STUDY NOTES
VISION 2017 AT NEW CITY CHURCH
www.newcityphx.com/sermons

The following content is based on the message “Vision 2017: Fasting” on 1/22/17 at New City Church in Phoenix, AZ. The following is not meant to be a full synopsis but rather a brief look at the main ideas. To use this Study Guide effectively you must listen to the message found at https://newcityphx.com/sermons/.

Leaders using these Study Notes for group study and reflection should read the Biblical text thoroughly before beginning, using this resource as assistance and not relying solely on this material for insight. We encourage all leaders to pray and ask the Spirit for revelation as they lead their respective communities.

PRAYER

Pray and ask God to lead the discussion as everyone gets to share.

SCRIPTURE: MATTHEW 6:16-18

You may not be doing this fast with us, but that’s okay. We still want to talk about it because it should be a discipline that Christians should practice. Fasting was common in Jesus’s day, but isn’t today.

• What is your experience with fasting?
• What are some tips that you’ve learned about fasting—maybe specifically for the “Daniel Fast”?

WHEN IS FASTING NOT FASTING?

Fasting isn’t fasting when we do it to be noticed by other people or by God.

• Before a fast, within a fast, or after a fast, how is it a legitimate danger to seek the praise of other people?
• Why does it feel like God will love you more during or after a fast? What do we actually know about God’s love for us?

WHY DO YOU FAST?

1. Fast for humility. (Psalm 69:10)
2. Fast because the community calls for it. (Joel 1:14)
3. Fast before important decisions. (Acts 14:23)
4. Fast to call for justice. (Isaiah 58:6-9)
5. Fast to see God do miracles. (Matthew 17:21)
6. Fast because God is enough. (Daniel 1)

• In your experience how does a fast humble you, reminding you of your frailty?
• What would the attitude of Christians be like if they fasted for justice?
• How have you reminded yourself that God is enough for you while fasting or not fasting?

WHAT DOES IS MEAN TO FAST?

In the language that the New Testament was written in, “fast” means “one who is empty”. God is the main ingredient in your recipe of fasting. You will be extra miserable if you fast without God. That means you will just try to fill up on something else.

When we fast we slow down, simplify, and seek God.

• There are times when fasting from things like technology are important, but what is it about fasting from food that draws our attention more to God?

LOOKING FORWARD TO THE RETURN OF JESUS

19And Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. MARK 2:19-20

• How should fasting make us long for Jesus’s return?
• Pray with each other for strength and for the love of Jesus to grow in each other’s lives.