RSS

Tag Archives: spirit

Our Problem – The Flesh #spiritualfast

02 Oct

Give UpI’ve been posting about the New Testament fast.  There’s an event in Jesus’ ministry that sheds some light on it.

As Jesus was returning to the city form the mount of transfiguration, He was met by a crowd of people.  While He was away, the disciples tried to cast a demon out of a young man, but were unable to.  This is important, because they had been personally trained by the Lord and should have had an easy time with it.

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered.   “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him.  But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus.  “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:21-24

Knowing the three parts of our being helps us to understand the man’s statement in Mark 9:21-24.  He didn’t understand how he could both believe and not believe at the same time.  It’s important for us to see that both faith and unbelief or “unfaith” can exist at the same time in the same person.

My spirit is always full of faith.  My flesh is always full of doubt and unbelief.  It was this realization that caused the man to cry out, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”  This is the key issue involved in our desire for the miraculous to be evident in our ministries.

Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
Matthew 17:18-19

Everyone who wants a walk of excellence needs to know the answer to this.  We all read the Word of God.  We know that it’s God’s will to heal and deliver.  Why is it so hard, sometimes, to see the manifestation of the Spirit of the Lord?  Listen very intently to Jesus’ answer.  It will help us to move up into the excellence of ministry that He has for us.

Obviously, the disciples didn’t ask in public in case the answer was in the form of a rebuke.  They would rather take it in private.  But their question was valid.  Why couldn’t they do what Jesus did, even though they had the faith to try it?

They had been trained by Jesus Himself to go out two by two.  They had prayed for the sick and saw them healed.  They had rebuked demons and saw them bow to the Name of Jesus.  Why, all of a sudden, did it seem to stop working?

We need to open our heart to what Jesus says.  This could explain our lack of results.  We have faith.  We step out.  But many times we experience nothing.  Why?

In my next post we’ll see how the Lord answered this question.

Question: How has your flesh hindered your walk with the Lord?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
1 Comment

Posted by on October 2, 2013 in Fasting, Spirit of Excellence

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Foundation for Fasting #spiritualfast

30 Sep

BibleI am posting about the New Testament fast.  I believe that it can revolutionize your walk with the Lord.

Did you ever feel like your spiritual breakthrough was right there?  You could almost taste it.  You have the faith, but you just couldn’t cross over to the promise before you.

Hopefully, that will no longer be the case.  No, you don’t have to fast to be saved.  However, if your desire is to walk in the fullness of the salvation that the Lord has provided for you, then fasting is one of the tools available to propel you forward.

Fasting is something that should be a normal part of your walk with the Lord.  As a matter of fact, no one should even be aware of your doing it.

When the Lord spoke of washing your face and putting oil on your head he was referring to the normal grooming that most people of His culture did each day.  In other words, go through your day in the normal routine, only without eating.  That is the impact of what Jesus was teaching in the verses we looked at in my last post (Matthew 6:16-18).

On the other hand, I have seen people get religious about this point.  They lock themselves in their room for the day.  It’s not a sin for people to know that you’re fasting.

My regular fasting day is Tuesday.  It would be impossible for me to hide this from my wife and children.  What I’m not to do is use fasting as a way to make myself look good in the eyes of others.  I simply go through the day normally – only without eating.

The big question is – why does the Lord want us to fast?

To understand fasting, we must look at an incident that occurred in Jesus’ ministry.  This happened immediately after the Lord’s transfiguration on the mountain.  I will look at it in detail in my next post.  By understanding this event, we will see why the supernatural is so difficult to enter into in the United States.

The first thing I need to understand is who I am as a person.  I’m a multi-part being.  I exist as body (flesh), soul (mind), and spirit.

My spirit is the part of my being that communes with God.  My spirit believes everything in the Word of God.  It agrees, without reservation, to every word spoken by the Lord.

