Real Life Community Church Richmond, KY
Real Life Community Church, is a church located in Richmond, Kentucky. Our fellowship is comprised of authentic followers of Jesus Christ who aim to glorify God in all that we do. We have a desire to reach our community, meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of those who are hurting.What to Expect in a Service Our Sunday Morning services include a time of dynamic, blended worship. We have a full praise band, consisting of real Christ-followers who are committed to worshiping God, not just through song, but in every area of their lives. Each service will include a relevant, Bible-based message, that will inspire and challenge those who hear it. Come casually or formally dressed… however you are most comfortable. We hope to see you soon!
Real Life Community Church Richmond, KY
Acts | Part 20 | Hunger for God: How Fasting Transforms Our Spiritual Lives
Discover the transformative spiritual practice that's hiding in plain sight throughout Scripture yet rarely discussed in modern churches. Fasting—mentioned over 60 times in the Bible and practiced by Jesus himself—has largely disappeared from our spiritual conversations despite its profound impact on our relationship with God.
What makes this ancient discipline so powerful? Unlike other spiritual practices, fasting uniquely demonstrates our desire for God above all else by temporarily setting aside His good gifts (typically food) to focus more fully on Him. As Augustine wrote, fasting is "for Christians what exercise is for the athlete," strengthening us for life's battles and sharpening our spiritual sight.
Our journey through Acts 13 reveals how the early church at Antioch was "worshiping the Lord and fasting" when the Holy Spirit directed them to commission Paul and Barnabas for missionary work. This pivotal moment in church history—the launching of the first missionary journey—emerged directly from a time of corporate fasting. The text mentions fasting twice in just three verses, highlighting its significance in hearing God's voice with clarity.
Many believers find themselves at a crossroads, needing direction for major life decisions or breakthrough in persistent struggles. Fasting offers a path to spiritual clarity that's often missing in our overstuffed lives. As David Platt and Francis Chan note, "The weakness of our hunger for God is not because He is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with earthly things. Perhaps the denial of our stomach's appetite for food might increase our soul's appetite for God."
Ready to incorporate this powerful discipline into your spiritual life? Start small—try fasting one meal and using that time for focused prayer instead. Remember that effective fasting must be coupled with prayer, holiness, and acts of charity. The goal isn't personal misery or spiritual merit-earning but expressing our deepest desire: to hunger for the Bread of Life more than the bread of this world.
Will you accept the challenge to rediscover what generations of faithful believers have known? Your spiritual journey might be transformed by what you discover when you fast.
All right from Acts 13, verses 1 through 3. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers Barnabas Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Menaen, a lifelong friend of Herod, the Tetrarch, and Saul. While they were 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. Then, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
Speaker 2:Amen, the word of God for the people of God.
Speaker 3:Okay, Chris, pray for us. Well, Father, thank you for making room for each of us to be here this morning and to receive from you.
Speaker 3:You're the God of life, the God of light, and we just ask that this morning, as we reflect on your words to us, that we would appropriately soak in them, lean into them and really trust what you're saying to us this morning, and we just thank you so much that you would do everything that you've done for us, including giving your eternal word to us. That's still timely, even today, and so we just thank you for being attentive and listening.
Speaker 2:You can be seated. Everybody doing okay, smile at me, all right. Well, there's one spiritual discipline that churchy churches rarely, if ever, speak about. You know many of you know my story that I grew up in a wonderful christian home. Where I was, I was taught the word of god and I went to a great church. Growing up I we had a robust Sunday school program Wonderful. I had a great youth group, about 75 kids, some wonderful youth pastors, tremendous senior pastors that poured into us week after week. When I went into ministry at 22 years old, I sat as an associate pastor under some wonderful pastors who poured into my life and taught me the ropes of ministry. I had six years of Bible college where I learned to interpret and teach God's Word. I've got many men through the years. I've had many men and continue to have men who speak into my life, other pastors, and that's all been part of my discipleship journey. But there's one discipline that I've just heard very little about in all of those years and that is the discipline of fasting, which is what I want to talk about today. Ironically, on the day, we're going to have an ice cream. Social after service is what I want to talk about today Ironically on the day we're going to have an ice cream social after service.
