“And now about prayer…..”
Message # 4
I hope that through this series on prayer we are finishing
today you will be led by the Holy Spirit to a deeper prayer life – to a closer
communication with God. God has given us
prayer as a process of getting to know Him more.
Part of this process is fasting.
Not a law of fasting.
Not a requirement.
Not a process that calls for
rules and education.
But a faith in prayer
and fasting that is guided by
our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Fast – to abstain from all or certain foods, as in observing a
Holy Day; to eat very little or nothing; a day or period of fasting. -
Fasting – a purposeful denial of the carnal cravings of
the flesh in order to ignite the spiritual craving for God. – Pastor
Bob
Fasting is about a focused and purposeful seeking of God
for wisdom, guidance, forgiveness or restoration.
In today’s world we have so much “stuff” that we consume more than we need. We either are or
are becoming gluttons. Because we have so much we loose sight of our
desperate need for God. We come to be
“comfortable” and believe that
we can handle whatever comes along.
We
cannot. We need God.
Fasting puts our flesh in its temporary and subservient
place.
I am not here today to tell you how often or how long you must fast to enter into the
pure presence of God. Only God knows
your need and He is the only one qualified to guide you in your fasting.
But this message from Jesus is NOT ABOUT FASTING! This is a common
mistake. There is much teaching about
fasting and prayer and their value throughout the Bible – go read it.
This is a passage about our personal
and private relationship with God. This is
about those special times with Him.
Matthew
6:16-18 “And when you fast, don't make it
obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people
will admire them for their fasting. I assure you, that is
the only reward they will ever get. But
when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will suspect you are fasting,
except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows
all secrets, will reward you.” NLT
1. Faith is not about RELIGION.
Marriage is not about the
paperwork that is filed at the courthouse. Marriage is not about the law or the
ceremony.
Religious people are a plague on modern Christianity.
People who would rather look, sound and smell like
Christians rather than actually be Christians.
The lure of appearance over actual service is a common
temptation; after all it is much easier to look a part (acting) than to
actually be a Christian.
Religion looks to a law or rule – a requirement
You should fast.
Jesus taught fasting as a common Christian activity.
Fasting is the act of denying our old man while we seek to
enrich our new man by drawing closer to God.
Just remember, we do not fast out of religious duty or a
desire to show others how religious we are.
2. Faith is about RELATIONSHIP.
Marriage is about the relationship of a man and a women bound together by God’s own hand.
Faith looks to Jesus for grace, mercy, forgiveness, hope
and restoration.
God wants a deeper relationship with you.
When you fast only you and God should know. Fasting is an act of faith in God believing
Him to be who He says He is and to do what He says He will do.
3. Both Jesus and your mother (and your wife) told you
to COMB YOUR HAIR and WASH YOUR FACE.
Your mom always worried that you would get
into an accident and have on dirty clothes or torn underwear. That would make her look like a bad mother
and you like a slob.
Jesus
is not worried about how religious you look.
He is concerned about a couple of things:
a. That you are in relationship with
Him
i.
Private/personal relationship
ii.
No one should even suspect that you are seeking to draw
closer to God.
These are very intimate times with
our savior.
b. That you focus on Him and not
impressing other people
c. That you are clean
and kept.
i.
No one is drawn to the story of a person who is dirty and
looks messy.
1. God rewards OBEDIENCE.
When a husband and wife take the time to separate themselves from the distractions of the world and work on their communication with each other the reward is a renewed relationship.
Our reward is a closeness and intimacy with God that is deeper than we have ever experienced.
Jesus tied our faith and works directly to our relationship with Him; a relationship that is only fruitful when we care enough to deny ourselves and truly seek Him through fasting and prayer.