if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 chronicles 7:14
why would the people of God need to humble ourselves? why do we need to pray? if our sins are already paid for in full by the blood of Jesus, why should we still repent? what does it mean to seek His face? this passage is the key for the one thing the church talks the most about and sees the littlest of - revival. it is a call to relationship. it is a call to a time when the presence of the Lord will come and never again leave, not even for a moment. i heard two amazing sermons sunday out of what i consider to be two of the most influential churches in the nation, ihop in kansas city and bethel in redding, and both were on this passage in the Bible. i do not think it was an accident at all.
God isn't meant to be a part or my life or an addition to my life. He is my life. in a relationship, there are things that we sacrifice in order to make time to pursue the deepening of the relationship. when i was dating bill, i was working in the days, taking teaching credentialing classes at night, doing homework somewhere in between, and i was exhausted. yet, i was in love with this man and i made sacrifices of time to be with him. it didn't feel like a sacrifice for what i was getting in return. there is so much to know of God, so much beyond what we could ever know of another person, that the knowledge of Him is inexhaustible. just like in any relationship we desire to pursue growth in, we must exchange the things that gave us pleasure at one time in order to get pleasure that is so much sweeter. it seems pretty silly that i would rather spend time watching a tv show or eating chocolate than with my husband who wants to be with me and loves me more than anyone else i know, but that is exactly what we all do when it comes to the Lord. i have even been known to find things i don't enjoy doing, like laundry, cleaning, paying bills, and even cutting my toe nails, to avoid spending time with the One who loves me more than any man possibly could. how crazy does it sound even though we all know we do it!
humanism. i will write more on this another time, but let me just say that it is more dangerous to the reality of knowing the Lord than any of the major religions of the world. the basis of humanism is simply living for myself and my desires first. the deep root of it, that no one would probably admit they believe about themselves, though they live like it, is the belief that man is God. the world revolves around us, the point of life is to satisfy all our desires and cravings, and even God lives only to please our wants and needs. what a sneaky lie that has not only convinced so many that they have no need for God, but has even lulled those of us who love Him to sleep instead of really pursuing knowing Him. it is so difficult to guard ourselves against it when it permeates most of our entertainment and life all around us. i believe this is the major roadblock to revival. this is what the people of God need to repent from in order to be able to really seek His face like 2 chronicles describes.
what is revival? is it many people who have never known God coming to experience Him, encounter Him, and follow Him? is it healings and miracles? signs and wonders? i believe these above things really do accompany true revival, but the word revival can only apply to bringing life to something that once had life and doesn't any more. i believe this word revival is really about awakening the hearts of believers that have been lulled to sleep by the cares and lusts of this world, humanism, and reviving that fiery passion for God that is willing to lay aside anything, even the neutral or good things of this life, to make the time to really know Him and experience Him. when the world sees a people who would give up anything to experience more of this God and His love, they will come to taste and see that God is good. who is this that is so amazing that He makes the pleasures of this life not worth the time they take? when we are letting go of all the other legitimate pleasures because of the single focus of obtaining more of Him, He will release such a power that has never been seen before, signs and wonders like in the days of moses, and that will get the attention of those who didn't think they needed a relationship with God. then there will be the ultimate fulfilment of the greater works than these promise because we will be made into a people that look just like His Son. seriously i know it is offensive when it pushed the buttons of our own favorite pleasures, but we spend more time, and by we i am including myself, in front of the tv watching entertainment, surfing the internet and checking our facebook accounts, eating food, socializing and networking, and so many other things that are even considered very godly things like pursuing careers, developing our talents, ministering for God, than pursuing the Lord Himself. we dull the ache in our hearts that would push us into Him with all this other stuff and we quiet the voice of the Holy Spirit which says, "seek my face, seek His face..." i alone know how many times i have felt the pull inside to spend time seeking the Lord, reading the Word, praying, worshipping and how many times i have turned to something easier that never really brought the fulfillment i was wanting. so many times! even as this is burning in my heart, i know that i will do it again this week! it pushes my buttons too.
are all these other things really worth it? i am not talking about sin lifestyles, though it is sad that many in the church are not willing to give those up either, but about just the things that take up so much time and energy. is this what He has given us freedom for? do we have freedom so we can pursue the pleasures of this world that never really satisfy, but leave a dull empty feeling when it is all said and done? i hear so much talk about the freedom we have as believers and i believe in this freedom. i know without this freedom the Lord gives i would not even be alive today. what i often question is why did He give us this freedom and what do we do with it?