My flesh, on the other hand, is the part that I inherited from my ancestor, Adam.  It rejects and doubts whatever God says.  The tension between the flesh and the spirit has created a war that’s constantly waging within me.

The third aspect, my mind, is the part of me that’s in control and has to sort it all out.  This will be the case until we receive our resurrected body from the Lord.  So we better know the scriptural way to handle it.

In my next post we’ll see what Jesus says the problem is.

Questions: Have you been trust God for a spiritual breakthrough?  How close is it?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
1 Comment

Posted by on September 30, 2013 in Fasting, Spirit of Excellence

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Power of Christ #powerofChrist

16 Aug

LightningIn my last post I talked about my struggle with legalism that I didn’t even know I had.  I was like so many others who “stand on the promises.”  They are trusting in the power of the law instead of the power of God working in them.

Then again, there are other Christians who have thrown out the whole idea altogether.  They’ve tried to live up to the requirements of the promises and failed.  They’ve come to the conclusion that they’ll never gain the blessings of the promises.  So what they’ve done is to start living for themselves and chase after the things of the world.  Unfortunately, if you throw out the promises altogether, and don’t remain in Christ, you’ll find yourself unplugged from the source of our power.

If my attitude is that I don’t want to read the Bible or go to church, then in essence I don’t love God.  This is because love is an action, and I’m not showing it toward the Lord.  You can say, “I love God” all you want, but that only means that you have good feelings toward Him.

That’s usually how the world defines the word “love.”  In that sense you can love God without any of those things.  However, I’m talking about true love – an action where all your heart, soul, mind, and strength are involved.

It’s clear from Scripture that there are two forms of power – the Spirit and the law.  Both of them are strong forces for change, but the power of the Spirit is the greatest.  We also know that trying to fulfill the requirements of the promises is a form of legalism.

Under the New Covenant, the promises serve two purposes, of which both are important.  The blessings of the promises show us what God enjoys doing for us.  The requirement side of the promise shows us what we can do to please God.

The real question we need to deal with is how did Jesus operate in the power?  We will start by seeing how Jesus taught about the power.

He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
1 John 3:8

This is a simple yet profound truth.  One of the main purposes of Christ coming to the earth was to destroy the devil’s work.  The Lord wanted to end Satan’s reign of terror on this planet.  To do that Christ would have to wield a power much greater than that of the devil.

It’s this power that I want to talk about in these posts.  Christ is our example.  If I can grasp how He walked in the power of God, then I can get the same results by following His principles.

Question: What works of the devil need to be dealt with in our generation?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
2 Comments

Posted by on August 16, 2013 in Legalism, Power of God

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Legalism and the Promises

15 May

LionIn my last post I shared that when I decided to tithe in order for God to rebuke the devourer, I was appealing to the law for my financial blessing.  Through the gentle leading of the Spirit, I came to the realization that I had placed myself under the commandment.  I now understand that trying to fulfill the requirements of the promises is a form of legalism.

What I forgot was this:

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
James 2:10

By placing my hope in keeping the tithe law, I was missing the rest of the puzzle.  Here’s what I had neglected.  The passage in Malachi showed me the conditions to rebuke the devourer.  But there are 20 other verses that deal with things I can do that allows the devourer to get my stuff.

They talk about everything from hiring prostitutes to neglecting the needs of the church.  So in effect, when I tithed, God rebuked the devourer.  Then, if I neglected the church, I was calling the devourer back so he could continue his work.

Now, don’t get ahead of me.  This is a dangerous point to only have half of the truth.  You need the whole truth, if you’re going to walk in the power of God.  At this point I’m still dealing with the first half.  You must read all the blogs in this series to get the whole picture.

I became more and more aware of the fact that trying to fulfill the requirements of the promises actually puts me under the law.  So I did a study of promises in the New Testament to see how they’re used under the New Covenant.

