[I am very grateful to SermonCentral contributor Jim Luthy for his sermon "To Fast or Not to Fast." His opening illustration and structure formed the backbone of this sermon.]
Good morning. Please open your Bibles to Matthew 6.
How many of you are tea drinkers? I know we are in the south, so let me clarify: How many of you are HOT tea drinkers? Ok, a few of you. Others are saying, “Don’t be coming in here with your Yankee ways.” For those of you who don’t drink hot tea, let me paint you a picture: I have hot water and a tea bag. To make the tea, I put the the bag in the water, right? Now, what’s going to happen if I just briefly dip the bag into the water? On the other hand, what if I continuously submerge the tea bag into the water?
The longer you keep the bag in the water, the stronger the tea, right? The longer the tea leaves are immersed into the water, the more the water gets into the tea and the more the tea is released into the water.
This is the way it is with our spiritual life. We are the tea bag, and the water is the life in the Spirit that God desires for each of His children. And so the longer we immerse ourselves in the life of the spirit, the more the life of the spirit is developed in us and the more our personality and giftedness and talents and abilities are released for use in the kingdom of God.
We’ve been talking about spiritual disciplines for several weeks now. We’ve talked about prayer, and scripture, community, accountability, and last week the importance of the Sabbath. And I’d like you to imagine that each time we engage in one of those disciplines, its like dipping the tea bag into the water. The more we practice the various disciplines, the stronger the tea gets.
And there’s this as well: the longer the bag is in the water, the less flavor is in the bag. We get to the point where we say, “You know what? [hold up the tea bag] THIS isn’t even tea anymore. [hold up the cup] THIS IS. I think that’s what John the Baptist meant when he said “He must become more, I must become less.” (John 3:30).
And so, this morning, I’d like us to examine what is maybe the least observed of all the spiritual disciplines we are going to study. We’re going to talk about fasting. For a lot of us, the idea of fasting is weird. We imagine fasting as something that only fanatics or super-spiritual people do? A lot of us put fasting in the same category as we put walking across hot coals or accupuncture. But consider this: Fasting is mentioned more often in the Bible than baptism (7So first I want to talk about what fasting is. Then, I want to deal briefly with some of the reasons not to fast. Then we will finish up by talking about when and how to fast.
First, some “fast facts.” (See what I did there?). In his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald S. Whitney defines fasting like this: He says, “Christian fasting is a believer’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.” And I think nearly every word in that definition is super important.
• Underline “believer” on your listening guide. If the person fasting isn’t a believer, then it isn’t Christian fasting.
• Now underline “voluntary.” Christian Fasting is never mandatory. If someone forces you to go without food, that’s not fasting. That’s “enhanced interrogation.”
• Underline “food.” I know that a lot of people have expanded the definition of fasting to include all sorts of things—from media, to alcohol, to ingredients in food like sugar or caffeine. And those might all have their benefits. But whenever the Bible talks about fasting, it is always, only talking about food. So we’re going to stick with that this morning.
• Finally, underline “spiritual purposes.” If its fasting to get bloodwork done, that doesn’t count. Or if its not for the purpose of getting closer to God, its not a fast. It’s a diet.
Ok, so that’s a definition of fasting. And you see on your listening guide that there were several different kinds of fasts recorded in the Bible. I won’t highlight all of these, most of them are pretty self explanatory, but I’ll mention two: [Each fade on click]
• Normal: Food, but not water (Matthew 4:2)
• Partial: limiting diet, but not abstaining from all food (Daniel 1:12)
• Absolute: all food and water (Esther 4:16, Acts 9:9)—both of these lasted only three days, which is about the limit for the human body to go without water.
• Supernatural: absolute fast for a long period (Dt. 9:9): This is where someone went without food or water for longer than a human body would naturally be capable of. And the only for sure example we have is Moses, when he went to the top of the mountain to receive the law.
• Private (Matthew 6:16-18)
• Congregational/National (2 Chronicles 20:3, Jonah 3:5-8)
• Regular (Lev. 16:29-31): God’s law mandated only one regular, annual fast, on the Day of Atonement. Everything else was,
• Occasional
On your listening guide, I’d like you to underline normal, private, and occasional, because that’s going to be the kind of fasting you would typically do.
Now that you know a little about what fasting is, let’s look at what God’s Word says about when we fast, and when we don’t. Look at Matthew 6 with me. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His disciples:
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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.
Here Jesus gives us our first and most important reason not to fast: Don’t fast to impress others. Jesus said that those who look somber and try to make others feel sorry for them, or impressed with them, or both are just hypocrites. He says the attention of people is all the reward they will get.
