Breakthrough Fasting

INTRODUCTION:

This morning kicks off a 21 Day season of prayer and fasting in our church. If you didn’t receive a commitment card please get one before you leave.

Today’s message is going to be a little bit different than our usual way of doing things. Actually a lot of bit different. If you’re new today, typically what we do during this time is continue working our way through a particular book of the Bible - line by line, chapter by chapter.

Today, however, I just want to share my heart about why I believe this fast is something God is calling us to do, some biblical examples of why fasting is important and finally three specific things I’m praying God to bring about as a result of this season.

Before we do that, though, let’s get a few things on the table.

What Is Fasting?

The first question we need to answer is what do we even mean by fasting? Because even though fasting isn’t widely practiced by Christians anymore, it is growing in popularity in other fields (health and wellness.) What they mean by fasting is not what the Bible means.

So what is fasting?

Fasting is process whereby you voluntarily deprive yourself of something physically important (like food) for the sake of something spiritually important (God himself.)

It’s a voluntary act of physical deprivation for a spiritual purpose.

Each word is important in that definition.

It’s voluntary not forced.

It’s a deprivation of something you usually desire/depend on (will create hunger)

It’s done for the sake of a spiritual outcome (not just better health/wellness).

That’s not to say fasting doesn’t have physical benefits. There’s a growing felid of health and wellness studies that are uncovering all sorts of benefits to fasting from food. But none of that attention has anything to do with why the Bible encourages fasting with prayer.

I’m trusting that over the next 21 days God is going to reveal to us why fasting is such an important spiritual discipline for the Christian life. I’m praying that this will be a pivotal season not only for you individually but also for us as a congregation.

Fasting for Breakthrough

So why would you, as a Christian decide to fast? Why would we, as a church, call everyone to participate in a fast?

If I had to answer that question with one word, the word I think I would use is BREAKTHROUGH.

Have you ever been someplace in life where you just needed a breakthrough?

Maybe it was relationship with someone that had hit a ceiling in terms of its growth.

Maybe it was related to your workplace or development in your career.

For those of you who workout you know the frustration of making gains in an area only to stalemate at a certain place with for no apparent reason.

That same thing can happen spiritually. It can happen in your life as an individual. It can happen in our live corporately as a church. It can happen in our culture as a society.

There’s a brokenness in this world that breeds a persistent and crippling form of spiritual malaise that undermines what God wants to in us.

The Cycle of Malaise/Breakthrough

This isn’t new with us. It’s always been the case.

You see it throughout the Old Testament as God’s people would go through cycles of revival and wandering… joyful obedience to God and stubborn rebellion against God.

God’s people would eventually find themselves numb to their need for God and the severity of their spiritual condition. Then God would break that hardness of heart and bring revival again. Like the changing of the seasons it would happen over and over again.

I don’t think many people would disagree with the fact that Western culture as a whole has rejected God. We are stuck in a form of crippling spiritual malaise and that malaise - if we’re careful - can infiltrate the church.

We’re not called to be LIKE the culture. We’re called to counter the culture with something better.

As our culture grows more fearful and angry and greedy and lustful the bride of Christ should offer something better.

A Sanctuary from the Noise

We should offer an escape.

Faith instead of fear.

Patience instead of anger.

Generosity instead of greed.

Self-control instead of lustful desire.

When people without God come into the church they should find a sanctuary from the chaos not just a watered down version of the same.

For the church to become that Sanctuary we need a breakthrough. And maybe you’d say for you to become that kind of person you need a spiritual breakthrough.

And if that’s something that resonate with you then the Lord is inviting you to experience that through a 21 day season of prayer and fasting.

What is a Breakthrough?

You could define breakthrough as a sudden, dramatic and important advance.

We see them all the time in fields like technology and medicine and politics/diplomacy.

The opposite of a breakthrough would be a set back or stale mate. To be plateaued or in a state of decline.

