Fasting is a Spiritual Discipline by Pastor Ed Young

 

Starbucks coffee in two different areas and it was calling my name.  I was tempted, yet I did not drink the Starbucks.  I didn’t.

It was funny, though. I got an email form a lady who wanted to remain anonymous.  She said that she was going to a grocery store a few days ago and she was very proud of herself because she had been strict on the fast. She was thinking about the grocery store where she shops and the bakery with chocolate chip cookies the bakery makes. She said “Ed, this bakery makes the best cookies ever.” And she said in the email, “You know, I decided I was going to cheat on the fast.  I had made up in my mind.”

But as she walked through the doors of the grocery store she saw, on display, my book, “Outrageous, Contagious Joy.” Talk about accountability! We are always watching you at Fellowship Church, wherever you are.

What is a fast?  This might be your first time today and you are thinking, “What is fasting?  Is fasting a diet; is it going without food?”  No, it is more than that.

Fasting is a spiritual discipline. It is redirecting our appetite heavenward.  It is an appetite denying discipline.  What does discipline mean?  Well, discipline is doing what you ought to do so you can do what you want to do.

Fasting is all about God.  It is when we redirect our food source heavenward.  We turn it from the stuff that just sustains life to the source of life, you could say. That is what you could call a fast.

When I fast, I don’t fast to get what I want.  Some people fast to get what they want.  Some fast to get, get, get.  They think, “Ok, I can turn God into a genie and make God do what I want him to do.  So, if I fast I will get what I want.”

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