When You Fast- (Doug Batchelor) AmazingFacts ©

our message this morning is based really on a study that you find all the way from cover to cover in the Bible dealing with a Christian truth teaching on the subject of fasting now I thought I ought to say a few things just here at the beginning no I am NOT preparing to proclaim a week of fasting and prayer right now more than that I wanted to teach what the Bible says about this subject because I believe the subject is often neglected but beyond that it came to my attention that fasting really is a Christian discipline that had a high priority with Jesus and I think it's lost that place in the modern church I remember hearing about a little girl that heard the pastor talk about a day of fasting and prayer and then as they went home from church on the way home the little girl said to her father well we can't fast yeah and he said why not well if you don't eat you'll die and he said dear there's lots of men and women kings and prophets in the Bible that fasted she said that's what I'm thinking about and they're all dead so people get real nervous when you start talking about fasting because eating is very personal and you know they say the way to a man's heart is is through his stomach and it is true that eating is a big part of our lives every day and I would venture to say that there are probably oh maybe over fifty percent of the people who are listening to my voice are even sitting in this assembly that have not gone a day without eating this last year or even longer it's something that we're very used to and we like and I'm one of those also I thought I should mention since there is a potluck today I don't want you to feel guilty at the potluck I am teaching you about fasting I'm not telling you too fast today is that clear to everybody you feel a little better now good you thought man and I had such a good meal waiting at home after church and he's going to talk about fasting you feel bad it's a teaching that I would encourage you to incorporate in your life but that doesn't need to start immediately of course unless the Lord impresses you that way turn back with me to Matthew this was our scripture reading I want to look at this with you again Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount taught about fasting we're going to look at what Jesus said about fasting Jesus and fasting Matthew 6 verse 16 moreover when you fast do not be like the hypocrites wait a second you notice he doesn't say moreover if you fast he's talking to his people he's talking to his church and he said when you fast doesn't that imply that he expected they'd be doing it he just says don't do it the wrong way don't be like the hypocrites or the sad countenance for they like to disfigure their faces that they might appear under men to be fasting assuredly I say to you they have their reward but when you fast notice again not if you fast when you fast anoint your head I did that this morning wash your face so that you do not appear to men to be fasting but your father who is in the secret place he will see what is in secret he'll reward you openly now three times Jesus addressed Christian disciplines and said don't do it this way do it this way he talked about praying he said when you pray pray like this he talked about giving and then he talked about fasting let's face it praying is a Christian essential giving is a Christian essential but not to many churches still teach that fasting as a Christian essential Jesus put a very high priority on this teaching but it is almost universally neglected by Christians would you agree because let's face it who wants to go to a church where they teach people to deny yourself food that's not very popular but it's biblical and I have a responsibility to tell you what the word says Amen it's so important that if you really think about it Jesus begin his ministry with fasting the wilderness and he ended his ministry with fast and he went 24 hours from the Last Supper till he died on the cross fasting matter of fact it was a pretty radical fast because he didn't need or drink that's why he said I thirst Jesus speaks of fasting as an essential now again if some of you are wondering does Jesus really support this is this a New Testament teaching you can read Matthew 9 verse 14 and 15 I have a lot of scriptures for you today and I'll have some corresponding slides then the disciples of John came to him saying why do we these are John the Baptist disciples why do we and the Pharisees fast often notice even John the Baptist taught about fasting and even the Pharisees taught about fasting but your disciples don't fast and Jesus said to them can the Friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them but the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them then they will fast in other words fasting is something like the opposite of feasting if I tell you hey we're going to have a celebration come on over to my house we're going too fast does that make sense no I suppose we could but it's easier to celebrate with food right and that could be one reason that some churches don't teach about fasting very much is because if I say let's all get together we're going to have a great church fellowship and fast I don't think we'd get as many if I said we're going to have a lot of food isn't that right do you all know that some people come for the loaves and fish isn't that true but it's sort of the opposite Christ was living and walking among them and it's like we have God in our very presence how can we mourn now but he will be taken away and he said there will be time for fasting then now I should begin with some definitions what is fasting fasting is to voluntarily abstain from or eat very little food and/or drink for a specified period of time as a religious or a health discipline I want to say that again some of you may be jotting this down and I want you to catch it fasting means to voluntarily abstain from or eat very little food and/or drink for a specified period of time as a religious or health discipline fasting is not a tool to win God's audience by manipulating him and torturing yourself some look upon it that way and that's where Jesus said he said wash your face comb your hair it's something between you and God where you're appealing for something fasting is the opposite of fee see they might