John Wesley Fasting

John 1

Frontiers parts 37 fasting

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It has been the plan of Satan, from the beginning of the world, to destroy what God has joined together; to separate inward from outward religion; to set one of these at odds with the other. Many in all ages, having a zeal for God, have been strictly attached to the performance of outward duties, but in the mean time wholly ignorant of inward righteousness by faith. And many have run into the opposite extreme, disregarding all outward duties, perhaps even speaking evil of the law of God. It is by this very device of the enemy, that faith and works have been debated against each other. And many passionate followers of God, have for a time, fallen into the trap on either side. Some have magnied faith to the exclusion of good works. Since these works are not the cause of our justication, the fruit of good works is fruitless and has no place in the religion of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, in the mean time, they have neglecting the love of God and their neighbors. Others, eager to avoid this dangerous mistake, have run as much too far the contrary way; and either maintained that good works were the cause of justication,-or spoken of them as if they were all in all, the whole religion of Jesus Christ. . But of all the means of grace, few have run into greater extremes, than that of fasting. Some have exalted this beyond all Scripture and others utterly disregarded it. It is certain the truth lies between them. It is not all, nor yet is it nothing. It is not the end, but it is a precious means, a means which God himself has ordained, as in all things, to restore our first love with Him, and release a fresh passion for His Son. I. Let us begin by first addressing What is the Nature of Fasting? All the inspired writers, both in the Old Testament and the New; define fasting, to abstain from food. This is clearly seen from David, Nehemiah, Isaiah, and the prophets who followed, or of Christ and His apostles; all agreeing in this, that to fast, is, not to eat for a prescribed time. In the old Testament, fasting is characterized by strewing ashes upon the head and wearing sackcloth next their skin. However, neither the New Testament nor the early church appears that any stress was made to do the same. As to the measures of fasting, we have instances of single days, 3, 5, 7 10 14, 21, 40. Fasts can be devoid or all food, all food and water, and some choice foods often called the Daniel Fast. In the Jewish church, there were some stated fasts. Zechariah 8:19 This is what the LORD Almighty says: The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. In the ancient Christian church, there were likewise stated fasts, both annually and weekly. Easter fasts; observed by some for 48 hours; by others, for an entire week; by many, for two weeks; taking no sustenance till the evening of each day. Weekly fasts were all Fridays in the year, except Christmas day.

John Wesley was a strong advocate, fasting each Wednesday and Friday, and would not ordain any person who would not subscribe to this regiment. But besides those which were stated, in every nation fearing God there have always been occasional fasts, appointed from time to time as the particular circumstances and occasions required. In like manner, those who desire to walk humbly and closely with God could find frequent occasion for private seasons of fasting. And it is to this kind of fasting, that our message continues. II. The Reasons for Fasting 1. We fast to follow in the steps of Christ. In Luke 4 v1 Jesus was full of the HS and led by the HS to Fast for 40 days. After being tempted in v14 Jesus returns in the power of the HS. In this encounter, Jesus relationship with others is forever changed. No longer will he be a carpenter caught up in the transactions with clients. He is now followed by the thousands, pressed in all sides, and is sought after for His touch. Later Jesus taught about the subject, which yields a peculiar reason for being in fastings often, namely, by His command. The saying, Give alms, pray, fast, in Matthew 6, is a clear command to perform all those duties; as well as to perform them in that manner, which shall not way lose its reward. It is the brief cliff notes version of how to fast. Matt 6:16-18 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, 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 others 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. An even greater exposition of the topic is found in Isaiah 58 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 2. When we feel in ourselves the heavy burden of sin, and are inwardly touched with sorrowfulness of heart and open our grief unto Almighty God, and call unto him for mercy, partly with an earnest desire to be delivered from the danger and consequence, we fast. In 1 samuel 1:6-8 Because the LORD had closed Hannahs womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, Hannah, why are you weeping? Why dont you eat? Why are you downhearted? Dont I mean more to you than ten sons? 2 Sammuel 12:13-21 David for His son with Bathsheba

