Last Sunday I posed some questions for our church family that I believe are crucial for us to consider as we enter a new calendar year. The questions are so important that leadership has felt led to call the church family to a 21 day fast to begin the year (Jan. 4-24). ( Full sermon can be heard here)

It was wonderful to recall and thank God for all the amazing things He has done at NLCF over the past year, significant increase in attendance and noticeable increase in commitment. Many are regular attenders where they were sporadic or just wondering if New Life was the place for them 12 months ago. Many are serving in ways they would not have dreamt about. New Life Kidz has doubled and we now have two men’s groups meeting weekly. The women’s Bible study is growing as well. We have considered together how we would change if we had “ One Month to Live” and read through the Bible in 90 (or maybe a few more, I finish tomorrow!) days . . . so here’s the challenge: Are we going to ask God to help us “do as well” in 2010 as we did in 2009 or are we going to ask him to stretch us further and take us deeper, so that at the end of 2010 we will again be excited and amazed at all the wonderful things He has done in us.

I sense very strongly, and the leadership share my conviction, that we must look to God for the latter. So we are calling for the 21-day fast as a stretch from the 7 days we have done in the past. Here are just a few of the thoughts I shared on the subject

· In Matthew 6 Jesus shares three things about a balanced Christian life; When you give … v2, When you pray . . .v6, When you fast . . .v16, implying that all of these will be part of normal living for those who follow Him.

· Each of these challenges our cultural norms in specific ways

o Giving vs. Getting and keeping,

o Praying vs. Assuming we know it all,

o Fasting vs. Consuming

“We mostly spend our lives conjugating three verbs: to want, to have, and to do. Craving, clutching and fussing . . . we are kept in perpetual unrest” Evelyn Underhill

· Fasting has, in recent years, been the most neglected of these three practices

· Jesus not only taught it, He practiced it Matt 4:1-2

· All through scripture the “major players” fasted at pivotal times in their ministry.

So here are a few things we should pray about as we prepare for this adventure:

What should we fast for? All the fasting we see in Scripture is for specific reasons, breakthrough, guidance, and repentance, to name but a few. Finding those reasons for you will give focus to your prayers and listening.

What should we fast from? There are many different models ranging from cutting out one meal each day through the Daniel fast, eating a diet of vegetables, fruit and whole grains and drinking only water, to the total fast where you drink only juices, clear broths and water.

• Remember, if your fast costs you nothing it will mean little in your relationship with God.
• Fasting is not dieting. Its principle function is to increase our intimacy with God; anything else is incidental.
• If you have never fasted before find a balance between the stretching God wants to do and what is possible. Remember this a start of what God intends to be part of the rhythm of our spiritual lives, which is a marathon not a sprint!! Like everything else He will grow us up step by step as we let Him.
• Biblical fasting focuses on food for good reason. For many, if not most of us, when we honestly look the things that “control” us, our desires for food and drink are high on the list. Jentzen Franklin’s description “King Stomach” is not far off and if stomach is king he needs to be dethroned! IF YOU HAVE DIETARY OR HEALTH ISSUES CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE DECIDING.
• There are other important things that can be included in the fast: TV, internet, negative speaking, to name but a few.
• BE SURE TO LET GOD GUIDE YOUR DECISIONS NOT “YOUR HUNGERS!!”

I pray that many of us will conclude, to quote Jentzen Franklin again, “You are probably not content to go through this year the way you went through last year, you know there is more!”

In my limited experience waiting and abstinence produce experiences and appreciation beyond our imagination. I look forward to experiencing God’s stretching and blessing with you.