Does Fasting Really Work? | Biblical Fasting | Tony Evans Sermon Clip

Summary

The video script emphasizes the importance of genuine fasting and repentance to strengthen one's spiritual life. It highlights the necessity of addressing personal sins and attitudes to maintain a strong connection with God. The speaker explains how fasting, when done with sincere intentions, can lead to significant spiritual gains. Using various biblical references, the script underscores that true fasting is about prioritizing spiritual needs over physical desires, seeking God's intervention in life's challenges, and humbling oneself to achieve a deeper fellowship with God.

Takeaways

• 🩺 You must be willing to tell the doctor what's wrong if you want the doctor to make it right, similar to how you must be willing to tell God what's wrong to restore fellowship with Him.
• 📜 Isaiah 58 discusses how to sharpen your spiritual acts and get more accomplished, emphasizing the importance of fasting.
• 🍽️ Fasting is a deliberate abstinence from physical gratification to achieve a greater spiritual goal.
• 🙏 Zechariah 7:5-6 explains that fasting is for God, while eating is for oneself.
• ✝️ Jesus emphasized fasting in His absence to sharpen spiritual focus.
• 👶 The analogy of a pacifier shows that fake fasting is like fake food; it doesn't benefit you spiritually.
• 🛐 True fasting prioritizes the spiritual over the physical, seeking a deeper connection with God.
• ❓ In Isaiah 58:3, people question why their fasting hasn't been noticed by God, indicating the need for proper spiritual alignment.
• 📉 To genuinely fast, one must humble themselves and address sin, not just go through the motions.
• 🔍 Just like a colonoscopy removes harmful elements, spiritual fasting requires cleansing sin to allow God's intervention.

Q & A

Why is it important to tell the doctor or God what's wrong?

It is important because addressing and acknowledging the issues allows the doctor to provide the right treatment and God to remove obstacles that block fellowship and communication with Him.

What does the prophet in Isaiah 58 emphasize about fasting?

The prophet emphasizes that fasting is about prioritizing the spiritual over the physical, setting aside physical needs to achieve greater spiritual goals and accomplishments.

What are some reasons people fast according to the Bible?

People fasted for various reasons including seeking a mate, relief from trouble, and other specific situations that required divine intervention.

How does Zechariah 7:5-6 describe the purpose of fasting?

Zechariah 7:5-6 states that fasting is done for God, while eating is for oneself. Fasting involves giving up physical gratification to gain spiritual benefits for God.

What did Jesus say about fasting after His ascension?

Jesus said that after His death, resurrection, and ascension, His followers would fast until He comes again, highlighting the need for a sharpened spiritual focus through fasting.

What is the significance of using a pacifier as a metaphor in the context of fasting?

A pacifier symbolizes fake gratification. Just as a pacifier does not provide real nourishment, fake fasting or superficial religious activities do not provide genuine spiritual benefits.

Why did the people in Isaiah 58 feel their fasting was ineffective?

The people felt their fasting was ineffective because, despite performing the rituals, they did not receive responses from heaven. Their fasting was more about fulfilling desires rather than genuine spiritual devotion.

What is the primary goal of fasting according to the script?

The primary goal of fasting is to place the spiritual ahead of the physical, demonstrating a need for divine intervention and prioritizing heavenly matters over earthly concerns.

What does it mean to spiritually humble oneself before God during fasting?

Spiritually humbling oneself involves repentance and acknowledging sin, ensuring that religious activities are not a cover for unrighteous behavior. It is about facing and addressing one's sins honestly.

Why is repentance crucial for effective fasting?

Repentance is crucial because unaddressed sin can block communication with God. Acknowledging and addressing sin allows one to receive God's solutions and blessings more effectively.

Outlines

00:00

🙏 The Importance of Honesty with God

The speaker emphasizes the necessity of honesty with God, paralleling it with being honest with a doctor to receive proper treatment. The passage from Isaiah 58 discusses sharpening spiritual acts through fasting, highlighting that people in the Bible fasted for various reasons, such as seeking a mate or relief from trouble. Fasting is described as a deliberate abstinence from physical gratification to achieve a greater spiritual goal. The speaker warns against fake fasting, comparing it to a pacifier that provides no real nourishment, and underscores the need for genuine spiritual hunger and honesty before God.

