A Time For Fasting And Feasting

[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to another faith-building message by Pastor David Entry. Faith comes by hearing and by hearing the Word of God.

[0:12] May your knowledge of Jesus Christ increase as you listen. Be blessed. Communion is such a central statement of faith.

[0:23] The Bible says that as often as you do this, you show forth the death of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11, verse 25.

[0:37] As often as you do it, you do show forth the death. So it's a declaration. Communion is a declaration. It's a statement of faith that somebody is making.

[0:53] Amen. 1 Corinthians 11, verse 26. It says that for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show forth the Lord's death. So he comes.

[1:04] And Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me. So we do it to remember him. And not just to remember him. We do this to also show forth, demonstrate that the Lord is coming back.

[1:17] And the Lord died for us. And we are blood washed, blood bought, blood redeemed, blood sanctified, blood justified.

[1:30] In the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. Amen. In the book of John chapter 3, Jesus drew the attention of people to how we should believe in him.

[1:42] Believing in the Son of God. Believing in the Son of Man is important. Then we see that play out again in chapter 4.

[1:53] The Bible says that the man whose son was sick, who traveled to come and see Jesus. He says, go, thy son liveth. And the man believed. And when he went, before he even got to the house, they met him and told him, your son liveth.

[2:09] He asked, at what time did he begin to live? They said, he began to live again. And they said, at this hour. Then the man knew that in the same hour, in the which Jesus said to him, that your son liveth.

[2:25] That same hour, his son began to live. John chapter 4. So after the father, the spirit it right. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, thy son liveth.

[2:41] And watch this. And he himself believed in his whole house. He was a big mom of a lot of servants. They all believed. They believed in his house without seeing Jesus.

[2:55] He was the only one who saw him. But the rest, a sick child and the servants in the house, including his wife and other people, didn't see Jesus. But they believed because they heard about Jesus.

[3:08] And the man told them what Jesus said and how it happened. So the book of chapter 4 ends with believing. The woman believed in Jesus and went and brought the people in the Samaritan.

[3:24] That's all the men of Samaria. And chapter 5, this man who was crippled or impotent got healed. And the Jews started a discourse with him.

[3:35] And he told them that, you see, this whole thing is about you believing. Because if you are real disciples of Moses, you would believe me. So he kept pointing people back to believe.

[3:45] Then chapter 6, he gave food. And after he multiplied the food or the bread and fed the thousands, they said, give us a sign.

[3:56] So we will believe. They said, what shall we do to do the works of God? Because they were following him for food. He said, you see, you guys, it's because of food that you are coming. They said, what shall we do to do the work of God? He said, you have to believe. That's all.

[4:07] Just believe. And then they said, give us a sign to believe. He said, I am the bread that came from heaven. Don't depend on physical things, natural occurrence to determine your belief. Let it be determined by the fact that I, the son of man, came to die.

[4:21] And I came from heaven. In John chapter 20, verse 29, 30, 31, it talks about how many things Jesus said were not recorded. But these have been recorded so that you will believe.

[4:34] And not watch this. It said, you believe that he is the son of God. What does that mean? That he is the one who came from heaven. So the believing is not just believing the Bible is good.

[4:45] But he is believing Jesus is the son of God. He is God who came down from heaven and he became like us. Adam wanted to be like God.

[4:59] So he lost who he was. Jesus did not, was not eager to grasp his Godness. He gave, he, he, he wasn't, Bible says that he did not count equality of God, something to hold on to.

[5:16] That is the lie the devil sold to Adam in the garden in Genesis chapter 3. He says that if you eat this, you shall be like God. Adam wanted to be like God.

[5:27] Jesus in Philippians chapter 2 verse 7, 6 and 7 said, he did not count equality with God. It is something to hold on to.

[5:37] I have to, I have to glorify like God. So he came, he humbled himself and became a human being. And, and then he humbled himself to die and die as far as dying on the cross.

[5:51] The death that was for the worst of criminals. He said, I will die so that my death can cover even the worst of criminals. He should have held on to God on the cross.

[6:01] You know what they told him? If you are God, save yourself. Even the thief said, why don't you save yourself and save us? But the other one said, we, this man is innocent.

