Practicing the Way - Fasting

So, in his name we pray. Amen.

So, we're in a series called practicing

the way and the whole point of the

series is to apprentice under Jesus.

That means that we don't just learn what

the master learns, we become who the

master is. And in order to do that, we

have to know the things that Jesus

valued and the practices that were a

part of his life that he taught to his

disciples and we need to put those

practices

into place in our life even if it's a

practice that may not fit into our

modern modern culture as much as some of

the others. So, we started out talking

about the the practice of Sabbath. This

is the practice of stopping. We stop, we

rest, we delight in the work that we

just did, and we worship Jesus. And then

we talked about the practice of prayer.

That's that's what you do when you stop.

Otherwise, you wouldn't really, you

know, know what to do, right? So, you've

stopped and and you're resting. So, what

do you do with this new restful time?

Well, part of it you should be engaged

in prayer. And prayer, as we learned

from Jesus, is bringing our real

everyday needs into the throne room of

our heavenly Father who loves us and

cares for us.

Jesus says, "Hey, you can ask him for

your daily bread." That's your daily

provision. You can ask him for

forgiveness. You can ask him to help you

with temptation that you're under right

now and also future temptation that you

know you might be leaning toward in the

future. And this week we're going to

talk about a way to pray that is not

just our our words. It's not just our

heart. It's not just our mind. It

involves our appetites, which I know can

be uncomfortable at 11:30

on a on a Sunday when you're probably

thinking about where you're going to go

for lunch. So, we're going to talk about

the practice of fasting. The practice of

fasting. And some of you, I get it,

you're like, "Hey, I was with you on

Sabbath. I was with you on the whole

prayer thing, but now you're messing

with my Bojangles biscuits and I'm not

going to

them Bojangles biscuits are calling my

name. So, Pastor, tread lightly. Um I

won't. Sorry. Um

but I'm going to tell you this, it's

worth it. Okay? So, just stay with me,

focus in on this practice. I promise

it'll be worth it because what you're

going to discover is as you fast is your

need for Jesus. Cuz there's few things

in your life that are going to be more

honest with you than your stomach. Okay?

And so, as you learn what your stomach

it does, you can actually learn to

um

to to grow in your relationship with

with Jesus. Now, for some of you,

skipping a meal sounds inconvenient, no

big deal.

For other people in this room, skipping

a meal comes with a lot of fear. Maybe

you grew up in a household where you

didn't have a lot of food in the house.

And so, skipping a meal just seems so so

scary to you. I want you to know that

that's natural and that's real and

that's honest and that's where Jesus

wants you to be because food carries

with it memories. It carries with it

comfort. It can carry with it stress if

you didn't have enough of it. And it

carries with it family traditions,

thinking about like Thanksgiving meals

and Christmas meals and all those kinds

of things. So, food plays a huge part in

our lives and should be treated as an

important practice. And so, I'm going to

tread gently on this practice because

Jesus never asks us to ignore our

physical limitations, but he does

command us to explore fasting as part of

our prayer life because it reveals our

honest need for God. And so, if you

would meet me in Matthew chapter 6 verse

Matthew 6:16

16. Matthew chapter 6 verse 16.

Matthew 6:16

And as we read this, I want you to

understand these are the words of our

Rabbi. These are the words of our

savior. These are the words of Jesus to

his disciples in Matthew chapter 6 verse

Matthew 6:16

16.

He says, "Whenever you fast, don't be

gloomy like the hypocrites, for they

disfigure their faces so that their

fasting is obvious to people." So, these

are the people that would post about

their fast on social media, okay?

"Truly, I tell you, they have their

reward." Okay, so they're going to get

the sympathy they're looking for.

"But when you fast, pour 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."

So, Jesus first of all says, "Whenever

you fast." This is an expectation for

followers of Jesus. This is not

something that like high-level

Christians work their way up to. This is

a part of daily

not daily, but this is a part of your

regular prayer life, it should be. And

so, he speaks as though this is going to

be part of his disciples' lives, and it

did become a part of their lives. Now,

notice where his concern lands. He he

doesn't want people to advertise how

hungry they are. He says, "Wash your

face, you know, make sure that people

don't know that you're fasting and just

kind of go about your day." So, in other

words, if your fast needs a press

release, then you're missing the point

of the fast.

Jesus says, "Your father is going to see

things in secret."

