Fasting - 3/1/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

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with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

Matthew's Gospel, chapter number nine.

And uh we'll look there this morning.

Gonna deal with a thought here. Sunday

school and Sunday school primarily

teaching. So I'm going to try to do just

that this morning. I want you to stay

with me. I've had a lot of questions

asked about this and uh this subject I'm

going to be dealing with. And so we're

going to talk just a little bit about it

today. By no means is this an exhaustive

uh lesson on this subject, but really

just an overview uh thought here. And

we'll read just a couple verses here in

Matthew chapter 9. And uh what I really

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

wanted with Sunday school and we brought

that back to the church is I wanted it

to be a beneficial time of growth. And

preaching a lot of times is is preaching

to get a response out of uh the lost

telling them to come to Jesus or uh

maybe those who are saved and out of the

will of God to come back to Jesus. Uh

but teaching is a time of growth for

those of us who are saved and trying to

walk with God. And uh teaching is what's

going to get you from from here until

another day and until we come back. And

so we need to know more of his word. And

I appreciate you being faithful to be

here on Sunday mornings. And I will say

this, be praying if God would have you

to help with this class. And you men be

praying that God will give you

leadership on that. And uh because I

would love to have you have some help

with this. And so but until then, we'll

keep doing it. But I want to look here.

Matthew's Gospel chapter nine. I want to

read verse number 14. We'll start

reading in verse number 14.

I love this chapter. This chapter is is

slam full of all kinds of truths and uh

different uh different lessons that we

can learn. I'll be preaching from this

chapter in the 11:00 hour today and

you'll see why I use this text uh then.

But we're going to deal with this

subject of fasting. Notice verse 14,

Matthew chapter 9. The Bible says, "Then

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

came to him the disciples of John,

saying, why do we and the Pharisees fast

ofty

disciples fast not?" And Jesus said unto

them, "Can the children of the bride

chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom

is with them? But the days will come

when the bridegroom shall be taken from

them, and then shall they fast. No man

putth a piece of new cloth unto an old

garment. For that which is put in to

fill it up taketh from the garment, and

the ren is made worse. Neither do men

put new wine uh into old bottles, else

the bottles break, and the wine runth

out, and the bottles perish. But they

put new wine into new bottles and both

are preserved. Now, Father, I ask Lord,

as we try to teach this subject this

morning, I pray you give us wisdom, God,

I pray you'd enlighten our mind. Help us

remember what we've studied, Father. And

if there's anything, God, that maybe I

didn't see in my studies, Lord, that

needs to be uh brought to my remembrance

now. I pray you'd open my eyes to it.

And God, I ask you'd help us, Father, to

be faithful to heed this word and obey

uh Lord, as we listen this morning. God,

thank you for this ministry of fasting

in our life. Help us to uh employ it,

Father, and make use of it in these

days. God, I know uh that it will be

fruitful when we do it. So, Lord, I ask

you to help us. We'll thank you for it

because we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

This subject this morning is a touchy

subject uh amongst the ranks of of

Christianity. The reason being is it's

painful to the flesh. And and I was

thinking about this this morning,

looking over my notes for this this

chapter. I use this chapter uh mainly

because I'm leading up to a text that

I'll be preaching from in the 11:00

hour, but I felt led to deal with the

subject of fasting. Now, fasting was

introduced in the Old Testament. The

first time you find the word fast

mentioned uh on the along the lines of

fasting uh what it really means in the

scripture, you find the word fast before

that. But fast as it's used uh in this

terminology is found in the book of

Judges chapter number 20. And we'll turn

there in just a minute. But fasting is

simply this. When you look at it in

respect to the scriptures, it has to do

with the abstinence from food in order

to draw near unto God. Now, we know that

John the Baptist when he came on the

scene, the Bible says that he ate locust

and wild honey. And so, pretty much his

entire life was spent fasting. And

Jesus, our Lord, the Bible says that he

had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights uh

while he was being tempted of the devil.