Speaker 2:But it's odd to me that we don't talk about fasting. Because, do you know? It's mentioned over 60 times in the Bible, 20 of those mentions being in the New Testament. How did Jesus begin his earthly ministry? After his baptism, he went into the wilderness. He fasted right 40 days. Jesus, you know he assumes that his followers will fast. You know, in Matthew, chapter 6, when Jesus is conversing with his disciples and he begins talking about prayer and fasting, he says to them when you fast, not if you fast. So there seems to be an assumption there. And then we know from our text today we'll look at this that the early church fasted.
Speaker 2:And then, do you know that the church fathers and even the reformers have spoken a lot about, spoke a lot about fasting? St Chrysostom called fasting quote a medicine against sin, saying that it rids us of evil desires and restores peace to the soul. Augustine said, quote the fast is for Christians what exercise is for the athlete. He says it strengthens us to face the battles of life. If any of you found that to be true of life. If any of you found that to be true. Tertullian said that fasting sharpens our spiritual sight, allowing us to see the truths of God's word more clearly. Martin Luther, the reformer, claimed that fasting, coupled with prayer, readied the heart for deeper communion with God. Calvin wrote about fasting, spurgeon talked about, preached about fasting. Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote extensively about fasting or preached about it. And so it's important. That's my point, and so we clearly see the importance in our text today.
Speaker 2:Because, do you know, in these three verses, luke mentions fasting two times. Do you know, in these three verses, luke mentions fasting two times. And it's significant. Now we're going if you're new here verse by verse through the book of Acts and up to this point in our journey, luke's focus has been primarily on the headquarters of the church in Jerusalem and then into Judea, and the focus, as far as the apostles, has been on the apostle Peter. But in chapter 13, there's a shift. Okay, now you remember, acts 1.8 serves as an outline and a theme for the book of Acts. Right, jesus says to his disciples, right before his ascension when the Holy Spirit comes upon you here's what he says, here's the purpose of it you will be my witnesses when, jerusalem, judea, samaria and to the other most parts of the earth. Now, if you track with that outline throughout, this is exactly what's happening.
Speaker 2:In Acts, chapter 2, all the way through chapter 7, the gospel spreads, beginning at Pentecost, throughout Jerusalem. In Acts, chapter 8, there's a beginning at Pentecost, throughout Jerusalem. In Acts, chapter 8, there's a shift. The believers, because of persecution, thousands of Jewish believers, are scattered, multitudes of them, and they go throughout, want to guess where? Judea, and then into Samaria where Philip preaches the gospel along with other believers. Then, in chapter 10, we see the gospel start to break into the Gentile world as Peter goes to the house of this Roman centurion named Cornelius.
Speaker 2:Well, now, you might remember just a chapter or so back that revival was breaking out in Antioch. The Christians in Jerusalem went on up north all the way to Antioch, about 300 miles from Jerusalem, and now Antioch, remember, is a dark, dark city, like it's vile. It's just people. If you want to live it up and party like that's where you go, okay, don't get any ideas, you don't need to visit, all right, that's where you go. But something happened. These believers who were scattered made their way to Antioch and revival, remember. Revival broke out and light begins to pierce the darkness and overtake the darkness. And so now what happens here? This is so interesting that Antioch becomes what would you say? An outpost for Christian ministry, for the gospel to go to the uttermost parts of the then known earth. Antioch, I mean, isn't that cool what the gospel does? It not only transforms hearts, friends, but it transforms cities, amen.
Speaker 2:So in chapter 13, the church is meeting together and they are about to embark on reaching the world. Like that's not an overwhelming task at all, right? Well, where do you even start when you're in the Roman world? Like, where do you start? And what I love here is they don't start with a business meeting, they don't start with a missionary committee. What do they start with? Worshiping God, a church service, essentially and the Lord begins to speak to them and they end up sending out Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Now again, what am I going to focus on today? It's simply this Luke mentions fasting two times, as the Holy Spirit speaks, as they're fasting and they are and Paul and Barnabas are sent out on their first journey.