We know that about God. He sees past all

the the fake hypocrisy that we bring

into a lot of context. He sees past all

the veneer on the outside. He sees

directly into our hearts. He knows

exactly what's going on. So, nothing is

done in secret from our Father God. And

God is the audience that matters the

most, especially during a fast.

So, this fast connects with our prayer

sermon from last week. We learned about

how prayer and and now fasting connect

us to the will of our heavenly Father

who loves us and sees us and hears us

and knows everything about us. But

please understand this. Fasting is not a

fast pass lane to blessing. It's not

like you don't just get to cut in front

of all these other Christians if you

start to to fast um

to get God's attention because God loves

you perfectly. This is not something we

do to earn the favor of God. But when we

set aside food for a time and focus our

attention toward Jesus,

then we are actually practicing giving

our attention to him.

So think about it that way. You're not

trying to earn God's attention. He's not

like, "Whoa, they're fasting. You guys,

be quiet. I'm listening to this guy."

No, that's not how it works.

Fasting allows us to give more attention

to him, not him to give more attention

to us.

So we got to be careful with this

because some super devout Christians

have a spiritual gift of turning

spiritual disciplines into some kind of

a competition. Um they who can read the

most of their Bible and how quickly can

they read it? How many days in a row can

you go by, you know, praying or or

sometimes it's how long can you go

without having a sandwich? So we got to

be careful that we don't announce our

fast and we don't make it a competition.

We do this in private because we do this

in the name of Jesus. Now I'm going to

uh tell you a few uh nuances about that

later on. But here's a little litmus

test right off the bat to see if this is

if fasting is being done for the right

reason. And the question is, would you

still choose this practice if no one

knew that you did?

Would you still choose to fast if no one

on Earth knew that you were fasting?

So what does fasting do? Well, it

encourages our our soul to speak. A

biblical fasting is choosing for a time

to abstain from food. Not water, but but

food. Now some people they they say,

"Well, I'm fasting from my phone." Or,

"I'm fasting from social media." And And

those those are fasts, um but they're

more of just a form of abstaining from

something for a time. If we're talking

about the biblical definition of

fasting, it always involves food. And

food is highlighted throughout the

Bible. Jesus ate meals with with people.

He created core memories with his loved

ones over the dinner table. And if you

read the Old Testament, it was festival

after festival that was commanded by God

that it that his people would get

together and celebrate with a meal,

celebrate their community, and celebrate

their God. So, food is a core component

of the Bible. And so, I'm really happy

that God is not canceling barbecue

plates, okay? Um he he doesn't ask us to

do that. Food is a a gift. We gather

around it. We celebrate it. And we thank

God for it. But when we set it aside for

a little while, you know what happens?

We we start to notice how much we depend

on it.

When you set food aside, you start to

notice how much you depend on it.

See, hunger gains your attention. And it

gives you a chance to turn that

attention to your Father God.

Now, think about it. Jesus knew what it

was like to be hungry.

When he started his ministry at around

30 years old, he immediately went into a

lot of seasons of of poverty. But one of

the most

fascinating times that we read about

Jesus being hungry comes from Matthew

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4. So So, Jesus had been

baptized

by John the Baptist. And as soon as he

gets out of the baptismal waters, the

Holy Spirit uh comes down to him and

leads him into the wilderness where he

fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. And at

the height of his fast, when he was the

the famished, the devil himself, not

some lackey spiritual being, but the

devil himself, Lucifer Satan, met Jesus

in the wilderness and tempt him tempted

him. Look at Matthew chapter 4 verse 1.

Matthew 4:1

Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into

the wilderness to be tempted by the

devil. And after he had fasted 40 days

and 40 nights, he was hungry. Duh. Uh

then the tempter I I don't think that

part needed to be in there, but um

then the tempter approached him and

said, that's the devil. If you are the

son of God, then tell these stones to

become bread. And Jesus answered him, it

is written. You know what that means?

It's in the Bible. It is written. It's

in the word of God. Jesus is quoting

scripture. He says, it is written, man

must not live on bread alone, but every

word that comes from the mouth of God.

All right. So, Jesus was hungry. The son

of God had a body. He felt temptation.

He felt pain, and he felt hunger. And

his body was telling him, you need food.

And in the moment where he needed food

the most, the devil came in and tempted

him to turn these stones into bread,

which Jesus could have done.

But instead, Jesus tells the devil what

the Bible says, and that's that human

life needs more than bread.

We need the presence of God, and we need

the word of God.

