LOC 055 When You Fast...
In the first part of Matthew Chapter 6, we noted three areas
wherein Jesus taught his disciples to not be like the hypocrites, the Scribes
and the Pharisees. We looked at how
Christ’s disciples were to do charitable deeds, how they were to pray and the
third area of instruction is on fasting.
These are three areas of the disciples lives in need of
instruction. They were not to borrow
from what they had seen in their lives, they were to put away the bad example
of the Jewish leaders they had often observed.
They were to live as Jesus taught. They were to live a life of bold
humility in the service of their Lord.
These things are all part of Jesus telling the disciples how they
are to be perfect, complete for the call of discipleship (Matthew 5:48) and men
of mercy (Luke 6:36). Statements such as
Be perfect just as your heavenly Father
is perfect is at the same time a command and a promise. It is a command touching our motivations and
our character. This is how you are to be from this point onward. It is what disciples are to be in
ever-growing measure and it is a promise knowing at some point yet future we
will be fully what God has commanded--what he desires of Christ’s disciples. He
will complete the work he had begun. We
are all works in process. Like the
disciples of old, we have not yet arrived at where we are to be in our
Christian life. We have a long way to
go. We need Christ’s teaching
ourselves. We need to grow more and more
into that completeness that is promised and commanded. That is what following Christ is all about.
As we have seen and will continue to see, discipleship is a
process. It was for the original twelve
and it remains for us. It amazes me how slow the original twelve were at times.
And then I muse on my almost 30 years of being a Christian only to realize it
took me a long while to get it right and to be serious about it. When it comes to discipleship, we strive for
mediocrity because it is it attainable.
However, at no point, were the twelve justified for not getting
with the program and neither are we.
Ignorance of God’s commands for life in his kingdom is no excuse. He has
taught us what it is all about. Our
problem is we don't listen and make it our own.
It is the application of the truth understood.
ILL> You can know how to protect yourself from mosquitoes and
the West Nile Virus by possessing information about buying insect repellent
with DEET. But it does you no good
unless you obtain it and apply it. All
the facts in the world about life as Christ’s disciple will do you no good
unless you obtain it and apply it.
Christianity is not a religion of useless knowledge and intellectual
activity alone. It is a way of life and
belief that effects all a person is and does.
The Word of God accompanied by the work of the Spirit must be heard,
received, and applied.
There is often a lot of comprehension about what the life of
discipleship demands, but a lot less apprehension of what Jesus has said. Comprehension brings understanding;
apprehension makes what is understood one’s own.
Let’s get the larger context of these things in our minds as we
read starting at Matthew 6:1:
Charitable Deeds
Matt. 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable
deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your
Father in heaven. 2 “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do
not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in
the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they
have their reward. 3 “But when you do a charitable deed, do not
let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 “that your charitable deed may be in secret;
and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
When you pray....
5 “ ¶ And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For
they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 “But you, when you pray, go into your room,
and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret
place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7
“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For
they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you
have need of before you ask Him. 9
“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your
name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in
heaven. 11 Give us this day our
daily bread. 12 And forgive us
our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into
temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the
power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 “But if you do not
forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
When you fast....
16 “ ¶ Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with
a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men
to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17
“But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18
“so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who
is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
openly.
Life in God’s Kingdom
includes these three areas: GOOD WORKS, Petitionary Prayer, and Fasting. But these are not disjointed from the first
principles given by Jesus in the beatitudes, either.
Doing charitable deeds and good works for others is in line with Blessed are the merciful for they shall
obtain mercy.
Prayer is in line with almost all of the beatitudes. It is such a
fundamental way to spiritual prosperity as we humble ourselves under God’s
mighty hand to provide and work his good purposes. Listen Matt. 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. In our poverty
we cry to God for help. Matt. 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they
shall be comforted. In our sin, we need God’s continued mercy and grace. Matt.
5:5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. We need to
humble ourselves to follow the words of Christ and not set up our own little
kingdom. Matt. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see
God. Purity in heart. Unfeigned love
towards God and his people. What a
wonderful goal to pursue.
Fasting also points us back to one of the beatitudes. Do you know which one? Matt. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Fasting, properly done, can be a reminder of
God’s ongoing gracious provision for us physically and of our need to hunger
and thirst after God spiritually.
Let’s look at the passage for this morning:
1. The First Word on
Appearances
16 “ ¶ Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with
a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men
to be fasting.
