Fasting To Get Results

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[0:40] Praise God. Hallelujah. Fasting to get results. This one is just a quick one. Why do we fast? To seek God.

[0:52] Okay, any other person? Jesus commanded it. Okay. To be more sensitive. To be more sensitive. To be more sensitive in hearing from God.

[1:05] Yes. To humble ourselves. What does that mean? Humble ourselves.

[1:17] To seek God's face. Things happen when you fast and pray. If you pray and fast, things happen. Pastor. Yeah. To increase our inner man and energize our inner man.

[1:30] To increase our inner man or energize our inner man. To come out of something that you are struggling with. That's a good one. Yes. To add fuel to your prayer. This philosopher.

[1:43] To add fuel to your prayer. Yes. To put our bodies under subjection. To put our bodies under subjection. From all fleshly desires.

[1:57] Very similar to what. That's the same thing. Which Sarah said. Things do not go except by prayer. Is there some things do not go except by prayer?

[2:11] That's why we have to fast. Did I see a hand here? Yes. To strengthen the relationship between ourselves and God.

[2:30] To resist temptation. A man shall not live by bread alone. No, no, no.

[2:41] But that's quite profound. Come to think of it. So because you don't live by bread alone. Sometimes you have to put bread aside.

[2:51] So you can live without bread. Interesting. Hallelujah. Oh, you said we're very powerful.

[3:03] And I'm trying to think of who said something that was not right. But I'm struggling to find that. Because almost what everyone said. Compliments what someone else said.

[3:17] So you're all right. If I were you. I'll be writing what everyone said. And turn it into my own notes. Jesus Christ fasted. And you see.

[3:30] Before I go into that. I was in a pastor's conference about. Eight years ago. Or nine. No, more than eight years ago.

[3:42] I think nine years ago. I was in a pastor's conference. And this minister who was teaching said. Fasting is an Old Testament thing.

[3:54] And Christians are not supposed to be fasting. Because fasting is an Old Testament thing. And a lot of people didn't take it lightly. A lot of the pastors. So it became a.

[4:04] After I finished questions. It became like. And the man was quite. You know. He's able to. If I remember. I got up and I said that.

[4:14] No. It's not Old Testament. Because. In the every. See when people say things like that. And especially. They have a. A bit of theological knowledge. Everything. Every scripture you could. They give a different interpretation.

[4:26] Afro-Caribbeans. They. Like fasting. Because they think. You have to punish yourself. For God to listen to you. But.

[4:39] A lot of people. Were very enraged. Many pastors. Got up. Just left the. The meeting. Because. How can you go and eat. And eat. And I remember. One of his. Church leaders.

[4:50] Was also sitting in front. And he said. I don't even know. What's wrong with people. Why do you should fast? And the bishop said. Exactly. You just. I don't know. Yes. And most of the pastors.

[5:02] Were very. Offended. But. You know. I couldn't be bothered. I just. There are people. Who believe that. Fasting is Old Testament. Fasting is not necessary.

[5:12] Fasting is not. And. There is a text. Which. We. We will use. About the fact. That Jesus said. This kind. Does not go.

[5:22] Except. By prayer. And fasting. Um. All right. Let me just. Let me just attempt. To do that. God is. Let me just do it. Let's look at Matthew chapter 17. I want to show you something.

[5:35] Matthew chapter 17. Matthew 17. 17. It says that. Then Jesus. Jesus answered and said. Oh. Faithless and perverse generation. How long will I be with you?

[5:47] How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me. This is talking about. Okay. Let's read from verse 14. And when he had come down to the multitude. A man came to him. Kneeling down to him.

[5:58] And saying. Lord. Have mercy on my son. For he is an epileptic. And suffers severely. For he often falls into the fire. And often into water.

[6:09] So I brought him to your disciples. But they could not cure him. Then Jesus said. Oh. Faithless generation. And perverse generation. How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?

[6:22] Bring him to me. And he rebuked the demon. And it came out of him. And the child was cured. From that very hour. Verse 19. Then the disciples came to Jesus.

[6:32] Privately and said. Why. Could we not cast it out? So Jesus answered them. Because of your unbelief. For assuredly I say unto you.

[6:43] If you have faith. As a master's seed. You shall say to this mountain. Move from here. To there. And it will move. And nothing will be impossible.

[6:54] For you. Verse 21. Let's all read 21 from the screen. Amen. This can does not go out. Except by prayer. Shall we all read it together please?

[7:07] Amen. This can does not go out. Except by prayer and fasting. So he was telling them that. You see you need faith. To be able to move mountains. If I have faith.

