Spiritual Disciplines Fasting

I believe Donald Whitney rightly states in his book “Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life” that “fasting is the most feared and misunderstood of all the Spiritual Disciplines.”

I honestly don’t recall that last sermon I heard that was specifically on fasting. It is also not something we spend much time discussing in Christian circles. And yet it’s mentioned in Scripture more times even than something as important as baptism (about seventy-seven times for fasting to seventy-five for baptism).

As much as I hate to admit it, of all of the Spiritual Disciplines, it has been the one I have neglected the most. Knowing I was going to be preaching on fasting, about a month ago I started fasting somewhat regularly several days a week at lunch, but I must admit, it has been a struggle. However, as I have been thinking through this topic quite a bit this week, it dawned on me, it is supposed to be a struggle, if it wasn’t a struggle, it wouldn’t require discipline.

For the sake of full disclosure, I want to let you know from the start, much of what we will look at today is from chapter 9 of Donald Whitneys book “Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life”

To begin with, let’s look at Next Slides

Christian Fasting Explained “Christian fasting is a believer’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.”

Fasting is to be rooted in our desire to become more like Christ. Keeping in mind it was both patterned by Jesus and expected from Him during His earthly ministry.

While there is a broader view of fasting in which a believer will, for spiritual purposes, abstain from things other than food. In fact, we are currently in a season of Lent where many are abstaining from things like Social Media, Television, hobbies, sports, for spiritual purposes. For this mornings message we are specifically look at abstaining from food.

For me, and I have a hunch probably for all of you as well, this is the fast we struggle with the most, and I also believe this is the one area of fasting that carries with it the highest spiritual blessing for the believer.

Now as we look more deeper into fasting this morning, you will see quite a few passages listed in the notes. We will not have the tie to look at each of them, but I would recommend to any interested, to use this for Bible study purposes this week. If, as you do, you have any questions, feel free to contact me, there is a lot to some of the passages on the list.

To begin with the Bible distinguishes between several kinds of fast. We will look at a few of these in more detail later, but they are as follows: Next Slides

1. Normal fast-Abstain from food, not water. Jesus 40 day fast. Mt. 4:2; Lk 4:2

2. Partial fast-A limitation of the diet, but not an abstention from all food. Daniel, and 3 Hebrews in Daniel 1:12

3. Absolute fast-Avoidance of all food and liquids. Ezra 10:6; Esther 14:6; Acts 9:9

4. Supernatural fast-Moses receiving the 10 Commandments Duet. 9:9

5. Private fast-Mt. 6:16-18

6. Congregational fast-Joel 2:15-16

7. National fast-2 Chronicles 20:3; Neh. 9:1; Jonah 3:5-8

8. Regular fast-Lev. 16:29-31

9. Occasional fast-called for based on special circumstances.

I mentioned earlier that there is always to be a spiritual purpose for fasting. The goal of the spiritual fast is not to loose weight, although that may take place. It is not for a physical cleanse or purge, although again that may happen, there must always be a spiritual longing and desire behind fasting. Without a spiritual purpose, fasting can be a miserable, self-centered experience about willpower and endurance. Donald Whitney states:

“In real life, here’s how it works: As you are fasting and your head aches or your stomach growls and you think, I’m hungry! your next thought is likely to be something like, Oh, right—I’m hungry because I’m fasting today. Then your next thought should be, And I’m fasting for this purpose: _____________________... Your hunger helps you, serving as a continual reminder of your spiritual purpose. For instance, if your purpose is to pray for your spouse, then every time your stomach growls or your head aches, your hunger reminds you that you’re fasting, which in turn reminds you that you’re fasting for the purpose of praying for your spouse—and then you pray.” Donald Whitney “Spiritual Disciplines For The Christian Life”.

According to Donald Whitney, there are many spiritual purposes for fasting, but he condenses them to the following: Next Slide

10 Scriptural Purposes for fasting.

Please note from the very start that none of the 10 is to earn God’s favor. It is useless to fast as a way to impress God or earn His acceptance. Faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross makes us acceptable to God, not our efforts. Next Slides

1. To Strengthen Prayer.

There’s something about fasting that sharpens the edge of our intercessions and deepens the passion of the requests we bring to God. When Ezra was about to lead a group of exiles back to Jerusalem, he proclaimed a fast in order for the people to seek the Lord earnestly for safe passage. They were to face many dangers without military protection during their nine-hundred-mile journey. Their vulnerability meant this was no ordinary matter. As a result we read in Ezra 8:23 “So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.”

Fasting does not change God’s hearing so much as it changes our praying… When we sense the need to strengthen our prayers, God says in Scripture to apply the force of fasting… Our Lord is always pleased to hear the prayers of His people. But He is also pleased when we choose to enhance our prayers in a way He Himself has ordained… Of all the purposes for fasting found in Scripture, fasting in order to strengthen prayer receives the most emphasis by far… Fasting is one of the best friends we can introduce to our prayer lives. Next Slides

2. To Seek God’s Guidance.

A second purpose for fasting is to more clearly discern the will of God. Judges 20; Acts 14:23. Fasting ... Rightly practiced… does make us more receptive to the One who loves to guide us. Next Slides

3. To Express Grief.

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a. Grief for death

Three of the first four references in the Bible to fasting connect it with an expression of grief(In reference specifically to death)-Judges 20:26; 1 Sam. 31:13; 2 Sam. 1:11-12. Next Slides

b. Grief for personal sin.

