-
Our church is designating this week
-
as just a week where
-
we are going to give ourselves
-
to seeking the Lord in a special way.
-
Often times, we call it a
week of prayer and fasting.
-
Not that everybody in
the whole church fasts
-
for an entire eight days.
-
But during that time, what we want to do
-
is encourage the folks in
the church to fast.
-
Meals, days, and often times,
-
when I am encouraging
the church and others,
-
we're encouraging the church
-
to give ourselves to this,
-
inevitably, somebody asks -
-
(You asked, right?)
-
Inevitably, somebody asks:
-
What about fasting?
-
How often?
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
This is not useless at all -
-
I mean laying hold on
the Lord like this is not.
-
He has heard our prayers
again and again and again.
-
We do this, not out of ritual,
-
not out of just tradition.
-
We do this because we
lay hold upon the Lord
-
in a special way and the Lord answers.
-
The Lord has blessed us
-
with so many answers to
our prayers through the years.
-
He is a God who hears prayer
-
and He has vindicated Himself
-
as that kind of God repeatedly.
-
We talk about fasting.
-
I get questions on a
pretty much quarterly basis.
-
Every three months, we
try to set aside a week
-
where we give ourselves
-
to some very special praying,
fasting, seeking the Lord.
-
When I use the term fast,
questions come up.
-
What is it?
-
What do we fast from?
-
How often?
-
Are you talking about
fasting for an entire week?
-
What are you talking about here?
-
How often? What should be the frequency?
-
So what I thought I would do tonight,
-
I think this is a very healthy study,
-
just by way of remembrance.
-
What I want us to do
-
is to just do a topical study tonight
-
on this theme of fasting.
-
Let's look at what Scriptures says.
-
So what I want you to
do is to go out of here
-
with a good feeling
of what it's all about.
-
You are trying to think about,
how often should I do it?
-
And by the way, just because
we call special fasting weeks,
-
doesn't mean that Christians
can't fast all the time.
-
They can fast on a regular basis.
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
It is not like it is mandatory
-
and legalistically we're forcing
everybody to do this.
-
If somebody didn't fast
-
during our week of prayer and fasting,
-
certainly there is no crime in that.
-
But we just want to encourage it.
-
For the sake of unity, have the church
-
really beseeching the Lord
-
in a special way all at one time.
-
When you were out of here today,
-
I really want you to
have a feel for this,
-
maybe more than you had when you came in.
-
What's the significance of it?
-
And how often should we do it?
-
And if the church calls a time
-
of special prayer and fasting,
-
should I fast for a meal?
-
Should I fast for a day?
-
Should I try to fast for
three consecutive days?
-
Or seven consecutive days?
-
I mean, what is this?
-
For one, when we talk about fasting,
-
you know what I am talking about.
-
I am talking about abstaining from food
-
as prescribed in our Bibles.
-
And I know that people who
don't hold to the Bible fast.
-
People fast for health reasons.
-
People in other religions fast.
-
And I am not talking about
fasting just in a generic way.
-
I am talking about fasting
as it's found in Scripture.
-
I am talking about
God-prescribed fasting.
-
What does it look like?
-
You know, in the New Testament,
-
it is not like there are huge amounts
-
of verses that we can go to.
-
There's a couple of handfuls.
-
So let's look at them.
-
Look at Matthew 4:2.
-
What I want to do is just go through
-
a number of these verses
-
from the New Testament
-
and just see what we can glean from them
-
just in a casual reading.
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
The purpose for this
is a theology of fasting.
-
That's what we can call
the message tonight:
-
"A Theology of Fasting."
-
What does God teach us?
-
What is the teaching of God on fasting?
-
So Matthew 4:2.
-
After I get done with these
New Testament passages,
-
I want to look at one
in the Old Testament,
-
which I think is very helpful.
-
Matthew 4:2.
-
Jesus - we know that
our Lord Jesus Christ
-
fasted for how long?
-
Forty days.
-
Now look, as I was saying on Sunday,
-
you do not want to say:
-
Well, He was God. Or, He is God.
-
He is God.
-
I am not denying the deity of Christ.
-
But I am saying Jesus Christ
fasting and his hunger
-
was the fasting and the
hunger of a human being.
-
God becoming flesh.
-
God taking upon Himself,
-
robing Himself with mankind in a way,
-
in a manner in which He is like us
-
in every respect, save sin.
-
What I mean by that is his hunger
-
was just as real as yours.
-
And when He fasted,
-
His fasting affected Him
just like yours does.
-
You know where I am going with that?
-
It's possible for you to fast
for forty days and not die.
-
If you are not accustomed to fasting,
-
you may think one day
and you are ready to die.
-
You may think you miss breakfast
-
and get about to three
o'clock in the afternoon
-
missing lunch and you are ready to die.
-
There are people that feel that way.
-
You just feel like I can't do this.
-
Jesus Christ fasted for forty days.
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
I know two pastors that
just in the last year
-
did forty day-fasts.
-
You can fast for forty days.
-
So if you're wanting to know
-
how long it is even safe?
-
I am not saying go without
water for forty days.
-
We'll have another casket
up here if you do that.
-
But you know, you can go
forty days on water, you can.
-
You can go forty days on juice.
-
My point here is our Lord Jesus Christ
-
fasted for forty days as a man,
-
as one made like us in every respect.
-
I just point that out.
