Well, today, I want to begin a series of messages on the topic of fasting. When I first mentioned this to my wife, she asked the question, well, how many sermons do you think you can preach on this subject? So I told her, maybe about six. Just for a little bit of comparison, the Puritan Arthur Hildersham, who his work in particular was greatly valued by Spurgeon. And he was able to preach eight sermons just on one text concerning fasting. Well, for a more modern day Example, Paul Washer has a five-week Bible study series entitled, Understanding the Discipline of Fasting. So you can imagine that there is much to say regarding this topic. And so my goal for today is to perform a general overview of fasting, looking at it both globally, historically, and, of course, biblically. We want to consider a number of passages as well as a number of quotes regarding what has been said on this subject. And then in the coming weeks, I wanna look more specifically at some of the texts in which I will just reference this morning. And so with this structure in mind, we will approach this morning's Bible study under the following three headings. First, we will consider the common practice of fasting. Second, we will look at examples in the Old Testament concerning fasting. And then finally, we will look at examples of fasting in the New Testament. Now, in one sense, the practice of fasting is remarkably common. Generally speaking, Fasting is simply defined as abstaining from food and usually drink for a period of time. Again, it is such a common practice that is performed by people of all walks of life and for many different reasons, as I will attempt to illustrate. So this leads us now to point number one, the common practice of fasting. In the first place, people fast for health reasons, right? Perhaps you want to lose weight or detox the body. Some people look to fasting as the answer. And there are many diets that are based upon the practice of fasting. One such diet is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting. The emphasis, again, is not so much on what you eat, but when you eat. In intermittent fasting, an individual may fast for 16 hours, as an example, and then eat all their meals in an eight-hour window. Now, having said that, I'm not necessarily endorsing the practice, but rather just making a general statement that people fast for health-related reasons. Well, another reason for fasting can be for political reasons. Many people have used fasting to either draw attention to a particular situation or to bring about some measure of change in society. Perhaps the most famous example of that would be Nelson Mandela in Africa or Mahatma Gandhi in India. Again, Gandhi in particular undertook several fasts to protest British laws as well as to quell violence between Hindus and Muslims. His efforts in fasting proved to be successful in many instances, often accomplishing the desired outcome. Finally, in the realm of religion, we see that fasting is quite common as well. Again, I just mentioned Gandhi. He was a Hindu. And like many other religions, fasting plays an important part in Hinduism. Hindus, for instance, have several days in which they engage in fasting. And they fast as a means to focus on spiritual matters as well as honoring certain deities. In addition to this, many holy men, they perform extreme acts of asceticism, which include long periods of fasting as well as self-inflicted pain. And all of this is in a pursuit of greater spirituality. But still, closer to home, we find this practice of fasting performed by the Roman Catholic Church. In Roman Catholicism, fasting is a form of penance. And penance is both a sacrament, think of like the Lord's Supper or baptism, as well as a spiritual practice. When I say that penance is a sacrament, what I'm saying is this, that for the Catholic, it is a means to forgive sin that has been committed after baptism. It involves three main actions. Genuine sorrow for sin, known as contrition. It involves confessing your sins to a priest. And finally, acts of penance, like fasting. And so for the Roman Catholic, after a person is saved, an individual can still sin in a manner that results in a loss of salvation. For the Catholic, they see a division of sins into eternal punishment and temporal punishment. So-called mortal sins can lead to eternal punishment in hell. You might ask the question, well, what is a mortal sin? A mortal sin would be knowingly and deliberately breaking any one of the Ten Commandments, as well as things like avoiding mass on Sunday for no good reason. We also talk about venial sins as opposed to mortal sins. Venial sins are lesser sins that bring about temporal punishment. And so an example of a venial sin would be something like gossiping about someone without malicious intent or failing to pray daily. Venial sins therefore require further purification through acts like fasting or after death in purgatory. And so as one Catholic encyclopedia states, the absolution given by the priest to a penitent who confesses his sins with the proper dispositions remits both the guilt and the eternal punishment of mortal sin. There remains, however, some indebtedness to divine justice which must be canceled here, or the hereafter, referring to purgatory. In order to have it canceled here, the penitent receives from his confessor what is usually called his penance, usually in the form of certain prayers, which he is to say, or certain actions, which he is to perform, such as visits to a church, the stations of the cross, et cetera. And then it goes on to say, alms deeds, fasting, and prayer are the chief means of satisfaction, but other penitential works may also be enjoined. And so the main takeaway for our purpose of study here today is that for the