The Fast That Pleases God

Brother Jim: Thank you, Brother Dave. We're

Brother Jim: starting a new series today,

Brother Jim: which still comes under the

Brother Jim: Great Commission.

Brother Jim: But again, it's part of the

Brother Jim: tools I feel tools I am learning

Brother Jim: from this.

Brother Jim: And that's a great thing to have.

Brother Jim: We my job is of many things, this calling.

Brother Jim: But also to equip you with what you need.

Brother Jim: We head into fasting, spiritual fasting.

Brother Jim: Now, obviously, I'm betting some

Brother Jim: of you are saying, well, Brother

Brother Jim: Jim, you need to fast right now,

Brother Jim: brother.

Brother Jim: I'm not talking about that kind of fasting.

Brother Jim: I'm talking about spiritual fasting.

Brother Jim: You know, if you think about

Brother Jim: fasting sounds good until you

Brother Jim: realize it means giving

Brother Jim: something up.

Brother Jim: And if you're true about it, it means giving up something that

Brother Jim: means something to you.

Brother Jim: I heard about a man who decided he was going to fast for a week.

Brother Jim: The first morning, he was doing great.

Brother Jim: By lunchtime he was praying.

Brother Jim: By dinner.

Brother Jim: He was really praying by bedtime.

Brother Jim: He was standing in front of the

Brother Jim: refrigerator saying, Lord, I am

Brother Jim: seeking your will and your will

Brother Jim: better involved that delicious

Brother Jim: pizza.

Brother Jim: Looking in the front, looking right at me.

Brother Jim: Have you ever been there, my friends?

Brother Jim: Yes.

Brother Jim: The next morning somebody asked him, how's your fast going?

Brother Jim: He said, spiritually, I am doing great.

Brother Jim: Physically, I'm negotiating with God.

Brother Jim: Now we can joke and laugh and smile about it, but if actual.

Brother Jim: But it actually brings.

Brother Jim: Fasting brings us to an

Brother Jim: important question why do we

Brother Jim: fast?

Brother Jim: Because biblical fasting is not about starving ourselves.

Brother Jim: It's not about impressing God,

Brother Jim: impressing our fellow brothers

Brother Jim: and sisters.

Brother Jim: And it's certainly not about trying to convince God to give

Brother Jim: us what we want.

Brother Jim: HMM.

Brother Jim: I'm going to drop that word on you.

Brother Jim: Manipulating.

Brother Jim: We'll come to that in a little bit.

Brother Jim: Fasting is about making room for God.

Brother Jim: Fasting is about saying, Lord, I

Brother Jim: want you more than I want the

Brother Jim: thing I am temporarily setting

Brother Jim: aside.

Brother Jim: Just a little bit to chew on

Brother Jim: there as we dig in, your

Brother Jim: scripture is up on the board

Brother Jim: there.

Brother Jim: Two scriptures.

Brother Jim: The fast that pleases God.

Brother Jim: When we hunger for God more than the things of this world.

Brother Jim: And I'll start thinking about all the things you enjoy in this

Brother Jim: life, I'm going to throw your cell phone out right there.

Brother Jim: Number one technology, air conditioning for Brother Jim.

Brother Jim: That's important.

Brother Jim: These two fans right here, let me tell you, think about all the

Brother Jim: conveniences, all the things that we don't even think about.

Brother Jim: We go, we want light.

Brother Jim: Turn the switch.

Brother Jim: We want water.

Brother Jim: We go and turn on the faucet or

Brother Jim: grab one out of the

Brother Jim: refrigerator.

Brother Jim: Fasting is something that Christians have practiced for

Brother Jim: thousands of years.

Brother Jim: This Sunday morning, though, how many of you really understand

Brother Jim: what biblical fasting is and why we are called to fast?

Brother Jim: Fasting.

Brother Jim: We find it throughout the Scripture.

Brother Jim: Fasting is what Jesus Himself practiced.

Brother Jim: And yet, for many Christians,

Brother Jim: fasting remains one of the least

Brother Jim: understood spiritual

Brother Jim: disciplines.

