Lean, Mean, Fasting Machine — Shane Idleman

The title of the message, if you're ready for this, I don't know if you are, but it's going to be challenging. The title is, Lean, Mean, Fasting Machine. I'm going to get to the purpose of that in a minute.

Jesus' Teaching on Prayer, Giving, and Fasting

We have been in chapter 6 of Matthew. Jesus is saying when you pray, when you give, and when you fast. But I'm going to recap something for those who were not here last week. I want you to go and listen to the pain of discipline over the pain of regret.

It was last week's message. We've got CDs available. People are emailing us from different states, a few different countries, on how the message is really stirring something in them to focus again on discipline.

Because we can kind of wane from where God wants us. I don't know about you, but my flesh is predispositioned to go away from God. And discipline helps bring me back to where God needs me. Denial produces discipline.

Denial, when you deny the flesh, it produces, it creates discipline, right? Like training muscles, right? You do this to train your what? Your calves? No? Biceps, right, and chest. And that's what denial does.

Denying the flesh trains the muscle of discipline. However, we are very careful because throughout church history, that's how monasteries started. I don't know if you're aware of that. Monks and different things, I've got to get away from the flesh.

I've got to get away from the world. And we just go live out in the desert and sing Kumbaya and make campfires and hope that flesh does not come after me. You know, deny, deny, deny. It's all about denying and giving up these things.

And that's not healthy either. But the Bible finds a very healthy balance between freedom in Christ, enjoying things, and also disciplining the flesh. The flesh has to be disciplined. You can't cast it out.

And we pray, Lord, cast out this flesh. It's not going anywhere. It's going to the grave with you. And we have to discipline the flesh. That's why Paul said, like a soldier, I discipline my body. He said, I beat it black and blue, and I discipline my body so it submits to me.

And I don't submit to him. Great example. We're doing worship this morning. It's 7 .20, and my flesh is saying, I wish you would hurry up and finish because you can still get to Krispy Kreme. And you can, this is, I'm being honest.

I'm talking, like, where's the closest donut shop? Is there one down? I mean, the flesh is just, go get that donut. Come on, just rush through things. And you find it, tell the flesh, be quiet. We're not doing anything.

You're not the boss. You're not in control of me. And you bring it into submission. You discipline it versus allowing it to discipline you. And if I've learned one thing over the years pastoring, it is this.

Fasting Increases Spiritual Hunger

When you allow the Holy Spirit to take control of your physical appetites, your spiritual appetite for God increases. It's just a wonderful biblical principle. When the appetites that are controlling us are brought under control and restraint, then our appetites for God increase.

The appetite, the hunger for God increases. As the flesh decreases, the hunger for God increases. I've told you this before, but it fits a sermon. I used to speak at a lot of men's breakfasts. Is that plural, right?

Yeah, breakfasts held by men at different churches, organizations, different things. So for the first year or so, I would come and Brother Shane, here's some cinnamon rolls, and oh, great, and coffee, and orange juice, and bacon, and eggs.

And when I'd get up to preach, I was, well, let's see here, I had no zeal, no passion. I just kind of went through it. And then I discovered something called fasting where I would starve those appetites, and then not only did I feel like preaching, I was leaping, I was just ready to give the word of God because I can't fulfill, see, maybe some good things, but a good thing isn't always a great thing.

The song we sang, lesser, give me more of an appetite for you as I remove lesser things. So as I was full on these foods, I was drained in the spirit. As I conquered the flesh and fasted on these areas, the spirit of God within me felt bold and more alive because I restrained those passions.

And you know it's not just one little cinnamon roll, right? Go up for second or thirds, and so I would go up there, and you know, I don't wanna use this word too much and out of context, but I would have the tendency to be a glutton.

It's a, that's my, it's not just a little this or that, it's, I'm, especially if you go to a buffet and you pay for it, I'm leaving there, sushi, I'm leaving there full and way too much. So if I give over to that appetite, and I saw this, and the more I gave into those appetites, my preaching was stifled, it was weak because of that giving in and giving in.