We see these happen all the time as well. (relationships, finances, workplaces, etc)

It can manifest itself in various ways:

It may surface in your life through things like confusion. You just don’t know WHAT to do. You’re frozen in a state of indecision.

Maybe it’s a feeling of being overwhelmed. Just too much to do and not enough time to do it. So you just sit there and do nothing at all.

Maybe you feel outnumbered or all alone. I’m in the minority and everybody is against me. Fear and insecurity leave you immobilized.

Maybe you feel under resourced or impoverished. I don’t have what I need to do what needs done.

If any of those things are true of you then you need a breakthrough. You may feel those things because of a relationship or financial situation you are in. Maybe it’s some other problem you’re facing.

Intentionality & Pain

For the next few weeks we’re going to talk about that dynamic in your relationship with God.

And here’s what you need to know. Breakthroughs are not accidental or automatic. They’re not! Nobody “drifts” into a breakthrough. They’ll never “just happen” in your life. They must be sought. It requires intentional pursuit.

You know this intuitively, right?

If you want a breakthrough in your health, you’re not going to get it without some kind of change in your eating habits.

If you want a breakthrough in a relationship then what got you where you are probably isn’t what’s going to get you where you’re going!

Breakthroughs require intentionality.

Here’s something else you need to know. Breakthroughs are almost always preceded by a season of pain.

C.S. Lewis said God whispers to us in our pleasures but he SHOUTS to us in our pain. He uses pain to wake us up and get our attention. He also uses pain to set us up for a breakthrough.

We also know this intuitively.

People don’t change until the PAIN of not changing exceeds the pain of the change. People don’t change when they see the light. They change when they feel the heat.

That’s WHY we’re doing this 21 Days of prayer and fasting. We are intentionally pursuing the Lord through prayer and introducing pain into our lives through fasting. Those two things are going to set us up for a breakthrough.

The Biblical Foundation

You might think that sounds crazy but it’s actually a very biblical idea. So I want to show you two examples from the Old Testament about the power of prayer and fasting to bring about a breakthrough.

King David

The first comes from the life of King David. It’s located in 1 Chronicles 14.

David had been made king. It was a season of success and prosperity in his administration. But, as usual, about the time you’re used to things going well something breaks and everything else hits the fan. Amen?

The Philistines hear about David becoming King (remember they were sore from David the warrior defeating Goliath) and so they decide to come after him. No king desires conflict and this threat was no small threat.

So what does David decide to do in the face of this threat? He goes to his fortified place and begins to pray and seek the Lord.

God responds to that act by giving David wisdom and clarity for how he ought to respond.

1 Chronicles 14:10 (CSB)

10 so David inquired of God, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied, “Attack, and I will hand them over to you.”

David does what God says and faces the Philistine army and God gives David victory over them. Do you know what David names the place where God gave him the victory?

1 Chronicles 14:11 (CSB)

11 So the Israelites went up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “Like a bursting flood, God has used me to burst out against my enemies.” Therefore, they named that place The Lord Bursts Out.

Other translations literally use the word “The Lord who breaks through.”

Do you see the link between intentional prayer and breakthrough?

Did you notice that David’s breakthrough was preceded by a season of pain that forced him into a posture of humility and dependency?

Breakthroughs don’t happen by accident. They must be sought. And almost every breakthrough in your life will be preceded by a season of intentional pursuit and intense pain.

King Jehoshaphat

Another example of this dynamic is King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20.

Just like in the example with David - Jehoshaphat’s challenge came right after a season of revival and good fortune. Why not coast on the coattails of that momentum?

Because anywhere Jesus blesses Satan tries to break. If Jesus is supporting then Satan is supplanting. Wherever Jesus is, demons will follow.

In this case, three enemy nations rise up against him and threaten the good thing God is doing.

So what does Jehoshaphat do? The answer is in 2 Chronicles 20.

He gets word that the Moabites, Ammonites and Meunites are coming, they’re right on his doorstep. Fear is crippling the nation and here’s what the King does.