Our reward should be the knowledge of God, not the praise of men. If you want the praise of men, go ahead and fast and point out to everyone how hungry you are and how greatly you suffer for Jesus. But the reality is, you’re not doing it for Jesus. And Jesus knows it. And he will not honor your appearance of godliness with the knowledge of him. Men will praise you, but you won’t find the Father. Man, if I’m going to fast for 24 hours, the last thing I want to do is settle for the applause of men. Give me the Father. If I can’t have him, I’m going Uncle Mick’s!
Now Jesus did not say that your fasting is invalid if others find out. I’ve actually benefitted from having others that I’m fasting with. They hold me accountable, and, especially if we are fasting and praying for the same things, I think the effectiveness of the fast is multiplied. No, Jesus isn’t talking about secrecy. He’s talking about your motive for fasting. Listen, don’t fast so that others will know. People finding out that you’re fasting does not nullify the sanctity of your fast. But fasting so that others will be impressed does mean there was no sanctity in it in the first place.
Second, don’t fast to try to manipulate God.
There is some really horrible prosperity gospel teaching out there that suggests a person can fast for a few days and get whatever they want from God. Fast a few days and ask for a boat, they say, and God will provide. Fast for a few days and you’ll receive money to cover you debts. Fast for a few days and God will give you the job you want. I don’t find this in Scripture.
While fasting may make us ready to know God’s will and pray accordingly, it will never be the means to manipulating God into conforming to our will. If you fast thinking that’s what it will take for your wish will come true, you will soon be disappointed in God and disillusioned with the idea of fasting.
In the prophet Jeremiah’s day, God had sent a drought on Judah so that they hopefully would wake up and repent of their rebellion against God. It didn’t work. The people still rebelled. But in Jeremiah 14, the people are hating the consequences of the drought. So they decide they are going to make a show of mourning and weeping. So they fast, and they mourn, and they pray, but they aren’t really repentant. And so look at what God says. It’s actually pretty chilling. God says to Jeremiah,
Thus says the Lord concerning this people:
“They have loved to wander thus;
they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the Lord does not accept them;
now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.”
11 The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
Jeremiah 14:10-11
Isaiah says something similar in Isaiah 58. The people have fasted, but when they don’t get the results they want, they start having a little whinefest:
‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ (58:3)
And God just shuts them down! He says, “look—the same day you are fasting, you are still just seeking your own pleasure. You’re still oppressing your workers. You haven’t changed anything but your diet. He says in verses 4-5, look, you shouldn’t even call this a fast! This isn’t a day that’s acceptable to the Lord! “Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.” (v. 4)
If you think that by fasting you can get what you want, or you think that fasting will make God overlook a sin that you aren’t willing to give up, think again.
Third, don’t fast if you don’t understand fasting. We are about to begin the Season of Lent, which is the 40 day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter. And it’s not unusual to think about giving up something for Lent. But listen—if you just do it without understanding the purpose of fasting, it’s going to wind up feeling like this heavy religious or legalistic burden. And Jesus came to free us from the burden of religion, not to add to it. We are included in Christ by faith, not by our works. Listen: there are several disciplines that allow us to just immerse ourselves in the presence of God. Like the tea bag. Fasting is one of those disciplines. Maybe the most powerful one. But the worse thing you can do is try to practice it out of some sense of obligation to the church without really understanding what it means. I want to make it perfectly clear that nobody should feel obligated to fast. Especially if you don’t understand it.
So that’s a pretty long introduction, but now let me talk about what fasting is, and why you should fast.
First, Fast so you can feast on God.
The great purpose in all our fasting is so that we can draw near to God. And the reward of fasting isn’t so we can look good for our high school reunion. It’s so we have the knowledge of his presence. It’s not suffering for suffering’s sake. It’s always an opportunity to know God and know his will.
Several years ago, I was on a mission trip to South Africa. And as a special treat, the missionaries I was working with told me that on my last day before flying home, they were going to take me to a one of a kind restaurant in Johannesburg called Carnivore. And they told me, “You may want to not eat anything else that day, so you’ll have room for this.”
So I took them at their word. And I’m so glad I did. Because the Carnivore in Johannesburg is maybe the only place in the world where you can taste African big game. It’s all you can eat, and the servers will come to your table with these huge skewers of meat. Meat like you will never have anywhere else. Crocodile. Zebra. Ostrich. Springbok. Impala. It was amazing. I felt like Mufasa.
But here’s the thing. You know what they start you off with? Salad. And bread. And then after they take away the bread baskets, they bring chicken. And pork. The food gets more exotic the deeper you get into the evening. But if you don’t hold back on the normal, everyday stuff, you won’t have the appetite for the gazelle. And when in your lifetime are you ever going to have the chance to eat a gazelle?