fast for spiritual physical mental and even emotional reasons now I'm going to elaborate on some of the spiritual reasons to begin with for fasting that you find in the Bible first of all fasting there is a spiritual significance to it we have these very basic needs in the body food is God's design mechanism to supply physical energy something like in our children's story the hummingbird needed it's a nectar and we need this for physical energy it's a very powerful physical need this is why Jesus began his ministry the first temptation had to do with not eating what the devil was tempting him to eat how did the human race fall into sin ate something we weren't supposed to eat it wasn't just Eve it was Adam - right and so God is saying you must get the victory in this area and so whenever we fast were actually exercising self-control of the Spirit over the flesh and that is a good discipline for Christians I hope you all pray before you eat and I hope some of you still eat as families where you sit down together and you can't do it maybe every meal but you sit down isn't it a good idea for everyone to wait until you're seated before you eat and we discourage the kids from nibbling before we've had the blessing I tease them if you start eating before we have prayer you're going to get worms they know I'm kidding but I said you know it's good self-control but I'm so hungry does one chip and and I probably have fallen that area before my but you know it's a good discipline to say oh boy I sure wish I could even begin nibbling wait it's good for your soul and fasting goes a lot more than waiting 10 minutes for the meal right it can go beyond that but I think that's a good starting point there are spiritual reasons Romans chapter 8 verse 6 through 8 to be carnally minded is death to be spiritually minded is life in peace because the carnal mind the physical mind is at war against God isn't subject to the law of God neither indeed can be so those are in the flesh cannot please God there's a constant battle raging between the spirit and the flesh whenever we fast we are exercising self-denial and you are strengthening the spiritual side of your being when there's this constant battle that's raging between the flesh and the spirit Galatians 5:17 another verse for the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and they're contrary to one another so that you do not do the things you wish sometimes you would like to have better control over what you eat but because there's a battle between the spirit and the flesh the spirits willing but the flesh is weak and it often wins isn't that right I should have had an Amen in there I mean this is I know a lot of you struggle with diet issues and that's the battle between the spirit and the flesh and even Paul said they're often you do the things you don't wish because of this battle they're fighting fasting will improve your spiritual strength and muscles and you're moving when you fast from a spiritual realm of faith or physical realm into a spiritual realm now there are different kinds of fasts in the Bible and you fast for different reasons a broad spectrum you might just jot down some of these titles of what the reasons are sometimes there's a fasting of repentance you'll often find this in the Bible when the children of Israel sinned against the Lord they proclaimed a fast first samuel seven six so they gathered together at Mizpah and they fasted that day and they said we have sinned against the Lord they were humbling themselves before the Lord fasting and repenting and again second Samuel 12 verse 16 when David sinned with Bathsheba he fasted and prayed for seven days and that was sort of a combined fast of intercession for the child that was sick and repentance for his sin because the two were connected but many times in the Bible prayer and repentance is accompanied with prayer and fasting and repentance and maybe I should pause and explain what's the connection when you deny yourself food it is a little easier for your mind to be clear it is a fact that when you eat maybe 20 minutes after you eat more specifically your body has begun to absorb and process the food and a lot of the energy and attention of your body that might be directed to thinking and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit is then redirected to digestion and it actually can make you mentally a little clouded or spiritually a little clouded so fasting is a way to try to tune in a little better to the frequency of the Holy Spirit and it really does work I don't know that I can explain it all scientifically except there's a lot of Bible support and testimony that something happens spiritually when you deny yourself food oh wait I've got to issue my disclaimer here some people have medical conditions I am NOT a doctor some people struggle with other eating disorders anorexia or bulimia and you need to consult a physician and that's a different issue I'm speaking to healthy Christians in general now right does want to make sure everyone understands that some people struggle with diabetes and other eating challenges and so my this teaching here is the general Bible teaching on fasting and it's directed to people who have a healthy systems in that respect clear okay now the attorneys can't come after me but so look when you when you fast and you deny yourself food you're basically that part of your body is shutting down and it's easier to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit not only is there fasting in times of repentance this fasting during times of mourning and sadness second samuel chapter 1 verse 12 it says and they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and Jonathan this is when Saul and Jonathan died for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel because they'd fallen by the sword they basically fasted one day there when Jesus died on the cross don't you think that the Apostles while he was in the tomb they were fasting it was because of mourning for loss and when in any of the patriarchs died there was often a period of fasting right after that and prayer some of the fasts how many people in the Bible fasted forty days and forty nights Moses Elijah Jesus isn't it interesting that on the Mount of Transfiguration what three individuals were together Moses Elijah Jesus they all three fasted forty days