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In Matthew 6, Jesus spoke about three works of piety. Number one, He spoke about giving to the poor. Number two He spoke about praying and that's what we are going to look at next week and today we are going to look at fasting, the most popular one, probably not, alright, I think fasting is probably the most neglected of the three. How many of you have heard a sermon, a whole sermon about fasting, not Bible study, alright, a whole sermon about fasting, can I see by a show of hands, how many, 1, 2, 3, 4, alright so I guess as much very few of us would have had a focused look at fasting.

I want to ask how many of you have fasted before because you know why later on, but fasting is a rarely touched on subject. I think we are more familiar about fasting from our Muslim friends than from Christians ourselves, but the Bible does speak about fasting, there's a place for  fasting in a Christian's life.

So today we are going to look at a very rarely spoken of subject, it's a little bit off beat I think. If you're here with us for the first time, I guarantee you we are not going to talk about fasting next week, it's something unique to Christians, I know it may not be that relevant for you if you're not a Christian as yet. But I hope you'll just listen in, follow along and I hope to encourage you in a hunger for God instead.

So let's look at fasting, why is it so difficult. Why is it so rarely spoken of, well, maybe because in our culture, our day and age, we value a lot about food. We love food right, when you meet with someone in Singapore, especially if you are older generation, the first thing you say to someone is jia ba buay, have you eaten? Have you had your lunch, jia ba buay, that's our culture, that defines how well we are.

Someone said, many people say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, food is important. There's a survey conducted amongst 4,000 British people, this is what they said alright, before I show you the results. Let me ask you, how much time do you spend a day thinking about food, not while you're eating alright, while you're eating you take time, but before you eat and after you eat, how much time do you spend thinking about food a day.

Well, according to the survey for the British 4,000 of them, they say a lady generally spends 44 minutes a day thinking about food, it's quite a bit. What about men, what about men, I thought the same. I thought men will think a lot more, but the results showed that they spend 39 minutes a day thinking about food, maybe ladies spent time thinking about what not to eat, how to diet, more than the men alright, so I do not know. But from this survey they also say that one in five admit to being obsessed with food and more than 1/3 of them say, thoughts of their next meal is the only thing that gets them through their day at work. No joy in life, no joy at work at except for food.

So food is everywhere. We have restaurants all over, we have pictures all over. Nowadays, before you eat, you got to make sure your camera eats first, got to take that Instagram worthy photo, put up on Facebook, show everyone, because this defines life, this defines enjoyment, this defines your pleasure, your worldliness sometimes in life. People look at you, wah you eat so many good food, you must be having a good life. So it's difficult in a culture that loves food and pleasure and indulgence.

Don Whitney, a professor in theology, he says, few disciplines go against the flesh and the mainstream of culture as this one, so there are many spiritual disciplines like prayer, reading the Bible, fellowship with Christians. Fasting     is a spiritual discipline. It's something you do to create space for God to grow you in, alright, so there's a space you create in fasting.

This spiritual discipline however is very counter cultural. The whole world and culture today is living for enjoyment, pleasure, it's an epicurean, big word, epicurean, kind of a lifestyle, desiring pleasure, but the biblical lifestyle is counter cultural, at least, fasting is meant to show something that is counter cultural. So it's very rarely practiced even in Christiandom today and therefore also very few people talk about fasting.

Richard Foster is someone who talks quite a bit about spiritual disciplines and he says, fasting has been in general disrepute both in and outside the church for many years. For example, in my research, I could not find a single book published on the subject on Christian fasting for nearly 100 years. I mean, no books written about this one subject, during this period of time, at least he can't find.

So this is something people generally don't talk about, but as I've mentioned, there's a place and purpose for the Christian life. Maybe the best description or the best expression of our difficulty with fasting today is when I said to someone that I'm going to preach about fasting this Sunday, the response came, oh no, I have a problem with fasting, if I can fast, I will lose weight already.

