Fasting and Prayer | Pr. Matthew

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

Fast forward, okay. First thing, we are fasting and praying. Firstly,

you begin by humbling yourselves before God. Okay. And just

before I think, as I go through these seven points

right towards the end, I'm going to get everybody to

pray in a similar manner as well. Okay, in a

very similar manner some of these points as well, so

you will know how to pray for yourself in your

own time as well, how to approach God, how to

get your heart in appropriate posture before God as well. Okay.

So the first one humble ourselves before God. Okay. First

of all, okay, so let's read some scriptures here as right,

chapter eight, verse twenty one. Then I proclaim a fast

there at the river of Ahava, that we might hum

ourselves before our God to seek from Him the right

way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.

It's a good prayer, isn't it, for yourselves and also

for your family? Okay. And then lastly, James chapter four,

verse ten, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord,

and he will lift you up and that's a good

scripture to understand what pleases the Lord as well. And

so I think it's important that the church build confidence. Okay,

turn your neighbor and say confidence. A lot of times

we know how to pray, but we don't have the

confidence in prayer. It's a difference. You know, you want

to pray, but there's a difference when you pray in

confidence because when the moment when you realize your praying

and that God loves to listen to your prayer and

it's pleased with your prayer, your heart changes. A lot

of times you pray because our obligations. You pray because

you have to, and you don't pray by faith. So

we need to understand the posture and the way we

should come before God as well. And he says, there,

let's go to the first verse. Ezra says that he

proclaimed a fast at the river of a Harba. Okay,

there we may humble us before Good. Now why did

he choose a river? Why did he choose the river?

Because at that time they are fasting that includes not

drinking water as well. Ah yeah, I'm saying that. And

then they do it before everyone say Lord, this is

the river there we draw our lives things that will

we drink with thirst and everything. And in understanding water

is very hard to get their timeline. Clean water very

very hard to get one. Okay, you cannot get still water.

And then some more, this is living water. Living water

means water that actually moves. They're not stale, and it's

actually high quality water like spirits, not scared, high quality

of water, moving, living and moving water. Okay, But they

say they've come to the river, said that, Lord, even

though the waters may run before us, even though we're

thirst even you know, even our whole body desires for it,

But Lord, we will proclaim fast even so much. There

was one part later on in my read. There's a

part where they will draw water not from this river

for another place and then pour it before the congregation.

Everybody will look at it, so thirsty said, but Lord,

we will steal fast. And so what is this teaching

us to humble ourselves? Okay, and humbling in all fasting

is one of the steps that leads us to continue

to guide us to humble ourselves before God as well.

Sometimes you get middle of the way around we do

twenty one day or faster, maybe by day five day

tenor you start to like, hey, get used to it.

And what builds up pride? Pride, self reliance. Okay, So

the first thing we ought to do is to humble

ourselves before God. So what does humbling ourselves include when

we pray? Yeah, first of all, you humble yourselves by

begin you need to pray. Okay, By beginning to pray,

you already humble yourself. By beginning to pray, you already

say that God I need you. By beginning to pray,

you already say that prayer is more important. You got,

I mean right? You don't realize it. Not. By choosing

to pray, you're already humbling yourself. It's a very big step. Okay.

So you've gone before God and you say, God, I

humble my Hearty I humber back. Don't go to God

and say that God, I'm a humble person. There's no

such a person on that. It said, Moronda, I'm such

a humbled person to this. No, no, no. But you

come before God and you confess it. Okay, said Lord,

humble me. Okay, humble me, I said, Lord. Teach me

to humble my heart. Teach me to know realize that

everything that I've done, and everything I plan is really

if I look at nothing in your side, if I

prioritized everything else, forgive me as well remove all my

prideful thoughts. You know, prideful thoughts are not just you know,

it's not so obvious one a lot of times, you know,

it's not like, oh, I'm a proper person. Very rarely

people come out and wake up in the morning to

say that, hey, I'm a proper person. Very rarely. Prideful

thoughts are thoughts that you don't acknowledge gon, Okay, thoughts

that don't acknowledge God. When you make decisions that don't

acknowledge God. Your spouse knows that you are a prideful person.

When you make decisions without him, or you don't make

sense or not all the spouse like, yeah, tell it

to my spouse. Man, Yeah, you buy coffee, you do this,

and you do that, you go anywhere, you play pickupball,

you don't tell me, or so oh who plays pickable here?

I've been getting so many invitations for pickable and so

many you know, I want to talk about so many,

like Pasaden's been asking me to pay in a pickaball,

but man, come and join. I was like, oh my quarter,

you stop, ready now for other things? Ready, you know.

But prideful thoughts are thoughts that don't acknowledge God. You

just go about doing your routine. You just go and

doing about based on your competency and everything as well.

These are just examples. Okay. So first it said, Lord,

even when I plan my day, even when I go

about making decisions, even when I got planning, you know,

and all my future. You know, Lord, please remove all

these prideful thoughts. Teach me to have true dependence, to

lean on you, to wait for you, you know. And

you know, don't, Lord, don't let my heart lift myself

up you know when I see fit. But Lord, you know,

live me up in according to your time, not on

my time. Okay. So these are some of the ways

and some of the things that we should consider when

we go in fasting. Okay, so this is how you

begin to pray, makes sense. I make it very very practical.

Let's go for the second one, fasting for repentance and renewal. Okay.

So you now you humble yourself? Ready, it's not done. Okay.

