Bible Study

In our last lesson, we examined our motives for fasting. Now that we understand the right reasons to fast, what do we do now? Do we just stop eating until we can’t take it any longer? No not at all! The Bible gives us seven models for different kinds of fasts. In this and our next lesson, we’ll explore four of them in depth and mention the other three, giving you plenty of Scripture references so you can study them on your own.

1. The Esther Fast—The Three Day Fast

In Esther Chapter 3, King Ahasuerus promotes Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, to the lofty position of Chief Prince. The King commands that all of his servants bow and reverence Haman. Mordecai, a devout Jew, refuses to bow to Haman. Mordecai’s faith does not allow him to bow and reverence anyone or anything but God. The prideful Haman gets extremely angry and hatches a plot to destroy Mordecai and all the Jews:

And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.—Esther 3:5–6, (AV)

Esther is Mordecai’s cousin whom he raised and the wife of King Ahasuerus. She is going to take matters into her own hands and do what she can to rescue the Jews. But in order to do so, she has to break protocol and directly approach the King without having him first call for her. This action can cost her her life.

All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.—Esther 4:11, (AV)

To prepare herself and seek God’s favor, she called for a corporate three day fast: “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.”—Esther 4:16, (AV)

God honored Esther’s called fast. Mordecai and the Jews were saved, Esther lived, and Haman was hung. Esther’s fast is a severe or strict fast. They ate no food or water for three days. It had a very specific purpose…to seek God’s favor in the time of crisis.

Are you in trouble? Is your home in trouble? Are your kids in trouble? Are your finances in a state of crisis? Is your marriage in trouble? These are all sound Biblical reasons to practice the Esther fast. When you are confronted with a severe crisis situation, the three day strict fast is an appropriate way to seek God’s will and favor.

2. The Daniel Fast—The Twenty-one Day Fast

Daniel was taken into captivity by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. By the time we get to Daniel chapter 10, Babylon had already been conquered by the Medo-Persian empire and Cyrus the King of Persia was in the third year of his reign. Daniel 10:1–3 says:

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed waslong: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

The intensity of Daniel’s vision led him to humble himself before God with a twenty-one day fast. Note that Daniel ate no meat, no bread, and had nothing other to drink than water. The Daniel fast is understood to be nothing more than fruits, vegetables and water for the duration of the fast. Yes, it is a fast in which you can eat!

Earlier Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) challenged Melzar to give them nothing but pulse to eat and water to drink for ten days so they could prove they could remain healthy without eating the king’s meat and drinking the king’s wine.

“Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.”—Daniel 1:11–13, (AV)

Pulse is vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, and tubers. They drank only water. In chapter 10, pulse again was Daniel’s diet for his twenty-one day fast. God’s response to Daniel’s humility and brokeness as he prayed is nothing short of miraculous.

And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and uponthe palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.—Daniel 10:10–13, (AV)

God heard Daniel’s prayer on the first day of his fast. I won’t pretend that I understand everything that goes on in the spirit world because I don’t. All I know from this portion of Scripture is that spiritual warfare was taking place as Daniel fasted and prayed. Did God unleash His power in response to Daniel’s fasting and prayer so the angels could overcome Prince of Persia? I don’t know, but it almost appears so. No matter what happened though, God responded to Daniel in a supernatural way.

We’ll be exploring two more fasts in depth in Getting on the Fast Track—Part 6 before moving on to our concluding lesson.

In our last lesson, we discovered that Jesus teaches in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6) that giving, prayer, and fasting are a threefold cord of Christian conduct that is not easily broken. We discussed how we will grow closer to God than we ever thought possible if we put these three behaviors into habitual practice. We also recognized that many Christians are a giving and praying people, but that sadly, fasting as a habitual practice has largely fallen by the wayside. But did you know there are both right and wrong reasons for fasting? Today, we’ll explore sound Biblical motives for fasting as explained in the book “Fasting” by Jentezen Franklin (Charisma House © Jentezen Franklin 2008, 2010)

There are different kinds of fasts. There are private fasts and those that the Bible describes as “called fasts”—when unusual times and situations call for unusual measures and supernatural responses from God.  But before you fast, you must ask yourself three questions:

1. What are your motives for fasting?

You will lose weight, but that cannot be your motive. Also, your body will detox. Fasting cleanses you and your digestive track will be healthier, but that is not what a fast is all about. None of these great benefits are reasons to fast. So you must ask yourself, “What is my motive for fasting?”

2. What are the specific needs that I am fasting for?

When people fasted in the Bible, they always fasted for a specific need. Sometimes they were in trouble, sometimes it was for finances, and at other times they fasted for their children or for help or for direction from God. Get in your mind the specific reasons for your fast. If God asked you to list the top three things you want Him to do in your life and family, you should be able to articulate these reasons and keep them before the Throne of Grace during your fast.