Now we all know how difficult it is to lose weight, right. I think almost everybody in Singapore except for those are genetically blessed alright, almost everybody is trying to keep weight off and it's so difficult because it's hard to refuse food. Now when it comes to refusing food for spiritual matters, it is also very difficult therefore.

So let's look today at fasting, like I said this is a rarely spoken subject. I think in my entire Christian ministry here in this church, this might be the only time I'm going to preach about fasting alright. So if what anything that's worth, listen in, because probably after this we are not going to mention too much more.

So let's look at fasting, three things I want to share with you today, I'm simply going to tell you about a precaution, I'm going to tell you about the purpose of fasting and lastly, how do you practice fasting, some simple FAQs.

Number one, the precaution of fasting, what did Jesus give as a precaution for this particular spiritual discipline or act of righteousness? Simply He said, 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, so 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.

First thing to note, Jesus tells them when you fast, don't do it to be seen by others. As you have learned the last week, don't do it to be seen by others to have the praise of men, that's the problem. There really is nothing wrong with giving in public, there really is nothing wrong with praying in public, doing it in public is not the issue, it's why you do it, that's the problem.

So it's not the act, but the attitude, it's not the action, but the motivation. So when it comes to fasting, it's the same, when you fast be very clear that your motivation is not so that people would see that you are someone who fast and therefore praise you. Don't have that as your motivation at all, because when you have that motivation, you are like a hypocrite.

As we learned last week as well, a hypocrite is an actor, he's a stage actor, pretending to be someone he really is not. So he fasts, to, to show man that he really is a devout, pious lover of God. But when you fast just to show people that, then you are really a hypocrite because you're pretending to be someone you're not. You don't love God because you just love yourself. So don't wear that mask, don't fast, so that you appear before men to be godly when you really are not on the inside.

And so the advice given by Jesus is that when you fast do it in secret. Don't let people know, because there is subtle temptations when you want to do it before men to be seen by men. Soon enough, you want the praise of men. So do it in secret and when you fast, don't let others have even a inkling that you're fasting, so wash your face, anoint your hair or anoint your head, don't look disheveled, don't look so pitiful, don't look like you're such a poor thing that you fast and, and you're so pious, do it because you really love God and don't let people see, don't let people know, that's the best.

So that's why I do not want to ask how many of you fast because you raise your hands, then you see, I'm someone who fast, you don't fast, you don't fast, you don't fast. Well that's the heart issue that's the precaution alright, don't do it  to be seen by men to have the praise of men.

Number two, this is the big one, this is the important one, what's the purpose of fasting. Donald Whitney says, without a purpose fasting can be a miserable, self-centered experience. What does he mean by that ? Well, it means you got to really know for sure why you should fast, so can I ask you today, why should Christians fast?
What are some reasons why Christians fast? Common reasons, good or bad, right or wrong, doesn't matter.

Spiritual deliverance from demonic, spiritual deliverance, drawing closer to God, anything else, okay, remove distractions, mourning over your sins. Sorry, seek God's direction, okay, healing, healing from sickness, answer to prayer. Well, I must say the second service seems to be a more spiritual group.

When I asked the first service what are the purposes of prayer or fasting, the first answer, lose weight. After that, a while they say save money. And all kinds of answers came out alright, but alright you have a great list here, I, I think they are great responses and I hope to make that clear in, in a while, I will, maybe shift it to the side, because that's, that's all we going to look at it.

But let me say this, okay first of all, to understand the purpose, we need to know what fasting is not for, okay, so that you are clear, what fasting is not for, Christian fasting I mean.

First thing as I mentioned, christian fasting is not for weight loss. There's another term given to not eating for weight loss that is called diet alright, so let's call it dieting it's not fasting okay. Christian fasting is not for the purpose of losing weight, not for the purpose of getting a healthier body, deal with your cholesterol, deal with your diabetes, don't called that Christian fasting, call it dieting.

