Fasting
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Introduction
Introduction
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
Fasting in the Bible - OCCASSIONS
Fasting in the Bible - OCCASSIONS
1 Samuel 7:6 (NRSV)
6 So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.
3 Then I turned to the Lord God, to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
12 They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might deny ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and cavalry to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king that the hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him. 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.
15 Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
FASTING IN THE BIBLE - FORMS OF FASTING
FASTING IN THE BIBLE - FORMS OF FASTING
28 He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
7 The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.
FASTING TODAY
FASTING TODAY
1. Space for God
2. Surrender to God
3. Sustained by God
4. Service in the world
Space for God
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The house of my soul is too small for you to come to it. May it be enlarged by you. It is in ruins: restore it. In your eyes it has offensive features. I admit it, I know it; but who will clean it up?
2. Surrender to God
Our human cravings and desires are like a river that tends to overflow its banks; fasting helps keep them in their proper channel.[1]
[1] https://renovare.org/articles/the-purpose-of-fasting
When we fast, whether it is from food or other normal activities, we relinquish that desire to be in control allow God to take over the fulfilling our needs, of meeting the concerns and challenges before us.
3. Sustained by God
4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
3 He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
“Manna was a form of physical substance that was unknown. It was, in fact, a digestible form of matter suited to the physical needs of human beings and produced directly by God’s action, or “word,” not by a process already in place in nature.”[Willard, 196]
“God created the entire physical order…This God is master of all basic equations that govern reality, physical and otherwise, such as the famous e=mc2 discovered by Albert Einstein. (Here, e is energy, m is matter, and c is the speed of light). Now, from the human perspective, it is mainly matter that is available for us. To meet our needs we are, within narrow limits able to manipulate it to produce usable forms of energy, by processes such as digestion, combustion, atomic fission or fusion, and so forth.
But to God, the “energy” side of the equation is also available. He has inexhaustible supplies of it. And so he can feed thousands by “multiplying” a few loaves and fishes, or he can directly supply the physical needs of the body of one fasting with faith toward him. His rhema “word” (Matt 4:4) to me is a concrete reality that becomes, in fasting, physical sustenance to my needy body.”[Willard, 197]
4. Service in the World
6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
1. Don’t fast when you are sick, traveling, pregnant or nursing. People with diabetes, gout, liver disease, kidney disease, ulcers, hypoglycaemia, cancer and blood diseases should not fast.
2. Fasting is not magic. It’s a spiritual discipline. Don’t fast for quick results.
3. Fasting is not to be taken as doing something heroic or to show off.
4. If you are new to fasting, begin small. Maybe fast one meal a week. You can build it up to longer times. You can do partial fasts by abstaining from certain kind of food or drink — maybe chocolate, coffee, bubble tea? For normal fast, remember to stay hydrated by drinking water.
5. It’s not just about food. You can clear up time to seek God by giving up for a season or at certain times things like watching Television, social media/networking, gaming, etc.
5. The focus of fasting is not the absence of food but the presence of God. Offer the time and resources you have freed up to God and spend time with Him in prayer, reading and listening.
7. Don’t attempt prolonged fasts without guidance. Check with your doctor before attempting long periods of fasting. And if you do a long fast, don’t break it with a big meal or something unhealthy.
The Challenge for us:
Our world is filled with crises — Covid, the environment, wars, etc - Shouldn’t it be appropriate that God’s people put aside time, relinquish certain comforts, and cry out to God?
“Our seasons of fasting and prayer at the tabernacle have been high days indeed; never has heaven’s gate stood wider; never have our hearts been nearer the central glory.”
[1] https://renovare.org/books/celebration-of-discipline
Could it be that in our time and context, God is calling us to incorporate this discipline of fasting so we can be ready to hear what the Holy Spirit wants to speak to us and how He wants to guide the church in this next season?
Could God be calling us corporately as a church community to fast and pray, to seek His face, to experience a move of God in our days like we have never experienced before?