November 30, 2014 | Mini Marathon of Fasting and Prayer

Good Morning and welcome to 'The Nathan Report'!

"Our God is with us and He is a Great and Mighty God, Amen!"

We started off with with Praise and Worship, here is the playlist:

1) Friend of God - Israel Houghton

2) My Savior Lives - New Life Church, Colorado

3) Shout Your Fame - Hillsong United 

4) Ascribe Greatness - Don Moen

5) God is Able - Hillsong United

Post Praise and Worship, we have few announcements. Here they are: 

1) Since you all know we will be fasting and praying for 21 days, a prayer schedule (booklet) is available so that Church as a body of Christ praying together focus on same prayers. 

2) This booklet is not only for 21 days, but can be used again next year. 

3) Church are seeking youth who are interested in mission work, please visit our church website for more information. 

Today we will be talking about "Mini Marathon of Fasting and Prayer".  A Bank organized a 21 km Marathon around 9 months back. Many people participated in it and ran for the cause. Each year, more than 200 NGOs participate in the event and raise funds for their respective organizations. Many participants use the event as a reason to give back to their society and the underprivileged. Our Christian life is like a marathon where the race is for the cause of God. 

How many of you want to have a fresh start? By fasting and praying you can always begin. You are not doing anything for Church or pastor or people. Jesus fasted for 40 days before he even started his ministry. He spent time in closeness with God.  

Fasting makes our heart more attentive to God. Amazing how much time you have on your hands if you’re not eating, preparing, cleaning up after supper, watching TV, or engaged in other fleshly endeavors. Most of us live to eat, few eat to live! When we get serious with God, He gets serious with us! Remember it’s not a command, it’s a choice, not a thing to look down your nose at others about if they don’t fast. Also don't fast like pharisees. Fast in a way no one knows. 

Matthew 6:17, "But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face."

Acts 1:8, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Religious fasting is a duty required of the disciples of Christ, but it is not so much a duty itself, as a means to dispose us for other duties. Fasting is the humbling of the soul, Psalm 35:13; that is the inside of the duty; let that, therefore, be thy principal care, and as to the outside of it, covet not to let it be seen. God sees in secret, and will reward openly. 

Even today if you pray to seek the face of God, you will experience the power of God. The focus should remain on God, rather than oneself like most of us experience it very often. Its more of me in our life. 

Acts 13:2, "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

God directed the Church because they fasted and prayed. 

Acts 14:23, "And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed."

Act 10:30, "And Cornelius said, Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing."

Illustration: I lost a ring at someone's home. The entire family was feeling bad about it and joined me in searching for the ring. The moved their furniture and other household items, but unable to find. They even thought they will give a new ring to me. Still, I was looking for the ring as it was my wedding ring and very close to me and no other ring can replace it. After two days, my children found the ring at our own home. 

We need to seek God this way. If you want to begin seeking God, start with fasting and prayer with complete focus on Him. We have ongoing 21 days of fasting and prayer, we can join from today. Many of us say, "It is tough to keep off from food", "It will be tough for 21 days" ... and many other reasons. However, there is a way and we need to trust in God. 

1) We need to begin the race

Proverbs 26:13, "The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”"

This proverbs focus of the Sluggard verses 13-15 present him as comically ludicrous in his laziness and verse 16 gives this portrait a twist by observing that the sluggard consider himself the paradigm of wisdom. The slothful man hates every thing that requires care and labor. But it is foolish to frighten ourselves from real duties by fancied difficulties. This may be applied to a man slothful in the duties of religion.

To know whether or not we can fast and focus on God, we need to begin to understand whether we or we can not. In a race, whether or not you will win, you need to start atleast to estimate your capability.

2) Practice

Once you become a child of God, you need to run this race, but first thing is to begin.

The children of Israel had failed God miserably. Every time He blessed them with good things, they returned to Him evil things:

1. God gave them the Temple - they gave Him idol worship

2. God gave them truth - they lived and proclaimed a lie

3. God gave them His commands - they lived like they were suggestions.

4. God gave them wealth - they used it to abuse the poor

5. God gave them Himself - they gave Him nothing except rejection.

The children of Israel did not deserve to receive anything from God. Yet He still loved them and He earnestly wanted to help them change. Notice God’s Message: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!"

God was not condemning them for their past, they could do nothing to change it. Instead God was holding out the hand of hope. He is in effect say-ing: Forget about your past -- I am giving you an opportunity to start over.

Illustration: One of our Church worship team drummer, who had to leave as he got a new job said that he he cannot play now since he lost practice. One of the marathon runner in Mumbai died recently. We must practice, we must not stop.

3) Discipline  

Illustration: Many of us are pet lovers. Lets us take a case of a pet dog. We feed him, pamper him and train him and he turns out to be a disciplined one. If we don't, he might not please his master very much. 

We need to discipline ourselves. When we say we need to get up early morning for Church, we must be mentally prepared. If we talk about alarming, the best alarm is our mind. If we are not steadfast in disciplining ourselves, then it can be little tough for us. 