And the day that death surrendered under the mighty weight of the cross was the day of victory. Nothing feels better than victory, does it? When you overcome something, does that, do you not feel better?

Let's just be real. When something is taking us captive, when something is beating us down, when something is winning, what do Christians do? Do they get joy filled and shout, or they get depressed and lash out?

Oh goodness, come on. We know this isn't the church that's ever went through things, right? We've experienced life, and so when the flesh is losing control, and you begin to gain control, victory, and you trust in Christ, you trust in the Holy Spirit, there's victory there, you've overcame that.

There's joy, tremendous joy. Ask somebody who's trying to stop drinking, and they cave into that, and then they, oh, there's no joy, there's no peace. For days, sometimes weeks, until they get the joy back, the victory back.

So there's something sweet in victory, and victory was paid on the cross, and I believe we can walk in that victory. Not perfectionism, I don't subscribe to something that came out, I think 1700s out of Methodist, the Methodist movement being perfect.

I think their intent was good, because the Bible says be perfect when you sin, or if you sin, right? If you sin, there's a, so the Bible always encourages us to not sin, that you have the ability to say no, that no temptation is overtaking you, nothing that you cannot overcome.

But then we realize, like Paul, oh wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of sin and death, right? This constant struggle within, so we aim for following Christ, and making the right choices, but we also understand that if we fall, we look to the one who ultimately will hold us together in our weakness.

And that's the Christian walk. I like what Basil said, he was the Bishop of Caesarea in 8030 to 8379, he said, fasting begets prophets, it means creates prophets, and strengthens strong men. Fasting makes lawgivers wise, it is the soul safeguard, the body's trusted comrade, the armor of the champion, the training of the athlete.

That's what fasting is, the early church fathers recognized it, somebody by the name of Jesus that we read about often in the New Testament, he practiced it, we see that it's clearly throughout Scripture.

Whether Christians Are Called to Fast

So here's the point I was getting to, Matthew 6, 17. We learned last week that Jesus said, when you fast, don't be like the hypocrites, right? Making a show of it, and I'm so spiritual and things. He said, verse 17, but you, but you, us, when you fast, so here's the dilemma we are all up against.

This one hit me like a block wall, running into a block wall many years ago. Either I'm called to fast or I'm not. It's one or the other, I mean, either it's a good idea, and Jesus says, when you fast, or that was for the early church, and because we have the Bible, we don't need it anymore.

But I tend to think that it's still common, it's still a common practice, especially if you look at church history. If you follow Polycarp or Tertullian, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Christendom, and these early church fathers, and you read about fasting, the Didache, I don't know if you've heard of that, the Didache was early church writings, and it talks about even fasting two days before your baptism.

You get into, of course, Martin Luther and John Knox, and they talked about fasting in the Reformation period, and Martin Luther actually fasted while he translated the Bible into the German language for weeks sometimes, and so it's a common thread throughout church history.

Now, when we get to this era, something happened. I don't know what happened, but now it's not mentioned anymore. It's rarely talked about. I try to think of, I don't remember ever hearing a sermon for many years, and I would be guilty of this myself.

I wouldn't preach a sermon on it very much, and you didn't hear about it, you didn't preach about it, and it was kind of just, oh yeah, that's interesting. Oh boy, I'm sure glad Jesus fasted, not me. Because, and I think it has something to do with this.

In America, right, you don't touch the flag, you don't touch my guns, and you don't touch my meat. Right, proud America, you got the flag flying, you've got the shotgun in the back seat, and you got the chicken on the barbie, even though it's from Australia.

So it's this concept of, why would we ever do that? So Jesus said, when you fast, when you fast. So the point is, we are to do it. And he's going to say, when you fast, here's how to do it. Now, it's very interesting, because we want the formula, right, okay, and this is the number one question I get.

