What’s Up With Fasting?

By Leave a Comment Jan 13

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It happens to every believer. You start off on cloud nine—an adopted son or daughter of the living king! Your heart experiences joy like never before.

And you start to grow! Oh, the growth! Wow, you can’t believe the difference between the person you used to be and the one you’ve become!

But then you learn…the rules.

The traditions someone tells you need to be observed,
The attendance level at church that legitimatizes your family standing
The “lingo” that Christians supposedly must use
The places acceptable (and unacceptable) to go
What you can and can’t drink
Like to dance? Forget that.
A nice glass of merlot with dinner? What, are you crazy?! That’s the devil’s brew!

And on and on it goes. The above are just a few imaginary scenarios—there are a million others. But they all tend to do have the same affect. They drain the passion right out of the Christ follower until they’re left with little more than ‘going through the motions of Christianity.’

What do you do when it feels as though you’ve lost some of the wind in your sails since the last revival or big Christian conference?

Seek out the next conference?
Google ‘revivals’ and hope you can catch the next one sort of like a storm chaser going after a tornado?

What if I told you there’s a much better way?

And it’s not a roll of the dice or even a gamble at all. That’s not to say it’s easy—far from it. It will be a challenge, but if you and I will hang in there and stick with what I am about to tell you.

We WILL hear from God!

The answer is, “fasting.”

Disappointed?

Don’t be, unlike the other suggestions we are all used to hearing and giving others—this actually works. And there are tons of examples of it in scripture.

Fasting:

It brought strength and courage to Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel Chapter 1).
It brought answers to Daniel (See Daniel 10)
It brought Moses face to face with God and made him the recipient of the 10 commandments!
It kicked off Jesus’ ministry!
It can get rid of particularly powerful and pesky demons.
It brought the gospel to the Gentiles (Cornelius). Cornelius fasted four days after which time an angel appeared to him. Consequently, he and his family received the gospel and were baptized. Acts 10:30-31
Courage and Wisdom. Esther and the Jews of Shushan fasted when faced with their destruction planned by Haman (The book of Esther).
Ezra fasted as he prayed for wisdom and protection when he prepared the people to return to Jerusalem from Babylon. Ezra 8:21, 23
The King of Nineveh ordered the whole city to fast and repent. Consequently, they were forgiven of their sin. Jonah 3:5
Spiritual Recuperation. Elijah fasted 40 days after killing prophets of Baal. 1 Kings 19:1-9

10. Esther and the Jews of Shushan fasted when faced with their destruction planned by Haman. Esther 4:3,16; 9:31

What do you think? Worth it?

Bottom-line, if it was something the very Son of God thought He needed to do to prepare for His mission—It should be a no-brainer for us!

I’m about two weeks into my Daniel fast at this point and the promised clarity and direction is already coming from the Lord! So, I couldn’t help but wonder how much greater the impact would be if a whole lot of Impactors joined me in this!

If you feel like God is leading you to be a part of the Daniel fast then you can learn all you need to know about it by checking out THIS LINK.

And remember, if you have health concerns with going this long then consider a 10 day fast or even a one day, water only fast. God looks at the heart, not the performance.

Oh, one more thing. Would you let me know what God is teaching you through your time of fasting? Just email me at pastorrob@impactchurchonline.org

Happy fasting!

Sunday Evening Mind Dump!

By Leave a Comment Jan 12

In case you missed it. Here is the video we used today in our kick off of, “Dream Again.”

– Great to see so many people all together today at 11:00 am! Thought the Panther’s game would be a drain on the crowd, but we had a good group there ready to worship and lift high the name of Jesus!

– We talked about the power of fasting today and how it helps us to press in closer to Jesus when we desperately need to hear from Him. I challenged the church to join me in a 21 day, Daniel fast in order to start the year off the best possible way. As they were leaving worship, several told me that they were going to start TODAY!

As promised, I will be posting some vital information about the Daniel fast (as well as shorter or longer fasts) later tomorrow, but for now, know this. Even a one day fast can be spiritually beneficial. If you’ve never fasted before—you might want to start with that. Also, the Daniel fast is actually a ‘partial’ fast. You do eat on the Daniel fast—it’s just limited to certain things—in a nutshell, fruits and vegetables (any seed bearing plant), but again, more on that tomorrow on this blog.

– For those of you who missed today and are interested in the upcoming Haiti mission trip. There is an important informational meeting after the service next weekend in the Cuthbertson Media room. If you are interested but did not sign up two weeks ago, just email me pastorrob@impactchurchonline.org and I will make sure to get you on the list. But hurry, it’s looking like we will do one trip in the very late Spring/early Summer time frame and there are already 45 people signed up. Space is limited!

– We kicked off our series, “Dream Again” today with the first of four messages on the life of the biblical dreamer, Joseph. Here are a few key things from the message:

When God gives you a dream, He will also get you ready to receive it (Think, ‘testing and trials’)
The road to realizing your dream is filled with speed bumps.
The race to realizing your dream is not a sprint—it’s a marathon.
Fasting is one way to speed things up!