Speaker 2:It's important, guys, it's really important, and I want you to know this. If you and I will begin incorporating fasting into our lives, I think the impact will be tremendous. I believe you can get clarity in your life on some things. I believe that I believe these things, fasting can bolster our prayer lives. I think we can, as Luther says, think we can, as Luther says, draw deep, you know, into deeper communion with the Lord. But listen, I think that our city could be changed. So a simple message today.
Speaker 2:Three points Number one what is fasting? Number two why should a Christian fast? Why do we do it? Number three how do we do it? Simple, what, why? How Can you remember that today?
Speaker 2:All right, so what is fasting? Well, fasting is generally defined as abstaining from all kinds or some kinds of food or drink, which is a practice that is not uniquely Christian. All right, so do you know that most of the major religions, if not all, have a form of fasting? So you've got Islam they have their fast. Hindus have their fasts, right, non-messianic Jews have fasts, and we could go on and on. Buddhists have their fasts, and so fasting is not uniquely Christian.
Speaker 2:But you know, it even extends fasting beyond the religious world on into the secular world. How many of you are like inundated with, like workout, you know? And they're saying how much fasting helps, right? Doctors are saying how beneficial fasting is. I love this about God's word. I love it when God prescribes things and we find out that they are amazing for us. It's so cool. So God prescribes this, and not only does it have spiritual benefit, but there are health benefits. You know, even some diseases can be cured. You can sleep better. I mean, it improves sleep brain function. How many need a little help in that area? All right, but yeah, it's healthy.
Speaker 2:But I want to talk about Christian fasting today. What does it look like in the life of a believer to fast? Because a person can fast in a way that has nothing to do with Christianity and will lead to no spiritual benefit. So here's how I'm going to define fasting for the Christian. It is the temporary giving up of some of God's good gifts, generally food, so that we might focus on God Himself. It's the temporary giving up of God's good gifts, generally food, so that you and I can focus more on God Himself, easy enough. So I say, generally, it's food. You can fast other things, but I would encourage you to fast food, not eat fast food, but fast food All right. And the reason I say it can be other things is because 1 Corinthians 7, paul is speaking, writing to husbands and wife and he says do not deprive one another and he's talking about intimacy there.
Speaker 2:Except this would be a fast by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer but then come together again so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. So, in addition to food, listen, this might be really good for you. You might fast social media. This might be really good for you. You might fast social media. Like, would that be helpful. Do you know that our kids went on a youth trip, youth retreat, what, two weeks ago? And Jerry and Casey said no cell phones and they were freaked out. I think some might not have gone because they're like what we can't live right, it's like oxygen. But you know that one of our leaders came back and said that her daughter who went, said you know, my favorite part of the trip was being without my cell phone for the week. I think it's a great thing to fast media. You know television, maybe even hobbies that begin to take over your life, like to focus on God. So anyways, but today I want to focus on giving up food for a season, you know, temporarily.
Speaker 2:Why do we fast? Why do we fast? Number one first and foremost and, by the way, this is my longest point, so, but we fast number one as an expression of our desire for God, or, you could say, an expression of worship. This is so important. We fast primarily as an expression of worship. Look at verses one and two. Now, they were in the church at Antioch, prophets and teachers Barnabas, simeon, who was called Niger, lucius of Cyrene, manan, lifelong friend of Herod, the Tetrarch, and Saul, while they were doing what, worshiping the Lord and fasting. You see how fasting and worship are associated here.
Speaker 2:Now, we don't think of something like fasting, like going without food, as worship. Right, it's really interesting in the contemporary church that we refer to worship. When we think of worship, what do we think of Music, which is not necessarily worship? It is an expression of worship. So here's what we do when we plan services. You know most churches we go okay, well, we're going to do worship, in other words, the music, and then we're going to move to prayer and offering and the preaching of the word and altar Beloved. That's all worship, because worship is a matter of the heart. When we pray to our great God, we are worshiping him. It is all worship and you know what worship really is. Listen, how do you know? We all worship, right, david Foster Wallace? I've read that quote many times. We all worship something. What do you worship? You worship what?
