19)

---

Fasting (1/13/19) What is fasting and what does the Bible say about it? Why would anyone want to fast? Much less for 40 days? If I choose to fast and pray with the church, what does that look like? “This kind only comes out by prayer…” (Mark 9:14-29) → One of the most remarkable, profound lessons on Spiritual break-through that Jesus ever gives us comes about as a result of his disciples’ failure. o A father came seeking Jesus desperately needed deliverance and healing. o Since there were great crowds, we can presume that the man was unable to get to Jesus, so he came to the disciples with his request (vs. 18). → But the disciples, could not meet this pressing need. o In other words, what they’d done in the past didn’t work. o This was a new, unanticipated, more difficult spiritual battle than they’d ever faced before in all of their time following Jesus in ministry. → Casting out this demon was no problem to Jesus. o This healing greatly perplexed and confused the disciples. o Jesus’s answer- “this kind only comes by prayer (and fasting).” → Some has misinterpreted this scripture to mean that the strength of a believer’s prayer is the “secret key” to a break-through. o This leads most of us to feeling discouraged and inadequate, like we can’t pray well enough to see God do miracles in our lives. o But what Jesus was emphasizing was much different than this interpretation. → Jesus had given the disciples authority to cast out demons, and yet they weren’t able to do it. o Why? Because they were relying on their own power. They were solely relying on the fact that they had authority and that this was what gave THEM power. o But the authority was not one he had designed to be exercised apart from Him. → In order to see God do a miracle this situation, the disciples needed to rely on God! o Jesus would say in John 15:5, “apart from me, you can do nothing!” o What Jesus was saying to these disciples was that there will be some challenges, battles, struggles and demons in your life that you cannot conquer unless you are intentionally seeking power from God for victory. “…cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” o What Jesus was referring to was not a specific type of prayer, but rather a life saturated by constant intimacy and connection with the presence and power of God. o Prayer is the life of the soul. It is through prayer that we connect to God every moment. o Once we cut our connection with God, our spiritual life starts to wither and die. → As Christians in our day and age, we’re facing new challenges to our Spiritual lives. o We have become reliant on the constant barrage of technology, our appetites for entertainment, and our addictions to food, pleasure, comforts, and conveniences. o These things crowd out our desires, attentions, affections, and thoughts, making connecting with God through prayer almost impossible. FASTING → Fasting is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from food or certain activities for a period of time in order to be available for prayer and communion with God. o Fasting is designed to separate you from your perceived life support so you can focus exclusively on the Lord. o During the fast we are to spend time seeking God in Bible study, prayer and meditation. → Fasting is an essential spiritual discipline that God has given us for the purpose of emptying our lives from all perceived sources of life to focus on our true source of life. o Unfortunately, it can become very easy for us to “go through the motions” with any spiritual discipline and lose the significance of it. Why Do We Fast? → There were great reasons why people in the Bible fasted. o Some needed a break-through, some wanted supernatural wisdom and power, while others were repenting of their sins. o But there was one aspect of the fasting experience that each had in common: a personal encounter with the living God.

From what are we fasting? As a church we will be giving up the following things for the next 40 days• Meats & sweets (Days 1-10, 21-30) • 1 meal a day (Days 11-20, 31-40. You can either fast meal a day, or only eat 1 meal a day). • All forms of secular media (movies, T.V., and music) Ask and listen to the Holy Spirit about giving up other things for the duration of the fast. Why Food? → Food takes a very high priority in our lives. o So much so, that for a lot of us, we’re unable to say “no” to it even when we’ve had enough and we know we should stop eating. o We’re unable to say “no” to kinds of foods that we should be limiting our intake of. → Our stomachs make wonderful servants, but absolutely terrible masters. o A result of us making our stomachs our masters is the fact that obesity rates in the US are among the highest in the world (36% of the population). → As believers, we fast from food and from certain kinds of food as a way to bring our appetites, desires, and bodies under the submission and Lordship of Jesus. o Fasting is a tool given to us so that we can humble ourselves and surrender what we want to ask God for what He wants and prepare our hearts and lives for His answer. WHY SECULAR MEDIA? (Philippians 4:8) → Often times we sadly become desensitized to the things that we watch or listen to that promote or encourage things that are against the commands of God. o What we set before our eyes is often what we spend time thinking about. o The reality is, there aren’t many pop songs, movies, and T.V. shows that encourage believers to honor and humbly live in relationship with God → Many times the subtle messages preached to us day in and day out through media is that WE are our own gods and that we should follow the leadings of our own hearts rather than the truth of God’s Word. o When we as Christians make the decision to willingly unplug and humbly listen to God and His Word, AMAZING things begin to happen in our hearts and lives. WHAT ABOUT _______? In the Bible, there are multiple kinds of fasts mentionedo Regular Fast (abstaining from all food and drink besides water)- 2 Chron. 20:3, Luke 4:2 o Partial Fast (abstaining from certain foods & activities)- Daniel 10:2-3 o Absolute Fast (abstaining from all food and drink)- Esther 4:16, Acts 9:9 → Not everyone can fast the same way (dietary & health reasons, etc.) o The Holy Spirit is the one who will give you wisdom and guidance about what to cut out and what you have the liberty to enjoy. o The purpose of this fast is to cut out distractions, temptations, and addictions from your life so that you can focus solely on hearing God for the next 40 days. → God may lead you to cut out certain things that haven’t been mentioned today and that are unique to your life and situation. o God may give you liberty in your fast to enjoy certain things that other people feel lead to abstain from. o Legalism, performance, and self-righteousness are what we’re to avoid (Matt. 6:16-18)

Practical Tips-Avoid viewing the fast as a glorified diet plan. -Don’t complain about the fast. -Set a schedule for prayer/Bible reading -Don’t just give things up- replace them with something else (healthy food, good books, Christian music/movies, sermon videos, etc.) -Utilize the devotional each day and find someone to do it with you. What stubborn problem in your spiritual life keeps persisting in spite of your best efforts to “cast it out”? Are you desperate enough to spend the next 40 days intentionally seeking God’s presence through prayer and emptying yourself from every distraction? Jesus is…the Bread of Life and the Living Water 1) Essential for real LIFE. 2) The very God who gave us life and sustains our life. 3) More than enough to satisfy.