Thursday, January 28, 2010

Day 15

Mal 1:8
8
When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.

The priests in Malachi's day thought their sacrifices were sufficient. They had spotless animals but chose to keep those for themselves and give their lest desirable animals to God. They assumed that God was pleased because they had sacrificed something. God wasn't happy. Just as He isn't happy when we offer him our leftovers. Our leftover money, our leftover time and our leftover devotion. Why not make a decision as this fast enters its last day, Jesus I want to give you my best, not my leftovers but my best.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Day 14

Its a little late in coming but here we are. I'm in the Qantas club again waiting for a plane to Cairns as I have a funeral tomorrow morning for one of our network pastors who died of a heart attack last week.

Matt13:44
44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

In this account the man gladly sold all he had in order to purchase something that really mattered, he knew that what he had stumbled upon, the Kingdom of Heaven, was more valuable than anything he had, so he went for it with everything in him.
A good friend of my wife gave her heart to Christ at Elevation on Sunday night and on Monday she received a TXT about her excitement of finding Christ. Certainly much better than some Christians response who cant even be motivated to worship! Are we still this passionate about obtaining the things of the Kingdom?

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Day 13

Australia Day! Another glorious day at the Gold Coast. Went to the early morning prayer meeting this morning for a time of passionate praying with others and then off to the beach to hang out with some friends for the morning.
I have been thrilled and inspired by the amount of people that have taken up the fasting challenge over these 14 days. In fact some are actually going to go longer. The testimonies that I am hearing of tension in marriages as people try and get their lives centered back around Christ, physical "kick back" as bodies are told that they are going without and spiritual darkness nervously trying to see this season out so hopefully we will return to "normal". One thing I am sure of and that's no one and I mean no one is worse of for doing this fast, we all benefit.
This what Isaiah 58 says about fasting.
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.

Raising up the foundation of many generations means that what dysfunction we have can be broken off our lives so that the future generations don't have to walk in it. Remember "What walks in the father runs in the family". This fast you are making decisions that will impact generations, Well Done!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Day 12

Prov 29
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,But happy is he who keeps the law.

There have been some great praise reports coming in about what has happened over these days of prayer and fasting. Healings, financial blessing, jobs, children coming to Christ even a wedding dress that had been lost for a year at a dry cleaners was found on the second day of the fast. We are so thankful to God for all that's happened but to be truthful I would still be thankful to God even if no prayers had been answered. Its good to remind ourselves that fasting doesn't bring about the answers it simply positions us in our relationship with Christ where He is central.
But its amazing what will happen when we do it.

Acts 10:30
30 So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.

Vision gets birthed in the heart of people who will dedicate themselves to a lifestyle of prayer and fasting. So if you feel like your life is floundering then apply the discipline of fasting.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Day 11

Ps 63:1
1
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

In talking about our daily relationship with Christ its important to remember that its not just about opening our bibles and reading a chapter or verse. Although this is a great starting place if we don't have a daily time. In the above psalm it talks much more about the yearning in our hearts. That's the approach we need to take toward meeting with Him. A longing to know God and to be with God more than water on a hot day. It was 36 degree here the other day and water was in huge demand, as our flesh longed for water so must our soul long to be with God.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Day 10

Yesterday I blogged about Anna serving in the house of God. On the flip side the bible also talks about people that didn't go the distance, these were people who had the call and the potential but they drifted off course.

2 Tim 4

6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

Demas had deserted Paul because of a love for this present world. There were to many comforts and pleasures fighting for his attention. He couldn't say no anymore. Here Paul is wrapping up his life as this was to be his last piece of correspondence before he died. I have fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith but Demas. Its not easy going the journey for Christ but I know this, if we don't practice daily communion with God then we to will drift away. Demas didn't wake up one day and just leave he would have drifted away. That's why so many people here on the Gold Coast drown they don't deliberately get pulled out to sea they drift into a rip. All of us are in love with something we just got to make sure that the wrong things don't top our list.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Day 9

Last day of church planting school today and then its back home to the great people @ Elevation Church on the Gold Coast. Even though its been a great week I am a little tired of sitting in meetings. I feel a little carnal when I read about Anna the prophet in the verses below.

Luke 2
36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

Day and night praying, fasting and worshiping in the temple at the age of 84. Not a bad way to spend your senior years. Unfortunately most of us have such busy (cluttered) lives. But this verse does highlight how to make the most of our time in the temple (the house of God). If you struggle wanting to go to church or engaging God at church then do an "Anna" pray and fast and ask God to give you a love for the house.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Day 8

Very hard to get out of bed this morning. I spoke at church planting school last night on Staying Resilient from the book of Nehemiah. He is one of my great bible heroes the way he led a nation that had become satisfied living with broken down walls. We see in chapter 1 when the news of the reproach that the Jews were in reached Nehemiah his first response was to pray and fast. The word reproach means disgrace. They were ashamed of what they had become because of their disobedience.

4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said:

He then goes on to repent on behalf of his nation and challenge not to forget their God. Getting a clean heart is so important while we are fasting from our pleasures. Everyday come to God and ask him to purify your heart and hands so that we can stand free from disgrace and shame and be clothed in His righteousness.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Day 7

Do you have to make some major decisions this year? Are you feeling like your life is a little in need of some adventure? All of us reach plateau's in our walk with God where we feel that there isnt a lot happening. Enter a time of prayer and fasting!
In Acts 13 we read the following, "And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away."

