A blog by Regional Leader for the North East and Midlands Elim Churches UK
So ….I’m in India and the internet is all over the place.
for those who follow my blog daily I am so sorry for sending through to you what seems to be many blogs on the wrong dates and out of sequence.
I am trying to get it sorted!
This is life in Ranaghat!
Some more thoughts on fasting …
Acts 13:3
“So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”
Fasting strengthens prayer because it helps to focus more clearly on what we are seeking God for. It doesn’t bend his arm it helps to bend our knee.
Fasting makes us more receptive to understand what God is wanting from our life.
Fasting can best express to God the depth of our feelings. Fasting can express the grief and confession of our sin that words cannot.
Fasting is often used in the Bible story to seek protection from enemies or circumstances
Fasting can indicate a new season has begun.
Fasting is a physical expression of humility before God.
Fasting can be used to overcome trials and temptations.
Fasting expresses love and worship to God. It is an act of sheer devotion to God.
FAST
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”
It was during their worship time that the Holy Spirit spoke. But it was also a time of fasting, an activity that we struggle to keep as part of our lifestyle.
I don’t know about you, but there have been times when I’ve fasted and it has been a miserable experience, and the only thing I’ve been is hungry. Not empowered, refreshed, changed, challenged, but just hungry. And that’s because I hadn’t got to grips with what fasting was actually about. It’s so much more than just not eating. God wouldn’t ask us to not eat just for the sake of it, he asked us because he knew the hidden aspects of fasting.
It is essential that when a person decides to fast they recognise why it is that they are doing so. If there is no recognition as to the impact that fasting should have on the individual involved then fasting is merely an empty ritual without results. It is important to understand that fasting should change the person, not God.
Fasting must be centred on God. It is not a means to get our own way, to somehow manipulate God to do what we want. If our focus is on the benefits of fasting we have missed the point.
Fasting is not a way to earn favour with God, to impress God or to earn his acceptance, for acceptance is given through the work of Jesus Christ not our works.
God is always longing for us to discover a new level of intimacy with him, and because of this our hearts must be cleansed in order for this to happen.
Fasting will also identify to the ‘faster’ the things in their life that controls them, for example, pride or anger.
We cover up so much of our lives with things, whether that be food, hobbies or any ‘good thing’, it’s not until I give up drinking coffee that I realize how much I live for it. Or give up watching tv for a few days, that I realize how unfulfilled I am. It amazes me. When God says that he is enough, he fulfils us.
We are often unaware of being controlled, but fasting brings those things to the forefront, so that they can then be dealt with.
Fasting is a reminder to the Christian that our dependence is on God alone and not on food or the thing we happen to be fasting, that it is God who sustains us. Fasting unto God therefore is feasting – feasting on him and on doing his will. Fasting also helps us to recognise that the nonessentials really are nonessentials. So often they can take over our lives; fasting helps to maintain balance again.
So don’t look at this verse and think in order to hear God you should fast. Rather in order to worship God you should fast. That is the balance we need. Maybe if that was in place and we didn’t do things for things we would hear more from Him.
Manaen
Acts 13:1
“Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.”
Herod the Tetrarch was the ruler who had beheaded John the Baptist and he also was responsible for some of the trials of Jesus. He was not a good man.
Manaen became a disciple of Jesus and then a Church leader at Antioch.
Manaen and this Herod grew up together. They knew each other, maybe as children played together, but then went different ways.
2 boys started the same path but then ended on two different ones.
Why does that happen?
It is not how you started but how you finish and how you finish is based on decisions you make along the way.
In 1923 nine of the richest men in America met together in a hotel in Chicago: President of the NY Stock Exchange, the most influential financier on Wall Street, the head of the world’s biggest monopoly, the presidents of America’s biggest steel corporation, electricity company and gas company, a powerful wheat baron, the president of an international bank, and the Secretary of the Interior.
Twenty five years later in 1948 – one of the men was insane, two had just been released from prison, 3 were bankrupt and the remaining 3 had all committed suicide.
It is how you finish that’s important – many don’t finish well.
But it could be other people who are to blame. Circumstances that take place in our lives can bring hurt and we make decisions based on these incidents.
In a small country church is a novice altar boy serving the priest at Sunday mass accidentally dropped the glass of wine. The priest struck the boy, knocking him to the ground. Standing over the young servant, the angry priest shouted, “Get out and don’t come back.” That boy became Tito, the Communist President of Yugoslavia and great Stalin supporter.
