How do you start talking about fasting?

Yesterday we had a memorial service, and as I was getting ready to take down the screen we had used to show some pictures, Aaron, our sound guy, asked if I needed the screen in worship today.

I said no, but I suppose I could get some pictures of the best meals people had ever had, succulent desserts, mouth watering foods, and project them on the screen all through the time that we are talking about fasting. But I thought that would be too difficult.

He said, “I don’t know. If you don’t know what you’re giving up, is it really a sacrifice?”

Fasting is a challenging topic to speak about for a couple of reasons. In a country that likes to do everything to excess, including eat, the idea of intentionally going without something doesn’t make much sense to a lot of people.

It feels like there are so many disclaimers that have to be made.

No, I don’t think Christians have to say “no” to every good thing, and live life without any joy. That’s not a reason to fast.

Fasting is not some magic bullet, some kind of weapon to make God do what we want. It’s not supposed to be used as a marker of super-spirituality, something to impress others and prove that we are somebody.

Like many things in life, fasting has been unused, misused, and abused. But fasting is also a practice that Jesus and millions of faithful, spiritual people have used to focus our dependency and our attention on God.

It’s a practice that is the baby worth pulling out of the dirty bath water, to keep from throwing it out.

There’s a reason I chose Luke chapter 4 for the text to talk about fasting.

Now, I have always been taught, and I usually try, to make the main point of a bible text the main point of a message.

But fasting isn’t the main point of Luke chapter 4. Luke 4 is first and foremost about Jesus resisting temptations from the devil as to how he would proceed with his years of ministry.

Fasting appears in just a couple of lines at the beginning of this section, almost as an aside, almost incidental to the main point. Turn with me to Luke chapter 4.

After John baptized Jesus, after the Holy Spirit came on him like a dove, we come to the first two verses of chapter 4.

READ v. 1-2. “He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.”

Well, no kidding! Now there’s some no-nonsense stuff for you right there. Write this one down: if you don’t eat for 40 days, you…will…be…hungry!

Fasting isn’t the main point here. It’s a normal, quiet part of how Jesus followed the Holy Spirit. It’s the way Jesus prepared for ministry. It’s part of how Jesus clearly heard God.

This is the way I hope we can frame a discussion about fasting. It’s a way for us to follow the Holy Spirit. It’s a way to prepare for ministry. It’s a way to better hear from God, as the other, main points of our lives are going on.

Notice how much the Holy Spirit is involved in the process.

“Full of the Holy Spirit”, Jesus was “led by the Holy Spirit in the desert.”

The first action after the big sign of the dove, the first action after the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, was not amazing teaching or powerful healings.

The very first action after the empowerment of the Holy Spirit was to go into solitude and fast, so that Jesus could clearly hear God.

I think perhaps the most frequent question I get as a pastor is, “How do you hear God?”

People are honestly longing to have God guide them, speak to them, direct them. If we were to find our answer from Jesus’ life, from what Jesus did, one of the key answers to that question would be: “I hear God in solitude and through fasting.”

Is it worth it to try to follow Jesus’ example?

Part of what is difficult about following God is all of the other things that we follow, all of the other things we pursue. Going without food cemented truth into Jesus’ mind– the truth that we don’t live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Fasting–the act of intentionally going without something for spiritual purposes–fasting is a tool, an experience, to remind us that out of all the things we pursue in life, God really is the ultimate pursuit and goal.

I am speaking today to myself as much as I am to any of you.

Fasting from food has never been a consistent practice in my life up to this point. I think it was in college, when I read Richard Foster’s book “Celebration of Discipline” that I first tried to fast. I’ve fasted occasionally every so often since then, often because others have invited me to join them in fasting at a particular time for a particular reason.

Some of those experiences have been really good. Some of them have been ok. None have been bad. And I think that’s really significant.

In my mind, as you might have guessed from the way I started this message today, I have all kinds of warnings about the dangers of legalism when it comes to fasting. And even with all those fears of what could go wrong, never once have I had a bad experience with fasting.

Over the last several years of my life, God seems to be bringing me back to the basics.

That’s what this whole series is about. If we want to be Jesus people, we ought to do what Jesus did. And without a doubt, fasting was a regular part of Jesus’ life. We see it explicitly here, and throughout the gospels we see Jesus removing himself from the crowds for solitude, just like this occasion at the beginning of his ministry. Is it that much of a stretch to assume he fasted during those times of solitude as well?