[6:13] Don't talk to him like that. We deserve it. He doesn't deserve it. He's pure. He's, he's just, he's faultless. So the point here is that until you believe that Jesus is actually God, he, you see, human beings find it difficult to believe is God, but they want to believe they can be like God.

[6:32] They want to be God. We are wise enough to make our own decisions. In fact, some intellectuals will tell you, what do you mean by we are so depraved that without God, we don't know what is right or wrong.

[6:44] That's what the intellectuals think. Wow. That you, you, you, are you trying to tell us we need, we don't, we are not intelligent enough to know what is right. We need some, some being, being, some creature somewhere or being somewhere to come and tell us what is right or wrong.

[6:59] Oh, come on, you Christians, drop it. That's what they use. The intellectuals and atheists, they say we don't need God because we are wise enough. We are smart enough. When we think we can bring man together, human beings together without God.

[7:13] Some of us, there's no way you would have met this other person because the people you mingle with are not this person. But look at how Jesus has brought us together. He, he, Bible says, remove the dividing wall.

[7:27] Ephesians chapter two, verse 14 said, he is our peace. Who has removed the dividing wall? He has removed the dividing wall. For we, he says that for we are one new man created in Christ Jesus.

[7:40] We are one. We are one. We are one. That is why in Ephesians chapter four, verse three, he said, endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit. That way, unity means the oneness of the spirit. You are in your house, but I'm one with you.

[7:52] You are, we are all one. That's why we, hallelujah. That's why we take communion. We take communion because he says that we share in the same body. First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 12. We are one body.

[8:04] We are one body. Yes, yes, yes. The body of Christ, the church is the most heterogeneously united organization. Wow. Because our unity, our unity is not cosmetic.

[8:16] Yes. Our unity is not, our unity is organic. It's not an organized growth. It's an organic growth. Wow. So as the body of Christ is growing, if she's a Christian, if she's a Christian, the same spirit and life that is working in me, the same father, the same spirit, the same life, the same baptism, the same hope is the same thing that is happening in here.

[8:43] Wow. So that is what make us one. The things that make us one are not from outside. They are from inside. That is what makes our unity organic unity.

[8:58] It's organic. You can't do anything about it. It's organic. It's coming from within. It's the life of Christ we are all sharing. It's one life. So when somebody becomes born again, the life has extended into him.

[9:11] And then another person becomes born again, the life has extended into her. So it's an organic growth. The same life. One shared life, which is different from United Nations.

[9:22] Bring different parts together and try and form one organization. They are an organization. We are just an organic body. We have one body, one union, one life.

[9:35] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. That is why we share communion. Because it is one. In fact, two things I want to say about communion. In John chapter 6, he said, eat me.

[9:49] Eat my body. I am the bread that is not the communion he's talking about. Okay. When he said, eat my body, it's not the communion. Because he defined what it means to eat his body. In verse 35, which is to believe in him.

[10:02] When you believe in him, you are eating him. Right. So in chapter 3, believe. Chapter 4, believe. Chapter 5, believe. Chapter 6, believe. And chapter 7, he said, if any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

[10:17] For as the Spirit has said, out of his inner man. He who believes in me, out of his inner man, as the Scriptures have said, shall flow rivers of living waters.

[10:30] And the Bible says, this speak he concerning the Spirit. In the last day, the great day of Jesus, stood out and cried out, if any man thirsts, let him come to me. Verse 38 says that. He that believes.

[10:41] He said, come and drink. Now look at what he said. Verse 38, he that believes. He that believes on me. As the Scripture says, out of his belly. So what does he mean to drink?

[10:52] Drinking from Jesus means believing in him. Eating Jesus means believing in him. Becoming a true worshiper through Jesus means believing in him. Everything has to do with believing in Christ Jesus.

[11:07] And what are you supposed to believe? You believe that he is the son of God. Amen. Now, when we come to his communion, communion is a statement of faith.

[11:20] We are making a faith statement that we are blood washed. We are blood bought. We are blood justified. We are blood sanctified.

[11:33] We are blood redeemed. The blood has propitiated on our behalf. Blood has atoned for us.

[11:44] Has spoken for us. So we are in this because of the blood. And the blood, oh, I like this. The blood still speaks.

[11:55] Amen. So today that's the statement we are going to make as we take communion. The blood still speaks. And it is still speaking on our behalf.

