FACETIME Session 3
INTRO Changing the camera view; changing the focus; the multitude, the many…
Today another view, the primary view: FACE TO FACE
Intimacy, closeness, kiss
Psalms 2:12 NKJV Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
The Lord always wanted to speak to His people face to face. He wanted an intimate relationship.
Deuteronomy 5:4 NKJV The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
But Israel rejected that face to face relationship.
Deuteronomy 5:23–29 NKJV So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said: ‘Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives. Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? You go near and hear all that the LORD our God may say, and tell us all that the LORD our God says to you, and we will hear and do it. ’ “Then the LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
So Moses and a few others enjoyed what God intended for everyone.
Deuteronomy 34:10 NKJV But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
How did Moses do it? Let’s see how He and God got together and learn from his example.
Exodus 33:7–11 NKJV Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.
1. He took his tent and went ’outside the camp’.
What was ’outside the camp’?
Hebrews 13:11–13 NKJV For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
Sometimes we have to go get rid of stuff… sometimes we just have to lay it all down… ashes, failures, waste… dreams, ambitions, plans...
“Something Beautiful”
If there ever were dreams that were lofty and noble, they were my dreams at the start. And the hope for life's best were the hopes that I harbored down deep in my heart. But my dreams turned to ashes; my castles all crumbled; my fortune turned to loss. So I wrapped it all in the rags of my life and laid it at the cross.
Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But he made something beautiful of my life
“Give Them All”
Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows; are you tired of spinning round and round. Wrap up all the shattered dreams of your life; at the feet of Jesus lay them down
Give them all; give them all.
Give them all to Jesus: shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys
Give them all; give them all.
Give them all to Jesus. And he will turn your sorrow into joy
2. He went ’far from the camp’.
Why? Because of what was in the camp: murmuring, discontent, doubt and unbelief…
You have to get away from the noise!
Leaders need regular times to think!
Jesus often got alone to pray…
3. He went into the ’tent of meeting’.
It was his tent. He had made it a tabernacle.
4. God talked to him.
What happens when we are face to face with God?
1. We get instruction.
Deuteronomy 5:31–33 NKJV But as for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’ “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
2. We wrestle with God.
Genesis 32:30 NKJV So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
There are things you don't understand… Things you wished were different…
When you wrestle wth God, you get:
a new name, a blessing, a limp!
3. We see ourselves.
I Corinthians 13:12 NKJV For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
Isaiah 6:1, 5 NKJV In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.”
4. We receive purpose.
Judges 6:22 NKJV Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.”
APPLICATIONS
Seek His face, not his hand!
Psalms 27:8 NKJV When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
Seek His presence, not His power!
II Corinthians 4:6 NKJV For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
One more thing…
Exodus 33:11 NKJV So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.
Joshua dwelt in His presence!
Moses couldn't go in; Joshua did!
The Blessing
Numbers 6:24–26 NKJV The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Saturday, January 16, 2016
THE NEEDS OF THE MANY
FACETIME Session 2
“THE NEEDS OF THE MANY OUTWEIGH THE NEEDS OF THE FEW OR THE ONE”
VIDEO "Search for Spock
Who are the many? The multitude, the crowd, the people...
Jesus said they were weary, scattered (lost) and without a shepherd (vulnerable).
The NT word is hoi polloi. It has a negative or derogatory connotation signifying the common people, the working class, the commoners, the masses. English synonyms include the great unwashed, the rabble, the dregs of society, riffraff, peons, outcasts, across the tracks, bums, thugs, takers and many others I am ashamed to even mention. A common synonym in the Greek is tax collector, publican or sinner, as used in Luke 15.
Luke 15:1–2 (NKJV) Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives (welcomes) sinners and eats with them.”
Notice that Jesus drew sinners and this was criticized by the religious crowd.
Luke 15 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. It contains three parables about things being lost: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost (prodigal) sons.
These “Parables of Lost Things” have two common threads: the main characters in the stories left those already in the house to go after those who were lost! When they found what was lost there was a party, on earth and in heaven!
Who are these lost ones?
1. They are the ones for whom Jesus died!
Romans 5:19 NASB For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
2. They are the ones we are called to serve!
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 MSG Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
Romans 1:14-15 NKJV I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
3. They were Jesus’ friends!
Luke 7:34 (NKJV) The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Research: The longer a person is saved, the fewer lost friends he has. By the time a person has been a Christian for five years, he no longer has any lost friends.
This has to change. One pastor says his church is divided into thirds: the mature, the babies, the hell-bouncers!
Let’s talk some inventory.
