Hunger for God

Website Editor • August 19, 2020

From Pastor Ryan Lewis' message on Matthew 9:14-17:

Fasting. A believer's voluntary abstinence from food to accomplish spiritual growth.



It's not a topic you hear preached on a ton; yet it is an ASSUMED part of the Christian journey. In Matthew 6:16, Jesus says that WHEN — not IF — you fast, to not look gloomy like the hypocrites and draw attention to yourself. Instead, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. He alone will reward you.



Jesus makes it clear that fasting should be habitually practiced, the same as prayer and giving. (...It's interesting to note that fasting is mentioned more times in the Bible than baptism!)



Biblical fasting isn't an end to itself, it is purposeful and prayerful.



Fasting enhances our ability to pray, along with help from the Holy Spirit, to focus and listen to God. We fast not so that we can get stuff, but so that we can worship God, get closer to God, and have the privilege of participating with God in His plan. We can't get closer to God without worship and prayer.



Biblical fasting is purposeful. We should fast with a hunger to glorify God and to grow in nearness to Him. Author Donald Whitney says it well,



“In real life, here’s how it works: as you are fasting and your head aches and your stomach growls and you think, “I’m hungry!”, your next thought is likely to be something like, “Oh, right —I’m hungry because I’m fasting today. Then your next thought should be, “And I’m fasting for this purpose: ___________.”



Without a clear biblical purpose, fasting becomes an end in itself. Every hunger pang only makes you calculate the time remaining until you can eat. Such thinking disconnects the experience in your mind and heart from the gospel and descends into the deception that perhaps your suffering will earn God’s favor.” 



Fasting should be a purposeful time for us to set aside our own needs and wants to glorify God. It is best suited for people who hunger for God, and also for those who don't. Fasting is probably the best tool we can use to grow in our hunger for God. We can use the discipline to prayerfully repent of our apathy and draw near to Him in the process.



Other reasons we might fast:

  • We're longing for Christ's return
  • We lack joy; or we're too self-focused
  • We hunger for a strengthened prayer life
  • We lack mental clarity or have brain fog
  • We are combatting anxiety and/or depression
  • We are combatting a habitual sin or temptation
  • We desire a spiritual breakthrough (such as in marriage, singleness, job, etc.)



While you are fasting, remember that God will never tell you to do something that does not line up with His word. If God reveals something to you, take it to the Word and take it to community — seek counsel.



Another word of warning: fasting is not a means to manipulate God or obligate Him to do what we want Him to do. Sometimes the reward is simply growing in intimacy with Him.



So.... how do we do this??



To start, (1) IDENTIFY YOUR PURPOSE.  (See bullet points above or insert your own.) During your fast, when you hunger... remember that purpose and PRAY.

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(2) START SMALL. Try fasting for just a day, or even a meal. Work up to longer periods. Don't wait for the perfect day to start fasting; there will never be a perfect day.

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(3) TRY DIFFERENT TYPES OF FASTING. By definition, Biblical fasting is from food; but a fast from social media, screens, sugar, your favorite hobby, etc. are likely to be helpful too. Consider what most often captures your heart, and fast from that.

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(4) CONSIDER THE NEEDS OF OTHERS FIRST.

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(5) CONSIDER FASTING WITH OTHERS. Don't fast like the hypocrites do, but do so with humility. Limit who you tell and how you tell them.

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And (6) FINISH YOUR FAST WITH PURPOSE. Savor the moment you take your first bite of food or drink your first sip of coffee. Thank God for His goodness and provision. Don't end your fast in only relief that you can eat again.


Blessed are those who HUNGER.


Let's be a people who seek God first and hunger for Him more than anything else.



Additional Notes

  • Matthew 6:16-18 - “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Note: This verse points believers to caution their motive in fasting. We must be careful of legalism, hypocrisy, or attempting to manipulate or obligate God to do our bidding.)



