Five Things that Happen when You Fast | Jentezen Franklin

the following program is sponsored by friends and partners of Kingdom connection when you submit to God in the file areas that we've talked about that fasting is doing in your life at some point God says to you you've done your part I'll not rest until I do my part you started it but I'm gonna finish it you gave it to me on the fast now I'm gonna fight your battle now I'm gonna be your Jehovah Jireh now I'm gonna open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing you won't have room enough for yourseif you started it on the fast but God's gonna finish it and you're gonna see his blessings unprecedented in your life Jennsen 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 estas countdown a brand-new I hear the sound album is available for purchase for $15 each or two for $20 [Music] oh well he leave 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 hear the sound album [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I want to give you five powerful things in the Book of Ruth that happens when you fast now I know that Ruth is not fasting or the in the Book of Ruth she's not fasting but I want you to see in this chapter beginning with verse one the story and there are five things that she does when she is about to be united with her bridegroom and his name is Boaz and he is a bachelor from Bethlehem he lived in Bethlehem he's a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ and when you look at this story it's all about getting close to the one that loves us and that has called us his bride Paul said oh that I might know him did you know that you've know about him but not know him you can know Greek and not know God you can know Hebrew and not know him and when you begin to fast and pray you begin to know him it's not about church it's not about rules it's not about religion it's not about stuff it's about Jesus and when you get close to him and you begin to cry Lord that I might know you then you will begin to experience his power and Naomi gives five wonderful steps of advice if you want to draw near to the bridegroom while you're fasting she says do five things number one she says be freshly cleansed everybody say that with me be freshly cleanse notice that first verse three wash yourself that's what we do when we fast when we fast were spiritually taking a bath in second Corinthians seven in verse 1 it says having these promises let us therefore cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit perfecting holiness under Lord if you want to draw near to the Redeemer number one you must be clean cleanse yourself and I'm saying to you that the reason that our prayers are not answered the reason that God doesn't bring breakthroughs many times in our lives is because of what isaiah chapter 1 verse 15 and 16 says he says when you stand spreading your hands to pray I will hide my face from you when you make your prayers I will not hear you wash you and make your hands clean cease to do evil God says I will not hear your prayers with dirty hands and double minds and defiled hearts but if you will wash yourself how do you do that through the washing of the word through the washing of the blood of Jesus Christ by completely emptying ourselves of these things we're saying I'm taking a spiritual bath on this 21-day fast and god I want you to cleanse me in Isaiah 52 and verse 11 he said touch not the unclean thing and be clean ye that touched the vessels of the Lord in other words he doesn't want his bride to be smelly and dirty and unkept and unclean and we are his bride and when Ruth was wanting to get with her bridegroom the first advice that Naomi gave her was listen clean yourself wash yourself be freshly cleansed it's not yesterday's cleansing it's not yesterday's bath it's not last week's of cleansing it's being freshly cleansed in a new year ready to be intimate and close with Jesus Christ Ephesians 5:25 tells us how we get washed he says by the washing of the word you are cleansed by the washing of the word that's a powerful thing when you understand that the Word of God is to your spirit what water is to your body and when you read the Word of God it washes you it washes your mind it washes your soul it washes your spirit it washes your hands it washes your heart it cleanses you and when you're fasting you need to take time for the Word of God and be freshly cleansed Psalms 119 in verse 9 says how shall a young man cleanse his ways by taking heed to God's Word you see when your freshly cleansed by the Word of God and then by the blood of Jesus Christ for the Bible said that if we are faithful and just to confess our sins he is faithful to cleanse us of all our sins so there is a cleansing that happens when we are washed in the blood and when we read the Word of God and what we're doing on this fast we're not we're not wasting our time but we're saying to God I want to be freshly cleansed come and look deep in my heart I've accumulated things I picked up things that aren't like you so let me be freshly cleansed by the washing of the water of the word and by the blood of Jesus Christ you see when your freshly cleanse then you become a candidate for the anointing that's why in verse 3 Ruth gives the second thing that happens when you fast and you pray and you draw near to the bridegroom she said number one be freshly cleanse but look at the next thing she said Anna and be anointed she said to that girl you need to be anointed so not only be freshly cleanse but be fragrantly anointed she said to her anoint yourself in other words put perfume on that's that's what she was telling her the purse that was there perfume and he was saying she was saying put perfume on if you're gonna go in and be there with the bridegroom that will eventually be your husband then you need to be freshly cleanse you need to be fragrantly anointed anoint yourself you see that's what