When You Fast...
Part of Discipleship 101
February 22, 2023

WHEN YOU FAST…

Text: Mt. 6:16-18

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

1. Fasting Explained

  • Donald Whitney – fasting is a Christian’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.
  • Charles Stanley - Fasting is the abstinence of anything that hinders our communion with God. In particular, fasting is the abstinence of food for the purpose of seeking God in prayer.
  • Richard Foster – Fasting “is the voluntary denial of a normal function for the sake of intense spiritual activity.

  • Andrew Murray said, “Prayer is the one hand with which we grasp the invisible; fasting, the other, with which we let loose and cast away the visible.”

2. Fasting Expected

  • In our text, Jesus didn’t say “

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    ” but “
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    .”

  • The

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    church is recorded as having participated in the discipline of fasting. (Acts 9:9; 13:2; 14:23)

  • In our text, Jesus gives a negative command, a positive command, and then a promise.

    • The negative command first: Don’t fast like the hypocrites….
    • The positive command: When you fast, don’t look like you’re fasting….
    • The promise: God who sees in secret will reward you…

  • Jesus gives no command concerning how

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    or how
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    .

    • We must simply follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
    • By not commanding a time, number, duration, type, etc., this helps to keep fasting from becoming a legalistic ritual, something to be checked off our list of things to do, and keeps it in the realm of being sensitive to the need in life and the following of the Spirit.

3. Fasting Exercised

  • There is more to a biblical fast than abstaining from food. Without a spiritual purpose tied to your fasting then you will do nothing more than

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    .

    1) To strengthen

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    lives (cf. Ezra 8:23)

    John Calvin
    “Whenever men are to pray to God concerning any great matter, it would be expedient to appoint fasting along with prayer.”

    • God is always pleased to hear the prayers of His people. But He is also pleased when we choose to strengthen our prayers in a way He has ordained.

    2) To seek God’s

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    (cf. Acts 14:23)

    • Fasting does not ensure the certainty of receiving clear guidance from God. Rightly practiced, however, it does make us more
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      to the One who loves to guide us.

    3) To seek

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    (cf. 2 Chron. 20:3-4; Ezra 8:21-23; Ps. 109:24)

    • We can fast and pray for protection physically, relationally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. This should be our first line of defense – appealing to God Almighty instead of appealing to fleshly things for protection.

    4) To

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    repentance and return (cf. 1 Samuel 7:3-6; Jonah 3:5-8)

    5) To express

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    for God’s work (cf. Neh. 1:3-4; Daniel 9:3)

    • What kind of difference do you think could be made in our community if we showed our concern for the work of God through prayer and fasting?

    6) To

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    temptation (cf. Mt. 4:1-11)

    • Fasting and praying can help us, like Jesus, to overcome temptation in our lives.

    7) To express love and worship to

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    (cf. Lk. 2:36-38)

    • Fasting can be an expression of finding our greatest pleasure and enjoyment in life from God.
    • That’s the case when disciplining ourselves to fast means that we love God more than food, that seeking Him is more important to us than eating a meal.
    • This honors God and is a means of worshiping Him as God.