Beyond the Blessing: Is God’s Presence Enough?

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
of the Holy Spirit
[00:00:30] Open the eyes of my heart Lord Open the eyes of my heart I want to see you I want to see you Open the eyes of my heart Lord Open the eyes of my heart

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Lord pour out your power and love as we sing holy, holy, holy to see you high and lifted up shining in the light of your glory Lord pour out your power and love as we sing holy, holy, holy

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Holy, Holy

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Holy, holy, holy, give our high praise

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
If you could tell the whole church one thing about Life Groups, what would it be?

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
We've all become so disconnected.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
People are living in a bubble and they're only interacting with people that they feel comfortable with and they're not taking risk of, I need to get out of that silo.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
I would just tell people to try it.
[00:03:57] You're going to be greeted with open arms and you're going to make lasting friendships.
[00:04:03] Right, because we go to a really big church.
[00:04:05] Yes, that's why this is so important.

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Mike do you remember back when you first went to life group what it felt like walking into life group for the first time?

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Yeah the first one that my wife and I attended we went together and then after that we started having kids and we started doing different life groups where we had one with kids and then we had a basketball life group and then my men's group is now meeting and
[00:04:29] You know, page helps with the cookout.
[00:04:31] There's more than just attending the life group.
[00:04:34] There's so many other options to meet and serve and get connected with other people.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
What's something in your group that makes everybody feel like family?

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_13]:
I enjoy when we go and do things.
[00:04:45] I know y'all are more mission-based, but we go and do things together, so it makes it feel more like a family.

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
And they're going to be the ones that are going to get you through that season, and you're moving together versus trying to just do it by yourself.

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
Good morning, Cove Church!
[00:07:05] My name is Kyle.
[00:07:06] We are so excited to be here with you all today.
[00:07:09] If you would please stand to your feet and join us in worshiping a good God, a God that works for good in the seen and in the unseen.
[00:07:18] Let's put our hands together.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
This is my story, I'll testify Blessings on blessings you poured on my life Start remembering

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
How good you've been!

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Fear turns to worship Tears turn to praise Chains of depression Broken by grace We start remembering How good you've been!

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
You've been so, so, so, so, so, so good to me
[00:08:02] So, so, so, so, so, so good to me Here we go!

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Enemies weapons fall to the ground Armies of heaven always surround When I start remembering How You carried my cross You called me by name

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
So so so so so good

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
Church, God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.
[00:09:22] Would you help me proclaim that today?
[00:09:25] When I say God is good, you say all the time.

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
When I say all the time, you say all the time.
[00:09:34] When I say God is good, you say all the time.
[00:09:38] That's right, all the time, you say all the time.
[00:09:42] When I say God is good, you say all the time.
[00:09:46] Let's sing together.
[00:10:16] In the highest, hallelujah

[00:11:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Our God has been so good to us come on amen amen amen he is so wonderful and so great sometimes we don't always see that but this morning we get to make that choice to sing our gratitude for everything that he's done for us so come on let's sing this together how grateful we are

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Give it all to You, there was no way until You made it home Grace upon grace, Hallelujah Even though I don't deserve it, You did it
[00:12:19] Give it Who am I that You keep me on Your mind God I'm just grateful for You God I'm just grateful for You All my life You've been right here by my side God I'm just grateful for You
[00:12:46] I'm just grateful for you, yes we are
[00:13:18] Who am I that You keep me on Your mind God I'm just grateful for You God I'm just grateful for You All my life You've been right here by my side God I'm just grateful for You God I'm just grateful for You
[00:13:46] I'm just grateful for you God I'm just grateful for you

[00:14:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_17]:
We just lift our hands right now in our gratitude.
[00:14:20] And we just lift your name up.

[00:14:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Come on, we sing.
[00:14:31] And I did both of my hands.
[00:14:33] You gave me chance after chance after chance.

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
And I, I'm giving all that I am.
[00:14:47] You gave me chance after chance after chance And I, I'm lifting both of my hands Cause You gave me chance after chance after chance
[00:15:37] God I'm just grateful for You God I'm just grateful for You Who am I that You keep me on Your mind God I'm just grateful for You

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_18]:
Amen, Amen!

[00:16:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
We're going to continue to worship together today by taking communion together.
[00:16:50] So if you've got this little container with both the bread and the juice, you can pull that out right now.
[00:16:56] If you don't have that and you're wanting to partake in communion, just raise your hand up nice and tall.
[00:17:02] We've got our team members out there.
[00:17:04] They will get one for you.
[00:17:06] If you're next to a short person trying to raise their hand up, maybe hold it up for them.
[00:17:12] Help the short people out today, all right?
[00:17:17] Sorry.
[00:17:21] We do this in remembrance of what Jesus has done for us and to acknowledge the sacrifice that he's made.
[00:17:28] So with that said, if you haven't yet called Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, I'm so glad you're here today.
[00:17:34] You're welcome here and I'm glad you're here to
[00:17:37] Even witnesses, we take communion, but I don't want to encourage you.
[00:17:41] You don't need to feel weird about not taking the elements.
[00:17:43] In fact, I'd encourage you biblically not to take the elements yet because it's an acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
[00:17:51] Now the first communion occurred when Jesus sat with his disciples.
[00:17:56] It was actually days before he would die on the cross.
[00:17:59] And so as he described some of these things, they probably didn't fully understand what he was saying.
[00:18:04] But with time it would become very evident the sacrifice and the body broken and blood shed that he was talking about.
[00:18:13] At the end of the meal, he pulled out his bread and he broke the bread in front of him.
[00:18:19] I often like to even break the cracker in remembrance.
[00:18:23] He broke it in front of his disciples and he told them, this is the body broken for you.
[00:18:30] It's meant to be a reminder to us that, you know, God sent His Son, Jesus, and He didn't just snap His fingers and say, okay, you know, sin is dealt with, sin is paid for.
[00:18:43] It came at a great price.
[00:18:45] Jesus' body was literally broken for us.
[00:18:48] His body was flayed open.
[00:18:49] He was put on a cross.
[00:18:50] He hung there.
[00:18:52] He went through a great deal of pain for you and for me.
[00:18:58] That's forever a reminder that our God loves us and that that love is not just in word but indeed in its sacrifice.
[00:19:07] So take the cracker, eat the cracker in remembrance of the body broken.
[00:19:14] God allowed His Son to be broken for you and for me.
[00:19:23] Then Jesus took the wine.
[00:19:25] We've got juice here today.
[00:19:28] You have to understand the covenant between man and God up to this point.
[00:19:40] Man's understanding of it was always that we have to follow all these rules, follow all these laws, be perfect enough
[00:19:47] in order to make our requests known to God, in order to stand before God.
[00:19:51] And God always knew that would never work, that man would never be able to keep all the covenants, that man would never be able to hold true to all the laws.
[00:20:03] And so he sent his son Jesus.
[00:20:05] As Jesus hung on the cross, he literally took the weight and the shame of sin.
[00:20:11] He said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[00:20:13] While he was on the cross.
[00:20:15] Take the weight and the shame of my sin and your sin so that the covenant I have with God now is not one of, God, I have to be perfect enough.
[00:20:24] The covenant I have now with God is, God, thank you for your Son, Jesus, who died on the cross to take the weight and the shame of my sin.
[00:20:33] And so take and drink and remember the covenant that we have with God through Jesus Christ.
[00:20:42] I'm going to take a moment of just silence for you in your own spot right there.
[00:20:45] You can whisper it out loud or say it out loud, but just to come to God in a moment of thanks, a moment of acknowledgement.
[00:21:11] Father, we thank you.
[00:21:13] We thank you that you are our Father, that you love us, that you see us, and that you would send your Son, Jesus, for us.
[00:21:21] God, we thank you that Jesus was willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice, and today we acknowledge his body was broken for me.
[00:21:30] His blood was shed for me.
[00:21:34] God, you have created a covenant with me that is not built on my perfection or my ability to always follow every rule, but that is built on the fact that Jesus hung on a cross and took the weight of my sin and died with the weight of my sin on him.
[00:21:51] You traded your perfect son for me.
[00:21:54] That's a trade that just doesn't make sense to us still to this day, God.
[00:21:58] But today, all we can come and say, thank you, God.
[00:22:01] We're so grateful for the kind of God you are.
[00:22:03] That you're a God who loves us so deeply and sees us wherever we're at.
[00:22:10] You'd send your son, Jesus.
[00:22:12] We can't earn that love.
[00:22:15] We can't earn your love.
[00:22:17] We can't earn your favor.
[00:22:22] In a world where we constantly feel like we have to earn it.
[00:22:25] So today, God, we just come and lay before you and acknowledge we've come up short in so many ways in life.
[00:22:32] But God, you've continued to be good.
[00:22:36] And you've continued to be faithful.
[00:22:38] And so today, God, we worship you for who you are.
[00:22:42] You are a good God, a loving Father.
[00:22:46] May You send Your Son, Jesus, for me.
[00:22:48] We worship You today.
[00:22:50] We come to You in the name of Jesus Christ.
[00:22:53] Amen.
[00:22:54] Let's continue to sing together and worship together, church.
[00:22:57] Amen.
[00:22:57] Let's sing together.