-
And by the way, our
Lord was given to fasting.
-
He did it.
-
It was something that
was part of His life.
-
At least here.
-
At least when He was being
tempted by the devil.
-
We see that He fasted.
-
Now, let's go to Matthew 6.
-
Matthew 6 has one of the
most important texts
-
on fasting in our Bible.
-
Because it is one of the two passages,
-
or one of the two incidents
-
where our Lord gives us instruction -
-
very specific instruction on fasting.
-
Of course, these different accounts
-
can be found in the
different synoptic Gospels.
-
But we basically have two accounts.
-
We have His teaching
-
in the Sermon on the Mount
here in Matthew 6
-
and then we have that occasion
-
where the disciples of John
-
and the disciples of the Pharisees
-
came and they asked Him -
-
the disciples of John
and the Pharisees fast
-
and your disciples don't fast.
-
These two passages are Jesus's instruction
-
in the New Testament on fasting.
-
If you want to study the most
important passages on this topic.
-
These are the ones you want to look at.
-
He teaches us some
very valuable things here.
-
Matthew 6: 16.
-
This is often been said:
-
"When you fast..."
-
"And when you fast..." verse 16.
-
"When you fast..."
-
There is an assumption
in the way He says that:
-
"When you fast."
-
When the Lord Jesus Christ looks at us
-
as His followers and He says,
-
"When you fast this is the
way I want you to do it."
-
He's definitely implying that He
believes that as followers of His,
-
this is something that is going
to be characteristic of our lives.
-
"When you fast" doesn't
mean you won't fast.
-
When you fast does not mean
-
that it is going to be
something that as a Christian
-
that should be foreign to you.
-
"When you fast" means
-
I believe that My followers
are going to fast.
-
In fact, His instruction as given
-
to these disciples of John
-
and these disciples of the Pharisees
-
who come to Him and ask Him.
-
We are going to get to
that text in a few minutes.
-
He says, "They don't fast now
-
because I am here. I am with them.
-
But when I go, they will fast."
-
Jesus is saying My followers
are going to fast.
-
He is not speaking specifically
to His followers there.
-
Although indirectly He does.
-
Here He is, directly to us.
-
He is looking at His disciples.
-
And you remember.
-
He gathered,
Sermon on the Mount.
-
He especially called
out His disciples there
-
and He began to teach them.
-
There were crowds behind there.
-
He kind of have the inner group there.
-
And he would say to us: "When you fast..."
-
This is part of the Christian life.
-
"Do not look gloomy like the hypocrites."
-
Okay, He does not want us fasting
-
in a hypocritical manner.
-
In other words, He
doesn't want us appearing
-
to be something that we are not.
-
He doesn't want fasting
just to be seen by men.
-
He says: "They disfigure their faces
-
that their fasting may be seen by others.
-
Truly I say to you,
-
they have received their reward."
-
What's their reward?
-
Their reward is that they
want to be seen by men
-
and get what they want.
-
They get seen by men.
-
They got what they wanted.
-
They didn't want anything more than that.
-
They fasted to be seen by men.
They got seen by men.
-
Everything is good.
-
They got what they wanted.
-
"But when you fast, anoint your head
-
and wash your face."
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
This doesn't mean that nobody else
-
can ever know that you're fasting.
-
If they do, if they find out
-
then all of a sudden all
your fasting is negated.
-
That's not what this means.
-
I mean, look, if you're married,
-
and your wife is
cooking meals for you,
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
There's times when you need to
communicate with people
-
that you're fasting.
-
I don't believe for us to have
a week of prayer and fasting
-
where we kind of know
-
that there is a lot of the one anothers
in the church that are doing this.
-
That's not what this is about.
-
It's got to do with motive here.
-
It's got to do with whether
you're doing it to be seen.
-
Motives is the issue here.
-
They do it for a motive.
-
They have a reason.
-
The hypocrite wants to
appear to be something.
-
You don't need to flaunt it.
-
When you fast, try to cover
it up as much as possible.
-
But you're going to get into situations
-
where you may have to tell somebody
-
or you may have to make it
apparent that you are doing that.
-
"When you fast, anoint your
head and wash your face
-
that you fasting may
not be seen by others
-
but by your Father who is in secret."
-
In other words, the
reason that we're fasting
-
has to do with our Father
who sees in secret.
-
When I fast, when you fast,
-
Jesus is assuming we will fast.
-
It is part of the Christian life.
-
What He is pointing out here
-
is you do this in a way,
-
not for the sake of men.
-
Not for them seeing you.
-
You do it because it's got something
to do with God the Father.
-
In other words, when you fast,
-
there are implications that have to do
-
with your relationship with the Father.
-
You keep reading here.
-
"Your Father who sees
in secret will reward you."
-
Now there is a textual issue here.
-
Some translations actually add "openly"
-
or "in the open," for everyone to see.
-
It is a textual issue.
-
Whether it is there or not,
-
It does not take away from the fact
-
that God is going to reward you.
-
In other words, we fast,
-
because there is a
Fatherly reward in fasting.
-
There are benefits. I
want you to see that.
-
Jesus is saying there is
a spiritual benefit to fasting.
-
You need to see that.
-
This is not a vain exercise.
-
It's not like, oh,
fasting - well that's neat,
-
you know, you tack it on our life.
-
We are not like the hypocrites.
