This morning, I'm kind of like a kid
at Christmas time, or actually a parent with
kids at Christmas time, because I want to
give you a present.
And I want you to unpack that present
and be blessed by it.
And I titled the message, Fasting, They Found
the Secret.
And I know if I would announce this
last week, we wouldn't have anybody show up
this week.
So I just had to throw it in
there.
Fasting, They Found the Secret.
Matthew 26, 41, we read two weeks ago.
Watch and pray.
Jesus said, watch and pray so that you
will not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak.
And I want to help strengthen you in
the area of spiritual things.
I'm pretty sure most of you want to
be filled with the spirit of God.
I'm sure many of you want the word
of God to come alive in prayer and
worship.
And it's what we've been talking about ever
since I've been preaching here.
We want that.
The spirit over here is willing, but the
flesh is weak.
And often, this guy pulls us more than
the spiritual side should.
And it's interesting.
Did you know that the Holy Spirit leads?
The Holy Spirit directs.
The Holy Spirit guides.
The Holy Spirit convicts.
The Holy Spirit teaches.
The Holy Spirit does many different things.
But you can quench and you can grieve
the spirit.
And there's a good imagery there I heard
of last week and I shared it last
night.
I'll share it with you today as well.
It's when, I don't know if maybe it's
ever happened to you, but have you ever
upset your spouse and grieved them?
Is there a difference from this loving, joyful
household to uh-oh, I'm not coming home
later because I've grieved that spouse.
And they turn from you.
They don't want to be a part of
that relationship.
There's a grieving.
And that's what we can do with the
Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit is willing.
The Spirit is willing, but He only acts
upon our obedience.
I can show you tons of scriptures where
God will lead those who are willing.
God will lead those who are willing to
follow.
And it's an interesting thing because yes, the
Holy Spirit will lead, but we have to
submit to His work in order to be
led.
He's not just gonna come on, Shane.
No, I don't want to go.
Come on, Shane.
No, I don't want to go.
I have to turn and say, I want
to be filled with your spirit.
You're willing.
Let me submit and surrender to what you
want to do.
And fasting is the hidden secret in this
area, I believe.
What shocks me, actually, is many of you
know I love to read books written at
least 50 years ago.
I read contemporary, too, sometimes.
But 50 years ago, 100 years ago, 200
years ago, I've got books by the Puritans
and the Pilgrims and the Reformers, John Calvin
and Martin Luther and early church fathers, and
Ignatius and Irenaeus and Polycarp.
You read a lot of these people.
Sometimes they have doctrines that aren't quite what
Protestants would believe.
But it was fasting, and it was fasting,
and it was fasting.
Martin Luther would fast.
John Calvin would fast.
John Knox would fast.
Have you heard of John Wesley?
Have you ever heard of the Methodist movement?
Methodist.
John Wesley founded that.
I don't think he'd be too happy today
with the direction the majority of that denomination
is going.
But they fasted.
They prayed.
George Whitefield fasted.
They prayed.
Amy Carmichael on the mission field fasted and
prayed.
Fasting was an important spiritual discipline.
And then the last 30, 40, 50 years
ago, you don't hear it mentioned anymore.
And I'll tell you right up front, the
reason is we left food.
That's why this is a hard topic, isn't
it?
I mean, we can talk about prayer.
It's not gonna affect my eating.
We can talk about worship.
I'm gonna go eat in about an hour
and a half.
You can, oh, that was a wonderful sermon,
pastor.
I'm hungry.
Let's go eat at Jack's place.
Right, that's what, but when it comes to
fasting, that's where the rubber meets the road.
And Jesus said, not if you, not when
you, or I'm sorry, not if you fast,
but when you fast.
When you give, do it this way.
When you pray, do it this way.
And when you fast, do it this way.
Paul fasted.
Peter fasted.
They fasted before they chose elders.
Peter fasted and received a dream from God
to go to Cornelius' house.
We have fasting throughout early church history.
You can look at the Tertullian and Justin
Martyr and a lot of those early, fasting
and fasting.
But see, it's not to be spiritual, it's
to be filled.
That's where we miss it.
Many people wanna be, oh, I'm just fasting,
brother.
Look at me.
I'm fasting and aren't I spiritual?
No, that's not, what you should be doing
is, by fasting is you're killing the flesh
in order to be filled with the spirit
of God.
Because these two people do not get along.
The spirit, you guys can be the spirit
today.
Holy Spirit, right here.
Good, right?
This side, Mike, I'm sorry.
This side's gonna represent the flesh and the
balcony or sit in the middle.
But these are not, they're two opposing forces
and I'll read that in a minute.