and forty nights the difference is when Moses and Elijah fasted forty days and forty nights they had supernatural help Moses was up there on the mountain and you can read Exodus 34 verse 28 he was the with the Lord forty days and forty nights he neither ate bread or drank water what do you think can you really live in a desert on a mountain without even drinking water for forty days and forty nights without supernatural help I think as he was in the presence of God he was sustained the way angels are sustained remember jesus said when the Holy Spirit came in his heart I have food that you don't know about he was nourished spiritually because of the Holy Spirit somehow that happened when Elijah was fleeing through the wilderness forty days and forty nights he went in the strength of one meal wouldn't you like to have that meal in your lunchbox angel fed him some food under the broom tree and it says he went in the strength of that food he's going through the desert no water no food 40 days 40 nights but Jesus fasted 40 days 40 nights was without supernatural aid he did drink water that was a pretty serious fast it is possible matter of fact them I remember a years ago I think it was a member of the IRA who was imprisoned um he went on a hunger strike sometimes they force-feed you in prison when you go on a hunger strike but in this case they decided not to I think they probably wanted to get rid of this character anyway because he had so much political clout and I can't remember his name but one of these they called him terrorist back then was in prison he went on a hunger strike and they started counting on the news after he got to like sixty seventy days every day they would tell he made it to 80 days he finally did die from no food but day he was drinking water so people can go a lot longer than you think without food how many of you have heard someone say when lunch is 20 minutes late I'm starving we ought to be ashamed of ourselves but they were able to do it Moses and Elijah know food and water supernaturally there is a severe fast in the Bible but it never goes beyond three days Jonah tells us here in chapter three verse seven he said let neither neither man nor beast heard nor flock taste anything do not let them eat or drink water but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God and turn from their evil ways this was another facet of repentance neither food nor water and it doesn't say here how long it was but probably wasn't forty days I'll tell you that all the cattle would die after a few days probably three days and one reason as you go to acts with Paul you remember when Paul has a do his experience where he saw the Lord on the road to Damascus and it says he was three days without sight and neither ate nor drank he realized he had been persecuting and killing Christians and he had been persecuting Christ he'd been fighting against his own deciding he was so overwhelmed with repentance he performed a severe fast and then Esther when all the Jewish people were going to be annihilated because of the Kings decree she went in before the king she told her messengers to tell Mordecai I asked all the Jewish people to fast for me a severe fast neither eat nor drink for three days and that was the time when she said I'm going to go into the king and if I perish I perish I remember hearing a boy had been paying attention during his the church service preaching on Esther went home that day and folks served brussel sprouts for dinner which he really didn't like he took his fork and he stabbed one of the Brussels sprouts and he stared at it with disgust and put it in his mouth and said if I perish I perish but these were fasts that were severe they never lasted more than three days and you need to be real cautious if you're going to go even a day without water and I am not recommending that those were life and death issues we might fast and pray about guidance and protection from the Lord Ezra chapter 8 verse 21 before they left from Persia on their way back to the promised land they were asking for the Lord's guidance and protection then I proclaimed a fast at the river of Ahava that we might humble ourselves before God to seek from him the right way for us the right course and for our little ones and our possessions that they might be protected from robbers along the way and again in acts 13 verse 2 and three it's a New Testament teaching as they ministered to the Lord and fasted the Holy Spirit said now separate to me Barnabas and Saul you notice the Holy Spirit spoke after they fasted I think a lot of times we have missed what God wants to say to us because we not only just it's not just praying we don't fast and pray to really seek to know what is the voice of the Spirit saying something about when you're fasting and praying you know one reason it works when you fast you get hungry and I've had people say well Doug I can't fast why not I get really hungry we all do that's the idea you just got to be hungry and you know what initially after a while your stomach and digestive system will relax I'm talking about a few fast a day or more and it gets easy and you can go days without fasting and I should probably mention at this point I think in our time for a person I can't imagine a reason you would go week beyond a week I've known people that have gone 40 days and I think that they were putting their health at risk I think Jesus did that in our behalf in many cases it may just be a day where you would fast or two or three days of fasting and prayer and you know some of that will depend on how you're made up as you get older it becomes more difficult for little children you know the way they fast if you're going to teach them as parents you maybe need to give them simple food and different kinds of fast because they are burning up their energy like hummingbirds at that time in their life and so be intelligent about it but we would maybe want to pray and fast for guidance separate to me ball Parnevik Barnabas and Saul for the work I have for them and having fasted and prayed they laid hands on them and sent them away praying for direction and guidance sometimes you're faced with difficult decisions I don't hear very often about people who say you know I'm getting married I'm not sure if this is the person I'm thinking about getting married I'm going to fast and