Speaker 2:Whether you realize it or not, you worship that which you place the most value in. So if it's career, you worship career. If that's where you derive value, that's what you put the most time and effort into. If it's your family, you can actually worship your family, which is not the best thing to do. Maybe a hobby, or we could go on and on and on. Maybe it's beauty or money or whatever, but in Mark 12, 30, we find the great commandment you shall love your God with all your heart. The great commandment you shall love your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. In other words, beloved God is to be preeminent in our lives. And we don't just love God, we love Him most. We treasure Christ above all things.
Speaker 2:Often the word worship in the Bible means. You know what it means. It doesn't mean to sing, it means to lay prostrate before the Lord, which is a posture of surrender, bowing down to the Lordship. I give myself to you, lord Jesus, here in our text. Here in our text, the Greek word translated worship means to render service. So the King James actually renders the word here.
Speaker 2:Minister, we are, as they were, fastering and ministering to God. Do you ever think that you could minister to God? It's not that God needs anything, but when we serve God it is a ministry unto the Lord. But when we serve God it is a ministry unto the Lord. And do you know that fasting can be a way to serve and to worship our God? So Romans 12, 1 and 2, many of you are familiar with this.
Speaker 2:I appeal therefore to you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, your bodies as a living sacrifice, your bodies as a living sacrifice. Watch this Holy and acceptable to God, which is what your spiritual, what Worship. Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. By testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Now notice in this passage that you are not sacrificing your body so that you may obtain mercy. It's out of God's mercy, a response to God's mercy, that we fast and we pray and we give our lives away. It's not so, god, you know, look at me, look what I'm doing. Will you love me now? No, it's because of his great love that we serve him in these ways. When we worship something, we give ourselves fully to that person or thing. That's what it means to worship God. We present our bodies in every way. Lord, I am yours. So that deals with sexual ethics. Right, lord, I'm going to serve you in that way with my body, like I'm not going to, you know, sleep around outside my marriage and these kind of things. But you know, one of the ways that you can present your body to God is through fasting, because that's a sacrifice, isn't it?
Speaker 2:The mantra of our culture is what Look within and find yourself. It's so like I need some like airy music behind me. Find yourself Everybody. Breathe in, breathe out, just find yourself. It's so like I need some like airy music behind me. Find yourself Everybody. Breathe in, breathe out. Just find yourself All right, beloved.
Speaker 2:That is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches the opposite. It says you want to find your life, lose it. The Bible is about giving your. The Christian life is about giving your life away, presenting it, and fasting is just a sign or an expression of Lord. We give ourselves to you. We desire you. It's a way to. This is what I love. It's a way to express our longing for Jesus above all things.
Speaker 2:So you remember when in Luke 5, 33 and 35, and Jesus is approached by the Pharisees about his disciples, here's what it says the Pharisees came to him and he says the disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours, eat and drink, like that's a put down right. And Jesus said to them can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast in those days. So one of the metaphors that the Bible uses to describe our, the people of God, our relationship with Jesus, is that of a husband and wife. Jesus is the groom, the church is his bride. A beautiful picture. And consequently Jesus says listen, when I'm here with my disciples, there's no need to fast, it's a joyous thing. If you go to a wedding reception, it's not a good time to pick to fast. No, because food is often associated with celebration. And so Jesus is saying listen, the bridegroom's here. It's a time of celebration, but when I leave and I think he's referring not just to his death and then resurrection, but his ascension they will fast, which is a sign of longing. Lord, we want you.
Speaker 2:You know, when Connor, my youngest son, went away at 17 years old, the basic training I remember, in the heat of summer, which it's not always great to you know, you don't always feel like eating anyways when it's so hot outside. But I remember when Connor was gone that Nikki, my wife, almost never wanted to eat. She was so longing for him to be home. Like I was cool with eating, but she's so long for him to be home that, yeah, she, just she couldn't eat. And so when we fast, you know what we're saying, lord. I think this is primary. When we fast, lord, we long for you more than we long for bread. Come quickly, lord Jesus.
