Sermon Tone Analysis

What does God want them to know?

Fasting is a Spiritual discipline that draws us close to God, seek wisdom/discernment about a decision, delieverance/breakthrough, protection/provision, repentance, prepare and grow us in ministry

Why? draws us close to God, seek wisdom/discernment about a decision, delieverance/breakthrough, protection/provision, repentance, prepare and grow us in ministry

What does God want them to do? Fast

Why? draws us close to God, seek wisdom/discernment about a decision, delieverance/breakthrough, protection/provision, repentance, prepare and grow us in ministry

ME/WE

We are in the series the Sermon on the Mount were Jesus gives His first sermon describing what His kingdom is about and Jesus gives us a 30 point sermon.

Currently we are in the secret section or spotlight section of the sermon.

Jesus in Matthew 6 address that there are 3 spiritual practices of our faith that are meant to be secret or a better way to say it is that they are NOT TO BE SPIRITUAL PRACTICES that shine the spotlight on US but on God....but too often the religious leaders of the day, and it happens today too, were putting the spotlight, focusing on God, but on themselves....they were doing this SPIRITUAL PRACTICES SO PEPOLE COULD SEE THEM AND THINK MUCH OF THEM....

IS THIS WHAT SPIRITUAL PRACTICES WERE TO BE? FOCUS ON US?

No

THEY ARE TO FOCUS ON GOD

IT IS COMMUNION WITH YOU AND GOD

it is not to be “hey look at me!”

Because this was such a problem “what did Jesus say to do? “ what was the antidote to not making it about me?

Do those religious practices in secret, so there is no spotlight, there is no, “Hey look at me!”

What are the first two spiritual practices we talked about?

Giving and prayer

Does this mean they always have to be done in secret?

yes and no…the first one Jesus says we are to give in such a way our left hand does not know what our right hand is doing.

Second prayer, is that always to be private?

No, there are corporate and group prayers

It is just the SPOTLIGHT of our prayer is to be on God not us.

What was on the aha moment we learned last week about the Lord’s Prayer?

That in the Lord’s Prayer the first two sections focus on God and the next 3 focus on US not ME.

We often pray Give me, deliver ME, Forgive me

Now we are moving to the THRID spiritual practice that Jesus address that is an interesting practice because it is a practice that people are doing more and more today but not for SPIRITUAL REASONS but for HEALTH reasons.

It is not a practice many us in our FLESH go give me that BUT MANY US WHO DO IT ARE GRATEFUL THAT WE HAVE DONE IT.

What SPIRITUAL PRACTICE am I talking about?

FASTING

You hear about FASTING A LOT today in regards to our health.

You hear people doing Intermitting Fasting where people will go 16, 18, 20 hours between meals for health reasons and I have done it and it is healthy for your body to FAST.

But that is not the FAST I AM TALKING ABOUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SPIRITUALLY FASTING, we will in a moment talk about

WHAT IS FASTING?

WHY WE FAST?

Before we go there let’s hear what Jesus has to say in the sermon on the mount about fasting let us first hear what Jesus has to say

(not if you FAST, but when you FAST, it was regular practice amongst those who follow the WORD of GOD)

Day of atonement

When you fast and don’t eat food it starts to show

Don’t do it so others will see you....OH LOOK AT THEM!!! instead have your body look like it is not fasting

WHAT IS FASTING?

The Word FAST in GREEK means one without FOOD” not water, food

People who went without food, not water

To fast in the literal, the literal word means NO FOOD

IN OUR FLESH DOES THAT SOUND GOOD??? GIVE ME SOME FASTING TODAY, NO

Is this the only type of FAST CAN HAVE?

What are some other types of Fasts?

Partical fast called the Dainel Fast a partial fast of eating only fruits and vegetables, and water

SOCIAL MEDIA

TV

as he said he ate no pleasant thing

BUT THE QUESTION IS WHY!?! WHY WOUDL WE FAST FROM FOOD OR ENTERTAINMENT?

WHY DID PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE FAST?

WHY DID JESUS FAST?

DRAW CLOSER TO GOD

We want to fast to draw closer to God.

When we fast we eliminate FOOD, ENTERTAINMENT, and we fill that time for God.

Instead of EATING at LUNCH we are praying at LUNCH, seeking God’s face, PRAYER AND FASTING GO HAND IN HAND

You are having God fill you up to the fullness of God.

We get the sense this is what David is doing in Psalm 63

I don’t know if DAVID IS FASTING but we know He is in the WILDERNESS

DAVID IS SAYING YOU ALONE GOD, YOU ALONE SATISFY

YOU FILL ME UP

WE SEE THIS CORPORATELY AND NATIONALLY DONE, NOT ALWAYS PRIVATE

LEV 16

We see this in Leviticus 16 on the Day of Atonement, the High Holy day the nation of Israel would FAST to draw closer to God.

SOME CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES DO A FAST ON GOOD FRIDAY UNTIL EASTER

A FAST THAT ENDS WITH A FEAST

Early church did it how often do you think?

Didache 8:1

Early church fasted TWO days a week on Wednesday and Friday

2. WISDOM OR DISCERNMENT ON A DECISION

IN BOTH THESE SITUATIONS WHILE THEY WERE FASTING JESUS GAVE THEM DISCERNMENT OR ACTION STEPS TO THERE NEXT MOVE.

These are to be your elders

Send Barnabas and Saul out

Many times people fast when they have a MAJOR decision about SOMETHING,

- a opportunity comes there way,

- fast about whether to take another job or stay

about a relationship

a major purchase

People set aside FOOD, or others things to HEAR what GOD wants them to.

ANYONE HAVE A TESTIMONY THAT WANT TO SHARE?

3. SPIRITUAL BREAKTHROUGH

We see this when the disciples tried to cast out a demon from a boy and they could not do it....they tried the normal ways they were doing it but it was not working.

and fasting

What God is saying to us to sometimes to get Spiritual Breakthrough it requires FASTING and PRAYER

THE BREAKTHROUGH WILL NOT COME THROUGH PRAYER OR DECLARING “BE HEALED”

(who’s the Prince of Persia?

A fallen angel, a demonic spirit)

We do not wrestle

IN a similar way with us, for the demonic forces to be defeated it necessitates fasting and prayer

This is the story of my friend Chris…my friend Chris started off on a good path, he was going to be a DENTIST,

Pressures of life came,

go involved in drugs,

Chris is smart make him a drug dealing, not local but over states

Homosexual lifestyle

Prison

His mom prayed every Monday for 7 years for Chris’s salvation

Through prayer and fasting that Chris came to know the LORD and not only that He runs a ministry helping other people who struggle with SAME SEX attraction find FREEDOM and DELIVERANCE IN CHRIST

ROE VS WADE OVERTURNING