05:02

🙏 True Spiritual Prioritization Through Fasting

The speaker explains that fasting places the spiritual above the physical, emphasizing the need for a spiritual boost. Fasting is a declaration of needing heaven more than earth, showing God the seriousness of one’s spiritual needs by giving up physical comforts. The speaker contrasts this with the devil’s attempt to prioritize the physical over the spiritual. The passage from Isaiah 58 is cited, where God questions the people's superficial fasting practices and calls for genuine repentance and spiritual humility as the first step to effective fasting.

10:03

🙏 The Necessity of Spiritual Cleansing

The speaker highlights the need to face sin and unrighteousness honestly, using the metaphor of stepping on a scale to reveal the truth. The passage from Isaiah 58 is referenced again, emphasizing spiritual humility and repentance as crucial for effective fasting. The speaker compares the process to a remodeling project, where tearing out the old is necessary before introducing the new. The analogy of a colonoscopy is used to illustrate the uncomfortable but necessary process of cleansing to achieve a healthy spiritual life. The speaker concludes by stressing the importance of allowing God to remove sin to receive His blessings through fasting.

Keywords

💡Fasting

Fasting is defined as a deliberate abstinence from physical gratification, particularly food, to achieve a greater spiritual goal. The video emphasizes that fasting is a way to prioritize spiritual needs over physical ones, and it is mentioned as a method to sharpen one's spiritual focus and draw closer to God. Various examples of fasting in different situations are given, such as seeking relief from trouble or finding a mate.

💡Spiritual Humility

Spiritual humility involves acknowledging one's sins and repenting for them, symbolized by the posture of sackcloth and ashes. In the video, spiritual humility is described as a necessary step for effective fasting and for gaining God's attention. It is linked to the idea of facing one's sins and not using religious activities as a camouflage for unrighteous behavior.

💡Prayer

Prayer is depicted as a fundamental aspect of spiritual life that can be enhanced by fasting. The video suggests that combining fasting with prayer is essential to sharpen one's spiritual 'ax' and achieve greater spiritual goals. Prayer is seen as a way to communicate with God and seek His intervention in one's life.

💡Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58 is referred to as the longest passage in the Bible on fasting. The prophet Isaiah addresses the children of Israel and provides guidance on how to fast properly. The video uses Isaiah 58 to illustrate the correct attitude and approach to fasting, emphasizing the need for sincerity and spiritual focus rather than merely going through the motions.

💡Repentance

Repentance is the act of acknowledging and turning away from sin. The video emphasizes that true repentance involves facing one's sins honestly and seeking forgiveness from God. It is presented as a crucial component of spiritual humility and a necessary step for effective fasting and prayer.

💡Spiritual Discipline

Spiritual discipline refers to practices that enhance one's spiritual growth and connection with God, such as fasting and prayer. The video highlights the importance of incorporating spiritual disciplines into one's life to address deep issues and draw closer to God. These practices are portrayed as ways to prioritize spiritual over physical needs.

💡Physical vs. Spiritual

The contrast between physical and spiritual needs is a central theme in the video. Fasting is described as a way to prioritize spiritual goals over physical gratification. The video argues that focusing too much on physical needs can limit one's spiritual growth and access to divine intervention, while fasting helps to shift the focus towards spiritual nourishment.

💡Sackcloth and Ashes

Sackcloth and ashes are traditional symbols of mourning and repentance in the Bible. The video uses this imagery to illustrate the posture of spiritual humility required for effective fasting. By donning sackcloth and ashes, individuals demonstrate their sincere repentance and acknowledgment of sin before God.

💡Spiritual Booster

A spiritual booster is an enhancement of one's spiritual state achieved through practices like fasting. The video describes fasting as a way to receive a 'spiritual booster' when normal worship practices are not sufficient. This concept underscores the need for intensified spiritual efforts to achieve greater spiritual goals.

💡Pacifier

In the video, a pacifier is used metaphorically to describe fake fasting or religious activities that provide no real spiritual benefit. The pacifier represents actions that may seem spiritual but do not satisfy true spiritual hunger. This metaphor highlights the importance of genuine spiritual practices over superficial ones.

Highlights

The importance of telling God about our attitudes and actions to maintain fellowship with Him.

Isaiah 58 discusses how to sharpen your spiritual acts and get more accomplished through fasting.

