Sunday's Message, March 28, 2021 - Beholding the Light: Prayer & Fasting as a Lifestyle

 Greetings Believers,  

Sunday's message enlightens us to our lifestyle and discipline of fasting and prayer as the response to communing with the one we profess to love - Jesus Christ.  

The closing challenge comes from John 1:18, to live in the perfection of fellowship, living a lifestyle of purpose doesn't need validation of how or when to do it from others.

God Bless!

Scripture References & Highlights

Prayer for 2021:  This year will be a year of Light; that Light will shine and darkness will not dispel it. 

In Jesus' Name

Message Scriptures:

• 1 John 4:17
• we are to live in this world as Jesus lived
• Hebrews 11:1
• at some point faith has to produce evidence in our lives, has to produce fruit, be more than a revelation to our hearts
• John 1:1-5, 1 John 1:5, James 1:17 
• beholding Jesus, the Light, as the standard
• Matthew 6:22-23
• darkness can cloud our pursuit
• Matthew 17:14-21
• there's a disconnect in our belief system
• lack of faith
• only happens with intimacy with the Father
• the mustard see grows through intimacy, trials, pruning, prayer, fasting, and faith
• Jesus had a lifestyle of prayer and fasting (necessary vs. reactionary)
• Matthew 4:1
• Jesus was led by Holy Spirit
• James 1:1-4, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Romans 5:3
• responding to trials to grow our faith, rejoice in tribulation, growing in the love of God, for the glory of God to be revealed, engaging with Holy Spirit
• Luke 11:1-4
• all creation responded
• disciples saw jesus do miracles and even more but they didn't ask about how to do miracles but about how to pray, connecting to God like Jesus did
• 
  

 Nuggets for the Week

• The moment we take our eyes off Jesus and place them on any other model - we become vulnerable to unintended darkness
• Prayer and fasting is an expectation of our lifestyle to discipline ourselves daily in response to our intimacy with God
• Anything we do that's not of a heart connection, knowing Him, we're liable or vulnerable to building works and religious practices.
• Fasting and praying is a choice

Reflections

• Do we believe this (faith)?  Or do we believe as much as we see the evidence?
• How can we see this (faith) evident in our lives? Heb 11:1
• What if we live a life of prayer ad fasting out of intimacy?  What would life look like today?

 Key Takeaway for the Body

• Circumstances and people have to be impacted/transformed by what we believe
• Life-giving Christ is to have a free-flowing release and not remain dormant, but flow to others
• Jesus modeled for us...
• trust and dependency on God our Father
• faith to walk out love
• great power
• producing great awe in others
• Straying off of who we are beholding produces great darkness
• Jesus released what was already built up in Him by His daily communion with Father
• Prayer and fasting should not be to get a response but to display the will of God as needed because of a life built in intimacy
• Prayer and fasting - responding to the love of Christ and the leading of Holy Spirit with the grace to follow
• God doesn't always want us to live reactionary but be Warriors of Offense
• Learning to pray from a place of understanding and impacting others
• Christ is forming Himself in us to live out the Word (1 John 4:17)

Prayer Time

In your times of prayer this week (9am,12noon, and 6pm) we encourage you to include the following scriptures located below and in the article 7 Verses and 7 Prayers for your Pastor/

Ephesians 1:17-19, 3:16-17

Philippians 1:9-11

Colossians 1:10-12

Worship Highlight