Fasting Seeks God Rather Than a Formula

What type of fast? One day, two day, meals, water only, Daniel fast, vegetable, juice fasting, can I just take out TV, is that still fasting? I'm just gonna avoid sugar, I'm just gonna avoid sugar all week, is that fasting?

One is fasting. There's so many different tricks out there. The bottom line is this, we want the formula, God wants your heart. Because I want a formula too, what, how, how many days, what does it look like?

God's not interested in the formula, but the heart. So the heart of fasting is really this, I'm giving up fleshly appetites to pursue a deeper hunger for God. It's really not drudgery and, oh, why am I doing this?

There should be a delight. I'm giving up appetites of the flesh to pursue God. Let me give you an example I thought of yesterday. If you've ever lost a child, right, I've kind of did at the fair for just a few minutes, where do they go, right?

And if you're at Disneyland or wherever you're at, can you imagine losing the child? Now, let's say you lose the child on the way to lunch. Let's go get lunch, we're starving. Have you ever said that, you're really not starving, it's just your flesh is saying, feed me, feed me.

Nobody's starving in this audience, I'll tell you that right now. Or in this country, basically, unless you get to certain areas that are more difficult. But we're going to lunch, we're starving, and the child is gone.

Do you say, well, let's get lunch first. And then we'll look for the child. See why, what's the difference? The hunger to find the child is greater than the hunger and the desire to fulfill my appetite for food.

So that's all fasting really is. The desire to pursue God is greater than my desire to fulfill the lust of the flesh on an hourly basis, almost, it seems like. I mean, do you remember when I was little, it was breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Now it's breakfast, a snack, Starbucks on the way somewhere, a pre-lunch something, and then after lunch, we're hungry, we want yogurt, we want ice cream, and then now it's before dinner, and then after dinner, we're hungry, and we go to the refrigerator at midnight and get up and, oh, what happened?

It's almost like it's a continuing growing of these things. So that's what I want you to picture as fasting. Not drudgery, but delight. It's exchanging one passion, desire, God-given, one for food, that's God-given, right?

Without that desire, we wouldn't eat. So there's a desire for that, and it's good and God-given in the right context. So when Jesus said, here's how to fast, he's not lining out the Daniel fast for you.

He's not saying juice only. He's not doing any of that. He's saying, here's how you fast. When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face. Oh, how does that apply to us today? It basically means don't give the appearance of fasting.

Right, like if I came in here, one part of my shirt tucked in, the other tucked out in shorts, right, in cowboy boots. You ever seen those shorts? I don't, yeah. But, and you're just, ugh. Guys, I've been shaved for two weeks.

I've been fasting. Look at me, I'm a mess. And it's, oh, wow, it's just, so it's drawing attention to yourself. He's saying when you fast, you don't have to let people know. Some people you should let know, obviously, but don't have the heart of self-exaltation.

When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Heavenly Treasure and the Secret Place

Now, I'm gonna read something that's very interesting. Have you ever heard sermons or different topics about not laying up for yourself treasure on earth where moth and rust can destroy, but laying up your treasure in heaven, right?

I mean, who, that's Christianity 101. How many sermons are on that? Do you know that that flows right after this next verse? And when this was written, there wasn't chapter and verses. There was, it was just a letter.

I don't know if I've ever made the connection with this, don't lay up yourself treasure on earth, with fasting, even though it follows right after it. Now, granted, in your Bible, there will be a, it will section it off for you, and obviously, this has far-reaching principles above and beyond fasting, just the truth itself of laying up treasure in heaven and not hoarding and being self-indulgent and saving, saving, it's all about me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, money, money, money, and not putting things and helping others so you have a reward in heaven.

That is true as well, but the context is this. Fast in secret, your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Do not lay up for yourself treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourself treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, your heart will be also. So wherever I put my treasure, what's your treasure? Well, where do you spend your time and your money? That's your treasure. Where is our time, our money going?

That's what we value. So let's look at the first thing here. Private seeking has public reward. Private seeking has public reward. God who sees in private will reward you openly, but don't think of an award ceremony at school, right?

