WEBVTT

00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.419
Well, we're looking at fasting today, and that

00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:07.900
means we've had to cancel morning tea. Sorry

00:00:07.900 --> 00:00:11.900
about that. I'm only joking if you are worried.

00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:16.300
That's okay. But one of the things I love about

00:00:16.300 --> 00:00:18.579
Northern Hope and a lot of the churches I've

00:00:18.579 --> 00:00:21.579
worked in over the years is that they practice

00:00:21.579 --> 00:00:25.079
expository preaching. What is expository preaching,

00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:28.300
you ask? Thanks for asking. Expository preaching

00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:30.500
is where you work through a book of the Bible

00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:33.659
bit by bit, chunk by chunk. And, you know, we

00:00:33.659 --> 00:00:35.799
still do topical preaching sometimes and then

00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:37.939
we repent quickly and go back to expository preaching.

00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:42.140
But what I love about it is that it forces you

00:00:42.140 --> 00:00:44.460
to look at your blind spots. It forces you to

00:00:44.460 --> 00:00:46.479
talk on things that you'd never think to talk

00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:49.700
on and not just follow your hobby horses. And

00:00:49.700 --> 00:00:51.119
that's what we're doing today. We're looking

00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:53.479
at fasting. I never would have thought to preach

00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:57.210
on fasting, but it's... been a really eye -opening

00:00:57.210 --> 00:01:00.750
thing to look at this week so let's pray let's

00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:03.170
ask god for help as we dig into his word now

00:01:03.170 --> 00:01:07.930
heavenly father we thank you that you're a speaking

00:01:07.930 --> 00:01:10.750
god we thank you that you love us that you care

00:01:10.750 --> 00:01:13.349
for us and we ask father that you would help

00:01:13.349 --> 00:01:16.189
us to listen carefully to what you were saying

00:01:16.189 --> 00:01:20.129
to us today and we ask this in jesus name amen

00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:24.329
Well, it's amazing what we can do in our modern

00:01:24.329 --> 00:01:27.510
age on a Friday night. Have you ever thought

00:01:27.510 --> 00:01:30.349
about how good a Friday night's in our day and

00:01:30.349 --> 00:01:34.430
age? You can sit on the couch, a very comfy couch

00:01:34.430 --> 00:01:39.030
hopefully, and stream thousands of TV shows all

00:01:39.030 --> 00:01:42.730
to your TV. Now, there's still nothing on, but

00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:45.329
you can sit there and you can stream thousands

00:01:45.329 --> 00:01:48.519
of TV shows to your TV. It's amazing. And let's

00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:50.420
say you're there and you're watching, you know,

00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:54.079
your favourite TV show and you're hungry. What

00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:57.459
can you do? Well, you Uber eat some food to your

00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.219
door, can't you? And not just, you know, like

00:02:00.219 --> 00:02:03.859
toast. You can get almost anything, can't you?

00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.920
You can get the most amazing cuisine brought

00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:11.319
to your door. Ding dong, they drop it off. It's

00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:14.300
pretty awesome. And then as you're sitting there

00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:16.599
and you're eating your Uber Eats and you're watching

00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:19.080
your favourite TV show, you're thinking, oh man,

00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:21.379
you know, there's that thing I wanted to buy.

00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:23.120
Maybe there's a few Christmas presents you want

00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.240
to do. So you do your Christmas shopping while

00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:27.319
you're watching the show and eating your food.

00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:29.939
You're scrolling away on Amazon trying to work

00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:33.840
out what presents to get for people. We live

00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:36.800
in a day and an age where the world is our oyster.

00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:42.590
Everything is at our fingertips, isn't it? And

00:02:42.590 --> 00:02:46.870
yet there's a dark side to all of this. So often

00:02:46.870 --> 00:02:50.310
all these conveniences and novelties that come

00:02:50.310 --> 00:02:54.710
from modern technology, we use them to anaesthetise

00:02:54.710 --> 00:03:00.050
and numb ourselves from real life. We overdo

00:03:00.050 --> 00:03:03.930
using them to avoid the hard things in our life

00:03:03.930 --> 00:03:09.550
and escape reality. And sadly we also use them...

