Big Idea: We understand the idea of being born, but born again, that’s more difficult. Jesus says that we must be born again to see the kingdom of God. Jesus is our umbilical cord to new life. Without him there is no way to remove the waste in our lives and provide us with nourishment to help us grow. Without him we die. With him we can be born again and live.

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Big Idea: According to God, having a full stomach leads to amnesia. When we eat to contentment on a regular basis, we are very likely to become self-focused (prideful) and not God focused (humble). Fasting humbles us and reminds us that we are not god and of our deep need and hunger for God. Fasting puts God in his rightful place in our lives, and creates a spiritual passion in our souls for more of God.

Do you ever have problems eating too much? Do you ever eat food that you know is bad for you? Do you ever eat when you’re not hungry? Have you ever asked yourself, “Why do I do that?” Do you ever feel like you want to have control over your food, but instead it seem like your food controls you? Read the rest of this entry »

Big Idea: For many American’s food is an idol. We have become more dependent upon food than we are upon God. We have two voids within our bodies. One is a stomach; the other is our soul. We often times eat, not because are stomach is hungry, but because our soul is hungry for more of God. Fasting allows our souls to be filled with God’s goodness.

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 Big Idea: Fasting make us weak physically, but strong spiritually. We have two voids within us; our stomach and our soul. We keep trying to fill our stomachs with food (even when we are not hungry), when the real need and real hunger is our soul that is craving to be filled.

Right after I received my drivers license, four seniors at my high school were drag racing with another car when they missed a curve and hit a huge old oak tree doing more than a hundred miles an hour.

The car was displayed outside a scrap metal business for all to see for several weeks. My friends and I stopped and looked at the twisted pile of metal that no longer looked like anything resembling a car. To our horror, we saw blood, pieces of skin, and hair throughout the car. It was an image that has been burned into my mind ever since.

That week signs appeared in the hallways of our school. They said something like “Speed is killing us. Slow down and live.”

I am much indebted to Mark Buchanan and his book “Your God is to Safe” for this message. In his book, one chapter is entitled the same as this message, “Go Fast and Live”. It’s a play on words. He says, “Consumption is killing us, Go fast and live.” He’s no longer talking about the speed of a car, but rather the biblical practice of fasting.

Now, I have to tell you that fasting has never been anything that really interested me. I mean why would it? If you’ve ever fasting, you’ll know that it’s uncomfortable. Anybody here ever tried to stop an addiction? Smokes, drugs, caffeine?

I would suggest that food is the number one thing that we, as Americans, are addicted to. When we fast, we are withdrawing from something that our body craves, and with it comes an addiction headache and a craving. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like that feeling. It’s not very comfortable, so why do it?

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