[7:17] He can say to this mountain. Be moved. Then he went on to say that. In spite of all that. This kind. This particular situation. We are talking about. Does not go.

[7:27] Except by. Prayer. Alright. Now. Can you put. That same text. Can you put the NIV on the screen please? NIV.

[7:42] You see. It's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. Is this in the verse 17? Okay. Put. Put King James back. New King James again.

[7:54] Did you see that? Now. Put. New King James. Verse 20. Alright. So he says. You see where the 20 starts from? Jesus answered.

[8:05] And said. Because of your unbelief. For verily I say unto you. And all that. Go to NIV. Verse 20. The same. Verse 20. Street to NIV. He replied. Because of your unbelief. Okay.

[8:15] Then nothing shall be impossible. Go to verse 21. Let's see what he says. He can't seem to have verse 21. So just move it forward. Let's see where it goes. Won't he go to 21?

[8:26] Goes to 22. Did you see that? So. Aha. So you see that.

[8:39] If you have an NIV. You notice that. Go to verse 20. Again. NIV. You see that. Nothing shall be impossible for you. Is the end of the same.

[8:50] Verse 20. In the King James. That in the. Verse 21. King James says that. However. This kind does not go. Except by prayer and fasting. NIV says.

[9:07] So those of you who have NIV. If you look into your Bibles. How many of you have got NIVs? What does it say in your Bible? What does it say?

[9:17] There should be some. A statement there. No. Is there anything in italics? Yeah. What does it say? So there is like a letter here. The footnote says.

[9:28] But this kind does not go out. So there is a footnote. If you have a good NIV. There will be a letter. Not me.

[9:41] So long as we are concerned. You don't. There is a footnote. What Bible is that? Is that NIV? New Living. Okay. New Living has got it.

[9:51] The reason why I went into this. Is because I attempted to say. Some people purport. That fasting is Old Testament. Okay. Now.

[10:02] When Jesus said that this goes. Only. This kind does not go. Except by prayer and fasting. Some believe. That is not. In the original manuscript.

[10:14] Perfect. So then. If you caught that. And say. Some things don't go. Except by prayer and fasting. I think I dealt with this particular.

[10:25] Thing a little bit. When we were doing the foundation school. I spoke about. A little bit. About it. The Bibles. So. If you don't know much. About this. Come to foundation.

[10:36] School. And. You will learn more about. Why is NIV saying that. And why is King James saying that. And it's not only here. There are other places in the Bible. Especially the New Testament.

[10:47] Particularly. Not the Old Testament. The New Testament. Where NIV omits some stuff. While King James have it. If you want to know. It's not anything strange. You will understand it.

[10:58] And you will actually. Clap for Jesus. That it's like that. But come for foundation class. And you will know it. Alright. So. Many people say. That. Many. Particularly. In many British institutions.

[11:11] The normal. Book. The normal. Version they use. For biblical studies. And theological studies. Is NIV. In many.

[11:23] In British institutions. So. British Bible. Colleges. Many. Many. Bible colleges. British. English based. Or British. Bible colleges. And many.

[11:34] Of those institutions. The standard. Version they use. Is the new. International version. Okay. And the reason why. They choose to use that. Is the reason why.

[11:45] We explain it. When you come to. Foundation. School. So. Then. That stands to. Throw light. On why. Sometimes. Some people. Who say. It's Old Testament. Because.

[11:55] Jesus didn't actually say. Casting out demons. Require fasting. And come to think of it. Come to think of it. If you. Need fasting. In order to cast out demons.

[12:07] Then there is. Your. Your. Spirituality. Is questionable. Or your redemption. Is that. Or. Do you need fasting. Does the policeman. Need fasting. Or even go to the gym.

[12:18] In order to just. Stop traffic. Or ask. He doesn't need to go to. He can be a very big. Person. Weak. Walking around. Very slim. Weak. And can stand there.

[12:28] Lift their hands. While he is in a police uniform. And stop traffic. You have to. So you don't need. To fast. In order to wield. Spiritual authority. Hello.

[12:40] Alright. So then. Then. Why should we fast? We are not fasting. To cast out demons. I remember. In my early days. When I got born again. My pastor was preaching. And he says that. Some people went to go.

[12:50] And cast out a devil. And when they were praying. For the demon. To come out. The demon. You know sometimes. The demon speaks to people. Say. Hey. Hey you. I know you. You are coming to cast me out.

[13:01] When you were. You guys. When you were coming. You didn't even fast. You. You've just eaten a lot of. Rice and peas. Peas. You've just eaten that. And you are coming to cast me out.

