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The Living Sacrifice

21 Jul
The Living Sacrifice

As we go through the book of Romans, we’re beginning chapter 12. This is where Paul starts his concluding remarks.

What we have to realize is that you can’t understand this section properly, without a grasp of what he taught in chapters 4-8. We need to walk by the spirit to receive the power to fulfill what he’s about to bring to us.

The last chapters of Romans can never be accomplished in our own strength. But, first, Paul summarizes what he’s talked about so far.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12:1

This is one of those verses that we wished wasn’t in the Bible. But it is, so we have to follow it. It says that there’s something we can do that’s holy and well pleasing to God.

The word offer means to stand beside your body. Paul is talking about something that can only be done in the spirit.

In the spirit I can stand next to myself and look at my flesh as the enemy – my greatest weakness. Only then can I offer it to God on His altar.

The original Greek says that it’s a burnt offering, living, holy, and to God – well pleasing. Wait a minute; we are to be a living burnt offering? Yes! There’s really no other way to say it.

Pleasing God requires sacrifice. But what exactly does that mean to us? Most people use the word sacrifice to mean they’ll try harder. They think it tells them to fast on holidays, eat according to the Old Testament food laws, dress like the 1940’s, and talk King James English.

That’s not what God is looking for. If you read the epistle to the Romans, you find that Paul writes about the walk of the spirit. If that’s in place, then you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. But how do we get there?

We need the fire of God to consume the sacrifice. In the book of Acts we see tongues of fire on the heads of those praying in the upper room. We’re also told (I Thessalonians 5:19) not to quench the Holy Spirit’s fire. Paul told his spiritual son, Timothy, to fan into flame the gift that was within him (II Timothy 1:6).

Paul was a man who had a rich experience of prayer in the spirit. He assumed that those he was writing to also knew how to pray in the spirit. When you pray in the spirit, you’re standing beside your body as a burnt offering.

The last part of the verse in Romans could be modernized as, logically – this is what you signed up for. We’re living out a spiritual walk. You can try harder, stumbling around in the flesh without Christ. But if I’m to be well pleasing, it will require a spiritual work.

In the first part of Romans, Paul showed us that righteousness could only be achieved by a walk in the spirit. That’s accomplished through a rich prayer life of praying in the spirit. As I pray in the spirit, I stand beside the burnt offering.

Remember, I’m not talking about whether or not you’re saved, or even acceptable to God. You’re all those things, and more, in Christ. I’m talking about going beyond acceptable and into the realm of well-pleasing to God.

This should be our desire if we want to see a move of God in our lifetime.

Question: Why do some believers find this sacrifice so difficult?

© 2021 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on July 21, 2021 in Legalism, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Holy Spirit Conference

12 May
Holy Spirit Conference

In my last post, I started talking about Paul’s view of prayer in the spirit. It’s one of the cornerstones of living in victory.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

Romans 8:26-27

In this passage, the word help is a special word, it’s only found two places in Scripture. It means to lay hold together against. This word was also used during the life of Christ.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Luke 10:40

Martha wanted Jesus to tell Mary to “lay hold, together, against” with me. The work was an enemy to be overcome.

The spirit in verse 26 lays hold, together with us, against our weakness. We already saw (Romans 6:19) that our weakness is in our flesh. That’s why we couldn’t obey the law, we were weakened by our flesh. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

This spirit is someone who stands with us, laying hold of us, against our weakness – the flesh. This is our ally. We may not know that he’s doing it, but he searches our heart.

To know who this is we must ask who can search our hearts.

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 2:11

In my last post I asked you to trust me about it. Here’s the verse that explains about our spirit searching our heart. It’s only logical. So as my spirit searches my heart, he intercedes for me with groans.

So, in the Romans passage, verse 26 is about what our spirit does, and verse 27 is about what the Holy Spirit does. It’s all about the relationship between my spirit and the Holy Spirit.

Our spirit comes alongside our soul in the struggle against our flesh – our weakness. We don’t have the knowledge in our soul as to what to pray for…the objective precisely as needed…but our spirit does.