Oh, look, come up, here's an award, yay. There's an award ceremony. God doesn't necessarily exalt people. Oh, you fasted, now I'm gonna exalt you. Now you're on CNN News and now you've got an Oprah and all these things.

Not necessarily. There's a reward that happens. He will reward you openly. Sometimes it does promotion or increase in job, but what about answered prayers? I like that reward a little better than a pay increase, right, or a job opportunity, or what about God rewarding us because of our fasting?

And could this treasure be our relationship with God? Treasures on earth that damage us, lusting, buying, consuming, gathering, hoarding. When we fast, we give up those earthly treasures, so we think are treasures, and then we receive from God.

So to me, in context, this also applies with fasting. And God is in the secret place. God is in the secret place. Now, he's not playing hide and seek, right? You play that with your kids or other people, maybe, if you're adults, I hope you don't, but God's not like, where's God, where's he at?

God is in a place where most of the world can't find him. They'll go to a dark place, but not a holy place. So God's not in secret hiding. He's in secret because most people don't do what it takes to find him.

I mean, if you believe the Bible, and I know most of you do, it says, if you seek me with just a little bit of your heart, you'll find me. Or did I misquote that? Yeah. If you seek me with all of your heart, all of your strength, all of your mind, all of your soul, if I surrender, if I surrender, I surrender my appetites, it's a wonderful thing to say, Lord, I'm going all day.

I'm not consuming food, earthly food. I'm consuming heavenly food. And the reason why I think this is a huge benefit, too, is, and I'm gonna get to that in a minute, though I don't wanna skip ahead too much, is the time we take to prepare to eat is that time could be spent with God.

Because even fast food now, right, that's pretty quick, but by the time you drive, consume, drive, feel guilty and full, you know, there's a half hour there. Now, if you make something, you're an hour, and it's giving that time to God instead of, because when I, even healthy, I make something, make a salad, chicken breast, you've got 45 minutes, and even that took some time, right, where that time could have been given to God.

So, God, I don't have time for you, but I have time to sit here, oh, bell peppers, cucumbers, right, avocado, I have this time to make this meal, but I don't have time for you. So, it's an exchanging of time, exchanging of priorities.

Humility as the Foundation of Fasting

So, here's step one on this whole idea of fasting, lean, mean, fighting machine, humility is the access code. Okay, I'm talking computer lingo nowadays. Humility is the access code. Humility is the disappearance of self.

So, if you want to fast in this area, if you want to fast at all, if you want to draw closer to God, humility is the disappearance of self. Self has to disappear, and you say, Lord, what do you want me to do?

And this would be a good point to remind you, because not everyone was here last week, that fasting, and this whole topic, doesn't make God love you more, okay? He's not going, Shane fasted yesterday, and he hasn't eaten, and I love him a lot more than that person who just had a big breakfast.

He doesn't love us more, but I love him more. The more you restrain the flesh and fill it with the Spirit, the more your Spirit cries, Abba, Father, and you love him more. Have you ever been to where you're not loving God much, prodigal son, or yeah, I'll come to God when I need to, but you don't love him that much, but there's an all-consuming passion that takes over, and you love him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, when you begin to restrain these areas that are taking you down.

Isn't that true? If we just continually give in to all of our appetites, we will so quench and grieve the Spirit of God that we've lost our passion for Him. We've lost our zeal for Him. And also, fasting involves prevailing prayer.

Fasting involves prevailing prayer. We go from asking to seeking to knocking. And I have to remind you that this is really not about fasting, it's about seeking God. Because fasting without prayer is, you might as well go to Weight Watchers.

Right, it's just weight loss. It's just detox, it's okay for the physical, but no benefit for the spiritual. When you fast, the power really comes from the praying. So I'm just gonna, because this question has came up all the time, let me just show you some examples.