Richard Foster’s book reminded me again this week of two other occasions when Jesus’ words assume fasting as a regular practice. After criticizing the way that the religious leaders fast in public ways so everyone will notice, he goes on to say, “When you fast…” do it like this. Clearly, the solution to wrong fasting for Jesus is not giving it up, but doing it the right way.

When he’s under accusation because his disciples don’t fast like John’s disciples do, Jesus says, “You don’t fast when the bridegroom is with you...the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” Taken at face value, Jesus assumes that when he returns to heaven, when he is no longer on earth in the body, then his disciples will fast.

It’s in that natural, no-nonsense, basic frame of mind that I feel comfortable asking each one of us to consider fasting in some way this upcoming week.

Not as a sign of spirituality, not as some special tool…just in a natural way to do what Jesus did, in our desire to pursue God with our whole lives.

Take a look at the insert in your worship folder, because fasting does not always have to mean fasting from food.

I hope that many of us will experiment with fasting from food in this coming week. But that’s not the only way to participate, and in fact, there are some who should NOT practice fasting from food. Those with health concerns like diabetes or hypoglycemia or pregnancy or eating disorders should not choose food as the thing from which they fast.

In my mind, there are two important goals of a fast.

One goal is to intentionally go without something, to break the habit and the hold that something has on us. The second goal is that as we say “no” to one thing for a time, we also say “yes” to seeking God instead.

Fasting is intentionally breaking one hold, and intentionally strengthening our connection with God.

On the insert, the first step is to choose what you will fast from.

All food is perhaps the most common way of fasting. But perhaps you want to choose to fast from soda pop or desserts or snacks or coffee.

Or perhaps you won’t choose food at all. Web surfing or renting movies or watching your favorite tv show may be something you choose to go without. Your cell phone or instant messaging or your blackberry may have too much of a hold on you. Turning on the radio every time you start the car, plugging the ear buds of your iPod into your ear, checking your appearance in the mirror, needing to know the latest sports scores, fasting from critical or sarcastic words…what will you choose to intentionally go without for a period of time?

The choice of what to fast from is one you can pray and ask God to help you with. What habit or thing would be beneficial to give up for a time, to break its hold on you?

Next, set a time limit.

24 hours from lunch to lunch is a good starting point for a food fast, missing only two meals. Perhaps you can go all week without dessert. Maybe you want to extend your fast from American Idol or 24 for a month.

Decide ahead of time how long you will choose to go without, knowing that the time will come when you are free to break the fast.

Next, “Tell God you are doing this to follow Christ’s example, and ask God to help you focus on Him.”

This may seem obvious, but it is an important step. This reminds us and tells God that this isn’t for the benefits we get out of it. It’s not about a diet plan, it’s not about joining in solidarity with others who go without food.

Both of those are good reasons to fast; but THIS fast that we want to try is a spiritual fast, one that has TWO purposes. We want to break any hold that food or something else may have on us by giving it up for a time, AND we want to intentionally deepen our relationship with God.

This step reminds us of that. And, it invites God into the practice, so that the Holy Spirit will work in us.

The next step is to prepare a sentence prayer.

Here’s a tangible step toward the second goal, a practical way to help us intentionally connect with God.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve practiced what I was going to preach by fasting twice. And I discovered that when I don’t eat, I think about food A LOT.

So every time I caught myself thinking about food, I had a sentence prayer that I would pray. “God, you’re number 1.” That was a reminder to myself and a declaration to God that God was more important then my habit of eating.

Because, the truth is, the hunger pains we feel in the first couple of days are not true hunger. Almost all of us eat enough that we can go several days before our body is truly hungry.

Why not take advantage of those nagging reminders, though? Whenever we are missing what we are fasting from, have a sentence prayer ready that will direct your mind and attention to God.

Finally, make sure to reflect on the experience.

Journal about it, or sit down with a friend and talk about what you noticed. It may have been a very mundane experience, or God might have done something profound…we don’t really know until we take the time to reflect and think about it.

Perhaps when you come back to worship next week, your reflection will lead you to something you want to share with us, something you learned about yourself or about God. Be open and ready for that.

Without making this a big huge deal, without all the worries and the trappings, let’s simply try to do what Jesus did.

In our time of open worship, spend some time thinking and asking God: From what would you like to choose to fast this week?