JesusPeople

it’s about…

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

A LIFE OF SPIRITUAL HUNGER

life outside the box

“Are you hungry?”

THE “WHEN” NOT “IF” OF FASTING

A Life of Spiritual Hunger

Fasting: The Setting Aside of Food and Other Essential Activities for Spiritual Purposes

Matthew 6:16, (NLT)

“When you fast,”

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 Practicing of Our Faith

• When you give…• When you pray…• When you fast…

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

AVOID THE PITFALLS OF FASTING

A Life of Spiritual Hunger

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 Pretense

“…don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do…”

Keep your motives pure

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

HOW SHOULD WE FASTA Life of Spiritual Hunger

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.”

• Don’t get caught up in a new legalism – behave naturally.

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)

Types of Fasts

• Fast of Self-Centeredness, Quarrelling, and Injustice–Isaiah 58:1-5

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 FASTING

A Life of Spiritual Hunger

Matthew 6:18, (NLT)

“And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

Spiritually Engineered

Spirit

Soul

Body

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)

FINDING YOUR BIGGER “YES”

A Life of Spiritual Hunger

Fasting Says…

“This much, O God, this much we long for your fullness in the church and your glory in the world.”

John Piper

Are you hungry?