i have the same temptations as everyone else, and i know how painful it is when i decide to spend my time and energies seeking the Lord rather than i usually do just trying to entertain myself. feeling the ache inside of not being entertained and seeking Him instead is the whole reason for a regular lifestyle of fasting and fasting in secret. let me suggest that we are not grouchy when we fast because we are hungry. we are grouchy because of the ache inside that we finally allow ourselves to feel for just a moment. the ache was always there, we just dulled it with other pleasures... many times very legitimate pleasures that were put here by God for us to enjoy. however, there is the invitation to have a greater pleasure in Him and that is where we have to decide if experiencing the pain of changing the way we spend our time is worth the reward of knowing Him deeper than we could have ever known any other way.
this is what He gave us freedom for - so we could have the ability to choose Him first when there are so many other options that are legitimate and many times even put there by Him. all the way back in the garden of eden He put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, never intending for man to partake in it. it was always meant to be our choice. He will not make us love Him or choose Him. i want so badly to see a move of God like i have never seen but always longed for to come to, not only the world but to the country i live in. we so badly need a move of God now unlike ever before. so many people i know and i care about do not see their need for God. so often we have turned to politicians to fix our problems and blame everyone around us except ourselves for the state of our lives. we blame "the world," instead of looking at ourselves.
He is longing for us to come to Him to fix our problems. He is waiting for us to desire growing in humility like His Son. He longs for us to turn to Him and learn how to pray. He is the good Father who longs to unleash His love on us if we would just turn to Him in repentance and say we need Him. He is calling for us to seek His face so that we may find Him and know Him and experience His love. He is a good God who cares for us and will forgive us when we come to Him and He desires to heal our land. revival is His plan and His desire. it is our choice when.
charis
as i promised a while back, i am planning on writing a series on fasting on here. if you haven't read fasting part 1, click here to read it first. maybe some of this will be included in my future book. who knows?! as i have said before, i am on a journey and have committed to share what i do have to give along the way, though i know that i will learn more and more as i continue to press into the Lord.in fasting part 1, i shared some about my history with fasting, my own ups and downs, and personal motivations i have had in even attempting this journey of developing this area of my life with God. because of the many many times that i mess up in attempts at fasting, i find that i have to remind myself often of the why of fasting in secret. i am going to attempt to share with you some of the reasons i have found to helpful in keeping on in something i am not very naturally good at doing.i have found fasting in secret to always sound like such a good idea the night before i start a fast day. i can feel my heart excited about pressing into the Lord. the excitement i feel in my spirit reminds me of the excitement that i feel on christmas eve anticipating the delight on the faces of my kids as they open up presents. there is something so rewarding in knowing that you are giving a gift that will bring delight to the recipient. it is worth all the sacrifice it may take to make the gift possible when you know what your loved one is desiring. God is very clear over and over again in both the old and new testaments that He desires us to draw near to Him, even in the specific act of fasting. He is also very clear that He desires to draw near to those who are broken and contrite in spirit. i don't know of anything else that will produce more real brokenness inside of a person than denying oneself of the substance that gives energy, mental clarity, and delight.the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. psalm 51:17
though God uses all brokenness in our life to draw us nearer to Him, there seems to be something unique about voluntary brokenness or weakness. there are so many things in life that make us weak, but when we chose weakness in the times that we could be strong, we are imitating the life of His Son. it is the definition of humility that i have described before - not weakness, but strength restrained for a purpose. when we willingly choose to make ourselves weak, i know may sound bizarre, it delights the Father's heart because it is a testimony of the sacrifice Jesus made not only in His death, but in the entirety of His life. philippians 2 is one of my favorite passages to meditate on when considering this man Jesus. He humbled Himself. He emptied Himself. He did not grasp; quite different than the first adam who ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so that He may be like God.
and, because of His voluntary weakness, He is exalted by the Father forever. He pleased the heart of the Father and we have the opportunity only in this life to choose voluntary weakness like our Savior. you see, the day is coming when every knee will bow, every tongue in heaven, hell, and on the earth will recognize Jesus as Lord. but to choose to enter into drinking His cup with Him, the cup of humility, we have something we can only give Him in this life. in the chapter of our lives after death it will no longer be a struggle to choose loving the Lord with our whole hearts, but here we have so many things we have available to dull the struggle to give Him all of us. i don't think that not eating food makes us struggle. i think temporarily denying ourselves of food, which is not evil in itself at all but a blessing from the Lord, reveals the struggles in our heart that are always there which we just aren't always aware of when we can control the quality of the circumstances around us. in 2 corinthians 12:9 paul said:and He has said to me, "my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." most gladly, therefore, i will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
the life of voluntary weakness is not a life a God that is void of His power; on the contrary, it is the life in which He can most display the wonders of His glorious power because we are not going to grasp at it for our own gain or advancements.fasting in secret does something different in our hearts than any other forms of fasting. i recently attended a bible study on the song of songs. in chapter 8, the beloved says of her lover: oh that you were like a brother to me
who nursed at my mother's breasts.
if i found you outdoors,
i would kiss you;
no one would despise me, either.