The passage says that our spirit, with groans that words cannot express, is in conference over us. Is in conference with whom? The Holy Spirit.

My spirit looks at my weakness and not knowing precisely what I need to pray, goes into conference over me, with groans that cannot be put into words. But, because of the Holy Spirit living in me, my spirit also knows the mind (inclination or purpose) of the Holy Spirit. How? Because they’re in conference over me.

Why with the Holy Spirit? The next verse says that the Holy Spirit confers over the saints on God’s behalf.

This is an incredible truth. My spirit and the Holy Spirit conferring together. Mine spirit over me, your spirit over you. The Holy Spirit over all the saints.

It’s beyond all we could ask or imagine. Think about that – our spirit and God’s Spirit working together. That’s why I believe prayer in the spirit is the most powerful gift God could have given us.

Question: How often, if ever, do you pray in the spirit?

© 2021 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 12, 2021 in Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Our Spiritual Position vs. Our Walk

23 Apr
Our Spiritual Position vs. Our Walk

In my last post I talked about women and sonship. Now I want to talk about sonship in a more general way.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Romans 8:15-16

This is a great truth of the New Covenant. When we came to Christ and received His salvation, we also received the Holy Spirit within us. At that point we were adopted into the family of God.

This is the foundation for the concept of sonship. But we need to understand it. In listening to what a lot of people are teaching, it sounds like a son is a son is a son. There’s no difference in any of our relations to God.

While the relationship of a son to a father is constant, what we fail to realize is that the dynamics of that relationship change over time. The Bible speaks about different levels of sonship. There are Greek words for adoption, son, infant, toddler, child, and fully matured adults. We miss the full impact of the Gospel when we treat all the levels of our relationship with God as the same.

In the original language of the above verse, the Holy Spirit was called the Spirit of Adoption. The concept of adoption into the family of God is very important for the believer. The word adoption literally means to place in the position of a son. When we received Christ as our Savior, and He placed His Spirit within us, we were brought immediately into the position of a son of God.

Remember – Jesus Christ is THE only begotten Son of God. However, we’ve been placed into the position of a son of God. This gives us all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of the family of God. At that point we’re saved from our sin and on our way to Heaven. But we have to realize that we’re only in the very early stages of our relationship with the Father.

Knowing your position in Christ is important. We’re placed in the position of being righteous before God. This means that we can come into His presence at any time, for any reason.

We’ve also been placed into the position of being holy before God. That means that we have been set apart by God for His purposes. This is great news, because in my own works I could never even hope to attain to such a high calling.

The problem comes when we fail to understand that there’s a vast difference between the position of righteousness and holiness – and the walk that is characterized by those qualities. I cannot assume that I’m living a holy life just because God calls me holy by position. The Apostle John makes it clear as he talks about the walk of righteousness.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
1 John 3:7

Many are being led astray in this generation, thinking that because they have been placed in the position of righteousness, it also means that they are walking in righteousness. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your position and your walk are two different things.

It’s the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit to make the position of righteousness and holiness a present reality in our daily walk. That’s what Paul is dealing with throughout the book of Romans. This is why I feel the importance of understanding this book.

It’s because of this that I had to clarify the concepts of adoption, sonship, spiritual position, and daily walk. Knowing these foundational issues are crucial as we go forward with the Apostle Paul’s teaching.

Question: How does the walk of righteousness differ from the position?

© 2021 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 23, 2021 in Revival, Sonship, Spiritual Walk

 

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A Testimony of God’s Work

09 Apr
A Testimony of God’s Work

As we continue through the book of Romans, I’ve been talking about the spiritual walk. As we pray in the spirit, we’re affecting the natural. We looked at a few verses that tell us that it’s through the spirit that we overcome the flesh.

There are those who spend their entire lifetime trying to master the fruit of the spirit by their own strength and will power. I’ve found that those who are able to do this are easy to spot. The older they get, the deeper the frown etched on their faces.

They’re quick to tell you how hard it is to stay committed to the Lord. Doing this work on your own is very detrimental to your joy and I don’t recommend it for long periods of time.

