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Love

Teaching Text: Matthew 3:16 – 4:2

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

Themes

Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:

Friends of God | The Kingdom of God Moving Along Lines of Friendship in the Life of Jesus
Exploring the Practices of Jesus | Fasting

Formation

Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:

What is your first impressions about fasting?
Have you fasted before? What was your experience?

This world, in some very real ways, is truly broken. Sometimes the pursuit of only comfort does not align with reality.
Sometimes the pursuit of only comfort blinds me and numbs to what is really happening with others, with God, and with myself.
There will be times we will meet God and our neighbor in discomfort.
The Gospels tells us Jesus has come to be forgiveness and salvation for all who believe and bring us into the Kingdom of God, and yet Jesus works for 30 years in almost total obscurity and when He starts His public ministry HE STARTS WITH A FAST
We see He is led and filled by The Holy Spirit.
And we hear the Voice of the Father’s love and affirmation.
From that place of secure love, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness where He fasts and prays for 40 days.

Jesus teaches on fasting in the Sermon on the Mount
- Look at what he says…
  “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others 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.”
  – Matthew 6: 16-18
When you fast (not if you fast)
- Actually there are three things right in a row in the Sermon on the that Jesus says “When you” do this, make sure you do it this way.
  - When you give to those in need
  - When you pray
  - When you fast
Practice in secret. Don’t post about it.
- And in each one, your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
In Mark 9 and Matthew 17 there is a story of a father who brings his son, who is suffering terribly, to the disciples.
And then Jesus comes and tells the father to have faith. The father famously and very relatably says “I believe. Help me overcome unbelief.”
And at the end of the moment, Jesus’ disciples ask why they couldn’t cast out the demon and Jesus says.
- This kind only come out by prayer (and fasting).
I think it’s safe to say the issue here is faith. Jesus says as much. Not how many hours someone has done a spiritual discipline to earn God’s attention or power.
But also right along side that Jesus knows that there is little else in the world that can grow your faith and sense of authority in Christ like the combination of fasting and prayer.
Jesus knew the power of fasting and prayer to attune us to the Father, the Father’s Voice, and the Father's Will.
We fast to say no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit.
We deliberately say I will be weak in the flesh so my Spirit will be strong in God.
We pray with our body – I am hungry for you God.
We fast to say no to our bodies, minds, and will that insists we can do things on our own. The New Testament calls this very human operating system THE FLESH.
During Lent we are going to be looking at 5 specific practices of Jesus that we can take up as followers of Jesus before we get to Palm Sunday and Holy Week.
- Fasting in grief and petition (as David does for an ill son)
- Fasting in repentance - to turn back to God (as we see in the city Nineveh)
- Fasting in desperation and for favor (with God and others as in Esther)
- Fasting to prepare (Jesus shows us this)
- Fasting has a promised reward (Jesus teaches this)
- Fasting for breakthrough, deliverance, healing (Jesus shows us this)

Communion - we fast to commune with God not simply to communicate our needs
Promises - we fast to step into and be more aware of all that God is offering us by intentionally becoming aware of our need
Reward - our reward is God Himself but we also will see many changes in our lives as we learn to fast and pray.

HOW TO FAST:

Begin by praying and asking God to guide you. (Use Wisdom and Gospel) - God doesn’t love you more because you fast.
Choose a time to give up food. One Meal, One Day. Three Days, One Week. Ten Days. 40 days.
Start small.
Fast from to Feast On.
- “God has given us incredible tools, practices, and disciplines to help our whole beings on our journey of maturing into Christlikeness. Fasting is a preparatory tool that helps us pray as we ought to. In fact, fasting is never really mentioned in the Bible outside the context of prayer. In humbling our souls (our reasoning agents), fasting elevates our spirits, through which we commune and communicate with God. There is truly a grace for prayer released when we fast.”
  – Reward Sibanda
Use your hunger as a prompt.

WHAT TO EXPECT?