Fasting…And Leave the Results to God

e For a Moment Like This do you realize that there was 325 years of the judges and there were like 10 different periods seven or eight different judges and you would ask if you don’t know that story at all and I hope I’m enticing you you would ask why so many because they had to go through it again and again and again what’s that you say well they their life came together and they got on a roll things were going well and then he did what

is humanly instinctive they took their eyes off the one that gave all that and they started to wander and drift and then sure enough things just broke out into all out bad and they and it got so bad they finally gave up you know you remember Uncle I give I give you know and they did they cried out to God and he sent them a judge or a deliverer is a better word and that deliverer showed up and said okay let’s let’s do some damage to

your enemies the ones that are afflicting you right now and because God is merciful let’s restore you to this intimate place of walking with him and then sadly I have to say because the text tells us repeat they did it again they wandered and so so the pattern goes My Hope Is that we can break that pattern as people many of you are choosing deliberately to do that I want to lead us in prayer right now that you’re thinking of somebody that is way off and

way out maybe this is the time to whisper their name before Jesus Christ who takes your requests Before the Throne of God and see what God wants to do shall we and bring them home because he is a great God and he works in in the place no one else can really work is the heart so God we come to you right now as a people who are in this moment I thought of all the things that are in that song great are you Lord the

things in that I want you are light you are love you are healing you are Grace you’re a hope your forgiveness your everything and none of those things can be ginned up we can’t cook them up because eventually they just they look man-made and we don’t we want something bigger than that we want you and I pray for people that are in this room or joining in our live stream in various other rooms that are saying you know that this is resonating with me I’m not

quite where I should be or maybe I’m way away from a place of life and joy and peace so God as weak get quiet for for a moment further we ask that your Holy Spirit would hear the collective prayers and individual prayers of everybody talking to you right now she would work in their hearts and that you would bring them home and in doing so draw them close to you because you are that great Lord we just sang about and we’ll leave the results to you

in the name of Jesus Christ we pray amen you know that’s kind of my sermon and it wasn’t anything I prepared or planned but hey kids have a great time we’ll see you soon and let me let me welcome in all the rest of you it is good to be together every week and today’s kind of special and quite personal for me and this afternoon we will gather again and celebrate a man that touched many of our lives and and I’m referring to my dad who

is now Home With Jesus and face to face with the Lord he loves and we’re going to gather here at two o’clock as you know many of you will be here for that I’ve been asked a whole bunch how you doing and and you know what I I have to just answer it this way we miss dad I missed that and I miss looking over and we always had another chair set there and I would finish preaching and he I would sit next to him and

even if I bombed which it happens okay and no one knows it more than the preacher the rest of you are just too good-hearted to tell me that’s stunk man that was a stinker you put me to sleep it’s on you you know kind of thing well my dad would just never have it he would just tell me that was the that was the best bomb I’ve ever been I’ve ever been around no it really we miss him but I want you to know something we

believe in the resurrection and because of what Jesus Christ did and we’re going to share communion to remember it again today there is a reunion ahead it’s promised to all people who’ve surrendered to Jesus it’s got to go both ways if you’re the one that left surrender to Jesus and he did then those of us that want to hang out again and hear him laugh and watch him eat cookies again it’s got to be true of you too and that’s it’s true of me it’s true

of Debbie it’s true of many of my family so anyway thank you thank you for letting me share that with you it’s of course very real and personal so I want to I was offered several times by different people who love me hey I’m happy to fill the pulpit today I know this afternoon I will be officiating at my father’s Memorial and I I could I wouldn’t have it any other way I just there it is and but I’m grateful for them I’m not calling their

names out but they really wanted to help and and I thought hopefully in a moment you’re going to see why I wanted to preach and if it’s a bomb don’t tell me okay just just don’t tell me all right so okay let’s start this discussion our conversation this morning with the word of God open if you’re finding your way around Matthew chapter six I’d like you to locate that we’ll end up there but we’re going to get there for through a number of other means and

