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Receiving God’s Word

26 Aug

BreadI’m posting about giving and receiving the Word of God as spiritual seed. I’ve talked about preaching and teaching being like a baker making a loaf of bread for those who listen. Jesus had something to say in this regard.

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Luke 12:1

On different occasions Jesus told His disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. At that time they didn’t understand what He was saying to them. Later on they realized that the Lord was speaking about their hypocrisy.

This was not a warning that only applied to the disciples. We need to take care not to add our own baggage into the mix. If so, then we will corrupt the pure Word of God with our own pet doctrines. What we mix into the Word determines the spiritual climate of our churches.

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.
Hebrews 4:2

This verse speaks to us about the similarity between us and Israel. It warns us about how we receive the Word. It literally says that the logos of their hearing did not benefit them. The only way it will is if we combine it with faith in the process of receiving it. The Word of God must be combined with your faith in order for it to be of benefit to you.

So, here we are. I’m doing my best to present you with the pure, clear, logos of God in this article. I want to give you life and nourishment through the Word of God. This is the logos of your hearing. There’s only one way that it will accomplish what was intended. That’s for you, the reader, to combine it with faith. But wait a minute! Where do you get this faith which you’re to combine with the Word?

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17

Most of us have this verse memorized. Faith comes by hearing the Word. What it says in the Greek is that this faith comes by hearing the rhema of Christ. What is this? Is it a “catch 22”?

I present the logos to you, but the only way it will benefit you is if you combine it with the faith that only comes through rhema. What kind of circular logic is this? Actually, it’s a picture of the infinite wisdom of God. It’s better than anything you could ever imagine.

In my next post, which will finish this series, I’ll show how God wants to impart both logos and rhema into His people. But, more importantly, what we need to do to receive them.

Question: When have you heard a Word from God while listening to a human speaker?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on August 26, 2016 in Faith, Ministry, Word of God

 

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Christians and Disciples

06 Feb

 

ClassIt’s always interesting when you see something happening for the first time.  I may be dating myself, but I remember the first time I saw a man walk on the moon.  I also remember the first time I ever saw a computer in someone’s home.  Firsts are important.

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
 Acts 11:25-26

In this verse we see the first time the word Christian was used.  It was coined in a place called Antioch.  If you read the chapter that this is in you’ll find that this church was so active, news of them reached all the way to Jerusalem.  They were doing an incredible work for Christ.

But probably the most important thing to see is that the disciples were called Christians.  What exactly is a disciple?  I’ve heard many who say that a disciple is simply a student.  That description is close, but not entirely accurate.

A student is someone who wants to learn what somebody else is teaching.  They want to know what you know.

A disciple, on the other hand, is person who follows someone else in order to be like that person.  It’s not enough just to understand what they teach.  The disciple wants to be what the teacher already is.

The ones in the above verse were people who wanted to be like Jesus.  They didn’t only want to talk about Him or read about Him.  They wanted to do the same work that the Lord did when He walked this earth.

It’s sad that over time the impact of the word Christian has changed.  Now, anyone who is even remotely affiliated with a church is called Christian.

We need to understand what following Christ is all about.  It’s more than just a head knowledge of what the Lord did and said.  It must be a desire to minister the same way He did.

That should be our goal if we call ourselves a Christian.  I need to ask myself – am I just using that name, or would the people of Antioch recognize me as a Christian?

Question: Why has the word Christian become so watered down?

© Nick Zaccardi 2015

 
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Posted by on February 6, 2015 in Ministry, Revival, The Church

 

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A Last-Days Deception

28 Jun

103_A_BonusPhotoThis post is the last in a series about our relationship to the Word of God.

The Book of Revelation mentions synagogues of Satan (Revelation 2:9).  These are places where the teaching of Scripture was done by satanic influence.  I need the Holy Spirit to help me interpret the Bible.  Yet, there are those who listen to the demon’s view of it.

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
1 Timothy 4:1

There are those who teach the Bible, but not the Word of God.  This is a great deception.  Of course no one would listen if a minister got up and said, “Satan says to do this.”  But if he reads a Scripture verse and puts a demonic twist to it, the church seems to fall for it most of the time.