we do when we fast and pray you cannot fast and pray and God not freshly anoint you he's going on oint you during this fast to do what you do and you're going to have a special grace to do it and you're going to do it better than other people can do it and it's gonna be because you're anointed and the anointing makes the difference he said uh Ninoy yourself she said in other words I want you to be nice to be near and so if you would like to be near to Jesus our bridegroom you cleanse yourself and then secondly you not only cleanse yourself but you come and after you've been freshly cleanse you need to say during this fast fragrantly anoint me Holy Spirit anoint me with the power of your anointing your anointing is the Holy Spirit everybody say my anointing is the Holy Spirit first John 2:27 the anointing that you receive of him abides in you and you need no man to teach you for he will show you and he will guide you the anointing we have is the Spirit of God the Holy Spirit gives us the fragrance of Christ your life will be an incense before him and he says when you fast and you pray your freshly cleanse iniquity and sin and and the dirty hands and the defiled hearts and the double minds are washed away by the washing of the water of the word and by the blood of Jesus Christ and then I bring my anointing because wherever the blood has washed then the anointing can be applied they would first wash the priest and then after he washed the anointing would be put on him and you see wherever the blood has been applied the anointing is drawn there hallelujah when the anointing comes on you God's grace will find you in unusual places and raise you up you can't keep someone anointed down they will always go up because the anointing promotes you in the loin and raises you hallelujah then thirdly I really felt this point so so there it is wash yourself anoint yourself put on your best garment so you're not only being freshly cleansed and you're not only being fragrantly anointed you're being fit ly clothes be fit Li clothes put on your best clothes girl get you get something get something you look good in that's bow ass bow has this he owns everything look right what's that about well she had been a widow I really feel this now listen to me she had been a widow and she had been wearing mourning clothes she had lost her husband she was sad she was depressed she was discouraged she was defeated she'd come out of a horrible famine got back to Bethlehem but still had her old clothes on a morning of sorrow of discouragement of defeat and God through this woman said if you want to get near the king you need to change what you're wearing because he doesn't respond he understands your pain but that doesn't necessarily make God come to you he inhabits the praises of his people he inhabits the faith of his people not the gloom in the doom one of the greatest things you could do in your prayer life is pull some of the moans and groans out and shove some hallelujah Zin it makes you very attractive to God when you when you stop moaning and groaning and you could own the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness matter of fact I want you to see Isaiah 61 it says to console those who mourn in Zion this is what I felt really heavy to say to people that would be listening to me in this message on this fast God is about to change your wardrobe and and he's going to give them beauty for Ashes I need some joy just to start bubbling up in your soul beauty for Ashes the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness Ruth you're gonna put off those ashes of sorrow I'm gonna bring some beautiful things into your life some beautiful days some beautiful people hallelujah well I'm doing more than preaching I'm prophesying right now I really I feel like I've got my foot on the neck of a demon right now a demon of mourning a demon of sorrow a demon of gloominess a demon of of discouragement I just feel my foot on his neck and I just want to stand here and proclaim it's the year of the Lord to comfort those who have been mourning I'm telling you I'm preaching more than a message I'm prophesying to you your house is gonna be freshly cleansed to your business is gonna be freshly anointed and and you're gonna put on the the garments of praise you're gonna be fittingly clothed for success that's why he goes on to say in that same chapter I will greatly rejoice in the Lord my soul will be joyful in my god while I'm fasting this is my Proclamation for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation he has covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments as a bride adorns herself with jewels he has clothed us church we can be fitly clothed in his righteousness you don't have to go around condemned and hating yourself and despising yourself and feeling like you're nothing nobody going nowhere put on his righteous robe put on his garment of salvation put on his garment of praise and be fitly clothed and then he said in verse 3 and verse 4 look at it then it shall be when he lies down notice this that you shall notice the place where he lies and you shall go in and uncover his feet and lie down where at his feet you have to understand Jewish tradition and culture meant that if someone did that if they uncovered their feet and laid down at their feet it was an act of submission so the fourth thing that fasting does is it says Lord I commit my life to you again I'm being freshly cleansed I'm being I'm being fragrantly anointed I'm being fitly clothed on this fast but I'm being fully committed to you now I'm withholding nothing my will surrenders to your will my dream submits to your dream my desire I fully commit to you and I love the fact that Ruth [Music] Naomi said place yourself at his feet that's what we're doing we're humbling ourselves and we're going down low at his feet you know the the most sacred place on earth is not the pulpit the Church