  • “A word of warning: Do not spiritualize a sinful neglect of food and call it fasting. Many sin by eating too much. That’s the sin of gluttony. But as with most sins, there’s a contrasting sin in the opposite direction, meaning that a person may also sin by willfully eating too little. Usually this is rooted in vanity.” - Donald Whitney 



  • “We fast in this life because we believe in the life to come. We don’t have to get it all here and now, because we have a promise that we will have it all in the coming age. We fast from what we can see and taste, because we have tasted and seen the goodness of the invisible and infinite God — and are desperately hungry for more of him.” - John Piper



  • Some health conditions keep some people from fasting, however, fasting is not limited to abstaining from food. Some might consider fasting from television, computer, social media, or some other regular hobby or enjoyment that would bend your heart toward greater enjoyment of Jesus. Paul even talks about married couples fasting from sex “for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer” (1 Corinthians 7:5)



  • “Fasting should really be made to include abstinence from anything which is legitimate in and of itself for the sake of some special spiritual purpose.” - Martyn Lloyd-Jones



Resources

  • Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney
  • Habits of Grace by David Mathus
  • A Hunger for God by John Piper



Watch this sermon, here.

Everything We Need

July 29, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, July 27, 2025. Sermon text: 2 Peter 1:3-4 We have everything we need for a godly life. Sentence has: 68 words 9 prepositional phrases 5 dependent clauses God called us. “By His divine power” The word here is summon Like Lazarus, come forth. English readers are apt to understand calling in terms of an invitation that can be accepted or rejected. Peter has something deeper in mind. Christ’s call is effective, awakening and creating faith. -Thomas R. Schreiner 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. By revealing Christ to us. “Through the knowledge of Him” Side note, ambiguity: The ambiguity in the text indicates that Peter does not clearly distinguish between God and Christ, which indicates that God and Christ were venerated equally. - Thomas R. Schreiner Excuses are Eliminated We need to note that this comes to us by grace, but also that we have a part to play here. Effort is not a 4 letter word. You have no excuse for: Pornography- You have everything you need. Substance Abuse- You have everything you need. Pride- You have everything you need Laziness- You have everything you need Anger- You have everything you need. Prayer and Scripture Reading- You have everything you need. Evangelism- You have everything you need. He’ll go on to mention supplementing He has given us what we need for godliness now, and He promises us even greater things to come. We will share in Christ’s Divine Nature 2 Pe 1:4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature Unusual word… The “divine nature” (Theos) appears only here and in Acts where Paul addresses the Areopagus an odd work choice and would have appealed to his pagan readers. Acts 17:29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. Redefining what it means to become like God. Christ shared in our nature that we might share in His. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. In 1:3, it’s through the knowledge of Christ that we are called to Him. Here, we see that a fuller revelation of Christ will conform us even more fully into His likeness. How so? Purity Immortality Restoration to Eden Christians also share in God’s immortality. They are not trapped in this world. Though ‘perishable’ now, Christians will be raised ‘imperishable’ -Paul Gardner Glory John 17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, We have everything we need for a godly life. English readers are apt to understand calling in terms of an invitation that can be accepted or rejected. Peter has something deeper in mind. Christ’s call is effective, awakening and creating faith. -Thomas R. Schreiner 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. The ambiguity in the text indicates that Peter does not clearly distinguish between God and Christ, which indicates that God and Christ were venerated equally. - Thomas R. Schreiner Excuses are Eliminated We will share in Christ’s Divine Nature Acts 17:29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. Purity Immortality Christians also share in God’s immortality. They are not trapped in this world. Though ‘perishable’ now, Christians will be raised ‘imperishable.’ -Paul Gardner Glory John 17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one. Discipleship Questions: 2 Peter 1:3 says we’ve been given everything we need for life and godliness… Do you find that verse encouraging, challenging or both? Are there any areas of your walk where you struggle to believe that you already have everything you need for success? Do you ever make excuses to yourself or others for a lack of godliness? If yes, explain. How much work does it take to live as a Christian? What does it mean that we will be “partakers in the divine nature”?