In a city cathedral, a young altar boy serving the bishop at Sunday mass accidentally dropped the glass of wine. With a warm twinkle in his eye, the bishop hugged the young boy to his side and gently whispered, “Someday, you will be a wonderful priest.” That boy grew up to become Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Bishop of New York and the 1st American tv preacher in 1957 – 30 million viewers ‘Life is worth living’.
Today life is worth living so let us live like Manaen who chose a better path.
The Person of Peace
Acts 13:7
“ who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.”
The Sergius Paulus would be one of a team of managers who looked after the welfare of the city of Paphos. As soon as they arrive into the city he is sending for the missionaries as he wants to hear the gospel message.
Recently I was able to host a Church Planting Forum, the speakers of which were 3 of our most prolific Church planters in the Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist world. We discussed many things including the man of peace (Luke 10:6).
Sergius Paulus was perhaps the man of peace for Barnabas and Paul. Here is what we discovered at the recent forum and of course there has to be cultural awareness and application for each nation we are in:
Sergius Paulus was an intelligent, important person in the community. Barnabas and Saul had struck gold.
Who is the influential person in your community? Who is God trying to show you? Are you praying for such an opening? Is this part of the strategy of your discipleship?
The Person of Peace
Acts 13:7
“ who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.”
The Sergius Paulus would be one of a team of managers who looked after the welfare of the city of Paphos. As soon as they arrive into the city he is sending for the missionaries as he wants to hear the gospel message.
Recently I was able to host a Church Planting Forum, the speakers of which were 3 of our most prolific Church planters in the Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist world. We discussed many things including the man of peace (Luke 10:6).
Sergius Paulus was perhaps the man of peace for Barnabas and Paul. Here is what we discovered at the recent forum and of course there has to be cultural awareness and application for each nation we are in:
Sergius Paulus was an intelligent, important person in the community. Barnabas and Saul had struck gold.
Who is the influential person in your community? Who is God trying to show you? Are you praying for such an opening? Is this part of the strategy of your discipleship?
Acts 12:25
Some days nothing much happens
Acts 13:6
“They travelled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,”
Some days nothing much happens.
They travelled for approximately 100 miles to get to Paphos. They no doubt went through several cities, towns and villages to get there. Maybe they did some gospel work or maybe they just travelled. Whatever happened, it wasn’t that significant that Luke felt he should record it.
Some days nothing much happens.
Today you may do the same thing that you always do on this day. Not every day has to be an awesome day. Even if it is a church service day, it doesn’t have to be miracle day. You cannot force God to do something that is jaw-dropping. There are days of mission when it is just about sitting on a plane, on a bus, in a car, or walking and you are just happy to be going somewhere, you are happy to be alive. You may be going to work today and you will do exactly what you did yesterday.
Some days nothing much happens.
And that is okay.
The Bible lasts.
Acts 12:24
“But the word of God continued to increase and spread.”
Isaiah says nature fades but the word of God stands forever, 40:8
Peter using Isaiah says that people will wither but the word of the Lord will endure, 1:24-25
The gospel writers record Jesus saying the heaven and the earth will pass away but not His word, Matt 24:35
Some things are meant to die. Nature, people, the universe are all in the list! But the word of God will continue.
Friends what you are holding this morning, the Bible, is eternal!
Today as you go to Church to worship and hear the preaching of Gods word, know this, it is more powerful than nature, people and even the universe. It is timeless!
Let the eternal Bible go through your life today.
Praise
Acts 12:23
“Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.”
Herod did not die because he murdered the apostle James or because of his attempt to finish off apostle Peter. He did not die because he persecuted God’s people.
Herod died because he took the praise that should have been given to God.
Why did Herod not give praise to God when the people were shouting such amazing things like, “you have the voice of a god!”?
The simple reason is because he believed the accolade was true. He believed he was in their eyes a god. He believed the headlines.
Praise is a drug.
If not careful we can all become drug dependent.
How would we ever get like Herod?
Some may be reading this thinking ‘a little bit of praise would be just what I need right now!’ Well you may be far from the sin of Herod today. Others may be a person who even if a compliment is paid on their hairstyle or anything, immediately says ‘it’s not me all the glory goes to Him’. By going to the furthest extreme there are other complications, but you will never be accused of the sin of Herod.
My advice when someone praises you is to learn to simply say ‘thank you’. But the sin of Herod is so much more than that of handling praise.
So let me leave you with this question that may help and for you to meditate upon today. Ask yourself this several times over very slowly:
Does my life publicly declare a total dependence upon God?
Missions Paul 