Now, most of us are not going to find

this out in some dramatic desert

showdown with the devil. Okay? If you

do, please tell me about it. I'd love to

hear that story. Um but that's not

that's not the typical way that we find

out about our our need.

Where we find out about our need is when

the refrigerator

starts calling our name in the middle of

a fast, right? It's when we're fasting

from food and and and we see the

refrigerator and it's got the food in

it, but we're we're fasting for a time

of prayer. And in that moment we're

like, "Father, I need food."

But it gives you a chance to say what

Jesus said. "But I need you more than I

need what's inside that refrigerator."

Look, fasting is not magic. It's not It

doesn't make you holy. Uh in fact, it

can make you pleasant and unkind. And

you know who you are. Um

I've been on trips with you. Uh I've

seen it firsthand. No, anyway. Uh but

but but if I pause

instead of immediately obey my appetite

then I can actually start to notice

what's really going on inside of me.

See, what we do is we lean on food to

provide things for us that God can

provide in an even better way. So, we

rely on food to relieve boredom.

My my wife used to say this when I was

trying to diet and stuff and and trying

to get in shape and everything. She

would give me some pointers and she'd

say, "Look, you're not hungry. You're

bored." So, go find something to do and

you'll realize you're not not hungry.

So, food actually we turn to it to

relieve boredom. Uh we turn to it to

relieve stress.

You know, I can tell you there's a bunch

of deacons meetings where I go to Dairy

Queen and get a peanut buster parfait

right after that meeting because I'm so

stressed out by those guys. Like um

true stories. Um

But you've probably been there, too.

Like food can comfort you. It's like,

"Oh man, when you got a peanut buster

parfait, you're good, right?" Like it

just lowers your stress or or or

provides you you with comfort. Maybe you

grew up in a household where you weren't

sure that you were going to have some

food to eat that day. And now and you

know, you have a job and a house and you

have the ability to have food in the

house. And so, food is like just seeing

the food in the pantry is such a great

comfort for you because you know, you

know what it's like to open those doors

and not see anything in there.

So, hunger becomes a reminder to pray.

It's a It's a reminder that we need more

than bread alone to survive. It's a

reminder that that God's word and God's

presence are so much better than

anything else in this world. And when

you fast, it reveals this deeper hunger.

And friends, this is the part I don't

understand. I I can't give you a

scientific reason that this happens, but

I can tell you for a fact that when

you're fasting and you get hungry, it

shows you deeper longings that you maybe

you haven't thought about in years.

Like like maybe you're hungry for

reassurance because you've been carrying

around a lot of fear. Or maybe you're

hungry for control because some some

things in your life caused you to be

uncertain about the future. Or maybe

you're just you just want a little bit

of relief because you've been working so

hard and burning the candle at both ends

that you're about ready to collapse.

Fasting helps us notice our needs, so

then we can bring those needs to Jesus.

Because when the the ordinary escape

route is closed for a little while, it

forces us to start to hear what our soul

is actually trying to say to us.

But fasting is about more than just

food. Let's look at Mark chapter 2 now.

Mark 2 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 2 and we're going to go to

Mark 2 · chapter mention

verse 18.

It says, "Now John's disciples

and the Pharisees were fasting.

And people came to Jesus and they asked

him, 'Why do John's disciples and the

Pharisees' disciples fast, but your

disciples, Jesus, do not fast?'"

And Jesus said to them, "The wedding

guests cannot fast while the groom is

with them, can they?

As long as they have the groom with

them, they cannot fast, but the time

will come when the groom will be taken

away from them, and then on that day

they will fast.

Jesus is comparing himself to a groom at

a wedding. And when you're hanging out

with the groom on his wedding day, you

don't fast, you celebrate. Can you

imagine going to a wedding and and

walking up to the bride and groom at the

reception and grabbing the microphone

and announcing, "Hey, I'm going to go be

the hangry guy in the corner while you

guys eat wedding cake, okay? Bye." And

then just go and scowl at people while

they're trying to have a good time. You

would never do that, right? Because

you're in the presence of the bride

and the groom. They're going to ask you

to leave the premises.

But Jesus says, "While the groom is

here, while Jesus walked with his

disciples, the bread in the presence of

God, the word of God in the presence of

God, and the sustenance of God was right

there with the disciples, and so there

was no need to fast."

It was a time of celebration.

Our savior Jesus is here, but

he would soon be taken away.

