Hey everybody, I am pumped about what God is doing in my life and what he’s doing in our church. I believe 2012 is going to be a breakout year for us at Clearpoint Church. I am trusting that God will do an amazing work in our lives that will blow us away. I also, believe that this next 21 days of Prayer & Fasting will be the catalyst that takes us to “the Promised Land.”
During this next 3 weeks, I want to answer some questions that will help you understand fasting and why it is so important in our walk with God. It will also encourage you to continue on to the finish line....to day 21!
Question #1: What is Fasting?
Fasting is setting aside a specific amount of time to go without food in order to pray. The purpose is not to starve yourself and the goal isn’t to lose weight. It is an intentional time of pursuing God to fill a spiritual hunger rather than eating food to fill a physical hunger. It is denying your physical desire for food in order to pray and connect with God to meet a spiritual need.
It might not make a whole lot of sense, but it is a powerful thing.
Jesus never commanded it, but it was certainly expected that His followers would fast and pray.
Matthew 6:16-18 says, “when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (ESV)”
Three things to pray for:
1. Mental and physical strength to complete the fast
2. To develop an insatiable hunger for God like you have never known
3. For the Holy Spirit to show you areas of your life that you need to conquer and give over to God
Final Thought
Remember that fasting isn’t for the purpose of you getting more of God. The purpose is for God to get more of you!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Seven Signs that Lead to Life in Christ
In His Word, God gives signs how we can make sure we get it right….that we get on the right path. They are signs to warn us and to guide us, to lead us safely to our final destination.
Sign #1: Wrong Way
Romans 3:10-11
as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. (ESV)
“No one seeks after God”? A bitter word huh? A lot of people I know hesitate to call themselves a sinner, but I know of no one who would say they are perfect. “Sinner” is not a word God uses as condemnation, but of caution. Think about it for a moment. Meditate on those words. He says, no one seeks after God. But, Matthew says, Jesus came to seek and to save….” In other words, it is God who seeks us because, without Him, we are simply going the wrong way.
Sign #2: Heavy Traffic
Romans 5:12
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- (ESV)
I am intrigued by the word “all.” It means all! Every single one. Every person has inherited Adam’s sinful nature. Because of sin, we all stand condemned unless we look to the one solution, Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin.
Sign #3: Caution
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (ESV)
Sin is anything that displeases God. Sin is anything that misses the mark of perfection in what we say, think or do. Because sin is so real in our lives, God cautions or warns us that it is in fact our sin, that causes us to fall short of pleasing Him and therefore separates us from God. Without the forgiveness of sin there can be no salvation for anyone.
Sign #4: Detour
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)
God is desperate to warn us because the eternal consequence of sin. The wages of sin is death, but the detour God provides is eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. Millions of people will go to hell unless they take the detour - believe, accept and embrace the free gift of eternal life provided through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who paid for all our sins.
Sign #5: Yield
God loves you more than you can ever imagine. He just wants you to hit the breaks, slow down and meditate on this thought:
Romans 5:8
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8 ESV)
What do you think about that? While you and I are in the very act of sinning against him, he loves us and makes abundant life available to us through His Son.
Sign #6: Merge
Romans 10:9-10
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (ESV)
Admit you are a sinner and that you have a need forgiveness found only in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Believe in your heart by totalling trusting in Christ’s finished work on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and you will be saved.
Sign #7: Exit
The only way you can exit the wide path – a lifestyle that leads to death and destruction is to trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Romans 10:13
"everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (ESV)
If you have followed God's signs and have decided you need to slow down and exit the “way” that leads to a life without Chris, take the narrow path. Pray to receive Christ as your Saviour today: Admit you are a sinner. Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead; Confess Him as Lord!
Commit your work to the Lord and your ways will be established! (Proverbs 16:3)
(If this blog has influenced your decision to follow Christ, please share your story with me. You can email me at pastorbrianlambert@gmail.com)
Sign #1: Wrong Way
Romans 3:10-11
as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. (ESV)
“No one seeks after God”? A bitter word huh? A lot of people I know hesitate to call themselves a sinner, but I know of no one who would say they are perfect. “Sinner” is not a word God uses as condemnation, but of caution. Think about it for a moment. Meditate on those words. He says, no one seeks after God. But, Matthew says, Jesus came to seek and to save….” In other words, it is God who seeks us because, without Him, we are simply going the wrong way.
Sign #2: Heavy Traffic
Romans 5:12
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- (ESV)
I am intrigued by the word “all.” It means all! Every single one. Every person has inherited Adam’s sinful nature. Because of sin, we all stand condemned unless we look to the one solution, Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin.