Do I lay down my life for those for whom Jesus died?
Do I serve the lost out of a feeling of debt?
Do I have lost friends?
“THE NEEDS OF THE MANY OUTWEIGH THE NEEDS OF THE FEW OR THE ONE”
VIDEO "Search for Spock
Who are the many? The multitude, the crowd, the people...
Jesus said they were weary, scattered (lost) and without a shepherd (vulnerable).
The NT word is hoi polloi. It has a negative or derogatory connotation signifying the common people, the working class, the commoners, the masses. English synonyms include the great unwashed, the rabble, the dregs of society, riffraff, peons, outcasts, across the tracks, bums, thugs, takers and many others I am ashamed to even mention. A common synonym in the Greek is tax collector, publican or sinner, as used in Luke 15.
Luke 15:1–2 (NKJV) Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives (welcomes) sinners and eats with them.”
Notice that Jesus drew sinners and this was criticized by the religious crowd.
Luke 15 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. It contains three parables about things being lost: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost (prodigal) sons.
These “Parables of Lost Things” have two common threads: the main characters in the stories left those already in the house to go after those who were lost! When they found what was lost there was a party, on earth and in heaven!
Who are these lost ones?
1. They are the ones for whom Jesus died!
Romans 5:19 NASB For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
2. They are the ones we are called to serve!
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 MSG Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
Romans 1:14-15 NKJV I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.
3. They were Jesus’ friends!
Luke 7:34 (NKJV) The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Research: The longer a person is saved, the fewer lost friends he has. By the time a person has been a Christian for five years, he no longer has any lost friends.
This has to change. One pastor says his church is divided into thirds: the mature, the babies, the hell-bouncers!
Let’s talk some inventory.
Do I lay down my life for those for whom Jesus died?
Do I serve the lost out of a feeling of debt?
Do I have lost friends?
Saturday, January 9, 2016
FACETIME (updated)
“FACETIME”
Everybody get
your phone out and take a selfie. Who
needs a selfie stick?
The selfie has
become an international trend.
Selfie stats: 93 million selfies are taken every day.
50% of men and
52% of women have taken a selfie. Women may take selfies more than men, but men
over 30 share more selfies than women over 30.
Selfies represent
30% of all photos taken by people ages 18-24 and 30% of all photos on Instagram
and 40% of all photos on Facebook.
Do you touch up
your selfies? 14% of selfies are digitally enhanced—34% of men say they retouch
every selfie, while only 13% of women retouch every selfie.
A report in the International Business Times claims
that the death toll for selfie-related incidents this year is higher than shark
attacks, with 12 selfie-related deaths around the world compared to the recent
report of the Global Shark Attack File of eight deaths by shark attacks in
2015.
These
selfie-related accidents include distracted people falling off cliffs, being
hit by trains, crashing their cars and accidentally shooting themselves while
posing with guns.
The growing
trend of selfie-related accidents has sparked several interventions from
different countries to stop the risk-taking attitude of people. In July, the
Russian government initiated a campaign to raise awareness to the public about
the dangers of selfies after hundreds of injuries were reported. Prior to the
campaign, two men in Russia’s Ural Mountains accidentally killed themselves
while taking a selfie, posing while pulling the pin from a hand grenade.
“Unfortunately
we have noted recently that the number of accidents caused by lovers of
self-photography is constantly increasing,” a government aide said at the
launch of the selfie safety campaign. “Since the beginning of the year we are
talking about some hundred cases of injuries for sure.”
Selfies with
wild animals have also spurred authorities to respond to the growing trend.
Officials of the Yellowstone National Park in the US have released warnings
when five incidents of selfie-takers were reported being attacked while
standing near a bison. A park in Denver has also temporarily closed due to the
growing number of visitors coming too close to bears to take selfies.
In Australia,
officials fenced off a 16-story-high rock landmark nicknamed the Wedding Cake
Rock, after people kept taking photos on it despite warnings that it could
collapse at any time. A “no selfie zone” will also be implemented by officials
in India during the Hindu Kumbh Mela festival over concerns taking selfies may
cause a stampede.
Data from Google
Trends shows that selfies more popular than ever. In fact, 2014 was named “The
Year of the Selfie,” after searches for the “selfie” term increased eight times
during that period. In 2015 Merriam-Webster added the word ‘Selfie’ to the
dictionary and the most retweeted tweet ever posted was a selfie from the
Oscars.
Along with the
selfies are the ’meformers’ who want the world to know everything about their
lives, whether we want to know or not. TMI!
A recent article
on LinkedIn traces the impact of social media on the increasing narcissism of
our present age. It's all about me...