Jerusalem the Holy Land the most sacred place on earth is at the feet of Jesus and when you fast you're fully committing your life and you're bowing down at the feet of Jesus I don't want anything that's not your wheel I don't care how bad I think I want it I fully commit to you not my will but thine be done and I'm at your feet Lord not in your face I'm at your feet not at your hand give me give me I'm at your feet you will withhold no good thing from them who walk uprightly and if I am worshiping you and fully committed to you at your feet as a humble servant my God will supply all of my needs he'll open up the windows of heaven this year and pour you out a blessing and brother if you if you don't ever believe a preacher again you need to believe this one they're coming that you won't have room enough room enough to receive I've never told people this before ever I don't think ever in my life there are times when when I'm going to preach somewhere that and sometimes here that the Holy Spirit will speak to me very strongly and I'm usually by myself in an office or in some backroom somewhere before I'm about to go out and he'll say bow before me and I could I could stand up here and start listing times it's not all the time it's just certain times but the point is to be sensitive enough I don't know what it is about bowing but there's something about when nobody's looking and God says do it and you get down on your face at his feet I'm telling you you're fully committed and God will bless you at his feet same answer Mother lastly in verse 4 verse 5 you getting something out of this said all that you say to me I will do so we are we're being now faithfully compliant that we don't go on a fast and try to demand God and you do this and you do that no no no no no we're saying on this fast just show me your wheel well there's sunshine of rain weather is mountaintop or Valley weather is increase or it may even cost me right now but you see what I do in secret in obedience to you and you're no man's dead or ever but I will be faithfully compliant that whatever you this is what you've got to pray on this fast you ought to pray these five things Lord I want to be freshly cleanse don't want to be fragrantly anointed I want to be fit ly clothed with a new spirit of praise o God I won't I want to be fully committed at your feet and I want to be faithfully compliant to your word to your wheel I don't want to hear the word only I want to be a doer of the word I won't I want convictions about the word I want to be faithfully compliant Ruth chapter 3 verse 9 notice this he said who are you and she answered I am Ruth your maidservant take your maidservant under your wing for you are a close relative then he blessed her blessed are you of the Lord what's gonna happen when you do these five things for 21 days you're gonna get blessed how many of you want to be blessed the Bible said that he gave her 60 pounds of barley and said take this back to your mother-in-law and when she saw her coming she said who are you in other words she was asking are you miss Ruth are you miss Boaz yes because I like this you got 60 pounds of grain from that boy but then she gives her the strangest command I think it's over the last part of the verse she said to her sit steal my daughter until you know how the matter will turn out for this man will not rest until he concludes this matter today alright now here's what that means when you submit to God in the five areas that we've talked about that fasting is doing in your life at some point God says to you you've done your part now I'll not rest I'll not rest until I do my part you started it but I'm gonna finish it you you got out there and you you washed yourself and anointed yourself and change your clothing and change your language and you're praising me and I see you now fully compliant and and committed I see it I see it and you started it but there comes a time when God says now you sit down because you gave it to me on the fast now I'm gonna fight your battle now I'm gonna be your Jehovah Jireh now I'm gonna open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing you won't have room enough receive you started it on the fast Sunday but God's gonna finish it and you're gonna see his blessings unprecedented in your life if you believe it get up on your feet and shout and praise God just a little bit [Applause] here at free chapel our mission is simple to inspire people to live for Jesus with incredible worship and messages by senior pastor Jentezen Franklin you will leave encouraged to thrive throughout the week we offer great opportunities for you and your entire family to grow connect with others and serve the community we would love you to take advantage of all free chapel has to offer for kids from newborn to 12 there's kid pack it's one of the top children's programs around for middle and high school students Wednesday night is the best night of the week with free chapel youth in addition to our weekly events we have conferences with some of the top musicians and speakers from around the world for more information on all we have to offer a great place to start is free Chapel org so come I invite you to join us at one of our campuses this Sunday here at free Chapel a place to call home [Music] this program has been brought to you by the friends and partners of Jenson franklin media ministries for more information on this broadcast or for additional resources go online at Jensen Franklin Oh Archie [Music]

Channel: Jentezen Franklin

Views: 276,213

Rating: 4.872488 out of 5

Keywords: Jentezen Franklin, Kingdom Connection, Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince, Free Chapel, Temple, Saved, Save, Christianity, Faith, Depression, Healing, Radical, Devotion, Devotional, Islam, Mosque, Suicide, Struggle

Id: GzwIFyQb0Ik

Length: 26min 38sec (1598 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 09 2016