When we pray and fast | Pr Daniel Kong

You're listening to a message to go from at church.

We hope this message will light.

Up your day. Are we all full today? Right? Can

let me rephrace that questions? Are our lives full today? Okay?

So that's the question? Okay? And I bet most of

us when we look at this question, I would say yes,

most of the time, our lives are full to some extent. Right,

what we're full with? We're busy, We're constantly moving, right,

We're constantly distracted, and that usually takes up the bulk

of our fullness, right with the many things that that

life throws our way to some extent. But the question

is more important question is when we are full? We

know we're full, but can we be full at the

same time? Can our hearts or other our spirits be empty?

This is the ultimate question in here, because sometimes you know,

even if you can feast, you can eat, or even

if you've got your life itself is full of business mice,

I's still ringing, so that if I'm talking to a lot,

let me know. Yeah, but you know, ah, our spirits empty.

Can it happen at the same time? And the answer

to that is it's possible. It's really possible. Why next slide?

Because if we're busy and we're constantly moving and constantly distracted,

but we have not slowed down to seek God, then

that's where the first item check. Second item also sort

of checked, because then we can be spiritually empty, and

that's the danger here. So if you pause for a while,

you reflect, you know, to put your hand up. You

know where you are. We know where we are as well.

I know where I am as well. And if that

is a problem, then how do we resolve it? Right?

Because if that is a problem, then the possibility you

know has happened, which is, you know, our lives are full,

but our spirits are empty. But the question then is

is God still speaking to us? What do you think?

Do you think God is speaking to us when we

are spiritually empty? I think so. So if that's the case,

then possibly another possibility is that maybe perhaps he's speaking

but we are not listening to well, okay, or in

other words, we haven't been positioning ourselves to hear from him.

And this is what I wanted to start with, because

we know in scripture, when people need clarity, when people

need breakthrough, when people need to hear from God, what

do they do, they pray and also they fasted. Okay,

So the question is what is fasting? Right? Eld pinghold

last week last Sunday rather spoke a lot on fasting,

and I think we also have a booklet. If you

haven't started your U turn yet, there's a booklet you

can pick up on the way out today. Uh, and

don't worry about starting last Saturday. You can always jump

in anytime, and I'll share you with how you can

jump in. But the question is what is fasting? Really?

What is fasting? Now? I know there are many options

of fasting, and even the booklet will tell you can

do this then that, right, there's Uh, you can cut

off social media, okay, for me, it's okay. But biblically,

bibically all right, there is no fasting from social media.

Not fasting from those kind of temptations that we talked

about in the biblical sense. That is one of the

lower levels of fasting. Okay. So one way to put

it is the first world problem fasting. Okay, Oh, I

got to internet. How you know that kind of fast

from internet? Pull out your plug and see how you

can survive, not any one days anyway, not knocking dead.

But we want to go back to the original. So

what is biblical fasting? Again, we're not talking about what

is fasting, but what is biblical fasting? So biblical fasting,

if I can begin with, is the intentional I google

this locky, an intentional act of abstinence from food for

a period of time. So it's very clear. In the

biblical days it's always about food. And I will talk

about why food right two purposes to turn one's hearts

fully toward God. How in prayer and devotion. And if

you didn't catch all that right, the main purpose of

this right is a spiritual motivation. You want to spiritually

seek God. And all those are the verses that you

can look up that talks about it. So it's for

a spiritual purpose. It's not to lose weight, okay, as

we always say, although sometimes you know we can look

a bit more ghastly when we go to twenty one

days of praying fasting. It those that you are going

the food fast, But it is more than that. It's

for a spiritual purpose to seek God deeply. It's not

just going without food, but focusing our mind, heart and

dependence on God. That's the main thing. Okay. So again

those verses are that you can look it up yourself,

seeking for for guidance, repentance, turning out back, turning away

from God, spiritual preparation. Also, how we can you know

our desperation. Sometimes we fast as well because we want

God to move. But yes, when we fast, the whole

physical respect is important because it's sped up with the

spiritual as well. Right when we fast, we actually saying

and declaring we take authority over our flesh. We say, flesh,

keep quiet for a while, let me hear clearly from God,

you have no power over me. And when we fast,

we say we take away the power the flesh, denying

it what it wants. And food, like I said, is

one aspect. There could be also other pleasures that the

flesh wants, right the desires. We tell the flesh, no

pleasure for you for a period. Why because of sorry,

because of early on we want to focus our herd

mind and dependence on God. So this light here tells

you we take authority. What is authority? Authority is saying hey,

I'm in control, not you. I'm in control for a

period time. No food for you for a while, and

you are stronger than that, right, because why were also

declaring spirit is stronger than flesh? Right? How many times

have we said, you know, it's more important to feed

the flesh first. Again, depends how interpreting. It can be food,

it can be anything else. But most of the time

I would say we given to the flesh first. But spiritually,

even though you're hungry, you will not feed it. And

that's the danger here. When we fast, we definitely draw

close to God. Right, when we fast, our body grows weaker,

but our spirit will grow stronger. Right. Can we technically

survive without food for forty days? Like how Jesus did it?

