FOR STAFF AND CAMPAIGN TEAM
By Pastor Lance Witt
AN OUTDATED ODDITY?
When I was a kid growing up in church, I heard hundreds of sermons, sat through
hundreds of small group lessons, and participated in dozens of programs at my
church. Throughout all of those years saturated in “church,” I do not remember my
pastor one time ever doing a message on fasting. I do not ever remember a small
group lesson on fasting. I don’t ever remember our church being called to a time of
prayer and fasting as we sought God on some important decision.
By default, I grew up thinking that fasting was something they did in the Old
Testament that was sort of like animal sacrifices. We just don’t do it anymore. And I
was fine with that. The idea of going extended periods of time without eating didn’t
sound like my idea of fun.
AN ASSUMED PRACTICE!
But, then we read a passage like Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV):
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces
to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in
full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be
obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
This passage comes right in the middle of Jesus’ teaching on prayer and giving. In
this sermon, Jesus uses phrases like: “When you give” (v. 2), “When you pray” (v. 5),
and “When you fast” (v. 16). Jesus assumes that his audience will give, will pray, and
will fast. Fasting is not an option. It is not an oddity. Fasting, according to Jesus, is a
given. In fact, fasting is mentioned more times in the Bible than baptism!
In the Bible, we observe the people of God fasting for a variety of reasons:
• They were facing a crisis
• They were seeking God’s protection and deliverance
• They had been called to repentance and renewal
• They were asking God for guidance
• They were humbling themselves in worship
THE DANGER IN THE DISCIPLINE
But there is an inherent danger in fasting. It is the same danger that is found in the
practice of any spiritual discipline. We can turn fasting into an end unto itself, rather
than a means to an end. It can become merely an external practice without an
internal passion. It can be reduced to a habit without heart. We see an example of
this in Luke 18:12, where Jesus tells the story of a Pharisee who bragged to God in
prayer that he fasted twice a week. Pharisees habitually fasted twice a week, usually
on the 2nd and 5th days of the week. These two days happened to be the major days
for the Jewish market. That meant the city was packed with farmers, merchants, and
shoppers. Therefore, these days of public fasting would have the largest audiences.
Jesus condemned the practice of fasting when it was done in such a way as to
receive public adulation.
We have an ability to take that which is sacred, holy, and meant to draw us closer to
the Father, and turn it into a merely mechanical, religious drill that we use to impress
others of our spirituality. What was intended to draw us to God now actually
distances us from God because we have perverted it. And God notices. He prompted
the prophet Zechariah to ask the people and the priests of Israel, “During those
seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and at the
festival in early autumn, was it really for Me that you were fasting?” (Zechariah 7:5
NLT Italics is mine)
A TIME OF FEASTING
When John Wesley spoke of fasting, he said “First, let it be done unto the Lord with
our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to
glorify our Father which is in Heaven.”
When we decide to set aside time to fast,
here is what I think would please the heart
of God. Let’s talk about this time of spiritual
discipline not as a day of fasting, but a day
of feasting – feasting on Jesus.
There is an orphanage in India where the
staff and the children all fast every Friday.
And you know what they call it? They call it
their day of feasting on Jesus. And do you
know what they do during their day of
feasting? They pray for the American church.
Now, that is humbling.
A CALL TO FAST
That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time! Give me your hearts.
Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. [13] Don’t tear your clothing in your grief;
instead, tear your hearts.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful.
He is not easily angered. He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you.
[14] Who knows? Perhaps even yet he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing
instead of this terrible curse. Perhaps he will give you so much that you will be able to
offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before!
[15] Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people together
for a solemn meeting. [16] Bring everyone-the elders, the children, and even the babies.
Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room. [17] The
priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, will stand between the people and the
altar, weeping. Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord! They belong to you, so don’t let
them become an object of mockery. Don’t let their name become a proverb of
unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Where is the God of Israel? He must be helpless!’ “
Joel 2:12-17 (NLT)
- Fasting starts with the spiritual leaders. Joel starts off his urgent call to a fast
by saying, “Hear this, you elders.” (Joel 1:2) - Fasting is often associated with a sense of spiritual desperation. Joel 2:12 says,
“Turn to me now, while there is time!” Notice the sense of urgency and
desperation.
• Fasting is not so much about food
as it is about focus.
• Fasting is not so much about
saying no to the body as it is
about saying yes to the Spirit.
• Fasting is not about doing without, it is about looking within.
• Fasting is an outward response to
an inward attitude and cry of the
soul. - Fasting is a call to return to God. (Joel 2:13) Israel’s first need, like that of the
prodigal son, was just to come home to the Father. God doesn’t talk about the
people’s need for better plans, programs, or strategies. He is simply saying to
them: You have been unfaithful to me. Come home.
Fasting helps to express, to deepen, to confirm the resolution that we are ready
to sacrifice anything…to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God.
Andrew Murray - Fasting is not about the externals. In Joel 2:13, God says, “Don’t tear your
clothing in grief, instead tear your hearts.” It is entirely possible to go without
food and not have a true fast. - Fasting is the response of a broken heart. Why does Joel say, “Come with
weeping, fasting, and mourning”? (2:12) Because repentance is the appropriate
response when you have strayed. And, God is responsive. “He is gracious and
merciful…not easily angered” (2:13). Somehow, God is drawn to the empty,
broken, needy, and weak. As Jim Cymbala says, “God is attracted to weakness.” - Fasting is the humble response to immense responsibility. Joel calls a solemn
assembly. In verse 15 he says, “blow the trumpet…announce a time of fasting”
and he urges everyone to get there – the elders, the children, the babies; he even
says to get the bride and groom! Why? Because God’s name and reputation were
at stake (2:17). The people of Israel were being urged to enter a time of fasting,
with the direct result that they would preserve God’s reputation and glorify His
name. That is an immense responsibility!
PLUG INTO GOD’S POWER
I’ll tell you what a sobering thought to me is, as I think about 40 Days of Community.
It is the thought that God has given us a sacred stewardship. He has allowed us to
lead something much larger than ourselves or our church. With that comes great
responsibility, because His name and reputation are on the line.
Let’s not forget that the 40 Days of Community Campaign is not an end in itself. It is
simply a way of putting people in touch with the life-changing power of God for their
lives. We have a plan called 40 Days of Community, but we need the power of God in
it. And, you don’t program the power of God into something, you pray the power of
God into it.
I am excited that we have made prayer a
vital part of this year’s campaign, but I have
a fear. My fear is that we will talk so much
about prayer that we are lulled into thinking
that we are actually praying, when we’re
really not. Think of it this way: You walk into
someone’s house, and you notice that the
door squeaks, the paint is peeling, the legs on
their chairs are broken, and the windows are
cracked and hanging off their hinges. Then
you walk into their garage and see that is full
of state-of-the-art tools, all gleaming, fresh
out of the boxes. But you can tell from the
state of the house that these wonderful tools
have never been used. Tools are only good if
they are put to use.
Likewise, we have this incredibly powerful tool called prayer. But it will do us no good
if we know it’s there, but we keep it in storage, never pulling it out and applying it to
our problems, concerns, relationships, and responsibilities. Prayer is the tool that God
has given us to use on all the disrepair in our lives, in our church body, in our
communities, in our country. I would urge you to use the experience of fasting to
restore your focus and revive the power of prayer in your life. Feast on God during
this important time.
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