Fasting According To Jesus | Pastor Shane Idleman

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Westside Christian Fellowship is a non-denominational Christian church that meets every every Sunday at 9:00 am & 11:00 am in Leona Valley, California (9306 Leona Avenue).
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Fasting According to Jesus
HUGE LESSON: The physical affects the spiritual, and the spiritual affects the physical.
1. THE CALL TO FAST - Matthew 9:15 (NKJV) And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
Matthew 6 - “when you pray, give, and fast.” Prayer connects us to God; giving removes selfishness, and fasting draws us away from the flesh.
We give control to either the flesh or the Spirit. James 4:5 reminds us that our spirit has “envious yearnings.” Do we yield to these yearnings, or do we give in to the pull of the flesh?
We will crave more of what we feed. Fasting silences the voice of the flesh.
WHEN: When I feel prompted by God, or it can be a step of faith -
Can we pray and seek God with all our heart with a headache, tight pants, & a sluggish, lethargic body strung out on our favorite addictive substance?
*I’m assuming the listener understands that I’m talking to those who can make changes.
I’m not suggesting that health should replace prayer but that it should complement them-that we steward the gift of health.
2. THE POWER OF FASTING - In Matthew 17:21, Jesus said that a certain evil spirit does not go out of a person except by prayer and fasting.
Fasting applies pressure to the spiritual realm. Arthur Wallis notes, “Often, pressure has to be maintained before there is a breakthrough in heavenly warfare.”
It appears that some demonic activity, many breakthroughs, and answered prayers are not released until pressure is applied through prayer and fasting.
Open the Word, pray, meditate, and worship for the fatal blow: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 4:6).
We can’t defeat what we feed. Two wills cannot successfully live in the same body-our self-will and God’s will.
Fasting is where the rubber REALLY meets the road -
Don’t misconstrue-I’m not promoting a works-based religion. I’m demonstrating the importance of spiritual disciplines that produce godly fruit.
What is dead in your life that you know God is wanting to resurrect?
What dream, goal, or godly ambition is waiting to be realized?
Is there a stronghold that has been gripping your life?
Do you desire a deeper walk with God and increased spiritual hunger?
Do you need help in self-discipline and temperance?
Do you need a breakthrough, direction, or peace?
Is all hell breaking loose in your life?
Are there great obstacles ahead?
“Fasting is too extreme!” Are we not living in extremely difficult times? As the saying goes, “Desperate times call for desperate measures!”
Joel 1:14: “Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.”
The magnitude of the situation determined the response. God’s people had departed from Him. We are saying, “The flesh got me into this predicament, now it’s time to seek God’s mercy and humble myself before Him.”
Fasting Applies Extra Pressure to the Spiritual Realm
LUKE 4:14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee [after fasting], and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
TODAY can be a turning point for many of you . . .