And so, fasting is obviously a part of

the scripture. It's a part of the

apostles life. I'll say more about that

in just a minute. And it is profitable

for you and I today as the church of

God. Now, I will say this. There is not

a command to fast. But I'll say this,

it's just expected.

>> Amen.

>> It's just expect. You say, "How is

that?" Well, now listen to what Jesus

says in Matthew chapter 6 verse number

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

verse number 16. What's your Bible say?

That first phrase.

Moreover, when you fast, look what he

says in verse number 17. But thou when

thou fastest, verse number 18, that thou

appear not unto men to fast, but unto

thy father which is in secret, and thy

father which seeth in secret shall

reward thee openly. And so Jesus even

addresses this principle of fasting. And

so it's just expected. I'll say this,

it's expected. But I'll say this, when

you fast, you ought to fast out of

expectancy. All right? I say that to put

this in your mind. It's number one, it's

expected that you fast. But when you

fast, a fast is done not just as a

nonchalant thing in life. Well, I need

something from God, so I'm going to miss

a meal and uh just hope that it shows

up. No, when you fast, you need to be

expecting God to do what you're fasting

about.

>> That's what faith is. And fasting is

just a another step in this ministry.

And I'll say more about that in just a

minute. But back to our text, what Jesus

is dealing with here in Matthew chapter

number N. The disciples here of John

verse number 14 have come to Jesus and

they ask him this question. They say,

"Why do we and the Pharisees fast off

but thy disciples fast not?" Now, the

question that they're asking here is

almost an accusation. They're looking at

Jesus and looking at these disciples who

really to them are living a very easy

life with Jesus. Now, we know what

Christ's ministry was when he came to

this earth. John said that he'd come to

bring fire and he'll he'll thoroughly p

purge his his floor and he'll gather the

wheat into the garner and the chaff

shall be burned. And John had this image

in his mind that Jesus was going to be

just like him. But what do we know about

Jesus? He fasted in the wilderness and

then after that, what did he do? He went

out into the world and he began to work

miracles. What you see in this chapter,

there is his ministry of miracles.

There's like four or five miracles that

take place in this chapter alone. And

then there's the ministry of missions

that you find in this chapter. In

chapter number nine, in verse number 36,

Jesus when he saw the multitudes, he was

moved with compassion on them. And then

there's this message that he gives to

these men here in this text. See,

they're comparing themselves. And you

see the Pharisees and even John's

disciples, most of them, pretty much all

of them being Jews, they had this notion

in their mind that Jesus, that fasting

is what made them more spiritual. It was

the outward that brought spirituality in

their life. Let me say this, the outward

almost never is what spiritual is where

spirituality starts.

>> The outward is where spirituality ends.

It is the effect. It's not the cause.

Now notice this in the text verse 15 he

says Jesus said of them can the children

of the bride chamber mourn as long as

the bridegroom is with them. So he

mentions here in this text there's the

imagery of the Jewish wedding here. He

mentions the children of the bride

chamber. This has to do with the friends

of the bridegroom. These children of the

bride chamber would accompany that groom

as he would go under the bride's home to

bring her back unto himself. And this

was a time of rejoicing as these

children were walking about with the

groom. And isn't that the picture of the

Lord Jesus Christ in this text that

these disciples are accompanying him

trying to minister to the Jews. Isn't

that what this is? Notice chapter number

10 verse number one. And when he had

called unto him his 12 disciples, he

gave them power against unclean spirits

to cast them out to heal all manner of

sickness and all manner of disease.

Verse number five. These 12 Jesus sent

forth and commanded them, saying, "Go

not into the way of the Gentiles, and

into any city of the Samaritans, enter

you not." Listen to what he says. But go

rather to the lost sheep of the house of

Israel. The bridegroom is inviting his

people unto himself. And so the children

of the bride chamber here are these

disciples. And he says, "Can they mourn

as long as the bridegroom's with them?"