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all Above all thrones and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all
[00:23:33] Your name is the highest.
[00:23:37] Your name is the greatest.
[00:23:41] Your name stands above the most.
[00:23:45] Exalt Him together.
[00:23:47] Above all goals and dominions, all powers and positions.

[00:23:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
Your name stands above the most.

[00:24:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name
[00:24:32] Creation Christ Holy You're lifted up Holy Holy forever Hear Your people sing Holy To the King of kings

[00:25:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_16]:
Holy forever You will always be Holy Holy forever Holy forever Holy forever

[00:25:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_15]:
King above all kings and Lord of all lords, name above every other name.
[00:26:02] We exalt you, lift you high, glorify you, name above all names, holy forever.
[00:26:14] we never get tired of worshiping you God exalting you looking at your beauty looking at your majesty humbled in your presence we come humbled in the presence of the king of kings and lord of your lords yet sons and daughters we enter into your presence with thanksgiving with awe with wonder
[00:26:38] we thank you for your presence the gift of your presence we don't take it for granted holy are you perfect perfect we look at you only your name will be on our lips you are the desire of our hearts we worship you glorify you exalting your name
[00:27:07] Your will, your ways, your word.
[00:27:10] How we love you.
[00:27:14] We can't thank you enough for the gift of your presence, God.
[00:27:16] We are undeserving and we're unworthy and yet here we are.
[00:27:23] Here you are.
[00:27:25] Thank you.
[00:27:27] Thank you for that beautiful relationship.
[00:27:30] We treasure you.
[00:27:32] We love you.
[00:27:34] We're grateful for you.
[00:27:37] it's in your name only that we worship and that we pray amen amen what a privilege and a joy it is to be here together to sing corporately to lift up our song to exalt and to praise him together i never get tired of this this is my favorite part of the week we're so glad that you're here if you would please take a moment say hi to someone around you and then you can have a seat

[00:28:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Good morning church, isn't it so good to worship together?
[00:28:21] Yeah, we can celebrate that.
[00:28:24] It's so good to worship together this morning.
[00:28:27] My name is Ashlyn and I get to hang out with our Cove students on Wednesday nights here at our Mooresville campus.
[00:28:33] I heard a cheer shout out Cove students.
[00:28:36] Well hey, can we take a second and give a super warm welcome to all of our first time guests that are joining us today.
[00:28:45] Hey, if it is your first time here, this is so important.
[00:28:48] Don't miss this.
[00:28:50] Make sure before you walk out those doors today, do one of two things.
[00:28:54] Scanning that QR code on the back of your seat or going to our next steps area, we have an awesome team that would love to meet you, talk to you, and answer any questions that you might have.
[00:29:05] You know, around the Cove, you might have heard us throw around the phrase, the five habits.
[00:29:10] Or maybe if you're new here, you're like, I don't know what she's talking about.
[00:29:14] That's totally okay.
[00:29:15] We're going to talk about it this morning.
[00:29:17] And so the five habits or five focuses are five things that we truly believe.
[00:29:22] If you are doing this, you are going to see your faith grow.
[00:29:25] And not only that, but you're going to see the church grow.
[00:29:29] And so our first one is attending a weekly service.
[00:29:32] I want you to give your neighbor a high five.
[00:29:36] Go on, high five, people!
[00:29:38] Congratulations!
[00:29:40] You guys are already doing that.
[00:29:42] Overachievers, right?
[00:29:43] The second one is serving on a ministry team.
[00:29:47] You can see this is a pretty big church, but serving is a way that you can make it small.
[00:29:52] And we have so many people that are using their gifts and their talents every week to serve, and you can too.
[00:29:59] There's a team for you.
[00:30:01] Next is growing in a daily personal quiet time with God.
[00:30:04] And that's just opening up the Word, talking to God in prayer, spending time with Him.
[00:30:10] And maybe that's something that you're not super comfortable with yet.
[00:30:13] That's totally okay.
[00:30:14] We have an amazing team out on our next steps that would love to talk to you and help you on that journey.
[00:30:20] And next is giving generously through your tithes and through your offerings.
[00:30:25] Hey, thank you guys so much.
[00:30:27] There's so many of you that are already doing that right now and we want to thank you.
[00:30:32] You may notice that we don't hand out a tithe bucket or pass it around or anything, but it's because we believe that that is something between you and God alone.
[00:30:41] But if you'd like to give today, you can go to covechurch.org slash give, or you can go out to our atrium.
[00:30:47] We have some gray receptacles.
[00:30:49] No matter how you choose to give, thank you for your generosity, church.
[00:30:54] and last but most certainly not least is getting connected into a life group.
[00:31:00] Yeah, we can celebrate life groups here.
[00:31:02] That is one of the biggest parts of what we do here at The Cove.
[00:31:08] Have you guys ever heard a message and you just loved it and then you walk out the door and you're like, I don't know how to apply this.
[00:31:15] Well, Life Group gives you an amazing place to come and talk more about the message, talk about what God is doing in your life, and it gives you a community that can challenge you and encourage you in your walk with Christ.
[00:31:27] And so if you're not in a Life Group today, you came on a wonderful day because we have Life Group leaders out in the atrium who want to talk to you.
[00:31:34] And trust me, we have a group for everyone.
[00:31:37] I love our newly married group.
[00:31:39] There is moms groups.
[00:31:40] I heard there's a dog walking group, which I just love that.
[00:31:43] so there is definitely a group for you and if you're not involved go check them out in the atrium well guys we love to worship together don't we yes we love to worship and can we give a hand to our amazing worship team well we have something super exciting a worship night that is going to be happening and our team is about to tell you about it check out the screens

[00:32:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
Hey everyone, we are so excited to invite you to a very special night of worship, Friday night, February 6th at 7 p.m.

[00:32:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
It says in Psalm 145 verse 4, What you have done will be praised from generation to the next.
[00:32:25] They will proclaim your mighty acts.

