Abounding Grace

Guest (Male): Want to experience real and lasting change in your life? Pastor Ed has this to say on the matter.

Pastor Ed Taylor: The issue is on the inside. That’s why simply changing a person’s environment will not change the person. Changing a person’s economic situation, as good as that may be, will not solve man’s basic problem. That’s the exact opposite of what our culture teaches, blaming the environment and the culture for the bad behavior of men and women. The deeds that we’re dealing with in the world today come from within, and the key to change is a heart change.

Guest (Male): In Romans chapter 7, the Apostle Paul declared, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Paul certainly isn't alone in this struggle with the flesh, is he? If you want to live a victorious Christian life, keep listening. Today on Abounding Grace, we’ll see that the way to defeat the flesh is to walk in the spirit, which raises the question: how do we walk in the spirit? Pastor Ed Taylor will address that as we open Galatians chapter 5 once again.

Pastor Ed Taylor: You can’t just get up in the morning and go, "I won’t be like this anymore." You can’t. You can’t just get your Post-it note and write down on it, "I will not hate anybody today," and put it up on the mirror. Because as soon as you see it, you start thinking of people that you don’t like. You say, "What do you mean that person? That person?" The Post-it note has no power.

Even as you write it and put it on, and you could take it off the mirror because you’re going to leave the house, right? You can put it on your forehead and be with you every day, all day. You can take it with you, but it has no power to deal with the power of the lust of the flesh that's going on in your heart. Every time you see that Post-it note, you know what happens? It reminds you that you have a problem with hatred. It reminds you that you have a problem with this word.

So you say, "Okay, I will not." You get all ready for the day, you leave, and you’re like, "I will not be mad and get mad at anyone." Then what happens? You leave the house. Before you know it, temptation is flying. Jesus taught us something. You may want to jot this down. Jesus taught us something very important. We have to take it in and we have to believe it because it’ll help us in our victory walking in the spirit.

Jesus taught us that the greatest battle going on in our lives, or you could say it this way: Jesus made it clear that man’s basic problem is not what’s outside of him, but inside of him. I can already hear people justifying, "Yeah, I called that person a name, but you don’t know that person." Okay, but the problem isn't the person. The problem’s you and me. The problem's inside of me.

You say, "Oh, come on, Pastor. Prove it to me." I’m glad you asked. Turn over to Mark chapter 7, and I’ll show you exactly what Jesus taught us. This is where the simplicity of reading your Bible and praying every day helps you learn these things. You’re following along with Jesus, you’re reading his words, and he’s teaching us how to live. He’s saying, "I want you to watch out for this. I know what the world says, and I know what the books of the world say, and I know the training that you got at work, and I understand the culture that you’re in. But the culture is backwards."

Jesus would teach us they’re teaching you wrong. You might have to learn and adapt it because that’s what they’re teaching you at work. That’s fine. But Jesus says if you want to live a victorious Christian life, you need to follow me first. Jesus says this in Mark chapter 7, verse 20. "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men," the whole essence, the heart of men, notice what he says: "From within proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye." I’ve always liked that one, an evil eye. "Blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

How does Paul put it? The spirit fights and lusts against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit, so that you do not do the things that you wish. The issue is on the inside. That’s why simply changing a person’s environment will not change the person. Changing a person’s economic situation, as good as that may be, will not solve man’s basic problem. That’s the exact opposite of what our culture teaches, blaming the environment and the culture for the bad behavior of men and women. The deeds that we’re dealing with in the world today come from within, and the key to change is a heart change.

Paul speaks to men and women in Galatians that have been distracted a little, now going back to a powerless list of rules and regulations, leaving the power of God, and becoming extremely divisive along the way. Remember the context of walking in the spirit is right here in verse 15. "If you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed." Church, are you guys biting and devouring one another, consuming one another? No, here’s a better solution: walk in the spirit and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.

As you live in the spirit, the law won’t condemn you. You won’t be broken and crushed under its weight because Jesus has fulfilled it. Not only are we walking in the spirit, but in verse 18, we’re following the spirit. We’re reading what Jesus says and we’re following him and saying, "I believe you. The issue's on the inside of me. I believe you. It’s me. It’s how I feel." You’ve got this battle going on between the spirit and the flesh. Who’s going to win? The one that you feed the most.

