In order to understand a new way to fast, we need to understand why they fasted in first place – Old Wineskin, old system

1. Consecration – Joshua before they passed over into promised land
2. Grief/sorrow
3. God to Intervene – Esther before she approached King
4. Repentance/Forgiveness

Let’s look at those reasons to fast as followers of Jesus:

1. Consecration – we don’t fast to make ourselves holy, because Jesus already took care of that – remember, you can’t make yourself holy, so to fast in order to make yourself holy is just a religious practice because your only hope for holiness was taken care of by the cross – Jesus already burst that old wineskin.

2. God to Intervene – God already intervened through Jesus – we don’t fast for God to do something, we fast because of what he has already done.

3. Repentance/Forgiveness - again, fasting for forgiveness is under an old wineskin, old system – no longer living under sacrificial system that causes you to consistently have to keep coming back to the table over and over – Jesus took care of that on the cross once and for all – not that we don’t confess and repent, but not under old way of thinking – as followers of Jesus, we live FORGIVEN.

So, what is the new way to fast?

1. Fasting REPLENISHES the flow of the Spirit. Again, Matthew 5:6, Jesus said that when we hunger for the right things, we are filled – filled with what? THE SPIRIT! look at it this way: food feeds the flesh, Spirit feeds the Soul – when you fast from food, you are starving the flesh, or weakening your flesh– now, as your flesh is starved, God’s presence becomes the sustaining source in your life – it’s like getting the blood flowing.

Look at Paul in Romans 7:21-25 – there is a spiritual battle taking place in all of us – you get this, right? I do the things I don’t want to, and don’t do the things I know I should – but the point of fasting is not simply about weakening the flesh, but strengthening the flow of the Spirit in your life – Matt Chandler calls it ABUNDANCE through ABSTINENCE – It is the strengthening of the flow of the Spirit by weakening the strength of the flesh – getting the spiritual blood flowing

2. Fasting REVEALS your true identity. Gets rid of my greatest toxin – ME. - ILLUS – when I think about who I was and who I am today, I can see it in two ways – One way is that I used to be a manipulator – I used to lie for sport, or tell half-truths to get people to do what I wanted them to do – so, easy to say that as long as I tell the truth, I am living in Jesus – but really, manipulation is influence, and God has called me to be an influencer – so, my natural desire to influence infused with the power of God is my true identity – and fasting brings that to the surface – Ephesians 2:10 is realized through fasting.

3. Fasting RELEASES the POWER of GOD in your life. Remember when Jesus sent out the 72 and they came back saying, “even the demons submit to us” – but then we see this event in Matthew 17 and Mark 9 where the disciples were asked to drive out an impure spirit and couldn’t – Jesus comes on the scene and cast it out immediately – then the Disciples ask him privately, “Why couldn’t we do that?” His response? This kind only comes out through prayer and fasting – first of all, there are different kinds of demons? YIKES! But Jesus says here that fasting unlocks POWER – Coupled with PRAYER.