1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:02,880 All right. Hey, couple things. 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:05,600 Tom is making more of the notes. That's always a good problem to 3 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:07,840 run out of those. It kind of gives me a gauge on 4 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:09,800 what people lean into when I'm teaching. 5 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:14,520 So I appreciate that our church that you do lean in for to, to 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,320 hear God's word on Sunday morning, not just like a, a 7 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,280 little, I mean, you're not just like a little chicken soup for 8 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,760 the soul or a Ted Talk. But I hope that you sense that 9 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,360 we as a church really want to lean in and get a hold of God's 10 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,720 truth and his meaning. So we do that by giving out 11 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,400 notes to the messages and on days when we run out before the 12 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:33,760 second service. That's that's really great. 13 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:38,000 OK, a couple of things. Paul Freeman was in the first 14 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,920 service and he mentioned this and I just want to say thank you 15 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,640 to our worship team that they served so faithfully. 16 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,120 So this morning we had so many singers. 17 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:48,000 I just played guitar, which was a lot of fun. 18 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,280 And he said, he said Kurt looked like you were like a proud Papa, 19 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,200 like proud Papa. Looking out at the worship team, 20 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,960 I'm like, yes, it's true because they serve diligently and 21 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,240 they've grown their gifts and skills. 22 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:01,080 Do you know how much time it takes to learn to play an 23 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:02,680 instrument? A lot of time. 24 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,080 A lot of young people, particularly nowadays, it just 25 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:06,840 takes a lot of focus and they get distracted. 26 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:11,280 So grateful for our worship team, their faithfulness to the 27 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,760 Lord and our singers. And so I'm enjoying the season 28 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:16,800 where now I'm going to keep leading worship. 29 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,320 But now it's like it's time where, you know, others are kind 30 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:22,640 of stepping to the forefront. So grateful for those who serve 31 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:24,200 in worship ministry. So if you see some of our 32 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:26,720 worship team in the lobby, it would be appropriate for you to 33 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,120 say, hey, thank you. Thank you for leading us and 34 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:30,640 serving us each week so faithfully. 35 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,360 They get here really early and they stay late. 36 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,080 And our tech team too, just so grateful for them. 37 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,200 OK, so wanted to encourage you in that. 38 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:41,240 All right, I think there are more notes in the back time. 39 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:42,280 Are there more now? OK, great. 40 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,960 So if you need notes to the message either during the 41 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:47,880 teaching or on your way home, then you could grab them and put 42 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:49,200 them in your Bible when they get home. 43 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:51,320 And I'll make sure that we print more in the weeks to come. 44 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:54,520 All right, if you have your Bibles, please take and turn to 45 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:59,160 Acts chapter 13. Acts is like, I don't know, 85% 46 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,400 through your Bible depending on how many notes you have in the 47 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,160 back. And the book of Acts is the 48 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,639 early story of the church at its launch, in its infancy. 49 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,760 So Jesus comes, born in Bethlehem, lives a perfect 50 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,560 sinless life, and then he has crucified, dead and buried, and 51 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,880 he then ascends to heaven. And when he does, he promises 52 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,160 that the Holy Spirit will come and dwell in US. 53 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,080 He uses the same language of that, that Jesus was going to 54 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,680 come dwell with us. He's Emmanuel, God with us. 55 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,120 And then in the book of Acts, you see that while now we have 56 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,920 the Holy Spirit and he's dwelling in us. 57 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:39,480 So Acts is the early story of the church, and in Acts chapter 58 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,200 13, where I'm about to read from, this is the story of 59 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,880 Barnabas and Paul. And you will remember that Paul 60 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:50,880 was the early apostle who was really vital in the growth of 61 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,760 the early church. And initially Paul was an enemy 62 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:58,000 to Christianity, and he was on a mission to kill Christians with 63 00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,960 permission. Permission had been given him in 64 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:03,520 a letter from church leaders, if you will, to religious leaders 65 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,520 at least. So he's on a mission to kill 66 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,480 Christians, and yet Jesus meets him when he's on the road to 67 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,760 Damascus. Jesus himself appears to Paul, 68 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,760 whose name was initially Saul. And he says to Paul, why do you 69 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,400 persecute me? Meaning you persecute the 70 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:20,960 church, but that's persecuting me. 71 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:22,960 So Paul has this grand conversion. 72 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:27,200 We call it a road to Damascus experience, and he then becomes 73 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,480 part of the church. But you could imagine that he 74 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,320 would not have been very trusted because he was a killer of 75 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,680 Christians and now he's in the church. 76 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,320 And so I want you to see a story that's connected here where Paul 77 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,720 is going to emerge into being a missionary, into being an 78 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,080 apostle and this great Christian leader. 79 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:52,000 But what happens in order to initiate him into the season of 80 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:56,040 epic ministry that we now read about and study throughout the 81 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:58,160 New Testament? So watch what I'm going to start 82 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,720 in verse 2 of chapter 13. While they and they being the 83 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:04,080 Church of Antioch, which is modern day Syria. 84 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,920 So they're there. This is an enormous church in 85 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,720 the early days of Christianity while they were worshiping the 86 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:16,760 Lord and fasting, they're worshiping the Lord and they're 87 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:20,880 fasting. The Holy Spirit said, set apart 88 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:25,280 for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called 89 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:27,920 them. Then after fasting and praying, 90 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,280 they laid their hands on them watch after fasting and praying. 91 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:32,680 So you get worshipping and fasting. 92 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,400 Now you have fasting and praying laid after. 