00:03:09.770 --> 00:03:13.750
to give ourselves quick and easy delight when

00:03:13.750 --> 00:03:16.729
there's a better delight out there that we often

00:03:16.729 --> 00:03:20.669
neglect to look for. We've become accustomed

00:03:20.669 --> 00:03:25.389
to distraction and instant gratification rather

00:03:25.389 --> 00:03:28.889
than feasting on God and the riches of his grace.

00:03:30.449 --> 00:03:34.050
Now, if that's you, no judgment. I struggle with

00:03:34.050 --> 00:03:37.949
this too. But that is where the spiritual discipline

00:03:37.949 --> 00:03:43.460
of fasting can be a great help to us yet it's

00:03:43.460 --> 00:03:46.599
been a neglected discipline in the church circles

00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:50.159
i've been for years and years and years i don't

00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.000
know if it's the same for you i've never heard

00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:55.300
a sermon on fasting before i had to dig through

00:03:55.300 --> 00:03:57.740
my library and i found like one book on fasting

00:03:57.740 --> 00:04:01.400
and i went there you go so today i want to ask

00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:05.800
what is fasting what benefits what traps are

00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:08.849
there with fasting We're going to do something

00:04:08.849 --> 00:04:10.610
a little different to what we've been doing.

00:04:10.990 --> 00:04:13.289
We're going to do a bit of an overview of what

00:04:13.289 --> 00:04:15.009
fasting is because it's a bit of a neglected

00:04:15.009 --> 00:04:17.189
discipline. And then we're going to come back

00:04:17.189 --> 00:04:20.629
to Matthew 6 and look at that passage to sort

00:04:20.629 --> 00:04:24.170
of finish it off, where Jesus is teaching us

00:04:24.170 --> 00:04:26.829
about righteousness and how he's warning about

00:04:26.829 --> 00:04:29.629
false righteousness there. And as we've been

00:04:29.629 --> 00:04:31.750
seeing each week, the main thing in that passage

00:04:31.750 --> 00:04:35.670
is this, who you are in secret is who you really

00:04:35.670 --> 00:04:38.870
are, isn't it? Who you are in secret is who you

00:04:38.870 --> 00:04:42.769
really are. And we will look at that, but let's

00:04:42.769 --> 00:04:44.990
start with this overview first. And there's three

00:04:44.990 --> 00:04:49.850
things today we need to see about fasting. Firstly,

00:04:49.990 --> 00:04:54.670
fasting grows our hunger for God. Secondly, fasting

00:04:54.670 --> 00:04:59.350
means denying yourself. And thirdly, fasting

00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:04.569
must not be a performance. fasting grows our

00:05:04.569 --> 00:05:07.290
hunger for god fasting means denying yourself

00:05:07.290 --> 00:05:11.110
and fasting must not be a performance now as

00:05:11.110 --> 00:05:13.209
i said i've been trying to dig into this topic

00:05:13.209 --> 00:05:16.129
of fasting all week so to save you an hour and

00:05:16.129 --> 00:05:20.050
a half sermon i've cut lots out but i'd encourage

00:05:20.050 --> 00:05:22.569
you join a bible study get into it where you

00:05:22.569 --> 00:05:24.850
can ask more questions and throw things around

00:05:24.850 --> 00:05:28.569
that's a really important thing to do but let's

00:05:29.389 --> 00:05:31.709
Start with the first thing. What's the purpose?

00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:35.829
What's the aim, the goal of fasting? And it's

00:05:35.829 --> 00:05:39.370
this. Fasting grows our hunger for God. Fasting

00:05:39.370 --> 00:05:42.889
grows our hunger for God. There's lots of benefits

00:05:42.889 --> 00:05:45.970
to fasting. It helps with self -discipline. It

00:05:45.970 --> 00:05:48.509
frees our resources up so that we can give them

00:05:48.509 --> 00:05:51.550
away to others. But the big one in the Bible,

00:05:51.629 --> 00:05:53.529
the one that I think overarches everything and

00:05:53.529 --> 00:05:56.829
keeps coming up again and again, is fasting is

00:05:56.829 --> 00:06:02.459
humbling hunger. It's humbling hunger. Remember

00:06:02.459 --> 00:06:04.839
Nineveh repenting. They fasted, didn't they?

00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:09.279
They were humbling themselves before God. David

00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:11.899
and Ezra were mourning sins, their own sin or

00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:14.560
the sin of Israel. They were humbling themselves

00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:18.100
and having a hunger for God. The early church

00:06:18.100 --> 00:06:20.800
commissioning their leaders. They were fasting

00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:23.379
and they were going, we're going to humble ourselves

00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:27.379
before God by fasting and express our hunger

00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:31.079
for God as we do it. That's why we should fast.