Another observation actually had me upset at God for a long time until I understood what was really going on in the spiritual realm. The problem is that sometimes we have an experience in God and try to explain it based upon our observances instead of searching the Word. I’m thinking specifically about my grandparents, who were the first in our family to receive Christ.

Back when they first immigrated to America from Italy, they were rough, unlearned people. At that point, an evangelist came from Chicago to Boston to bring the Gospel to the Italian community. That’s when my grandparents heard the Good News and submitted their hearts to Christ. The church I grew up in was the Italian Pentecostal Church that grew from that evangelist’s work.

Growing up, I heard all the stories of how God moved in those days. I heard about the power, the healings, and the miracles. I learned all about the righteous lives that these “old folks” lived. Their conversion became legendary.

“If we would only live like they did…”

This is why I was upset at God. I was told that when they were saved, they were really saved. Their lives were changed instantly. There was suddenly no more profanity, stealing, or fits of rage. They began walking in love, joy, peace and the rest of the gifts.

I knew my grandparents well enough to know that what was said about their lifestyle was true. They lived close to God. They loved like Jesus did. They evangelized everyone they met.

That’s what upset me. I felt that I had been short changed in my salvation experience. I wanted to know why I was still wrestling with my sin. Why did their lives change so radically, and mine seemed to be a never ending process?

What I was taught about this did little to help me. I was told that God just works differently in different people. Some people He cleans up in an instant and in others the Lord takes His time. I just resigned myself to the belief that I was one of those that would take a long time to see the changes occur in my life. All this, because we based our theology on observation rather than the Word of God.

Here’s what actually happened to my grandparents, based on what we’ve just learned from the Scripture. When they heard the Good News of the Savior, they submitted to His Lordship in faith. They were saved and immediately baptized in the Spirit with the evidence of their prayer language.

Then they began to attend meetings on almost every day of the week. Some of these were services and some were prayer meetings. Here’s the key. No matter what kind of meeting it was, they always spent hours praying in the spirit.

I know from watching her, that my grandmother prayed hours a day. By observation, people saw that when someone was saved and baptized in the Spirit, their life changed. It seemed to be instantaneous.

But looking back, I can see through the filter of the Scriptures, what really changed their lives was that they spent hours a week praying in the Holy Spirit. There was not one particular work of holiness – it was the ongoing process of putting to death the misdeeds of the body through prayer in the spirit.

Then, over the course of time, the prayer meetings stopped being attended by the next generation. Instead of using the power of the Spirit, they learned to serve God using will power alone. Holiness became a thing of the past, “the stuff of legends”.

We just looked back and said, “Those old Italians knew how to serve God.” What they learned was that power was only accessed in that secret place of intimacy with the Holy Spirit. This is how we must receive the power as well. To the extent that we worship God in His language, at His level, we will experience His power.

At one point the Lord impressed us to start having a prayer meeting only for prayer in the spirit. We met for one hour a week to pray in our heavenly language. During that time I observed that people who spent even moderate amounts of time praying in the spirit started to change at an incredible rate.

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace…
Romans 8:6

The good news is that you don’t have to know how it works for it to affect you. But, you do have to walk in it for the effects to be realized. Don’t just use the gift of the heavenly language as a once in a while plaything. It’s the access key to the release of the power of God in your life. You should use this gift daily. If you choose to do this, your life will never be the same.

Question: How have you seen the effects of praying in the spirit?

© 2021 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 9, 2021 in Encouragement, Legalism, Prayer in the Spirit, Spiritual Walk

 

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In Step with the Spirit

07 Apr
In Step with the Spirit

As we continue through Paul’s letter to the Roman church, I’ve been talking, in detail, about the mind controlled by the spirit.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Romans 8:5

In my last post, I ended by talking about how the fruit of the spirit are a result of the seed planted in our spirit. This is accomplished through prayer in the spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

It just seems obvious to me that to get fruit, you must sow seed. Scripture is clear that you reap what you sow. So we must sow to the spirit.

