We are in the final week of our annual fast, and I am going to share a very important word with you. If you practice it, it will lead you to live many years, with health, to fulfil God’s calling.
Over the past three weeks, I have spoken about the power of fasting, a practice unfortunately abandoned by many in the church of Jesus, and thus, it has lost relevance in society.
Do you fast regularly? Fasting is abstinence from food, meaning going a period without eating for spiritual purposes.
Why fast if food is so good?
Food was created by God; it is good, it gives us pleasure, and is a blessing. Food is for strength, satisfaction, and it’s a gift from God.
Today, I want to show you through God’s word that even though food is good, it must be used with criteria and limits.
As Christians, we must understand that there are people in the Bible who lost their health, blessings, and even died because of food.
Food is good but it can be dangerous if you don’t have the power to tame it
Let me give you some biblical examples that show hunger or food can destroy your life.
What was the first sin that entered the world?
Food temptation was the first temptation. The first sin on earth was caused by food!
God created thousands of trees and said: You may eat from all the trees in the garden, but you must fast from one!
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”Genesis 2:16-17
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:6 NKJV
God said she was to fast, but she did not, and she ate the fruit, bringing curses, death, and diseases upon her life and future generations. The first couple destroyed their lives due to a lack of self-control over food.
Another example is in Genesis 25 about Esau and Jacob.
Esau came home from a hunting trip. The Bible says he was so hungry that his brother Jacob offered him a bowl of lentil stew in exchange for his birthright.
“‘First sell me your birthright,’ Jacob said. ‘Look, I am about to die,’ Esau said. ‘What good is the birthright to me?’” Genesis 25:31-32
In a moment of weakness and hunger, he did not think of God. Esau traded spiritual blessings for food! That’s why fasting is so important; fasting transforms carnal people into spiritual people.
God is telling you: There are places you will never reach until you hunger for God and fast.
The Bible says Esau lost his birthright because he satisfied his hunger with physical food instead of God’s spiritual food.
Another example is the people of Israel, whom God was sustaining in the desert with manna He provided from heaven daily. Despite this miracle they still longed for the place of slavery, why? Because of food!
“Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;” Numbers 11:4-5 NKJV
The first temptation ever was over food, and Adam and Eve fell, but Jesus did not fall for His first temptation. He overcame it!
The first sin committed by Adam and Eve was related to food, so Jesus had to win that battle. And as we know, He did!
Matthew 4:1-2 tells us that after a long period of fasting, He was tempted by the devil.
Verse 3 tells us how the devil’s first temptation was to tell Jesus to turn stones into bread.
Jesus knows about food temptation and He overcame it, so that you can overcome it too.
God wants us to have self-control over food consumption, and if you truly fast, you will develop good self-control over this type of sin.
Jesus was tempted and did not fall into temptation because He had fasted.
Why Fast? What does fasting do in our lives?
1- Fasting is a way to humble ourselves and draw closer to God.
“Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting.”
Psalm 35:13 NIV
God looks to the humble and contrite heart, and when you fast and repent in humility, you literally break and position yourself in a way that pleases God, so then blessings and miracles manifest in your life.
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”James 4:6 NIV
Fasting transforms you!
2- When we fast, we remove a god from our lives.
The Bible says that food is good, but it also states that for many, food is a god!
“For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.” Philippians 3:18-19 (NIV)
Paul writes that some Christians in Philippi were enemies of the Cross and their god was food and their stomach.
“For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.“
Romans 16:18 (NIV)
For some, food has become an idol. Just as some people worship money because they are greedy, others have their stomach as their god. This is why fasting is so important! It removes this god from your life!
3- Fasting, when practiced regularly, helps you develop SELF-CONTROL.
Which many do not have! Some lack self-control with food, with their eyes, with thoughts, and with words.
When you fast and learn to control food, to say no to your desire to eat, you will develop self-control in all areas of your life.
When you fast in obedience to God, the Holy Spirit will generate in you one of the fruits of the spirit, which is self-control.
4- Fasting brings health to your body, and you will live many years to fulfil your life’s purpose.
What happens to your body during fasting? (Don’t eat any food , only drink water) I will read to you what doctors say.
Use of stored glucose: In the first few hours of fasting, the body uses stored glycogen in the liver and muscles as an energy source.
