WHEN WILL I UNDERSTAND?

I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER UNDERSTAND HOCKEY

DO YOU HAVE A SPORT THAT YOU JUST CANNOT WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND?

I WILL WATCH IT

I WILL GO TO SEE A GAME/MATCH

I WILL HAVE NO IDEA WHY A REF CALLS A PENALTY UNLESS I SEE SOMEONE PUNCH SOMEONE IN THE FACE.

I UNDERSTAND THE PREMISE, THE RULES MAKE MY HEAD SPIN

TRANSITION: GROWING IN YOUR FAITH CAN FEEL LIKE THIS

IT SEEMS LIKE SOME PEOPLE GET IT AND WE STRUGGLE WITH IT

WE GET THE PREMISE THAT WE SHOULD, BUT THE DETAILS MAKE OUR HEADS SPIN.

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

THIS SERIES IS FOCUSING ON DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES EACH WEEK TO HELP GUIDE US TO THE CROSS.

DUST ISN’T JUST A JOURNEY THROUGH LENT, IT’S A PROCESS OF DRAWING CLOSER TO GOD BY ENGAGING DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES.

WE’VE LOOKED AT PRAYER AND READING/ STUDYING THE BIBLE

THIS WEEK WE’RE LOOKING AT FASTING

THIS DISCIPLINE IS NOT OUR USUAL FIRST CHOICE

YOU CAN SAY A FEW PRAYERS OR READ A FEW VERSES A DAY AND FIND ENCOURAGEMENT, BUT FASTING IS NOT AN ENCOURAGEMENT.

YOU FEEL A FAST

I THINK IT’S MISUNDERSTOOD.

FASTING IS DISCOURAGING SOMETHING GOOD TO FIND SOMETHING BETTER

SLIDE: FASTING IS ABOUT FINDING

I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THIS:

SLIDE: WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE DESPERATE FOR GOD?

SLIDE: WHAT DID IT TAKE TO REACH THAT POINT?

WEEK 1 WE LOOKED AS JESUS WAS LED INTO THE WILDERNESS

HE WENT THERE TO BE TESTED

HE DIDN’T GO THERE TO SEE HOW TOUGH HE WAS

HE DIDN’T GO THERE TO GET THE FATHER’S ATTENTION

HE WENT THERE TO REVEAL WHAT HAD HIS ATTENTION

HE WENT THERE TO EXPEREINCE WHAT HE REALLY BELIEVED ABOUT THE FATHER

MAN DOESN’T LIVE BY BREAD ALONE BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.

GOD IS THE PROVIDER, WE FORGET THAT WHEN LIFE IS EASY.

SLIDE: FASTING IS AN INTENTIONAL WILDERNESS WE WALK THROUGH WITH GOD

SET UP PICTURE FROM EIN GEDI

DAVID SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THE WILDERNESS RUNNING FROM SAUL

MANY PSALMS MENTION THIS EXACT LOCATION

I WANT YOU TO SEE WHAT THE PSALMISTS HAD IN THEIR MINDS AS WE READ

[READ SCRIPTURE BUT LEAVE IMAGE UP THE WHOLE TIME]

PICTURE: EIN GEDI

READ: PSALM 42 ESV

AS THE DEER

MANY OF YOU THOUGHT OF THE SONG AS SOON AS I STARTED THIS PSALM

IF I HAD READ THIS PSALM CLOSE TO LABOR DAY, HUNTERS WOULD HAVE BE THINKING ABOUT DEER SEASON.

PICTURE: DEER

THIS IS PROBABLY THE DEER YOU HAVE IN MIND

NOT THAT IT’S A BAD IMAGE, BUT WITH ALL THE GREEN GRASS, THESE DEER DO NOT LOOK LIKE THEY ARE PANTING FOR WATER.

PICTURE: IBEX

THIS IS A DEER IN THE BIBLE

THIS IS WHERE THEY LIVE

PICTURE: WILDERNESS

THIS IS THE SAME LOCATION FROM THE PICTURE YOU LOOKED AT AS I READ

THERE’S SOMETHING I DIDN’T MENTION BEFORE

SEE ALL THAT WATER? YOU CAN’T DRINK A DROP OF IT

THAT’S THE DEAD SEA

THE ONLY WATER YOU CAN DRINK IN THE WILDERNESS IS WHEN IT RAINS

THAT MEANS YOU GET WATER WHEN GOD PROVIDES

WHEN WILL I UNDERSTAND, GOD?