I don't know. Physically there with some changes, but spiritually

we know he is able to sustain it. I'm also

looking into that because I've never done a food fast before. Again,

it's not saying that, it's just something that we want

to see whether we can because in a theoretical rigal sense,

when spiritually or full physically, you'll be okay. Okay, But again,

let's see how we go. When we fast. Become more

sensitive holy spirit, that's for sure. And lastly, when we fast,

there is spiritual clarity, that's a given. Okay, That's what

we mean by we are taking authority over our flesh. Exiet,

you're too fast, Okay, we draw close to God, right,

and when we fast, I'm quite sure all of us

have seen this brain fasting. And by the way fasting,

you see God move mightily than ever before. You hear

God speak when again, maybe he's always spoken, but you've

never been a tune before. Right, You've also seen when

we fasted, God intervene. Why the people fast sometimes is

when they're desperate. But why does it come to that

when only when we're desperate we begin to fast? Right.

We've seen physical healing in exchange for spiritual fast sorry

for physical fast and spiritual prayer all right, and we've

seen bondages so broken down when people fast. So all

that is to draw us closer. For spiritual intimacy. We

talked about intimacy, we talked about revival. Revival is spiritual intimacy.

So this is something that we It goes hand in

hand as well. As we undergo a year of focus

on revival, we need to go back to its original plan,

which is how He used to commune with men. The

first man is always very close, but over the years

of the decades even the many, many hundreds and thousands

of years, we have been more and more distant, even

though the spirit is here, but we don't tap into it.

So that's what we want. We want. The fasting and

prayer can be very powerful because it's a discipline to

curb the appetite of the flesh and then draw close

to God. Um okay, not share again. I'll share share

about this later on. I think it will be a

bit uh counterproductive, but anyway, I'll come back to that

in a while. Yeah, spiritual intelling is the main thing.

Now let me just break it down. Uh, individual and

corporate fast Uh the two? Uh some examples over the

next line. Yeah, so individual fast is when it happens

on a personal level, a private thing. Uh keyword private.

You do it yourself, You do it your own time,

do your own conviction. You do it also a U

turn as well, This is okay okay, And usually the

purpose of it is too again repent to draw close

to God for a particular breaks today after But the

key thing is private. It's not for display, is not

to show. Okay, you do it in your own space,

and it's usually tied to personal prayer and personal reflection. Okay,

Jesus did it, did this, Daniel did this as well,

David was so fasted right. And this is the individual

portion of it. Corporate one is where it's a collective.

So sometimes it's called out by an entity, a church.

Sometimes a nation calls out for an all white nation

prayer because there is a collective maybe crisis, a collective

seeking of direction together corporately. Even for us as a church,

we call out this twenty one prayer, days of prayer

and fasting is to say that we want to move

collectively right together as a group. And this again can

be a nation, can be a church, can also be

in your family. You can call for corporate fast I'm

going to focus more on the corporate side or fasting, okay,

because the corporate fasting not only achieves what is supposed

to achieve, but there is also unity that comes with it.

Right at the end of it. There's a collective human

humility that will come out of it when we come

together understanding that, hey, we're in this together. Okay, So

today's mainly focus on that. Let's look at some bliblical

examples of corporate fasting. Every okay, so far, Okay, Now,

lots of scriptures over there to see lots of examples,

and there's no Verba has no shortage of this. And

again racle fastinga not diet fastener. So in Ezra chapter eight,

he is an example here this he's ascribed. He's a leader,

right Ezra. In the Bible, the people of God would

were in exile at that point in time, and then

they were. He was ready to lead people, you know,

out of exile back into Jerusalem. Okay. And then, of

course if you look at Ezra eight, they'll tell you

the path is actually very dangerous. Okay. Many people actually

died in the process getting there. So there's a real

thread that's happening over here. Okay. Let's look at the

verse twenty one on words I can't read there by

the ah, well, canal I proclaim a fast, okay, so

that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask

him for a safe journey for us and our children

with all our possessions. Okay. So he proclaimed a fast,

and it's very clear it's for humility, right, and it's

also for the sake of safe passage, for safety. Okay,

I was a shame. Let me read this first. I

was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemens

to protect us from enemies on the road, because we

had told the king the greatest hand of our God

is on everyone who looks too, but his great angers

against all who have forsaken him. So we fasted and

petition our God about this, and he answered our prayer. Okay,

so interesting thing, right? Who fasted? Here? The Isra fasted

fast with the Ezra fast? Yes? Who else fasted? Sorry? Everyone,

everyone was on board. So this is a corporate thing.

