January 27, 2019 "The Rewards of Fasting", Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley

all of us have been in a place where you were utterly confused about what God wanted from you which about me and prayer for upholding us which could only be described as your righteous hand we realized God we've not made it of our own but that we are who we are because you are who you are you are the source of every good and perfect gift in you we live and move and have our being and Christ we say thank you for bringing us through a season of consecrated prayer and fasting we are grateful O God and now we ask that as we begin this new journey of life in this new year with the new assignments that await us may your word convicting covenant us to be who you've called us to be speak Lord your servants are listening in Jesus name we do pray amen allow me if you will to do some things a little bit differently today we have come to the end of 21 days of prayer and fasting and I don't want to just come in as business as usual and act like that didn't happen that's the first time we've collectively done that as a church in the 10 years that I've been here and I think God has been doing something too miraculous and marvelous for us just to skip over it so today I pray that you allow me somatically to tie a bow on C 2019 as you're making our way towards our offering and then our benediction we've been all month long hanging out sir Monica Lee in Jesus Sermon on the Mount Matthew five six and seven are the concentrated collections of the teachings of Jesus Christ shared with his followers and his disciples to give them instruction on how they can live a life that is pleasing to the Lord today as we close up C 2019 I want to invite you right into the heart of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6 there's a word that speaks about fasting beginning in verse number 16 that I reading you're hearing out of the New International Version of the Bible we ask those who are physically able to stand with us that together we might reverence the reading of God's Word from Matthew chapter 6 beginning in verse number 16 if you have that are you looking on the screen say Amen hear the words of Jesus when you fast do not look somber as the hypocrites do they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting truly I tell you they've already received their reward in full but when you fast put oil on your head and wash your face so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting but only to your father who is unseen and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you today I want to talk to you about the rewards of fasting you may be seated in the presence of the Lord the rewards of fasting please forgive me a little excited and my heart's overflowing today and I may lose the sense of protocol but but I'm happy today I'm thankful cus today's a good day I'm grateful cus the days of day the Lord has made I'm grateful because the Lord woke me up this morning and the Lord did I both know I didn't deserve that I'm grateful coz when I woke up I found out my family woke up as well I'm grateful cuz I got to choose which outfit I wanted to wear before I came to church I'm grateful today because I'm still redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and I matter how much I messed up on yesterday I'm still saved by grace somebody else you ought to be happy about the same things today's a good day I'm happy about all that but I'll be honest with you I am ecstatic that this fast is over Oh oui I am glad seek 2019 is over can I just tell you I don't want to see no broccoli I don't want any trail mix don't give me any kale or quinoa for another year I am tired of the Daniel Fast I want some bacon I want a cup of coffee now what a little something-something [Applause] I'm sorry I gotta get on a flight today cannot tell you how hard it is to be loaded Daniel fast while you're traveling and going through airports and sleeping at hotels imma grab me a sandwich all the weight and EPS lighten up all we have I'm tired of this fast and some of you all can admit this thing has been hard if you were fully committed to it you know what I know and there were some moments we wondered if we could make it through this thing can I say something being hungry is hard being hungry and reaching out for trail mix is hard being hungry eating trail mix and still being hungry after you eat it it's hard this thing has been difficult but yet here we come at the end of it and our lives are better and I want to thank you because when the Lord first put fasting on my heart I thought it was just about me an individual journey or something God was calling me to do to get my life in order for some things God wants to do this year and then it became clear that it was supposed to be church wide and so I cast a vision and I want to thank whether mark lavra and I gave him the assignment and Mark pulls together a devotional team mark got the information out online mark put together the covenant page I want to thank you Mark for helping coordinate seek 20-19 our first call to fasting and prayer [Applause] I want to thank the intercessory prayer team you all don't know this but there are brothers and sisters who every day at noon were on a prayer call praying for you and your strength and commitment to finalize the covenant and the fast that God had called us to I want to thank the culinary ministry the kitchen folk didn't cook any meat for 21 days they went vegan and in a black Baptist Church that's a miracle of God and all by itself I want to thank you all I mean if you receive the vision and made the Covenant partnership to join in with us if you participated in any way with Sikh 20:19 would you raise a hand those who are part of it us and 4,000 other people got together on our knees and in prayer and in fasting and I want to thank you as I thank God for joining in with me for 21 days of consecrating ourselves before the Lord and it was hard it looked easy on paper it sounded good on January 5th but midway through the day on January twit 26 some of us asked what have I gotten myself into this thing was hard but we're the better for it it's kind of like going to the gym have you ever gone to the gym and have one of those workouts