The Practice Of Fasting
Matthew 6:16-18
Dismiss Grove KIDZ
OKAY – I want to start our time this morning by reading just a few verses that Jesus (God the Son) spoke on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee 2000 years ago.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:20
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven... So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others... And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others... “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. – Matthew 6:1,2,5,16
Prayer
MGCC – Jesus said that if we want to be a part of His Kingdom that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law.
AND LISTEN – one way to live that out, is to not practice our righteous (our giving, our praying and our fasting) like they do in order to be seen others... to impress people to win their approval.
JESUS – said that to do so, is to be a hypocrite.
AND REMEMBER – last week I said that...
2 types of Hypocrites…
One is explicit: doing things to be seen. Presenting a picture of ourself on the outside that is not who we are on the inside.
One is implied: by the fact that in each of these 3 examples Jesus uses that word ‘when’ (hotan) and not the word ‘if’… ‘when’ we give, ‘when’ we pray, ‘when’ we fast. UNDERSTAND B/S – it is not only hypocritical for us to do, to live out… these Kingdom activities in order to been seen by others (you know in order to impress them), but it is also hypocritical of us to both claim and present ourselves as a Kingdom person and not have these Kingdom activities as a regular part of our lives.
OKAY – here’s the deal...
In Matthew 6 Jesus is telling us to embrace the spiritual discipline of secrecy.
Spiritual Discipline – any activity that I can do by direct effort that will help we do what I cannot do by direct effort, (gain the power to live life as Jesus taught and modeled). An activity that we can practice that puts us in a place where God can transform us
It's not about trying harder, but training wisely.
Because simply trying harder does not work.
AND LISTEN – it can be hard for us at times to see the connection between our training and actually reaching our ultimate goal. BUT UNDERSTAND – even though we may not be able to see how our training will help us reach our goal, does not mean that that the connection is not there.
This morning we are to talk about the practice of biblical fasting… Not fasting to lose weight or to detox your body – but fasting, going without food for a period of time for a specific spiritual purpose…
NOW – if you were here last week, you know that I intended on covering ‘fasting’ last week...
HOWEVER – during my sermon, I decided to delay that discussion for two reasons
#1 – because, I felt we had already given ourselves enough to chew with the practice of ‘giving in secret’ and the practice of ‘praying in secret,’ AND...
#2 – because I felt that I did not have enough time to do justice to the practice of fasting in secret.
AND – I gotta tell you that was the right decision...
• Because it made my message shorter, and that is always a win, right? and...
• Because it gave me more time to dive in deeper (and I sure did) into the spiritual discipline of fasting...
A FEW QUESTIONS – as we begin, and you do not need to raise your hands.
• Do you give on a regular basis?
• Do you pray on a regular basis?
• Do you fast on a regular basis?
• How many sermons or lessons have you ever heard that were solely dedicated to the topic of fasting?
Check out what Richard Foster wrote as he opened up his chapter on fasting in his book, ‘Celebration Of Discipline, The Path To Spiritual Growth.’
In a culture where nearly every street corner is dotted with shrines to the Golden and Arches and an assortment of pizza Temples, fasting seems out of place and out of step with the times. In fact, fasting has been in general disrepute both in and outside the Church for many years. For example, in my research I could not find a single book published on the subject of Christian fasting from 1861-1954, a period of nearly 100 years. More recently a renewed interest in fasting has developed, but we have far to go to recover a biblical balance.
AND LISTEN – part of the problem is that food itself has become an idol… You see we don’t just like food we love food. As one writer say, “We are a people of stuffed lips and we live among a people of stuffed lips.”
Mark Buchanan in his book, Your God Is To Safe, had this to say about our ‘unhealthy’ appetite for food;
Our preoccupation with food has entered the realm of the absurd. For example look at any magazine – page after page of succulent, sauce laden, sparkling, glistening food. It’s kind of culinary pornography. McDonalds golden arches and Coca Cola’s logo are likely more widely recognized symbols worldwide, and certainly more accepted, than the cross of Christ…
UNDERSTAND – our obsession with food and the lack of teaching on this topic - has made fasting something that most believers think is really pretty irrelevant.
I MEAN – most people think that fasting is for ‘religious fanatics,’ for monks with weird haircuts (like what’s that about) living in a monastery or for maybe for a pastor here or there...
HOWEVER – fasting does not really need to play a part in the ‘normal’ Jesus-followers spiritual journey.
