"Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it; Plan more than you can do, then do it; Point your arrow at a star, take your aim, and there you are; Arrange more time than you can spare, then spare it; Take on more than you can bear, then bear it; Plan your castle in the air, then build a ship to take you there." (Poem by an anonymous author)
It was a beautiful night, and the light of a full moon seeped thru the windows. Mom glanced at the clock and then told her young son “Jimmy, it’s time to go to bed.” So Jimmy went upstairs… and an hour or so later his mother came up to check on him. To her astonishment he wasn’t in bed – he’s staring out of his window. “What are you doing, Jimmy?” she asked. “I’m looking at the moon, Mommy.” "Well, it’s time to go to bed now." So reluctantly the boy got into bed, and then he said, “Mommy, you know one day I’m going to walk on the moon.”
Well now… there’s a dream for you. Jimmy planned his castle in the air, and planned to build a ship to take him there. When Jimmy grew up, he got into a terrible motorcycle crash, and broke almost every bone in his body. But he never let that get in the way of his dream. Thirty two years after he told his mother his desire to walk on the moon – JAMES IRWIN did exactly that. He walked on the moon. He was one of just 12 men that has ever done so. (David Salyer)
James Irwin had a dream to walk on the moon … and he got it done.
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) tells us “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. Without a vision - without a dream - people perish. Having a dream is that important. God’s people need to have visions - they need to dream… dreams.
And that brings us to our text for this morning. In Acts 13, we’re introduced to a church with a vision - with a dream. How do I know they had a dream? THEY FASTED. “While they were worshiping the Lord and FASTING, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” Acts 13:2
Fasting is a serious activity. Fasting is the kind of thing you do when you want to put UMMPH in your prayer. When people fast (fasting the way that pleases God) Isaiah 58:8-10 tells us “Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am…. Then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.”
Fasting is like putting your prayers on speed dial. and when people fasted in Scripture, they seriously wanted something from God.
• Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the 10 Commandments.
• In II Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat held a day-long national fast… because 3 massive armies were on their way to conquer the Kingdom of Judah.
• Daniel fasted for 21 days – begging to understand a vision he’d been given.
• Esther held a 3 day fast - before she went into the presence of King Xerxes to plead for him to spare the Jews in Persia from destruction.
• Jesus fasted for 40 days before being tempted in the wilderness/ beginning ministry.
Now just so you understand - fasting isn’t required of Christians. But in the New Testament, Christians DID fast for the same reason the ancient Jews did - they fasted to appeal to God for … something. And while Acts 13 doesn’t tell us WHY these leaders at Antioch were fasting, it appears (to me) they were fasting because they were asking God for a dream… for a vision, I think they were asking God: what can we do for you? Give us a dream… give us a vision for You! And I believe THAT because - in the midst of their fast the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Barnabas and Paul to be missionaries. And from that time on, Christianity spread like wildfire across the Roman empire. I believe that when the leaders at Antioch fasted they did so because they wanted to do MORE for God.
ILLUS: It’s kind of like buying Christmas presents for someone you love. You want to make sure you get something they want. Something they’ll appreciate. So when these men fasted… it was like they were asking God - WHAT CAN WE GET YOU? WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE US DO!!!!
Now, I’ve served this church for 30 years, and every time I enter this church, I just thank God I’ve been given the chance to serve you. I’m constantly reminded of Paul’s words to the Ephesians: “I never cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” Ephesians 1:16
And to the Thessalonians: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers.” 1Thessalonians 1:2
And to the church at Rome: “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.” Romans 1:8
That’s what I think about every time I think about you folks. It is an honor to serve you/ preach to you/ work with you. You do things that amaze me/ surprise me/honor me. But, with all the things that you folks do as a congregation… we have struggled since Covid. I wrote about this in an article in this month’s newsletter:
When I first got here (30 years ago) things were pretty bleak. My predecessor was asked to leave the pulpit because of sexual sin. The pulpit was empty for a year and the Elders (because of the nature of the previous preacher’s sin) were uncertain if they could ever get a preacher to come. But then the you folks hired me… and God made the church grow again. We built the picnic shelter, paved the parking lot, and eventually were able to hire a youth minister.
