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Tag Archives: Scripture

First Impressions of the Holy Spirit

03 Apr

DoveI believe that the church doesn’t acknowledge the Holy Spirit as it should. We don’t fully understand the blessing we’ve been given. We have the Spirit of the living God residing in us.

I wanted to delve deeper into understanding the Holy Spirit as a person. So I began to teach a series on the Holy Spirit in my Wednesday night Bible Study. As I began to study, the Lord started showing me things that I wasn’t prepared for.

What I found is going to be the subject of my next few posts. My hope is that it will lead you to a greater respect and understanding of the Spirit that lives within you.

As I said, I was studying what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. Who wrote the Bible? Obviously THE HOLY SPIRIT! He used individuals to write it down, but the Lord breathed His Word through them to bring us the Scripture.

In thinking about what was written, I asked myself a question. What’s the first thing that the Holy Spirit says about Himself? After all, first impressions are the most important.

In my studies I’ve come to believe that the book of James was the first of the New Testament to be written.

In that short book there’s only one direct reference to the Holy Spirit and it took me off guard.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?
James 4:4-5

We know that God the Holy Spirit wants to be your friend. But it’s interesting to see that the first thing He reveals about Himself is that you can’t be both His friend and the world’s friend.

Understand – you can have friends in the world. But the Spirit of God doesn’t want you to be a friend of the world system. We can’t be chasing after the same things that the world does.

The Scripture above literally says that the Holy Spirit is intensely jealous. This is a destructive jealousy to the point where He actively seeks to destroy whatever would try to steal the heart of those He loves.

He knows that you love Him. He knows the plans He has for you. He wants to bring you prosperity and health. He has a hope and a future destiny for you.

But at the same time He sees someone trying to steal your heart. Someone who has plans to ruin your life. Someone with a desire to steal, kill, and destroy.

My question is; if that’s the first thing He says, how important is it to Him? An even greater question is; how important does this seem to the church today? Unfortunately, I believe that we’ve lost this sense of the Lord’s jealousy.

That’s what I intent to write about for the remainder of this series.

Question: How does the knowledge of the Holy Spirit’s jealousy affect your walk with Christ?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on April 3, 2015 in Power of God, Prayer, Revival

 

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When is the Gospel not the Gospel?

05 Nov

Good NewsIt’s always important to note the first time a word is used in the Scripture. It helps us to understand what the Holy Spirit means when He uses it elsewhere in the Bible. Sometimes preachers call it the “law of first use.”

Do you have any idea the first place in the New Testament when the word Gospel is used? I’ll give you a hint; it’s not in the Gospels. That’s because the Gospels weren’t the first books written. The Gospel of Mark was probably the fourth book written; which is close, but not the first to use that word.

Actually, the word Gospel is first used in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. This was the first of Paul’s epistles. He was writing to a young church he started with only a brief stay in the city of Thessalonica. Here’s what he wrote them in the opening verses of his letter.

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

That’s a very interesting comment to make. The first time the word Gospel is used in the Scripture, it means more than just words. It’s a complete presentation of the power of Christ. Paul is very clear in saying that it’s not just words, but includes power, the Holy Spirit, and conviction.

It’s unfortunate that in our day there are those who think the Gospel is simply a cleverly crafted message designed to convince a sinner to get saved. When we believe that, we’re only working with a small part of the Gospel. For it to be the true Gospel of Jesus Christ there must also be a demonstration of power.

What’s power? In natural terms, power is the ability of something to produce change. If nothing changes, then there’s no power.

Paul tells us here that when the true Gospel came forth – things changed. It’s not like many of our meetings today where we say, “That was a powerful message.” By that we meant that we were stirred emotionally or felt goose bumps.

The Gospel has to be a Word from God, not just a convincing argument. When I speak what God is saying, then the Holy Spirit is free to confirm the message. People are convicted by the Word and their lives are forever changed.

We need to get back to being a people who spend time listening to their God. Then, once we’ve heard His voice, we need to step out and speak what He’s saying to us. This is the true essence of the Gospel. This is what will change our society for Christ.

Question: What will it take for us to spend quality time listening to the Holy Spirit?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on November 5, 2014 in Ministry, Power of God, The Gospel

 

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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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Love Letters vs. the Lover

24 Sep

Garden PathIn my last post I talked about spending time in God’s presence and hearing a Word from Him. Maybe you got the impression that I don’t encourage the reading of Scripture. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I believe that daily time in the Scripture is absolutely essential for a strong spiritual walk. Nothing can replace that.