Ketosis: After glycogen reserves are depleted (usually after 24 hours), the body starts burning fat for energy, producing ketone bodies as a by-product. This state is known as ketosis.
Fasting triggers autophagy: It is a process where cells degrade and recycle damaged components. This process is vital for cellular maintenance and has anti-aging effects.
Autophagy is a cellular “clean-up”, a mechanism activated during fasting. During this process:
Degradation of Damaged Components: Cells recycle damaged or unnecessary components, including malformed proteins and worn-out organelles. This helps improve cellular efficiency and prevent the accumulation of cellular debris that can contribute to various diseases.
Cellular Renewal: By removing faulty components, autophagy allows for cellular renewal, which can have protective effects against aging and degenerative diseases.
Stress Resistance: Cells become more resistant to stress by eliminating damaged components, which can increase the body’s ability to fight infections and diseases.
Neurodegenerative Diseases: Autophagy can help remove aggregated proteins, characteristic of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. However, this does not mean fasting cures these diseases but has a protective effect against developing them.
Cancer: There is evidence that autophagy plays a dual role in cancer, helping prevent initial development by removing damaged cells. Therefore, fasting as a cancer therapy is an active research field but not an established medical practice.
Infections: Fasting helps mobilise the immune system.
Weight loss: Fasting helps with weight loss and the reduction of body fat. Obesity and visceral fat are associated with various diseases.
Improvement of metabolic health: Improves insulin sensitivity and reduces blood sugar levels, helping to prevent type 2 diabetes.
Brain health: Fasting increases the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which benefits neuronal health.
Longevity: Animal studies suggest fasting may increase life expectancy.
Reduction of inflammation: Can reduce markers of inflammation, linked to various chronic diseases.
God instructed His people to fast over 4,000 years ago, Jesus taught us that we should fast, but now science and medicine are saying: Eat less, control what you eat, and you will live longer; fast, and you will be healthy.
This is why Fasting is a Spiritual Journey to a Full Life
“After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church.”Ephesians 5:29 NIV
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
The Bible teaches us to feed and care for our body as Christ does with the Church! Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit!
In studying obesity and our struggles with food, it’s incredible to realise that it all traces back to the first sin ever committed.
I believe many Christians could have lived much longer and died not by God’s will, but because of the lifestyle they had, eating and drinking too much and consuming what they should not, destroying their bodies.
Did you know you can die before your time?
“Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish: why should you die before your time?”
Ecclesiastes 7:17 NIV
Today many Christians are sick or obese because of their diet (what they eat and drink).
Doctors and nutritionists say: You are what you eat!
The body you have, the health you have, is the result of your diet. Many Christians are killing themselves through food and drink and lifestyle.
I had dear friends, faithful Christians, and even pastors who did not take care of their health and died at 40 years old as a consequence of obesity.
Others who are sick, obese, and suffering because they cannot control what they eat or the quantity they consume.
Today we have a lot of information, and we all know what is good and what gives us health.
If I ask you, what are healthy foods? What foods are not good for your health?
Here is the list of the worst foods for your health:
Sugar, sweets, diet or regular sodas, sugary juices, ultra-processed foods, fried foods, processed meats, fast food, white flour bread, margarine and hydrogenated fats, canned soups and sauces, energy drinks
You all are teachers and know what is good and bad, but lack self-control to say no to what you eat!
The Bible says your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and you need to take good care of it. The health you have results from what you eat and drink! You are what you eat!
Eat healthy food, and after these 21 days of fasting, stop eating and drinking what is destroying your body. Many are destroying their lives because they eat too much junk, and when you fast, you purify yourself and break these bad habits.
If you want to have physical and spiritual health, make fasting a habit! Not just fasting once a year for 21 days, as we are doing, but fasting every week, at least once a week.
Fasting brings intimacy with God. I am trying to build in you a love for fasting, because fasting makes intimacy with God a priority.
Fasting opens the doors to the Supernatural!
When you start to govern your body well, it attracts the Holy Spirit’s presence. When you fast, you are saying to God: you are more important than barbecue, rice, beans, potatoes.
I challenge you to continue fasting, abandon bad eating habits, eat healthily, take vitamins, exercise, and you will live many years for the Glory of God.
May God bless you and help you take care of the temple of the Holy Spirit.