This is “Return to Me – Studio”. Do you need a breakthrough? Then break out! Break out of the norm and do something different! If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll keep getting the same thing. But I believe God wants to mark your life with incredible breakthrough. Learn how in this message from Jentezen Franklin. To hear more inspiring messages from Jentezen Franklin, visit http://www.jentezenfranklin.org/watch & subscribe to this channel: http://goo.gl/yfkXHy

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connection

well welcome everybody we’re so glad to

have you for a very special edition of

Kingdom connection and as you can see I

have a live audience some of our

greatest friends and colleagues and

ministry are in this room this is a lot

of our staff that makes ministry happen

and it goes out all over the world

because the people in this room who do

what God has anointed them and blessed

them to do and we as a church are

getting ready for the 21-day fast and

it’s very exciting as a matter of fact

you know we’ve been doing this a long

time and I think that I am as excited

this year about the fast as I’ve ever

been

I found something the other day that I

thought was really really interesting

and you know it’s so much more to

fasting than abstaining from food and

some of you’ve heard us talk about it

some of you’ve read our books and so on

I want to challenge you that I believe

if you’re watching this telecast and

don’t turn it if you’re watching this

telecast it’s because god is ordained

that you hear what I’m going to share I

prayed about what I’m going to share and

he’s going to speak to you and he’s

saying if you if you do what this man

tells you to do that the next 21 days of

your life are going to be marked by

incredible breakthroughs in areas you’ve

never seen like you’ve never seen before

I found this it’s called a prisoner of

appetite during the 14th century Renauld

the third was a Duke in what is now

Belgium as a result of a violent quarrel

Reynolds younger brother Edward

successfully revolted against him when

Edward captured Renault he built a room

around him featuring windows and doors

and promised him

they were unlocked and promised him that

the day that he left the room his title

and property to the kingdom would be

returned to him the only problem with

the arrangement was Renauld what the

third was grossly overweight and could

not fit through the openings of the door

Renauld needed to lose weight before he

could leave the room and return to his

kingdom Edward knew that his older

brother could not control his half a day

and sent him to

licious food every day how many of you

got a brother/sister like that I sent

him delicious food fattening food every

day

as you can imagine Renault’s grew fatter

during this time any any time someone

accused Duke Edward of treating Renauld

cruelly he said my brother is not a

prisoner he may leave when he so wills

Renault stayed in the room for 10 years

and wasn’t released until after Edward

died in battle by then his health was so

ruined that he died a year later he was

a prisoner of his own appetite all of

the blessings of the kingdom were

waiting on him but he was a prisoner of

his own appetite I think sometimes is

possible for Christians to be enslaved

by our own appetites prayer can do

anything God can do and God can do

anything but when you put fasting with

prayer he said in Joel chapter 2 when

you return to me with fasting and with

prayer and that’s what we’re doing for

the next 21 days and we’re asking you to

join us on a Daniel fast no no meat no

bread no sugar and seeking God just

natural sugar and fruit or something and

seeking God drinking lots of water and

just discipline your body you know and

not even becoming legal legalistic about

the fast you pray and ask God maybe he

wants you to do three days of total fast

or maybe one meal a day or I don’t know

how you need to do it you need to pray

and ask God what what he would have you

do but he said in the book of Joel that

when you return to me and fasting I’ll

restore the years that the enemy has

taken from you that is that he’s stolen

from you God is a healer of broken

dreams and he is a restorer he is a

restorer of stolen years and he wants to

restore some things in your life on this

fast I love the quote from Leonard

Ravenhill

where he said

the early church had its upper room with

fire but the modern church has its upper

room with smoke and if we’re not careful

the church will become a supper room

with smoke instead of an upper room with

fire the fire of the Holy Spirit the

fervency the passion the anointing of

the Holy Spirit this thing was born in

fire and we can’t live off smoke so

sometimes we got to walk away from the

supper table and the ND and and that

situation and we have to go to the Upper

Room and say God I’m coming back to you

for your fire

John Wesley the founder of the Methodist

Church said we cannot see God’s face in

vain when we seek God with fasting and

prayer he always shows up it’s

interesting that the word gluttony means

to gulp down and most of us feel that

way after coming off of the holidays

we’ve been gulping it down to over Dolch

in food often tied to extravagance

wealth and waste I heard I heard a

little formula for losing weight I’m

sure many of you like all of us would

like to lose some weight how many of you

have some clothes with tags on it in

your closet right now that you’re

waiting for the fast about half way

through you’re going to get into those

clothes and feel real good about come on

raise your hand the rest of your lives

and I’m gonna preach on that next week

