Fasting As a Family For God's Glory

Using the Spiritual Instruments of the Lord For the Whole House's Blessing

Good Morning,

The last section on fasting that will be before us has to do with some of the aspects of the gospel work of fasting that we may have not thought of before. When Christians go about doing any kind of spiritual labor they need to have a long term focus in their heart. Every ordinary prayer time, bible reading, and corporate worship service are like little bricks building up the superstructure of our faith grounded in Jesus Christ. We are to look at these things not as means to an end, but in a sense an end in themselves. Prayer, for example, is speaking to God. Every encounter with the living God is an immense blessing and privilege. We should not treat lightly that which the Old Testament saints only got to do at special times and seasons. Our hearts and souls are fed by the manna which comes from Heaven, and the work of fasting is one part of the mercies of the Lord for our Christian life. As we look at the encouragements this morning let us consider why we have not made fasting a common part of our walk and what we should be doing to see it become as routine to us as other spiritual gifts, like prayer, worship, and fellowship.

Here is the section from the Directory of Public Worship for this morning:

He is also to admonish the people, with all importunity, that the work of that day doth not end with the publick duties of it, but that they are so to improve the remainder of the day, and of their whole life, in reinforcing upon themselves and their families in private all those godly affections and resolutions which they professed in publick, as that they may be settled in their hearts for ever, and themselves may more sensibly find that God hath smelt a sweet savour in Christ from their performances, and is pacified towards them, by answers of grace, in pardoning of sin, in removing of judgments, in averting or preventing of plagues, and in conferring of blessings, suitable to the conditions and prayers of his people, by Jesus Christ.

Besides solemn and general fasts enjoined by authority, we judge that, at other times, congregations may keep days of fasting, as divine providence shall administer unto them special occasion; and also that families may do the same, so it be not on days wherein the congregation to which they do belong is to meet for fasting, or other publick duties of worship.

While still primarily speaking about the duties and responsibilities of the pastor the mood of the DPW moves to a word of encouragement to those hearing the preaching to consider for a moment how they are going to implement what they have been admonished to do. When speaking about the “work of that day” it is referring back to the day of fasting which has been proclaimed either by the civil magistrate or the elders of a local church. Fasting in and of itself is always to be accompanied with the means of grace which includes giving the whole day to live as you would on a normal Sabbath. We do not believe the Fourth Commandment applies to any other time of the week other than Sunday, but that does not mean it is not good for us physically and spiritually to take a break and use a day of fasting to accomplish many of the same good mercies that the ordinary Sabbath provides. As Christians there is much we miss out on when we do not cleanse our minds from the trivialities of this world and instead become awestruck at the holiness and righteousness of God in His love for us, despite our unworthiness to receive it.

A good habit is to use the psalms and other songs found in Scripture to narrate for us our own speaking out of the type of things we are asking God for through the fasting act. Take Hannah’s words in 1 Samuel 2 for example. In that we hear her say, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.”, there is a triumphant blessing in understanding that our reliance on the means and instruments of God’s design and purpose shame those who would see our destruction. Things like fasting, prayer, et al might look, as Paul says, weakness to the world, but to those who are being saved it is the very power of righteousness in the sure and present promise of Christ.

Another thing worth noting here is that the call to fasting is also available to heads of households to administer for family worship, and even for private individuals to engage in as a personal time of devotion when something particularly special is going on in their lives that they for whatever reason would like to keep to themselves and the Lord. Think about what would happen in your own family if the dad led the children and his wife in a time of fasting for a big decision, or for spiritual growth, or just for a better strengthening of their love for one another. As Christ says to the disciples, we have not because we ask not. We would be amazed at the difference if we just did it. Do not be afraid to use the simple measures of God to accomplish wonderful things.

I’m currently taking my last Th.M class at Erskine Seminary and I just finished writing a paper on Jesus’s words criticizing the Pharisee’s for their need to publicly tell everyone about their works of repentance and praise. In that part of the Sermon On the Mount our Savior is very carefully witnessing to us a negative example of a positive blessing. Fasting can serve as a spiritual cleansing testimony between our Heavenly Father and us that can serve to help us be more focus in asking for wisdom, inspiration, and joyful cheer. No one else needs to know about it, for as long as God does that makes all the difference, and really should be the only one who matters in that time. It is an act of faith and love lifting us up in grace and the strength of His hands. Not everything needs blasted on FB to be paraded around before men. God is enough.

In closing, our time in the doctrine of fasting has been short and sweet but I hope it has opened up an avenue of spiritual blessing that you and your family may not have considered before. If you have need of a “manual” of how to go about this the DPW section provides a helpful direction to add this to your spiritual diet. May the Lord bless your trust in His ways!

Here is the last word:

https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/should-christians-fast/

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Pastor, Bethany ARP Church