When you when you start to humble yourself means you're

driving a car and you stop and you're like, WHOA,

where am I heading to? You know where am I

heading to? What am I doing? You know what am

I planning? Repentance is after you stop, you decided to

change direction. And the same how I'm saying that you

humble yourself, you stop. Repentance is I need to change

I need to recheck my ways again. You know. Repentance

is like someday having a different mindset. I thought that

I was going the right way. I thought this. I

thought that you build all the assumptions was taking you

one direction. And when you humble yourselves, all your assumptions

are gone, and you were like, whoa, the scenery is different.

I look around. It doesn't look like hel you know,

it looks all green, and it looks green like I

kmen km. It's like, it looks like I'm going up north.

You know all the para epo. You know, it looks funny.

You know. Directions are all wrong, the signage is all wrong.

Even my web location, my map location is all off.

You know. So repentance is at the sign I'm wrong.

I'm at the wrong place, I'm heading in the wrong direction.

If I don't stop, I'm gonna get into big trouble.

And so you realize that I need to recalibrate. And

God comes in to give you a word of truth

and show you his kindness and gets you to turn

around and the same I'm saying. Now, it's a change

of mindset. It's not just changing, but you start to

change your behavior and to change your decision making as well. Okay.

So that's what repentance is, okay, is to express sorrow

and more importantly, to want to seek restoration. Okay. So

Jonah chapter three, verse five says, so the people on

Nineva believe God, proclaim a fast and put on sackcloth,

from the greatest to the least of them. Now, Jonah

is the greatest evangelist of all time, hands down. Not

even Billy Graham can beat him. Jonah is the greatest evangelist.

And he was a reluctant evangelism. Reluctant. You know, you

don't want to show you haven't seen us invited speaker

go the other way one, okay, you know you never

see the invite and he went very far off. You know,

it's very very far, and it's not just one stop.

If you if you tried the map direction. He really

took on like hundreds and thousands of miles away. Really

when when the other side, you know, okay, really really

far is like from here all the way to Korea.

That the distance you know, that went far, That was

really far and okay it's really really far away. Okay,

this guy really But then when he went there, he

just okay, I'm going to preach one message on you

at the center. I'm no stout speaker, no playing, I'm

just gonna know there, no promotion, preach the whole city

turned around me. Greatest evangelists of all time was the

was the most reluctant evangelist. Okay, most reluctant, and he

was preaching to one of the most evil cities. Okay,

at that time, you know, crazy know that God can

do such a powerful thing to this person. It's because

it's not about him. It's the sea that God is,

the sea and the Holy Spirit that God has put

in in him in that season as well. Okay, But

it says that the people there believe God, and the

people who have the least exposure to God's word, but

yet when they're hurt once they believe. But believing is

one thing there's no point God to give a word

to Nineva, but they don't change. There must be repentance.

And the greatest evidence of evangelism was that the whole

city repented and turned it around, and they were sorrowful,

sorrowful that it became something active. They put on a fast,

they put on sacloth from the greatest to the least

of them as well. So it was a demonstration, okay,

not just a belief in, a demonstration of an inner

repentance within them. In First Semuel chapter seven, it says,

so they gathered together and Misspa Okay, Misspa is a

very important place, you know, all the way I think,

if you're not mistaken, all the way from Abraham to

most of his time as well, a place where they

are always uh made and then waiter when I think, yeah,

when Joshua came in as well. Mispower was a place

where the tribes gathered together when they make decisions, and

across the Jordan River as well. Okay, together the drew

water and they pour it up before the Lord I

told you before, isn't it it? Guess we're getting They

took out water and then they pour it out okay,

and they're faster that they and said that we have

seen against her Lord. Okay, so how should we pray

when we uh? When we fast? First of all, ask

God to forgive your sins. Ask God to forgive your sins.

A lot of times we don't ask. You think we

think that you'll be so straight for people people ask

for gif A lot of us we sing and we know,

but a lot of us find it hard to ask forgiveness.

You know why, because we feel like there's a there's

a voice in the back of our mind. You sing

too many times before. Already it happens more than often

to Christians, even the greatest of Christians are you've seen

so many times? Hey, you preach the word, do you

practice even you know you can't for forgiveness? God will

really forgive you? You got I mean right? All these

things you know you're too far gone ready even forgive

you will never change one. You realize all these thoughts

that appear in your heart and your mind now are

always very intrusive. One. You know, whenever you want to

approach call artists and intrusive thoughts. You know that makes

you feel less, that makes you feel like you're unworthy.

That makes you heal like a dirty hypocritical You're not

say what I'm saying that there's always there. It is

not a coincidence. You're not the only one and all

a lot of times we think we're the only one. Oh,

I like that everyone who plays on the extreme bed

the one or the whole Selena and the whole people

crew in the Holy People. I tell you, we all

face these intessive thoughts. I agree with me or no,

we all we all, we all have our battles, you know,

you mean right, We all have our battles. You know

we all need God and all we all have this.

You know, the devil is trying always to put in

these thoughts to make us feel worthless and everything else. Okay,

so sometimes because we react by blaming other people, but

it's not it's not the people. It's actually more important

is the thoughts, the source we are affecting you, okay,

And so we have to humble ourselves. And instead of

you know, you know, looking at other people are better,

instead of looking that you are worse, you go to God.

He said, God, forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. If

I'm down wrong against you, forgive me if I've hurt

another person, forgive me, if I have been proud, forgive me.

Renew my wary spirit. You know, renew my rayed spirit

means what I know that when you're repenting, you're not

a full strength. And now most of the timer when

you are when you need to repent is when you

are very wary. You're tired. You've been trying to change

again and again your life, over and over and over again.