but you know this formula to lose weight

and dieting fasting is not dieting let’s

get it straight fasting is not dieting

there if you’re doing it just to lose

weight try something try Jenny Craig or

something else it’s a whole lot easier

you don’t want to do fasting to lose

weight it’s not that’s a byproduct but

this formula said if you want to lose

weight eat like a king for breakfast eat

like a prince for lunch it means cut

back a little bit and you know king can

have any and everything and then at

lunch your prince cuts back maybe some

salad and chicken breast or something

like that and eat like a pauper for

dinner just very little at dinner

but the only problem is most of us hear

a little voice saying long live the king

and we go right back to the big kingly

meals too often it’s the time when we

when we seek God’s for breakthrough when

we fast I want to take you to a story

and these are this is so I don’t I don’t

have a lot of time but I want to really

get into this second Samuel chapter 5 in

verse 20 and David came to bellperre ISM

and he said the Lord has broken forth on

my enemies the Lord bellperre ISM has

broken forth on my enemies well what is

that about it’s about a breakthrough the

word breakthrough means to break asunder

like a breach of water like a dam

bursting another word for breakthrough

it’s interesting that if you look it up

the word breakthrough means to burst to

force open the breakthrough according to

Webster is a sudden dramatic advance

that is very important a sudden dramatic

advance that is very important science

has breakthroughs we’ve all seen that in

our lifetime

technology has breakthroughs and

everything changes and now you walk in a

store or you walk in a restaurant

everybody that used not to be fifteen

years ago but breakthrough in technology

came and everybody has a cell phone

everybody’s looking at Twitter and all

of that but nobody had ever heard of it

twenty years thirty years ago that was a

breakthrough and it forever changed it

was dramatic it was important it was an

advance and things would never be the

same again medicine has breakthroughs

diplomacy has breakthroughs and you can

have a breakthrough in your career in

your relationships that have stopped and

are stalemated and and nothing’s

happening you can you can have a

breakthrough in your health you can have

a breakthrough spiritually a moment of

clarity I’ve had them on fast where I

was praying and fasting and I didn’t

know what to do and I had a breakthrough

spiritually and I had a moment of

clarity anybody know what I’m talking

about I don’t know why I didn’t see

but I saw it and God told me exactly

what to do that’s what fasting will do

for you it brings breakthrough what

we’re going to do the next 21 days is

seek God in fasting and prayer for

breakthroughs in our lives and our

families in our homes breakthrough the

Lord said to tell some of this that

he’ll give you breakthrough ideas would

it be something to get a breakthrough

idea that that one idea you want idea

away from a mighty miracle changing

everything for you and your family a

breakthrough idea of how to solve a

problem or or create something or do

what to do what just unfold an idea that

is a breakthrough that forever changes

things God can give you that on a fast

now here’s the point I want to make the

reason this 21-day fast is so important

is because seldom almost never defective

breakthroughs happen in people’s lives

in the Bible without them seeking it we

just think breakthrough just happens no

I can’t find anybody in the Bible who

got a breakthrough who didn’t break the

norm and do something very special and

unusual if they were going to get a

breakthrough you can’t do the same old

same old and get breakthroughs in this

new year you’re going to have to do you

need a breakthrough then it’s time for

you to break out of the normal life that

you’re in and enter into a season of

seeking God fasting is not skipping

meals fasting is seeking God that’s why

it’s so powerful it’s not just about the

food don’t allow the enemy to make it

about the food the food the food that’s

why you don’t sit around and do what you

normally do you go to this book you go

and you get in prayer and you you pray

and you seek God’s face breakthroughs

happen only when you seek them David

said in Psalm 77 and to when I was in

distress I saw the Lord you have to if

you’re going to get a breakthrough out

of your distress out of your being

outnumbered and under resourced and

greatly distressed just like David you

have to see the Lord and I know of no

greater way fasting is assigned to God

you’re serious about not staying in the

condition that you’re in fasting says

God I’m serious about this

fasting says God I’m serious about this

I’m putting my focus on this I’m praying

about this I’m really serious I need a

breakthrough in my health I need a

breakthrough in my family I need a

breakthrough that my finances I’m

serious about this and if you’re

listening to this message God wants to

do something special in your life the

next 21 days there you hear me every one

of you under the sound of my voice and

the millions of you watching by

television if it’s no accident I prayed

about this that the right people would

hear me and that God would speak to you

and say yes that’s right what he’s

saying you hear something is that that’s

right I will give you breakthroughs this

year if you’re fast and pray to Kings

specifically got the greatest

breakthroughs that I could see and one

is David and we just we just heard about

him the Bible said that when he was

surrounded that he went to his fortified

