Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough: A Guide to Nine Biblical Fasts (24 page)

Be aware of the four basic desires of the ego or personality. Although these desires may seem natural and prescriptive, they may also grow out of a selfish heart that puts ego on the throne. These desires drive us to the John the Baptist Fast.

•
Protect me
. We feel threatened by losing life’s basic necessities.

•
Exalt me
. We feel embarrassed or feel that others minimize us.

•
Accept me
. We are alienated or frozen out of the group.

•
Respect me
. We feel threatened because of criticism or direct attacks.

When we feel a threat to our emotional equilibrium or self-esteem, we should enter the John the Baptist Fast to strengthen our testimonies and our influence upon others.

Step 8: Know the Nature of a Christ-Centered Testimony

If you are not aware of how to be a good Christian witness, read Christian books and listen to instructive tapes to help you learn during your fast. Keep the following factors in mind:

Recognize your limitations
. Concerning Jesus, John the Baptist admitted, “I would not have known him, except...[God] told me” (John 1:33,
NIV
). His disciples told John, “All are coming to him” (3:26). You want your testimony to be effective, but beyond your influence remember the most important principle, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (v. 30). This means that you are not fasting to protect your ego, but to exalt Jesus Christ.

Recognize your unworthiness
. John would not let other people exalt him, not even his disciples. He told the religious authorities from Jerusalem, “I am not worthy” (1:27).

Evaluate your desires
. During the John the Baptist Fast, we should seek out any hidden selfish desires. John the Baptist said that in merely bearing witness to Christ, “This joy of mine is fulfilled” (3:29). This happens when Jesus Christ is exalted.

Determine time limits for the short- and long-range fast/diet
. When you get ready to fast, make these a matter of prayer and write out the duration before you begin the diet/fast.

Determine diet modifications before you begin
. Write down what you will or will not eat before you begin the fast. In making this determination, ask yourself:

• Is this healthy for me?

• Will this harm me?

• Would this be a testimony if others knew what I was doing?

• Is this mere legalism? (Trying to please God through a work of the flesh.)

• Why am I withdrawing from this food/liquid?

Determine testimony-objectives before you begin
. It is good to write out the purpose of your fast/diet before beginning. We have been told, “You do not have because you do not ask” (Jas. 4:2). Frequently when we write out our petitions, we suddenly see ego staring back at us from the paper. The process of writing out our objective clarifies our petition and its motive.

Determine the sincerity of your vow-decision before you begin
. We test our sincerity in light of God’s standards—the Word of God in Jesus Christ. John the Baptist’s sincerity could not be questioned, for he spoke of Jesus as the one “Who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose” (John 1:27). Also, he was willing to pay for his testimony with his life, which was cut short by King Herod (see 14:1-12). (Although some might think this shows that the John the Baptist Fast wasn’t successful, John’s death merely extended his testimony!)

The point is that we must not enter the John the Baptist Fast for selfish or self-protective reasons. We must make sure that we desire to extend our influence for good only to ensure that in all things Jesus Christ will be honored.

Remember, we have the right and obligation to eat. Paul asked rhetorically, “Do we have no right to eat and drink?” (1 Cor. 9:4). Then he said, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (10:31).

M
Y FRIEND
J
ERRY
F
ALWELL RECEIVED SEVERAL DEATH THREATS FROM
those who opposed his leadership of the Moral Majority.

I was with Jerry in the summer of 1982 when he visited Australia. More than 1,000 Moral Majority opponents rushed the National Legislative Building in Canberra, the capital. The evening news described their actions as a “national disgrace.” The Parliament had never been threatened.

The following Sunday afternoon, a mob showed up at the Sydney Civic Center to protest Falwell’s presence. Only a few uniformed patrolmen were present to keep the mob behind police barricades. As I watched, a thousand people plunged through the barricades and broke down the front door. I wondered if we would be killed.

Since that experience, I have raised the preventive wall of the Esther Fast as I pray for the safety of Jerry Falwell and other men of God. Outsiders may presume that those for whom I fast get “lucky breaks”; but we who have wrestled with the evil one know what happens. We know that the Esther Fast is effective.

The Christian life presents many dangers. We are susceptible to physical attacks, as in the case of Jerry Falwell’s Australian opponents, and to
spiritual threats from Satan and his demons.

Taking a stand for Christ can be costly. Rivals may attempt to get you fired, or lie about your effectiveness. They may steal from you or take credit for your efforts. High school students have been known to physically attack Christian students. In Muslim countries, Christians have been martyred for their faith. The Esther Fast can release God’s protection upon His children.

Although spiritual attacks are more subtle, devious and vicious, in some cases they also pose physical threats. Whether physical or spiritual, these threats have only one source. Paul tells us, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

Most Americans, including many Christians, do not believe in evil forces or demonic spirits. They believe demons exist only in fairy tales and discount their significance in the Bible.