Corporately everybody fasted, and of course at the end we

read prayer was answered, Okay, that's a good thing. That's

the many was there. But if you look at this

right in verse twenty two, right, he says he was

so aligned with God, he was so dependent on God

that he said, I can't paraphrase h here, I can't

go to the king because if God is not involved,

what's the point. But you know, for all of us, right,

whenever there there's calamity, when there's some problems, who do

we go to mom and Dad first? Right? Maybe some

of our leaders, maybe even our country who's maybe is

a superpower or whatever, you know, to save us from it.

But you see this guy is saying, I'm never going

to the King, the earthly king, but I would rather

go to God first. If God is not involved, nobody

should get involved. You see Azrael here, It's got a

very different mindset, right because of course we know that,

you know, a gracious hand of God. He looks over everyone.

But great anger is those who forsake him. The forsaking

him is actually about it. If we didn't consult God,

you know, you go and do the natural first, which

is to check with the king. The King has all

the armies and all that to to protect us. You

see the power of that. So corporate power, corporate prayer

and fasting. Let's do the X thirteen I watched. That

might give it no, Yeah, just X thirteen. Okay, this,

let's look at another corporate fasting scenario of X chapter thirteen.

Now this is uh. This give you a bit of backstory.

Christ is crucified, was crucified, He's resurrected.

Uh.

This is also after he was raised from the dead. Uh.

And then the Pentecost has already passed. We talked about

Pennicoss some time back. The church is growing by the thousands. Okay,

at this point in time, and the church undergoes persecution.

Your persecution is right, people actually die, Okay. The first

martyrs were recorded before this part. Stephen James were killed. Okay.

Then the people sort of were scattered all over in

other cities. So the Christians then end up in this

city called Antioch, which is what we're going to read from.

And then they basically said, God guide me. How how

now Broncow people are like, you know, dying left right center. Okay,

So let's read from XTS Chapter thirteen. Now, in the

Church of Antioch there were prophets, and they were teachers

Barnabas Simeon called Nigger I think Lucius of Serene Maynian okay,

and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting.

He wore fasting, and the Holy Spirit said, set apart

for me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which

I have called them. So after they have fast and

prayed again to prove that they've actually prayed and fast,

they placed their hands on them and send them off.

Now this is the Greek part of me. The Holy Spirit,

you know, it's with us, but the Holy Spirit right

most of the time they guide. But this is one

of the rare times Holy Spirit actually spoke, spoke written,

and if you if you want to geek out, thank

you for Google and chagipting all these days, you can

actually do all the stats in I think the Book

of Acts is probably the most where the Holy Spirit

actually spoke in that in that man, I think about

seven to ten times corrected in the Bible. Whole Bible

is about fifteen twenty times, depending on how you define

speaking right. But in Book of Acts twice the Holy

Spirit spoke like a human right when prayer and fasting started.

So that's a trigger to some extent. Okay, so what

are we saying here? While you pray and fast, the

Holy Spirit speaks all right? So why because while you're fasting,

your spirit strong. When you're strong, you're more sensitive. The

flesh is weak, right, but the spirit strong, you hear

God more clearly. Like I said, I think God is

always speaking, but sometimes maybe perhaps too much distraction, too

much things happening, you know, you know, deadlines, agendas, et cetera.

That we forget that we need to remain focused. So

that's why sometimes people when we corporately fast, a God

provides for the need we see in the first story

already here right, and another group here. When people fast

and pray corporately, God will speak to them directly. Okay,

So the call is really, if we have a need,

and I'm for sure all of us have got needs, right,

maybe perhaps it's time for us to say, Lord, I

will try to pray and fast to see that that

need met right, emotional need, physical need, you know, spiritual need,

definitely financially even you know, I think we should always

give this a goal. And even in confusion like this

spirital here, what did they do? They provided guidance. God

provided guidance. God spoke, God spoke. You know, sometimes we

do things right, like I said, without checking a God.

I know who you're in the date? How many that

needs to pray before you go on your first date.

I didn't do it, for sure, I'm still married. But

God is gracious. But you know this guy here didn't.

I mean, he did the right thing, right, he prayed.

Do you take do you stay on a job, take

on a new job, to relocate to change church? You know,

the next business venture? Do you actually do? What? Because

before you start building something of God, you've got to

make sure of God first, right, even though it does

sound sometimes it sounds nice, right of God? Yeah, before

you get into covenant. You know, getting into a relationship

actually is towards messures, building towards covenant. Before we get

into that kind of covenant, maybe you should check with

God first before making any decisions. Maybe it's best to

slow down, hear from God, the one, the author and

the finisher of your faith. So yeah, recap again. When

we fast and pray, God provides needs and God speaks.

