Fasting 103
Fasting: Greater Intimacy with the Father • Sermon • Submitted
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4) Why We Should Fast
4A) It is a way to humble ourselves before God
4A) It is a way to humble ourselves before God
“It is the spontaneous recognition of the creature’s absolute dependence on his Creator ….” “Humility is the logical corollary of sin-consciousness.”
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
NASB95Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.
James
“For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
Is
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.
“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I put you before kings,
That they may see you.
Ezek 28:17
Downfall of satan
‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
In order to enter the presence of God, Humility must be your strongest chracteristic
Our Father “in Heaven” ....we’re on earth which is His footstool
4B) It brings revelation of our spiritual condition resulting in brokenness and change.
4B) It brings revelation of our spiritual condition resulting in brokenness and change.
4C) It brings personal revival through the powerful moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Seek 1st the Kingdom of God and Hi righteousness and all these things will be added onto you*PriorityThere are 2 types of RighteousnessSelf RighteousnessRighteousness of ChristSelf Righteousness always fails, Its trying to do right under your own strengthThat’s why people struggle with habitual sinThe Apostle Paul said in Roman 7:19
Sin=Missing the Mark
4B) It brings revelation of our spiritual condition resulting in brokenness and change.
4C) It brings personal revival through the powerful moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Seek 1st the Kingdom of God and Hi righteousness and all these things will be added onto you*PriorityThere are 2 types of RighteousnessSelf RighteousnessRighteousness of ChristSelf Righteousness always fails, Its trying to do right under your own strengthThat’s why people struggle with habitual sinThe Apostle Paul said in Roman 7:19
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Seek 1st the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added onto you
Mat
Seek 1st the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added onto you
Seek 1st the Kingdom of God and Hi righteousness and all these things will be added onto you*Priority
*Priority
There are 2 types of Righteousness
Self Righteousness
Righteousness of Christ
Self Righteousness always fails, Its trying to do right under your own strength
That’s why people struggle with habitual sin
The Apostle Paul said in Roman 7:19
I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.
But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Romans 7:14-
For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
Self Righteousness is deceptive
NASB95For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
Its rooted in pride
Self Righteousness is deceptiveIts rooted in pride
Fasting rooted in humility is powerful
It ushers in the presence of God
In God’s presence His righteousness transfers to us so we no longer desire to do the things we hate
eg driving to Devon on QE2 construction everyone’s going 130
eg driving to Devon on QE2 construction everyone’s going 130 I’m content with following the law and doing 100that’s not me!That’s the righteousness of Christ influencing me
I’m content with following the law and doing 100
that’s not me!
That’s the righteousness of Christ influencing me
If you are battling Habitual sin there is a way out!
Habitual sins
Fear/Worry
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
Mat 6:25-
If your a worrier, you need more of His presence
Coveting
Average Canadian is $22,081 in debt 3.6% rise since last year
Average Edmontonian $26,889
Wanting something you can’t afford is Coveting
Interest rates
usury used to mean charging interest
now it means charging unfairly high interest
According to the Fraser Institute
if we were to distribute the total annual cost of servicing Canada’s government debt equally, each Canadian’s share would be $1,752. That’s more than $7,000 for a family of four.
$7000 goes towards interest payments
Do you think Canadians have a problem with Coveting?
Do You?
Pornography
A new study by the Barna Group shows that 64 percent of Christian men and 15 percent of Christian women admitted to viewing pornography at least once a month,
Porn always leads to adultery
Someone might say I view porn but I would never think about cheating on my wife
Well Jesus has something to say about this!
but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
His grace is enough
idea “I can keep sinning and grace will keep me covered”
Grace is not just ment to cover sin; Grace is powered to eradicate Sin
God wants to set you free from sin, Not just forgive you for it!
4C) It brings personal revival through the powerful moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
There are 2 types of Righteousness
Self Righteousness
Righteousness of Christ
Self Righteousness always fails, Its trying to do right under your own strengthThat’s why people struggle with habitual sinThe Apostle Paul said in Roman 7:19
NASB95For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
NASB95For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
Self Righteousness is deceptiveIts rooted in pride
Self Righteousness is deceptiveIts rooted in pride
Fasting is rooted in humilityIt ushers in the presence of GodIn God’s presence His righteousness transfers to us so we no longer desire to do the things we hateeg driving to Devon on QE2 construction everyone’s going 130 I’m content with following the law and doing 100that’s not me!That’s the righteousness of Christ influencing me 4D) It helps us better understand the Bible by making it more vital and practical. I pledged to read the entire Bible during my fast4E) It transforms prayer into a richer and more personal experience.
