by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Isaiah 58:1-12 <\/p>\n
I. Once in a while someone will ask if they ought to fast. <\/p>\n
A. Is it something acceptable in the New Testament, or was it only a part of the Old?<\/p>\n
B. Do you fast just to be doing, or does it serve some purpose?<\/p>\n
II. Purpose of Fasting<\/p>\n
A. Fasting was done at times of deep grief<\/p>\n
1. When people realized they had angered God<\/p>\n a. I Samuel 7:3-6 – The people were made to realize they had angered\nGod with their idol worship\n b. David fasted while pleading with God for the life of his infant – II\nSamuel 12:16-23\n
(1) Once the child had died, David ended his fast.<\/p>\n (2) Knowing his child was with God in heaven, he knew it was\nno longer appropriate to fast\n c. The people fasted while confessing their sins to God – Nehemiah\n9:1-3\n
d. Even the heathen demonstrated their sorrow by fasting – Jonah 3:5-9<\/p>\n
2. When people were grieved<\/p>\n a. Israel fought against the tribe of Benjamin because of the sin\nBenjamin was harboring, yet despite God’s acceptance they lost\nmany men in the battles – Judges 20:18-28\n
b. Mourning at the death of Saul – I Samuel 31:11-13; II Samuel 1:11-12<\/p>\n c. When the Israelites learned that a death sentence was passed\nagainst them – Esther 4:1-3\n d. Nehemiah mourned when he heard his people were in trouble –\nNehemiah 1:1-4\n e. The people were to fast, weep, and mourn as they turned to God\nfrom their sins – Joel 2:12-13\n
B. It demonstrated humility<\/p>\n
1. Even the wicked fasted at times of grief – I Kings 21:23-29<\/p>\n
2. While requesting aid from God – Ezra 8:21-23<\/p>\n 3. David used fasting to humble himself while praying for his enemies – Psalm\n35:12-14\n 4. Just as a person would wear scratchy sackcloth, fasting was sackcloth for\nthe soul – Psalm 69:10-12\n
5. Extended fast made people look down of the one fasting – Psalm 109:23-25<\/p>\n
C. It was done when people wanted to completely focus on God<\/p>\n 1. An army was gathering to attack Judah, so the king in fear, declared\neveryone to fast while they sought God’s aid – II Chronicles 20:1-4\n 2. Before Esther sought aid from the king, she first asked for a 3-day fast\nfrom the people – Esther 4:16\n a. A tradition was established to fast to remember the deliverance of\nthe Jews – Esther 9:29-32\n
3. Daniel wanted to focus his attention on God, so he fasted – Daniel 9:3<\/p>\n
4. It should be a time filled with righteous deeds – Isaiah 58:6-11<\/p>\n
III. Fasting doesn’t make God listen or make a person more righteous<\/p>\n A. Israel saw themselves as a righteous nation, so they were confused as to why God\ndid not pay attention to their fasts. – Isaiah 58:2-4\n
1. God answered that it was because they got what they wanted by their fasts<\/p>\n 2. Supposedly their minds were on God and holy things, but they overworked\ntheir employees, there were contentions, strife, and fighting.\n
3. They were not fasting to have God hear them<\/p>\n
B. Just because a person fasts does not mean God will hear their prayers – Jeremiah 14:12<\/p>\n C. Even during the exile, God rejected the people’s fasts because they were done for\nthemselves and not for God – Zechariah 7:5-6\n 1. People should not fast to be seen of others. It should be something between\nthe individual and God – Matthew 6:16-18\n
D. Some used fasting as a show of piety – Luke 18:11-12<\/p>\nIV. Zechariah prophesied that there would be a time when the need for fasting would end, at\nleast for a while – Zechariah 8:19\n
A. While Jesus was on earth, it was a time of joy, not sorrow – Matthew 9:14-15<\/p>\n
V. Fasting continued to be used in the New Testaments<\/p>\n
A. The disciples fasted while serving God and before major events – Acts 13:2-3<\/p>\n
B. When selecting elders, it was accompanied by prayers and fasting – Acts 14:23<\/p>\n 1. There is a reason why prayers are mentioned with fasting because the\npurpose of fasting is to focus the mind on God.\n
2. You don’t want to be distracted by minor things, such as eating.<\/p>\n C. This is why some demons could only be removed by prayer and fasting – Matthew\n17:19-21\n
D. Is it appropriate today? Certainly!<\/p>\n 1. During times of deep grief, such as the realization that you have sinned and\nyour soul is in jeopardy\n 2. At times when you need God foremost in mind as you make major\ndecisions.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 58:1-12 I. Once in a while someone will ask if they ought to fast. A. Is it something acceptable in the New Testament, or was it only a part of the Old? B. Do you fast just to be doing, or does it serve some purpose? II. Purpose of Fasting A. Fasting was done…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[545],"class_list":["post-63466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-fasting"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11030,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-significance-of-fasting-for-twenty-one-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":63466,"position":0},"title":"What is the significance of fasting for twenty-one days?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the significance of 21 days of fasting? Four of us are fasting and praying for the anointing of the Holy Spirit, our families' salvation and for our friends nearby. I saw on your web site about the importance of 40 days and thought of asking you. Answer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4053,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-christians-fast\/","url_meta":{"origin":63466,"position":1},"title":"Should Christians fast? (Answer)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a friend who asked about fasting. All I could quote was\u00a0Matthew 6:16\u00a0and\u00a0Matthew 15:17-20. Can you tell me where it says that all food is good for you? I can't remember the passage. Also, could you explain Matthew 17:21? Does it mean you should fast? Is it something\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87975,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fasting-and-sabbaths\/","url_meta":{"origin":63466,"position":2},"title":"Fasting and Sabbaths","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tommy Peeler Isaiah 58 stresses God's commandments about fasting (Isaiah 58:1-12) and the Sabbath day (Isaiah 58:13-14). Israel was called to humble themselves when fasting (Isaiah 58:3, 5) and to refrain from their pleasures on the Sabbath to do what is pleasing to the Lord (Isaiah 58:13-14). Israel was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83411,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/prayer-and-fasting\/","url_meta":{"origin":63466,"position":3},"title":"Prayer and Fasting","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward Smith How many Christians do you know who practice fasting for religious reasons? The people who have a conviction to fast are often the very ones who also have a conviction not to do it to be seen by men - so their fasting goes unnoticed (Matthew 6:16-18).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35396,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-chose-to-fast-how-do-you-not-let-family-members-know\/","url_meta":{"origin":63466,"position":4},"title":"If you chose to fast, how do you not let family members know?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I'm a little confused about the practice of fasting. From what I understand, we, Christians, have the freedom to do fasting and that it should be done privately. At the present time, families mostly stay at home and it is unavoidable to notice everyone's actions inside the house.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55097,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-fasting-required-to-communicate-with-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":63466,"position":5},"title":"Is fasting required to communicate with God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding fasting: some pastors say that when you want God to communicate with you, you have to fast for three days or more, and if you want to be delivered from certain things fasting has to be involved. Is it really true? Secondly, in Matthew 17:19-21, may I ask\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63466\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}