He would die on a cross and rise from

the dead, and then he would ascend back

into heaven and leave us the Holy

Spirit. And so what Jesus is talking

about is this in-between time.

Jesus reigns on his throne, but he has

not yet established his kingdom on

earth. And so we are living in the

in-between

of Jesus' reign and his rule.

And he's saying during that time, when

he is gone back to heaven, one of the

greatest things that the Christians can

do is to join their heart and soul with

their stomach and prayer and fast until

the day that they see Jesus again. See,

Christian fasting carries with it a

longing to see Jesus.

It's connected somehow spiritually. When

you fast, you're saying, "I I long to be

in the presence of Jesus. I want my

savior to return." You're not trying to

twist the arm of God. What you're saying

with literally your entire body is that

Jesus, I want more of your presence

today.

I want more of you today. I'm willing to

go without food so I can focus on you

because you are what I need today.

Romans chapter 12, Paul talks about how

Romans 12 · chapter mention

we worship with our entire body.

It's not just your voice or your mind,

it's not just your heart, it's your

entire body that worships God.

So, fasting is just this powerful way of

saying, "Lord, all of me is here and I

want to connect with you."

I mean, just think about how much of

your day is lived on autopilot.

You just you reach for a snack while

you're answering a text or you open a

pantry and you you stare into it and you

close it and then you hope like 10

minutes later something new has appeared

in the pantry. So, you go back and you

look again, you're like, "Uh-uh."

It never happens, right? There's never

anything new.

Look, there's nothing wrong with the

snack. Like I said before, food is a

part of the celebratory pattern of being

a Christian. It's not just a Baptist

thing, it's a Christian thing. And so,

what it what it does do though is it

interrupts the desire that everything

has to be handed to us immediately.

In a microwave culture where we expect

the food to be done like that,

it makes us pause when we're fasting and

realize that's not how life works and

often that's not unfortunately how God

works.

Cuz we want it now, but he might want us

to wait.

See, this this fasting gives you this

tiny space to instead of opening the

cabinet, you get this opportunity to ask

God, "Well, what is it that I'm really

longing for?"

It's not the it's not the Oreos.

It's the meaning, the value, the

purpose, the joy, the comfort. It's It's

undeniable victory. It's certainty. It's

love and it's grace and it's mercy.

These are the things I want, not the

Oreos, but deep down, these are the

things that I'm longing for. And if

you've had a hard day, sometimes it's

like, you know, not even chicken wings

are going to make today better. They're

just not. So, fasting reminds me to

remember that Jesus is the Lord of my

bad days as well. And even when food

won't fix it, Jesus can.

It reminds me that Jesus is always

working something good even in the bad

if I just simply turn my life over to

him.

See, spiritual maturity is not measured

in how many meals you skip, but it is

measured in what you do when you skip

the meal, which brings me to my last

point.

Fasting redirects your hunger into

prayer. We're going to be in Acts

Acts 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13.

Fasting redirects your hunger into

prayer. So, in scripture, people fast

for more than one reason. Sometimes they

fast as a regular rhythm of life, and

that's what I do. That's my practice. I

skip a breakfast and a lunch once per

week

as a part of my regular rhythm of life.

And now, some people fast in response to

a moment that feels too heavy for them

to carry. So, some people just they

don't fast, but then this thing happens

and they're like, this is too big for

me.

So, what do I do? I can pray about it,

but I can also fast and pray about it.

And so, they would begin their fast.

Sometimes it's a an important decision

that people have to make. I know friends

of mine that before they decided to get

engaged, they they took a time, both of

them, and they went and they prayed and

they fasted before they came to the

engagement. So, sometimes it's an

important decision.

In Acts chapter 13,

Acts 13 · chapter mention

we studied this recently. It says, as

they, that's the the first church, the

first Christian church, as they were

worshipping

the Lord And as they were fasting, the

Holy Spirit said, "Set apart Barnabas

and Saul for the work which I have

called them." Then after they had fasted

and prayed, they laid hands on them, and

they sent them off.

So, they were fasting and praying, and

what did that do? That encouraged the

spirit of God to come into their their

their midst and speak a very specific

mission to them. This is the first

Christian missionary journey ever. And

so, the Holy Spirit is telling this

first church, "Hey, it's time for you to

go and make other churches, to spread

the good news, and I'm choosing these

two guys." And so, in order to before

they send them off, they fasted and they

prayed and they laid hands on them.