So you you're asking, hey, past the d you know,

I hear all these benefits. I hear all these things.

But why am I not doing it? If I sometimes?

I know we look at benefits, is right? If I

join this club? You know, what do I get from it?

But now that you see the benefits, but why don't

we do it? Is it because it's very hard, there's

a high cost to join the club, or maybe because

there are other reasons. I limped into twenty twenty six.

It was a very bad trend twenty five. Uh, you know,

we barely survive Q one the nearly the end of

a quarter one of t twenty six. I mean myself

and my family, we've got a rough start to train

twenty six or maybe perhaps my prayer life is not

where it is, so therefore, what's the part of ust thing? Right?

I haven't opened the Bible for a long time, Honest,

I don't feel confident If I pray in fast, God

will speak to me. Maybe maybe maybe. But here's a

little of encouragement. Joel To talks about an invitation, and

I read it might not invitation for the rebellius. So

even the rebellious is still invited to do it. You know,

let's see here again, enjoel Too, Chapter two, The people

of God. This obeyed God. So God sends a plague

of locusts and uh, you know, just devoured the land.

So essentially to God, a Manila in our modern day terms,

Suddenly if you have physical cash lying around and suddenly

the whole thing burned out. I mean you don't have

digital but imagine that. It's they lost their money over night,

They can't pay their bills, they can't put food on

the table. That's what it was like. Now. I always believe, right,

God allows for a little bit of discomfort, a little

bit of inconvenience, and a little bit of struggle to

get our attention sometimes when we are too up there.

You know a lot of times that you've been in

church long enough, right, you know that you know we

are our biggest problem. He don't think you know, you know,

you know we always know no humility, all right, We

always think very highly of ourselves, et cetera. And because

of that, sometimes you disobey, all right, and God in

his life, just like even a parents, sometimes we allow

our kids to make mistakes or even struggle a little

bit so that we can. Of course we'll be there

to help the kid back up, but it's to get

the attention so that you will get back on the

right path again. So God, I believe, allows for the

disruption to get his children's attention. Okay, since they want

everything except for me anyway, right, they won't come to me.

They they think they're okay on their own, and you

know He's biblically so many times. So let me just

interrupt a little bit get their attention. And this reminds me, right,

because I feel that Joel too, right, This this passa

sure is specifically for everyone. When you feel I don't

know if I'm in a position for God to hear me.

God still reaches out right. And the best part is

it looks at the heart. So if you have a

tinge of desire, if your heart is right, you want

to draw close to God. Right, that is all you need. Right,

let's read Joel too. Okay the title on the top,

if this at least from the new sorry, the NIV translation,

it says rent in your heart. Okay, explain what I

n is in a bit Okay, in some transitions says

yet even now, But here it says even now, declares

the Lord. So even now means are in spite of

all all the things inspired, all the disobedience, ins everything

that you guys done, I'm still knocking on your door. Okay?

And what does he want? Return to me with all

your heart? How how very fasting? What is fasting is

an act of humility, right with weeping and morning of course,

you know, like all do men gloom money in other words, right.

I love this part because it says, come back to me,

run back to me, return to me. The word returned

to me. That means it already belongs to him. It's

just a little bit lost, come back, come back. I

believe this is probably one of the few times that

God is really crying out for his people. I know

you're far away. Come back. I know you haven't been paying,

come praying, come back. I know you haven't been reading.

I know you sin. It's okay, come back to me.

It's okay. You're disconnected, you rebel, even it's okay, come back.

Come back to God. And that's what it's called is

even now, return to me with all your heart. He's

calling out to his son, his daughter, even in rebelling.

Come to me, no matter what, no matter how dirty

you think you are, come back to me. But the

caveat is that you have to come back with humility,

don't come back with pride, with arrogance. He has to

tear down sometimes to get your attention so that you'll

come back nothing left anyway, Lord, so might as well.

But we don't come to that, right. But really, rend

your hearts. Rend means tear by the way, tear or

arts who let's read the diner. Rend your heart, not

your garments. Okay, you'd be like, oh, I don't understand

what is this. In those times right when they're angry,

they're ANXSI at your like like wrestler. You know they'll

run their shirts they'll rip their shirts as a sign

of sadness. But this verse here also reminds us again

that it's not about the outward appearance. You need to

rent what's inside where people cannot see where, but God

can see. What's the point of the display, right, It

doesn't get anywhere. So when he's not looking for outward display,

that's just just a simple hour display that Okay, okay,

maybe I come to church. That's our display. But don't

know whether inside you actually rending, rending in your heart. Right,

it's not about that, it's really what's inside. He wants

you to come back, return, He wants you to tear

or hi wow, wring out all the sin, come back crawling.

