Fasting (Part III)

Hi, this is Dave Scherrerrer, and we're in a set of conversations here at 100 Fold Ministries kingdom offerings regarding the disciplines of the kingdom. And by that, we mean that there are habits or practices that by engaging them in a disciplined manner, help us to live a more abundant kingdom life as kingdom citizens. We've looked at a number of these disciplines so far in this series, generosity, prayer. The last two times we've been together have been discussing the discipline of fasting. And of course, on all these disciplines, you can do an internet search and find hundreds of sites that will inform you and encourage you. And you'll find a few other hundred sites that will deceive you and distract you. So all that to say, be careful about who is telling you the truth these days. So to be safe, let's pull our content on fasting directly from scripture. I think that's a good trusted source. So for instance, in Isaiah 58, the prophet speaks of fasting, but it's in a little bit of a different way. It's presented in a contrast between a superficial or a self-centered fast and a true fast that pleases God. It's a really great teaching distinction in fasting. Isaiah emphasizes that true fasting also involves acts of compassion, of justice, and love, such as feeding the hungry or housing the homeless and clothing the naked. God desires a fast that breaks the chains of wickedness and oppression, not one that is merely a ritualistic display of piety. Okay, so let me just read parts of this chapter to you. And you can pause me if you want. My wife likes to pause me. And you can find this passage in your Bible or in your Bible app. We're reading in Isaiah 58. Isaiah 58, beginning in verse 2. Day after day, they seek me out. They seem to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. Why have we fasted, they say, and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves and you have not noticed it? All right, you can see here that God's got an issue with these concerns, with these gripings that the people are talking about here. The people think that if they fast, that it will make them more religious, or that God will owe them something. If they fast, then perhaps there'll be rain and a good crop, perhaps, or a safety from enemies. They see God as transactional. They treat him as one of the idols of Canaan, where they live, sort of like a good luck charm. As we will read in the passage as we keep going, God's looking for a different kind of good deed, a different kind of fasting. He's looking for deeds of the heart and deeds of justice. So, okay, let's read on. Isaiah now talking to these gripers about their fasting, not being rewarded. He says, yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please, and you exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only for a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed, and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is this what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen, to loosen the chains of injustice, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry, and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, and when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? So let's stop there. You see, God is changing all the rules over the gods of that day in the land that they live. He's changing the rules and relationships that the surrounding nations have with Baal and the other handmade gods of the day. God doesn't stoop to transactions. He is instead looking for transformation, that our hearts and deeds would reflect His true character, and fasting can help us find His true character and then manifest it in our lives. He's looking that our hearts and deeds would reflect His character, and then it's possible for the blessings to flow, to flow naturally like fruit from a tree. He even says it, Isaiah does, in the following verses. He says, then your light will break forth like the dawn. When you fast in a way that changes your community, then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. Then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry for help, and He will say, here I am. God is not reluctant to answer our prayers. He is reluctant to respond to a transactional sense that when I fast, God must be obliged to answer my prayer. Isaiah is also reminding us that all these spiritual disciplines that I've been talking about for the last several weeks can be distorted. They can become a waste of time. Scripture paints a bigger picture regarding how we see the simple act of fasting. In this case, Isaiah invites us to imagine the spiritual disciplines that we practice in our relationship with others, how we work for justice, and how we work for righteousness. Okay, so to review, the spiritual disciplines found in the Bible are practices that when done in a regular behavioral pattern, they become natural habits. We practice them to lean into the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification and holiness. They contribute to our spiritual growth. These habits help us to ultimately know God and His purposes better, and fasting stands along with serving and giving. These are done personally, or they're done as families. They're done as congregations, even as communities, and in the case of Israel, as whole nations. These practices don't imply that we're holy or godly in and of themselves, but they help us to become mature people with an increasingly authentic reflection of God in every area of our lives. As Paul notes in his letter to Timothy, we train ourselves in godliness. So, fasting. Fasting is abstaining from eating or limiting one's food in a very basic way, or frugal way, for periods of time, and as we've said in previous podcasts, we may fast from other behaviors or worldly practices. The purpose is twofold, to make oneself humble, to experience total dependence on God, and to give then clarity to the sharpness and the meaning of our prayers and worship. The second purpose is to invoke an empathy for those who are hungry and those who are in need, to strengthen solidarity and to motivate us to share what we have with others who lack resources. Our hunger helps us to identify with others who are hungry. So, we can't limit our understanding and our relationship with God. We have to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter, who can protect us from the deceptions of the world. So, let us strive for holiness with humility. Let's love with concern for others, and let's have a deep hunger and thirst for justice and righteousness. This is Dave Scherrerrer. These are Kingdom Offerings, and I trust that this fasting series has been helpful. Peace to you.