00:06:32.259 --> 00:06:35.899
It weans us off our distractions in this world.

00:06:36.420 --> 00:06:40.000
It helps us face our own frailty and weaknesses.

00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:45.819
And it refocuses us on God and how he is better

00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:49.360
than anything else we have in this life. I mean,

00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:53.040
in verse 18 of Matthew 6, Jesus says the Father

00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:56.040
will reward you if you're fasting in secret.

00:06:56.339 --> 00:07:00.459
So there's a spiritual benefit. to fasting now

00:07:00.459 --> 00:07:04.079
it's not asceticism you know god's not a sadist

00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:06.639
he's not there in heaven sitting on the edge

00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:09.439
of his throne going yes i want to see my people

00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:15.819
suffer our pain doesn't please him he's not more

00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:18.680
likely to answer your prayer if you've been fasting

00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:23.079
he's a good father he wants to do what's best

00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:27.740
for us but sometimes Giving up things to refocus

00:07:27.740 --> 00:07:32.540
on God is what's best for us. The benefit of

00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:37.240
fasting is that giving things up can expand our

00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:42.339
appetite for God. One thing Laura and I have

00:07:42.339 --> 00:07:44.959
loved to do, we've done it once before and then

00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:47.519
we did it when we got to Cairns, is Brazilian

00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:51.220
barbecue. Have you done Brazilian barbecue? I

00:07:51.220 --> 00:07:53.199
think it's called Bushfire. There's a great little

00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:55.420
place on the Esplanade. They do Brazilian barbecue.

00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:58.319
Brazilian barbecue is an all -you -can -eat thing.

00:07:58.819 --> 00:08:01.300
They bring out meat to the table and they shave

00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:03.699
it off onto your plate in front of you. It's

00:08:03.699 --> 00:08:07.480
really, really good. And we've done it twice.

00:08:08.019 --> 00:08:11.100
It's been very special. But what do you do when

00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:13.120
you do Brazilian barbecue or any all -you -can

00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:14.899
-eat? You know the strategy, right? If you don't

00:08:14.899 --> 00:08:17.899
come in with a strategy, you're cooked. You've

00:08:17.899 --> 00:08:20.939
got to go in and starve yourself all day, don't

00:08:20.939 --> 00:08:23.000
you? Because you want to get your money's worth.

00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:26.560
Now, if I ate something earlier, if we're on

00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:28.699
the way to Brazilian barbecue and I had a quick

00:08:28.699 --> 00:08:33.440
sneaky maccas, what a terrible idea. No room

00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:35.899
for the better food that we're about to feast

00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:39.600
on. I want to make sure when I'm going to Brazilian

00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:44.139
barbecue, I have capacity to eat my weight in

00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:49.419
meat, okay? What happens after we won't talk

00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:53.059
about, but you know. Now, there's a sense in

00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:57.399
which we do the same with God, don't we? We want

00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:02.419
to make room to enjoy feasting on God. That's

00:09:02.419 --> 00:09:05.720
why Christians fast. It's trying to free up space

00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:10.320
so that we can enjoy more of him. And so if you're

00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:12.600
a Christian, I want you to remember those times

00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:16.879
where you've been hungry for God. Times where

00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:20.779
you had great, rich joy from feasting on him.

00:09:21.580 --> 00:09:23.919
And I bet you can sit here and say, that was

00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:26.559
deeper, that was more satisfying than anything

00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:31.580
else. But what if that was just the tip of the

00:09:31.580 --> 00:09:35.940
iceberg? What if there's so much more to God

00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:39.860
that you still haven't feasted on? But to get

00:09:39.860 --> 00:09:42.360
there, we have to stop filling up on other things,

00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:48.169
don't we? Don't you want that again? Well, maybe

00:09:48.169 --> 00:09:52.549
you're due for a fast. Maybe you're here and

00:09:52.549 --> 00:09:55.789
you're not yet a Christian. And what I'm saying

00:09:55.789 --> 00:09:59.309
sounds amazing. Wouldn't it be worth having something

00:09:59.309 --> 00:10:05.370
that satisfying, that rich, that wonderful? Maybe

00:10:05.370 --> 00:10:09.049
you need to stop filling up on junk. Maybe you

00:10:09.049 --> 00:10:11.909
need to come and find out more about how great

00:10:11.909 --> 00:10:19.070
God is. But how? What's it look like for Christians

00:10:19.070 --> 00:10:22.210
to fast? And that's the second thing we're seeing

00:10:22.210 --> 00:10:27.769
today. Fasting means denying yourself. Fasting

00:10:27.769 --> 00:10:33.029
means denying yourself. In verse 17, Jesus assumes

00:10:33.029 --> 00:10:35.970
his disciples will fast. So it's not commanded.