[13:12] And then they all. They all got discouraged. They went. Because. They felt. They have not fasted. To cast. That's wrong. Understanding. All right.

[13:22] So you don't need to fast. In order to cast devils. You don't need to fast. In order. But. But. But. But. But. But. But. But. But. But. But. Jesus said it clearly. In that context.

[13:33] He said. This kind. It was cast. He said. They said. What. Why couldn't we cast. The devil out. That demon out of the boy. Or why couldn't we cure the boy. And he says. His initial answer was.

[13:45] Faith. Faith. He said. If you have faith. Like master's seed. You cannot dress anything. Then he went on. In addition to that. He said. That how be it. This kind. Does not go out. Except by.

[13:56] Prayer. And fasting. Excuse me. So. Now. Jesus said. But why. Watch this. This is very interesting. Why did Jesus fast? If you study the text. Very carefully.

[14:06] The scriptures. Very carefully. Jesus didn't cast demons. Until after his fasting. He didn't cast out devils.

[14:20] Until after his fasting. In Luke chapter 4 verse 1. The Bible says that. And Jesus was led by the spirit. After his baptism. Okay. Now. Watch this. His baptism was.

[14:31] The declaration. That's when. He started his public ministry. His public ministry. Started with his baptism. So. When. John the Baptist. He came. And asked. John the Baptist.

[14:41] To baptize him. And John the Baptist said. Behold the Lamb of God. Who takes away. The sins of the world. And the Bible says that. When he was being baptized. The heavens was. Was open. And the Holy Spirit. Descended.

[14:52] In a bodily form. As a dove. And settled on him. And there was a voice. That came from heaven. And it says that. This is my beloved son. In whom. I am well pleased.

[15:02] Alright. So. Bible says that then. This is. Chapter 4 verse 1. What verse comes before. Chapter 4 verse 1. Chapter 3 verse 3. We'll put it there please. Chapter 3 verse 30.

[15:14] And. Okay. So that was talking about. The genealogy of Jesus. But particularly. When you go to Matthew. Matthew chapter 3. The last verse of Matthew chapter 3. Talks about how. It's more about his baptism.

[15:26] When he finished his baptism. He went straight into the wilderness. Bible says. So there was chapter. Matthew chapter 3. See what's there. Surely I say. A voice came from. This is my beloved son. Who my.

[15:37] Now let's go to the next verse. Then Jesus was led by the spring. Into the wilderness. Where he was tempted by the devil. And then. Go to the next verse. And. When he had fasted.

[15:47] 40 days and 40 nights. So that is where he went to fast. He went. Right after the heavens was open. He went into fasting. Now. He fasted there. 40 days and 40 nights.

[15:58] And in Luke chapter 4. Verse 14. Bible says that. And Jesus came. So in Luke chapter 4. Verse 1. Jesus went into the wilderness. Full of the spirit. But in.

[16:08] Some of you must be aware of this already. In verse 14. He came out from the wilderness. Then Jesus returned. In the power of the Holy Spirit. He went full of the spirit.

[16:19] But he returned. In the power of the Holy Spirit. Very interesting. So when the Holy Ghost came upon him. He went to fast. And then. Bible says that.

[16:29] He went. Verse 1. Verse 1. Chapter 4. Verse 1. Look at this. He says. Being filled with the Holy Spirit. He returned from Jordan. And was left by his spirit. Into the wilderness. How did he go? He was filled. Went full of the Holy Spirit.

[16:40] But verse 14. He returned. Full of the power. Very interesting. He said. Return. In the power of the Holy. In the power of the spirit. To Galilee.

[16:51] And the. The news of him went. Out through all the surrounding region. Now. That. This is where. Then he went to the temple. Synagogue. And he was given the scroll. To read. The two verses afterwards.

[17:01] He was given the scroll. To read. And he opened his eye. He said. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. For he has anointed me. To preach the gospel. And he spoke about a few things. And he said. To declare the acceptable year of the Lord.

[17:13] And then. He told. When he put down the scroll. Verse 16. 18. There. He only put down the scroll. He told them that. This scripture is fulfilled. In your eyes.

[17:24] In your ears today. And the Bible says. They looked at him. And some of the. That's after that. They took. They pick up stones to snow. Who do you think you are? Why are you saying that? They started having problems with him.

[17:34] For the declarations. Now. Going back to fasting. So. You could tell that. Jesus went to fast. And there was a. A great difference. Now. I'm not saying that.

[17:44] He was able to cast out devils. Because he fasted. Now. I'm not saying he was able to cast. But there must be something. Fasting did for him. Which made him come out.