But then he said, God, I want to repent, but

I don't know how. But Lord, I ask and pray

that you don't give up on me. Give me a

new space. You know what's say. I'm saying that. That's why

I want to teach this lesson, because I want to

bring about what you guys battle through. What you battle through,

we battle through. Everybody battles. True, you're tired. We are

all tired as well, but we can't give up, you

know what I'm saying. So when you pray and you're fast,

maybe in the middle of you're tired, you say, God,

give me a new spirit. Lord, I'm wary, but Lord,

make me new again, renew it. So because of that, Lord,

I'm gonna stay in this prayer. I'm not just gonna

give a thirty second prayer. I'm just not gonna read

the devotion that passed. CenTra said to me and the

dead's it already. I'm gonna stay in the bit for

a while, and maybe I'm gonna when I part my

can' I'm gonna stay in my part in my parka,

and I'm just gonna like turn off everything and then

just say not really focus on you. You get me right,

you intentionally doing and trying to focus on God so

that your heart get refreshed. Then God says, and he

says it, Lord turn my heart fully, not just partially,

but Lord turned my heart fully. Maybe you know, you

realize that this is causing a problem. Maybe there are

things you do at night. They are spending so much

time watching too much TikTok, watching too much Netflix, you know,

taking up things, agreeing to promising things that you shouldn't

even promise, and you take us so much resources. And

then you'll realize that God, if I give this up,

where do I turn to? You know, I feel so

lost like a puppy. But God says, no, when you

make room for me, I will come in. I will

feel you up and you will see someone Guys are

so scared to make room. You know, someone are so

scared to make room. You know, if I remove this,

oh am, I to do a few loss. When you

make room and you're empty, you are fully available for God,

you get me, You're fully available and all. And I

tell you this thing. So sometimes when I see my kid,

you know, during holidays, okay, we give them permission to

watch a bill TV. I come back and they're just

vegetating their underside really melt the ice cream and all

that one eye winking there. You steal a life, still

your life or not really, you know, the humans are

so capable of vegetating and really, you know, amazing, you know.

So and I said that, I said, I think I

need to remove this from you know, because they wrestle

and they struggle because they don't know what to do.

You know, really they don't know what to do. And

the first time when I did it, and my son

called me every hour, what to do next? What's you're

doing next? I gave him this and this. I only

can give him so much to do, you know, But

then you got to figure it out. You kind of

figure it out, you know. And being Boring is part

of growing. You know, it's okay to be boring. In fact,

you need to be bored you huh, you must go

through boredom and bored them doesn't mean you're lost. Not.

I mean like you may be lost for a while,

but it's the struggling you need to go through. You know,

being born is okay. Nowadays everybody must be entertaining. Everybody

must even everybody feels the need to be activated. You know,

it's so okay to be boring. Boring is the pathway

to greatness or a sca just crazy And now I

just I'm just producing anything right now. Sometimes sometimes you

promise your children any thing there they did, am I great? Now? Okay,

go ahead. So then you coming back to the point

of repentance, turn my heart fully, you know, I make

myself available and cleanse me from within, okay, cleanse me

from within? Not. I don't want to just and not

change from the outside, just changing by what I do,

but not from the inside. But Lord, I want to

think a different way. I want to envision a different way.

I want my value system, the things that I treasure,

my dreams, my aspiration to even change as well, change

from me from the inside out. You change a person's dream, ambition,

you change the behavior. You know. That's very very important. Okay.

So that's number two. So number one us pray to

humble ourselves, and two is to pray for repentance. Number

three fasting for hunger, hunger for more of God, a

changing of the tied and desire and my dreams. Okay,

So I talked a bit a bit about this earlier already. Okay,

So repentance is changing direction, but now instead just changing direction. Okay,

It's like you go to EPO, but now you need

to come back to Okay, l Okay, So oh I'm

changing direction. But then when you change direction, you need

a force that moves you forward as well, a force

to when you look at God's like, what is it

that you want? Okay? And what we are asking for

all of us? Yeah, don't just say Lord, forgive my

saying you got to pray God. I want a new heart,

I want more of you. Sounds simple, sounds very cliche.

A lot of times our songs and more of you.

This is my heart's desire. But it's true to pray

for God, to desire for God, and to align with God. Okay. No.

Psalm sixty three, verse one says, Oh God, you are

my God, and early would I seek you. My soul

thers for you. My flesh long for you in a

dry and thirsty land where there is no water. You

know this this, Oh God, you are my God, and

now will never praise you. You have a song. I

will seek you win the morning, and I will turn

to follow your waist. I said, what's it called radio?

I think it's vice Keith Green. I think it's so

you can check Google Keith Green. Okay, I think so. Okay,

it's a very powerful word and a very powerful message.

You know, to desire more of God. Matthew Chapter six,

verse storytree, But seek first the Kingdom of God and

his righteousness, and all these things shall be added onto you. Okay.

So what do we pray for? First of all, I say, God,

deepen my hunger. Okay, deepen my hunger. No, what do

I long for? Do you still long force the things

of the world. I'm not saying that the things of

the world are completely bad. They are good, okay. Someone,

they are good, but they are not God. Okay, they

are good, but they are not God. Okay. Uh, you

know but I will say, you know the parable of

the Fisa. We can have a cow, you can buy

a land. You can't even have a wife and a husband.

But all of these are cannot compared to God. And

give me right, all this cannot compare to God. Okay,

but we say, well, we say that God, I want

a deeper hunger. I want you to change so much

sore that Lord, I want you to even begin to

change my worthy desires. You know that we always get

new worthy desires. Sometimes you meet people sometimes you you know,

you know that our phones are always listening to usmana.

You know our phones are They are so good in

putting desires right now they are there. I was just

I remember there was one time I was in a

in a trip with some friends, uh church friends tree

families that saw the guys. The fathers were just talking wise.