Number two, fasting is also not to save money, that's never found in the Bible, you don't stop eating so that you save money, I don't see that in the Scriptures. These are obvious, but the next three are a little bit more complex, especially if you're here with us for the first time, I hope you'll bear with me.

Fasting, number three, is not to earn God's favor or love or forgiveness. Sometimes when we look at the list, by the way, great list, but sometimes when we look at the list like this, we think about fasting, we think that it is because we fast, we afflict ourselves, we say no to food that now God would take notice of us and say, aah, you are a good boy, you fast, I love you and I'll answer your prayer. You get that? I say, no.

Sometimes you sin and you say oh, I now need to fast, because when I suffer, when I don't eat, the stomach growl, God hears me better and, and now He will forgive me my sins. No, God does not love you more or forgive you your sins, because you fast, as if your fast could earn God's favor and forgiveness.

Remember the story of the two men who went to the temple to pray, one guy is the  proud religious man, called the Pharisee. He said before God, I fast two times a week, every day, every week of my life, I fast twice a week.

Then there is the other guy who is a despised sinner of society, a low down of society, he's a tax collector. He didn't come to God and said God look at what I've done, he says I've done nothing but God have mercy on me a sinner. You know what Jesus said, He said something that the Jews wouldn't have said, you know what the Jews would have said, the Jews would have said, oh that guy who fasted twice a week and gave tithes and praise, oh he must be the one who is saved.

Jesus says no, this man who depended on his fasting for forgiveness is not justified, but this man who cries for God's grace and mercy, he is justified. What does that tell you, fasting does not earn forgiveness or favor or love from God.

So I want you to be crystal clear alright, while we may fast as we do these things, fasting in and of itself does not deserve merit or credit before God. They do not earn God's love, they do not gain God's forgiveness in and of themselves. You got to really get that clear.

Another thing, I think fasting is not for, is that it is not a means to automatic or instant spirituality. Some people think that if I fast, I immediately become a godly man as if it's a button you press - godliness is defined by the abstinence of food, no, not at all. If that's all you do, if fasting is all you do, you're not going to grow more spiritual. It's not. Food or the absence of food, does not make you more spiritual or less spiritual in and of itself.

The Bible tells us so. 1Corinthians 8:8 says, food will not commend us to God, we are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do. Food in and of itself is neutral, it's not evil, it's not spiritual, it's neutral. How you deal with it, your attitude towards it, is what makes it neu.. or spiritual or evil, you can eat for evil reasons, you can eat or don't eat for spiritual reasons, but food in and of itself, neutral.

That's one of the false teachings during the times of the apostles. Last time maybe some 2000 years ago, they are false teachers, they are called liars, the false teachers the liars would tell people, oh, you cannot even this you can't, cannot eat that because if you eat that you're not godly, you, you don't eat that you're godly. No, Paul says these are liars, it's not true, food in and of itself, is not evil nor spiritual.

So John MacArthur he says, fasting is not a spiritual gimmick. It is not a penny in the slot. It is not going to produce spirituality any more than food produces carnality alright.

So, fasting is not to lose weight, not to save money, doesn't make God love you more because you are loved maximally in Jesus Christ, you are loved by God, not because of what you have done, you're loved by God because of who Jesus is and what He has done. So your fasting does not contribute to God's love for you, neither your lack of fasting does it mean that He does not love you. You see that it's all about Jesus, not about you. So fasting is not for these things and number four fasting is not an instant and automatic guarantee for spirituality, it's not a spiritual gimmick.

And number five, fasting is not a bribe or a coercion or hunger strike as if, God if you do not answer my prayer, I'm going to fast until I die. I mean you know right this happens right, the wife and husband, if you don't do this, I'm not going to eat anymore, wah, or kids may do that even, they throw a hunger strike before their parents. Well, that's not the way we should relate to God, that's not the way we should think about God, because the moment you think like that about God, it shows you, you don't really know God, you think that God is hard hearted, you think that God is cruel and if you're not suffering, He is not going to answer you.