They do not like each other.
The carnal mind, the fleshly mind is at
enmity with God.
And enemies can be reconciled.
They can come together, peace treaties, but not
this.
This is enmity with God.
It is actually hates God.
And the spirit says, no, come, come, come
to this, be filled with the spirit of
God.
That's why throughout, one of the concerns I
have with the church is we've missed this
element of obedience now.
I mean, I talk about obedience.
People say, oh, legalistic.
Really?
Well, a lot of scriptures have to do
with obedience.
Why?
Not to please God and not to show
off, but to be filled with the spirit.
See, you're either filled with this or you're
filled with this.
And most people who are filled with this,
they're either not in church or they're grumpy
at church and they wanna hurry up and
leave church and get home and say, see,
I went to church.
And that's what the scripture is talking about.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak.
Matthew 6, 18, paraphrased.
Don't let it be obvious to others that
you are fasting, but only to your father
who sees what is done in secret.
There's that word.
He will reward you openly.
God will reward you openly when you fast
in secret.
And fasting, I'm gonna hopefully you'll understand a
lot better here.
There is from, I mean, there's tons of
teachers I can mention that you would know
and they just don't fast.
They don't think it's really for us today,
but nobody has ever given me a scripture
that says don't fast anymore.
That was back then for them.
You don't need that now.
It's consistent.
It's a given, if you would.
It's a given that his disciples would fast.
Jesus said, when the bridegroom is here, don't
fast.
But when the bridegroom leaves, my disciples will
fast because it's a time to starve the
flesh.
And this flesh needs to be starved.
Here's, hopefully if you take anything away from
this, you can post this on Facebook, whatever
you want.
You're either disciplining your body or your body
is disciplining you.
Have you ever thought about that?
But we think we can live right here.
This is extreme, Shane.
No, you're either disciplining your body and bringing
it up under subjection or your body is
controlling you.
And that's why we're not free from these
choices.
Let me talk a little bit about fasting,
what it does.
It gives you spiritual insight.
And we don't have time, but if we
did, we could turn to the book of
Daniel.
Read about, you've heard about the Daniel fast,
right?
He basically removed everything that tastes good.
Let's put it that way.
Meat, delicacies, sweets, pastries, he removed everything and
he was still able to eat what I
call God-given food that grows on a
tree or in a bush or in the
ground.
God-given, and people say, oh, well, he's
still eating.
You try that for 21 days.
You won't get through day one.
Where's my coffee?
Where's my sugar in my coffee?
Where's my, can I stop by A.M.
P.M. and get that Coke to pick
me up?
Can I stop by and get that Snickers?
And what about in Albuquerque?
Nothing, so it's difficult, very difficult.
And because he starved the flesh in this
area, God revealed things to him.
Very interesting thing.
I'm glad I'm transparent and I can share
this with you, but I started a Daniel
fast, and it's gonna really stink at the
barbecue because I'm gonna be carrying around vegetables.
But I committed to that last night, of
course.
What happens this morning?
Let me just give you a quick, from
5 A.M. to 6 A.M., just
go get some coffee and a donut.
No, I'm not gonna go get some coffee
and a donut.
No, come on, you deserve some coffee and
a donut.
You're really tired right now.
You need to go over your sermon.
I'm not going there.
And I had to just sit and fight
that for an hour.
I'm like, where is this coming from?
I can't study the Bible, my eyes are
tired.
Just go get some coffee.
No, I'm not going to do that.
I'm committed to, I'm just gonna lay down
and pray.
The devil doesn't like that either.
So after, right around 6.15, oh my
Lord, the word of God is just coming
alive.
Now I already have next week's message done
on Saturday.
I'm speaking at Hume Lake.
I already have the first message in my
mind, the concept, I've gotta speak next Saturday
morning in Sun Valley on the Holy Spirit
and be back in time for this service.
I already have that outlined within 30 minutes.
I couldn't stop writing.
Now had I went and caved in to
that pulling of the flesh, I guarantee that
would have not happened because I would have
been irritated that I gave in and I
would have came here in a bad mood
because I opened the door.
Come on in.
That's what the flesh does.
It's a constant pull and I hate the
flesh.
And that's what it does.
But fasting will give you spiritual insight when
you starve the flesh.
And I wish God made it the other
way around.
I honestly do.
I wish you would have revelation after In
-N-Out Burger.
Double, double French fries and a chocolate shake.
You sit down, but I've actually never prepared
a good sermon on a full stomach.
I will not preach when I eat.
I will at least go four, five, six,
seven, eight hours, 10 hours before eating anything
before I preach often.