-
You remember how Jesus tells us a story
-
about tax collector and the Pharisee
-
that go to the temple to pray?
-
You remember that story? Luke 18.
-
What is Jesus say about the Pharisee?
-
Well, he began to pray:
-
"God, I thank you I am not like other people
-
and I am not like this
-
and I am not like this
tax collector over there.
-
I fast twice in the week."
-
Let me tell you this,
-
all fasting is not profitable.
-
But there is fasting that's profitable.
-
That's plain from Scripture.
-
There is fasting that
doesn't do you any good.
-
There is the hypocrites here in Matthew 6.
-
All they get is seen by others.
-
That's the end of what they get.
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
You know what's not explicitly said,
-
but is definitely implied through here?
-
Faith.
-
Because you're doing this in secret,
-
which means you believe that God...
-
Remember how it says over in Hebrews 11?
-
We must believe that God is
and that He's a rewarder.
-
That's what we have here.
The Father rewarding.
-
He is a rewarder of them
that seek Him diligently.
-
You know what fasting is?
-
It is one of the things that
God has given to us;
-
one of the methods God
has given to us of seeking Him.
-
It is turning away from
the physical appetites
-
and seeking the Lord in special ways.
-
Turning away from gratifying
that physical appetite
-
and seeking the Lord
in a very special way.
-
That's what this is for: seeking the Lord.
-
Faith. You do this in secret.
-
You do this when nobody is watching.
-
Because you know God is watching.
-
You know the Father is watching.
-
You know He is there in secret.
-
And you're fasting because you're wanting
-
to lay hold on Him.
-
You want to seek Him.
-
Let us jump to Matthew 9 now
-
in the other account that
I was telling you about
-
where you get the disciples.
-
Matthew tells us it is
just disciples of John.
-
The three synoptics
-
kind of present the people
-
that are asking from
different perspectives.
-
But in Matthew 9:14,
-
the disciples of John -
this is John the Baptist -
-
they come to Him saying:
-
"Why do we and the Pharisees fast,
-
but your disciples do not fast?"
-
I guarantee
-
it is not a good thing
-
to be in one of the first two groups.
-
You know what? It was okay to
be disciples of John at first.
-
But you do not want
to stay a disciple of John.
-
You want to make that transition over
-
to being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
-
Why? These guys are out of touch.
-
These guys are out of touch
-
with what is happening in this world;
-
what is truly happening.
-
They're out of touch with
the significance of Christ -
-
the fact the Messiah has come.
-
The Kingdom of God is at hand.
-
They are out of touch with that. Why?
-
Because, fasting as Jesus
teaches us right here,
-
has everything to do with Him.
-
Notice. Jesus said to them in verse 15,
-
"Can the wedding guests mourn
-
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
-
The days will when the bridegroom
-
is taken away from them
and then they will fast."
-
Here is what I want you to see.
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
Can the wedding guests mourn as long as
-
the bridegroom is with them?
-
You all see that. Matthew, mourn.
-
This exact account in Mark, chapter 2.
-
You do not have to turn over there.
-
But you know, it does not
use the word mourn there.
-
You know what word it uses?
-
You know what word Mark uses? Fast.
-
Mark uses the word fast.
-
Let me just read the Mark
account - Mark 2:18-20.
-
"Now John disciples and
the Pharisees were fasting.
-
And people came and said to Him:
-
'Why do John's disciples and the
disciples of the Pharisees fast,
-
but your disciples do not fast?'
-
Jesus said to them,
'Can the wedding guest fast
-
while the bridegroom is with them?'"
-
As long as they have the
bridegroom with them?
-
"They cannot fast.
-
The days will come when the
bridegroom is taken away from them,
-
And then they will fast in that day."
-
Mark's account is actually more extensive,
-
more detailed account than
what Matthew gives us.
-
What is very interesting is this:
-
Matthew uses the word mourn
-
in exactly the same place
-
where Mark uses the word fast.
-
Interchangeably.
-
That means they are synonymous.
-
I hope that helps in thinking
about what fasting is.
-
Mourning. Why do we mourn?
-
Why would you mourn when the
bridegroom is taken away?
-
Because there are longings there.
-
There is desire there.
-
I want Christ back.
-
This is not good. I don't like this.
-
And you know what,
we should not be content.
-
This is a healthy discontent.
-
You should not be
content to live by faith.
-
Say what?
-
The Bible says we should
live by faith. No!
-
What I mean is you should
not be content to stay here
-
and live by faith forever.
-
You should want to see Him face to face.
-
You should want to embrace God.
-
You should want to see Him.
-
You should want to stand in His presence.
-
You should want to walk with Him
-
and talk with Him and
fellowship with Him forever.
-
This isn't any good.
Well, it is kind of good.
-
It is good if you are a Christian
-
and you are walking with the Lord here.
-
Even the most that Christians
experience here is not what we want.
-
We want consummation.
-
This is like we have been betrothed.
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
Who gets engaged and wants
to stay engaged forever?
-
That's what we are dealing with here.
-
We don't want this.
-
We don't want to walk by faith,
not by sight for eternity.
-
We want to walk by sight.
We want to see Him.
-
It doesn't mean we don't trust Him.
-
But we want to see Him;
we want to be with Him.
-
We want the veil ripped back.
-
And until that happens, we
are longing after something.
-
We want more. I want more.
