1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:02,360 Well, good morning. My name is Mike. 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:07,040 For any of those of you who I've not met one of the pastors here 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,760 and let me just start off here this morning with our our 4 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:17,160 passage that we are in in Matthew 6 verses 16 through 18, 5 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:20,720 it says and when you fast, do not look gloomy like the 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,920 hypocrites, for they just figure their faces that they're fasting 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,200 may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you that they 8 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,280 have received their reward, but when you fast, anoint your head 9 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,880 and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by 10 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:38,400 others, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father 11 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:41,000 who sees in secret will reward you. 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:46,480 Now, if you have not been with us for the last couple weeks, 13 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:49,280 we've been going through these passages in the Sermon on the 14 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,880 Mount where Jesus has been repeatedly hammering home this 15 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,880 idea of doing these different elements of our worship and of 16 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,040 our Christian walk with sincerity and not doing it in a 17 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:06,080 hypocritical way. He spoke about giving from a 18 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:10,080 place of genuine generosity. He spoke about prayer, not doing 19 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,400 it in a way that makes us the center of attention, but makes 20 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:19,120 God the focus of our attention. And today he's telling us not to 21 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:24,040 fast like hypocrites. So before we dig into the right 22 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:28,200 and right, excuse me, the right and wrong way to fast unto God, 23 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,120 I think we ought to make sure that we're on the same page 24 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:36,720 about what it is. So what is fasting all about? 25 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,960 Often if we think about fasting, we think of going without food 26 00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:44,360 for a period of time. Which is pretty accurate, right? 27 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,920 If you were to Google fasting though, you'd find a list of of 28 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,920 different types of fasting and and different reasons why people 29 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,040 fast. Sometimes people do it for 30 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,640 weight loss, sometimes they do it in in preparation for an 31 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,920 upcoming surgery. They do it to detox from from 32 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:04,560 drugs. We hear about hunger strikes for 33 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,960 political reasons. Even in the correction system, 34 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,960 prisoners will will go without food. 35 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,000 They'll refuse food in protesting the way that they're 36 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:15,840 treated or or something like that. 37 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,280 But most often when we think of fast, they're they're related to 38 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:24,640 religious purposes. Muslims have they they fast 39 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:28,600 intermittently one month a a year when they celebrate 40 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,520 Ramadan. Mormons have a a fast offering 41 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,640 the first Sunday of the month, and Catholics observe Lent. 42 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,640 Lent is a period of fasting and and prayer and repentance 43 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:45,160 observed prior to Easter weekend, primarily by Catholics, 44 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,520 but also by some Protestants as well. 45 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,800 And it's a it's a liturgical or or a worship tradition, though, 46 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,360 rather than a biblical mandate. And they generally it's done for 47 00:02:55,560 --> 00:03:01,080 40 days to represent the 40 days that Jesus was in the wilderness 48 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:07,200 where he fasted and was tempted. Often times, like if you if you, 49 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,880 you might, you might only have experienced this by seeing it 50 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,760 like on TV or something. But often times Catholics might 51 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,080 rub ashes in the shape of a cross on their forehead on Ash 52 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,760 Wednesday to observe the beginning of Lent, a sign of 53 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:24,960 mourning. And most often, the focus of 54 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:27,880 fasting is on the giving up of food. 55 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:33,680 But for true biblical fasting, the up of food is only the means 56 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,760 of accomplishing the actual goal, which is aligning 57 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:41,080 ourselves with the will of God, a way of demonstrating to God 58 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,680 that it is Him alone that we rely on for our needs. 59 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:48,720 By taking our eyes off of the things of this world, we can 60 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,480 more successfully turn our attention to Jesus. 61 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,560 So while we fast, it should be understood that we would be 62 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:02,040 devoted though to prayer for that alignment that goes hand in 63 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,880 hand with it. And here's an example of it. 64 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:11,960 In Judges 20 verses 26 through 27, it says Then all the people 65 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,400 of Israel, the whole army went up and came to Bethel and wept. 66 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,519 They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until 67 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:21,480 evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings 68 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,920 before the Lord. And the people of Israel 69 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:29,000 inquired of the Lord. So in this case they were 70 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,600 seeking God's excuse me, they were seeking God's guidance on 71 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,600 whether to to wage a battle or not. 72 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,600 But if, if our if, if our hearts are truly humbled, the prayer 73 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:46,480 that accompanies fasting would be heartfelt and and and 74 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:51,080 provocative, right? Praying for praying fervently 75 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:57,440 for someone else or praying fervently for rescue or for 76 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,400 guidance in a difficult time. Like we see this example here in 77 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,880 in Judges. Biblically there are three types 78 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:11,280 of fasting that that we that we can look to in in scripture. 