Fasting for the Spiritual Battle

Introduction

Happy New Year! It’s so good to worship with you this morning as come together for the first service of 2021. As we think about what is going to happen after a very difficult 2020, it’s very tempting to speculate about what the near future holds for us. Some sociologists are projecting a repeat of the roaring twenties, which coincidentally happened after the last time the world experienced a major pandemic. I’m reading a brief history of the twenties here in America and it makes reasonable sense that after a pandemic passes, much of the angst and energy that has been pent up in people will explode into a wave of progress and creativity along with mass spending, indulgent living, and the testing of social limits. Unfortunately, we know how the twenties ended and that was with the market crash in 1929 that led to the Great Depression. Other experts are less specific but they are telling us that the events of the past year have greately accelerated the time table for certain cyclical world events to unfold, namely the chances of a major international conflcit. We would be foolish to ignore the fact that history does have a tendency to repeat itself but in the end, all of this is simply a matter of conjecture and we can’t know for certain. Yet at the same time, we do need to prepare ourselves for whatever may come our way because one thing that is certain is that our world will not be the same.

So how can we get ourselves ready for this uncertain future? For many years now, we have begun the new year with 3 weeks of prayer and fasting, which some people have chosen to do and others have opted not to do. In years past, it did feel like an optional spiritual exercise, something that was good if you are into that kind of thing but certainly not urgent or absolutely necessary. After all, a lot of people begin the new year with resolutions like dieting, exercising, developing better habits, and for better or worse, it was easy to see our church’s prayer and fasting campaign as something similar to that. But for reasons that I’ll share in the message, I feel like this year’s time of prayer and fasting will be critical for our own personal prepration as well as the preparation of the church for whatever is to come in the next year. (Perhaps everything we have done up to this point has actually been a preparation for a time such as this.) For those of you who may not be aware of where this model of prayer and fasting comes from, it’s actually from the book of Daniel and it has many relevant lessons for us to learn as we begin this year.

Daniel 10:1–14 ESV

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground. And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”

Body

There are many reasons to fast but I would like to highlight three reasons that we find in this passage:

1. Fasting can be used to accompany a time of mourning.

2. Fasting can lead to a deeper relationship with God.

3. Fasting can reveal what is happening in the spiritual realm.

Although this may be something that we don’t want to hear and I certainly don’t want to be a debbie downer as we begin the new year but we are currently in the worst part of the pandemic as many scientists warned us about. Infection and rates of death are at a record high and it seems appropriate that we begin with some time to mourn accompanied by this fast. Romans 12:15 calls us to mourn with those who mourn and there will be many people who will be mourning around us in the weeks to come. It was really sobering to watch the New Year’s Eve celebrations this past week. All of the jokes, the sketches, even the musical performances were all kind of flat, with no energy, and no excitement. It almost felt like New Year’s Eve should have been cancelled this year because in reality we are still very much in a time of mourning. By this point, some of us probably already know someone who has died due to the coronavirus and though our lives move on, there is still this cloud that looms over our world.

Like the prophet Daniel in this passage, we are in the middle of a great conflict and there is much for us to mourn. The Daniel fast is symbolically appropriate for times of lamentation because it removes all the delicacies out of our lives, anything that is sweet, rich or extravagant, like meat and wine are fasted. Things that remind us of better days are voluntarily restricted so that we can better identify with the pain and the bitterness that is so evident in our world currently. When we hear about our political leaders not only defying their own recommendations but going out to extravagant dinners at French Laundry, it makes them appear like they are so far out of touch with the reality of millions of people who are struggling to buy their weekly groceries. And this is one of the areas of Daniel’s life that we can emulate as believers. Although he was a man who was privileged with power, status, wealth, and the finest things that the world could offer, he always recognized the danger of these privileges and refused to allow those things to control him.

By this point in his life, Daniel had served under four kings and was indisputably the greatest advisor to the most powerful men in the world as we read in the next chapter.

