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A
Fast Message From God
Is.
58:6-8
Fasting=a voluntary
withdrawing from food and/or drink, or other fleshly appetite, for a
specified period of time.
3 most basic types of
fasting mentioned in the Bible:
A.
Normal fast
[food]
Jesus began His earthly
ministry w/ prayer and fasting.
Mt. 4:1-2—a 40 day fast
Jesus completed!
Mt. 6:16
16 Moreover when
(not if) ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance…
Though fasting is never
commanded, Jesus assumed that the disciples would want to in order to see
great things happen!
But it’s not something a
That’s a good place to
start!
3 day fast
(Paul did this right after getting saved)
40 day fast
(several examples in Bible)
Several men alive today who
have done 40 day fasts and would say it was absolutely life-changing! (still
took in liquids, of course!) [Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for
B.
Partial fast
Good if you have diabetes,
hypoglycemia, or some other condition which precludes a normal fast.
In the partial fast you
omit certain foods for a while, but not others.
Dan. 1—he and 3 Hebrew
children did a partial fast, and at the end were stronger and healthier than
those eating what they wanted.
Elijah did this on 2
occasions/John Wesley was well known for going days on end eating only bread
and water/some give up meats for a time, eating only vegetables/just
skipping a meal to spend time in prayer would be another example of a
partial fast, or not indulging in things you like as much as just “getting
by” w/ something basic, bland.
[Giving up flesh’s desires to concentrate on the Spirit!]
C.
The
absolute fast
Moses went on this kind for
40 days, nothing enters your mouth at all…can only be done for a very short
time, not 40 days…consult a Dr.!
This is the first mention
of a fast in scripture -- Ex. 34:28
(law of 1st
mention)
27 And
the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of
these words I have made a covenant with thee and with
28 And
he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat
bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the
covenant, the ten commandments.
When Moses received the 10
commandments from God, he engaged in a 40 day fast.
You may have noticed it
said he didn’t eat OR drink…don’t anybody go out of here and try that!
That is a human impossibility apart from divine intervention…some
have worked up to a 40 day fast from food, but no one could survive 40 days
w/ no drink…this was a miracle!
II.
Purpose of fasting
A way to seek God by
denying the physical in order to focus on the spiritual…
…for this reason prayer and
fasting must always go together (or it does you no good spiritually!)
Of course, there are
physical benefits: medical dr’s
are discovering more and more benefits to fasting…because the body is
designed to heal itself on a cellular level…as we eat and take in various
toxins, processed foods, medicines, etc., we hold a certain amount of
poisons in our cells…but when we fast many of those things are flushed out
of our system!
But if you want a spiritual
benefit, make sure and take the time you would have spent eating and
transfer it to prayer time!
II Chron. 20:
3 And
Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast
throughout all
Ezra 8: 23 So we fasted and besought our God for this: and
he was intreated of us.
|
Nehemiah 1
|
|
1:4
And it came to pass, when I heard these words,
that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and
prayed before the God of heaven, |
|
1 Corinthians 7
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7:5
Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with
consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and
prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your
incontinency. |
Another point made by this
verse is that when we fast it ought to be from ALL physical desires, not
just food!
Let go of the physical,
focus on the spiritual!
Usually we fast and pray
when we have a special need, when we need a spiritual breakthrough, when we
are seeking revival.
God’s
9 main purposes for fasting:
Is. 58
1.
Fasting to get freedom from addictions
v. 6 “loose the bands”
(things you’d like to lay
down but have been unable to)
“I’ve tried to quit
smoking, but I can’t!”
Try fasting!
Drugs/Porn/alcohol/cussing/thought life…try fasting!
God has ordained that when
we get serious about walking in victory we demonstrate it thru fasting…& He
knows we’re serious now!
2.
Fasting to solve problems
“undo heavy burdens” (v. 6)
ill.--child’s knotted
shoelaces/messed up finances! (turn to prayer and to your Bible…don’t turn
to chapter 11!)/marriage in shambles/job solution?
When it seems hopeless, no
way out!
God will deal w/ in an
instant what you’ve stressed for weeks and months!
3.