2. The Reward of Hypocrisy
Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
3. The Second Word on
Appearances
17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and
wash your face, 18 “so that you do not appear to men to be fasting,
but to your Father who is in the secret place;
4. The Reward of God
and your Father who sees in
secret will reward you openly.
We need to define what Fasting is, before we can understand,
comprehend and apprehend what the text teaches.
Fasting Defined
Fasting is the occasional and voluntary practice of abstaining
from lawful foods for some spiritual purpose.
The Ancient Hypocrites and the True Motives for Fasting(Isaiah 58:
1-9 esp. 6, 7)
Isaiah. 58:1 “Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the
house of Jacob their sins.
Isaiah was to prophesy about the sins of the people of God. This
is what God says about their sin: Listen carefully, it sounds good at the
start....
2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight
to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the
ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take
delight in approaching God.
Most pastors would like that to be God’s description of the people
they pastor. But God tells us what sorts
of things they said as they did all of the above outwardly....
3
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no
notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your
fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 4 Indeed you fast for strife and
debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do
this day, To make your voice heard on high.
In all of their outward forms that looked good, just like the
Pharisees and their outward forms looked good, they missed the experimental and
experiential. They failed to apply what
these things were all about. It was a
facade, behind which was nothing but the back side of walls. But, let’s continue..... God says, giving us
a hint into a God-desired purpose for fasting....
5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A
day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an
acceptable day to the LORD?
The fast that God calls for is not a fast where man exalts himself
in outward forms, but a humbling of the heart. A day to afflict the soul for
sin. It is a day to mourn and repent, not to boast and brag. Fasting is not dieting. Dieting is oriented to the self and a
physical need. Fasting is the occasional
and voluntary practice of abstaining from lawful food and drink for some
spiritual purpose.
It is often accompanied by works of mercy and searching of the
soul.
6 “ ¶ Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds
of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And
that you break every yoke? 7 Is
it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house
the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not
hide yourself from your own flesh?
When God’s people see the needs and met them in mercy as they
fast, that God promises to his people the following.....
8 Then your light shall break forth
like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your
righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear
guard. 9 Then you shall call, and
the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am....’
What a beautiful picture of what God desires and of what he
gives. He desires a humble soul who
fasts to search his own soul and to give himself over to works of mercy. All the while never making is a subject of
public display. That is what our passage
in Matthew is all about. Don't tell
others you are fasting. And, don't be
motivated to fast by what you will get out of it. Let’s look a little further:
Matthew 6:18 teaches us that fasting is should be to God. However,
this was nothing new. It was taught
in Zechariah 7. Turn there.
Here to we find fasting intimately linked to charitable deeds and
praying. And, we find hypocrites among the leaders of God’s people. Interesting.....??
Zech. 7:1 Now in the fourth year of
King Darius it came to pass that the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, on the
fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev, 2
when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-melech and his men, to the house of
God, to pray before the LORD, 3
and to ask the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and the
prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”
[Public boasting]
4 ¶ Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 5
“Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth
and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me — for
Me? 6 ‘When
you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? 7 ‘Should you not have obeyed the words which
the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities
around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were
inhabited?’
8 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and
compassion Everyone to his brother. 10
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of
you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’ 11
“But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could
not hear. 12 “Yes, they made their hearts like flint,
refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His
Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of
hosts. 13 “Therefore it happened, that just as He
proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,”
says the LORD of hosts. 14 “But I scattered them with a whirlwind among
all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after
them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant
land desolate.”
Fasting is not an end
in itself, it is to be unto God that his glory and grace might be extended to
others as we search our own souls.
Fasting is a means to chasten or discipline our souls as we deny
legitimate bodily desires for spiritual purposes(Psalm 69:9-11 esp. 10)
Psa. 69:9 Because zeal for Your house
has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on
me. 10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, That became my
reproach. 11 I also made
sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them.
One goes without food voluntarily in order to discipline his own
soul. Have you ever sought to correct
your own soul?Why aren’t you eating lunch today? I’m correcting my soul! What a
concept. It is quite a concept isn’t it. There are two important elements to the
discipline on a disciple’s soul.
First, as one fasts, he instructs his soul to seek those things
that are above, and not the things of this world. To even take upon himself a reproach for
God’s sake. It is a willingness to be
identified with the Lord and take reviling for him and because of him. Remember
hat beatitude?