If you’re feeding your flesh and feeding your flesh, "I can handle it, I can handle it," God has sent me into your life today to remind you that you cannot handle your flesh being fed that way. It will overtake you. It will crush you under its weight. It will make you a woman or a man that you never thought you’d be again. You’ll start to reflect some of the characteristics that you lived in before you got saved. Then you’ll look in the mirror, after you move the Post-it note, and you’re going to look in the mirror and go, "What has happened to me?" Or God’s going to send people into your life and ask you that, "What’s happened? You’ve changed." And it very well could be the change is that you haven’t been walking in fellowship with God through a series of sinful choices.

Now, before we leave, I want to give you a practical instruction on this because the question does get asked: how do I walk in the spirit? How do I reprioritize my life? How do I reorganize my life around walking in the spirit? What can I do that will help me walk in the spirit? How can I live a life that’s disciplined in the spirit? I want to give you two words. Take some notes here. Two words that I want you to remember, and I’m asking you to prayerfully apply this week to put it to work right away. Walking in the spirit, one area that will greatly help you, they go together, one way that will greatly help you is prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting coming together.

We read our Bibles, we pray, we come to church, we serve others, we give financially, we fellowship with other believers, we do good. But here is a tool that is so powerful and so rarely used in the believer’s life: biblical fasting. Now, biblical fasting is not fasting to lose weight. There’s a new thing now, intermittent fasting, and it’s a tool that’s used by many to lose weight. That is not what the Bible is speaking of. Or fasting because you’ve got a medical test coming up and they just tell you it’s no big deal, the doctor says, "I need you to fast because you’re going to do this," and you say, "Okay, whatever, Doc."

Now the Lord’s saying, "I want you to fast because it’s a powerful spiritual tool that when you use it, you will begin immediately feeling the weight of this battle, the flesh against the spirit, but you’ll also immediately begin to feel the power of God in victory." So let me show you. Turn over to Matthew chapter 6. Now, I have taught on this in depth. If you go to the website or the app and you search for "fasting," the Bible study will pop up that says something like, "What is biblical fasting?" I go much deeper than this overview, but this overview is enough in light of our understanding of walking in the spirit.

Let's start with the beginning of what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 6, verse 16. "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that they may be appeared to men to be fasting. Assuredly I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret place, and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly." The reward of fasting is spiritual strength. You might be physically weak, but the reward of fasting is the Father’s reward of spiritual strength when you fast.

So let’s start with a definition. Fasting is the willful neglect of food to both deny my earthly tendencies and uplift my spirit in Jesus. So let’s be clear, fasting refers to choosing not to eat food of any kind in order to worship God. It’s a form of worship. So you choose to say no food. You maybe start with a 24-hour, 48-hour, 72-hour commitment and you say, "I am not going to eat. I’m only going to take in water. I’m only going to drink water. I’m not eating anything for the sake of denying my flesh."

Let me just tell you, even just making the decision, all of a sudden your body is going to freak out. It is going to be so mad at you. Your body is just like, "I can’t believe you’re treating me like this. I can’t believe you’re not eating." And how does it do that? It doesn’t talk, of course. It gives you migraine headaches. It gives you rumblings. It gives you like all you wanted to seek the Lord, and for the first eight hours of fasting, what are you doing? Thinking about food, thinking about food, thinking about food. I can’t believe it. Why’d I make this decision? I’m so hungry. What are you eating? Why are you eating? I can’t believe it. Everything on Instagram is food, food, food, food, food, food.

Food’s a big part of your life, isn’t it? It’s a necessity. None of us would be alive without food. It is probably the thing that we do most regularly and maybe even overdo it at times. Food. I just reminded you breakfast is 20 minutes away because some of you are having breakfast later, lunch after second service. Food. When you choose to fast, you choose to give up food. You’re following, really, it’s one way, not the only way, but it’s one way of obeying Jesus when he said, "You want to follow me? Yes, Lord. Then take up your cross and deny yourself." Deny yourself.

Fasting is something that was done by so many believers before us: Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Nehemiah, Esther, Anna, Mary, Cornelius, so many more. But the one that most intrigues me that chose to fast in his human body for 40 days and 40 nights was Jesus. That’s how he began his ministry, seeking the Father through fasting, giving up willfully and committedly that sense of, "I’m not going to eat for the sake of the Lord."