Come up empty with just full of the
Spirit of God because I've starved that competing
element.
So we have spiritual insight.
We have spiritual power.
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you, but you also will receive
power when you fast it.
Oh, Shane, come on.
Well, is Jesus himself not a great example?
Do you think the Bible just says he
fasted 40 days just to fill in some
scripture?
The Bible clearly says a man, nobody knows,
one years old, we find out 12 years
old, he goes in and teaches or listens
in the temple.
They're amazed at his questions.
Nothing for 30 years.
And then it says the Spirit of God
led him into the wilderness for 40 days
of fasting.
And it says that when he came out
of that time of fasting, that he was
filled and clothed with power from on high.
That's when he began his ministry.
That's when people heard of Jesus Christ.
After a season, and I believe, personal opinion,
that it was like, have you ever seen,
you watch those discovery channels and just be
careful because a lot of them are into
evolution and the earth is 10 billion years
old.
Really?
Anyway, that's not the point.
You'll see two lions maybe fighting, and this
one will just devour this other lion.
It kind of goes away.
It knows not to mess with that lion
again, right?
It's okay, you've wrestled, you've overcome.
We know who you are.
And that's what fasting is.
That's what I believe Jesus did.
He fasted, the flesh had to come under
submission.
At that point, he says, now I have
dominated the flesh.
I'm going to begin my ministry.
And obviously it's hard to compare us with
him because he was a son of God.
There was no sin in him.
He was tempted like we are, but he
did not have sin in him.
But I think the same applies to us.
Once you put the, now the flesh is
quiet.
He hasn't bothered me all morning.
And he's coming back later, I'm sure.
And he'll come around tonight when I crave
chocolate.
And it's ongoing, but the more you submit
to the work of the Holy Spirit, the
more you will be filled with spiritual power.
Because spiritual power comes from being filled with
the Spirit.
Does it not?
I would be scared to try to preach
without ever fasting and just kind of wing
it.
It would alarm me.
Spiritual wisdom.
Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted for the
elders of the churches before they committed them
to the Lord.
Spiritual protection.
Do you need protection in your home?
Ezra prayed and fasted and God allowed Ezra.
We don't, gosh, there's so many sermons in
this one point.
But if Ezra was taking all of this
gold and silver and everything to rebuild a
portion of Jerusalem there, Nehemiah came over to
rebuild the wall.
Ezra was coming over to rebuild the temple.
And they brought all this gold and silver
through the wilderness, robbers, all these things.
And Ezra said, we cannot go back and
ask the king for protection because we just
said that God will be our protection.
So let us pray and let us fast.
And they got there, they arrived.
Spiritual victory.
Israel lost 40 men in battle in just
a few days.
Judges 20, the people went to Bethel and
sat weeping before the Lord and fasted that
day until evening.
Then the next day, God delivered them because
of fasting.
I can take you to Moses.
I can take you to Elisha.
I can take you to Joshua.
I can take you to David.
I can take you to all the great
Samuel.
I can take you to all the great
men and women of God.
Esther, there we go.
What happened there?
The Jewish people were going to be destroyed.
What did she say?
Proclaim a fast.
And I honestly can't quite get my hand
around the concept other than you're starving the
flesh.
You're saying, you're basically humbling yourself.
You're saying, God, I'm gonna go without food
and I humble myself and I fast before
you.
Now I wanted to share before I get
into more of the message, the physical benefits
of fasting because what I love about God,
if there's a spiritual benefit, guess what?
There's a physical benefit.
When the Bible says let all bitterness, anger,
wrath, evil speaking, clamor, all this stuff be
put away from you.
You're filled with the spirit, but also you
remove all these toxic emotions.
They link heart attacks to anger.
Mental illness to bitterness and resentment.
If you hold all this all the time
and you never let it go, it will
hurt you physically.
Same thing with fasting.
It's a tremendous benefit.
Anti-aging effects.
It puts the body back closer.
It begins to repair the body, better attitude,
better resistance to disease, better sleep, change of
habits, creativity, drug detox, improved senses, vision, hearing,
taste, joint relief.
Does anybody need some joint relief?
Your neck, your lower back?
And I could just explain on that what
happens when the toxins in your body and
your lower back and your neck, and if
you move, you can hear that cracking.
Well, that cracking isn't healthy.
It's not supposed to be there.
There's things that the body needs to cleanse
itself.
More energy, more relaxation, reduced allergies, rejuvenation, revitalization,
rest for the digestive system.
What about a Sabbath for our body?
You ever thought about that?
We want a Sabbath not to work, right?
It's good to take that and do that,
but what about a Sabbath for our body?
Giving our body a time to rest and
rebuild.