93 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,840 Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them 94 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:44,240 being Paul and Barnabas, and they sent them off on their 95 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,000 first missionary journey. Today I want to talk to you 96 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:53,040 about fasting in faith. Fasting in faith. 97 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:59,440 Let me pray for us, God. When we come to Your Word, we 98 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:03,640 come in awe. We come with a sense of honor 99 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:09,200 and reverence, and we come believing that you shape us and 100 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,120 you grow us by Your truth and by the power of Your Holy Spirit. 101 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,720 So you have our attention to God and our hearts and minds are 102 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:24,040 open and we say speak to us in a profound way and grow us in our 103 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:29,960 understanding of fasting in faith in Jesus name and everyone 104 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:35,880 together said, Amen. Now this event in the early 105 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,440 church really leads to you and I being here today because the 106 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:44,000 Apostle Paul and Barnabas, they, they leave on this missionary 107 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,440 journey because the Holy Spirit spoke to the church at Antioch. 108 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:49,440 And who knows how the Holy Spirit would have spoken and 109 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:51,920 maybe prophetically through a person that maybe would have 110 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:53,920 been there in the service, whether they were worshipping 111 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:56,600 and fasting. So the Holy Spirit speaks and 112 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,760 says, set them apart, send them out. 113 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,560 They laid hands on them. And then Paul and Barnabas go on 114 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:06,440 this missionary journey and it's historic and you can read about 115 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,520 it in Acts, the places that they go to and, and they bring the 116 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,480 message of the hope of Jesus and people get saved in other 117 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:14,680 churches starting. And from there, Christianity 118 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,000 just grows to be what it is today. 119 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:22,200 But what was it that happened? What was the church doing when 120 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:27,320 God moved in an enormous way? They were worshipping and 121 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:33,480 fasting and fasting and praying and fasting has become somewhat 122 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,400 of a lost discipline, mostly in modern church today. 123 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,000 And for some of you, maybe you fast regularly. 124 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,200 Maybe you have seen God move in great ways in your life through 125 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:45,280 the years in the discipline of fasting. 126 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:49,240 But for many of you, my guess is that fasting is maybe something 127 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:51,960 you've never done before, or maybe you've just done it in 128 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:53,760 years past, but it's not a regular discipline. 129 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,280 So what's happened at our church the last four January's, we've 130 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:03,200 set apart time to worship and fast and fast and pray. 131 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:05,840 And it's the way that we've started each year. 132 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:08,640 And the first first year that we did it, we just did it. 133 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,360 Well, the first three years we would do it from Monday, Sunday, 134 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,480 Sunday day and then we would break the fast Wednesday night. 135 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:18,760 And I will tell you that every year it is so meaningful when we 136 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,960 get together, we'll pray, we'll sing some songs together, and 137 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,480 then we'll break the fast that many of you will do between 138 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:27,200 maybe tomorrow. We're encouraging you to start 139 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,320 the fast tomorrow. OK, So if you start tomorrow, 140 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:32,960 then we would go through and I'll explain options of what a 141 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:34,480 fast can look like. And I'm going to unpack what 142 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:36,520 fasting is. But I'm just telling you, I 143 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:42,160 start with this understanding that the Church of Antioch and 144 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:47,240 Paul and Barnabas, their lives were greatly changed because of 145 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,320 the church fasting. So I'm going to call us as a 146 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,840 church to a fast and I love that their story starts this way. 147 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:56,440 And I I want to tell you a little bit more about Paul. 148 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,680 Paul and Barnabas story. They go on this first missionary 149 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:03,360 journey and they bring with them a young man named John Mark. 150 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,720 And we think that John Mark was likely the one who told Peter's 151 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,200 story in the gospel of Mark. But John Mark is Barnabas as a 152 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:12,040 nephew. And about halfway through the 153 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,440 missionary journey, John Mark just gives up. 154 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,440 You know, it's too much for him this mission trip. 155 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,040 So when they go to start their second missionary journey, the 156 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,640 Bible says that Paul and Barnabas had a fierce 157 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:28,360 disagreement, They had a fight. And that happens in the lives of 158 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,200 Christians. I can't really talk about Paul 159 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:32,400 and Barnabas without telling you this part of their story because 160 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:34,640 this does happen in the church sometimes. 161 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:36,960 And the fact that the book of Acts has it. 162 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,880 So Paul and Barnabas, after accomplishing great things for 163 00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:44,600 Jesus, Barnabas wants to bring John Mark on the second trip. 164 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,680 And Paul's like, no way. We're not bringing that punk kid 165 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:50,160 with us. He gave up during the last one. 166 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,520 He went home to Mama, you know, so we're not bringing them 167 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:54,000 again. So they have a fierce 168 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:59,600 disagreement and then they part ways and then you see that Paul 169 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,920 and Silas then go on the second missionary trip and they go like 170 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:06,600 the church at Philippi and other churches. 171 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:10,600 So their story really starts here with the Lord through the 172 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,880 Holy Spirit speaking in a church service that they should go and 173 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:16,960 minister together at the end of their story. 174 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,520 That what happens is Paul, who was not very gracious to John 175 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,080 Mark at the end of his life at Second Timothy. 176 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,880 He at the end of Second Timothy, he says, Oh yeah, and tell John 177 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:32,000 Mark, tell Mark when he comes to see me to bring some scrolls and 178 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:33,800 others bring some scripture that I can read. 179 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:39,040 So you then get the picture that Paul, then he reconciles with 180 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,720 John Mark, OK, but I want you to see, so that's beautiful at the 181 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:44,640 end of his life. But what I want you to see is 182 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:49,480 that Paul and Barnabas, their great ministry starts here in a 183 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:54,600 church that's worshiping and fasting and fasting and praying. 