Point Church and thousands of other churches around the world are in the middle of a 40 day season of fasting leading up to Good Friday and Easter. We are practicing intentional repentance, mourning over our sin and striving for holiness in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I wanted to provide some encouragement from my own time with the Lord during this season. In 2 Corinthians 6:16-18, Paul reminds the Corinthian Church of some incredible promises they have in Christ. God promises to live with them, walk among them and claim them as his own people. God promises to be their father and adopt them as his sons and daughters. What an incredible promise!
With these incredible promises in mind Paul gave the following challenge to this local church that is perfect for Point Church in this season as well.
“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting Holiness out of reverence for God” – 2 Corinthians 7:1
May the incredible Promises of God motivate us to radically pursue holiness in both body and soul! Paul likens our pursuit of holiness to undergoing a process of purification where something valuable is heated to an extreme temperature in order to separate what is precious from its contaminants.
Over the centuries, seasons of fasting have proven to be an effective spiritual purification process. We are pushed to uncomfortable places in order to reveal and remove the things in our lives that are contaminating our body and soul.
Let’s allow ourselves to be pushed to uncomfort through this 40 day season of fasting in order to purify our Minds, Bodies and Spirits.
- Body – Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is the vehicle God wants to use to do his work. Therefore, we must care for, nurture, and protect it. My personal prayer is to do full-time ministry until I am 80 years old. I do not want my body to give out before the purpose God has for me is accomplished!
During this 40 day season of fasting, I am personally practicing something called, intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting involved eating for 8 hours (12pm-8pm) and fasting 16 hours (8pm-12pm). I’m also being intentional about not only eating less, but also eating well, sleeping well, exercising and eliminating body fat. As I approach forty, I have noticed that it takes much more intentionality to maintain my body in a way that allows me to serve the Lord with all my strength.
- Mind – Our mind is what charts the course of our lives. The thoughts we think about most often will determine the direction we take each day! I truly believe the difference between white hot faith and continual discouragement are the thoughts we allow to dominate our minds! Therefore, we must seek to intentionally review our minds (Romans 12:2)! We should seek to take every negative or immoral thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). We must be intentional to discipline and steward our minds well.
It takes work to think rightly about God, ourselves, and the future. During this time, we should not only fast from food, but also will fill the time we are not eating with feasting on the thoughts of God found in the Word of God. If we daily feast on the words of God, we will increasingly see our thoughts becoming His thoughts!
- Spirit – Our spirit is too precious to allow sin to pollute. Just as we must wage war against the physical cravings trying to destroy our bodies, and anxious thoughts trying to destroy our minds. We must also wage war against sinful desires trying to destroy our souls. Sin separates us from the presence and blessing of God! We must pursue holiness with reckless abandon.
Join me in praying each day over this Easter fast for God to search your heart, root out what does not belong and lead you in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).
I pray that your 40 day journey to the cross is going well. However, if you have stumbled a bit don’t beat yourself up, remember that’s what grace is for! Jump back in. And if you missed out on beginning the 40 day journey on Ash Wednesday, it’s never too late to jump in and start purifying your life from anything hindering your walk with Christ!
Father, purify us from everything that contaminates my body, mind, and spirit. Help us to pursue holiness for your Glory and our Good. Jesus name, Amen.
– Chris Hankins, Lead Pastor