79 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,960 Partial fast, a regular fast and an absolute fast. 80 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:20,720 A partial fast means going out certain types of food and drink. 81 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,840 An example of that is in Daniel chapter 2 and it and it says in 82 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:27,840 those days I, Daniel was mourning for three weeks. 83 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,080 I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I 84 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,800 anoint myself at all for the full 3 weeks. 85 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,840 And then there's a regular fast which is going without food or 86 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:45,960 drink except for water. Now let me just explain that I 87 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:52,440 can't find any examples of that kind of a fast in scripture. 88 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:58,400 However, sometimes scholars will point to Luke 4 when Jesus is in 89 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:02,960 the in the wilderness being tempted because scripture says 90 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,480 that he he went without food and that he was hungry. 91 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:09,640 It doesn't specifically say he went without water and that he 92 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,200 was thirsty. And so sometimes people will 93 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,680 consider that an example of a of a regular fast of going without 94 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:21,160 food or drink except for water. The the third one is an absolute 95 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:25,080 fast which which is going without any food or drink. 96 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:31,000 An example of that happens in in Ester chapter 4 and it says and 97 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,320 hold the fast on my behalf and do not eat or drink for three 98 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:38,600 days, night or day, right. And now I don't know if any of 99 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:42,840 you guys, my son and I, we watch like these survival shows all 100 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:44,800 the time and that kind of thing. And if you ever watch those, 101 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:48,320 you'll hear them say that the, you know, human body can go 102 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:52,720 three days without water, right? And so we kind of know that that 103 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,520 in in this, you know, going three days or nights might be 104 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:59,680 the extent of how long they could possibly go with an 105 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:01,680 absolute fast of no food or or drink. 106 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:07,640 However, in Exodus 34, we see an example of of Moses who fasts 107 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:11,880 for 40 days with no food or water, which we would know then, 108 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,480 if you pay attention to survival shows is physically impossible. 109 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,280 Meaning that he had some other means of sustenance from 110 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,480 somewhere else. He had a supernatural 111 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:26,360 sustenance. Now biblical fasting is simply 112 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:30,880 going without food or drink for the purpose of aligning oneself 113 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:32,280 with God. But can we? 114 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,000 Can we fast things other than food? 115 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,720 We do see biblical examples of things that people go without in 116 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:47,960 similar fashion and for similar reasons to husbands and wives 117 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:51,480 just talking about sex within marriage. 118 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:56,480 In First Corinthians 7 it says do not deprive one another 119 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:00,880 except perhaps by agreement for a limited time that you may 120 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:04,440 devote yourselves to prayer but then come together again so that 121 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,720 Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 122 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,280 So this is very similar to the fasting from food in that the 123 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,040 purpose is to devote yourself to prayer to your relationship with 124 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,040 God. Another example happens in 125 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:23,680 Daniel 618 where it says that the king fasted and went without 126 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:28,400 entertainment and sleep. So while these are not, these 127 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:33,360 two examples here are not a true fast, they, they are perhaps an 128 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:37,000 alternative for, for, you know, somebody maybe with, with health 129 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,039 issues. I, I, I automatically think of 130 00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:41,159 somebody who's, who's diabetic, right? 131 00:08:41,159 --> 00:08:44,960 Something, something like that. There is still room to give 132 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,640 things up for the purpose of aligning ourselves with God. 133 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:49,960 That's why I've included that here. 134 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,560 So while biblical fasting is specific to food and drink, each 135 00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:58,960 of those examples of of faster excuse me of of alternative 136 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:05,360 fasts is going with going without this over here the sake 137 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:10,440 of reliance on and focus on God. But we don't want to focus on 138 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:14,000 the what here though and disregard the why. 139 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:25,480 One of the, I think, I don't think I included this as a, as a 140 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:29,000 slide in here, but one of the commentaries that I was looking 141 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,280 at and I didn't write down which one it was. 142 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:35,040 It, it says in addition to abstaining from food, people 143 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:40,400 were to humble themselves by praying, mourning and wearing 144 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:45,320 sackcloth. So that's the purpose, right? 