The Foundation & Fundamentals of Fasting
Notes
Transcript
Intro; This morning we are going to look at a very important part of the Christians life that I can say with shame and embarrassment, it is practiced little in my own life.
I will be the first to say I am not worthy to speak on this subject because of my failures in this area, but it is in God’s Word and important enough to Jesus that He included it in “The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached.”
Remember in Chapter 5 Jesus speaks of the attitude a Christian is to have as disciples of Christ. And beginning in Chapter 6, Jesus is speaking on the private and public actions of our attitudes or the practice of our faith!
This brings us to our text this morning as we look at “The Foundation and Fundamentals of Fasting”
Text; Mt. 6:16-18
Matthew 6:16–18 (NKJV)
16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 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.
1. Fasting;
1. Fasting;
Fast- to temporarily give up a physical craving- typically food - because of a spiritual need.
The only “fast” required of the Jews was on the Day of Atonement;
32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”
But there are many fasts found in the Old Testament. For example;
Nineveh fasted when judgment threatened and the nation needed to get right with God [Jonah 3]
King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a national fast in Judah when they were threatened with overwhelming danger with attack from the Moabites and Ammonites (2 Chronicles 20)
Queen Esther, her servants, and all the Jews in the capital city of Susa fasted for three full days before she went before the king to plead for the Jews to be spared from Haman’s wicked scheme against her people (Esther 4:16).
Nehemiah fasted and prayed when he heard of the bad conditions in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4)
Ezra called for a fast when he was in the momentous occasion of leading people from Babylon back to Israel (Ezra 8:21)
David fasted while he pleaded for his infant child’s life (2 Sam. 12:16).
Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights as he went into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan (Matthew 4)
Now it would seem that in each of these fasts that the people did so to get something from God because of a specific situation happening in their life. But that’s not the case!
Fast- to temporarily give up a physical craving- typically food - because of a spiritual need.
Fasting is not a way to get God to do something that we want. Fasting is interrupting our regular routine to seek the face of God! Fasting changes us, not God!!
The practice of fasting, if done in a way that pleases the Lord, is done in order to focus upon the spiritual things of God. It allows one to get beyond the desires of the flesh so that they can devote themselves entirely to the Lord’s will. [Reflect on the OT fasts just mentioned]
In every scriptural account, genuine fasting is linked with prayer. You can pray without fasting, but you cannot fast biblically without praying. Fasting is an affirmation of intense prayer and the result of a deep, spiritual, struggle before God.
5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
By fasting, the body learns to obey the soul; by praying, the soul learns to command the body.
William Secker
2. Foundations and Fundamentals of Fasting;
2. Foundations and Fundamentals of Fasting;
Foundation- the load bearing part of a building; the stone that anchors the structure
Fundamental- forming a necessary base or core; of central importance
Fasting must become a core stone/discipline of central importance that anchors the faith of the Christian walk.
Most theologians say that there is no command for the Christian to fast in the New Testament. I beg to differ with them.
Jesus says here [v.16] “Moreover, when you fast”.
Just like Jesus expects a christian to do charitable deeds and pray, He expects us to fast!
Matthew 9:14–15 (NKJV)
14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Fasting is not about looking righteous before people as the Pharisees used it for, fasting is to be in secret to your Father in heaven and He who sees in secret will reward you openly.
What does that mean to be rewarded openly? God will increase, grow, and mature our spiritual sight, that we will begin to see Him move in our lives and use us for His glory in ways we have never experienced before.
When should we fast? When one needs to draw close to God
When we are tempted or in trials of life;
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,
5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings;
Husband and wives should fast in their relationship
5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Just because we love God and want to see Him more intimately
36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;
37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
What should we fast? Food is always thought of first, but remember to fast is to interrupt our regular routine to focus upon God. If you want to fast, then take your eyes off the things of the world that bring us pleasure, so we can focus upon the Lord!
Food is one but you also need to be careful if you have a medical condition such as diabetes.
But I think there are more important things than food that we could fast today that would produce a greater return spiritually;
Cell phone, social media, TV, recreation. Fasting is putting a higher priority on God than the things of pleasure!
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
If we could lay these things aside that consume so much of our lives for a period of time, and seek God, oh what a change it would make in our lives and the lives of our family, church, community and world!
Why should we fast? Two of the most important reasons to fast and pray are found in the New Testament
In [Acts 10] we have two men praying and fasting; Cornelius was in Caesarea fasting and praying to God and Peter was in Joppa praying and fasting. Both just seeking the Lord, 30 miles apart. So God spoke to Cornelius by an angel to send for Peter while God showed Peter a vision of a sheet with all types of animals, clean and unclean, and told him to eat. God was bringing these two men together.
28 Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”
30 So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.
32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’
33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.
This was the opening of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles!
In [Acts 13] the Christians at Antioch were fasting when the Holy Spirit directed them to send Paul and Barnabas on the first great missionary journey
1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
This is the beginning of world missions in the church!
These are probably the two most significant events in church history and they came about through fasting and prayer!
Close;
Maybe the reason the church has lost it’s power in reaching the lost, is because we fail to use the foundation and fundamentals of fasting and prayer in our lives!
Every revival, awakening, reformation and every mighty move of God in the church has come through the power of fasting and prayer!
First, let fasting be done unto the Lord with our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in heaven.
John Wesley
Since fasting is a holy exercise both for the humbling of men and for their confession of humility, why should we use it less than the ancients did?
John Calvin