We're talking there as usual as well. So we're talking

with the father and we're talking about different things. We're

talking about Suddenly we don't know we were talking about.

Was it mobile phones or something? Okay, And out of nowhere,

I took my phone and I started to see Lazada

recommending me this phone. I never searched for the phone

before you ever. You know, I never searched for a phone

on the thing, you know, suddenly or shopping. You know,

you got your set up recommending the phone and all

you know what that tells you? They are listening. You

know they are listening. You know, did you realize? You not? What?

How many of you find this new? You don't realize?

After lunch you put this to a test, okay, lunch

umpug lunch test, social tests. Okay, I'm not saying I

guarantee it is correct. You discuss about something that a

product you never thought about, and they tell me what

are the likely chances that they actually wild pop up?

And I think it's happened for me more than once,

more than answer. It's so accurate. It's not so much

what you say, what you search on other platforms, the

keywords will also pop out as well. You'll be surprising

all the other day, just a few weeks ago, I

was talking to my wife and we need to get

a trolley for a moving on and probably hold pop

up trolley, you know, trolley. I give you a tip

if you don't need it, turn off the microphone and

then the GPS on your app. If you don't need

for specific apps. They're tracking, always tracking, always tracking scarier.

It's very scary, and you think about it, why wouldn't

they do it? If they can do it, if they're

allowed to do it, they will do it to to

be able to intercept your conversation and your daily life

and to interject so seamlessly into your life to help you.

You know, they're helping you, you know, making your life

more convenient and not giving you value, you know, so

that you give them value as your in exchange. Isn't it. Oh,

I'm a good marketer and a scaler. I used to

love I used to love marketing. Okay, but it's true.

But while we're saying that God, when we say that God,

I want to hunger for you. But part of you

is also asking God change my desires. Very rare. We

pray for this on you have a prayer for God

to change your desires. When would you in your life

to pray for change your desires. That's why it starts

with humbling yourself. You know, you have to really think

about who you are and your thoughts and start to

step away. It's like, I don't think me as a

person is that complete and right yet okay, And they said, God,

I know this is who I am and what I've

been pursuing. Maybe I could be wrong, Maybe I don't

know it at all. Maybe Lord, I need you to

change my values what I dream for. Some of you

may be pursuing for a dream for so long. I

know this person just recently from another plan. It's an

older man pursuing a PhD in a in a university.

And I say, he's a Singapore And I said, where

are you here? You know, like I'm not saying it's like,

oh why You're like, oh why are you here? Like

a confused no, and just say, oh why are you here?

You know? They said, Oh, I'm here to study. It's

oh wow, you're still pursuing PhD is such an age?

Yeah yeah, yeah, Oh, like watch your motivation to study

at such an age. Then the person told me that

at a young age, okay, he didn't do well in

the secondary class, like bottom of the class, and everybody

in the school, his friends bullied him, saying that he's

no use, no word. Even the teachers say that he was.

You know, try so many times I tried to believe

in being He's like hopeless and so he was so

disappointed and then he couldn't get he couldn't he didn't

get degree. But then he only gotgame much later. And

so he lived his life just trying to prove people wrong.

So he was trying to accumulate degrees and PhDs and

forties and fifties and stuff like that. And I told him, brother,

I know what you're doing. I know you've heard the

motivation and stuff like that, but what you're heading is

a path of pain. And I tell you what. Just

a few ago, I've heard news that he failed his PhD.

He went into depression, very bad depression, really really bad.

I can't review some things, but really really bad. Okay.

And that is why I say a lot of times,

the things that we want, it's not right for us,

you know, really, you know, and this, even this time

of fasting and prayer, you might want something so much

you think these are good, even for the things of

your family. Human thing is good. But God saying it's

not that it's wrong, it's not the prioritieve you got

mean right, You get me right first, you get all

your hearts right. You don't make plans, you get it

clear first. Then God will feel it up and get men.

We are so quick to tell God our problem and

how to set it right. You know, God, hear my wife. First,

God tell my children first, do these do they do this?

And give me money first, give me a job. All

these things we are these are good things, not bad things.

But yet God says that not in that order. You

I mean right, not in that order. And I say

this from my own personal exp I'm not trying to lecture.

I'm saying for my own personal experience. Change my worthy desires,

even shape my dreams, shape my dreams more my dreams.

I desire these, and they're this house and good and

god good dreams, but not Godly dreams. Shape my dreams

and fill me with you that what I want, it

becomes what you desire. Okay, it's it's really what you

always been, what you wanted for me. So Lord, I

don't start out, you know, looking for you know, if

I see on social media people are traveling, people buying watchers,

people are doing house renovation, or it's an endless thing,

you know, because you realize why not? Because by changing

your desire, you change your prayer, you see, even true

or not by changing your your desire you change your prayer.

People keep like, hey, pressing God, how come the button

not working? It's not there? And you find and you pray, No, no, God,

there's a time God, maybe I need to change the

way I pray what I ought to pray, and then

start by changing your heart and your dreams as well. Okay,

fourth fasting for wisdom understanding hand discernment. There's a proper order,

isn't it. Now you realize that there's an order. Okay,

we got to get all the first tree right before

we possible wisdom. You know, there's no point God gives

you wisdom or he can't give you wisdom if you

don't get the first tree right. Okay. Then he says

here Daniel, chapter nine, verse three, He says that, then I,

being Daniel, set my face towards the Lord God, to

make requests by prayer and supplication, with fasting, sack of

and ashes. Okay, now, give me a context. Is that.