Brother Jim: Oh, now that might be a scary word.

Brother Jim: Discipline.

Brother Jim: So I ask each of you, why fast?

Brother Jim: Why would anyone willingly give up something?

Brother Jim: Why would someone intentionally set aside something they enjoy?

Brother Jim: Why would God's people fast and

Brother Jim: pray as fasting about getting

Brother Jim: God's attention?

Brother Jim: Is it about convicting or excuse

Brother Jim: me, convincing God to answer our

Brother Jim: prayers?

Brother Jim: Is it about proving how spiritually we are?

Brother Jim: Whew!

Brother Jim: Look at me, Jim.

Brother Jim: Hey, by the way, I'm fasting this week, just so you know.

Brother Jim: You see the religious glow off of me?

Brother Jim: Exactly.

Brother Jim: It is not about punishing ourselves.

Brother Jim: And of course, the answer to all

Brother Jim: these questions is no. Biblical

Brother Jim: fasting is not about punishing

Brother Jim: ourselves.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting is not about earning God's love.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting is not about who hears that word.

Brother Jim: I told you manipulating God.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting is not about

Brother Jim: showing everybody how spiritual

Brother Jim: you are.

Brother Jim: Here we go, my friends.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting is about seeking God seeking.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting involves taking our eyes off something for a

Brother Jim: moment, for a period of time, so that we can put our eyes more

Brother Jim: fully on God.

Brother Jim: And this Sunday morning, let us

Brother Jim: begin with something very

Brother Jim: simple.

Brother Jim: Fasting is found throughout the Bible.

Brother Jim: Moses fasted.

Brother Jim: David fasted.

Brother Jim: Fasted.

Brother Jim: Esther fasted.

Brother Jim: God's people.

Brother Jim: Esther called God's people to fast.

Brother Jim: Daniel.

Brother Jim: Nehemiah.

Brother Jim: All these people fasted and so many more.

Brother Jim: And here's the cherry on top of the sundae.

Brother Jim: Yes, Jesus, the Son of God, he fasted.

Brother Jim: The early church fasted.

Brother Jim: If you go to Matthew sixteen sixteen to eight, Matthew six

Brother Jim: sixteen to eight, this is the new King James Version.

Brother Jim: And if you don't have your

Brother Jim: Bibles, I've got it up there for

Brother Jim: you.

Brother Jim: Moreover, when you fast, do not

Brother Jim: be like the hypocrites with a

Brother Jim: sad countenance, for they

Brother Jim: disfigure their faces, that they

Brother Jim: may appear to men, to being

Brother Jim: fasting.

Brother Jim: Assuredly, I say to you, they have the reward.

Brother Jim: But you.

Brother Jim: When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that.

Brother Jim: Do not.

Brother Jim: So that you do not appear to men

Brother Jim: to be fasting, but to your

Brother Jim: father who is in the secret

Brother Jim: place, and your father who sees

Brother Jim: you in secret, will reward you

Brother Jim: openly.

Brother Jim: Here in Matthew six, Jesus does not say, if you fast.

Brother Jim: Jesus says, when you fast.

Brother Jim: Jesus was teaching his disciples about biblical fasting as

Brother Jim: something that would be a part of their spiritual lives.

Brother Jim: So that is why it is important

Brother Jim: for it to be a part of our

Brother Jim: spiritual lives.

Brother Jim: So my friends, biblical fasting

Brother Jim: is not about some strange

Brother Jim: religious practice.

Brother Jim: No, no, no. Biblical fasting is

Brother Jim: not something invented by modern

Brother Jim: Christians.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting has deep roots found in the Word of God.

Brother Jim: So right there, put all your negative thoughts, all your

Brother Jim: worries, concerns aside.

Brother Jim: It is found in the Word of God, and that's good enough for me.

Brother Jim: Hopefully that's good enough for you.

Brother Jim: But we need to understand that biblical fasting actually means

Brother Jim: what it actually means.

Brother Jim: As I mentioned earlier, biblical fasting is not you're not going

Brother Jim: to bargain with God.