2 Chronicles 20:3–4 (CSB)

3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to seek the Lord. Then he proclaimed a fast for all Judah, 4 who gathered to seek the Lord. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek him.

First, He “resolved to seek the Lord.” Intentional pursuit. He chose to reject fear and embrace faith. Fear was everywhere he did something different. Why? Because breakthroughs don’t happen accidentally or automatically.

A National Fast

Secondly, he proclaims a fast for the entire nation. That’s exactly what we’re doing as a church. They were essentially saying to the Lord “We’re serious about this. Lord we’re serious about dependency on you.”

That’s essentially what Jehoshaphat prays. 2 Chron 20:12

2 Chronicles 20:12 (CSB)

12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to you.

After they pray, the Lord responds with some counter intuitive counsel. He tells them to march out and face this great army of three different nations. March out, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. This isn’t your battle. This battle belongs to the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:17 (CSB)

17 You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Tomorrow, go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.’ ”

So they do as the Lord says. He stations singers and worship leaders to praise the Lord at the beginning of the battle and as they look out to face the enemy they see a valley of dead bodies. (2 Chron 20:24)

Why? Because the Lord confused the armies and they fought and destroyed each other instead of Israel. So instead of a battle God’s people received a blessing.

2 Chronicles 20:26 (CSB)

26 They assembled in the Valley of Beracah on the fourth day, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore, that place is still called the Valley of Beracah today.

They experienced a breakthrough. God transformed a valley of death into a valley of blessing.

But that breakthrough was preceded by a season of prayer and fasting. It was only because of that season that they were able to hear and trust the Lord. Only because of that were they able to obey the Lord’s counter intuitive counsel.

Fasting doesn’t cause the breakthrough. God does. But fasting puts us in a position to see a breakthrough happen.

That’s the point of these stories and every other example of fasting in the Old/New Testament.

Do You Want a Breakthrough

That’s what I want us to experience as a congregation. Maybe we be able to call this next season a valley of blessing even though we’re surrounded by chaos and confusion.

May this year be the year where we say “The Lord broke through.” He took an impossible situation and made it possible.

He is the reason for our sudden, dramatic and important advance.

Where, in your life, are you needing a breakthrough? Are you willing to deprive yourself of something physically necessary for the sake of something spiritually necessary?

Are you willing to intentionally pursue the Lord for a season of 21 days of prayer and fasting?

Will you voluntarily introduce a season of pain and suffering into your life knowing that God can use that pain to draw you near to himself?

If so, then now is the time.

Jesus On Fasting

Before we talk about the three areas of breakthrough I’m praying for in this season, I wanted to examine Jesus’ teaching on fasting because I think it’s a helpful reminder of what fasting is and what it isn’t.

In Matthew’s Gospel, before giving the SOM, Jesus spends 40 days of prayer and fasting in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. Jesus was the son of God but EVEN HE saw the importance of a season of prayer and fasting before launching his public ministry.

Similar to our previous examples, Jesus’ fasting was characterized by intentional pursuit and intense pain.

What was the result of that fast? "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity.” (Luke 4:14)

There is a connection between seasons of fasting and spiritual power. Fasting puts you in a position of experiencing the Spirit’s power in your life or in our church. But only if we fast in the right way and for the right reasons.

Sermon On The Mount

What is the right way to fast and what are the right reasons? Jesus answers both of those questions in the sermon on the mount.

Matthew 6:16–18 (CSB)

16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

When Jesus talks about “looking gloomy like the hypocrites” he’s talking about religious leaders like the Pharisees. Here are some interesting things to note.

They’d often fast two days a week (Monday & Thursday) and those days just happened to be the day when mass numbers of people went into town for market.

They’d not shower or take care of themselves and be the most pitiful looking stinky bunch of men you’d ever come across. B.O. to the moon!

