When you Fast do not exploit
A very challenging theme this morning: “When you fast do not exploit”.
Indeed it has become quite a challenge to practice the discipline of fasting from food in a society today which is dominated by changing work environments, time structures, consumerism and many health concerns at large.
There are real issues today where people who want to fast from food are medically advised not do so on the grounds of physical conditions and age factors.
How does one go about the discipline of fasting in such a complex environment? What exactly is the Biblical dimension of fasting? And how does fasting affect the life of the 21st Century Christian in the modern framework that s/he lives in?
Food is available at our doorstep. Living in times where we can order the Italian and the continental food online; certain foods which were once the delight of the elite and a distant dream for millions.... today is available at our own neighborhood.
But the question is: “Are we eating to live or living to eat?”. The Greek Philosopher Hippocrates once said, “all diseases begin in the stomach.” The food in the stomach affects your moods and your performance.
So food is good; but the world today is pre-occupied with eating, but worried about fasting. Many people today are fasting God out of their lives.
Fasting may not be an outright command in the Bible but it has been modeled by many Spiritual giants throughout history.
The basic purpose of fasting is about abstaining for a time from everything that matters to life (not just fasting from food, but even fasting from your hobbies, fasting from spending too much time with people, fasting from the internet, fasting from social media and from everything digital for a time) to get alone with God in humility so as to focus on God and His Will, and seek breakthroughs for your life and for others.
“The voluntary denial of a normal function for the sake of intensive spiritual activity”-is fasting!
The challenge you to fast from Television for two days and pray to God as the Holy Spirit enables
David Wilkerson… before he became a well-known American Preacher, used to watch "Late night Shows" on TV. But one day he asked God: "God what would happen, if I sold my TV and spent the time—praying?" After David Wilkerson prayed that prayer in 1958, the world would soon find out what would happen when he sold his Television. After he sold his television, David Wilkerson began to devote his nights to hours of prayer. And he went on to be a trailblazing pastor to the dangerous gangs of New York.
When was the last time you fasted? May be for a blood test, or perhaps before a surgery…but nevertheless there is a place for fasting in the life of the believer.
But some may not be able to fast from food because they are diabetic, for example or age-factor.
The biblical doctrine of fasting is to fast from something that you really care.
So anything given up temporarily in order to focus all your attention on God can be considered a fast (1 Cor. 7:1-5).
Jesus in Mark 2:20 makes it very clear that he expected that his disciples would fast after he ascended into heaven.
But ‘fasting’ is not ‘hunger-strike’.
‘Hunger-strike’ is about making somebody submit to our demands….whereas ‘Fasting’ is about submitting to God’s demands without intending to punish the body.
Every major religion in the world practices ‘fasting’ having their own perspectives! So fasting is basically man’s inclination to reach out to God which God incorporates to fellowship with Man in a greater intensity.
But too often, the focus of fasting is on the absence of food; instead focus while fasting should be to reject the things of this world and wait for God’s intervention in our lives.
But fasting changes us, not God. God can never be pressurized no matter how long one’ fasts. We may still have to go through the difficult circumstances – but the more we are willing to fast and pray through the process, the more we will be rewarded with the power and the presence of God to strengthen our faith for the journey no matter what that may be. Fasting is a serious business for a child of God to become sensitive to the voice of God and the things of the Holy Spirit.
“Being full of the Holy Spirit is better than a full stomach.”
But people today have misunderstood the purpose of fasting; as it happened with the people during Isaiah’s time as we read from Isaiah 58.
We read in Isaiah 58 that the people fasted to engage God to act on their selfish desires.
These people saw fasting as denying themselves from food so that they might gain something worldly of God in return.
The reason for their fasting was to make their oppressive acts more successful.
But the word of the Lord reminds us in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken heart and a contrite spirit, a broken and a repentant heart….”
Those days fasting often involved symbols:
In v5 Bowing one’s head like a reed during fasting was a sign of weakness and humility.
Putting on Sackcloth and siting in ashes were the external signs of repentance (1 Kgs 21:27-29; Jon 3:5-8).
So God says that unless these symbols are accompanied by repentance and submission to Him, their fasting means nothing!
Illustration: News channel featured the growing search of people for STRESS RELIEF "Although people will pay to fix their stress, they are not ready to change their lifestyle that is causing the stress."