[12:05] As a judge and as individuals. Amen. So shall it be. Amen. I add this. When it comes to the scriptures, God has never taken eating for granted.

[12:20] Eating has always been from the beginning. And they shall be eating in the end. In Revelation, it says that he who overcomes, I will make him eat of the tree.

[12:32] That is in the midst. The fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the paradise of God. Hallelujah. When we go to heaven, we shall be eating. Hallelujah. Amen. We shall be eating.

[12:43] It's so important. We have to understand it. Food plays a major part in Christianity. And in many religions, food plays a role. What role does food play in Christianity?

[12:58] You are either fasting or feasting. Okay. So there is a place for feasting. And there is a place for fasting.

[13:10] God has always taught us how to use food properly. The only crime, main crime, they told Jesus of committing.

[13:22] No, they crucified him because they said that's false. They said he said he's God. Actually, he's God. You know. So he said he's God. That's why they crucified. That's the charge for his crucifixion. But when he was alive and living, one thing they accused him of, one crime he has committed, is that they said he was gluten.

[13:40] He was eating too much. Wow. So Jesus said, you people are like children playing in the marketplace. John the Baptist came. And you said, let me read it.

[13:53] Luke chapter 7. Is somebody learning something? I'm going to take it a little bit further and then we end. In John chapter 7 verse 34, the son of man came eating and drinking.

[14:07] What did he come doing? Eating and drinking. What did he come doing? Eating and drinking. He came eating and drinking.

[14:17] And he said, behold, a gluttonous man, a wine barber, a friend of publicans and sinners. Verse 33. John the Baptist came, neither eating bread nor drinking wine.

[14:32] And he said he has a devil. When we go to heaven, it's likely there will be some eating. Hallelujah. The Bible says that we shall be in a glorified body just like Jesus.

[14:50] In his resurrected body. But remember the resurrection, he was eating fish. Yes, yes, yes. Roasted and hot corn. Roasted. He was eating roasted fish.

[15:02] He ate it a few times. So does that mean we will have to eat to survive? No. But we may eat. Because watch this.

[15:13] There is going to be feasting. Do you know that the Israelites, God gave them different types of feasts? Right. What is wrong is if every day you are feasting.

[15:27] There is time for feasting and there is time for fasting. Thank you. That's a hard saying. So once in a while, somebody must celebrate or feast.

[15:41] So that is why at a wedding, there is usually feasting. Because they say you are breaking the fast. In fact, the bride and groom are breaking their fast. That means they are supposed to be abstaining and then they are breaking.

[15:54] And they use just the reception to show that we are all breaking our fast with them. The feasting. Feasting is so much part of biblical life, Christian life.

[16:06] What's biblical life? Because the Jews had to feast. They had some times in the year, months in the year where they feasted. In the New Testament, in Jude, verse 12, it said, These are spots in your feast of charity.

[16:24] They used to feast. The church had feasts. To the extent that those early days, communion was not this kind of what we are doing. In the early church, communion was proper feasting.

[16:40] They come and have different type of meal. But because of the greed of man, they had to scale it down. Okay.

[16:51] Okay. The essential furniture in every fellowship in those days, the early church was a table. There was a table, not a puppet.

[17:05] Not peace, but table. Because that's why they call it the Lord's table. They always had a table for the Lord's feast, communion. But because of the greed of man, it has not been scaled down so much to this tiny thing.

[17:20] So, listen. Eating is so important. When God created Adam, he said, now start eating. And then in the center of the Lord's prayer, the prayer God taught us, Jesus taught us, in the middle of it, there is eating inside.

[17:34] Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Leave us this day our daily. Our daily. Every day. Because feasting, eating, or handling of food is a necessary part of spirituality.

[17:49] So, when you are fasting, there are a few statements you are making. One of the statements you are making is, you are telling food that you are not my God.

[18:01] I'm not under your control. You are under my control. Amen. Until food comes under your control, you can't live the spiritual life properly. Wow. Wow. So, that's why he says, the devil told Jesus, turn the stone into bread.

[18:15] He said, I will do that. You can't, in fact, in Philippians chapter 3, verse 19, Paul was saying that some people, their God is their belly. Oh. Their stomach. Belly.

[18:26] What do you do with stomach? You fill it with food. Yes. Some of you, your Christian life in Kari has really changed you. Yes. Because food has always been your master. Yep.