-
I want Him to manifest Himself more.
-
I want more of His presence,
more of His power,
-
more of His help. I want more.
-
Don't you want more?
-
That seems to be what this is all about.
-
They can't fast while I am here.
-
Why? They've got the bridegroom.
-
This isn't just random
-
or sporadic exercise of the Christian.
-
This has to do with what we desire.
-
That's what I want the church to do
-
and I want the church to fast
several times a year at least.
-
I hope you are fasting outside of the
times the church calls for a church fast.
-
I don't want people to do it mechanically
-
or just because we got into the tradition
-
of starting the year with a
week of prayer and fasting.
-
This has to come from desire.
-
This has to come from unfulfilled desire,
-
unfulfilled passion, unfulfilled longing.
-
That is what He is talking about here.
-
Let us go further with this.
-
How about Luke 2:36?
-
We are going to get
closer to the heart of this.
-
I think we are already hitting on it.
-
I hope this will help bring
it into even greater clarity.
-
Luke 2:36.
-
You may remember,
-
there was a prophetess named Anna,
-
the daughter of Phanuel
of the tribe of Asher.
-
"She was advanced in years,
-
having lived with her husband seven years
-
from when she was a virgin."
-
Then as a widow until she was 84.
-
She did not depart from the temple.
-
Notice this: "Worshiping with fasting
-
and prayer night and day."
-
Here is what I want you to see.
-
Look, our lives are to be
lived for the glory of God;
-
whatsoever we do,
-
whether we eat or drink,
-
or don't eat and drink.
-
We are to do everything
for the glory of God.
-
This is about worship.
-
Worship comes from the
Old English "weorthscipe."
-
It has to do with the
worthiness of something.
-
Worship is when we are recognizing
-
the worth of something.
-
There is nobody more
worthy than God Almighty.
-
There is nothing more worthy.
-
He, alone, is worthy of our worship.
-
And she, Anna, was
worshiping with fasting.
-
Fasting is a form of worship. Why?
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
Think about this:
-
When I fast because of the
reason given in Matthew 6,
-
because I long for the Father's reward.
-
When I fast because the bridegroom
-
has been taken away,
-
and my longing is for Him.
-
When I need God;
-
when I need what God can give me;
-
when I need God Himself;
-
when I am longing for that,
-
that's worship.
-
Look, when we're needy people
-
and we are coming to God
and we are desperate,
-
and we need His help -
-
but more than that; more
than what He can give us.
-
We need Him.
-
We want Him.
-
That's worship.
-
Isn't it? Isn't it the heart
and soul of worship
-
when we are wanting God
more than anything else?
-
When I say, you know what?
-
I want God!
-
I will give up food for
these seasons in my life
-
because I really want Him.
-
I want Him more than food.
-
I need food. I get hungry.
-
But I have a hunger in my soul for Him.
-
And you see, that is worship.
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
The last New Testament verse
(well, actually, there's two)
-
I would take us to are found in Acts.
-
The early church.
-
We see them fasting. Acts 13.
-
Acts 13 is the chapter in Scripture
-
where we see the missionary endeavor
-
taking root and form.
-
Paul and Barnabas are sent
out of the church of Antioch.
-
Paul's first missionary journey.
-
Acts 13:1.
-
"Now there were in the church at
Antioch prophets and teachers,
-
Barnabas,
-
Simeon who is called Niger,
-
Lucius of Cyrene,
-
Manaen, a lifelong friend of
Herod the tetrarch and Saul.
-
While they were worshiping
the Lord and fasting..."
-
Now we know that with Anna who
was worshiping with fasting,
-
Here, the ESV anyways says
-
"worshiping the Lord and fasting."
-
The Holy Spirit said: "Set apart
for me Barnabas and Saul
-
for the work to which I have called them.
-
And after fasting and praying,
-
they laid their hands on
them and sent them off."
-
Now, were they fasting
just as a typical practice
-
and that's when the Spirit came?
-
Or did the Spirit somehow
move through a prophet
-
and indicate these men
needed to go the mission field?
-
They saw this as being
such an important event
-
that they needed to fast.
-
I don't know the exact order here.
-
It almost seems like if
you take it at face value,
-
it seems like they were fasting.
-
The Spirit in the midst of their fasting
-
indicated maybe through
a New Testament prophet
-
that these were the two
guys that were to be sent.
-
And they continued in
their praying and fasting.
-
But anyways, the prayer and fasting
-
seems to go hand in hand
-
with the sending out
of the first missionaries.
-
They are going out and cross
-
from Asia over into Europe
-
and we know all the churches
that would be established.
-
This is a major matter.
-
This missionary movement
-
is flowing out of this praying and fasting.
-
We go a little further
in the book of Acts.
-
Acts 14:23.
-
Now Paul and Barnabas -
they're moving around
-
through the churches and are coming back
-
to churches that they've
already established.
-
Churches that were already planted.
-
Acts 14:23,
-
"When they appointed elders
for them in every church..."
-
and now they are going back to these
churches that they originally planted.
-
Now they are going back to them.
These churches are springing up
-
and they are appointing elders
-
and they are doing this
with prayer and fasting.
-
It is like when Paul and
Barnabas are designated
-
from the church of Antioch to go out.
-
When Paul and Barnabas themselves
-
go into these churches
-
and elders are being appointed.
-
It is being done with prayer and fasting.