00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:40.779
But it's assumed. It's not if you fast, but when

00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:43.259
you fast. Jesus is saying this is a great tool

00:10:43.259 --> 00:10:47.679
to use for your spiritual life. And primarily

00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:51.620
it's about giving up food. And, you know, when

00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:53.220
you think about it, like in the ancient world,

00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:55.879
they didn't go to Coles and pick up a loaf of

00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:58.360
bread. Like, making food was a big deal. It took

00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:01.740
a fair bit of time and effort, didn't it? So

00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:04.039
it's about giving up the time and the effort

00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:07.700
and the actual process of eating. so that we

00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:10.639
can focus on god now some of us here shouldn't

00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:13.600
do that if you're got health issues or you're

00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:16.460
pregnant or something like that uh that's not

00:11:16.460 --> 00:11:18.960
for you and that's okay it's a tool remember

00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:21.419
maybe you know that's not the tool you need to

00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:24.240
use right now but also i want to say it's not

00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:28.480
limited to food we find the same principle about

00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:32.679
fasting in 1 corinthians 7 Where Paul tells married

00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:35.000
couples that they should give up sexual relations

00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:38.279
for a limited time so they can go focus on prayer,

00:11:38.500 --> 00:11:39.980
but then that they should come back together.

00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:43.440
It's the same idea. It's giving something up

00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:45.419
so that you can refocus on God. It's denying

00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:48.799
yourself so you can focus on God. I mean, Jesus

00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.440
gave up sleep to pray, didn't he? He'd pray into

00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:55.899
the night in desolate places. I mean, fasting,

00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:57.500
when people have done it throughout the Bible,

00:11:57.620 --> 00:12:00.120
that's often accompanied with sackcloth and ashes.

00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:04.279
They're trying to remind themselves of what they're

00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:06.860
feeling. They're denying comforts to kind of

00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:11.240
get themselves in the right headspace. Fasting

00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:14.700
is giving things up so we devote that extra space

00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:21.299
to God. And it's worth the cost. I was at the

00:12:21.299 --> 00:12:23.200
airport the other day for the Southern Cross

00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:27.039
Diocese Conference. and they've become really

00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:30.100
strict with carry -on weight. I don't know if

00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:32.320
you've experienced that at the airport, but I

00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:35.019
had my little backpack there and they got everyone

00:12:35.019 --> 00:12:37.460
to line up and they're weighing everyone's carry

00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:40.620
-on to make sure that it didn't go over the seven

00:12:40.620 --> 00:12:45.700
kilo limit. Now I want you to imagine that you've

00:12:45.700 --> 00:12:48.460
gone to Brisbane. Say you've gone to Brisbane

00:12:48.460 --> 00:12:53.330
on a trip. to buy a signed footy boot from Buddy

00:12:53.330 --> 00:12:55.490
Franklin or whoever your favourite footy player

00:12:55.490 --> 00:12:58.950
is. If it's not footy, just find the substitute

00:12:58.950 --> 00:13:02.769
for you. And you've gone to Brisbane, you won

00:13:02.769 --> 00:13:04.590
at auction, you went, I've got the footy boot,

00:13:04.690 --> 00:13:06.389
I'm going to put it in my office, it's going

00:13:06.389 --> 00:13:10.690
to look great. But you get to the airport and

00:13:10.690 --> 00:13:12.990
they weigh your bag and your bag is overweight.

00:13:14.269 --> 00:13:19.149
What do you do? You toss out the lesser things.

