I’m posting about the different “heart soils” in Luke 8. Today I’ll deal with the rocky soil. This is about rocks with only a thin layer of dirt to cover them. The seed germinates and springs up quickly. But just as quick, the sun comes out, scorches the plant, and it withers and dies.
Jesus explained the spiritual application this way.
“Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.”
Luke 8:13
This verse literally says is that these people receive the Word in the middle of joy. It sounds like camp meeting to me. There’s excitement in the air. The whole atmosphere of the meeting is charged with a heavenly joy. It’s easy to believe in a place like that.
We’re not talking about people who don’t believe what they hear. They believe it’s for them. The problem is that what has sprung up so quickly, also withers just as quick. What is it that withers?
For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
1 Peter 1:24-25
What withers is the glory of man. This type of person hears the Word and believes that it’s “all about me.” That’s why there’s all the joy and excitement. They think that the Word is for my blessing, health, and prosperity. Forget about what God’s ultimate purpose is. It’s me that’s important.
The Lord says that in this rocky heart there is some faith exhibited for a while, but it doesn’t last long. Eventually trials and testings will come. When this happens, Jesus literally says that they will become offended. Why does Christ use this word?
When I go through a time of testing, I realize that it’s not all about me. I get offended that I’m not the center of all the attention. I don’t want the spotlight on Christ and what He’s trying to accomplish in me. I want the priority to be my comfort and happiness. The result is that I get offended and walk away from the Lord and His plan for my life.
If I want my heart prepared for an abundant harvest, I must assume that the Word of God spotlights Jesus Christ. I must desire to know His heart. There are many who read the Bible and pursue God only for what they can get from Him. The big question on their minds is, “What’s in it for me?”
Instead, we should be focusing on God’s eternal purpose – to draw all humanity into His kingdom. The blessings of God are great, but they’re not an end in and of themselves.
God has promised us prosperity, but it’s to finance the spread of the Gospel. God has promised us health and healing, but it’s so that we can minister the Good News of His love to the best of our ability.
All the promises of God should be viewed through the filter of God’s will and plans. That’s what’s missing in the shallow faith of rocky soil. We need to keep our hearts clear of the rocks of self-centeredness.
Question: How is God working through you to bring about His purpose?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: abundant harvest, blessing, blessing of God, Christ, faith, glory of man, God's purpose, health, Jesus, joy, no root, offended, offense, parable, prosperity, rocky heart, setting yourself up for offense, soils, trials testing, trust
In my last post I showed that Christ refused to be tempted to claim a promise. This is the opposite of what many believers do today. We’re trusting God to provide things we don’t even need just because we found a convenient Scripture to “stand on.”
Paul talked about this in his letter to Timothy. Paul warned Timothy about people…
…who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:5b-6
I believe that there’s something inherently wrong with a message that continually focuses on my happiness, my comfort, and my pleasure. It’s true that God loves us and wants the best for us. I also believe that there is a scriptural prosperity that God wants for His people.
But I also believe that many have taken this too far. As a result, God’s people are spending too much time, prayer, energy and “faith” running after the things of the world that they think will satisfy them. At the same time, they ignore the work of the Kingdom of God. As a result, they never lay hold of what will ultimately fulfill the desires of their souls.
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Matthew 4:5-6
Again, the enemy tried to use a promise to tempt the Lord. He wanted Jesus to prove that God was protecting Him, by throwing Himself off the roof of the temple. Satan uses this same strategy on us as well. Of course, the results are usually different when we’re involved.
How do you respond when you’re tempted to test God? Do you trust Him or not? There’s no need to put God to the test. He’s already proven Himself in Christ. We need to follow the example of Jesus, who once again did not take the bait that the devil put before Him.
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Matthew 4:7
This usually turns out very differently when the devil runs this scenario before us. We love to do foolish things, then “trust” God to get us out of the mess. We spend our money on movie tickets, CD’s, video games, and new cars. Then, when we can’t pay the bills, we “trust God” for the money.
How foolish! Don’t you realize that the money you spent on your toys was the money God provided for your bills? But we just sit back in bitterness and say, “I tested God and He failed me.”
As the people of God, we need to get our lifestyles back in line with the Word of God.