that you want to quit that you thought you were gonna pass out in the middle of that your trainer pushed you too far that they forgot how to count and you thought that you would die but you never had a workout like that and regretted whenever it was over you know that that was good for you you know your body was thanking you you know you were better for it beloved ain't nothing like a good spiritual workout ain't nothing like 21 days of saying no and praying and consecrating yourselves it may have been difficult but we are blessed because of it because fasting has some rewards there's some benefits to pass fasting that's what Jesus is teaching in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount showing his disciples how to follow him and in chapter 6 he begins by saying listen there's some things I expect you to do as a disciple but when you do them don't do them as the hypocrites hypocrites practice their religion to be seen I want you to do what you do for God to see you only so he starts in chapter 6 but I say listen if you're gonna do good deeds if you're gonna help a brother or a sister out don't do it in public don't do it for people to recognize how altruistic you are and how generous you are and your giving and to applaud you and clap you on the back Jesus says the hypocrites do that if you want to help somebody help them privately we're only godsey's then he says if you're gonna pray don't pray like the hypocrites the hypocrites stand on street corners with microphones and religious garment on and they pray long prayers with flowery words and big cliches and religious language so people look at him and say oh she must be religious oh oh he must be religious Jesus says don't pray like that when you pray go in your prayer closet and pray before the Lord and he says and when you fast because fasting should be part of your regular religious regimen when you fast go fast like the hypocrites the hypocrites weren't everybody's know their fasting so when they fast they look all busted and disgusted they look toe up from the flo up they walk around weak and acting like they ain't got no strength Jesus says no when you fast get yourself together get your hair done paint toenails put some lipstick on some chapstick cover up your rusty dusty self and walk like you're living normal and fast in private watch Jesus verse 4 verse 6 and verse 18 because your father who sees what you do in private will reward you openly that when you do it and do it right for God that God sees what you do and God who sees in secret will reward in public here's what Jesus says there's some rewards to fasting and fasting are to be part of your regular religious regimen say why that's important because most churches push everything on you but fasting they push prep being present in church they push reading your Bible they push praying they push shouting at shouting time they push giving it giving time but when was the last time a church told you that part of what makes you a disciple is that you learn how to fast regularly there's some rewards too faster allow me to drop four of them on you real quick for rewards of fasting and I want to unveil them by connecting it to other scripture for rewards of fasting the first reward comes from what I believe is probably your favorite passage of Scripture I don't know you but I'm willing to bet that one of your favorite passages of Scripture comes from Philippians chapter 4 you didn't even know it was there but that's where it came from Philippians chapter 4 verse 11 to 13 Howard John Wesley translation reads a little something like this Paul says in verse number 11 listen I'm not talking to you all out of need because I've learned whatever state I'm in to be content verse number 12 I've learned how to have a lot and I learned how to have a little I learned how to make it with everything I want and I know how to make you when I ain't got everything I need I know how to be rich and I know how to be poor I know how to be on top and I know how to be on the bottom because this is what I found out here's your favorite verses scripture verse 13 because I can do I'm preaching you stay in your lane I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me this is what Paul declares I have found out that I can rely on the power of Christ within me to do whatever God calls me to do whatever God requires of me whatever God requests of me whatever God commands me to do I'm able to do it because if God calls me to it the power of Jesus is inside of me and it allows me to do everything that God calls me to do and C 2019 revealed that to you many of us start at this journey on January 6 and we looked at everything we committed to and we asked how in the world am I gonna do that 21 days with no meat 21 days with no shopping 21 days no sports center 21 days no Facebook 21 days no coffee God listen I need coffee in the morning William I cuss folk out when I don't have coffee Lord this ain't gonna work for somebody somebody gonna catch it if I don't have some coffee in the morning 21 days how are we gonna do it the ants are simple I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me let me tell you why this fast was important because you know that oftentimes God calls you to do something you don't want to do God asks of you what you don't naturally want to give God commits you to do something that's unrealistic that seems impossible that is unprecedented that you have never done before you hear God call you to do what you don't want to do and your flesh tries to tell you you can't say yes to what God has asked of you and in that moment I need you to look back on January 6 to 26 and remind yourself I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me through Christ I can forgive folk who have done me wrong through Christ I can live sexually pure through Christ I can walk away from a relationship that ain't no good for me through Christ I can say yes to my ministry assignment through Christ I can share Jesus with my coworker through Christ I can get along with my sister through Christ I can make amends with my brother through Christ I can do whatever God calls me to do it may be hard it may be difficult I may not want to do it but there is a power inside of me that allows me to do whatever