Day 12….Are You Weakly Powerful or Powerfully Weak? LFC 21 DAY FAST DAY 12 Friday, January 17th, 2014 ARE YOU WEAKLY POWERFUL OR POWERFULLY WEAK? We are now on the back stretch of this year’s fast. I’m sure your stomach has wondered what you’re doing and your mind has questioned if you can actually keep this fast for 21 days. But that’s when the Bible is a great ally against the enemy who is even now, tempting you to “quit”. The apostle Paul was going through quite a struggle and even asked God to remove what was causing him trouble. God didn’t give Paul the answer he wanted, He gave him the answer he needed! Listen to the scripture: “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9-a KJV) THE ANSWER TO THE TITLE QUESTION IS..GOD IS THE ANSWER! God uses our weakness to show how complete His strength is! It is God’s grace that enables us to make it through trials and be victorious. A month from now you will be able to see your process, your progress, your victory and God’s glory. It will go something like this. Not sure I want to, Don’t know if I will, I can’t, I might, I will, I did, NO, God did it through me! He is using your weakness to display His strength…all He needs is for you to stay submissive and do what He has told you during this fast and you WILL get it done. Your fast is not supposed to make you feel empty and starved. God commands us to fast so we can be full of His Spirit and His power. Look at Jesus’ reply to satan at one point during His 40-day fast. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4 KJV) We learn through our fast that we don’t “need” everything we think we do. But that’s not all we learn nor is it the most important. We realize we really cannot live without Him and that all the things we have and enjoy are simply not enough without Him! Jesus made this point clear when His disciples left Him at the well to go into Samaria and get food. When they returned they asked Him to eat something. He said, “I have meat that you guys don’t know anything about.” (John 4) People may think your missing out because you have deprived yourself of various “comfort foods” or modes of entertainment. What they don’t know is that you’re still enjoying great food—it’s just that you’ve replaced the physical buffet with a more satisfying Spiritual buffet. Jesus further explained, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” (John 4:34 KJV) C’mon! You and God are a majority. You can do this. Satan is a liar. If you keep yourself under subjection you will not only finish the fast–you will finish strong! O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalms 34:8 KJV) – Pastor Steve Day 12 – Fri, Jan 17 Key Verses: Ephesians 6:4, Colossians 3:21 & Deuteronomy 6:6-9 Prayer Point: teach me how to be gentle toward the kids I have authority over or easily influence TODAY’S PERSONAL PURSUIT BRANDON & CASSIE HAMPTON Brandon and Cassie have been married for 4-1/2 years. The joy of their lives is their baby daughter, Leah. Cassie is a teacher at Springdale School District and Brandon is a Mechanical Engineer for PB2 Architecture and Engineering. Brandon owns a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arkansas State University and Cassie has her Bachelors and Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education. Cassie was born into the Living Faith Church family and has attended LFC her entire life. Brandon has attended LFC 7 years. They reside in Fayetteville. “God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which he must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” ― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God When seeking an answer from God, we want him to work according to our timeline. Thankfully, God knows better than us and works in His own time. We experienced this first hand. I was deciding whether to stay with a company that was relocating us, or take a new position. We spent months fasting and praying that God would give us wisdom in our decisions and help us know His plan. During that time we became impatient and felt that we weren’t hearing anything from God. School was getting ready to start and Cassie needed to know if she should keep or terminate her teaching contract. We both felt panic creeping in because deadlines were quickly approaching, yet it felt as though God had forgotten us. We continued to seek Him, and He spoke to us through His word. We read the scripture, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9. We both looked at each other and finally understood. It was only when we accepted that God had complete control over our situation that we were able to find peace and relax. Little did we know, He was working out situations in other people’s lives in order to work His plan in ours. God’s plan is perfect and He’s always on time! God bless. – Brandon and Cassie Hampton Prayer Request: Brandon Abram. He underwent facial reconstruction surgery; repairing the cheek bone under his left eye. They inserted titanium plates and he cannot fly home for at least a week. Yvonne Deaton. She will have surgery to remove fluid from around her heart this morning.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 18:25:20 +0000