Storming the Cave - September 12, 2010

Storming the Cave
Aaron Couch
September 12, 2010

Reasons for Personal Fasts:
1. To Plead With God.
Daniel 9:1-3 (New International Version)
In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom- in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

2. To Petition the Lord for a Special Request
Psalm 35:13 (New International Version)
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting.

3. To Seek God’s Face in an Especially Focused Way.
Luke 2:36-37 (New International Version)
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

Reasons for a Corporate Fast:
1. During a Time of Corporate Repentance
1 Samuel 7:5-6 (New International Version)
Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you." When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.

2. To Seek the Lord’s Direction in Times of Trial.
Chronicles 20:2-4 (New International Version)
Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

3. To Ask God for Protection During a Specific Time or Event.
Ezra 8:21-23 (New International Version)
There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

What is Fasting?
1. Fasting is choosing to tell God we love Him more than we love the things we give up.
Philippians 3:19 (New International Version)
Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

2. Fasting is a set period of time to seek God’s face for a specific purpose in a more intense way.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (New International Version)
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Some things to release in a fast:
1. Food – Juice fasts, Daniel Fasts, abstaining from certain kinds of foods, Water fasts, Coffee, etc.
2. Things that dominate your time – TV, video games, electronics, cell phone, texting, Facebook, reading books, watching movies, Shopping, etc.
3. Things that take the place of God in your life – Relationships, Exercise, Makeup, etc.

For CARE Groups this week:
Some things to pray about this week:
1. We need a solution to our space problem.
2. We need clarity on the next step.
3. For people to come to know Christ – Give us Souls!
4. That we would be brave enough to storm the cave and fight the dragon. That we would be completely dissatisfied with sitting on the sidelines.
5. That God would do a miracle in our midst. In our lives, in our homes, and on the Palouse.