Jesus is right there with them in their

presence. He's with them, alongside of

them. Look what he says. Not only the

children, but there's the company. Verse

number 15, the bridegroom is present

with them. The time that this journey

would take place from the groom's home

to the time that he would get to his

wife's home to bring her unto himself

was a time of rejoicing. The children of

the bride chamber were what made this

journey special. They would rejoice

along with the groom as they traveled

along. But then you notice in verse 15,

he talks about the coming days. Look

what he says. The days will come when

the bridegroom shall be taken from them.

Now, what was he talking about? Well,

first of all, he was talking about the

cross. Amen. He would be taken from

them, but inevitably he was talking

about his ascension. The fact that Jesus

would not stay. He said, the Bible says

in verse 15, "And when the bridegroom

shall be taken from them, there's the

change." Look what he says. "Then shall

they fast." Now, the principle of

fasting here is is is presented. Verse

16. Notice the pattern here. He gives an

illustration. Verse 16 and 17. No man

putteth a piece of new cloth onto an old

garment, unto an old garment. For that

which is put in to fill it up taketh

from the garment, and the ren is made

worse. So the pattern here, verse 16,

verse 17, neither do men put new wine

into old bottles. Now number one, what

do you notice about that? All right, a

cloth uh this this garment. What is

that? That's an exterior item, is that's

a clothing. That's that's that's a a

vesture. That's a garment. Something

that's on the outside. What's this wine

bottle? What's a container?

As a garment is a covering. The bottle

is a container. Now, notice what he says

here in verse 16. So, there's the

pattern that's seen. It's an exterior

representation. But then there's the

problem that shows up. Look what he

says. No man putth a piece of new cloth

unto an old garment. Now, you know this

morning, if you've done any sewing at

all, that you can't take a new piece of

cloth and put it on an old garment and

expect it to stay.

>> Cuz here's what happens when the

pressure gets on on that thing and you

start pulling on it. What does it do?

That new piece is stronger than the old,

isn't it?

>> And so, what does it do? It begins to

pull apart the old. You say, "Well,

what's the imagery here?" I'll give you

that in just a minute. So, basically,

what that means is is that there's a

conjoining problem. The two cannot mix.

this mixture is not accepted. And so

it's that the problem is is when that

new garment is placed on, the new piece

of clo or that new cloth is placed on,

the new piece does not tear, but it

causes the old to tear in another place.

And let me say this, Christianity is not

a patching religion. You're

>> right.

>> Amen. Christianity is a fix it from the

ground up. Amen. Notice this verse 17.

I'll give you the imagery. Neither do

men put new wine into old bottles, else

the bottles break. Now you need to know

about the day and time which this was

written to understand this. The wine

bottles in this day time of course this

is unfermented wine. This new wine it

would just be pressed. It would just be

cleaned and placed into these bottles.

And these bottles were made out of skin.

And these skins they would be when you

you think about old bottles when that

wine would sit in there. I don't have a

specified amount of time. I tried to

find something on that. I couldn't find

anything about a a specific amount of

time. But for some time that wine would

sit in that bottle and as the bottle

itself would would transform, you know,

wine as it ferments, what does it do? It

grows. It expands and contracts. It's

much like the imagery of ice. If you put

a bottle of water in the freezer and if

it's in a glass bottle, Amen. You know

what's going to happen after a few days?

That bottle's going to bust, ain't it?

Well, this is the imagery in the

fermentation process. that preservation

of the wine. What would happen is if you

put new wine into an old bottle, that

bottle has set up already to the batch

that was in it before. And so when you

put that new wine in there, what would

happen? That fermentation process would

cause that old bottle to bust because of

the pressure.

Now notice the text, verse 17. And the

wine runth out. Notice notice that next

phrase. And the bottles what?

>> Perish. the bottle's destroyed. Now,

here's the imagery in this text. So, the

the the verse 16 deals with the the new

cloth on an old garment. That means

there's not a there cannot be a mixture.

These two cannot be conjoined. But then

there is the imagery in verse 17 of the

new wine and the old bottle. And there

is simply the truth that it cannot be

contained. You cannot put new wine into

an old bottle. You say, "Preacher, what

does that mean?" Well, here's what it

means.