Spiritual awareness.
Well, we've been talking about everything.
That's why I believe John said, I pray
that you be in good health and prosper
just as your soul does prosper.
So our soul, when our soul is healthy,
often our body's healthy too.
Not all the time, right?
I'm not naming it and claiming it.
You know, you should never be sick.
Well, that's not biblical either.
You will struggle with sickness, and so why,
and disease, but that's no excuse to let
just the body go.
Why?
Because the spiritual side is built up and
strengthen the health of the body often when
the spiritual side is built up and strengthened,
the health of the body often returns.
Here's the interesting thing about fasting.
We all know what hunger is, right?
Hunger is a strong desire or craving.
And what we do when we fast, we
put that hunger and craving toward God, toward
the spiritual side.
And what we do is we starve this
side.
Fasting is directly related to our spiritual appetite.
Hunger for God outweighs hunger for food.
And I love what John Piper said.
He said, the absence of fasting in our
life is in measure to our contentment with
the absence of Christ in our life.
Ouch, but true.
When we remove fasting, you do remove an
element of being closer to Christ because any
time you can starve the flesh, you will
be drawn closer to God.
There's no way around that.
As I said earlier, there are two competing
hungers, the spirit and the flesh.
Galatians 5.17, I'm gonna read from a
commentary.
The sinful nature wants to do evil, right
here, which is just the opposite of what
the spirit wants.
And the spirit gives us desires that are
opposite of what the sinful nature desires.
These two forces are constantly fighting each other
so that your choices are not free from
them.
It's like that, you've heard that story maybe
from Billy Graham.
It's about this young man who came to
him and he felt as if there's two
dogs fighting within him.
Have you ever felt that?
This, you know, angel, devil, whatever you wanna
do, and there's this constant, you know, and
the man came to the pastor and he
said, there's two dogs fighting within me, this
good dog and this evil dog, and I
can't, the evil dog keeps winning.
And the pastor looked at him and he
said, then that's the dog you need to
starve to death because whatever dog you feed
the most wins.
Same thing with the spirit and the flesh.
Whatever you feed the most will be the
prevailing influence in your life.
And that's why we see a lot of
the church, which the word compromise is used.
Have you ever heard the word lukewarm from
Jesus?
Why is that?
It's because that group of Christians, all of
us, I can fall in this camp too,
is if I give into those things, they
have been dominated by the flesh.
The flesh is controlling them.
They've actually starved the Holy Spirit, which is
called quenching and grieving, and they've filled up
on the things of the world.
So they look just like the world.
The flesh is dominating their life.
So whatever you choose to obey becomes your
master.
It's our choice.
Why do you think I talk about prayer,
humility, and brokenness, and repentance all the time?
Because that's the key.
That's fully surrendering, be filled with the spirit,
and worshiping, and praying, and getting rid of
all that stuff that pulls us down.
That's where victory is found.
And that's exactly what fasting is.
They found the secret.
Fasting starves the flesh.
I mean, if you incorporate prayer and worship,
that's powerful.
There's not much the enemy could do with
that.
This, oh, wait a minute, what about the
verse?
This kind does not come out except by
prayer and fasting.
The disciples couldn't cast out this demoniac.
Why?
Well, it's not in some translations.
Well, I don't care.
The principle's still there, that this kind does
not come out except by prayer and fasting.
It's almost like prayer is the left hook,
and fasting's the right hook.
It's a combination.
Because you can't pray very well on a
big, full stomach.
If I just had a big pizza and
a pitcher of Coke, and I said, brother,
let me pray for you.
Oh my goodness, so let me sit down.
I'm tired, I pray that this spirit would
leave and I would get a nap.
And I'm just, oh, I'm so full.
You can't, that doesn't work.
You empty yourself.
So now you can, you're empty.
The flesh is starved.
I feel clean of the flesh and filled
with the spirit.
Now when I pray, there's spiritual power because
God honors that fast.
It's like prayer on steroids.
Fasting illuminates the word of God.
When we give into the desires of the
flesh, this side, it results in anger and
addiction, depression, guilt, shame, anxiety, fear, and disappointment,
all from giving into the flesh.
So the good thing about it is fasting
will help to remove these things.
If what causing it is due to feeding
the flesh, then removing that pull of the
flesh will help to alleviate those things.
Bill Bright, have you heard of him?
Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ.
Boy, you guys are quiet this morning.
I think last night really liked the subject
of fasting.
Everybody's mad at me this morning.
Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for
Christ, wrote the following, fasting was an expected
discipline in both the Old and New Testament.
Fasting and prayer can restore the loss of
the first love for your Lord.
