Sermon Title: Why Fast?
Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18

To apprentice under Jesus is to adopt his overall lifestyle – in order to open your whole life to God to transform you from the inside out.

80% of Muslims fast.
49% Jewish Americans fast on Yom Kippur
34% of Protestants fast
16% of evangelicals fast.
Fewer than 2% of Christians fast on a regular basis.
_{“How common is religious fasting in the United States?” - Pew Research Center}

Jesus assumes 2 things in Matthew 6:
1. Jesus assumes that his disciples will practice fasting.
2. When you fast, the Father will reward you.

History of Fasting:
1. Part of every major religion in the world
2. Moses, David, Samuel, Esther, the prophets, Jesus
3. Early Christians and the Church Fathers
4. The Didache

• “If any one of the clergy be found to fast on the Lord’s Day, or on the Sabbath-day, excepting one only, let him be deprived; but if he be one of the laity, let him be suspended.” *_{Constitutions of the Holy Apostles - AD 375-390}

“I fear there are now thousands of Methodists, so called, both in England and Ireland, who, following the same bad example, have entirely left off fasting; who are so far from fasting twice a week… that they do not fast twice in the month!” _{John Wesley}

“Fasting gives birth to prophets, she strengthens the powerful; fasting makes law-givers wise. She is a safeguard for the soul, a steadfast companion for the body, a weapon 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 A.D. 330-379}

1. What Fasting is not:
- Abstinence
- restricted diet
2. What Fasting is: not eating food
3. How long is a fast: there’s no set time
4. When do you fast: a rhythm and a response
5. Do we fast alone or in community: both
6. Why do we fast?
- To offer ourselves to Jesus
- grow in holiness
- To amplify our prayers
- To stand with the poor