Speaker 2:Paul said there's a crown of righteousness laid up for him, and not just for him, but all who what Anybody know, have loved his appearing. Oh, as Christians, we ought to love his appearing. Would it be all right with anybody today if the Lord came back to consummate his kingdom today? So, ultimately, fasting demonstrates this desire for God above all else, it's to say again I want you the bread of life more than I want the bread of this world. That's what it is to fast.
Speaker 2:And so you might ask what if I don't feel that desire within my heart? What if that's not my heart? Well, what if that's not my heart? What if my chief desire, my chief aim, is to know Christ in that way, you know, to long for his return. What do you do? Well, what if I'm not hungry for God? Maybe you're in a spiritual lull?
Speaker 2:Well, why don't we at times, honor God like that? Why don't we long for him? Is it that you know he's not worthy of it? Is it that he doesn't satisfy our hearts? No, don't? We all know deep down that it is God, you know, who satisfies us, the only being or thing that can satisfy our hearts. So why then do we at times not desire him most?
Speaker 2:Here's why, in a forward to John Piper's book on fasting, david Platt and Francis Chan write these words this is so good. The weakness of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but it is because we keep ourselves stuffed with earthly things. Perhaps the denial of our stomach's appetite for food might increase our soul's appetite for God. So if you long for God, fast and express that longing. If you don't long for him like that, perhaps you should fast and that longing will arise in your heart. Now fasting again, it's not the giving up of evil things, but it's the. You should do that, but not just temporarily, like you should give them up, but fasting is the temporary giving up of God's most precious gifts. You know, piper pointed this out in this book. It's called a great book on fasting, called a hunger for god. But he said that it is not generally for the christian sin that most hinders our desire for god, but it is his most precious gifts. We. We turn his good things into ultimate things. Are you with me?
Speaker 2:Luke 14 records the parable of the great banquet. Remember that. And what is it in that parable that keeps people from God's banquet table? It's not sex, drugs and rock and roll. What is it? It's a piece of land, nothing wrong with that. I got to work the land, a yoke of oxen Got to take care of the animals and a wife Like my wife's extra. I can't, you know, I can't, lord, I can't make it to the banquet. These are good things meant to be enjoyed.
Speaker 2:But the reason that the people are not at the banquet table is because they've turned the good things into the ultimate things. I mean, think about Sundays. We're quite empty. This morning they probably have 60 people out. Today 50 people out, some of them for good reason. But how many are just sitting at home and watching online right now? We know Everybody turn around, point your finger at the camera, you know. But for all these frivolous reasons, right? Well, I had a long day yesterday. I stayed up too late. Well, that's on you. You know all these silly excuses. Why? Because we're so full of worldly things so the day of the Lord is not even important to us anymore. Our culture. There you go.
Speaker 2:Piper said the greatest enemy of hunger for God, it's not poison, but apple pie or ice cream. Let me switch that metaphor with you know, talking about food and dessert, I had a friend. Let's say God is the apple pie, okay? I had a friend who would always order dessert. He doesn't do this anymore, but he used to always order dessert first. When we went out, I said Rick, why would you order dessert first? And he would say to me well, chris. He said we all love dessert, right? I said well, sure, he said. But what happens? You know, restaurants serve such large portions of food that by the time you get to dessert you're full on steak and bread and you know your loaded potato. Now you're like leaning on the edge of your seat. You know you're when I'm talking about food.
Speaker 2:But listen, he said at the end of that meal, when they bring out dessert, though you want to want it, you're so full on the other courses that there's no room left. And I was thinking about this week and I thought you know what. And I was thinking about this week and I thought you know what Most of us want to desire God. But could it be that we're too full on the food of this world that there's literally no room for dessert Because that dessert comes to your table at the end of your meal? Have you ever, like it, almost made you sick to even think about eating it? Something to think about. So anyways, there's point one, and I promise I'm going to go quicker through these next points.