They would put ash over their head and weep and wail and make a big show of their spirituality and their dedication to fast while everybody else was shopping for groceries.

Wrong Way | Wrong Reasons

Jesus rebuke is that this kind of fasting doesn’t please the Lord because it’s done in the wrong way, for the wrong reasons and the wrong person.

They were fasting “to be seen by people.” Why? Because of people saw the dramatic nature of their fasting then they’d think of them as very spiritual people. This ended up inflating their egos - making them feel more spiritual than those “common people.”

In short - Jesus prohibits fasting that is motivated by pride and/or muddied with pretense.

Yet that was the kind of fasting everybody saw by the religious establishment. Jesus calls for a righteousness that is “below the surface.”

The people who fasted “to be seen by people” would already receive their reward. They were doing it for people and so their reward would be what people thought about them and their false piety.

Right Way | Right Reasons

Jesus says there’s a better way to fast and a better reward for those who will do it if you fast in the right way, for the right reasons and right person.

The fasting Jesus promotes is secret fasting motivated by humility and meant for God alone.

When he says it’s “secret” he’s not necessarily saying nobody can know about it. He’s just saying it’s not done to “be seen by people.”

When your motivation isn’t to be seen by people then you method of fasting will look different. Who cares if people pick up on the fact that you’re not eating any food. You’re not doing it for them, you’re doing it for God.

Better Reward

When you fast in that way and for that reason then God will reward you. And the reward GOD GIVES is so much better than anything else this world could give.

What is that reward? The reward is God himself.

Don’t fast in order to get something FROM God FOR your life. Fast to get the fullness OF God IN your life. Once you have that you won’t have need of anything else.

So even as we discuss these three things that I’m praying for as a result of this fast I want you to see them through the lens of the reward Jesus is talking about in this passage. The reward is GOD. The fullness of God and the power of God in our life and in our church.

Three Things To Pray For

Having established God’s design around fasting and why it’s so important in the life of a Christian, I wanted to close by sharing three things I’m praying God does in my own life through these 21 days and also in our church.

You can put them under three headings:

Wisdom & Clarity

Spiritual Power

New Seed of Faith

And all three of these things naturally flow from a life/church that is wholly surrendered to God, intentionally pursuing his presence and trusting his plan.

In other words, these are not things we’re wanting God to do FOR us or AROUND us. But rather things God will produce IN US and THROUGH US as we fully surrender to him and his will for our church family.

There are also examples in the Old Testament and New Testament of people praying for these things.

Wisdom & Clarity

The first prayer is for wisdom and clarity for how to face what’s next.

Obviously this is something you could pray for yourself individually as well if you’re facing a big decision coming up or perhaps you’re trying to solve a problem or navigate some future plan.

I’m praying for wisdom and clarity as it relates to our church. In particular I’m praying for wisdom and clarity for how to remain faithful to Jesus in a culture that rejects Him.

We no longer live in the “Bible belt” of America. We are quite clearly in a “post Christian” culture and even Abilene TX isn’t safe from the cultural decay that rebellion against God and his design will bring to our society.

Psalm 11:3 “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?””

How do we live as followers of Jesus when being obedient to Christ is going to invite social scorn and alienation? What do we do as a church to maintain our effectiveness in reaching people and impacting the culture.

The last few years have turned the world upside down. Everybody can feel it. Something seismic is shifting under our feet. Everybody in the culture is afraid or angry or driven by their passions.

It must not be so with the people of God. We must embrace a counter culture mindset. We must be wise as serpents but as innocent as Doves.

The Example of Daniel

Thankfully we weren’t the first group to face this issue. After the Babylonian invasion Daniel along with his close friends and companions had to solve the same problem?

How did Daniel go about it? Through prayer and fasting. There’s a great example of this in Daniel 10.

Daniel engaged in 21 days of prayer and fasting and after the end of that fast the Lord brought about a breakthrough and Daniel received clarity about a vision he had been given.

