Okay, Matthew, chapter 6, verse 16, and
when you fast, now you want to catch
that.
Now remember, the Sermon on the Mount, the
Sermon on the Mount, basically what our Lord
is doing is He's describing kingdom people, Christians.
And what He does in the first 18
verses of chapter 6 is He wants to
give us a glimpse into the secret life
of a true child of God.
And what I find amazing is this, Jesus
assumes His people, in secret, are going to
pray, and they're going to fast, and they're
going to give.
Of all the things that He could have
said, He says, if I'm really wanting to
spell out what true Christianity is, here's three
areas of the life, above all others that
He could have mentioned, He says, you look
at a man or a woman, in secret,
away from the eyes of everybody who's watching,
see what they do with the money?
See how they pray?
And He adds fasting in here.
When you fast.
And you talk like that, when you fast,
assuming that you will, not that you might,
He doesn't say if you fast, you might
fast, perhaps, He doesn't say it like that,
He says when.
Do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
In other words, okay, from the very beginning,
He's saying your righteousness better exceed that of
the scribes and the Pharisees.
The scribes and the Pharisees, they basically, their
religion was outward.
They looked gloomy when they fasted.
They disfigured their faces, that their fasting may
be seen by others, truly I say to
you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast, anoint your head, wash
your face, that your fasting may not be
seen by others.
Don't appear to be fasting to others.
You want to appear to be fasting by
the one that it matters.
But by your Father who is in secret.
That's who you want to be seen by,
and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you.
So, this is the Christian in secret, part
five.
And this is the last, fasting.
The Christian in secret, part five, fasting.
Fasting before your Father who sees in secret,
that's the focus of today's sermon.
So we need to ask these questions, fasting,
what is it?
Fasting, why is it so important to the
Christian life?
Do you know something?
On Thursday when we pray, FBC, the Scottish
Free Church had a breakaway group called the
Free Church Continuing.
And the man who is over that sent
a letter to Jeff Thomas.
And he basically said, we are not seeing
people saved.
He says in our churches, you might get
a little bit of lateral movement, but we're
not seeing anybody saved.
We're at the particular Baptist chapel last Sunday,
and I asked, when's the last time you
actually used your baptistry?
1990s.
And Jeff asked the question, what do you
men think is the problem?
And I said, you know, Jeff, I've thought
about this question, and one of the things
that I brought up is, I'm afraid that
in a lot of the churches, they're not
praying.
And even fewer are they fasting.
And you know, one of the pastors in
that prayer meeting, he said, I don't know
any Christians who fast.
Well, here I am going to preach on
this, and to have a pastor say that,
when Jesus says these words.
Now listen, when you think about fasting today,
I'm talking Christian fasting.
To have a pastor say, I don't know
anybody.
But you know what, all you have to
do is go online.
You can find all sorts of things on
fasting, intermittent fasting for health reasons.
We've got a health conscious world.
Are people talking about fasting in that realm?
Yes.
But how much is fasting being talked about
in the Christian realm?
I would guarantee you, in this country, far
more people are talking about intermittent fasting for
health reasons than anybody's talking about it as
it's being talked about here.
What I'm concerned about, I'm not concerned about
the health reasons.
I'm concerned about this fasting.
I want to know what God says about
fasting.
I want to know why it's important to
the Christian.
And I want you to feel this.
So, what is fasting?
You see, you might think you know right
off, and perhaps you do.
But it's always good to be convicted by
Scripture.
What is it?
Okay, turn to Esther.
If you can find that little book, it's
right after Ezra and Nehemiah in the Old
Testament.
Esther.
We're just going to do a little bit
of a Bible study right now before I
really launch into preaching about this.
Because I want to move through a number
of verses here just to give us a
biblical flavor about fasting.
Oh, by the way, fasting is everywhere in
your Bible.
This is not like something Jesus brought up
here in Matthew chapter 6 that just barely
has any Old Testament representation or significance.
Fasting is everywhere in the Old Testament.
Fasting is in the New Testament.
So Esther chapter 4 verse 16.
Now you know the situation with Esther, right?
Haman?
Haman has had a decree made up to
destroy the Jews.
And you remember Mordecai says to Esther, you
know, you've probably been raised up for this
very thing, for this very hour.
You need to go in there and plead
for your people.
And here's what she says.
She says in Esther 4 verse 16.
Now this is going to tell us something
about fasting, so that's why I'm having you
go here.
She says, go gather all the Jews to
be found in Susa and hold a fast
on my behalf.
There's fasting.
And do not eat or drink.
There it is.
For three days, night or day, I and
my young women will also fast as you
do.
So she says fast, don't eat or drink,
and she says fast again.
Then I will go to the king, though
it's against the law, it's against the law
to approach without being called, and if I
perish, I perish.
And you know, unless the golden scepter was
extended, which it was.
But that's fasting.
She says, don't eat, don't drink.
Fasting in this passage is not eating or
drinking.
Let's go to another one, 2 Samuel.
Go back further into the Old Testament, 2
Samuel.
That's before the kings and the chronicles, 2
Samuel.
Now here, we're going to look at another
situation that arose.
This one concerning King David, 2 Samuel chapter
12.
Now what's very significant about this is this
is immediately after his sin with Bathsheba.
You remember what happened when he called for
Bathsheba and she came and he sent her
home?
She sent word back saying what?
What did she say to David?
I'm with child.
I'm pregnant, David.
Well, David sought to bring Uriah in off
the battlefield and to have him go home
so that it would look like he was
his child, but Uriah never would go home.
And so in the end, David had Uriah
killed, but she still was pregnant.
Now Uriah is dead.
She's with child, and David brings her to
himself.
Basically marries her, but the child is born.
Well, God said the child's going to die.
And so, look what you have.
2 Samuel chapter 12 verse 16.
David therefore sought God on behalf of the
child, and David fasted and went in and
lay all night on the ground.
Now if you drop down to verse 21,
what happens is the child dies.
Well, the servants are all perplexed by David's
conduct here.
They think, oh, if David is this wrapped
up in the child, if he's fasting and
he's laying there on the ground all night
while the child was still alive, we're afraid
to tell him the child's died because we
don't know what he's going to do.
And he does just the opposite of what
they think.
Then his servant said to him, what is
the thing that you've done?
You fasted, this is verse 21, you fasted
and wept for the child while he was
alive, but when the child died, you arose
and ate food.
He said, while the child was still alive,
I fasted and wept, for I said, who
knows whether the Lord will be gracious to
me.
The child may live, but now he is
dead.
Why should I fast?
Well, clearly, look what happens.
You fasted, but when the child died, you
arose and ate food.
Well, clearly fasting here is the opposite of
arising and eating food.
It's the same thing that Esther said, fast
and don't eat or drink for three days.
This is fasting.
Let me show you one more.
Jonah, Jonah.
So you go forward now into the prophets.
And right there in the middle of the
minor prophets, you've got Jonah, probably the most
well-known of all the minor prophets, Jonah.
Jonah 3 and verse 4.
And you remember, Jonah had to go to
Nineveh because he was supposed to go there
as a prophet and warn them about God's
coming judgment.
And he didn't want to do it.
So he tried to sail in the opposite
direction.
And God kept bringing him back to this
reality.
You need to go to Nineveh.
And he does that.
In Jonah 3 verse 4, Jonah began to
go into the city, going a day's journey,
and he called out, yet 40 days and
Nineveh will be overthrown.
Jonah and the people of Nineveh believed God.
They called for a fast.
They put on sackcloth from the greatest of
them to the least of them.
The word reached the king of Nineveh.
He arose from his throne, removed his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, sat in ashes.
He issued a proclamation published through Nineveh.
By the decree of the king and his
nobles, let neither man nor beast, herd nor
flock, taste anything.
Let them not feed or drink water.
So they called for this fast.
Here you have the same reality.
We know when we come to the New
Testament, Jesus fasted for 40 days.
And it says, after he was done fasting
for 40 days, what does it say about
him?
He was hungry.
What makes a person hungry?
A person gets hungry when they don't eat.
So whatever fasting is, it produced hunger.
Not eating produces hunger.
It's pretty obvious what we're dealing with when
we're talking about fasting.
Now here's a second question.
How long is biblical fasting?
Here's what's interesting.
Jesus says, when you fast.
You know something?
I don't believe, I'm almost absolutely certain as
I'm letting the entire New Testament run over
my mind right now, that there isn't a
single place in the New Testament where it
says how long they fasted.
Not a single place.
Jesus simply said, when you fast.
And he never said how long, he just
said when.
So there's no length prescribed.
And in fact, you don't need to look
at all these, but just listen to this.
In Judges, you remember that situation, you remember
where the man's concubine, he ended up cutting
this woman up into 12 pieces and sending
the parts all over?
If you haven't read your Bible cover to
cover, you might be shocked that that's actually
in your Bible, but it is in your
Bible.
And basically what happened is Benjamin went to
battle against the rest of Israel.
And when Israel went out to do battle
against Benjamin, Benjamin actually defeated Israel twice before
Israel had victory.
And after the second time, it says that
they went out to battle, 18,000 men
of the people of Israel were killed.
And then all the people of Israel, the
whole army went up and came to Bethel
and wept.
And they sat there before the Lord and
fasted that day until evening.
So basically what you have a picture of
is this, battle fought, battles over, their mourning,
they fast from that time all the way
till evening.
Here's another one.
Daniel, when he was thrown into the lion's
den, King Darius did not wanna see Daniel
killed.
Darius was provoked into signing this decree or
formulating this decree that led to Daniel being
thrown into the lion's den, but Darius wanted
him spared.
And scriptures basically says this, the King went
to his palace and spent the night fasting
while Daniel was in the lion's den, all
night.
So there's another example.
The fasting, and we just saw it, David
therefore sought God on behalf of the child
and David fasted and went in and lay
all night on the ground.
Esther, you remember what she had said?
You go fast, don't eat, don't drink for
how many days?
Three, three days.
Here's another one.
In first Chronicles, all the valiant men arose,
this is after Saul and Jonathan and Saul's
sons were killed against the Philistines.
It says the valiant men arose and took
away the body of Saul and the bodies
of his sons and brought them to Jabesh
and they buried their bones under the oak
in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
Now, you do find in Scripture where Moses
fasted for 40 days and you find where
Jesus fasted for 40 days.
We don't know whether Jesus drank, probably not.
It doesn't specifically say.
We know that Moses did neither eat or
drink for 40 days.
Now listen, when you get into the realm
of 40 days of fasting, you got to
believe that there's a supernatural element.
And so I know people have fasted for
40 days, but they haven't gone without water
for 40 days.
That happens only supernaturally.
So just you recognize that when Moses went
up on that mountain and his face was
shining and supernatural things were happening with the
Lord Jesus Christ, he very supernaturally was being
sustained in this 40-day fast, being driven
by the Spirit.
And so this is the longest fast that
you find in Scripture.
But again, what I'm going to say is
this, when you fast, that's what Jesus said.
What we do know is this, we don't
know how long the folks in the New
Testament fasted for, but we do know they
fasted.
Listen to this, the church in Antioch, 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.
I'll tell you this, what you find specifically
in the early church is that they fasted
when there were missions involved.
And also this, Acts 14, when they had
appointed elders in every church with prayer and
fasting.
You know what you find?
When they're sending forth missionaries and when they're
selecting elders, pastors in the churches, that is
a time for fasting.
Now, it doesn't specifically say that Jesus fasted
when he appointed the twelve, but it does
say that he went out on those mountains
all night long, and I've got to believe
he was fasting out there.
It's very interesting when people are being appointed
to certain mission endeavors or positions, that is
a time when the church really ought to
be seeking the Lord.
I'll tell you this, if you get a
bad officer in this church, it can divide
the church, it can take this church in
a direction you never anticipated it to go.
Basically what we've heard about the chapel downtown,
last time they had a pastor, 1935.
You know what happened?
They had two deacons, rogue deacons it sounds
like, who basically prevented them from ever having,
obviously they came and went, and then other
things happened.
Then you have this, Anna is found in
Luke 2, she did not depart from the
temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and
day.
Luke 5, Jesus specifically says, you remember that
you basically had the question posed to Jesus,
hey, why do the followers, why did the
disciples of John and the disciples of the
Pharisees, why do they fast and your disciples
don't fast?
And he said, listen, they will fast.
When will they fast?
When the bridegroom is taken away.
Has the bridegroom been taken away?
Just what we saw in Psalm 68, he's
ascended.
Which means he's no longer down here.
Not in physical manifestation, he has departed.
And now we will fast.
That's basically what scripture says.
Matthew 6.16, when you fast.
Matthew 6.17, when you fast.
It's never prescribed how long, we just know.
Jesus' assumption is, we are going to be
a people who fast.
But see, the question comes up, why?
Why should we do this?
I mean, what would be the motivation for
doing this?
Why is fasting so important in the Christian
life?
Well, let's read the text again.
Matthew 6.16, if you're not there, jump
back there.
Matthew 6.16, when you fast.
Of course, we've got the, you know, the
negation here in the beginning.
Don't be like the hypocrites.
Don't disfigure your face.
You don't have to let everybody know that
you're fasting.
You don't need to let anyone know you're
fasting.
I mean, I recognize if you're married and
you're going to be fasting, you probably need
to let some people in your family know.
If we're going to have a church-wide
fast, obviously we're communicating something about it.
But the reality is, you don't need to
let anybody know.
Truly, I say to you, they've received their
reward.
But when you fast, here it is.
Anoint your head, wash your face, that your
fasting may not be seen by others, but
by your Father who is in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will
reward you.
Now, there's absolutely no question about it.
The Lord Jesus Christ is teaching us very
specifically that fasting, when it is done in
a manner that pleases our Heavenly Father, fasting
is beneficial as a means to receive a
reward from your Heavenly Father.
That's just a reality here.
Fasting is a way of tapping into the
divine generosity.
Lay it down.
Reward.
You see?
You all see the term.
That means that our Father in Heaven is
going to render some kind of benefit to
you for your fasting that He would not
have given to you had you not fasted.
Jesus is not teaching here, by any stretch
of anybody's imagination here, you cannot deduce from
this that Jesus is saying fasting doesn't matter
when it comes to the reward.
He's not saying God is sovereign, you're going
to get the reward whether you fast or
not.
That is not what He's teaching here, and
none of you would even claim that to
be the case.
Not based on these words.
He specifically says, if you fast in secret
to your Father who sees in secret, there
is a reward for people who do exactly
that.
He renders some sort of benefit to us
as a result of our having fasted in
secret.
Now just, all you have to do is
look at that word reward.
Listen, what kind of things can you get
from God?
I'll tell you this, things you can't get
from anyone else.
Anybody want that?
Does anybody have a need here that you
can't get from anybody but from God?
See, this is who He's talking to.
People who look at this in faith and
say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I need that.
Now, here's the thing.
The reward.
Your Father who sees in secret will reward
you.
Jesus doesn't say what the reward is.
Why not?
Well, probably because this term ought to be
taken in as broad, such broad, such wide
strokes, such deep and bountiful terms that you
know what?
You don't want to ascribe any limits to
it.
Why doesn't Jesus put any limits on it?
Because I suspect this.
I suspect the reward that one guy gets
is not like the reward some sister gets.
They're different things.
I mean, it's probably just as varied as
it is vast.
Look, does reward sound bad to anybody?
Does that sound like a negative word?
But listen, if I've got a pastor in
this country telling me he doesn't know anybody
who fasts, you know what that tells me?
That tells me this country is riddled among
professing Christians with unbelief over passages like that.
They must ignore these passages.
They must just downright not believe these passages.
Because if you really believe these passages, you
know what you're going to be doing?
What are you going to be doing?
You're going to be fasting in the secret
place, obviously.
When you fast, do not look gloomy.
Here's the thing.
Here's what I want you to notice.
See, when you start thinking about reward, just
think about the first part of this.
When you fast, don't be like the gloomy
hypocrites who disfigure their faces because their fasting
may be seen by others.
Now notice this.
Truly I say to you, they have received
their reward.
You know what I think?
I think we should let Jesus define reward
there and carry the meaning over to the
second time he uses reward.
See, what do you mean?
I mean this.
What does reward mean in verse 16?
What does it mean right there?
They have received their reward.
You know what it means?
They fasted to be seen by others and
Jesus said they got what they were after.
That's their reward.
They got what they're after.
If you let that definition go to the
second time, you'd say what's the reward when
we, the true Christian, goes into the secret
place and prays to our Father who sees
in secret.
What's the reward?
I would say it's just the same thing.
It's what you're after.
It's what you've gone to God for.
They fasted to be seen and they got
what they were after.
The reward is precisely what they were after.
So it makes total sense in the second
part in verse 18 to take it the
same way.
Your Father who sees in secret will give
you what you came to him for.
You see, they got what they were after.
The whole idea is if you actually go
in the secret place and you fast before
him, you're going to get what you're after.
Don't make it mean something different.
It's the same thing.
Listen, so often we're so ready to say,
oh, but you know, we can wrongly ask
and brethren, I am telling you that Scripture
does not primarily tell us that we don't
get what we ask for because we ask
for the wrong thing.
Can we?
Yes, we can.
We can.
But that is not what primarily is dealt
with in Scripture.
What primarily is dealt with in Scripture is
the fact that we don't ask and we
don't keep on asking.
We don't keep on seeking and we don't
keep on knocking and we don't keep on
fasting.
That's the real issue.
That's what Scripture hits us with.
It doesn't tell us that primarily we're constantly
asking for the wrong thing.
Brethren, do you realize who you are?
You were born again.
Old things have passed away.
You're new creations, new desires.
You have desires for good things.
Ask for them and keep asking for them.
And God loves to put Himself on display.
Do you ever hear a spouse comes from
the Lord?
Children come from the Lord.
Anybody want some of those things?
I mean, look, the reality is a lot
of times we're asking for things that we're
asking for for ourselves.
That doesn't mean you're just selfish and you
shouldn't be praying that way.
Brethren, only eternity is going to reveal the
kind of reward that God's people have sought
and found poured out on them by way
of fasting.
I've told you this before.
I'm going to keep telling you this.
Jonathan Edwards, very specifically, when he had Brainerd
dying in his home, he said in that
communication that they had before Brainerd died, he
told Edwards that he had not experienced a
time of fasting in his life that he
could remember that God did not give him
some kind of answer to.
And you say, well, that's him.
Okay, that is him.
But you just tell me, who's this promise
made to?
This promise is made to Brainerd?
This promise is made to all of God's
people.
And only eternity is going to tell.
The people, think about this, your prayer's been
heard.
What prayer?
Elizabeth, Zechariah, they wanted a child.
Do we have anybody in the church that
wants a child?
I know of at least one sister praying
for twins.
Anybody want a husband or a wife?
I mean, listen, the salvation souls, we're asking
God for revival.
We're asking God for a place for this
church to be able to meet on a
permanent basis.
The people that have asked God for greater
manifestations of his presence, for God drawing near,
gracing his people with greater manifestations of his
person, of his love, of his presence.
People who want new revelation and manifestations of
the cross.
People who want an empowering of their spiritual
gifts.
Anybody have some stubborn sin in their life
that they'd really like to have grace and
you've been messing?
You know, Jesus said, this kind does not
go forth expect by prayer and fasting.
Now listen, I know there's a textual issue
there.
The whole point is this, you got a
demon, a kind of demon that is in
this boy and the disciples say, Lord, why
couldn't we cast him out?
Because obviously his answer is, you didn't pray
and you didn't fast that you ought to
have prayed and fasted if you're going to
try to deal with demonic powers of that
kind.
Now look, you can just go around with
your head buried in the sand like the
devil's not real, but the devil is real.
And his demons are real and this spiritual
battle is real.
And what Jesus was teaching is there is
a kind that is so resistant and reluctant
to be moved and God's people have to
take up prayer and they have to take
up fasting if they're going to move these
kind of spiritual powers.
You may have some stubborn sin in your
life and you can't get victory over it.
What are you going to say?
Based on verses like this, you're going to
say fasting won't help me?
Just case closed?
Are you going to look at this and
say, you know what?
That's a reward I'm looking for.
I need help in this area of my
life.
I need to go.
Maybe some of you just plain need a
greater burden for the lost.
Maybe you need greater faith.
Maybe you need greater love.
I mean, listen, what is the reward?
I'll tell you this, reward that you get
from God is a good thing.
Listen, what kind of reward has he already
given to us?
Scripture says if he has not spared his
own son, but he offered him up, how
will he not also give us anything?
Everything.
You see the argument?
From the greater to the lesser.
You got a guy that'll sacrifice his son
for you and then you come for something
that's only minusculely valuable compared to that?
And what, is he going to refuse you
the lesser thing after he's given you the
greater thing?
You see, that's the way Scripture argues.
There's a reward to be had.
That's what we're getting.
Anybody need greater fruitfulness?
Anybody seeking spiritual guidance over anything?
You're kind of wondering whether to go to
the right, go to the left.
You're asking God, direct my path.
You need help.
You need, anybody need help in their marriage?
Anybody have wayward children that they're praying for?
Somebody that they're, I mean, you want blessing
upon your children.
You want protection for your children.
You want victory over the devil.
You need somebody.
I mean, you're just in a desperate situation.
You need help.
I mean, anybody just in a place where
they want God to come?
They need an answer.
They need some kind of movement from God.
They need to know that God is real.
They need God to come into their life.
They need something to happen.
Anybody stalled?
Anybody stagnant?
Anybody lazy?
Anybody gone to sleep?
It's like, you need help?
Capture this reality.
Jesus is saying, get what he's saying.
He is saying, a Christian can go without
food and without drink and do it secretly.
And there is something about that that is
designed to release the generosity of God upon
the one who is fasting.
So as to result in a reward upon
that person that would not be given to
that person if they didn't fast.
That is precisely what he's teaching.
And you see it.
I'm not making this up.
You've got Bibles in your own hands and
you see it right there.
And so for a pastor to tell me
this week that he doesn't know of a
single Christian in this country, he doesn't know
of a single Christian that fast.
Now, you know what?
That doesn't mean that there isn't Christians that
he's exposed to that fast.
They just do it in a secret place
and they do it secretly and they're not
broadcasting it.
So he doesn't know about it.
But you know what?
When a pastor doesn't know about anybody, it
certainly means that the churches are not called.
You know, in Acts chapter 13, Acts chapter
14, those were certainly church-wide fasts.
They were fasting.
They were worshiping.
And the Spirit said, set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul.
That was a church-wide fast.
You know what it tells me?
When you have pastors that don't know, it
means that their churches are not doing church
-wide fasts.
They're not fasting for things.
They're not fasting against the enemy.
They're not fasting for the advance of the
gospel.
One thing is for certain.
Jesus is not teaching us here that seeking
a reward is somehow carnal or somehow criminal
or somehow unspiritual.
He's not teaching us that we ought to
be reluctant to want this.
That's plain.
We have a heavenly Father who does really
delight to give to His children.
And I'm going to say this, Romans 8
.32 again, He who did not spare His
own Son but gave Him up for us
all.
How will He not also with Him graciously
give us all things?
Brothers and sisters, are you in the habit
of fasting in secret?
When you have a promise like this, if
you don't fast, if you walk forth from
this message today and you're not convinced you
should be fasting, I would just say you're
an unbeliever.
You just plain can't believe this if you
would go forth like that.
Because I know something about the human race.
We are desperately needy people.
And with all the needs that you have,
for you to be able to go forth
and basically shrug this off, there's no other
reason than you than you just are not
a believer.
You don't believe me.
You don't believe what's being said here.
That's the only thing I could think.
Brothers and sisters, do we have anyone here
who desperately needs anything from the living God?
Does the word reward sound cheap to you?
Not to me.
I mean, brethren, you know one of the
things you should do?
Just go through the Scriptures and watch where
fasting happens and then see what the outcome
is.
I'll tell you this.
Anybody remember a certain king from the Northern
Kingdom who was the husband of Jezebel and
he was notoriously a wicked king?
His name is Ahab.
Can I tell you something?
He fasted and he sought God's mercy and
God specifically, Scripture tells us, God specifically saw
his fasting and his humbling of himself and
he showed Ahab mercy.
Listen to this.
Jehoshaphat, you remember this?
A great horde of Ammonites and Moabites were
coming against Israel.
They were in Edom and they were coming
for Israel.
They were coming for the Southern Kingdom.
Jehoshaphat called Judea, he called the Southern Kingdom
to fast and guess what happened?
Victory.
They were against hordes.
They were highly outnumbered and God gave them
victory.
See, this is the result of fasting.
Ezra, you remember Ezra?
Ezra went to Jerusalem when people were returning
from Babylonia and he went there to teach
the law.
This is between Zerubbabel and Nehemiah.
Ezra went.
And you know one of the things that
he said?
He said, we did not want to ask
the king for a military entourage to take
us to Jerusalem because we had been boasting
so much about our God.
Last thing we wanted to do was ask
for military help from the king.
He says, I was ashamed to ask the
king for a band of soldiers and horsemen
to protect us against the enemy on our
way.
Since we had told the king the hand
of our God is for good on all
who seek him and the power of his
wrath is against all who forsake him.
You know what it says?
Ezra and those Jews that were getting ready
to go, they fasted and God heard them
and they were safe the whole way.
No marauders got them.
No thieves got them.
And then Nehemiah, remember him?
He fasted before he was a cupbearer for
our exercise and he fasted because he had
a burden about the walls being restored and
Jerusalem being rebuilt.
And guess what?
He got favor with the king.
How about this?
We know Esther and Mordecai, the Jews fasted.
God heard them.
God gave Esther favor before Ahasuerus and what
happened?
Haman's whole plot was turned on its head.
The enemies of the Jews were routed.
Remember Daniel?
He fasted.
Remember what happened when he fasted?
Very archangel Gabriel himself was dispatched and he
came to him and he said, Daniel, you're
greatly beloved.
