the reluctant leader

Fasting FAQs

Those who know me know that I hate fasting, but I do it anyway.

For as long as I can remember, our church in Manila has started the year with a week of prayer, fasting, and consecration. For me, that week is always the best of times and the worst of times. Looking back, I have to admit that I probably instituted a church-wide week of fasting because that is the only way I could force myself to participate in that spiritual discipline. Left to myself, I would rather visit Five Guys three times a day than skip meals and pray three times a day. But, my church community makes me a better Christian.

Today is day III of our 2013 week of prayer, fasting, and consecration. Many Every Nation churches around the world are having morning, noon, and evening prayer meetings this week. I am already hearing twitter reports of answered prayer and breakthrough, as Every Nation people from London to Manila to Nashville are humbling themselves and getting hungry (for God!).

I am also hearing some questions. Rather than attempting to make up answers myself, I will simply refer you to one of the best fasting cites available, which includes the following info:

• Why fast
• How to fast safely
• How long
• How to prepare 
• How to make your spiritual experience the best it can be
• What physical benefits to expect
• How to finish your fast

I hope that helps as you seek God during this week of fasting, prayer, and consecration.

 

 

 

I Hate Fasting But I Do it Anyway, Here's Why...

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their REWARD in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will REWARD you. --Jesus in Matthew 6

Jesus said that our heavenly Father rewards fasting. Following are seven rewards of fasting:

1. Fasting turns back God’s wrath and judgment.
Moses recorded that God was angry enough to destroy Aaron and the children of Israel because of their gold cow idol (Dt 9:18-20). But, as we know, God’s wrath was turned back after Moses fasted and prayed. There has been much said and written the past few years about God’s wrath and judgment on different nations. I’m convinced that Christians can turn back God’s judgment through fasting and prayer. Of course that will never happen unless God’s people get more concerned about the next generation than their next meal

2. Fasting releases prophetic strategies for victory.
The Moabites, Amonites, and several other hostile nations were arrayed against Israel. (See 2 Chr 20:1-30.) King Jehoshaphat called for a fast. You know you are in a desperate situation when a guy nicknamed J-PHAT calls for a fast. During the fast, a prophetic word was given that laid out God’s strategy for their battle. “No swords. No shields. No spears. Get your tambourines ready, we’re going to war!” I’m sure there were some battle-hardened warriors who thought that word was way off. After all, “We’ve never fought a battle like that before.” As always, God knew best. If we are willing to skip a few meals, we may receive prophetic strategies to influence our cities for God’s glory. They may be new and untried strategies, but if they are from God, we can be confident they will work.

3. Fasting activates people and provision for God’s work.
Nehemiah’s building project was preceded by corporate fasting. Would it have been as successful without the fasting? I don’t think so. In 1984, God opened the door for our fledgling Manila church to have its own (rented) building in Manila’s crowded University-Belt as we fasted and prayed.  Each time our church has expanded to a new building to own or rent, a vital part of our fund-raising strategy has been prayer and fasting.

4. Fasting releases wisdom and favor.
Daniel and his friends went on a partial fast (vegetables and water only). At the end of the fast, they were compared with the rest of the young men of Babylon. The results are recorded in Daniel 1:20. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. Would you like to be ten times better than your competitors? Just lay off the pizza for a few days and seek God wholeheartedly.

5. Fasting clarifies and redirects callings and ministries.
Paul, Barnabas, and a few other Antioch church leaders were me eting together, and while they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: set apart for me Barnabas . . . (Acts 13:1-3). While they were fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke. Would He have spoken this new direction even if they had not fasted? Probably. The real question is: Would they have been sensitive enough to hear the Holy Spirit speak if they had not fasted? Maybe. Maybe not. Are you seeking God for a new direction in your life or ministry? Good time to fast.

6. Fasting breaks demonic strongholds.
On one occasion, the disciples unsuccessfully attempted to cast out a demon. When they asked Jesus why they had failed, He responded:  this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting (Matt 17:21). This seems to indicate that there are certain demonic situations that, for one reason or another, can only be defeated through fasting. Isaiah said that true fasting will loose chains . . . untie the cords of yoke . . . set the oppressed free and break every yoke (Is 58:6). Have you ever encountered a stubborn demonic situation? Maybe it’s the kind that only goes out by prayer and fasting.

7. Fasting increases spiritual power.
Luke records that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and that He was led by the Spirit.  After His forty day fast, He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit (Lk 4:1,14). How many Christians do you know who are full of the Spirit and led by the Spirit, but do not walk in the power of the Spirit? Need more power? Spiritual power is one of the rewards of fasting.

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This blog was originally an article called "Freedom from the Stomach God" written for Evangelicals Today magazine. A few years ago I wrote several fasting blogs on my "accidental missionary" site. The first was called "I Hate Fasting."

(Note: We encourage only healthy adults to fast. If you are pregnant or nursing, you should not fast. If you have any medical condition, you should check with your doctor before fasting.)

While You Were Eating: the Power of Lifestyle Discipleship

Jesus said some of his most important theological statements, not in a classroom or from a pulpit, but over lunch.