[17:57] In power. Now. Do you know when the devil tempted him? Bible. The scriptures are very interesting in that. It said that he was led by the spirit. To be tempted of the devil. That's what Matthew said. And then in the verse 2 of chapter 4 of Matthew.

[18:09] It says that. And be. And having fasted 40 days and 40 nights. The devil came to him. Matthew chapter 4 verse 2. So. From verse 1. It talks of Matthew chapter 4.

[18:20] Then Jesus was led by the spirit. Into the wilderness. To be tempted of the devil. Okay. Go to the next verse. And when he had fasted. 40 days. So. The Bible. All the Bible says that. He fasted 40 days and 40 nights.

[18:32] And 40 days. And when he was hungry. The verse 3 said. The devil came. The tempter came and said to him. Started tempting him. Right. So then. Actually. When the Bible says that.

[18:43] He was led into the wilderness. To be tempted by the devil. Was it this temptation he was talking about. After his fasting. Or when he was dead throughout the 40 days. He was being tempted every day. Do you understand what I'm saying.

[18:55] Was he being tempted every day. Or. The Bible says that he was led to be tempted. And after he had finished fasting. After he had finished fasting 40 days. The devil came to tempt him. Because he was hungry.

[19:06] He said. If you are the son of God. Turn these stones into prayer. Now. The last thing we heard about Jesus. Before he went fasting. Was a voice. In Matthew chapter 3 verse 17.

[19:17] This is my beloved son. Now. When he finished fasting. The first thing he heard. Is you are the son. The devil will always question the word of God you've heard.

[19:28] You've heard a prophecy. A breakthrough is coming. The devil will question it. Your marriage is going to happen. The devil will question it. You're about to have a child. You have the prophecy. That you are going to have a child. The devil will question it. Then you go to the hospital.

[19:39] They ask you. That. Ah. You have about 10 fibroids. You can't give birth. Meanwhile. You've just heard the word from God. That God is about to give you twins. Hey.

[19:51] Uh huh. Hallelujah. So. So. Jesus was tempted by the devil. And when he had finished fasting.

[20:02] The enemy came to him. And tempted him. But Bible says that he overcame the devil. With the word of God. Get behind him. He said that. It is written. It is written. The third time he said.

[20:12] It is written. And then the verse 11 says that. And Satan leveth him alone. So. When. And the angels came to minister to him. Okay. So the devil left him. And angels. Came.

[20:23] And ministered to him. Remember I mentioned angels. The minister came to minister to him. The angels have been. Well. Have always been there. And they've been involved. In redemptive history. Okay. So. Then he.

[20:35] So after angels came to minister to him. I don't know what they came to do to him. Whether they came to give him food. Because Bible says he was hungry. Sometimes this is what theology does.

[20:45] You know. Oh. He was hungry. The devil said. Turn this into food. He overcame the devil. And then angels. The devil left him. Angels came to minister to him. What exactly did they come to do?

[20:58] Did they come to give him food? Or possibly did they come to strengthen him? So he can walk? Or whatever. I don't know. The Bible is silent about that. I don't really. I'm not interested in that at the moment. So.

[21:09] But then. What we know is that he returned. In the power of the Holy Spirit. After the angels have come to minister to him. So. He went. Full of the spirit. After fasting.

[21:21] And after he. After. You see. After his fasting. The enemy attempted. To tempt him. Possibly he was tempting him all around. But after his fasting. He came again. To tempt him.

[21:32] Or. Possibly. That was the first time. He tempted him. However. The enemy tempted him. But he had an upper hand. Can you imagine. All through his life. All through his 30 years. We never heard anything about the devil tempting him.

[21:45] All through his 30 years. Actually. The Bible was actually silent. From the age of 12. To the age of 30 years. The age of 30. The Bible says. The Bible was silent about Jesus's life.

[21:58] And I remember one day. Somebody asked me. So what was he doing around all this time? I said he was playing. He was playing football. He was doing what everybody does. He was.

[22:09] He was learning carpentry. He was making tables. He was getting some profits. He was selling on the markets. He was doing everything such that. That is why. His hometown.

[22:20] The folks in his hometown. Found it very preposterous. For him to all of a sudden. Announce. And say that. I am God. They pick up stones.

[22:31] To stone him. Because. Do you know. At the point. The Bible says that. They said. We know. He did not know Jesus. We know his father. They are not a carpenter. We know his sisters. How come he is saying that he is God?

[22:43] You understand. So. He was so much like us. That there was nothing to look at him. And for him to look extraordinary. There is nothing extraordinary about him.

[22:54] He was so much like us. That is why it is easy for God to use you. Amen. Amen. Amen. Listen.