pray that be a good I'll tell you if ever there's something you want to fast and pray about do that and that's a very important decision haiman fast and pray about this person you're going to spend the rest of of your life with and ask God to give you very decisive guidance when you are facing big decisions it's a good idea to invest some time in prayer and fasting for guidance that may mean you want to dedicate half a day and say I'm just eating one meal today I'm going to fast and pray you might want to spend a couple days sometimes if you're involved in more sedentary work you can fast and pray longer those of you who do a lot of physical labor during the day it's hard to do a fast for two or three days because you just run out of steam and you might have to do a simple fast sometimes you can do a fruit fast or juice fast there's a lot of ways you can do it where you are denying yourself so that you can direct your your mind to prayer I might mention at this point if you read into the history of the Reformation those who translated the Bible both the wit cliff Tyndale Luther a number of the Bible Translators were that when they were in engaged in the very deep an important study of knowing how to translate the Bible you'd be surprised how many of them would do a fast where they would eat very simple food to keep their minds clear or eat very small meals and it helped them to be able to stay fresher mentally longer for that kind of studious work God did not really design us as originally you know man was made to work in a garden we weren't made to sit at desks all a long and stared computer Springs and I know I do it to friends but I do it for you it's I know we have to do it sometimes but it's the our bodies it's not healthy if you don't get out and exercise and use your body and so if you're doing a lot of mental work eating lighter is better when you travel you know I find when I travel overseas it's tough because you're sitting on an airplane sometimes you're there for 10 14 hours and all you got to do is eat and or read and you start getting restless but you're not doing anything but sitting and that's a bad time to do nothing but eat and so I pray whenever I go on one of these longer trips like God will grant me self-control and often how when they come by with the food tray I'll say yeah I'm just going to skip a meal because all you're doing is sitting there and it's it is not the best thing for your health um another important reason for fasting is an intercessory fast you are fasting in behalf of another person that God would save them heal them lead them for someone else how many of you remember the story Mark chapter 9 verse 28 and 29 and it's also found in Matthew 17 I believe a man brings his son to Jesus the boy is harassed by a devil the devil has him falling in the fire in the water trying to burn him and drown him he brings the boy first to the disciples and the disciples pray and do what they can and the evil spirit mocks him he doesn't come out later Jesus shows up he's just come down the mountain from meeting with Moses and Elijah and he cast the evil spirit out later that day the Apostles meet with Christ in the house and they're a little bit embarrassed and they say Jesus why could we not cast his evil spirit out you remember what Jesus said this kind cannot come out by anything but prayer and fasting did Jesus teach fasting as part of Christianity yes he did prayer in fasting a friend and I were talking together and he was really having struggles with his son and he said Doug you know I don't know what to do I saw tried if anything I prayed and I said brother have you ever tried fasting in prayer and he got kind of quiet because like I said most people haven't gone it's been a long time since they got a whole day without food is it well I bet no I haven't I read in this story he said I'm going to do it and boy then drifting from the Lord had not been going to church next week when I saw him he said you know what I spent a couple days in fasting in prayer and that next Sabbath he came to church and I think he's still going now and this has been a year ago and I think we underestimate that if we would get serious about seeking after God through prayer and fasting in prayer in intercession God might do for us things that otherwise are not being done Psalm 35 verse 13 David said but as for me when they were sick Mike Holden was sackcloth I humbled myself with fasting and my prayer would return to my own heart praying and fasting in behalf of others that were sick and you notice he says with sackcloth part of fasting and prayer can mean humbling yourself if it's a prayer of repentance a fast of repentance many times in the Bible if you're fasting and it's a fast of repentance you don't want to be dressing up in your ostentatious flamboyant finery you want to humble yourself in heart and appearance now jesus said you don't have to mess up your hair and disfigure your face so you look like you're fasting so you can wash your face and comb your hair and still be a fast of the humbling do you know someone you might need to intercede for you have some loved ones that you've been praying over and are someone who's sick and they've been struggling we can anoint them but when was the last time that we had special prayer and fasting for the sick among us that God would heal and intercede for them Daniel chapter 6 verse 18 when Daniel was in the lion's den and he was at risk of dying the king went to his palace and he spent the night fasting notice it's not weeks of fasting but usually they banquet in the palace and he when they brought him his dinner he said no brought him his breakfast he said no and they spent the night in prayer and fasting why in Daniels behalf and no musicians were brought before him again that often goes with feasting right fasting it was it was more solemn second Corinthians 11 verse 27 Paul said in weariness and toil and sleeplessness often in hunger and thirst in fastings often was fasting something that Paul did once or twice in his ministry or what word does he use often it was part of his life he was often fasting and praying for the church and every now and then I'll get caught in a situation where I don't plan well and I remember a story from the book the hiding place by Corrie ten Boom and when Corrie and her sister Betsy were in