passages that will travel that we will travel and they will take us to that spot but I want to begin this morning this we call it a discussion that that’s not really correct because I do all the talking and you do all the listening but think of it as a conversation over coffee which I would prefer in many ways in most sermons but a discussion kind of starts with a question a good one anyway so here’s my question Everyone by the way gets to participate and

everyone has an answer so if you’re reaching for your sermon note page it’s blank right now but I hope it’s not when we’re done okay so here’s the question how do you make important decisions I’m going to give you some options okay because I guessed what you might answer because they’re similar to my answers but you know how do you make important decision first what’s an important decision okay let’s just put it out there Starbucks Dutch Brothers or Pete’s what’ll it be okay okay I’m messing

with you I’m messing let’s get really serious about really important questions I I think probably the the most important question that I can come up with that takes me back quite a few years would be which college do I go to if you’re College Bound we got seniors Among Us that just graduated several from our ministry here and they’ve probably already settled that but if you were to interview them they go that’s a biggie I didn’t know where is it scholarships is it price is it

near home is it far away from home you know what is it okay so that’s a big decision and then I followed my own path to the aside from Jesus the biggest decision of all in my entire life the woman I married that’s not a part-time thing or a short-term Prospect we’ve been married 40 years and we’re just getting revved up right so this is cool and it’s get it for four decades that’s a long time so it’s a big decision that’s my point okay and

then you could kind of track with that and and maybe for us we lived in an apartment because it was a one-bedroom apartment that just you know all we could afford but then eventually you gather some cash and save a bunch and you find your question ahead is where do we live do we live in this neighborhood or that neighborhood or this city or that country or this state and on and on the decision these are big decisions okay so maybe you’re writing your answer down

already but let me give you some possibilities as a way of kind of reference how do you make big decisions important decisions maybe maybe yours has always been go ask your dad or go ask your mom you know seek the advice of a parent and along that same line seek the advice maybe of a trusted friend I get a lot of calls because people are seeking the advice advice of a pastor in a important decision should we shouldn’t we and so on and so forth maybe

that’s on your list here’s another one that may be on your list what am I doing flip on flap my hand no I’m flipping a coin right heads I go tells I don’t maybe it’s that or you roll a dice I’ve a confession I thought what a cool thing I wish I understood this idea of casting lots or some method that was used in the Bible but you know I’m not sure I I actually one of very respected friend of mine calls it a form of

throwing dice and he means it very reverently I don’t know maybe that’s your approach I’m not up or down on that I’m I don’t practice that here’s one pray maybe you pray and in prayer sometimes we find our way to this everybody looking right here this is communion so I’m not going to do anything weird but let’s say you needed God’s decision about something important and and this had a cloth over it usually does today it doesn’t that’s okay so it has a cloth over it

and you in your prayers say you know what God I am going to pray that this cloth is wet and everything around it is dry and then it happens let’s say and then the next day you think ah I gotta flip it and you say okay now I’m going to pray that this cloth new cloth is dry everything around it is wet okay so you could go either way wet cloth dry surroundings dry cloth wet surrounding it’s called a a fleece go to go to judges

and chapter six is Gideon and you’ll read how he did the very thing I just said that’s how he made a big decision here’s one maybe for you it’s just like okay College I’ll pick that one meaning not a lot of thought at all you just pick it and live with the consequence maybe you did that with marriage I mean some people I don’t know and then there’s related to that you go with your guts you know that feeling where you just you have this ill

feeling it’s not a burrito or some you know spicy food it’s just you go I don’t feel good about this and you back away from that decision you’re considering am I hitting on you yet am I the the thing that you’re that that guides you you go with your guts here’s one last one I had just impulse you don’t you don’t pull away from it at all it’s kind of similar to not a lot of thought but some of you would say no my impulse is