One app that I
enjoy using is FaceTime. Some of you use Skype. I enjoy seeing my kids and
grandkids while I talk to them. Now I don't know about you, but I also sneak
some peeks at my own image! Sometimes, though,
you change the camera view to see what’s on the other side of the phone. We
take our eyes off ourselves and put it on others.
Last Friday
morning in our men’s Bible study, we were talking about that very thing and I
thought about FaceTime and changing the view. I believe that God was giving me
an illustration of a Biblical truth.
Philippians 2:1-4 KJV
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any
comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one
accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every
man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
This is the
gaze, the look, of a living believer, a living church. Over the past couple of
years, I have read many books and articles about healthy church life. They all
agree on one thing: a living church is one that looks outward to those who have
needs. Once a church begins to look inward it begins to die. This is true of
individuals also. If we always gaze at ourselves, we begin to die!
I have become
aware in my life that when I am consumed with "me" I am walking in
the flesh. When I am walking in the Spirit, I am consumed with others.
God wants us to
take the focus off ourselves and put it on people around us.
1. Look at the multitudes
Matthew 9:35-38 NKJV Then Jesus went about all
the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of
the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But
when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they
were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His
disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore
pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
What do we see?
a. The weary
b. The scattered
(lost)
c. The
vulnerable - they had no shepherd, no food, no water, no protection,
Matthew 11:28 NKJV
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
2. Look at the harvest ready in the field
John 4:35 NKJV
Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’?
Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are
already white for harvest!
I grew up on a
cotton farm and this verse really speaks to me. I remember harvest time. The
cotton was ready and getting the crop to the gin was top priority. Everything
else took a back seat. Why? Because it wouldn't be there forever! Weather could set in and the crop would ruin.
Proverbs 10:5 NKJV
He who gathers in summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in
harvest is a son who causes shame.
One year we had
a bumper crop of grain. Just as the combines pulled into the field, a huge
thunderstorm rolled in. It rained bucket; hail fell like snow; wind blew like a
tornado. When the storm was over, the
grain that had filled the heads on millions of stalks ran down the furrows and
the ditches like a blood filled river. My dad knelt in the field among the
stubble that remained of his grain and cotton and wept. There would not be a
harvest that year. An entire year of labor gone. No chance to recover the loss.
Brothers and
sisters, there are people all around us who are ripe for harvest. If we don't
bring them in, the storms of life will ruin the crop. Let’s not let that
happen!
Illustration:
Howard Conatser, longtime pastor in Dallas, had a dream right before he died...
We all have
needs. We all have things in our life that demand our attention. God gives us a
key to getting out needs met.
Job had a tough row to hoe...
Job 42:10 KJV
And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for
his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Church, if we
will meet the needs of others, God will meet our needs.
"What goes on outside the church is
much more important than what goes on inside the church."
"Launch Out"
"Helping others find hope..."
Sunday, January 3, 2016
THE SKINNY ON FASTING
JANUARY 3, 2016: “The Skinny on Fasting”
VIDEO
The beginning of a new year is a natural time to evaluate and focus.
1. What went right?
2. What didn't?
3. Why?
Don't get too drastic or ’woulda, coulda, shoulda’. Don't navel gaze. Just be honest with yourself and the Lord.
Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.
Use these evaluations as a step to goals for this year. It is vital you set goals and write them down. Then you have a record of God’s work in your life.
Judy Wallen testimony...
We are all ’works in progress’. PBPGISFWMY
Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Fasting can play an important role in this process.
Joel 2:12-33 NKJV "Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. 14 Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him-- A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; 16 Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. 17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, "Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' " 18 Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. 19 The Lord will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. 20 "But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done monstrous things." 21 Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done marvelous things! 22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you-- The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. 24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. 25 "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. 27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. 28 "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.
Why Would Anybody Want to Fast?
1. Desperation
2. Direction
3. Deliverance
4. Disease
5. Desire
“I am not trying to get God to do what I want!”
Different kinds of fasts
1. Total fasts, water only
2. Liquid fasts
3. Partial fasts
a. Daniel fast
b. Ezekiel fast
c. Daytime fasts
d. Certain food fasts
e. Certain meal fasts
4. Sabbath fasts (restaurants)
5. Separation fasts (including marital intimacy)
6. Media fasts
How Long a Fast?
Only fast when God directs.
Only fast as God directs: day, week, month...
In the Bible we see...