That's a bad theology, that's a bad understanding of God, that's what false prophets do by the way. You remember the story, Mount Carmel, Elijah and the false prophets. How did the false prophets get people to listen, ah, how did the false prophets get their god to listen to their prayers, what did they do, they shouted, they jumped, they screamed, they danced and then they, they began to cut themselves, slash, see, see we are suffering, won't you hear us. That's their idea of their false god, that their god has to be coerced, that their god has to see their hunger strike, their pain before their god will wake up to answer them.

But that's not the God of the Bible. So you afflict yourself in hunger, in fasting, I hope not because you want to have a hunger strike or to force God to say, I have to answer your prayer if not you are going to suffer, so poor thing. So that is not what it is for.

So what is fasting for then ? Many things described here, but let me just crystallize it if I can, to just one simple concept and from that one simple concept it can be applied to various situations of life.

That one simple concept is simply tied to the idea of hunger for God, you fast from food so that you may hunger for God. So fasting is to express and to increase our hunger for God. Why do I fast? Because I want to express, that's the way I express my need, my hunger for God. I fast because I long for a greater appetite for God. That's why you fast, related to this one phrase - hunger for God.

This is seen in Matthew 9:15. Jesus was asked, why are your disciples not fasting, whereas John's disciples are fasting. Jesus said, 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. Whilst I am with my people, why should they fast? I'm with them. But when I am gone and they long for me, they yearn for me, then they fast.

So fasting is an expression of our longing for Christ, you see that? Fasting is an expression of our desire for God. Fasting is expressing our hunger for Him.

Piper, he said, the weakness of our hunger for God is not because He is unsavory as if He's not delightful to us. He is, but we are not so hungry for Him because we keep ourselves stuffed with other things. We are so filled with the things of the world, we are so filled with the pleasures of the world, we are so filled with the indulgences of life. So he says, perhaps, then the denial of our stomach's appetite for food might express or even increase our soul's appetite for God.

So why do you fast? You fast because you want to express and increase your hunger for God.

So, the Puritans in time past, people, Christians who lived hundred, two hundreds years ago, he, they, they called this the soul fattening fasting. Great deal okay, you lose some weight, and you strengthen your soul. Great deal. And, they are also saying that fasting is feasting on God. You say why, how does this work?

Well, for one, when you humble your, when you fast, you are humbled before God isn't it. I mean today, we live in a world where you hardly feel pain from hunger because you always have a char siew png, roti prata store somewhere nearby and you probably have two dollars, three dollars in your pocket to buy anything you like when you're hungry, you fill, you satisfy that very fast and you don't see your need for God really, you just need your ATM and your wallet.

But when you fast, you are reminding yourself of the weakness of your own life. You're, you're reminding yourself of your neediness for God. In this culture where life is about living it up, we are saying, no, I must recognize my dependence on God. I'm needy, I'm humbled, Lord, I need You, that's how it reminds you.



Fasting allows us to be focusing on God by removing the distractions. Well for women 44 minutes saved, for men 39 minutes saved per day, if you are focused on God and not thinking about all the necessities that come with feeding yourself. It is a way by which you tell yourself, I'm denying the physical so that I may focus on the spiritual.

Let me say this again, when you fast, please do not assume that when you fast, God loves you more, or He's going to forgive your sins simply because you fast. You fast, not because God is going to change something. You fast because you are going to change something for yourself. So fasting is a means of grace for yourself to be in the right position to express hunger for God and to increase hunger for God.

So let me come now, lastly to some FAQs, the practice of fasting. Some questions you may ask are, number one, is fasting commanded in the New Testament? Now we all know fasting is commanded in the Old Testament many times. In fact, the day of atonement is a day for national fast, the whole nation is to fast. How cool, national day in Singapore we fast, but we don't do that in Singapore, of course, but they do that in Israel in times past.