145 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,280 The besides the no food thing, this is about praying and 146 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:53,400 mourning and humbling ourselves before God. 147 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:56,080 That's the idea. And, and, and so we should know 148 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:00,280 that there is an expectation that we will fast in that, in 149 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:02,960 that first verse or the first passage that I read that we're 150 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:07,920 studying today twice in that Jesus says, when you fast, 151 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,200 right? And then in Matthew 9, verse 14, 152 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,560 it says, then the disciples of John came to him saying, why do 153 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:20,000 we and the Pharisees fast? But your disciples do not fast. 154 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:23,840 And Jesus said to them, can the wedding guests mourn as long as 155 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,640 the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the 156 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:30,680 bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast. 157 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,800 So he's clearly saying that after he dies in a sense to 158 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:39,960 heaven, his disciples will fast in mourning the goal. 159 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:45,240 And, and what Jesus expects from his followers is, is, is 160 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:51,000 contrite, humble, broken hearts longing for him and for a 161 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,880 closeness with him. And so our main, our main idea 162 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:59,240 here today is fasting is something God expects you to do, 163 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:03,200 not to impress people or to manipulate God, but to align 164 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:07,000 ourselves with him as we are nourished by him. 165 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:12,760 But he told us not to do it like the hypocrite. 166 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,840 So let's get into that. That's our our first point here 167 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:22,760 today is is don't use fasting as a means of looking Christian and 168 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:27,280 and and back to our verse 16. It says and when you fast, do 169 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:30,120 not look gloomy like the hypocrites for they disfigure 170 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:34,000 their faces that they're fasting may be seen by others. 171 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,800 Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. 172 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:40,440 Now, what do I mean by look Christian? 173 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:45,600 Well, in this context, it's like it's wearing an, an aura sort 174 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:50,840 of, of, of exhausted service or personal sacrifice for the 175 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:56,440 purpose of compelling admiration or compassion or, or something 176 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:58,160 like that. And, and as I was writing this, 177 00:11:58,160 --> 00:11:59,880 I, I was trying to think of an example. 178 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:01,360 Maybe this will connect with you. 179 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,720 But I, I picture like the like the millionaire politician or 180 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,400 CEO that puts on the hard hat and the brand new leather work 181 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:13,440 gloves and, and the shiny perfect shovel, right? 182 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,280 And, and they, they go and they take the groundbreaking picture 183 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:18,480 where they stick it into the ground and they pose, right? 184 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,640 They're not going to do one second of actual labor on that 185 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,960 project, but they want it to here as though they are right. 186 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:34,080 Sometimes this is the art of, of looking like a victim, looking 187 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:39,040 like a overburdened servant for the sake of attention. 188 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,880 This is something that we see all over these days the the 189 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:48,120 hearty embrace of of victimhood. If if we were on a college 190 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,440 campuses talking about that we hear the word intersectionality 191 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,040 or or this like I said, this overburdened servanthood. 192 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,440 And again on a on a college campus, we would hear the word 193 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:02,960 proletariat, meaning the poor and abused working class right. 194 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,960 These these positions are embraced to engender an 195 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:12,000 emotional response. Augustine, excuse me, Augustine 196 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,800 said. Vainglory can find a place not 197 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:19,280 only in the splendor and pomp of worldly wealth, but even in the 198 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,560 sordid garment of sackcloths as well. 199 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,640 It is then all the more dangerous because it is a 200 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,640 deception under the pretense of service to God. 201 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:32,680 So, you know, today we might, you know, we might call this 202 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:35,680 person a drama queen or something like that. 203 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:40,040 But as Augustine said, it's it's actually dangerous because it's 204 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,760 dishonesty in our relationship to God. 205 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:49,040 Using fasting as a time to promote your, your piety seems 206 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:54,400 to have been common during biblical times as it is in, you 207 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:58,360 know, these days as well. A couple weeks ago we saw in 208 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:03,680 Luke 18, we saw the Pharisee that we referenced about the 209 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:05,680 wrong way to pray. If you remember that, that 210 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:09,520 message, this Pharisee that that prays loudly on the street 211 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:14,720 corner out loud about how he fasts twice a week, right he 212 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:16,960 was. He was doing that out loud, 213 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:21,360 talking about his fasting to try to engender a response from the 214 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,680 people who who heard him rather than then then simply speaking 215 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,680 to to God. And we can clearly see that that 216 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,800 God wanted fasting to be done in the right way and for the right 217 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:37,160 reasons. We see in Isaiah 58 the the the 218 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:41,280 people are are complaining. They say, why have we fasted? 