Listen to this brief glimpse from Early Church History as we jump into our study this morning of God’s Word’s New Testament portrait of the Early Church’s Hunger for God.
About A.D. 133, Aristeides, a teacher of philosophy, presented a defense of Christianity to Emperor Hadrian. From it, we get a glimpse of what the early Christians were like and why the church grew the way it did—like wildfire—in those centuries.
Now the Christians, O King…have the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ himself engraved on their hearts, and they observe, looking for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. They do not covet men’s goods; and love their neighbors; they despise not the widow, and grieve not the orphan. He that hath distributeth liberally to him that hath not. If they see a stranger, they bring him under their roof and rejoice over him, as if it were their own brother; for they call themselves brethren, not after the flesh, but after the spirit and in God…. And if there is among them a man that is poor and needy, and they have not an abundance of necessities, they fast two or three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food. For Christ’s sake they are ready to lay down their lives. So it was spread abroad, “Behold how they love one another.” What shall we be known for? Let it be that we are willing to die for Christ and, even more, that we are willing to live for him in loving his people—and his enemies. The early Christians fasted so that they would have more to give to the needy, which means they did not have a lot stored up. O Lord, help us see Christ, be satisfied with Christ, and to show Christ as they did.
How do you know you need to fast as a born-again Christian? Jesus gives us the answer in the text we have been studying for the past three weeks. In Mark 2:18-22 Jesus said His children would long for Him until His Return. So when do we need to fast? When we have lost the intense longing for Christ’s Return!
Then Christ’s words this morning are for you. Our text contains the most important words in the Bible on fasting. And these words can change your life if you understand them!
Mark 2:20-22. Lets read them as you follow along in your copy of God’s Word.
20 “But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, (Here is one of the many prophecies Jesus made pointing to the Cross, and His ascension to the Father’s right hand for the period of time we call the Church Age. Jesus was away and we await Him.)
And then they will fast in those days (Now comes the New Testament fast, it is for those who await the One they love, who is taken away to Heaven. While we wait for the Son we fast. Because we long for Him, we fast!)
21 “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth (Christianity of the New Covenant Church after the Cross) on an old garment; (The Old Testament Judaism) or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. 22 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” "The patch of unshrunken cloth and the new wine represent the new reality that has come with Jesus – the Kingdom of God is here. The Bridegroom has come. The Messiah is in our midst. And that is not temporary. He is not here and gone. The kingdom of God did not just come with Jesus and then just vanish out of our world. Jesus died for our sins once for all. He rose from the dead once for all. The Spirit was sent into the world as the real presence of Jesus among us. The Kingdom of God is the present reigning power of Christ in the world subduing hearts to the King and creating a people who believe Him and serve Him in faith and holiness. The Spirit of the Bridegroom is gathering and purifying a Bride for Christ. This is the gospel of Christ and the "mystery of the Kingdom", this is the new wine.
(WWJ-23; NR1-31; 000806AM)
Join the LAND OF THE BOOK channel to access weekly video releases over the next year totaling 50+ EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS featuring weekly in-depth Bible Study lessons with John & Bonnie.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVK6dN-9kLDnQhYBFuES09A/join
Follow Discover the Book Ministries to stay up to date:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/discoverthebook/
DTBM Academy Courses:
https://dtbma.com/Default.aspx
Purchase John’s Books, Mp3 & DVD resources:
E-Books: https://tinyurl.com/y3wbhlxy
Here are links to our Amazon Pages–
https://www.amazon.com/shop/dtbm
Donate to the ministry: https://dtbm.org/donations/partnership/
For more of Dr. John Barnett’s Bible teaching messages, go to: https://dtbm.org/
https://youtu.be/FqmRYzi2veg