When you fast, Jesus said, when you fast, so there's a lot of creative ideas out there, right? Lot of creative ideas, and I've went through a lot of them myself, right? Okay, Lord, I know you're calling me to fast, I'm gonna give up junk food.

Hmm, not too bad. Okay, I know you're calling me to fast, Daniel fast. Now that's a hard one if you've never tried, right? No meat, no dairy, no good stuff, no junk, just, just veggies all day. Right, there's all creative ideas, but I've noticed, maybe it's me, just personal confession here, I always wanna take the easy route.

Even juicing, right? Get tons of juice all day long, fructose, it's a sugar. So I'm looking for the easy route. But let me just give you something to start with. The bottom line, when you fast, the bottom line is sustenance, is food, any type of food.

Juicing, wonderful fast, do it if you want, Daniel fast, it's a great fast, it had supernatural benefits, but the bottom line with fasting is, it's denying that sustenance, that food source, macronutrients, protein, carbohydrates, whatever it is, and even juicing, you're getting 1 ,000 calories a day, you're getting some type of meal source, or I'm gonna fast from junk food, or you're still, the idea behind fasting really is nothing, just water.

That's the concept, that's what people, but you work into that, you don't just start off in that direction, but I wanted to at least tell you that's what fasting is. Now Daniel was the exception to the rule, I believe, because of this.

The Bible says he abstained from flesh foods. Isn't that interesting? Flesh foods, our body desires flesh foods. Chicken, beef, pork, right, flesh foods. Have you ever craved broccoli? Okay good, somebody has, not me.

Like I gotta get out of here, I need some bell peppers dipped in hummus. Never, right? So there is, I'm gonna go on a rabbit trail for a minute, because this is the number two question, plant-based meat, plant-based meat, plant-based meat, I taught on this before.

Bible clearly teaches that meat in the right forms is okay, but I'm wondering if that lusting for even meat, the flesh foods, it's part of that lust, so what Daniel was doing, he said I'm not going to defile myself with the king's food that was probably sacrificed to idols, the wine, the delicacies.

He said I'm not going to defile myself, I'll still consume, just vegetables, and you can look at me and 10 days later I'll look better than the other people. So that was a valid fast, but for us, and that's a good one too if you want to try it, but fasting, at some point you should get to the spot where it's just water and you're seeking God and you're not having any food at all.

The reason I think Daniel Fast 2 was successful is because junk food has zero life-giving benefits. Zero life-giving benefits. It gives death, not life, and it feeds lust and addictions. As a result, it hurts us spiritually.

This is so funny. As many of you know, I was open last week. I was scared to death to give last week's sermon talking about this kind of stuff. The emails that are coming in, why aren't the pulpits talking about this?

Why is the church silent? Why don't I ever hear things about this? It is so important. This is so important. I think if you're consuming death and it does nothing to the body that is good but brings death, why should we not be vocal at some point and explain here's how God created us.

Appetite, Food, and the Daniel Fast

God created you to take a strawberry off the vine that has tons of enzymes, life-giving vitamins and minerals, life-giving, life-sustaining. You take that, you ingest that, that food, the life in the food is giving life to the body.

That's how God created us. But we go to a store buy something that can sit on the shelf for 14 years, grab a Diet Pepsi with aspartame, which is I don't even wanna get into what that junk is, and you consume that, and why?

What's going on here? That's death that brings no spiritual life. And we are so fearfully and masterfully made that I'm surprised all of us are just not falling over every day from all the just junk that has no sustaining force.

So that's why the Daniel Fast is a benefit. Junk food, yeah, I mentioned all that. But this is an area we don't wanna touch, especially men's breakfasts, right, when I used to go to. Go to men's breakfast, full of this stuff.

Why don't we have a men's breakfast where they don't break the fast? That's what breakfast is, right, break fast. And here's, and I've asked this before, and here's what people say. Not as many men will show up.

And I say I'd rather have 10 men on their face before God, fasting and seeking Him than 100 full of their appetites. It goes back to our desire. What are we desiring? Here's the key, though, I wanna, now that I've thrown in a few right and left hooks and an uppercut.