this prison of war camp during World War two they were starving and Corrie like dating and she was you know bemoaning that they were starving and they had no food and what little food they did have was full of bugs and it was rotten potatoes and and Betsy always had such a positive attitude she said well Cory let's pray that God will count this as a fast for him and it changed her whole attitude about this situation and so whenever I get in a situation sometimes I travel and for whatever I forgot to bring food and I'm at a hotel at Sabbath morning I don't go to restaurants on Sabbath and so I'll just say well Lord I forgot to plan ahead I should have remembered commandment says to remember I forgot so please give me credit I'm going too fast this morning and you know in most case when that happens God surprises me and I find it that happens to be one of those hotels where they give you a free breakfast or something like that but you know when you're in a situation like that just say lord I guess I'm going too fast and pray I'll make the most of it sometimes when you're reading the word and you're studying a certain subject and you don't understand some doctrine pray for understanding and you might fast and pray again it may not be a week or a day it may just be a meal my habit now I'm going to lose my credit for fasting today but typically Sabbath morning is not every Sabbath I'm praying I'm studying I'm thinking I find I get tired after I eat and so I often skip breakfast or just eat some trail mix on the way to church because it's easier for me to understand and explain the word if I haven't just eaten a big meal and so there's example in the Bible for when they were reading the word Nehemiah chapter 9 verse 1 through verse 3 now in the 24th day of the month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting in sackcloth with dust on their heads this is a time of repentance - for their sins they've been intermarrying with pagan women and those Israelites of the lineage separated themselves from all the foreigners that means they separated from the foreigners that they had been working with and marrying and they stood and they confess their sin and the iniquities of their fathers and they stood up in their place and they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for 1/4 of the day and for another fort they confessed and they worship the Lord they got confession prayer repentance fasting it was all part of seeking after God you might in connection with reading the word you might be fasting when you're seeking knowledge Daniel when he had a vision from an angel he didn't understand it says in those days I was mourning three full weeks and I ate no Pleasant food nor meat nor wine came into my mouth nor did i anoint myself at all so three full weeks were fulfilled now yeah there was a no man at this point he couldn't go on a total fast because he would shrivel up and blow away so what he did is he said in order to pray that God would give me understanding in this vision I fasted and I prayed and I ate no Pleasant food he ate simple food and this gave him the clarity and did the angel give him understanding at the end of this verse it tells us an angel came and gave him understanding he was fasting and praying when the angel came doesn't always happen 24 hours later he prayed three weeks at that point you might also be praying and fasting to avert judgment we already read in Nineveh Jonah said in 40 days this city is going to be doomed the people prayed and fasted did God change his mind when God told King Ahab wicked King killed Navis stole his vineyard when I Elijah came and said God saw what you did and your kingdoms going to be destroyed now a hab humbled himself he fasted he wept he put on sackcloth and you know what God said he said to Elisha you know even a have that wicked King because he's humbling himself greatly and fasting I'm not going to destroy his kingdom in his day I'll wait until after he's gone he averted the judgment because he fasted and prayed you'll see matter of fact I can think of a case in the Bible virtually every time I can think of when the children of Israel did respond and humble themselves and fast and pray God either they bought more time or he completely repented of the judgment in the book of Joel chapter 2 verse 12 and this is something for us to remember in the last days because Joel is a last a prophet too now therefore says the Lord turned to me with all your heart with fasting with weeping and mourning turning to God and fasting are often like this in the Bible with weeping and mourning so rend your heart and not your garments are you getting mad at pastor Doug for talking about this is it biblical you want to know what the Bible says I know some of you look so somber right now because I think it's think it's sinking in you're going well I don't think I've ever gone a whole day in my life with food and it's scary it is you start thinking about missing one meal we get scared weird ugh Wow I can't I get hungry you'll probably survive again if you've got some medical condition as some special circumstances or disease or something where you that's different but for most of us and I know I hear a lot of people say well Doug I can't fly I've got a little blood sugar I get grumpy we all do you go long enough I mean you know I think we we miss out on fasting because a lot of us think we got a medical condition we don't have we just don't want to be hungry I got this medical condition my stomach starts to you know to sides shake hands together and it's this condition I can't fast we all have that condition right it's called hunger your bodies are in the habit of eating frequently and as soon as you talk about not eating you're going to have a reaction but you know the more often you fast your body gets used to it and the reaction becomes a lot more subdued most of us have no idea what that means because we've never done it but hey is it mirrors at the Bible it is it's a Bible teaching friends he said with fasting with weeping with mornings so rend your heart and not your garments return to the Lord your God for he's gracious and merciful slow to anger to great kindness and he relents from doing harm who knows if he will turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him when there's judgment facing we can have a lengthening