I know sometimes even know, like we go to screwel,

he must come back begging at it. But that's it,

you know, you come back with humidity, broken and wounded.

Say I can't do this without you. Lord, Fast and

turn back to me. And this invitation, like I said,

is open to all, even the rebels. In your rebellion.

Return in your insecurities, return in your weakness. Return, just

run back to him and he says it, says it here,

Return to me. How we're fasting and weeping, and with

morning ran your hearts and not your garments. And you

read on it says that he reminds again God, he's gracious,

is merciful, He's compassionate, he's slow to anger, abounding in

some versions steadfast love. Right, he relents from sending calamity. Now,

when I read this, I thought crueler, this, this, this

kind of passage. But it also reminds me again that

sometimes he's like a parent, you know, saying let me try.

I think about how I'm gonna say this. Sometimes you

can be living in the same household and in the

modern day, la, let's say, right, the kid is there

sitting in front of you, but maybe perhaps scrolling on

the phone. Okay, physically there no eye contact, no conversation

with the parent. Of course, parents got the father an

easy example. Now, of course what I want as a

parent is too, hey, come back to what it is

supposed to be, like, put down that thing that's distracting you.

Was it fast? That thing that's distracting you, put it down, right,

that phone, the business, that game, put it down for

a sec. And again, why do we say that, It's

because we want to block the thing that is robbing

the relationship from the relationship itself. It's not about punishment.

It's not about seizing the thing or asking you to

deny by fasting. But it's wanting to restore the relationship, right,

And why does it say by weeping and morning is

because sometimes we can be very dramatic, right, but they

say sorry to fast maybe perhaps a simple way to

put it. Actually, yeah, I know, I happy, but but

you know, we want to move from actual really mending

the relationship. Otherwise sometimes okay, I give up for all

to show me. I'll come back to it again. I know.

Us parents are those that have parents for you know,

some kids very fast to say sorry, and because they

know if they don't say sorry right this weekend they've

got some sleep overcoming and then they have friends they

cannot play games or whatever is then they quickly say

sorry for us because cutting losses ma. They also red

level I know, right, like my kid this this week

is banned from games and it's very apologetic this a

week because she's having a sleepover tonight. But you know

it's not about that, you know, it's not about we

just know about the dramatic crying or the display but

it's genuine awareness. And so I say, don't be so quick, sister,

really mean it when you say sorry. Every tell our

kids that you know you mean it when you say sorry, right,

Because why we want more than that. It's the attitude shift.

It's the rending of the heart that we want, not

the act of the sacrifice. So the most important thing

is that authentic relationship is restored, and that's what God wants.

God wants that of you because it's a restoration. So

again he's gracious, his compassionate. Joe two thirteen reminds us

about that. But what is matter is that you come back.

I'm really if you come back to me. So next line,

God calls us to return to him, to reconnect, not

to judge or demanded repayment. Sometimes you think about that

or giving up there that I need the thing like that. No, no,

I don't need your sacrifice, of your your fast anyway.

He doesn't need it. It's not to judge, but he

wants because of his grace and his compassion, he wants

the authentic relationship restored. So simple takeaway you miss all

that analogy example is that he doesn't want to play

judge to demand repayment. It's not that him he wants

a he wants to be like a parent that actually

just longs for the relationship to be restored because somehow

along the way, something else cript crept in and block

that relationship. And we understand this context of like devices,

right sometimes m hmm, yeah, don't say that. Don't say parent,

not even some husband and wife. You feel that the

thing is taking up a little bit of that. So

the same thing, similar, okay, similar, He wants the reconnection.

So again, the Holy Spirit is giving someone an invitation

right now to say, if you're straying, return, If you're distant,

it's okay, come back. If you're far away, it's okay.

I'm still here. So no excuses for us to not

pray and fast if you really want to reconnect. The

invitation is for all. It's not just for full time

minutes or pastors or whatever. You know, it's for all. Okay,

let me also give you. If that that didn't work,

let me try another one.

Okay.

They Jus called for us to be quicularly fast. Who

Jesus said they must do? Right kind of thing? All right?

I know there's gos gonna be outliers people that had

this is for the rambling at this again over and again.

How many times have I heard this call or invitation?

You know, you'll go ahead and fast pasta you know,

go ahead and do this whatever, go ahead and do

your u turn. It's not for me. I'll just be obviously,

I'm not doing this. That's not me but Jesus himself

in his famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, he

also did pasting. Right. Let's read from verses five, Chapter six,

Verse five, it says, here and when you pray, do

not be like hypocrites for their love to pray standing

in synagogues and on the streets, street corners, to be

seen by others. So there's a part where they say,

do it in privately, don't show truly. I tell you

they have received their reward in full. Read on first,

and then come explain. But they when you pray, go

in your room and close the door, pray to your father,

who is unseen. Then your father, who sees what is

done in secret, will reward you. Yeah. I'll stop there

for one. If you look very closely here, there is

at least twice it says when you pray, Ah, when

you prayer that means eventually you prayer when you know,

not if when right, And it's really amazing because you

have to pray. It's almost your destined to pray to

some extent. Twice it says it's what they call a

pre super super subposition, right, Uh, to say that he expects,

not expecting to pray, but you will pray eventually anyway, Okay.

