“When You Fast, Do So in Secret”

(Matthew 6:16-18)

Introduction: Our Lord Jesus, as you will recall, in this section of the Sermon on the
Mount, has been teaching us to be careful not to do our acts of righteousness in the sight
of other people, so that they will see us and think how wonderful and holy we are. Now
we also saw that this doesn’t mean that others are never to see what we do. There are
certain things which the Lord wants the world to see in our lives. Jesus told us in chapter
5, verse 16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” If we are to be a light to this world,
then the unbeliever must be able to see something different in us, and hear something
different in the words we speak. Light is the opposite of darkness. Light illumines it.
Jesus has placed us in the world so that those who are in darkness may know that they are
in danger of the judgment, and so that they might escape it in Christ. Now, if none of
God’s children gave off any light, then there wouldn’t be any light in the world. Then all
those who are in the darkness would stumble around blindly and eventually walk straight
into hell. Now I don’t mean by this that they have no light at all. God has given
everyone enough light in the Creation to show them that they are guilty. But they reject
this light. The only thing that can save them is the truth. And when God is pleased to
save any, He sends that truth out through His people like a light to show His elect the
way to go. It is important then that we, as Christians, learn the truth, speak the truth, and
live that truth openly for everyone to see.
But on the other hand, Jesus warns us here that we must not to get so caught up in
doing good works that we begin to do them for our own glory and not for God’s. Usually
this is more common within the church, than without. Generally, we’re too afraid to let
those outside the church know we’re Christians to live and speak the truth in front of
them. But inside the church is another story. Far too often we tend to do whatever we do
to impress our brethren, rather than the Lord. But Jesus has been warning us that if we do
our good works to be seen of men, then their applause is all we can expect to receive.
We will have no reward from our Father who is in heaven. Jesus tells us, therefore, that
if there are things we can do in private, we should do them in private. If we really are
wanting to do them for the Lord, then we should do them so that only He can see. When
we give money to the poor, we should try not to let anyone else see, especially how much
we gave. When we pray, we are to do so secretly, where no one but God will see us,
unless we are praying together as God’s people. When we do these things in this way, so
that only God can see them, then the Father who sees us in secret, will reward us openly,
either in this life, or in the age to come.

But there is one more work of righteousness which Jesus says we are to do in
secret, and that is fasting.

Now I think we already have a good understanding of what Jesus wants us to do

here from the other two examples He has already given to us. He tells us that when we
fast, we should not go out of our way to look like we’re suffering for God by not keeping
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ourselves neat and clean and by having a painful look on our faces. Instead, we should
try as much as possible to look normal, so that others won’t know that we’re fasting, at
least, that is, when we fast privately. There are times when we should fast publicly. But
even then, we are not to embellish our fasting with various looks, words and gestures
which are designed to make others think more highly of our sacrifice. Just remember that
when you fast, or do any other work of righteousness, that you must do it to be seen of
God and not of man. And the Lord who sees you in secret will reward you.
But seeing that it has now been over three years since we last looked at the subject
of fasting in general, I wanted to use the majority of our time on this. I won’t ask for a
show of hands as to how many of you have fasted since that last series of sermons, but I
wouldn’t be surprised if only a few or none of you have. I don’t believe that the church
today is really taking this command of the Lord seriously. I don’t believe that we are.
But hopefully we will see by the end of the sermon that we had better start doing so
pretty soon. Fasting is important, very important.

I. Well then, What is a fast?

A. First of all, fasting is a religious duty. Perhaps you don’t realized this, but that is
exactly what it is. Until you see this, you really won’t be very interested in
knowing how to fast, so we will look at this point first.
1. Remember what Jesus is talking about in this section: He is speaking about
religious duties and how to perform them.
a. He says in 6:1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be
noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in
heaven.” His subject is “The Practice of Righteousness: What to Do and
How to Do It to the Glory of God.”
b. Now do you suppose that Jesus would include anything in this section which
was not important to Him or to His Father? No. You would expect Him, in
the small amount of space He gives to it, to highlight for us the most
important thing we could do.