And I know a lot of people are
hanging out right here of losing their first
love.
They've lost that passion.
They've lost that zeal.
I can watch you during worship and tell
you if you still love your first love.
I can watch you, how you conduct yourself
in the things of God.
Have you left that first love?
Yeah, okay, you got the Bible down.
But does the Bible have you?
You talk about Christ, but do you really
have that passionate relationship with him?
Because that's what fasting does.
It renews that relationship.
It's like, I'm gonna stop dating the flesh
and stop having an affair and stop that
and just give my heart back to the
Lord.
And it rebuilds and it renews.
Fasting is a biblical way to truly humble
yourself in the sight of God.
Fasting enables the Holy Spirit to reveal your
true spiritual condition.
And it, boy, does it ever.
Because here's, when you fast, you're humbling yourself,
are you not?
And as a result of humbling yourself, you're
open to the work of God.
And God begins to show you areas that
we need to work on.
He begins to illuminate the Word of God.
And areas of brokenness and areas of pride
and arrogance begin to come to the surface
as we fast.
Fasting will encourage the Holy Spirit to quicken
the Word of God in your heart.
And His truth will become more meaningful to
you.
Fasting can transform your prayer life into a
richer, more personal experience and a dynamic, personal
revival in your own life.
Fasting is really the difference maker.
And this is the point where I was
gonna say you're either disciplining your body or
your body is disciplining you.
One or the other is controlling you.
And yes, you can just pray.
You can just read the Word of God
and you can just worship.
There are people who get by doing that.
And you notice how I used a couple
words in there, get by.
But I'm talking about a vibrant, passionate relationship
with God when you starve the flesh.
And if you're not sure on this topic,
ask yourself this question.
Why did Jesus, the Son of God, have
to fast?
Why?
If there's nothing to it.
Or if we say, well, we don't have
to today.
Jesus had to, but we don't have to
today.
How arrogant.
There's nothing to support that.
Isaiah 58.
If you have your Bibles, you can turn
to Isaiah 58.
Beginning in verse three.
This is the people of God, children of
God speaking.
Isaiah wrote in a critical time of Israel's
history.
The northern, the kingdom were divided in Israel.
They had succumbed to pagan worship and to
idolatry and to drifting away from God.
So here comes Isaiah on the scene, right?
We know Isaiah, this bold preacher.
He said, the people are asking God, why
have we fasted?
Why have we fasted, they say, and you
have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls and you
take no notice?
So the people are mad at God.
We're fasting, we're giving up food, but God,
you don't see us.
We're afflicting our souls and you don't take
any notice.
So the main context of this, Isaiah 58,
verse three, the main context is acting spiritual.
The people are acting spiritual.
God, we are going through the fasting motions,
but you're not taking notice.
So I wanna just throw that out there.
You can't go through the fasting motions and
say, God, take notice.
Hey, I'm fasting here, take notice if the
heart's not right.
We see this in other areas.
Hey, I'm reading my Bible, but you're not
taking notice.
Have you ever read your Bible and prayed
and read your Bible and prayed, but God,
you're not taking notice?
What is going on?
Because your heart's not right.
And he convinced you, your heart's not right.
That's what happened here.
A.W. Tozer said that prayer will become
effective when we stop using it as a
substitute for obedience.
But that's, oh, it didn't stick very good.
Let me read it again.
Prayer will become effective when we stop using
it as a substitute for obedience.
Let me say it this way.
Fasting will become effective when we stop using
it as a substitute for obedience.
See, nothing substitutes obedience, nothing.
You obey God, and as a result of
obeying him, the heart is changed, then you
fast, and he'll hear your fast.
But these people were still continuing in their
sin and fasting.
There's nothing worse than fasting and continuing in
blatant, unrepentant sin.
God says, is my ear not heavy that
I cannot hear, or my hand short that
I cannot save?
But your sins, your iniquities have hid my
face from you so I won't even see
you.
So it goes back to this area of
obedience.
In fact, verse three, in fact, in the
day of your fast, you find pleasure.
So the people, it's almost like I have
this picture here of the people, their heart's
not right, and they're gonna say, well, we're
gonna fast, and they're gonna be mean, they're
gonna do all these things, they're gonna head
to Laughlin, they're gonna do jet skis, they're
gonna drink beer, and say, well, that's not
our fast, it's liquid, and there's this pleasure
there.
There's this pleasure there, right?
We're still taking pleasure in life, but we're
fasting, Lord, don't you see us?
But you exploit all your labors.
Indeed, you fast for strife and debate.
If you want to debate and you love
strife, you might wanna consider fasting and getting
your heart right first.