In the NT it is used as an expression of grief for one’s sin, not to earn God’s forgiveness, but more to show how seriously we take what our sin costs our Savior… We dishonor Christ by a frivolous view of confession that fails to appreciate how much our sin cost Him…biblical confession does involve at least some degree of grief for the sin committed. And inasmuch as fasting can be an expression of grief, it is never inappropriate for fasting to be a voluntary, heartfelt part of confession… though it made me no more worthy of forgiveness, fasting communicated the grief and confession mere words could not.

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c. Grief for the sin of others.

Such as for the sins of people within your church or for sins by your country…1 Sam. 20:34.

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4. To Seek Deliverance or Protection.

Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:3-4); Ezra (Ezra 8:21-23); Esther (Esther 4:16); David (Psalm 109)- Fasting, rather than fleshly efforts, should be one of our first defenses against “persecution” from family, schoolmates, neighbors, or coworkers because of our faith. Typically, we’re tempted to strike back with anger, verbal abuse, counteraccusations, or even legal action. But instead of political maneuvering, gossiping, and imitating the worldly tactics of our enemies, we should appeal to God with fasting for protection and deliverance. Next Slides

5. To Express Repentance and the Return to God.

Fasting for this purpose is similar to fasting for the purpose of expressing grief for sin. But as repentance is a change of mind resulting in a change of action, fasting can represent more than just grief over sin. It also can signal a commitment to obedience and a new direction…1 Sam. 7:6; Joel 2:12; Jonah 3:5-8. Not only can fasting express repentance, it can be in vain without repentance… We must never try to immerse ourselves in a Spiritual Discipline as an attempt to drown out conviction from the Holy Spirit about forsaking a sin.

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6. To Humble Oneself Before God.

Remember that fasting itself is not humility before God, but should be an expression of humility. Next Slides

7. To Express Concern for the Work of God.

Neh. 1:3-4; Dan. 9:3. Next Slide

8. To Minister to the Needs of Others.

Those who think the Spiritual Disciplines foster tendencies of introspection or independence should consider Isaiah 58. In the most extensive passage in Scripture dealing exclusively with fasting, God emphasizes fasting for the purpose of meeting the needs of others. The people originally addressed in this section had complained to the Lord that they had fasted and humbled themselves before Him, but He had not answered them. The reason He had not heard them was their disobedience. Their lives stood in hypocritical contrast to their fasting and praying…Is. 58:3-4… But God will not allow us to compartmentalize fasting from the rest of our lives. Is. 58:6-7.. In other words, the kind of fasting that pleases God is one that results in concern for others and not just for ourselves… There are other ways of fasting to meet the needs of others. Some fast so they can take the money they would have spent on food and give it to the poor, or to missions, or to some other ministry. How could you minister to the needs of others with the extra time or money fasting could provide? Next Slides

9. To Overcome Temptation and Dedicate Yourself to God.

Mt. 4:1-11; Principle we can learn from Jesus’ unique experience for us to learn about fasting- Fasting is a way of overcoming temptation and of freshly dedicating ourselves to the Father. Next Slides

10. To Express Love and Worship to God.

The Bible also says that fasting may be purely an expression of love and devotion to God. Lk. 2:37; Fasting can be a testimony—even one directed to yourself—that you find your greatest pleasure and enjoyment in life from God… Christians throughout history have fasted for this purpose in preparation for the Lord’s Supper. In addition to the elements of repentance and humility before God in this kind of fast, it helps people focus their attention and affections on the Lord of the Supper… A variation is to delay eating a particular meal until you have had your daily time of Bible intake and prayer. Just remember that your fast is a privilege, not an obligation; it’s the acceptance of a divine invitation to experience His grace in a special way… So in one sense, regardless of the stated purpose of a fast, all fasts are primarily about God.

Application:

Will you confess and repent of any fear of fasting? We think about missing a meal or two for the sake of seeking God and becoming more like Jesus, and we get anxious. And yet we willingly miss meals sometimes while shopping, working, recreating, or otherwise occupying our time. Whenever we believe another activity is at that moment more important, we will go without food fearlessly and without complaint. We need to learn that there are times when it is not only more important, but much more rewarding to abstain from food for the purpose of more richly feasting on God.

Will you fast as the Holy Spirit directs? One of the ways the Holy Spirit prompts us to fast is through a need in our lives. If you need stronger prayer about a matter, that may be an invitation from the Lord to fast. If you need God’s guidance, maybe that’s an encouragement to fast. If you need deliverance or protection, perhaps it’s a call to fast. Will you do it? Or will you miss the unique opportunities for grace that He extends to you through fasting?

Will you plan a fast of dedication now as an expression of your willingness to fast from now on? Before you go any further, why not schedule a time of fasting soon that will express your hunger for God and your willingness to discipline yourself to fast in the future?

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