This is “Fasting – Answers Are Waiting in His Presence”. In this message, Jentezen Franklin teaches how fasting ushers you into God’s presence and brings the answers you’ve been seeking.
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the following program is sponsored by friends and partners of Kingdom connection it is not outrageous to say God I so want you to order my steps in a new year I want to see God breakthrough and bless me in finances like I’ve never seen so I can in return be a blessing that is the kind of prayer God will honor and he says what you do in secret I will release I can’t keep it secret and because of your private discipline I will release public rewards [Music] don’t want you to look with me in Matthew chapter 6 for just a few moments in verse 1 he talks about charitable giving and I’m just gonna sum it up and he says you’ll get no reward if you do it to be seen of people and he said in verse 4 and when you give your charitable deed let it be in secret and your father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly will himself reward you openly then in verse 5 when you pray don’t be like hypocrites standing on the corner of the street praying out loud so people to see you but he says but when you pray verse 6 enter into your room where you have shut your door in private pray to your father who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret what you do listen will reward you openly and he said when you fast don’t fast to be seen of men notice this now and go around and disfigure your face as though you appear to be fasting assuredly I say to you you have your reward but when you fast anoint your head and wash your face and and take asserts – they men and get some mouthwash I’ll throw that in there so that you do not appear to men to be fasting but listen to your father who in the secret place and he will reward you openly I’m telling you today that we serve a God who sees what we do in secret and he says I can’t keep its secret God can’t keep secrets and he says what you do in the secret place in private discipline is going to release public rewards if you seek me privately in prayer in reading the word it’s just me and you and I see it nobody else sees it but me and you I see you pushing away from that table I see you fasting and you’re not doing it to be seen the people you’re doing it because you really do want to know me more you really do want to be awakened again you really do want to feel my touch on your life again because there’s more to life than making money there’s more to life than raising a family there’s more to life than just living Christianity is not Church christianity is not conduct christianity after all is not a checklist of biblical rules christianity is a relationship with jesus christ and if you don’t have that you don’t have anything and so he concludes this magnificent chapter that i don’t have time to go into every part of it because he keeps saying three times don’t worry don’t worry after you fast after you pray after you give don’t worry take no thought of tomorrow don’t worry don’t worry and then he concludes I believe it’s the 33rd verse but seek first the kingdom of God that’s why we fast in a new year and he says when you seek me first when you put me at the beginning at the first of your year then get ready because I’m going to see to it because I’ve seen what you’ve done early you saw me first at the beginning of a new year and I’m going to see to it get ready for things to be added unto you over and over and over and over and over there was an American Indian tribe Native American Indian tribe that that had a rite of passage for the young men who were about to become warriors that wanted to fight with the other warriors and the test that they had to pass for rite of passage to have the the privilege of fighting beside the Warriors was the chief said you’ve got to climb that mountain and it was a very steep mountain very hard very grueling to challenge and many of them got halfway and gave up some of them claimed to go to the top but they really didn’t do it and the way that the chief knew whether or not they made it to the top he would bring them in individually and he’d say what did you see when you got to the top and that was the one if they had the right answer that he knew made it to the summit and he said the one with the right answer I saw something I’ve never seen before I saw the sea I saw the ocean and that’s what fasting is it’s like climbing a mountain it gets very very difficult your mind will tell you even well-meaning friends and family will try to talk you out of it your own mind will tell you it’s not necessary this is extreme you need to eat but I’m saying to you that it is not outrageous for you for a season to say god I so want you to order my steps in a new year I so want you to pronounce blessings on my family and all my children and all my children’s children I want to leave a legacy of something that will outlive me that will bring glory to your name I want to see Souls saved in my church I want to see God breakthrough and bless me in finances like I’ve never seen so I can in return be a blessing that is the kind of prayer God will honor and he says what you do in secret I will release I can’t keep it secret and because of your private dis I will release public rewards everybody will see it Jesus fasted for 40 days in private in secret nobody was in the wilderness but him and God and the devil three people see it when you fast God you and the devil and the devil came to him and said if you are the son of God if you are who you say you are attacking his identity and Jesus said it is written it is written it is written I know who I am and this battle in secret was