This has to do with this the truth of

fasting. Fasting is a spiritual work.

Fasting is a a work of the spirit of God

on the heart of a believer. And what

you'll notice about fasting when you

find it in the word of God, it's always

done in conclusion with a presence of

the Holy Ghost. You go back to Judges

Judges 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20 and you'll find that very

same truth. Israel is fighting against

the Benjamites. Judges chapter 20. I've

Judges 20 · chapter mention

not got time to give you a lengthy

discourse on this, but the Benjamites

have done wickedly and withholding the

men of Giba. And so because of that,

Israel goes up to fight against them.

They go up once, God tells them to go.

18,000 of them die. They go up again,

God tells them to go, and 25,000 of them

die. And the third time they come to the

Lord and it says, "On that day, they

wept and fasted all day." Judges chapter

number 20 and verse 26, you can turn

there and read. They wept and fasted all

day. And after they fasted, God said,

"All right, it's time to go up. And this

time they they get victory."

That was the only difference that you

find in this text. They fasted and God

gave them the victory. It was the

presence of the Holy Spirit that gave

them the victory. That's what it was.

And so in this text, this this imagery

of the new cloth and an old garment, it

reminds you this is exterior. Now, so

this new cloth, all right, what happens

when a man gets saved? The Bible tells

us that, you know, if any man be in

Christ, he's a new creature. And the

Bible teaches us that our righteousness

is as what?

>> Filthy rags. But when we get saved, what

are we clothed with? The righteousness

of Christ.

>> To the lamb's bride, Revelation says she

was, it was granted unto her that she

should be clothed in fine linen, clean

and white. And so the exterior here the

emphasis is this. All right. The Jew the

Jews and the disciples of John were only

interested in an exterior work. But you

see fasting is a deeper matter than

that.

>> Right?

>> Fasting is not just an outward

expression. But fasting is an inward

desire to draw near to God. And when he

says no man putth a piece of new cloth

onto an old garment, he's saying this.

Fasting is a work for people who are

saved.

>> Right? But these disciples do not have

the Holy Ghost yet.

You say, "How is that, preacher?" Well,

the Bible says that Jesus breathed on

them in the upper room. That's not

happened yet.

>> Right?

>> Holy Spirit's not took up residence on

the inside. And furthermore, Jesus is

present with them.

>> Right?

>> Fasting is a desire to draw near to God.

And how why do they need to draw near to

God if God's right beside them?

>> You're right.

>> You say, "What is the emphasis of that?"

Well, notice it again. No man putteth a

piece of new cloth onto an old garment.

Jesus says they are not ready to fast.

Here's what happens. All right, this is

what I've had happen in our even in our

church. I have people who come into our

church and and they do not they've not

read their Bible. Uh they don't have a

prayer life. They don't really know God.

I'm not really even sure if they're

saved, but they want to ask me about

fasting.

And here's the truth about it. It's a

distraction.

Come on.

>> Fasting is a work of the flesh.

>> Come on.

>> In their mind. Well, I want to draw near

to God. And so the Bible I what I I've

been told that if I fast, I can draw

near to God. No. The first thing you

need to do is get saved,

>> right?

>> Amen. You say, "What is it?" Well,

salvation's the number one prerequis

prerequisite for fasting.

>> You can't draw near to somebody with

whom you have no relationship.

>> Right?

And so there's the the principle

salvation number one is primarily and

then you must be spiritfilled. Notice it

again in the text. No man putth a old go

a piece of new cloth onto an old garment

because it tears it. You cannot put

religious works. Here what I'm saying.

All right. You cannot put the works of

Christianity on somebody who is saved

and expect them to make it. You're

>> right. You can't put somebody who's not

saved uh in a Sunday school class and

allow them to teach and then not end up

destroying themselves or everybody

that's listening to them. You're

>> right.

>> You cannot put somebody on a mission

field who is not saved and try to make

them do the work of God. Here's what

happens. I've seen it time and time

again. Children come into the church and

their parents are so eager for them to

serve God and do for God and live for

God. So, they force them into doing

things for God. But here's what happens.