The Genuine Gospel

July 21, 2025
Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, July 20, 2025. Sermon text: 2 Peter 1:1-2  Peter is warning us about counterfeit teaching and false teachers The genuine gospel came from Jesus through His apostles —servant (humility and honor) —apostle (called, unique, sent) The genuine gospel is just as precious to us today —received and believed “How does someone become a Christian? One person might say, ‘Because I believe,’ and another, ‘Because God chose me.’ According to Peter, both ways of stating it are correct. On the one hand, we believe. It is a fundamental definition of a Christian that he or she is a ‘believe-er’; that he or she ‘has faith’ But Peter also knows that it is not our feeble faith that holds us close to God. It is God who does all the holding, and that is the reality behind the word received.” —R. C. Lucas and Christopher Green, The Message of 2 Peter & Jude The genuine gospel is centered on the person and work of Jesus —God —Savior —Christ —Lord “This fourfold description of Jesus is important because it puts him at the focal point of human history. As God, he guarantees that his words and his works cannot be replaced or revoked; as Christ, he fulfills all the Old Testament promises; as Savior, he died on the cross for our salvation in the past, present and future; and as Lord he claims the right to our individual love and obedience—notice how Peter calls him our Lord.” —R. C. Lucas and Christopher Green, The Message of 2 Peter & Jude The genuine gospel transforms us as we grow in knowledge of Jesus —grace and peace multiplied Discipleship Questions: Why is false teaching so dangerous? How does remembering and focusing on the true gospel help us stand against false teaching? In what ways is the gospel just as precious to us as it was to the apostles? How do you relate to Jesus as God, Savior, Christ, and Lord? What is the difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Him?

The God of All Grace

July 16, 2025
Notes from Zach Snow's sermon on Sunday, July 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 5:8-14 Why is the lion roaring? Wouldn’t it be a better strategy to be quiet…subtle…sneaky, in an attempt to “devour” Christians? I think that Peter, led by the Holy Spirit, was very intentional with his description here of the devil being a roaring lion. Went into a rabbit hole on a lion's roar…there are some spiritual applications to these: Can reach up to 114 decibels…almost as loud as a jet engine taking off They roar for social reasons (territory, create bonds, locate other members of their pride) as well as for purposes of intimidation. One of the primary purposes of the lion's roar is to strike fear in the heart of their prey. The lion will always start with a psychological advantage Fear, anxiety, depression, anger, hatred - these things can absolutely paralyse you spiritually The lion is not necessarily trying to kill you, but to destroy your faith Prayer: Be sober-minded - Have a clear and self disciplined mind - Titus 2 Exercise self control in thoughts, words, and action this is the 3rd time Peter has said this to us in 1 Peter - 1:13, 4:7 - it’s a call to remain alert and focused Being sober-minded means waging war against the things that are detrimental to the mind: fear, hatred, anxiety, depression, anger I believe these are specific things the enemy uses to derail our mental health and cause us to take our guard down Be watchful - this is the same word that Jesus used in the garden before he was arrested and crucified - this is a call to pray Prayers for others - Eph. 6:18 - Ephesians 6:18 - [18] praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, Prayers for yourself - James 1:5 - 5 j If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. So here’s the question… Do you believe in prayer? How much do you trust that God can do the things that you are not able to do? Do you trust God with the big stuff AND the small stuff? Discipleship Questions: 1.) In your personal life, what does being sober minded and watchful look like to you? 2.) Who are the people who help you stand firm in your faith the most? 3.) As a CG look at each of the points of the Theology of Suffering and find Scripture to support each one of those statements: God is ALWAYS good God is ALWAYS enough God will ALWAYS love you 4.) Discuss ways that the God of all grace has restored, confirmed, strengthened, and established you.
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