This is “The Problem Solving Ezra Fast.” Do you believe in the power of prayer and fasting? Ezra did. He believed fasting could bring protection on himself, his children, and all of their processions. In this message with Jentezen Franklin, hear how God gave Ezra a step-by-step solution to his crisis. Let 2020 be the year God opens your eyes to His divine solution through prayer and fasting!
the following program is sponsored by
friends and partners
of kingdom connection
each year thousands of rockets are fired
into cities neighborhoods and schools
across
israel in eshkol an area immediately
next to the gaza strip
when the sirens sound families children
and elderly alike
have just 15 seconds to take cover in
bomb shelters
the trauma of terror ripples through all
generations
from holocaust survivors to the very
youngest of children
but it’s because of friends and
connection partners just like you that
we’ve been able to break ground on the
eshko fortified trauma center and play
school
here the brave families who live in this
combat zone will have a safe place to
build community strengthen resiliency
and receive the counseling services they
so desperately need
give god your first and best as you
begin the new year by sowing a first
fruits offering
when you do you’ll be one of the first
to receive jensen franklin’s new book
acres of diamonds for your first fruits
offering of 50
or more we want to give you the acres of
diamonds kit including an exclusive
pre-order of jensen franklin’s new book
with your first fruits offering of 300
or more you’ll receive the acres of
diamonds kit
and will also include jensen franklin’s
legacy bible as well as an olive wood
flask and anointing oil from the holy
land
as a special thank you for your first
fruits offering of 1 000
or more this month you’ll receive the
acres of diamonds collection
including the special edition legacy
bible your name inscribed on the comfort
my people wall of recognition in israel
as well as a one-of-a-kind commemorative
art piece designed and created in
jerusalem
representing the hope of the children in
israel as we provide safe shelter
join us in blessing the nation of israel
and watch god bless your life
for the generosity and love you have
shown to his chosen people
visit us online today
[Music]
welcome to a very special edition of
kingdom connection i’m coming to you
from the city of jerusalem
i’m going to be teaching today on
fasting so get your bibles out get a
notepad out
you may be wondering where in the world
are you as you can see there’s a very
old
tree stump the base of an old tree one
of the oldest trees the
the oldest pine tree in the city of
jerusalem
once stood here and this is the trunk of
it this is the
um this is the stump of it that is left
in 1998
it uh broke and
according to the legends of jerusalem
there’s a book
called the legends of jerusalem it is
the oral tradition that has been
passed down from generation to
generation
that it was at this very spot
ezra the prophet rewrote
the torah the five books of the old
testament after babylonian captivity he
took a pen we know he did this
and the question is where did he do it
and according to tradition
he did it under this tree
setting by this tree he wrote for the
people of israel the law the five
books of the torah and passed it to a
new generation
when he read it by the way the bible
said that the people were so
in awe of having the word of god
back after being in babylonian captivity
that they
stood and one of the traditions in some
of the traditional
churches to this day is when the bible
is read
people stand up i preached in churches
where people automatically stand up at
the reading of the word that
came from the teaching in the book of
ezra where it said that he taught
all day and read the word
or the torah and the people stood so i
want to talk to you today about an
amazing passage concerning fasting
found in ezra chapter 8. before i do i
i heard this amazing story and looked it
up and it was true
and i want to give it to you in mount
vernon texas
drummond’s bar began construction
of the expansion of their bar to
increase business
the local baptist church started a
campaign to block
the bar from expanding
and being able to have a bigger party
basically
the church decided not only to have a
petition against the expansion of the
bar
in their community but they began to
fast and pray
and as work progressed it didn’t stop it
seemingly the fasting in prayer didn’t
work and right up to the week
of of ground opening
the grand opening they were fasting and
praying
and the week that it was to have the
grand opening
lightning struck struck it and burned it
to the ground now this is a
true story after the bar burned to the
ground
due to the lightning strike the church
folks began to get a little
braggadocious i guess you’d say and smug
about
the fact that their prayers and fasting
had
burned down the bar and they were kind
of saying that all over the community
they were talking about the power of
their prayer and fasting
and so the bar owner got upset about it
and sued the church on the grounds that
the church was quote
ultimately responsible for the demise of
this building either through
direct or indirect means well in reply
to this lawsuit the church denied
all responsibility and any connection
to the building’s demise so the judge
ran through the accuser’s
complaint he ran through the church’s
defense
and he called the two together in the
courtroom and this is a true story i
looked it up
and he said well i don’t know what i’m
going to do
with this case it appears from the
paperwork
we have a bar owner who believes in the
power of fasting and prayer
and we have an entire congregation of a
church who does not
so i don’t know about you but i want to