But in the same light, by redefining the term Word of God in Scripture, many have totally ignored intimate time with the Lord. They seem to think that reading the Bible and then praying for God to meet their needs is enough.

The fact is that we need intimacy with our Lord. Here’s how Jesus explained it to the Pharisees.

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
John 5:39-40

As important as the reading of the Bible is, it doesn’t replace quality time with the Holy Spirit. We need both to mature in Christ.

Think about it this way. A soldier stationed in Afghanistan loves his wife and regularly writes her letters from the field. He shares his heart with her – what he’s doing and feeling, how much he misses her and things he looks forward to doing with her when he returns.

The wife loves and misses her husband as well. She reads each letter over and over, imagining him speaking directly to her. Now that she has a collection of these letters, she spends time every day reading them. It comforts her.

When the husband’s tour is over, he returns home to the embrace of his wife. This was the hour they’ve both been waiting for. They’re together again.

But there’s a problem. The next day the husband wants to take a walk in a nearby park, hand in hand with his wife. Does she agree to this? No.

She tells him that it’s her habit to take a couple of hours each day to read his letters. She doesn’t want to stop doing this simply to walk outdoors. The husband is confused and sits on the couch, waiting for her to read his letters and to have the time to be with him.

Does this sound far-fetched? In real life it does. Normal people don’t act that way. Or do they?

I hate to say it, but that’s the practice of many believers. We have access to the intimate presence of Christ. Yet we’re content to merely sit and read His letters to us.

We must read the Bible to understand the heartbeat of God. But there’s more to it than that. Don’t just read the love-letters. Spend time with the Lover of our souls. He’s patiently waiting for our quiet time together. It’s at those times that I receive things that are for no one else but me.

Take the time to hear from the Lord.

Question: Why does it seem easier to read Scripture than to spend time with the author?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on September 24, 2014 in Prayer, Word of God

 

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The Return of Christ – His Perspective

18 Aug

Cloud2As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Matthew 24:3

Periodically, I like to post about the Return of Christ. This is a subject that many people are interested in. Unfortunately, few look at the big picture. Instead, they have their own favorite sections of Scripture.

One of these is the portion of Jesus’ ministry that’s recorded in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13. This is where most people who study the Second Coming of Christ like to start. It’s where Jesus gives His most comprehensive end-time teaching.

The problem is that if you start here, you have none of the foundational knowledge already laid down by Christ as He taught His disciples. At this point, Jesus had already been teaching the disciples for about three years on the subject. Of course, they had many unanswered questions and a couple of loose ends, but the Lord didn’t start them from scratch with this teaching.

I’ve gone through all of Christ’s teaching on the subject in my posts over the past couple of years. To review them you can read my old posts listed under the Return of Christ category heading or click on the links below.

Let’s review what the disciples knew up to this point. They had learned that there was a time period called this age that started with Christ planting His kingdom on earth. On the last day of this age, the resurrection and reward of the righteous will take place.

However, for an unknown period of time before the resurrection a separation would take place causing a visible distinction between God’s kingdom and Satan’s. Click here to see my series on this teaching of Christ.

Jesus’ followers also knew that there was going to be a special day, called the Day of Christ. It would be a day when Jesus was going to be revealed to the nations as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

The agenda for this day is as follows: First, the righteous are taken to a place of safety. Then salvation would be closed. At that point, calamity such as the world has never known will fall on the inhabitants of the earth. By the end of the day, the unrighteous will have been swept away, leaving the saints to rule and reign in the kingdom of the Messiah. Click here to read my series on this subject.

It was with this background that the Lord gave the disciples His most detailed teaching on His return. In my next post I’ll start talking about what Christ taught in this section of Scripture. Prepare to receive it. This teaching is life changing!

Question: Why is the Second Coming of Christ such a popular topic among believers?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on August 18, 2014 in Return of Christ

 

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Your Soul is Important

30 May

MirrorIt’s important to keep our soul healthy and prosperous. Probably even more than the physical. That’s because what happens in your soul is the foundation for the rest of your life.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (NKJV)
3 John 2-3

Soul prosperity is the basis for physical prosperity and health. Of course there are those who say that this is just a greeting. They teach that you can’t trust God to perform this in your life based upon this verse.