-
Why? Because there's this
desperate need then.
-
You want to be right about the leaders
-
that you are choosing to take the Gospel
-
out on missionary endeavors
-
and who is going to be
overseeing the churches.
-
This is a time of desperation:
-
Lord, we need answers from You.
-
We need Your help.
-
We need clarity. We need discernment.
-
You can just see, it's
times of great need.
-
They commit themselves
to prayer and fasting.
-
Those are the verses in the New Testament
-
where you find fasting come up.
-
You get a feel for what it's about.
-
Now, I want to take you to
an Old Testament passage
-
in the remaining 25 minutes or so.
-
This is a great passage.
-
Turn in your Bibles first to Ezra 4.
-
We have to build the setting here
-
before we can just dive right into it.
-
If you don't get a feel for the setting,
-
you kind of lose some of this.
-
So if you go to Ezra...
-
Let me just tell you,
-
if you want to do a
real interesting study,
-
very carefully study Ezra,
-
Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah.
-
Haggai and Zechariah are the two prophets
-
that God sent into Jerusalem
-
in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.
-
Those four books are all
from the same time period.
-
It's that time period of the
rebuilding of the Temple
-
after the Babylonian captivity.
-
They all go together.
-
Two of them are side by
side in the minor prophets
-
and two of them are right before
the Book of Job and Psalms
-
and that area of your Bible.
-
But they go together.
-
It is very interesting if you start
looking at the timetables.
-
And often, they measured the time
-
by whoever was in the leadership,
-
whether that was Cyrus or Darius.
-
And they talk about if
you go back before that,
-
it was Nebuchadnezzar -
-
in the certain year
of Nebuchadnezzar.
-
Anyway, let's look at this.
-
Ezra 4:24.
-
Actually, glance back up to Ezra 4:4
-
since you're right in the same chapter.
-
I want you to see this.
What happens in Ezra 4:4?
-
What do you see happen there?
-
Fear.
-
Let me tell you what happened.
-
70 years of Babylonian captivity go by.
-
70 years.
-
Which prophet prophesied
they'd be in Babylon 70 years?
-
Jeremiah.
-
Daniel picked up on that,
-
Daniel prayed right there towards the end.
-
What happens?
-
Cyrus comes along and Cyrus says:
-
"Any Jews that want to go back
to Jerusalem and rebuild?
-
Go back. "
-
So they go back.
-
And first thing they did,
they built the altar.
-
That was the first thing they did.
-
Second thing they did, was they laid
-
the foundation for the Temple.
-
In 4:4, they quit work on the Temple
-
after they have the
foundation laid out of fear.
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
Listen, even though they had
a commission to do this,
-
the capital is a long way away.
-
By the time they get to this point,
-
Cyrus isn't even there anymore.
-
What they get is that people
-
who did not like the Jews.
-
Antisemitism was very
much alive back then.
-
They did not want these
Jews rebuilding the walls,
-
or rebuilding the Temple.
-
They did not want that.
They were opposed to it.
-
They tried various ways
to stop them, scare them.
-
They managed - they scared them.
-
They got the foundation completed
-
and then they terrified them.
-
The Jews quit.
-
Now I want you to jump down to Ezra 4:24.
-
"Then the work of the house of God
-
that is in Jerusalem stopped."
-
They got the foundation
done and it stopped.
-
And notice this:
-
"It ceased until the second year
-
of the reign of Darius, king of Persia"
-
Cyrus was gone by the
time this work would resume.
-
It would resume in the second year
of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.
-
Now jump to Haggai and Zechariah.
-
We want to look at those two momentarily.
-
They are right at the end of the Old
Testament in the minor prophets.
-
Haggai is very short.
Zechariah is a bit longer.
-
But remember that,
-
the work would not resume
-
until the second year
of this reign of Darius.
-
So now, if we go to Haggai -
-
are you all there?
-
Everyone got it?
-
Old Testament. Last book is Malachi.
-
Jump back before that.
You've got Zechariah.
-
Before that, you've got Haggai.
Little tiny book.
-
Notice how it starts. Haggai 1:1.
-
Remember, back in Ezra,
-
we saw that the work on
the house of God ceased
-
until the second year of the reign
of Darius, king of Persia.
-
Now, Haggai picks up in the
second year of Darius the king.
-
This is the precise year
-
that the building is going to resume.
-
The second year of Darius the king.
-
Now jump over to Zechariah 1:1,
-
which is your next book in your Bibles.
-
Zechariah 1:1.
-
And you're going to see,
it starts in the eighth month,
-
in the second year of Darius.
-
Again it is the same. It's the same.
-
That text that we had there in Ezra 4:24,
-
that the building would resume,
-
is the exact same year that
both of these books start.
-
Why? Well, I'll tell you what happened,
-
they quit out of fear
-
and God sent both these prophets
-
in the very year that they would resume
-
to kick start these people
into resuming the building.
-
They were wrong to quit.
-
They weren't trusting the Lord!
-
They were living in fear.
-
And if you go back and read Ezra,
-
what you find is God sent
-
Haggai and Zechariah to them.
-
These are the prophets sent to them
-
to kick them in the rear
and get them building again.
-
God was not happy that
they stopped building.
-
Now, let's just keep moving along here.
-
Go to Zechariah 7.
-
Zechariah 7:1 starts in the
fourth year of king Darius.