proclaim
to a new generation that i still believe
in the power of fasting and prayer
the muslims believe in fasting and
prayer the buddhists believe in fasting
and prayer
i wonder if there are any christians who
still believe in fasting and prayer
are there any congregations in any
churches who still believe
in fasting and prayer any pastors any
laity
any businessmen any moms any dads who
still believe
in the power of fasting and prayer jesus
fasted
moses fasted elijah fasted esther fasted
daniel fasted
peter fasted paul fasted nehemiah fasted
john the baptist fasted jehoshaphat
fasted
maybe it’s time for you to decree
in 2020 god opened my eyes and show me
things i’ve never seen
through fasting and prayer that brings
me back to the book of ezra
it says in the book of ezra chapter 8
and verse 21
therefore i proclaim the fast there at
the river hava
i humbled our we humbled ourselves
before god to seek him in the right way
for
us for our little ones our children and
all of our possessions
and the hand of god was upon all those
for good who seek him
and his power and his wrath is against
those who forsake him so
we fasted and we entreated our god for
this
and he answered our
prayer so ezra as i mentioned at the
head in the beginning of this
telecast the oral tradition is
that he wrote the torah after babylonian
captivity right by this tree that i’m
standing by
and so it’s a pretty amazing thing when
you understand
the power of that ezra fast i want to
talk about it for just a moment
you see ezra was faced with a great
great challenge
and that’s why he called the people to a
season of fasting and prayer
he had a great problem he had a great
crisis and challenge are you facing a
great problem
a great challenge a great crisis and you
can’t fix it and you don’t have the
solution to
this is when the bible teaches us we
should seek god in fasting
and every year we do a 21 day fast and
there are tens of thousands of people
who are joining us maybe hundreds of
thousands we have had up to a million
people come
to us during this month of fasting and
prayer
and i believe that if you will fast and
pray god will move
like he did for ezra so when he was
facing this great
problem this tremendous challenge
ezra let me tell you what it was it was
a financial crisis for
for him in a way in a good way ezra had
7 500 pounds of gold
he had 25 tons of silver
and there were thieves and robber
robbers who were
all along the path that he had to take
these great resources to imagine
7500 pounds of gold 25
tons of silver and he knew that he was
going to be
robbed if god didn’t help him and the
bible said he needed protection
he needed god’s protection to do what
god had called him to do is taking the
money back to rebuild the temple
and the resource is to rebuild the
temple but he was faced with a
significant problem that’s what i heard
the lord say
he said i’m on a deal in 2020 with
significant
problems that people these are not small
issues this is
these are big issues and listen to what
ezra 8 and 23 said
so we fasted and you know what the bible
said
god gave israel the solution
he told them exactly what to do he told
them exactly where to go
he told them exactly how to do it he
went into detail
into how to carry it how to disguise it
how to hide it from those who would
try to steal it when you fast and you
pray god will give
solutions to problems that you can’t fix
and you can’t handle and
the scripture said that god gave him as
he fasted and prayed
a divine solution step by step
god gave him the solution i really want
to say that again
step by step and i’m telling you what
happens when we fast and we pray
is god orders our steps god begins to
direct our path
i i’m standing somewhere today that i
had no idea
i would be standing but i’ve been
fasting and praying for
many many decades these 21-day fast i’ve
done
every year for so many and i’m amazed
that when i look back over my life at
how god
step by step directed me
and gave me the the the step-by-step
solutions to the crisis and the problems
that we face i like what ezra said he
said
god we’re fasting and listen to this
wording he said
to seek the right way for us is not a
great thing to be fasting for
you and your family to say god we’re
fasting and praying to seek the right
way for us
lord i do i do speak that over our lives
over this ministry
that that i want to i want to fast and
pray on this fast of 2020
that god would show us the right way
for us man what a word what a
what if what a prayer to pray what a
purpose to fast for
god and then he said not only for us
listen to this
but for our children
when we fast it affects our children
when we fast and pray it affects our
sons
and our daughters and our grandchildren
that god would give
them the right
way for us not just me but for my family
for my church for your business
the wisdom that you need step-by-step
solutions
this is absolutely biblical and right
out of the bible
the direct results of ezra’s fast
was god gave him step by step solutions
and direction for him not only him but
watch
for his little ones or his children and
his grandchildren
and then he said and for our resources
the resources the provision of god comes
into our life
2020 shall be a blessed prosperous year
because you’re
beginning it seeking god in fasting and
prayer
the problem solving ezra
fast have you got problems you can’t
solve
that’s really the reason he went on a
fast god says decree the problem
solving ezra fast step by step
solutions will come when you fast and
you pray
no attempt
to to escape problems will work i’m not
i’m not trying to get away from the
problem
but what you do when you fast and you
pray this is so important
is you enlist the holy spirit’s aid in
tackling the problems