BUT UNDERSTAND MGCC – the Bible has a lot to say about fasting and that is why it makes sense for us to take a look at this ancient spiritual discipline. ‘wax on, wax off’
I MEAN - the list of people in the bible who practiced fasting is like a “Who’s Who” list of Scripture.
Moses the lawgiver, David the King,
Elijah the prophet, Esther the queen,
Daniel the prophet and lion tamer, Anna the prophetess,
Paul the apostle and Jesus Christ the son of God….
OKAY – let’s do this… AND – here is how I want to attack this topic. BY – unpacking the following statements.
AND YEAH – that is what we do on Sunday at The Grove, we unpack...
AND – the statements are...
1. Fasting In The Bible
2. What Jesus said about fasting
3. Classifying the fasting we see in the Bible
4. Fasting is not about
5. Ten reasons to fast
I. Fasting In The Bible…
UNDERSTAND - there are numerous examples of God’s people fasting throughout the bible…
The first is Moses when went up to the top of thundering Mt Sinai to receive from God (Exodus 34:28) the ten commandments
In Judges chapter 20 the Israelites were camped at Bethel – and they sat there weeping, because they faced a very difficult and painful decision (ever been there?)
YOU SEE - because of a great sin committed by the tribe of Benjamin – it looked like they would have to go to war against their own brothers…
SO – they fasted and asked the Lord what to do, and God responded and gave them direction.
When the prophet Elijah hit a wall in his spiritual life, when he was what we called to today, burned out and depressed… When he just could more go or do any more…
(ever been there? are you there)
He went out into the desert and fasted, waiting for God to show up in a still small voice… (1 Kings 19)
In 2 Chronicles chapter 20 a huge army launched a massive attack against Jerusalem. The people of God were out gunned and outnumbered.
They were afraid and terrified... all seemed hopeless…
SO - King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast for all of Judah. AND – in every town across the nation the people came together fasting and seeking help from the Lord…
QUESTION - do you think God helped them?
Great story check it out this week to see what happened.
In the book of Esther – a wicked man by the name of Haman has skillfully woven a plan that would allow him to kill his most hated enemy...every single Jewish person alive… And before Queen Esther went (uninvited) before the King to plead for her people, she called on all of the Jews in Persia to join her in prayer and fasting.
In Ezra chapter 8 - Ezra called a fast to seek God’s protection for the Jews who were (traveling through hostile territory) returning from exile to Jerusalem.
And in Ezra chapter 10 - Ezra fasted over the unfaithfulness of God’s people who had returned from exile.
In Acts 13 Paul and Barabbas are about to be sent out on their first missionary journey, and before the church sent them off they worshipped and fasted… AND LISTEN – there are many other examples of fasting in the bible…
• Jonathan fasted because he was trouble by his father’s hatred of David (1 Sam 20:34)
• David fasted after the great warrior Abner was murdered and when seeking God’s mercy concerning his sick son (2 Sam 12:16)
• Ahab fasted as an act of humility and repentance before the Lord (1 Kings 21:27)
• The nation of Nineveh fasted after the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:4-10)
• Nehemiah fasted when he heard about the terrible condition of Jerusalem (Ne 1:4)
• The entire nation of Israel - fasted every year on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16:29)
• Anna fasted as an act of worship (Lk 2;37)
• Paul fasted after he meet Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:9)
• Barnabas fasted when faced with the task of appointing church leaders… (Acts 14:23)
• Jesus fasted before he began his ministry. (Mt 4)
UNDERSTAND B/S – fasting was a common practice of God’s people throughout the pages of Scripture…
AND – it was also a common practice for the church that we read about in the writings of the early church Fathers. Like Polycarp (a protégé of the Apostle John) who wrote...
Wherefore let us forsake the vain doing of the many and their false teachings, and turn unto the word which was delivered unto us from the beginning, being sober unto prayer and constant in fastings, entreating the all-seeing God with supplications that He bring us not into temptation, according as the Lord said, The Spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.
YOU KNOW – it is kind of crazy (and sad) that something we see so frequently in Scripture and in church history plays such a minor if any role whatsoever in the life of Jesus-followers today.
The 18th century theologian John Wesley wrote...
Some have exalted fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it.
– John Wesley (1700’s)
AND MGCC – I must admit that for the most part in my Christian walk and in my ministry I have fallen into the category of disregarding this Spiritual Discipline
II. What Jesus Said About Fasting…
NOW – in The Sermon On The Mount Jesus said the following...