Fasting for revival and soulwinning
v. 6 “let oppressed go free”
I challenge you to do that
this week!
4.
Fasting to conquer mental and emotional problems
v. 6 “break every yoke”
I’ve never seen so many
people stressed out, under such emotional strain as lately!
Burdens: family,
financial, etc.
5.
Fasting to meet the physical needs of others
v. 7 “deal”=share…to cut back once in a while and give that food or
$ to feed the poor (special blessing in scripture!)
6.
Fasting for clearer insight in decision-making
Different that
problem-solving…this is when you’re seeking God’s will in a major area of
life…you’re at the fork in the road and don’t know which way to go.
[job
offers/transfer/dating/ministry/college]
v. 8 “light break forth”…it’s like God turns on the lights and now
you know what to do!
7.
Fasting for health reasons or healing
Have a loved one that’s in
bad shape? Get serious and fast
for them! Is it your health in
question? When there’s no hope
from a human perspective, put it in God’s hands…it may be His will to honor
that.
v. 8 “thy health shall spring forth speedily”
8.
Fasting for a more righteous life and influential testimony
v. 8 “thy righteousness shall go before thee”
It’s easy for a
If you get serious enough
to deny yourself in the physical realm, it will be amazing what God will do
in your soul spiritually!
9.
Fasting for the glory of the Lord, to protect us from the evil one
v. 8b “rereward”=protection
Application:
Spiritually—have a loved
one under Satanic oppression, or possession?
Mt. 17:16-21
I brought him
to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus
answered and said,
O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with
you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18 And
Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured
from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus
apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus
said unto them,
Because of
your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of
mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place;
and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit
this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Apply this to our nation now: who would have ever thought we’d live under threat of something like a briefcase nuke, airliner missile, smallpox attack, anthrax attack, biochemical attack, wmd’s, these are perilous times…and we should pray thusly when we fast!
III.
The benefits of fasting
A.
More
time to pray
Fasting and prayer is
illustrated in people who can’t eat (waiting in surgery waiting room…can’t
eat, time on hands, might as well pray (I Sam. 1:7—Hannah)…or the death of a
loved one: it’s a good way of demonstrating our grief over that.
(II Sam. 3:35—Abner died, David fasted)
We talk about being grieved
over abortion, but have we demonstrated that grief?
Burdened for revival in our church!
Have you fasted?
Fasting is also a way of
encouraging grief over sin …ever wished you were more burdened over sin?
One way to cultivate grief is fasting.
B.
Fasting
makes our heart more attentive to God.
Amazing how much time you have on your hands if you’re not eating,
preparing, cleaning up after supper, watching TV, or engaged in other
fleshly endeavors.
C.
Fasting
demonstrates to God our seriousness
…about wanting a spiritual
breakthrough…
Old hymn:
“I gave my life for thee, what hast thou giv’n for Me?”
Most of us live to eat…few
eat to live! When we get serious
w/ God, He gets serious w/ us!
(but blessings far
outweigh!)
A.
Attempting to manipulate God w/
our fasting
vv. 1-9
Fasting is meant to change
our circumstances…and to change US, not to change God!
He’s not more holy or
righteous because we worship Him…the rocks would cry out if we didn’t!
So, if we fast knowing we
have sin in our lives, we’re defeating the whole purpose.
Also, if we’re fasting in
order to find a desired result…we have to leave the result in God’s hands,
and accept the results as His will.
Fasting doesn’t produce a
blank check made out from God to us.
Fasting will help us to
receive God’s will w/ grace! [miracle of healing or of grace!]
B.
Attempting to impress others w/
our fasting
Mt. 6—desire for people to
know how “pious” you are.
Exception would be someone
who needs to know…spouse if they’re cooking for you, etc.
C.
Becoming legalistic about fasting
Gal. 5:1—stand fast in the
liberty you’ve received…be not entangled again w/ yoke of bondage
Remember it’s not a
command, it’s a choice…not a thing to look down your nose at others about if
they don’t fast.
D.
Becoming prideful about fasting
Lk. 18:10-14—I tithe and
fast twice a week (just tithe twice!)
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