[00:32:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
This special night of worship is all about celebrating the generations within our community as we worship with well-known songs from different decades.

[00:32:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
From classic hymns to the sounds and celebrations of today's youth anthems, we're gathering to worship in unity from generation to generation.

[00:32:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
You have a place and your generation has a purpose.

[00:32:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
There will be child care available, so come join us February 6th, Friday night at 7 p.m. We'll worship together.
[00:33:08] Man, I love North Carolina.
[00:33:10] They were talking like, it's coming, it's coming.
[00:33:13] I woke up and it barely even rained last night, man.
[00:33:16] That's crazy.
[00:33:19] Hey, let's celebrate.
[00:33:21] We've already been live at all of our campuses this weekend, but I wanted to celebrate with you our South Africa campus.
[00:33:27] We've got a team up there, and I just got a report back.
[00:33:30] We saw 12 decisions to follow Jesus at our South Africa campus just this morning.
[00:33:35] It's afternoon there, so I love that.
[00:33:37] We're in one church, multiple locations.
[00:33:40] And all of our church, across all of our campuses, has been doing this series on prayer and fasting.
[00:33:46] And we've been talking about the importance and given the challenge of, during the month of January, taking one day a week, we're going to be intentional about actually fasting.
[00:33:57] Let's pray.
[00:34:00] Let's pray.
[00:34:17] Let's pray.
[00:34:20] Let's pray.
[00:34:34] I know we're not supposed to talk about our fasting.
[00:34:38] I've been trying to teach our church, so I've been having to use some of my own fasts as an example.
[00:34:44] I understand that and want to encourage, you know, we're not supposed to be like bragging about our fasts all the time.
[00:34:51] So don't worry, you won't hear me brag about my fast or anything like that.
[00:34:54] But I do want to be able to talk about it so I can teach us about the fast.
[00:34:58] The point is that not whether someone else knows you're fasting, but really what's in your heart.
[00:35:03] Is it pursuing God or is it about doing it as a show?
[00:35:09] I don't know what it is about the fast, but something about trying to execute a fast can pull out the legalistic side of us.
[00:35:18] And I experienced that this week.
[00:35:19] I've been fasting Wednesdays starting at 6 p.m. through Thursdays 6 p.m.
[00:35:26] and this week in particular was a pretty busy week I didn't get to do dinner at home with the family Monday or Tuesday night and so Wednesday rolled around and my fast was going to start that night so the plan was for me to get home early and us eat as a family together because we hadn't done that yet this week and I got out of work a little bit late again and my wife and I we love to order two dishes and then split both the dishes so we get two dishes everywhere we go
[00:35:53] I get to try to do two different things.
[00:35:55] Does anyone else do this or are we the only weird ones that do?
[00:35:57] Okay.
[00:35:57] Yeah, so that's how we always do things.
[00:35:59] So my wife was like, you know, let's stop at our favorite Mexican place.
[00:36:02] We'll get the salad and the chimichanga because that's how it works.
[00:36:06] You use the salad to offset a fried burrito.
[00:36:09] That's how that works.
[00:36:11] It evens out.
[00:36:12] and and so that was the plan and then you know it started getting closer to six o'clock and I realized I'm not gonna make it home in time to actually eat this food before my fast kicks in at six o'clock so I had to tell my wife baby I can't I can't pick up your food for you I have to honor the Lord you know I have to I have to put God first get behind me Satan you know I'm gonna
[00:36:34] I'm going to go to the restaurant and I'm just going to eat at the restaurant and stuff my face until 5.59 so that I can start my fast at 6 like the Lord has instructed me to.
[00:36:47] And I literally did send her a text message saying, I'm sorry, I can't pick up your food, you'll get whatever's left, kind of deal, you know?
[00:36:55] That didn't go so well, if I'm being honest.
[00:36:58] Not because my wife even yelled at me.
[00:37:00] I just instantly felt this conviction around, like, man, how legalistic are you going to be around this?
[00:37:06] What I ended up doing is going home, eating dinner with my family, and starting at 7, the Lord was like, who's this fast for?
[00:37:13] You think the honoring thing to do is let your...
[00:37:15] Family starves so that you can get your fast?
[00:37:18] I mean, what are you thinking, dude?
[00:37:20] So, I don't know what it is about us.
[00:37:22] We want to go to the legalistic side of things.
[00:37:25] We want to feel like, and what I think it really is, is we want to feel like we have some semblance of control.
[00:37:31] That if I do this, this, and this, God will respond to me favorably, right?
[00:37:37] Every single time, and give me what I'm after and what I'm seeking after.
[00:37:42] If I do this, this, and this, I know God will be unhappy with me and not give me what I'm after.
[00:37:49] You Bills fans must have done some terrible things this week.
[00:37:52] I'm so sorry about that.
[00:37:54] I'm sorry.
[00:37:57] But, you know, something about us is drawn to this idea that we have some semblance of control over what God will do.
[00:38:05] Wouldn't it be nice if we could just control what God did, you know?
[00:38:09] If we had the powers that God has?
[00:38:11] that's the legalism side to us that and so today we're talking about when is the fast effective you know maybe you're doing the fast with us once a week during the month of January but okay after that then what does it just become a ritualistic thing if I just keep doing a fast once a week when am I supposed to put the fast in practice in the long run I think we have a lot
[00:38:36] We're going to open our Bibles and we'll be jumping around a little bit throughout Scripture.
[00:38:43] This is a great week if you have the Bible app to go to events and go to the Cove Church and you can pull up all the Scriptures and points that we have from today's message.
[00:38:52] If you don't know how to do that, you can always go to the Next Steps area after this service.
[00:38:55] They'll help you get set up for the future.
[00:38:57] Or you can jump around in the Bible with us.
[00:38:59] But today we're going to look at three different times we see consistently in Scripture where the fast occurs.
[00:39:06] And really, how do we apply that to our lives today?
[00:39:10] The first place you can see the fast is in Mark chapter 9.
[00:39:13] If you've got your Bibles, turn them there.
[00:39:16] Now let me set up this passage for you.
[00:39:19] In Mark chapter 6, Jesus gives his disciples authority to cast out spirits and to be able to do healings.
[00:39:29] And so the disciples are psyched about this.
[00:39:31] You can imagine.
[00:39:32] They've been going all over the place and now even when Jesus isn't around, they can cast out spirits and do miracles because Jesus gave them this authority.
[00:39:43] And so they're running around thinking, we got the coolest superpower.
[00:39:46] The disciples go to do what they've always done.
[00:40:07] I don't know if they waved a finger.
[00:40:09] I don't know what the whole routine was.
[00:40:10] But they go, you're healed.
[00:40:13] And it didn't work.
[00:40:15] and so they're like uh oh you know and and they try again you know they they can't they're trying as hard as they can but they can't get this kid healed and Jesus himself eventually comes the dad's like your disciples their powers ran out of batteries you know what's going on here um and Jesus himself casts out this spirit and so when
[00:40:38] They go back into their own private home.
[00:40:42] The disciples are like, what the heck just happened?
[00:40:45] Check this out in Mark chapter 9.
[00:40:47] When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, why could we not cast it out?
[00:40:54] And he said to them, this kind cannot be driven out by anything except prayer.
[00:41:01] Now, I do want us to go back in time.
[00:41:05] To the history side of the Bible for a moment.
[00:41:07] If you're interested by the history of the formation of the Bible, I didn't intend for this message to be about this, but we happen to be in some of the passages where there's some historical significance.
[00:41:19] When the Bible was assembled, it's assembled from manuscripts written thousands of years ago, and some people's...
[00:41:27] The way of discrediting scripture would be to say things like, well, there's multiple different manuscripts and some of them are different than other manuscripts.
[00:41:36] So how do you trust which manuscript we ended up with?
[00:41:40] And I want to be clear about this.
[00:41:41] They were very meticulous about the rewriting of scripture and about the copying of scripture and making sure it was copied as accurately as possible to the point that...
[00:41:54] Based on Dead Sea Scrolls and other findings, the manuscripts are 99% accurate to the original manuscripts.
[00:42:01] The differences in some of these manuscripts is so minute.
[00:42:07] For instance, this passage is one of the passages that is pointed to.
[00:42:12] And here is the difference.
[00:42:13] Some manuscripts say this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.
[00:42:19] And other manuscripts might say this kind cannot be driven out by anything
[00:42:23] but prayer and fasting.
[00:42:26] That's it.
[00:42:27] That's the difference.
[00:42:29] And some people will take that and that just absolutely don't want to give credit to how incredible it is that the scripture has been preserved to this level of accuracy will point at the fact that it says prayer and fasting verse prayer and be like throughout the whole book.
[00:42:44] You can't trust it.
[00:42:45] It's crazy town, let me just tell you that right now.
[00:42:48] It's insane how well the scripture has been preserved from generation to generation over time.
[00:42:55] Whether it says prayer or prayer and fasting, I'll give it to you either way, the principle doesn't change at all.
[00:43:03] What we see here is the disciples
[00:43:06] I've gotten so reliant on their power, but they really clearly weren't relying on God himself anymore.
[00:43:14] They viewed it as we have this power now and we don't even need to pray when we're casting out spirits.
[00:43:20] We have the power.
[00:43:21] We just go cast out that spirits.
[00:43:24] and eventually it didn't work because Jesus said you've lost your heart behind it you're not even praying you think it's you that's casting out this spirit now the only way to get that spirit out is through prayer through the father here's what he was bringing alive it's not actually you that's doing this impossible thing it's the father working through you and he can as easily pull that back as he did give it to you in the first place
[00:43:51] and so write this down if you're taking notes today fast when you're hungry for a miracle you know fast when you're hungry for a miracle when you want to see the impossible made possible and I want to be clear this isn't to say when you fast you force God to do things your way quite differently
[00:44:13] You know, so often we want to just see a one-time transformation, and that's kind of what the disciples seem to be operating under, that they were now given this authority, and now they can just go wherever they want, and they can do these miracles.
[00:44:26] And we're exactly the same way.