won when Jesus said it is written three times Satan said if you are the son of God three times he said it is written and the Bible said and Jesus after the fast returned in the power of the Spirit he’s not turning brick stone into bread he’s not jumping off of the wall and being rescued by angels he’s not having the kingdoms of the world becoming his own Kingdom nothing is happening except he returns from the fast in the power of the Holy Spirit you can return to a new year to an it to your job to your company in the power of the Holy Spirit for a new year we’ve seen what you can do congratulations you’ve done good but you’ve never seen the things that God wants to show you at the top of this summit fasting Mountain things you’ve never seen things you’ve never imagined things you’ve never thought of God has up there and he says answers are waiting in my presence at the top of the summit of the fasting mountain who will come on up higher who will turn the flesh off and say I’m coming after you God with all of my heart that’s what fasting is when our eyes are dry our souls are dry but he said in joy to come to me with fasting and weeping get broken again you remember when I used to touch you you remember when my presence used to come on you and it was it made you so sensitive and it made you so alive I want to do that again in your life and it’ll happen when you fast and when you pray write down your reasons for fasting and when you’re tempted to quit ask yourself what David said in 1st Samuel 17 is there not a cause I’m fighting this Goliath of King stomach and the flesh but there’s a calls to my fast there’s a plan of why I’m fasting and write down what you’re fasting for why am i fasting is there not a calls when when when the flesh says just forget it what’s it what’s the use everything went bad you fasted all hell broke loose on the job nothing Goods happening the phone’s not ringing that’s how it goes the miracle doesn’t come while you’re fasting it usually comes after the fast you have to win in secret and God releases the reward publicly and many of the battles will be in your own mind asking for big things on this fast is in line ask him for divine instructions ask him for his will fasting will release the birthplace of your assignment in your life god alone knows what’s best for us ask him for personal cleansing ask him for it there’s something about fasting that cleanses the temple of the holy spirit which is our body Isaac and Esau both were deceived because of their hunger for food Esau wanted a bowl of beans and his brother Jacob said give me the birthright and I’ll give you the food and he chose food over spiritual blessing it still happens today it will happen even in this room and wherever you’re listening to me this stuff matters God sees what we do in secret he said in James 4 and verse 8 draw nigh unto me and I will draw nigh unto you cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded listen he said I don’t want my children to have dirty hands and defiled hearts and double minds I want you to come to me in a season of fasting and say wash my hands and wash my heart and wash my mind and renew me O God and restore unto me the joy of my salvation I’m emptying out so you can feel me up that’s what fasting is and it’s powerful and it’ll get you there quick the children of Israel over 8 and Paul said in first Corinthians that they lusted for food and it overthrew them in the wilderness that’s an amazing Scripture Paul said in first Corinthians 6 all things are lawful for me but not everything is helpful I will not be enslaved to anything and that includes food food can enslave you for what ever overcomes a man 2nd Peter 2:19 is what he’s enslaved by I want to give you one quick scripture stay with me 1st Corinthians 10 is a warning to us and he says don’t be like your forefathers don’t be idolaters as some of them were as it is written the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play do you know that God says that if I call you to fast and seek my face and you turn around and sit down and eat and drink and play I see as idolatry this is strong in it but we don’t understand that we’re not here just to enjoy life we are here to present ourselves as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God and here’s the amazing thing the more you give of yourself to him the more life you will enjoy the more you’ll come alive the more things that God has planned for you at the summit you’ll begin to see you’ll never see them you’ll see things people ordinary people will never see if you’ll climb this 21-day fast mountain I want you to hear me now I thought about how that every now and then everything needs cleaning you know your car just gets dirty just to clink cumulate stuff and it needs cleaning your house it needs spring cleaning things just start accumulating and we need to reconsecrate when we go on a fast we reconsecrate our time we reconsecrate our entertainment we reconsecrate our family our marriage our tongue our soul our spirit our mind our body listen to this verse 2nd Corinthians 7 says let us enter into the promises and he said cleanse yourself from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit cleanse yourself how do I do that when I go on a fast I’m saying God cleanse me of filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit perfecting holiness in the eyes of God he sees what I’m doing in secret and I’m cleansing myself a filthiness of the flesh and the spirit in 2nd chronicles 29 there’s an amazing story Hezekiah came in the first year of his reign the Bible said he opened the doors of the temple and he restored the temple and verse 5 said that he called for the priest and the priest came and it said they