00:13:20.110 --> 00:13:23.330
to make room for the footy boot don't you you

00:13:23.330 --> 00:13:25.370
go i'm going to get rid of the lesser thing you

00:13:25.370 --> 00:13:28.230
know that that shirt oh that that's a bit ratty

00:13:28.230 --> 00:13:31.049
anyway and oh even that nice one i don't i was

00:13:31.049 --> 00:13:33.090
here for the footy boot that's what it's valuable

00:13:33.090 --> 00:13:35.289
it's precious that's the thing that's going to

00:13:35.289 --> 00:13:38.750
make it with me on the plane and so you dump

00:13:38.750 --> 00:13:42.950
all your clothes uh so that you can go on the

00:13:42.950 --> 00:13:47.450
plane with what's valuable well fasting is briefly

00:13:47.450 --> 00:13:51.340
doing that in our lives There is a cost. It will

00:13:51.340 --> 00:13:53.960
cost. But it's worth it because you're getting

00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:58.679
something so much better in God. What did Jesus

00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:03.080
say when he fasted? Man does not live on bread

00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:06.100
alone, but on every word that comes from the

00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:10.100
mouth of God. We don't live just on the things

00:14:10.100 --> 00:14:14.580
of this world. And so it's often worth asking,

00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:19.720
what do we need to go without? So that we can

00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:25.080
focus again on God. For some of us it might be

00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:28.940
a week without social media. You get up early

00:14:28.940 --> 00:14:31.899
not to scroll Facebook but to get into the word

00:14:31.899 --> 00:14:36.120
and prayer. For some of us it might be going

00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:38.779
a week without the grog so that we can be more

00:14:38.779 --> 00:14:42.799
sober minded. I don't know what it is for you.

00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.220
I'm sure you could work it out. But the key is

00:14:46.220 --> 00:14:49.950
to ask yourself. What distracts me and numbs

00:14:49.950 --> 00:14:55.190
me so that I don't seek God? What thing will,

00:14:55.370 --> 00:15:00.110
if removed, give me much needed space to pursue

00:15:00.110 --> 00:15:06.590
God? That's probably a good place to start. What

00:15:06.590 --> 00:15:12.070
would that be for you? But there is a pitfall,

00:15:12.090 --> 00:15:14.190
there is a trap we need to be aware of, and that's

00:15:14.190 --> 00:15:17.149
the third thing we're going to see today. Fasting

00:15:17.149 --> 00:15:21.590
must not be a performance. Fasting must not be

00:15:21.590 --> 00:15:26.009
a performance. And that's what God was telling

00:15:26.009 --> 00:15:29.690
us in Isaiah 58. What was going on in Isaiah

00:15:29.690 --> 00:15:31.750
58? You might have been sitting there and you're

00:15:31.750 --> 00:15:34.529
going, they're fasting, but then they're punching

00:15:34.529 --> 00:15:39.049
each other. Is it that they're hangry? No. What's

00:15:39.049 --> 00:15:42.409
going on is that Judah were play acting. They

00:15:42.409 --> 00:15:47.450
felt pious by their fasting. But God's saying

00:15:47.450 --> 00:15:50.289
that's not reality. You're not actually righteous

00:15:50.289 --> 00:15:54.470
because you won't fast from sin. I mean, there's

00:15:54.470 --> 00:15:56.649
something big about fasting we need to land,

00:15:56.789 --> 00:16:00.049
isn't it? That the real fast that matters to

00:16:00.049 --> 00:16:02.549
God is not that we fast from food or other things,

00:16:02.629 --> 00:16:05.570
as good as a tool that that can be, but the thing

00:16:05.570 --> 00:16:07.929
that matters to him is that we fast from sin.

00:16:10.809 --> 00:16:14.299
And the hypocrites in Jesus' day? Well, they

00:16:14.299 --> 00:16:18.500
sought to look pious, didn't they? But their

00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:22.820
fasting was all an act. Come with me to verses

00:16:22.820 --> 00:16:29.080
16 to 18 in Matthew 6. Jesus says there, when

00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:32.740
you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites

00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:36.919
do, for they disfigure their faces to show others

00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:39.000
they are fasting. Look at me, look at me, I'm

00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:43.120
fasting. They make it as obvious, as clear as

00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:47.379
day, that they are fasting. Truly, I tell you,

00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:49.580
they have received their reward in full. People

00:16:49.580 --> 00:16:51.659
are looking at them going, well, you're devoted,

00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:56.360
you fast. That's the reward. But when you fast,

00:16:56.679 --> 00:17:00.480
put oil on your head and wash your face so that

00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:03.200
it will not be obvious to others that you are

00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:06.039
fasting. So Jesus is saying, in our context,

