Fasting Exercises Your "No" Muscles

Summary

This message explores the significance of Lent, a 40-day season of fasting, prayer, and preparation leading up to Easter. Highlighting Jesus' 40-day fast in the wilderness and his resistance to temptation, it contrasts Jesus’ faithfulness with Adam’s fall, encouraging believers to follow Jesus’ example by relying on the Holy Spirit. The sermon emphasizes that Lent disciplines are not burdensome but transformative, nurturing spiritual growth and alignment with God’s kingdom. Resources and support are offered to help participants engage deeply with this sacred season.

Transcript

Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to Journey. We are delighted that you are here, whether you are with us in person, or for those who are gathered with us online. We recognize that there are a variety of places that you could be and things that you could be doing, but the fact that you chose to be here today is significant and something that we do not take for granted. So thank you very much.

We have some folks out today. Some of our women are out and about on a retreat this weekend. I have not heard much, but I have heard reports that things are going well. So, hopefully, as they return home today to their various places, we'll get to hear about all the good things that have happened with them this weekend.

The Season of Lent

We also, this past week, on Wednesday, celebrated together, Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent, which, the season of Lent is the 40 day time period, plus 6 Sundays, before Easter, from Ash Wednesday to Easter. And at this time of preparation. The word lent, actually, it's spelled L-E-N-T, if you're curious, not L-I-N-T. But the word lent is an old English word, and it is a word that means spring, or newness. And during the season of Lent, for a very long time, Christians have been praying and fasting together.

Prayer and fasting can be seen as something that is hard or difficult, something that is maybe burdensome, but it's interesting, when you see that as a combination with the idea of spring and things growing and renewing these days. It's a beautiful picture for us. So the disciplines that we participate in during the season of Lent aren't there to be burdensome. They are there to help us grow and to nurture the kingdom of heaven within us. And so, whether you are just hearing about the season of Lent for the first time or you began fasting last Wednesday at Ash Wednesday, we are excited to see what God does in our lives individually, and also collectively over these next 40 or so days.

And a pro tip. If you are a Lent faster, you do not fast on Sundays, typically. Unless you're like a super Christian or you're trying to earn extra credit. Uh, you can fast on Sundays. But traditionally, you take Sundays off from fasting. So Sundays is a day of feasting. So if you are fasting food of some sort, you can, if you want to, eat those on Sunday. And the theology behind that is that on Sunday, we recognize that Jesus is with us. And so you don't fast while Jesus is with you, you feast. And so however, you take that, it is your choice.

I want to invite you to confess this with me today. If it is good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for us. All right, one more time. If it is good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for us. If it is good enough for Jesus it is good enough for us.

Why We Fast: Jesus in the Wilderness

The reason why we fast during Lent is because, as we're going to read in a few moments, Jesus, after he was baptized, was led out into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights of fasting. And the idea of fasting in the wilderness is something that not only Jesus participated in, but it is actually an ancient tradition that predates Jesus, from the prophets of old. They spent time fasting and praying, seeking the will of the Lord. And that's why it is a wise practice for us today.

But I want to read this passage of Jesus in the desert, from Matthew chapter 4. And I want to invite you today as we read from Matthew, if you are able to stand, and hopefully changing our posture, helps us to pay attention more clearly, but also to stand out of respect for Jesus' words. But here's what it says in Matthew chapter 4.

Scripture Reading: Matthew 4

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Jesus answered, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down, for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift up their hands so that you will not strike your foot against the stone. Jesus answered him. It is also written, do not put the Lord your God to the test. And again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, away from me, Satan, for it is written, worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. Then the devil left him, and the angels came and attended to him. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks to God. You may be seated.

Jesus Fulfills the Law

Such a fascinating passage of scripture for us. There are lots of questions. And I really do wish that we had our Sunday morning circles this morning, but with potluck, we did not. I am sure that this passage of scripture would cause lots of questions and fruitful conversation about it. There is just a lot that is going on, a lot to take in.

It's interesting when you talk about studying the scriptures and understanding who Jesus is and what he came to do. We know that we have the Old Testament, and the New Testament, and then in the, kind of in the middle there, which is often regarded as part of the New Testaments. We have the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Jesus said, we talked about this a couple of weeks ago. He said, I came not to abolish the law of the prophets, but to what? Fulfill the law of the prophets. Meaning that all that was written about the kingdom of God prior to Jesus, and then we can also put the future tends on it, all that will come after Jesus, that all of these are to be understood as being fulfilled in Jesus. So if we are participating in something or reading something in spiritual nature that doesn't line up with the teachings of Jesus, then we have to kind of step back and understand that either we are working through this in an incorrect manner, or we need to sit with it a little longer to figure out how it aligns with the way of Jesus.