And it's not like I said, for the spiritual elite,

not for the select few. Everyone, it's not as quite

a fail follow of God. You will pray. And the

good part about it is that at the end there's

always a reward. And also, like how he puts it,

you will reward. You didn't say what reward you know,

left it open ended. Hey do we love that? Right?

Otherwise that it's always like this or that is open ended. Right?

But you and I for those of you who have

been doing this podcast on time praying and fasting or praying,

you know, the reward, the ultimate reward, right, is not

really the reward of health, the reward of wealth, the

reward of all these physical things, but it's more the

reward of intimacy when you draw close to God. Right,

there's something I guess it's hard to explain you haven't

actually tasted a little bit. But that's actually the biggest

or the greatest reward of all. And that's where you

actually can say, oh, you know, even the flesh it's okay,

you know, hungry angrilla. You know. The spiritual side is

like full. Don't limit your mind to what God can

give you when you pray and fast? Right, you see

here this a warning or so this is sort of warning. Truly,

I tell you they have received their reward in full.

The first part that means if they do it openly,

people say, oh so good are you can last full

day fast or seven days? Are? That's all they get.

They get the reward from the others, but not from God.

So whose reward would you rather get? Yeah? Right, So

intimacy from Christ is the main thing that we are

yearning for. And I can tell you that the Lord

has healed my heart many times whenever I get on

my knees and praying fast every time he guidance. And

you know, our journey is a bit strange and you know,

very hazard, but guidance has been provided whenever we come

and praying fast times of trauma, times of light, confusion,

pray and fast he will give you peace. Right, he

didn't stop there, right, talks about prayer, but the next one, sixteen,

talks about fasting as well. Similar principle. Next light is

that fast thing? Okay, same thing. When you're fast, do

not look somber as the hypocrites do. Do not disfigure

their face. This is a outward fastinger. It can to

a hey, why why why are you so people? Fasting? Law?

But when you first put all on your head and

wash your face, why wash your face? So? Can I

see that? Right? So literally? Right? You annoying yourself? Wash

it off, Shampoo your hair, shave. Don't go and look like,

you know, like like really in the wilderness for forty

days carrying that that look. Yeah, put on perfumere colonne,

you know, dress well, stand tall, right, fast, it's okay,

and it's okay. And but don't don't don't go and

have to show right, go to work, first thing, going

to go to work again, not knocking up but some

some some yeah, you know. And when you're fast, you

do it as though you are not fasting. That's the

simplest way to put it right. And again, last part

is the same thing He will reward you open and

it again. Right, there's no limit. Your mind is the limit.

Actually what God can give you the limit as to

be fast. The next question is it too late for

me to publicularly fast? Now I've heard all this. You know,

God provided for people wheny corporately fast during corporate fast,

the Holy Spirit spoke. Even the rebels are asked too fast,

So the invitation is open to all. So actually there's

no excuse. It's never too late to do it. And again,

twenty one days is just the corporate thing that we're

doing together as the church. But there's also others, the

national calls or somebody to be like, how come recently

you didn't know what another ny CF's there's there's a

national call of corporate fast. Right, it's okay on now

in line with this, right, I said, we said this

conversation with just about how we handle our schedule, right.

I know some of its are like, you know, very

like the planner kind of in a trager and six

everything lined up with you know where where God will

bring you, what you'll do, et cetera, et cetera. When

they get married, when they do business, when they have kids,

et cetera. You know, everything is laid out like that,

and we both operated differently by the way, Right, I'm

a daily planner. I wake up every day, I look

at what I have to do, what hasn't been done,

look at what I have put Actually I got a system,

as you got a whole program to do it for

me as well. You want to see it, you come

and talk to me later. But just as the total opposite.

She's just uh yeah, from memory, emails and red limits.

Have to do the kind of thing very but somehow

things will get done. Okay, very different and some of

us are like that, right, we have two different types.

We are the vision goal planner kind of person my own.

If I forget, I don't finish it next day or

pop up eye you haven't done me yet, click on me,

you know, the kind of thing. But in reality, a

lot of times we look at the things that you've

got to do without checking on most of the time.

I'm using this as a simple example, but because why,

we also have lived in a maybe a very blessed

kind of scenario. We're not at war at least, thank

God for that. We're peace. I think this generation at

least we're talking about the more, not the in those

generations of people literally before the table kind of a generation,

you know, yeah, right, you know, it was just talking

about whether you get McDonald's or you know, my mouth

food or whatever it is, you know, the kind of thing.