219 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,320 And you see it not Why have we humbled ourselves? 220 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,520 And you take no knowledge of it. And the response they get from 221 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,040 God is behold, in the day of your fast, you seek your own 222 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,200 pleasure and oppress all your workers. 223 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,600 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a 224 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,840 wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will 225 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:03,360 not make your voice to be heard on high. 226 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:10,040 When you fast this way to be noticed by others, Jesus says 227 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:14,000 you have you have received your reward already. 228 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:20,320 God doesn't even take notice. It bears no eternal consequence 229 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:25,240 or or blessing. We've all heard that, you know, 230 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:30,200 that cliched saying or quip or whatever about material 231 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,040 possessions and the fact that we can't take them with us right 232 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,680 when we when we die. And that's a very good point. 233 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,080 And, and I'll bet that we all probably believe it, but I don't 234 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:44,600 know that we really apply it to our attitude toward eternity, 235 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:49,520 Charles Spurgeon said. He said to live for the sake of 236 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:53,480 growing rich is a gilded death in life. 237 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,520 That could be that could just as easily be said about growing 238 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:05,240 popular or or being well liked. Now, we've talked about that 239 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:09,880 dynamic a few times over the last few weeks. 240 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,840 That that when when we do the things that God tells us to do 241 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:18,840 for the applause and the admiration of people, he says 242 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,280 that's all the reward that we'll ever get. 243 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:24,640 And that reward doesn't last long. 244 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,800 So it might sound like we're harping on it, but Jesus 245 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,720 repeatedly hits on this on this theme. 246 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,960 So we can assume that that means that it's very important. 247 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:39,920 Now the non Christian world, would you know, often accuses 248 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,680 Christians of of being hypocrites because they believe 249 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,640 that we're not following through on living out the life that we 250 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:52,280 call others to live. Jesus doesn't though, often call 251 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,040 his disciples hypocrites. He usually uses that term for 252 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:59,040 for for the Pharisees and for the religious zealots for his 253 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,240 disciples. Jesus often uses terms like 254 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:06,160 babes or or sheep, right? Words that carry a certain 255 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:10,319 connotation of of immaturity and vulnerability and even our 256 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:16,800 proclivity to wander. So in this verse, a few times in 257 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,440 the Sermon on the Mount and and often elsewhere, Jesus is 258 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:23,520 telling his disciples not to look like the world. 259 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:28,160 Don't follow the world's ways. Don't let the culture be your 260 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:33,080 guiding influence. Jesus doesn't call his beloved 261 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,120 disciples hypocrites, but he certainly warns us not to be 262 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,840 hypocrites. And we need to hear this point 263 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:44,480 hammered home repeatedly because Jesus. 264 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:49,120 Jesus was serious about his warning to us on this. 265 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:54,400 Each of us needs to take this to heart, to look genuinely inward 266 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:58,560 at our own reasons for why we do the things that we do, to cut 267 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:03,160 out those worldly and and selfish and entitled motives 268 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,360 that are driving our behaviors and strive diligently to be more 269 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:12,040 like Jesus every day. We have to call ourselves out 270 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:17,480 where we are hypocrites and we need to be in close loving 271 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:22,280 relationship with each other so that we can offer and receive 272 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:26,640 accountability. That's what discipleship is. 273 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,800 Iron sharpening iron. We hear right from from 274 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,120 scripture. This is why scripture makes it 275 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:36,360 clear that church isn't optional for us. 276 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:46,040 Paul called out the In Galatians 2, Paul called out the apostle 277 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:48,480 Peter for hypocrisy. Can you guys cycle that? 278 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:53,840 Mine's not working. Paul calls out the apostle Peter 279 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:58,440 for hypocrisy not because he wanted to humiliate Peter, but 280 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:02,920 because Paul's heart was inclined more towards Jesus than 281 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,760 to Peter. But he he loved Peter as a 282 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:11,200 brother Christian enough to speak truth into his his life. 283 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,040 Right. That was up there for a second, 284 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:18,920 but it's gone in Galatians 2 verses 11 through 14, it says, 285 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,120 But when Cephas that's that's Peter, his his other name. 286 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,560 When when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his 287 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:30,080 face because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from 288 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,120 James he was eating with the Gentiles. 