And there's no greater example than this story to help us with that, because if you read this story, you see that even the tempter uses scripture to tempt Jesus. He uses the word of the Lord, to try and manipulate Jesus, and to doing something that he should not do. But Jesus was able to see through that. He was able to understand the holes in what the tempter was leading him to. And he countered the scripture that the enemy offered him with another scripture to help him understand the fullness of it. And so we learn from Jesus that we have to filter our lives through the teachings and the way of Jesus, understanding that he is the one who fulfills the law, not anything else.

Following Jesus Is Not Easy

And this leads us to understand that following Jesus is not easy. Jesus may be fun, but following Jesus is not easy. Jesus calls us to some very in-depth and radical ideas. I was reading this week a book on forgiveness, which is always a hard topic when we're faced to forgive someone or something that has wronged us or hurt us in deep and sincere ways. And this book quoted a rabbi who truthfully doubted the validity of Jesus as the Messiah, but he says the reason why he doubts the Jesus as the Messiah is because only God can demand what Jesus asks of people. And so in a roundabout way for us as followers of Jesus, he is validating Jesus as the Son of God, because Jesus did ask us to do things that only God can ask because Jesus is God.

When I was actually talking to Evelyn, our oldest daughter, about this. She was having all kinds of questions about that and brought it back to our Trinity candle over here. And she said, brought back some of the language that we use every Sunday when we light the Trinity candle about it being one, but three, and dancing in unison, the flames dancing in unison, being from the same source. And so I thought that was really cool part of what she took home with her, as sometimes we can use our words to explain things well. And sometimes, it's just a mystery that we have to live into. And I was very thankful for that practice at our church this week as we talked about it.

But Jesus calls us to do some difficult things. Mother Teresa said that Jesus was very demanding. Jesus calls us to love our enemies. Jesus calls us to turn the other cheek. Jesus says if somebody asks you to go one mile, go with them even further. These are very difficult and hard things for us to live by. And if we try to package Jesus in some simple, nice, easy steps to follow, we will short change wherever it is that he desires us to go. But we also, at the same time, know that things that don't come easy, generally, don't withstand the test of time.

One of the examples that I, using this, when I was in college, I was invited over to someone's house, and for the 1st time in my life, I tasted Clementines, which are the small oranges, Clementines from California, as far as I know, the only place in the whole entire world that actually can grow a true Clementine is in California. But they were so good, and people loved them so much that they started transplanting them to places like Spain, and now they're not called cuties. They're called Mandarin, or they're not called Clementines. They called cuties, or Mandarin oranges. And you can get them all year round. But the problem is, because of convenience, they're not nearly as good as they used to be when they came from California, and were in season. And that's just a silly analogy of a fruit, but we understand that things that come easy in life, oftentimes don't withstand the test of time, or don't live up to what they possibly could be.

Temptation and the Spirit Within Us

So Jesus is led into the desert where he is fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, and he is tempted. This is something I think that all of us can identify with, maybe not the fasting for 40 days and 40 nights part, but the temp being tempted, right? Now, we will never be tempted to the same degree that Jesus was tempted, right? We don't have the amount of potential that Jesus had, being that he was God. But we will definitely be tempted to settle for less than the kingdom of God in our lives. We will be tempted as followers of Jesus to enmesh the kingdom of God with brokenness. We will be tempted to make righteous pursuits that which are actually self righteous. We will be tempted in a variety of different ways.

But to understand what exactly is going on here in this story, we have to take a few steps back because right before Jesus is led out into the wilderness, he is baptized. And while he is being baptized, following his baptism, the Spirit descends upon him like a dove. And a voice comes from heaven, saying, this is my son with whom I am well pleased. And then Jesus is led out into the wilderness. When you and I are tempted, we have to remember that we are not forced to face the temptation alone. We're not forced to just use good willpower or self-discipline in order to know what is the right thing, the spirit of God is with us. Paul would later say, the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is with you, and we, like Jesus, can rely on the Spirit, to lead us even in the midst of temptation.

Adam and Jesus: Two Stories, One Direction

Earlier, we read a passage from Genesis, and that is a story about 2 figures named Adam and Eve. They, like Jesus, were also tempted, but they did not stand strong. In fact, they gave in. And I wonder, as we read through that story of Adam and Eve in the garden in Genesis. If you were able to then pull out some connections with how Jesus' story lines up with Adam in the garden, but just in the opposite direction.

So when you compare these 2 stories that we have read today, there are several things that stand out. First of all, before we get too far into it, we need to understand that you and I, identify more with Adam than we do Jesus, right? Adam in the Old Testament is the 1st human being. We relate to Adam more than we relate to Jesus, because Adam was a normal person. Jesus was fully human, but also fully God. And so we compare ourselves and find ourselves in this story as Adam, but we understand that Jesus, the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, is also living in us. So we can see ourselves being pulled in the direction of Jesus, as we compare and contrast.

