This preaching is not so popular because in this culture of entertainment and gratification and pleasure, words like “fasting” and “sacrifice” have been lost in the body of Christ.
If you read the bible you are going to see that Fasting is a spiritual discipline practiced by Jesus, his disciples and his followers as a source of power, strength and growth for believers ever since.
Today we are going to listen to what happens when we fast.
It’s not easy to fast, it’s not fun to fast, but it’s powerful!
I learned this bible principle 30 years ago and I started to practice it and my spiritual life was transformed.
Before I start fasting I felt afraid to pray for possessed people but after this periods of fasting I noticed the spiritual authority that I had in the name of Jesus and many people were delivered and were set free from demons through my prayers.
Fasting it’s not for the strong, fasting is for the weak, fasting is for the common people, for the ordinary people like you and me who are desperately hungering for God and desire to be used by God.
Fasting never manipulates God.
It’s important we go to into a period of fasting knowing that we will never earn God’s blessing, God’s favour, God’s miracles – you can never earn the blessing and favour of God by work!
It’s the Grace of God, the Blood of Jesus that release those blessings!
Fasting does not manipulate God, fasting doesn’t make God to do something that it’s not His will.
Fasting gets you ready for God’s answer, fasting prepares your heart to say: not my will but your will be done.
Fasting breaks you down, fasting brings you to the place, in a position of obedience, humility and brokenness before God and makes you understand: my Heavenly Father has the best for me, and now I trust You!
Fasting is an invitation, not an obligation, it’s something you do voluntarily!
You go to God and say: God I’m breaking my routine, I don’t have to do it, but choose to do so!
Fasting is a choice, but it is also obedience.
Mark 9: 25 – 29
25 “When Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him,
“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!”
26 After crying out and convulsing him greatly, it came out of him. The boy became like one dead, so much that most of them said, “He is dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose.
28 When he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?”
29 He said to them, “This kind of spirit can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting.””
The Bible tells about a father whose son had been tormented by evil spirits from childhood.
The father longed to see his son set free. He asked Jesus’ disciples to help with his troubled son.
But Jesus’ disciples could not set his son free!
Then Jesus came, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him”. The boy was set free!
When Jesus and his disciples got home, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could not we cast it out?”
“This kind of spirit can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:29
Here Jesus gave us a key! He said there are some situations we are going to overcome just trough Fasting and Prayer.
There are certain things that don’t happen until you fast and pray !
That’s why we are challenging everyone in Church to take part on these 21 days of fasting and prayer.
After these 21 days you are going to receive breakthrough with your kids, in your spiritual life, health, finances, marriage, etc.
Here is the point: breakthroughs never happened to anyone in the bible who did not seek them.
Some people say they have faith, but they have no physical acts of obedience. When you start seeking God, you get God’s attention and God turns to your cry.
In order for us to understand the power of prayer and fasting we need to read another verse:
16 “So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.””
Matthew 17:16-17
Jesus said to His disciples: “O faithless and perverse generation !
In another words, Jesus was saying to his own disciples:
The first reason you could not cast out demons: You are faithless
you have no faith, you are an unbeliever – you are walking with me, but you are disconnected from God.
You are disconnected from the Word of God
You are disconnected from my presence
You’re disconnected from hungering from God.
Then the unbelief comes, fear, anxiety, hopelessness, then you cannot trust in God for miracles because of your lack of faith.
Second reason: Jesus called his disciples perverse.
Jesus said: you are not connected to God / but you are connected to the World – this world has perverted you!
This world contaminated you with sin!
Immorality, pornography, addictions such as smoking, drinking and gambling of any kind, spirit of gossip, greed, rebelling against authorities, etc.
What Jesus did say to His disciples? Mark 9:29
You suffer from perversion and lack of faith but if you pray and fast you can overcome this situation!
Because:
- Prayer connects you to God
- Fasting disconnects you from the World
- Disconnecting you from sin — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
I as a pastor, as a preacher – always have to go back, to pray, to fast and say: God Help me, because I’m disconnecting from you and I’m connecting to World.
Then I start praying, repenting, fasting, disconnecting from the world and connecting to God.
Suddenly we are connected to God and disconnected from this world and fresh anointing from the Holy Spirit comes over you and we have the favour of God again!
Luke 4 said that Jesus fasted for 40 days, he was baptised, filled with the Holy Spirit and was led by the spirit to fast and pray for 40 days .