184 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:59,360 Now, what is fasting? This is my definition. 185 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,720 I would say fasting is withholding something in order 186 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,800 to createspace to connect with God. 187 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:10,160 And that part where I'm saying in order to connect with God is 188 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:12,280 a really important part of fasting, right? 189 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,880 I'm, I'm creating space. I'm eliminating some things in 190 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,240 my life. I'm withholding me receiving 191 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,240 them or participating in whether it's eating or social media or 192 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:28,080 screens or other things. You know, I'm, I'm creating 193 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:34,000 space with the hope that now I will have space within my head, 194 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,920 if you will, and heart to receive from God. 195 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:41,600 And so fasting has been a discipline in the church and in 196 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,160 the biblical story all throughout Old Testament and New 197 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,560 Testament. You see over and over and over 198 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:49,960 again. Now Matthew chapter 6, Jesus 199 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:54,960 mentions fasting and so Jesus mentions it here and he says and 200 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:59,120 when you fast, now he doesn't say if you fast, He says when 201 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:00,240 you fast. In other words, it's like a 202 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,240 given fasting is just, it's, it's part of being a Christian, 203 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:05,920 the way that Jesus speaks of it. OK. 204 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:08,840 And he gives instructions. And when you fast, do not look 205 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:13,120 gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that 206 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:15,000 their fasting may be seen by others. 207 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:18,960 Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 208 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,200 Now this is a curious thing. Jesus is saying, OK, when you 209 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:24,840 fast don't look gloomy. When you fast, it's a given 210 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,400 you're going to fast. Don't fast for the attention of 211 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,960 man. And then he says those who fast 212 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,400 to get the attention of man, they get their reward. 213 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:34,200 They're just reward. And what is it? 214 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,360 The attention of man only if the intent of your heart is OK, I'm 215 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,040 going to do this thing so the people notice how spiritual I 216 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,760 am. Then you'll get just the 217 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:45,400 attention of ban. Well, the point of fasting is 218 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,320 not the attention of ban. Jesus goes on in verse 17. 219 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:50,960 He says, but when you fast, anoint your head and wash your 220 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,720 face, that you're fasting may not be seen by others, but by 221 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:57,440 your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in 222 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,720 secret will reward you. And what is the reward for 223 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:07,640 fasting in the right way? The attention of God and also we 224 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:11,600 then become more attentive to God when we fast, when we 225 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:15,040 withhold things in our lives for the intent of creating space for 226 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,600 God to fill. Then we get that reward, the 227 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,360 filling, even the more of the Holy Spirit, the attention of 228 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:26,160 God in a sense of wow, God is satisfying me. 229 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:28,520 Now you can go look at in Scripture. 230 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:32,160 Moses fasted David fasted Bathsheba even fasted kings 231 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:36,160 fasted Jesus and the early church, they all fasted. 232 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:37,960 You'll see it over and over and again. 233 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,960 I'm going to give you a few of the stories to be insightful, 234 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,800 but I want you to see that it's a regular routine throughout 235 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:47,200 scriptures. Now I like to illustrate what 236 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,560 fasting does in US and what many Christians look like with the 237 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:53,440 story. Like a couple years ago, Jason 238 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:56,360 and I were driving down to Grand Rapids together and it was 239 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:01,160 morning time and around 10:00 or 10:30 we ended up in Lake City 240 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:05,080 and she wanted some smart water chase like smart water, right? 241 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:07,480 So she asked me to go to the grocery store. 242 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:09,800 So what's the irony? Is I going to get her smart 243 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,680 water, but on my way to get the smart water. 244 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:14,840 This is so odd. It's really not typical for me, 245 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:16,000 but especially that time of the day. 246 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:22,240 But I, I saw this family size bag of, of ruffled potato chips, 247 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,640 but the really good kind of the, the, the cheddar and sour cream 248 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:28,520 ones, right? And not like a small size one 249 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,480 that you would, you know, put in the lunch bag. 250 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:34,480 It was the family size 1. Now I, I don't think I've ever 251 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:36,960 before just bought a bag of chips and just pounded the whole 252 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:38,960 bag. But I must tell you that just 253 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,320 drive in the Grand Rapids. I started eating these chips and 254 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:44,200 before you know, I pounded the entire family size bag. 255 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,320 OK, So I'm like, OK, well, how did I just do? 256 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:51,920 Because the the sad thing was we were driving to Grand Rapids 257 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:54,040 where we used to live, and we have restaurants there that we 258 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:57,000 love, you know, that we go to when we're down there. 259 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:58,880 So we have these plans that we're going to go to this 260 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:03,000 particular restaurant that we like downtown and it's so good. 261 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,320 And but when I got to the restaurant, lo and behold, guess 262 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,160 what? I was so full of junk that there 263 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,680 was no space to put in me, right? 264 00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:16,480 It's like there was a table set before me, right? 265 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:21,720 And yet there was no space. And I must tell you that lot 266 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:26,040 often this is how we live as Christians because there's a 267 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:30,440 space in us that is made for us to fill with God. 268 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:33,880 There's a place where we're to commune and have Kona NIA 269 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,120 fellowship with God. And yet if we fill our lives 270 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:41,760 with social media and Netflix and sports and you name it, it 271 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:45,080 could be anything. These things are not bad in of 272 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,800 themselves, but when we think that we're going to satisfy and 273 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:52,760 fill ourselves and there are so many things around us to try to 274 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,440 fill ourselves with, it's never ending. 