Mission Possible pt 9
Notes
Transcript
Fasting — The God infused life!
Fasting — The God infused life!
How many of you are tea drinkers?
Now, let me clarify my question: How many of you like to drink Hot Tea?
For those of you who don’t, let me paint you a picture…
I have hot water… (pour water into a cup)
and I have a tea bag…
What would happen if I just dip this tea bag into the water? (dip the tea bag)
Would that make tea?
If I’m going to make tea, then I have to submerge the tea bag in the water for a while, right? (put the tea bag in the cup)
Now, I want you to think about this… the longer I leave the tea bag in the water, the stronger the tea, right?
So… what is really happening in the cup? Is the water changing? Is it becoming less water? Is the tea changing?
The truth is — The longer I leave the tea bag in the water… the more the water gets into the tea… AND… the more the tea gets into the water!
The same is true for our spiritual life!
We are the tea bag… and God is the Water of Life!
The more we immerse ourselves in the Water of Life — in the Presence of God — the more Life God will be able to develop into us, and the more God will be able to release our personality, our talents, our gifts, and our abilities for use in the Kingdom!
You see… the more we are in the presence of God… the more He can change us! The more He can remove the dross — the sin in our lives — and fill us with His Holiness!
But, I want you to notice something else as well…
How many of you agree with the with John’s statement:
30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
Here’s an interesting thing that happens with the tea… The longer the tea bag sits in the water, the less flavor is in the bag! It gets to the point where we say: “This isn’t even tea anymore! (hold up the tea bag) This is! (hold up the cup)”
We have a mission, amen?
That mission is to carry the gospel into the world… to BE about Kingdom work, amen?
Would you agree that that means we have to become more like God?
That’s what Fasting is all about!
There is power in fasting, because it focuses our prayer time… it connects us to the power and presence of God… and it allows us to be infused with His Holy Spirit!
Just like with the tea, the more we dip ourselves in the presence of God, the more we will become like Him.
Jesus understood this…
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Notice that He connects fasting to prayer...
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
Again, Jesus did not say “If you fast.” He said, “When you fast.” Right after commanding us to be a “Prayer-filled” people, He tells us to be a “Fasting” people…
Why?
Because Fasting and Prayer are intricately connected.
And both are critical to our lives as Christians and as God’s Children and to His Purpose for our lives!
We CANNOT fulfill our purpose, or be 100% effective in sharing the Gospel with the world around us WITHOUT Prayer and Fasting!
You see — Fasting is not about us! It is not about gaining recognition…
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
Would you believe that there were actually people who put on make up… and “practiced” making themselves “look” like they were suffering… just to get the recognition and praise from people for their “fasting”?!?
We all probably know someone who is “proud” of their fasting… who brags about it, and announces their practice to everyone…
That is not what fasting is about … its not about religious practice… or gaining recognition from people of how pious and faithful you are…
Fasting is about our relationship with God.
It’s about strengthening that relationship so that His power and His authority flow through us into the world and into the situations we face…
Mark 9 tells the story of Jesus returning with Peter, James, and John from the mount of transfiguration to the others they had left behind.
As they approached, they heard the other disciples and the scribes arguing… When Jesus asked what they were arguing about, a father from the crowd tells Him that he had brought his son to Him to be healed from a demon possession, and that the disciples had tried to deliver him, but they had failed…
The father of the boy then says to him, “If you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.”
I love Jesus’s answer… (It is something we all need to hold on to!)
23 Jesus said to him, “If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.”
I could preach a whole series of sermons on this one story! But… that’s not what I want you to see today… Notice what Jesus says to the disciples as to why they failed:
29 He said to them, “This kind can come out only through prayer.”
Some translations and ancient texts add “and fasting” — which is not incorrect — because the two are intricately connected… and I do not believe that Jesus would not connect them here...
It was expected throughout Israel’s history, in Jesus’s time, and by Jesus Himself that Prayer and Fasting were practiced regularly.
It was expected that if you faced difficult times… difficult decisions… and life changes… You Prayed and Fasted!!!
What Jesus says to us is: Do you have a need… a struggle… a big decision… a change in your life? The Pray and Fast! Seek God with all your heart, and He will answer you!
Think about it:
Jesus set the example of Fasting…
12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Before Jesus began His ministry, He fasted and prayed! Why?
To prepare for His ministry… He knew what he was going to face — in dealing with the people, and ultimately on the Cross — and He knew that He needed that connection with the fullness of God to face it!
Esther knew the same thing…
In Esther 3 — We are told her story.... Her uncle Mordecai discovered that Haman had devised a plan to kill all the Jews, because he hated them… He had tricked the King into signing a proclamation granting one day for the people to kill any Jewish person in the land…
Mordecai approached Esther with the issue and challenged her to go to the King and plea for their lives! This could have meant death for her…
Look at what she tells him:
16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
Esther knew she needed God’s help… So she called a Fast!