Questions: How do our faith and our actions work together? How do they oppose each other sometimes?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, Christ's example, comfort, faith, foolishness, God, Jesus, pleasure, scriptural prosperity, temptation, test, testing God, trust, trusting God, trusting the promises
In 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
Tags: blessing, Christ, Christ our example, faith, Holy Spirit, Jesus, law, legalism, loving God, power, power of Christ, remain in Christ, requirements, spirit, standing on the promises, trust
We’ve been looking at Abraham’s example of what it takes to be in position to receive God’s blessing. The big question remains. How far are we willing to walk with God down this road of faith that He chooses for us?
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
Genesis 22:9-10
In this remote setting it would have been very easy for Abraham to have chosen differently. He could have taken Isaac with him, and left the area. Yet, he made the choice to follow God’s instructions no matter how painful they were to him.
It’s easy for us to look back and say, “Of course he trusted God.” We have the completed Bible to refer to. We have a knowledge of how the story ended. We know now that God never asks for human sacrifice.
There’s no way that we could ever fathom what it was like to be Abraham at that moment. All he knew was that he was about to take the life of the most precious person in the world to him.
When I see how far Abraham trusted God, it begs the question, how far am I willing to let my faith take me? How much am I willing to give up based solely upon God’s Word?
I think that this generation of believers are more like the rich young man who came to Jesus. The Lord told him to give up everything and come and follow Him.
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Matthew 19:22
In our society, this call is commonplace. Athletes are told to “leave it all out on the field.” In entertainment competitions they are told to hold nothing back.
Why do we get the idea that Christ is asking too much of us by saying that we must lay our lives down to follow Him? It’s only when I come to the place of total surrender at the feet of the Lord that I’m in the position to receive the strength and blessing that comes from His hand. Jesus held nothing back for our sakes, and now we must follow in His footsteps.
This may not sound like your typical “Six Steps to Prosperity” message. It wasn’t meant to. I’m not looking for the wealth it takes to fulfill my every whim. I want to see the provision I need to fulfill God’s destiny in me. I want to see and experience revival in God’s people.
It’s time for us to lay everything down before the Lord. If you can’t do this, then pray for the strength it takes to get to this point. Then watch what God will do on your behalf.
Question: What things would be the hardest for you to give up if the Lord asked you to?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Abraham, choices, faith, follow Christ, follow God, God, God's blessing, God's destiny, God's word, hold nothing back, how far can you trust God, Isaac, lay down our lives, leave it all on the field, provision, revival, rich young ruler, road of faith, total surrender, trust, willing, willing to give up
I’ve been posting about Jehovah Jireh – God my Provider. Specifically, I’ve been talking about how to enter that place of provision in Him. I’m using Abraham as our example as he was taking his son Isaac to the mount of sacrifice.
After days of walking through the wilderness, the Lord showed him the mountain he was to ascend. Abraham, Isaac, and his servants made camp at the base of the mountain. As he stands looking up at it he realizes that this is the place where he will offer up Isaac to the Lord.
What happens next goes beyond my comprehension.
He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together…
Genesis 22:5-6
Abraham tells his servants to wait by the goods. Then he says, “WE will worship and then WE will come back to you.” I believe that this is one of the most incredible statements of faith in the entire Bible.
The only thing that he had to go on was the original promise of God. The Lord said that it was through Isaac that Abraham’s descendants would become as numerous as the stars in the sky. As a matter of fact, the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us (In the 11th chapter) that Abraham believed that if he actually came to the point of killing his son, God would raise him from the dead.
What Abraham believed and what he spoke where in perfect agreement. He had the boldness to declare what was in his heart. We need to learn this lesson. If we are to be victorious under trials and see God’s provision for our needs, then we must learn to speak our faith, just as Abraham did.
Please understand that I’m not talking about denying our circumstances, as some do. I’m not talking about positive thinking, mind control, or wishful thinking. It’s not about speaking what you want to happen, or what some preacher has told you, but what God has already spoken.
We must speak what the Word of God says is true. This is a lot harder. It requires me to spend time reading the Bible and listening to the Holy Spirit. Only then can I declare what I’ve heard from the Lord.
As I spend time in His presence, I begin to understand what I’m called to do in His kingdom. This is important because my provision is intimately attached to my calling.
Abraham knew God’s will for his life and the life of his son. That’s why he could say, “We’re both coming back.”
Boldly speak what you’ve heard from God, and leave the provision in God’s hands.