If it was not necessary to fast, Jesus our example and model would not have fasted!
Luke 4 is connected to Luke 5. Let’s read Luke 5:33-35,
Luke 5:33
“They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”
Some religious leader came and said: Jesus your disciples are not fasting, they are eating and drinking…
34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?
35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
This is a revelation! Jesus said: when I’m with then in physical body they don’t need to fast because they have everything in me, but the time will come when my body will be taken away from them, then this is the time they need to start fasting.
Jesus is implying and declaring that: His body was going away, but what they would lose with that, they could regain through fasting!
Jesus has been taken away physically, so now is time to fast!
Fasting is not trying to get more of God, fasting is letting God have more of you!
The real reason that I fast, to be honest, is that I feel my own inability, I’m unprepared, feel that I lack the tools to do what God has called me to do.
I have some gifts, I have some talents, but they mean nothing if God doesn’t touch them!
When I’m fasting, I’m recognising my dependence on God for this new year!
Because I don’t want to do what God has called me to do with my bare hands!
When you’re fasting, you’re saying God I need you, I need the anointing of the Holy Spirit!
In Matthew 6, Jesus talks about three duties of every Christian: giving, praying and fasting.
And He doesn’t use the word if, He uses the word when.
17 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
Matthew 6:17-18
Your Father sees what is done in secret and He will reward you.”
Why is fasting so powerful in the Christian life ? Because fasting is a way of humbling yourself!
The scripture said : Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God and in due season and he will exalt you!
James 4:10
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
When you humble yourself you’re opening the doors for God to exalt you! When God sees what is done in secret, He will reward you.” He will exalt you!
The bible says in the book of Proverbs that: Pride goes before falling!
“Pride goes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.”
Proverbs 16:18
Pride is the first step toward destruction , first the pride then the crash !
There are many people that start well in their life with God, maybe you started the Christian life with a humble heart as the king Saul in the Old Testament. He was anointed by Samuel as the first king of Israel. When he began, he was extremely humble, he started out in humility, he started out meek but he turned into another man and God had to replace him with David!
God said these words to Saul:
1 Samuel 15:17
“Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.”
What a lesson! When you become great in your own eyes God says: Pride is something that will cause your downfall! Pride goes before the fall and destruction of your life!
Don’t ever get to the place that you feel like you can do anything, your talents, your gifts, your education is enough! You need the anointing, you need God’s presence!
The more he raises you, the more you need to seek Him!
The more He blesses you, the more you need to seek Him!
It’s dangerous when we are really growing spiritually, growing as a church and we start getting so busy and we don’t have time to pray, read the bible, fast and go to meetings!
You are in a dangerous place when your ministry is growing but your passion for Jesus is shrinking.
Also some of you were unemployed in the past, you had no money , no documents, no Irish citizenship, no medical card and you were seeking God, coming to all church meetings, praying, asking God for help.
But now you’re so busy, now you have to work, now you have to study, to do your own stuff, you’re working more and more because you need more money and now you have no time for God!
No time for meetings because your family is growing; your career is growing, you need to further your education.
Please, Don’t let your passion for Jesus shrink!
Saul was born in humility and he died in pride!
It cost him everything, cost him his family, cost him his children and it cost him the Kingdom he had!
Fasting is a way of saying: I don’t want pride in my life!
Some people are proud and they don’t know it.
I used to say that: Pride is like bad breath. Everyone knows you have it except yourself.
Those who are near you know and they can feel the smell of your pride the most! If you want to know, ask people around you, your parents, leader, pastor, because they know!
Did You know that the first sin in the bible was pride? The first sin ever in creation was pride!
Pride got an angel turned into a devil!
Because Lucifer, according to the scripture was an arch Angel that was in a holy place, in heaven.
Lucifer’s problem started in his heart… He had a problem with authority, his boss, but he didn’t try to fix it!
If you have a problem with someone, with brother, sister, relative, your leader, please go, confess and fix this situation before you fall!
Think about it!
Pride can turn an Angel into the devil!
Pride can prevent many people to enter into the Kingdom of God!
I don’t want pride to get a hold of me!
What is powerful about fasting is that as you fast, you’re humbling yourself before God! You’re saying: God use me again! God fill me again! God bless me again!
Keep Fasting and Your Father that sees what is done in secret and He will reward you !
God bless you