I’m going to use all that time I spend thinking about food, I’m going to use all that time cooking that I would be cooking and cleaning and putting together and shopping, I’m going to give it to God. And I’m going to feast. I’m not going to be eating physically for a day or two, I’m going to be eating spiritually and I’m going to take in that extra time and I’m going to talk to God. I’m going to jot down a prayer journal and I’m going to begin reading the Gospels or I’m going to read through the Proverbs. I’m going to reorient my life. I’m going to check the time that the game is on so that I can have the game, but I’m going to do all the things that are needed to enjoy the game. I want you to think: fasting helps you reorient your life so you can do all the things that are necessary that you get to enjoy in Christ.

And the bonus: you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. You know what will happen when you choose to fast, when you choose to walk in the spirit? You’ll sin a lot less, which means you’ll deal with a lot less consequences. Peace will begin to rush into your life. Joy will be yours once again. Your heart will no longer be hatred toward others, but praying for others. And in those that you disagree, learning how to step into their lives and speak to them in love and mercy and grace.

Food is so much a part of our lives. It’s that necessity that can quickly rush in and control us. Imagine that, being controlled by food. Sometimes food can become a distraction, a time-filler. Sometimes food can make us dependent, even addicted, even to the point where food can be so much a common part of someone’s life that you can become sinfully gluttonous. That’s what the Bible teaches, where you have no control over food and you gorge and overeat to the point of gluttony, not leaning on the Holy Spirit. When we come to that place where food is a distraction and we begin to forsake it, the spirit of God comes alive in that area of your life. But it is a battle.

I’d encourage you if you take me up on my advice this week, that you make the commitment for two days, not just one. Because the first day is always the most miserable. It’s brutal. I am not a person that gets migraine headaches, but when I choose to fast, I don’t know what kind of headache it is, but it is bad. And even just the beginning, just thinking, "Lord, I’m just going to fast," and all of a sudden now I have a supernatural smell. I have the power to smell McDonald’s fries at every McDonald’s across the world. And I don’t even eat them that much. But I like them.

And now it’s like, "Lord, I’m going to give you this day," and all of a sudden I smell everything. That’s the day, of course, where the boss brings in the best donuts in the morning. Thanks, Boss. That’s the day that you choose to fast, of course, at work, they’re going to be the appreciation day where they take you out to that fancy restaurant and there you are drinking water. But you don’t have to tell anybody. Jesus is saying don’t do this. "Oh, what’s so wrong with you?" "Well, I can’t eat this meal because I’m fasting unto the Lord. I’m becoming so much more spiritual than all a bunch of you heathens." No, this is between you and the Lord. God’s wanting to give you victory over the flesh, and you’re going to see it with food because food is so much a part of your life and mine.

Now, I gave you the definition of fasting. Let me give you a few things before we leave as we read of fasting in the scriptures. I’ll give you five things that you see fasting connected to and then you can see them in your own life. Number one, there’s already we’ve seen prayer and fasting. Daniel chapter 9, verse 3, he sets his face toward God, he’s praying and fasting. Number two, fasting is often associated with confession of sin. So while you’re fasting, pray and confess sin. Nehemiah chapter 9, verses 1 and 2. They’re fasting, it says in verse 1, and then in verse 2, they’re confessing their sins.

Number three, fasting is also often associated with mourning, with sadness and sorrow. And you may need to express some sadness or sorrow of your state of life before the Lord, asking for forgiveness. The scripture there is Joel chapter 2, verse 12. Number four, fasting is often associated with humility, humbling yourself before the mighty hand of God through fasting. It’s a very humble experience. That’s Deuteronomy chapter 9, verse 18, where it says, "I fell down before the Lord. I didn't eat bread or even drink water because of sin."

Number five, one of the expectations that we see fasting is often associated with is the chastening of the soul or a deep work of the spirit in your life, more than a Bible study could ever do for you, more than church attendance could ever do. You’ve opened yourself to be dealt with directly by God. And it says in Psalm 69, verse 10, "I wept and chastened my soul with fasting and that became my reproach." It’s so good for our Father in heaven, so loving and gracious, to design something for us that will make us stronger.

