This Saturday will be a “first” at Journey Church.
Over the past three years, our staff and Elders have at times chosen to fast over a decision or an important time for our church, but we’ve never asked everyone at Journey to fast at one time.
Fasting is an unusual request, isn’t it? Most people only hear the word “fast” when they’re about to have a procedure and the doctor asks them not to eat after midnight so that they’re able to get an accurate result (or in the case of the dreaded “oscopy” they don’t get an “undesirable result”).
But here’s a guess… you probably have a lot of questions about fasting. What is it? Why should someone do it? Are there parameters? What should you do during the day? What does the Bible say about it? I’m not expecting this post to serve as an exhaustive treatment of the topic (or the history), but I can do my best to help you figure out what THIS SATURDAY should look like for you.
FASTING IS AN ACT OF HUMILITY
Have you every worked right through a meal time and found yourself weak just a couple of hours after you were supposed to eat? If so, you quickly realized that we need food to sustain our physical bodies. God created you and I with a healthy dependence on food to provide energy – we’re not a self-sustaining resource. When we choose to fast, it will quickly serve as a reminder of our own fragility. As you move through the day, you’ll quickly realize that God’s constant provision of food allows you to function during the day. As broken humans, we have a tendency to believe ourselves to be much stronger than we actually are – an idea that will be quickly challenged as you experience the first pangs of hunger.
FASTING CAN PROVIDE CLARITY
In Acts 13:2-3, we see one example of how fasting is used to help followers of Jesus determine direction for ministry. In this passage, they’re fasting and praying about the direction of a couple of key people as they move forward in faith. That’s not at all different from what God is asking of you. Fasting this Saturday will allow you to better understand how God would have you be involved.
This Saturday, should you choose to take the “typical” observation of fasting, you would skip eating food from the time you go to bed on Friday night through our event at 7 PM on Saturday. During that time, your body will remind you that you need God’s provision for your physical body. As those “reminders” arrive, simply pause and say something like “God, I know now that I need you to provide for my needs. I know that you’ve provided the resources that I have to supply not only my needs, but the needs of our church. I’m willing to be uncomfortable to help your church “Advance”, would you please allow me to understand exactly how you would have me sacrifice for the next 2 years.” You don’t need to say those exact words, just simply ask God to clarify your participation.
WHO SHOULD FAST?
We’re asking every person at Journey Church to “fast” from SOMETHING during the day on Saturday. We want to be careful that this not be an opportunity to express our own self-righteousness. Scripture warns against fasting so that others see you and think you’re something special. The important thing is that you choose to deny yourself something that will remind you of your own fragile state and the simple truth that GOD is who provides for your needs. If you’re physically healthy, that might be food – it might be all your meals, it might just be lunch – it might be all food, it might not. You might also consider denying yourself something that you do everyday (coffee, snacks, cokes, cigarettes, etc) – that way you’ll have a constant reminder of your dependence on something that isn’t God – and your need to depend on Him to provide as you determine how you’ll be involved in the “Advance” campaign.
WHAT ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT?
First, let me say this: YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS SATURDAY NIGHT!! This Saturday, we’ve purchased time from Funzone to prioritize a much needed, corporate spiritual element of this campaign. AT 7:00 PM, we’ll get together for a “special” time of worship, prayer and teaching specifically related to this campaign. We’ll spend time praying for our church from the biggest picture (church planting), to our region (people, organizations, etc) to the specific needs and ministries of our church. We’ll sing together, pray together and learn together as we work to better understand how God will have each of us be involved.
We have child care provided, so bring the kids! We’ll have staffed nursery and toddler rooms and we’ll be providing a movie (staffed of corse) for the Elementary aged kids (preschool through ?) – they’re watching the Veggie Tales movie “JONAH” (in case you aren’t familiar with the story, it’s a story of a man that God called to move forward and his own struggle following… something we’re all familiar with) You can use the movie as a help to judge your child’s involvement.
I hope that EVERY PERSON AT JOURNEY CHURCH will make attending Saturday night a TOP PRIORITY! It’s not only a needed time to seek God’s direction, it’s an important “family” time. We’re ADVANCING together, let’s get together!
THIS SATURDAY… 7 PM… FUNZONE… BE THERE!!!
Jeremy