Brother Jim: Now, I know some of you are pretty good bargainers and I'm

Brother Jim: looking at one lady especially.

Brother Jim: It's not about bargaining.

Brother Jim: Perhaps this is one of the

Brother Jim: biggest misunderstandings about

Brother Jim: biblical fasting.

Brother Jim: It is possible that some people, even Christians, might think

Brother Jim: that if I fast.

Brother Jim: Woo hoo!

Brother Jim: God's going to give me what I want.

Brother Jim: Oh, my.

Brother Jim: You're right, David, don't work that way.

Brother Jim: How many people throughout

Brother Jim: mankind's existence have thought

Brother Jim: that?

Brother Jim: Maybe even have thought?

Brother Jim: Boy, if I fast for a day, I'm going to get those lucky numbers

Brother Jim: for the Powerball.

Brother Jim: Or this will finally be the

Brother Jim: Browns year if I fast for the

Brother Jim: whole week.

Brother Jim: Well, when it comes to the Browns, I think sorry for all

Brother Jim: the Browns fans.

Brother Jim: It's going to take a little bit longer than fasting for a week.

Brother Jim: How many people have actually

Brother Jim: tried it thinking that all they

Brother Jim: want and desire would be granted

Brother Jim: to them.

Brother Jim: My friends, that is not biblical fasting.

Brother Jim: We had better not say, God, I

Brother Jim: will give up this if you give me

Brother Jim: that.

Brother Jim: That's not surrender, my friends.

Brother Jim: That is a transaction.

Brother Jim: Remember what I said a few weeks ago?

Brother Jim: God is not a slot machine.

Brother Jim: God is not a vending machine.

Brother Jim: God is not someone we manipulate.

Brother Jim: There's that word again.

Brother Jim: Manipulate by performing the right religious activity.

Brother Jim: Remember as a kid how we would

Brother Jim: work parents against Grandma and

Brother Jim: Grandpa?

Brother Jim: Now, I'm sure nobody in this congregation has ever done that.

Brother Jim: Manipulating Grandma and

Brother Jim: Grandpa, mom and dad to get what

Brother Jim: you want.

Brother Jim: As for myself, I'm a girl's daddy and I am still manipulated

Brother Jim: by their smile and sweet little look at that face.

Brother Jim: That sweet little innocent face.

Brother Jim: Even though they are adults, three of them.

Brother Jim: When they ask for something for

Brother Jim: dads out there, does that little

Brother Jim: girl especially have that little

Brother Jim: voice?

Brother Jim: Daddy, what are you to do?

Brother Jim: I admit, right here in front of you, I'm a sucker.

Brother Jim: And you know what?

Brother Jim: I don't mind, but God does.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting does not make God our servant.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting reminds you and me that we are his servants.

Brother Jim: Oh, did you hear that?

Brother Jim: We are his servants.

Brother Jim: Oh, and that's where we mess up.

Brother Jim: So many times.

Brother Jim: We do not fast because God needs to change.

Brother Jim: No, no, we fast because we We need to change.

Brother Jim: We need to change our hearts.

Brother Jim: We need our priorities changed.

Brother Jim: We need our focus changed.

Brother Jim: We need our desires brought under God's authority, not our

Brother Jim: own or what the sinful world tells us makes us think about.

Brother Jim: Okay.

Brother Jim: Do you see where I'm going with this?

Brother Jim: We have our wants and desires, do we not?

Brother Jim: But do they align with God or do they align with the world?

Brother Jim: Something to think about.

Brother Jim: Brothers and sisters, think about this for a moment.

Brother Jim: Fasting is about surrender.

Brother Jim: Better yet, how about we call it

Brother Jim: just good old fashioned

Brother Jim: repentance?

Brother Jim: Repentance.

Brother Jim: If you go to Joel two twelve to fourteen.

Brother Jim: Joel two twelve to fourteen

Brother Jim: again, the new King James

Brother Jim: Version.