1 Corinthians 15:58, "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

Believers should be stedfast, firm in the faith of that gospel which the apostle preached, and they received. Also, to be unmovable in their hope and expectation of this great privilege, of being raised incorruptible and immortal. And to abound in the work of the Lord, always doing the Lord's service, and obeying the Lord's commands. May Christ give us faith, and increase our faith, that we may not only be safe, but joyful and triumphant.

The word in New Testament for Steadfast is pronounced as "hedraioi (ἑδραῖοι)", which literally means "Staying under consistency". Discipline yourself for these 21 days. Whenever there is a pressure, a person becomes consistent. Buy whenever we put our own efforts and allow Lord to be the main focus, we are disciplined. 

Illustration: In 1949, Jonas Salk wanted a cure for polio. He worked 16 hours a day, six days a week for five years and gave us the now-famous Salk Vaccine against polio. Jonas played to win. Before he found the cure that did work, he had 200 other attempts. Once asked, “How did it feel to fail 200 times before you found the correct vaccine? 

Jonas Said, “I never failed 200 times in my entire life, I just discovered 200 ways how not to vaccine for polio. It was a consistent discipline that lead Jonas to achieve his goal. We need to discipline ourselves. 

Philippians 4:13, " I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Through Christ we have grace to do what is good, and through him we must expect the reward; and as we have all things by him, let us do all things for him, and to his glory.

4) Motivation

Esther 4:12-17, "12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him."

Even though Esther had all the materials, facilities and comforts of the world, saying this she planned to begin fasting and praying. She knew that spiritual power comes from God in answer to prayer. When God’s people give themselves to fasting and praying the miraculous is made possible. At the end of three days the King received Esther and granted her request and made a way for the Jewish people to be saved. Let us all be strong in faith like Esther and be motivated and say "Lord, I want to do, what You want me to do."

5) Enthusiasm

We sometimes becomes very enthusiastic whenever we hear a good message in Church or maybe see a testimony, but later and slowly that fades away. We should be enthusiastic not because the Pastor said so, but need to do this with our own will. 

Philippians 3:13-14, "13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

This simple dependence and earnestness of soul, were not mentioned as if the apostle had gained the prize, or were already made perfect in the Saviour's likeness. He forgot the things which were behind, so as not to be content with past labours or present measures of grace. He reached forth, stretched himself forward towards his point; expressions showing great concern to become more and more like unto Christ. He who runs a race, must never stop short of the end, but press forward as fast as he can; so those who have heaven in their view, must still press forward to it, in holy desires and hopes, and constant endeavours. Eternal life is the gift of God, but it is in Christ Jesus; through his hand it must come to us, as it is procured for us by him. There is no getting to heaven as our home, but by Christ as our Way. True believers, in seeking this assurance, as well as to glorify him, will seek more nearly to resemble his sufferings and death, by dying to sin, and by crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts. In these things there is a great difference among real Christians, but all know something of them. Believers make Christ all in all, and set their hearts upon another world. If they differ from one another, and are not of the same judgment in lesser matters, yet they must not judge one another; while they all meet now in Christ, and hope to meet shortly in heaven. Let them join in all the great things in which they are agreed, and wait for further light as to lesser things wherein they differ. The enemies of the cross of Christ mind nothing but their sensual appetites. Sin is the sinner's shame, especially when gloried in. The way of those who mind earthly things, may seem pleasant, but death and hell are at the end of it. If we choose their way, we shall share their end. The life of a Christian is in heaven, where his Head and his home are, and where he hopes to be shortly; he sets his affections upon things above; and where his heart is, there will his conversation be. There is glory kept for the bodies of the saints, in which they will appear at the resurrection. Then the body will be made glorious; not only raised again to life, but raised to great advantage. Observe the power by which this change will be wrought. May we be always prepared for the coming of our Judge; looking to have our vile bodies changed by his Almighty power, and applying to him daily to new-create our souls unto holiness; to deliver us from our enemies, and to employ our bodies and souls as instruments of righteousness in his service. 

We need to be enthusiastic and understand there is a power in "Fasting and Prayer".

Let us all pray:

Dear Lord, thank you for this opportunity to live, where we have all the comforts and delicacies of the world. But as you know, we often get tempted and loose our focus from you dear God. We pray to seek your face and strength in our lives so that we overcome all the temptations of the world. Dear father, please help us begin this race, keep us disciplined, motivated and full of enthusiasm so that we do not  go astray from seeking your beautiful face. Be with us these 21 days and help us achieve our goal to focus constantly on you. Help us restart our lives and rejuvenate our souls. We want to be called the children of God and share our testimonies to many you don't even know about you. Lord, help us and bless us. With your most precious and gracious name, Jesus, we ask, Amen!

We hope you enjoyed today's service. We hope to see you all again next week. God Bless!

Image Source: http://weybridgechiro.co.uk/training-for-the-marathon/