actually driven by some it’s instinct I’m a smart guy I’m a wise woman I know what I’m doing I’ve been around the block Maybe so that leads to my question number two have you ever fasted for the purpose of focusing completely on God’s will as you face one of those important decisions that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning and if you have done that was it did you fast for a long time you know I don’t know you a day several days we’ll read

about longer ones than that and maybe I’d love you to talk to somebody today we don’t have time right now but talk to somebody about did you fast yeah I did how long was it and what was the outcome what decision did you make and and how did it turn out that’d be a a very helpful conversation so if you’ve never fasted or wondered about the value of fasting that’s our plan this morning we’re just going to talk about it the you know what is it

why is it how and and then we’ll share communion go home okay so we’re going to take a Biblical look at the practice because I I got nothing if it’s not the Bible when it comes to important spiritual practices this is not a weird thing and I don’t plan to make it weird by the way I treat it okay so I just want to go like straight and straightforward on it so as we do I want you to remember and I’ll remind us every week in

this summer series that started recently we’re going to fast if that’s the outcome of this message and it’s my intent that that is that we’ll leave the results to God okay otherwise we overreach we talked about that last time so we fast and leave the results to God so I want to begin with an admission if most of you us don’t regularly fast Which is my don’t don’t yell out at me right now and say that’s not true let me say it again since most of

us don’t regularly fast it’s my assumption and My Confession okay we’re in this together I don’t know a lot of people that have put their arm around me or come into my office and sat down let me tell you about a fast that I’ve been in and and something that’s going on I don’t have a lot of those conversations so I think my assumption is that it’s not a real regular practice by not just me by people that I love and I try to square that

with the Bible that says hmm it seems to be a bigger deal here than in here so that’s that’s kind of breaking down the pathway I took today to get us to this conversation so so why fast let’s let’s go there first no no sense in talking about the how to’s and you know do’s and don’ts and so on without why why fast here’s some I just called this I pulled this takeaways that I observed in both people and principles in the Bible okay so this

will move quick but it’ll it’ll be helpful for you to pull it in and all of these people and their practices with regard to fasting were actually you could say it was good and profitable so you could say what they did after they did it that was good and it was profitable okay so here’s the first reason write this down it’s really good fasting is done for the cleansing we just sang about this and the purifying of my heart of your heart fasting is done for

the for the cleansing and the purifying of our hearts I have a truck that needs an oil change okay now I’m gonna go get that oil change nothing wrong with the truck but I’m going to get it done because the miles and the time have ticked away and it’s time to do it so I’m going to do that and I’m going to do it for this reason I want it’s a Chevy and I want it to be the most reliable dependable truck on the road today

as the ad says okay so I’m committed to that here’s another by the way I could ignore it do nothing about that someday it will not be reliable nor will it be dependable so I do that even if I don’t necessarily have my eyes inside the engine and how it’s running okay you see my logic here’s another one that might you might relate to dust I don’t like dust I have a Swiffer in my office so sometimes I’ll be studying my Bible and preparing a message

and I’ll look and somehow the afternoon Sun hits my desk and I’m like no wonder I’m sneezing this is terrible and I whip out the sniffer and and do a once over if you walked in like that you’re like ah you know taking a break and I’m like yeah I want to keep from dying okay it’s so I don’t like dust and and yet dust here’s the deal dust happens right how many of you love dusting if I see one hand I’m inviting you to my

office weekly George you’re the guy Okay so let me switch the meaning of the word dust from this to this and I don’t want it to do that but we’re going to call dust for a minute we’re going to give it a different label sin don’t want to sin not leaving here today going I plan to blow it today neither do you but it but it happens and they come in the form of sinful behaviors and sinful attitudes and and so I need help and I

want you to follow this thought now in most cases I need a deep cleansing because if you asked me right after I sinned and it wasn’t a big sin we can talk about if there’s big and a little later but if we had a conversation I go no no I’m on a pretty good roll I’m not you know blowing it I’m not having fallen apart I’m you know not sinning that much you know and you might be inclined to go wow you know that’s not my

