Sermon Notes
Pleasant Hill Missionary
Church,
Bronson, MI
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Speaker: Pastor Cory
Weatherton
Fasting in Acts 13:1-3
Observations:
- The fasting occurred after Jesus' First Coming, so fasting is not
just an old covenant thing - Christians should continue to fast today
- Fasting occurred as a group (but not otherwise announced to
everybody - see Matthew
6:16-18)
- This was an occasion for the Holy Spirit's special guidance
(verses 2 and 3)
- Fasting changed the course of history: God directed them on the
very first missionary movement. If this didn't happen, we wouldn't have
Paul's 13 letters of the New Testament - these were all written to
Paul's church plants.
"Fasting is essentially
saying, 'we
want more of God.'" - Pastor Weatherton, 8/1/10
Another Observation: Things
were
going well in the church - the church was growing, etc. But they still
fasted.
---
Kevin North's comments on the
above:
We Americans are way too comfy. Are we feeling hungry? We grab a bag of
chips, or hit a McDonald's drive-thru. Are we hot? We turn on the air
conditioner. Are we bored? We turn on cable TV. We may complain a lot,
but we really do have the easy life. And we want to stay in our comfort
zone. But God may have a greater purpose for us.
The thing that intrigued me
the most
about today's sermon was that the Christians were not fasting as a last
resort in a crisis situation. They fasted when things were good. This
got them out of their comfort zone. The hunger pains reminded them of
their dependence on God, and got their mind away from themselves and
totally focused on God's Will. Once their minds were totally sharpened
and focused on God, then they were ready to receive God's instructions
about a missionary journey.
Follow-up comments (8/4/10): There's a lot of people out there saying
how fasting unlocks the power of God. This may be true, but we have to
be careful not to think that our fasting is going to make God do something. Fasting is
about God changing us, not us changing God (God doesn't change). It's
not like God needs fasting as part of a magic recipe to do something -
he's all-powerful, he doesn't need anything. So why fast? Like Pastor
Weatherton said, "Fasting is essentially saying, 'we want more of
God.'" We want to change ourselves to
be more like God. Only by fasting can we really get out of our comfort
zone and really hear what God has to say. And then we lay it all on the
line for God, saying, "God, I need you. I desire to do your will. I
will go wherever you want me to go. I will give up food for a day (like
I'm doing now). I will give up something else in my life. I will change
priorities. I will do whatever." When we truly lay it all on the line
and make ourselves available to God, then, by all means, the full power
of God is unlocked! But we're not seeking to just sit by while God does
it all... we're an active participant. And it's because we're an active
participant that God can really work through us to do great things.
When the early church leaders said to God that they'll go whever He
wants them to go, God sent two of them on the mission trip, and thus
the course of history was changed! (But only because they participated
and obeyed God with this calling.)