But then, a few years after I started preaching here, we hit another rough patch. Offerings were down, money was tight, and folks began to worry that they’d may not have enough to pay me to stay. Several people were upset that the Elders wouldn’t let them have fund raisers to increase the bank account. But the Elders stayed the course. We trusted God… and eventually that crisis passed.
But now, we’ve hit another rough patch. Offerings are good and you folks are doing mighty work for God. But attendance is down from 150 at our highest to about 110 now. And the church is getting older. And some folks wonder if we’ll ever bounce back from these circumstances.
I never worry about such things. I believe in a God who does mighty things. God has helped us in the past and I know He’ll help us now! But I did point in the newsletter that there were at least two things we need to do to bounce back.
One was to forget.
Forget the size of the congregation. SIZE has never bothered God, so why should it bother us? When David faced off against Goliath was he intimidated? No, David he didn’t compare his stature to that of Goliath. He compared the size of Goliath to the size of His God. And David took down that giant. Forget how big we are as a church… because SIZE doesn’t matter to God.
Then forget your age. Yeah… we are growing older as a church. That’s what happens when you live long enough! And we don’t act our age anyway, so why start now! To God your age is not a big deal. Noah was 500 when he started building the Ark; Moses was 80 when he led Israel out of Egypt; and Caleb was 85 when he conquered the giants the hill country of Hebron. Age is not a big deal for God.
Then forget what other churches are doing. Israel often angered God when they tried to be like the other nations. Israel got so they were following pagan gods, and asked for a king like the other nations had. That didn’t go over real well with God. But when they looked towards God & sought to obey Him, they overcame the odds because God rewarded them.
So forget the size of the congregation/ forget your age/ and forget what other churches are doing. And then REMEMBER who your God is. Forget all that other stuff.. and remember YOUR GOD! We belong to GOD and this is HIS congregation. Our God is mighty to save… and He is the one we need to look to. He is the one we need to appeal to for help.
And that’s where fasting and prayer come in. I got to thinking, and I believe fasting was often done under duress. In the Old Testament when something BOTHERED folks they’d get serious about their prayers… and about their fasting. Jehoshaphat was BOTHERED because those 3 nations intended to destroy Judah and steal them blind; Daniel was BOTHERED because he desperately wanted to understand what his vision meant; And Esther was BOTHERED because her people were about to be annihilated.
And so they fasted, and they prayed, and God did mighty things for them.
I think that’s what happened in Antioch. I think they fasted because they didn’t think they were getting anything done. They weren’t getting any traction. SO THEY FASTED! And that’s what I’m going to ask YOU to do. I’m going to ask you… to fast and pray - pray for us to reach more people for Jesus this year; pray for us to impact Logansport like never before; and pray for us to grow as a congregation. Essentially, I’m going to ask you to UP OUR GAME.
Now, just so we understand what fasting is doing without food. WHY? Well, Isaiah 58 tells us "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” Isaiah 58:6-7
And in Isaiah 58:10 it says “If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.”
When we fast (do without food) we can save anywhere from $3 to $10 per meal. Let’s say you fast from eating just one meal, and let’s say the value of that meal is $5. NOW you have $5 to give to a hungry person. And let’s say you fast a full day – that’s $15 you’ve saved you can give to the needy. Let’s say you fast 5 days - that’s $75 you’ve saved - you can pay for a night’s stay at the Manor Motel with that... and have enough left over to spring for a couple meals at McDonalds.
In short – when we fast, we have extra money you can use to help others. And God says that when we do that He “will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:11
Now, I’m going to fast this week too. You don’t have to fast more than a couple meals… or a couple days. But I’m going to fast for about 5 days. And when I fast, I’m mention each one of you in prayer… every day. I’m a great believer in a God who does stuff, and I’m a great believer in fasting because I’ve seen God do mighty things when I’ve fasted.