Catholic, fasting is a means through which sins are forgiven and the soul is purified. Now, of course, the reformers would see this and reject this concept of fasting, even though they would still maintain its value and importance. And so regarding the question, what is fasting and bodily preparation in Luther's small Catholicism, he writes. Fasting is denying oneself food or other pleasures for a particular period of time. Bodily preparation may include proper rest, personal cleanliness, and modest and reverential clothing. These outward expressions of reverence can draw our attention to our Lord and his gifts. However, in themselves, they do not make us worthy. So Luther saw value in the practice of fasting, but was careful to insist that there was no meritorious grace or benefit in the practice as contrasted with the belief of Rome. Now, John Calvin also weighs in on the practice of fasting Again, when we read what Calvin says in his Institutes, we see that there is scriptural support, as we will cover later on. He writes, pastors according to the necessity of the times should exhort the people either to fasting and solemn prayer or to other exercises of humiliation, repentance, and faith, the time, mode, and form of these not being prescribed by the word of God but left to the judgment of the church. As the observance of this part of discipline is useful, so it was always used in the church, even from the days of the apostles. Indeed, the apostles themselves were not its first authors, but borrowed the example from the law and prophets. For we there see that as often as any weighty matter occurred, the people were assembled in supplication and fasting appointed. In general, we must hold that whenever any religious controversy arises, with either a council or ecclesiastical tribunal behoves to decide whether a minister is to be chosen, whether in short, any matter of difficulty and great importance is under consideration, On the other hand, when manifestations of the divine anger appear as pestilence, war, and famine, the sacred and salutary custom of all ages has been for pastors to exhort the people to public fasting and extraordinary prayer. He then continues to say, let us therefore make some observations on fasting, since very many, not understanding what utility there can be in it, judge it not to be very necessary, while others reject it altogether as superfluous. Where its use is not well known, it is easy to fall into superstition. And so again, we see what Calvin is saying in this rather lengthy quote. The people of God throughout all ages have fasted, and pastors ought to call for corporate fasts under certain circumstances. He notes also that many do not utilize the practice out of ignorance. And where ignorance of the practice prevails, fasting will be forgotten or relegated to the realm of superstition. Well, again, building upon what Calvin wrote, we see that the Puritans had similar thoughts about fasting as well. In Chapter 22, Section 5, entitled of religious worship and the Sabbath day, the 1689 states, the reading of the scriptures, preaching and hearing the word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord, as also the administration of baptism and the Lord's Supper are all parts of religious worship of God to be performed in obedience to him with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear. And then it goes on to state, moreover, solemn humiliation with fastings and thanksgivings upon special occasions ought to be used in a holy and religious manner. And so in the 1689, we see that days of corporate fasting are encouraged on special occasions. and should be used alongside the regular elements of worship, like praying and reading the word of God and singing psalms. Again, later in chapter 26, section 9 of the church, we read, The way appointed by Christ for the calling of any person fitted and gifted by the Holy Spirit onto the office of bishop or elder in a church is that he be chosen thereunto by the common suffrage of the church itself. And then it goes on to say, and solemnly set apart by fasting and prayer with imposition of hands of the eldership of the church, if there be any before constituted therein, and of a deacon that he be chosen by the like suffrage and set apart by prayer and the like imposition of hands. And so in the matter of the ordination of elders and drawing from the example in the Book of Acts, the framers of the Westminster and of the 1689 following Calvin held that men were to be set apart for the office by means of prayer and fasting. From these brief examples, we see that the practice of fasting, on one hand, is quite common. But on the other, Christian fasting, as prescribed by the Bible, is more than just abstaining from food and drink. Let us now consider several examples of fasting from the Old and New Testament to support this point. In the first instance, many people from the common folk to kings fasted during the Old Testament period. In fact, we have several examples of kings and queens who fasted throughout the scriptures. There is King Darius in Daniel chapter 6, verses 16 to 19, who fasted when Daniel was thrown into the lion's den. You have Jezebel and Ahab who fasted as a means to conceal their plot to kill Naboth in 1 Kings 21, 9 to 13. You have King Jehoshaphat and the northern kingdom of Judah that fasted at the threat of war in 2 Chronicles 20, 1 to 4. But perhaps the greatest king who ever fasted was none other than David. When Jonathan died in battle, he fasted in 2 Samuel 1, verses 11 to 12. When his child was stricken with a terminal illness in 2 Samuel 12, 15 to 23, he fasted He even fasted for the well-being of his enemies that persecuted him. Turn with me to Psalm 35. We'll look briefly at verses 11 to 14. Psalm 35, beginning