of our prosperity by fasting and prayer we may need to do that for our nation because I think that there is judgment looming in the world right now based on what you're seeing you know I printed something out that I thought would be beneficial there's been a radical change even in North America on the teaching of fasting it was very common that they used to proclaim days of fasting and prayer now they just proclaimed days of Prayer you aware that let me read something from Abraham Lincoln he proclaimed a national fasting day which he set apart Thursday the 30th is somehow that turned into skimming is that a day of fasting now and they went they completely skipped the time of year that Lincoln picked for this national day of fasting and prayer they made it a day of feasting in prayer and they went back to the pilgrims but that isn't the origin of it somebody kept hounding Lincoln anyway all right Lincoln wrote it is the duty of Nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon it behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended power to confess our sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness and he proclaimed a day of fasting but now we just have days of Prayer the fasting part got left out something else 1877 used to happen more frequently than you think in Minnesota the farmers had been ravaged the year before by grasshoppers they completely devastated the wheat crop in the spring all the grasshoppers began to hatch out of the ground at the same time the wheat was sprouting up Governor John s Pillsbury proclaimed April 26 a day of fasting and prayer that's the kind of fasting where you don't eat in prayer and the people participated they spent three or four days fasting and praying about this plague of grasshoppers that had been sweeping through the whole Midwest and you know what God sent a freak killer frost that did not hurt the wheat but killed all the grasshoppers and they had a bumper crop of wheat that year in response to their day of fasting and prayer God does still answer prayer but I think sometimes we miss the intensity that the Bible teaches it goes along with it now as you study the subject you'll find it also teaches a marital fast a couple may choose to get together and fast and that not only may involve a time of not eating food but of setting aside marital intimacy and Paul says 1st Corinthians chapter 7 verse 5 do not deprive one another husband's body belongs to the wife and the wife's to the husband's we become one flesh do not deprive one another except with consent for a time that you may give yourselves to fasting in prayer and then come together again that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control that should not be prolonged but it is appropriate at times to also set aside now the marital relations to pray to fast and what you're basically doing is the pleasures the physical pleasures are being set aside during that time or prayer you know is it me is it now that we've entered the time of Ramadan yeah the feast of Ramadan in the Islamic faith I think it's it's this month what's interesting is they fast all day long and and I don't want to be critical but and they may not smoke it's something like lint you know they may not smoke all day long there's no marital intimacy they don't eat any food but then at night as soon as the Sun Goes Down they compensate for the lack of the day and I don't mean to laugh because I don't want to be disrespectful but that probably isn't healthy and the Catholic idea fasting where you set aside I'm not going to I'm not going to drink any more whiskey or cigarettes while during Lent well if it's a sin during Lent it's a sin not one wins over I mean a sin is a sin you're not doing God a favor by saying I'm going to stop you know using your name in vain while I'm fasting and praying and of course after you answer my prayer it's business as usual now that's not the kind of fast God once he wants our hearts and there should be a consistency of obedience connected with that Amen there is a fast that deals with simple food and I touched on that Daniel said you know I ate no Pleasant food and I already quoted that to you in Daniel 10 verse 3 and no meat came into my mouth nor did I anoint myself with oil he basically was saying I'm going to eat simple food and it is a good idea sometimes and for children this is a fast that you can do with the children to keep the the diet simple sometimes it's hard for kids fruit they can eat things that will fill them matter of fact a good way to fast sometimes if you need to keep your energy level up because of your work but you're wanting to fast and dedicate yourself to God fruit just say alright I'm I'm only going to eat fruit it provides a lot of energy it's easier on the body it keeps your mind clear sometimes what I've done I used to fast where I would just I know food but I would drink v8 juice and that's just something I came up with I don't read about it anywhere and I found that when I get hunger hungry and I think I just can't make it any longer because I crave just like you do drink a can of that it takes all the hunger pains away and then I'd be able to just keep going on and completely forget about my hunger you'll often find a glass of water will help you when you're hungry but sometimes simple food juice especially if you're doing a prolonged fast fasting will build self-control and it is true that the the spirits willing but our flesh is weak and we need to ask God to give us victory of the mind over the body proverbs 23 verse I like this verse verse 1 through 3 when you sit down to eat with a ruler consider carefully what is before you typically they have a feast and put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite do not desire his delicacies for they are deceptive food as when you're fasting want you to conjure up that picture of a knife to your own throat because sometimes it requires that please II ask these 10 verse 16 speaking of self-control woe to you o land when your king is a child and your Prince's feast in the morning blessed are you o land when your King is the son of nobles and your Prince's feast at the proper time for strength and not for drunkenness and the word feast there means eat why should we eat because we're in a gorge ERG do we eat for drunkenness we've all seen it sometimes we call