Addition by Subtraction

Hunter Strength

Beacon Baptist Church

Matthew 6 Series • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

Fasting

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Opening Question: What is something you’ve wanted so bad that you were willing to make sacrifices to have it? Maybe you’ve told your parents that if they’d buy you a puppy you’d give up your allowance. Whatever it is, I want you to think of a time when you were so desperate to have something that you were happy to give up something else in return for it. You were prepared to make a sacrifice of sorts. Well, we live in a world today where the idea of going without, or making sacrifices, really bothers us, don’t we? For instance, if we forget our phones at home, we will turn around to go get them from the house. We simply like the feeling of satisfaction, of comfort, of having plenty. That’s just how we’re wired really and the thought of going without those comforts is rarely considered a positive thing, right? We’ve all grown up learning that one plus one equals two. But what if I told you that one minus one, just for a bit, might still give positive growth?

What I’m talking about today is the topic of fasting. It’s not necessarily something that we really talk about a lot, especially in southern culture, but it’s something that the Bible mentions quite a bit. Today, as we move forward in our study of Matthew 6, we find that Jesus addresses this topic and as we look at this subject, I hope that we will answer the questions: Does it have a place in my life? Does it have a purpose in my life? And, what does it look like in practice?

With that said, let’s go ahead and read Matthew 6:16-18 together, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

The Place of Fasting in My Life

In the Old Testament, there was only one demanded fast a year which was on the Day of Atonement, but when Christ came and died for us, His death atoned for our sins and that was fulfilled. Well, since that is the case, should we still be fasting? And the answer here is, “Yes.” As we look at verse 16 today, Jesus says, “And when you fast…” Notice, He does not say, “If you fast,” but “when you fast.” But what if this is just referring to the disciples while Jesus is with them? What about once He dies and resurrects, do they still fast? Let’s look at Matthew 9:14-15:

“14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast,[a] but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

So, as we look at the words of Jesus, we find that He clearly expects that Christians will fast. But here’s the thing, we don’t have assigned fasting days anymore. This isn’t a law set up in our culture, but a desire that is expressed from our hearts, which leads me to point two:

The Purpose of Fasting in My Life

Obviously, if Jesus expects it of us, that is reason enough. But why does Jesus want us to fast and what are some of the reasons that we should do it? Well, I want to go ahead and explain that there is a difference between the fasting that doctors and dietitians are talking about and the fast that Jesus is talking about. Both of them involve us going without food; however, the fast of Jesus is more than just some diet trick or physical benefits, instead that’s not even considered at all! The thing that separates the two is that biblical fasting has a spiritual purpose otherwise it's just senseless suffering. What I want us to notice here is that Jesus places this mention of fasting directly after He teaches us to pray. So, what might His purpose be for expecting us to fast? It is because fasting is gasoline on the fire of prayer.

Donald Whitney said this concerning fasting, “Is there never a time you want a prayer answered more than you want lunch?" Have any of you ever had something burden you extremely deeply before? Maybe it’s a sick family member, or the salvation of a loved one? It is in those moments that fasting might pour out from your heart as a means to dedicate yourself to praying that God might move in that situation. Now, it’s not that making yourself hungry is going to force God to move, but it’s that you, as His child, are so burdened about this that you would rather miss meals than to waste time not asking Him to work in this area of your life.

Let’s look at this quote by David Mathis, “Whether it’s strengthening earnest prayer (Ezra 8:23; Joel 2:12; Acts 13:3). Or seeking God’s guidance (Judges 20:26; Acts 14:23) or his deliverance or protection (2 Chronicles 20:3–4; Ezra 8:21–23). Or humbling ourselves before him (1 Kings 21:27–29; Psalm 35:13). Or expressing repentance (1 Samuel 7:6; Jonah 3:5–8) or grief (1 Samuel 31:13; 2 Samuel 1:11–12) or concern for his work (Nehemiah 1:3–4; Daniel 9:3). Or overcoming temptation and dedicating ourselves to him (Matthew 4:1–11). Or best of all, expressing love and devotion to him (Luke 2:37), and saying with our fast, “This much, O God, I want more of you.”

I also want us to notice in verse 18 where Jesus says, “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” What is the reward of fasting, remember our math equation from earlier, how I said that we can do addition by subtraction? Well, this is how. God has blessed us with food as a reminder of His goodness to us and that day where we will feast with Him. One writer said, “We fast in this life because we believe in the life to come. We don’t have to get it all here and now, because we have a promise that we will have it all in the coming age. We fast from what we can see and taste, because we have tasted and seen the goodness of the invisible and infinite God — and are desperately hungry for more of him.” Lastly, let’s look at:

The Practice of Fasting in My Life

First, notice that Jesus doesn’t want us to do this for attention. He tells us not to wander around looking all depressed so we can look super spiritual when we explain to people that we’re fasting. Instead, He tells us to wash our faces which means that we’re to look positive to be happy. If we do what we do for the applause of men, then we lose all reward once they quit clapping, but if we do this as something between us and God it has lasting fruits involved. So, Jesus tells us not to do this for the wrong purposes.

But what does this look like? Well, there are many kinds of fasts that one can do. The most common one is going a period of time without food. But there is also something called a Daniel fast which is taken from the book of Daniel where he went a period of time only eating vegetables and drinking water. Essentially, a fast might be described as subtracting anything from your life that we might deeply express our desires of pursuing God in a matter. So, this might look like fasting from food, or from your phone, or from some sort of entertainment so that you can devote yourself to focusing on prayer.

Now, a lot of people don’t want to fast because they know they’ll be hungry but that’s a good thing. If you’re fasting and every time your stomach growls, you look at the clock and say, “How much longer!?” You’re doing it for the wrong reasons. Instead, whenever your stomach growls and your body screams for you to eat, you should think, “Hey, why am I hungry? Oh yeah, I’m fasting today so I can focus on praying for the Lord to save my best friend.” And each time your stomach growls, or you crave food, let that work as a reminder to run to God and beg Him to move upon this burden you’re carrying.

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