289 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:35,320 But when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing 290 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,920 the circumcision party, and the rest of the Jews acted 291 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,440 hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was was 292 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,720 led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their 293 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,520 conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to 294 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,720 Cephas before them all, If you, though a Jew, live like a 295 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,960 Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to 296 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:01,200 live like Jews? To sum that up, Peter believed 297 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,720 and he was a, he was a Christian and he beliefs in a certain way. 298 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,760 But when a certain crowd came around, when, when the public, 299 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:13,400 when, when, when those outside, you know, people in his life 300 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:17,640 were around, he changed his, his behavior and he didn't conduct 301 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,760 himself like, like a, like a Christian. 302 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:27,920 And Paul calls him out on that. We can be hypocrites. 303 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:34,120 When it's worldly motives that drive our behaviors and we're 304 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,680 hypocrites when we manipulate how and why we fast. 305 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,200 A few minutes ago we saw from Isaiah 58 that God doesn't hear 306 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,720 our prayers when we approach fasting like the world would, 307 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,520 right? So we don't use fasting to 308 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:54,320 simply look Christian, but we do it to please God and because it 309 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,960 embodies what followers of Christ actually do. 310 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:03,200 And here's how Isaiah 58 continues with God's response in 311 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,920 verses 6 through 9. This is this is God's response. 312 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,400 Is this not the fast that I choose to loose the bonds of 313 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:15,240 wickedness to under, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the 314 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,080 oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 315 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,600 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the 316 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:26,480 homeless poor into your house when you see the naked, to cover 317 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:34,560 him and not to hide yourself from your own flesh, continues 318 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,920 on and says, Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, 319 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,640 and your healing shall spring up speedily. 320 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:42,920 Your righteousness shall go before you. 321 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:45,440 The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 322 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:51,120 Then you shall call and the Lord will answer, you shall cry and 323 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:59,160 and he will say here I am. So if we don't fast to look 324 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:03,320 Christian and to to use the hardship of it to serve as a 325 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:08,400 demonstration of our works, then why do people do it? 326 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:14,960 That's our our second point here today, which is we fast to align 327 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:20,320 with God through his fulfilling us and our our other two verses 328 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,640 in our passage today, 17 and 18, say, but when you fast, anoint 329 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,440 your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be 330 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,560 seen by others, but by your father who is in secret, and 331 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,400 your father who sees in secret will reward you. 332 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:39,480 Again, fasting isn't commanded, but it is something God expects 333 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,520 us to do right here. It says, but when you fast 334 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,360 right, we can see that. So remember, fasting is done to 335 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,280 align ourselves with God, something that His followers 336 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:53,360 would do by definition, right? That's what Christ's follower 337 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,760 means. So of course He would expect us 338 00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:02,040 as professing believers to fast without having to command it. 339 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:05,800 Now let me just take a second and step out of here for a 340 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,920 second and say that here in a couple weeks we have the 341 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:14,400 opportunity to set ourselves up to really get the most, I think, 342 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:20,560 out of our upcoming sermons. Again, God expects us to fast. 343 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:24,760 So my suggestion today, it's just a suggestion it to this 344 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:30,280 church body is that each of us would commit to fasting sometime 345 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,960 before or or right after Thanksgiving to really take the 346 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:39,560 time to pray and to seek the, the, the face of God in our 347 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:41,200 lives. Now that could be an absolute 348 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:42,360 fast. This is why I explained the 349 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:44,600 different types before. It could be an absolute fast. 350 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,880 It could be a partial fast, but I believe that participating in 351 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:52,320 a fast will help you have a better perspective of the 352 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,880 blessings of God that we celebrate on Thanksgiving and 353 00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,680 the anticipation of the coming Messiah that we'll learn about 354 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,000 all through December leading up to Christmas. 355 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,080 So that's what that's what I guess my challenge is, and my 356 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:11,600 suggestion is to you is to is to join me in committing to that 357 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,200 sometime before or after Thanksgiving. 358 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:16,240 And remember, we don't need to make a big deal about it 359 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,600 outwardly, right? Here's what I mean. 360 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:25,040 This passage goes on and says anoint your head and wash your 361 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:27,880 face. See, Jesus is telling us that 362 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,520 when we do things to align ourselves with with God, we 363 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,840 should go about it as though it is it it, it's completely 364 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,000 natural, even with even through hardship. 