Fasting is a deliberate abstinence from physical gratification to achieve a greater spiritual goal.

Zechariah 7:5-6 highlights the distinction between fasting for God and eating for oneself.

Jesus emphasized the necessity of fasting until His return to sharpen spiritual focus.

Fake fasting is like a pacifier, providing no real spiritual nourishment.

God wants us to be hungry for Him, not just going through the motions of religious activities.

Isaiah 58:3 addresses why fasting might seem ineffective when we focus on our desires rather than God's.

Fasting signifies that the spiritual is more important than the physical, emphasizing dependence on God.

To truly fast, we must address sin in our lives and humble ourselves before God.

Religious activity should not be a camouflage for unrighteousness; we must face our sins honestly.

The process of remodeling our spiritual lives requires tearing out sin, much like remodeling a house.

A spiritual colonoscopy, similar to a medical one, is necessary to remove the 'junk' and prevent spiritual 'cancer.'

God's chosen fast involves repentance and humility, allowing Him to work effectively in our lives.

Fasting adds power to prayer, sharpening our spiritual focus and enabling us to achieve greater spiritual goals.

Transcripts

you must be willing to tell the doctor

what's wrong if you want the doctor to

make it right

you and I must be willing to tell God

what's wrong with our attitudes our

actions what we did what we said

that would block fellowship with him if

we want to hear from heaven

in Isaiah 58.

