Why Your Fast is Not Working | Dr Tony Evans | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

Why Your Fast is Not Working

Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship • Aug 8, 2016 • 10 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

Many believers experience times when spiritual disciplines like prayer and fasting seem ineffective, leaving them wondering why God feels distant. In Isaiah 58, God reveals that true fasting requires linking vertical devotion to God with horizontal compassion toward others. When we stop being spiritual cul-de-sacs and become conduits of His blessing to those in need, God promises to hear our cries, shine His light into our darkness, and bring supernatural restoration.

Themes

True Biblical FastingConnecting Vertical Devotion to Horizontal CompassionBeing a Conduit of God's BlessingThe Loving Nature of the TrinitySpiritual Breakthrough and Restoration

Key Points

1.
Using the wrong spiritual 'fuel' causes our lives to sputter, even when we are engaged in religious activities like fasting.
2.
Fasting is defined as giving up a physical craving to gain assistance from the spiritual realm.
3.
God rejects spiritual exercises that seek a vertical experience with Him while neglecting horizontal care for others.
4.
God pays undivided attention to us when we offer to give to others the very blessing we are requesting from Him.
5.
If we only want God's blessings to flow to us and not through us, we become a spiritual cul-de-sac rather than a conduit.
6.
When vertical prayer is connected to horizontal service, God promises quick healing, continuous guidance, and answered prayer.
7.
God exists eternally in loving community as a Trinity, which is why He desires us to reflect His loving nature toward others.
8.
When you give away what you are asking God for, He responds with overflowing generosity to supply your needs.

Sermon Moments

“What you have in your tank is not what the car requires... and that is causing all of your problems.”

“Fasting is giving up a craving of the physical to gain assistance from the spiritual.”

“They wanted a vertical experience with God without a horizontal touch in the lives of others.”

“If you want Him to work to you, but it can't also flow through you... you become a cul-de-sac. You don't become a conduit.”

“Tell Him what you're going to do for somebody else if He comes through for you. Because now you've gotten His undivided attention.”

“I want to be a benefiter, not just a beneficiary. I want to be a helper and not only one who's helped.”

“God is a Trinitarian being... It's like a pretzel with three holes... tied together by the same dough.”

“If you need something supernatural from heaven... give away what you're asking for and then watch God.”

This Week

Identify an area where you are asking God for a breakthrough, and actively look for a way to serve someone else in that same area.

Evaluate your motives during prayer and fasting to ensure you are seeking to be a channel of God's blessing rather than just a receiver.

Reach out to someone in need this week by offering practical assistance, such as sharing a meal, giving financial support, or offering shelter.

In your personal prayers, tell God how you intend to use His answer to bless someone else once He comes through for you.

Examine if you have been focusing solely on personal vertical devotion while ignoring horizontal opportunities to relieve oppression or burdens.

Reflect on the loving, communal nature of the Trinity and seek ways to build genuine, loving connections within your community.

Practice a biblical fast that pairs self-denial with active acts of kindness, generosity, and justice.

Remember This

God responds with undivided attention when we connect our vertical devotion to Him with horizontal compassion and service toward others.

A Challenge for You

Give away what you're asking for and then watch God—pressed down, shaken together, running over—give you the very same thing that you have been requesting.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.