The problem of humanity: people are ready to respond to treat the symptom rather than the cause.
That was the problem even during the days of Isaiah. God’s people were not experiencing God’s blessing even though they fasted.
And God responds to them in v3,4&9 about some problematic areas of concern in their lives and tells them that though they are fasting:
- they were still exploiting their workers (v3)
- quarreling among themselves(v4),
- Accusing and blaming one another (v9) and
- gossiping about one another...
And by doing all these in spite of fasting they were pushing God away from coming closer to them.
God says, “You need to change in order to be blessed.”
Today we might be oppressing someone by our critical spirit and harsh words; God says it’s time for us to change. He doesn’t want anyone of us to find fault with others and accuse others; but God wants us to lend a helping hand and pray for those who are captured by sin: Build people, don’t tear them down.
In v6-12 God says, I want your’ fasting to go beyond your personal growth, and get involved indeed of kindness, justice and generosity.
But: Fasting is not a substitute for obedience. Because obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22).
The people in the context of Isaiah 58 wanted fasting to gain them special favor with God so that they would get power, position, and possessions. But God wanted to fill their heart with compassion first before they could handle power.
The Logic of fasting in verse 6 & 7 is proposed with four infinitive verbs relating to deliverance. The logic of fasting is for spiritual strength that brings deliverance to God’s people both in the spiritual and social realm.
v6: The logic of fasting which God honors, is to loosen the bonds of wickedness. Which means when one’ fasts they must pray that God would open the wicked bonds that have been placed upon them or their neighbor, or family or someone in the congregation.
The logic of fasting is to untie the cords of the yoke (v6b). We are to fast that the oppressive burden of misguidance or wrong-direction over us or others is broken.
The logic of fasting is to let the oppressed go free (v6c). When you fast; fast for the oppressed in the society; so that they will be set free to serve God.
- Fast for the child laborers who have been deprived of the freedom to education
- Fast for the prostitutes who have lost their freedom to live
- Fast for refugees who are running for their lives from one country to another.
(The world today is witnessing the highest level of displacement. There are 20 million refugees today, half of whom are under the age of 18).
- Fast for the girls from Nepal who have become victims of human trafficking;
- Fast for the families in Bangalore which is getting complicated.
Fast for all these victims of evil that they be delivered from evil oppression and may find freedom to embrace the true purpose and peace in life.
We are freed by God through the Cross of Christ to spread the freedom of peace even through prayer and fasting.
The logic of fasting is to share your food, shelter the poor and clothe the naked (v7) because everything we own belongs to the Lord.
What God is saying here is fast yourself from a Consumerist spirit; fast yourself from being a shopaholic; fast yourself from accumulating wealth (Greediness).
Luke 16:9 says = Use your wealth to gain friends: which means use your financial opportunities in way that heaven will be a welcome experience for those you help.
God wants us to go beyond our concern for spiritual growth to acts of generosity and justice.
Fasting is more than not eating. It is the emptying of all our selfish pursuits in order to find what we really need in Christ in Word and deed.
In v8 God offers Five blessings for those who fast with this attitude: Light (picture of blessing), healing, guidance, protection and God’s presence.
Unless Christ is the center of interest in fasting, life will be headed towards darkness.
v 12 says when we have the right attitude about fasting, God gives us the power to restore, repair and put back together which has been ruined and broken in the spiritual and the social realm.
CONCLUSION
A true relationship with God through fasting is to make a difference in human relationships. God will increase your wisdom and power when we are willing to fast our way of life in order to be usable for the eternal plans of God.
In 1876 grasshoppers destroyed the crops in Minnesota and the farmers were worried that it would repeat. The situation was so serious that Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed April 26 as a day of prayer and fasting to ask God to prevent the terrible plague from coming again. And so they fasted.
But in 1877 Minnesota was devastated as they discovered billions of grasshoppers emerging to life because of the unusual heat. But on the fourth day, the temperature suddenly dropped, and frost covered the entire state and killed every grasshopper. This incident went down in the history of Minnesota as the day God answered the prayers and fasting of the people."
We have a mighty God, with mighty resources. Pray and fast that India may see Christ glorified and the Gospel of God’s grace honored as we fast from our every selfish desire in order to find what we really need in Christ for His glory!