And I didn’t ask, nor will I, but if I did ask how many have fasted in the last year or so, there would be very few hands because it’s one of those things that just isn’t used. It’s not even thought about. Even right now, as you’re processing whether you want to do it or not, you’re thinking about your week and all the demands that’ll be there and, "I’m not sure I can work. I’m so stressed out. I don’t know how I can," and you’ve got all this battle going on where God’s just simply telling you seek my face. The flesh is a big problem. And I’m saying that to you. I’m saying the flesh is a big problem for you. I’m saying that right now. But a proper way of saying it is the flesh is a big problem for us. It’s not just you. This is a big part of our lives, this battle is ongoing. And you want to feed the spirit, learning the power of the spirit again, the priorities being back in order, the rearranging of your life, walking in great victory. There’s power in fasting and praying, disciplining my body, directing myself spiritually.

I have to say just one final thing. Like I said with the study we did on fasting, I did it much more, we did a whole Bible study on it. So I’d encourage you to get that. There’s also books downstairs in the bookstore on fasting to equip you. If you want, we have some handouts that are available, you can email me, I’ll send you the handouts on fasting. But I do want to say I recognize today that some of you have a medical condition that fasting food all day for two or three days might greatly harm you. So see your doctor first. Find out how far you can go. Ask your doctor for wisdom and understanding. It’d be a great witnessing opportunity for your doc as well. "I just came from this Bible study. This is what Jesus teaches in the Bible. How can I do that without harming my body right now?"

Because fasting can additionally be you can just give up something. You can give up candy. Maybe some of you just need to give up fast food. There’s a lot that you can fast. You can fast television watching for a while, all the binge-watching you’ve been doing and burning time. You can fast that for a while. Or how about this one? You’re not going to like me, but you probably already don’t like me, so how about this one: fasting social media. Don’t throw anything. But it’d be so healthy for you if you just give some time. Think about it. You can check right now the time on your Instagram, how much time you spent on it, or the time on your phone, and you can look at that and go, "I’m going to give this time to the Lord."

And you go, "But Ed, I read my Bible on my phone." Get a paper Bible. Turn off notifications and just choose to fast. Just give it to the Lord an hour or two or three. Would you be stronger if you gave that time to the Lord? I think you would. Would you be stronger if you just said, "Lord, I’m going to give this up and I’m going to give it"? Yes, you would. But for those of you that can fast for food, start there. Those of you that are healthy enough to do it, start there. It will blow your mind. It will blow your mind. If you’ve never fasted before, I’m telling you, you will see immediate revelations of who you are, where you are, and where God is in your life. And he’ll meet you right there. He’ll meet you right there. You try fasting and you say, "Okay, 24 hours," and you make it eight hours. All right, that’s eight more hours than you ever gave before. And now next time go 16, go 24. Next time go five days. Next time go 40 days. Whoa, you need to see a doctor for that one. Whatever the Lord has for you, he wants us to walk in the spirit. Why? So we don’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. Amen.

Guest (Male): What you heard today on Abounding Grace is part of Pastor Ed Taylor’s series taken from the book of Galatians. You can hear it again online at aboundinggraceradio.com or wherever you get your podcasts. We also have an app that makes listening to Pastor Ed easy to do on your mobile devices. Search for Calvary Church. We’d really like to hear from you this summer. It’s helpful to know how these studies are impacting your life, and that would be a real encouragement to Pastor Ed and the team. And if you’re in need of prayer, please leave your prayer requests as well. There’s a place to contact us at aboundinggraceradio.com.

Abounding Grace is supported by listeners just like you, and we’re grateful for those that come alongside us with either a one-time gift or ongoing support. We’d like to say thanks today for a gift of $25 or more by sending you The Jesus Person Promise Book by David Wilkerson. When you’re dealing with a personal or spiritual problem, where do you turn? If you’re wise, you’ll open the Word, and The Jesus Person Promise Book highlights over 800 promises in the Word arranged topically. That makes it super easy to find the specific promise that relates to the problem you’re experiencing. It’s available to our Abounding Grace listeners when you support the ministry with a gift of $25 or more. So call us at 877-30-GRACE or visit our e-store at calvaryco.store. Amen. Come back next time when we’ll continue our study of God’s Word with Pastor Ed. That’s right here on Abounding Grace. Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado.