16 “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. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 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.
Once again we see that our Christian life is supposed to be lived out of a pure heart with pure motives, not an act for the benefit of others.
MacArthur makes a few great points in his sermon, Fasting without Hypocrisy (Part 2)....
Fasting is total abstinence from food. To humble oneself before God in the midst of a spiritual struggle. But it's not an end in itself. It's not an end in itself. It is a corollary to spiritual struggle.
Secondly, we talked about the period of fasting. Since fasting is completely spontaneous, completely voluntary, there was only one fast commanded in the Bible, that was the day of atonement and at the cross the day of atonement was set aside, so there's no fasts commanded, no specific fasts. The Bible never even commands us to fast. It's completely voluntary. Since it is spontaneous and voluntary, the period of fasting can vary from one meal to 40 days. That depends on the individual and the situation.
Thirdly, the priority of fasting, and last time we talked a little about the fact that the Lord assumes we will fast. He says when you fast, when you fast. Assuming it'll happen. Also in Matthew 9:15, the Lord said, "When the bridegroom is taken from you then you will fast." And at the ascension he was gone. And until He returns there's a time for fasting so it does have a spiritual priority.
Notice that Jesus while does not command us to fast, He also doesn't command us to stop fasting. The "when" in this verse implies that fasting is a normal part of life, just like praying and giving. There are many, many examples in the Bible of people fasting - Moses, Samson, Samuel, Hannah, Saul, Jonathan, David, Elijah, Jehoshaphat, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, John the Baptist, Anna, the prophets and teachers at Antioch, the apostle Paul and our Lord Jesus himself, fasted.
So, we should be fasting, just as we should be giving and praying. But what would prompt us to fast? Why should we fast? We don't fast just for the sake of fasting. Not eating doesn't create some sort of huge spirituality simply on it's own.
Again, we can look to biblical examples to find out why we would be prompted to fast.
Extreme sorrow can prompt us to fast. When Nehemiah heard the walls of Jerusalem had fallen, he mourned, fasted and prayed (Nehemiah 1:4). David fasted when his enemies became ill (Psalm 35:13), when Abner died (2 Samuel 3:35) and when his baby with Bathsheba was seriously ill (2 Samuel 12:16-17). In fact, when we experience extreme sorrow often our bodies simply fast naturally - we have no desire for food. And when that happens, we don't need to force the sorrowing person to eat - allow them to fast. David fasted over his enemies! Do we have that kind of sensitivity to the calamities of those we don't even know, or our enemies? Where we weep, mourn and fast for the sorrow of someone else?
Fear and protection can cause us to fast. In Ezra 8:21-23 they fasted and prayed out of fear, for protection, for guidance as they crossed the dessert with their children with no human protection and not much in the way of provisions.
We can also fast in confession and humiliation at our sinfulness. Here there are numerous biblical examples including David, Saul, and Daniel who even fasted over sins of his people - not even his own sin! That is amazing compassion. Even the evil King Ahab finally repented and fasted (1 Kings 21:27).
There's also a place for fasting before receiving or giving revelation. Along with sorrowing over the sin of the people, Daniel fasted and prayed, desiring revelation from God (Daniel 9). Moses fasted and prayed 40 days before receiving God's holy law. When we seek understanding with such intensity that food becomes no concern, God's word is revealed. The same holds true for proclaiming the Word of God - I'm sure preachers often experience this.
Another reason for fasting is the fear of divine judgment - like the city of Ninevah (Jonah 3:7-9). This can be fear for ourselves or after we're saved, fear for an unsaved loved one.
We can also fast when we're going to select spiritual leadership and sending them off (Acts 13:1-3 and Acts 14:23). That is just as important for us now as it was for them then. Nothing destroys a church faster than poor leadership (other than corrupt leadership!). We need to select the right people to lead the church, we need to select the right people to send as missionaries. And it should be a big deal to us!
Another reason to fast is during intense times of searching for direction.
Fasting is always linked with prayer. You can pray without fasting, but you cannot fast spiritually without praying. Every time the Bible talks about fasting it also speaks of praying. When we add fasting to our prayers it shows an increased intensity, an earnestness, that we won't give up. And that always comes out of a pure heart. If your heart is not pure you will not experience that intensity or that desire.
there's a place for fasting beloved, the right place. And if you don't fast, I don't want you to run out and start fasting to get spiritual. I want you to ask God to give you the kind of a compassionate heart that'll make you care so much about sorrowful things in your life and the lives of others, about the need for the divine deliverance that only God can bring, about sin in your life and the sins of others that the lamentation and the need for protection and the humiliation, no matter whether it's in your case or the case of somebody else will drive you to the point of concern, the point of compassion where it will cause you to focus away from the things of the world, even as routine as eating.
God has given us every good thing to enjoy. Beloved enjoy it. But when you're in a spiritual struggle and you're consumed with the things of God, know this, that it's right to abstain from those things to continue your concentration and your focus on that which is spiritual and divine. God help us to be more sensitive so that fasting in its truest sense can be a part of our lives....
Fast, but fast out of a true, pure, obedient heart. People we're right back to where we start in this. You're right back to the Beatitudes again. If your character is right and your life is right, some times in your prayers there will be such intensity for one thing or another that fasting will be a very natural corollary to prayer. And in those times of great intensity, God will honor and bless not because you fasted but because your heart was so pure your fast was a chosen fast. God blesses that kind of heart.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Matthew 6:19-24
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