[00:44:28] We want this idea that, you know, we prayed a prayer once, and now God just instantly changed me overnight.
[00:44:34] He fixed all my problems.
[00:44:36] I'm no longer tempted anymore.
[00:44:38] He just snapped His fingers, you know,
[00:44:41] And sometimes God does do that.
[00:44:47] But in general, Scripture points to over and over again that we produce fruit when we abide in the presence of God.
[00:44:56] Jesus said I am the vine you are the branches you produce fruit by staying connected to me this transformation often happens over time and what was happening with the disciples here is they were no longer abiding in Christ they were just relying on the gift that God had given them but not God himself and how often do we do that you know we want
[00:45:19] Just this one time change and now I'm going to be totally different.
[00:45:23] But really the transformation happens by continually walking with the one who can make the impossible possible.
[00:45:32] Amen.
[00:45:34] Look at Matthew.
[00:45:34] It talks about the exact same story.
[00:45:38] And again, Mark was one of the followers of Peter, who was a disciple of Jesus.
[00:45:45] So Mark tells this story from his perspective, most likely Peter's perspective.
[00:45:50] Matthew, who was another of the disciples, this is another one of the Gospels, there's four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
[00:45:58] These are four different accounts of what it was like to follow Jesus from different disciples' perspectives.
[00:46:05] Matthew...
[00:46:06] It says it this way.
[00:46:08] He talks about the exact same scenario.
[00:46:10] He talks about how there was a dad who came with a son.
[00:46:12] We couldn't cast out the spirit.
[00:46:14] Jesus showed up, cast out the spirit.
[00:46:17] And look what he says.
[00:46:18] Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, why could we not cast it out?
[00:46:23] It's exactly the same as Mark's account.
[00:46:25] But look at this.
[00:46:26] Here's what Jesus said to them.
[00:46:27] Because of your little faith.
[00:46:29] For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.
[00:46:43] Now again, skeptics, critics will say, well look at that, Matthew and Mark say totally different things in this exact same story.
[00:46:51] How can you trust this?
[00:46:53] but here's the reality what's clear is Jesus didn't just say oh it only happens through prayer and moved on this was clearly some sort of conversation this was clearly some sort of teaching Mark summarizes it with the statement of Jesus made it clear we weren't praying we weren't relying on God we were
[00:47:11] Matthew goes into the more detailed teaching of what Jesus said that you know he said hey if we have this faith the size of a mustard seed right if we had faith in God the size of a mustard seed we can move a mountain from here to there and so
[00:47:29] Essentially, they are saying the same exact thing, just slightly different ways.
[00:47:35] Matthew gets a little more into the details of what Jesus taught.
[00:47:38] Mark summarizes the overall teaching, but the idea is identical.
[00:47:43] It's clear that Jesus was teaching them the impossible is only made possible through the presence and the power of God, and we can't just rely on ourselves.
[00:47:54] Amen?
[00:47:57] So what does this mean to us?
[00:48:00] All right, let's talk about that.
[00:48:02] It reminds me of the movie, Little Boy.
[00:48:06] Because so often,
[00:48:08] We want to see a miracle happen.
[00:48:11] And in this movie, Little Boy, we did movies of the cove on it three, four years ago now.
[00:48:18] And it's the story of this kid who wants to see his dad come back from the war.
[00:48:23] And he's praying for a miracle and he begins to ask all these people, how do you make a miracle happen?
[00:48:28] Have you ever felt that way before?
[00:48:29] How do I make God do a miracle?
[00:48:32] I need God to show up.
[00:48:35] I need God to move that mountain.
[00:48:37] I need the miracle.
[00:48:39] How do I make God do the miracle?
[00:48:40] You ever asked that before?
[00:48:42] How do I get God to hear my prayers?
[00:48:44] How do I get God to move when I'm asking Him to move?
[00:48:48] This little boy is asking all sorts of people, how do I make a miracle happen?
[00:48:51] He asked a magician, you know, about making a miracle happen.
[00:48:55] Eventually, he gets to a priest and he explains to the priest, you know, a magician told me I can move a bottle with my mind.
[00:49:03] And the priest set out a bottle.
[00:49:06] And he told the little boy, well, show me how that would work.
[00:49:10] The little boy stood up and he got in his magician pose.
[00:49:14] And he began to yell at the bottle, DAAA!
[00:49:20] And he began to use all his might to move this bottle with his mind.
[00:49:23] And of course, the bottle didn't move.
[00:49:25] And the priest is just standing there.
[00:49:27] And the little boy goes, I guess that was stupid.
[00:49:29] And he goes, no, no, no, it wasn't stupid.
[00:49:31] Try again.
[00:49:32] The little boy gets in the action pose, DAAA!
[00:49:36] Do it again!
[00:49:37] He's screaming as loud as he can.
[00:49:39] He's just screaming at this bottle in the action pose.
[00:49:44] And eventually the priest grabs the bottle and moves it across the desk.
[00:49:48] And he says, There!
[00:49:49] You moved it!
[00:49:52] And the little boy says, I didn't move it.
[00:49:53] You moved it.
[00:49:55] And he said, Well, sure, I moved it.
[00:49:57] But I saw your will and your deep desire to see the bottle moved, and it willed me to move the bottle.
[00:50:05] You see the connection, church?
[00:50:08] You know, when we pray and fast and ask God to do what only He can do, we are not forcing His hand.
[00:50:16] We are not manipulating Him.
[00:50:19] We are not handcuffing Him to where He has to do the miracle.
[00:50:22] And in fact, we know sometimes His answer is no.
[00:50:27] But what we show is our seriousness and our commitment.
[00:50:31] And what we're really doing is bringing our need and our desperation to see a work of God to the only one that can make the impossible possible.
[00:50:41] No one else can do it.
[00:50:42] Amen?
[00:50:45] Maybe you're here today and you're saying, Will, but I did pray.
[00:50:49] I did ask for the mountain to move.
[00:50:50] I asked for the miracle and it didn't happen.
[00:50:53] What does that mean?
[00:50:54] Does that mean God just didn't care?
[00:50:56] Does that mean God didn't hear my prayers?
[00:50:57] Does that mean I somehow did it wrong?
[00:51:01] I wouldn't say that.
[00:51:03] I remember about three years ago at Easter time,
[00:51:09] I'd been really busy.
[00:51:10] I hadn't been home very much.
[00:51:12] I came home one night and I was running right back out to the building because we had an Easter service run through.
[00:51:19] I was preaching the Easter message and we were running through all the worship and kind of practicing everything and putting everything together.
[00:51:27] and so it was going to be a late night I was going to be home at 10 11 o'clock at night so I came home I ate a quick dinner and was running right back out the door it's one of those where it's like almost like I don't even know if it was good for me to come home because the kids saw me and they got all excited that I was home I was like well I'm turning right around and leaving and you know we ate a quick dinner together and I went to leave and my five-year-old ran in front of me and put his back against the door and held the door
[00:51:53] And he looked at me and he let me know, Dad, I mean business, you know?
[00:51:58] And I was like, son, you're off school tomorrow.
[00:52:01] It's okay.
[00:52:02] Like, we're going to get to spend the whole day tomorrow.
[00:52:03] I know I've been busy, but tonight's the last night.
[00:52:05] I'll be home tomorrow.
[00:52:07] We'll get the whole day together.
[00:52:08] And he kind of smiled and laughed and I tickled him and then set him aside.
[00:52:12] And I went to open the door and he literally shoved the door closed and put his back against the door and got his chest big at me like he was challenging me.
[00:52:25] And I said to him, but I promise I will be here tomorrow.
[00:52:28] And then he just began to cry.
[00:52:30] I felt really like the dad of the year in the moment.
[00:52:37] And I looked at my wife and she kind of gave me that shrug and I was like,
[00:52:42] Can we?
[00:52:42] And she was like, he doesn't have school tomorrow, I guess.
[00:52:45] And I said, alright bud, you put on your jacket.
[00:52:48] You're coming with me.
[00:52:49] You're going to get to sit at this church until 11 o'clock at night, listening to your dad.
[00:52:54] He didn't realize it was a punishment, really, at the end of the day.
[00:52:58] And he came and he hung out with me until 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock at night that night.
[00:53:02] Came to bed late.
[00:53:03] Now, here's what you have to understand.
[00:53:06] My son doing that, it didn't...
[00:53:09] It didn't change my character, and it didn't make me love him any more or less.
[00:53:15] But what it did do is move my heart to compassion.
[00:53:19] Amen?
[00:53:20] and this idea is all throughout scripture that it says Jesus's heart was moved to compassion so often when he sees the faith of his people step up and be bold it says his heart was moved with compassion that he saw the situation he was moved to compassion and so here here's what i want us to understand the truth is if he had had school the next day the answer still would have been no right i would have had to say
[00:53:45] but you've got school in the morning there's no way I can bring you with me tonight but it wouldn't have taken away the fact that it moved my heart to compassion amen and maybe the answer would have been no but in this case the answer was yes that wouldn't have happened unless my son literally blocked the door tears in his eyes is saying dad I'm serious I want to be with you
[00:54:07] and it moved me to give him a yes even if that made me a more ineffective pastor that night and even if it wasn't good for him in the long run tomorrow.
[00:54:18] I gave him what his heart desired.
[00:54:20] Church, here's what I want us to understand.
[00:54:22] When we fast, when we pray, when we come to God, we aren't manipulating him, we aren't forcing his hand, we aren't forcing him to give us a yes.
[00:54:29] We're making clear our heart and our desire and our faith and letting him know, I know you're the only one that can do this.
[00:54:37] And God, I'm serious, I'm coming to you, begging you, asking you, God, would you show up in a way that only you can show up?
[00:54:48] And so I want to encourage you to be bold about your fasts.
[00:54:52] Be bold about fasting when you're seeking a miracle.
[00:54:56] It's going to help line up your heart with God's heart.
[00:54:59] It doesn't mean you'll get exactly what you want, but it's making bold the requests known to God.
[00:55:05] And Jesus says plainly, He rewards when our heart's in the right place around this.
[00:55:11] And so we see first and foremost, often throughout Scripture, they fasted when they were looking for a miracle.
[00:55:18] The second time we see them fasting is when they're preparing for what's ahead.
[00:55:23] Check this out.
[00:55:24] Jesus, shortly after his baptism, went off into the desert and fasted.
[00:55:31] We talked about this in week one, so I'll be brief with the scripture.
[00:55:35] Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
[00:55:39] And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry.
[00:55:43] There you go.
[00:55:44] Jesus went off
[00:55:45] This is just before his ministry becomes public.
[00:55:49] This is considered the last thing he does before he begins to actually go publicly teaching and healing and picking his disciples and became very public with his ministry around the kingdom of God.