the prophet talks to the children of

Israel

and he speaks to us today

about how to sharpen your spiritual acts

to get more accomplished

it is the single longest passage in

scripture on fasting

the Bible references fasting throughout

in your spiritual guide I will list the

whole list of passages because people

fasted

for different kinds of situations

throughout the Bible

single people fasted for a mate when

people were in trouble they fasted for

relief from the trouble

all kinds of scenario called for it

but it was a time where they would set

aside the physical in order to gain

something more important than the

spiritual

fasting can be defined as a deliberate

abstinence from some form of physical

gratification

for a period of time in order to

activate a greater spiritual goal or to

achieve a greater spiritual goal

Zechariah 7 verses 5 and 6 says

you fast for God you eat for yourself

we eat fit for our physical well-being

for our nutritional value but he says

when you fast

when you intentionally give up the

physical to gain the spiritual you do

that for God

and so

Jesus made the point that in my absence

after my death resurrection and

Ascension you will Fast until I come

again

because if you need something to happen

in the physical you're going to need to

have a sharpened ax in the spiritual

and that sharpened acts is when you add

fasting to prayer

I was speaking to a group uh here

recently

and when I spoke to the group my mother

had a baby in her arms

and the baby

broke the meeting up

because the baby

started crying and

just creating all kind of distractions

in the meeting so I'm trying to speak to

this group they're distracted I'm

distracted

the baby was hungry

the baby wanted food and the baby was

hungry and desperate

it's bad enough his baby is hungry but

if a baby's hungry and desperate the

baby will turn the place out

the mother recognizing that there was a

big disturbance tried to pacify

the baby she went in and brought out a

pacifier

that's called fake food

a pacifier is designed to shut you up

while not benefiting you at all

a pacifier is fake news

pacifier is designed to make you think

something is happening

because you're performing the duty you

are sucking and sucking and sucking and

sucking so maybe if you suck hard enough

and long enough you think

something is happening in your life

a lot of fake fasting goes on

where you can go through the motions to

pacify and make you think you are

spiritual

make you think you're going there's a

lot of pacifying worship that goes on

because I went to church I must be

spiritual or getting close to God

well the way you know you've been

pacified is you're still hungry

after you've done the work

God wants us to be hungry but he wants

us to be hungry for him

he wants there to be a hunger for God

and so

Isaiah writes

and the people

had a question verse 3 verse 3 of Psalm

I mean Isaiah 58 why have we fasted and

you do not see

why have we humbled ourselves and you do

not notice

behold on the day of your fast

you find your desire in other words

we come to you we tell you what we want

we tell you what we need we give you our

desires and we don't hear a thing

so we've done the duty we we've we've

done what you've asked us to do we

fulfilled what you've required but

Heaven is not responding Heaven is not

answering us

fasting is supposed to say that the

spiritual is more important than the

physical

that the Supernatural is more important

than the natural

fasting says that man does not live by

bread alone

that the physical can't fix this

fasting says I need a spiritual booster

because the vaccine of my normal worship

isn't working

it is to declare

that I need heaven

more than I need Earth

and to let you know God how serious I am

I'm gonna let something on Earth go

for a period of time because I need

something more important from heaven

and so it's designed to place the

spiritual in front of the physical of

course Satan wants to flip the script he

wants to make the physical more

important than the spiritual

because if he can keep you physical then

he can push back spiritual which gives

you limited access to Heaven while

increased access to Earth but since

Earth is not sufficient then you find

yourself Limited in what you are able to

achieve from a spiritual perspective and

so

they were calling on God they were going

to the Motions they were doing the

routine

and the question is raised at the

beginning of verse 5 is it a fast like

this which I choose

not the one you want

but the one I choose in other words

you've given it your own definition

you've come about you doing this your

way and not the way that I demand expect

and require

this leads him to an instruction for us

and for those of you who will enter into

this concept of making this a part of

your spiritual discipline with a day a

week or a portion of a day a week to

deal with the Deep issues of life and a

family that and you know you need

fasting because Earth was not able to

solve it and so

he gives them a baseball outline

then baseball they are there's the first

base the second base and the third base

and the goal is home plate

because when you hit home plate you

score

so the idea is to be able to round the

basis of fasting so that when you have

completed it you have scored Heaven

invading history

so first base

the place that you go first in the fast

that he chooses continuing in verse five

is it for Bowing one's head like a reed

and for spreading out sackcloth and

Ashes as a bed will you call this a fast

even an acceptable day to the Lord

so the first thing you've got to do to

have an acceptable time an acceptable

concentrated prayer time that includes

giving up the physical for the spiritual

because you need heaven on Earth is

spiritually humbling ourselves before

God

he calls it humble yourself sack off and

Ashes which is the posture of repentance

in other words he says

if you want my attention from heaven you

must be willing to address sin in your

life

sackcloth and Ashes humbling yourself in

other words you cannot use religious

activity as a camouflage for unrighteous

activity

we must face our sin

if we want to see God's Solutions

if we are not willing to face our sins

not excuse them but face them

to acknowledge God

the Bible says that the one Psalm 6 66

18.

who Harbors wickedness in his heart will

not hear from God

so if you want to hear from God you must

face unrighteousness in your life or my

life or collectively in our lives we

must not call it a mistake a bad habit

or you know my bad

we've got to call it what God calls it

if God has called it and God calls it's

sin when we dis obey him or his word

and so you must face it humble yourself

sackcloth and Ashes it is the posture of

repentance and he says this is the uh a

day that I approve of that I accept

there are probably some people in here

who avoid the scale

if someone were to ask you if you

stepped on the scale lately

you would you would say no and then

other people who step on it and lean

one reason that people don't step on it

or step on it and lean is they don't

want to face the truth

they don't want to they don't want it to

be revealed

that you've returned to meet

and dessert

you don't want it revealed that

the scale is going up and not going down

thinking that somehow

not getting on the scale

is

changing something

that leaning on it causing it to lie has

changed something

it is an unwillingness to face the

reality that keeps us from not

benefiting

you must be willing to tell the doctor

what's wrong if you want the doctor to

make it right

you and I must be willing to tell God

what's wrong with our attitudes our

actions what we did what we said

that would block fellowship with him if

we want to hear from Heaven according to

Psalm 66 18. so

you know when you want to remodel

something

you've got to be willing to

tear stuff out

and it's messy

before you can put new stuff in

and a lot of us want God to remodel our

circumstances when we don't want him to

tear out our sin

and if he's not free to tear out on

unrighteousness he's not free to remodel

Our Lives

and put them in the order that we want

them to be and need them to be in and

request that they be in

many of us have had colonoscopies

that's not a fun situation

colonoscopy is not one of those exams

you look forward to

but until the doctor can get rid of the

junk

he can't see or she can't see and remove

the polyps that can produce the cancer

and so even though it is an

uncomfortable process and an

uncomfortable exam is necessary to have

a healthy colon and deliver cancer-free

life from the colon perspective God is

inviting us to spiritual colonoscopies

he's saying I want to cleanse of sin so

that I am free to produce what you need

in your life through the fast which I

choose not the one that you want but the

one that I choose