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.  And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20

I was surprised at what the Scripture had to say.  Nowhere did I find it taught that we have to fulfill the requirements.  As a matter, of fact it was just the opposite.  The reason for this is the finished work of Christ on the cross.  He even told us that was why He came to the earth.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Matthew 5:17

In this statement, Jesus tells us the whole foundation for walking in the blessings of the Word.  Part of His work was to fulfill everything written in the Old Covenant.

The word, fulfill means to cram full, to fill in the holes.  All of the open-ended requirements needed to “claim” the promises have been filled in by Christ.

This means that we are exempt from the requirements, unless we voluntarily place ourselves under the law.  In that case, the kingdom of the enemy has the right to use its power against us on the same level.

Question: What promises have you turned into laws in your life?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 15, 2013 in Legalism, Power of God, The Church

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Recognizing the Spirit of Antichrist

15 Mar

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

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

But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
1 John 4:3

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

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

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

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 
1 Comment

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

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Counter-Culture and the Counter-Anointing

10 Dec

Different Anointing

Did you know that the present culture of America has an anointing on it?  I have been posting about Christianity as a counter-culture.  Today I want to talk about the modern cultural anointing.

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
1 John 2:18-19

The word antichrist is very interesting.  When some people think antichrist, it brings images of The Beast or a world dictator.  Actually, antichrists have been around as long as the church has been in existence.

This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
1 John 4:3

What we need to understand is that there is a spirit of antichrist that is constantly at work in secular society.  Let’s stop and think about it.  Here is a spirit that is anti – opposite – Christ.

In my last post I made the point that Christ means the Anointed One.  That means we’re talking about an anti-anointing that’s operating in the world.  Whether you know it or not, there are two different anointings at work in our society.  There’s the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of antichrist.

The first verse above tells us that there are people in churches who have bought into the anti-anointing that’s in the world.  Eventually these people get offended at the Gospel of Christ – the true anointing – and they leave.

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.  I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.  Who is the liar?  It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.  Such a man is the antichrist — he denies the Father and the Son.
1 John 2:20-22

It is all about Jesus Christ – that’s the bottom line.  We live in such an accepting and tolerant world.  It’s okay, no matter what you want to talk about…that is until you mention Jesus Christ.  Suddenly the conversation gets shut down.

The reason is clear.  There are two competing spirits at work.  The spirit of antichrist wants no mention of the true anointing.  Christ, the Anointed One and His anointing can break the bondage of sin, sickness, depression, and a whole host of other symptoms of this age.

We need to walk in the boldness of the Holy Spirit.  Even if it means that we are ridiculed, shut down or rejected.  We must be a light for the true anointing of Christ in our generation.

Question: Have you ever noticed intolerance for the name of Jesus Christ?

© Nick Zaccardi 2012

 
1 Comment

Posted by on December 10, 2012 in Revival, Spiritual Warfare, The Church

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Great Outdoors

27 Apr

Job 38:8-11
“Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt?’”

God created the seas, rivers, and lakes all for us.  He made the world a beautiful place for us to enjoy.  Many times I have thought myself blessed as I sat and meditated by a peaceful lake – knowing that only about a hundred people a year even see this sight.  Who was there watching when He established that body of water for His pleasure?

We serve a very creative God.  He loves beauty and variety.  He has made each lake and stream different.  Sometimes we need to just stop and look around at the details that make each scene unique.

I don’t know how close you live to green outdoor areas.  Hopefully there are parks or other type places nearby where you can go from time to time.  In any case, don’t ever get to the point where the outdoors is just a place to play.  Never lose your fascination with the sights, smells, and sounds of the green spaces around you – it speaks volumes to us about who God is.

We must be sensitive to the beauty that is around us.  Don’t just take it for granted.  Even a small garden can be a place of rest and refreshment in your spirit.  Give God thanks today for the glory of His Creation.  Be thankful that He allows us to share in the enjoyment of what His hands have done.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 27, 2012 in Daily Thoughts

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Newer posts →