So it's a very different world generally. But we I

would say, there's a danger that eighty percent of the

things that we do or we put in our planner

or our goals may not be even prayed about. That's

what I'm trying to say here, honestly. So the hey,

next time you can see my thing, it's so cool

that I say how many percent of particular chunks and

areas that it is still undone. That's the level I

divided into ministry, pastoral work, work work, you know, the family,

you know, those same things are. It's very interesting to see.

But all those stats, do I really pray or even

coming to God again? Guilty as charge as well? Because

why then there's also the danger of your doing things

outside His real right. You always pray, you'll go that

you will be done on a daily basis, right, but

really do I check. We've got very compared notes to

I mean, Milah, I'm guilty. You guys are okay, So

let me let me just encourage you. Don't let the

past limit you what's past, don't even let the future

limit you. Take a participate in this U turn for

the remainder. How many days you have left for? Fourteen days?

I think I counter correctly, all right, fourteen days from now,

and then see whether God tells you to rewrite that

planner the calendar. For those who don't right now, mine

is okay, she's still fine. But for those who do goals,

I'm not joking about the whole intigrity stuff, but we

get the idea. See whether God will rewrite rewrite your

goals and planner after this U turn. Take us a

chat and try it out. So yeah, here am I

trying to call for you to participate till the very end.

It's not too late, by the way, if you don't

know where the end is, We're ending on Good Friday.

That's next Friday, not too far ay right, Yeah, it's okay. Uh,

I'm calling us for a corporate prayer and fasting in conjunction.

You turn really just seeking God's face, that's really it's

if anything you are to gain from it, nothing to lose,

and when you do that, I guarantee you your heart

would be different. You can even curb this flesh thing

and you run after Christ different. Yeah, so are your options?

Like I said, I started off knocking the social media

thing because there's a reason for it. I say, that's

level one. My kids are so got the style things on.

But you know, if you really want to go up,

we should always aspire to. Of course, there are reasons

why we do not go to the full thing. But

let me just break it down to two biblicle fast

at least written the Bible. First one is total fast.

All right, there's abstain from food totally. Of course, you

don't do that when you're certain things you know medically unawell,

you're pregnant. You know your job requires you to lift

bricks every day, those hard labor. Don't don't do that.

You maybe you can, I don't know, but check your

doctor first that if you really cannot. Right I myself,

I just shad my wife for the very first time.

I plan to go again. It's not to brag or

boast and all the things that. Don't get me wrong,

It's just my own way of many years I've been

down to eating one meal a day and on a

Virgil fast for quite some time, and and I and

I think I want to take it to the next

step in the remainder of the last week, to full fast.

So I check the people who have done it before

as well. But I'm also really too if I collapse,

I will stop. Okay, my wife already wanted me. But

again it's not that I want to show. But it's

just yellow my natural progression. Now what more can I

know fast? If I need one meal left a day,

right virtually? Yeah, by the way, my my ativity is

to the same. And I still go. I still meet people,

I still jump, I still yell, I still work out.

I still run. In fact, I ran more than I before.

I don't know how. But again, it's not to boast, Okay,

it's just to say that that's me, my own commitment.

Let the spirit lead us from pesy and and that

is total fast. It's so partial fast, you know, total fast.

You also mean from removing all the stimulus things that

stimulate you. Yeah, even stop watching TV. So total fast

if you want to look that way. But I'm talking

about the food law. But what we're trying to say

is that it may be okay to hurt your flesh

a little bit, all right. Or another way is that

you know, we tend to gorge and goage is godging food.

Can be goage on the word for a while. It's

another way to put it. So don't focus on the

fasting part, but focus on the the prayer and the

other bits that's also important. Can be goage on God's word,

like how we do buffets. Whenever we have a one

hour buffet to finish up, can we really spend that

quality time doing that one hour of intense stuffing itself

silly with His word and then leave full spiritually? Okay,

that's just that's just a challenge, right, okay, Or just

slow down, slow down a little bit, slow down, because

why we're saying you have no authority over me. Of course,

the partial fast second option is you know that Daniel

fast is one option. You know, fasting some meals. Daniel

did that as well, Daniels, it's specific not me. And

by the way that the Daniel in the Bible he

abstained from certain delicacies. Basically vegetables are for quite some time. Yeah,