Brother Jim: Now therefore says the Lord,

Brother Jim: turn to me with all your heart,

Brother Jim: with fasting, with weeping, with

Brother Jim: mourning.

Brother Jim: So rend your heart and not your garments.

Brother Jim: Here we go.

Brother Jim: Return to the Lord your God, for he is what?

Brother Jim: Gracious and merciful.

Brother Jim: Slow.

Brother Jim: Thank you, Lord, for this slow to anger and of what?

Brother Jim: And of what?

Brother Jim: Yes.

Brother Jim: Great kindness.

Brother Jim: And he relents from doing harm.

Brother Jim: Who knows if he will turn and

Brother Jim: relent and leave a blessing

Brother Jim: behind him.

Brother Jim: A grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God.

Brother Jim: Now, my friends, notice.

Brother Jim: Notice what it says with all your heart.

Brother Jim: Those words should sound familiar to you.

Brother Jim: Said it before and I'm going to keep saying it.

Brother Jim: God wants all your heart.

Brother Jim: Not a quarter, not a half, not three quarters.

Brother Jim: He wants it all.

Brother Jim: God does not want an empty stomach.

Brother Jim: Think about that with fasting.

Brother Jim: He doesn't want an empty stomach.

Brother Jim: He wants a surrendered heart.

Brother Jim: And be honest this morning.

Brother Jim: You can go without food and still be angry.

Brother Jim: I know sometimes we call that hangry.

Brother Jim: You can go without food and still be selfish.

Brother Jim: You can go without food and still be bitter.

Brother Jim: You can go without food and still refuse to forgive you.

Brother Jim: You can go without food and still be far, far away from God.

Brother Jim: That is why biblical fasting is not simply about what we remove.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting is about what we surrender.

Brother Jim: What are you, my friends, willing to surrender to God?

Brother Jim: We should be saying just food for thought here.

Brother Jim: Lord, I surrender my plans.

Brother Jim: Lord, I surrender my desires.

Brother Jim: Lord, I surrender my control.

Brother Jim: Lord, I surrender my future.

Brother Jim: Lord, I surrender my fears.

Brother Jim: Lord, I, Hi, I surrender myself.

Brother Jim: Let me ask you something.

Brother Jim: Do you ever think about what really drives you?

Brother Jim: What motivates you in your life?

Brother Jim: Now, these with my brothers and sisters gathered here today.

Brother Jim: I'm sure some answers would be similar and I am sure some

Brother Jim: answers would be very different.

Brother Jim: Well, Brother Jim Coffey drives me in the morning.

Brother Jim: It motivates me.

Brother Jim: No, I'm not talking about that.

Brother Jim: I'm talking about in here.

Brother Jim: What motivates you?

Brother Jim: Providing for your family.

Brother Jim: Making sure your kids and grandkids have something to eat,

Brother Jim: a roof over their head, serving God, or making myself feel good.

Brother Jim: I want to feel good, Lord, and look what we turn to when we

Brother Jim: want to feel good.

Brother Jim: Many options are there not.

Brother Jim: There's God's options and there's the world's options.

Brother Jim: And again, as I said, that could be a very easy answer.

Brother Jim: That could be a complicated

Brother Jim: answer or even a scary response

Brother Jim: for some.

Brother Jim: So here's a simple solution to

Brother Jim: answer that answer of the

Brother Jim: control.

Brother Jim: If you're willing of who controls you, what controls you.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting helps us discover.

Brother Jim: Discover what controls us.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting can reveal and answer for us.

Brother Jim: Now, that sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?

Brother Jim: But are we willing to go that far?

Brother Jim: Sometimes we do not realize how

Brother Jim: much we depend on something true

Brother Jim: until we intentionally step away

Brother Jim: from it.

Brother Jim: We may discover.

Brother Jim: I think about this constantly.

Brother Jim: I cannot stop checking this.

Brother Jim: I cannot imagine going without it for at least an hour.

Brother Jim: I depend on this for comfort.

Brother Jim: And I turn to this.

Brother Jim: Oh, Jim.

Brother Jim: I turn to this when I'm depressed.