[18:37] Yes, yes, yes. That's the belly master. Food has always been your God. But thank God for times like this.

[18:48] Thank God. So, as I said, feasting is part of spirituality and fasting is part. To the extent that, you know, in heaven, we are going to have supper, special wedding feast.

[19:01] And in Revelation chapter 19, verse 9, it says, Blessed are those who are invited to the supper of the lamb's supper, wedding supper. Wow.

[19:12] We'll be there. We are going to sit down and have banquets. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Feasting. Wow. So, feasting is a necessary aspect of spirituality.

[19:25] Somebody say amen. Amen. Amen. It's such a necessary aspect of how you handle food. Do you know the crime of the people in the days of Noah?

[19:37] Their sin? Their sin was... The Bible says that... Let's look at it. In Luke chapter 17, verse 26.

[19:49] Luke 17, verse 26. It says that, And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. What were they doing?

[19:59] Verse 27. They did eat. They drank and they married wives. And they were given to marriage until then. What is wrong with their eating and marrying?

[20:11] Eating, drinking and marrying? Do you know what was wrong with their eating, drinking and marrying? That was the only thing they did. Ah. Wow. All they lived for was eating, drinking and marrying.

[20:24] Eating, drinking. Nothing else mattered to them. That was their sin. Hmm. And so, when God delivered them, He took them through, in Deuteronomy chapter 8, He took them through some states, some processes, the scripture Jesus quoted, when the devil tempted Him.

[20:42] Deuteronomy chapter 8, look at this. Is someone receiving something at all? Yes. Yes. Receiving the thing. Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse, let me just start from verse 1, if it makes sense.

[20:54] All the commandments which I command thee this day, shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and know in, and possess the land which the Lord your God swore unto your fathers.

[21:06] Verse 2. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee, watch this, 40 years in the wilderness. Why? To humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in your heart, whether that will keep His commandments, or no.

[21:24] He said, He took you 40 years, through the wilderness, to humble you. One of the biblical terminologies for fasting is, I humbled myself.

[21:36] He took you through the dry season. Your wilderness life is not to break you, or break you down. It's to, it's to humble you, to prove what is in your heart.

[21:49] Amen. Amen. He said to prove, watch this, watch this, oh, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Feel like preaching, man. You are preaching.

[22:01] He says that, and thou shall remember, all the way with the Lord your God led thee, 40 years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, and to know what was in your heart, whether thou would keep His commandments, or not.

[22:18] Look at best, best, best, best, best, best, best, best, and to humble thee, and to suffer thee, to hunger, and to feed thee with manna, which thou knowest not, neither did your fathers know.

[22:29] Why? That he might make thee know, that man does not live, like people know as they were living. Hmm. Is to humble you, to let you know that, man must not live by bread alone.

[22:43] Hmm. Man doesn't live by bread alone. In the days of Lewa, they were living by bread alone. Hmm. It's always feasting, party, feasting. That's why, you are a fool.

[22:55] If all you live for, is party, party, party, party, party, party. Well, I didn't say, the Bible says that, the heart of the fool, is in the house of men. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, no.

[23:11] The Bible said that, you are a fool, if all you think about, Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verse 4, if all you think about is party, you are a fool. The heart of the fool, is in the house of feasting.

[23:25] Wow. It's in the Bible. So, feasting, is part of spirituality, but it's supposed to be done occasionally. Fasting, did you see Jesus was always fasting?

[23:35] No. There was a season of fasting. Okay. And we are, we don't always fast. This June, we are fasting the whole of the month of June.

[23:47] And fasting to bring the body under subjection, and to make a spiritual statement, in the realm of the spirit. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said.

[23:57] And so, this whole thing, there is some supernatural dimension, regarding what you do with food. Amen.

[24:09] Remember, there's time for fasting, and there's time for feasting. Amen. Amen. Amen. Don't let us live our lives, as though, life is about eating, drinking, and marrying.

[24:21] There's more meaning to life, than just that. Man, pastor, live by bread, alone. Amen. Thank you for listening. To hear more from David Entry, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

[24:37] Why don't you subscribe to our YouTube channel, at Karish Church, and subscribe to our podcast, so you are always up to date. Be blessed. Thank you.