INTRODUCTION...

- Last week James did part one of ‘having God’s ear’ as he taught on prayer…both personal prayer and public prayer.
- Today I want to talk about a closely related practice called ‘FASTING’. It is mentioned many times throughout the Bible, usually in partnership with prayer.
- Fasting was a common practice in the ancient world, even outside of the Bible, so this was not an unfamiliar practice for the Israelites as they were being instructed to fast and pray. God gave them instruction to pray and fast on several occasions, usually in conjunction with times of confession, times of repentance, times of mourning or even seasons of seeking God’s will in different situations.
- We see in the NT that fasting was practiced, although there is not a direct command to fast that we can see. Jesus fasted and so did others around him. We see the apostles fast as they prayed for the ability to discern God’s will in different situations in the book of Acts. So, given the frequency of this spiritual habit in the Bible, I think it is important for us to consider it and understand the beauty and power of practicing the fast in our own lives.

1. MY EXPERIENCE WITH FASTING...

- Q: When was the last time you skipped a meal—on purpose—for the sake of your soul? || Some of you may fast on a regular basis and I would love to hear how that works for you in your walk with Jesus. Others of you may have never done this and even wonder if it has any value at all in your walk with Jesus.

- I have FASTED over the years in different seasons:
1) Mission Trips
2) Elder decisions, praying for discernment
3) My own struggle with sin, repentance
4) Seasons of personal challenge, praying for direction, discernment on if I should leave a church, go to another church
5) times of prayer for a person who is far from God

- But I would say that I don’t have a regular pattern of fasting that is scheduled into my normal rhythm of life, it usually is special situations
- Fasting has largely fallen out of practice in the modern Western church. It is not something that we talk about regularly and I have been challenged again as I have studied this topic and realize how little I have considered fasting in my own daily life. I really want to think more deeply on this and I pray you do as well as we talk about it today

Quote: David Mathis:
“If we are awakened to see fasting for the joy it can bring… we might find ourselves holding a powerful new tool for enriching our enjoyment of Jesus”.

-- I do want to enjoy Jesus and my relationship with him. So I am excited about adding to my prayer life more opportunities of fasting.

2. FASTING: A DEFINITION...

A simple definition:
“Voluntarily going without food (or other good things) for a spiritual purpose.”

- Fasting isn’t about starving yourself from food. It also shouldn't be about proving to others how spiritual you are (common in NT).
- Fasting is a spiritual practice that holds deep significance in the life of a Christian. It is not merely about abstaining from food and drink, but also about introspection, repentance, and drawing closer to God.
- It is a tool that helps us focus on our spiritual needs over our physical needs…and improving our relationship with God.
- Fasting expresses holy discontent with the world as it is, or your own life and walk with Jesus, and a longing for more of God.

3. JESUS AND OTHERS AROUND HIM FASTED...

- Fasting was common in ancient societies…The Jewish people practiced several fasts during Jesus’ day:
—> Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement: The first and most paramount of all fast days is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Of all the fast days, this day alone was prescribed by God in the Bible. Leviticus 16:29 commands God’s people to “deny yourselves” on Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is considered a major fast day, and in Judaism, it has only one other counterpart—
—> Tisha B’Av: Mourning the Destruction of the Temples: Observed on the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av, which commemorates the destruction of both the First and SecondTemple in Jerusalem—each of which occurred hundreds of years apart on the exact same date… is a major fast. This day of intense mourning is marked by a 25-hour fast, starting at sunset and ending the following night. The day is spent in mourning and reflection, with the Book of Lamentations being read in synagogues.
—> The Fast of Gedaliah: Observed on the third day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, immediately following Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This minor fast day commemorates the assassination of Gedaliah ben Ahikam, the Jewish governor of Judah appointed by the Babylonians after the destruction of the First Temple. His assassination marked the end of Jewish autonomy in the land of Israel and the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
—> The Tenth of Tevet: Observed on the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tevet, is a minor fast that commemorates the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, which ultimately led to the destruction of the First Temple.
—> The Fast of Esther: This fast recalls the three days that Esther and the Jews fasted before she approached King Xerxes in order to save her people from the wicked Haman. The fast is observed the day before Purim, the holiday celebrating the events in the Book of Esther.
—> The Seventeenth of Tammuz: is a minor fast (observed on the seventeenth day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz). This fast commemorates the breach of the walls of Jerusalem by the Romans, leading to the destruction of the Second Temple. It marks the beginning of a three-week period of mourning, culminating in Tisha B’Av.
—> The Fast of the Firstborn: Observed on the day before Passover. It commemorates the salvation of the Israelite firstborns during the final plague in Egypt, when God struck down the Egyptian firstborns but spared the Israelites..

