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what if there was a life available to us that looks much different than what most of us experience, but is exactly what God made us for, and exactly what our hearts long for?
what if this life is not a life that constrains and restricts, but a life that is itself truly life– life outside the box
Truth in Scripture
• Prescriptive –“This is how you should pray…,”
(Matthew 6:9ff).• Descriptive–“Before daybreak, Jesus went out to
an isolated place to pray,” (Mark 1:35)
From “Should” to “Would”
““Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Mark 2:19-20, NLT)
The Relationship of Our Righteous Acts
Almsgiving(Others)
Prayer (God)
Fasting (Myself)
““Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others,” (Matthew 6:1, NLT).
Key = Be Authentic
Matthew 6:16, (NLT)
“”…don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting.” (Matthew 6:16, NLT)
Pitfall of Public Admiration
“…so people will admire them for their fasting.”
Fast for an audience of one
Pitfall of Becoming Mechanical11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this
prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income,’ (Luke 18:11-12, NLT)
Fast with the heart, not just the stomach
Pitfall of Spiritual Manipulation
“Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” (James 4:2–3, NLT)
Fast with God’s will in mind
Matthew 6:17–18, (NLT)
“But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private.”
Types of Fasts in Scripture
• Abstaining Food–Moses, (Deuteronomy 9:9) and Jesus,
(Luke 4:2) 40 Day Fasts–Nation of Israel, Day of Atonement
• Abstaining Some Foods–Daniel, (Daniel 10:3)
Types of Fasts in Scripture
• Total Fast– Esther, (Esther 4:16) and Saul (Acts
9:9)• Sexual Fasts–Married Couples, (1 Corinthians 7:5)
Isaiah 58:6-7 (NLT)
“No, this is the kind of fasting I want:Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you.Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help,”
The Blessing of Spiritual Hunger
“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6, NLT)
“Seeking the reward of the Father is not contrary to true virtue…Doing right “just because it is right” is not the Christian ideal. Doing right to enlarge our delight for God is,” (John Piper, A Hunger for God).
Fruit of Fasting, Acts 13:1-3
• Fasting Corporately Creates Unity (v.1)• Fasting Strengthens Worship, (v.2a)• Fasting Clarifies Guidance, (v.2b)• Fasting Changes the Course of
History, (v.3)
Fasting Says…
“This much, O God, this much we long for your fullness in the church and your glory in the world.”
John Piper