275 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:58,560 It's overwhelming. So we fill, we fill, we fill, 276 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:02,320 and then we get to our space and time and with God, and what 277 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,320 happens? We're so full of junk that 278 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:07,840 there's no space for God to reach us. 279 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:12,600 And we're created for longing for God, but we tend to fill 280 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,640 that space with junk. The psalmist illustrates it this 281 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:21,120 way in Psalm 42. He says as a deer pants for 282 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,120 flowing streams or as the deer pants for the water. 283 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:30,800 So pants my soul for you, oh God, my soul thirsts for you for 284 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,920 the living, God. When shall I come and appear 285 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,120 before God? When shall I come and appear? 286 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,480 Be with you, God? When, when can I get to be with 287 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,560 you, God? And he's painting it like my 288 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,520 soul, God, there's a place in me just hungers and thirst. 289 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:48,920 I thirst for you, God. And yet if we live our lives in 290 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:51,760 such a way where we're just filling ourselves full of 291 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,080 Netflix and video games and you name it. 292 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:57,520 Again, these things in themselves are not bad. 293 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:01,080 But when we fill ourselves to overflowing with them, there's 294 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,800 no space. And fasting, when we withhold 295 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,920 those things, it creates within us space. 296 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,840 Richard Foster, famous author, said that more than any other 297 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:17,000 discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. 298 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:24,160 We become maybe addicted or so just used to these things around 299 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,920 us that can pseudo fill us that we don't have space. 300 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,400 Now fasting shows up in the Bible often when difficult 301 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:34,400 decisions are to be made. And I'm going to show you a few 302 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,640 examples of this. And maybe in the year to come, 303 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,000 you have some big decisions that you've got to make with your 304 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:43,080 work or relationships, children, whatever it might be. 305 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,400 And maybe you're going in the year and saying, OK God, I need 306 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,920 your help with this. But again, if you're so full of 307 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:52,640 junk, then there's no space for God to get to and so you'll miss 308 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:53,840 out. So watch what happens. 309 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:57,040 I'm going to give you 2 stories that are from the Old Testament 310 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,440 that illustrate wow, fasting. Look what it can do in us. 311 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:04,440 So of course, the story of Esther is so loved in the Old 312 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:05,839 Testament. Who was Esther? 313 00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:09,160 Well, Esther, she lives after the time of like Sadrak Meeshak 314 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,079 and bending away after like Abraham and Moses and all those 315 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:14,079 characters. So her story is later in the 316 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:18,720 timeline of the Old Testament. And so she's in exile. 317 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:22,319 Remember, the Babylonians came in and conquered what was Israel 318 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:24,560 at one time. And so then the children were 319 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:29,200 carried away in exile. And Esther would have been born 320 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:33,920 in Persia, but she her her heritage would have been from 321 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:36,560 the Jews. OK, so here she is. 322 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,720 She's in the the Kingdom of Persia. 323 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,080 And the king of Persia, his name was Exerges. 324 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:45,520 He's quite a a tyrant and so he liked to party. 325 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:48,280 So he's having this party and it's going for days and days and 326 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,280 days. And he calls his queen, his wife 327 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,840 to come to be at the party. And you can read the story and 328 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:56,320 ask her. She doesn't want to go. 329 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:58,320 She's, you know, bothered by it all. 330 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,120 You know, the big party that's, you know, horrible. 331 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:02,320 So. So she doesn't go. 332 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:07,080 Well, when she tells him I'm not coming, he discards her, gets 333 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,480 rid of her, and he sets up a contest, like a beauty pageant 334 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,080 to come up with the most beautiful woman in all of 335 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:15,480 Persia. And it's a very elaborate beauty 336 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,920 contest of sorts. And so it turns out that Esther, 337 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:25,440 a descendant of the Israelites, she wins the king, She becomes 338 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,600 the queen because she's the most beautiful in the land. 339 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:32,800 Now what happens is she now is the Queen of Persia and there's 340 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:36,280 a man, well her uncle or cousin. What we it's kind of confusing 341 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,800 as to which, but like her parent figure, his name is Mordecai and 342 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,640 Mordecai raises Esther. OK, so he raises her. 343 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:43,560 Then he ends up working for the king. 344 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,120 Mordecai does and she's now the Queen of Persia. 345 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:51,360 There's a very evil antagonist in his name is Haman, and Haman 346 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:54,400 comes up with a plan where he's going to annihilate and wipe out 347 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,680 all the Jews, all the descendants of the Jews that are 348 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:58,960 in Persia. He has a plan that the king is 349 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,680 okayed where he's going to wipe out the Jews. 350 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,160 It's very evil. Now watch what happens. 351 00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:07,040 Mordecai gets word of this and he goes to Esther who is the 352 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:11,200 queen, and he encourages her to go to the king to report this 353 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:14,760 evil that is about to come. But she understands that it's 354 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:19,000 against the law for her to go before the king unless he asks 355 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:20,960 her to come. If he invites her, she can go be 356 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:23,560 with him, but she must be just in waiting. 357 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:27,200 The way the story goes, she must just be in waiting for the king 358 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:32,360 to call for her. Now Mordecai, her parent figure 359 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:34,520 is going to encourage her to take action. 360 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:36,240 Watch what happens. The story picks up in Esther 361 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:40,320 chapter 4 verse 14. He says to her, Mordecai to 362 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,000 Esther, if you keep silent at this time, relief and 363 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,000 deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you 364 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,720 and your father's house will perish. 