This means that we stop sowing to the flesh, which is trying to follow the law in our own power. We also need to spend more time sowing to the spirit through prayer in the spirit.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:24-25

This verse literally tells us that to live by the spirit, we need to march in rank with the spirit. Please understand, Paul had a rich spiritual prayer life. He was mature in the Lord. If we want his results, then we need to follow his pattern. It’s this prayer life that crosses us over into maturity.

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.

Philippians 3:3

When Paul wrote this, there were those who pushed an outward practice of self-righteousness. They mandated circumcision for believers. In the apostle’s teaching, he totally denied this practice. The “we” in this verse refers to those who have been taught and trained by Paul.

Paul says that we are the truly set apart to God. We are the ones who have had the sin removed by a circumcision of the heart. But, most importantly, we worship by the Spirit of God.

It’s not about whose flesh worships God. And, it’s not those whose mind chooses to worship God. It’s those who worship by the spirit. They are the ones who have had the influence of the flesh removed.

The Greek word Paul used for confidence means to be convinced by argument, to pacify, conciliate, consent to, or rely on. That’s our biggest problem and weakness from the flesh. It’s only removed through the spirit.

Some people want to know why I push prayer in the spirit so much? I believe it’s the key to our freedom. Life lived in the spirit sets us free from the constant mind battles.

We need to lay hold of our freedom in Christ. To do this we must follow the same pattern as the early church. That means quality time praying in the spirit.

In my next post, I’ll give a testimony of what I’ve experienced in setting out on this path.

Question: How often, if ever, do you pray in the spirit?

© 2021 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 7, 2021 in Legalism, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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It Starts in the Mind

31 Mar
It Starts in the Mind

We’re continuing our study through Romans. Paul is explaining how to apply the victory God’s given us over the flesh. Following a set of rules is not enough.

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:3-4

Once again Paul repeats the fact that the law was powerless because it was weak through the flesh. Now for the Good News. The Son of God came resembling sinful flesh. Christ may have looked like a normal human being, but His flesh had no sin nature.

By His life, the Lord pronounced a sentence against sin in the flesh. He did this for a reason. So that the righteousness of the law would be fulfilled, completed in us. So, is this righteousness totally completed in all of us? Not exactly.

Paul qualifies it by saying that righteousness is only fully completed in those who don’t walk after the flesh, but who walk after the spirit.

We need to understand that Paul isn’t talking about the position of righteousness here. Anyone in Christ is righteous in the eyes of God. Many people are confused over this point. This position of righteousness gives us total access into God’s presence.

There is, however, another level to righteousness. That’s the walk of righteousness. This is what Paul is referring to.

He tells us that we can’t attain to a fully completed walk of righteousness by working with the flesh. Trying to follow a set of rules – right and wrong, good and evil. This doesn’t work.

The only road to victory is by cultivating our spiritual walk. This includes things like prayer in the spirit and renewing the inner man. The fact is, that if you cultivate the spirit walk, God will never hold you accountable for the written law.

Paul goes on to explain further.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Romans 8:5

Simply put, if you’re all about concentrating on the flesh, then your life is flesh driven. If, on the other hand, you direct your mind toward the spirit, you’re cultivating a spiritual walk.

So, in essence, it all starts with the mind. This is the key and I want to go into this in more detail. But, to do so we need to understand how the Apostle Paul viewed himself.

As I’ve said before, many people erroneously think that Paul was always falling into sin. They base that on some of the things he said in chapter 7. They miss the fact that he was merely speaking from a baby Christian’s perspective.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

1 Corinthians 13:11

Paul definitely sees himself as a spiritual adult. To get there, he had to progress like anyone else. That means he had to go through infant-hood, childhood, and adolescence.

There are no free rides in the body of Christ. Paul is perfectly suited to show us the road to maturity. He actually writes about it in many of his letters. In my next post, I want to look at Paul’s description of this spiritual journey.

Question: Why is our mindset so important in the Christian walk?

© 2021 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 31, 2021 in Legalism, Prayer in the Spirit, Spiritual Walk

 

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Our Example

03 May

I’m continuing to look at Paul’s teaching on how to handle the grey areas of sin – things that the Bible doesn’t specifically talk about.  We’re finding that it’s more about spiritual principles than a black and white list of do’s and don’ts.