And to strike with the fist of wickedness,
you will not fast as you do this
day to make your voice heard on high.
God's saying, I'm not going to hear your
voice, I'm not going to hear your prayers
if you don't change your heart, if your
heart doesn't change.
Verse five, is it a fast that I
have chosen?
Is this a fast that I have chosen?
In other words, God's saying, I don't care
that you limit your food, look at how
you're treating people.
Is this a fast that I have chosen?
A day for a man to afflict his
soul?
Is it to bow down his head like
a bulrush or to spread out sackcloth and
ashes?
Would you call this a fast, an acceptable
day to the Lord?
He's saying, this is the type of fast.
I want you to bow yourself before me.
I want sackcloth, you put on this clothing
that hurts and you put ashes, you show,
Lord, I'm serious here.
I'm humbling myself, I'm not taking pleasure.
I wanna treat people better.
It's as if God is saying, the fast
that I have chosen is one in which
your flesh feels the pain, your spirit is
built up and you treat people the right
way.
It's not a time to seek pleasure, take
advantage of people and get into arguments and
debates.
So what I wanna do, the reason I've
mentioned this topic is I would like to
include the church in on a fast.
Now I know I'm not talking to a
lot of you because it's in one ear
and out the next, but those who are
serious, I'm gonna talk about fasting.
I'm asking both campuses to fast through July,
some type of fast.
You can do it three week or seven
day or whatever you wanna do, it doesn't
really matter, but the whole time period is
through July.
And because what's gonna happen is you're gonna
fall and I encourage you to fall forward.
You're gonna go on this fast, you'll be
good for two days and then you'll fall
and you'll say, forget it.
No, it's not about perfection or nobody would
be in this room.
It's about putting the heart in the right
direction and fasting and I wanna talk more
about fasting so you know what I'm talking
about.
Prepare yourself, number one, you have to prepare
yourself.
Get the body and the mind ready because
right now this probably sounds really good, but
in about six hours of no food, it
doesn't sound good at all.
So you have to prepare your mind, you
have to prepare your body.
And what you need to do for most
people is you have to wean off, get
off all the garbage before you change it.
Okay, tomorrow I'm starting water only for seven
days.
You're gonna die probably of withdrawals and pain
and panic.
You have to start to get the body
ready.
You get rid of all the meat and
dairy and caffeine and sugar and junk food.
You just, for the next week or 10
days, a Daniel fast would be great.
I'm gonna remove all these things.
I'm gonna start to clean my body and
get rid of these things.
And just to shoot you straight in case
you're not already convicted, this stuff is not
good for you.
The reason we are killing ourselves and dying
why heart disease and all these things are
the number one killer of America, of Americans,
is because we are not taking care of
ourselves, of the temple that God gave us.
And you might say, Shane, all that sounds
extreme.
Well, here's what sounds extreme to me.
A half a million people this year will
have their chest open and a vein taken
from their leg and sewn into their coronary
artery.
That sounds extreme.
And I'm quoting Dr. Cadwell Esselton.
That's extreme.
See, I don't think we, God gave us
God-given food.
Is it God-given food or stuff that's
designed in a factory?
I mean, we just, we are well, we
have no clue about things because we don't
wanna take care of the temple.
Just yesterday I was at urgent care with
my wife.
She was sick and she's feeling better today
and we thank you for your prayers.
And I love the medical field.
My mother-in-law is a nurse and
we need them.
Thank God for them.
But I would encourage any nurse to also
look at nutrition.
Look at how the body operates.
You don't just take a bill and fix
the problem.
She said, well, just go home and drink
a lot of Gatorade.
I'm just, no, no, no, no.
Food coloring, one of the top ingredients in
there is also antifreeze, in case you didn't
know.
A lot of this is just junk, it's
garbage.
They give people who are sick Ensure.
Don't take Ensure.
Artificial flavor, artificial covering, red dye, this dye,
this, all the most sodium glutamate, all this
garbage that we're feeding our body.
So there's other healthy alternatives because it's how
God created it.
How God created food is you take a
living apple off a tree, that apple is
dying.
That living vibrant apple gives living vibrant energy
to your body, refreshes the nutrients, the vitamin,
all that stuff you're taking living food and
you're putting that life into your body.
You don't go grab a Twinkie that's gonna
sit on that shelf for 10 years and
look the same as it does today.
It's not, and we wonder why we're dying.
Why is there an epidemic of all these
things, health related, you think healthcare coverage is
expensive now, give it 10 years.
That we can't keep up with the demand
because we're just killing the temple of God.
Try it sometime, coffee and donut or some
steamed broccoli.