Speaker 2:But we fast as an expression of worship. Number two we fast to hear the Spirit more clearly. Some of you are at a crossroads. You need to make a major decision. Chris and Kenzie have a massive decision before them and I think fasting is a good thing to do when you have to make that decision. Chris and Kenzie have a massive decision before them and I think fasting is a good thing to do when you have to make that decision. So look at verse two while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said. While they were worshiping, while they were fasting, the Holy Spirit said and then they said that he set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work which I've called them.
Speaker 2:When a person's fast, physically speaking, does anybody know the sense that's most heightened? Smell, yeah, like you know the old cartoons where the apple pie's in the window and you've got the, you know aroma, you know going out. So, yeah, our sense of smell is heightened. But you know, spiritually, it seems to me that when we fast, it's our hearing that is heightened. We can get clarity, it seems to me, from the Lord, and that's what we see in our text today. I love this.
Speaker 2:Again, the church is not in a business meeting, a strategy meeting, and I'm not against planning, but it's like this is a big mission. We maybe should ask the Lord what we should do. And so, if you have a massive decision. I think it's a good thing to do. The question that I had is how does the Spirit speak to the people Like? Is there an audible voice? Maybe, but I don't think so, because in verse 1, remember, it says that there were in the church at Antioch, prophets and teachers. So within Antioch there's this ministry group. Remember, ephesians 4 says that there are. Within Antioch there's this ministry group. Remember, ephesians 4 says that there's the office of what is it? Apostle, prophet, evangelist, preacher, teacher, right, and so we know we have, at least in Antioch we have an apostle, and then we have prophets and teachers. Now hang with me for a minute. Let me finish before you judge me on this.
Speaker 2:But I don't personally believe scripturally, that the offices of prophet and apostle are still active. Now I do believe. So let's say it like this I don't believe in capital P, prophets and capital A apostles. People love this title and it's usually all these women now are. You know, apostles so-and-so, apostles, so-and-so, and then you have prophet and prophetess. But so I don't believe in those offices, and here's why Ephesians 2, 19 and 20. So you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. The apostles and prophets. They have given us the word of God and the church is built upon them. So I don't think that there are still, and I could be wrong. It's not a hill I'll die on, but I don't think those offices are still in existence. The word apostle, it just means sent one. So any missionary is a lowercase a apostle, and a prophecy is very much still at work because it's one of the spiritual gifts.
Speaker 2:Now, what is the difference between prophecy and teaching? Cessationists often group these things together. Well, prophecy is just telling people the word of God. No, that's teaching. Prophecy is a specific word for a specific people or person at a specific time. So it's not for all of history, all right, that's prophecy.
Speaker 2:Teaching, on the other hand. So that's what we see in the text, right, hey, if we're praying as a church for, hey, who should we send out to? You know, to be with Ken in Kenya? Well, let's pray, let's fast, let's hear the voice of the Lord, but that doesn't mean every church is sending somebody to Kenya, or you know what I mean. So that's prophecy. It's a specific word for specific people.
Speaker 2:Teaching, on the other hand, is handling God's Word, which is for all people of all time. There's no new revelation there, right? We don't get all then, because we don't add or take away from the word. There's no new interpretation. We need to stay true to orthodoxy.
Speaker 2:It makes me really nervous when, all of a sudden, somebody you know comes up 1900 years later and says oh, I think the church has gotten this wrong for almost 2,000 years Maybe, but I don't think so. So there you go. So I think that, as they're fasting, god speaks through a prophet and then that spirit of prophecy is tested, as 1 John 4 says, to do so. That's number two. Number three we fast to bolster our prayers. I'm just going to spend a minute here. Acts 3, 13, 3,. Then, after fasting and praying. So they fasted, heard from the Lord, and then they fasted and prayed more. So fasting coupled with worship. Now it's coupled with prayer. It says they laid their hands on them and set them off. This is a commissioning them off. This is a commissioning.
