The Merits Of Fasting

[0:00] Thank you for choosing to listen to today's message by Reverend Dr. David Entry. We know you will be blessed as you seek and serve God. We believe that this message will stir up a desire for more of God even as you listen.

[0:13] Be blessed. Advantages of fasting, number one, it gives you, number one, spiritual discipline. Somebody has spiritual discipline. Some of us lack spiritual discipline.

[0:26] When you begin to fast, it gives you some level of spiritual discipline. You're able to stay focused. You're able to do the things that you have to do for God. Say amen. Number two, increases your spiritual capacity.

[0:39] When you fast, it increases your spiritual capacity. Fasting does not change God or make God make a decision to do something. Fasting rather increases your capacity for God to move more in your life.

[0:53] So it's not like you're fasting and God has not decided because you're fasting, I'm going to do something. It's rather you have created more room in your life for God to do more. So fasting increases your spiritual capacity.

[1:06] Hallelujah. Number three, fasting also gives you mental clarity. Sometimes your mind is on all over the place. When you fast, you begin to have clarity.

[1:18] So fasting is not, you are not doing it for somebody. It has enormous benefits for the one who is doing the fasting. Fasting gives you mental clarity. Some of you, since you started fasting, you can tell things are clearer for you.

[1:31] You can think a bit straight. You can think clearly. You can think, you suddenly realize, why is this guy still in my life? Yeah, he's resting my time. Yeah. You can think clearly. Why am I confused about whether to choose this one, this one, this one?

[1:43] I just know this way I have to go. It gives you mental clarity. Somebody's receiving mental clarity. Somebody's receiving mental clarity. Number four, fasting gives you pure heart and mind.

[1:59] So when you begin to fast, at least your heart begins to get purer for God. Your mind, a lot of things that will be always attacking your mind. Anger, evil.

[2:11] You know, things that some of us, how many of you know sometimes things can come on your mind? All kinds of things. You don't invite it, it will be coming. Yeah. It will be coming. But, and sometimes, some of the things that can come in your mind, you can't say to anybody because it's bad.

[2:25] How that thing came into your mind, only God knows. But, mental purity, or purity in your mind and your heart, it begins to give you, when you fast.

[2:36] How many of you noticed that when you fasted, some things became clearer? At least, I mean, your heart is purer for God. Those of you who didn't experience it, I don't know whether you fasted or not.

[2:46] Fear heart and mind. Number five. Oh, I like this one. Fasting increases your hunger for God. You realize that when you fasted, you feel like, I want more of God.

[3:00] I want more of God. I want more of God. You are not bored with prayer. You are not bored with reading the Bible. You are not bored with being in church. It's not putting you up. Because, when you do fasting, it's like, you hunger more for God.

[3:13] Because you have channeled your hunger in the direction of God, like I said earlier on. Number what? Number six. Six. Oh, I like number six.

[3:24] Physical health. Yes. Physical health. There's so much in your body. That can affect you or poison you. When you fast, the body begins to recover itself.

[3:37] Detox itself. Oh, yeah. It detoxes itself. Gently. Cleanses. Cleanses itself. Cleanses itself. Cleanses itself.

[3:48] When you fast and you drink water, you pass water. When you pass water, it's kind of, you can see it's yellowish more. A lot of things are being cleansed out of your system. A lot of things are being cleansed.

[3:59] And then when you begin to have the hunger hormones. All right. The ghrelin. When you begin to ghrelin and then your tummy begins to ramble.

[4:12] I used to think it was health. It's not a health challenge. It's just the tummy. How many of you realize that after 20, 19 days of fasting, your hunger for breakfast is gone?

[4:25] Yeah, because now your brain and your stomach lining have agreed. So they said, no, this one is not taking breakfast. So don't send any signal breakfast.

[4:36] There's no, there's no signals. Yeah. And then when you begin to, when hunger begins to kick in, the hunger begins to, and there's no food. Then, as I told you, the acid in your intestine begins to eat the leftover food in the intestinal world.

[4:55] Begin to eat. It's only when you do 40 days without food that now it begins to eat the muscles. That's why nobody did 40 days without food in the Bible.

[5:10] The fathers, they went, Jesus himself went to 40 days. Because in Matthew chapter, I think chapter 4 verse 2. Matthew chapter 4 verse 2 says that, and when he had fasted for 40 days, he was, afterwards, hungered.

[5:22] He said, after 40 days, the hunger, starvation starts testing. So after 40 days, you're not supposed to go further. I mean, when you are raw without food. After 40 days.

[5:33] After 40 days, your stomach will begin to digest the muscles in the intestinal world. So that's not, that's not very dangerous. So you are not supposed to.

[5:44] But before 40 days, it will eat all the hidden food. It will digest all and cleanse your system. It has been proven that fasting is very toxic or dangerous for cancer.