were called upon to carry out the rubbish of the holy place everybody look at me just a moment every campus how did the most magnificent temple that human eyes have ever seen become a glorified warehouse that was filled with rubbish which is another word for trash God’s holy temple had somehow gone from glory and sacrifices and burning incense and lamps burning to close doors and the people were bringing their garbage now normally they had to walk all the way to the valley of Gehenna I’ve gone there many times it’s a valley on these side of Jerusalem and they would throw their trash in a burning fire that never stops burning but they got lazy and what happened is after doing that somebody noticed that there was no revival before Hezekiah the priest had gone out of business the doors of the temple were shut the lamp had gone out and somebody just said well there’s a big old warehouse that’s a big old room and he stops by and throws his bag of trash in there rubbish and then another guy stops by and dumps his trash I don’t feel like going a mile to to the burning fire let’s just throw it in here and after Tom had passed an accumulation of trash and filth and rubbish had filled the glorious magnificent temple of God and Hezekiah the first thing he did was he said we’ve got to take the trash out he puts up a sign no dumping here he bursts the doors open and he calls the priest and he says take the trash out that’s what fasting is fasting is taking a spiritual bath fasting is taking the trash out all the rubbish all the works of the flesh all of the thoughts all of the things that we’ve seen that we’ve looked at that we’ve listened to all along your body is the temple of the Living God it’s magnificent it was born for him made by him for his glory and if we don’t watch it we fill it with filth and it just accumulates and accumulates but when you fast you take the trash out you empty yourself of the rubbish the field we live in a dirty world and it’s getting in the temple and so we need seasons of prayer and fasting where we say God take the trash out I’m Yours I belong to you I want to serve here and God is saying on this fast that it that that when you become a carnal Christian please hear me God help me to say this right when you become a carnal Christian neglects the Word of God and treats God’s house as though as some plaything if I feel like it I’ll go something is wrong with you you’ve accumulated so much of the world that your heart is no longer receptive and sensitive to the Holy Spirit and when you fast he takes the trash out and his presence comes back and it’s no longer just songs but it’s a song that’s coming from your heart because you’ve been with him in secret I’m almost done I’m almost there Jacob he’s got his brother Esau and 400 assassins coming to kill him and he’s desperate and he goes to the river and he gets in a wrestling match with God just like you’re gonna be for the next 21 days wrestling wrestling with God wrestling with the old flesh wrestling with the stomach wrestling with the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes the pride of life all the works of the flesh and Galatians 5 they’ll all manifest outburst of anger all of it you’re gonna rassle and every voice in Hell will say give up give up give up but he’s doing it in secret it’s night nobody can see it but he and God the next day when the Sun came up oh by the way the angel said you have prevailed you wouldn’t give up he said I won’t let go until you bless me do you want a blessing in 2016 I won’t let go I won’t let go I won’t quit I won’t stop I wanna bless it do you want the favor of God like you’ve never seen it do you want your children saved and bless get a hold of God and say I won’t let go until you bless me 21 days of fasting in prayer and I’m not let him go [Applause] you know what God said you have power with God listen and favor with men that’s in Genesis 32 favor with men why does that import it the next morning Esau shows up coming to kill him and when he sees him instead of killing him the Bible said Esau ran and laid his head on his shoulder of his brother and wrapped his arms around him and well and everybody’s thinking man that he saw is a good guy look at him forgiving mean awful Jacob who stole his birthright what a good guy Esau is it had nothing to do with he saw it had the fact that God told Jacob in secret I give you favor with men and now he’s getting a public reward a favor with me and God can give you favor with judges God can give you favor with bankers God can give you favor with elected officials God can give you favor in court systems God can give you favor with men but it happens not there it happens in private secret consecration and that’s what I feel strongly about this fast that God is going to reward us publicly in ways that he’ll prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies he said because you skip that meal let me feed you this meal in the presence of the enemies because I’m a God who sees private discipline and I can’t keep it secret but I will reward you openly in a new year if you seek me first Jenson Franklin proudly presents I hear the sound a brand new collection of favorite hymns recorded live at free Chapel this album captures the heart of worship through timeless and cherished hymns and is sure to be a favorite for years to come [Music] these twelve familiar classics are beautiful reminders of biblical truths and God’s sovereignty they start countdown brenn I hear the sound album is available for purchase for $15 each or two for $20 [Music] oh well Healy in a quiet moment of worship we hear the heart of God call now or visit us online to order your copy of the I 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