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Matthew 6:16-18
NOW – the phrase that I want you to consider in this passage appears 2 times and it is the phrase;
When you fast… ‘when’ not ‘if’
UNDERSTAND B/S - Jesus just assumes that those who follow Him and live in His kingdom would make fasting a regular practice in their lives... just as they had made as giving and praying a regular part.
NOW – another passage where Jesus addresses the subject of fasting is in the Matthew chapter 9...
Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"
Note – the Pharisees fasted 2 times a week (Tuesday and Thursday... which happened to be market day)...
Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. - Matthew 9:14,15
UNDERSTAND – what Jesus is saying is that, while He was walking the earth (while God the Son was here in the flesh dwelling among us) it was not a time to fast, but to feast.
BUT LATER - when the bridegroom goes away to prepare a place for us (as He told his disciples in John 14:1)
AND UNTIL - Jesus our bridegroom returns there will be times when fasting is the appropriate thing for us to do - in our pursuit of both God and godliness.
HOWEVER - on the day the bridegroom returns and makes all things new there will no longer be any reason to fast..
YES - when the sky splits open and our King returns,
AND - the church (His bride)is once again in His presence it will be a time not to fast, BUT a time to feast – and to feast for all eternity!!!
BUT AGAIN...
UNTIL THEN – Jesus assumes that those who follow Him and live in His Kingdom would fast.
III. Classifying The Fasting We See In The Bible
A) Types of fasts
‘Normal’ Fast
This is where you abstain from food, but not water. Some examples: Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:34); David (2 Samuel 3:35); Jesus (Matthew 4; Luke 4)
‘Absolute’ Fast
This is where you abstain from both food and water.
NOW - in scripture an ‘absolute’ fast was used primarily for spiritual emergencies. Some examples:
• Moses receiving the 10 commands (Exodus 34:28),
• Elijah when he was battling both depression and the evil Queen Jezebel (1Kings 19:8)
• The Ninevites when they repented at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:7),
• The exiles in Persia (Esther 4:16)
• Saul after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:9).
‘Partial’ Fast
This is where you abstain from certain foods, generally rich foods, and live on a simple diet. Classically, it means cutting out meats, fish, poultry, dairy products and desserts. But it could describe any other partial fast. Example: Daniel (10:3).
Note: a partial fast is a good fast to consider if a health reasons prevent you from going completely going without food.
B) Fasting Lengths
In the bible we also see people fasting for different periods of time;
• 1 day fasts - usually sunrise to sunset (Judges 20:26; 1 Sam 14:24; 2 Sam 1:12; 2 Sam 3:35)
• 3 day fasts - Esther (Esther 4:16), Saul (Acts 9:9)
• 7 day fasts – The people of Jabesh Gilead mourning over the death and desecration of the body of King Saul at the hands of the Philistines - (1 Samuel 31:13)
• 21 days fasts – Daniel in Daniel 10:3
• 40 day fasts – (Moses, Elijah and Jesus)
NOW UNDERSTAND - the length and type of fast is really up to you – and what you feel the Lord is leading you to do.
B/L – the practice is to give a food for a certain period of time in order to pray and seek God’s: presence, power, person and purposes.
C) Participants in Fasts
Individual fast and Corporate fasts...
Now by my count... of the fasts we read about in the bible
There are 31 individual fasts and 21 corporate fasts (by groups of people or the entire nation).
UNDERSTAND – there are times when it is more than appropriate for a group of people or even a nation that should fast and pray together to seek God.
IN FACT – there were times when our own nation has done just that...
• As war approached the Continental Congress 7/20/1775 called for “a day of public humiliation, fasting and prayer.
• 3 of the first 4 Presidents called for a national day of fasting and prayer (not TJ)
• The next 11 Presidents did not... and then on 3/20/1863 Abraham Lincoln did.
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown.
But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer.
And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.
All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace. – Abraham Lincoln (March 20, 1863)
IV Fasting Is Not About...
A)Being Seen By Others
Jesus warns us about this in Matthew 6...
UNDERSTAND - when the Pharisees fasted they did it to be seen.
LIKE - they would intentionally not shave, shower or comb their hair.
I MEAN - they'd get up with a serious case of bed head and then walk around and look like they've been dragged behind a mule for 17 ½ miles.
