When you fast d not die! Part 4 - Fasting is abstinence from legitimate sex

Rev Enoch Thompson | FEBRUARY 21, 2023 | MATTHEW 6:16-18

KEY VERSE:

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” Matthew 6:16 (NIV)

MESSAGE:

God created us as spiritual beings, but He also made us sexual beings. We are distinguished in our sexuality by maleness and femaleness given at birth and signalled by our physical sexual and reproductive organs. The desire for sexual satisfaction is natural and finds its God-ordained expression within the context of marriage.

In Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church on some issues relating to marriage brought before him, in 1 Cor 7:1-6, leads us to deduce that the Christian couple can use abstinence from sexual activity, which is appropriate for them, as a spiritual exercise of fasting. Paul wrote, “Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. ²But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. ³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. NIV

For single Kingdom citizens, the period while waiting for marriage can be transformed into a prolonged sexual fast. Every urge or temptation to sexual expression for the single person is an act of fasting performed and registered before God.

FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:

The sex-fast must be by the mutual agreement of the couple, and not the unilateral declaration of one partner, (1 Cor 7:5). Reflect on this thought and commit to maintaining holiness in the matter of sexuality. Married couples should discuss how this truth can be applied between them.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for making me a sexual being. Please help me to engage my sexuality for the development of my spirituality. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.

SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!