[23:04] You don't have to have three ears. Or four ears for God to speak to you. So much like us. So Jesus. So much like us. You don't need four eyes.

[23:15] In order for God to use you. All you need for God to use you is you. Just as you are. God wanted. So Jesus came.

[23:26] Was walking on earth. Just like everybody. Then he went to fast. So that he. So everything he did. We can do. Everything he says that we can do.

[23:37] That is why he had the audacity. Or he had the. He had the boldness. He told us that. These signs which I do. Greater works shall you do more than this.

[23:48] Because I go to my father. I think John chapter 14 verse 12. Or John chapter 12 verse 14. Somewhere there. He said. Greater works shall you do. More than this. So. When we begin to make it look like.

[24:01] Jesus was God. That's why he was doing all these things. No. He actually was man. And was doing all these things. So that we. Can also do what he did. Hallelujah. So now.

[24:11] He went. And was. Tempted. He was tempted. By the devil. He fasted. He came out. With power. So when people say that.

[24:22] Fasting is Old Testament. They are wrong. Now. The pastor. That bishop. In that conversation. Or that discourse. I said that no. But Jesus. Somebody said. Somebody said.

[24:32] Jesus fasted. And he said that Jesus. Jesus was still under the Old Testament. Which is true. Okay. Jesus operated. Under the Old Testament. The New Testament.

[24:43] Came into effect. After the shedding of the blood. So when he. So that's why. On the. On the. Now he was betrayed. The communion. He said. This is the cup. Of the new covenant.

[24:54] Which will be. Which will be. Alright. So he was about. To enact it. So he. The covenant. Was enacted. With his blood. Because.

[25:05] If he had not died. There was no way. We could have any covenant. He shed his blood. So. Jesus. And all those other guys. Operated under the Old Testament. So. Fasting was valid.

[25:15] In the Old Testament. But how about the New Testament? In Acts. Paul said that. Paul said that. He fasted often. In fastings.

[25:26] He said. In fastings. Oft. Second Corinthians. Chapter 11. From verse 20. Somewhere down there. Paul spoke about. How he fasted often. Second Corinthians.

[25:37] Chapter 11. He fasted. And beatings. A lot of. He had received beatings. Now he was. He was. Chronicling. His. Ordeal. His. His. Hardships.

[25:47] His. The. The difficulties. He had been through. As a result of serving. Christ. And doing the. The work of God. So he was saying that. These people are not taking advantage of me.

[25:59] I have suffered for the cross. I have suffered that. I have done this. So he. Then he began to. Enumerate. Or mention. And enlist the things he had been through. And somewhere along the line. He said. In fastings.

[26:10] Oft. Oft. So I quoted that scripture. And then he said that. No. When Paul was saying that. When he said. In fastings. Oft. That another. Another way to. To describe. To mention.

[26:21] Fasting. Or another way. Another way to reflect his. Hunger. Was fasting. So it's like. He used that term. Fasting. To represent. Hunger.

[26:32] Having not eaten. But then in that same text. He spoke about. How he has gone without food. All right. In 2nd Corinthians chapter 11.

[26:42] He had gone without food. And he's been hungered. And all that. Verse 26. All right. 2nd Corinthians chapter 11. Verse 26. What does it say? In journeys often.

[26:53] In perils of water. In perils of robbers. In perils of my own countrymen. In perils of my own countrymen. In perils of Gentiles. In perils of the.

[27:03] In perils in the city. In perils of the wilderness. In perils in the sea. In perils amongst false brethren. Verse 27. In weariness. In toil.

[27:13] In sleeplessness. Often. In hunger and thirst. In fasting. Did you see that? So he differentiated them. So then how come do you say that. When he said in fasting.

[27:24] He meant in going without food. So Paul was. He used to fast. For faster. He said. In fastings.

[27:35] Often. How many of us. Want to say that with Paul. In fastings. Often. Some of us. We say. In fastings. Seldom.

[27:45] All right. But in Acts chapter. The last. Scripture. I'll point. To this. In Acts chapter 13.

[27:56] Bible says that. Verse 1 and 2. There were certain prophets and teachers in the church in Antioch. Then he started mentioning. Enumerating. Mentioning their names.

[28:07] And listing their names. Some of the names are quite strange. Then. Verse 2. Bible says that. Verse 2 says that. And as they ministered to the Lord. And fasted. You see that?

[28:19] As they ministered. So these teachers and prophets. Ministered to the Lord. And fasted. Okay. So fasting was not. An Old Testament thing. It's a New Testament.