experience but the truth is I need a deep cleansing from time to time and to do that I need help Holy Spirit help when it comes to the cleansing of my heart purify my heart as a great song it’s a powerful prayer when we pray it’s why so often we will stop what we’re doing and say In Worship let’s make sure that’s not just a cool Melody let’s let’s make sure that’s it a reality inside our souls okay so we need the holy spirit’s help and

fasting is a tool that the Bible points to as a very useful tool needed find these places where sin exists this dust has settled inside our lives you with me I think you are I can see it the look The lights are coming on so think of King David as a quick example he he did he did that when he prayed that famous prayer in Psalm 51 verse 10 created me a clean heart o God renew the steadfast Spirit Within Me Do not remove me from

your presence do not remove your Holy Spirit from me restore to me the joy of thy salvation and then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will be converted to them to thee but with all of that you and I remember created me a clean heart why do we remember that and why would he pray that because his heart was Dusty dirty and he needed a deep cleansing specifically he wrote those words right after he committed broke two of The Ten Commandments adultery and murder

to cover his tracks it’s a pretty bad day for David right it was really bad hopefully you can go a whole lifetime with neither of those plenty of other commands we break but David prayed that and and he was actually his sin was revealed it was all out in the open second Samuel 12 Nathan had the unenviable job of saying hey you got a problem you send a Dusty stuff inside your soul you need to and then David did but it was so deep follow me

now that David later much later in his life he was the author of Psalm 139 23 and 24. Which is a very probing way to put it he says search me o God same guy search me o God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts that are within me and see if there’s any dust still there see if there’s any offensive way in me and if you find it Lord he finishes and Lead Me in the Everlasting way in other words clean up

the mess I’ve caused amen I like that image and fasting is a very helpful part of that you say well Steve that’s kind of making it more complicated isn’t it just saying no to food now what we do well to some extent we’ll get there in just a sec but here’s the other reality there sometimes we need help Holy Spirit help because the sin is deep within what the heart and we look to Jeremiah who was a prophet who had famous words in describing Steve McCracken’s

heart and your heart and every human’s heart you ready for these words Jeremiah 17. It’s not a happy read verse 9. The heart I tend to go yeah those guys in the news they’re behind bars really if you’re if you break one law a little law doesn’t matter big law you’re a law breaker James says so the heart Jeremiah says is deceitful Above All Else he even asked the next question or ask a question how can you understand it how can you possibly take a look

inside comma without help question mark and he answers that by saying I speaking of God he’s quoting God here I the Lord search all hearts and I examine everything about that heart so God knows it all and we need his help and fasting helps us with that so cleansing of our hearts good reason why we fast here’s the second reason okay as my opening question points us to fasting write this down is done for decision making if it’s not on the list that I came up

with earlier and suggested it needs to be I plan for it to be in my life more frequently I have big and little decisions like you do but I want them to be deeper than just me kind of using and quite honestly if you want my answer my impulse is I’ve been walking with God a long time I’ll just go make a decision that’s wise but I need deeper than that and I I suspect most of us would do better if that’s where we landed on

this when it comes to decision making most of us know the confusion that accompanies especially a big decision you know what fomo means today in today’s parlance somebody yell it out fear of missing out okay it totally applies to big decisions because you think there’s let’s say it’s door number one two and three that’s Let’s Make a Deal remember okay and you’re like well it could be great could be sort of great could be awful problem is you don’t know which door there’s a curtain actually

so in most cases so you’re like what do I do and the fear of missing out is if I choose door number one and it’s really door number three that’s the good one or the best one I’m hosed and and the fear of that keeps me going well ask me tomorrow we have this fear that can become a panic I’ve talked with people I’m like wow you’re wound up what’s going on and it’s like they’re freaked out is the truth what if I blow it what