I mean, it's a no brainer.
And I just, I have this passion to
help people in the area because I believe
God wants us to be healthy to the
degree that it's according to his sovereignty and
his will, of course, I understand that, I'm
not stupid.
But he also believes that we should, I
believe, take care of our body.
This is the temple of God.
And we know, we know these things don't
help.
We know that these things are not good
for us.
And I ran into recently a diabetic.
He said, oh, I can't eat really clean,
I've gotta watch this.
And I go, well, you might wanna put
down that 32 ounce Coke from A.M
.P.M. What am I missing here?
See, 32 ounces, that's almost 30 teaspoons of
sugar.
I could fill that in both my hands.
And you're just pouring that into a drink.
And you're gonna probably have another one.
I'm surprised we don't just fall over more
often.
I cannot believe the body, how God designed
the body can run off of stuff that
is dead.
I can't fathom it, it's amazing.
Artificial, all those things.
So I would encourage you to just really
look at what we are putting in.
Because I've seen this many times, you have
too.
Every bite we take is either fighting disease
or feeding it.
You might wanna ponder that one for a
minute.
Everything you eat is either fighting disease or
it's feeding it.
There's records.
I mean, you can research all this.
Many cancer patients who have went to just
on a juice only diet, they starve the
cancer.
Literally, you starve that.
Not all the time.
And sometimes it doesn't, you know, God's will
and God's perfect plan doesn't quite work.
But you can take care of the body
better than we are today.
And that's what fasting helps to do.
So back to this point, prepare yourself.
You have to get the body ready.
Start hungering for fasting.
I've got, there's a good book out there,
God's Chosen Fast.
A person by the name of Jensen Franklin
has a lot of YouTube videos on fasting.
And you start to get that appetite.
You start to clean your body and then
pray, God, what kind of fast do you
want me to do?
What kind of fast do you want me
to do?
Honestly, I'm scared of a water fast.
I've only went two and a half days.
And it was up at the Oak a
couple years ago.
Yvette, you remember, because you told me to
fast more often.
Because I came back, I was ready to
preach that morning.
I haven't eaten in two and a half
days.
Water only, and it just, the word of
God just came alive.
And I still remember that service.
But, and you're not gonna die.
There's people here, I can introduce you to
people who have fasted water only for 30
days.
Ron, I saw you walk in up there
on the balcony.
So I'll grab you if anybody has any
questions.
Larry, how many weeks of just juice only?
I mean, seven weeks, juice only.
And the health benefits, so you're not gonna
die.
What the problem is, is this guy over
here.
He's, open the door.
No, I don't wanna open the door.
Come on, remember me?
Remember, remember, remember?
And it's this fight of the flesh.
So you have to prepare your mind and
your body.
There's something powerful about the made up mind.
If you go into it and say, oh,
I'll try it.
And I'll try to just tailor it as
I go, it won't turn, it won't be
anything.
Because you'll make every excuse in the book,
knowing a mankind to get what you want.
So you have to prepare your body and
your mind.
And you also have to commit yourself, be
specific and realistic.
Say, Lord, I'm gonna take the next two
weeks, I'm gonna clean out my pantry.
I'm gonna clean out my heart also with
things and clutter.
I'm gonna clean out my body.
I'm gonna start to eat better.
And the reason I know that God is
in something like this is because all of
us are convicted to eat better.
I've never met a Christian, ever, that said,
you know what, I feel great with junk
food.
I don't think God wants me to do
it.
I always hear, I know I gotta start
eating better.
I know I gotta start.
It's a conviction of the Holy Spirit.
It's there, so commit it to yourself.
Be specific and realistic.
And then what is the fruit of that
labor?
Isaiah 58, six, is this not the fast
that I have chosen to loose the bonds
of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to
let the oppressed go free, that you break
every yoke?
And some people have said, they teach on
this, that that's what a fast does.
It looses the bonds of wickedness and undoes
the heavy burdens.
It lets the oppressed go free, and it
does.
But the context right now that Isaiah is
talking about, what God is speaking through him,
is God is saying, is this not the
fast that I have chosen, that you loose
the bonds of your wickedness, that you first
turn from your evil way, that you begin
to undo the heavy burdens that you've put
on the people, to let the people you've
been oppressing go free, that you break every
yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with
the hungry, and that you bring to your
house the poor who are cast out?
When you see the naked, then cover him,
and hide not yourself from your own flesh.
Then your light shall break forth, like the
morning.
Your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your
righteousness shall go before you.
The glory of the Lord shall be your
rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will
answer.
You shall cry, and he will say, here
I am.
So I'm gonna close with this.