[28:30] This is talking about. The church in Antioch. Was after the Holy Ghost. Had come down already. And. There was a move of God. Bible historians believe that. It became.

[28:41] Kind of. The hub. For the spreading of the gospel. From Jerusalem. Antioch became like the center. Because Antioch was a very. Big. Big. And prominent city. At that time.

[28:53] So. The point here is that. They met. The prophets. And so. Prophets and teachers in Antioch. Met to fast. So fasting is not Old Testament. Now. This brings me to my point.

[29:04] I don't want to talk about. Why do we fast? Because. All of us. All we said was right. Those who came late. Get the. Message. And I want to. Um.

[29:16] Okay. I want to. I want to talk about. What makes fasting effective? You know. Because if we have to fast. Then how do we have to fast?

[29:29] You know what I said? If we have to fast. How do we. Fast? Now. Permit me to. Categorize fasting. Into two.

[29:40] Into. Two main brands. We have the. Corporate fasting. And the. Private fasting. Or corporate fasting. And the. Personal fasting. Okay.

[29:51] Individual fasting. The individual fasting. Is when you yourself. Declare that. Like. Jesus' fasting. Was individual fasting. He went to do his own fasting. Okay. He went. He was fasting by himself.

[30:02] He didn't go with his disciples. To go and fast with him. He was doing his own fasting. Okay. So we have corporate fasting. What is corporate fasting? Corporate fasting. Where. Is when. A group of people.

[30:14] Come together. With a common objective. Say objective. With a common objective. With a common purpose. And begin to fast. So what we are about to begin.

[30:24] Is a corporate fasting. And we are all. We are all. We are all. We are all. We are all going to have. A common objective. To fast. Okay. So. We have corporate fasting. And a private fasting. On an individual fasting.

[30:35] Now. With the. Corporate fasting. A private fasting. You can tell. Jesus did it. In the old testament. Moses did it. Daniel did it. Okay. So they were. Private.

[30:46] Individual fastings. However. Corporate fasting too. We can see. The scripture. We just quoted. In Acts chapter 13. That there are seven. There are seven of them. Whose name were mentioned.

[30:57] The teachers. And the prophets. In the church of Antioch. They came together. And ministered to the Lord. And fasted. So they were doing it together. As a team. Does that make sense? Alright. So they came together.

[31:08] And fasted. Now. In the days of Esther. In Esther chapter 4. Particularly. You can see that. Esther said that. Go. And fast. Go and get the guys. To fast for me. And I likewise.

[31:19] With my maidens. We will fast. Then I will go. To the king. Alright. So. There was corporate fasting there. And in the book of 2nd Chronicles. Chapter 20. The story of Jehoshaphat.

[31:31] When some nations decided to come against. Four nations. Join alliance to come and fight against Judah. Bible says that. King Jehoshaphat declared a national day of fasting.

[31:43] To the extent that even all animals were made to fast. Wow. That's radical. You see. Sometimes. When you are determined to get something.

[31:54] You can be very radical. Or sometimes. It's okay to be cool. It's okay to be gentle. Until you are desperate. See. Have you seen a desperate man before?

[32:07] Desperate people are not gentle. Never. People who are desperate. They will do anything. To get what they have to get. And so. When it came.

[32:17] When they realized that all of them. In fact. When they come and attack them. All the animals will be affected. So they said. Well. Let's get all the animals to join the fasting. So they made all the animals fast as well.

[32:28] And even. Nineveh. Jonah. Those of you who know the story of Jonah. Jonah was sent to go and give Nineveh. An ultimatum. That if they don't change their ways. God is about to annihilate all of them.

[32:42] And. Bible says that Nineveh. Jonah said that God. Jonah. You know. I don't. Jonah. You know. Jonah didn't want to go when God sent him. He said.

[32:52] He said. Because God is merciful. I know you've sent me to be a prophet. To these people. But. You can't change your mind. So. Jonah didn't want to go. God sent him to Nineveh.

[33:04] He went to Tarshish. He took a ship going to Tarshish. Because of God. You have to destroy the people. If. Now. You see. That's how sometimes. A spiritual.

[33:16] Or. Religious bigots. Or. People who are over spiritual. Can be. Because. Because we are so spiritual. We want some people to be punished. Because they are not as spiritual as us.

[33:27] For instance. There are some. There. If. You have a revelation. That. Your. Your. Your neighbor. Who doesn't like you. Their house is about to catch fire.

[33:38] Or something. Or. You know. You know. I'm talking. You have a wild right relation. And you tell people. People tell you. That no. It's not true. And. You go and pray about it. Even you pray.