[00:56:00] The last thing he does before that is spends 40 days out in the desert fasting.
[00:56:07] And this is right off of a spiritual high.
[00:56:09] He just had his baptism where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all present.
[00:56:14] You can find that in Matthew chapter 3.
[00:56:17] And the first thing he does is go off alone and fast.
[00:56:22] What's interesting is, you know, Jesus wasn't fasting in preparation because he needed more knowledge.
[00:56:27] We know Jesus already knew what he needed to know.
[00:56:30] He did this as an example to us.
[00:56:33] He did this as an act of faith to say, you know what?
[00:56:37] Before I get going on this journey, I'm going to spend still time.
[00:56:41] It shows us the value of fasting as we prepare for a challenging season.
[00:56:47] You can go ahead and write this down.
[00:56:48] When should we fast?
[00:56:49] Fast when you're preparing for what's ahead.
[00:56:52] Maybe you're coming off of a spiritual high.
[00:56:55] Then you're going, I don't know what's next.
[00:56:56] You're coming back from a mission trip.
[00:56:58] Or God spoke to you in some way in a service or on a retreat.
[00:57:03] Or something special happened, a miracle happened in your family.
[00:57:08] And you're going, what do we do next?
[00:57:10] That's a great time to fast.
[00:57:12] To get serious about, God...
[00:57:14] What is coming ahead?
[00:57:17] So often, our spiritual high moments quickly turn into spiritual low moments because we start going, well, it's never going to be as good as it just was there.
[00:57:25] You know, we'll never see that again.
[00:57:26] What do we do from there?
[00:57:27] Fasting is us getting really intentional about slowing everything down and seeking God.
[00:57:32] What happens next?
[00:57:34] Or maybe you're getting ready for a really challenging season in your life and you know it.
[00:57:39] Or it's a season of transition coming in your life and you know it.
[00:57:43] You know, when we've got a season of transition, maybe it's a big surgery coming up,
[00:57:49] It's some changes happening in your family or big changes happening at work.
[00:57:55] We rely on all of our own skills, don't we?
[00:57:58] First and foremost.
[00:57:59] We look at our bank account and make sure we're financially ready for what's coming.
[00:58:03] We trust in our relationships and our friendships and set up what we need through our friendships.
[00:58:09] We rely on our own knowledge, our own wisdom.
[00:58:11] We rely on our own skills.
[00:58:13] We rely on Google.
[00:58:14] We Google things like, what should I expect after this surgery?
[00:58:17] That's always a fun game.
[00:58:20] And we prepare as best we can with all of our own self-reliance.
[00:58:24] And we might sprinkle in some prayers there, but we don't get serious about spiritually being ready for the season that's coming.
[00:58:32] And then, have you ever had this happen before?
[00:58:35] Things don't go according to plan.
[00:58:37] You had a plan in place.
[00:58:39] Things don't go according to plan, and you don't see a way out.
[00:58:42] You don't see what the next step is.
[00:58:44] And that's usually the moment we come rushing to God.
[00:58:47] We're like, God, it didn't work!
[00:58:48] Google lied!
[00:58:51] What do I do now?
[00:58:53] And that's the moment we come to God desperate.
[00:58:56] That's the moment we come to God and we're like, I got to get serious about my spirituality now that the wheels are falling off and everything's falling apart.
[00:59:03] That's the moment we go, okay, let me get serious about my faith issues going on here.
[00:59:08] But the reality is we're just not prepared spiritually for the challenging seasons ahead.
[00:59:14] Jesus before...
[00:59:16] He goes into his three-year ministry, actually spends time in stillness and with God, facing off with the devil, so that he's prepared to go on the battle ahead.
[00:59:27] You know, have you ever seen an athlete lifting weights on the sideline?
[00:59:34] You haven't, right?
[00:59:35] Like you can imagine what that would look like.
[00:59:38] Like an old lineman gets run over by the other team and he goes over the sideline.
[00:59:42] The coach is like, are you kidding me?
[00:59:44] You ain't strong enough.
[00:59:45] Go pump some iron.
[00:59:46] You're going to be back out there in three minutes.
[00:59:49] Of course they wouldn't do that, right?
[00:59:51] At that point, it's not going to change.
[00:59:54] In fact, if you want to get stronger, if you're an athlete and you're wanting to get stronger, you don't even do your intense workout regime during the season.
[01:00:02] Once the season starts, you kind of are what you are athletically.
[01:00:06] You're more maintaining at that point.
[01:00:08] When do you get stronger, church?
[01:00:10] If you're an athlete and you're working out and you're trying to get stronger, when do you get stronger?
[01:00:14] The off-season, right?
[01:00:16] It's when you're getting ready for the season to come.
[01:00:20] You want to become more athletic.
[01:00:21] You want to become stronger.
[01:00:22] You want to become faster.
[01:00:23] You do that training in the off-season so that when the season starts, you're ready to go.
[01:00:29] And spiritually, it's the same way.
[01:00:31] I feel like we're trying to pump iron on the sideline in the middle of the battle all the time.
[01:00:36] You know, we're waiting until we got no other answers and we're desperate and we're struggling.
[01:00:40] And that's the time we go, I got to get serious about my faith.
[01:00:44] I want to encourage you.
[01:00:45] You've got some challenging seasons ahead.
[01:00:48] Be willing to take a day to fast.
[01:00:50] To get in God's presence.
[01:00:51] To get on the same page with God.
[01:00:52] Maybe you're going through something at work.
[01:00:55] Maybe there's something happening in your marriage.
[01:00:58] Or you're getting ready for a big year for your kids.
[01:01:01] And you know it's a big year coming up.
[01:01:02] It's going to be a challenging year for your kids.
[01:01:05] Be serious about it before we're in the battle.
[01:01:08] Fasting.
[01:01:09] Taking time to get on the same page with the Lord.
[01:01:12] You've got the in-laws coming to stay with you for a week.
[01:01:15] Fast before that.
[01:01:18] Don't wait until they're there to start fasting.
[01:01:21] You're going to be cranky then.
[01:01:22] Get your mind spiritually ready for what's ahead.
[01:01:29] So we see this.
[01:01:30] They fasted when they were hungry for a miracle.
[01:01:35] They fasted when they were preparing for what's ahead.
[01:01:41] Look at this third area that they fast in their life.
[01:01:44] This is from the Old Testament.
[01:01:46] This was a prophet.
[01:01:48] Who was speaking to the nation of Israel who had really stopped following the Lord in so many ways.
[01:01:54] And they were beginning to see their nation crumble.
[01:01:57] And so look what this prophet who spoke on behalf of the Lord said to the people.
[01:02:01] Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart.
[01:02:05] With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.
[01:02:08] That doesn't sound like a party.
[01:02:12] He said, come to me broken.
[01:02:14] Rend your hearts and not your garments.
[01:02:16] That so lines up with Jesus' lesson.
[01:02:19] Rend your hearts.
[01:02:21] Don't give me the show of fasting, the garments, not just the outward appearance.
[01:02:26] Give me your heart.
[01:02:27] Come to me broken.
[01:02:29] Come to me seeking.
[01:02:31] Rend your hearts, not your garments.
[01:02:33] Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and he relents over disaster.
[01:02:43] Here's the third place we see fasting occur consistently in Scripture.
[01:02:47] Fast when you're returning your heart to God.
[01:02:51] In a moment of repentance.
[01:02:54] You know, last week we talked a little bit about this idea.
[01:02:57] We don't like to talk about our sin because we have a Savior.
[01:03:02] We don't have to worry about our sin.
[01:03:04] We don't have to stress about our sin.
[01:03:05] We feel like sin, you know, that's just going to make me feel ashamed, embarrassed, you know, or feel bad about myself.
[01:03:12] And that's not what God wants for me.
[01:03:14] And so last week we even talked about, you know, we say things like, well, everyone's got a sin, you know, this one's just mine.
[01:03:20] I was even convicted beyond that.
[01:03:21] You know, we also even joke about our sin, don't we?
[01:03:25] We make jokes about our sin.
[01:03:27] We make jokes about our brother and sister in Christ's sin.
[01:03:31] You know, we make such light of the sin, like it's not even a big deal, you know, because God doesn't want me to walk in shame, so I'm going to joke about it.
[01:03:40] Can I just tell you, I'm saying this as your pastor, I love you.
[01:03:44] My sin and your sin is a big deal.
[01:03:48] It was such a big deal that God sent his son Jesus to die for it.
[01:03:53] It matters.
[01:03:55] The things we do to separate ourselves from God matter.
[01:03:58] The things we do that disalign us from God's purposes matter.
[01:04:03] They're not jokes.
[01:04:05] They're not cute.
[01:04:10] And I don't say that to put some tremendous weight on us, but here's the reality.
[01:04:16] If we never acknowledge the weight of our sin, we will never understand our desperation for a Savior.
[01:04:25] And so we have to acknowledge the weight of our sin.
[01:04:30] You know, and in our culture today, especially in the church in America, we just don't acknowledge the weight of our sin.
[01:04:36] We treat our sin like something we just have to say, you know, sorry to God about later.
[01:04:41] Or sometimes we don't even say sorry.
[01:04:43] It reminds me of when I was a kid, I would tell my dad, my bad.
[01:04:47] My bad, Dad.
[01:04:48] That's my bad.
[01:04:49] My dad hated that.
[01:04:50] He would say to me all the time, Of course it's your bad!
[01:04:52] Who else's bad would it be?
[01:04:53] You know, that was his favorite thing to respond to that.
[01:04:56] I stopped saying that after he started saying that.
[01:04:59] But I just, my bad.
[01:05:00] My bad, Dad.
[01:05:02] You know, or with Britney Spears, Oops, I did it again.
[01:05:04] You know, and that's how we treat God, right?
[01:05:07] Like, oh, that's my bad.
[01:05:08] Sorry.
[01:05:09] Ah, darn.
[01:05:10] I messed up again, God.
[01:05:11] Sorry about that.
[01:05:13] My bad.
[01:05:15] Oopsie.
[01:05:17] And we don't actually stop and acknowledge our hearts aren't in line with God's and that's a problem.
[01:05:26] And I'm desperate to make sure my heart is in line with God's.
[01:05:31] And we just accept our sin and we just kind of move on from it.
[01:05:35] And you know what?
[01:05:36] I want you to hear clearly.
[01:05:37] Grace is an amazing thing.
[01:05:38] God does forgive our sins.
[01:05:40] But they were serious in the Old Testament about let's get our hearts back in line with God's.
[01:05:45] Let's acknowledge for the things that aren't honoring to Him and take seriously that we need to work on these things.
[01:05:53] And so I want to encourage you.
[01:05:54] Maybe you have that sin that is a repeat sin in your life.
[01:05:58] It keeps popping up over and over and over again.
[01:06:01] And we just kind of casually are like, oh yeah, messed up again.
[01:06:04] Sorry about that.
[01:06:05] If you fast around these ideas, you're going to have more conviction.
[01:06:10] You're going to have more focus around battling these things.
[01:06:12] Your desires will literally begin to change as you fast around these things.
[01:06:17] Maybe you have things like gossip.