2. What specific acts does He include? He speaks of three things: giving to the
poor, prayer, and fasting. I would submit to you that all three of these are
singled out by Jesus because they are important to Him.
a. Giving, especially to the poor, is commended to us again and again in
Scripture.
(i) Psalm 112 opens with these words, “Praise the LORD! How blessed is
the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His
commandments” (v. 1). What is this man like? Among other things, the
psalmist says, he is gracious and lends (v. 5). Another thing he does is
give to the poor. He writes, “He has given freely to the poor; his
righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor.”
(ii) Paul speaks of giving to help the needy brethren as a grace which God
had given to the churches in Macedonia. He wrote, “Now, brethren, we
wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the
churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance
of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.
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For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability they
gave of their own accord, begging us with much entreaty for the favor of
participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected,
but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God” (2
Cor. 8:1-5).
(iii) The Lord desires that we exercise the same love towards our neighbor
that we do towards ourselves. But we are especially to be concerned about
the needs of our brethren. Paul writes, “So then, while we have
opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of
the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10).

b. And surely no one would question the fact that the Lord wants us to pray.
(i) Actually, there are no less than 7 commands to the saints in the New
Testament alone to pray. But even if there were only one, that would be
enough.
(ii) If there were no commands, and all we had were the examples of the
many saints in the Bible who set their hearts to seek the Lord, that would
be enough.
(iii) But even if we didn’t have those examples, love for God and the desire
to commune with Him would dictate to us that we must pray.
(iv) But the Lord has not left us in the dark about this. Paul writes in 1
Thessalonians 5:13, “Pray without ceasing.” The Christian is to persevere
in prayer as long as he lives, so that he might see the glory of God in the
land of the living.

c. But what about fasting? Is fasting commanded by God?

(i) The fact that Jesus speaks about it here as an act of righteousness
certainly settles that question.
(ii) But even if we didn’t have these words of Christ, we would still be
compelled to the same conclusion by the many examples we find in the
Scripture in the saints and in our Lord.
(a) When Israel was defeated by the people of Ai, Joshua and the elders
tore their clothes, fell on their faces before the ark, and fasted until
evening (Josh. 7:6).
(b) When the Lord struck David’s child by Bathsheba with sickness for
David’s sin, he sought the Lord with fasting (2 Sam. 12:16-17).
(c) When Nehemiah heard in Babylon what had happened to the walls of
Jerusalem, he began to seek the Lord with prayer and fasting (1:4).
(d) Anna, the prophetess, we are told served the Lord “night and day with
fastings and prayers” (Luke 2:27).
(e) Our Lord Himself prepared for His public ministry through prayer and
fasting (Matt. 4:1-2).
(f) Certainly, fasting was a regular part of the saints’ lives.

(iii) There is even an example in the Old Testament when the Lord
commanded His people to fast and pray. He said through the prophet Joel,
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“Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly; gather the elders and all
the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out
to the Lord” (1:14).
(iv) Certainly fasting is a duty. It an act of righteousness which our Lord
requires of us.

B. But since it is a duty, and not optional, certainly it is important for us to know how
to do it.
1. Let me give you two clear and simple definitions of fasting by two well
respected pastors from the past.
a. The first is by Wilhelmus A’Brakel. He writes in his excellent work The
Christian’s Reasonable Service, “Fasting is a special religious exercise in
which the believer deprives himself for a day from all that invigorates the
body, humbling himself in body and soul before God as a means to obtain
what he desires” (4:3).
b. The second is by Henry Scudder. He writes in his book The Christian’s
Daily Walk, “A religious fast . . . is, the sanctifying a day to the Lord by a
willing abstinence from meat and drink, from delights and worldly labours,
that the whole man may be more thoroughly humbled before God, and more
fervent in prayer.”
c. The important things to see here is that first, a fast typically lasts for a day,
except in extraordinary cases, where it might vary anywhere from three days
to forty.
d. Secondly, it consists of denying yourself food and drink. Scudder also very
wisely adds the denial of delights and worldly labor during that time.
e. Thirdly, the reason behind this is to humble yourself before the Lord. When
the body is weakened through a lack of food, it tends to humble the soul,
since they are both bound together, and this can help you in your prayers.
f. Fourthly, the reason why you are separating yourself from food, the world,
and recreation, and humbling yourself before the Lord, is for the purpose of
prayer. You should set the whole day aside to seek the Lord. If this is not
possible, then you should set whatever time you can apart. Certainly some
prayer and fasting is better than none.
g. And lastly, the reason why you are praying and fasting is to seek something
you want from the Lord. But you must always remember that what you want
must be for His glory and according to His will, or He will not hear you even
if you do fast.