Just because someone quotes Scripture doesn’t mean that what they’re preaching is of God.  I need the discernment of the Holy Spirit to protect me from false teaching.  How can I tell the difference between Satan’s teaching, man’s teaching, and the true Word of God?

Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Mark 16:20

This verse literally says that the Lord was a co-worker with them.  They did their work – proclaiming the Word of God.  God did His part – confirming the Word that was proclaimed.  Miracles were commonplace.  As the disciples went out, the Word of God spread, and there were signs and wonders everywhere they went.

When Satan quoted the Bible to Jesus (Luke 3:9-11), he used it to try and convince the Lord to jump off the highest point of the Temple.  If Jesus had jumped, would God the Father have confirmed that “word”?  Of course not.

Just because I quote the Bible, it doesn’t put God under any obligation to confirm it.  Even if I’m preaching from a text on healing, there’s no confirmation unless it’s a Word God wants preached at that moment.

There are questions I need to ask myself.  Is God working with me?  Am I proclaiming the Word of God for these people?  If the answer to both of these is “yes”, then I can expect a move of God.

We may not like it, but the truth is plain and simple.  If there are no signs following, then it wasn’t the Word of God that was preached.

When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
Acts 8:6

Scripture is very clear as to relationship between the preaching of the Word, and the response of the hearers.  When the Word of God is confirmed, there is a supernatural manifestation that draws people’s attention.

America needs a revival of hearing the Word of God.  It will only come from those who have received and planted the Word into their lives.

Questions: How hungry are you for a revival to sweep our nation?  Are you willing to seek God for it?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on June 28, 2013 in Revival, The Church, Word of God

 

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Church Dinners or Fasting and Prayer

12 Apr

DinnerThere were times in His ministry that Christ taught some things that the crowd didn’t like, mostly because they didn’t understand it.  As a result, a lot of people left Him, even some of His disciples.  These are some of the Lord’s most important teachings.

I want to take a few posts to look at one such section.  Here’s some background to help you understand what’s happening in this passage of Scripture.  Jesus had just miraculously fed 5000 people.

They were all on a hillside listening to Jesus and hadn’t eaten all day.  The disciples found someone with five loaves of bread and two fish.  They took this meager provision to the Lord.  Jesus then broke the fish and bread and fed the whole crowd with what started out as just a little bit.

He then sent the disciples out on a boat to cross the lake and meet Him on the other side.  As they were in the middle of the crossing a huge storm came up and the disciples feared for their very lives.  In the midst of the storm, Jesus comes to them walking on the water and gets them safely to the other side.

Now, on the far end of the lake, the crowd catches up to the Lord on foot.  They were surprised at how fast He got there.  Of course, He went straight across.  He didn’t have to go the long way around!

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”
John 6:25-26

Here we see Jesus going right to the heart of the matter.  “Why do you care where I go and how I get there?  The reason you’re following Me is for what you can get materially.  You only want a free lunch.”

The trouble with the crowd was that they didn’t want to hear and obey His teaching.  Instead, they liked the spread He put on.  They weren’t following Him because He had the words of eternal life.

It’s a sad truth, even in Christian circles today.  If you throw a church dinner everybody comes.  If, on the other hand, you call for a week of special fasting and prayer you get a lot fewer people involved.  It’s easy to see that the desires of the flesh haven’t changed in 2000 years.

Question: Why does it seem so hard to deepen our spiritual walk?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2013 in Encouragement, Prayer

 

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Are you Asking the Right Questions?

18 Mar

Question MarkWe live in an age of hero worship.  It seems that people are more inclined to follow those with the most glitz and showmanship.  It has, unfortunately, carried over into the body of Christ.

When it comes to the teachings we accept, how do we decide who to listen to?  We need to be asking the right questions.  This was something that was clearly portrayed in the ministry of Christ.

The following is taken from the Scriptural passage found in the Gospel of Luke 4:16-40.  You will want to read that first to understand what I share in this post.

