Fasting for an alive church
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(NASB95)
1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 ‘Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3 ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. 4 ‘But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
(NASB95)
1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
2 ‘Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
3 ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
4 ‘But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
5 ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
6 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
This prophet message was giving to the church in Sardis. Jesus says to them, “though you have a name that you are a live you are dead in the inside.”
Jesus says to them. Though you have a name that you are a live you are dead in the inside
You have this appearance. You appear to have lots of life but I am the only one that really knows you.
You can not trick me. I know that you are dead on the inside, and because I love you I will rebuke you. WAKE UP CHURCH and STRENGTH what remains.
And because I love you I will rebuke you. WAKE UP CHURCH and STRENGTH what remains.
You know this last year you may have lost some things. But you must noe strengthen what you have left so that I can give you more.
3 ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
Look with me at
4 “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke?
4 “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
6 “Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
Notice verse 4
Fasting is not about the outward
Verse 6
Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
Its to bring life on the inside
Fasting deals with the flesh.
When your flesh is out of control it’s time to fast.
And verse 9-11
Your voice will be heard on high
Look at
16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
This is a part of Jesus’ calling His disciples to radical living and life in the kingdom.
This is in the same context as His outline for prayer, which is listed below as follows:
And immediately after He instructs them how to pray He then tells them how to fast.
Want it or not - like it or not, prayer and fasting are a part of our Christian life.
God wants the believers to live a fasted lifestyle.
This is a life of self control and self denial.
Fasting deals with one’s flesh and bringing the person into proper priorities of life and with God.
In a secular article online Steve Edwards give 10 reasons to fast.
“Fasting isn't a trend. It's one of the oldest therapies in medicine and its recorded practice dates back thousands of years.” Steve Edwards
He lists
He lists ten secular reasons to fast.
Ten secular reasons to fast.
1. To cleanse your system.
2. To change bad habits.
3. To change your health.
4. To reset your body clock.
5. To give your body a break from the hard work of digestion.
6. For increased mental clarity.
7. To make changing your diet easier.
8. To get a better feel for how exercise and diet make your bodywork.
9. To improve fat mobilization and physical efficiency.
10. To get a forced rest phase.
Now we see that even in secular study and research fasting has positive benefits for the body
But here in our text Jesus is not dealing with dieting, but self-denial, humility, and radical lifestyle of relationship with the father.
Now some of you may say,
“What is fasting?” Fasting is a voluntary sacrifice of food and sometimes drink, too.
Fasting is a voluntary sacrifice of food and sometimes drink, too.
Now this voluntary abstaining from food is an act of dedication to a deity, not diet.
Now this word in the Greek means to go without food.
Now let me just say since fasting is about self-denial and sacrifice, if one cannot fast from food (health reason), one can fast from other things such as TV and etc.
But again, the primary thing in fasting is food and drink.
Why food? Because the strongest drive that mankind has is food or hunger.
Because the strongest drive that mankind has is food or hunger.
And in life in the kingdom God wants that place---First Place.
Now turn with me to
14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 “I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 [But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]
Now what is Jesus saying here, that fasting gives you power?
Or prayer with fasting gives you power?
If either one of the questions is yes that would really bother me because that means that Power is released by works.
But we know the Bible says “not by might nor by power but by my Spirit.”
So Jesus is not dealing with works but the Spirit that produces a work.
Jesus first deals with faith, which is spiritual. If you had faith….
Now here’s where faith produces a work.
“Faith needs prayer for its development and full growth, and prayer needs fasting for the same reason.”Finis Dake
Meaning this: prayer and fasting are a direct result of faith.
Meaning this: prayer and fasting are a direct result of faith.
When faith increases, prayer increases, and so does the desire to fast increases.
Listen, we need grace to want to fast.
Fasting is not about a relationship with power nor signs and wonders nor miracles.
Fasting is about a relationship with God.
And because of a relationship, Jesus says there is reward from the Father.
John Hutchinson in his blogs gives nine biblical reasons the church should fast.
9 Reasons to Fast:
1. Fast for Deliverance from Sin and Addictions - DISCIPLES FAST
"This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" ()
2. Fast for Financial Solutions - EZRA FAST
"So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer." ()
3. Fast for Revival - SAMUEL FAST
"So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, 'We have sinned against the Lord'" ()
4. Fast for Breaking Negative Emotions - ELIJAH FAST
"He himself went a day's journey into the wilderness...He arose and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and nights" (,)
5. Fast for Meeting the Needs of Others - WIDOW'S FAST
"The jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah" (, NIV).
6. Fast for Direction with Major Life Decisions - PAUL FAST
"And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank" ()
7. Fast for Health and Healing - DANIEL FAST
"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank." ()
8. Fast for Influence and Impact - JOHN THE BAPTIST FAST
"He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink" ()
9. Fast for Protection against Danger - ESTHER FAST
"Fast for me... and my maids and I will fast.... And I will go to the king.... And she found favor in his sight" (; )
10. Fast for humility -
Fasting also brings us into humility.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled my soul with fasting,
and my prayer kept returning to my bosom.
Again, fasting deals with the flesh.
When your flesh is out of control it’s time to fast.
There are 35 examples of fasting in the Bible.
15 of them were an unspecified length
8 - one day fasts
1 - one night fast
3 - three day fasts
2 - seven day fasts and
4 - forty day fasts
Should we fast?
How often should we fast?
For how long?
What kind?
14 Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The [j]attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 “But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
Yes, there is need to fast.
Yes, there is need to fast.
God does not want fasting to become legalist and religious. Something we can boast or brag about like the Pharisee did begging that they fast twice a week.
On Mondays and Thursday
Check this out. The law commanded for once a year fast.
About 1,200 years later Jews fasted 4 times a year.
In Christ’s day 500 years later they fasted 104 times a year.
Listen, they began to grow in the law and not in grace and relationship.
That’s why Jesus says in our text to wash our face. Disfigured faces meant public hardship and fasting.
Jesus says to anoint and wash our face, which is preparation to enjoy life.