[33:49] Even though you pray about it. You are waiting. When the disaster strikes. Can you imagine. How good you feel. I told them. I told them.

[34:00] Your friend. You used to follow you to church. And now she stopped going to church. And then she had an accident. And she's in hospital. And you go and see her in your heart. You know. See. I told you. I told you.

[34:11] That you have to be careful. You know. So it's very easy. To be religious. Or to. Be on a spiritual quest. And at the same time. Be very merciless. To prove your spirituality.

[34:23] So that's what Jonah did. Jonah said. I don't want. I don't want to go. Because God can change his mind. And God arrested him.

[34:34] He said. Go back. The big fish. Went to. Throw him out. Right in front of Nineveh. He had a. Some people believe.

[34:45] That he was the first one. Who had the submarine. Submarine ride. God sent him. To go to Nineveh. He jumped on the boat. Started going to Tarshish. And on his way to Tarshish.

[34:56] There was a serious storm. And the people. Who were very. Religious minded. Said no. We have been traveling. This route always. Someone. Some wrong person. In our midst. Someone has come.

[35:07] You see. You have to be careful. You have to be careful. Who you are allowed. To come on your boat. To. If you get a Jonah. On your boat. Like. Chance. That your boat. Will begin to sink.

[35:19] And so Jonah. Said. You know what. It's me. It's me. Don't worry. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Once you throw.

[35:35] I'll. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't.

[35:49] Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. he got him to throw him off board and Bible says this God has a sense of humor you know. See most of us when we are reading the scriptures you have to take away the theatrical lenses and read it existentially. Read it like that. The Bible says that God has prepared a big fish because I'm sure when that fish was being born God had donor in mind. No.

[36:19] Bible says that God, read your Bible, read your Bible. Bible says God has prepared a big fish. So as soon as the tree overbought the fish came and swallowed him.

[36:30] And so he had the submarine ride. He was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. Now that is strange. How come he didn't die?

[36:41] The gastric juice of the whale should have digested the guy. But God and guess what when, this is funny, when he was in the belly of the whale he was praying.

[36:57] He was praying. He was praying. No, no. If Jonah could pray this is what somebody said some time ago. Listen to this. You will like this. If Jonah could pray in the belly of the whale in the midst of the sea.

[37:12] And God brought him out of there. Then your problem is small. Small. Your problem is small. You see, it wasn't that like he was not, he didn't fall into the sea.

[37:26] He was in the belly of the whale ready for digestive activities. And assimilation and circulation in the belly of the system.

[37:36] And possibly the waste be ejected for some little fish for you too. And God Bible said he prayed and he says that he will observe lying, vanity, shall forsake their own messes.

[37:49] He prayed and Bible says, that's why praise and wish is powerful. He prays God, you know, he prays him. And Bible says, and this is funny, this is funny. And God spoke to the whale.

[38:00] To the fish. God spoke to the fish and the fish went to vomit him out. And when he came out he was standing in front of the enemy. And he went in.

[38:13] God said I should tell you. Repent. And under his judgment is coming upon you. He went. And then when he finished doing that, he went and hit him.

[38:25] He says, got a nice tree. Shed and sat there waiting for the destruction of Nineveh. He was waiting. I was checking one day.

[38:37] I was checking one day. Today is eight. God, what is happening? He was waiting for destruction. But you know what? Some dynamics changed.

[38:48] Because somebody said no. They declared fasting. And they sought God. And repented. And as soon as they repented, God also repented.

[39:06] Brother, repent. Sister, repent. God will repent. And Jonah was infuriated. God, I told you. That's why he didn't want to go. He didn't destroy them.

[39:18] And he was upset more because the tree under which he went to take cover. The sun. God caused the sun to shine over it. And the tree dried. So now I think, I'm sure he was bored.

[39:30] Like, uh. The sun. The scorching sun. Was hurting him. And he got upset. Look at what. And God said. Even this, just the tree that died, you are upset.

[39:42] How much more? A whole nation. Who don't know they are left from their right. They don't know what they are doing. They are just messing up. You want me to destroy them?

[39:53] Say God is merciful. God is merciful. You know, that's why you are still alive. Yes. But you know how they got, they went to pray.

[40:04] And saw the face of God. Sometimes you see this phrase in the scriptures. In sackcloth and in ashes. It's a reflection of what, um. And Sarah said about humble yourself.

[40:15] It said, I humble myself in sackcloth and in ashes. In other words, I, I, I bring my body under subjection. I, through first things. So first thing is so important.

[40:27] It brings us under subjection. It doesn't give us power to cast out devils. Because you know how you get power to cast out devils? When you become Christian. It's as simple as that. It's so simple.

