"Why do the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" (Matthew 9:14).
Pharisees forced people to fast and pray. They emphasised bodily disciplines like fasting as a means of becoming spiritual and they boasted about it. Jesus fasted even more than the Pharisees. But He did not fast in order to be holy. He fasted because He was holy. And Jesus did not boast about His fasting like the Pharisees. Neither did He ever force people to fast - not when He was on earth and not today. Fasting has value before God only when it is totally voluntary. Otherwise it becomes a dead work.
People of all religions practise some forms of asceticism, like fasting. Some even stop having sexual relations with their wives in order to be holy. But that is not the way for a Christian to be holy. The mark of a perfect man is not that he disciplines himself in matters of food and sex, but that he can control his tongue (James 3:2). Then we must control our thoughts and our eyes.
Jesus could enjoy a good meal. They called Him "a gluttonous man" (Luke 7:34). His very first miracle was making extra wine at a wedding! That looked like one of the most unnecessary miracles that Jesus ever did. Those guests had already drunk so much wine; and Jesus made 600 litres of wine for a wedding party of perhaps 200 guests - which would mean that He made 3 litres of wine per person!! What was the need to make so much wine for them? We would have thought that Jesus' first miracle should have been a more "spiritual" miracle like raising the dead! One reason why He did this miracle was because He came to demolish a religion of externals that taught, "Don't touch this. Don't taste that", etc.
I have met Christians (in certain denominations especially), who subtly mention their periods of fasting in their conversation. They say words like, "I just want to share with you a precious word the Lord gave me when I was on a 21-day fast recently". Their main point there is to impress you with the fact that they fasted for 21 days. All their other words are secondary. Jesus however told us never to let anyone know when we fasted. But Pharisees boast about their asceticism.
There is certainly an important place for discipline in eating and sleeping and sexual matters in the Christian life. But this is definitely not a matter that we should tell others about or glory in.
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Zac Poonen ( - Present)
God called brother Zac Poonen to a new work early on in his Christian experience. The movement is now called Christian Fellowship Churches where the New Covenant of New Testament Christianity is clearly preached.Brother Zac Poonen has written 25 books most of them being on the deeper Christian life. Many of these have been translated into a number of languages and have been circulated widely around the world. He clearly and passionately shares the narrow way of Christian discipleship that is neglected by so many modern preachers.
Recommends these books by Zac Poonen:
Through The Bible by Zac Poonen
The Final Triumph-A verse by verse study of the book of Revelation by Zac Poonen
Beauty for Ashes by Zac Poonen
Zac Poonen is a former Indian Naval Officer who has been in full time ministry in India for nearly 50 years as a Bible teacher and preacher. He holds responsibility for a number of churches in India and abroad. He currently pastors the Christian Fellowship Church in Bangalore, Karnataka.
He has written more than 25 books and numerous articles in English - which have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages. His messages are available on audio and video format.
Like the other elders in his church, Zac Poonen also supports himself and his family through what he describes as "tent-making" and does not receive any salary for his services. He does not receive any royalties for any of his books, CDs or DVDs, that are published by Christian Fellowship Centre, Bangalore.