Brother Jim: Now, the first thing that popped to my mind, my friends.

Brother Jim: And I'm guilty of it, too.

Brother Jim: Anybody got a phone on them?

Brother Jim: If you got a phone, raise it up.

Brother Jim: I'm not picking.

Brother Jim: There you go.

Brother Jim: How many of us depend on that little box?

Brother Jim: It's got everything we need, don't it?

Brother Jim: It's got our calendar.

Brother Jim: It's got our finances.

Brother Jim: It's got our social media.

Brother Jim: It's got it all.

Brother Jim: What happens when the electric goes out?

Brother Jim: The internet goes down.

Brother Jim: No cell service.

Brother Jim: Oh, Lord, what am I going to do?

Brother Jim: That old saying.

Brother Jim: There was an 80s song.

Brother Jim: Cinderella.

Brother Jim: Sing it.

Brother Jim: Don't know what you got til it's gone.

Brother Jim: When we lose somebody, we don't

Brother Jim: realize sometimes how important

Brother Jim: that person is until they're

Brother Jim: gone.

Brother Jim: Take some time to think about what you rely on in this world.

Brother Jim: And you know what?

Brother Jim: Maybe, maybe we might realize there is a very good chance that

Brother Jim: I have allowed something to occupy a place in my life that

Brother Jim: belongs to God.

Brother Jim: Now, this biblical fasting can expose our attachments.

Brother Jim: It can expose our priorities.

Brother Jim: It can expose our distractions.

Brother Jim: It can expose our dependence.

Brother Jim: Is there a possibility that this exposure can make sure.

Brother Jim: Can make you and me uncomfortable.

Brother Jim: Because if we really start to break it down, it just might

Brother Jim: make us realize, oh my goodness, how much time am I spending

Brother Jim: doing this, doing that?

Brother Jim: But my friends, being

Brother Jim: uncomfortable does not mean

Brother Jim: that's bad.

Brother Jim: Sometimes God has to reveal something to you and me before

Brother Jim: he can change anything.

Brother Jim: Think about that.

Brother Jim: He's got to reveal it to us.

Brother Jim: Imagine someone goes to the doctor and says, doctor, I

Brother Jim: thought of Earl on this one.

Brother Jim: Imagine someone goes to the

Brother Jim: doctor and says, doctor, my leg

Brother Jim: hurts.

Brother Jim: I think something is seriously wrong with it.

Brother Jim: You probably just need to cut it off.

Brother Jim: The doctor looks at him and

Brother Jim: says, before we start cutting

Brother Jim: off your own leg, let's find out

Brother Jim: what is actually causing the

Brother Jim: problem.

Brother Jim: So the doctor examines him, runs

Brother Jim: some tests, takes an X-ray, and

Brother Jim: discovers, oh my goodness,

Brother Jim: there's nothing wrong with the

Brother Jim: leg.

Brother Jim: So much for getting on Google.

Brother Jim: Google doctor.

Brother Jim: There.

Brother Jim: It is something much simpler, something that can be treated

Brother Jim: without losing his leg.

Brother Jim: The doctor did not immediately

Brother Jim: reach reach for the biggest

Brother Jim: solution.

Brother Jim: The doctor first revealed the problem and that is sometimes

Brother Jim: what God does with each of us.

Brother Jim: May we look at our lives and think how many times we do this.

Brother Jim: Just say, God, just fix everything.

Brother Jim: Come on God, just fix everything in my life.

Brother Jim: But God says, before I change

Brother Jim: everything around, let me

Brother Jim: examine what is happening inside

Brother Jim: you.

Brother Jim: And that is the one purpose of

Brother Jim: prayer and biblical fasting,

Brother Jim: because you ain't going to know

Brother Jim: until you actually start to dig

Brother Jim: deep.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting gives you and me an opportunity to slow down.

Brother Jim: How many of us would love just to slow down?

Brother Jim: Be honest.

Brother Jim: Just to have a day for yourself,

Brother Jim: to become quiet before God and

Brother Jim: allow him to reveal things in

Brother Jim: our hearts that we may have not

Brother Jim: noticed.

