I have been posting about how to walk in righteousness and the power of God. It should be obvious by now that we must rest, remain, abide in Christ. That’s the place we receive His power. Once we have the power we need, we’re able to live righteously.
When I’m saved, I’m made righteous by an impartation from God. He does this so that I can receive His power by the Holy Spirit who now resides in me.
By drawing upon that power I can now live righteously before Him. Without the power of the Spirit, I have no hope of ever pleasing the Lord with a walk of righteousness.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
I can’t make myself walk in righteousness. My flesh will never be able to fix itself. My only hope is in the power of the Spirit.
I want to sum up the truths that we’ve learned with an illustration the Lord gave me. Think about a living room with a TV and a lamp. There’s also an extension chord with a power strip on it plugged into an electrical outlet.
The extension cord will represent our relationship with Christ. If the plug is attached to the outlet, we’re remaining in Christ, if not then we’re on our own.
The TV is the miraculous – healings, provision, etc. The lamp is our righteousness – living rightly before God. Both of these items must be powered by our relationship with the Lord. They are both plugged into the power strip.
We’ve noticed that if the lamp works, then the TV works as well. A life that has the miraculous in operation also is becoming more and more like Jesus.
We’ve also noticed that if the TV isn’t working, then the lamp isn’t either. The TV and the lamp always work together, so we assume that it’s the lamp that’s running the TV.
This is why so many Christians assume that it’s the walk of righteousness that brings the power for the miraculous. The fact is, that both are powered by the same plug – our relationship with Christ.
So, do we try to increase our intimacy with Christ? No. Instead we try to artificially power the lamp through the battery power of the law. We preach that the people need to live right to see the miraculous. We tell them that it’s because we’re not living up to the rules that the church has no power.
By doing this, we actually get the lamp to appear to be lit. What we don’t realize is that it’s not the power of the Spirit that’s working, but our own self-righteousness powered by the law. Since the power chord of our relationship is not plugged into Christ, the manifestation of God’s power through healing and miracles does not exist. That’s when all of the excuses start as to why there are no healings, signs, or wonders in the church anymore.
In order for the power of God to flow into your life, you must be intimate in your relationship with Christ. The flow of power does not depend upon how good you act. It’s your intimacy with Christ that will bring about both the miraculous and the walk of righteousness that the Savior has called you to manifest.
Question: How intimate is your relationship to Christ?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: abide in Christ, Christ, intimacy, intimacy with Christ, Jesus, plugged in to Christ, power, power of God, power of the spirit, righteousness, spiritual power, walk of righteousness
The Apostle Paul explained to the early church about the fallacy that obeying the Law of Moses will give you access to the power of God. In my last post we looked at this verse…
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.
2 Corinthians 3:13-14
Paul says that their minds, or literally their perceptions, were made dull, hardened, and callous. Then he makes a statement that we miss the implications to altogether. He says that to this day the veil remains when the Old Covenant is read. IT HAS NOT BEEN REMOVED.
I have heard preachers talk about this and refer it to Jews who don’t understand that Jesus is the Messiah. The truth goes so much deeper than this. Remember, Paul is writing to believers in this passage. He makes no qualifications as to who the veil is covering.
He says, without any adjusting of the statement, that whenever the Old Covenant is read, the veil remains. Even if a Christian reads it there remains a veil that only Christ can remove.
The reason is that the law veils the truth about righteousness. The law sounds logical. If I will do this, then God will do that.
If I will bring the whole tithe to church, then God will rebuke the devourer and pour out a blessing. If I will walk in righteousness, then God will manifest His power in me. This veils the truth that under the New Covenant this is not the case. Paul goes on in more detail.
Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
2 Corinthians 3:15-16
EVEN TODAY!!! It’s so clear. Right now if I read the Old Testament, a veil covers my heart. There’s a cure, however. The word turns in this verse is actually a Greek word that means turn again.
What this says to us, is that when anyone reads the Old Covenant a veil blocks their view of New Covenant righteousness. But when you turn again to Christ, the veil is cast off. How can you turn again to Christ if you were never looking at Him in the first place?