365 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:50,520 And when he says your father's house, he means himself. 366 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:53,920 He's saying, listen, if you don't stand up and stand for 367 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,160 righteousness, well, God will come up with another plan, but 368 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,320 you'll, you won't survive it, but God will still sustain the 369 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,120 nation of Israel because he knew the promises Jesus was going to 370 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:05,080 come through the lineage of Abraham. 371 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:07,920 And he says, And who knows whether you have not come? 372 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,680 This is the famous saying, and I want you to see this famous 373 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,640 saying from Esther, one of the most profound statements in all 374 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,800 the Bible, that it's connected to fasting. 375 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:21,040 Watch, he says, and who knows whether you have come, not come 376 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,720 to the Kingdom for such a time as this. 377 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:25,760 This is one of the most epic moments in Scripture. 378 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,160 Maybe it is that you came into the Kingdom for such a moment as 379 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,280 this. Then Esther told them to reply 380 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,320 to Mordecai. She said Go gather all the Jews 381 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:41,640 to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not 382 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:43,960 eat or drink for three days, night or day. 383 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,520 And I and my young women will also fast as you do. 384 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,160 Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, 385 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:54,920 and if I perish, I perish. Mordecai then went away and did 386 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,520 everything as Esther head ordered him. 387 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,160 I don't have time to tell you all the details of of Esther's 388 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:05,040 story but watch what happens. God miraculously leads Mordecai 389 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,800 to having favor with the king. Haman had built these poles that 390 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,560 he was going to impale and kill the Jews on right? 391 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,360 And it turns out, Long story short, because Esther prayed and 392 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:20,120 fasted, then God miraculously gives strategy, God moves, and 393 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:23,840 in the end of the story, Haman himself is impaled or hung on 394 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:25,880 the poles that he created to kill the Jews on. 395 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,080 OK, that's the story of Esther in its essence. 396 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:31,840 What I want you to see is that the turning point in the story 397 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:37,600 of Esther is when she fasts, it's not her beauty that saves 398 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,280 her. It's not her own insight or 399 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,920 strategy. She calls for a fast of all the 400 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,320 Jews and all of her women in waiting, if you will, right? 401 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:52,680 And when they fast, God miraculously delivers the Jews 402 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:54,680 and they celebrate it to this day. 403 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:58,760 So fasting is in the story of Esther. 404 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:00,840 There's another occasion in the Old Testament. 405 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:02,600 It's the story of King Jehoshaphat. 406 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,960 He's the king of Judah, which is the southern part of Israel, and 407 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:12,040 he is this godly king. And I want you to see a turning 408 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,480 point in his life and how fasting shows up. 409 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:18,560 So in Second Chronicles 20, one through 4, after the Moabites 410 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:21,560 and the Ammonites, and with them some of the men unites, came 411 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:25,680 against Jehoshaphat for battle. So these tribes join together, 412 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,480 they make, you know, a pact where they're going to come 413 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,400 against Jehoshaphat and Judah. Some men came and told 414 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:35,000 Jehoshaphat, A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, 415 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:39,120 from beyond the sea, and behold, they are Hazaz and Tamar, that 416 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:43,120 is, and Getti. Then Jehoshaphat was afraid. 417 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:45,080 He set his face to seek the Lord. 418 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:51,040 Then he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah, and Judah 419 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,000 assembled to seek help from the Lord. 420 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,440 From all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. 421 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,240 What I want you to see is Jehoshaphat, this great king, he 422 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:03,200 calls for a fast. And when he does, what God 423 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,960 happens to do is he confuses these armies that have created 424 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,680 this pact with each other against Jehoshaphat and Judah. 425 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,040 And so they get confused and they fight each other and they 426 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,320 kill each other. And so Jehoshaphat and the 427 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:17,920 Israelites survive. Why? 428 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,120 Because they fasted. Did Jehoshaphat cry to go come 429 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:23,920 up with some great military strategy? 430 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:28,720 Did he call for his generals? No, he called people to fast. 431 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,520 So you can I can give you multiple stories that where this 432 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:34,280 is the occasion where you might have forgotten, oh, without 433 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:36,960 these epic stories in the Old Testament and the New Testament, 434 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:42,000 fasting is involved in it. Now I want to talk about the 435 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:47,040 fruit of fasting in faith. I encourage us to fast in faith. 436 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,520 Fasting has become somewhat of a rage even in like the scientific 437 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:51,640 world. I don't know if you know this, 438 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,840 but like intermittent fasting, maybe you've heard of that. 439 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:57,520 And what's happened now is that science knows that there are all 440 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:01,560 of these great benefits for your cells and for inflammation and, 441 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,680 and your health that come from fasting from food right now. 442 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:08,600 We know this, right? So it's, I love this when God 443 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:12,000 creates natural benefits that operate outside of our faith, 444 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,440 OK, the nature of God in his commands, they operate even for 445 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,960 those that don't believe in God. It's like the Sabbath day, 446 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:21,480 right? God created this and then on the 447 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:22,640 7th day he rested. Why? 448 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,280 Because even God needed rest. God needs, well, that seems like 449 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,520 bad theology, but God wanted rest. 450 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,080 So we're designed to also get rest. 451 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:33,800 We can't work non-stop, right? We need rest. 452 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,320 And so God's plan, it's a 10 commandment, it's up there with 453 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:40,440 lying and murder and adultery, and I'll honor the Sabbath and 454 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,760 keep it holy and the world around us. 455 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:47,040 They also, even outside their faith, can benefit from a rhythm 456 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,600 of rest. But I don't want to encourage us 457 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:55,000 just to fast scientifically for the health benefits of it. 458 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:01,200 Instead, I want us to fast in faith, believing that when we 459 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,400 fasten faith, what happened in Acts 13 can happen for us as a 460 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:08,360 church, the church at Antioch. God moves supernaturally and 461 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:12,880 Christianity is ever changed in our lives. 