Sunday, June 29, 2025
Deeper: Developing Spiritual Habits
“Fasting”
Matthew 6:16-18 (CSB)
- Humility- “A balanced understanding of one's place in the world, acknowledging strengths and weaknesseswithout pride or arrogance.”
- Spiritual Habits: “Spiritual habits are disciplines we put into our lives that place us in a position to hear from God and allow Him to take us deeper into life with Christ.”
- Key Truth: “The habits we form determine the people we become.”
Main Question: How does the posture of fasting open up the doors for God to do a deep work in us?
1. Fasting in our private lives. (Matthew 6:16a)
- Fasting- The abstaining from food [or a normal function], for a short or long period of time, as an exercise in self-denial and self-discipline for spiritual purposes, especially prayer.
So, why do we fast?
a. To strengthen prayer.
b. To seek God’s guidance.
c. To express grief.
d. To seek deliverance or protection.
e. To express repentance and the return to God.
f. To humble oneself before God.
g. To express concern for the work of God.
h. To minister to the needs of others.
i. To overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God.
j. To express love and worship to God
- Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 156-170
2. Fasting in our public lives. (Matthew 6:16b-18)
- Jesus is more concerned about the motive behind our spiritual habits than simply the habits themselves.
After the Message:
Read Week 5 of the DEEP Devotional Journal on pages 115-139.