place in that powerful what do you do

when you’re outnumbered and

under-resourced and greatly distressed

you don’t just let life attack you and

kill you and destroy you and lose all

hope and all dreams you go to the

fortified place for many of us the

forty-five places for each out to our

church and we gather together that’s

what that’s what David did he gathered

everybody together in a fortified place

and then he inquired of the Lord Lord is

should I go out should I go out and

fight these foolish things and I said

that’s a good policy to follow you

should always say God should I do this

should I get into that business deal

should I ask God ask God on the fast

what should what would you have me do

the Bible said that God said yes go and

I’ll go with you and he defeated them

and that’s when he said I watched the

Lord break through my enemies like a

mighty flood the Lord broke through well

I’m ready to see that

I’m ready to see it in your church I’m

ready to see it in ministries and

churches all over the world I’m ready to

see it for America the Lord breakthrough

I’m ready to see it for the nations of

the world the Lord like a mighty burst

come through with his fire in his

anointing and it can happen in your life

the next 21 days my dream for you is

that you will look back and say that’s

the place that’s the fast that’s the one

right there that the Lord broke through

and life was never the same after the

break through the other one is

Jehoshaphat in second chronicles chapter

20 listen to his name Jehoshaphat he

probably was called Fatih for short when

he went school that’s a bad name and the

Bible said in in second chronicles

chapter 20 and verse 3 and Jehoshaphat

feared why because three nations

completely surrounded him and he set

himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed

a fast throughout all Judea and all the

people gathered together to ask help of

the Lord and fast and salt the Lord

that’s what we’re doing I’m fasting

you’re fasting I’m praying for you

you’re praying for me we’re praying for

one another and it’s powerful we’re

doing exactly what they did in the Bible

to get a breakthrough if you want to get

a breakthrough you have to seek it and

after these things the Bible said that

he said himself I love that he said

himself you have to set yourself too

fast it’s not if you don’t go by

feelings I’m gonna try I’ll try it then

okay I’ll try it today they don’t work

it’s kind of like somebody smoking

cigarettes and trying to quit and say I

need to quit smoking I need to quit

smoking it’s not going to happen that

way it’s like if if you want if you want

a breakthrough you have to set yourself

to seek the Lord in fasting by the way

when I said that thousands of you will

be delivered from nicotine in the next

21 days

the devil thought he was going to kill

you and take ten years off your life but

that power will be broken off of you and

other addiction such as alcoholism and

all kinds of addictions are going to

break off of God’s people as we fast and

pray off of your family members

hallelujah

raise your hands and say in the name of

Jesus Lord we proclaim deliverance out

of Mount Zion out of the church during

this fast breakthroughs concerning

addictions and bondages nicotine

alcoholism the valley of trouble will

become the valley of blessing the very

area the enemy has attacked will become

the area a breakthrough you’ll say

that’s the very area that God turned the

battle into a victory hallelujah let’s

give the Lord a great praise right now

fill that in my heart

now can I can I can I close by telling

you what you need to do if you if you

want to break through and this is not my

original fault this this thing I’m going

to share with you but if you google

praying hands you can find all kinds of

material on you know just so everybody

do your hands like prayin hands right

the Sun notice that the sums are the are

the fingers that are when I get in the

prayer position it’s the one pointing

back to my heart and closest to my heart

so here’s how you can pray all I’m going

to ask you to do this three times a day

during the 21 day fast three times a day

for about five minutes that would be 15

minutes a day of it and pray more than

that if you can’t but at least five

minutes a day and I want you to go

through this prayer outline so what is

the thumb represents it represents those

that are closest to my heart

my friends and my family I’m going to

pray for my friends and my family what

does the index finger represent you know

the index fingers the fingers at that

point that points go this way go that

way it represents the teachers and the

leaders in our life that show us the

direction we need to pray for our

leaders we need to pray for our

President or Congress are we need to

pray we need to shut up talking and can

criticize it and we need to get on our

face and pray so it also no no you

remember when mama mama sitting right

down here she said no no no no no so

it’s those who point the right way but

rebuke or correct us and we need to pray

for those people you’re blessed when

you’ve got that person in your life or

several people in your life who don’t

just tell you what you want to hear but

they tell you what you need to hear then

notice the longest finger the middle

finger is the finger that stands out so

this represents influencers pray for

influencers influencers in our society

who are the influencers athlete movie

stars we criticize that those people we

never pray for the politicians they

stand out the people who stand out the

the Bill Gates the Zuckerberg the people

when’s the last time we pray they