HOPING - that someone would say, “hey there's someone who looks like they're fasting.... my what a spiritual man or woman that must be.”
AND SO - Jesus says look, “I know that you're going to fast... because that is what people who live in my Kingdom do to help them grow spiritually. BUT - when you do...
• Don't grandstand.
• Don't draw attention to yourself
• Don’t do it to impress people with your spirituality and in order to win their approval.
NOW B/S - I think it’s important to point out...
THAT - Jesus did not say that your fast is invalid if others find out. Remember, Jesus is talking about your motive for fasting. YOU KNOW - it’s crazy to me how some people have turned Jesus teaching about practicing fasting in secret into some superstition on a par with making a birthday wish. LIKE – you make a wish, blow out the candles, and as long as you don’t tell anyone what you wished for, your wish will come true.
LISTEN, don’t fast so that others will know. Do what you can to keep it between you and God.
BUT IF - others find out that you’re fasting that does not nullify your fast.
Fasting Is Not About...
B) Strong Arming God
UNDERSTAND - fasting is not a hunger strike.
We are not to fast thinking that by fasting God is now obligated to give us whatever we want.
OKAY – “I want this thing or I want to see this happen in my life.. SO – I’m going to fast and then God will have to give me what I want.. MGCC – fasting is not a means by which we control and manipulate the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
NEVERTHELESS - in Isaiah chapter 58 we see God’s people fasting for that very reason, to strong arm God
Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Tell my people Israel of their sins! Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to hear my laws. You would almost think this was a righteous nation that would never abandon its God.
They love to make a show of coming to me and asking me to take action on their behalf. ‘We have fasted before you!' they say. `Why aren't you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don't even notice it!'
"I will tell you why! It's because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD? - Isaiah 58:1-5 (NLT)
OKAY – here’s the deal.
IF - we are fasting to strong arm God, to get what we want – it is not going to work… So, we might as well go out to an all you can eat buffet…
Fasting Is Not About...
C) Earning God’s Forgiveness…
UNDERSTAND... (and this is so important)
Fasting is not a payment for, or a punishment of sin.
LISTEN - the physical act of fasting itself, does not make us right with God…
IN FACT – when it comes to our sorrow over our sin, God is not looking for an outward act at all, but for a condition of the heart…
You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them. If I brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it. The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.”
- Psalm 51:16,17
Fasting Is Not About...
D) Simply not eating
SURE – the word for fast is...
Nesteuo - from ne- = not + esthío = to eat
(nace two o)
OKAY – here’s the deal...
IF - we have no spiritual goal or purpose in our fasting...
IF – prayer, reading the Word and seeking God’s face are not part of our fast... we’d be better off ordering a pizza or eating pink of Ben and Jerry’s.
UNDERSTAND – a biblical fast is not part of a diet plan.
YES – there are some incredible physical benefits to fasting (that I do not have time to get into)
BUT LISTEN – they are just a secondary blessing of God and they are not to be our goal or motive in fasting.
OKAY - The last statement in your outline is;
V. Reasons To Practice Fasting…
OKAY – I want to briefly list 10 reasons for fasting…
10 times when a biblical may be a good idea.
A) You Want To Recapture Your Hunger For God
UNDERSTAND B/S - I believe that most of us here have a desire to be more intimate with , more devoted to God.
HOWEVER - something gets in the way of that desire and devotion and dulls our hunger for God.
The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night...
The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.
Jesus said some people hear the word of God, and a desire for God is awakened in their hearts. But then, “as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life” (Luke 8:14). In another place he said, “The desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).
“The pleasures of life” and “the desires for other things”—these are not evil in themselves. These are not vices. These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God.
UNDERSTAND MGCC – a great and deadly danger, especially for us who live in the first world...
IS TO - keep stuffing ourselves with other things.
LISTEN - it is not our feasting with the wicked that typically robs us of our hunger for God, but rather the constant nibbling at the table of the world that leaves us so full that we have no appetite left for God.
I have experienced that at Thanksgiving. LIKE - I nibble all day long… so much so that when the main meal comes, I am not able to enjoy or eat it as much.
‘I’m feeling pretty content right now (with all the things in my life) – I’ll just take a small serving of God..’
Fasting is that discipline which tries to recapture our hunger for God. It says to God, I am willing to forgo anything in order to be in your presence.
Fasting expresses a passion to know Him more.