It comes out to their own destruction.

You're right.

>> Because they've never been saved.

>> You're right.

>> Salvation is the prerequisite. You

cannot put spiritual works. You cannot

put a new piece of cloth on an old

garment.

Notice the text. Verse 17. Neither do

men put new wine into old bottles. Now,

that wine there's an imagery of the joy

of the Holy Ghost. So, think about this.

This is an even better picture in this

text. You say, "Well, what is that?"

Well, think about this truth with me for

just a minute. They're a they're trying

to place a work, all right? They're

trying to place a work of the spirit of

God on these men who just have Jesus

around them, but salvation is not in

them at this present time. All right?

The Holy Ghost is not within them.

Salvation is with them. Jesus has saved

them. I know there's a lot of different

truths about all this. They're saved.

Amen. But the Holy Ghost of God's not

taking up residence in their heart.

Jesus is with them. See that with me?

All right. Jesus is with them. And so

while he's near them, they do not need

they do not need to be fasting to draw

near because he is near them. And so

what this means is when he says they you

cannot put wine into old bottles, else

the bottles break and the wine runth

out. You see that? That work is not

going to change. The wine runth out. But

look what the law says. What what did

your Bible say again? The bottles what?

Perish.

The container perishes.

So here's what happens. All right. You

cannot put the pressure of Christianity

on somebody who is not a Christian.

That's about as simple as I know how to

put it. You're

>> right.

>> Prescribing religious works on the

unregenerate man brings sure and

imminent destruction. Let me say this.

There must be regeneration of the soul

for there to be a rendering of the

spirit of God.

>> Right?

>> In order for the presence of God to take

take up residence in the heart of

somebody, they first have to be saved.

>> Right?

>> You say, "Well, I thought that's what

salvation is." And it is. It all happens

at the same time. But without

repentance, there is no regeneration.

And without regeneration, there is no

filling of the Holy Ghost.

You got to clean the vessel out before

the vessel can be filled. You're

>> right.

>> So, the imagery here in the text is that

this work is not to be put on. It's not

to be pressured on these men

who otherwise this work's not needed in

their life. Now, let me say this, all

right, about this text. Now, the Jews,

they're all about the exterior.

And another side of this that you can

see through these verses is that they're

trying to mix make a mixture between law

and grace.

Let me say this. Law and grace are not

the same thing.

>> Jesus came to fulfill the law in order

that he might provide grace. Bible said

in John chapter one, the law came by

Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus

Christ. And so Jesus came to fulfill the

law, but he came to go beyond that and

provide a way that we might be delivered

from the condemnation of the law. And

what these men wanted to do was place

their law on Jesus disciples.

You say, "Well, what's the truth of

this?" Their fasting was fruitless.

>> Think about this. Jesus is right there.

Why are they fasting?

These disciples of John, yes, it was

good that they followed John, but it

wasn't their time. They weren't supposed

to be following John no more. Jesus was

there. John was the forerunner of

Christ. But when Jesus showed up, John

said, "Behold the lamb of God." But you

know what the problem was? There was a

group of men. Even all the way into the

book of Acts, you find the followers of

John that did not follow Christ. And so

what is it? Their fasting was fruitless.

Salvation is a prerequisite. Being

spiritfilled is a prerequisite. But I'll

say this. All right? You've got to be

sanctified.

>> Amen.

>> To fast.

You say, "What is that, preacher? I

thought fasting is a sanctifying work.

Well, it is. But here's the truth. All

right. If you got sin in your life, let

me let me just illustrate it this way.

All right.

If you are presently

committing some sort of sin, if if it's

adultery, lying, whatever it is, it

doesn't it doesn't matter what type of

sin it is. Just fasting from food,

stopping eating, but continuing on in

that lifestyle is not going to get you

anything.

>> You're right.

Fasting is more than just food.

>> Fasting is an emptying out of your heart

to God. You're

>> right.

>> Completely.

>> Let me say this. There's a lot more to

fast from in this day and time than

there was when this was written.

>> You're right.