Acts 1:4 says: "WHILE HE WAS EATING WITH THEM..." he told them to wait for the Holy Spirit before they went on mission. This lunch lesson was both strategic and theological. And, like everything Jesus said, it was also practical and memorable.

We don't know what else they talked about during lunch. Maybe sports, money, traffic, politics. We can only guess. But when they met together later that day, they were still mulling over the Holy Spirit discussion from lunch.

Not able to stop thinking and talking about that lunch conversation, they asked Jesus some questions and that's when he took them DEEP concerning eschatology, pneumatology, and missiology. (According to my friend, Pastor James Lowe, D.E.E.P. = Describe Everything Extra Plain)

Sometimes the best discipleship moments start, not in the classroom, but at the dinner table or the coffee shop. And real discipleship discussions should leave us with questions, not just answers.

Want to make disciples? It's ok to skip the lecture, buy some lunch, and see where that goes.

Misguided Attempts at Personal Holiness

From dress codes to movie bans to hair length regulations, our religious world is rife with sincere but misguided attempts at personal holiness. Do we really think holiness is about external behavior, human effort, and religious rules? Apparently we do. Even though the Bible teaches the exact opposite.

Old Testament leaders were supposed to tell all the people to "be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy." (Leviticus 19:2) My quick comments on that verse...

1. BE HOLY... The Bible tells us to be holy, not to act holy. Holiness is a state of being. It is something we are, not something we do. Internal not external. Being not doing. Fish swim because they are fish. Birds fly because they are birds. Christians avoid sin because they are holy. Swimming does not make one a fish. Acting holy does not make one a Christian.

2. BECAUSE I AM HOLY... We are to be holy because of who God is, not because of who we are or who we want to become. When the motivation for our holiness is to win God's favor, relieve our guilt, or impress our pastor, it is not real holiness. Real holiness is God-centered not man-centered. It is about Him, not about us.

So, what am I trying to say? The same thing the Old Testament leaders constantly said: whether you have long hair or no hair, whether you watch or boycott movies, whether you wear a suit or shorts to church, you should be holy because God is holy.

Making Disciples or Gathering Crowds (& Celebrating the Insignificant)

I don't want to rain on anyone's post-Easter parade, but while I am happy for record-setting Easter Sunday crowds, I am afraid we might be celebrating the insignificant.

If that is indeed what we are doing, we would not be the first disciples to miss the point. When the original twelve expressed their misplaced excitement about casting out demons, Jesus told them they were celebrating the wrong thing. (Luke 10)

A basic leadership principle says that whatever leaders celebrate, followers will try to duplicate. If we celebrate big crowds, people who respect us will strive to make big crowds happen.

I am not anti-crowd, unless that crowd in in an airport. I prefer a crowded church to an empty one. But knowing the size of the crowd does not tell me enough to know if it should be celebrated.

We are called to make disciples, not to gather crowds. So before we celebrate a big number, we must ask ourselves if we have a plan to translate that crowd into disciples. If Easter has come and gone and we are not already executing and evaluating a plan to get church visitors in a discipleship process, then celebrating record numbers is missing the point.

Maybe we are confused about the task. It is not our job to build a church, and Jesus is no longer making disciples. If we attempt to do his job (building the church), he does not automatically switch and do our job (making disciples). If we focus on making disciples, Jesus will take those disciples and build a church that will cause hell major headaches.

If my job is building a church, then I might celebrate a record Easter crowd. Maybe. But, since my job is making disciples, I probably should evaluate how I am planning to get that Easter crowd involved in a discipleship process by establishing foundations, equipping them for ministry and empowering them to make disciples.

Faith is a Journey

While preparing for my Easter sermon, I read John 20 over and over and over. Finally, I decided not to try to convince my audience to believe in the resurrection of Christ, but to talk about the journey of faith. For some the faith journey is quick. Others take it slowly. Most are somewhere between fast and slow.

John 20 pictures three different individual paces in the faith journey: John, Mary Magdalene, and Thomas.

John - Immediate faith, with little understanding. Mary was first at the empty tomb, then John, then Peter. (John 20:1-9) All three saw the same scene. Mary believed the wrong thing. Peter was still processing. John "saw and believed" immediately. No questions. No doubts. Just faith. Immediate faith. Most faith journeys are not like John's. Most take a bit more time.

Mary Magdalene - second look faith, after a personal encounter with Jesus. Mary saw the same thing John saw. Yet she did not immediately believe Jesus was resurrected. She believed someone took his body. That seemed more logical. Then she saw the resurrected Jesus and thought he was the gardener. She asked the "gardener" if he knew where they had taken the body. Jesus called her name, "Mary" and she  recognized Him. Sometimes Jesus is right in front of us and we don't recognize Him. But when He calls our name, we realize He is alive and near. 

Thomas - eventual faith, after carefully examining the evidence. It was a week later before Thomas believed. Everyone else was on board, but he needed more evidence. He needed to see and touch. He had seen miracles for three years, but he needed more evidence before he would accept the resurrection. Finally when Jesus walked though a wall and showed Thomas his nail-scared hands, Thomas believed. Maybe that is what it takes for some, to see the evidence of his suffering on our behalf, then we believe.

