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COMING EVENT: |
2012
THE YEAR OF
GREATER GLORY |
New Year's Eve Service.
31st December 2011
Time: 9pm - 12.30am
Don't be left behind
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342 Oldham Rd (corner Naylor ST), M40 7NS, Manchester
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Tel: 07916079757 |
| 07727209347 |
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| What does your Bible say about fasting? |
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| The "key" of fasting to receive God's authority in His kingdom. The Lord said ‘He would give us the keys to the kingdom. What did he mean by that statement? Keys to the kingdom are actually keys of authority. |
| Matthew 16:19, ‘and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’ |
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| Key of Authority:. |
| When Jesus becomes our Lord, we are automatically transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. In Colossians 1vs 12-13 says, ‘giving thanks unto the father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son.’Now that we have a new king and live in a new kingdom, we must understand "kingdom principles" to be victorious christians. We cannot overcome until we have the keys that unlock the kingdom of heaven. The Lord never meant for us to wait until we die to experience heaven but purposed for us to bring heaven to the earth through the power of his Spirit. ‘Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom’(Luke12:32). We are unable to receive God's healing, provision and blessing if we do not know the keys the Lord has given us to accomplish kingdom living. Keys represent authority in the Kingdom of God, and authority is gained by using them. Fasting is one of the keys to the kingdom. |
| The key of fasting has nearly been lost to the modern church. It is also one that some say was only for early day Christians. Looking closely at the word of God, we find that the Lord never did away with the principle of fasting, but it has been man who has attempted to make it obsolete. Fasting is still a valid key that can be used today to bring us into kingdom living. What is fasting? It is another means by which we can suffer for the Lord, through the voluntary abstinence from eating. Biblical fasting is done to bring spiritual results and is not simply for physical purposes. Obeying spiritual principles can produce positive physical results, but they are added blessings. The Lord tells us in Matthew 6:16-18that when we fast, we are to do it unto the Lord. |
| ‘Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy father which is in secret, and thy father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.’ We can see that our motives in fasting must be pure. We are not to do it in order to broadcast it, but we are to do it as quietly and simply as possible so as not to attract attention to ourselves. We are to appear to others as though we are not fasting. There are exceptions, such as when we are fasting as a group for a specific thing. Then it must be announced so that others can take part. We find this in Joel 1:14, ‘Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord.’The main thing the Lord desires is that it be done unto him and not as a show unto men. Our heart attitude must be right to produce spiritual results. |
| Jesus, by fasting, set an example that we must follow in his steps. Matthew 4:1-4, ‘Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ |
| Upon Saul's conversion in Acts 9:9, he immediately went on an absolute fast for three days, having neither food nor water. |
| Exodus 34:28, ‘And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water….’ We can see that because Moses was in the literal presence of the Lord, it was that presence that sustained him so he neither needed food nor water. |
| The Lord did not set up any specific duration that we are to fast, but from his teachings, we see that he did expect us to fast. |
| Luke 5:34-35, ‘And he said unto them, can ye make the children of the bride chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.’ |
| Fasting can be done one day, one month or for however long God leads. It depends on how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. Shorter fasts are easier to endure until we have matured spiritually. A three day fast is most beneficial as a spiritual cleansing. An example of this is Paul's being thrust into his fast upon conversion. After the three days of cleansing, he received the Holy Spirit and his eyesight when Ananias laid hands on him (Acts 9:17-18). We also can be spiritually cleansed by fasting so that we receive more of the Lord's Spirit and have our spiritual eyes opened to new dimensions. |
| We receive spiritual cleansing and our spiritual eyes are opened, and we also obtain victory over the devil when we fast. When Jesus encountered Satan, he was able to overcome him because his fasting had given him spiritual strength. Isaiah 58:6 also gives us light on this purpose of fasting:‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?’ Many people believe that fasting is to move the hand of God, when in actuality it is to make Satan turn loose of the things he is holding. |
| Fasting looses the bands of wickedness. When Jesus discussed the keys to the kingdom, he told us to bind and loose. When we fast, we loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, set the oppressed free, and break every yoke of the enemy. Fasting is an important key to getting the victory over hard situations that do not seem to respond to normal prayer. |
| Fasting builds our faith. In fact, this is what Jesus meant when he spoke to the disciples in Matthew 17:21 in answer to why they were not able to cast a demon out of a child. He said, ‘Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ He was telling them if they wanted their faith to be at such a level as to be able to cast out demons, then they must fast and pray for their faith to increase. |