Paul is warning us that as New Testament believers, we cannot read the Old Testament without constantly looking back to what Christ did on the cross. He fulfilled it all. Everything I need to walk righteously before God has been supplied to me by the Savior.
Question: Why do many believers still live as though they’re under the Old Covenant?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, Jesus, law of Moses, Moses, New Covenant, old covenant, power, power of God, righteousness, spiritual power, turn to Christ, you are not like Moses
In the church, we’ve come up with all kinds of excuses as to why we lack the power of God. The one that I’ve been posting about is the notion that until we walk in righteousness, we’ll never experience the move of the Spirit.
This is exactly how the Pharisees viewed the world. Unfortunately, many of us are walking in the same amount of power they walked in – NONE.
There was a group of former Pharisees who were trying to lead Christians to follow the Law of Moses “if they were truly saved”. Paul was vehement in his opposition to this movement. Let’s go back to Second Corinthians, chapter 3, and continue to look at the revelation that he received concerning this teaching.
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.
2 Corinthians 3:13-14
Here Paul is referring to when Moses came down from the mountain where God delivered the law to him. The Bible says that Moses’ face shown so brightly with the glory of God that it looked like the sun. People had to shield their eyes from it.
So that he could be among the people, Moses put a veil, or a cloth, over his face to shield them from the light. But something else happened. As Moses was with the people, the glory of God started to fade and grow dim.
At one point, even though the glory was dim enough for people to see without hurting their eyes, Moses left the veil on. Paul said it was so the people would not see the glory of God fading. In other words, Moses put on a veil so that the Israelites would not see his spiritual batteries draining.
Moses was a man who walked in great power. He called down plagues upon Egypt. He commanded the Red Sea to part. He obtained water from the rock. The list of miracles God performed through his hand goes on and on. Yet, all of Moses power was derived through the law.
On more than one occasion he blew it. He even missed out on entering the Promised Land because of one of his failings. As great as his power was, it was only a battery pack compared to what the Holy Spirit offers us today. What surprises me is that we run to use the same lesser power that Moses used.
We have a better covenant than Moses had. In my next post I’ll show how trying to live like Moses will actually rob us of spiritual strength.
Question: Why is it popular to think that we can adequately serve God in our own strength?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: excuses, glory of God, lack of power, law of Moses, Moses, Pharisees, power, power of God, spiritual power, veil
I’m taking a few posts to talk about fasting. I believe that fasting is one of the most neglected sources of spiritual power in the Christian walk.
In my last post I said that the New Testament fast is totally different than that of the old. I base this upon the words of Jesus Himself when He was questioned about fasting by the disciples of John the Baptist.
Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”
Matthew 9:14-15
When asked why He didn’t make His disciples fast, Jesus replied that they were not going to mourn while He was here with them. The Old Testament fast was a humbling process before God for the forgiveness of sin. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was the fulfillment of this. Humiliation for sin was finished – God’s provision had arrived.
The Lord then goes on to talk about the “new patch” and the “new wineskins” in the next verses (v16-17). Most Christians have no idea that Jesus was talking about fasting when He gave these illustrations.
It’s obvious to me that the Lord didn’t want the disciples to get confused. This would have happened if He made them fast according to Old Testament tradition, and then later on tried to teach them the New Covenant fast. He must have felt it was better to start them off correctly right from the beginning.
That’s also why I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the Old Testament fast. Under the law, fasting was a whole different thing than in the New Testament church. Unfortunately, many Christians have no idea what the fast is all about now. It’s my prayer that you will by the end of this series.
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:16-18
The first thing we see here is that Jesus said, “When you fast…” Preachers are always quick to point out to their people that Jesus said, “When you pray…” They explain that it means Jesus expects prayer to be a regular part of the Christian walk. They do the same thing with “When you give…” What happened to fasting?
It seems to me that the Lord wants fasting to be just as much a part of our lives. Many of us ignore it and think our walk with God will not suffer for it. Jesus assumed that fasting was to be a regular part of the Christian walk. I believe that most of us don’t understand it, and that’s why it is not practiced.