Wasn’t it the Holy Spirit who inspired John to write this? If so, then it should be applicable to my life. What about the Apostle Paul? When he greets the church by saying “Grace and peace through the Lord Jesus Christ,” does that negate the truth of it? The truth is that the blessings we experience in our Christian walk are directly tied to how our soul prospers. That brings up a question. What is my soul and how does it prosper? I want to post about this for a bit.

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
1 Corinthians 15:45-46

In the above passage, the word natural is the word soulish in the Greek. Right now we have inherited a soulish body from Adam. That means that our body responds to commands from our soul – which is our mind. It’s who you are. The soul includes your personality and all of your memories.

It’s the Greek word psyche. It’s where we get our English word psychology, which means the study of the soul. Your soul is the real you. That’s why the Scripture refers to people as souls.

When I speak or write, it’s your soul that I want to communicate with. I don’t just want to stimulate your eyes and ears. It’s the person on the inside that matters.

Even animals have souls – but they don’t have a spirit. That’s what sets us apart from them. Yet without using the spirit, our lives are not much better than the animals.

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.
Psalms 73:21-22

That’s what humanity is like without Christ. We end up storing up nuts like squirrels. Or constantly searching to mate, like dogs.

The fact is that if you want a good life with health and prosperity, then you need your soul to prosper. Our problem is that we usually don’t take good care of our souls. We let things slide and then wonder why our lives get messed up. I want to take a few posts to look at what it takes to get your soul in shape.

Question: What are the characteristics of a healthy soul?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on May 30, 2014 in Healing, Revival

 

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Scriptural Meditation – Unlocking Your Anointing

05 May

MoonThis is the final post on the three levels of godly meditation. It’s a missing ingredient in the church today.

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.
Psalm 119:148

The Hebrew word for meditate in this verse is Siyach, which means to speak to oneself. This is the highest and most anointed form of meditation. This is where you actually start preaching (out loud) to yourself.

This type of meditation causes the insight and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to flow through you in an incredible way. I’ve gotten some of the most beautiful revelations of Scripture as I meditated (preached to myself) before God.

How does this work? The first thing you must do is find a quiet, out of the way place, where you can be by yourself. Then, out loud, begin to preach to yourself concerning the Scripture you’re meditating on. Just let it flow from your inner man. Don’t forget to bring paper and pen to write down the revelation you’ll receive.

You may think, “This is weird! It’s crazy to preach to myself.”   Actually, just the opposite is true. Psychiatrists tell us that the most well-balanced people are the ones who speak to themselves – and know that they’re speaking to themselves!

Most of the anointing to preach or teach is dependent upon the expectation level of the listeners. There were times in Jesus, ministry when He hardly did any miracles because the expectation of the people was so low.

During this type of meditation, the Holy Spirit’s anointing to teach is as strong as when you are before a crowd of expecting believers. This is because, if you’re expecting to hear from God, you’re drawing upon your own anointing. It’s a very awesome place to be in.

The Lord will then start to open up the Word to you prophetically.   When I meditate in this fashion, I usually have to keep stopping to take notes. You’ll find more of the Word opening up to you, the longer you meditate in the Lord’s presence.

This is such an incredible source of revelation from the Word of God that I’m convinced, like David, that you too will spend many nights awake upon your bed receiving insight and revelation from the Spirit of God. I know this happens to me from time to time. Rather than it being a burden, the study of the Word becomes exciting, because you never know what to expect or when to expect it.

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.
Psalm 119:97-99

Once you enter into this level of meditation, you have a source of instruction that goes beyond what you learned from others. No longer do you need to rely on the next conference to get fresh revelation from the Lord. You’ll have a source of insight that you can tap into by yourself.

As for me, I’m not content just to repeat what everyone else is saying. I want a Word from the Lord. I want it fresh, vital, and relevant. I want it to speak to my situation and to the lives of those who are listening to me.

I need to draw on the supernatural revelation of God. This is what meditation on the Word is all about. My prayer for you is that you enter into the fullness of the Word that God has for you.

Question: What insights have you learned through the use of Scriptural meditation?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

This series was adapted from my book, Breaking Free from the Pack – How to Develop a Spirit of Excellence.

 
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Posted by on May 5, 2014 in Anointing, Ministry, Spirit of Excellence, Word of God

 

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Is the Word of God Your Obsession?

02 May

Lion2I’ve been talking about the three levels of Scriptural meditation. It’s something that the body of Christ needs to once again focus on. In my last post I talked about the first level.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
Psalm 63:6

The next step takes the thinking process deeper into your heart. In the above verse think of is the Hebrew word Hagah. This word is a strengthened form of the verb Hagag. It means to intensely think about.