365 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:43,560 Now this doesn't mean that we can't show signs of hardship, 366 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,840 right? Like emotion and exhaustion. 367 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:51,280 After all, weariness and and pain and hurt are real and 368 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,520 you're allowed to be human. It just means that we don't wear 369 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,320 the mask of martyrdom in in doing it. 370 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,080 Remember that that word hypocrite in our passage? 371 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:02,560 Eric talked about this a couple weeks ago. 372 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,600 He broke it down for us and and explained that that word means 373 00:25:07,120 --> 00:25:11,960 an actor in a play. We are supposed to refrain from 374 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,640 acting it up and and making it something that it isn't. 375 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:22,760 When we do things for other people, serving, giving, helping 376 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:26,920 them move, we need to avoid projecting our burden onto other 377 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:31,840 people to evoke their sympathies and compassion and generosities. 378 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:41,360 We are. When we're asked to serve others 379 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:45,320 at church, we need to avoid complaining about how much of an 380 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:54,520 inconvenience it is to you. 470 years ago, two men that were 381 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:58,240 part of the Reformation, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, 382 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:02,880 were arrested for their biblical preaching and sentenced to death 383 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:07,440 in October 1555. They were tied to a stake and 384 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:12,200 the fires beneath beneath it were lit and as the flames began 385 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:17,400 to grow Hugh Latimer spoke to his his Co defendant saying be 386 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:20,280 of good comfort Master Ridley and play the man. 387 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:24,560 We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England 388 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:29,080 as I trust shall never be put out now. 389 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:34,360 I'm not attempting to make little of the hardships and the 390 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:40,240 exhaustion and the time that any of you deal with in your service 391 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:42,240 to each other. But I think we can all admit 392 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,840 that none of us should view our hardships as significant as as 393 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:52,560 those of like these two men. But we might complain a bit more 394 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,920 than they did, right. I mean, I could kind of imagine 395 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:58,600 sitting down with Latimer and Ridley one day in eternity. 396 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:02,680 And as they go to retell this, this story, I'm going to add 397 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:04,840 something like, yeah, I can relate. 398 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:10,440 I got asked to serve in kids church twice one month, right? 399 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:14,640 Like, it's just, it doesn't, it doesn't quite compare. 400 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:18,840 We, we can, we can do things to grow closer to God and to serve 401 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:24,360 one another without need to over exaggerate our, our effort or 402 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:28,960 our burden. Now that isn't all that 403 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,840 different from what we've seen in in the the previous passages 404 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:35,040 in this chapter either. All right. 405 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,600 First we learned about giving without public applause and then 406 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,680 on praying to God and not in a way to impress people. 407 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:48,760 And then Paul said something very similar in Colossians 3 408 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:51,400 verses 23 and 24. He said, whatever you do, work 409 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:55,040 heartily As for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the 410 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,600 Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 411 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:04,840 You are serving the Lord Christ very evident in this sermon on 412 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,400 the mount. But really throughout his 413 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,480 ministry, Jesus reminded his followers to examine their 414 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:15,040 hearts and their motives right. He said he he he said stuff 415 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:19,480 like, are you actually following me or just trying to look the 416 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,200 part? He gave them these these lessons 417 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:26,760 that help them to see that their motives were often aimed at 418 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:31,400 impressing themselves and other people rather than to glorify 419 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:35,000 God and to experience the blessing of growing closer to 420 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,280 Jesus. And that goes for us too. 421 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,800 But by anointing our heads and washing our faces, as the 422 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,600 Scripture says we are, we are presenting ourselves as a people 423 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:52,280 who are not worried about their physical sustainment because our 424 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:56,160 eyes are locked on Jesus. Anointing your head and washing 425 00:28:56,160 --> 00:29:00,160 your face were were these. They were basic normal practices 426 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:02,320 of hygiene. He's saying go about your 427 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:07,960 business as usual. Although we don't see anything 428 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:12,600 that that forbids fasting still today in the Bible, we certainly 429 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:16,000 see that if we do it, we are supposed to do it without 430 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,600 drawing attention to ourselves in the process. 