What is the Holy Spirit saying to you about fasting?

Discipline brings freedom.

Why are spiritual disciplines necessary?

• We are saved by grace through faith and not by works.

• But… We are still in need of some transforming and maturing.

The path of disciplined grace

Grace because it is free.

Discipline because there is something for us to do.

Turning disciplines into laws will not lead to life, but death.

Disciplines are not “works righteousness.”

• The purpose of the disciplines is to place us before God. God then produces in us grace and virtues.

• God invites us into the spiritual disciplines.

• We cannot in our own strength become like Christ.

What is fasting?

Fasting is abstaining from food. An absolute fast is to abstain from food and water.

In many ways fasting is to “offer your body (soma) as a living sacrifice.” (Romans 12:1)

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, 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 others 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

Jesus criticizes those who fast hypocritically in order to attract attention.

Fasting in the Old Testament

On the Day of Atonement

The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD.

-Leviticus 23:27

To humble oneself and intercede for others

Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting...

-Psalm 35:13a

In times of national emergency

Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.

-Joel 2:15

In response to an invasion

Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.

-2 Chronicles 20:2-3

For safety

There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.

-Ezra 8:21

For favor and deliverance:

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 attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.

-Esther 4:16

Fasting in the New Testament

• Fasting was a regular practice of John, his disciples, and the Pharisees (Matthew 9:14, Mark 2:18, Luke 5:33, 18:11-12)

• Jesus fasted for 40 days (Matthew 4:1-11)

• Luke depicted fasting as a part of worship (Luke 2:36-37)

• The church at Antioch engaged in fasting (Acts 13:2–3, Acts 14:23)

Fasting in the Early Church

• Early Christians fasted twice a week

Why Is Fasting Important?

They said to him, 'John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.' Jesus answered, 'Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.'

-Luke 5:33-35

Jesus assumed his disciples would fast, yet it is the single most neglected discipline in the Western church.

Why do we fast?

1. To offer ourselves to Jesus as a living sacrifice

a. The main reason: Hunger for Jesus

b. Fasting reminds us we are sustained by God.

c. Fasting is all about intimacy with God.

2. To grow in holiness

[Fasting is]...sometimes necessary to check the delight of the flesh in respect to licit pleasures to keep it from yielding to illicit joys.

-St Augustine

Fasting reveals the things that control us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. We cover up what is inside us with food and other good things, but in fasting these things surface.

-Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline

a. Fasting reveals one’s true condition.

b. Fasting “weans us off the pleasure principle.” (John Mark Comer)

c. Fasting re-orders our desires.

d. Fasting draws on God’s power to overcome sin.

3. To amplify our prayers

a. Prayer and fasting go together.

b. Fasting helps us to activate God’s power.

c. When we pray and fast, breakthroughs happen!

d. The practice of fasting brings us in touch with our weaknesses and not our strengths.

4. To stand in unity with the poor.

Fasting gives birth to prophets, she strengthens the powerful; fasting makes lawgivers wise. She is a safeguard for the soul, a steadfast companion for the body, a weapons for the brave, and a discipline for champions. Fasting repels temptations, anoints for godliness. She is a companion for sobriety, the crafter of a sound mind. In wars she fights bravely, in peace she teaches tranquility.

-St. Basil the Great

How to Fast

Resolve at the beginning to abandon all outcomes to God.

Practical steps:

1. Start small.

2. Drink lots of water.

3. Choose a time when you can slow down and be present and not rushed. Use time normally eating to pray and meditate.

4. It’s normal if your body is sluggish.

5. Don’t be shocked if it feels like irritability begins to rise. Bring that to the Lord.

6. Resist the urge to judge the experience. It is all about drawing near to God.

Make a Decision