Returning to God After Failure

The key is this, and thank God, because I need this key. Does God bless you when you're perfect? No, right, we all know the answer. Does He sustain you only after you've completed a long fast? Like you're lost until you complete that fast.

He sustains me even when I fail. Even when I fail, He sustains me. Does He beat you up and kick you when you're down? No, everybody go like this, we know. So see, don't beat yourself up. Don't say, I can never measure up.

I'm still praying, my wife would tell you, I'm still praying about, I wanna do, and people think I fast all the time. I don't fast all the time. I try to, and I try to do the Lord's leading. I don't wanna get too weird about it.

But I'm like, Lord, 40 days has been on my mind. I don't know why, I'm praying, I'm seeking God. What do you wanna do? And just for fun, right, I'm getting ready for the sermon today. Thought I'd just fast yesterday.

I brought some, there's a lazy tea ranch, the kids were there for three hours, four hours for a birthday party. Like, Lord, I'm just gonna fast today and seek your will. I even had a Covita drink, you know those probiotic drinks, and some water, it was really good.

I'm going good until El Pollo Loco shows up, right? I mean, I'm doing great, and what is that? What is that? I thought we were just having a party. I can say no to a cake. I won't tell you what happened, but it was not good, right?

So there you go, I'm preaching on it today, and look what happened yesterday. But see, a lot of it was due to the power of the made-up mind. My mind was not made up. I'll try it, you know. Jensen Franklin, if you ever listen to any of his sermons, he's got good books on this topic.

He has a chapter on the power of the made-up mind. And when I decided to do seven days in August, I did seven days water, the power of the made-up mind and seeking God is the only thing that kept me.

And to get easier, I talked about that before, I'm not gonna do that now, but I wanna just offer hope. Me, going to fasting yesterday, that's the plan. I'm gonna fast, I'm gonna. And they just bring it out, here's a chicken breast, here's a, I'm like, you've gotta be kidding me.

See, the pull, come on, compromise, compromise. So it's not about always being perfect, because if it was, I wouldn't even be up here. But boy, did I get my heart back on track. I'm not eating dinner then, I'm just having a snack, I'm gonna prepare this, and God poured into me on the sermon, and he didn't, if he held me to that yesterday, I'd be in trouble this morning, right?

See, it's not about perfection, it's not about perfection. Oh, Shane, you blew it, you might as well close down church, the people aren't gonna benefit from your sermon, no, what I say is, God, I need your help, sustain me, carry me on your shoulders, hold me, guide me, lead me, Lord, Father, I fall into your arms.

Then he says, now you're ready to preach, now the heart's ready, don't go by what happened yesterday, get on track and let me speak boldly through you as you submit and humble yourself to me. That's where it comes from.

So you get back on track, right? You get back on track, and one of the benefits of water only, I don't know about you, and maybe this is just, I'm just being too honest this morning, but when I come up with some schemey little diet thing, okay, Daniel, but only dairy if it's this, I just compromise everywhere.

Right? I know no sweet, right, no junk food, but that's a vegan cookie with chocolate, chocolate chips, and it's got good, well, let me just have that. Now, is that organic chicken? Okay, I'll have that then, and you start to just kinda, you know, you'll alter that.

When it comes to fasting, you just say, I'm laying down the appetite for you, God. The second step will be this, it's gonna be pretty easy. Just begin with a meal. Begin somewhere. I've got a video, I'm thinking of sending it out, I don't know yet, but I gave my first message on fasting.

In 2011, I was 40 pounds heavier, and the title was Fasting to Overcome Addictions, and I have it on video, it was when the church first started, it was 40 pounds heavier, but that started my course, and I began to fast, and with a meal, with half a day, and it grows, and God begins to lead and guide in this area.

And again, it's not about racking up points. One point for each meal, right? It's about holy hunger. That's what it's about, it's about holy hunger. I'm denying myself in this area to seek you more fervently.