Sign #3: Caution
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (ESV)
Sin is anything that displeases God. Sin is anything that misses the mark of perfection in what we say, think or do. Because sin is so real in our lives, God cautions or warns us that it is in fact our sin, that causes us to fall short of pleasing Him and therefore separates us from God. Without the forgiveness of sin there can be no salvation for anyone.
Sign #4: Detour
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)
God is desperate to warn us because the eternal consequence of sin. The wages of sin is death, but the detour God provides is eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. Millions of people will go to hell unless they take the detour - believe, accept and embrace the free gift of eternal life provided through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who paid for all our sins.
Sign #5: Yield
God loves you more than you can ever imagine. He just wants you to hit the breaks, slow down and meditate on this thought:
Romans 5:8
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8 ESV)
What do you think about that? While you and I are in the very act of sinning against him, he loves us and makes abundant life available to us through His Son.
Sign #6: Merge
Romans 10:9-10
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (ESV)
Admit you are a sinner and that you have a need forgiveness found only in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Believe in your heart by totalling trusting in Christ’s finished work on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and you will be saved.
Sign #7: Exit
The only way you can exit the wide path – a lifestyle that leads to death and destruction is to trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Romans 10:13
"everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (ESV)
If you have followed God's signs and have decided you need to slow down and exit the “way” that leads to a life without Chris, take the narrow path. Pray to receive Christ as your Saviour today: Admit you are a sinner. Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead; Confess Him as Lord!
Commit your work to the Lord and your ways will be established! (Proverbs 16:3)
(If this blog has influenced your decision to follow Christ, please share your story with me. You can email me at pastorbrianlambert@gmail.com)
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Narrow Way
Thursday night, Jacob (my 7 year old son) and I were driving home from his baseball practice and we saw a police car. He then told me a story about a cartoon or a T.V. show he saw a few days before and how a character on the show was running from the cops! As a dad, a few red flags went up about what this show might be teaching my kids. Then I said, “Jacob, you know it’s never good to run from the cops, right?” He chuckled and said, with exaggeration, “yes.” I asked, “What happens if you run from the cops?” I loved the way he answered. He said, “it’s never good, you either go to jail or you die!”
Lesson: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 16:25, ESV)
For the past few months I have been preaching a message series called, The Lifestyle of a Disciple, from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Sunday, the message was from Matthew 7:13-14. This is where Jesus is teaching in regard to the Pharisees,
"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (ESV)
What Jesus is saying, is essentially the same message Solomon wrote in Proverbs. The Pharisees were not in opposition to religion. In fact, they were some of the most religious people of the day. They loved their religion and believed they were on the right path. However, they were on the wide, six-lane religious freeway, on cruise control. But when they were warned to slow down and exit their “old ways” of worship, they stepped on the accelerator and ran! They fled from the Truth, disregarded the signs and missed the turn. The Pharisees stayed on the road that led to their demise and ultimately their death.
Jesus’ message in Matthew 7:13-14 was……"there is a way that seems right." It is a religious way, but it’s not the right way. It is a good way, but it is not God’s way. The road of religion is a broad and easy road to travel. It is a “wide gate” that will lead to your death.
Today, ask yourself these questions: What road am I on? Am I going the right “way?”
Jesus said in John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Lesson: Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven
Trust in Him today!
(To find out how you can begin a relationship with Christ today, please read my blog posting, "Seven Signs that Lead to Life in Christ")
Lesson: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 16:25, ESV)
For the past few months I have been preaching a message series called, The Lifestyle of a Disciple, from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Sunday, the message was from Matthew 7:13-14. This is where Jesus is teaching in regard to the Pharisees,
"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (ESV)
What Jesus is saying, is essentially the same message Solomon wrote in Proverbs. The Pharisees were not in opposition to religion. In fact, they were some of the most religious people of the day. They loved their religion and believed they were on the right path. However, they were on the wide, six-lane religious freeway, on cruise control. But when they were warned to slow down and exit their “old ways” of worship, they stepped on the accelerator and ran! They fled from the Truth, disregarded the signs and missed the turn. The Pharisees stayed on the road that led to their demise and ultimately their death.
Jesus’ message in Matthew 7:13-14 was……"there is a way that seems right." It is a religious way, but it’s not the right way. It is a good way, but it is not God’s way. The road of religion is a broad and easy road to travel. It is a “wide gate” that will lead to your death.
Today, ask yourself these questions: What road am I on? Am I going the right “way?”
Jesus said in John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Lesson: Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven
Trust in Him today!
(To find out how you can begin a relationship with Christ today, please read my blog posting, "Seven Signs that Lead to Life in Christ")
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