He now begins talking about Israel under the Old Testament.

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.  They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.  They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4

Paul is now talking about the spiritual walk of the ancient Israelites.  Specifically, he tells us about those who were saved and walking with God, the same as we are.  The only difference is that their salvation was “on credit”.

They were looking forward to what God was going to do in Christ.  They didn’t know how or when it would happen.  We look back on the completed work of Christ and know all the details.

Just like us, in order for them to be saved, they had to walk by faith.  It wasn’t the observing of the law that saved them.  The sacrificial system was simply an ongoing observance to which they could attach their faith.

Paul shows us that they went through the same type of ongoing process that we have in our walk with Christ.  They had to undergo two baptisms – representing water baptism and the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

They were also provided with food (manna) and water through the wilderness.  It was only obtained through a daily act of faith in God.  Paul goes as far as to say that the rock from which the water flowed was an Old Testament manifestation of Christ.

Why is it important for us to know this?

Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
1 Corinthians 10:5-6

Here are the facts.  Even though they were saved and in God’s kingdom by observing the law by faith, God wasn’t pleased with most of them.  Many of them ended up dying before seeing the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Paul tells us clearly that this was recorded in Scripture as an example to us.  We need to understand how this applies to our walk with the Lord.

I think that in the modern church, we’ve mixed up the concepts of God’s love and God’s pleasure.  God can love us unconditionally, yet at the same time be displeased with us.  We need to take this truth to heart.

I have three children.  There have been times that I was absolutely displeased with them.  But even at their worst, I loved them and would give my life to defend and protect them.

We have to understand that the law of sowing and reaping is a definite part of the New Covenant experience.  The Bible tells us that we can either sow to please our flesh or our spirit.  What we set our hearts on will determine the outcome.

There are many Christians that are in bad situations.  It’s not because God doesn’t love them or because He’s judging them.  Instead, they’re simply reaping the bad seed that they’ve planted.

This is Paul’s warning to us.  Don’t follow the bad example of Israel.  Set your heart on the good things of the Lord.

Question: How have you seen the results of sowing and reaping in your life?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 3, 2019 in Faith, Spiritual Walk

 

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Spirit Investigation

07 Jan

In my last post, I talked about the spiritual Christian.  We read a verse that the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14

One of the last statements I made was that the things that are received from God are spiritually investigated.  You may wonder why I used the word, investigate, when the verse said discerned.

The Greek word that Paul used is a legal term that applies to what a judge does when he’s hearing the facts of the case.  It’s the investigation stage of the trial.  Paul tells us that there are things that can only be investigated in the spirit.

Paul goes further with this point.

The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:
1 Corinthians 2:15

We’re told here that the spiritual man is able to use his spirit to investigate all things.  On the other hand, he cannot be investigated or figured out.  It’s funny when soulish Christians hear the teaching of a spiritual believer.  They have a hard time figuring the teacher out.

There have been many times that I’ve taught on things that I’ve received from the Spirit of God.  Frequently someone will come to me and tell me how it blessed them.  Then they’ll ask, “Where did you get that from.  I’ve read that verse a hundred times and never saw it.  What commentaries do you use?”

The soulish Christian just can’t wrap their brain around the fact that you can be taught directly by the Holy Spirit.  They think the only place to get good teaching is from the bookstore or a good commentary.

The fact is, there’s a higher lifestyle in the Lord.  A spiritual walk with God simply uses more of the power that He’s made available to us by His Spirit.

“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16

This verse sounds kind of disjointed in English.  The reason is that the translators couldn’t figure out why Paul was using the words that he used.  What he literally said was, who knows the mind of the Lord that we might unite or be knit together with Him?

That’s a very powerful question.  He then answers it by saying that we hold the mind of Christ.  The Holy Spirit who lives in us has access to the very mind of the Lord.  All the answers that we need are right within our grasp if we know the language of the Spirit.

One spiritual word from God could change the whole course of our life.  This is why we need to live daily in the spirit.  The gift of the Holy Spirit gives intimate access to the mind of God.  That’s why I’m such a proponent of prayer in the spirit.

