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John Piper | – What is the Purpose of Fasting // Ask Pastor John

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John Piper
By Desiring God
33 Comments

Fasting only adds to our hunger for God. Through fasting, we put our stomach where our hearts are to give added intensity to our ache for Jesus.

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Comment (33)

  2. I fasted just for one meal yesterday, and today I felt so much more less attached to the things of this world. It was a truly freeing experience.  I am working up to fasting for 2 days. Cannot wait to see what idols God reveals to me that I have and need to exterminate through my continuation of fasting.

  3. First day fasting. Only drinking V8s, water and Tea. Trying for 2 weeks (till Thanksgiving) and feel a bit different. I don't wanna give up before then. It seem this one day is like a week. I'm always fasting by sacrificing alot of my hobies (sports, music and videogames) and staying away from social media things like Facebook and etc. Feel like I need some advise in doing this. Want to really continue without failing…

  12. There is no specific commandment to fast in the New Testament, but we can do so voluntarily in seeking the Lord. This is why Jesus teaches "When you fast" because fasting was always customary in seeking the Lord.

    John Piper references "The Wedding Guests" will fast. The problem is, we are not "The Wedding Guests in the Church, we are the Bride. The Groom being taken away is a reference to the Groom and Bride going away from the wedding banquet to consummate the wedding, which correlates to the nation of Israel (the wedding guests) being commanded to fast:

    Joel 2:15-16 – Blow the trumpet in Zion,
    Consecrate a fast,
    Call a sacred assembly;
    Gather the people,
    Sanctify the congregation,
    Assemble the elders,
    Gather the children and nursing babes;
    Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
    And the bride from her dressing room. [A reference to the wedding ceremony beginning and rapture approaching]

  17. God bless you Pastor John. I thank the Lord for you and all of your Godly wisdom and love you share towards all the Saints. May the Lord give you boldness to speak clearly about him and proclaim the good news.

  22. Iam fasting because i Feel more Closer the Jesus it keeps to know he is in me always and he seeing me in all things i do and it makes me to thirst of him when i fast i Feel his presence in me I Love Christ with all my Heart and all my mind God bless

  24. It's the second time I've heard this in this light. I must say it makes a lot of sense. I've been taught all my life that it's either a dry fast, meaning no food or drink all day until the evening. Or either no meat, Etc. for so many days.

    But now that I'm hearing this and also searching the scriptures, it makes a lot of sense. I long for the day my LORD and Saviour returns.

    Thanks very much brothers. May GOD bless your hearts.

  25. For all them that perish of hunger on the streets!

    book of Jeremiah.

    Who do you love most Lord; he replied him that feeds the poor and helps the needy! Feed my sheep they them that heard his voice shall obey all of it as a whole not part precept without precept.

  26. If we are to be grouped in New Jerusalem, I want to be in a group with John Piper and Francis Chan. In fact I long for that early church experience in the book of Acts right now with such men. How can we get together with like minded people who are in LOVE in Christ? We attend a local church but it does not seem to happening there.

  30. Matthew 4:1-11

    4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Jesus himself fasted , so every prophet as well!

  31. I'm very grateful hearing what Pastor John Piper has identified fasting to be. The Lord showed me something with this. Tell me if it lines up with Scripture and the Holy Spiirit:

    In that fasting is a physical expression of the deep longing for Jesus Christ, this then supports the harmony of the answer Jesus gave the Pharisee. He said that as long as the Bridegroom is with them – ie – not just a matter of a giving marriage and wedding, which is the specifics of the Disciples' gathering with Christ in celebration, but extendantly, the Bridegroom will soon or sometime later be taken away from them. This indicates a 2-fold action of experience… He will leave willingly for their sakes as Scripture teachers us Christ laid down His life willingly; and the other perspective of His actions which is someone or others will lead Him away or take Him away from them.

    This all speaks to Jesus' death and foresees the Disciples looking forward to His return – His resurrection, ascension into His Great Restoration, but also something far greater which is His Coronation – the Blessed crowning of a greater anointing of oil of gladness moreso than His brothers.