It’s all about intimacy
Fasting is rooted in humilityIt ushers in the presence of GodIn God’s presence His righteousness transfers to us so we no longer desire to do the things we hate
eg driving to Devon on QE2 construction everyone’s going 130 I’m content with following the law and doing 100that’s not me!That’s the righteousness of Christ influencing me
4D) It helps us better understand the Bible by making it more vital and practical.
I pledged to read the entire Bible during my fast
4E) It transforms prayer into a richer and more personal experience.
It’s all about intimacy
Next message
5) How long should we fast?
We are never actually commanded to fast in scripture
It is a personal decision on what to fast from, and how long to fast
In scripture we see people fasting for 1,3,21,40 days
Moses fasted 40 days ()
David fasted until his adulterous son died ()
Elijah fasted for 40 days after eating food from an Angel ()
Ezra Fasted 3 days While Mourning Over Sin ()
Esther Fasted 3 days for the Safety of the Jews ()
Daniel Fasted 21 days for an Answer to Prayer ()
Jesus Fasted 40 days Before Temptation by Satan ()
Paul Fasted 3 days After His Conversion ()
So How long should you fast? well that’s entirely up to you
6) When should we Fast?In the Bible there were many reason why people fasted6A) An act of repentance Ahab repents
NASB95Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him. He acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the sons of Israel. It came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.
Nineveh repents
NASB95Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes. He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. “But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”
Israel returning to God
NASB95“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.
Daniel repents of behalf of his countrymen
NASB95So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
6B) Victory in times of PerilIsrael verse the philistines
NASB95They gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.
Protection from the enemy
NASB95Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.
Salvation for the people of Israel
NASB95“Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem
NASB95When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
If you are battling a habitual sin, I highly suggest fasting to get victory over it!We have this mindset in the church that God’s grace covers our sin,So if we sin….its OK God will forgive us.What we fail to understand stand is God’s grace is to eradicate our sinsGod wants you to have victory over your sin, not just white wash and ignore it!6C) Preparing for release in ministry Moses 10 commandments
NASB95So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Barnabas and Saul set apart for a missionary journey
NASB95While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders
NASB95When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
The Prophet Anna waiting for the arrival of Jesus
NASB95and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
Jesus begins His ministry
NASB95for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ”
Down through the years, godly people who have done mighty things for God have testified to the necessity of prayer with fasting.John Wesley, who shook the world for God during the Great Awakening that gave rise to the Methodist Church toward the end of the eighteenth century, is representative of such great spiritual leaders. He so strongly believed in the power of fasting and prayer that he urged early Methodists to fast every Wednesday and Friday.Other great Christian leaders who made prayer with fasting a part of their lives were Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Jonathan Edwards, Matthew Henry, Charles Finney, Andrew Murray, and many more.6D) Needing an answer
NASB95In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.
6E) HealingFasting for others to be healed
NASB95But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, And my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
David for his adulterous child with Bethsheba
NASB95So Nathan went to his house. Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick. David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him in order to raise him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.
7) Is it Spiritual Warfare
NASB95When I wept in my soul with fasting, It became my reproach.
Jesus tempted in the wilderness
NASB95Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
When you are fasting, you are growing in your relationship with God,The enemy does not like this, so he will do everything in his power to prevent you from fastingThe enemy also attacks when we are at our weekest.When you go without food for any substantial period of time you will become physically week.The enemy will attackWhen I am week He makes me strong
NASB95And 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. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody.
Eg man honking horn on ArgyllPersonalI am choosing to go on a 40 day fast from food, the internet and TVThe fasting trifecta Sounds extreme, yes, but like you I have a Destiny that I don’t want to miss out on
This summer I received another word from Steve backlundSteve Backlund Prophesy 1:10I know what I’m called to do. Its far beyond me, I can only do it by drawing closer to GodThis Church is a part of my journey, and I’m believing for amazing things, But we must prepare our selves to receive everything God wants to give!Let’s pray