- Many feel that way when it comes to fasting - “I can’t go without food!” But you can and it can have tremendous spiritual benefits.
BIG IDEA: “Physical hunger can bring spiritual satisfaction.”
- Interest: sometimes we feel so close to God and want more and more of Him; other times we seem indifferent to our spiritual progress. How can we have more hunger?
WHAT IS IT? “Fasting is abstaining from something for a period of time.”
- The point that we need to open up with is simply that this is a matter of obedience to Christ. It would be nice if I could say tonight that it’s up to you to try this if you’d like to go a little deeper in your walk with Christ, but it’s more than that. It will take you deeper in your walk with Christ, but at one level it is simply a matter of obeying what He told you to do.
- Matthew 6:16 says “when” not “if.”
- This is something that hardly seems possible considering how little of this happens in Christians’ lives. Yet it is squeezed in here between prayer and giving, both of which we faithfully teach and preach. The simple, hard truth is that we have been disobedient.
- Look also at Matthew 9:14-15. The Bridegroom is gone. It’s time to fast.
- You may not totally understand why, even after the sermon this evening, but this is something that you need to take as marching orders from Him and move forward in faith that He knows what He’s talking about.
- Exodus 34:28; 1 Samuel 7:6; 1 Kings 19:8; Ezra 10:6; Luke 4:1-2; Acts 9:9; Acts 13:2-3; Acts 14:23.
WHAT DOES IT DO?
- Matthew 6:18.
- Jesus says there that fasting (done correctly) results in rewards from the Father. I don’t think these are game-show rewards, but rather far more important and far deeper things.
- You’ll remember that the whole idea of this series is that there are physical disciplines that can make a spiritual difference. We need to use our bodies as slaves of righteousness and not slaves to sinfulness. The idea once again here is that doing something physical (fasting) can make a spiritual impact in our lives.
- A few things that fasting doesn’t do: it doesn’t make God love us more; it isn’t necessary so that God will forgive us; it is not a substitute for obedience; it is not get-rich-quick scheme.
- Here are some of the things that go on when we fast.
1. It makes us ask, “Am I as hungry for God as I am for food?”
- John Piper has said that many of us have no hunger for God because we are so stuffed by the world.
- Every time we feel a hunger pang and we think, “Man, I really would like to eat,” it can be a reminder to us: “Am I as hungry for God as I am for a hamburger?”
- We are in a sense giving up food in order to be able to feast on God.
- In John 4:34, Jesus said that His food was to do the will of His Father. Can we say that? Do we have that intensity of desire?
2. It reminds us that food does not sustain us; God does.
- John 6:53-59 (Body and Blood passage); Colossians 1:17 (in Him all things consist).
3. It reveals the things that control us.
- We are physical creatures and sometimes we let our physical needs have their way without any question as to whether they are appropriate or not. As we deny our body food for a period of time, it can be a time of reflection on what else we’ve just automatically given into that we should be showing more discipline in. Maybe it’s food. Maybe it’s lust. Maybe it’s gossip.
- One of my kids the other day, in getting punished for something he did, said, “But Dad, I couldn’t help myself.” That’s our excuse often times: “I felt the urge to do it, so I had to do it.” No, you didn’t.
- Also, although this sermon is primarily about physical fasting, it can be used in other areas as well. One example is a media fast. No TV, radio, computer, etc. for a day. If you don’t think technology has its hooks in you, try going a day without any media and see how often and how strong the pull is.
4. It makes us, perhaps for the first time in years, genuinely appreciate “our daily bread.”
- For many of us, we eat whenever we feel the slightest pang of hunger. Three meals a day plus two or three snacks. We don’t remember what’s hunger is really like.
- Fasting is useful to remind us of what hunger feels like. What it’s like to do without. Then, when we come back to eat again, it may the first time in a long time we say grace and really mean it. It may be the first time we really notice how nice our meal is in a long time.
- All of that can have the impact of increased gratitude for the everyday blessings.
5. It can be an expression of our deep desire to see something happen.
- There is merit in fasting as a regular part of our walk with Christ - perhaps doing it weekly. Down through the centuries, though, it has also been something that people have done in times of great distress or concern in order to both express their passion about this matter as well as to help focus their thoughts and desires on God.
- It may be that we are praying for our nation (Bill Bright). It may be that we really need guidance in a particular area. It may be for healing for ourselves or someone else. It might be to see the bondage of sin broken in the life of someone who is still feeling hopeless.
- It goes along with the old saying about “We need to get serious with God if we expect Him to get serious with us.” The idea (not perfectly conveyed) there is that our desire to see Him move does make a difference in what He can do in and through us.
- Going back to Jesus’ statement that His Father rewards those who fast, this would be the most straightforward example of that: we fast about a specific need and see that need answered by His hand.
HOW TO DO IT:
- It goes without saying that if you have medical conditions that would make fasting dangerous that you should consult with your doctor.
- From the Matthew 6 passage, I presume that everyone knows that this is something that is between you and God.
1. Start with a two-meal fast.
- You can go lunch to lunch, skipping dinner and breakfast. You can go dinner to dinner, skipping breakfast and lunch. This is a small way to start out.
- Obviously, you want to try to schedule a time when your fasting is less likely to raise the attention of others. It may be that you have to tell your spouse. If someone asks why you aren’t eating, you might want to simply say something like, “I’ll get something later.”
- What if you can’t fast because of diabetes or something similar? I think that Daniel 10:3 can be a guide, where Daniel at “no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips.” It may be that since you cannot abstain from all food that you choose instead to eat only the bare, unadorned necessities. Keep it as basic as you can. This will not likely have as dramatic a result, but it can still have a result.
2. Drink plenty of liquids.
- You can go a lot longer without food than you can without water.
- Drink water or juices.
- Matthew 4:2.
3. Use the physical cues to create spiritual advances.
- It might be the hunger pains - use that as a time to think on one of the things we just talked about under why to fast. It might the meal time - use that as a time to pray or read the Word.
4. Grow into longer times as the Spirit leads.
- If you’re two-meal fast is successful, I would encourage you to make that a weekly (or more often) part of your life. Over time, as you see increasing benefits from your fasting, you may want to move to longer fasts. The next logical step would be a 24-hour fast.
- I would encourage reading more about fasting before getting into longer fasts. If you Google on “fasting” and “Richard Foster” or “Bill Bright,” you’ll find some good resources. Also, I’d be happy to loan you stuff on this.
- God may call you at times to fast for 2, 3, or more days.