i would lead you and bring you
into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me;
i would give you spiced wine to drink
from the juice of my pomegranates.
at the bible study we discussed how there is something so powerful to a secret life with the Lord. just as there are intimate aspects of marriage that are not shared with all, there are aspects of my life with God that are to be just between Him and me. it is special, sacred, and cultivates a deep deep love to have a secret place with the Lord that everyone else does not know about. the fasting in secret is something that i can give to Him alone. although it could win me esteem in the eyes of men and influence here on earth, i can choose to make myself weak and vulnerable in His eyes alone, move the heart of God, and gain more that i could have ever gained with man. the interesting twist i have found about the pain of fasting in secret was a surprise to me. i expected to feel the pain of not getting the positive recognition for my efforts to pursue the Lord. what i did not expect was the pain i would feel when i struggled and gave into my flesh and kept that part secret before the Lord as well. how real is the pain of not being able to make it through one day of fasting and having no one to reassure me that i am okay! to share the awareness of one's own poverty of spirit with God alone is a dynamic that is so so powerful! the new levels of intimate dependency on the Lord and the love for His very near and real mercy toward me make this part of the secret life so priceless. it is like the beatitudes in matthew 5: blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
when we are aware of our own spiritual poverty, we are able to receive His kingdom. when we share with Him alone our inability to love Him the way we desire to love Him, He is the One who draws so near to us to comfort us. when we chose humility and meekness just like He did, we will inherit the earth along with Him - co-heirs with Christ. this voluntary brokenness will stir in us a real hunger and thirst for righteousness. He promised that when we come to this place of deep spiritual hunger because of our own emptiness He will fill us with all we are desiring. The awareness of our inability to love Him without Him giving us that love to pour out on Him draws mercy out of us towards others who struggling in their walks with Him. the dynamic in giving mercy is amazing - the more we give, the more we will receive from Him; the more aware we are of our need for His mercy in our own lives, the more we will desire to give it to others. what an amazing journey Jesus laid out for us in growing in love with Him. each step of the way there lies a reward waiting for us on the other side. in luke 18:29-30 when the disciples told Jesus all they had given up voluntarily in order to follow Him, He promised:"i tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."
i believe the same is true with fasting - we cannot out give God! over and over again in matthew 6 Jesus described the Father as the rewarder of what is done in secret! the amazing thing is the Father often gives us a choice of where we will receive our reward. we can receive the reward in full here on earth, which looks like the esteem and recognition of man, or we can voluntarily choose to cultivate the secret life with Him and store up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal (matthew 6:20) i know how hard it is to not give in to the desire for the reward here in the seen rather than wait for it in what is still unseen for us, but this is why i must encourage my own heart regularly! He is El Roi, the God who sees! if i can learn to value what is unseen to others, how much more will i gain from Him forever and ever and ever!the last reason for fasting in secret that i wanted to share a bit about is how it causes us to grow in authority and humility in equal measures. there are very real promises of authority reserved for those who seek Him in fasting and prayer. in matthew 17 Jesus spoke of a type of authority that came in healing and deliverance only with much fasting and prayer. the humility it takes to choose growing in faith through fasting and praying in the secret place draw the favor of the Father. He can trust those who are not out to make themselves famous, but make famous the name of His Son and humble servant Jesus. charis
fasting part 1first of all, i am by no means the expert on fasting. i actually have a favorite book about fasting that i have loaned out more times than i can count... i may actually have to buy a second copy so that i have one around here to refer to when i am needing it. the one book i have read that makes the lifestyle of fasting very simple is the rewards of fasting by mike bickle and dana candler.