if I’m supposed to marry this person and I end up marrying this person then I am my every next decision is wrecked forever and ever amen let’s go home now that’s ex that’s but that’s some of this Panic kind of thing we quiver with the possibility we can make a wrong choice so no wonder we need help we need help that comes with fasting by the way it’s not this is not brand new need people want to make that a modern thing it’s just a catchy

way to remember it this is this has been a perplexity that has existed forever back to David said in Psalm 32 another Psalm he wrote verse 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go I will counsel you with my eye upon you why did God make sure David put that in print because King David’s judgment was colored by that bad day we talked about earlier so no wonder he wondered if his Divine decision-making was skewed and you and I

should wonder the same about our lives when we have known sin in our lives we haven’t brought it out to the light and confessed it and he’s faithful and just to forgive it first John 1 9 says and to cleanse it out of us completely when we don’t do that and we keep operating and making big decisions likely actually quite possible that Divine guidance isn’t playing a role in this at all okay so we too after confessing and repenting of our sin we can count on

God’s guidance and fasting helps okay with me here’s the third one okay that people face and it’s a reason to fast okay here it is I’ve stated this way I’ll give it to you in one word trouble let me put in a sentence fasting is done to seek protection and deliverance when we Face trouble it’s done in the Bible all over the place it’s done for National reasons and it’s done for personal reasons let me give you a couple of quick examples just passing on by

first is King Jehoshaphat cool name I had to bring him up right but he’s minding his own business doing a pretty good job as King of the South he’s a southern Kingdom King which would put him in Judah and he’s he’s on a roll things are going good then suddenly he gets word that there is an there’s an approaching enemy a menacing enemy from the East and understandably he’s alarmed Jehoshaphat is so in second Chronicles chapter 20 he finds out after his reconnaissance that there’s a

it’s big it’s not a little army it’s a big Eastern Army coming at you and his alarm which was the initial response led to a fast and the hope of a Deliverance these are his words alarm Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord and so he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah what a cool move it’s more than strategic it’s survival I’m sure he’d say well I wasn’t trying to get points here I was just trying to live to see another day we’re out

gunned and they’re going to get us and I declare a fast for all Judah and then it’s not done the people of Judah then came together to seek the help from the Lord indeed they came from every town in Judah to fast before the Lord you can hear the urgency when you read those words so if we’re convinced that these are good reasons for why we should fast hopefully that’s happened in telling you them before we look at the just real quick at the clear teaching

of Jesus about how to fast I want to answer the what question okay what is fasting let’s not just assume everybody knows it since most of us don’t practice it okay in most cases it’s the abstinence of food we give up food for a period of time and we do so for a time to focus on God that’s kind of the what what is fasting Dr Charles Stanley does some great things he’s with the Lord too recently turned for home I’m quoting his words the goal

of fasting the goal of prayer and fasting they go together is to bring our natural physical desires food under control the control of the holy spirit for the purpose of hearing from God when we refrain from regular activities that distract us doesn’t make them bad eating is kind of cool when we refrain from them though we’re in better position to discern what the Lord is saying he adds it sharpens our minds and increases our spiritual perception where we a few more more often than normal will

go oh wow I didn’t see that didn’t think that didn’t didn’t hear that prior to that moment and fast in essence he concludes we’re acknowledging that food is not as important as hearing from God isn’t that great end quote I can just say their names and it’ll bring up a lot of memory if you know any any part of your Bible but let me mention some that some of the people that stand out for fasting and how they did it and and the first one that

comes to mind is Moses it’s not just a new testament thing by the way so you know that from my mention of Moses so Moses is called to Mount Sinai and he’s called there alone and a cloud comes over the mountain and it starts to shake and tremble and all kinds of scary things and God says come on up here and he fasted we’re told 40 days because as a result of that meeting with God he left that mountain with the Ten Commandments right very good