It’s time for the body of believers to start walking in this great gift.  Only then will the church live up to its calling in Christ.

Question: How often do you access the mind of Christ through the Holy Spirit?

© 2019 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on January 7, 2019 in Power of God, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Step by Step

04 May

In my last post, I talked about a rich young man who came to Jesus.  He wanted a deeper walk with God.  In order for him to reach the next level in his spiritual life, the Lord instructed him to sell his estate, give the money to the poor, and then become a disciple.

The young man was saddened by this call.  His desire to keep the influence and position that his family wealth provided was too great.

Jesus then turns and comments to His disciples.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
Mark 10:23

To understand this we must first recognize what Jesus is NOT saying.  The Lord is not saying that it’s hard for a rich man to be saved.  We need to realize that entering the kingdom and salvation are two different issues in the Scripture.

Look at what Paul said to the faithful disciples at a church he was visiting.

…strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.  “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Acts 14:22

Notice that Paul was including himself in this encouragement.  I believe that entering the kingdom of God is about walking in the power and authority of that kingdom.  There are some spiritual mountains that must be climbed in order to live at that level.

Jesus continued explaining it to His disciples.

The disciples were amazed at his words.  But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
Mark 10:24-26

Jesus had a way of using ridiculous exaggerations to make a point.  Camel’s hair was a common item used in sewing.  The thought of pulling the camel’s hair through a needle, while it was still on the animal, was an amazing word picture.

This caused the disciples to be even more incredulous.  They obviously didn’t understand the reference to the kingdom of God.  The problem of riches is that once saved, it’s very easy to rely on wealth to accomplish God’s work in you.

It takes the power of God to break that stronghold.  It’s not that a Christian has to be poor.  But we can’t rely on wealth to do what only the Lord can do.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
Mark 10:27

In our weak humanity, we look for something to rely on that we can see.  Money is very deceptive that way.  It seems that with enough wealth, you don’t need anything else.  That is until you’re sick…or depressed…or unfulfilled in your walk with God.

We need to seek God on His terms, not ours.  Only He knows what will give us increase in the spirit.

Question: What’s the next step in your spiritual journey?

© 2018 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2018 in Faith, Power of God, Spiritual Walk

 

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Unbelief is Transferable

02 Apr

Are you careful about whom you spend a lot of time with?  Who are your close friends?  Are they enhancing or hindering your spiritual walk?  Jesus makes it clear that those around you affect your ability to receive from God.

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.  He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.  When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
Mark 8:22-23

This is a very important Scripture, yet many read it without ever seeing the key issues.  The townspeople wanted to see this blind man healed, so they brought him to Jesus.  Look at Jesus’ response.

The Lord took his hand and brought him outside the city before He would minister healing.  Why would He do something like that?  By this simple act, the Lord was testifying against their refusal to trust Him as their Messiah.

How do I know this?  By Jesus’ own testimony.  At one point He denounced some of the cities that He visited.

“Woe to you, Korazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”
Matthew 11:21

They were looking for the Lord to heal this man.  What they didn’t want was for Christ to change their lives.  They didn’t want to accept Him as their Lord and Savior.

This attitude even had an effect on the blind man’s ability to receive his healing.  Jesus laid His hands on the man then asked if he could see.

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes.  Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.  Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.”
Mark 8:24-26

The first time Jesus touched him, the man only received a partial healing.  It took another touch for him to be completely healed.  Then, once healed, the man was told not to go back into the village.  He didn’t need to be around that kind of unbelief.  It would only hinder his future trust in Christ.

We need to take this to heart.  If that’s how it worked under Jesus’ ministry, then it’s the same today.  Who you spend most of your time with determines who you’re going to become like.  It’s very easy to pick up attitudes, whether good or bad.

Just like with the blind man, you can still receive from the Lord if you pick up the unbelief of others.  It just takes longer for the Holy Spirit to get you to the point where you’re in a position to receive.

If you want to progress spiritually, then spend more time with those who are walking in the truth of the Word.

Question: How have you experienced the attitudes of others affecting you?

© 2018 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 2, 2018 in Faith, Fellowship, Spiritual Walk

 

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