Brother Jim: Listen to these words, church.

Brother Jim: God does not always start by changing our circumstances.

Brother Jim: Sometimes God starts by revealing what is happening

Brother Jim: within us, within us.

Brother Jim: And guess what?

Brother Jim: Church.

Brother Jim: When we slow down and allow God to reveal to us some of our

Brother Jim: issues that maybe, just maybe, they're not too healthy.

Brother Jim: And guess what?

Brother Jim: They might not be biblical as well.

Brother Jim: Fasting creates space for God.

Brother Jim: Now, let me ask you something.

Brother Jim: You know, I'll ask all these things when you come in.

Brother Jim: And I there for a while.

Brother Jim: I was asking, did you give your heart to God?

Brother Jim: How much does he own?

Brother Jim: I want you to focus on that as well this week.

Brother Jim: How much of my heart does God really have?

Brother Jim: Is there space for him in my

Brother Jim: heart or is the world taken

Brother Jim: over?

Brother Jim: Is this taken over?

Brother Jim: How much property does God have in my heart and I want.

Brother Jim: I know how life goes.

Brother Jim: My friends.

Brother Jim: We are busy.

Brother Jim: We have work.

Brother Jim: We have school.

Brother Jim: We have family.

Brother Jim: We have responsibilities.

Brother Jim: We have phones.

Brother Jim: We've got TVs.

Brother Jim: We've got our entertainment.

Brother Jim: We got our social media.

Brother Jim: We have appointments, we have schedules.

Brother Jim: And yes, we have a lot of noise in our lives.

Brother Jim: I want you to think about the

Brother Jim: noise in your life right now, at

Brother Jim: this moment.

Brother Jim: And I'm talking about the world noise.

Brother Jim: Life noise.

Brother Jim: But again, there is some good news for us.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting and prayer can create intentional spaces and

Brother Jim: that can give us silence.

Brother Jim: Do you ever get to the point you

Brother Jim: just don't want to hear

Brother Jim: anything?

Brother Jim: You don't want to hear any more problems.

Brother Jim: You don't want to hear about the dog.

Brother Jim: You don't want to hear about this.

Brother Jim: You don't want to hear about that.

Brother Jim: He just want quiet time.

Brother Jim: Instead of filling that space

Brother Jim: with something else that the

Brother Jim: world can provide, we can turn

Brother Jim: toward God.

Brother Jim: We can pray.

Brother Jim: We can read scripture.

Brother Jim: We can listen.

Brother Jim: We can worship.

Brother Jim: We can reflect.

Brother Jim: We seek God's direction.

Brother Jim: If you are willing to do that.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting says, God, I want more of you, God.

Brother Jim: I want more of you and just saying that.

Brother Jim: Let me be real for a moment with you.

Brother Jim: How many of us here gather today are listening in?

Brother Jim: Really wants more of God.

Brother Jim: This is where I'm going to get a little personal.

Brother Jim: How many of you?

Brother Jim: And I'm throwing myself out here.

Brother Jim: Okay.

Brother Jim: How many of y'all really want God?

Brother Jim: Or are you happy just

Brother Jim: maintaining the status quo as

Brother Jim: your pastors, brother Jim, as a

Brother Jim: brother in Jesus Christ, that is

Brother Jim: what worries me and keeps me up

Brother Jim: at night.

Brother Jim: And yes, it does.

Brother Jim: I worry about each of you.

Brother Jim: If you were to die today, are you going to heaven or are you

Brother Jim: going to hell?

Brother Jim: And I ain't pulling no punches this morning.

Brother Jim: Maybe this is the last time I get to present a message to you.

Brother Jim: You never know.

Brother Jim: What percentage of this church is just on autopilot with God?

Brother Jim: What percentage of this church, baby They want God.

Brother Jim: They want God.

Brother Jim: They want God more and more.

Brother Jim: And some of you just stuck in between.

Brother Jim: One day you'll want it, the next day you don't.

Brother Jim: And I'm not being mean, guys.

Brother Jim: I'm not angry.

Brother Jim: I'm just being bold and truthful with you.

Brother Jim: That is what I am called to do

Brother Jim: as a shepherd, as the captain,

Brother Jim: to make sure you are on the

Brother Jim: right track.

Brother Jim: Along with myself too.

Brother Jim: Again, are we going through the

Brother Jim: motions, filling a pew spot,

Brother Jim: looking for a little floor on a

Brother Jim: Sunday morning?

Brother Jim: Or just plain out bored?

Brother Jim: Or are you here ready to worship and praise God?

Brother Jim: Ready to see your brothers and sisters?

Brother Jim: How many of you are just checking out?

Brother Jim: You know how I love to talk about the Christian checklist.

Brother Jim: How many of you are just

Brother Jim: checking those boxes on the

Brother Jim: checklist?

Brother Jim: There is no real relationship with Jesus and growing with him

Brother Jim: in yourself and increasing the numbers of soul in his kingdom.

Brother Jim: Is that not what we are called to do?

Brother Jim: Do I have a right to be concerned?

Brother Jim: You bet your bottom dollar I do.

Brother Jim: You are my flock.

Brother Jim: You are my people.

Brother Jim: You are my church, and I love you.

Brother Jim: And yes, I have failed so many of you.

Brother Jim: But I am going to keep on going.

Brother Jim: And again, you don't know what a person does until you walk

Brother Jim: through their shoes.

Brother Jim: Whew.

Brother Jim: And let me tell you something.

Brother Jim: I got my socks and my boots blown off on that one.

Brother Jim: You don't just come in and

Brother Jim: preach on a Sunday morning if

Brother Jim: you're serious.

Brother Jim: And again, when I said I worry, I think about you at night.

Brother Jim: I think about you during the day.

Brother Jim: And you know what?

Brother Jim: In my heart and my soul.

Brother Jim: I better care about each one of you.

Brother Jim: Or I'm not the right person for the job.

Brother Jim: And you know what?

Brother Jim: Who commands this?

Brother Jim: God commands it to me.

Brother Jim: There is a higher calling for me

Brother Jim: which results in a higher

Brother Jim: obligation and higher

Brother Jim: consequences.

Brother Jim: One of my biggest concerns is that some of us have become so

Brother Jim: comfortable with fast food, spiritual relationships with God

Brother Jim: that we think a cheap burger and some fries and a milkshake will

Brother Jim: keep us spiritually healthy.

Brother Jim: We want fast food, faith.

Brother Jim: We pull up to the window, place our order, and say, God, I'll

Brother Jim: take a blessing, a little protection, some peace of mind.

Brother Jim: And could you make that quick, please?

Brother Jim: We want God on demand.

Brother Jim: We want answers without the waiting.

Brother Jim: We want the blessings.

Brother Jim: Without the obedience.

Brother Jim: We want the promise, without the sacrifice.

Brother Jim: We want the benefits of a relationship with God without

Brother Jim: actually spending time getting to know him.

Brother Jim: But church, you cannot live a

Brother Jim: healthy spiritual life on fast

Brother Jim: food.

Brother Jim: You cannot expect a Sunday morning meal once a week to

Brother Jim: sustain you all week long.

Brother Jim: You cannot live spiritually healthy on yesterday's prayers.

Brother Jim: What this church did thirty years ago or what somebody

Brother Jim: else's faith is doing.

Brother Jim: There comes a time, and I want you to hear me on this.

Brother Jim: There comes a time when you you have to ask yourself, what am I

Brother Jim: feeding my soul?

Brother Jim: Because what you continually consume will eventually affect

Brother Jim: the way you live.

Brother Jim: Especially to our young folks here today.

Brother Jim: Garbage in.

Brother Jim: Garbage out.

Brother Jim: Healthy in who you're going to grow.

Brother Jim: You're going to produce fruits for God.

Brother Jim: And isn't that what it's about?

Brother Jim: Again, God did not call us to

Brother Jim: have a fast food relationship

Brother Jim: with him.