What happens is that Daniel started reading the scriptures and

he understood where the Israel, the nation of Israel, are

at right now before God? And then he understood, like,

why Israel is in exile? You get me right? He

was the judgment of God. Everybody was blaming everything. You

would When Daniel opened the scriptures, he understood, Wow, that

was the reason why there is a God. You know,

only there is a God. God. God was judging Israel.

Everybody was blame you see, everybody will blame everything. The

economy will fall, there will be you as tariff. And

you know this person came into power. Everybody will blame

everything as well. But the one thing that people don't

turn to is the Bible. And that's why Daniel opened

the scripture and he realized, Wow, God has judged Israel,

and we need to respond the way he asked, not

respond to the world. According to the world, respond that

God wants us to respond. And he said that, and

he mourned me and he talked with me and said, oh, Daniel,

I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.

You see what I'm It's the realization. It is the

willingness to repent and to face God, to change your dreams.

That God then gives you understanding. Give me. God cannot

give you a tool, give you the gift unless you

align your heart. God wants to make sure that you

get in the right gear before you move forward. You know,

you have to get into the right gear. You can't

know all of your driver. You cannot. You cannot drive

forward when you're on the part of the neutral one.

You got to move forward, you know, on the right gear.

You got to align with God. Okay. In Philippines, Chapter one,

verse nine, he says, and this I pray that your

love made abound still more and more in knowledge and

in all discernments. Paul is telling. He say, yes, I

want you to love one another, abound in love. But

you must also, at the same time grow in knowledge

and in discernment. Okay. So when you pray, when you

fast in prayer, this prayers, God, give me understand, Give

help me to love you more. But at the same time,

I want understanding. It is right for you. It is

good for you to pray for wisdom, to pray for understanding. Okay,

at this, at this moment. Okay, So how do you pray?

And what do you pray for? Okay? So ask? First

of all, you got to ask God. God give me

wisdom many of if you don't ask, Bible says, now,

God gives wisdom to those who ask him liberally and generously. God,

We'll not we hold it. We're not. But he will

give generously to those who ask from him. Okay. And

the next thing is that God give me wisdom so

that Lord, I will know how to rightly divide your word.

What does it mean? To rightly divide your word? Means not?

Do you take God's word and divide it? Yes, God's

words like It's like it's not just it's like a

how do you say? It's like a mathematic mathematical equation.

You know you got I mean right, He's able to

help you to plus, minus, divide and multiply certain things

when you understand it. You don't simply apply to the

wrong formula. And but in God says that, Hey, God,

when you when I read this, how does it apply

into my life? Does it make sense to do that?

You know, as you shall receive anything you pray or

ask for? Manina, you know you don't know how to

rightly divide God's work, how to apply you cant mean

that you don't apply multiple in every situation, plus or

anything you know how to apply. And then that that

that that right and understanding is the wisdom that God

gives you. And God, God gives you the word and

God gives you the wisdom, the word and the wisdom,

and you apply the situation comes. You know how to

apply when a person comes into your life or the

trouble comes back, you know how to apply. Wisdom will

guide you, Okay. And when you read the scripture, and

most of the time when wisdom comes, you will always

be able to refer to a scripture for the Jesus.

Is what Jesus displayed when he was centered. The word

of the Lord says that shall not test the Lord

your God. Yeah, I mean right, there is wisdom because

you know why, because the devil was You think the

scripture as well? You ge know what I mean? Right?

So what's the difference. There is wisdom in one, there

is the sit in the other one. Everybody, okay, so

what I'm teaching? Am I going too fast? Okay? Yeah?

The God asks God for a spirit of discernment, of

patience and God live fear. When you ask God for wisdom,

and you must it must be accompanied with God live fear.

You know what I'm saying. Not a lot of this.

God give me the wisdom. Is it the job tomorrow

or not? It may not be the job. Oh, you know,

you can not saying no, no, just Lord, just close

all the door and open one on you. A lot

of times God said, it's not gonna do that for you. Okay,

God is gonna allow you to go through this process

called fear forming, allowing your life to have this fear

forming your life. And I'm saying, this fear is not

the fear of a goals. You know, it's the fear

of the acknowledgment there is a God. And a lot

of times it trains your patience. Sometimes you may be praying,

you may be asking, and you've got a word. You know,

you've got an impression. If you are new and young,

you will say, this is the word of God, and

this is it. God gave me this ministry and I'm

gonna starty tomorrow already. But another person will say or

maybe give you, oh, I got this dream and idea.

I want to start a new business ready immediately. It

must happen already. But then when you realize, a person

with a word, but with the fear of God will say, God,

if this is you, please confirm it with me in

my life. I'm going to take time too fast and

to pray. I'm not going to jump into it God.

If I'm married, will you speak to my spouse or

so so that she will also bear? Okay, it's very important.

This is how I do when I get a word

to do anything as well. Okay, I feel like, ah,

I'm not gonna say this is the word of God.

You obey. Okay, you can't. I try. It doesn't work here.

But I learned this from someone before. It's a very

powerful way you share with a wife and your spouse

or your husband, even if they don't agree you're sharing.

It's fine because if it's the word of the Lord,

he will bring it to pass. And I tell you

many times that before, and as I led times patter,

then my will come to me and say, hey, you

know that word you share with me? No, I don't

know why it's in my mind. You know me, You

know it makes so many stuck in me and that

I want that. It just got me thinking and then

praying about it, and then sometimes you wait for years

and months. It's not only you see the signs that

things are falling into place. She sees the fight. She

or he sees the signs falling into place as well.

And when you build it, it's blessed you know you

can't get me in right. It's very very powerful. One

and all. I'm teaching you guys, this is how God's

fat because when you get married, you are not individual.