So, in the New Testament, does God command His church to fast? Which verse in the Bible commands us to fast? Does the Bible command Christians to pray, yes or no? Wah, this one you all clearer. Does the New Testament teach us, command us to give to the poor? This one like not so clear. Does the New Testament teach us to give to the poor? Okay. Pray? Fast? The surprising answer is that no, it is not commanded in the New Testament, like prayer. Prayer is commanded, fasting, however, is not.

Now that doesn't mean that it is not important, because Jesus did imply that we should when He said “when” you fast, not “if” you fast. What I suppose here is this, fasting is not commanded, but it's something voluntary. Something that we want to do because we recognize its value and importance to the Christian life.

So it's not like something you have to do legalistically. It's not something you have to obey routinely, it's something that you probably would do when you understand its value for yourself, okay.

Let me ask you, then how long should you fast? How long should you fast? What, what, what one year, oh, one meal, one meal, wah lau, chuak teoh. One year? Loose weight, one year, one meal, yes, maybe for some, we would like to start with one meal, sometimes it maybe one day, sometimes maybe one month, one week, one month, Jesus fasted for 40 days. I don't, I don't suggest you start that right away. I probably won't see you after a month, but you, you can fast up to 40 days I suppose.

So there is no prescribed duration, okay, but the next question I have is, is fasting limited to food, ok, to food and drinks? Is fasting limited to food and drinks? This concept of denying yourself, is this only with regards to things you ingest. Probably not alright, I just quote you Martin Lloyd Jones, he says, fasting, if we conceive of it truly, if you really understand this, that's what he is saying, must not be confined to the question of food and drink. It's not just food and drink, fasting should really be made to include abstinence from anything which is legitimate in and of itself for the sake of some special spiritual purpose, so it's not for weight loss, not for saving money okay, for some special spiritual purpose.

There are many bodily functions which are right and normal and perfectly legitimate, but which for special peculiar reasons in certain, certain circumstances, should be controlled, this is fasting. So he says, fasting is not just about food and drinks, it is also about other bodily functions such as, First Corinthians 7, sexual relationships in a marriage. We looked at this passage before, do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer, but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self control.

So fasting is not, I think, limited to food and drinks, although it's largely about food, it's the most direct way, immediate way by which we remind ourselves of our humility, of our dependence, of our need to focus on God, but it can also go in the realm of sexual relationships in marriage. And actually I think it can go to things like media, technology, hobbies, games. Why not?

Now denying yourself sexual relationship for a limited time, denying yourself hobbies, denying yourself a game, now that does not make you more spiritual, right? Clear? And that doesn't make you more loved by God, right? That doesn't make God forgive you more right?  It doesn't, it's all because of Jesus, but all these things are for yourself to benefit, that you may now be reminded of your need, your dependence, that you may be distraction free, so that you may focus on God. You see that? You get the dynamic now? It's not about what God is going to change, it's more about how I will change and how I will benefit in my pursuit of God.

What's the relationship between fasting and prayer, this is something that you see over and over again where it says prayer and fasting, prayer and fasting, prayer and fasting. There's a story told of a lady who was sick. She prayed and God healed her of her sickness. Then she went to the pastor and asked, pastor, I've been praying for my sickness and God healed me. But pastor, I've been praying for my weight gain and God has not helped me, I'm still very fat, I, I want to lose weight, how come prayer works for sickness and prayer doesn't work for weight loss. The pastor cheekily replied, this kind goeth not out except by prayer and fasting. Well, prayer and fasting, they come together a lot in the Bible.

For example, in Nehemiah, we see prayer and fasting. What did Nehemiah do when he was confronted with a, with a, with a bad state of his hometown, his city of Jerusalem? He was so grieved and he fasted and prayed.