God calls me to do because the one thing this fast has shown us is we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us now everybody loves verse 13 but Deacon bear out what folk don't see me remember is that verse 13 is preceded by verse 12 done by something that was deep doesn't what that was deep that was deep you can't get to verse 13 without going through verse 12 verse 13 is I can do all things here's the verse 12 says but you've got to learn how to be hungry you've got to learn how to not have you've got learned how to say no because you never rely on the power of Christ until you're hungry until you desire until you want and cannot have and the problem with Americanized Christianity is that we don't know how to be hungry we know how to pursue what we want we know how to go after what we desire but part of being a disciple means that you learn how to be hungry you know what I'm say some James says in the New Testament that the tongue can't be controlled what he says the tongue is a strong member of your body cannot tell you a muscle that's stronger than your tongue your stomach boy being hungry is hard there were times I thought I was going to die I don't know how something y'all did water only for three days I tried it for 12 hours and God said stop that was not God's will for my life [Applause] I felt like my stomach was eating me from the inside out there's nothing like being hungry but you know what I found out I can be hungry and I died I cannot have what I want and still be all right so here's what the fast is meant to teach you you don't have to have everything your heart once you don't have to scratch every inch you don't have to chase down every desire you don't have to say yes to every opportunity you don't have to spend to have everything you want you can learn to tell yourself no being hungry teaches you to rely on the power of Jesus Christ that when you don't have what you think you ought to have and don't have what you think you need there's a power of Jesus that says you gonna be all right you don't have to have what she has you don't have to live like he lives you can make it through the power of Jesus and you know what I found out being hungry and I hope you found this out in this fast I found out how blessed my life really is coming up real quick I want to clue you in on something you were never really hungry no you are uncomfortable but you weren't hungry someone said yes I was no you weren't yes I was no you weren't you weren't hungry you are uncomfortable you know why cuz you always had access to food there was some nuts around you somewhere you could go onto giant and get you a vegetable tray squeeze some lemon on it and you'd have been alright right you always had access to food even if you were just fasting from 6 to 6 you knew 6 p.m. was coming and at 6 p.m. you won't eat so you couldn't eat no more you were never really hungry you are uncomfortable hungry is when you don't have access to food hungry is when 6 o'clock comes and that don't make a difference hungry is when you want but you don't have access you don't have resource you don't have anything and I hope you came out of this realizing I complain too much God has blessed me with too much and I'm grateful that I have access to food and allow me to tell you there are some folk in the world who know what hunger really is some folk who don't have access some folk who don't have resource some folk who don't have food and God says you ought to be a blessing to those who are truly hungry so the next time you pull up at that stoplight and that brother walks up to your window with his cardboard sign saying he's hungry do me a favor don't turn your head and act like you don't see him you are too blessed to let him be hungry take what God has given you and give it to them who are truly hungry cuz you can rely on the power of Jesus that's the first reward the second reward of fasting is nestled in something that happens in first Kings chapter 19 in first Kings chapter 19 Elisha the prophet needs God to speak to him about what he should do about Jezebel a Habs wife so he lives his praying God talk God talk God tell me what to do and this what God tells Elijah to do if you want to hear me he says go to the mountain stand in the mountain and I'm going to talk to you Elijah goes to the mountain and the Bible says the wind rushes by he can hear the wind but he can't hear God in the wind their Earth begins to shake he can feel the earth shake but he doesn't feel God in the earthquake a fire breaks out he sees the fire but he doesn't see God in the fire and the Bible says that after the wind blew and he couldn't hear God in the wind and after the earth shook and he couldn't feel God in the earthquake and after the fire broke out and he couldn't see God in the fire he says then a still small voice the New Revised Standard says that after the earthquake and the wind and the fire there was utter silence and Elijah heard God in the silence not in the wind not in the earthquake not in the fire because God doesn't always speak so loud that you can hear it God doesn't always move so much that you can feel him God doesn't do such miraculous that you can see it sometimes God speaks to you in a still can't say why that's important all of us have been in a place where you were utterly confused about what God wanted from you every one of us has asked God could you speak louder give me your every ask God give me a sign and then you set the sign up okay Lord if if Gideon did it um if you want me to take this job today I need to see a license plate come in front of me with we're California plates and I'm a discerner that means I'm sort of go to California all of us have been confused everyone has been at the crossroad wondering is God saying go this way or is God saying that way and in that moment when you don't know the will of God you do what you've been taught to do you pray you pray you pray you pray you pray have you ever prayed and you still didn't know what God wants you to do so after you pray you grab your Bible oh and you read your Bible you read from Genesis all the way to Exodus [Applause] [Laughter] have you ever read your Bible and you still didn't know what God wanted you to do so then you came to church surely if I get