It does not matter if you are like John and believe immediately with little evidence, or like Thomas needing more evidence, as long as you believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is not the pace of our faith that matters, it is the object of our faith.

Discipleship is about helping people no matter where they are on the faith journey.

 

10 Things You Must Know to Succeed in Ministry

I landed in Manila less than 48 hours ago, and as usual I hit the ground running. Today, despite the jet lag coma, I taught six sessions at our ministry school. My students included future campus missionaries, future youth pastors and future kids ministers.

I love training and equipping next generation leaders. No matter how busy or tired I am, I always have time and energy for future leaders.

Here's what I taught in today's three afternoon sessions: TEN THINGS YOU MUST KNOW FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS IN MINISTRY.

1. You must know that GOD LOVES YOU and accepts you because of who he is and what he did for you, not because of who you are and what you do for him. Otherwise you will live and die on the performance treadmill.

2. You must know that GOD CALLED YOU to do campus ministry. Once you know this is a calling and not just a job, then the option to quit is off the table.

3. You must know that GOD WILL PROVIDE for all your needs. No way around it; this is a trust (faith) issue, and he is trustworthy.

4. You must that know THE GOSPEL WORKS in all situations at all times, otherwise you will spin your wheels trying all kinds of gimmicks and flavors-of-the-month. Cool hairdos and designer jeans never transformed a life.

5. You must know HOW TO FORGIVE. More than any other job, ministry will provide countless opportunities to practice forgiveness.

6. You must know how and when to SAY NO. Rather than doing everything that can be done in the name of God, narrow the focus and you will accomplish more.

7. You must know how to ENGAGE your culture & community. This is the starting line for making disciples.

8. You must know how to ESTABLISH biblical foundations. This is the central core of making disciples.

9. You must know how to EQUIP believers to minister. This ensures that discipleship grows in quality as well as quantity.

10. You must know how to EMPOWER disciples to make disciples. This enables discipleship to multiply exponentially.

Another episode of Man vs Jet Lag continues tomorrow. Stay tuned. Bye.

Random Acts of Green & the Real St Patrick

My waiter at Nero's Cafe had green hair today and my barista wore a goofy green top hat.

Beyond the random acts of green, what should we know about St. Patrick and his day?

Fifteen hundred years ago Ireland was an idol-worshipping, slave-trading nation of savage pagans. In just one generation Ireland was transformed into a godly nation known for its scholars and missionaries.

The best-selling book “How the Irish Saved Civilization” tells how this national transformation was primarily the work of one man, Patrick. During his thirty years of missionary work in Ireland, Patrick helped establish over 700 churches and schools and trained over 3000 ministers. But his ministry went beyond just church work. He also helped transform government reform laws that brought the end of slavery in Ireland.

I guess he did more than wear green hats, drink green beer, and sponsor parades.

Instead of merely going green today, why not celebrate St Patrick's Day the way Patrick would, by MAKING DISCIPLES?

"Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28).

Patrick did. We can too.

I Have Accomplished Nothing

Some of you reading this blog are in the process of becoming successful. Some are already successful. Others are... VERY successful.

Think with me for a minute about some of your accomplishments. From the sandlot to the board room. From kindergarten to grad school. From diapers to the marriage altar.

Academic excellence. Athletic victories. Political power. Business connections. Wealth accumulation. Social justice. Ministry growth.

Maybe your greatest accomplishment is that you are still married to the same person after all these years. That accomplishment alone gives you superhero status in today's world of disposable relationships.

Even on a bad day when we feel like total failures, if we stop to think about it, we realize we have actually accomplished some important things.

Or, have we?

A few thousand years ago a wise old long-bearded white-haired prophet had an interesting perspective on success and human accomplishment:

"all that we have accomplished, You have done for us." (Isaiah 26:12)

In other words, all I think I have accomplished through my cleverness, discipline and superior intelligence actually had little to do with me. God did it all. And he did not need my help, my cooperation or my permission.

The only question that remains is will I acknowledge his role, or will I continue to pretend I do it all on my own?

Are You Following God or Man?

Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. (Genesis 12:4)

Abram followed God. Lot followed Abram. Abram went where God said to go. Lot went where Abram went.

There is a big difference in following God and following a godly leader who is following God. Are you following God or are you following godly people as they follow God?

Abram ended up in the Promise Land. Lot ended up in Sodom. You don't have to be an Old  Testament scholar to know that the Promise Land is better than Sodom.

If Lot started out following Abram, how did he end up in Sodom?

Lot's first step in the wrong direction was to pitch his tents NEAR Sodom even though he knew the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. (Genesis 13:12,13)

After living near Sodom for a while, it was only a matter of time before Lot was living IN Sodom (Genesis 14:12).

I guess following godly people is better than following ungodly people, but it falls short of God's best.

Are you following God's will for your life, or are you simply following godly people? Are you comfortably living near wickedness? Or are you following God to your Promise Land?