One day fasts: Psalms, Ezra
Three day fasts: Esther
Ten day fasts: Daniel and others
21 day fasts: Daniel
40 days fasts: Jesus, Moses, Elijah
390 days: Ezekiel
40 year fasts: Israel ate manna in the wilderness
Fasting is more than going hungry!
Isaiah 58:5-14 NKJV Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. 13 If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
A.W. Tozer in “The Size of the Soul: Principles of Revival and Spiritual Growth”.
The critical need in this hour of the church’s history is not what it is so often said to be: soul-winning, foreign missions, miracles. These are effects, not causes. The most pressing need just now is that we who call ourselves Christians should frankly acknowledge to each other and to God that we are astray; that we should confess that we are worldly, that our moral standards are low and we are spiritually cold. We need to cease our multitude of unscriptural activities, stop running when and where we have not been sent, and cease trying to sanctify carnal projects by professing that we are promoting them “in the name of the Lord” and “for the glory of God.” We need to return to the message, methods and objectives of the New Testament. We need boldly and indignantly to cleanse the temple of all that sell cattle in the holy place, and overthrow the tables of the money-changers. And this must be done in our own lives first and then in the church(es) of which we are a part. Christ told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they had been endued with power from on high. This can only mean that He will not entrust His work to the unready and the unqualified.
Real repentance will result in purified hearts and sanctified lives. A hard and determined return to the pattern shown us in the mount will bring the smile of God upon our efforts. Then we shall experience not less soul-winning, but more. Then we shall have not fewer missionary activities, but more. Then “whatsoever [we] doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3), and God shall be glorified in everything at home and abroad.
Psalms 65:11 NKJV You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.
VIDEO
The beginning of a new year is a natural time to evaluate and focus.
1. What went right?
2. What didn't?
3. Why?
Don't get too drastic or ’woulda, coulda, shoulda’. Don't navel gaze. Just be honest with yourself and the Lord.
Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.
Use these evaluations as a step to goals for this year. It is vital you set goals and write them down. Then you have a record of God’s work in your life.
Judy Wallen testimony...
We are all ’works in progress’. PBPGISFWMY
Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Fasting can play an important role in this process.
Joel 2:12-33 NKJV "Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. 14 Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him-- A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; 16 Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. 17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, "Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' " 18 Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. 19 The Lord will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. 20 "But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done monstrous things." 21 Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done marvelous things! 22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you-- The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. 24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. 25 "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. 27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. 28 "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.
Why Would Anybody Want to Fast?
1. Desperation
2. Direction
3. Deliverance
4. Disease
5. Desire
“I am not trying to get God to do what I want!”
Different kinds of fasts
1. Total fasts, water only
2. Liquid fasts
3. Partial fasts
a. Daniel fast
b. Ezekiel fast
c. Daytime fasts
d. Certain food fasts
e. Certain meal fasts
4. Sabbath fasts (restaurants)
5. Separation fasts (including marital intimacy)
6. Media fasts
How Long a Fast?
Only fast when God directs.
Only fast as God directs: day, week, month...
In the Bible we see...
One day fasts: Psalms, Ezra
Three day fasts: Esther
Ten day fasts: Daniel and others
21 day fasts: Daniel
40 days fasts: Jesus, Moses, Elijah
390 days: Ezekiel
40 year fasts: Israel ate manna in the wilderness
Fasting is more than going hungry!
Isaiah 58:5-14 NKJV Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. 13 If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
A.W. Tozer in “The Size of the Soul: Principles of Revival and Spiritual Growth”.
The critical need in this hour of the church’s history is not what it is so often said to be: soul-winning, foreign missions, miracles. These are effects, not causes. The most pressing need just now is that we who call ourselves Christians should frankly acknowledge to each other and to God that we are astray; that we should confess that we are worldly, that our moral standards are low and we are spiritually cold. We need to cease our multitude of unscriptural activities, stop running when and where we have not been sent, and cease trying to sanctify carnal projects by professing that we are promoting them “in the name of the Lord” and “for the glory of God.” We need to return to the message, methods and objectives of the New Testament. We need boldly and indignantly to cleanse the temple of all that sell cattle in the holy place, and overthrow the tables of the money-changers. And this must be done in our own lives first and then in the church(es) of which we are a part. Christ told His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they had been endued with power from on high. This can only mean that He will not entrust His work to the unready and the unqualified.
Real repentance will result in purified hearts and sanctified lives. A hard and determined return to the pattern shown us in the mount will bring the smile of God upon our efforts. Then we shall experience not less soul-winning, but more. Then we shall have not fewer missionary activities, but more. Then “whatsoever [we] doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3), and God shall be glorified in everything at home and abroad.
Psalms 65:11 NKJV You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.
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