3. Am I determined to minister to the Lord during my fast?

Normally, we think in terms of God ministering to us, but yes, it is possible for us to minister to God. Let’s look at Acts 13:1–2

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Notice how these verses say, “As they ministered to the Lord?” Fasting is a time we set aside for ministering to the Lord; it’s not about getting what we can get from God all the time. God will move when we fast, but it should be a time when our heart is crying out, “I want to minister to You; I want to love You more; I want to know you better; I want to draw closer to You; my heart cries for You.”

The way you approach fasting is extremely important. If you are not serious about it, then you won’t get serious results. The more serious you are about the fast, the more seriously God will respond. If you are frivolous or lighthearted about it and have a heart’s attitude that says, “Well, I’ll fast, but I don’t really feel like it,” then that’s not going to work. Your heart has to be in the fast, and when your heart is in it, there will come a fellowship with God like you have never known before!

Did you know it’s possible to go on a fast and have so many personal motives and agendas that you’re not even fasting for God—you are fasting for your own wants and desires. Turn in your Bibles to Zechariah 7:4–6:

Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying, Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

In this portion of Scripture, God is saying, “You have been doing this every year at the same time for seventy years, but I want to know if anyone is hungering for Me and My kingdom, for My agenda and purpose and plan on earth.”

When we fast, we submit our bodies to God and say, “Cleanse this body Lord, and deal with my habits and other things that are earthly. Get this nicotine out of me; get this lust out of me. I am presenting this flesh to You. I know my flesh will always be here, but I’m letting it know that Jesus is Lord in this temple.” In Getting on the Fast Track—Part 5, we’ll examine several of the seven different fasts described in the Bible.

In our last lesson, I alluded to a threefold cord of Christian conduct that God expects of each of us. We talked about walking in fellowship by prayer and reading the word and worshipping together with other believers in a Bible believing, Bible teaching church as being one type of threefold cord that is not easily broken. But I also said, that this isn’t the same threefold cord that God expects of us in Matthew 6. And that if we put the behaviors God expects of us into habitual practice, we’ll grow closer to God than we ever thought possible. In today’s lesson, we’ll examine this threefold cord of Christian conduct from our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount.

In Matthew 6:1–4 Jesus says, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”

There are three points of note pertinent to our conversation in this portion of Scripture. First, notice that Christ expects us to give alms by His use of the word “when.” When means at the given time. It does not mean “if.” It means that God’s expectation is that we will give alms as part of our normal Christian walk. But what are alms anyway?

Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (Deluxe Second Edition) defines alms as:

1. anything given gratuitously to relieve the poor, as money, food, or clothing
2. a deed of mercy

Secondly, it’s important to point out that alms are something we give above and beyond the tithes and offerings that we give to our local church. Tithes as you know are the first ten percent of the gross amount of everything we receive. The Bible teaches that the first tenth belongs to God and if we keep if for ourselves, we are stealing from Him (Malachi 3:8-10). Offerings are what we give to the local church to support aspects of ministry that are not covered by the tithe such as missions giving, the benevolent fund, food pantry, special events, etc. Offerings are given above the tithe. Alms are what we do privately apart from the local congregation. Alms are given above all the tithes and offerings we give to the local church. Christ expects us to give alms as well as our tithes and offerings.

Thirdly, God says that when we give our alms, He will reward us openly. That’s a great promise from God and He never fails to keep His promises. The points about His expectation and being rewarded by God for practicing these behaviors are likewise found in the next two passages of Scripture:

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.—Matthew 6:5–6, (AV)

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.—Matthew 6:16–18, (AV)

Together, giving, prayer, and fasting are a threefold cord of Christian conduct that cannot easily be broken. When habitually practiced, we will grow closer to God than we ever thought possible. Many Christians are already a giving and praying people. Sadly, fasting as a habitual practice has fallen largely by the wayside. I know of only a small handful of other believers who fast regularly. I don’t know of any church in my local area that practices corporate fasting. I do know of a church in California where the entire congregation fasts together for the first 21 days of every new year. And God blesses that church mightily. In Getting on the Fast Track—Part 4, we’ll explore the Biblical motives for fasting.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 says, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

For today’s study, I want to focus on the “threefold cord.” In Getting on the Fast Track—Part 1, I mentioned there are three behaviors God expects of us as Christians. We’ll examine these three behaviors in detail in Getting on the Fast Track—Part 3, but for now, let it suffice to know that there are three behaviors or conducts that we are comparing to the threefold cord. Why a threefold cord?