B) You Desire To Expose Your Heart
UNDERSTAND - Fasting brings to the surface that which is deep down, the things we hide from ourselves with large does of McDonald fries, chocolate and Mocha Fraps.
Fasting helps us to uncover what is really inside.
For example, if you are one who eats in order to feel better OR to forget, then the absence of food will make that clear. Fasting can reveal to us just how much pain, pride, or anger is inside of us.
Mark Buchanan writes;
“Fasting churns the stuff up from the depths. Is there anger in me? I can usually control that with a burger and fries Am I resentful, irritated, overly ambition, fearful? I can smoother that with pizza. Am I depressed or embittered, suffering from a sense of life’s unfairness? I can artificially perk myself up with a Mars bar.”
YOU KNOW – I think we all at times – use food to deal with life… LIKE IF - we had a terrible morning… the one thing that might get us by is knowing that we were going out to lunch. BUT - all of a sudden you realize that you are fasting. SO - you are forced to consider another way of dealing with your feelings.
A guy named Piper writes of fasting, “humbly and quietly, with scarcely a movement, she brings up out of the dark places of my soul the dissatisfactions in relationships, the frustrations of the ministry, the fears of failure, the emptiness of wasted time. And just when my heart begins to retreat to the delicious hope of eating supper at Pizza Hut, she quietly reminds me: not tonight.”
UNDERSTAND - hunger strips away the disguise. Hunger forces out the real issue. Fasting will test us and make us face honestly, what is really in our heart.
C) Sorrow Over Sin
NOW – as I said earlier today, we don’t fast to make a payment for our sin or to punish ourselves for what we have done wrong… BUT fasting because we are devastated and sorry for our is not a bad idea..
When Jonah finally got around to preaching in Nineveh, the Ninevites believed God. The bible says; "They declared a fast, 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.
Fasting can be for us a means of wearing the sackcloth. It is 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. Fasting provides a great opportunity for repentance, putting off the old self and putting on the new.
A 4th reason to fast is to;
D) Remind Yourself Of Your Dependency On God
AND – LISTEN we really need that in this country where we pride ourselves on our independence.
We don’t need anyone to take care of us we can take of ourselves… We got our jobs, our insurance and our 401 k’s.
Fasting is meant to humble us… to make us understand HOW weak, small, needy, hopeless and frail we really are. Fasting opens up our eyes to as one writer says, ‘our own stark-naked neediness, our daily dependence.’
LIKE – after a few hours of fasting... we see how needy and weak we really are... ‘I need food...’
UNDERSTAND B/S...
UNLESS - God in his mercy provides manna for this day – we are in trouble…
UNLESS – He keeps the sun shining, the rain raining, the farmers farming, the earth spinning - we will have nothing to eat…
LISTEN – here is what I am trying to say... Our affluence and prosperity – and God faithfulness to us has blinded us to our need for him. We have become as my mom used to say to me, “too big for our britches...”
AND MGCC – humility is a very good thing….
Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will life you up. James 4:10
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:5
E) To Improve The Self-Discipline In Your Life
Like a city without walls is a man who lacks self-control… Proverbs 25:28
QUESTION...
DO YOU – lack self-control in some area of your life...?
DO YOU – agree with the bible that many times it is your inability to control your flesh that gets you into trouble? Your flesh is willing TO SIN, but your sprit is weak…
LISTEN – fasting is an excellent way to build up again the walls of self-control in your life… When we fast our spirit reminds our flesh who is in charge.
Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it do to what it should, not what it wants to…
1 Cor 9:27
A 6th reason to fast is;
F) When You Need A Spiritual Breakthrough
QUESTION...
• Is there a sin in your life that you can’t shake lose of?
• Is there an attitude you just can seem to let go?
• Is there a negative, depressing, funk that you can’t get rid of?
• Is there some kind of spiritual wall that you just can’t break through?
• Like God’s people in 2 Chron 20 has a spiritual enemy has you surrounded…
UNDERSTAND – many times fasting can bring about a spiritual breakthrough...
AGAIN – it is not strong arming God.
BUT – some break throughs only come through prayer and fasting
OKAY - The last 4 reasons I am just going to list because of time…
A Reason to fast is when;
G) A love one is sick
like David when his son was sick
H) You need some direction from God
like Nehemiah
I) You Are About to start A New Ministry For The Lord
Like Jesus and Paul and Barnabas
J) You Long To See God’s Power Move Among His People (The Church)
