Summary: Why do we fast? What is fasting? Why does God do what He does?

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Isaiah 66:18-19 "For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. And I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: … to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations.”

What is God’s Glory?

God’s glory is His infinite greatness, beauty, excellence, perfection, dominance, magnificence and power, the brilliance of his ___awesomeness___.

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. – CS Lewis

God is motivated that his glory fill the earth:

Numbers 14:21 but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.

Habakkuk 2:14 "For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.

God is jealous for his glory:

Isaiah 48:9 For my own name's sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to cut you off.

10 See, I have refined you… I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.

Great men throughout Scripture and history have been men & women who lived such lives that the “glory of God” was seen – the common thread of all these men and women was the hunger they had for its display.

Moses: Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

David: Psalm 57:9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.

10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 72:19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.

What do you desire most in life? Do your desires reflect what God desires?

“If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great… The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night.” - John Piper

“Fight for us, O God, that we not drift numb and blind and foolish into vain and empty excitements. Life is too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst. Heaven is too great, hell is too horrible, eternity is too long that we should putter around on the porch of eternity.”

― John Piper

Why are we fasting for this 40 day period?

Fasting is a process of self denial with the goal of bringing my desires and drives into alignment with God's.

If you are not willing to do God's will, are you willing to be made willing? - F.B. Meyer

__________________________HANDOUT__________________________

Isaiah 66:18-19 "For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. And I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: … to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations.”

What is God’s Glory?

God’s glory is His infinite greatness, beauty, excellence, perfection, dominance, magnificence and power, the brilliance of his __________________________________.

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. – CS Lewis

God is motivated that his glory ______________________________:

Numbers 14:21 but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.

Habakkuk 2:14 "For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.

God is _______________________ for his glory:

Isaiah 48:9 For my own name's sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to cut you off.

10 See, I have refined you… I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.

Great men throughout Scripture and history have been men & women who lived such lives that the “glory of God” was seen – the common thread of all these men and women was the _____________________ they had for its display.

Moses: Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

David: Psalm 57:9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.

10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 72:19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.

What do you desire most in life? Do your desires reflect what God desires?

“If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great… The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night.” - John Piper

“Fight for us, O God, that we not drift numb and blind and foolish into vain and empty excitements. Life is too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst. Heaven is too great, hell is too horrible, eternity is too long that we should putter around on the porch of eternity.”

― John Piper

Why are we fasting for this 40 day period?

Fasting is a process of self denial with the goal of bringing my ____________________________________ into alignment with God's.

If you are not willing to do God's will, are you willing to be ___________ __________________________? - F.B. Meyer