Speaker: Ps. Irwan Ngadisastra
Date: January 24 2010

Mark 9:14-29

1. FAITH

• is the confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Heb 11:1 - Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith Moves Things

• Matt 9:22 - But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well. - SICK HEALED!
• Mark 2:5 - And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ” Son, your sins are forgiven.“ – SINS FORGIVEN!

2. PRAYING

1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3″There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4″For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8″I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8

Jesus entered into a time of earnest prayer when choosing the Twelve

12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.  13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: Luke 6:12-13

Maybe this year, there are major decisions you need to make, take the time of earnest prayer.

3. FASTING

Please don’t DIET in the name of FASTING!

(A) Fasting is of no value unless it is done with the right motivation and the right heart:

16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matt 6:16-18

(B) Fasting is closely related to prayer and the reading of the Word of God

4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Neh 1:4

1Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them. 2The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God. Neh 9:1-3

(C) Fasting from food – in the Bible fasting is mostly related to abstain from food

(D) The timing of the fasting is up to your commitment, but corporately we will fast starting after dinner and break fast after 6 pm.