Meditation at this level requires memorization of the Scripture. You have to become intimate with the Word of God.

At this level you begin to obsess on the Scripture. You dwell on it. You imagine the sights, the smells, and the textures. If it’s a teaching Scripture, then you imagine yourself obeying it. Get inside the Word. See it as written in you and about you. This starts to give you a deeper understanding of the application.

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1:8

We all want prosperity and success. But are we willing to do what it takes to achieve the level of excellence necessary to lay hold of them? In order to develop a spirit of excellence, it will require you to use at least this level of meditation.

This is what the LORD says to me: “As a lion growls, a great lion over his prey – and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against him, he is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor – so the LORD Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.”
Isaiah 31:4

You may wonder what this verse has to do with meditating on the Word of God. Scripture describes it as a lion meditating on its prey. Hagah is the word growl in the above verse.

It doesn’t matter that a band of shepherds are trying to distract this lion. His focus remains fixed and unbroken. He has one thing in mind – lamb chops!

We need to obsess over the Word of the Lord the way a lion does over his prey. Don’t let the devil or the world distract you from your objective.

The question isn’t whether or not you have to do this. You can get by in your Christian walk without meditating on the Word of God. Even if you’re in the full-time ministry, there are enough books and tapes around to keep you in sermons and Bible studies for the rest of your life.

We should always desire something fresh from the Word. A major portion of what you’re preaching and teaching must come from your walk with the Lord. You can’t build a ministry of excellence if all you do is rehash what everyone else is saying.

When you allow the Holy Spirit to meet with you in the place of meditation, you’re in communication with the Author, Himself. In this way, you will gain insight you never thought possible.

This is something you must desire and go after. The choice is yours. You can stand before the people with a nice teaching; or you can come to them with a Word from God.

In my next post I’ll move on to the highest level of godly meditation.

Question: How often do you purpose to memorize Scripture?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

This series is adapted from my book, Breaking Free from the Pack – How to Develop a Spirit of Excellence.

 
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Posted by on May 2, 2014 in Ministry, Spirit of Excellence, Word of God

 

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Meditate on the Word of God

30 Apr

 

Journal 2Godly meditation upon the Word of God is one of the lost arts of the body of Christ. It’s one of the most powerful tools you could ever use in your study of God’s Word.

The Bible is a spiritual book. You can’t expect to use natural study methods to receive the supernatural revelation and knowledge God desires you to have.

There are always those Scriptures that, when read, seem to “jump out” at me. Through my meditation on the Word of God, I’ve gained insight into many of these portions of Scripture. I’ve found that I can use the tool of meditation to take me into the deep places of the Word of God. By meditating on the Word anyone can find the deeper truths of Scripture, and you’ll also come across some hidden gems that you never knew were there.

There are basically three levels to meditation. Each level revolves around an Old Testament Hebrew word. In this post I want to talk about the first.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14

Meditation starts in our mind. The Hebrew word for this is Hagag. This word is used throughout the Old Testament and means to think about. That has got to be our starting point. We need to first think about the Word we’re studying. What does it mean? What did it mean to those to whom it was written? What does it mean to me?

Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.
Psalm 5:1

The word sighing, above, is the word Hagag. In both of the above verses David asks the Lord to consider his meditation. He wants the Lord to be pleased with what he thinks about. What a challenge!

One of the biggest battles we face is in our thought life. One of the side benefits to the discipline of meditation is that it starts to take our thoughts under control as we focus on God’s Word.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2

We’re told that we’re to renew our minds. It’s through godly meditation that this is done. By thinking God’s thoughts, we’re “reprogramming our internal computers.” I believe this is what Paul meant when he wrote that we’re made clean by the washing with water through the Word.

This, then, is the first step, the starting point in our trip to supernatural revelation from Scripture. Before we can go any deeper, we must train our thoughts to focus upon the Word of God. We must begin to think about the Word. Only then are we ready for the next, deeper stage of meditation.

My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.     
Psalm 39:3

As I have just stated, this form of meditation just gets the ball rolling. It’s merely the starting place. It ignites the fire that will bring you further into the Word. Now you’re ready for the second level. I will talk about that in my next post.

Question: How often do you simply think about the Word of God?

© Nick Zaccardi 2014

 
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Posted by on April 30, 2014 in Ministry, Spirit of Excellence, Word of God

 

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