462 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,720 If we fasten faith, who knows what God could do with our 463 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,840 church? Who knows what God could do in 464 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:21,640 your life as a result of fasting? 465 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:26,040 Now when we fast, yes, we get God's attention, but also God 466 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,120 gets our attention. That's one of the great benefits 467 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:30,560 of it. It's like, God, I've not been 468 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:34,040 attentive to you enough, but when I withhold these things 469 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,280 that seem to satisfy me now I've experienced even the more this 470 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:42,080 longing in me for more relationship and communion with 471 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:45,440 you. Yeah, I want to give you just 472 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,600 some basic ideas in your notes. I wrongly put Matthew 6 here 473 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:50,800 again. Sometimes I'm copying and moving 474 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:54,840 things around, but I want you to know that prayer and fasting go 475 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,400 hand in hand. The point of fasting, one of the 476 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:03,480 points is to create time and space in my head and heart for 477 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,480 communion with God in prayer. So that means I'm sitting and 478 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,720 I'm talking to God and I'm and I'm being honest with God. 479 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,200 We just did a great study through the Psalms the last 480 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,000 several months. And often the Psalms are very 481 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,400 like, like surprising and shockingly honest about 482 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:22,480 disappointment and a seeming distance from God, right? 483 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:24,840 So what do we do when we pray? We sit and we talk with God and 484 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:27,440 we bring requests. We all, we bring praise, we 485 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:30,280 bring honor to God. We start with praise, right? 486 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,160 And then we can bring our petitions and make our petitions 487 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,320 and our needs known to God. He knows about them. 488 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:39,880 But there's something beautiful in US bringing words and 489 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:44,800 meditation to our prayers. Now, whenever I think about 490 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,520 fasting or any other spiritual discipline, I always want to, I 491 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,640 always want to illustrate and and let you remind you that the 492 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,200 spiritual disciplines like fasting, like prayer, they are 493 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,640 important and vital in the life of a Christian of spiritual 494 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,320 disciplines like attending church, even being with other 495 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:06,400 believers, us, you know, even just being together, right? 496 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,680 This, this is part of the spiritual disciplines that grow 497 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,080 us. Now, Christians will often get 498 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,120 in the trap and Terry and Dwayne are here. 499 00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:15,840 We talked about this in the kitchen like a month ago. 500 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:17,920 And I said, I'm going to put this in a sermon in January. 501 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:24,000 Again, watch Christians wrongly often try to measure their 502 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,760 spirituality by the spiritual disciplines. 503 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,240 OK, and it's the wrong measurement, right? 504 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,520 It would be like if I if I had a tape measure and I took the tape 505 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:36,760 measure and, and, and, and I invited somebody, Jamie, you 506 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,360 know, can you measure my weight with the tape measure? 507 00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:42,640 The answer is that even Hazel knows, no, you can't measure my 508 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:46,200 weight with a tape measure. It's the wrong measuring unit. 509 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:49,960 How tall am I? What if I gave you a, you know, 510 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:52,960 an eighth cup with eight oz, like an 8 oz cup, right. 511 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:54,840 And I said, OK, measure my height with this. 512 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:57,400 That doesn't work. It's the wrong measuring. 513 00:27:57,760 --> 00:27:58,880 You're using the wrong measurement. 514 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:04,400 And Christians painfully and horribly often try to measure 515 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,720 their spirituality by how much they do the spiritual 516 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,320 disciplines. The spiritual disciplines are 517 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:11,760 not the measurement for my spirituality. 518 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:13,840 The measurement for my spirituality and my love for 519 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,280 Jesus is, do I abound in the fruit of the Spirit? 520 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:22,280 Because if I go to church and I fast and I pray and I'm with 521 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:24,280 other believers, I do the spiritual disciplines, but I'm 522 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,560 hateful and I'm bitter and I'm judgmental, then I miss it as a 523 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,120 Christian. So whenever I think about 524 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:33,360 fasting and praying, I'm like, okay, I'm going to fast and I'm 525 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:35,320 going to pray. But these are the disciplines. 526 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:39,000 These are the exercises that should lead to the fruit of the 527 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,400 Spirit. It would be like a quarterback 528 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:43,360 in the NFL. Let's say we had a quarterback 529 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,220 in the NFL and he got up and bragged because he does 300 push 530 00:28:46,220 --> 00:28:49,400 ups, right? And he can bench press 300 lbs 531 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:51,320 or whatever. It was like, yeah, we don't 532 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:53,960 really care about that. That's the discipline, that's 533 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,200 the exercise. We care what how many receptions 534 00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:59,240 you throw, how many interceptions you throw. 535 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,880 That's the measurement of how great you are as a quarterback. 536 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,000 And again, how ridiculous would it be for an athlete to brag 537 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:07,240 about curls and other things they do? 538 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,480 It's like, no, that's not how you measure how great you are. 539 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,000 And a lot of times Christians, so I'm encouraging you to fast, 540 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,440 but I'm encouraging you to fast with an awareness. 