Sunday 4th January 2015

Theme: Beginning with God

Why do we fast? - Pastor Muyiwa Olubowale
Text:
Yet even now, declares the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
Where is their God
(Joel 2:12-13, 15-17) ESV
Fasting involves abstaining from or giving up something such as food.
There is a level of faith we can only attain through fasting and praying. For our faith to step up, we
need to fast. Fasting is a biblical principle and looking through the bible, there a numerous
examples of individuals who fasted while they were seeking the face of God. Jesus did a total fast
for 40 days and nights, without eating anything. Moses also did this when he went into the
presence of God on the mountain, as did Joshua.
When God sent Jonah to the city of Nineveh, they all fasted to seek Gods forgiveness. Esther got
all the jews to fast to seek Gods intervention when they were being threatened with slaughter.
There is a whole stream of examples throughout the bible.
However, there are no regulations on how exactly to do it. The most common method of fasting in
the bible is by abstaining from food. The significance of this can be traced back to the boo of
Genesis, where the temptation to eat led to the fall of man.
Note that fasting is not pre-requisite for our salvation or making it to heaven. All we need to get to
heaven is to give our lives to Christ.
What is fasting and why do we fast?
Fasting brings with is numerous spiritual benefits. It is important to note that in order to enjoy the
benefits of fasting, we must do it regularly.

- Fasting is a call to repentance. When we are called to fast we are being called to repentance
and to return to God in holiness. When we fast we need to turn away from our sins and habits
that do not glorify God. With fasting we consecrate and rededicate our lives to God. It is a call to

seriousness in our walk with God. Many of us need to rededicate ourselves in the area of
faithfulness. Faithfulness in our prayer lives as well as faithfulness in our study of His word.
Fasting is a call to consecrate our lives so that our lives become all about God. This needs to be
every aspect of our lives - from the food we eat to the movies we watch and the songs we listen
to.

- Fasting is necessary for spiritual growth.This becomes evident in our everyday lives and in our
interpersonal relationships. within the spiritual world, some things only shift with prayer and
fasting. This is illustrated by the case in which Jesus disciples failed to heal the sick boy in
Matthew 17:14-21.
Faith needs prayer for development and full growth and prayer needs fasting for the same
reason - Finis Jennings Dake

- Luke 9:23 And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up
his cross daily and follow me (ESV) By denying ourselves of food, fasting helps us take control
of our body. However, the verse above calls us to deny ourselves daily and not just when we are
fasting. So what does self denial mean? It starts with the little things like denying ourselves a
little sleep so we can pray.
Other benefits of fasting include the following:

Fasting chastens the soul and humbles our soul before God
Fasting helps us crucify unbelief
Fasting helps us draw close to God and so become sensitive to God and the Holy Spirit.
Fasting helps us again spiritual power.
Fasting is necessary when we are in need.