it potluck now watch this we have a potluck today everyone's gonna be looking at everybody else looking at their plates that's okay it's good for you when they eat for strength and not for drunkenness it fasting builds up self-control there are health benefits for fasting that we've already talked about might have nothing to do with the spirit how many of you know people in the world that fast that they're not even religious because of the spiritual benefits and you know you'll hear this so a lot of doctors and nutritionists will tell you that there is some benefit a lot of our systems suffer because they never get any rest and occasionally taking I remember I had this New Age teacher at this one school I went to total atheist but he fasted one day a week every week sounded like that Pharisee because he said you know he found that it just helped his body his mind keep control of his body and that it was better for his health and his law so there are medical benefits to fasting that a lot of people are recognized and they're there for you now I hesitated whether or not to even mention this aspect of the study but while I'm talking about fasting I think it's important for us to realize that we've come a long way from this Bible teaching what's the opposite of fasting feasting and gluttony right does Jesus talk about be we're speaking of the second coming lest your heart be overcharged with the eating and drinking and the cares of this life back in the days of Noah they ate and they drank as it was in the days of Noah so will it be when the Son of Man comes we become so instead of you know eating to live we live to eat and the fact is we are living in a day of too much food all right I want to read from National Geographic one year ago there was this article in August 2004 and it was a very shocking edition listen the plates are bigger the servings are bigger and so are the people in the US adult obesity rates have doubled since 1971 and one-third of adults are now considered obese not just overweight researchers are assessing how eating away from home contributes to the obesity epidemic the Big Mac this is not religious this is National Geographic the Big Mac the big gulp and I might add the whopper mentality may have something to do with it between nineteen nineteen seventy seven and nineteen ninety six the average u.s. hamburger increased in size by one point three ounces and restaurant soft drinks by six point eight ounces in a historical first catch his friends there are now as many over nourished people in the world as undernourished we always think about all the people in the world is starving we are living in an age where there are actually more over nourished people than malnourished I think it's the time for us to resurrect the Bible teaching on fasting here's the recipe for obesity on such a global scale take technology cars washing machines elevators that reduce physical exertion increased calorie consumption courtesy of increasing prosperity and television video games stir in the intensive marketing of candy and fast food and you have the makings for an epidemic more health problems are caused by overeating than the actual type of food they did a study that I read about in preparing for this message where they took some rats pardon me for the analogy and they put them in ideal or I'm sorry identical environment and one group of rats they fed them all that they could eat of their favorite food and the other group of rats the exact same food exact same environment but they fed them minimal amounts the ones who ate less way out lived the ones who could eat all they wanted one of the first and most important things we could do to lengthen our lives not to mention our health is to eat less oh I wish I had at least one amen let me share some things with you oh this will be the last time some of you ever come this is from the book great controversy we should not provide for the Sabbath a more liberal supply or a greater variety of food than for other days instead the food on this day should be more simple less should be eaten in orders the mind might be clear and vigorous to comprehend spiritual things is that what we do are doing to the opposite I mean you know you go to someone's house and the pastor gets invited here and there frequently and people want to make a good impression and so there's 30 different things you could choose from when in the Garden of Eden you know they go to the tree they eat from that tree that was the meal one thing they didn't just go from free to green now I can't prove that but you know the variety of stuff that we eat is we end up I mean you wouldn't want to take a camera and find out what our stomachs look like after the typical potluck it's just a stew of who knows what and it's just not good for us friends amen all amen my self because I believe it overeating no matter what the quality of the food clogs the living machine and thus hinders its work it might be good food but you can eat too much and even good food well thank you I feel better how many are low in the scale of spirituality because they will not deny their appetite the brain nerve energy is being numbed and almost paralyzed by overeating that's from counsels and diets a matter of fact is there's a book called councils on diets and food there's a whole chapter I don't have time to read you and you wouldn't want to sit and listen to it on overeating and it is extremely beneficial in a little bit convicting but I think it is very relevant in our day and age amen based on all the data friends the data is in we eat too much as a people and it's also what happens in our society is also true in the church overeating even of the simplest food be numbs the sensitive nerves of the brain I thought it was the nerves of the stomach overeating affects the brain and weakens its vitality overeating has a worse effect upon the system than overworking the energies of the soul are more effectively prostrated by intemperance and eating than by intemperance and working eating too much can do more to hurt your mind than working too hard the very important truth you know I thought it would be important to talk about the most important fast Isaiah 58 verse 6 some of you been waiting for me to go here what is the most important facet every Christian ought to participate in the whole chapter really