Brother Jim: God calls us to abide in him.

Brother Jim: God calls us to seek him.

Brother Jim: God calls us to pray and fast within our own life.

Brother Jim: God calls us to study His Word.

Brother Jim: God calls us to worship.

Brother Jim: God calls us to obey.

Brother Jim: In church, sometimes that takes time.

Brother Jim: And time is one of the biggest commodities.

Brother Jim: Time is something that we just don't have.

Brother Jim: Let's be honest today.

Brother Jim: I would love to see all your calendars.

Brother Jim: Probably like mine every day filled with something.

Brother Jim: And I get it, church.

Brother Jim: It takes time.

Brother Jim: Sometimes God does not give us a spiritual microwave.

Brother Jim: Remember when the microwaves came out?

Brother Jim: I was a kid thinking, wow, this is great.

Brother Jim: You know, it's like watching a little kids watching the ceiling

Brother Jim: fan, you know, babies.

Brother Jim: I was like that with microwave.

Brother Jim: Wow wow wow.

Brother Jim: God ain't providing no spiritual microwave for us.

Brother Jim: God wants us to sit at the table

Brother Jim: with him, to sit at the table

Brother Jim: with him, because God is not

Brother Jim: interested in simply filling our

Brother Jim: stomachs.

Brother Jim: God wants to transform our hearts.

Brother Jim: And I know you've heard that one before.

Brother Jim: He wants all of you.

Brother Jim: He wants to transform your heart.

Brother Jim: So the question this morning is not simply are you getting fed?

Brother Jim: The question is, what are you feeding your soul?

Brother Jim: And is it really enough to sustain you?

Brother Jim: And that is where prayer and biblical fasting come into play.

Brother Jim: It comes into our lives.

Brother Jim: It requires a heart that says, Lord, I am willing, Lord, not my

Brother Jim: way, but your way.

Brother Jim: Because God is not looking for

Brother Jim: people who simply want a

Brother Jim: convenient relationship with

Brother Jim: him.

Brother Jim: God is looking for people who

Brother Jim: are willing to give him their

Brother Jim: whole heart.

Brother Jim: I just mentioned the word prayer just a few moments ago.

Brother Jim: There's a bonus for all this,

Brother Jim: because biblical fasting should

Brother Jim: lead you and me to a very strong

Brother Jim: prayer life.

Brother Jim: Biblical fasting and prayer go together, kind of like peanut

Brother Jim: butter and jelly.

Brother Jim: You just put them together and they go.

Brother Jim: You got a beautiful sandwich.

Brother Jim: Think about that biblical fasting and prayer.

Brother Jim: They go together.

Brother Jim: They belong together.

Brother Jim: As we close, biblical fasting and prayer are not about simply

Brother Jim: going without food.

Brother Jim: Fasting is not going is not about going without food.

Brother Jim: It's about drawing closer to God, revealing yourself to him.

Brother Jim: And that's where it gets so sweet.

Brother Jim: If you are serious, he's going to reveal something to you.

Brother Jim: I bet my life on that one.

Brother Jim: When we fast, we remind ourselves that God is greater

Brother Jim: than our appetites, our problems, and our circumstances.

Brother Jim: This morning we're just only beginning the conversation.

Brother Jim: Next week we're going to dig a little deeper.

Brother Jim: We will look at why we fast, how

Brother Jim: we fast, and what God desires to

Brother Jim: do in us through fasting and

Brother Jim: prayer.

Brother Jim: And for those of you and I'm looking at all of you right now,

Brother Jim: for those of you who are committed to giving God all your

Brother Jim: heart, I ask that you start praying about it.

Brother Jim: Ask God, Lord, what are you trying to change in me?

Brother Jim: What are you trying to show me?

Brother Jim: And what is standing between me

Brother Jim: and a deeper relationship with

Brother Jim: you?

Brother Jim: Because sometimes the greatest

Brother Jim: thing God wants to remove from

Brother Jim: our lives is not something on

Brother Jim: our plate.

Brother Jim: It is something in our heart.

Brother Jim: Amen.