Daniel 11:1 ESV

“And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

Yet all of this power didn’t get to Daniel’s head because by this point in his life, he had already established the habits, convictions, and spiritual disciplines that made it easy for him to periodically give up unnecessary luxuries for the greater good of pursuing God and His purposes. If you remember from the very first chapter of this book, even as a young man, Daniel refused to eat the king’s food or his wine because he wanted to keep himself pure and undefiled before the Lord. And someone who cannot control their appetite whether it be for food, money, sex, power, or even comfort will have a very difficult time living for God wholeheartedly. I’m incredibly thankful that I was introduced to the spiritual discipline of fasting early on in my walk with God because it has proven to be an indispensable tool to gain self-control of my life during times of conflict, change, and uncertainty. The Holy Spirit often uses times of fasting to focus believers, to give them clarity, spiritual insight, and sensitivity to God’s voice and presence. If these are things that are of interest to you, I want to challenge you to take the next three weeks and devote them to the Lord.

I can’t guarantee you that you will have an experience like Daniel in this chapter. After all, this encounter with God seems like something that Daniel had prepared his whole life for through trials of fire and the lion’s den. He had proven himself faithful to God, worthy to be trusted with the secrets of the kingdom, and prophetic insight into the future. You cannot run with God unless you have first learned to walk with Him. But one thing that I can guarantee is that you will be drawn closer to God if you approach this fast with humility and a heart to seek Him. And perhaps the most meaningful thing that you might hear during these three weeks is the Spirit God calling your name and confirming that you are greatly loved by Him.

It’s important for us to note that the first thing that the angel of God says is “Daniel, man who is greatly loved...” Before the angel discloses prophetic visions of the future or what is happening in the spiritual realm, he begins by reminding Daniel of God’s great love for him.

Ultimately, the most important reason for fasting is that it can lead to greater intimacy in our relationship with Christ. The Old Testament gives several valid reasons for fasting, which I believe are still valid for today: guidance, deliverance, protection, repentance, and for the sake of a cause. These are all great reasons for fasting but the New Testament highlights the most important reason to fast while we are alive in this world. When asked why his disciples did not fast while Jesus was in the middle of his earthly ministry, Jesus’ answer gives us the reason why Christians should now fast in his absence.

Mark 2:19–20 ESV

And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

From his answer, we can see that Jesus saw His time on earth as the beginnings of a wedding, namely as the beginning of His own wedding to the church. As long as the bridegroom is with the bride, there is no reason to fast and thankfully, there will be no fasting when we are once again with Christ. But if we know why Jesus and the disciples did not fast during his time here, we can logically deduce why we are now called to fast and that is the simple fact that the bridegroom has been taken away. A knowledge of ancient Jewish wedding customs help to bring to life the many things that Jesus taught us about our relationship with Him. There are essentially five steps to getting married during the time of Jesus.

1. The arrangement of marriage

2. The betrothal ceremony

3. The preparation period between the betrothal and the wedding

4. The wedding ceremony

5. The wedding feast

The arrangement of marriage is simply when the two families agree to allow their children to marry and a formal agreement called the ketubah would be signed acknowledging the dowry required by the brides family. The marriage arrangement would then be followed by a betrothal ceremony, where the bride and groom would go through ritual cleansing by water, make vows to be married, and then exchange rings or something of great value to one another. At this point there is no consummation of the marriage, although they are legally married, because the bride and groom have to make it through the period of preparation. At this point, the groom goes back home to prepare a place for his new wife to join him and the bride goes through a time of testing which involves three steps:

• First, the bride was observed for her purity. This custom required at least a full nine months to pass in order to ensure that the bride was not pregnant and to attempt to assure that she was a virgin.