Just like the child, now you understand the analogy. If the child is gone, my hunger for food is gone. So when I'm hungering for God, that becomes the priority. Begin with a meal or two, begin somewhere, and I would even throw in there, fast from anything that detours you.

In other words, if you're fasting, you gotta be praying, and you better get off the internet junk. Right, the news, whatever, it's just all that, fasting is body, soul, and spirit. You're cleansing the mind, you're cleansing the body.

Israel's Lust in the Wilderness

But on this thing, I don't wanna leave you hanging on this area of meat and lusting and different things. I love the King James, I think we're gonna put it up there in numbers. Numbers 11, four, six. King James, here we go.

And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting. You gotta love that language. And the children of Israel also wept and said, who shall give us flesh to eat? And well, the flesh was yet between their teeth.

Ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague, and He called the name of that place Kibroth-Hadavah, because they were buried, there they buried the people that lusted.

Is that interesting? Now you all know the story. This is where the children of Israel were complaining. Give us something to eat. We wanna go back to Egypt. We wanna go back to bondage. Have you ever said that?

I just wanna go back to my place of bondage, back to the old way. Lord, following you is too hard. Give us meat that we may eat these cravings. So it would've been different if they said, Lord, can we have some meat?

We're just desiring that, we love you. Lord, could you? He loves those prayers. But when your craving now switches from God to give us meat or we will die, why did you rescue us from the Egyptians? Let us go back into bondage.

It was better there. I'm grumbling and I'm complaining. Why don't you give us meat? We're starving for that thing in the wilderness. Yes, you sustained us. Our sandals aren't even growing old. The water, the food, manna from heaven.

Can you imagine food from heaven? I mean, it's just, and the people are complaining and grumbling, God says, you want it, you got it. Quell, this high. Just came, and they were just, they're stuffing, they're just stuffed, they're gluttonous, and they're so consumed by these passions for meat.

It's interesting, the Kibroth Hadavah, the place that they were buried, in the Hebrew it means the grave of the lusters. The grave of the lusters, those who were lusting were buried in this area. And it just began to remind me of how deep these passions go.

And maybe that'll help somebody in this area of fasting. We do have to be careful, I believe, in the area of meat, because there's a lusting there for these things. Now let me get to the point I wanted to get to.

Becoming a Lean, Mean Fighting Machine

Lean, mean, fasting machine. Okay, lean, mean, fasting machine. You know where that saying comes from, right? Probably the military. But lean, what does lean biblically mean? Remove every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us.

Remove, so what you're doing, you're fasting, you're removing the weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. What about if a marathon runner, it's coming up, 26 mile marathon, LA, what about if they had to carry a 20 pound, 30 pound pack?

Are they gonna even come close to winning? So lean, mean, fighting machine. To be lean, we remove every weight, every sin that ensnares us, Hebrews 12 .1. And the irony is, oh, here's the irony for me.

We lose weight for vacation, but not victory. We lose weight for the Caribbean, but not to conquer. And we lose weight for the Bahamas, but not to battle. My goodness, we wanna be lean for everything in the world, but not for God to remove the weight that ensnares us, these things that are holding us captive.

The flesh screams, give me comfort, give me convenience, doesn't it? Why in the world do you think churches across our nation have service times at certain times? I don't see any churches 6 a .m. and 8 p .m. services.

They're convenient, right? If I said there's bed and breakfast next Sunday and a masseuse at every pew, you know what they're, right, massaging your shoulders. I'll come to that service. Right, bed and breakfast, can you make it 11, not 9 .30?

See, the flesh is always wanting convenience and comfort. Now, that's not bad sometimes, right? Who doesn't want some convenience and comfort? The hammock that's out back under the shade tree? Amen, right?

But there's a point, though, when it begins to control you that you have to go back and be lean in this area. I'm talking about physical weight, I'm talking about removing weight and sin that so easily ensnares us.