    All of this is massively and utterly emphasised with a supportive word of experience which becomes a practice of the Disciples – mourning.

    Jesus is very specific in saying that when He is taken away, they will mourn for Him. This lines up with Pastor John's explanation of the deep desire of longing for Christ Jesus. In this mourning lies such longing and it transforms into mourning for Him not only over a momentary loss , but also in that in body He abided with them. Now He is gone and they have not ghat physical presence of power.

    Here is were the promise(s) and the reward of obedience comes in: because of this, Jesus tells us to abide in Him through love for Him which is keeping His commandments.

    Fasting then, becomes a physical, mental, emotional, willfully act of worship by mourning for the day of Christ's return, however, because we abide in His love, He thus, returns to us in the Spirit of Holiness that we may not need to mourn any longer.

    Yet He is well with our souls that we continue go practice it as it becomes a character of our being spiritually. So our fasting is an utter surrrenxing of ourselves to mourn over our condition and in this do we long for Him evermore.

    Fasting then, is a spiritual act of abiding worship in Christ, expressed in the physical to mourn over our condition producing a deep longing to have Christ more and more.

    There is a temporal benefit of fasting, but it's incomplete, thus empty. To fast spiritually is to always pursue Christ to draw closer and closer to Him to abide deeper and deeper in His Person – the bosom of Christ – the Holy Spirit.

    Research every Biblcial fasting and you will see that this is the root of every 40 day fast. From Enoch, to Abel to Moses and throughout – our Lord Himself included be a use He so deeply longed for His abiding with the Father. He longed so much to return to His Great Restoration, the glory He originally had and in this lays the Beautiful Coronation of our Lord and Savior as KING of Kings and LORD of Lords… in the order of Malchezidek.

    Fasting truly streamlines our entire person out of the temporal, into the spiritual. I couldn't call the spiritual immaterial because it is highly and very clear that Heaven and all of that existence is the fullness of material reality. Crowns, earthly precious stones and more are in Heaven.

  32. Pagan Catholic and Orthodox Churches with Idols and demonic doctrines … they are fasting … what this mean to God ?? =
    1) God speaks about Fasting = ISAIAH 58:1-14, JOEL 2:12-14, ZECHARIAH 7:1-14, 8:16-20, MATTHEW 6:16-18

    2) Evil People fasting = 1Kings 21:7-16, Acts 23:12-15

    3) Fasting is Bad = Matthew 6:16, 9:14, 15:32, Luke 18:11-12, Acts 27:33 (as Jesus worry for the health of people Matthew 15:32) 2Corinthians 6:5 & 11:27 (here the fast is bad for our bodies but God show to us his power upon our weakness and illness Matthew 4:4 & 2Corinthians 12:9-10) ….

    4) With fasting and sacrifices you cannot change the God’s decision = JEREMIAH 14 (remind us today’s disasters), 2Samuel 12:22-23, 1John 5:15-16, Acts 5:1-11

    5) Fasting helps when man's heart changes when God warns and threatens them = Ezra 8:21, Nehemiah 1:1, Esther 4:3-16, Jonah 3:1-10,

    6) Fasting is Good = Matthew 4:1-11, 6:17-18, 9:15-16, 17:21, Luke 2:37, Acts 13:2-3, 15:23, Acts 27:9 (the Ancient not only Christians had periods of fasting) 1Corinthians 7:5, 2Corinthians 6:5, Psalm 35:13, (prophecy for Jesus Psalm 69:9-10, 109:24-25), Daniel 9:3, Joel 1:14,

    7) Fasting only for good body shape-health ?? = 1Timothy 4:8, Galatians 6:7-8, Hebrews 13:9, 1Corinthians 6:12-20, Matthew 16:26

    8) Matthew 6:25-34, 2Timothy 3:16-17

  33. I am so glad for this word from a man of God.Fasting has helped me so much but I just need to put in more effort in my area of prayer and worship.This needs to be constant but all in all it means so much to me.God is so good in his promises to us all.

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