Question: What has God called you to do? Are you trusting Him to provide for it?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Abraham, believe, Bible, calling, denying circumstances, faith, God my Provider, God's provision, Holy Spirit, Isaac, Jehovah Jireh, listen to the Holy Spirit, mind control, positive thinking, provision, speaking the word of God, the time to speak your faith, trust, wishful thinking
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 Kings 19:11-13a
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
There are many natural disasters reported in the news these days. There’s bad weather, mudslides, earthquakes, and forest fires, just to name a few. No matter what part of the country you live in, you need to be prepared to handle the threatening situations that can occur.
Unfortunately, we tend to blame God for all the bad stuff in life. A tornado wipes out a trailer park, so we call it “an act of God.” We figure anything that powerful, like floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes must be His doing.
The simple truth is that these things are not the work of God. He is not the God of death and destruction, but the God of love. His desire is to win the hearts of men and women through His gift of salvation. He wants relationship with His creation.
We should be listening for that “gentle whisper” that speaks to our heart. He uses this method to draw us to Himself. Instead of seeking Him in the destructive forces of nature – seek to hear Him in the stillness of a quiet place.
Tags: act of God, awesome God, death, destruction, gift of salvation, God's love, holy worship, intimacy, natural disasters, prayer, presence of the lord, problems, quiet place, relationship, salvation, still small voice, trust
Genesis 16:13-14
She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
We serve a God of many names. It is beyond the capability of human speech to adequately describe Him in one simple name. Each time someone met the God of Heaven and earth, they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to refer to Him by a new name.
He was called Jehovah Rapha, “God my Healer;” El Elyon, “God Most High;” and Addonai, “God Almighty”, just to name a few. Here Hagar has just come face to face with a new revelation of her Creator. She knows Him as “The God Who sees me.”
What an awesome thought. This is the God who created the universe, the One who upholds all things by His mighty power, the King of kings that sits enthroned above the earth. Yet in spite of all His glory, He sees me.
Think of it. God does not only see us, He sees me – personally. He knows my joys, hurts, frustrations, victories, and needs. The Lord knows me more intimately than I know myself.
As you go before Him today, acknowledge Him as the One who sees everything about you. This will allow you to rest in His holy presence, knowing that He cares about everything that concerns you. Bask in the assurance of His love for you.
Tags: destiny, encouragement, fellowship, God sees me, God's faithfulness, God's love, God's will, Holy Spirit, names of God, personal, running away, sees everything, trust
Psalm 120:1
I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me.
We can clearly see from this Scripture what David’s natural response to distress was. “I call on the Lord.” It is a simple statement of fact.
I think back to when I first started hiking. Out of shape and 50 pounds overweight, I was in distress most of the time. Some hikes were one long prayer for my deliverance!
We need to ask ourselves – “What do I do when I find myself in distress?” Do we first try to do everything we can think of to help ourselves? Do we ignore the problem and hope it will go away? Do we only run to God after everything else has failed?
We need to learn from David’s example. Our first choice in time of distress should be to call upon the name of the Lord. He is the Rock of safety that is always close at hand. He alone is always available to meet our needs.
It is only in Christ that we are assured to come out victoriously on the other side. Let the Lord handle your problems. You will find that you spend less time worrying. Trust Him, it will make all the difference in the outcome of the problem.
Tags: available, call on the Lord, deliverance, distress, faith, God's faithfulness, overcoming, problems, rock of safety, trust, victory
Genesis 12:7-8
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
In all his traveling through the wilderness, Abram kept his focus upon the true purpose of life; to be a worshipper of God. This is the highest calling we could attain to.
Just thinking about the miles that he traveled is daunting. I Don’t say that because of the great distance he traveled. There are many long-distance hikers who do an incredible amount of miles each year. Following the trail is the easy part.
Here we have a man who left all to follow God on a trail that he didn’t know where it ended. When he got there – he was a stranger. Yet the first task he set for himself was to build an altar and worship God.
Where has the path of your life taken you? What kind of place do you find yourself at right now? No matter what your answers to those questions might be, follow the example of Abram.
Make this place your altar. Take some time right now to worship God. Without asking for anything, simply exalt Him for who He is and where He has brought you to – even if it is not the best of situations. Let the Lord know that He is the central focus of your life.
Tags: Abraham, Abram, calling, destiny, faith, God's faithfulness, God's will, path, purpose, trust, worship
I’m posting about the different “heart soils” in Luke 8. Today I’ll deal with the rocky soil. This is about rocks with only a thin layer of dirt to cover them. The seed germinates and springs up quickly. But just as quick, the sun comes out, scorches the plant, and it withers and dies.
The Spirit and the Word 