i’m not trying to get out of the
problems i’m saying god give me your
solutions to the problems and give me
the holy spirit’s enlistment
and aid in tackling them
major problems major challenges
if you got major challenges in your
marriage major challenges
with a new job major challenges
with friction in the business
maybe you’re you know a church trying to
buy land
and you’re facing zoning issues and
relocating
building program these are the times
when we
invoke the power of god into
our fast you see the problem and here’s
the key here’s what i wanted to get to
when you fast and you pray it’s not that
the problem goes away but you see the
problem through god’s eyes
that’s what we’re saying open my eyes
lord i’m looking at the same problem
like ezra was had a
real threat and problem but when he
fasted and he prayed he saw through
god’s eyes the solution step by step
to doing what god had called him to do
and when you fast on this fast
the lord is going to cause you to see
the problem through
through his eyes and he’s going to give
you those step-by-step
instructions and directions inviting god
into your problem that’s the ezra fast
and then the bible said god granted him
his request i love that phrase it said
and the hand of god
came upon us mightily oh praise the lord
that’s happening
when i think about fasting i think about
what leonard
ravenhill said leonard ravenhill said
this
he said the modern church has moved
a long way from the early church the
early church
had its upper room with fire the modern
church
has his supper room with smoke
sometimes you need to just decree a fast
if you’re tired of smoke
if you’re tired of a form of religion
but no
power no fire no substance
it’s time to declare a fast when i think
about
fasting in history in the early church
mighty men of god were used after they
fasted
john wesley the founder of the methodist
church said these words
when you seek god with fasting added to
prayer
you cannot seek his face in vain wow
when you seek god with fasting
added with your prayer you cannot seek
his face in vain in other words
he’s going to answer you he’s going to
move
in your life john calvin fasted and
prayed and it’s a historical fact
that the whole town of geneva
almost completely turned to god
when the man began to fast and pray and
proclaim the gospel
jonathan edwards fasted for 24 hours
before he preached sinners in the hands
of an angry god
and he read the sermon word for word and
it shook a continent
and it brought revival to the world
charles finney
who was a converted attorney said when
he
detected a lack of the holy spirit
he would set aside days of fasting and
prayer for the anointing
and it would always come martin luther
the protestant reformation
revivalist said these words that he
fasted
and prayed and god gave him the words to
preach
so i’m saying to you that fasting
strengthens
our faith fasting strengthens our
fervency
and in closing today i want to pray for
you
i want to encourage you to join us on
these 21 days of fasting and prayer
if you just joined the telecast i told
at the beginning of this telecast that
according to legends there’s a book
called the legends of jerusalem
and oral traditions that have been
passed down for generations
that ezra wrote the torah beside this
tree
i don’t know if he did i don’t know if
he didn’t nobody really does
but what he wrote in ezra chapter 8 is
remarkable he said we fasted
and we prayed for us for our children
and for our provisions to be kept from
robbers
and god granted us our request and his
hand came on us heavily can i pray for
you today can i pray for your family
can i pray for your little ones i love
the wording of that he used
the words little ones we’re fasting and
praying
i am not just for me now but for my
children
my five children my four grandchildren
may the hand of the lord be on them and
on your house
father i just pray today that as we’re
fasting and as we’re praying
the same god that moved on ezra’s behalf
for safety for protection for
step-by-step solutions to great
challenges
i thank you that you’re going to move
your hand
upon our families your hand upon our
house
your hand upon our children our little
ones
and thank you father for the provision
that’s needed for a brand new year
we look to you as our source and we
thank you
in jesus name i pray i want to
ask you something do you want to start
this year off with a change
ask jesus christ into your heart today
this year doesn’t have to be like last
year what a difference he makes
he transforms your life when he comes in
so just say jesus i receive you forgive
me
cleanse me help me bless me in a new
year
and if you call on that name there’s
power in that name
and ask him if just say lord if you’re
real show me
if you’re real show me he likes a
challenge
he’s that kind of god i know he did for
me it changed my life
and i believe this year god’s going to
open your eyes
to things you’ve never seen before
that’s what we’re believing in the year
of 2020
god will open your eyes there’s a number
on the screen if you need prayer
we’d love to pray for you and also
if you want more material my announcer
is going to tell you about that
we’re doing some amazing things here in
this in the nation of jerusalem
and i can’t wait for you to see we need
your help pray about
what you can do to help us complete the
trauma center that we’re building
on the gaza strip in esco we’re so
excited about what god is doing and you
can be a part
of this miracle here’s my announcer to
tell you more
each year thousands of rockets are fired
into cities neighborhoods and schools
across
israel in eshkol an area immediately
next to the gaza strip
when the sirens sound families children
and elderly alike
have just 15 seconds to take cover in
bomb shelters