Secondly, It is to be reminded of the source of our daily
bread. As hunger pangs start to occur,
the one fasting is reminded to seek all things from God and to thank him for
his regular providential care. Fasting
can increase our appreciation of God’s provision of what we take for
granted.
Fasting is not dieting, it is a spiritual exercise best done in
secret between the disciple and their master.
Although, at times, it is appropriate for a body, Israel, Judah, the
Church, etc. To fast together.
Fasting is self-humiliation before God (Psalm 35:13)
Psa. 35:13 But as for me, when they were
sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer
would return to my own heart.
Be careful that your own heart is right. If this is what you do in
fasting. We are never told of a minimal amount of time for which one must
fast. It could be for a meal or it could
be for 40 days like Moses, Elijah and Jesus. It is something that should be
done occasionally to discipline and humble our own souls.
When was fasting practiced in the times of Biblical History?
An Awareness of the Judgments of God (Joel 1:14; 2:12)
Public Disasters and tragedy
(2 Samuel 1:12)
Afflictions of the Church (Luke 5:33-35)
Afflictions of others for sin and wrongdoing (Psalm 35:13; Daniel
6:18)
Private afflictions and humiliations (2 Samuel 12:16)
In the face of danger
(Esther 4:16)
At the Ordination of ministers (Acts 13:3 Prophets and teachers;
14:23 Paul and Barnabas)
It is mutli-faceted in its use for spiritual purposes.
Yet, as we have seen and read In Luke 6 and Isaiah 58, it is used
wrongly by hypocrites:
Boasted of, before God (Luke 18:12)
Even though it is the midst of a parable, we have these words that
must accurately depict what one would have seen regularly in the temple from a
Pharisee. If it did not, the point of the parable would have been lost.
Luke 18:11 “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with
himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not
like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax
collector. 12 ‘I fast twice a week....
This sort of boasting is designed to elevate the prestige and
standing of the individual. It is man-centered, not God glorifying.
This hypocritical fasting is Rejected by God (We saw this in
Isaiah 58:3; but we also read of this in Jeremiah 14:11-12)
With words that grate against our sensitivities, Jer. 14:11
¶ Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray
for this people, for their good. 2 “When they fast, I will not hear their cry;
and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them.
But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”
Fasting is not some automatic way to gain God’s favor and
attention. It is a spiritual offering
unto God for the good of our soul and the humbling of ourselves. It has many added benefits, but the benefits
should not be pursued in themselves.
Fasting isn’t about dieting, or reversing the processes in the body to
be cleansed, nor about getting what we want out of God. It is about worship, dependance and reliance
upon him. It is seeing that he is the
one who has provided for us and continues so to do. You see, Jesus was not teaching anything new
with the words in Matthew 6. He was
setting things right, that had gone so wrong.
1. The First Word on
Appearances
16 “ ¶ Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with
a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men
to be fasting.
When you fast.... By outward appearances, don't let outsiders know
what you are doing. Smile, be full of
joy.
2. The Reward of Hypocrisy
Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
Hypocrites have the praise of men.
That is all they will ever have.
What a shame. They think they
have been seriously doing what is right.
They are found to be in self-delusion.
3. The Second Word on
Appearances
17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and
wash your face, 18 “so that you do not appear to men to be
fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place;
This is how it was to be at all times. Fasting takes self-control, but it is unto
God without respect to man. It is not a
flippant thing at all. But a solemn obligation to humble ourselves before
God.
4. The Reward of God
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Jesus instruction is in line with all the Spirit had revealed. It
is man who tends to get things off-track.
Jesus was reminding his disciples of the way things ought to be. In Fasting, what is done in secret, God is
pleased to reward openly. Not in the
Ostentatious manner of the Pharisee, nor the presumptuous manner of the
priests, but as a faithful follower of a Lord and Master that is all by
grace. Grace given to do what God has
commanded. Only Christ’s disciples can
boast of this amazing work of grace. Is
it yours?
DO you have a sense of God working for you and in your
behalf. Does he teach and nurture you by
his word? Or are you still drifting
around trying to earn his favor. There
is nothing you can do to please him on your own. Not even a 40 day fast. He is pleased by faith alone, that he gives
by grace alone, to those trusting Jesus alone, as he is revealed in the
Scriptures alone. And he does all of
this, not for us, but for his glory alone.
AMEN!
No comments:
Post a Comment