[5:56] When you have somebody who fasts, cancer is poison in your cell or somewhere. So fasting cleanses the poisons. And fasting attacks, fasting attacks terminal illnesses.

[6:09] Before they can show up. I'm not saying after they have showed up. Maybe if you have medication, then you have to, you know, for the sake of, you have to just be on your medication. But before it comes, so some things never happen.

[6:22] It even affects the quality of your skin. Fasting can affect a lot of skin diseases. It cleanses, it cleanses. You don't need facial cleansing. Fasting, cleansing will do it.

[6:35] Shout hallelujah. Fasting, oh, number seven is the nicest, one of the nicest one. One of the benefits of fasting is you lose weight. Weight's lost.

[6:48] Some of you should be very happy. Number eight, purifies and cleanses the body. Like I said earlier on. So fasting purifies and cleanses your body.

[7:00] So sometimes when you see people like me saying that I cannot be sick, it's because spiritually God is blessing me. And physically too, the engagement I am in helps me, gives me an advantage. That's why for 30 years, I haven't been actually sick.

[7:16] I am so sick. No. Only one day I couldn't go to church because I broke my fasting with orange juice in Ghana. Not the processed orange.

[7:27] I bought orange juice. I bought orange juice. And the acid context began to react in my tummy. I was throwing up. I wasn't well. But that one, it was lack of knowledge that affected me.

[7:40] Yeah. But from that time, I've been, have you ever come to church and say, oh, pastor couldn't come because I wasn't feeling well? Yeah. It will never happen. Yeah. Two things.

[7:53] I have a covenant of blessing. I read the word and the word builds my spirit, my system. That's number one. But number two, the physical benefit is the fasting. It cleanses my system.

[8:04] It cleanses my system. Yeah. Number nine, physical freedom. Physical freedom. Physical freedom. Some, some of you, you know, the, all, almost all human problems come from food, drink, and sex.

[8:26] And there are some of us, you can never be free from the food, drink, or, yeah. Many people are not physically free from any of these controls.

[8:38] So much, you are under control of, you have to eat, you have to eat, you have to eat. You can't ever say that, oh, I'm not eating now. And the easiest thing they can tempt you with is with food.

[8:49] You can be late for any meeting because of food. Yeah. Some of us, it's so sad. That food can control, food can control you so much.

[8:59] When you are in the plane, even the air hostess tell you, so, enough. You understand what I'm saying?

[9:15] Are you getting what I'm saying? Yes. So food. Some people drink. Alcohol. Every time. Drinking. Drinking. And it's destroying your life. It's destroying your life.

[9:28] What you are drinking. Every time. Something must be going in. It's true. But when you fast, you gain physical freedom from the control. How many of you, after the fasting for a period, those of you did it properly?

[9:41] You can tell. You can tell that food doesn't have that strong control over you. You can break the power of food over your life. After 21 days, you are actually free to change your eating pattern.

[9:55] You can change it. You can stop eating maybe at 6 a.m. and move it to 10. So by the time you realize, 6 a.m. food, you don't feel, you don't want it.

[10:05] Then now, when it's 10, the hormones begin to work. We are ready. We are ready. You have changed it. So you gain freedom. Physical freedom from these things that are controlling. Some of you, this is the time to break that sexual addiction.

[10:19] Break it. Break it. Break it. Break it. Don't go back to it again. Some of you know God is talking to you.

[10:30] But those who genuinely don't want it, you realize that you have the, ah, you have liberty not to do some things. Fasting is such a powerful tool. Yeah.

[10:42] And after this fasting, you must schedule your own private fastings. Every now and then, private fasting. Sometimes, just to seek God. Fasting is not fasting until God is the target.

[10:56] If God is not the target, then it's not fasting. Because if you are trying to die, don't call it fasting. So number nine is physical freedom. Number 10, spiritual freedom. You are free to spiritually be in charge.

[11:08] You can tell. You want to pray, you are praying. You want to read your Bible, you are reading it. It gives you some spiritual freedom to do the things you want to do spiritually.

[11:18] You want to be in church on time you are in church. You come to church, then what is going on? You are listening. You are able to listen. It's not all. When you, previously, anytime you are preaching, I think, oh, this is too long. I'm tired. I'm tired.

[11:29] And you are distracted by all kinds of things. During fasting, you can gain spiritual freedom. Now, to do the spiritual things you want to do. Say amen. Amen. And number what?

[11:40] Eleven. The giving spirit. Giving spirit. All right. The spirit to give. It gives you the spirit of giving. You become more generous when you are fasting.

[11:54] Yeah. Those of you who are still mean, I don't think you fasted. Because you become more generous. You become more forgiving. You can let go. You can give people things. It's easy.

[12:05] And your offerings are better. Yeah. When you fast, you become more. Something, it affects you spiritually. You are more generous.