We read of Ezra 8:23, so we fasted and implored or we begged God, we prayed. We read also in Luke 2:37 Anna, this lady, this widow who served God day and night till she was 84 years old. What did she do? She fasted and prayed.

So fasting and praying often come together. You say, why? I suppose, Andrew Murray gave a good possible explanation. Andrew Murray, a Christian long time ago, he said, prayer is the one hand, with which we grasp the invisible, fasting is the other, with which we let loose and cast away the visible. This is the Christian life, that I'm looking to that which is invisible, I'm looking to God, I'm looking to the heavenly city that I can't see as yet, but I believe.

So prayer is laying hold of God and His promises of eternal life. I pray for these realities and at the same time, I want to be unhooked and unchained by the cares and affairs of the world and one great way to do that, to remind me of that kind of a life is when I fast from temporal, physical, earthly needs. I let loose with the hand of fasting. So far, okay?

Spurgeon developed it a little bit more, when he said, the first links us to heaven, the second separates us from earth. Prayer takes us into the banqueting house of God, fasting overturns the surfeiting tables of earth. Prayer gives us to feed on the bread of heaven and fasting delivers the soul from being encumbered, chained with the fullness of bread which perishes. So I suppose that's why prayer and fasting often come together.

So when you fast, when you really hunger for God, don't just fast and do nothing. You know how it is right, I'm fasting, but I'm not reading the Bible, I'm not praying, I'm not seeking God. Don't do that. Free yourself from distraction so that you may do the other spiritual disciplines to pursue God, prayer and so on and so forth.

So maybe the last subsection I have is, when should I fast. So I spoken a lot about the practical considerations for fasting. So when should you fast? When I just had a buffet yesterday. No no, that's not a good time to fast. That's not a good reason to fast. When should you fast, three areas, three times? I think there more than that, but these are just three examples.

Number one, when you are in a difficult situation, when you are in a strait, when you are in a fix, when you're in a quandary. So when you're in a difficult situation and this may be your sickness, when you're sick. Hey, time to let go of the things of this world, remind yourself of the spiritual realities above. What do you do? Fast.

When you are in a difficult work situation, family situation, things are like not going anywhere and you say Lord, I hunger for you I, I really want to seek You, obey You, follow You. I'm praying but it's not making a difference as yet. Then I say to you, maybe you should fast. Now mindful that this fasting does not make God love you more, it does not obligate God to answer your prayer the way you want, none of these things, but this prepares you to seek Him better.

So maybe, if you are in a difficult situation, I think you should consider fasting. As soon as I heard these words Nehemiah said, I continued fasting and praying. Now, the Bible did not include the word fasting for, for no reason. It's to tell us that saints of old have appreciated and employed this beautiful discipline of grace, fasting.

Ezra, or Esther tells us that she called the Jewish people to fast because she's going to appear before the king to plead for the life of the Jewish people. And she does not know if she will survive this coming before the king because it's not allowed to do so, in general. But she says, for the sake of my people, I really got to do this, so please seek God together with me, let us look to Him, let us cast our dependence on Him, let us fast and pray.

So perhaps, in a difficult situation of your life right now, you've been praying, you have been talking to Christians, you have been reading the Bible, maybe, when you're in a strait, you should consider fasting. Mindful again, I labor to say this, don't think of this as a means to earn God's favor or to manipulate God or to coerce God, but it prepares you to seek Him better, okay. I hope that's the last time, I'm going to, I just felt, I, I felt that I don't even get that myself so clearly, I, I thought I, I really want to encourage you to be clear about.

The second reason why I think you should fast and pray is when you're living in sin. Of course, this fasting in sin, comes when you're convicted of your sin and you are truly sorry, you're truly repentant over your sin and you want to get right with God. I think it's proper to express that guilt, express, that sadness, that sorrow of your heart in fasting. Again that doesn't make God forgive you, God forgives you because of what Jesus has done and, and that's all that needs to be done, you confess your sins before God, but fasting is an expression of our sadness, our sorrow that He may be pleased. And so it says here, then I turned my face to the Lord God seeking Him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession.