[01:06:19] Addiction, Pornography, Sexual Purity, Being Unloving, even something that we might normalize, being unloving to your kids or to your spouse.
[01:06:29] You find yourself being short all the time with your kids or spouse.
[01:06:33] Oh man, I need to be better at that.
[01:06:36] Getting drunk or living an unbiblical lifestyle.
[01:06:39] You know, it's different.
[01:06:41] The game changes when we take seriously, you know what, my heart is not in line with God's on these issues, and that's why I keep falling into it over and over again.
[01:06:50] And so I need to fast.
[01:06:51] I need to take some time to really get serious about praying about it.
[01:06:53] Can I just tell you, if you struggle with something like, say, purity, when you actually fast around your purity, guess what?
[01:07:01] Next time you're out on date night, you're going to be thinking about it.
[01:07:05] It's going to have weight and importance to you.
[01:07:07] And I want to be clear, this isn't an act of legalism, right?
[01:07:10] This isn't like a punishment.
[01:07:12] Don't use a fast as a punishment for yourself.
[01:07:14] Some people will take something like this and be like, oh, I got drunk last night, guess I'm not eating it today.
[01:07:19] You know, that's not the point.
[01:07:22] The point is to get serious about my heart's not in line with God's, and I have a desire to put my heart in line with God's.
[01:07:29] And so all these things, they have something in common.
[01:07:31] And there's actually more instances of fasting, but what we've talked about today is you're seeking a miracle.
[01:07:38] Fast.
[01:07:39] You're seeking direction.
[01:07:41] Fast.
[01:07:42] You're seeking to line up your heart and your desires with God's heart and desires.
[01:07:48] Fast.
[01:07:49] But here's what ties it all together.
[01:07:53] And I want you to see this.
[01:07:54] Jesus taught plainly about why his disciples didn't fast.
[01:08:00] And this is going to tell us why we should fast, actually.
[01:08:04] Look at this.
[01:08:04] When Jesus came with his disciples, they didn't do much fasting.
[01:08:08] Almost all the other Jewish groups were fasting in some form.
[01:08:13] All the other leaders were instructing their people to fast.
[01:08:16] And then Jesus came along and they're eating and drinking and having dinner with the sinners.
[01:08:22] And they're like, you guys are a bunch of hooligans.
[01:08:25] I mean, literally, that's what was happening.
[01:08:28] And look at this.
[01:08:29] It's in Mark chapter 2.
[01:08:31] They confronted Jesus about this.
[01:08:34] Now John's disciples and the Pharisees, they were fasting.
[01:08:38] And people came and said to Jesus, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples, they don't fast?
[01:08:47] And Jesus said to them, Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
[01:08:53] As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
[01:08:57] He's talking about himself.
[01:08:58] He's saying, I'm right here.
[01:09:00] Why would they need to fast?
[01:09:01] I'm right here.
[01:09:01] It indicates to us why we should fast.
[01:09:04] Look at it.
[01:09:05] He goes on to say, the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and look, then they will fast in that day.
[01:09:14] So what he's saying is, look, we fast so that you would be close to God, that you would be aligned with God's heart.
[01:09:21] Guess what?
[01:09:22] I'm standing right here.
[01:09:25] How much closer can they get?
[01:09:27] Why would they need to fast?
[01:09:28] They should be eating with me, celebrating with me that I'm right here.
[01:09:32] If they want to be close, there will be a time when I'm not physically standing right here, and that's the time to fast.
[01:09:39] What it teaches us is this.
[01:09:42] You know, we so often can get off track with our fasting or with our prayer life.
[01:09:49] We fast or have a prayer life wanting specific results, wanting specific blessings from God.
[01:09:56] You're fasting because I want to see a miracle from God.
[01:09:58] Or you can end up fasting because I want God to change my heart so I don't desire these things that are ruining me.
[01:10:04] Or I need to fast so that I can be prepared for what's ahead.
[01:10:08] And all that's great.
[01:10:10] That's when we should fast, but we don't fast just for the results that God will give us, the blessing.
[01:10:17] What you're doing is really you're fasting for the blessing of God and missing the point.
[01:10:22] We fast to simply be in the presence of God.
[01:10:27] Can I just ask you, is the presence of God enough for you?
[01:10:32] I want you to really think about that question.
[01:10:34] Don't let it just slide by you.
[01:10:38] David
[01:10:39] I once wrote a song saying, one thing I ask, one thing I seek before anything else, to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
[01:10:46] That's it.
[01:10:47] If I get one thing, it wouldn't be victory over my enemies, it wouldn't be the most wisdom in the world, just to be in the presence of God.
[01:10:56] Maybe you're here today and you've tried out fasting or praying and you feel like, you know, I didn't get the answers I was looking for.
[01:11:02] Don't skip past.
[01:11:06] Is it enough just to be in the presence of God?
[01:11:10] And you know what?
[01:11:11] Here's the amazing thing.
[01:11:12] In the presence of God, the impossible becomes possible.
[01:11:15] Can I get an amen?
[01:11:17] In the presence of God, we find wisdom that goes beyond worldly understanding.
[01:11:22] In the presence of God, we are prepared for the battles that will face us ahead.
[01:11:27] In the presence of God, our desires begin to change and line up with His.
[01:11:32] In the presence of God, all these amazing things happen.
[01:11:35] But what happens so often is we're seeking the blessing of God.
[01:11:40] before just the presence of God itself.
[01:11:43] Can I just ask you, is the presence of God enough for you?
[01:11:46] That even if I didn't get an answer to my prayer, even if I didn't get the miracle I was looking for, even if I still am struggling with what do I do next, even if I still have this thorn of temptation that I'm dealing with, is the presence of God enough for you?
[01:12:03] This is what God's been teaching me through these fasts is just, you know, we can't,
[01:12:09] It's not a genie bottle.
[01:12:11] We can't just fast for a day and then go, oh, now I got the presence of God.
[01:12:16] It's a constant searching.
[01:12:18] Some days I'll fast and I just get this revelation.
[01:12:21] I feel like God's opening all new things.
[01:12:23] And some days I fast and there's just a few little things here and there.
[01:12:28] But it's learning to just enjoy pursuing the presence of God.
[01:12:33] Enjoy just being with your God.
[01:12:37] Enjoy just focusing in on your prayer life and seeking His truth and being still before Him.
[01:12:44] And here's my heart and my desire for our church as a whole, that before we pursue the blessings of God, and they are out there, there are some amazing blessings of God, that we would first and foremost pursue the presence of God.
[01:12:58] because that's enough.
[01:13:00] Even if I got nothing else, that's enough.
[01:13:02] Let me pray for us today.
[01:13:06] Father God, we come to you today and we just pour out our hearts.
[01:13:10] Would you make this your prayer today, church?
[01:13:13] God, I wanna be in your presence.
[01:13:19] I wanna be in your presence.
[01:13:22] I wanna hear your voice.
[01:13:27] I just want to rest with you.
[01:13:34] God, it's so hard for us.
[01:13:35] I mean, even before a feeling, right?
[01:13:37] We can even make it about getting to a feeling.
[01:13:40] No, no, no, I don't need a feeling.
[01:13:41] God, I just want to be in your presence before anything else.
[01:13:46] That's my desire.
[01:13:48] As David prayed, one thing I ask, I seek to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
[01:13:53] God, we want to be in your presence.
[01:13:57] and so I pray that as we exit out of this series and continue to put it into practice how to pray and fast that that would be our heart before we try to manipulate or force you to give us what we're wanting that God our heart and our desire would be to be in your presence to experience your goodness God we pray
[01:14:24] For those seasons that I know people are in here today, there are some here today that feel like they need a mountain to move.
[01:14:31] We're seeking a miracle.
[01:14:34] And so, God, today we just want to be in your presence.
[01:14:36] We know that's the only place a miracle is going to happen anyway.
[01:14:39] But before anything else, we want to be in your presence.
[01:14:42] Here today, afraid of what's next, unsure of an upcoming season, God, we want to be in your presence.
[01:14:49] We want to rest in your presence.
[01:14:50] We know you'll grant us the wisdom.
[01:14:52] You'll give us what we need for the battles ahead, even if we don't realize it.
[01:14:59] For God, we have sin that just plagues our life, that again and again seems to separate us in our relationship with you, that keeps popping back up over and over again.
[01:15:11] And God, we want to line up our heart with your heart.
[01:15:16] Reveal to us the sin that is not honoring to you.
[01:15:20] Let us not make light of it, but to seek first that our desires would line up with yours.
[01:15:30] God, thank you that you are a loving Father.
[01:15:33] You love your children.
[01:15:35] We come to you because we know you're the only one who can do these things.
[01:15:39] You're it.
[01:15:40] There's no one else.
[01:15:42] And so we come to you knowing you're a good God, a loving Father, that being in your presence is good enough, is great enough.
[01:15:49] There's nothing else we could desire other than that.
[01:15:53] And so God, we want to rest in your presence.
[01:15:57] You're here today and truthfully in your heart, maybe through communion or service today,
[01:16:04] You've realized you haven't given your heart to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
[01:16:07] I want you to hear this really plainly.
[01:16:09] It's not whether you believe in God.
[01:16:14] It's not whether you believe in Jesus.
[01:16:17] Have you received the gift of salvation?
[01:16:20] That Jesus died on the cross for your sin?
[01:16:22] That God is a Father who loves you and has saved you?
[01:16:28] and Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross and today would you call him Lord and Savior.
[01:16:35] Lord means I'm gonna follow you Jesus and follow your example all the days of my life.
[01:16:42] I trust you with my eternity and I trust you with this life.
[01:16:47] I just want you to hear plainly, Jesus didn't die on the cross just so that you'd get the benefit of heaven.
[01:16:52] That wasn't the end point.
[01:16:55] He died on the cross
[01:16:56] So that you would forever have a connection with your Father.
[01:17:01] You'd never be blocked from that connection through sin.
[01:17:08] And so, we make it all about the benefit of heaven.
[01:17:13] But would you today just say, Yes, Jesus, I believe that you're my Lord and Savior, and I want to walk with the Father all the days of my life.
[01:17:21] Thank you, God.
[01:17:23] Thank you, Jesus, for saving us.
[01:17:25] Thank you for sending your Son to die on the cross for our sins.
[01:17:28] God, we love you.
[01:17:29] We worship you today.
[01:17:36] Today, maybe you're making that your prayer for the first time.
[01:17:38] I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins to save me.
[01:17:41] I call you Lord and Savior.
[01:17:43] As one church, God, we desire to be in your presence.
[01:17:46] We worship you today.
[01:17:47] We love you.
[01:17:48] We come to you in the name of Jesus.

