Staying connected to the Vine
Nearly every day there’s a new popular diet, or a new ‘miracle food’ to help lose weight or solve other issues. While people can be surprisingly decisive about what they eat physically, spiritual diets are far more vital.
It may surprise you to learn that God has prescribed a spiritual diet for that has many benefits.
So today we are going to look at the spiritual food which God has given us to eat, and how it nourishes us.
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” advice that is constantly given out whenever one person wants to encourage another… but would it surprise you that the first person to offer such advice was actually Jesus? And He doesn’t just tell you to not worry and be happy, but He actually gives you the reason why you can safely and securely cease your worrying and have both joy and happiness, because of the truth of Christ and the fact that you have a Heavenly Father who actually loves and cares for you.
You see, the message of “don’t worry, be happy” really doesn’t carry its full weight, until you understand precisely why you can do those things. Without the foundation, it will often crumble to the daily stresses of life. So what I want to share with you today, is what Jesus said about letting go of your worry, and how to be truly happy.
Simply mention the word “fasting” and most people will conjure up images of giving up food, depriving oneself of something vital, or otherwise sacrificing something. The word “fasting” in secular usage has only the meaning of abstaining from food and/or drink, and that is what most Christians understand it to mean as well.
Furthermore, I have encountered many people that fast as a religious observance, because they are trying to “get God’s attention” – although not everyone will readily admit that. In our discussions, when I have asked them why they were fasting, it has always boiled down to the core of either wanting an answer to prayer or wanting to be closer to God – and while these may seem like holy and righteous reasons, I have had to tell them the honest truth, that nothing they could ever do, will ever make them closer to God than what Jesus did over 2,000 years ago on the cross. No sacrifice that we can make today, can ever make us closer to God than the one offered by His Son all those years ago. And most of these people were offended at that statement.
What I want to share with you today, is the portrait of true fasting. Not what man thinks fasting is, but instead what God says fasting is, and the type of fasting that He actually wants. And I believe that by the end of our study today, many chains will be broken, and many burdens lifted, because it is the truth of Jesus Christ that will make us free, and that includes His truth regarding fasting as well.
I’m going to begin today by making a very controversial statement: Jesus is all that you need. Among believers, this statement is surprisingly controversial. Some people will say: “well, we need oxygen and food and water – so Jesus is really not all that we need.” This seems logical and even reasonable at first, when viewed through the lens of the world, but is this really what the Bible teaches?
In this study today, we will be examining the sufficiency of God, and specifically His sufficiency for us, in all things. Because if we do not understand that God is our total sufficiency, then we must begin looking to other things to fill-in the gaps. So as we see these truths today, we will broaden our view of the nature and character of God, and will be able to receive more from Him.
Imagine for a moment if you will, that God appeared to you in a dream and asked you what He was to give you. What it is that you would ask for? Perhaps more money? Healing? Maybe to find true love? Would you ask to see more of Jesus? Now I am not asking the question in order to bring a sense of guilt on you, so please don’t feel that way. However what we will be reading in scripture today will actually shift your mentality, to see that actually all of the other blessings will come as you see and receive more of Jesus into your life, because He is actually the source of every blessing.
As we study this today, it is my sincere hope for you that this will change your outlook, and even your thinking as you study the Bible in your personal time. That Bible reading will not be a chore, or a tool for behavior modification. But that it will become a joy and a treasure, as you grow closer to the LORD, and live a life of divine blessing through Him.
Have you ever had to wait for a table at a fine restaurant? Or felt the anticipation of a Thanksgiving feast while it was still being prepared? When it finally arrived, did you refuse it, or did you receive it with gladness?
The Bible tells us that Jesus has prepared a banquet for us, with every good thing laid on the table, yet many have refused it, and gone away hungry. If you have been hungry for more of Jesus and His provision in your life, and have been wondering how to partake of this banquet, then this study will benefit you today.