for just under $10, you can have a great resource to refer to and, i promise, pass on if you are like me and are wanting to start this journey but get overwhelmed by all the connotations the word fasting brings with it.that disclaimer aside, i would like to take a couple blog entries to talk a bit about fasting. though i do not have the experience i would like to have much authority on the subject, i would like to do what i have promised to on this blog and share a bit about my journey.i do not remember how old i was when i went on my first fast, but i know that i was in my early teens. i remember seeing a flyer at church, back in the "old bethel" for those of you who can even remember that far back, and it was a corporate fast someone in the christian world was calling. i talked to my mom about it and decided to give it a try. no, i did not do a 40 day water fast. i can't even remember at this point what i decided to fast or how long i lasted, it was probably very very simple and short, but i know that was when the seed was planted.since then, i have done different corporate fasts, such as the 1st 40 days of 2000, in which while i was on a juice fast (a senior in college, mind you, with a very full load - it is possible to do as a student, i promise!) when i was healed of very uncomfortable lactose intolerance while fasting. i was privileged to participate some of these amazing corporate fasts at a young age, many called by lou engle, who i personally consider one of my spiritual fathers after going to harvest rock church in pasadena, ca, where he was on staff with che ahn while i was in college at azusa pacific university. i also would fast when contending for a breakthrough in some area of my life or in prayer for breakthrough in others lives such as healing. i had such a habit of fasting before making big decisions, that i have often shared with people when telling bill and my "story" that i fasted 3 days before telling him that i had feelings for him.i do not say all that so you will think i am an expert faster. not at all! many times in college i was tired, stressed from all the balancing of classes, homework, jobs, activities, and other stuff that i would fail time and time again in my fasting pursuits. many times i would begin a fast in the morning to end it around lunchtime. sometimes i would decided to fast a week and make it a day and a half... i say that to encourage any one who is desiring to fast, but feels like they are a failure. i actually approached the Lord about this when i was really struggling with the times that i did terrible at making it through the time frames i had set for myself. i felt like He encouraged me that He saw the desire of my heart to seek Him in this part of my walk with Him and He was okay with me learning.now that i am a parent i think of when each of my kids decided that they wanted to learn how to walk. i did not get frustrated and upset with them when they would fall down. i was not hard on them when they were afraid to let go of the table to take that first step. i was delighted with their desire to learn! i did not focus on the times they "messed up" in their journey because i was so delighted by their desire to try! our youngest son, david, decided to start walking the day before thanksgiving. we were laughing, taking pictures, helping him up when he fell, and getting him started again - it was an amazing time!
what an encouragement it is to my insecure heart when Jesus said,if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! matthew 7:11
so, even with a history that goes back half of my life in learning how to fast, it was not until recently that i started a new leg of my journey of fasting - the fasted lifestyle Jesus spoke of in the sermon on the mount. i would love to expound in a later post about the different types of fasting, but i just want to take a bit to touch on fasting in secret.in matthew 6 Jesus taught on the different elements of a fasted lifestyle and i am so intrigued by what He said about the issue of fasting food: whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites {do,} for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees {what is done} in secret will reward you.
first of all, it is so interesting to me that He was talking to a group of people, the jews, who were very familiar with corporate fasts. some of the feasts the jews celebrate throughout the year actually have corporate fasting connected to them. however, this was not the fasting He was talking about. this type of fasting, i believe, is the fasting He was referring to when the pharisees approached Him with questions about why His disciples feasted while the disciples of john the baptist fasted. Jesus answered that His disciples did not fast while He was with them, but what He said next was very interesting:but {the} days will come; and when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days. luke 5:35
i believe Jesus was talking about our generation and the day that we live in. this was the type of fasting He was speaking of in the sermon on the mount when He urged them to fast in secret in order to have a reward.there is so much to this type of fasting that is new to me and to many people who are mostly familiar with the long extended fasts or corporate fasts! for one, it is about having a habit of regular fasting fit into one's lifestyle. i have heard mike bickle say that any healthy adult can safely fast 2 days every week! i am here to tell you that even pregnant and nursing moms can modify a fast, making it even a juice fast, to safely fast 1 day a week. this is something we can do! i will go into the why more at a different time, but i want to say again: this is something we can do! will we mess up? yes! many, many times. i do not think the fact that we mess up along the way is a reason to not start this journey that has a promised reward from the Father at the end. Jesus said, when you fast... He was not speaking to those who did not have the Holy Spirit. He was talking to us! we have the Holy Spirit... but was are still waiting for Jesus Himself to come back and place His feet on the mount of olives for real. that has not happened yet, for the apostles encouraged the church that we would not miss it and would know when it happened. so, this is our opportunity to fast out of our desire for more of Him and for His imminent return to reign on the earth in the most real interpretation of that promise! i get excited even writing about it!as i promised, i will break this up so it is not too long to read in one sitting. what i want to leave you with right now is this: fasting in secret is for our generation. Jesus not only prophesied that it would happen when He was to be absent from us, but promised us a reward from the Father if we would enter into it. fasting is hard, but it is a journey. you can do it! i promise you will mess up. if you are anything like me, you will eat a spoonful of peanut butter while making your kids their lunch and then remember you were supposed to be fasting. whoops! it will sound like such a great idea the night before; then 2 hours into it, it will sound like the biggest waste of time and pointless. i know that i have had every reason why i should not fast go through my head when i attempt to do it in secret; everything from that it is just "legalistic", whatever that really means, to it is not really good for my body and i need to take care of my body, or it is a bad day for it and maybe i will try tomorrow instead, or that it is pointless and nothing comes of it anyways... and more! we are all human and it is hard for all of us, but i want that reward that Jesus promises, i want my Bridegroom to return, and i want to be the type of bride that He desires to come back to with a heart that is tender from choosing voluntary weakness like He did.more later, but be encouraged! this is a very good journey. let go of the table a take a little step. you delight His heart.
click here to read fasting part 2charis