431 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,480 Here's what it comes down to. The reason why Christians are 432 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,960 able to avoid focusing on the need for for physical 433 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:32,040 sustainment is not because they're impervious to hunger or 434 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:36,360 starvation, but because we know that our ultimate sustenance 435 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:41,360 comes from Jesus. And I think that's why true 436 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:46,800 biblical fasting is about food and not some of those other 437 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,800 things that we talked about giving up. 438 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:55,920 So why is fasting about food? What does food do in our lives 439 00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:00,360 that makes it get in the way of our relationship with God? 440 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:05,520 Why is food used as a means of, of controlling and, and tempting 441 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,200 people? We see this example throughout 442 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:10,480 scripture from the very beginning, right? 443 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:15,560 It was, it was, it was food. It was the, the, the fruit of 444 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:19,640 the tree of the garden that Eve was tempted with and that Adam 445 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,320 was was tempted with as well, right? 446 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:25,160 Whether that was an apple or a pear or whatever, we don't know, 447 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:28,320 but it was a, it was food there in the, in the garden. 448 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:34,400 When Jesus is in the wilderness and he's tempted by Satan, one 449 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:38,280 of the ways that Satan tries to tempt him is with food. 450 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:45,040 Jacob and Esau. Esau gives up his birthright to 451 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:47,640 his brother for basically a bowl of soup. 452 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:54,120 And how about in in the the Exodus we see often Israel, who 453 00:30:54,120 --> 00:31:00,520 has been miraculously delivered from from slavery out of the 454 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:04,880 hands of Egypt over and over and over, miraculously delivered. 455 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,760 And it seems like every time they get hungry, they get ticked 456 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:10,680 off. They start to moan and groan and 457 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:14,160 complain and they think about going back into slavery. 458 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:20,760 The sin of gluttony. Now I know this isn't a sermon 459 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:24,360 about about gluttony, but the sin of gluttony is often thought 460 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:29,480 of as excessive eating. But it's it's it's really not 461 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:33,640 about how much food someone consumes or how big the person 462 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:37,360 is or how many people. John convinced to bring stuff to 463 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:39,680 the Christmas party on the 14th of December. 464 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:40,840 Make sure and sign up in the back. 465 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:46,520 Gluttony is about seeking ultimate satisfaction in 466 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:50,160 primarily from food rather than God. 467 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:53,640 It's often associated in scripture with the sin of 468 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:57,560 drunkenness, which is which is, you know, often self medicating 469 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:00,720 through problems rather than trusting Jesus. 470 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:05,840 Fasting is about food because food is something our natural 471 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:11,760 bodies demand for survival, whereas sex and entertainment 472 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:15,360 and rest aren't. We fast. 473 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:20,160 We fast food because we are intentionally going without 474 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:24,600 something that we instinctively know that we must have for 475 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:29,600 survival and forcing ourselves to rely on Jesus who actually 476 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:36,080 provides us with our sustenance. Last week Eric shared this this 477 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:38,680 passage. We'll read it again. 478 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:42,560 It says and he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with 479 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:46,000 man out which you did not know, nor did your father's know that 480 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:49,680 he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, 481 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:53,840 but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the 482 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:57,920 Lord. See, it's the word of God that 483 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:05,040 truly sustains the the the ESV church history study Bible 484 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:10,400 commentary said it's going there to the word of God. 485 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:15,800 It's going there for food, for life, guidance, for comfort, for 486 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:18,800 authority, for strength, for all. 487 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:22,520 In short, that the soul can possibly need from first to 488 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:29,160 last. Now This is why perhaps maybe 489 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,560 you've heard of of Jesus referred to as the bread of 490 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:37,400 life, right? Jesus isn't just the bread of 491 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:39,800 life because it's a catchy thing to say. 492 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:46,080 He is the bread of life in the sense that he nourishes people 493 00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:50,320 spiritually and satisfy satisfies the deep spiritual 494 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:52,480 longings of their of their souls. 495 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:59,040 He is spiritual comfort food now, especially over the last 496 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:03,760 weeks months, but but you know even even longer than that. 497 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:07,600 Some of you have told me that you started coming to church or 498 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:12,239 or that you wanted to to know more about God because you felt 499 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:16,120 some deep spiritual longing that you wanted to explore right, 500 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:21,360 that you're that you're hungry for now just before this passage 501 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:26,440 that I have here on the screen, Jesus, he feeds the 5000 right? 502 00:34:26,679 --> 00:34:30,560 And then the next day these these same people come back to 503 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:34,000 him seeking more. And and when they come back 504 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:35,560 seeking more, we see in verse 32. 505 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:44,639 Jesus then said to them, truly, truly, or I lost my page truly, 506 00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:47,760 truly. I say to you, it was not Moses 507 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,920 who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you 508 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:55,239 the true bread from heaven for the bread of, of God is he who 509 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:58,880 comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. 