maybe if it's got leads you to eat one meal

a day or fast one meal day, that's fine. Can

try that as well as the spirate leads, as I

tell you, because all we're trying to do is we're

trying to say, let's call everybody in the church that

you call X church your home, even your local family,

you know, call your local family. Slow down, trying to

build a year that is still with pride. But try

to build a year that how God intended it. And

for the next twelve days. You just tell the flesh

you have no authority over me. I'm serious. Just try

it out. And when I look at this more, I

just I realized that it's tel tilve Ceriver significantly chealth

in the Bible, amazing stuff. Man twealth, child tribes, twelve apostles,

child gates, child Foundation, and just as twelve years old

when he started to minister the authority right, he started

to teach at a temple when he was twelve. So

give it a go. You never know, right, Because why

we are saying when I pray and fast, I will

seek his face. Sometimes we pray and fast for the

hand about what he can give. We are moving away

from praying or fasting for what the hen can give

and that's the power in it, because like I said,

you drove close to you seek his face. He's a savior. Okay,

I think of the rush to finish off Isaiah fifty eight.

I got no time to flash it up. But these

are all the wrong and impure motives or fasting. You

can read about it. Uh. The flesher title is that

you have the title there. Uh again now Isac fifty

eight says the heating is true fasting. So the few

verses talk about not so good fast thing, the fallse

fast thing, you can read about it on your own.

But you know the rest of it talks about the

real type of fust and what you should do. But again,

what is considered impure at least in Isaiah you can

look at your own. Is that sometimes when you spend

your week complaining that you can't eat or I'm fasting,

you focus on the fast thing itself, or why is

our church putting to our earth to this fast? Why

can I eat? Why can't do this? Then we want

to say to you right now, don't do it. That

it's okay on because there's a corporate bit ma right,

isaiahs was saying, I'd rather you not do it. You

might astll do it right then too. Yeah. So the

moment or the minute you start talking about you can't why.

And my Sony today was like even coming up and saying, oh,

what were the devices? Now? Yeah, I don't know. Something

drinks that sweet his fasting sweets, by the way, But

it's always with my lunch. It's a dream. My lunch

is fine. So you come to the legalistic side of

things already, which we don't want to again, not not

knocking them, but you know, we sometimes drift into this

whole thing about legalism, and that's not what God wants

in Isaiah fifty eight. But if that's the case, go

hit break it fast. Sometimes say do it to break

of ust. Remember God cares about the heart more than

what appears on the outside. Not run your shirts, you know,

not ran your garments, ran the heart. So my encouragement

to you is the remainder of the fourteen days or

twelve days. Rather focus on what God or what the

fasting and prayer can do. Not what it is doing

to you at that point in time, but what the

outcome could be. What what is that that what it

can do to you? You draw close to God at

the end of the day, you draw close to God.

In the end of the twelve days, you would have

disciplined your flesh. You would experience healing. You would maybe

even save a marriage if your marriage in the Rocks

miracle can happen this week if you do focus on

that rather than or I'm giving up this or that.

The legalistic part, okay, And for some of us it's

saying or denying. Say no to premarital sex for the week. Right.

We're not judging, but you know it's a world that

is quite common as well, saying no to certain pleasures. Cigarettes.

I don't know, phonography for the addiction game, addiction, I

don't know. There's lots of things. See God delivery from

that because there's also off the flesh. Say God for you,

I would discipline my flesh. Your word be my food,

prayer time be your food, be my food for that

for that day. I'm gonna end here soon. I just

recently discovered that the U version Bible can actually read

the Bible to you. Ha, because my wife said, hey,

I should read the Bible and drive to work on Aha.

And there's a there's a good starting all right. This

week A practical thing you can do if you're too

busy to read and just listen to the Bible. I

just discovered it new well, old dog new tricks, you know, right, Yeah,

you can listen to the whole. You can choose a

smaller letter and a new new testament, you know, listen

to the whole, that whole chapter in your ears. That's

immersing yourself right in the twelve days, you know, saying

no to my science in the rock music right now,

and saying to rock music for and listening to some

things that are a little bit more encouraging. Who knows?

I like, how waitning is something that does this? In

the committee cheur, She's like, hey, what did you learn

from the scripture reading today? Maybe it's time to say, hey,

what is God's saying to you? My brother? Today's passage

is on this what they speak to you? Because it

spooke to me this way. Share again, It's not to

account for the sake of like checking, you know, are

you doing your thing? No, we want to go be

like because we know this is helping each other out

as well. So I'm calling us for really just twelve

days of really concentrating, you know, your your time and

all this to God. Turned your plate down for a while,

let the spirit take over, and see how God can

move turns in the way. To deny yourself for a while.

Even if your house needs cleaning. Sometimes the kids go

and mess up my house. It's okay. Read my Bible first,

pray first, then come to that. Sometimes those little things

that would rob you right, gorge yourself in His word

for a change. Gorge yourself in His presence, and see

where the Spirit leads you.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit as church dot org.

We are also active on Facebook and Instagram. We're believing

that this week is going to be a good week.

I hit for you.

God bless