– Next week our new turbo charged prayer begins!—from 10:00am to 10:30am in the media room. This is for people from beginners (who have never even prayed out loud) to prayer warriors and everyone in between. Come for a time of interactive prayer (at special prayer stations set up around the room) and corporate prayer as well.

Six Miles from Eternity!

By Leave a Comment Dec 20

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I hope the following sheds some light on a 2,000 year old mystery…

How far and to what lengths would you go for…

–    A one in five chance to win the lottery?
–    A shot at saving the life of a loved one?
–    The opportunity to bring peace to a strained relationship?
–    Assurance of your eternal destiny?
–    A Klondike bar?

Surely you’d at least…

–    Pay ten dollars (the price of an average movie ticket)
–    Tell someone about a possible cure for an ailment they are suffering from.
–    Work a few hours
–    Show up for one meeting
–    Bring it up in conversation

Probably a whole lot more, but my guess is that most of us would at least do something! Except for the Klondike bar.

That’s why one of the greatest mysteries in all the Bible to me is, why all the religious scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, zealots, priests, and religious leaders of every stripe and feather chose to do NOTHING about the single most important piece of news in all of history—the arrival of their long awaited Messiah. The time was right, all the prophecies had converged, and most of all, the location was a mere 6 MILES AWAY from where they were all huddled with their scrolls and religious relics.

But history tells us none of them budged. They never even started the journey to Bethlehem. There’s no indication they even thought about going—which amounts to this…

We can spend our entire lives…

–    hoping for something
–    preparing for it
–    studying it
–    expecting it
–    teaching it

And yet completely miss IT!

In fact, this Christmas millions all around the world will do just that. Ask most people what their most anticipated holiday of the year is, their favorite time of the entire twelve month calendar, and nearly all will tell you it’s Christmas. Nevertheless, most of those people will never encounter the God for whom the holiday is named after—CHRISTmas.

Don’t let that be you.

And don’t let that be the story of any of those you care about.

Invite them to Christmas Eve Eve (if you or they are planning on leaving town for Christmas) or Christmas Eve, where they will not only hear about the Son of promise—but likely encounter Him as well!

* Hey Impactors, don’t forget that we are combining services THIS Sunday (Dec. 22nd) AND next Sunday (Dec. 29th) for just an 11:00 AM service — Spread the word! We will return to the 2 service format on Sunday, January 5th 2014!

A Very Special Pre Christmas Mind Dump!

By Leave a Comment Dec 9

• I’ll probably get into hot water for saying this (When has that ever stopped me?) but I am absolutely stunned year after year by how many churches (lead by dispassionate, unengaged, uninvested leaders) take this time of year to do no more than, light the candles, sing Christmas carols, display a manger scene, and call it a night. Seriously?! This was the night, 2,000 years ago where almighty God stepped into time and wrapped around Himself human flesh so that he could experience life as one of us, only to experience death for all of us!

Am I missing something? Did I not get the iRobot memo? Did I misplace my invitation to the Stepford Community Town Hall meeting? How could any church or gathering of “believers” allow this time of year to come and go without doing all they can to reach the lost for which the Savior came in the first place??!!

This bothers me every year, and every year it remains unanswered. So here’s what I am doing about it THIS Christmas…

Friends, I want to encourage all of you who claim the name of Jesus to find a church that not only takes the gospel seriously, but where there is a track record of substantial harvest. By that I mean, if you lived in Southern California near Harvest Church and Mariner’s Church and weren’t sure which to choose Christmas Eve. Choose Harvest. They are both great churches, but Greg Laurie is not only a great teacher but also an anointed evangelist. That means, when he preaches, people get saved!

Need a church in the Charlotte area where the gospel will be preached and God ALWAYS moves HUGE? Join us at Impact Church for our Christmas services and bring the lost. Chances are very good they’ll be found by Jesus!

• Again, another slammin 11:00 am service at Impact yesterday and near record attendance! The 9:00 was a little sheepish though, not gonna lie—Could it be that a certain forgetful pastor neglected to remind everyone we were back to our regular schedule?

I’m saying nothing more about that ☺.

But to keep communication clear, let me share how the rest of the month is going to go so you can plan to have a great Christmas at Impact! First, our Christmas services will begin Monday the 23rd with a very special “Christmas Eve Eve” service for all those going out of town for Christmas as well as those who normally stay home on Christmas Eve with family and so forth. The Christmas Eve Eve service will be at Cuthbertson High School at 7:00 pm (so everyone has time to get off work, get home, and get ready!)! Our Christmas Eve service will be the following night (24th- duh) at 5:00 pm. Both services are identical and promise to be something no one has ever experienced before at “Church” on Christmas. Oh, we’ve all wanted too—it’s just that no one has ever pulled it off…till now!