Look at Nehemiah’s reaction when he is told of the condition of Jerusalem and the people there:
4 When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Over and over we find these stories in scripture… When we are in great need… When the people of God suffer… We are to go to God in Fasting and Prayer!
But… What is Fasting?
In his book, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,” David Whitney says this: “Christian Fasting is a believer’s voluntary abstinence from food for Spiritual Purposes.”
Take a look at those words I highlighted:
Believer — Fasting is for the Faithful. If you are not a believer, then fasting is just a diet. But, if you confess Christ as your Lord and Savior, then Fasting is should be a part of your life, in the same way that prayer is.
Voluntary — Fasting is a choice. No-one can force you to Fast. Fasting stems from our Love of and Desire for… more of Christ. You cannot do it religiously and expect to get anything out of it!
Food — Regardless of what the world says, Fasting is about food! It’s not about media… or habits… or whatever… It is about food.
2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.
12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
9 For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
4. Spiritual Purposes — Fasting’s sole purpose is to seek God.
Let me tell you — Fasting without seeking to draw near to God is just a bad diet!
You see — Fasting is not about gaining worldly recognition… it’s not about bending God to receive what we want…to our will…
It is about drawing close to God — by forsaking EVERYTHING else, even nourishment — in order to gain His power… and His authority… and His influence in our lives!
But… you see… that is where the American Church struggles…
Instead of teaching the Power and Majesty of God… instead of teaching the Power of to the Christian Life lived in faithful Prayer and Fasting… seeking God’s Kingdom come — NOW! Right Here! For His glory!
We have taught a weak form of prayer… one that compromises the power of God in our lives by teaching that it’s not ABSOLUTELY about Him… But… that it’s about trusting in what He has done in and for people!
That Kind of sounds like “trust in the miracles instead of the miracle worker” doesn’t it?
Think about it — How many times have you heard, or been told: “We need to trust the doctors… after all… God gave them the ability and the knowledge”?
Now, that’s not an entirely false statement, but I have to ask: “Where is the Power of God in that?!”
I mean… Either we serve a God who loves us and performs miracles — Who does the impossible — or we don’t…
Look at…
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.”
Where is that kind of Power in our prayer?!
Where is that kind of power in prayers that just pray for the doctors knowledge?
12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
Our prayers should afford us the same Power that Peter’s had… Christ promises they will… So… Why don’t they?
Because our faith is misplaced!
We are not supposed to put our faith in the miracles… or in the priest… or in people’s recognition of our faith… We are supposed to put our faith in God!!!!
39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
19 He answered them, “You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.”
Fasting is about is about Faith!
Is our Faith more in the physical, or in the Divine?
Let me tell you — God still performs miracles!!!
True Fasting puts our faith — our trust — COMPLETELY in God… in His Power… In His Provision… in His Glory! Not in His miracles.
1 Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God.
3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers.
4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
Let me put this into modern day terms:
“Your Fasting is worthless! You pretend to draw near to me, while you demand your way!”
“Is this the fasting I commanded?! To only humble yourself for one day and then to continue to do what you want?”
“Did I ask you to give up FaceBook for a time, only to go ahead and continue on Tik Tok or YouTube? What good is that?!”
“Did I tell you to ‘advertise’ your fast? To proclaim it for all the world to see and praise? Is that what My fasting is?!”
“What good is a fast that only seeks personal gain?”
That is not Fasting!!!!
True Fasting is giving up the physical for the spiritual.
It is about seeking God’s Love, Grace, and Provision for His Glory revealed in our lives!
It is about taking personal responsibility for the Gospel!!!!
Let me ask you:
How many of you believe the Gospel is the Power of God for Salvation?
How many of you believe that the Gospel is God’s Power for Healing?
How many of you take personal responsibility for the Gospel?
See… That’s the tougher one, isn’t it?!
It is easy for us to say we believe in the power of the Gospel, but it is another to take personal responsibility for it.
Church — my brothers and sisters — We cannot share the Gospel until we each take personal responsibility for it!
Fasting is where we take personal responsibility for the Gospel… It is where we say “I believe in the Power of the Gospel for salvation! I believe in the Power of the Gospel for Healing! I believe in thePower of the Gospel for transformation! I believe in the Power of the Gospel for changed lives!”
But… the Fast must be His, not ours!
What is His Fast?
6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
All of those things happen when WE bring the Gospel into people’s lives!
Fasting is meant to help us gain the Power to bring the Gospel into people’s lives, by declaring our NEED of God, and our DESIRE to see His Glory revealed in their lives!
Fasting is NOT about us!
Fasting for personal gain is not fasting at all!
True fasting is seeking God for others. It is about seeking God… for His Glory to be revealed to… and in… and for… others!
(communion)
Today, I do not want us to seek communion for our own sake...
I do not want us to receive communion with the mindset of “Lord, thank you for what you do for me.”
Today, we receive communion for God’s Glory… For His Kingdom’s sake… for His glory to be revealed to those who do not know Him.
Today, we receive communion with the mindset of “Lord, Thank You for what You do through me, for the sake of others… May it bring Glory to Your Name!”