It is almost impossible to overstate the historical importance of this moment in Antioch in the history of the world. Before this word from the Holy Spirit there seems to have been no organized mission of the church beyond the eastern seacoast of the Mediterranean. Before this, Paul had made no missionary journeys westward to Asian Minor, Greece, or Rome, or Spain. Before this Paul had not written any of his letters which were all the result of his missionary travels beginning here.
This moment of prayer and fasting resulted in a missions movement that would make Christianity the dominant religion of the Roman Empire within two and a half centuries and would yield 1.3 billion converts of the Christian religion today with a Christian witness in virtually every country of the world. And 13 out of the 29 books of the New Testament were the result of the ministry that was launched in this moment of prayer and fasting.
So if you feel like your life needs some new direction then maybe its time to pray fast.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Day 6

Why encourage people to corporately fast isn't fasting something that is meant to be private? Isn't telling people be hypocritical?

Matt 6
16
“And when you fast, 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. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

If you read this scripture at face value that may be what we see but I want to take this thought a little deeper. Jesus was talking about people who fast for the wrong reason not people who fast and public ally encourage others to fast with them for the right reason. The religious leaders that Jesus was talking about would fast for the admiration of the people and not of God. So the reward that they were seeking of public recognition is the reward that they received. That's why Jesus says to fast in private to make sure that our heart motive is right. They were hypocrites because they outwardly looked spiritual but inwardly their heart is twisted. So as we do a corporate fast get your heart right first we aren't comparing what we fast or how long we fast or how spiritual we look we are doing this to centre our lives around Christ.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Day 5

I am sitting in the Qantas club in Brisbane airport waiting to catch a flight down to Sydney where I am teaching at Church Planters School. Not the best place to be when you are fasting as there is free food here everywhere!! Mmmm crumpets.
I just read in John 18:25-27 the account of Peter's denial of Jesus.

25 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” 26 But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” 27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

After all Peter had previously promised to Jesus about how he would never turn away, that he would be with him till the end and here he is at his first test of this declaration and a little like us he fails miserably. This is where the fasting test enters.
When you fast you are denying yourself a pleasure that your flesh is craving. You are buffeting or disciplining your body. You are training your body and mind that your hunger for God is more than this momentary pleasure of eating, TV, coffee or whatever yours is. Now here is the deal. The temptation to yield to that pleasure is no different to Peters temptation to deny Jesus! If we cant say NO to the pleasure are we confident that we will stand strong in our faith and in our convictions when it really matters most? Prayer and fasting strengthens us today for what may come tomorrow.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Day 4

Matt4:1
1
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

The following verses reveal 3 confrontations that Jesus has with Satan who is trying to coax him away from his trust in the Father. The first act of the Spirit in Jesus ministry was to lead Him into the wilderness and expose him to Satan's testings. Under the Spirits leading Jesus prepared for this test by fasting. At this point so much hangs in the balance, if Jesus yields to one of the enemies schemes than the whole plan of salvation for mankind is over, and to think that God led him there. I love what John Piper in his book A Hunger For God says,"Jesus began his ministry with fasting and triumphed over his enemy with fasting and our salvation was accomplished through perseverance and fasting".

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Day 3


1 Cor 9:23-27 And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

Paul buffets or disciplines his body we tend to buffet ours at Sizzler. We overindulge, we struggle knowing when to stop, we give reasons why but in the end we lack discipline. Fasting reveals the measure of foods mastery over us, or television, or facebook or whatever we submit to again and again to conceal the weakness of our hunger for God. Before we get dominion over spiritual powers that rule over our lives we first need to get dominion over the Angus beef burger!

Proverbs 25:28 Like a city that is broken into and without walls Is a man who has no control over his spirit.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Day 2

Job23:12
"I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food".

As we embark on this fast there is a NSW farmer Peter Spencer who has just ended his 52 day hunger strike. Now that's a long time to go without food to get attention and prove a point.
The christian fast isn't a hunger strike, so just going without food is not the goal of these 14 days. As we dethrone whatever we believe God wants us to go without we must replace it with time reading the word of God and drawing closer to Christ, if we don't then we are no different to a farmer on a hunger strike.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Day 1

I have committed to writing everyday that our 14 day fast is on at Elevation. It officially kicks off on Monday but I wanted to get a jump start so I started today.

Day 1

Ps 21:2
You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

What a great scripture to kick off the first day of seeking God. The only question is What does my heart desire? Because if I am going to get it then I must make sure that its going to add to my life. We have created a Fasting Contract which we are handing out this Sunday to get people to commit to the fast but also to list why they are fasting. I want to make sure that my request is one that is pleasing to God. What's the why behind your fast?

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Where is your sting?

The world lost a great hero of the faith today with the passing of Ps Neils Brown. Sickness never took him but he decided the leave us and be with Jesus. As I have watched over recent months his health deteriorate I realized that its no wonder that Paul could say, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?". (1 Cor 15:55) In Christ the stinger of death is pulled from our lives and we need to no longer fear. Death is really birth pains of us as Christ followers entering into the adoption that Jesus has planned for us. Neils fought this battle with a deep love for God and a faith in Christ that God was in control Lord help us to do the same.