And that’s what fasting does. By saying no to the normal, everyday things of the world, you work up your appetite for the things you can only get from God.
We spend a lot of time fasting from God and feasting on food and life’s other pleasures. Fasting is an intentional way of saying "You mean more to me Father, than any of these things, even the good things like the food you give us." Fasting is feasting.
Second, Fast so you can pray over an urgent matter.
In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat was told that the armies of Moab and Ammon were bearing down on Judah. Verse 3 says, “Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.”
When Queen Esther was made aware of Haman’s plot to kill all of the Jews, she instructed Mordecai, "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do."
Fasting is one way to tune our attention to God, expressing our desperation for him above all other things and making us still to hear his reply and see his swift, sure hand.
Third, Fast to Focus on the Father’s Will.
Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" (John 4:34 A period of fasting can be a time of expressing to the Father that you are joined with Christ in completing his mission.
In Acts 9, When the church at Antioch commissioned Paul and Barnabas for the first missionary journey, it was after a time of fasting together.
One of the hardest questions for me to consider as a pastor is, "What percentage of the people of Glynwood take personal responsibility for the advance of the gospel?” I’m not sure how to answer that question. If the question was what percentage of the congregation believed that the gospel is the power of God for salvation, I could answer quite high. But my experience has been that most people are quick to declare the gospel good but slow to take personal responsibility for it. Would any of us say that our food is to do the will of our heavenly father?
I’m still not very good at fasting. When I come to the end of a fast day, I will be honest, my sole preoccupation is with what I’m going to have for dinner. This past Thursday, Josh and I were coming back from an errand in Montgomery. It was about 5:00, and I hadn’t had anything to eat since Wednesday night. And all I could think about was Fazzoli’s. I didn’t want to talk to anybody, I didn’t want to listen to anybody, and I didn’t want to tell anyone about Jesus. I wanted breadsticks. I got irritated with how long the drive through line was. I got frustrated with how slow the service was. And suddenly, I’m not even kidding—the Holy Spirit put Philippians 3:19 on my heart:
…their god is their stomach… their mind is set on earthly things.
So I get to the window and I’m like “God bless you, brother” to the kid handing me my Alfredo. So lame.
But You see, filling my belly is way too high a priority way too much of the time. Fasting is a means to declare that the thing that sustains us most is doing the will of the Father and joining with him to give hope to a decaying world.
Fourth, fast to express sorrow for your sins
When Jonah finally got around to preaching in Nineveh, Jonah 3:5 says that, “the Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” Sackcloth was a rough, coarse cloth or baglike garment that was worn as a symbol of repentance. Verse 8 says that even the animals wore sackcloth as a sign of repentance. That’s hardcore. I guess the even the sheep realized they’d been baaaaad. Listen to the decree of the king from Jonah 3:7-10:
"Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."
Fasting can be a way to enter into mourning over the sins that separate us from God and required the Father to send the Son to the cross on our behalf. When you are fasting, you will be amazed at how aware of your sinfulness you become. The fast then provides a great opportunity for repentance, putting off the old self and putting on the new. A view of God’s mercy calls us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.
You want to express a desire for Christ to come back
(Get ready for a wedding!)
The passage of Scripture most commonly used to teach that fasting is not proper for today is Matthew 9:14-15: Then John’s disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time wil come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast."
Many argue that since Jesus raised from the dead and has sent his Spirit to man, we no longer need to fast. But Jesus also said he was going away to prepare a place for us and would send the Spirit to be our counselor and guide to the truth. He also told parables about being ready for the return of the bridegroom. We are in an age where we are the bride of Christ expectantly awaiting the return of the bridegroom. Fasting is one way to express that you are longing for his return.
You guys may remember a couple of years ago when Cody was a groomsman for one of his buddies in Denver. They ordered the tuxes online, but it wasn’t very clear from the website that the tuxes were slim fit. So Deborah Platt did everything she could to make the tux work for Cody, but Cody knew that he was going to have to get skinnier if he was going to be able to stand at friend’s wedding. So he began to fast in order to make himself ready.
And I think that’s one of the reasons we should make fasting part of our regular spiritual discipline. So here’s the challenge—how do we take baby steps toward fasting? How do we get over the weirdness of it? Four things, and they’re easy to remember, because they all start with P.
• Pray: ask for understanding. Confess the weirdness. Tell God what it is about fasting that makes you nervous.
• Purpose: Decide what the focus of your fast is going to be
• Plan: When are you going to fast? For how long? What type of fast? Will it be for food, or something else? If you’ve never fasted before, you probably don’t want to do an absolute fast your first time out of the gate.
• Partner: For accountability, encouragement, effectiveness.
[INVITATION]