510 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,520 And and these people that are standing there talking to him, 511 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:07,200 they're like, well, give us some of that bread, that true bread 512 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,040 then, right? They they want that. 513 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:13,920 And Jesus continues on in in verse 35 says Jesus said to 514 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:17,760 them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not 515 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:21,200 hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 516 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:26,400 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 517 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:34,120 So we know when we see that, we know that people who trust in 518 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:38,840 Him will not hunger. That is their spiritual longing 519 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:41,440 to know. God will be satisfied. 520 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,640 But like Jesus said, not everyone will receive this 521 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:48,440 message. Not everyone will seek after Him 522 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,880 and therefore many won't find him. 523 00:36:00,010 --> 00:36:03,290 I want you to know today that like John mentioned earlier in 524 00:36:03,290 --> 00:36:09,290 the assurance of pardon verses that he read, if you repent your 525 00:36:09,290 --> 00:36:12,370 sins and trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your 526 00:36:12,370 --> 00:36:20,610 sins, He will forgive them. In Luke 11, verse nine through 527 00:36:20,610 --> 00:36:27,880 10 says, and I tell you ask and it will be given to you seek and 528 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:33,600 you will find knock and it will be opened to you for everyone 529 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:38,400 who asks receives and the one who seeks finds and to the one 530 00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:44,720 who knocks, it will be open. And guys, as we close here 531 00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:48,920 today, it might be the first time that you've ever heard 532 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:51,920 that. And if that's the case, then 533 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:58,120 perhaps today is a is a great day for you to go fast to, to 534 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:02,920 set aside food for the sake of reliance on Jesus for your 535 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:07,800 nourishment. And don't just go on a diet, but 536 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:12,560 pray. Go into it as an act of 537 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:17,240 contrition, of of remorse for the sinful life that you have 538 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:23,080 led, and mourn the fact that you have chosen a life of of seeking 539 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:26,760 after your own interests and ignoring God's will. 540 00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:33,320 But don't rest in that shame. Let the Spirit convict your 541 00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:35,840 heart to change. Trust in the Holy Spirit to 542 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:40,800 create something new in you. And He is faithful to forgive. 543 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:45,040 You can experience the grace of God that you've never known. 544 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,960 See, fasting isn't about giving up food. 545 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:53,080 Fasting is about aligning our will with God's will, 546 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:57,120 sacrificing the things that in our humanity we find ourselves 547 00:37:57,120 --> 00:38:03,960 so reliant upon so that we remind ourselves that it is 548 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:09,040 Jesus alone that we actually are nourished and sustained by. 549 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:19,440 You guys pray with me, Lord, God, I, I stand here, Lord, just 550 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:24,800 humbled by your goodness and the fact, Lord, that you give us 551 00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:31,240 these ways to, to to reset, to realign our hearts with you. 552 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:37,320 And Lord, you are so faithful in in that your teaching is good 553 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,600 and it works. And, and so every Time, Lord, 554 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:44,560 that we listen to you, we, we experience your, your goodness, 555 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:48,040 not necessarily in, in a tangible way in our, in our life 556 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:51,560 that we see, but Lord in, in, in becoming new. 557 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:56,200 We are blessed in the fact that, that your word cuts us so deeply 558 00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:59,880 and that it gets in there and it helps us to, to realign. 559 00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:02,880 And so, Lord, as we, as we contemplate fasting, if we, if 560 00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:06,960 we as a church body can contemplate fasting as we, as we 561 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:11,960 go into this holiday season, Lord, I just ask that you would 562 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:16,800 hear our, our contrite and humble prayers, Lord, as we, 563 00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:20,320 maybe we're doing something we've never done before in, in 564 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:23,920 fasting way. But Lord, we ask that you would 565 00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:27,520 hear our our hearts, that you would hear our prayers and that 566 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:32,360 and that as we humble ourselves, Lord, that you would be faithful 567 00:39:32,720 --> 00:39:36,960 to to continue to make those those changes in us to help us 568 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:41,520 to realign to the place where we are, where we are are more 569 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:45,440 closely following you and glorifying you and emulating you 570 00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:50,160 so that we could share you with with a a, a lost and broken 571 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:52,600 world. Lord, and and we know that the 572 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:56,720 the more we come in line with you, Lord, with our hearts, we 573 00:39:56,720 --> 00:40:01,120 know that the the more that the world is is blessed because they 574 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:04,240 hear your story. And we know that your your your 575 00:40:04,240 --> 00:40:08,800 word doesn't come back void. So, Lord, we just ask that you 576 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:12,840 would. Do at work in us as we meditate 577 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:16,000 on your word this week as we as we take to these verses that 578 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:19,360 we've looked at and we study them and and we and we chew them 579 00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:23,720 up and and and they do the work in our lives and change us. 580 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:27,960 We hope that this has glorified you Lord, and sing give you this 581 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:30,760 last song for your glory in Jesus name, Amen.