You become an incorporate. The company makes sense. When God speaks,

it's like official, you know, like a minute thing. You

all you're both your husband and a wife. Gets it

one and no, it's amazing. You want to get me right.

That's why two become one. You get me in right.

It's amazing, you know. But God was normally speaks to

the man first because it's how Adam is how Abraham

it works. So man is responsible, but God is faithful

to promise and then to affirm to the to the

lady as well. You get me in it's very amazing.

One and all. So guy bears a responsibility, but he

cannot overwrite. The women's are also responsible to in that

as well. So it's very very powerful. You are a company.

You are incorporated one or not. And so God is

it gives you a dream to a husband. The husband

mouse so that God, if you give me a dream,

I'm going to share my wife. And if it's true,

give us both the confirmation and build it up as well.

And that's how you go about pursuing a word from God.

And another level is that when you say, oh, it's

such a big step forward, I don't know how to

go about it as well. You fast and pray and

then saying God, is there a spiritual leader who can

come and speak over you as well. Sometimes we don't

do that because we're like, hey, maybe this is the

person that you know could be a roadblock in my life.

I tell you, this is God's work. God can even

go through that person. You don't mean you cannot fear.

That is why when God gives you a word, it's

not so much about the ministry. God gives a word

to prepare the person to see whether they can handle

that word, not to fulfill that word. God will feel

f you, but can you handle it? Are you faithful

to keep the message. A lot of times people feel

feel that their life is about the ministry. No God

can raise any ministry, trust me, God can raise it.

But God is interested in raising the person. Ah, we ministers,

we figure we keep for thinking it's about the ministry. No,

it's it's the person. How we fit full to carry that,

to keep it? You know it says that that that

that's that's the very very important thing. Okay, open my

understanding to your word. Okay, so let me move on

because I want to how much time do I have? Okay,

I'm good for a time. Now, let's move on to

the next one. Now eventually after that, I will pray

for your okay, fasting for strength against temptation. Okay. When

you have understanding, you also have temptation because your mind

is a back the ground. See you're not. The one

thing that is constant in your life is the batter

ground of your mind, the moment that you know sometimes

have you have you ever felt that you may have

a very powerful prayer, you got a word from God,

But yet the next day or that very night, some

as you wake up the tree am in the morning,

or something happened. You know, you know, you know, there's

always a discouragement. There's always a distraction. There's something maybe

there is another planet you may want to follow. There's

always things that come in your life to want to

fill you up. You know. It's like it's like you

empty that tank ready, but yet another volver there's a

high pressure water wants to jet in. There's a high

pressure volve that wants to jet in to fill you

up so that you've got no room. You know, that's

how the devil does undo things in all high pressure.

Oh you want to feel, so when you stay open,

you stay continually open before God. It's very very important.

But when we say that first thing for strength, for

strength orgainst teenation is to acknowledge that the devil will

come and attack. Make sure may not miss that he will.

Okay Matthew. Matthew twenty six, verse forty one says, okay,

Jesus telling his disciples to watch and pray, think about it.

They are with Jesus, you know, they are with Jesus.

You know. If they're not with Jesus, okay, like watching prayer,

but they are with Jesus. You know most of the

time when we walk in the dark corridor of a

long hour, no lights are okay, watching pray li, but

with Jesus, you know, watching prayer, you all with Jesus,

you know, with the brightest lighter watching pray. You know

you know what that why because he's sayings that the

spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. You watch

hi pray not because about Jesus because your flesh is

so weak. Jesus can be standing before you, but your

flesh is not submitted. You know, you go, I'm saying,

you know, you see the reality that how often we

let down our gods. Okay, so we have to pray

and God pray for strength. Okay. So the key, the

key is that when you say a prayer for strength

of get temptation one things that God please open my

eyes to see as well. Sometimes you don't see. You

think it's it's a simple thing, but you don't see

what it's actually happening. You know. You know some times

you know, you know, I'm not like for example, like

when you are you get upset, or you get distracted,

or maybe you start to do certain things out of

your normal pattern of behavior. Everybody can see by you yourself,

and you realize that sometimes and this is where you

pray to God, take me back. When did this happen?

Why did it happen? And what triggered it? I tell

you some people tell me, they tell me told me this.

I started going back to this and this bad habit

because stop market hit very hard and I got depressed

and I couldn't cope, and I do this to cope

because it takes my mind out of it to hope.

Some people drink, some people smoke cigarettes, some people do

anything to feel the about there. And then you realize

when you are honest with yourself, when you track back

and you realize these are the things that triggered, they

give way and attempted you as well, and you bite it.

There's always a course one, okay, And so when you

start to realize, oh, and you see very clearly why

and it was it were coming from a place that

you couldn't cope, You couldn't hope. That's why you bite

into it. A lot of people focus on the scene,

but you have don't focused on the problem before that

you couldn't cope. You couldn't cope stop market crash, and

when stomachrocage, you realize that all your dreams and your

plans are all changing, you know. Tru oh oh no,

I made plans, you know, and you couldn't hope, you know.

And some people who couldn't cope they move away from

people as well, they alienate themselves as well. And so

it's not the it's not the sin, it's the coping mechanism.

If I don't solve that the sin will continue to flow.

So how do I go about building resilience? How I

do do I go about feeling that so that I

wouldn't go back to this again? So I did to

realize that God holds the future. Maybe I've been doing

things wrong the wrong way, So God help me to

open my eyes. And a lot of times, when God

deals with our sinner, it takes back, It takes uspect

a lot of times right now, even even back to

our younger days. Want to know, but this is another

time for another message. Okay, but this is how I'm

trying to tell you. You should ought to pray. Okay, yeah,

so pray to guard me from sin. So Lord, I'm

so you are not. I'm acquainted with my life, but

more importantly, you are more acquainted with my life. When

they say God, God is acquainted means God knows your pattern.