541 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:20,480 He goes, Ah, this is this is not the spiritual measurement of how 542 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:25,280 great I'm as a Christian. It should lead to the fruit of 543 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:28,440 the spirit. And when it does, then we 544 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:32,360 flourish and we grow in Christ. But you know, Christians that 545 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:35,240 that use the wrong measurement and they think themselves so 546 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:39,360 spiritual and they're hateful and they're horrible to their 547 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:43,640 neighbor and they miss it because they think wrongly that 548 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:47,400 it's the spiritual disciplines that they get to be proud of. 549 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,000 So our encouragement for our church is let's go into praying 550 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,240 fast and let's do it. Let's go all at it, man. 551 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,360 But let's beware. It's not how we measure how 552 00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:01,000 spiritual we are. So this is the 4th January we're 553 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,200 doing this. So I and our and our team, our 554 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:09,760 leaders are calling us as a church to fast and I want to 555 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:10,920 encourage you to be part of this. 556 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:15,000 OK, So in years past, as I mentioned, we did it from Sunday 557 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,000 to Wednesday. This year we're what my 558 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,480 encouragement to you is to take today and pray and earnestly say 559 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:26,920 God, what could I fast social media food, whatever time here 560 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,320 time there, whatever, just pray about and say what would be what 561 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:33,640 would like createspace in me to give up for a while and maybe 562 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,960 you want to eat one meal a day or you want to skip breakfast or 563 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,960 and in that time to where you would normally be eating or 564 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:44,120 watching Netflix or playing video games or doing whatever 565 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,000 you're like God, I'm going to dedicate this time to you and 566 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:50,120 I'm just going to be with you and I'm going to I'm going to 567 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:54,200 createspace hunger in me and now God, I'm going to come to you to 568 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:59,000 satisfy and feel that hunger. That's what fasting does. 569 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,720 So you can take today, think about, OK, what would I want to 570 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,640 give up fast? And then encouragement to you is 571 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:09,280 to start the fast tomorrow. And then we're going to go a 572 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:10,840 week. I guess it's kind of really 8 573 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:13,440 days because we'll do two Mondays, but so we'll go Monday 574 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:17,440 to Monday this year. And I can't wait to hear stories 575 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:20,000 of people may, especially if you're fasting for the first 576 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,520 time or it's been a long time and you're like, wow, God, the 577 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,440 Holy Spirit really like met me in a profound way. 578 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:27,560 OK, so that's my encouragement to you. 579 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:30,960 Now on the back table, there are prayer request forms. 580 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:32,440 Are there still some back there on the table? 581 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,240 They should look like this. OK, So what we've done in years 582 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,720 past and we'll do again this year is you can it can be 583 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:40,040 anonymous or you can put your name on it. 584 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:41,960 But what we're going to do is we're going to take these prayer 585 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:44,000 requests and then we're going to put them on the front of the 586 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,800 stage here. And next Sunday when you come, 587 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:48,160 hopefully they'll be a whole lot of them. 588 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:53,000 And so Sunday in the service, we will have been fasting and we're 589 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,560 going to take extra time and service to pray over the prayer 590 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:57,120 request. And then Monday night, what 591 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,880 we'll do is when we're still fasting, we'll come and we'll 592 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,240 pray over the prayer request. And what we'll do is those who 593 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:05,440 are here on that, that Monday night, we'll pick up a prayer 594 00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:07,440 request. I like to walk when I pray. 595 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:09,480 Some people just want to sit or kneel. 596 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:11,800 And so you can take the prayer request and pray over it. 597 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,480 And then you just put it back on and other people come pray for 598 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:16,680 it. And I hope that we have like a 599 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:20,520 stage lined with these prayer requests, maybe for your family, 600 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:23,120 your job, some need that you have in your life. 601 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:25,760 So these are back there. And I think there should be pens 602 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:27,320 and the likes. So you can take those, you can 603 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:29,600 leave them back there. And then we're going to put them 604 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:34,320 here on the front of the stage. OK, so here is my expectation 605 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,400 that God will do great things in US. 606 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:40,560 In Ephesians, it says the benediction. 607 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:44,080 The answer is now to him who was able to do exceedingly 608 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:46,760 abundantly above all that you could ever ask or think or 609 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:50,520 imagine to him be glory in the church. 610 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:53,400 And the point of that Scripture is like we when we have great 611 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:55,800 faith in God and we're like God, we come. 612 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:57,960 This is my posture when I come to church. 613 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:00,680 I'm like God, I'm coming with high expectations and I believe 614 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:05,680 that you're able to exceed my expectancy, my faith. 615 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:07,560 That's what faith is. It's expectancy. 616 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:10,960 So if you go into this with high expectations, like, OK, God, 617 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:14,240 meet me here, God, I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to do it. 618 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,560 I'm going to fast. I'm going to create space and 619 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:21,720 then expect God to exceed your expectations. 620 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:31,840 All right, let me pray for us. God, we earnestly come before 621 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:37,680 you asking as individuals, wow, what can I fast? 622 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:40,680 Some of us are going to get in the car with our kids or our 623 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:44,080 spouse on the way home and we're going to have conversations to 624 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,160 say, what can we do together? How can we make this a 625 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:52,520 meaningful time? And I pray that you'll speak to 626 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:59,000 us and that it will be challenging, not torture, but 627 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:05,520 but it'll be enlightening and that we will successfully 628 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:09,600 createspace that you'll meet us in as the deer pants for the 629 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,960 water. I pray that our song, our souls 630 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:16,920 will long for you. And then when we looked up our 631 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:22,199 prayers to you, we expect and hope for you to answer our 632 00:34:22,199 --> 00:34:26,400 prayers and however you see fit in your will. 633 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:31,159 God, we pray believing for miracles, supernatural, shocking 634 00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:35,440 things to happen that we pray about in the midst of your 635 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:39,520 sovereignty, both. And that's our prayer, God. 636 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:44,880 So we dedicate this next week and sum to you as a church and 637 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:48,520 when we finished up on that Monday night, I want to hope and 638 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:52,199 pray that it will be really a beautiful time for us as a 639 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:57,760 church family in Jesus name and everyone said Amen. 640 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:01,640 Now before we leave, I always do want to take a moment and give 641 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:04,840 an opportunity for any who might be here who've never made the 642 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:07,320 decision to become a Christian. And what does that look like? 643 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,680 What does it mean? Well, it means that God created 644 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:13,960 us for relationship, but we lost that relationship with God 645 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:16,680 because of our sinful nature. In essence. 