You see the pain, you're inflicting yourself with a little bit of pain, so that you may see the, the tragedy and the, and the disaster that sin may bring into your life. We see in Joel, same thing. God calls them to return with fasting, with weeping, with mourning. We see that also in first Samuel, they fasted on that day and said we have sinned against the Lord. Nehemiah again, they fasted, the people fasted and confessed their sins.

Maybe today are struggling with sin in your life. You've tried everything, this neglected Cinderella of grace, of the disciplines of grace, might be one that you might find, you might find helpful.

Maybe you are struggling today with bitterness, with materialism, adulterous thoughts. I’ve tried very hard but it doesn't seem to get going. This is a discipline of grace when done correctly might bring blessing to your life, okay. Something practical. This, this, this sermon, I hope is not something you listen and you just take notes and, okay, I know the facts, I'm going to spew the facts when people ask. But perhaps in your life, this might be a, something that you, you regularly and when I say regularly, I'm not saying frequently, I'm saying regularly, that sometimes when you're in a strait, when you're in sin, you would go to, to, to help yourself, draw near to God.

Lastly, not only when you're in sin, but when you are serving Him, when you're in service towards God. I see this, contrast, in Philippians 3 we are told that false teachers serve their bellies. False teachers serve their bellies. They speak lies, they deceive people with falsehood, why, to make merchandise of men, second Peter tells us, they make use of people to feed themselves, to enrich themselves. Ultimately it's to satisfy their own appetites.

So you won't be surprised if you see false teachers, if they are not so clever, or if time reveals it, they will be in all kinds of financial scandals and maybe in adulterous relationships. Why? Because they are, they are going into supposed Christian ministry for these reasons. They might hide it for a season but eventually it will show.

So people serve falsehood to feed themselves. But the Christian who serves God therefore says, no, I'm not serving for myself and fasting is a way to remind you who you serve. I see that in Paul's life, he fasted often, in hunger and thirst, refers to the time where he has no food and drinks. Even if he wants to, he has no food and drinks. But often without food or often to go without food is to say, even though I have access to food and drinks, I would not have it, because I want to fast. So the minister, the man who serves God, he understands the value of fasting, not to make God love him more, but because he wants to focus on God and cast his dependence on God, hunger for God, cultivate that appetite for God.

In Luke 2:37 again, we see how the widow serve God, she did not go build a temple, she did not go preaching everywhere. Her ministry was clear, to fast and to pray, that was what she did, that was what God called her to. And we see in Acts 13, when the early church was sending out Paul and Barnabas as missionaries to the gentile lands, what did they do? They fasted and prayed. They fasted and prayed before, they fasted and prayed after, they fasted and prayed.

We read a text just now in Isaiah 58, right, for scripture reading before the sermon. It was a difficult text I think for many people, but I think the crux is this, God said, is not this the fast that I choose, what kind of fast should you have, fast so they can do all kinds of evil? You, you think that by your fasting you earn spiritual points that allow you to go and do  all kinds of sin? No. What should fasting be about? Serving God, helping the poor, is not this the fast that I choose, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house, when you see the naked, to cover him and not to hide yourself from your own flesh. So when you look at this passage, I think I see the three, pious acts of giving, praying, fasting, just come together. It's beautiful, when they are all in sync.

So maybe in our lives there's a Cinderella that we've always been neglecting called fasting, she's ugly, not so pleasant looking. It's not so pleasant, you have to deny your appetites but she may be the one that will help you in your praying, in your giving and in your walk with God.

Hudson Taylor said, perhaps the greatest hindrance to our work is our own imagined strength and in fasting we learn what poor, weak creatures we are, dependent on a meal of meat for the little strength which we are so apt to lean upon.