idea very good plan on his part here’s one maybe you haven’t thought of Queen Esther she has a book in the Old Testament that’s named after her and and Queen Esther is is known to to have asked the Jews to fast for her and the reason is given in the telling of her story because she’s got to go talk to King Xerxes spell that and you get first coffee but Xerxes and and it’s illegal to do that can’t just make an appointment with the King and

she knows she needs to go talk to the king about a plot to kill the Jews from a really bad guy named Haman and God puts it on Esther’s heart that she’s got a job to do and it scared her to the core for good cause and instead of running from it she called on all the Jews to pray and then I love how she finished it Go gather all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me don’t eat or drink for three days

day and night I in my attendance will fast as well and when this is done I will the scariest thing she could do go to the king and she concludes it with and if I perish I perish and I promise you she said it with a smile on her face because fasting had changed something in her if I perish okay God is on his throne he called me to this he’s got reasons for why I died she didn’t die by the way great Victory there and

I couldn’t complete a list like that without mentioning oh Jesus remember right after he has this glorious time of of baptism and there’s this incredible voice it’s the Trinity the first appearance in the New Testament that’s just graphic it’s it’s you got to take notes he comes up out of the water Jesus a member of the Trinity and at that moment he hears this voice this is my son listen to him and I’m super proud of him came The Voice and everybody there at the Jordan

level whoa and before it was done the Holy Spirit descended like a dove three members of the Trinity right there in front of humankind to watch on the heels of that glorious moment you know what the Bible says happened at the very next verse it says Jesus was led by the spirit Into the Wilderness and for 40 days he fasted and then went toe-to-toe with the Devil that’s when Jesus said you know what I’m not I need I I want that kind of covering you and

I could go on and on but I want to I want to quickly get to Jesus words in Matthew so this is a sermon I jump forward it’s going to tell you about acts and there’s really cool decisions important decisions on okay will this missionary go to that country or will they go alone or with somebody and those decisions are made by the leaders through fasting so my point is trying to help you see clear back in Exodus and all the way to the Acts of

the Apostles there’s fasting going on for really important reasons there should be fasting going on in our lives for important reasons so here we are at the beginning Point actually middle point of this three chapter sermon and only three verses okay so you could either say that is the longest introduction ever ever or you could say no that’s helpful information to what Jesus had to say about fasting and specifically how to fast verse 16. By the way this is in the context of a couple of

other things that we know a lot about in the Bible one is giving one is praying and one is fasting okay they’re all in the same chapter here verse 16 begins when you fast Jesus says do not look somber as the Hypocrites do for they disfigure their faces and show others and fasting man what’s in what’s gotten into you today oh dude I’m fasting so hungry truly I tell you when they do that they’ve received their reward in full but here’s the transition when you fast

put oil on your head let’s not dump it on your head so everybody’s going man you got greasy hair what’s up with you no it’s a reverent posture of seeking God put oil in your head wash your face so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting but only to your father who is unseen and and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you I want you to see two words when you verse two look at verse 2.

When you do you see how it starts he’s talking about giving verse 5 when you talking about praying and verse 16 when you he’s talking here about fasting it’s assumed by Jesus there’s a takeaway right here that you and I will do those things I don’t know how much you give or don’t give but my assumption is you understand it’s God’s priority for you because it all is anyway and so we give and we kind of roll forward okay we give that’s what we do we

tithe we weakly give gifts to God and that’s what we do and no one needs another sermon on prayer because that’s what we do we did it this morning we’ll keep doing it right so he’s assuming the same about fasting when you notice he doesn’t change it to hey and by the way if you fast you want to take your game way up if you fat no he’s saying this should be part of how you live and walk man this this changes some categories here clearly

his Focus was on in this three verses it’s on things like the spirit and the attitude of the one fasting a significant contrast some of the people then he calls them Hypocrites he really goes into detail in chapter 23 of Matthew scribes Pharisees hypocrites and he calls them out again and saying you guys this is all about show I mean where’s your heart it was phony it was showy it was can I just say it empty y’all wasting your time if that’s your approach so the