deals with this matter of fact I would like to go verse 2 bear with me I think I've got time to read this to you Isaiah chapter 58 verse 2 yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways as a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God they ask of me the ordinance of Justice they take delight in approaching God why have we fasted they say and you have not seen why have we afflicted our souls and you didn't take notice in other words the nation's in look we're going through this ritual of fasting and you're not paying attention and he's about to explain that they need more than just fasting in fact in the day of your fast you find pleasure and you exploit all your labors indeed you fast for strife and debate and to strike with a fist of wickedness in other words your hearts aren't changed you will not fast as you do this day to make your voice heard on high is it a fast that I have chosen a day for man to afflict his soul is it to bow down his head like a bulrush and to spread out sack cloth and ashes would you call this a fast and acceptable day to the Lord verse 6 now here's what God does 1 is not this the fast that I have chosen to loose the bonds of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens turn away from wickedness undo the heavy burdens that you let the oppressed go free not to be persecuting others that you break every yoke is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring into your house the poor who are cast out this is the work of the church that when you see the naked you cover him and you do not hide yourself from your own flesh in other words picture for a second people in ancient Israel they're walking down the road they're fasting they got their sackcloth on they've got money in the pocket they're walking by people who are hungry they're walking by people who are naked they don't care about their fellow man but this ain't all we're fasting Lord you've got to give us what we're asking for and God said you're missing the point of fasting if you don't love me love your neighbor you picture this that when you see the naked you cover him and don't hide yourself from your own flesh we're all brothers and sisters then your light will break forth like the morning your healing your health will spring forth speedily this kind of fast there's a promise for health your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard then you'll call and I will answer you'll cry and he will say Here I am if you take away from the yoke from your midst the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness gossiping and accusing other people if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul then your light will dawn in the darkness and your darkness will be as the noonday your darkest time will be like your brightest time now then the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your soul and drought and strengthen your bones you'll be like a watered garden a spring of water whose waters do not fail and the promise is also for the children those who be from you will build up the old waste places raise up the foundation of many generations and it goes on all these promises are connected with what a real fast is so it's not just ok Lord I'm you're not going to eat and you got to give me everything I want what is it ultimately that God wants from us yes we do need to physically fast but even more than that he wants our hearts which brings me to the closing verse Romans chapter 12 verse 1 I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercy of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable don't be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind the Lord wants us to present ourselves that's what fasting really is it's seeking after God not living for your own personal pleasure but finding out what best pleases him presenting yourself a living sacrifice what fasting really means is an attempt to get closer to God maybe it's interceding for others maybe there's a health issue but it's really your way of mourning for your sins denying self and seeking after God and then he says if you humble yourself he'll lift you up your light will break forth your day will be bright your health will spring forth all these promises are connected with this teaching now in conclusion I want to ask you is it a Bible teaching did you want to know what the Bible says we need to pray that God will give us Grace and tell us when and how to fast and it may be a little different for each of us but I do think we're living in a day and age when we need to rediscover the blessings fasting amen you Oh you know we are going to have a week of prayer that our church is set aside I think they may even call it a week of fasting and prayer how many of you are willing to say that I feel that through what I've seen in the word however God directs me and it may be different according to what your health needs are and everyone's body's a little different but I'd like to spend some time in fasting and prayer you feel convicted and I don't mean starting today but you feel convicted about the teaching amen let's sing verse 4 it again verse 4 you you Oh my dear Lord I believe that we have addressed today a teaching a primary biblical teaching that Jesus wants us to rediscover there are blessings that we've missed Lord we all know about the battle between the spirit and the flesh we know the Spirit is willing but our flesh is weak and so Lord we would ask that you would help us to follow Christ and His Word in this principle of learning what it means the fast and to pray and Lord we pray that you'll accept this as our way of seeking after you a drawing near of hungry and thirsting for the spiritual things in the spiritual food I pray Lord that you will bless each person here help us to know how to apply these teachings in our lives and as a result may we all be closer to Jesus in heaven in his name we pray amen you

Channel: 11:11 Ministries

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Keywords: jesus, lord, god, holy, spirit, fast, prayer, pray, doug, batchelor, fasting, deny, food, sda, seventh-day, adventist, bible, church, religion, spirituality, evangelism, ministry, inspirational, christianity, gospel, truth, word, preaching

Id: hn1vqAKUL0E

Length: 58min 0sec (3480 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 17 2011