• Second, the bride consecrated herself. She examined everything in her life and changed whatever was necessary in order to be ready for the holy covenant of marriage. In fact, Jewish leaders began to use the term mekadesh (consecrated) for the act of betrothal. During the betrothal ceremony, the groom would often say to his bride that you are mekudeshet (consecrated) unto me. Therefore, the bride made sure that she was totally set apart from all other relationships and activities and that she was completely separated for her groom.

•Third, the bride made her own wedding garments. Ancient Jewish women did not have the luxury of going to the nearest bridal shop and purchasing a pre-made dress. They had to spend hours and hours making their wedding garments and adorning them with the special touches to make them beautiful.

What’s fascinating about these Jewish customs is the fact that neither groom or bride knows when this period will end, it’s all dependent on the groom’s father. When he determines that the period of preparation is over, the wedding ceremony will begin with the surprise visit of the groom announced by the blowing of the shofar, the Jewish trumpet. When Jesus tells us that only the father knows the time of his return, Jesus is referring to these wedding customs as a pattern of what is to come. As the bride of Christ, the church is in this period of preparation between the betrothal and the wedding ceremony. Therefore, fasting is an appropriate method of preparation because it is a sign of repentance from sin, a desire to be consecrated before God, and it prepares us to be clothed in his righteousness. When you understand these Jewish wedding customs, certain passages from the Bible make a lot more sense:

Revelation 19:7–8 ESV

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

The ultimate reason that the New Testament gives for fasting is simply one of a deep longing for Christ and His return. We don’t want to fast just for reasons of piety or consecration or discipline as the end goal. Apart from a relationship with Christ, all those other goals are simply not significant. Fasting can help us to see that the greatest pleasures of life are still vastly inferior to the surpassing value of knowing Christ, of partaking in the fellowship of His suffering, and experiencing the power of His resurrection.

In the end, it is from this place of intimacy with God that we hear answers to our prayers, and receive insight into what’s happening in the spiritual realm. We don’t know how much angels are involved in God ministering to beleivers but the fact that God works through his angels is something that is well attested to in the Scriptures. We know that angels came to free the apostle Peter from jail. They came to deliver the message of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds and they even ministered to Jesus after his 40 day fast. We can deduce that angels have many function including ministering to beleivers in their times of need. They can deliver us from dangerous situations and bring us timely messages from God.

Often unbeknownst to humans, the work of angels can be opposed by the devil and his demonic forces. There is a constant spiritual battle around us as we pray and the greater our prayers, the greater the instensity of these spiritual wars. In response to our prayers, God can send his angels as a response to our requests but sometimes these angels, themselves, can get caught up in a battle with the demonic forces of Satan that can delay them coming to our assistance. The angel that was sent to answer Daniel’s prayers explains that he was withstood by the prince of Persia, alluding to a high level demon in charge of that region, and that the assistance of Michael, one of the archangels was necessary to free him to come to Daniel. I wonder what kind of spiritual battle is raging around us currently and just becasue we can’t see it doesn’t mean that we can simply dismiss it and live in ignorance. John Calvin gives us fair warning about this spiritual reality:

We have been forewarned that an enemy relentlessly threatens us, an enemy who is the very embodiment of rash boldness, of military prowess, of crafty wiles, of untiring zeal and haste, of every conceivable weapon and of skill in the science of warfare. We must, then, bend our every effort to this goal: let us not be overwhelmed by carelessness or faintheartedness, but with courage rekindled let us stand our ground in combat.

In hindsight, I’m thankful for those windows of opportunity where we were able to meet outdoors, host some fellowship events, and to worship together even if it was socially distanced with masks on. In some ways, it gave me the resolve to now finish this thing to the end. After all, we have come this far and there is at least an end in sight. But oddly, it almost feels like this virus knows that the remaining time for this pandemic is short and it’s trying to inflict as much damage as it can in the short amount of time before the vaccines are readily available. I think we all can sense that this winter will be extremely difficult one but we still need to fight through this battle because that is exactly what we are engaged in.