the trauma of terror ripples through all
generations
from holocaust survivors to the very
youngest of children
but it’s because of friends and
connection partners just like you that
we’ve been able to break ground on the
eshko fortified trauma center and play
school
here the brave families who live in this
combat zone will have a safe place to
build community
strengthen resiliency and receive the
counseling services they so desperately
need
give god your first and best as you
begin the new year by sowing a first
fruits offering
when you do you’ll be one of the first
to receive jensen franklin’s new book
acres of diamonds for your first fruits
offering of 50
or more we want to give you the acres of
diamonds kit including an exclusive
pre-order of jensen franklin’s new book
with your first fruits offering of 300
or more you’ll receive the acres of
diamonds kit
and will also include jensen franklin’s
legacy bible as well as an olive wood
flask and anointing oil from the holy
land
as a special thank you for your first
fruits offering of 1 000
or more this month you’ll receive the
acres of diamonds collection
including the special edition legacy
bible your name inscribed on the comfort
my people wall of recognition in israel
as well as a one-of-a-kind commemorative
art piece designed and created in
jerusalem
representing the hope of the children in
israel as we provide safe shelter
join us in blessing the nation of israel
and watch god bless your life
for the generosity and love you have
shown to his chosen people
visit us online today
my name is katrina and i was born in
ukraine
and my family immigrated from ukraine
when i was
three years old when i was really young
i you know started making some really
big goals in my life and was like okay
like if
these are the opportunities that i have
that i’m going to work really hard and
i’m going to be able to
you know get that american dream i think
i was
probably in middle school when i decided
i wanted to be an attorney i think a lot
of immigrants can relate like
there’s there’s like a thing where it’s
like be a doctor a lawyer
and like i don’t do blood so i was like
okay
let me do this and i sort of set like a
plan for my life
i got into an environment where i was
able to see what that line of work was
about
i was like wow this is what this is you
know like there’s no way i can do this
for the rest of my life
that was such a like big blow for me
because it was like
like imagine like working from middle
school to like
i mean i was 22 by the time i realized
whoa
this is not for me i didn’t know what to
do with myself because i was
i just became so like just overwhelmed
with
like what in my mind i was like like i’m
a failure you know
um then i got into a relationship that
just like fell apart and was really
hurtful i’m not sure if maybe just one
of those things
i could have just like rolled out of
that and been like i’m good you know but
um it just it was just like one thing on
top of the other on top of the other and
then
i just like i buckled under the weight
of all that i know that i was angry with
god at some point
and i started to think like well that’s
it like god it kind of
he’s done with me i started to have
thoughts of
like taking my own life and i just felt
really
ashamed of that you know because you
know as a christian person
that’s not supposed to be going through
my head you know that night i called my
mom
and i was like mom if you don’t if you
don’t do something
you’re gonna find me and i’m gonna be
gone you know
she started praying so hard i mean she
was calling all of heaven down into that
room you know
and um so one morning i woke up
and i remember that it was a monday
morning and i’m like
what is wrong with me something just
felt really different
and i was like whoa wait a second god
did something
the weight lifted i mean i felt like i
feel like a new person
i know now that what my mom and my
grandparents did
is they they stood in the gap for me
after she heard what i was going through
she had decided that she’s going to
start fasting for me every monday you
know and she
she called my grandparents and they
they went to battle for me because i
couldn’t
and i think that the way that god kind
of
put everything together for me to find
out because i wouldn’t have never known
that that’s what they were doing for me
is because he wanted me to specifically
know
the power that fasting and prayer has
because that is essentially what freed
me from
that depression from that heaviness and
now god has
led me to join choir i went through srd
which was such a blessing um i recently
got a new job
i definitely see his hand in things and
it has always been through his leading i
believe
with everything inside of me that if my
grandparents and my mom had not done
what they did if they had not
you know resolved to fast and pray for
me
i don’t believe i’d be here today i
believe that
what they did brought deliverance
charisse and i want to invite you to
join us on our holy land tour it’s an
amazing trip
unlike anything you’ve ever experienced
and we’ll be on the trip we get on the
buses our family will be on there and i
promise you
it will change your life 2020 is the
year to go
you’ve been thinking about it you’ve
been praying about it this is the year
to go
2020. god’s gonna open your eyes to
things you’ve never seen
and experienced before in the holy land
get signed up today
this program has been sponsored by
friends and partners
of kingdom connection we hope you’ve
enjoyed this teaching by jensen franklin
and thank you for your continued support
of this ministry
your prayers and financial support make
these programs possible
for more information about this message
and other ministry resources
visit us online at jensenfranklin.org