- [Narrator] Welcome to a Grace Digital presentation.
For ye were sometimes darkness but now are ye
light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light for the fruit of the spirit
is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,
proving what is acceptable onto the Lord.
Ephesians 5:8-10.
Fasting is not just a physical discipline.
It can be a spiritual feast.
While your flesh is set aside,
your spirit man gets stronger.
Once you taste and see that the Lord is good,
Psalm 34:8, your hunger for more of his presence
dwarfs the limitations of your understanding.
God knows more about what you need than you do.
All fasts in the Bible, whether one day
or 40 days, brought reward.
But the number 40 has something
very significant in the whole of scripture,
especially since it refers to fasting.
Jesus did not fast for 25 or even 38 days.
He was there in the wilderness 40 days, tempted by Satan.
And it was with the wild beasts and the angels
ministered to him.
Mark 1:13.
Later, as Jesus's crucifixion approached,
he spoke directly to his disciples
and told them what was coming.
He said, "I will no longer talk much with you,
"for the ruler of this world is coming.
"And he has nothing in me." John 14:30.
Satan was regarded as the ruler of this world
after he had usurped Adam's authority.
But he had nothing in Jesus.
Jesus had defeated him long before,
when he did not succumb to the temptations
of the devil in the wilderness.
Some of you may struggle with the same
troublesome sins or worse.
You may be trapped in bondage that you have tried
to eradicate only to have it come back again and again.
You may have lived free from the effects of some
of these sins but you are seeing the cycle
repeated in your children.
It will take more than a flyswatter to eradicate
an infestation of Beelzebub's servants.
The significance of 40.
Throughout the Bible, the number 40 represents
purification and purification.
The flood in the days of Noah lasted 40 days to cleanse
the earth from wickedness.
Moses's life was divided into three distinct seasons
of 40 years each.
He spent 40 years in Egypt, 40 years in the wilderness,
and 40 years in which he delivered the people of God
and brought them to the promised land.
He also fasted for 40 days on two occasions.
The first time he received the law of God in the form
of the Ten Commandments.
And the second time he interceded for the sin of the people.
When Jonah was sent to Nineveh, he gave the inhabitants
of that city 40 days to repent or await judgment.
The Bible records so the people of Nineveh believed God,
proclaimed the fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest
to the least of them.
Jonah 3:5.
The King called for the entire land to fast,
saying, "Let neither man nor beast,
"herd nor flock, taste anything.
"Do not let them eat or drink water but let man and beast
"be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God."
Yes, let everyone turn from his evil way
and from the violence that is in his hands.
Who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away
from His fierce anger so that we may not perish?
Jonah 3:7-9.
Their humility, repentance, and worship were seen by God
and they were rewarded with mercy instead of judgment.
There is a prophetic release that occurs in a church
or an individual who fasts continually for 40 days.
After he had defeated 450 prophets of Baal
and ordered their execution, Elijah fled into the wilderness
to escape the deadly threats of Jezebel.
God sent an angel to feed him and watch over him
as he rested.
When he had eaten the meal, which the angel
had prepared for him, he went the next 40 days without food.
During that time, he spoke with God
and received new direction.
His insecurities and doubts were eliminated
and the oppression of the enemy was broken.
But there's more.
The word which Elijah received during his 40 days of fasting
even concerned the next generation.
He received God's instruction to anoint Jihu, Elijah,
and others to finish the work.
And Jihu is credited with the utter destruction
of the woman, Jezebel.
Solomon wrote dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment
and cause it to give off a foul odor.
Ecclesiastes 10:1.
Flies would get into the special anointing oil.
They'd get stuck in it, die, and spoil the fragrance.
Flies impede the anointing in your life.
Your worship gets polluted by flies of lust and perversion.
We are supposed to walk in that pure anointing
that pierces hearts, breaks yolks, delivers
from bondages, and heals the sick.
It's time to get rid of the flies in your business,
your marriage, your mind, and your house.
They cannot stand the power of the Holy Ghost
and the intimacy of the presence of Jesus
that comes from 40 days of bombarding heaven.
There is a Muslim celebration of Ramadan
when all Muslims, old and young, even children,
fast from sunrise to sunset for 30 days.
At the end of each of these days, they all come together
to break the fast and pray to their god, Allah.
It is a form of worship for them that helps them to focus
on spiritual things rather than earthly longings.
They gather all over the world
for this 30-day religious event.
Did you know that Islam is the fastest-growing religion
in the United States?
It is anticipated that in a few years,
one in four worldwide will be converted to Islam.
His rewards are waiting to be released.
So what are we waiting for?
How much more should we as Christians devote ourselves
to fasting and prayer?
God promised, "If my people which are called by my name
"shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face
"and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear
"from Heaven and will forgive their sin
"and will heal their land."
Second Chronicles 7:14.
God does not lie. His promises are true.
His rewards are waiting to be released.
So what are we waiting for?
Take note that you have to exercise a lot of caution
in taking a long fast.
Start from where you are. Begin with a one-day fast.
If you have never done a fast, it doesn't matter how dark
the hour is or what's going on
in the White House or overseas.
God governs and rules all these things.
Let's take Daniel's fast as an example.
For three weeks, he said he ate no pleasant food.
Daniel 10:3.
It is generally assumed that pleasant food is more likely
to mean festive foods such as sweets and the like.
That may not sound like a big sacrifice until you think
about the fact that we are addicted to sugar.
According to Dr. Colbert's research, Americans consume
about 11,250 pounds of sugar over the course of their lives.
If you fasted only on sweets for 40 days,
you would rid your body of many toxins
and probably lose several pounds.
For some of us, it would be a major sacrifice.
For some of us, it is foregoing our breakfast or Netflix.
Daniel did not drink wine either.
As believers on this day and this time,
this should certainly not be a problem.
But then he said he ate no flesh or meat.
That's going to hit a lot of people hard.
No soft drinks, candy bars, biscuits, cakes, sugar cereals.
Yes, sugar is everywhere in our American diet.
Hotdogs, burgers, steaks, beef tacos,
grilled ribs, ham, cookies.
We could go on and on. But God sees that sacrifice.
You're cleansing. You're purifying.
And you're destroying flies.
Can you forgo that Snickers bar in the afternoon
to be delivered from a reoccurring sin,
to have more of the presence of Jesus in your life?
Can you drink water for 40 days
instead of sugary caffeinated drinks?
Do you want to do more than just swat at those flies
of doubt and confusion that inundate your thoughts?
Like Jesus told the disciples at the well in Samaria,
when you open yourself to know the will of the father
and do the will of the father, no steak or cake compares.
Nothing can fill you and satisfy you like that.
Get ready for the presence of Jesus
like you have never had before.