Speaker 2:Did you remember in Acts or, excuse me, mark 9, verse 29, where the disciples have gone out on mission and they're trying to cast out demons, all this stuff. And there's this one demon-possessed boy and the disciples pray for him and try to cast this demon out, and they can't do it. So they come back to Jesus. They said, jesus, like our demon caster outer is broke or whatever. And he says, hey, you know there's a shop right down the street. No, he's what's he? Do he? He cast the demon out of the boy. And they said, jesus, what? How'd you do that? Why can we do it? We've done it before. And he said some things only come by.
Speaker 2:Some translations say prayer, but other translations like if you have King James or New King James it's going to say prayer. And what? Fasting? There's a discrepancy in manuscripts. The oldest manuscripts that we know of don't have the word fasting there, but both on the, on the, some of the other manuscripts, both the I think it's Matthew and Mark's version of the story have the word fasting there too. So I wouldn't build a whole doctrine off of it, but I do think that fasting can bolster our prayer. Now I want to be careful here.
Speaker 2:Fasting is not mechanical. In other words, when we fast we don't go. Well, I'm fasting, I'm giving up pizza. God's got to do something for me. Lord doesn't have to do anything. This is not mechanical, he's sovereign, okay, so don't treat him like that. Well, if you know God didn't give this to me, I'm going to fast and he'll change his mind. Let me ask you this why do you want God to change his mind? The all good, all wise, all knowing God, you think you know better for him than him, for your life? Oh so, fasting it's helpful and it can bolster our prayers and, I think, bolster our faith, but it's not mechanical. But it does. Fasting and prayer need to go together.
Speaker 2:Number four we fast to fight temptation. 1 Corinthians 6.12,. All things are lawful for me, paul writes, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything and I want to be real careful here and gentle. But I've been pastor in the church 11 years. I can gently say this Food's a problem here and it's a problem in our country.
Speaker 2:And it's not just food. We are a gluttonous people. Like we let things control us. And, by the way, gently, gluttony is a sin. The Bible says don't hang around with a glutton. The Pharisees, to put Jesus down, called him a glutton and a winebibber. Gluttony is coupled often with drunkenness, okay. So again, I want to be careful there and gentle and by the way I've dealt with that Is there anybody in here who has never overeaten in your life or have not used food as a comfort?
Speaker 2:So this is not judgment, or one or two people Listen. This is something we all have to guard from and I'm telling you, fasting, it's unbelievable. It will help you break that addiction to food, Because so many people in our culture are dominated by it, because the food is today filled with addictive substances, because they want you to keep coming back for more, want you to keep coming back for more. All right, anybody mad at me. So there you go. Finally, fasting is a reminder of our dependence on God. Acts 13.3,.
Speaker 2:After fasting and praying, they lay their hands on Paul and Barnabas and they send them out. So think about this, paul and Barnabas, they're getting ready to go out into the Roman world and take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. And immediately we know, because we have the next chapter, we know that they're going to face trials and tribulations. And so what they're doing when they lay hands and commission Paul and Barnabas the church, what they're saying is this we recognize I mean Paul and Barnabas the church. What they're saying is this we recognize I mean Paul and Barnabas. They're talented, but they can't survive on talent alone. You can't change the world. On talent alone. You might be able to grow a big church, but you're not going to change the world.
Speaker 2:It takes the Spirit of God. We've looked at this. God must go before us, he must go with us and he must bear the fruit after we go. This is why, over and over it, points out Peter full of the spirit, paul full of the spirit, stephen full of the spirit, because it's the spirit working in us that causes success in ministry. We must, when we fast, like if we're starting a new ministry or whatever it is, when we fast, what we're saying is God, we realize that you are the key to success, not us.
Speaker 2:And so, for all of those reasons and more church, I want to encourage you to fast so quickly. How do you do it? Like if you're new to fasting? How do you do it? And let me say this for a disclaimer Talk to your doctor. I never did, but you should right, that's what I'm supposed to tell you. Ridiculous, isn't it? So yeah, so talk to your doctor and I would encourage you to start slow. All right. So like, probably don't do a 40-day fast for your first fast, like if you do, man, more power to you, but start slow. So let me give you just a tip, something you could try this week Try to fast one meal one day and not like if you never eat breakfast, don't say, well, I'm going to fast breakfast.