-
Now, I'm just going to tell you this.
-
In Ezra, we find out that the Temple
-
was completed in the sixth year of Darius.
-
Zechariah 7 starts in the fourth year.
-
The construction was kicked back
into gear in the second year.
-
We know that it's finished
in the sixth year.
-
Guess where the fourth year puts you?
-
Right in the middle of the reconstruction
-
of the new Temple.
-
We are going somewhere with this.
Just hang with me here.
-
You got to picture yourselves.
This is Jerusalem.
-
They have been in fear of their enemies.
-
They quit.
-
After they foundation was laid, they quit.
-
God was not pleased.
-
God sent these prophets.
-
Told them: "You need to start
rebuilding, you need to trust Me."
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
What you've tried to do
has not been blessed,
-
because you have
not given first priority
-
to the rebuilding of My Temple.
-
That is what He told them
through these prophets.
-
And so they resumed building
-
in the second year of Darius.
-
They finished it in the sixth year.
-
Zechariah chapter 7 is in the fourth year.
-
It is when the Temple
is half-way restored.
-
That is key.
-
Now, look at Zechariah 7:2.
-
Now, the people of Bethel...
-
Bethel was 11 miles north of Jerusalem.
-
There were Jews there as well.
-
Jews that came back -
they didn't all go to Jerusalem.
-
Many of them went back
-
to where their families came from.
-
Not all of them went to Jerusalem.
Many were in the surrounding cities.
-
And so you've got a
bunch of Jews in Bethel
-
11 miles north of Jerusalem.
-
"And they sent Sharezer
and Regem-melech..."
-
Interesting - these are still
Babylonian names on these Jews.
-
And they're men to entreat
the favor of the Lord.
-
In other words, they are sending
-
an entourage from Bethel
11 miles to Jerusalem.
-
Why? Check this out - verse 3.
-
"Saying to the priests
-
of the house of the Lord..."
-
You see, they sent them
to where the priests were
-
and where the house of the Lord was
-
which at this time is halfway rebuilt.
-
"And the prophets..."
-
We know who the prophets are.
-
You can see that in Ezra.
-
That's these two guys,
Haggai and Zechariah.
-
Notice what they say:
-
"Should I weep and abstain?"
-
Abstain? What is that? That is fasting.
-
If you doubt it, down to a few verses,
-
he tells us that is exactly what it means.
-
Abstain from food.
-
Should we weep?
-
Doesn't it go hand in hand with mourning?
-
Like we saw in the New Testament,
-
where mourn and fasting
are used interchangeably.
-
They are talking about
weeping and abstaining.
-
It goes hand in hand.
-
I was leading you back to fasting.
-
"Should I weep and abstain
(or fast) in the fifth month
-
as I have done for so many years?"
-
Now, the "so many" years is seventy years.
-
He is going to tell us
that precisely in verse 5.
-
God is going to tell us.
-
What are the seventy years?
-
The seventy years are
when they were in captivity.
-
What they are saying is this:
-
they sent these two select
men with their entourage
-
11 miles to Jerusalem to the
priest and to the prophets,
-
and they are saying, hey guys,
-
go ask the priests and the prophets
-
whether we are supposed
to continue to fast
-
in the fifth month like we
have been for seventy years.
-
Why would they have done that?
-
To express their mourning for the fact
-
that Nebuchadnezzar came in and wiped out
-
the temple and burned
it and it was destroyed.
-
That is basically what is going on here.
-
Fifth month of the year, these people
have been fasting for seventy years.
-
They have a question as to
whether they should continue.
-
And here's the thing,
the temple is being rebuilt.
-
It's like, well, we want to know,
-
should we keep fasting
-
for the sake of the Temple,
-
when the Temple is actually
now getting rebuilt?
-
Does is make any sense to keep fasting?
-
We fasted before because
we lost the Temple.
-
Nebuchadnezzar burned it.
We were mourning.
-
But now that it's being rebuilt,
-
should we still keep on
weeping and mourning?
-
Is that even right?
-
And we are hearing word
-
the thing is well under construction.
-
It is likely to be completed.
-
Do we keep fasting?
-
So they sent this delegation
-
to the priests and prophets in Jerusalem.
-
Notice Zechariah 7:4- 5.
-
"Then the word of the
Lord of hosts came to me."
-
This is Zechariah.
-
Verse 5:
-
"Say to all the people of
the land and the priests,
-
when you fasted and
mourned in the fifth month..."
-
They not only fasted then; they
were asking about the fifth month,
-
but God throws in here the
seventh as well for these.
-
Here we get the exact number of years,
-
these seventy years
while they were in captivity.
-
"Was it for Me that you fasted?"
-
Was it for Me that you fasted?
-
Now we are getting back
at the heart of why we fast.
-
Was it for Me? What an answer!
-
But there is more! Read verse 6 with me.
-
This is interesting because
their question is about fasting.
-
"When you eat and when you drink..."
-
Wait, God just said to them:
-
"When you fasted and
mourned in the fifth month
-
and the seventh for seventy years,
-
was it for Me that you fasted?"
-
And then He goes right on to say -
-
their question isn't even
about eating and drinking,
-
It's about whether they should continue
mourning and abstaining - fasting.
-
But He goes on to say,
-
"When you eat and when you drink,
-
do you not eat for yourselves
-
and drink for yourselves?"