priorities he gives and calls attention to are important first fast with a sincere heart that needs to be in your approach to what might be ahead as as next Saturday our church has a day of fasting the church the Grace Point Worship Center will be open from 11 30 to 3 30 and on your way out you can get a how to fast how to use your your time fasting or declare it a fast some ideas on what to pray and what to seek God about

some of them will be National or corporate some of them will be for our city some of them will be for for direction in your life that’s good all of those things are important we’ve established that today right so this coming Saturday don’t miss out on something like that it’s a it’s a great thing and clear Luzon she’ll be around she’s really helped kind of move us forward in this really important somewhat forgotten priority so thank you Claire means a lot so fast with a sincere

heart contrast here is people look at outwards appearances so the gloomy face Jesus says get rid of it God sees the secret place not the gloomy face secondly fast with a focus on an audience of one Jesus one person notice who it is Jesus says that sees and will reward you for fasting it’s not the people you tell it to it’s not the people you’re trying to impress with your piety it is your father in Heaven he is the one that sees and he will reward

you finally fasting is for seeking God and not to be seen so we’re going to have communion now and as we prepare to share communion that’s that’s the message here’s an obvious point when it comes to the purpose of fasting and in fact you won’t see it in these verses but I want to zoom out and make a statement so you can actually close your Bible now even tuck in your notes but when we fast the Jesus way because that’s what we just read about what

we’re doing is we’re pulling back from the world we’re just taking a kind of a safety step away from the world and we’re saying you know this the rest of this stuff even food we’re going to just pull back and focus on God and God Alone and well what I just said is for your good for my good and for his glory when we fast the Jesus way don’t be surprised if you’re reminded again in a very palpable way he is in control it really seems

that way when you talk about if we interviewed Esther or if we interviewed Moses or we interviewed Jesus who is the Son of God what did it feel like in those 40 days and he would probably tell us I was so knit together with the father in the spirit okay so when we fast the Jesus way we’re we’re reminding ourselves of who’s in control thirdly when we fast the Jesus way what we gain and I don’t know what that will be for any of us including

myself but what we will gain is greater than anything we might have given up it really has to be or why would God ask us to do that right and let’s remember when we fast is driven by a decision or whatever it happens to be in your life the hard part leave the results to God I’d like you to Bow your heads as servers join me down front we’re gonna we’re gonna have communion now it’s a great way to start the summer new month maybe even

take and make more personal this message we’re going to be led to in a song with words from a great hymn from long long ago Jesus Paid It All and if you’re new to the church or to church worship times like this can I tell you what it’s about to pass the row that you’re sitting sitting in if you’re in the house you at home have probably already reached for the bread and the cup there are two pieces of a story it’s this song is a

statement song some songs are meant to say stop and listen and take it in and it’s a statement that everyone who has Jesus I I think can relate to and talk about Jesus Paid It All paid what well sin had left a mess in its wake in every human heart and and I I’ve never met an exception to that and the the problem with that is you need a deep cleaning that’s where Jesus said I I’ve got this I will actually give my life for you

on a cross and in doing so if you will bow your knee and surrender to me and invite me to actually sit on the throne of your life I’m gonna I’m gonna scrub you clean because the Throne of your life isn’t even clean but I’ll make it clean and then we’ll walk together not an attractive picture we’ll we’ll go places together so this morning when the plate passes in front of you here in the house there’s bread to remind us of Jesus and his body there’s

a cup of wine to remind us of his blood I’m going to ask that everybody that feels this is a timely situation to share in communion you say well what would not be timely it’d be if there’s sin in your life that you haven’t it’s dusty and call out to Jesus right now just say Jesus I need you to do the cleansing in me so that I don’t eat this and bring judgment upon myself and everybody will be served when that

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 7,195 words.