THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF FASTING (17 OF 28)
Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18
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The Spiritual Significance of Fasting (17 of 28)
Series: Principles of Kingdom Living
Dr. Darrow Perkins
Matthew 6:16-18
‘‘Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.’’
Matthew 6:16-18
In this fast-paced society that we live in, there’s hardly any real drive or desire, generally speaking, to do different or special things for spiritual growth and development, outside of attending worship for a couple of hours once a week. There’s a mindset to do just the bare minimum in order to receive the maximum benefit from God. We’ve made out our schedules to get certain things done, then fit God in and say that we’ve met the requirement to ‘‘not forsake the assembling of ourselves together’’ according to Hebrews 10:25.
As Christians:
• We know and accept that we should attend worship on a regular basis;
• We know and accept that we should read our Bibles daily;
• We know and accept that we should pray without ceasing;
• We know and accept that we should attend Sunday School for our individual spiritual growth;
• We know and accept that we should attend Bible study once a week;
• Yet we do just enough to get by and not enough to get ahead!
Doing all those things I just mentioned will help us grow spiritually, but there’s another step we could take that could draw us closer to God, and that’s by showing Him how serious we are by abstaining from foods for spiritual growth. I need to go on record now and say that as it pertains to fasting from a Biblical perspective, it always dealt with food, meaning abstaining from it in order to draw closer to God. In this day of technology and abundance, some ...
Series: Principles of Kingdom Living
Dr. Darrow Perkins
Matthew 6:16-18
‘‘Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.’’
Matthew 6:16-18
In this fast-paced society that we live in, there’s hardly any real drive or desire, generally speaking, to do different or special things for spiritual growth and development, outside of attending worship for a couple of hours once a week. There’s a mindset to do just the bare minimum in order to receive the maximum benefit from God. We’ve made out our schedules to get certain things done, then fit God in and say that we’ve met the requirement to ‘‘not forsake the assembling of ourselves together’’ according to Hebrews 10:25.
As Christians:
• We know and accept that we should attend worship on a regular basis;
• We know and accept that we should read our Bibles daily;
• We know and accept that we should pray without ceasing;
• We know and accept that we should attend Sunday School for our individual spiritual growth;
• We know and accept that we should attend Bible study once a week;
• Yet we do just enough to get by and not enough to get ahead!
Doing all those things I just mentioned will help us grow spiritually, but there’s another step we could take that could draw us closer to God, and that’s by showing Him how serious we are by abstaining from foods for spiritual growth. I need to go on record now and say that as it pertains to fasting from a Biblical perspective, it always dealt with food, meaning abstaining from it in order to draw closer to God. In this day of technology and abundance, some ...
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