[12:15] Someone who has vowed. You have vowed. This one will never forgive. He said, let him go. The other time, the person came and asked for, can I have some? You have some of your bread. So, can I have it?

[12:26] You become more generous. You become, you bought a shoe. You've not worn it. It's just, I think I have to just, you're generous. Yes. Some of us are so mean.

[12:39] Mean. Calibus. Mean. Number what? Twelve. It makes your light shine.

[12:52] It makes your light, you begin to have insight. Revelation. When you read your Bible, you see more things. You begin to have clearer ideas about what you should do about your future. How, what decisions you should make.

[13:03] You are confused about who to marry. If you fast, it gets clearer. You are confused about what, what, what course to choose. What subjects to choose. You are confused about which property to go for.

[13:14] You are confused about which neighborhood to go live in. Different, a few things. Fast. Just when you fast, it gets, it gets you. Your light dawns, according to Isaiah.

[13:25] The dawning of your light. So, you become, your light dawns. Amen. Number 13. It protects you. Fasting will protect you. Number 14.

[13:36] When you fast, it helps you to receive answers to prayers. Hallelujah. Number 15. It makes you have a desire to be with God.

[13:50] You just want to be with God. I just want to be where you are. Dwelling daily in your presence. Number 16. This one is a good one.

[14:01] Number 16 and 17 are nice ones. Have you finished number 15? Yes. Should I tell you number 16? Yes. 16. Are you ready?

[14:11] Yes. Number 16. When you fast, it helps you with retention. Mental retention. Your retention. You remember things faster and easier.

[14:21] You're able to retain things. You don't forget by heart. It helps. Because your system is being detoxed. So those of you in school. That's how I got my distinction.

[14:32] I was always fasting. And studying too. You know. You can't pass without studying. It's what you forget that makes you fail. But retention.

[14:43] When you fast, retention helps you. Some of you say, oh, now I'm old. I don't remember things. As you fast, you begin to remember. Sometimes you're wondering, how does the pastor remember all these scriptures? Fast like him. You also begin to remember some of them.

[14:53] Pastor, how are you able to remember most of the names in the church? Fasting helps with retention. It helps with retention. It helps with retention. You remember things. You remember. Sometimes when there's so much, your system is imbalanced.

[15:07] And there's so much going on in your system. So much junk and toxins. It destabilizes your system. That's why people get sometimes. Have you noticed when you are very agitated? Sometimes it's too much in your system.

[15:20] You are easily agitated. Easily irritated. Fast and cleanse your system. In the same way, when you fast and cleanse your system, your mind, it cleanses your mind. It helps you with retention. Is someone learning something?

[15:32] That's what I wanted to teach because I think it can help somebody. It's good to know some of these things. It helps you with retention. And then finally, there's more. But let me add this last one.

[15:43] Fasting helps you with retention. And then, the last one is spiritual sensitivity. Sometimes you can enter a room or enter a house and know that something is wrong here.

[15:58] Because when you are fasting, you are very light. Spiritually, you can pick things easily. You can go into a place and know that something is wrong here. The spirit here is not good.

[16:10] Someone can be talking to you and then you... It's not God's feelings. It's spiritual. You know the person is lying. You just know. You don't have evidence, but you know. You know. Sometimes you can see somebody and you can tell, Ah, this person is going here.

[16:24] He's doing something wrong. Something is wrong. Spiritual sensitivity. You become more spiritual. When you see a false prophet, sometimes your spirit can tell you. Because you are sharp. I think, let me add one more benefit.

[16:37] It saves you money. Your old clothes, you can wear them back. You can wear your old clothes back. So you save money. You can give that money to charity.

[16:48] Yeah, to help others. Yes. Did somebody receive something? When we say fasting, it's not just missing meals. It is not dieting.

[17:01] Okay. So fasting is not just missing meals. You skipped a meal. A meal, sorry. You skipped a meal. So you are fasting. So some of us, because of the nature of your work, so busy sometimes you don't get a chance.

[17:13] Okay, let me convert you to fasting, please. That's not fasting. That's not fasting. That's not fasting. Okay. And when you are fasting, you replace time for your food time with God.

[17:27] So the time you use for eating, you use that time for God. That tells you that you are fasting. These are things you have to do. And then when you are also fasting, fasting demands dedication of time for meditation.

[17:41] Thinking about the word of God, reading more of the word of God, meditating. That's then you are fasting. Reading, meditating, meditating. Amen. I think after.

[17:52] We thank God for using his servant, Reverend Dr. David Entry, to share this awesome word. If this message has blessed you in any way, please spread the word by sharing it and send us an email to amen at caris.org.

[18:07] Remember to stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter for regular updates on what God is doing here at Caris Ministries. Stay blessed. Amen.

[18:17] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.