influence our whole society and they

have such great influence we need to

pray for them that God would change

America and change the world and change

the nations of the world and give us

give us godly people and God would save

those who may be influencing our culture

in their own way and then notice this is

the ring finger it’s interesting one of

the things that I read said this is the

weakest finger I didn’t know that that

really it’s not much good for anything

so weakest finger and and so it

represents the the weak pray for the

poor pray for the sick pray for the

elderly pray for the young pray for the

handicapped pray for the disabled pray

for the people in the rest homes pray

for those who can’t help themselves the

wheat then firms those dying of cancer

those who are going through radix pray

for the sick and that colorful and then

lastly pray notice the pinkie it’s the

smallest one that’s for me it’s okay to

pray for me but I’m not my priority on

this dance

I’m the last one now god I want you to

bless me but if I seek first the kingdom

now notice this I’m praying for my heart

I’m praying for my heart I need to pray

for my heart now I know I said his

friends and families and those nearest

but then this is all about me I can pray

this for the next five minutes I’m

almost done but I’m praying for my heart

God keep me keep my heart clean keep my

heart right kid unforgiveness bitterness

lust

anything that’s not in my that shouldn’t

be in my heart clean my heart oh God

leave me guide me rebuke me and Oh God

let my influence grow my influence ask

God for greater influence on your job in

your field in your world in your

community greater everybody say greater

influence ask God for your weaknesses to

be strengthened and lastly for me

personally ask God for material

blessings but notice it’s the last thing

it’s the smallest thing on my list it’s

not about that but he we are commanded

over and over and over to ask God for

financial blessings seek first the

kingdom of God in the beginning of the

year through fasting and prayer and all

of these things it’s my last request but

every day three times a day I’m going to

ask God for material blessing on my own

life on my family on my children my

children’s children and on my church and

on this ministry that we will lack

nothing that we will have favor that we

will have greater influence that we

would do the will of God in a brand new

year will you join us on this fast my

announcer is going to tell you more and

I believe that God is going to bless you

now I want to pray for you in closing

father in Jesus name I thank you that

you’re giving grace divine enablement to

every person under the sound of my voice

to see a breakthrough on this fast as

they seek you the next 21 days in Jesus

name let’s give the Lord a great praise

if you believe he’s the god of

breakthrough

[Applause]

my name is Sarah Hodge and I started to

go into free chapel in 2004 I was living

in downtown Atlanta and looking for a

church near where I live I started

flipping through the channels and came

across pastor Franklin on TV and

normally I don’t stop to watch those but

something threw me to watch his message

and then they said you know pastor

Franklin a tree chapel in Gainesville

Georgia and even though it wasn’t near

downtown utley and I really thought it

was worth the drive to go check it out

even though I was raised in church I had

never felt the presence of God like I

did during the praise and worship I

remember the time I raised my hands for

the first time just surrendering to God

and being in that environment was

amazing a couple years ago I had moved

to Greenville because I got married and

my husband is from there it was just

tough period honestly I didn’t know

anyone and you see people but I didn’t

have any close friends so went back to

streaming online and my husband didn’t

grow up in church so when we got married

it was important for me to find a place

we could go together and he liked when

we’d streamed free chapels so during the

fast in 2015 I had it on my list always

make a list of what I’m fasting for and

shirts was on there and I was streaming

online and pastor Franklin said that he

was going to make it announcement and

you know that’s always exciting when you

hear how they’re standing helpless the

big thought happened and so he said that

we’re going to open a new campus I

thought maybe downtown Atlanta or maybe

need work you know exciting versa could

it be and he said Spartanburg South

Carolina

and I was like how does it even know

we’re Spartanburg South Carolina Isis

and so I just started crying and you

know praising God and the first Sunday

that it opened I think I cried the whole

time it was just amazing and walking

into the building and seeing how big it

was and she’s seeing that you know

seeing working on multiple services and

think about all the outreach and all the

lies that and we change to that campus I

would highly recommend fasting it’s been

a game-changer for my relationship with

God you know you can be a Christian have

this loss of God but when you surrender

too fast if like it unlocks and it was

just amazing to me that our big God care

so much about each of us and you know

through prayer and fasting and giving he

knows our heart and he wants to do great

things for us I know you know it was for

many people but I felt like that was

something God big special for me and I’m

so thankful for that Campbell

appear at free chapel our mission is

simple to inspire people to live for

Jesus with incredible worship and

messages by senior pastor Jentezen

Franklin

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