00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:08.859
it would be like... scrub up wash your face put

00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:11.839
on some deodorant put on some makeup whatever

00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.660
it is to look nice don't make it obvious that

00:17:14.660 --> 00:17:18.200
you're fasting so that it will not be obvious

00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:20.380
to others that you are fasting but only to your

00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:23.680
father who is unseen and your father who sees

00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:28.960
what is done in secret will reward you so jesus

00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:31.240
saying this is something we need to keep hidden

00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:35.609
it's something private It doesn't mean we can't

00:17:35.609 --> 00:17:38.369
do corporate fasting just like we can do corporate

00:17:38.369 --> 00:17:41.630
prayer. But we don't want to be going around

00:17:41.630 --> 00:17:43.930
showing off that we're fasting, showing off that

00:17:43.930 --> 00:17:46.190
we're denying ourselves so that other people

00:17:46.190 --> 00:17:50.890
will think more highly of us. Let's not rock

00:17:50.890 --> 00:17:53.250
up to church deliberately unkempt because, hey,

00:17:53.269 --> 00:17:55.210
I didn't have any time for self -care today.

00:17:55.289 --> 00:17:58.750
I spent five hours in prayer and giving up TV

00:17:58.750 --> 00:18:01.910
or whatever. It would be like when you're out

00:18:01.910 --> 00:18:04.509
in the yard. And you're cleaning up the yard

00:18:04.509 --> 00:18:07.390
and you've done a good job and then you decide,

00:18:07.549 --> 00:18:09.589
oh, I'm not dirty enough. No one's going to appreciate

00:18:09.589 --> 00:18:12.329
what I've done. And you rub dirt all over you

00:18:12.329 --> 00:18:14.930
and like, you know, that's what this is about.

00:18:14.970 --> 00:18:17.910
This is going, I just want everyone to see how

00:18:17.910 --> 00:18:22.009
amazing I am. Seeking that sort of attention

00:18:22.009 --> 00:18:26.509
is not what God wants us to do. He wants us to

00:18:26.509 --> 00:18:31.049
be hungry for him. Not hungry for human applause.

00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:36.079
So Jesus is saying, don't make your fasting visible.

00:18:36.259 --> 00:18:39.799
If you do, it's corrupting you and it's of no

00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:47.619
benefit to you. I'm getting old. Nearly 40. Sad

00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:51.039
things happen when you're nearly 40. These are

00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:55.559
sad Weet -Bix, as I call them. These are special

00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:58.140
Weet -Bix. They're cholesterol lowering. My dad

00:18:58.140 --> 00:19:02.079
put me on them. 9 % clinically proven to lower

00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:05.180
your cholesterol. That's right. That's right.

00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:07.460
It's natural. It's actually got a natural compound.

00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:11.259
Anyway. But you have to, like, if you're interested,

00:19:11.460 --> 00:19:13.799
go to the Coles, and they're not in the normal

00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:16.039
level where Weet -Bix are. You have to look up

00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:20.059
for the sad Weet -Bix. And I call them sad Weet

00:19:20.059 --> 00:19:21.940
-Bix at home because they really do taste like

00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:27.369
cardboard. But... I've been back on them to try

00:19:27.369 --> 00:19:30.690
and get my cholesterol down. I stomach it. Here's

00:19:30.690 --> 00:19:33.930
how I stomach them. I drown them in toffee yogurt.

00:19:36.930 --> 00:19:40.470
It was a much nicer way to eat them, with a bit

00:19:40.470 --> 00:19:45.269
of fruit and toffee yogurt. Yeah, and upon reflection,

00:19:45.490 --> 00:19:49.609
I went, I think I've corrupted any benefit here

00:19:49.609 --> 00:19:53.890
that I was getting. Back to bacon and eggs, I

00:19:53.890 --> 00:19:58.759
think, but yeah. But it's the same when we make

00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:03.119
our fasting visible. It's like we've gone and

00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:06.319
taken something really good and we've poured

00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:10.619
toffee yogurt all over it. It's become fake and

00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:17.279
empty. See, fasting is a good tool. It can bring

00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:20.759
spiritual benefit. But Jesus is saying, don't

00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.940
corrupt it by showing off your fasting to everyone.