[40:38] The power to deal with witches, to cast out devils. Jesus said in Mark chapter 16, verse 15 downwards. He said, and these signs shall follow those who believe. As soon as you believe, you are in.

[40:50] So you don't need fasting in order to cast out devils. But when you fast, it helps you come in sync. It brings the body under subjection.

[41:03] I didn't want to go into it. So effective fasting, number one. So, remember Nineveh. They are corporate fasting. Esther did it. The Acts of the Apostles, the prophets and teachers, they did it.

[41:16] And Esther's fasting was one of the most remarkable fasting with results in the scriptures. The fasting of Esther. There was an oncoming, impending Holocaust.

[41:30] To wipe out the Jews. They've always been under threat. The Jews have always been under threat. People have always wanted to wipe them.

[41:43] But at the end of the day, those people get wiped out. So some of these funny Islamists and Ahmadinejad and all those guys.

[41:54] They're the anti-septies. They're the anti-septies. All these anti-septies. Where is Hitler? He's gone. And the Jews are still there. They are God's chosen people.

[42:06] You can't do anything about that. You, God brought you here. You can't take him out. Because he brought you here. And what Bible says that known unto God are all his works from the foundation of the earth.

[42:19] Right. So, fasting, to have effective fasting, the first key. The first key for effective fasting is faith. Because without faith it's impossible to please God.

[42:31] What do I mean by faith? Your heart must be in a thin. Some people say, Pastor, what if I cannot fast? Some people are already beginning to feel threatened. Because some people, see, that's why I have to explain this.

[42:44] I will approximately say it again on Friday. Listen, hear me out well this. You are not under any obligation to fast.

[42:55] None of us is under any obligation to fast. It's a personal choice. But it's a corporate thing we are doing. We say we are all going east. You can't choose to go west. Right.

[43:06] But in this particular, if you choose not to fast, it may not necessarily be a sign of rebellion. Okay. It may not be a sign of rebellion. It may just be a reflection of lack of understanding, lack of insight, or a team player.

[43:22] Because if you have insight, you have understanding, and your health is okay, and you choose that, me, I don't want to do it because we are all glad I'm tired of doing that. Then possibly, either you don't have proper understanding, insight, or you are not a team player.

[43:36] Do you understand that? Do you understand that? It's because we are all coming together, focusing our energies or spiritual directions in a particular direction.

[43:51] Spiritual energies in a particular direction. We are all doing a concerted effort, team effort, to release something supernatural. But when God comes and He says that this year is the year of abundance.

[44:04] He didn't say that it's a year of harvest for ABC. It's a year of harvest for all, but it depends on how many are willing to pay the price to tap into it.

[44:15] Do you understand that? And so, none, none, none at all is under any form of obligation to think that if I don't do, for instance, we are fasting and then maybe they see.

[44:28] Now if you are a church, the dynamics is different. Do you know why? Because you must lead by example. When people are fasting, you are eating and growing, and then picking your teeth.

[44:44] And then when we finish, Karim Majin, when we finish, you come and take the microphone. We want to pray! Hallelujah! We want to pray! You know what?

[44:55] I had a story of a church, they were doing fasting. Like I was out there, this one. I hear it happen years ago, when I got born again, years ago.

[45:08] They were fasting, it was a fasting period. And one of the church elders was supposed to be leading. And what they were doing was, the prayer starts at 6. Then after they finished the prayer, they all go and break their fast.

[45:20] He was not fasting. He went to eat, he's been eating, so he went to eat a lot of rice. And he came and was leading the prayer. Hey, in the name of Jesus! Hey, the devil is fasting, we have been doing, we are winning!

[45:32] I think once he was food, he got choked and I started throwing up. And everything came up, he was like... And guess what? Guess what he did?

[45:43] When he ate the thing, because he went and ate his food.

[45:56] And the food, and guess what? So, so, he, when he threw up in his embarrassment, instead of keeping quiet, getting somebody to clean it.

[46:07] He said, hey, God is a miracle working God. He said, can you imagine, I just ate rice and see.

[46:36] Alright, let's try to close that. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

[46:50] How many of you love Jesus? You see, the best place you can enjoy yourself is God's house. And listening to God's words with enjoyment and with joy. And learning something at the same time.

[47:01] I want you to pray that God, as we are about to start our fasting, I pray for strength and I pray for encounter. Two things. Lord, I pray for strength and I pray for divine encounter. Begin to pray right now.

[47:13] Thank you for listening. For more resources, please visit caris.org or call us on 0207 740 9960. God bless you.