in verse 11, he says this. Malicious witnesses rise up. They ask me of things I do not know. They repay me evil for good to the bereavement of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled my soul with fasting. And my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother. I bowed down mourning as one who sorrows for a mother." Now, this was the particular text that Arthur Hildersham preached eight sermons on. which was published in a book entitled Fasting, Prayer, and Humiliation for Sin. And so as you can imagine, there is much to learn from David's example, which we will look at in more detail in a future Bible study. Well, another example of kings and queens who fasted was that of Esther. Now, in Esther chapter 9, after the plot of Haman to destroy the Jews had failed, we read this in verses 20 to 22. It says, then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Asherus. both near and far, obliging them to celebrate the 14th day of the month Adar and the 15th day of the same month. Annually, because of those days, the Jews rid themselves of their enemies. And it was a month which was turned to them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor. And so in verses 20 to 21, we see the establishment of a holiday called Purim. And Purim was a time of feasting, fasting and thanksgiving. And so letters were sent to all the Jews containing instructions for the observance of this day. And so later in verse 30, we read this. He sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Asherah, namely words of peace, and truth to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their descendants with instructions of their times of fasting and their lamentations. The command of Esther established these customs for Purim and it was written in the book. Based on this text, one thing that we observe is that fasting can be done in thanksgiving for deliverance in some great trial. As a matter of fact, the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving is usually celebrated as a day of feasting. Well, the original Thanksgiving back in 1621 was preceded and followed by days of fasting and prayer in gratitude for a successful harvest. Again, in these examples, we see that there can be the affliction of the soul, while at the same time, the joy of the goodness of God in answering prayer in a mighty way. Now, fasting was not only a common practice of kings and queens under the Old Testament, but also among the prophets. For instance, Ezra and the exiles fasted for a safe journey to Jerusalem in Ezra 8, 21 to 23. Nehemiah fasted for the remnant of the people of God in Nehemiah 1, verses 3 to 11. And Daniel fasted, confessing the sins of the people and for wisdom and understanding concerning prophecy. Now, while they are Clear examples of Daniel's fast recorded in Daniel chapter 9 verses 3 to 20. Some see an example of a partial fast in Daniel chapter 10 verses 2 to 3. Daniel chapter 10 verses 2 to 3 states, In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed. And so the idea is that Daniel fasted from certain types of food and drink and not abstaining from food and drink all together. And so building on this principle, others extended to other areas of life, such as entertainment, for instance. Now, I will say that this is a good practice, though the scriptures often define fasting in terms of abstaining from food and drink. So, again, during this election season, I found myself watching a lot of news and interviews, and it got to a point where it was no longer just about informing my mind of what was going on, but I was actually wasting time. And so abstaining from that proved to be good for my soul because I was able to use that time and spend it in time with the Lord. Now, speaking of time spent with the Lord, another prophet that I would like for us to briefly consider was Moses. Moses spent much time in the presence of God. Now currently, we are going through a study of the Ten Commandments in our 10.30 a.m. worship service. And the interesting thing that we see was that the commandments were given twice to the people of God. First in Exodus 24, 12 to 18, and then later in Exodus 34. Now you might say, but wait a minute, haven't we been going to Exodus chapter 24 however many months we've been studying the Ten Commandments? Well, you would be right. In Exodus chapter 20, the Ten Commandments were given to the people of God verbally. And then later in Exodus 24, and also in 34, we see that the Ten Commandments were given to the people of God on tablets of stone. And so, again in Exodus 20, Moses ascends Mount Sinai, and he's given the tablets. Later, After the children of God sin by erecting the golden calf, Moses breaks the tablets of stone, signifying that the people of God had broken God's law. And so he ascends Mount Sinai for a second time. Now what you have to think about is that Moses at this time is 80 years old. And he ascends Mount Sinai that is 7,497 feet above sea level. He climbs up this mountain and for a second time engages in a 40-day and 40-night fast before receiving the law. Again, Exodus 34, 27 to 28 states this. Then the Lord said to Moses, write down these words, for in accordance with these words, I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. So he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. He did not eat bread or drink water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments." Now, some sources state that the average person can go no longer than 30 to 70 days without food. And without water, The average person can last about a week. Now, one of the longest times that has been recorded where someone has gone without food or water was a total of 18 days. A man by the name of Andreas Mijevic was accidentally left in a holding cell in Austria