00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:28.670
Whether it's subtly making your self -denial

00:20:28.670 --> 00:20:32.690
visible. Whether it's telling people that you

00:20:32.690 --> 00:20:34.490
are, oh, you know what, I'm giving up for Lent,

00:20:34.509 --> 00:20:39.829
you know. Most importantly, though, don't fool

00:20:39.829 --> 00:20:45.630
yourself by cherishing sin. That's what Jesus

00:20:45.630 --> 00:20:49.549
is saying. Fasting from sin is more important

00:20:49.549 --> 00:20:53.380
than no food. or screens fasting from hypocrisy

00:20:53.380 --> 00:21:00.640
is more important than anything imagine a guy

00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:02.859
at church named jeff i hope there's no one here

00:21:02.859 --> 00:21:07.920
named jeff who's super disciplined he loves his

00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:11.359
rituals he comes to church every sunday he fasts

00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:15.859
he gets up he reads the bible he prays but imagine

00:21:15.859 --> 00:21:20.650
if jeff is a bully at work And stingy with his

00:21:20.650 --> 00:21:27.329
family. He's not generous to anyone. No matter

00:21:27.329 --> 00:21:31.769
how disciplined Jeff is, he's wearing a mask.

00:21:33.190 --> 00:21:35.690
He's hiding the corrupt reality of where his

00:21:35.690 --> 00:21:39.670
heart is at. Even if he's blind to it himself.

00:21:41.430 --> 00:21:45.509
But God sees. Others might look at Jeff and be

00:21:45.509 --> 00:21:50.160
impressed, but God is not. And it's the same

00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:53.299
for all of us. It doesn't matter how disciplined

00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:58.740
we are if our hearts are loving sin, pride and

00:21:58.740 --> 00:22:06.259
hypocrisy. So let's sum up. We started by asking,

00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:08.619
what are the benefits of fasting? How do you

00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:10.680
fast? What are the dangers, the pitfalls, the

00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:13.299
traps of fasting? And we saw three things today.

00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:18.240
Fasting grows our hunger for God. Fasting means

00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:22.799
denying yourself, and fasting must not be a performance.

00:22:25.180 --> 00:22:28.400
But if I'm honest, on my own, I fail miserably

00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:31.460
at all three of these things. I don't think I'm

00:22:31.460 --> 00:22:34.480
the only one. Because I know I'm not as hungry

00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:37.380
for God as I should be. It's just easy to fill

00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:42.359
up on other things, isn't it? Denying myself?

00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:44.539
Well, I keep thinking to myself, can I have my

00:22:44.539 --> 00:22:48.410
cake and eat it too? Can I feast on God without

00:22:48.410 --> 00:22:52.730
self -denial? I want to do that. And when I do

00:22:52.730 --> 00:22:55.190
get it right, it's so quick to corrupt it and

00:22:55.190 --> 00:22:58.269
become visible about it or try and paper over

00:22:58.269 --> 00:23:01.950
sin in my life with some good self -discipline.

00:23:03.970 --> 00:23:09.710
We fail each one. But thankfully, Jesus did all

00:23:09.710 --> 00:23:14.210
of these things perfectly. He loved God more

00:23:14.210 --> 00:23:18.240
than anything. He had the greatest hunger for

00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:22.480
God any man has ever had. He went for a 40 -day

00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:24.759
fast. Not saying you should do that, but, you

00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:28.559
know, that's what Jesus did. He denied himself

00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:32.519
in the greatest possible way. He died on the

00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:35.500
cross, drinking the cup of God's wrath down to

00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:37.839
the dregs so that there was nothing left for

00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:41.799
us to drink, so that we escape God's judgment

00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.859
for all the times we sin, we're... where we're

00:23:45.859 --> 00:23:48.599
idolatrous, where we're worldly. Jesus drank

00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:54.440
all of that onto himself. And his self -denial

00:23:54.440 --> 00:24:00.079
was perfect and real. He didn't fake it. He didn't

00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:06.079
show off. It was genuine, Godward and real. And

00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:10.319
Jesus did that for us. He fasted from sin his

00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:13.019
whole life so that he could bear my failures.

00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:17.440
He died so that we could get his eternal reward

00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:22.000
from the Father. He gave us his spirit to transform

00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:24.720
our hearts so that we would be hungry for God.

00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:31.660
We don't fast to save ourselves. We fast because

00:24:31.660 --> 00:24:36.700
we want to worship the one who saved us. That's

00:24:36.700 --> 00:24:41.960
what drives we're all Christians. But it's easy

00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:44.059
to look the part when your heart is not right.