-
It's like, wow... Lord.
-
Why do You give them
that bit of information
-
when they are not even being
asked about eating and drinking.
-
Do you get the idea that
what was so important
-
to the Jews - and it is!
-
This is a really important
question for these Jews.
-
They felt it so critical to figure out
-
whether they should continue
this or not continue this,
-
that they actually go
to the extent of sending
-
a party of men to
Jerusalem to get an answer.
-
They obviously find Zechariah.
-
Zechariah's a man who can
give them an answer, right?
-
He is a prophet of God,
-
He's got a connection with the Lord.
-
They want to know.
-
Why would you even ask that question?
-
Why would you even send
this delegation to find out?
-
Because you want to know
what pleases the Lord.
-
They are thinking, they are
discussing among themselves.
-
They are getting together
at Bethel and thinking,
-
"Should we continue this?"
-
Which is pleasing to the Lord?
-
Is it pleasing to the Lord that
we continue to fast?
-
Or is it pleasing to the Lord that
we discontinue this fast?
-
That is what they are asking about.
-
But you see how God answers?
-
God is saying to them what's
really and truly important to Me
-
is missed by your questions altogether.
-
You see, you are sitting there thinking
-
that whether you fast or don't fast
-
is going to make the difference.
-
And God is saying it's not
going to make any difference.
-
I am not pleased with you
when you eat and drink.
-
Nor I am pleased with you
when you don't eat and drink.
-
You see the Lord's point?
-
Your fifth month fast has been no
good because you don't do it for Me!
-
You don't do it for Me.
-
If that's all the Lord has said;
if He had stopped right there,
-
they'd be going home thinking:
-
Oh, okay, so God is not
pleased with the fast.
-
Ok guys, Bethel we need to stop fasting.
-
God will be pleased with this.
-
No! It was necessary that
He say the next thing,
-
so that they really get the point.
-
You guys have a bigger issue
-
than whether you are
fasting or not fasting.
-
The way to please God
is not for these people
-
to simply quit the fast.
-
The Lord says that's
no good either because
-
you give the fast up and then you
go back to eating and drinking.
-
You don't do that for Me either.
-
Our primary question about fasting,
-
because you get all the time:
-
How often should I fast?
-
How long should I fast when I do fast?
-
What should this look like?
-
Do I fast for a meal?
-
Do I fast for a whole day?
-
Three days? Seven days?
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
Look, I'll tell you this,
-
if you are Christian,
-
Jesus is clearly saying
-
that fasting can be beneficial to you
-
in order to receive the
reward that God has.
-
The greatest reward that
God can give you is Himself,
-
and greater manifestations of Himself.
-
That is the greatest thing
He can give you.
-
He is the greatest treasure
that He has to give.
-
And the thing is
-
When you try to concern
yourselves with how long?
-
What should my frequency be?
-
What should this look like?
-
There is definitely benefit in it
-
if you are doing it for the sake of God.
-
If you are just doing it mechanically;
-
if you're just doing it because
it has become tradition or habit,
-
because the rest of church does it
-
because GCC has this tradition
-
of starting out each year with
a week of prayer and fasting.
-
Okay, you're going to do this because...
-
Look, the real issue in this is
-
you can eat and drink to the glory of God.
-
You can fast and do that
to the glory of the Lord.
-
And then you can go back to eating
-
and you can do it to
the glory of the Lord.
-
You don't have to feel a bit guilty.
-
But the driving motivator here
-
should be desire for God;
-
it should be desire for Him;
-
it should be doing it for Him.
-
He is saying you did not fast for Me
-
and when you eat and drink,
-
you do that for yourselves.
-
Our sights are set on the Lord.
-
This is all God-perspective
here in fasting.
-
That's the real issue.
-
We don't want to get
so hung up on ritual.
-
The Pharisee: "Oh, I
fast twice in a week."
-
You can get to where fasting
just becomes ritualistic.
-
You just do it to do it.
-
You do it because it is almost like
-
you feel there is some magic about it.
-
I fast and somehow I
am twisting God's arm
-
to do this or do that for me.
-
That's not what this is about.
-
You have to remember,
-
Jesus is talking about when we fast,
-
there is a God who sees in secret.
-
What's He looking at?
-
Not just your fasting exercise.
-
He is looking at your heart!
-
Didn't Jesus come along and say,
-
"You know, Isaiah said the
right thing about you guys!"
-
He was specifically talking about
-
where Isaiah said that these people
-
draw near to Me with their mouth.
-
But their hearts - they are far from Me.
-
God looks at the heart.
-
When you are taking about fasting,
-
(Incomplete thought)
-
there are times not to fast.
-
There are times when
the bridegroom is there.
-
It is time not to fast.
-
But the bridegroom has been taken away.
-
We ought to be desperate.
-
There ought to be lots of times
-
when we're just desperate for
having Him draw nearer.
-
Do you ever get just desperate?
-
It is like I don't have enough of God!
-
This is clearly the most important
question we need to be asking:
-
"Are we doing this for God?"
-
As far as frequency, it is something
you and I have to work through.
-
It's something we have
to ask questions about.
-
Just the question about
whether we fast or don't fast,
-
you can tell, God thinks that's
not the most important thing.
-
It's a trifle.
-
They totally miss what's essential
-
when they are asking a question like that.
-
That's all we ask.