Here's what fasting does do.
It looses the bonds of wickedness.
If there's something in you that's this anger,
this wickedness, this sin, this besetting sin, I
just can't seem to stop.
Have you ever said that?
It just keeps haunting me, this side.
There's something there.
This kind cometh not out but by prayer
and fasting.
There's something there, this wickedness.
Fasting will loose the bonds of wickedness.
It'll also undo the heavy burdens.
Have you ever been burdened?
Are you coming here heavy burdened?
It's like you're carrying something, but you're not.
Whether it's all this anxiety, or depression, or
my job, or my career, or all the
interest, this is burden, Lord, I can't seem
to lift.
And that's why people a lot of times
have breakdowns.
It's because of a burden.
I can't.
Fasting will undo the heavy burden.
It will let the oppressed go free.
If you're oppressed by something, break every yoke.
And you know what a yoke is.
An oxen used to wear this big yoke
around its neck.
It would be hooked to whatever they were
wanting him to pull.
And he would carry this yoke.
And many times Christians carry the yoke around
them that could be demonically inspired.
And I don't think Christians can be possessed,
but I think they can be influenced.
They can be demonized.
That's really what the Bible says.
The King James translated to demon possession, but
it's demonized, inflicted, harassed by a demonic influence.
And you can be, I believe you can.
And that's what fasting does.
This kind cometh not out, but by prayer
and fasting.
It will let the oppressed go free and
break every yoke.
Then the light breaks forth when we humble
ourselves and healing takes place.
See what happens.
After you fasted, I wouldn't even minimize, I
wouldn't even minimize a day fast or a
half day fast.
Look at what happened to me this morning.
This one hour battle of a nice, hot,
strong cup of coffee, dipping a donut into
it, right?
It was just repeating in my mind, where
is this coming from?
Yes, it sounds good.
Be quiet, flesh.
Do you know you can tell your flesh
to be quiet?
These two are not competing forces.
The devil and God are not co-equals.
He sits under God's sovereignty and God's under
control.
So anytime you submit to the Spirit, you
are in a greater position of authority.
The flesh has no power, no dominion.
He has to submit to what the Spirit
wants.
So the Spirit's saying, I am willing.
The Holy Spirit's saying, I am willing, God,
I'm willing.
But the flesh is weak.
Stop submitting to this horrible master and start
submitting to God and the work of the
Holy Spirit.
And that's what fasting does.
It's a form of submission and surrender to
God.
That's why it's so hard.
And it dawned on me, I can listen
to an hour sermon driving.
That's not hard at all.
But try to pray and fast.
Oh goodness, the flesh hates it.
That's why there's a battle.
See, the fact that there's a battle confirms
the value of the commitment.
No battle, it's no big deal.
But when the enemy knows we're fasting, and
you might even wanna be careful.
Just pray to God in your mind.
Because once he knows your family's gonna fast
or you and your spouse are gonna fast,
be ready.
Be ready because I believe that there is
a demonic realm.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood.
We wrestle against principalities, against powers, against high
things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of
God.
That's our battle.
So fasting brings out the big guns.
And it puts us in a position of
victory.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be
your rear guard.
Then you shall call and the Lord will
answer.
You shall cry and he will say, here
I am.
It's this picture.
See, these people were crying.
Oh Lord, we're fasting, where are you?
We're being subdued by our enemies.
And God says, that's not the fast I've
chosen.
Wonderful, you're going without food, but your heart
is in a miserable spot.
So God said, humble yourself.
Release these things.
Release the bonds of affliction.
Release this anger and irritability and depression and
all these things that are holding you captive.
Release that bitterness and that jealousy.
Release it.
Then go and fast.
And then when you cry out, when you
say, Lord, where are you?
He'll say, here I am.
Here I am.
Back to worship, right?
Our God is an awesome God.
And you worship.
And the glory of the Lord breaks in
and fills your heart.
Fasting is the secret.
But it's not really a secret.
It's a secret nobody wants to do.
And you will have to do business with
God.
You'll have to pray.
You'll have to do something.
But the reason many people don't fast, well,
let's just say everybody, is because they don't
want to starve this area of their life.
And I was reminded this week that we
can't serve two masters.
We either love the one and hate the
other or be loyal to one and despise
the other.
And it's hard to try to not starve
the flesh and still be filled with the
Spirit of God.
And that's what we want.
See, by human nature, we want all the
flesh has to offer, but we also want
what God has to offer, don't we?
I mean, if we could find that middle
ground, but we can't.
There's not a middle ground.
There's no middle ground.
We have to submit to the work of
the Holy Spirit through prayer and fasting and
worship.