Question: How important is fasting in your walk with God?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, Christian walk, disciples, fast, fasting, fasting changed, humble, humility, Jesus, mourn, New Covenant, New Testament, old covenant, Old Testament, spiritual, spiritual fasting, spiritual power, when you fast
I’ve been posting about how Christ walked and ministered in the power of God. It’s all about how He positioned Himself to receive it.
A good example of this is found in a parable that the Lord told to His disciples. We usually call it the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector. They were both in the temple praying next to each other. The Lord lets us in on what they were saying.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
Luke 18:11-12
We read this, but we don’t take it to heart. We know how it ends and who the Lord commends. But do we really listen to the prayer of the Pharisee. If we look closely at it, it sounds like a prayer that a modern Christian would offer up, filled with good confessions.
“I thank you that I’m the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath. I thank you that because I tithe you will rebuke the devourer and open the windows of heaven so that I cannot contain your blessing.”
His prayer was filled with good confessions and it was all true. He was different than the tax-collector. He did fast and tithe. The problem was that he had no power.
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Luke 18:13
Which prayer produced life changing power? Christ was clear about it.
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14
It’s obvious, from the Lord’s perspective, that the person who dealt with relationship tapped into God’s power. The Pharisee was focused on self. The tax-collector was dealing with that which separated him from God.
Is the power of God about what I’ve done or what the Holy Spirit wants to accomplish in and through me? When I go before God, my telling Him what I’ve done doesn’t impress Him. It will never move Him to work through me.
It’s only as I work on my relationship with Christ that I’ll see the changes necessary. If you want to flow in the power of God, then your relationship with Him is the positioning agent. It’s not about what you’ve done, but what He is able to do in you.
Questions: How well are you positioned for the move of the Holy Spirit? What do you need to do to make it better?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, good confessions, Jesus, life changing, ministry, Pharisee, position, positioned to receive spiritual power, power, power of God, power of the spirit, pray, prayer, praying, publican, receive, relationship, self, sinner, spiritual power, tax-collector
I’ve been posting about the power of God at work in us. How far are you willing to go to walk in the power of the Spirit? Experience tells me that we would rather talk a good game and make excuses, than to put forth the effort to see the real thing.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:7-8
This is the last verse I looked at in my previous post. It deals specifically with the power available to those who remain in Christ. It says that they can ask what they wish and it will be done.
Think about the trust God places in that kind of believer. I personally wouldn’t give that kind of power to most Christians that I know. It would be dangerous.
The fact is that in this fifteenth chapter of John, the Lord referred to us remaining in Him 8 times in 4 verses. I think He’s trying to make a point. It’s required that we remain in Him if we want Him to manifest His power in us.
I asked a question four posts ago – in the first of this series (Power and Authority – The Difference). I asked which form of power – AC or DC – was better?
You probably answered the question as most people do. They say that they prefer DC batteries because they can go where they want. They can take their device with them when they leave the house. When you have to plug it in the wall, you’re confined to stay at home to use it.
This is the big problem in the body of Christ today. We want to be able to leave the house. If your goal is to go in and out of the house, then batteries are better.
If you intend on doing that in the spirit – living for Christ sometimes and living for self at other times, then the power of the law is better than no power at all. Christians of this generation have a real problem with remaining in the spiritual “house.”
There are two forms of power. The greater of these requires you to remain in Christ. Our goal seems to be to live with one foot in the world, and one with Christ. You can’t do that and use the power of the Spirit to any great extent.
We need to take an honest, hard look at our walk with God to see where we fit into this picture. We must then be willing to make the changes necessary to remain in Christ.
Question: What will it cost you to remain in Christ? Are you willing to pay the price?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: body of Christ, Christ, Jesus, one foot in the world, plugged in, power, power of God, power of the spirit, remain in Christ, spiritual power, spiritual walk, the law, this generation, trust
I’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
Tags: deceitful, deceptive, God is able, grace, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit versus the law, permanent, power of the spirit, powerful, remember when, sin, source of power, Spirit of God, spiritual power, talk, talk a good game, temporary, the grace of God, true
In 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
Tags: AC, authority, Christ, DC, devil, electricity, enemy, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, permission, power, power of sin, power of the spirit, produce change, Satan, sin, spiritual power, the enemy's power source, the law
A few months ago, I talked at length about the power of God that’s working in us. In that discussion we saw that true power is the ability to produce change. It should be obvious that the power of God changes everything that it touches.