So here's just a couple of things to point out. In the story of Adam and Eve, Adam is curious as to what pushing the limits might lead to. God lays out to Adam what he should or shouldn't do. And he is curious about, what pushing the limits can lead to. We've all been there, right? We see many of us see limits or see restrictions, and we want to push right through them, or we want to at least think about what it would be like if we went past it. Jesus, in contrast, is resolved only to do what the Father has instructed him. Adam is enticed by empty promises. But Jesus trusts the truths of the scriptures and sees when he is being manipulated. Adam gives in to the temptation. Jesus resists temptation. Adam once he had succumbed to his temptation, covered himself in shame. Jesus endured the shame of the cross. Adam chose the way of the tempter. Jesus chose the way of the cross. And so Jesus does what Adam could not do. Jesus does what you and I don't have the ability to do so that we being filled with the Holy Spirit and trusting in his way, could learn how to live and sync with the kingdom of heaven and be formed into his image so that we have an opportunity to resist the devil as did Jesus.

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus: Hebrews 12

And I want to read for you, as we kind of wrap this conversation up, something that Paul later would help us understand in the book of Hebrews, and it's just a couple of verses, but Hebrews chapter 12 says this. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. And let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.

Many of us will find ourselves in situations where we have the best of intentions. We set out to do the right things. We set out to stay strong, to be resolved. But if we don't accompany those desires, those intentions with practices that form the way of Jesus within us, we will likely stumble. We will find ourselves in the same place as did Adam, where we are unable to resolve to do what we intend, and we fall for the tricks of manipulation. But through the power of the resurrected Jesus, we are able to follow in Jesus' example, relying on the work of the Holy Spirit within us, hiding the scriptures in our hearts, and trusting in the way of Jesus, remembering that he called us to be salt and light, enabling us to speak a firm no in the power of the Holy Spirit when voices seek to lure us into darkness. But we can't do this on our own strength.

This is why fasting and prayer and repentance are such an integral part of the season of Lent and preparation for Easter, because these practices through the power of the Holy Spirit enable us to exercise our know muscles. They help us to be aligned with the kingdom of heaven in ways that otherwise we will be unable to accomplish. So for centuries, Christians have been participating in disciplines that help us to fix our eyes on Jesus and to walk in the direction of the kingdom of heaven as opposed to settling for the ways of Adam.

Lenten Resources to Help You Grow

During this season of Lent, we want to offer you a few resources to help you if you are willing to seek out these same practices. First of all, when it comes to fasting, fasting is about saying no, right? Jesus said no to food for 40 days. Now, if you want to go for that, more power to you, right? The longest that I have ever fasted is just a little over 24 hours. One day. That is the longest that I could go without food. I don't know how you make it 40 days and 40 nights, but if you feel that you can do that and want to go for it, we will definitely pray for you in that venture. But fasting is about saying no. Finding something that captures your attention and saying no to it. And it helps us understand that life is more than just what is right in front of us, right? Jesus, having fasted for 40 days, was tempted to turn stones into bread, right? As I have fasted by the end of 24 hours, I wouldn't even bother turning the stones into bread. I would try to eat the stones, right? That is how hungry I am in those times. But Jesus understood something much more significant than just satisfying our temporary needs. And he cries out, people are not bound by bread alone, that God is the one who sustains us. And that's what fasting teaches us to do. So I think it's important. Even if you didn't decide to fast on Ash Wednesday, it's never too late to start. You can jump in at any point in time. Fasting is important.

A couple of other additional resources. This is a book that I recently found, it's a diary of private prayer. It is a prayer for morning and evening, for each day for 31 days, by a Scottish theologian named John Bailey. And this book is significant because it helps us to pray things that probably we would not. And leads us in ways that, on our own, we would probably not think of going. And so it's a very comprehensive prayer book. We have several copies of this. We are asking that if you take one of these books here, that you give a suggested donation of $10. And the reason for that, normally we give books away, but I know for myself, and maybe you're better than me, but I know for myself, whenever I get something for free, I tend to not be as interested in it. So, if you can be interested in it for free, then go ahead and take it. But if you need that little extra accountability of investing $10 in it, we would appreciate that.

We also have this collection of Lenten readings for 2026. These are our Sunday scriptures that we read together. And so if you get this book, you'll be ahead of the game when it comes to church on Sunday, that you can use this in your devotional life as you read through the scriptures for this week. You can also, there's a QR code on the back of it that you can scan, and you can have a digital copy of the same thing.

And then last but not least, we know that as followers of Jesus, sometimes the best thing for us is to enter into accountability and encouragement from another follower of Jesus. And so if that's something that interests you, you say, you know what? I want to spend time in prayer. I want to read the morning and evening prayer every day. I want to fast. I want to enter into a fast. But I want some support. I want somebody to help me and encourage me. If you scan this QR code, you will receive pastoral support, support from one of our pastors here, a journey to check in on you, weekly, to pray with you, to help you, help encourage you, as you go along in this Linton journey. So we want to really emphasize these resources. One of them, all 3 of them, however you choose to do it, plus fasting. And we believe that through this process, of this season of Lent, that as we begin to celebrate the resurrection come Easter, God will have done some really significant things in and through our lives.