>> Now, I'm going to give you the truths

about the New Testament fasting. I got

just a few minutes here to talk about

this. Number one, I'd say new fasting in

the New Testament is not commanded. I'll

say it again. It's expected. All right?

It's expected.

What do we fast for? Well, the Bible

teaches us that we're to draw near to

God. When you think about the truth of

fasting, the first time it's seen in the

word of God, the the first time

terminology is used in the book of

Judges is in the book book of Judges

Judges 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20. But the first time the

principle of fasting is seen is in

Leviticus 23. Now listen to what

Leviticus 23 says.

Leviticus chapter 23. This is the only

Leviticus 23 · chapter mention

law that's given

in the Bible. You can mark put this in

your margin. Leviticus 23 verse number

27.

It's the day of atonement.

Now listen to what Moses says here. Also

on the 10th day of this seventh month,

there shall be a day of atonement. It

shall be a holy convocation unto you,

and ye shall afflict your souls, and

offer an offering made by fire unto the

Lord. Notice the terminology. Ye shall

afflict your souls. Verse 28, ye shall

do no work in that same day, for it is a

day of atonement, to make an atonement

for you before the Lord your God. For

whatsoever so it be that shall not be

afflicted in that same day, shall be cut

off from among his people. And

whatsoever so it be that doeth any work

in that same day, the same soul will I

destroy from among his people, you shall

do no manner of work. It shall be a

statute forever throughout your

generations and all your dwellings. It

shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and

ye shall afflict your souls. Now, what

does that mean? What does it mean to

afflict your souls? This is what that

means. It means to to take your flesh

and put it in the pressure cooker,

>> right?

That soul is that inward seat of being

and who you are. Now, you're saved.

Okay? We we realize that this morning.

And when we're we're looking at this law

as a whole, the ceremonial idea of the

of the this dedication here, we don't

follow that. Okay? We realize that. But

the application is the same. It's a

drawing near to God.

It's coming to him. You say, "Well,

where do you see that in the New

Testament?" The illustration is seen

clearly. Acts chapter 13.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

I encourage you to write all these down.

These are these this will teach you what

fasting is. And like I said, this is

just ver very basic overview. It's

nothing deep.

Acts 13:2

Acts 13:2

Let's look at verse one. Acts 13:1. Now

Acts 13:1

there were in the church that was

Antioch certain prophets and teachers as

Barnabas and Simeon that was called

Niger and Lucius ofSirene and Manan

which had been brought up with Herod the

tetrarch and Saul. Verse two and they

ministered to the Lord and fasted. The

Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas

and Saul for the work where to I have

called them." Verse three. And when they

had fasted and prayed, they laid their

hands on them. And laid their hands on

them, they sent them away.

So here's what fasting is for. It's for

the work of the ministry.

And what are they doing in this text?

They're drawing near to God so they know

where they're headed to next.

>> Let me say this. Fasting is a painful

thing. You say, "How is that?" Well,

pretty much the only other context that

you have of fasting, there's another,

uh, group that's given here, uh, chapter

number, let's see here.

Let me get my other verse here. I wrote

it down in my notes over on this other

page.

Matthew chapter 9,

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

Acts 14 verse 23.

Acts 14:23

And when they had ordained them elders

in every church and had prayed with

fasting, they commended them to the Lord

on whom they believed. So they're

sending out elders, missionaries,

preachers fasting for the sending out.

Now listen to what Paul says about

fasting. And I said this already, but

fasting is a grievous thing. Listen to

what he says. 2 Corinthians 6

verse number five.

Listen what he says. 2 Corinthians 6

verse number or verse number four.

Notice this. But in all things approving

ourselves as the ministers of God in

much patience, in afflictions, in

necessities, in distresses. Now all of

this is things he's suffering for the

cause of Christ. Now notice that again.

Much patience, afflictions, necessities,

distresses, strikes, imprisonments. All

of this stuff he's going through for the

ministry. Verse 5. in two months, in

labors, in watchings, in what?