CLOSE: I want to close with a story that illustrates what fasting can do.
Spring came late to the Pilgrim colony of Plymouth in April, 1623. The people had lived pretty much from hand to mouth for 2 years, but a ship had recently arrived from England bringing (amongst other things) an abundance of seeds for planting. Governor Bradford led the men to the storehouse, unlocked the door and pointed to the bags of corn, peas and beans inside. “There you see our future. I intend to use all the grain and vegetables as seed.”
When Bradford told them that they couldn’t eat this grain… it was to be planted. And the people grumbled because they were not pleased. If they followed Bradford's plan, they’d have to live only off the land, and that wasn’t going to be easy. But Governor Bradford was determined to plant this seed and gamble that it would give an abundant harvest that would supply all the food they’d need for the coming year and beyond. As it was, the settlers were living from week to week – often eating their seed rather than planting it. But, if they refused Bradford’s plan… he would resign, and nobody wanted that.
Bradford and the other farmers planted 200 acres, using every kernel of grain and vegetable seed. Guards were posted to prevent prowling wolves from rooting out the seed by night. Eventually, ears were beginning to appear on the cornstalks, bean and squash vines were sturdy, grapes and berries were plump, and the wheat was flourishing. It would be an unusually large crop.
Then, in mid-June… the rains stopped. The sun burned in a cloudless sky. A few ears of corn began to ripen prematurely, vines started to wither, and the berry bushes became brittle. What water they could bring up from the river vanished immediately beneath the surface of the parched ground. When asked what they could do to save the crop, Bradford sadly replied, “Nothing.” But he noted that since not all the plants and died and there was still hope… if only the rains would come again.
But the dry spell continued and at the beginning of August there was still no rain. Many in the little colony began to give up hope. By the end of the first week of August, Bradford knew that if the drought was not broken in the next day or two, it would be too late. The crops would fail and the settlers would starve.
One night, Bradford went to his favorite spot on rocks overlooking the harbor. In despair, he stood with his head bowed and softly quoted his favorite Psalm: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” And then he suddenly realized there was one thing he hadn’t done yet. He’d worked hard… to save the crop and the colony, but he hadn’t led the people in crying out to God for help.
So, he issued a proclamation, calling all the people of the colony to the Common House for a day of worship. Anyone who failed to come would be banished forever from Plymouth. The next day, everyone came to the Common House to engage in a daylong time of prayer and fasting. Elder Brewster preached all morning… then the floor was open to whoever wanted to pray. Twelve men rose at once and took turns in prayer before the congregation. At sundown, everyone returned to their home and were instructed by Elder Brewster not eat or drink until morning.
Governor Bradford went to the rocks intending to stay there all night. It was then Stephen Hopkins (a man who constantly questioned Bradford’s decisions) came and joined him. They sat together watching the skies. Hopkins expressed his desire to stay in Plymouth no matter what happened. And then… Hopkins began to weep.
It was then that Bradford caught Hopkins arm and pointed to the sky. Two small clouds (the first that anyone had seen in weeks) appeared overhead. The men watched with growing wonder as dark masses blew in on a gentle breeze from the sea. Around midnight, the stars and moon completely disappeared, and a rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. The thunder grew louder, and then there was a flash of lightning. A few raindrops spattered the rocks and THEN the heavens opened, and a steady rain began to fall.
Hopkins turned to Bradford and said “My family and I will join the church tomorrow. I have, with my own eyes, witnessed a miracle.”
The rain fell every night for 10 nights and every day the sun appeared. The parched earth soaked up the moisture and the plants gradually came to life again. On the 11th day, Bradford made a careful inspection of the fields, and announced that more than 95% of season’s crop had been saved. The crop had been saved… and so had the colony. (Noel B. Gerson, “Rock Of Freedom” p. 157 ff)
