Fasting & Giving Twenty questions 1

What is the Spirit saying to about fasting and giving? 2

StatementTrueFalse 1.Jesus fasted regularly and commanded his disciples to do the same. 3

False  The Son of Man came eating and drinking… [Luke 7:33]  Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast? Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.[Matthew 9:14-15] 4

StatementTrueFalse 2. What you spend your money on shows what’s important to you. 5

True  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. [Matthew 6:21] 6

StatementTrueFalse 3. Fasting is primarily done in order to free up time for prayer and meditation. 7

Its not in the Book 8

StatementTrueFalse 4. God doesn’t judge your giving by how much you give, but by how much is left over afterwards. 9

True  Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few pence. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on.” [Mark 12: ] 10

StatementTrueFalse 5. The call to give tests the sincerity of our love for God and our neighbour 11

True  I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. [2 Corinthians 8:8]  “The inner reality is not a reality until there is an outward expression” Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline. 12

StatementTrueFalse 6. Regular fasting will help to keep you right with God. 13

False  Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” [Luke 18: 9-14] 14

StatementTrueFalse 7. Fasting is abstaining from food in order to feast on the word of God. 15

True  Jesus answered, “It is written; Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” [Matthew 4:4]  But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” [John 4:32]  Then Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” [John 6:35]  Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink…” [John 7:37] 16

StatementYesNo 8. Do I have to give 10% of my income to the church? 17

No, you are free to give more than that! 18

StatementTrueFalse 9. “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is give more than we can spare”. 19

True  we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations. [2 Corinthians 8] 20

StatementTrueFalse 10. Fasting is a way of “unlocking” answers to prayer 21

Hmmm… not sure 22

StatementTrueFalse 11. If you fast (or give), God will reward you. 23

True  …and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. [Matthew 6. 18]  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation in the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. [1 Timothy 6:18-19]  And whoever sows generously will also reap generously. [2 Corinthians 9: 6] 24

StatementTrueFalse 12. Giving should always be spontaneous and Spirit led 25

False  On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income. [I Corinthians 16:2] 26

StatementTrueFalse 13. Giving is a matter of personal conscience. 27

True  Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [2 Corinthians 9:7] 28

StatementTrueFalse 12. Fasting should always be a private matter. 29

False  …. so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting. [Matthew 6]  While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting…  So after they had prayed and fasted. [Acts 13] 30

StatementTrueFalse 13. Regular fasting and regular giving can help you feel secure in your relationship to God. 31

True, unfortunately  The Pharisee is Jesus’ story from Mark 12 felt he was in a good place with God because he was disciplined about both giving and fasting. But he was mistaken!  Beware the dangers of spiritual pride! 32

Fasting can expressTrueFalse 14. Sadness 15. Humility & dependence 16. Worship 17. Hunger for God 33

 I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food, no meat or wine touched my lips.  I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him a safe journey.  When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed.  She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying.  My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 34

StatementTrueFalse 18. Giving to those in need can be a kind of fast. 35

True “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter [Isaiah 58] 36

StatementTrueFalse 19. Christians should practice joyful unconcern for possessions 37

True  And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. [Matthew 6] 38

20. Which will you be? ✔✖ The word is not understood and is snatched away? Enjoyed, but quickly forgotten? Choked by the “worries of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth”? Good soil – bearing fruit? 39