Because sometimes prayer just isn't

enough. Sometimes we prayed the same

prayer 50 times for 50 straight days,

and we don't know what else to say. Uh

but the situation is too complicated and

painful, and it's beyond our control.

So, what fasting does is it lets our

body join our heart and our mind in

prayer. It it teaches us honest

dependence upon God. It's our way of

saying, "God, look, this decision, this

struggle, this this matters enough for

me to bring my whole body to you."

Not just my prayer life, but my entire

being to you.

It's about your love for God, but it's

also about your love

for your neighbor.

See See, when I skip a meal, sometimes I

focus completely on somebody else that

needs prayer, that needs a break, that

needs relief from that that stronghold

that Satan has on them, or that needs

clarity about a big decision, [snorts]

or needs healing. It allows you to to

focus your energy and your prayer life

on that person with your entire body.

So, here's our application. Hopefully,

you'll put this into practice this week

as long along with your your resting and

your Sabbath and your stopping and your

praying. I would hope that maybe you

could find a

a place also for

fasting. So, let me first of all say

this, fasting is not safe for everyone.

I am not a medical doctor, nor am I a

dietitian. And so, I would encourage you

before you fast, if you have any inkling

that this might not be healthy for you,

to go and talk to a medical professional

and seek their opinion before you start

the fast. And if you find out that

fasting is not something that you can

physically do, it does not mean that you

are a second-rate Christian, okay? What

what you can do is you can do the other

fast. You can fast from social media, or

fast from your phone, or fast from some

other habit that takes up a large part

of your week. You can fast from that and

focus your energy on prayer. But, for

those who can fast safely, this is

something that God says that we need to

regularly do. And so, we're going to

begin small. Remember the words of John

Mark Comer, he says, "Start where you

are, not where you think you should be."

Okay? So, start where you are, and if

that means choosing one small meal a

day,

one time per week to fast, then start

there.

Don't try the 40 days and 40 nights

right off the bat, okay? Look,

hey,

Jesus also walked on water, okay? So,

maybe we shouldn't go to that level

right off Hey, if the Lord tells you to

do it, but I'm just saying, maybe maybe

we should start with lunch on Tuesday

before we start with the 40 days. But,

you can work your way up. Now, the key

is the key to this practice is making

sure that you decide what you're going

to do with that time before you actually

fast. Otherwise, you're just going to be

thinking about the meal that you

skipped.

So, so make sure you you write down,

"This is what I'm going to do. This is

what I'm going to focus on. When I feel

hungry,

I'm going to do these things." And maybe

it's read your Bible, maybe it's pray

for people in need,

maybe it's pray for people you know are

are far from the Lord, or they're

hurting.

Um, just basically tell God what your

hunger is revealing as you you pray and

focus your energy in that direction. So,

you could even ask a partner to join you

in the fast. We see that in scripture as

well. Not only does that provide

accountability when you fast together,

but it also uh shows you that, "Hey,

we're here for each other." And you have

that person that you can go to and uh

get encouragement from when you need it.

Um in Acts, we see that that God

encouraged the entire church to pray

together. So, if you would like to join

me on my fast, I fast on Fridays from

breakfast and lunch. I call it my Friday

fast, okay? And so, if you would like to

join me in that fast, um what I

typically do is I pray for our church,

uh for the future of the church, for the

direction of the church, for the leaders

of the church, for the families that

represent the members of this church

body. Uh sometimes there's a special

need that pops up, and so I'll add that

to it. But most of the time, that's what

my Fridays are all about. I focus on

that. Um

and if you do invite me out to eat for

lunch on Friday, I will go with you and

I will eat cuz I don't want to make a

big deal of my fast, all right? Cuz some

of you are like, "Wait a minute.

>> [laughter]

>> We've been to El Borrego on Friday, bro.

I know you're not fast."

Okay, so

try to keep things in secret, but I felt

led in this sermon to kind of share that

that part of my my prayer life because

we do see that in Acts. The entire

church was fasting and praying, and then

God gave them a mission. Let's pray for

for Barnabas. Let's pray for Paul. And

so, the whole church was fasting and

praying in that direction. So, there is

biblical precedent for that. So, that's

what we're practicing this week. We're

learning how to fast. So, remember, food

is good.

The table is a gift.

The bread is wonderful,

but Jesus is what we need the most.

God's word and God's presence. Let's

pray.