At some point, we also talked about the two components of power – love and a saved mind. In that regard, faith is the fuel that energizes our love to action. This is the nature of the power of God working in our lives. It should be our goal to act just the opposite of those who “have a form of godliness but deny its power.”
Over the next few posts I want to continue to look at the power of God and how it parallels natural electric power. One of the things that we know about electricity is that it can come in two different forms. We know them as Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC).
The fact is that both are useful. As a matter of fact, I can use both of these forms of electricity to power my portable DVD player.
I can choose to use the DC batteries or plug the AC adapter into the wall plug. Which is better? Think about that and we’ll talk more about it in a later post. You will probably be surprised at how closely the answer to this simple question relates to Christians today.
In talking about spiritual power, Jesus said the following to His disciples…
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
Luke 10:19
We need to learn that authority goes hand in hand with power. I haven’t talked about the concept of authority yet, so we need an understanding of how it fits into the whole picture. While power is the ability to produce change, authority is the permission to use power. In the natural realm the Electric Company gives you the authority to use electricity in your home or you will have no power.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Matthew 28:18
Jesus said that He had been given permission to use all power in Heaven and on earth. It is a blessing to know that He has given some of this power to us. According to the Lord, our power is effective over all the power of the enemy. Now that’s good news, that our power is greater than Satan’s kingdom.
There is no reason for me to fear, because God’s power is operating in me.
Question: How should the above knowledge affect our walk with God?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: ability to produce change, alternating current, difference, direct current, greater, love, permission to use power, power, power and authority, power of God, power of the spirit, saved mind, spiritual power
Do we proclaim the same Gospel as the early church did? Is there something missing from our experience that would make a big difference? I believe that we’re lacking one of the greatest aspects of the Gospel. We need to return to this truth if we’re going to impact our generation for Christ.
In my last post I talked about the need to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. In today’s post I want to explain exactly what that means. Here’s one of the verses I looked at last time.
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
I have heard people explain this verse by saying, “The hearers were convicted by the Holy Spirit. That’s the power Paul’s talking about.” I simply can’t agree with that kind of thinking. Paul said that the Gospel came to them with power AND the Holy Spirit, AND deep conviction.
Even the very word conviction that Paul used was a Greek word that means many assurances. It was something that could be seen and experienced by the unbelievers receiving the Good News.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5
As you can see, I’m not using some isolated verse without context. This teaching runs throughout the New Testament. The Good News must be demonstrated. That demonstration can only be energized by the power of God. It is beyond our human ability to walk on that level if we rely upon our own strength, wisdom, and knowledge.
I fear that too many Christians allow their faith to rest on man’s wisdom, because they have never seen a demonstration of the power of God. There are so many believers that have never seen a healing or a miracle. They have never heard an anointed prophecy or someone speaking in the heavenly language. There are Christians that have never witnessed someone delivered from demonic possession or oppression.
As a result the Good News, in most cases, has merely become an intellectual debate. On many occasions, what we call the Gospel today, is void of any power to change the direction of a life impacted by it.
The church needs to do what it takes to once again walk in this life-changing power. In short – we need revival. We must admit that we’ve lost something along the way and allow the Lord to make the necessary adjustments.
Questions: Do you think the modern “American Gospel” has the same impact as the early church? If not, what must we do to change?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, convicted, conviction, deliverance, demonstration, early church, good news, good news of Jesus Christ, gospel, healing, heavenly language, Holy Spirit, how we water down the gospel, Jesus, miracle, missing, power, power of God, preach, proclaim, prophecy, revival, share, spiritual power, water down
I have been posting about how to walk in righteousness and the power of God. It should be obvious by now that we must rest, remain, abide in Christ. That’s the place we receive His power. Once we have the power we need, we’re able to live righteously.
The Spirit and the Word 