Here’s another statement Jesus made that convinces me that living in relationship with Him does not negate the fact that we should also strive to live in obedience - ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
So what were His commandments? Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is a good place to start…
The Sermon on the Mount Lifestyle
I think many believers feel that the Christian life is just too mysterious to really grasp. The tension lies between the ease and the difficulty of a life of wholeheartedness. The difficult part of wholeheartedness is not in its mysteriousness. Wholeheartedness toward God, which is what we are to truly desire, is walked out by doing the main, plain things of Scripture. It’s not complicated, but it is difficult to deny our fleshly desires and pride. Jesus spelled out what wholeheartedness before God means in His Sermon on the Mount. It contains the non-negotiable principles, or “constitution” of the Kingdom of God. It’s Christianity 101!
So, what does the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle look like in our day-to-day existence? There are five types of “fasting” described in the Sermon on the Mount.
By giving, we fast our money. (Matt. 19-24) We are trusting God to return and multiply back to us the financial strength that we have given away. We all know the story of the widow who gave her last two mites. Like this widow, it is important in the fasted lifestyle to give in such a way that we feel its impact, and not just give out of our wealth and surplus.
In serving others, we fast our time and energy. (Matt. 6:3-4) The time “wasted” in serving is time that we cannot use to establish our own personal comfort and pleasure. Thus, we trust the Lord to work for our increase in a way that surpasses what we could have accomplished by spending that very same amount of time on establishing our own cause.
The third expression of the fasted lifestyle is prayer. (Matt. 6:6) In prayer, we fast our time and emotions. When we give our time to God in prayer we miss opportunities to build our ministries, businesses or to recreate or be entertained. We also give our emotional energy during prayer as we pour ourselves out to intercede for others and feel what God feels.
By blessing our enemies we’re fasting our words and reputation. (Matt. 5:44, 6:14) This is also known as meekness. When we bless our enemies, we give up the right to the emotional and social strength we might have gotten from fighting back. This means refraining from words that would have exposed our enemy , defended our position, and strengthened us with the sympathy and support of others. When we lose that natural strength, imitating the Lord’s silence before his accusers, we are forced to gain strength and comfort from God. This is probably the most difficult form of fasting.
Finally, Jesus calls us to the fasting of food. (Matt. 6:17-18) Abstaining from food is what we typically think of when we refer to fasting. The difficulty in fasting from food is not to much the hunger as it is the weakness. And when we are physically weak we are forced to entrust ourselves to the Lord for both strength and comfort, and as we do so, we become focused on encountering God.
Once again, unless done in a heart of love, these activities are empty and vain. And they aren’t a substitute for pursuing 100% obedience. God doesn’t keep score of our good works and bad works so that they may balance each other out. You can’t bargain with God, and offer Him more of your money to make up for living in immorality. It doesn’t work that way.
So why don’t we see Christians pursuing this lifestyle here in America? I believe we think that our 21st century western culture is immune to it. We’re quick to make excuses: “Our lives are so busy. How can God expect us to fast our time and energy in prayer and service to others? It was different in His day.” or “I have to defend myself or I’ll get taken advantage of.” or “Surely God doesn’t expect me to give in such a way that I wouldn’t be able to pay a mortgage on a nice, big house?”
Dave and I have been listening to an excellent sermon series called The Culture of the Kingdom by Billy Humphrey. It’s phenomenal. But as I listen, I just want to cry. We’re so entrenched in pursuing the American Dream – mammon – here in the Western Church that I can’t see the way out.
In Revelation 22:17 it says, “The Spirit and the bride say ‘Come.’” (to Jesus) Well, it doesn’t take a revelation from the Holy Spirit to observe that the bride (the Church) is not saying “Come.” We’re too preoccupied with our padded and cushy lives to truly desire Jesus’ second coming. And Jesus is not going to come to a mediocre, ho-hum, take-Him-or-leave-Him bride, He’s going to come to a bride with hot, fiery, passionate love for Him. A bride that’s crying out, “Come Jesus. We want you here! We love you!”
But here’s the good news. We will get it. The above verse is proof of it. It might take some shaking (either self-inflicted or from God) to remove those props that keep us from wholeheartedness, but we will, in the years and decades to come, come into alignment with the Spirit and cry out for Jesus’ return. That’s why Dave and I are so sold out on the prayer movement. Among other things (and I plan to explain more about the prayer movement in a future post) it’s all about corporately going after wholeheartedness, and crying out in prayer for Jesus to come back. It’s awesome. There’s no other place we’d rather be!
Terrific word, Janet! Keep writing what you’re writing…I love the fire in your spirit!