Does anybody just need that?
You need greater assurance.
You just need God to speak in your
ear and say you are greatly beloved.
That's what he got.
And he also got revelation of what was
going to happen in the future.
The people of Nineveh, we looked at that.
They went to fasting.
What'd they get?
They got mercy.
You can imagine.
There's 100,000 Ninevites in glory now.
Jesus says, when you fast, your father who
sees in secret will reward you.
Do you think you fast enough?
That's a question.
Seems each one of us can measure our
desire for God's reward by the extent to
which we fast.
Do you really believe people who fast get
rewards from the Father?
Rewards that others who don't fast don't get?
I mean, do you believe that?
If you believe God's Word, certainly you believe
that.
Now look, let me just tell you this.
There is bad fasting.
You say, what do you mean?
I mean, there is fasting that the Father
takes no notice of.
In fact, He finds repugnant.
He finds distasteful.
Bad fasting.
You see it right here in Matthew 6
.16. When you fast, don't be gloomy like
the hypocrites.
There's bad fasting.
They fast and they don't get the reward.
Why?
Because their fasting doesn't please the Lord.
They got nothing from God.
They didn't fast to get God's reward, and
so they don't get God's reward.
They force themselves to go without food.
All sorts of people will force themselves to
go without food or they'll do all sorts
of religious things.
People do religious things like they did to
be seen by others.
People also do religious things because they think
that they're somehow paying God.
They're trying to build up merit.
They think fasting gets me merit with God.
That's not why we fast.
It's not to get merit.
These Pharisees, you know what they said?
You remember the Pharisee and the tax collector?
Pharisee said, I fast twice a week.
I give alms of everything.
You see, there's a very self-righteous way,
the desire to have others admire your spirituality
that doesn't go anywhere with God.
We have other examples of bad fasting in
the Scriptures.
How about this?
Jeremiah 14.10 Listen to this.
Thus says the Lord concerning this people, they
love to wander, though they fast, I will
not hear their cry.
Think about a person who wanders.
They're just, they're wandering from God.
You get people who's, when somebody's wandering, their
back is towards God.
What God sees is this, when this happens,
you get people whose backs are to God,
but they spin around and they look at
Him just when they need something.
He says, I don't hear those people.
Or there's this, why have you fasted?
That last one was in Jeremiah.
This one's in Isaiah.
Why have we fasted and you see it
not?
You see, Israel's asking this question.
Lord, we fasted and you don't see it.
You're not regarding it.
You're not giving us anything.
You're not rewarding us.
Why have we humbled ourselves and you take
no knowledge of it?
And then God answers.
Behold, in the day of your fast, you
seek your own pleasure and you oppress all
your workers.
You see, they were just, they were selfish.
Or here's another one, Zechariah.
Say to all the people of the land
and the priests, when you fasted and mourned
in the fifth month, when you fasted in
the seventh month, for these 70 years, was
it for me that you fasted?
You see, there's bad fasting.
When people are very selfish, when they don't
do it for the sake of God, did
you really want me?
That's the issue.
You know what's very interesting about Zechariah?
It actually reads this.
Did you fast for me?
For me.
It actually says it twice.
For me.
Did you really want me?
Did you really trust me?
Was I really in all your thoughts in
all of this?
Or were you just being mechanically religious?
Brethren, you know somebody can fast and they
just, they go on with their day and
they're just distracted by many things.
That's not what you want to do when
you fast.
When you fast, you want to give your
attention to the Lord.
When you fast, brethren, you know what?
Even when we glean things for ourselves from
the Lord, brethren, we want it.
I mean, one of the things, one of
the reasons oftentimes that I greatly desire to
see God give, you know what?
I want to see God give twins to
our sister because I want this church to
rejoice in the Lord.
And I want us to be able to
recall that and go back to that.
I would love to see God do a
miracle in providing us with a building so
we can go back to that over and
over and say, look what God did.
Look what God did.
You see, when it's all about that, it's
not just selfish.
We just want to get it and then
forget God.
That's not doing it for him.
Certainly there's a reward that has to do
with us.
Rewards are for us.
You're going to fast because you're asking for
something for you.
But you want it not detached from God.
It's not that you want it devoid of
God.
You want it separate from him.
That's absolutely what worldliness is all about.
It's when people are worldly who just, they
want what they want and they do what
they do and they give themselves to what
they give themselves to in this life.
With God not in the picture.
The love for God not in the picture.
God is saying, when you fasted, was it
for me?
Did you trust me?
Were you looking to me?
Or were you just gloating over how spiritually
superior you appeared to be because you were
fasting?
Did you think you were offering me something?
Did you fast just to build up your
own merit?
Or did you fast because you really needed
me?
Because you loved me?
Because you wanted to be with me?
You wanted to see me put my power
on display?
You wanted to see me arise?
You wanted to see my attributes?
Did you fast for me because you recognize
this world is just full of broken cisterns
and you had enough of drinking from them?
And you're looking to me and you're looking
to me for the satisfaction?
Because you're looking for my son?
You're looking...
Is that really what it's all about?
Did you fast for me?
Did you fast because you know me?
The fountain of living waters.
Listen to this.
Anna, she did not depart from the temple
worshipping with fasting.
Did you tie those two together?
What is worship?
Worship comes from the old English, worth Skype.
