On Sunday, January 13, 2008 I shared with our congregation at Victory Church a message titled: "Breaking Strongholds Through Fasting." As a congregation we have entered into a "congregational fast" asking for God's favor on our church, our families, and our lives. Below is the outline of the message I shared yesterday on fasting.
BREAKING STRONGHOLDS THROUGH FASTING
Matthew 6:16-18 (HCSB) “Whenever you fast, don’t be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face, 18 so that you don’t show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Last Sunday I declared a church-wide congregational fast for Victory Church. I asked you to fast during your Wednesday lunch and prayer for several things:
• God’s favor on our church
• Members of Victory Church to turn their hearts to God and live a Godly lifestyle
• Ask for more people to be saved
• Ask for more families to enter into a relationship with the Lord through the outreach efforts of Victory Church
• Ask God for leadership and guidance in our relocation process
• Ask for affordable land to come available
• Ask for finances to increase as we prepare to build a new church
For many of you this is a new “subject/experience” in your Christian life, but it’s a very biblical practice.
John Wesley said about fasting, “Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it altogether.”
We live in a world obsessed with food.
• It is almost impossible to drive a city block without passing a local pizza parlor or fast-food restaurant.
• Some would argue that we have a national addiction to food.
• There are support groups for people who cannot control their eating habits.
• It is natural to eat! That’s why the subject of fasting is something that appears unnatural or strange.
What is fasting? It is the biblical discipline from food for spiritual purposes.
Fasting must always be for spiritual purposes, not for public attention!
The Sermon on the Mount is best known for the “Beatitudes” or the “Blessed are…” statements.
• Because we have focused so much of our attention on the beatitudes, we have inadvertently missed what Jesus said about certain activities that should be done in privacy away from neighbors and friends.
• He admonished the crown to be careful about what they did in public because of the tendency to do it out of misguided motivation.
Jesus talked about three things we should refrain from doing in public:
1. We should refrain from public notoriety. (Matthew 6:2)
2. We are admonished to pray in private. (Matthew 6:5)
3. We should fast in private. (Matthew 6:16)
Nothing is fundamentally wrong with doing these things in public, but Jesus understood the tendency of people to do things for admiration of their peers instead than for the glory of God.
Therefore, to keep our hearts pure, Jesus thought it best for us to do these things in private.
THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT FASTS WRITTEN ABOUT IN THE BIBLE:
1. NORMAL FAST
• Involves abstaining from all food, but not from water.
Matthew 4:2 (HCSB) After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry.
Luke 4:1-2 (HCSB) Then Jesus returned from the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, He was hungry.
• Now it did not say anything about Him being thirsty.
• Since the body can normally survive no longer than 3 days without water, we assume that He drank water during the 40 day fast.
• The most common Christian fast is to abstain from food and drink water or fruit juices.
2. PARTIAL FAST
• This is a limited diet but not total abstinence from food and water.
• This fast is demonstrated in Daniel 1:12 where we are told that Daniel and his friends had only “vegetables to eat and water to drink.”
3. ABSOLUTE FAST
• This means to abstain from both water and food.
• There are several references in Scripture regarding an absolute fast.
Ezra 10:6 (HCSB) Ezra then went from the house of God, walked to the chamber…where he spent the night. He did not eat food or drink water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
• This type of fast is recorded when Esther requested the Jews fast and pray on her behalf.
Esther 4:16 (HCSB) “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night and day. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.”
4. PRIVATE FAST
• This fast is referred to in Matthew 6:16-18.
• Jesus spoke about fasting in a way not to be noticed by others.
• Fasting for public attention or political power was not an acceptable reason to fast.
5. CONGREGATIONAL FAST
• This is where the prophet Joel proclaimed a fast…
Joel 2:15-16 (HCSB) Blow the horn in Zion! Announce a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly.
16 Gather the people; sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his bedroom, and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
• The congregation at Antioch was involved in a fast…
Acts 13:2 (HCSB) As they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them to.”
6. NATIONAL FAST
• The response of King Jehoshaphat to an invasion was to call a national fast…
2 Chronicles 20:3 (HCSB) Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he resolved to seek the Lord. So he proclaimed a fast for all Judah,
• Other references of a nation fasting is found in Neh. 9:1; Esther 4:16; Jonah 3:5-8
• In the early days of our nation, Congress proclaimed 3 national fasts.
• Three presidents (John Adams, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln) called the nation into fasts.
• Abraham Lincoln called for a fast 3 times during the War Between the States.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT FASTING IS NOT INTENDED TO DO:
1. FASTING IS NOT INTENDED TO PERSUADE GOD TO CHANGE HIS MIND.
Some have the mistaken idea that fasting is a sure way to get God on their team; therefore, they learn the hard way that fasting was never intended to be a tool to manipulate God!
2. FASTING WILL NOT MAKE YOU MORE ACCEPTABLE IN GOD’S EYES.
It is not another item on the “to-do-list” in order to be accepted by God!
3. FASTING IS NOT DONE TO LOSE WEIGHT.
That’s the way the world thinks! Our world has become obsessed with the outward appearance—fasting was never to be intended to be a diet plan!
SPECIFIC REASONS FOR FASTING PRESENTED IN SCRIPTURE:
1. FASTING PREPARES US.
• Fasting puts us in a proper attitude for God to is calling us to do and be.
• Fasting provides an opportunity to get away from the negative impact of the world and provides a time to really listen to the Voice of God.
2. FASTING CLEANSES US.
• Fasting is a means of personal cleansing for the physical body, ridding it of impurities.
• Not only our physical bodies are cleansed, but our “soul” is cleansed as well.
3. FASTING EQUIPS US.
• Fasting equips us for the battle we wage against Satan!
• There is a powerful verse that deals with fasting and the way it is connected to our victory over the strongholds in our lives is found in Isaiah.
Isaiah 58:6 (HCSB) Isn’t the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke?
• When Satan gains a foothold in our lives, we usually try everything except fasting!
• When Satan did his very best to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, it was a fasting Messiah that triumphed over the evil one!
Conclusion:
• The more you know about what the Bible has to say about fasting, the better equipped you will be when God leads you.
• Never fast out of pride or in an effort to draw attention to yourself. Scripture says that will be your only reward!
• The bottom line in fasting is to be done to honor and glorify the Lord.
Jon,
This is really some good info on fasting. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Travis | January 14, 2008 at 05:18 PM
Pastor Jon,
Great info. I didn't realize there were so many different types of fasting. With all the temptations we face on a daily basis, I can see how fasting would help up me overcome some trials in my life. And help me mature in the holy spirit. Thanks
Posted by: Rick | January 21, 2008 at 09:09 PM
The bible does have a lot to say about fasting. Unfortunately, we live in such a fast pace world that we do not slow down and really "sit before the Lord" and seek His face. I am really enjoying my fast, and the spiritual renewal I'm seeing in the members of Victory Church tells me that the Lord is doing something in all of our lives.
Keep serving Him!
Posted by: Jon Cannon | January 21, 2008 at 10:29 PM