You know, we can see our children's pattern, our spouse pattern.

I tell you God can see your pattern more clearly

than anyone else. You know. It's like, oh my God.

Sometimes when you're driving a car, you don't have to

do it. You can see a car from behind, you

know how they're gonna drive you know they're gonna dry

this then there, and they're gonna cut as well. That's

why I'm ris scared of motorcycles. A lot of times

I see the motorcycle red light stop radio. I can't.

I don't just look at them. And this guy's going

to go through the red light. Ready. It's true enough

we rode through a red light. You get me right,

it's the path, you know what I'm talking about. It

can see from the demean You know this guy is

gonna run through the red light. Ready, you can see

it from so far away. God is so acquainted with

our lives. To day, Gods, I sing, hey, Matt, what

are you gonna do with the red light? Don't do it.

He's gonna do it, really, run through the red light ready,

so predictively. You know. God is so acquainted with our lives.

It's so good. You gotta God, our lives can't. God,

our lives strengthen our weak spirit in all help us

to stand firm, okay, and to discipline our flesh as well. Okay,

there's the disciplining part that we have to undertake as well.

Last two before I close fasting to seek uh direction

from the Lord. First earlier I said you not to

have wisdom. Now we are asking for God to give direction. Okay. Then, yeah,

you know when you read the earlier edge rutch up

to eight right when he fasted, what was one of

his requests? Okay, that you know he says that that

we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from

him the right way for us and our little ones

and all our possessions. So it's right for you to

pray after you humble yourself, to seek direction for yourself,

for your family and all your belongings as well. The gramman. Right. So,

and then the next one I said, trusting the Lord

with all your heart and lean not on your own

understanding in all your ways. Acknowledge Him and he shall

direct your paths. Okay, direct your paths. The prayer point

should be, Lord, show me your ways, Show me your ways.

Sometimes we have a way, but we say God, show

me your way. Speak clearly, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, I

invite you, But it's very hard to do that when

you have all the earlier points not cleared yet. Okay,

align me with your will. And a lot of times

you know what we you know what we pray for

and what we ask are aligns with our flesh and

it feels good. True. What's the time we prayer because

we feel the need to make the flesh feel good

that God answers and God alignes of our flesh. No, no, no, no.

The way that we ought to pray is like God,

I'm in the spirit right now. Now I understand that

this is the truth, this is the way, and this

is right. I want to follow that. And now, God,

I ask that you give me a right dream, a

good dream, a good and godly desire. And when they

have good and god desire resides in me. Now I

see which way aligns with you. You get what I mean right.

When you have a good and godly desire, you will

see which way is right. A lot of times, when

we don't have a good and godly decis, you don't

cannot tell which is right and wrong. You will take

every path one you know you got I mean right.

And so when God has filled you, you start to align.

You start to know which one is right and wrong.

Even it's like, oh, this really looks good, but it's

not all into God's wheel in your heart. It's like God,

I'm holding up because I want to honor you. First,

I want to honor you first. Okay, there was one

time I, I mean, I'll just share this that openly.

There was one time I when I when I started,

I went through a financial difficulty as well, and I

was like desperate to find any job. And then I

remember I when someone was asking amen go and considered insurance. Okay,

any insurance agency. Financial I'm not. I'm not. I'm not

putting anyone down here by sir. I just want to

make it clear. Okay, this is my story. Okay, my story.

I'm just telling you to do to share a point,

and I said, okay, why not I take up insurance course?

So I did you know? I learned? I did, and

this guy is from Clank and this is my my

agent at that time. I took it up. I did.

I went to the exam. I got number one in

that whole entire Clank valley. I got number one, and

I didn't know he told me. I came out the moment.

I came out one hour early from the exam. You

know why I'm not boasting to him. You know why

because it all came out in the past papers. So

you see, I can study, not because I'm a better agent.

I just know what the paper was on it. You

get me, right. So so one thing I can say,

one thing the industry can can improve it is changed

the exam paper. The way they the way they put

the exam is not to make a better agent. It's

just to pass the paper. You get me, right. There's

a difference you now, when you create an exem just

to pass the paper or to create a better agent.

You know, I did that. I tell you. I still

don't know much, you know, I just know what's the

right answer. It didn't make me a better agent, It's true.

That's why there are people who probably didn't do very

well are better agents than me. You get me. I'm saying,

you know, that's very important thing, very very very very

important thing you have to learn in life. Okay, I

did well because I just know how to pass it

very well. Okay. I'm just like, oh so my my

tree for the last tree for this, I just did

passive people, and I do like again and again until

I know the patterns. So when I see the first

sentence of that h this is what he's asking about.

They just changed. They just switched an A, B, C, D.

They changed their name and be sorry, it's very lazy.

It's just lazy examination. Okay, so I got it. But

then okay, that's not the me or the story. So

my agent was so happy, you know, it was so happy.

Oh man, I wanted to deduce to you our our chapter,

you know, in basic client. And then he got me

edited me in the chat group and he started adding me, oh,

you know what they send me. All the pictures are

all the top agents. Oh you're all laughing. No, they

don't do that, did they give them? They don't show

the person. They show the car. Ah, never showed the person.

The person that show the car Mercedes E class Lah.

This guy went to TOKYOA. This guy's called so much

moved your new addresser and Bangsan, you get me a right.