Speaker 2:No, sacrifice a meal, and not I'm not going to fast second lunch. Right, some of you eat five meals a day. I'm going to fast my bedtime snack. Come on somebody, right, because I see your wheels turn and you're like how can I? You know, how can I do this? You know anyways what I would do.
Speaker 2:Let's say that you eat lunch at work every day. I would encourage you to fast lunch one day. You can do that. Eat breakfast, eat dinner, but fast lunch. But here's the key when you fast, it needs to be coupled with prayer, or all you've done is gone hungry. So here's my tip to you, my encouragement to you If you're at work and you fast, take your lunch hour and pray. Just spend time in prayer. Is that easy enough? Let me give you one more tip here.
Speaker 2:How many of you do intermittent fasting? Anybody? Yeah, a few of you. It is amazing the benefits. Four days a week, I eat all my food within a six-hour window and that sounds. Here's what this has done for me.
Speaker 2:Years ago, when I tried to fast, I would get such a headache have you ever been there? And I would feel so drained and so miserable that I couldn't function, much less pray. But when I started intermittent fasting, you know, when you're fasting 18 hours, you can go 24. You can go two days, three days, you can do that. Okay, and you say to me well, if you do that, is it really a sacrifice? Listen, the point of fasting is not to feel as miserable as you can so that you can gain merit. You know, in God's eyes it's not that it is. I mean, even if you're not like sick when you're fasting, it is still quite a sacrifice. Like you want to eat, don't get me wrong, you want to eat, all right. So I would encourage you, start slow, maybe incorporate intermittent fasting. But I think that's enough.
Speaker 2:I'll say one more thing. Fasting must be accompanied by three things Prayer, as I mentioned, holiness and charity, and I get this from Isaiah 58. The people are complaining that they're fasting and God's not hearing them. And they say what's up, isaiah, what's going on? And God says to them well, paraphrase, god says to them listen, you're fasting but you're letting the hungry go poor, or the poor go hungry. You are letting they were fighting among themselves.
Speaker 2:Like you are bitter, you know you're bitter towards one another, which doesn't please God. So here's what God says you start when you're going without bread. Why don't you give your bread to your neighbor who has nothing to eat? Are you with me? Because God is not pleased when we all sacrifice a meal but we drive by somebody who needs food without ministering to them. That is a great offense to God and your fast in that case means nothing. Your fast also means nothing when you have bitterness against somebody within the church and you are eaten up with anger and frustration. That's why Jesus says when you have aught with your brother, leave your gift at the altar, get out of here and go be reconciled and then come back. Because if you have that in your heart, if you have bitterness, it will eat you alive. It'll eat you alive, and what will happen is it will frustrate your communion with the Lord. Okay, so I encourage you fast, pray, it must be. Fasting must be accompanied by charity, by love, acts of love, and then by holiness, so like if you're living in unrepentant sin and you're like Lord, look at my fast like whoop-dee-doo. That's the point, okay.
Speaker 2:Final story before his evangelism crusade in 1980, dr Joon-Gun Kim in Seoul, korea, fasted get this 40 days. Somebody told me the other day we were talking about fasting, said well, you can't fast seven days, do 40. If God lays it on your heart, like, do talk to your doctor before you do that. But Dr Kim was chairman of the crusade expected to draw a million people. Six months before the meeting was to take place, officers informed Dr Kim that they could not hold the meeting. They were going to have to cancel it, revoking their permission to run this crusade.
Speaker 2:Revoking their permission to run this crusade Because Korea at that time was in a lot of political tension and Seoul was actually under martial law. And so how did they respond, dr Kim and his colleagues? I'll tell you what they did. They went to a prayer mountain, a group of them, and they all fasted for 40 days and prayed. Guess what happened when they came back down the mountain. They went right to the police station and before they could say any you know Dr Kim could say anything an officer said hey, got good news for you. You guys are good to go. Beloved, there is power in fasting. May we as a church be more hungry for the bread of life than we are for the bread of this world.