8/9/2009: Fasting Critical Judgements of Others

It has been wisely said, "If you want to make God laugh, make plans." Sometimes, when we make plans, the Lord allows things to happen that sideline those plans, and we do not understand why, and we cannot discern His plan until later in life...this is because God's thoughts, and God's ways, are so far removed from our own. Here are some Scriptures that affirm this truth:

Isaiah 55:6-9

“ ⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

⁹ "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

1 Corinthians 1:25

“…the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

God, also, looks upon us with more loving eyes than we sometimes do others:

Luke 6:37-41

³⁷"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

³⁹He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

⁴¹"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

Jesus, when teaching his disciples to pray, said:

Matthew 6:9-18

⁹"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us today our daily bread.
¹²Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'

¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Jesus Speaks About Fasting...

¹⁶"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. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so 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."

· The last text makes two very important presumptions:

1. That we take forgiveness seriously…

2. That we take fasting seriously…

· Our Lord expects us to forgive, and He expects us to fast…

· Jesus fasted before He began His public ministry…

In order to successfully forgive, we need to fast something…our judgmental attitudes. Here is the challenge before us: for one week, not 40 days – one week – fast passing judgment on others.

On our own, this is not possible, for the word of God says, in Galatians chapter 5, verses 16-26:

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷ For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

When he began his public ministry, Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, according to the Gospels. During the season of Lent, we are often called upon to fast for 40 days - some churches call upon their congregants to fast things that bring them pleasure: television, cigarettes, chocolate...in the Old Testament Book of Daniel, Daniel fasted meat and dainty breads. For one week, however, I would like to issue a challenge to this congregation:

For one week, let us strive - in an attempt to become more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (who did not keep record of wrong-doings; see the Gospel accounts of Him interacting with the woman at the well, or the woman taken in adultery) - to fast any critical and judgemental attitude towards our spiritual brothers and sisters...before God, let us try for seven measely days to be forgiving toward one another, and loving, and kind, that we might live up to the standard of Jesus, and how He interacted with others. Who are we to have higher standards than our Lord and Savior? He tells us, in the 18th chapter of Matthew, to forgive, 70 times 7 times in one day! Surely, we can emmulate Him for one week, can't we?

Psalm 133:1 says, "Behold how good and how pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity." Lord, let us live up to that standard. And help us to understand that, in Micah 6:8, when you reveal to us your expectations of us, that we sometimes wrongly hold others to even higher expectations...