We are starting a new series at Higher Hope… well, it’s more than that… I am praying it is less of a sermon series and more of a 40 Day Journey. 40 is an important number of scripture. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert. Israel spent 40 years wandering. we want to take the next 40 days to pursue God in our lives. We are asking you to commit to do a few things…
1. Commit to spending time seeking God through His Word – in the Bible – we have a reading plan you can follow but you also can choose your own. at the base of our reading time this is what we are asking..
*God what are you saying to me?
*God who are you revealing yourself to be?
*God what do you want me to know?
*God what do you want me to do?
Feel free to join this Bible Reading group on Facebook – Know Your Bible!
2. Prayer and fasting. We are encouraging people to choose to fast once a week… it can look differently for each of you. What I do is I choose to skip breakfast and lunch on Tuesday’s to spent some time praying and seeking God. You can choose to do it differently but the how isn’t as important as the why behind it. We are hungering for the Word of God. He says this in Deuteronomy 8:3
“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.”
When we are fasting we are seeking God, hungering for His voice in our life.
Hearing God’s voice becomes the most important thing that we are seeking during these 40 days. Just a reminder – we seek Him through fasting, but God may speak in different ways, and at different times during these 40 days. I would suggest keeping a notebook of what impressions God may be giving you during these 40 days.
You may have a few things you are coming to him for personally and for our church. But we leave God the room to speak.
Here are the things our church is fasting over.
*Our Youth and raising them up to be men and women of God who are pursuing Him.
*How do we reach more people in our community – Starting a new worship service, adding to the parking lot, planting a new church. What does God want for us.
*How can we be generous to our community, to other churches etc.?
3. OBEDIENCE. I hope we will commit to stepping into and wherever God wants us to step. God whatever you want me to do, I am open to do. I just want to be in line with what you have for me.
What can God do for and through those who truly seek Him? I think God has some great plans for us.