Fasting and the Observance of Lent

 TEXT: Matthew 4:1-11 TOPIC: Fasting and the Observance of Lent Pastor Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, SC Sunday morning, February 23, 2020 Once again this year, as a church, we are observing the Season of Lent. Over the course of the next 40 days as we move toward Easter, we will participate in and observe the season known as Lent. Some of us may be asking, what exactly is Lent? Even though we went through Lent last year for the first time, there could be some of you who are still asking, “What is Lent?” Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebration of Easter. Lent actually begins on Ash Wednesday which is this Wednesday, February 26. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate our Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. Lent is also marked by fasting, both from food and festivities. (Mention Fat Tuesday as the beginning of Mardi Gras, also known as Pancake Tuesday. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is the more religious term. But both have the idea of gorging yourself with fatty foods like pancakes the last day before Lent begins. Btw, wonder why we have set Tuesday as National Pancake Day? It’s all because of Lent. Now you know!) And for those of you who are counting, Lent does not include the six Sundays prior to Easter Sunday. Lent most of all, is a time for remembering Christ’s great sacrifice for us. In the same way, Lent calls on us, as Christ’s followers to sacrifice as well. Just as Jesus sacrificed food and the familiar comforts He might have known in that day, so we may choose to do the same. This morning I want to take you back to the time in the life of our Lord Jesus just after his baptism by John. You may recall that He was taken into the Judean wilderness where He endured a 40 day period of fasting and sacrifice. Matthew 4:1–11 (NKJV) 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. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. C.I.T.–Just as Jesus spent 40 days of fasting, praying and sacrificing, so Lent calls upon us to do the same. Lets begin with a definition of fasting. Fasting is the laying aside or the giving up of food for a designated period of time while we as Christ followers seek to know and experience Christ more intimately and personally. Jesus taught us fasting is to be a private act of devotion before God. Matthew 6:17-21 (ESV) 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. I. THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF THREE TYPES OF FASTING: 1. THE NORMAL FAST Involves the total abstinence of food. Luke 4:2 tells us that Jesus “did eat nothing…and that afterward he was hungered.” (Jesus did drink water). 2. THE ABSOLUTE FAST where for a period of time, absolutely nothing, food or drink is received. Acts 9:9, And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 3. THE PARTIAL FAST where the emphasis is upon the restriction of the diet in some limited way rather than complete abstinence. Daniel 10:3 (ESV), I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. I looked up that word “anoint” just this morning. I wondered if it meant perhaps that Daniel did not bath for three weeks. But it strickly means anointing as with an oil. So he bathed but he did not apply the customary oils to perfum his body. If you do a partial fast I would suggest that you not give up bathing for 40 days! T/S—Next, what are the reasons we should fast during Lent? II. REASONS FOR FASTING: 1. To come to know God in a deeper way. Zechariah 7:5 (NIV) "Ask all the people of the land and the priests, `When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 2. As a means of sincere confession. Psalm 69:10 (ESV) When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. 3. As a time of seeking a deeper prayer experience and drawing nearer to God in prayer. Joel 2:12 (ESV) “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 4. In seeking to know and understand God’s will in certain matters, Acts 13:2, As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. To know the mind of Christ, the early church often turned to prayer and fasting. 5. In times of bereavement and great burden, 2 Samuel 12:16, (KJV) David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 6. During times of public calamities, afflictions, or approaching danger, Esther 4:16 (NKJV) “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” 7. When an extraordinary demonstration of God’s power is needed, Matthew 17:21, (KJV) Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. T/S—And when we fast as a part of our Lenten observance, notice the things that should also be a part of our fasting. III. FASTING IS OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY 1. Prayer Daniel 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: (KJV) 2. Confession of Sin Nehemiah 9:1-2, 1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. 2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. (KJV) 3. Humility Deuteronomy 9:18, And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 4. Reading of God’s Word Jeremiah 36:6 (NKJV) You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have written at my instruction, the words of the Lord, in the hearing of the people in the Lord’s house on the day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities. T/S—Finally, I want you to understand that fasting is a biblical practice that many followed in their day. This list of biblical personalities is far from inclusive of all of God’s people who have fasted during their day. IV. PEOPLE WHO FASTED IN THE BIBLE Moses Anna Elijah Cornelius Daniel Paul David Jesus John’s disciples Anna Cornelius Conclusion: So you see that fasting as one of the elements of Lent is a biblical practice. It’s not a Catholic tradition or a Lutheran tradition, a Presbyterian or Methodist tradition alone. Baptists, who have long been known as a people of the Book, should also fast and pray. There is no better time to add this Christian practice to our lives than during the Lenten Season. Will you pray about the possibility of spending the next 40 days praying and fasting as God may lead you? If you do, I believe you will discover a deeper, more meaningful relationship with your Lord and a greater appreciation for the Easter Season as well.