They show all these things, you know, top winners, and

I want to go you into what they do. They

feel you with dreams, You get me in right, they

feel you with dreams, you get me right. So let's

say they're like, oh I think I did so where

my people. I think I can googles that time. I

want a ministry. I got will blessed me that you know,

I accrude so much good will. We got already you

know all this stuff, right, just think you know, no,

I keep the receipts to ask you, you know, all

these very vain things that you think about. Okay. Then

I thought about it for a while. I'm honestly, I

didn't tell pastor. I just like, my tis my side hustle.

You know, mine's mine is yours, it's yours, you know,

So like, yeah, I told my wife. My mom was like, okay,

if you you better pray about it. Then I was like, oh, okay.

Then one day, you know, before I entered the chapter,

I thought about it for a while, and I I

remember directly, I met with a guy for a while

and I said that, thank you so much, but I

can't why you you you have so much contact if

you measure you do it because so much people can

do and cone and people trust you and stuff. Yeah,

I know, and I probably thank you for believing in me.

But I cannot trade for me my calling. I'm not

saying for my calling. God has given me a calling

to preach. I cannot imagine when I'm counseling and teaching

someone else. Hey, by the way, you need insurance. I cannot.

I cannot in every scenario. I cannot imagine it. I

cannot because if I do that, it's not wrong, but

it waters down what God has given me. It's not wrong,

it's not about right and wrong. You can't. I have

the right to do it, and I can tell you.

I can preach to my head that what is why

I did? What's right? You can mean, I can. It's

so at this point of your life, you no longer

are giving what it's right and wrong. You don't always

raise your kids to tell them what I'm wrong, wanting not.

But it's about when you grow older, when you become

a teen, and what is the wise thing to do?

You don't tell that right right, They've already grown up

ready by this stage of my life. It's like, God,

what what what? What? What? What? What is when you do this?

How it impacts everything else? You? Your family? The platform

given me? And when I do and I have to

be very honest with myself. Is it really a step

of faith? Some people say, hey, you do it, it's

a step of faith, or you believe in God. No. Actually,

for me, the right way to see it and to

rightly divide God's way in this man is to step

away and believe by faith, God will provide. There's the

right godly faith and there's the wrong godly faith. We

must understand and it comes from beginning. That's one thing,

the fear of God in your life. It begins with

the fear of God. I tell you nothing else. The

fear of God is the thing that saved me again

and again and again. You must fear God. I don't

feel men. What people you see you can go into.

I don't care what people think. And but you say

that I can continue doing what I want. But at

the end of the day, and God said, God, mad

I gave you this platform, What did you do with it?

Am I been faithful? It's like for me, I'm like filtered,

you know, like watering down. If I have a day job,

I'm watering it down by doing another job as well.

I'm not saying you cannot have a second job. Do

it after your work life. You're going to do it, Okay,

do you have to work, but not during the hour

you mean, right, I'm watering down my employer's steward shoe, Okay,

watering down what God has given to me as well.

My job is to keep it pure and to walk

by it. By faith. You know what I'm saying. No,

so then you really know how to rightly divide God's

word in your life. Makes sense? Okay, yeah, don't call

for me for insurance. Okay, I know nuts about insurance.

I know zero. They are better agents than me. Okay,

all right? Got the last one. Okay, all right? And

the last one after you ask for direction is the

way to respond. There are many other prayers. I stop

there for now. I know there are needs there, but

I'm just stopping here because of the time fasting to

hear and to respond to God's calling into ministry. A

lot of times when you get to this point, you

think you know what you want, but if you really

humble yourself, you might hear a different message. You might

hear a different direction. But at this point, I hope

that God has been faithfully putting faith in your life

to hear and to respond. That's what I'm saying, to

hear and to respond. You see, in my life, for

a while, I was dreaming like how to make ends me?

And I was taking all the fleshly things in the

world to make sense, like what is the practical and

you know, things I can do by you know, legally

by right. You know I can do by right. But

there's a come a point in your life when you

like say, hey God, I have to put it aside

and to be really open God what you want to say,

it could be some of us. It is a very

scary part because it could be a door that you

never want God to open, because it would ask you

to give up a lot. You know what I'm saying.

It's scary is the part that's cary because it will

require to give up a lot. But God's faith comes

in faith comes in his kindness, his mercy, his goodness

comes into your life and teaches you, have I ever

failed you? Have I ever short changed you? Have I

ever you know, left abandoned you. I'm not going to

show you what's ahead, but I'm going to tell you

all before this. I've always been good. I've always been good.

And you you know, the only thing that you know,

the only the only thing that we can respond to

God ever please seem is faith. You know, it's really

really nothing else by faith. The only thing that pleases

God is by faith. Only you get me right and

when you and when you and he says there X

Chapter thirteen, Verse too you know, the church says that.

And the minister to the Law and the Holy Spirit said,

now separate to me, barnabas. And so for the world

to which I've called them, that God has called the

church to give up there two and the pioneers and

you know best preachers said, you know, to give it up.

You know, a church there was never planning in a way,

but was planted. Okay, But to give it up as well.

But when they hear, when you hear God, you realize

that you have the capacity to give us what your

treasure the most of the time. It's very hard, very hard,

but it's a beautiful thing. As long when you hear

clearly you have to God will give you the capacity

to sometimes give up what you treasure the most as

well by faith. Okay. And then your chapter ten on

Street said, I ain't no pleasant food, no me. No

wine came out into no wine came into my mouth.

No I did no, did I annoy myself at all

till three whole weeks were fulfilled? What did you do?

It's fast thing to hear the world of God, fast

thing to really for God's will to be done more

than anything else. Okay, we hope.

You've been blessed by this message. For more information on

our church, please visit as church do o RG. We

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

this week is going to be a good week, a

hit for you. God bless