Fastings,

by puress, by knowledge, by

longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy

Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of

truth, by the power of God, by the armor

of righteousness on the right hand, on

the left. And what he's saying is is

this is what vindicates our ministry.

This is who we are. Notice that verse

four, but in all things approving

ourselves as the ministers of God. And

then he lists them in in in in

all of these things. Approve who we are

as ministers.

Notice what he says in second

Corinthians chapter number 11

verse number

chap. Let me see and get my right verse

here.

Chapter number 11 verse number

here it is verse 23 again again same

same same truth are they ministers of

Christ I speak as a fool I more in

labors more abundant in stripes above

measure in prisons more frequent in

deaths off of the Jews five times

received I 40 stripes save one thrice

was I beaten with rods once was I stoned

thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and

a day I've been in the deep, in

journeyings often in perils of waters,

in perils of robbers, in perils by my

own countrymen, in perils by the

heathen, in perils in the city, in

perils in the wilderness, in perils in

the sea, in perils among false brethren.

Notice verse 27. in weariness and

painfulness, in watchings often, in

hunger and thirst, in fastings often,

in cold and nakedness. Verse 28, beside

those things that are without, that

which cometh upon me daily, the care of

all the churches.

You say, what's your emphasis of saying

that? Paul lists all of the afflictions

and all of the struggles that he faces

in the ministry with fasting.

Fasting is not a joyous thing. If

somebody's really fasting, you're not

going to know about it.

>> You're right.

>> You're not going to know about it.

That's why Jesus said in Matthew chapter

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

6, he said, "When you fast, don't be as

the Pharisees. They disfigure their

faces." What was he talking about? He

said, "They make themselves look like

they're fasting." Most of the time,

they're really not. All they want is the

praise of men,

exalting their facade of holiness.

If somebody's fasting, you're not going

to know about it.

>> You'll see it in other places, but not

always. You see, because fasting is not

for the glory of men. You say,

"Preacher, why should we fast?" Simply

simply this, because you want something

from God.

>> That's right.

>> This is why fasting doesn't happen much.

I I'm ashamed to admit I've not fasted

as much as I should have down through

the years and these beginning years of

ministry, but but I I'll say this about

it. We just don't want it bad enough.

>> You're right.

>> We got revival coming up. And I preached

this today for this reason. I'm going to

be dealing with subjects over the next

coming weeks. Going to deal I dealt with

this today. Going to deal with some

others coming up. Just subjects

throughout the scripture. And uh reason

I brought this up today is I really

believe this works.

You say you just believe it works. I

know it works. I've seen it work. I've

watched it work. And here's what I want

to pose to you this morning. We're the

This is the Sunday school crowd. The

faithful group. These are the ones that

read your Bible and pray and live for

God the best that you know how. This is

what I want to ask you, okay? Would you

commit to fast

one day?

You say, "What do I need to do in that

fasting?" Well, it's not just missing

all three meals for one day.

>> This is what fasting is. It's taking

that time when you would otherwise be

eating and praying.

>> Right?

>> That's what fasting is from the

scripture. You notice in Paul's, you can

look back those texts 2 Corinthians 6, 2

Corinthians 11, he mentions the term

watching alongside of fasting. It's

right there close. What does that mean?

Well, prayer is what that is. That

watching as you watch and pray lest you

enter into that's what Jesus said. The

spirit indeed is willing but the flesh

is weak. So what you're doing is when

you fast you're saying Lord I need this

more than the only thing that can make

me physically survive.

>> Right?

>> You can't live long without food. But

I'll tell you this. You can't live at

all without God.

>> That's right.

>> This I want to ask you this morning. If

everybody in this room fasted one day

for meeting coming up this month, it

would blow your mind what God would do.

You say, "You really believe that?" I

don't just believe, I know it

because it's scriptural. And that's the

reason why I want to put this out to you

today. All right? And let me say this.

If you're not saved, you can't do it.

If you're not spiritfilled,

you can't do it.

You got to make sure that you're right

with God

>> before you decide to do that. I I

churches I I'll say this on and you can

turn that off, brother. That live

stream.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.