| Fasting also makes it easier for us to hear the voice of the Lord. We find an account of this in Acts 13:2-3: |
| ‘As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.’ |
| While fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke to them and gave them direction. We too can be directed by the Lord if we seek him through prayer and fasting. |
| Fasting and mourning are closely associated in the Bible. Two examples of this are found in Ezra and Nehemiah. |
| Ezra 10:6, ‘Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib, and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away." Nehemiah 1:4, ‘And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.’ |
| From these Scriptures, we see that fasting and travail (a prayer burden from the Lord that brings crying and tears) were combined. Both of these men were fasting for the repentance of God's people. How we need this same kind of intercession today. Here were men so burdened for the sins of their people that they fasted, travailed and prayed. |
| Fasting is another form of afflicting our soul. (Isaiah 58:3, ‘Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?...") By afflicting our soul, we say to our flesh, ‘flesh, you are demanding to eat, but Christ is stronger than the desires of my soul. My spirit shall rule my soul, and my soul shall not have dominion over me.’ Numerous individuals today are in bondage to their appetites because they have never denied themselves anything. The Lord wants us to be ruled by the Spirit, not by the flesh. Fasting brings the flesh unto subjection of the Spirit.(Matthew 4:4, ‘But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’) |
| Fasting is also a way we can minister unto the Lord. We read in Acts13:2 that they ministered unto the Lord and fasted. It is a way we can offer the time we generally spend in eating as unto the Lord in prayer. As we spend this time with him, it causes things to happen in the Spirit. We do not understand this principle any more than other mysteries in the Bible, but we find that by applying it we get results. There are many things we don't understand with our natural mind, but we receive them by faith because the word of God says they are true. If God's word says it, that settles it. |
| Daniel 10:2-3, "In those days I, Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks werefulfilled’. Daniel went on a three-week fast, restricting his diet of all pleasant food, meat and wine. It was during this time that he had a visitation from an angel. Fasting always suppresses the flesh and heightens our spiritual sensitivity. Generally speaking, we hear the Lord's voice more easily while fasting. |
| We should not eat out of habit or tradition, but rather that we might glorify Christ in our bodies. (I Corinthians 10:31, ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’) |
| Fasting sometimes comes spontaneously. Often if people are grieving they lose their appetites and unconsciously fast. That is why mourning and fasting are mentioned together in the Bible. |
| Does fasting move the hand of God? No. If we believe that God withholds from us and we have to fight to get Him to bless us, then we have a wrong conception of the Lord. Isaiah 58:6 indicates that fasting is not to move the hand of the Lord, but it is to make Satan turn loose of what he is holding back that rightfully belongs to us. Jesus died so we could have the blessings. They belong to us as his children. |
| We need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as to when fasting is needed. |
| We need also to check our motives when we fast. If they are selfish, our fast will not be accepted by the Lord. We see this in Jeremiah 14:10 and 12, ‘Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them, but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.’We cannot fast and have evil, unrepented sin or selfishness in our lives and expect God to answer our prayers. Many times we don't even recognize selfish prayers. When we pray for our loved ones to be saved or delivered, and our motive is to only bring relief to ourselves instead of being concerned that they receive the peace and joy of Jesus, we are wrong. Let us examine our hearts when we seek God for anything. |
| Isaiah 58 is the great fasting chapter. Here we read how this key can break the bonds of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens and bring healing. It frees the oppressed and the depressed. It breaks every yoke. Some people are yoked to bad habits in this world, and fasting can break those yokes so they can be free to enter into the kingdom of God. |
| Isaiah 58:7 also says, ‘Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?’ Fasting makes it possible for us not only to give ‘spiritual bread’to those that are hungry, but also releases our finances so that we can give ‘natural bread’ to the poor and needy. The Lord wants us to have abundance so we can be a blessing to others. He will bring the poor to our houses to be fed. He wants us to be able to minister to others. He will give us a ministry and cause people to be drawn to our doorstep by the Holy Spirit for counsel and prayer. |
| Verse 7 continues, ‘when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him.’ We are to cover others' sin through fasting and prayers of mercy. We are to ask God to forgive them and give them another chance. If we were stripped naked right now and our lives were bared before the world, every one of us would be ashamed and embarrassed about our past sins. None of us could stand. All of us would fall down naked, exposed and humiliated. However, we do not have to suffer this because Jesus paid the price for our sins and washed those things away. Praise God! They are not there anymore; God does not remember them, and neither should we.(Hebrews 10:17, ‘And their sinsand iniquities will I remember no more.’) We need to pray for others to be released from the burden of sin that is upon their lives. |
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