VERSES 2-5 WILL BE OUR FOCUS FOR THE REST OF THE MESSAGE

SLIDE: WHAT IS YOUR SOUL DESPERATE FOR?

WHEN LIFE IS GOOD OR EASY WE DON’T FEEL OUR SOUL

WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE NEED WHEN IT’S EASY

WE LEARN WHAT WE NEED WHEN IT’S DIFFICULT

THE WILDERNESS IS NOT A PLACE FULL OF LIFE

IT’S OFTEN DEPICTED IN THE BIBLE AS FULL OF ANIMALS THAT PREY ON DEAD AND DYING THINGS

IN THE WILDERNESS WE SEE A LOT OF DUST

THE WILDERNESS REVEALS THE DEAD GODS WE HAVE SOUGHT AFTER AND DRAWS US TO THE LIVING GOD.

SLIDE: THE WILDERNESS IS OUR WAY BACK TO EDEN

WHEN SHALL I COME APPEAR BEFORE GOD?

THE COMMENTATORS ARE KIND OF SPLIT ON HOW TO READ THIS

THE COMMON IDEA IS THAT THE PSALMIST FEELS SEPARATED FROM GOD IN A VERY REAL SENSE

ONE PICTURE IS THAT OF THE EXILE ISRAEL EXPERIENCED AFTER BEING TAKEN OUT OF THE LAND BECUASE THEY TURNED FROM GOD.

THIS IS THE POINT I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND MOST ABOUT FASTING

WHEN WE NEGLECT TO FIX OUR FOCUS ON GOD, GOD ALLOWS LIFE TO GET OUR ATTENTION

FASTING IS CHOOSING TO NEGLECT GOOD THINGS IN ORDER TO FIX OUR ATTENTION ON GOD

YOUR LIFE IS HEADED IN A DIRECTION.

WHEN YOU DON’T REGULARLY TAKE TIME TO EVALUATE THE DIRECTION OF YOUR LIFE YOU SET YOURSELF UP TO QUESTION WHERE GOD IS IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE.

JUST BECAUSE YOU DEVOTE YOUR LIFE TO FOLLOW GOD DOESN’T MEAN YOU WON’T HAVE TROUBLE, IT JUST MEANS YOU ARE ALREADY AWARE OF WHERE YOUR HELP COMES FROM.

BACK TO THE TEXT…

THIS WORD APPEAR STOOD OUT TO ME

LITERALLY, THIS VERSE READS: WHEN WILL I COME AND SEE OR UNDERSTAND THE FACE OF GOD

THIS IS THE QUESTION WE’RE ALL WRESTLING WITH, WE JUST LOOK FOR THE ANSWER IS SO MANY WRONG PLACES.

YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY A CIRCUMSTANCE HAPPENED AND GOD WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND WHO HE IS

VERSE 3 EXTENDS THE METAPHOR OF THIRST TO BEING HUNGRY.

IT FEELS LIKE SORROW IS ALL YOU KNOW.

SOME OF US FEEL THAT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE YOU’RE READY FOR LUNCH

SLIDE: WHO ARE THE VOICES YOU BELIEVE ABOUT GOD?

WHEN I FAST, I AM SAYING I BELIEVE I DON’T LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, I’M SEEKING TO HEAR FROM GOD

WHEN THERE’S SEEMS TO BE DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND GOD, THATS WHERE THE ENEMY SPEAKS THE CLEAREST.

SLIDE: WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT?

INVITATION

WE GET TO CHOOSE OUR HARD IN LIFE

SLIDE: SMALL DOSES OF INTENTIONAL DIFFICULTY WON’T PREVENT HARD TIMES, IT PREPARES US FOR THEM.

FASTING LEADS US INTO THE WILDERNESS

WHAT LEADS US THROUGH IT?

SLIDE: BRING PAST JOY INTO THE PRESENT SUFFERING FOR FUTURE HOPE.

VERSE 5B: HOPE IN GOD, FOR I SHALL AGAIN PRAISE HIM.

SLIDE: WHAT COMFORT CAN YOU GIVE UP TO HEAR FROM GOD THIS WEEK?

PRAY