[01:17:51] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.

[01:17:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_14]:
Amen.
[01:17:52] Hey, can we celebrate with those?
[01:17:54] Make a decision today to follow Jesus.
[01:17:56] Let us know that.
[01:17:56] You can do that at our Next Steps area.
[01:17:59] I want to invite you.
[01:18:00] We've got Thursday morning.
[01:18:02] We've got worship and prayer at 7 a.m. for the next two weeks still.
[01:18:07] So I want to invite you back for that.
[01:18:08] You can come at any time.
[01:18:10] You can come late.
[01:18:11] You can leave early if you have to.
[01:18:13] We usually gather about 7 to 7.40 and just enjoy prayer and worship together.
[01:18:18] You are invited to that.
[01:18:20] Hey, I love you guys.
[01:18:21] Join us next week.
[01:18:22] We have a one-week focus on the vision of our church for 2026 and where God's calling us, so I'm excited for it.
[01:18:29] I love you guys.
[01:18:30] Hope you have a great rest of your week, and we'll see you next time.

[01:18:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Something happening, your kingdom coming, it won't be long We've been waiting, anticipating, creation's groaning for our God
[01:19:11] The King is on the way You're coming for your children With hope and resurrection Glory, Hallelujah The King is on the way
[01:19:51] We're gonna keep on watching, we're gonna lift our eyes, we're gonna see your glory, break it through