We might also look to fasting to remove the food of lust and sensuality, to withdraw the incentives of foolish and hurtful desires. 3. Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. Most successful fasting combines prayer and worship. Worship is more than the praise of His name, it insinuates communion, relationship, conversation. 2 Chronicles 20- we are lost, dont know what to do 4. Fasting is a help to prayer; particularly, when we set apart larger portions of time for private prayer. Then especially, God is often pleased to lift us up. His heart of blessing is made evident in 2 chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. joel 2:12-14 18-19 25-26 28-29 The heart of a father that wants restoration with his children. 5. It is a means of averting his wrath, and stopping a crisis. We see this not only from the people of God, when his anger is moved, to seek him by fasting and prayer; but even from the heathens. When Jonah began by going a days journey into the city, proclaiming, Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown. 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonahs warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. Jonah 3:4-10 6. And it is a means not only of turning away the wrath of God, but also of obtaining whatever blessings, favors, promises of God. It could be an increase of grace in your life, part of healing, growth and maturation as a believer and minister. So Nehemiah: I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven, and said, Prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man: and God granted him mercy in the sight of the king, Neh. 1, 4-11. We see almost the exact same situation in Ester 4:16 So Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour[c] I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. Acts 10 30-31 Matt 17: 18-21 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, Why could we not drive it out? And He

said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. 7. Returning to our first love with Him Matt 9:14-15 talking in the 3rd person is hard Ive got to find another name Daniel- Obedience always a sign of love the way Michelle will obey me and I heris because of love. III. Objections Against Fasting 1. Fast from sin and not from food; this is what God requires. That a Christian ought to abstain from sin is most true. However, both the one and the other are good. Let him, by the grace of God, always abstain from sin; and let him often abstain from food. Matt 23:23 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spicesmint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the lawjustice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 2. But isnt it better to abstain from pride and vanity, from foolish and hurtful desires, from peevishness, and anger, and discontent, than from food? Without question it is. We abstain from food with this view, that, by the grace of God we may be enabled to abstain from every passion and temper which is not pleasing in his sight. IV. How to Fast My Junior year of College I became curious. I had been having prolonged worship moments, increase Bible intake, some new experiences with Gifts of the Holy spiritI wanted to explore fasting. Started with one day Fear of the unknown, awkwardness of doing something for the first time Confusion about the purpose/point. Overall just believed that there was something that I wanted to explore. What to expect 1-3 day fasts- headaches caffeine related problems tip, a little juice in water can go a long way longer than 3 days is more enjoyable. More prone to be tired Boels can change around day 4 Coming off the fast

My first time grace My 2nd time nightmare--- in the bed all day Many virtues are gained seriousness of spirit, sensibility and tenderness of conscience, deadness to the world, and consequently the love of God, and every holy and heavenly affection. 1. Let it be done unto the Lord, with our eye singly xed on him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in heaven. 2. Secondly, beware of feelings of merit by our fasting. We always must be warned of this, our desire to establish our own righteousness. It is so deeply rooted in all our hearts. If it be a mere external service, it is all for nothing. Let every season, either of public or private fasting, be a season of exercising all our holy affections, which are implied in a broken and contrite heart. 3. Care is to be taken, whenever we fast, to proportion the fast to our strength and health. If we cannot wholly abstain from food, we may, at least, abstain from pleasant food; and then we shall not seek his face in vain. 4. And with fasting let us always join fervent prayer and worship, pouring out our whole souls before God, confessing our sins with all their aggravations, humbling ourselves under his mighty hand, laying open before him all our wants, all our guiltiness and helplessness. This is a season for enlarging our prayers, both in behalf of ourselves and of our brethren. 5. It remains only that we add alms to the works of mercy, after our power, both to the bodies and souls of others