Worship has to do with finding worth in
God.
See when we attribute value and preciousness and
worth to God, that's what worship is all
about.
Worship with fasting.
Do you know what it says to God
when you say, I need you.
I'm not going to eat.
I'm not going to drink.
Those are pretty essential.
No, you know what?
All you have to do is miss a
meal or two and you start to see
how much eating and drinking really control your
life.
But when a person says, no, I am
not going to eat.
I'm not going to drink because I need
God.
I need his help.
I need him.
I'm going into the secret place and I'm
seeking him because I've got to have him.
Acts, the church at Antioch, while they were
worshipping the Lord and fasting.
Isn't it amazing?
Anna, worshipping with fasting.
The church at Antioch, while they were worshipping
the Lord and fasting.
You see, it's a matter of worship.
When you say no to many things, food
and drink is what's behind fasting.
But when you say no to the computer,
you say no to the television, you know
what?
We even looked at this Wednesday night.
When a man says no to his wife
and intimacy for a season of prayer, that's
what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7.
You see, when people are saying no to
certain things in life, certain things that they
find enjoyable, certain things that they find valuable.
When people say no to it, that they
might have God and they might choose God.
You think about it.
I mean, we recognize that.
We each recognize when people will make sacrifices
to be with us.
When people will make sacrifices on our behalf,
what that tells us about their esteem for
us.
Well, God's in the same place.
Don't think God's blind to how you make
decisions in your life.
He's not blind to it.
And that God who sees you in secret,
He knows.
When you come in there and you're saying,
I'm not eating and I'm not drinking.
Now, Lord, you owe me.
That's not it.
This is not a merit deal.
This is a matter of, Lord, I need
you.
I'm not going to eat or drink because
I need you.
And I know you have regard for this.
You have regard for your people not eating
and not drinking.
I recognize that.
And Lord, I want that reward.
I need the Lord.
I need the Lord when it comes to
the city of Manchester.
I desperately need the Lord when it comes
to my daughter charity.
I need the Lord just to figure out
how to preach to you folks, how to
lead you, how to pastor you.
I need the Lord in my marriage.
I need the Lord to help.
I need the Lord to save.
I need the Lord to empower the gospel
as we're preaching it.
I need the Lord to turn the hearts
of these people that are coming under the
sound of, if God's going to provide a
building, brethren, anybody need a miracle?
I mean, anybody have somebody that is close
to them that they desperately want to see
saved?
Brethren, the days will come when the bridegroom
is taken away from them.
And then they will fast in those days.
What in the world is he saying there?
You know what he's saying to them?
For one thing, isn't it amazing you got
people fasting over?
Isn't it amazing to be a follower of
John and you're fasting when the bridegroom's there?
You know what?
Some people are so out of touch with
reality.
You know, if there's anything true, the disciples
of the Pharisees, the disciples of John, they
were out of touch with reality.
When you're over there fasting and the bridegroom's
actually among you.
You know what those, when, can you imagine
John saying, behold, the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world.
Can you imagine if you were one of
his disciples and you kept following John after
he just said that?
He's out of touch with reality.
And Jesus is saying people that are in
touch with reality, they feel this.
Anybody feel this?
Anybody feel like, anybody have this cry of
their own heart like mine?
I say, Lord, I don't like this.
I don't like living by faith.
And I don't think you should either.
It's said we're going to live by faith,
not by sight.
You're going against scripture.
No, I'm not.
I don't think, I don't believe I am
at all.
You know what, right now, all we do
is look through the glass darkly.
Does anybody want more than that?
Anybody want to be done with the types
and the shadows?
Anybody want to actually see through the veil?
Anybody want to behold Him face to face?
I don't know about you, but I'm not
content with the little glimpses that we get
right now.
We may behold the glory of the Lord
from the pages of the scripture, but you
know what?
Jesus full well knew Him being there with
His people was different than when He left.
And He knew they'd fast then.
Why were they going to fast then?
Because there was a discontent in the heart
that they didn't have when He was sitting
there at the wedding feast with them, turning
water into wine.
And they could look at Him, and they
could hear Him, and they could touch Him.
And John could lay there, and he could
feel Him.
You know what?
There ought to be a discontent in you
that says, I'm going to fast.
Why?
Because remember, there's a reward.
What does that mean?
What that probably means is that people who
regularly fast, they have brighter glimpses and closer
communion with Christ than people that don't do
that.
Churches that give themselves to fasting, I suspect
you will see things happen in that church
that don't happen in churches where they don't
fast.
Why?
Because you would be negating the very reality
of a reward.
If you say, they're going to be just
the same.
There is a reward.
Brethren, we need to recognize this.
Anybody who just says, I want more, I
want more.
Now listen, I'm going to take you one
last place before I wrap this message up.
And it's found in Zechariah.
And I want you to turn there.
Zechariah chapter 7.
We already looked at this verse, but there's
more to be said.
Zechariah chapter 7.
Zechariah, this prophet, he looks forward to our
time.
And I want you to see what he
says.
Because this might be one of the most
glorious things you will see in all the
Bible concerning fasting.
Zechariah chapter 7 verse 5.
Say to all the people of the land
and the priests, when you fasted and mourned
in the fifth month and in the seventh,
for these 70 years, was it for me
that you fasted?
Now, get this.
The Israelites were deported to Babylon.