-- Matthew 6:16-18 (CSB)
16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

-- Luke 4:1-2 (CSB)
“1 Then Jesus left the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, he was hungry.”

-- Acts 13:2-3 (CSB)
“2 As they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.”

4. WHAT IS THE POINT OF FASTING...

- So, what is the point of fast days? Fast days, whether they commemorate good times or bad times, have three main desired outcomes:

1. To get us to stop our daily routines
2. To consider our actions, and
3. To decide on changes that need to be made in our lives.

As we consider adding fasting to our normal routine of life…it can…
-- Strengthen our Prayer Life...(Ezra 8:23) "23 So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and he was receptive to our prayer.” || we see fasting and prayer connected all over the Bible
-- Seek Guidance...(Acts 14:23) “When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
-- Express Grief...(1 Sam. 31:13) “Afterward, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.”
-- Seek Deliverance...(2 Chronicles 20:1-4) “After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to fight against Jehoshaphat. 2 People came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom has come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi). 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to seek the Lord. Then he proclaimed a fast for all Judah, 4 who gathered to seek the Lord. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek him.”
-- Repentance...(Jonah 3:4-9) “4 Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed, “In forty days Nineveh will be demolished! ” 5 Then the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth ​— ​from the greatest of them to the least. 6 When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he issued a decree in Nineveh: By order of the king and his nobles: No person or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. 8 Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from his wrongdoing. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent; he may turn from his burning anger so that we will not perish.”
-- Humility...(Ps. 35:13) “Yet when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, and my prayer was genuine.”
-- Worship and love for God...(Luke 2:36-38) [seeing Jesus as a baby in the Temple] “36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and was a widow for eighty-four years. She did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers. 38 At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”

5. FASTING IS NOT COMMANDED BUT IS PROFITABLE...HERE ARE SOME GUIDELINES...

- Scripture does not command Christians to fast. God does not require or demand it of Christians. At the same time, the Bible presents fasting as something that has been done for centuries, is good, profitable, and beneficial to those who practice it. Although fasting in Scripture is almost always from food, there are other ways to fast. Anything given up temporarily in order to focus all our attention on God can be considered a fast.

Here are a few guidelines that can be helpful as you begin to explore fasting in your own life:
-- Fasting should be limited to a set time, especially when fasting from food. Extended periods of time without eating can be harmful to the body.
-- Fasting is not intended to punish the flesh, but to redirect attention to God.
-- Fasting should not be considered a “dieting method” either. The purpose of a biblical fast is not to lose weight, but rather to gain deeper fellowship with God. Anyone can fast, but some may not be able to fast from food (diabetics, for example). Everyone can temporarily give up something in order to draw closer to God.
-- Fasting sharpens affections—it doesn’t just deny appetite.
-- Fasting aligns our bodies and souls to say: “I want God more than comfort, more than food, more than anything else.”
-- Fasting is not about proving spiritual strength, but admitting deep dependence .

6. HOW TO FAST...HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS...

-- Start Small: Begin with one meal or one thing or one day

-- Have a Plan: Replace what you are fasting from with: prayer, Scripture reading/memorization or a time of reflection for confession and repentance.

-- Try Various Forms: Food is most common || social media || entertainment || other activities that are valuable, important

-- Fast Together: Consider communal fasting during significant spiritual seasons. Consider a short fast this week with a spiritual purpose (guidance, intercession, repentance).

-- Journal Your Experience: Listen for how God sharpens your affections.

-- Ask:"What am I turning to instead of God for satisfaction—and how can fasting help reset that longing?"

6. FINAL THOUGHTS...

- Right now, we fast because we long for Jesus to truly change us, to make us like him…As we take our eyes off the things of this world, we can more successfully turn our attention to Jesus…becoming like him.

-- Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want…it is us realigning our hearts and minds to his.

-- Fasting is not a way to appear more spiritual than others…but a way to die to ourselves and confess we deeply need Jesus.

-- Too often, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food. Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God.

-- Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him, helping us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance on God.

RESPOND, REFLECT & COMMUNION

I would like to give you a chance to respond to God…

-- What did God reveal about who he is to you today in our time in God’s word?
-- What did God reveal about what he has done or is doing in our time in God’s word?
-- What did you learn about who you are as we looked at these stories today?
-- What did you learn about what you are supposed to do?

—> Let's take a minute to thank Him, respond to Him, confess our sins to Him, examine our hearts before we take communion...

—> WHAT IS JESUS SAYING TO YOU TODAY?
—> WHAT IS JESUS ASKING YOU TO DO?