Why fast?

notes from sermon by Clayton King, NewSpring Church March 22, 2009

Fasting –> Freedom –> Giving –> Praying

We do not know how to do without

Jesus assumes fasting is part of life – a religious practice (Mat 6:16-18)

Fasting – a time of denying self of something valuable in order to get something from God or to be set free by God

• Sacrifice
• Way to show religious devotion
• Shows repentance
• Appeal to God for a great need — not a tactic to manipulate God
• Reward is God himself

Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

1. Restores our hunger for God
2. Reminds us of our weakness
   • Increases humility
   • Increases sensitivity
   • Fasting / prayer must start with being honest with God
   • If addicted to nice things — be careful — or the tables will be turned and you won’t just have nice things, nice things will have you
   • If in financial trouble – fast from things
   • Part of our financial problem is that we don’t know how to say ‘No’ to our desires

2 Cor 12:7-10

3. Variety

• Fasting doesn’t need to be from just food
  • TV
  • Internet / Facebook
  • Texting
• Ask self – what is it that I feel like I can’t live without?

1 Cor 6:12

Lord, I pray we practice the spiritual discipline of fasting
and become disciplined to things of God
and learn to do without things of the world.

Where’s My Bailout – Part 1

Notes from sermon preached by Perry Noble, NewSpring Church, March 8, 2009

Bailout will occur when our bondage to bling is broken

Ask self 3 questions to get finances in order:

1. What does Jesus expect?
   • Mat 6:1 – warning from God – If we belong to Christ, our lifestyle should show it
   • Mat 6:2 – Jesus expects us to give – if we put God first with our giving, he will take care of our needs
   • Jesus pays for church – it belongs to him – don’t put names on anything since the church belongs to Christ
   • Followers of Christ don’t expect recognition for their gifts
   • Jesus expects his people to take care of his house – i.e. give to church before giving to other charities
   • It’s time God’s people come back to God’s house and take care of it
   • Don’t use web campus as an excuse to not plug into a local church and give to that church
   • Malachi 3:10 – bring whole tithe
2. Where’s my heart?
   • Don’t say Jesus is valuable to me if I’m not willing to give to him
   • Mat 6:19 – where put money, that’s where heart is
   • 2 top problems in US – consumer debt and obesity — this nation is in trouble because we don’t manage what we have
   • Our problem is we put our eyes on the things of the world
   • To store up treasures in heaven – do God’s work
   • God can’t have my heart if he doesn’t have my treasure
3. Who do I serve?
   • Mat 6:24 – cannot serve God and money
   • 1 Tim 6:10 – money is the root of all evil
   • Mat 6:22 – eye is the lamp of the body – key to winning with money is to overcome what eyes see
   • We tend to let greed consume us
   • God wants to be 1st in our finances – he gave his best (his son), he just wants us to do the same

Video Interview of ‘devil’ about money:

Lord, help me to meet your expectations by serving you with both my money and my time.