The threefold cord is a symbol of strength. For example, a piece of twine is made up of many pieces of single strands. One thread alone can be easily broken with your bare hands (try it), but when you join that one piece of thread with many pieces of thread you have a strong piece of twine which is not easily broken.

Cut a piece of twine about 12” long and hold it in your hand. It’s limp and just kind of flops around there. Blow on it and it easily moves about. So is the Christian who practices only one of the behaviors we’ll be discussing in Part 3. When adversity blows into their life, they are very easily moved about and often fall away from the Rock of our Salvation.

Cut another piece of twine as you did with the first. Wrap the two pieces around each other. They sort of hold together…weakly! Now shake them around. See what happens? They separate quite easily and fall apart! So does the Christian who practices only two of the behaviors we’ll discuss in Part 3. When Satan shakes up their life because they want to get right with God, they won’t hold together for very long. They will soon fall apart spiritually and become full of guilt and doubt, losing their trust in our all sufficient Savior.

Now cut a third piece of twine as you did with the other two. Braid them together, just as a young woman braids her hair. Try to pull this threefold cord apart between your hands. It’s strong isn’t it? Try shaking it apart? It stays together doesn’t it? For a Christian to walk in the spirit and stay strong for Christ, they must habitually practice the threefold cord of Christian conduct.

In the spirit realm we are by ourselves not very strong, and if we have no prayer life, no fellowship with other believers, do not read the word or abide in Christ we can easily be broken. But, when we walk in fellowship by prayer and reading the word and worshipping together with other believers in a Bible believing, Bible teaching church, we have strength and we cannot be easily broken. When we live in the power of the Triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we are a strong cord that cannot be easily broken. In fact we are stronger, then the strongest piece of rope that can be found, anywhere!^[1]

Knowing who you are in Christ and confessing these truths daily, brings spiritual strength to your life. We can be secure knowing our position in the Lord, not because of what we have done, but because of what He has done for us.^[1]

While this is one threefold cord and an important one at that, it is not the same threefold cord that I’ve been referring to thus far. In our next lesson, Getting on the Fast Track—Part 3, we’ll examine the threefold cord of Christian conduct that Christ clearly expects of us in Matthew 6. If we put these behaviors into practice, not only will we grow stronger as Christians, but they will stretch us, test our faith, and allow us to grow closer to God than we ever thought possible.

Sin, our sin nature, our flesh will be with us until the day we die. We inherited it from Adam when he sinned in the Garden of Eden and it has been passed down to us today through our ancestral line. In fact, at certain times in our life, our sin nature becomes our very best friend. Doesn’t it? The only problem is, this is not what God desires of us. In Galatians 5:16, the Apostle Paul writes, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

Walking in the Spirit is not an easy thing to do all the time. If you’ve ever read through the Old Testament, it gives a historical account of how often the children of Israel failed to follow God and chose instead to pursue their own lusts and desires. Time and time again, the Israelites turned from following the Living God to worship idols, sometimes of the most base and heinous sort. And all this despite the fact that God performed some of the most remarkable miracles recorded in Scripture on the Israelites’ behalf. It got so bad for the Israelites that God says in Ezekiel 39:21-23:

And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.

Can you really imagine what this verse is saying? God was so angry with the Israelites for their sin that He turned His face from them and handed them over to their enemies for destruction. These are God’s chosen people and the ones whom God had used to bring us and preserve His Holy Word. Now if God can turn His face from His chosen people because of their sin, what makes us think that He wouldn’t do the same to us. Even Paul in 1 Timothy 1:19-20 turned his face from a pair of first century believers who had blasphemed God.

Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

We don’t have a greater enemy than Satan. Yet, the world around us would have us believe he doesn’t exist or is just a myth. It’s a big mistake to believe this. And it’s a bigger mistake for anyone who calls himself a Christian to get caught up in presumptuous sins. Presumptuous sins are the sins that people actually plan out. For example, someone with a weakness for alcohol, might wait until no one is around to sneak a few drinks. Or someone with a penchant for pornography will wait until their spouse and family are asleep to begin surfing the net for their latest empty thrill.

Don’t be deceived, God will only be so patient with some people. He will not be mocked. He will turn His face from us if we abandon Him long enough. And in many cases, it could result in the premature death of the believer. 1 Corinthians 11:27–30 discusses the result of taking communion unworthily. In other words, with unconfessed or presumptuous sin in a person’s life.

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

The word “sleep” in verse 30 literally means dead. The answer to presumptuous sin is walking in the Spirit. But as I said earlier, walking in the Spirit all the time is not easy. In this series of Bible lessons, we’re going to take a look at three behaviors that God expects of us as Christians that will help us to maintain our walk in the Spirit.  In Getting on the Fast Track—Part 2, we’ll examine the strength of the threefold cord.