Discipline Ain’t Fun
CHURCH NOTES:
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” — HEBREWS 12:11
FASTING IS A “DISCIPLES DISCIPLINE”
BELIEVERS > DISCIPLES > CHRISTIAN
DISCIPLE: “ONE WHO FOLLOWS THE DISCIPLINES OF THE MENTOR” (JESUS)
PRINCIPLES TO LIVE BY:
YOU GOT TO FAST TO LAST
YOU GOT TO PRAY TO STAY
YOU GOT TO GIVE TO LIVE
YOU GOT TO READ TO LEAD
YOU GOT TO WALK THE WALK
YOU GOT TO TALK THE TALK
YOU GOT TO FLY REAL HIGH
AND IF YOU CAN’T HACK IT, THEN GRAB YOUR JACKET!!!
FASTING RELEASES OUR POTENTIAL
FASTING IS PART OF A FAITHFUL LIFE: TO DO WITHOUT SOMETHING THAT IS HARD TO DO WITHOUT SO THAT IT DOES NOT COME BETWEEN YOU AND GOD; SO IT CANNOT ACT AS A GOD OVER THAT RELATIONSHIP AND OVER YOUR LIFE.
USUALLY FOOD (HUMANS TEND TO BE GLUTTONS) BUT CAN BE ANYTHING.
ANYTHING IN OUR LIVES THAT WE DON'T OR CAN'T SAY “NO” TO, IT IS AN IDOL
FASTING HELPS TO FIND CONTROL AND SURRENDER IT TO GOD.
WHEN YOU GIVE, WHEN YOU PRAY, WHEN YOU FAST
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” — MATT 6:2
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” — MATT 6:5
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” — MATT 6:16
“But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” — MATT 6:17-18
FASTING EXPRESSES SELF-CONTROL
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” — GAL 5:22-23
“Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.” - HEB 13:9
FASTING (HEBREW): "TO COVER THE MOUTH"
FASTING (GREEK): "TO ABSTAIN"
THE JEWS WERE COMMANDED BY GOD TO FAST TO SHOW THEIR SUBMISSION TO HIS WILL.
FASTING TAKES DISCIPLINE & SELF-CONTROL
TWO TYPES OF FASTING
1) “FULL”: WHAT JESUS DID FOR 40 DAYS, WATER, NO FOOD. (EXTENDED PERIOD WITHOUT FOOD)
2) “PARTIAL”: DANIEL AND THE 3 HEBREW BOYS. VEGETABLES AND WATER, INSTEAD OF THE ROYAL FOOD.
“‘Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.’ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.” — DAN. 1:12-15
WHY WE FAST
I) FOR PERSONAL SANCTITY
“I HUMBLED MYSELF WITH FASTING” — PS. 53:13
GOOD FOR OUR BODIES
GOOD FOR OUR SOULS
GOOD FOR OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD (& RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS)
“PRIDE AND A TOO FULL STOMACH ARE FIRST COUSINS”
THE SIN OF SODOM WAS NOT JUST HOMOSEXUALITY. IT WAS THE CONDITION OF THEIR HEARTS
"'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.’” — Ezek 16:49
FASTING IS A DIVINE CORRECTIVE TO THE PRIDE OF THE HUMAN HEART. IT IS A DISCIPLINE OF THE BODY WITH A TENDENCY TO HUMBLE THE SOUL.
II) TO BE HEARD
“There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.” — EZRA 8:23
FASTING PUTS WINGS ON YOUR PRAYERS
FASTING DRIVES BACK OPPRESSING POWERS OF DARKNESS AND GIVES US AN EDGE OVER THE ENEMY
FASTING WITH PRAYER SAYS “I MEAN BUSINESS”!
FASTING BRINGS BREAKTHROUGHS
III) TO CHANGE GOD’S MIND
“The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” — JONAH 3:5
“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” — JONAH 3:10
GOD CHANGED HIS MIND & SPARED THEM… BC THEY FASTED!
SIN IS REPAID WITH JUDGMENT
REPENTANCE IS REPAID WITH MERCY!
GOD SET THESE TERMS:
“If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” — JEREMIAH 18:7-8
WHEN GOD DEFERS AN EVIL DAY, IT COULD MEAN THE SALVATION OF MULTITUDES
IV) TO FREE THE CAPTIVES
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” — ISAIAH 58:6
MANY BELIEVERS HAVE BEEN SAVED WITHOUT BEING DELIVERED
SIMON THE SORCERER (ACTS 8:9)
FASTING GIVES AUTHORITY AND PRESSURE FOR THE BREAKTHROUGH
TRUE RESULTS OF FASTING.
LOOSE THE BONDS OF WICKEDNESS
UNDO THE HEAVY BURDENS
FEED THE HUNGRY
SHELTER THE POOR AND CLOTHE THE NAKED
RESULT: “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” — ISAIAH 58:8
HOW SHOULD WE FAST
BUILD UP TO IT
GET ALONE WITH GOD AND HIS WORD, (LIMIT OUTSIDE VOICES).
MAKE IT A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, NOT A WRESTLING MATCH!
HUMBLE OURSELVES BEFORE GOD, CALL UPON HIM FOR HIS DIVINE WILL.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
FASTING IS NOT MEANT TO IMPRESS OTHERS. IT’S FOR YOURSELF.
SUFFERINGS CAUSED BY THE FAST ARE NOT AN EXCUSE TO E GROUCHY OR RUDE.
IF YOU FEEL IRRITABLE OR QUICK BC OF THE FAST, TAKE A SMALL BREAK BC YOU RISK BECOMING A BAD EXAMPLE OF GOD’S LOVE. YOU CAN ALWAYS ASK FORGIVENESS AND BEGIN AGAIN, WITH A FRESH MIND.