In that section of Scripture, Jesus preaches at two different synagogues.  One was in His hometown of Nazareth, and the other in Capernaum.  In both cases He preached the same message.  Knowing that it was the Lord, I am assuming that both messages had the same level of anointing.

In spite of these similarities, only one of the towns, Capernaum, received a blessing out of the visit.  It is clear to see from the narrative, that the reason was the questions that they asked themselves as Jesus was ministering.

This is important to us because we are guilty of the same type of attitudes that these people had.  I believe that we have missed out on countless blessings because our attitudes got in the way.  What makes the difference?

Verse 22 shows the question the people of Nazareth were asking.  It demonstrates what they were focusing on.

They spoke well of Him.  They were amazed at the words from His lips.

“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

They were concentrating on who was speaking – was He all that they were expecting?

Capernaum was a different case altogether.  Verse 32 and 36 make it clear that they were amazed at His teaching.  They recognized that His Word had power and authority.  Who He was and what He looked like didn’t figure into their acceptance of the Word.

As a result, revival fell in Capernaum that day.  Demons were cast out and all the sick that lived in that area were healed (Verse 33-40).

We need to learn this lesson.  Sometimes the biggest show has the least anointing.  On the other hand – there are times God wants to perform great miracles through His “unknown servants”.

We need to be asking, “What is the anointing, authority, and power upon this Word.”  How big a following someone has shouldn’t figure into it.  It’s all about the spirit behind the message, not the person God is using.

If we keep this in mind, then we’ll find the blessing of God in some of the most unlikely places.  We will also open ourselves up to the miraculous.

Question:  Have you ever received a blessing from God’s unknown servants?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on March 18, 2013 in Revival, The Church, Word of God

 

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The Last Days – Two Kingdoms Side by Side

09 Jan

agricultureI believe that we’re in the Last Days before the return of Christ.  Did you know about the weeding that is going to take place in the Last Days?  Christ taught about it during His earthly ministry.  Very few people talk about it because it doesn’t fit into their view of the end times.

I want to take a few posts to examine this important concept.  I think that it’s important for every believer to know what to expect on the road ahead.

The following is based upon the events and teachings found in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 13 and verses 24-41.  I encourage you to read that passage first, before continuing this post.  You will have a greater understanding of what I’m saying.

This is actually the second teaching given by Jesus concerning the last days.  He gave it to the disciples in parable form.

At this point the disciples already knew that there would be a day of resurrection sometime in the future.  They knew that on that day the graves would be opened.  Someday all believers will rise with a new resurrected body.  In this teaching, Jesus builds upon that knowledge.

In the parable, the Lord teaches about a farmer who sowed good seed in the ground.  Secretly, an enemy sowed bad seed during the night.  When asked what he would do about it, the farmer said that he would let both plants grow together until the harvest.  That way he could tell the difference between the weeds and the wheat.

The disciples had no idea what Jesus was talking about.  Later on in the day, the disciples found themselves alone with the Lord.  They took that opportunity to ask Him about it.  It’s Jesus’ explanation that I want to talk about.

According to the Lord, sons of the kingdom (that’s us), were sown into the world.  But the devil also sowed his sons into the world.  According to the parable there are two kingdoms, on earth, growing side by side.  I believe that’s where all the spiritual tension comes from that we are presently experiencing.

The kingdom of God and the world are both headed in opposite directions.  They have two different kings and vastly different goals.  As we approach the end, both kingdoms are going to start developing to the point where they’re bearing fruit.  The closer we get to the return of the Lord, the clearer we will see both the church of Jesus Christ and the world for what they truly are.

It is the overlap of the world and the church that causes the problems.  This parable addresses what God intends to do about it in the Last Days.  This is a very important subject.  If you haven’t already done so, subscribe to this blog for email delivery, so you won’t miss any of the posts.

Question: How have you experienced the tension between the kingdom of God and the world?

© Nick Zaccardi 2013

 
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Posted by on January 9, 2013 in Return of Christ

 

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Do You Know the Two Anointings of Music?

30 Nov

Did you know that the Bible speaks about how we should aim our singing?  There are two goals we should direct our music toward.

Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
Psalms 96:1-2

The first should be pretty obvious.

Our music can be directed toward God in the praise of His glory.  This is an important part of our relationship with the Lord.  Singing His praises transports us into His presence.

I get so upset when believers view the praise and worship time as merely the “warm-up act” for the pastor’s preaching.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  As we sing praise and thanksgiving to God, we are brought into a deeper spiritual place.  We become more open to the move of the Holy Spirit.

Praising God in song is an important part of a spiritual walk.

The second aim of music may surprise some of you.

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord…
Ephesians 5:19

Our music can be directed toward each other.  There are many people (and I used to be one of them) that dislike the use of songs that are not directed toward God.  This verse clearly shows the necessity of both types of music.

There are times when we need to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to one another.  Why is that so important?

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16

It’s through music that the Word of Christ can live richly in you.  Singing music that’s directed at each other is a form of teaching and admonishing.  As we sing, we learn.

This is an incredible truth.  When my children were small, they learned all the states and their capitals because they were put to music. How much more important is it to get the Word into our hearts?

Through music, the Word of Christ can enter our lives and stay with us.  That’s why I’m so adamant about not singing songs that contain bad doctrine.  Too many Christians believe error because they learned it in their music.

We give praise to our God.  We teach and admonish each other.  Both of these can and should be done through the music of God’s people.

Question: Is there a song that opened up your eyes to a spiritual truth?

© Nick Zaccardi 2012

 
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Posted by on November 30, 2012 in Encouragement, Music, The Church, Word of God

 

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Follow Me – Book Review

18 Sep

“My neighborhood is in total spiritual darkness and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Have you ever felt like that?  Do you see the enemy’s kingdom taking over your town, your schools or your local businesses?  Do you feel helpless?  There is an answer.

I was having breakfast with a friend of mine by the name of Dr. Randy Sprinkle.  During the course of our conversation, he told me about a book he had written.  The title was Follow Me – Becoming a Lifestyle Prayerwalker.

I knew about prayerwalking.  My church had been involved in it for a couple of years.  We talked about it for a little while.  Later on, he gave me a copy of his book.  I thanked him, knowing that part of his ministry was going to churches and teaching on prayerwalking.

I must admit that the book lay on my shelf a while before I began to read it.  Now that I’ve read it, I wish I had done so sooner.  The book is absolutely life-changing.

It’s one of those “must read” books.  Every believer needs to grab hold of the principles taught in these pages.  That is especially true if we want to see the power of God manifest in our cities.

The book is just over 120 pages.  But don’t expect to get through it in one sitting.  It wasn’t designed for that.  It’s written in the form of six weeks of 5 daily devotions.  That’s why it can change your life.

Each day it starts with prayer.  Then it’s followed by reading the Scripture, meditating on it, and getting some teaching.  Next, it helps you to plan how you are going to implement what you just learned as you go throughout your day.  The last part of each daily segment is an evening reflection that asks you think about what you did during the day.  It’s a very powerful plan.

This book is well written and keeps you interested.  Dr. Sprinkle gives teaching, examples, testimonies, and encouragement.  I looked forward to my time in this book each day.

The fact is that we need to be a people of prayer.  Not the “hands off” kind that keeps a safe distance from the ones in need.  We need to be out praying on our streets.  That’s how we win the spiritual battle for the souls around us.

We need to stop looking for someone else to do the work.  Wherever you live, you are called to intercede.  This book will equip you with everything you need to bring spiritual change to your area.

In Dr. Sprinkle’s words, prayerwalking is a “strategic, world-transforming activity that calls believers out of church buildings to intercede for the work of the kingdom while quietly walking through local neighborhoods and mission fields around the world.”

The book is available on Amazon.  Click here to order Follow Me: Becoming a Lifestyle Prayerwalker.

Question: Have read this book?  How has it helped you?  Have you seen any results?

© Nick Zaccardi 2012

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”.  This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.  Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will help my readers.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
 
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Posted by on September 18, 2012 in Book Reviews, Prayer, Spiritual Warfare, The Church

 

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