timing. We need to understand how God’s timing works. That was one of the things that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for.

He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
Luke 12:54-56

Jesus rebuked His generation for being able to discern the weather, yet they were unable to discern the time – God’s appointed times. We must do better than them. We need to know both the times we live in, and what’s required of God’s people during these times.

I want to take a few posts to talk about this. God’s timetable. How does it work, and why revival seems to be taking so long to arrive. We need to be a people who position themselves to lay hold of God’s will.

Question: What does this present time require of God’s people?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on July 23, 2014 in Revival, The Church

 

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