C. And this brings us to the last point regarding fasting, and that is, When should we
fast?
1. I want you to notice that Jesus doesn’t tell us how often we should fast, because
that depends on several things, just like it does in His other examples.
a. How often should we give to the poor? It depends on the needs we’re aware
of, and on how much we have to give.
b. How often should we pray? It depends on what we are doing on a given day,
or in a given week, month or year. It depends on the circumstances in our
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lives. Undoubtedly, we all need to pray more than we do. But there is no set
amount of time.
c. How often should we fast? That too depends on the circumstances.

2. What are the circumstances in which we should fast?

a. Consider the examples we have already seen in Scripture.
(i) Joshua and the elders fasted when they were defeated by the people of Ai.
They were greatly concerned because it looked as though the Lord had left
from them.
(ii) David fasted when he sought for God’s mercy for his sin with Bathsheba,
for it was going to cost the life of the child which came from that union.
(iii) Nehemiah fasted when he realized the desolate condition of God’s holy
city.
(iv) Christ fasted just before He began His ministry, seeking for strength
from God to undergo all that He was to face.
(v) In each of these examples, there was something serious and pressing
which compelled God’s people to pray, and in each of these cases, their
prayers were accompanied by a fast.
(vi) Samuel Miller, a Presbyterian minister of the 19th century, wrote, “We
scarcely find in all the scriptural record, either in the Old or New
Testament, a single example of an extraordinary season of humiliation and
prayer which is not accompanied by the abstinence of which we speak”
(Fasting 7).
(vii) From this we can see that a fast is observed when the people of God
earnestly seek Him for some great need.

b. People of God, I would submit to you this morning that we are faced with
just such a need. The situations which exist today in our state and in our
country demand that we pray, and that we accompany our prayers with
fasting.
(i) Several bills were recently signed by the governor of California which
further protect the rights of homosexuals, but which take our rights away.
(ii) AB 1001 was passed which grants civil rights protection on the basis of
sexual orientation. This means that all “profit” organizations cannot
legally refuse to employ an individual because he is a homosexual. This
bill affects Christian book stores, the boy scouts, some churches, and
privately owned Christian businesses.
(iii) AB 1670 raises the fines for discrimination from a ceiling of $25,000 to
$150,000.
(iv) AB 26 legalizes same sex marriages.
(v) AB 537 requires that public schools teach children that homosexuality is
natural and normal.
(vi) These are only the bills regarding homosexuals. There are still other
laws which protect the right of a woman to kill her child.
(vii) Besides all this, fornication and adultery, pornography, drunkenness,
drug abuse, spouse abuse, and gang related crimes are rampant.
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(viii) And the church is about as weak and feeble as she has ever been in
history, being diluted with false doctrine, false professors and a lack of
clear direction.
(ix) The Lord is bringing judgment on this nation because it has turned away
from Him. This is the only thing which can account for all these gross
sins which are plaguing our nation. This is the only thing which can
account for the weakness and indifference of the church.
(x) But what should be our response to this growing tide of evil? What
would the Lord have us to do? He wants us to pray. He wants His
ministers to preach the gospel. He wants all of us to bear witness to it to
others. But He also wants us to fast. These are the only things which will
bring about the repentance which is necessary to turn God’s wrath away
from this nation. If we don’t repent as a nation, we will be destroyed. But
if we repent, then there is still the hope of blessing.
(xi) The Lord said to Solomon, “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no
rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence
among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble
themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land” (2 Chr. 7:13-14).
(xii) People of God, we must humble ourselves, we must pray, we must turn
from our sins, or we can never expect to see God’s blessing in the land of
the living. Purpose in your hearts that you will do so now. Purpose that
you will turn to the Lord now with all your heart. Set aside a day, perhaps
on a regular basis, to humble yourself in prayer and fasting before the
Lord. This is what Jesus your Lord desires from you. And He is worthy
that you should do all in your power to bring Him the glory which is
rightfully His. Out of a love for God and His Christ, seek the Lord, seek
His face, and we may yet see His kingdom come in power in this land.
May our gracious Lord grant that we will. Amen.