Fasting
Notes
Transcript
Then they said to him, “John’s disciples fast often and say prayers, and those of the Pharisees do the same, but yours eat and drink.”
Jesus said to them, “You can’t make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you? But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them—then they will fast in those days.”
He also told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. Otherwise, not only will he tear the new, but also the piece from the new garment will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will spill, and the skins will be ruined. No, new wine is put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine, wants new, because he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
Then they said to him, “John’s disciples fast often and say prayers, and those of the Pharisees do the same, but yours eat and drink.”
Only 1 fast is commanded by God in the Bible. The Day of Atonement.
Lev 16 describes this day.
It was well known and the Jews called it THE Fast .
Religious leaders came up with all kinds of other fasts.
They also came up with all kinds of RULES for how people were to live their life. How they should walk to temple, how they should leave; how far they could walk on the sabbath, and all kinds of rules for what they could and could not do.
Brothers and sisters, we have to be careful because we can find ourselves doing the same thing today. We can find ourselves following rules and traditions of old, without ever asking ourselves WHY!
That’s a road that we do not need to follow. We should know what and why we are doing things.
Jesus said to them, “You can’t make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you? But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them—then they will fast in those days.”
Wedding - a time of celebration. There is no fasting at a celebration, there is FEASTING!
Notice the words: There is a time when the groom will be taken away, THEN they will fast.
THEN THEY WILL - FAST
Jesus also says in:
“Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
I get asked: Should Christians fast?
Absolutely! And it is expected. But not like most people think about fasting.
Jesus says that His disciples will fast, and He teaches that the Disciples should not fast in the manner that the Pharisees and Religious leaders of the day fasted.
But instead, Disciples should fast “un obviously”.
See Jesus is not about appearances. The Pharisees have their reward.
Jesus is about the REAL YOU!
So let’s talk about FASTING for a moment. Usually people think about fasting and they get the idea of Giving SOMETHING up.
SO you may hear people say: I’m fasting from food. Or I’m fasting from Technology. Or I am fasting from exercise. (Pause for effect).
Listen: It can be good to give up things for a while, especially if you are dependent upon it; so that you can better connect with God.
But fasting is ALWAYS related to food. There is no fast in the Bible that is anything aside from food.
So you cannot FAST from video games. You can take a healthy break.
If we truly believe that Scripture is God Breathed, that THE Bible is the THE WORD OF GOD, Then only God can define what Fasting is; and Scripture only shows that fasting has to do with not eating food or dinking water for a specific period of time.
He also told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. Otherwise, not only will he tear the new, but also the piece from the new garment will not match the old.
All fabric shrinks over time.
So if you were to take an old shirt that has already shrunk, and add a patch off a brand new piece of fabric - what would happen?
The new fabric would fit at first, but as time went on then new fabric would shrink, but the old fabric is already shrunk. So the new fabric would tear the old fabric as it shrunk, and cause even more damage.
It would also stand out. Older faded fabric, with a bright brand new patch. It just does not blend in.
So what does Jesus mean?
Jesus say’s: I did not come to patch things up. I did not come to neatly fit into your preconceived notions. I came to fulfill the law, and bring about something new.
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will spill, and the skins will be ruined. No, new wine is put into fresh wineskins.
This one may seem foreign to you.
Follow me.
When Wine is made, the process releases gases. So they put NEW WINE in containers that are designed to expand.
Old wine skins have lost their elasticity. If New wine were put in old wine skins, then as the gases were released the old wine skin would not stretch, but would burst. Why? Because it is not flexible enough to handle the process.
New wine is put in NEW wineskins. New wineskins can stretch.
Jesus is saying that what I am bringing, the Pharisees and religious leaders cannot handle. They are bursting in their minds because it is different, and bigger than they can handle. They are too rigid. Their system of laws doesn’t leave room for the poor sinner.
it is a system of exclusion. A system of those who can afford to have their sins forgiven and those who can’t. It has become a predatory system.
Instead of being a system where people could get right with God, these religious leaders have taken the Word of God and swung it like a hammer trying to nail people.
And no one, after drinking old wine, wants new, because he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
Accepting New can be hard.
People were so used to doing things one way, that any other seems wrong.
We see that then, we see it in the church.
We can find ourselves holding onto tradition and we have never done it that way, and whatever else.
We can find outselves taking the Word of God like a perscription, without knowing the true cost.
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
So yes the question is about fasting, but the answer is so much bigger. Because Jesus truly cares about the real you and why you do what you do.
He wants you to know Him, get close to Him, and find grace and mercy in your hearts.