00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:48.039
Or to even fool yourself when your heart is not

00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:52.619
right. See, some of us here might be the Sunday

00:24:52.619 --> 00:24:59.059
Christian. We have self -denial for a day. We

00:24:59.059 --> 00:25:03.140
look the part on a Sunday. But we're filled with

00:25:03.140 --> 00:25:07.440
other things during the week. Some of us are

00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:10.569
the religious hypocrite. We look the part because

00:25:10.569 --> 00:25:13.750
we're just trying to impress others. But we're

00:25:13.750 --> 00:25:18.049
ignoring God and the reality's not there. Some

00:25:18.049 --> 00:25:23.369
of us are the sin hiders. We paper over our sin

00:25:23.369 --> 00:25:28.269
by spiritual disciplines, self -denial, doing

00:25:28.269 --> 00:25:34.329
the right rituals. But we need to ask, where

00:25:34.329 --> 00:25:40.130
are our hearts really at? What are you doing

00:25:40.130 --> 00:25:44.130
on a Friday night? Is that a little window into

00:25:44.130 --> 00:25:47.710
where your heart's at? Maybe another free time.

00:25:47.789 --> 00:25:50.950
I don't know. Look at your week. What's really

00:25:50.950 --> 00:25:54.849
going on in your life? Because as we've seen

00:25:54.849 --> 00:25:58.089
over the last three weeks, who you are in secret

00:25:58.089 --> 00:26:03.869
is who you really are. Now, we all struggle with

00:26:03.869 --> 00:26:08.849
these things. I want to close with two questions

00:26:08.849 --> 00:26:14.430
to help us. Ask yourself, what do you need to

00:26:14.430 --> 00:26:18.829
starve in your heart? What do you need to starve

00:26:18.829 --> 00:26:22.230
in your heart so that you can feast again more

00:26:22.230 --> 00:26:25.089
on God? Is it sin? Is it distractions? Is it

00:26:25.089 --> 00:26:27.730
hypocrisy? Is it guilt? Is it shame? I don't

00:26:27.730 --> 00:26:29.829
know what it is for you, but what do you need

00:26:29.829 --> 00:26:32.390
to starve in your heart so that you can feast

00:26:32.390 --> 00:26:38.990
more on God and his grace? And secondly, who

00:26:38.990 --> 00:26:42.670
can you be raw and real with about where you're

00:26:42.670 --> 00:26:47.769
at? Who can you just quietly talk to and if you're

00:26:47.769 --> 00:26:51.630
struggling, say, hey, I'm struggling. Who can

00:26:51.630 --> 00:26:55.170
you just be real with about where your heart's

00:26:55.170 --> 00:26:58.609
at? Jesus is saying, let's do these things in

00:26:58.609 --> 00:27:01.009
secret. Let's have a good relationship with God

00:27:01.009 --> 00:27:03.609
in secret. But he's not saying, let's do it alone.

00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:07.019
We want to be a body of Christ that loves and

00:27:07.019 --> 00:27:10.259
supports each other in fighting sin and hypocrisy.

00:27:12.180 --> 00:27:16.740
That's how we be a church that isn't fake, but

00:27:16.740 --> 00:27:23.859
is truly righteous. Let's pray. Heavenly Father,

00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:30.579
we trust in your grace. When we fail, we remember

00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:35.829
the cross. When we're self -indulgent, we thank

00:27:35.829 --> 00:27:39.990
you for Jesus' sacrifice. Please, Father, help

00:27:39.990 --> 00:27:44.210
us to cherish your love, your mercy, your grace.

00:27:45.269 --> 00:27:47.970
And, Father, would it move us, would it drive

00:27:47.970 --> 00:27:53.430
us to fast from the things of this world and

00:27:53.430 --> 00:27:57.589
to focus more on you, to feast on you, to hunger

00:27:57.589 --> 00:28:01.769
for you, to enjoy all that you have given us?

00:28:02.730 --> 00:28:07.210
and to enjoy you most of all please father where

00:28:07.210 --> 00:28:10.309
we need that reset help us to do it help us to

00:28:10.309 --> 00:28:14.509
be wise about what we need to reset on and help

00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:19.269
us not to be fake but real in knowing and loving

00:28:19.269 --> 00:28:23.490
you and we ask this in jesus name amen