Sometimes, we don't serve God well. Why? Because we are too dependent on ourselves. We are too quick to think we are capable. Well, one of the means of grace, remind yourself you are not that capable. It's God who we need to lean upon. How do I remind myself of that? Sometimes God gives you a thorn in the flesh. Sometimes I go to fast. For myself, for my own sake.

Well, that's it for fasting, it's the only sermon I’ve preached on fasting for the past, what, 18 years, 19 years. I think I'm not going to preach that often, even next time when we come to a passage on fasting, I say please refer to the sermon preached on 8 October 2017. But by and by, if you need reminders, it's all on Youtube, it's all on transcripts.

I end with this last quote from Piper. Well, Richard Foster says he can't find the book for about 100 years. Piper wrote a book, a short book about fasting, it's  entitled “Hunger for God”. I think it's free online, you can go and check it out. But there's this quote I just want to leave you with, if you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied, it is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world, your soul is stuffed with small things and there is no room for the great.

God did not create you for this. There is an appetite for God and it can be awakened. I invite you to turn from the dulling effects of food and the dangers of idolatry and to say with some simple fast, this much, oh God, I want you.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. The God of all wisdom created man with an appetite. Maybe I should say He created man with appetites. We are very familiar with the appetite for food, and maybe even appetite for sex. But you see, you are not essentially a body with a soul, but you are really a soul with a body. Your primary identity is not defined by your physical appetites. Your primary identity is defined by your spiritual appetite. And our spiritual appetite can only be satisfied by God. And so whilst this sermon is about some physical act you can do, denying food, the heart of it all is really about your hunger for God in your soul. And this morning I want to encourage you to think about your soul, because for a long time maybe in your life, you have neglected your soul's cry for God. You're filled your stuff, your life with stuff from the world, small things from the world, you have nibbled from the table of the world, so much so that it has distracted you from the real cry of your heart and life, and that is the cry for God.

Maybe you have been so numbed by all the success in this world, by the money that you're making, by the house you're living in, by the car you driving, that you have painfully silenced the cry of your heart for God. Maybe that's why we need to fast and maybe this morning, that's why I want to call you to remove those distractions and to focus on the spiritual life, your relationship with God.

You see, the Christian message is an amazing message where God says I know your soul needs. You don't have to pay to meet that need. I paid it all. I gave My Son to die on the cross. He gave His life so that you now may be restored to a relationship with Me. And I will satisfy the needs of your hearts, the depths of your soul. What do I have to do, you say? Nothing except to repent and to believe in Jesus. What do I have to pay? Nothing. Jesus paid it all.

So this morning, if you're not a Christian, this message whilst it's about fasting, it's really about how you can be satisfied in your soul in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News of Jesus Christ. He died so that you may be really reconciled and satisfied in your heart. You may be forgiven of your sins. You may be washed and cleansed. The Bible says Jesus is the Bread of Life. Would you come to Christ, repent and believe in Him?

Maybe this morning, my brothers and sisters in Christ, you are so numbed and dulled and sucked in by the world. Endless, relentless pursuit for stuff in this life. How do I get out of this hamster race?  Pause, have a check, maybe go into a fast. Go into that discipline of grace, remove distractions, enter a season of prayer, of the Word, in seeking God. Let it be a soul fattening exercise, let it be a time of wonderful feasting on God, let that cultivate a greater appetite in time to come. Let your life, experience what it means to be filled with His fullness.

Let your hand reach out to that which is invisible, and let your hand let loose of that which encumbers you. The Cinderella of the disciplines of grace, might shine brighter than you think.  What's important today is not what you hear, it's what you will do. And may God help each one of us to pursue Him in all ways, with all our hearts. Father thank You for this time, bless Your people, thank You for Jesus, the Bread of Life. God may we be a hungry people, create in us, help us cultivate a great hunger for You, that we may know it's all about You, it's not about food, it's not about money, it's not about success, it's all about You and we thank You and pray all this in Jesus Name, Amen.

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