[01:20:23] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
The King is on the way You're coming for your children With hope and resurrection

[01:20:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
The King is on the way While we're waiting We'll be working We're believing The King is on the way While we're waiting

[01:21:41] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
All praise is getting louder All praise is getting bolder The wait is getting over The King is on the way You're coming for your children With hope and resurrection
[01:22:08] The King is on the way You're coming for your children

[01:23:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
The Father's heart Displayed for us O God We thank you for the cross Lifted up On Calvary's hill We cursed your name

[01:24:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
The story of redemption written on his head Jesus you will reign forevermore The victory is yours We sing your praise Endless hallelujahs to your holy name
[01:24:37] Jesus, you will reign forevermore.
[01:24:52] The victory is yours.
[01:24:53] All for you, this sacrifice.
[01:25:10] Let's pray.
[01:25:25] Jesus you will reign forevermore The victory is yours We sing your praise Endless hallelujahs to your holy name Jesus you will reign forevermore

[01:26:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Sing to it.

[01:26:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
The story of redemption is in all of His hands.
[01:26:59] Jesus, You will reign forevermore.
[01:26:59] The victory is Yours, oh behold.
[01:27:00] Behold the Lamb.
[01:27:00] The story of redemption is in all of His hands.
[01:27:01] Jesus, You will reign forevermore.