What Matters

Jesus Served

Jesus came to earth not to beserved, but to be a servant of many.  As Jesus' followers our arm should be draped with a servant's towel as we seek to wash the feet of friend, neighbor, stranger and enemy alike.  Listen in to Ralph Mayhew to find out more...Download Jesus Served 

Jesus Studied (Two)

Jesus immersed himself in the scriptures of his day.  As we follow him, we should do the same.  In this message we explore how it is we should read the bible.  The central premise of the message is that we should read the bible as a dog chews a bone.  Listen in...Download Jesus Studied Two

Fasting: Sermon Notes

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit to the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.  He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 

(Luke 4: 1-2)

 

Fasting refers to abstaining from food for spiritual reasons. (Richard Foster)

 

Someone put it this way: Fasting is praying with your body. 

 

When we fast our appetite for food is subsumed by our appetite, our hunger for God.

 

Fasting has a long and varied history in biblical faith. Moses David, Elijah and Daniel all fasted. 

 

In Christian history, fasting has fallen both in and out of favor.

 

It was not Christ's intention to reject or despise fasting... it was his intention to restore proper fasting. (Martin Luther)

 

Some have exalted fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it.  (John Wesley)

 

But from the earliest days of the church, followers of Jesus fasted.  In the first and second centuries, an ancient teaching (The Didache) circulated amongst the churches.  Amongst other things it advocated for disciples to fast on Wednesday and Friday.  New converts were also required to fast for two days before baptism

 

Why should 21^st century Christians fast?

 

Very simply, we fast to worship God.   This is the same for any spiritual discipline we practice (prayer, study, service etc.)  We also fast because Jesus, our master and therefore model for our life fasted, and seemed to expect we would do the same (Matthew 6:16).

 

When we fast we acknowledge the fact that God exists, and that we are not Him!

 

As we fast we may experience:

·         Repentance before God

·         Deliverance through God

·         Discernment from God

 

Repentance before God

 

The ancient Israelites collectively fasted before God on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).  This was an expression of their sorrow and repentance for the sins they had committed.

 

King David fasted before God after he was confronted with his sin of adultery and murder by the prophet Nathan. 

 

I humbled my soul through fasting.  (Psalm 69:10)

 

Fasting surfaces things.  It brings to our attention things (sin) we attempt to bury and forget, but which cast a shadow over our lives.  As this occurs we are never far from grace, God’s free offer of forgiveness and restoration.

 

Deliverance through God

           

Around 450 BC many Jews lived in Persian exile.  At one point during this time one of the Persian king’s officials plotted to exterminate the Jews.  The king’s wife, Esther, was herself a Jew.  She was the Jewish people’s only (human) hope.  But she recognized she was not their ultimate hope.  When approached to plead with the king for deliverance, she offered an instruction.

 

Go gather together all the Jews who ate in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. (Esther 4:16)

 

Fasting can lead to deliverance from bondage, enslavement, chains that bind us – whatever they might be.

 

When you fast heaven fights for you. (Tertullian)

 

Bondage that cane be broken by God through fasting includes unhealthy appetites (addictions), bitterness and spiritual oppression/possession.

 

Discernment from God

 

Through the ages the church has discerned God’s leading through the discipline of fasting.

 

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." (Acts 13:2)

 

Dangers of Fasting

           

Fasting can easily become an empty ritual, robbed of any power.  It can distract us from the weightier things demanded of us by God:

 

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? (Isaiah 58: 6)

 

Fasting can also be offered with pride-filled legalism.

 

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting…But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father. (Matthew 6:16-18)

 

How do we fast?

 

As disciples of Jesus we live under grace, not law.  We therefore have enormous freedom when it comes to fasting.

 

Perhaps the most common fast in our day is a one-day fast where two meals are skipped (for example, breakfast and lunch).  During this time water, and perhaps fruit juice is consumed.

 

Longer fast are of course also possible, but should only be conducted after consultation with  health professional.

 

If we fast individually, we should do so quietly, humbly and prayerfully (Matthew 6:16-18).

 

Powerful times can be experienced in Christian community when we fast corporately – where we seek God together.

 

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:7-10)

Jesus Fasted

We live in a culture of appetite addiction.  We eat more, consume more, spend more; all in the desperate search for happiness.  That is why the spiritual discipline of fasting is such a counter-cultural practice. Jesus began his ministry with a fast.  He expects those who would follow him will fast as well.  Listen in to find out more...Download Jesus Fasted

Following the Rabbi

The intriguing question, 'What did Jesus do?' has been turned into a marketing phenomenon than it is a serious ethical inquiry.  Jesus did many remarkable things.  Over the next six weeks we will explore juts some of the habits that were core to his life, and which he calls us to imitate.  Listen in as we begin...Download Following the Rabbi