without food or water for 18 days. But Moses, Moses miraculously goes without food or drink for 40 days and 40 nights. Now this 40 day fast would be repeated by the prophet who is greater than Moses. So having briefly observed some examples of fasting in the Old Testament, I want to, for the remainder of the time, turn to the new. Fasting, again, was a common practice during the times of Jesus and the apostles. Everyone fasted. The Pharisees fasted, the disciples of John also fasted. If you recall, the disciples of John approached Jesus with a question in Matthew chapter 9, verses 14 to 17. In Matthew chapter 9, verses 14 to 17, we read this. Then the disciples of John came to him asking, Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on old garment, for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." Again, this is another text. that I wanna spend a lot more time on as we look more in detail on the subject of fasting. But at the very least, what we see here was that Jesus said that the time will come after he is taken away, after he ascends, that the disciples will fast. And so after Christ ascends, we do see the practice of fasting being resumed by the disciples and the early church. For example, before that great missionary endeavor that the apostle Paul and his companions undertook, we read this about fasting in Acts chapter 13, verses one to three. It says, now they were at Antioch in the church that was there, prophets and teachers, Barnabas and Simeon, who is called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manan, who had been brought up with Herod the Tetriarch, and Saul. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them. Then they were sent away. Here we see that there was a corporate fast that was held in the church. The entire church prayed and fasted before this great missionary endeavor was undertaken. Now, not only did this great endeavor begin with fasting, but we see even towards the end of the first missionary journey, That it ended with fasting and prayer as well. Again in Acts chapter 14 verses 21 to 23 reread. After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they turned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying, through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. As we see here, we see that prayer and fasting took place before the appointment of elders in the church. This, again, was the foundational text that the Westminster and the 1689 uses. Now, in an interesting way, we also see that even Jesus fasted before officially beginning his ministry. Again, think about it. Christ, who is our example, fasted. Before officially beginning ministry, it is stated that Jesus underwent a similar fast, a similar fast to that of Moses in Matthew chapter four, verses one to two. Again in Matthew chapter four, verses one to two, we read, then Jesus, was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he became hungry." Now, this testing in the wilderness by the devil took place After Jesus's baptism, in which the Father confesses the Son before men, the Holy Spirit then drives Jesus into the wilderness, where he is prepared for the attacks of Satan through fasting. As one writer notes, under the Spirit's leading, Jesus prepared himself for this testing by fasting. Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting 40 days, the Spirit of God willed that the Son of God be tested on his way into the ministry. And he will that Jesus triumphed over the great enemy of his soul and our salvation through fasting. Again, hopefully you begin to sense and feel the importance and power in fasting. If Christ fasted, shouldn't we do likewise? And if Jesus says that after he ascends that we should fast, why isn't it that we are fasting? Again, so far we have observed the fact of fasting. But in the coming weeks, I want us to consider what this type of fasting it is that Jesus calls us to looks like. We will discuss the right motives of fasting as well as some of its pitfalls. we will consider more closely some of the texts that we have already mentioned in this introduction. And Lord willing, as we go through this study, my desire is that this practice of fasting would become a boon to your walk with Christ. Amen? Let's go to the Lord in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you again for your word. We thank you for the simplicity of the commands and the simplicity of the things that you use for the spiritual benefit of your people. We think of baptism and water that is so abundant around us and how you use it to strengthen your people and to point us to Christ. Again, we think of the bread and the wine, the simplicity and the commonness of food and drink, and yet how you use it to point to real and spiritual realities of our union with Christ and our union with one another. And we think again of this common practice of fasting that's done all over the world and throughout time, and how you have determined to use this practice of fasting with prayer in your church. I pray, Lord, that we would give careful attention to all these means that you have provided for your people to grow in holiness and Christ-likeness. And I pray indeed as we continue to look at the study and the practice of fasting, may we look and consider it with fresh eyes and minds geared towards what you promised to do through this exercise. Again, Lord, as with the reformers, we believe that there is no merit, no salvific effect in this act. And yet, you have called us to participate in it for the good of our souls. And so I pray again, Lord, that this day, that as our minds are focused on the worship of God, that you might once again stir up in us a desire and a hunger for the word of God, for Christ in all things. And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.