Jeremiah had prophesied and said that they would
be there 70 years.
Let's happen.
But now the 70 years is done.
And these Jews that had been deported, they
said, well, while we were in the deportation,
why we were exodus away from Jerusalem and
away from Israel.
We fasted.
We fasted in the fifth month.
We fasted in the seventh month.
We're also going to find out that they
fasted in the fourth month and they fasted
in the tenth month.
And what they're asking the prophet is, does
God want us to continue to fast like
we did then, now that we've actually come
back?
That's the question on the table.
Now, this is where God says, well, when
you fasted, was it for me that you
fasted?
In other words, you all are wondering whether
you should keep this thing going as to
whether I'm going to be pleased with it,
if you keep it going.
But I want you to know I never
was pleased with it because you didn't fast
for me.
Whatever you were fasting for, it wasn't for
him.
Now, here's what is so glorious.
The prophet now looks to the gospel age,
to our age.
And here's what he says.
Zechariah 8.
Go to Zechariah 8.
Thus says verse 19.
Zechariah 8 and verse 19.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the fast
of the fourth month, and the fast of
the fifth, and the fast of the seventh,
and the fast of the tenth shall be
to the house of Judah seasons of joy
and gladness and cheerful feasts.
Therefore, love, truth, and peace.
Thus says the Lord of hosts.
And notice, I'm going to convince you here
that this is exactly talking about our time.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, peoples shall
yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities.
The inhabitants of one city shall go to
another saying, let us go at once to
entreat the favor of the Lord and to
seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself am going.
Many peoples and strong nations shall come to
seek the Lord of hosts.
Brethren, this is the Gentiles pouring in, the
riches of the nations pouring in to the
true Zion, the true Jerusalem.
And he says, they're going to come to
seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and
entreat the favor of the Lord.
Thus says the Lord of hosts.
In those days, ten men from the nations,
that's us, the Gentiles, ten men of the
nations of every tongue shall take hold of
the robe of a Jew saying, let us
go with you for we have heard that
God is with you.
And if there's any doubts at all about
what this is speaking about, just go to
the next chapter.
Go to Zechariah 9 verse 9.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous
and having salvation.
Is he humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Here's our humble, glorious Savior riding to Jerusalem
with hosannas ringing out everywhere.
You know what he's saying?
The age has dawned.
That age in the past where you weren't
seeking me, when you sought to fast in
the fourth month, in the fifth month, in
the seventh month, in the tenth month.
You didn't fast for me.
But now the prophet is looking forward and
he sees the Christ coming and riding in
on the foal of a donkey.
He sees this age when nine men are
going to, ten men.
He sees the nations.
He says, you're going up.
You've got this God.
You're going to Him.
We're coming with you.
And here's what it says.
It says that those seasons are going to
be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts.
Don't you love that?
The fast shall be cheerful feasts.
Christian, get your eyes off the joys and
the glories of this world and behold that
secret place.
There's a feast for fasters.
That's what's being said here.
Oh, that God will once again make His
people hungry for such a feast as is
being described here that can't be eaten with
mouth and teeth in your head.
These are spiritual realities.
Brethren, I've got to believe this.
I've got to believe that this United Kingdom,
based on the things I'm seeing, I'm hearing
reports, come from an entire denomination.
They are not seeing converts.
There's lateral movement.
What's that?
That's not the kingdom of Christ increasing.
That is simply people from one church moving
to another church.
That is, all that is, that doesn't take
anything from the devil.
All that is one church's gain is another
church's loss.
Brethren, do you know what we need?
We need God to arise.
This kind.
You've got to believe that the United Kingdom
is somehow entrenched in the power of forces
that are keeping this people blind.
What do we need?
We need the reward of the Father.
We need God to arise.
There is one stronger than the strong man.
What we need is Him to arise and
once again bind that strong man and to
release the prisoners.
Brethren, what we find is we are in
an age when there is going to be
gladness and there is going to be feasting
in those times of fasting.
If you really want to learn something about
fasting, this is one of the most glorious
places.
Jesus says, Christian, to the secret place.
And go there with fasting.
And go there with expectation.
Because there's a reward.
And I just ask you, do you want
it?
I hope every one of you want it.
I hope every one of you are hungry
for this.
Anybody want just fresh revelations of the glory
of the cross and the blood that was
shed?
Brethren, what do you think?
I just ask you what you will think.
What do you think?
Who is going to see more of God?
Who is going to experience more of God?
Who's going to experience more of the supernatural?
Who's going to experience more of the power
of God?
People who fast or people who don't.
Father, I pray that you would just apply
your word.
Our Lord Jesus teaches this.
It's not something that I've made up.
There is a reward for those that go
into the secret place to be seen by
their father who sees in secret.
And I pray, Lord, you'd make us a
fasting church.
I pray, Lord, that you would unleash the
bounty that comes through fasting.
We see that you've designed it as a
means to tapping your generosity.
And I pray, Lord, that you would so
move upon us to make us the kind
of people that are effectual fasters in this
kingdom and in this race to the death.
Lord, I pray, actually a race when death
releases us to life and life more abundant
and joy unspeakable.
Lord, we pray for your help, for your
sustaining.
Lord, quicken us.
Move us to fast.
Give us a longing in our hearts for
you over food and over all the other
things that this world has to offer.
I pray this in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.