-
Brethren, we need to beware of ceremony,
-
tradition, and ritual in all of this.
-
We need to be guided by desire,
-
That's a good thing to fast for!
-
God, give me more desire for You!
-
You got this promise sealed
with the blood of Jesus Christ,
-
that if you fast in secret,
there are rewards.
-
I'll tell you this,
-
Jesus did not say you
will get these rewards
-
whether you fast or not.
-
He did not say that.
-
He did not say that this
whole thing of fasting
-
is just indifferent whether
you do it or not
-
you get the same thing that you
would have gotten anyways.
-
That's never said about prayer
and fasting in Scriptures.
-
What you need to know is this:
-
there are people in this
world, Christians that fast,
-
and they received rewards from the Father
-
that other people don't receive
-
because they don't seek
the Lord the same way.
-
They are not as desperate.
-
They don't need Him.
-
And so they don't get.
-
Scriptures says you don't
have because you don't ask.
-
We can easily say, you don't
have because you don't fast.
-
There may be things that you will not get
-
unless you seek them
-
with real diligent prayer and fasting.
-
Again, there is a textual issue,
-
but there is a place where Jesus in Mark 9
-
talks about this kind only
goes out by prayer and fasting.
-
He is talking about spiritual battles,
-
won or lost, that hinge
on prayer and fasting.
-
The textual issue is that
-
some of the manuscripts have
fasting and some don't.
-
But even that regardless,
-
prayer is there in all of them.
-
It is the fact that there is a kind of
prayer that goes along with fasting.
-
It is an intensified way
of seeking the Lord.
-
When you heart is towards Him
-
and you heart is yearning towards Him,
-
God sees us fasting like that,
-
it is very pleasing to Him.
-
Very pleasing when we're desperate.
-
When we're longing because the
bridegroom has been taken away.
-
It is worship.
-
Do we not see that with
Hannah? It is worship.
-
This is a way to worship.
-
God never wants you to worship
when it's only with your lips
-
or it's only in a mechanical way
performed by your body.
-
We can grit our teeth and not eat.
-
God does not want that.
That's not true worship.
-
Worship is from the heart.
-
God wants us to worship with all our
heart, mind, soul and strength.
-
That is what He is looking at.
That's what is pleasing to Him.
-
That's not just a matter of
"Should I fast or should I not fast?"
-
It is more about where
the heart is in all of it.
-
If our heart is desperate for God,
-
you would think fasting
is going to be something
-
that is going to be simultaneous
to our desperation.
-
In this life, when we
want, and we desire,
-
and we hunger, and we
long for more of Him,
-
more of that reward that only He can give.
-
We know by faith He is watching,
-
by faith we know that He rewards us.
-
The big things are things
you are desperate for in life -
-
those things you know if God
does not give them to you,
-
you will not have
-
the salvation of people's souls,
-
the advance of the Gospel,
-
big things in life, major things.
-
You are trying to figure out,
-
you know, if you want to marry somebody,
-
or you're trying to figure out
leadership for the church,
-
what missionary is going to be sent...
-
These are appropriate
times to be fasting -
-
big decisions in your life where
you need to lay hold on God.
-
You need an answer. You need Him.
-
You do it for Him.
-
Any approach to God that makes Him great.
-
Not that we do, but you know how
we talk about magnifying the Lord.
-
That doesn't mean we make
Him bigger than He already is.
-
When we magnify the Lord,
-
all we do is come closer and
closer to a proper perspective
-
of what He is, who He is, how He is,
what His attributes are.
-
But brethren, when we are
going to God in desperation,
-
you know what that does?
You know what it communicates?
-
I recognize, I am needy,
I am desperate, I am helpless,
-
I am bankrupt, and He is
the fountain of all good.
-
He is Jehovah Jireh. I need Him.
-
He is the provider.
-
He is glorified when
we view Him like that.
-
If we really recognize how
utterly desperate we are
-
and bankrupt we are in ourselves,
-
and just the riches that are to be had;
-
this treasure house of
riches that are in Christ.
-
Like I say, the greatest riches that
God can give us is His own Son
-
and His own Self, fellowship with Himself.
-
Brethren, you get overwhelmed
by the presence of God
-
and you don't want anything
else in this world.
-
There is nothing greater than that.
-
And for Him to sweep us
ultimately up into His presence
-
where we can behold Him face to face
-
and be married to Him, be His bride,
-
walk with Him and talk
with Him, behold His glory.
-
There will be nothing greater that just
beholding the glory of Jesus Christ.
-
Don't you want more now?
Aren't you desperate for that?
-
That's what it is all about
when you hunger after that
-
and you actually fast
because you long for that.
-
That is worship.
-
God is very pleased
when your heart is in it.
-
If you get to the place
where you feel like
-
my heart is not in prolonging this fast.
-
I feel like right now, I could
sit down and eat a steak.
-
I could do that more to His glory.
-
Then do it. Eat your steak!
-
If there is nothing in your life that
is that desperate at that moment,
-
go eat your steak!
-
And praise God for it!
-
That's a word on fasting.
Brief theology on fasting.
-
Hopefully, that helps maybe
bring a little more clarity.
-
Father, we pray that the reality of this
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that we've seen in Scriptures might be
true in our lives and true in our church
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especially in this season
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where we give ourselves just such fasting.
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Make us desperate for You, Father,
we pray in Christ's name. Amen.