I’m praying the Lord will do the same for us even as we humble ourselves to fast and pray just as Daniel did.

Spiritual Power

The second and third thing I’m fasting for is spiritual power in our worship gatherings and church ministries.

Like the first one you could also pray for this at an individual level and there’s nothing wrong with that.

But I’m praying for a manifestation of spiritual power as it relates to our worship gatherings and ministry programming here at Broadview Baptist Church.

It wasn’t long ago that a Sunday morning worship service would be visited by the Spirit of God in such a way that there was no denying that God was present.

With all of our technology and talent and money we're in a position to“produce” an experience that may be compelling but be absent of the Spirit’s power.

That might be a church that informs your mind and enables you to make friends but is it a place that will change your life? Is it a place where people can come to be transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light?

The only way we’ll see that kind of thing happen is through a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Already we’ve seen how in the life of Jesus is was a season of 40 days of fasting that put him in a position to begin his ministry full of the Spirit’s power.

I’m praying that this season of corporate fasting will put us in a similar position as a church family.

A New Seed of Faith

That brings me to the final thing which is a new seed of faith to trust God for the process. No matter what world we end up living in and no matter how God decides to move in our church - one of the best things we can pray for as a church is a new seed of faith.

When churches like ours get big and “settled,” they experience a natural inertia. Within a generation, they move from mission to maintenance. They go from being reckless in the mission to being comfortable in the institution.

We need the Lord to give us a “first generation” kind of faith. It looks very different from second generation faith.

First generation does “whatever it takes.” Second generation does “only what I’m asked to do.”

First generation assumes personal responsibility. Second generation assumes someone else will do it.

First generation expects personal sacrifice. Second generation expects personal comfort.

First generation sees possibilities and dreams about what could be. Second generation sees barriers and reasons to quit.

First generation steps out with bold, reckless trust in God. Second generation sits satisfied in the stability of the institution.

First generation fears holding back anything from God. Second generation fears commitment.

First generation feels privileged to be a part of the movement. Second generation feels entitled to the benefits of the institution. (From J.D. Greear article)

Which of those two lists best describes you? What about your church?

If we’re not careful - we can coast on the movements of God from years past and fail to believe God for something new. That’s why I’m also praying for a new seed of faith to believe God few something new.

A new seed of faith. That’s what I’m praying God will do.

The Example of Jesus

You ask, what’s the connection between faith and fasting? There’s actually a direct link.

There’s a story told in all three Gospels about a demon possessed boy that was brought to Jesus because his disciples couldn’t heal him.

It wasn’t because they didn’t have powers to heal (because they had healed many others) But, in this case, none of the disciples were able to heal and so the Father brought his son to Jesus. He asks Jesus for his help and Jesus response is epic.

Mark 9:22–24 (CSB)

22 ... if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

I’ve always loved that line from Jesus!

Jesus of course heals the boy and casts out the demon.

Mark 9:28–29 (NKJV)

28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

To be fair the CSB doesn’t include the word fasting because it’s not in the earliest manuscripts but you can understand how it might’ve made its way in (or even be original).

There’s a direct link between our commitment to intentional prayer and fasting and God planting in us a new mustard seed of faith to watch him move mountains.

Conclusion

So as we conclude will you commit to praying for those three things? Would you also consider whether or not God wants to to participate in this church wide fast?

If you’re a member of Broadview and consider yourself part of what God wants to do here then please make a commitment to these 21 days and join us for nights of prayer tonight and the next two Sunday nights.

Maybe you’re here this morning and you’re not a Christian. Fasting isn’t going to make you a Christian. That’s a gift of God’s grace that can only come about by God’s grace through faith. That faith is a gift and if God is drawing you to himself this morning then respond.

For those of you who are Christians - as we take this Lord’s Supper (the last bite of food that many of us may have for several days - then lets do so in total surrender to the will of God and a serious commitment to yearn after God’s presence and his word over anything else in this world.