Transcript Fasting
Fasting Team Presentation by Senior Women Missionaries Definition of Fasting • Voluntary denial of a normal function. • Spiritual discipline ordained by God for the good of Christian Fellowship. The Picture of God’s Chosen Fasting • Isaiah 58 • To lose the chains of justice • To set the oppressed free • To break every yoke. If we do not fast in God’s chosen way… • One becomes self-righteous • Ends in quarreling and strife (Isaiah 58:4) If we do fast in God’s chosen way… • The Lord will answer • The Lord will guide and satisfy our needs • We will find joy in the Lord. • We will feast on the inheritance of God. (Isaiah 58:14) A Biblical Sampler of Fasting Negative aspects of fasting • Luke 18:12 “I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” • Matthew 6:16-18 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Old Testament • Ezra 8:23 “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.” • 1 Samuel 1:6 “When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.” • 1 Kings 17:16 • “For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.” • Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.” • Daniel 10:3 ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.” “I • Esther 4:16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” • Esther 5:2 “When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.” • Psalm 69:10 “When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn.” • Joel 2:12 “Even now,” declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” • Jonah 3:5 “The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” • Jonah 3:7 “Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.” New Testament • Luke 2:37 “And then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” • Matthew 17:21 "But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." • Matthew 9:14-15 “Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” • Acts 13:2-3 “While 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.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” • Acts 9:9 “For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.” The Purpose of Fasting The Purpose of Fasting The practice of self emptying for spiritual filling Self Emptying Spiritual Filling The Purpose of Fasting To learn to enjoy God and his gifts Feasting on God: physical fasting is replaced with spiritual feasting John4:32-34 - But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?" "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Centering on God Luke2:37 - and then was a widow until she was eighty-four] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Zechariah7:5 – Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?’ The Purpose of Fasting To remind ourselves of our humble dependence upon God Deut8:3 - He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. To reveal our excessive attachments to physical things Phil3:19 - Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. The Purpose of Fasting To develop mastery of our appetites Mt4:2-3 - After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." To intensify and sharpen prayer Ezra8:22-23 - I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. The Purpose of Fasting To express and deepen repentance Joel2:12 - "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." To prepare ourselves inwardly to receive strength and grace to complete mission Ex34:28 - Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. The Purpose of Fasting To express grief 2Sam1:11-12 - Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. To prepare our hearts to receive guidance Acts13:2-3 - While 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." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The Purpose of Fasting To live according to God’s will faithfully (Isaiah58:6-9) 6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, Practicing of Fasting Spiritual Preparation • Pray and meditate about it. • Have others pray for you. Physical Preparation • Avoid a lot of activity. • Don’t fast if you are sick or under excessive • • • • medication. Don’t fast if you are overly stressed out. Try to eat right up to the point of starting your fast. Avoid junk food 24-hrs before the fast. Prepare mentally by setting your mind to it and planning to focus for a set time. Principle • Devote the time that you would spend eating to time spent feasting on God. • Use hunger pains as an invitation to feast on God. • Set aside specific meditation time throughout the duration of the fast. • Every time a hunger a pain hits, make a conscious choice to talk to God. Progression and Progress (Suggestions) • Learn to walk well before you run. • 1. Partial Fast • • • • • Fast a meal for starter • Fast two meals • Fast for 24-hrs 2. Don’t try to fast 40 days/40 nights 3. Have alight meal after the fast. Don’t go to Horn-n-Horn to gorge. 4. Fast with water always. (distilled or reverse osmosis water) 5. When you experience hunger pains you aren’t starving. Master your stomach by intensifying your prayer life. Application to Contemporary Culture • Learn to fast from people. • Learn to fast from the media at times. • Time of fasting from the telephone. • Discipline of fasting from billboards. • Fast from our gluttonous consumer culture that we find so comfortable.