In addition, Sunday, December 22nd and Sunday December 29th we will only be having the 11:00 am service and no 9:00 am service (Just like Thanksgiving.) Christmas falls right smack in the middle of the week and it’s some of the best family time of the year—so we’re keeping the family together—all week! After the New Year, on the following Sunday, January 5th we will return to our normal 2 service format (9:00 AND 11:00 am). Please make note of it to avoid any future mix ups.

• We are loosely following Advent at Impact Church—I say “loosely,” because we are still in our Rx/Luke series, but tracing the advent themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love right along with it. We also have an Advent prayer calendar that can help you draw closer to Jesus in the season—you can access it HERE.

• This past week we talked about, “The Mission” for which every believer is signed up but to which very few actually show up. It’s true, if you are a true Christ follower, then you are called to be an ambassador for Jesus to a lost and hurting world in dire need of rescue from their sins and hopelessness. It’s not just a job for the Billy Graham’s and Greg Laurie’s of the world. It’s not even meant solely for pastors and evangelists. It’s for ALL of us. And Christmas Eve is one of the 2 greatest harvest times of the entire year…

What are you doing for the harvest this year?

Christmas Momentum

By Leave a Comment Dec 6

Even before I think about the added momentum for reaching people for Jesus that Christmas brings I’m thankful for the momentum that Impact Church already has after just 14 weeks of existence! It’s largely due to our awesome volunteers and passionate staff!

And all of us are PUMPED about what we have planned for our Christmas services! For those of you who have followed me for years and years—you know that I believe Christmas should always be BIG! Lot’s of people get saved at this time of year if the gospel is faithfully and clearly communicated. And at Impact Church, we go to great lengths to do just that and make the name of Jesus famous!

This year we are taking all kinds of excitement and momentum into the season and planning one of the most unique and powerful Christmas services I’ve ever been a part of! I promise you it will be different, poignant, and powerful in a way that literally transforms people! In fact, we’re calling it…

I know that’s a lofty claim, but I make it for a several reasons.

1.   Jesus already told us in His Word that the harvest is GREAT!
2.   Sadly, He mentioned that the only reason we don’t see a lot of fruit is because the harvest may be great, but the workers are few.
3.   His Word will never return void (in other words—the Word of God is powerful and alive! When it is faithfully and skillfully preached great BIG things always happen!)!

We hope you all will join us for a special Christmas Eve Eve (yes, you read that right) service at 7:00 pm on Monday the 23rd @ Cuthbertson High school or on Christmas Eve at 5:00 pm at Cuthbertson! The services will be identical and we are beginning a new tradition with the Christmas Eve Eve for all of those who normally leave town on Christmas Eve and end up missing the Christmas Eve service.

For more information visit our website at www.impactchurchonline.org

Still Thankful?

By Leave a Comment Dec 4

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Holidays are fun aren’t they? But their shelf life is incredibly short. Ever notice that? I mean, I’ve got a carton of two week old raspberries that will still last longer than the spirit of Christmas after 5:00 pm Christmas day.

And then there’s Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving probably has the shortest shelf life of all the major holidays. Seriously, it’s over before it even begins! And it officially expires before the day is out and the dinner digested as people begin breaking out the Christmas decorations and blasting tunes about Ole Saint Nick and the red nosed reindeer. Honestly, it doesn’t even take that long! This year I was hearing Christmas tunes on the local Christian radio station in October!! I don’t mean to be cruel about this, but I think at least a good tar and feathering in uptown Charlotte would be in order for this—don’t you?

Two weeks ago I taught a message about being thankful all year round called, “Blessed to be a Blessing.” If you want to learn more about how this is possible you can get the podcast here. Anyway, we learned that every single reason God blesses us has to do with making us a conduit for blessing others. Nothing is meant to simple make our lives comfortable and trial free. For example:

1. 2 Corinthians 1 teaches us that God comforts us so that we might comfort others when they go through difficult times

2. Matthew 18 teaches us that God shows us mercy so that we will learn to be merciful to others.

3. Ephesians 4:32 clearly indicates that we are to forgive others just as God forgives us.

4. And a whole host of verses (including the most famous verse in the Bible – John 3:16) teach us that if we are never more like Jesus than when we are generous.

So, what are you going to do with the spirit of Thanksgiving this year?

· Pack it away with the rest of the Fall decorations?

· Determine to be even more “thankful” on Thanksgiving day ‘next year.’

· Make sure you say please and thank you like your mom taught you when you were 5 years old?

How about determining that being thankful will be a permanent part of your DNA from this day forward? And how about developing the type of thankful heart that never expires?

You’ll be glad you did.

Just saying.

BTW—Thanks for taking the time to read this! And can I start us all off? Thanks, Impact worship team–for leading us in an unbelievably powerful Night of Worship this past Sunday! And thank you to the Impact family for showing up in force! I heard nothing but excitement from all those who were able to make it! And that was more than twice the amount of people we were hoping for! God is surely moving powerfully among the people of Impact! And guess what?

The best is yet to come!!