646 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:21,040 That's the basic of it. And so our descendants are those 647 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:24,720 who are ancestors. Our ancestors kind of distanced 648 00:35:24,720 --> 00:35:27,160 us from God. But God came up with a plan, and 649 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:30,120 his plan was that he would come. God would put on human skin and 650 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:33,240 come as Jesus. Jesus is God and he would live a 651 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:36,560 perfect, sinless life, and then he would offer himself up for us 652 00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:39,720 to pay the penalty for our redemption that was being 653 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:44,360 redeemed, bought back. And so now because of the death 654 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:48,760 and resurrection of Jesus, we can be in relationship with God 655 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,840 eternally, but God doesn't force it upon us. 656 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:56,240 God gives us a choice to either submit our lives to him or to 657 00:35:56,240 --> 00:35:58,840 run from him. And maybe you've been sensing 658 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:03,440 like a drawing to God through Jesus, and at a certain point in 659 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:05,640 your life, you have to make the decision to the Bible calls it 660 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:08,560 being born again of all things. It's like you're born a second 661 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:09,960 time. You're born spiritually. 662 00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:15,040 And God doesn't force it on us, but it's his invitation to us. 663 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:18,120 And at that point, when we surrender our lives to the 664 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:22,680 Lordship of Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit and God comes to 665 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:25,840 dwell in US. And you don't have to understand 666 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,080 all the theology and doctrine of Christianity. 667 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:30,920 You can grow in it, but it just takes its basic understanding. 668 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:34,000 That relationship with God comes through Christ. 669 00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:36,320 And the Bible says if you believe in your heart and 670 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:38,840 confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, then you shall be 671 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:41,400 saved. And I want to invite you to that 672 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,320 today, invite you to believing in your heart, saying, yes, I've 673 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:46,000 wrestled with the claims of Christianity. 674 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,000 I believe it. And so now I'm going to confess 675 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:49,760 it with my mouth. And maybe you want to tell a 676 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:53,120 friend or me or someone that can encourage you in your walk with 677 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:56,080 Christ, But I'm going to pray. And I want to invite those of 678 00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:58,000 you who would say, I want to make the decision to become a 679 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,320 Christian and I want to invite you to pray with me. 680 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,520 You can do it out loud or you can do it quietly. 681 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:04,760 And then the next step would be to be baptized. 682 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:06,360 We'll tell you more about that in the weeks to come. 683 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:09,000 But that's the initial point of becoming a Christian. 684 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,760 So let me lead a prayer. And some of you who are wanting 685 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:15,600 to make that decision, I invite you to echo this prayer with me. 686 00:37:15,720 --> 00:37:21,040 You might say, Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus name and 687 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:26,000 I sent you drawing me. I sense you, God pulling me 688 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:30,960 towards you and I recognize that the way to you is through Jesus, 689 00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:32,960 his life and death and resurrection. 690 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:36,840 So Jesus, I said, I welcome your lordship, I repent of my own 691 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:41,080 ways, my own sin, and I turn towards you and I say come and 692 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:44,480 rule and reign in me and I receive your presence God, to 693 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:48,320 dwell in me and I receive eternal life now, not just after 694 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:49,840 I die. Thank you for your eternal life 695 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:52,760 with you then, but also thank you that I receive eternal 696 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:58,480 meaningful life now here. So I receive you Lord, I welcome 697 00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:03,920 you to reign in my life, grow me in your ways as I chase after 698 00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:08,000 you in Jesus name. And everyone said Amen. 699 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:10,520 All right, if you made that decision, I encourage you to 700 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:14,000 tell somebody, me or a friend or a loved one, let's all stand 701 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,160 before you go. I do want to say a blessing over 702 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:19,160 you. I hope that you go enjoy the 703 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:21,360 snow. You know, there's a lot of snow 704 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:22,880 out there, man. If you're in northern Michigan, 705 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:24,080 you might as well enjoy it, right? 706 00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:28,400 I just saw that so far we've had over 80, I think, 86 inches of 707 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:32,040 snow and which is I think 25 inches more than normal. 708 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:35,320 I think that was like Friday. So it's coming, man, Just keeps 709 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,240 coming. So enjoy it before you go, 710 00:38:38,240 --> 00:38:40,880 please allow me to say this blessing over you, if you'll 711 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:45,840 prepare your heart. And now may the Lord bless you 712 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:49,120 and keep you. And may He make his face to 713 00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:53,000 shine upon you. And may the joy of the Lord that 714 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:55,880 is unspeakable and full of glory made a bound to you. 715 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:59,760 And may the peace of God that passes all understanding, may it 716 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:03,680 shock you in the midst of all of the challenges that life brings. 717 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,440 And then made the mercies of the Lord, in other words, the 718 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:09,280 forgiveness of God. That is new every morning. 719 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:12,520 May it be especially new to you now and your mornings to come. 720 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:15,320 And now may the Lord Jesus Christ guard your heart and your 721 00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:17,640 mind. You are salt in your light. 722 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:19,800 Go now and be salt and light into the world. 723 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:22,120 You are blessed. We'll see you again soon.