Perhaps this is because America has been living under the umbrella of God’s protection. Unlike the darkness of heathen society, America has experienced few instances of active, public demonism. Demonic attacks are much more common on the mission field than in America. Also, the use of demonic medicine men and witches has not been openly practiced in America. Although America has been far from Christ-centered in many of its activities, at least our Congress opens with “Christian” prayer and our president is sworn into office with a Bible. The Ten Commandments have been taught in public schools and Christian churches have been the dominant influence in our nation. This Christian umbrella has shielded America from the hot glare of satanism and demonic destruction that have tormented other societies.

As America is becoming more secular and pluralistic, we are seeing more evidence of demonic attacks in our nation. Therefore, Christian leaders must understand the potential of demonic influence on their ministries, and they must know how to seek protection from the evil one.

God has promised, “Is not this the fast that I have chosen...the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard” (Isa. 58:6,8). As we shall see, the Esther Fast is designed to be this kind of rearguard protection from danger and demonic influence.

We understand the purpose of the Esther Fast better when we understand what it is not.

It Is Not an Exorcism

First, the purpose of the Esther Fast is not to exorcise demons from a person. Exorcism is a totally different process, and only those who are fully equipped and trained for the process should enter into that exercise.

Second, the Esther Fast does not break the bondage/addiction a person has because of demonic influence. Such situations call for the Disciple’s Fast (see
chapter 2
).

Third, the Esther Fast is not designed to heal a person who suffers a pathology because of demonic influence and/or possession. Although at times the presence of a demon in a person
may
cause psychological or physical problems, usually such problems have no trace of demonic influence. In either case, the Esther Fast is not designed to target this problem.

The Esther Fast
may
be used as a protective weapon against the demonic. The previously mentioned problems are unusual, and the vast majority of Christians are not troubled by them. Many Christians, however, are tempted to sin, or they are enticed to heresy (doctrine of devils) or immorality. All of these temptations can stem from demonic sources. Also, Christians can be harmed physically, mentally or emotionally by satanic attack; therefore they need protection. And protection is one purpose of the Esther Fast.

Satanic attacks have hurt the work of God and Christians in several ways. When my friend accepted the pastorate of a small Mississippi church, the attendance was fewer than 75. He sought God’s power, which resulted in an anointing that lined the altar with converts and caused the attendance to grow to 800.

One day as this pastor was on a church visit, a drunk driver crossed the highway, striking the pastor’s automobile head-on. He died instantly. As demoralizing as his death was to the church, the aftermath was even more disastrous. The next two or three pastors were not able to preach with the same power, or lead with the same wisdom and effectiveness. The church declined and decayed until it reached its present attendance of 150.

I have often wondered whether my friend’s death was the result of mere circumstance or God’s will to take him for some reason I don’t understand. Could his death have been satanically inspired? Not having enough information to make a conclusion, I personally believe the last answer is probably accurate.

Occasionally I have felt that God has delivered me from the evil one. For example, I conducted a Sunday School seminar, at a Holiday Inn in Hollywood, California, for a small crowd of between 50 and 60 church leaders. At the end of the seminar, I asked if I could conclude by dedicating the leaders and their churches to God. I asked all present to either kneel by their chairs, stand before God or sit with bowed heads, using the chairs in front of them as altars.

I knelt in the front row and dedicated all of the delegates and their churches to God. I ended my prayer as I usually do, asking for God’s protection for our travel home. Using the words of the Lord’s Prayer, I prayed, “And God as we travel, deliver us from the evil one who would snuff out our lives.” Upon saying amen, I arose and moved back to the podium.

Immediately after leaving my place of prayer, a heavy window frame fell out of the wall onto the spot I had just left. Several who were present cried out with fear. People leaving the room almost unanimously agreed that God had just answered my prayer, and that my moving from underneath the heavy window frame was God’s protection of me. I agree.

In 1977 I spent New Year’s Eve in Haiti. I was told that New Year’s Eve was the Devil’s Night, and that demonic activity would occur that evening. I slept on the laundry-room cot in the home of a missionary, Bob Turnbull, president of Haiti Baptist Mission. I’d gone to bed about 10:00 P.M., not caring about any of the New Year’s Eve activities.

About 11:50 P.M., I awakened with a cold shudder. Immediately I began praying and calling out loud for “the power of the blood of Jesus Christ.” I knew that demons and Satan could not stay in the presence of Jesus Christ and the power of His blood. As midnight approached, I could hear the whistles and sirens ushering in the New Year. I sensed a cold, demonic oppression, and continued to pray in the name of Jesus Christ and the power of His blood until His sweet peace flowed into my heart. I went back to sleep and slept securely.