in the house of the Lord something will be said in the song something will be preached and I'll hear from God have you ever come to church and you still don't know what God wanted you to do and then you got a prayer partner surely if you find someone anointed who talks in tongues and you hold hands and you pray they will help you understand the will of God and you still didn't know what God wanted you to do you prayed and didn't know you read the Bible and didn't know you came to church and didn't know you prayed with someone and didn't know it's not because prayer doesn't work or the Bible is broken or churches a waste of time it's because there are too many other loud voices in your life and God can't speak with all that noise and in order to hear God you've got to get silent God will not yell over the other voices in your life you know what God's like God's like that old school teacher that the mean teacher that when the class was too loud and she wanted attention she wouldn't yell she's standing look at you until you got quiet fasting is a way of quieting the other noises to hear God hear me praying is talking to God fasting is listening for the answer and the reason some of us can't discern God's answer you talk too much and God calls us to be silent because God never wants you dependent on someone else to know his will for your life let me say that again let me show you get it God never wanted you to be dependent upon him to tell you what God wants for you that's our topic long time don't ever come to me telling me what God told you to tell me I will not receive you telling me that God woke you up to tell you to tell me something cuz God knows where I am and God knows I listen and God knows I try to be obedient and God knows he's got my attention and God doesn't want me being dependent upon you to tell me what God wanted me to do if God want to tell me something God gonna tell me directly so you keep what God told you to tell me to yourself Jesus says in John 10 my sheep know my voice my people know my voice God says the purpose of this fast was to teach you how to know God's voice for yourself to know where your prayer closet is to know how you hear from God to know how God speaks to you to know where you ought to be to hear the voice of God so that God can speak to you directly that's what the fastest about let me give an example let me example how many of you are on the Daniel Fast you tried the Daniel Fast try the Daniel Fast okay if you are on the Daniel Fast you know that you possibly had an argument with someone who tried to tell you what is and ain't on the fast everybody everybody has their own interpretation of the fast because there's no real biblical detail right so so I was eating yogurt and his sister really fussed me outside my yogurt ain't on the Daniel diet you broke the fat ho ho slow so now it's around how do you know yogurts not on the Daniel Fast cuz the vibe says this that that okay the whole reason the church didn't tell you what you should and should not eat on the fast it's because the purpose of the fast was for you not to be dependent on other people telling you what you're supposed to do the whole purpose of the fast was for you to pray to God and ask God to can make your heart of what you are to do so listen God told you not do your God didn't tell me that God told me I could have my yogurt in the morning so you stay in your lane I stay in my lane I've listened to what God told me to do and you do what God told you to do the purpose of the fast is to end knowing how to hear the will of God so the next time you're confused the next time you don't know what to do the next time you don't know whether you should say yes to the job the next time you don't know which boo to go with fast and let God speak because one of the rewards of fasting is be able to discern the voice of God to be able to rely on the power of Jesus here's the third reward one of my favorite passages in Scripture is 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13 and here's what Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 10:13 I love this passage of Scripture there's no temptation you've undertaken that's not common to everybody but God let me tell you some anytime you see the two words but God get your shout ready but God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able to endure watch this but with every temptation God makes a way out here's what this fast taught you two things one temptation is all around you when you are fasting isn't it amazing how often you are tempted to break your fast I mean people all around you no respect for the fact that you are on the Daniel Fast they're eating bacon right in front of you cutting up sausage you know it's hard being on a fast and people in your house ain't that's not that's not nice that's not nice temptation is all around but here's the second thing that teaches you that every temptation God makes the way out and God wants you to know that the Holy Spirit in you is greater than the flesh you're in the Holy Spirit in you is greater than the flesh you're in why because when you're committed to the Lord your flesh will always tempt you to break what God has called you to do but the Lord wants you to know you're not just flesh you have a spirit inside of you that is strong when you weaken that first your Holy Spirit give you strength to say oh you don't have to be what you've been you don't have to do what you've done you're not a slave to any sin by the power of the Holy Spirit you can be delivered from anything there's no temptation you have to succumb to there's no sin that has that much power over you you can say no to the power of the Holy Spirit God makes a way out can I tell you why that's important everyone in here has had a Romans 7 moment you'll reach bobbling limit over romans 7 is Romans 7 is where Paul says this man my life is jacked up every time I try to do right I wind up doing wrong and he says this way this is the Roman second moment and the stuff I know I ain't got no business doing I wound up doing again and again and again says man I don't know what I'm gonna do I can't seem to get right and everybody in here has had a romans 7 moment you should have can I prove it to you cuz cuz you've prayed a prayer and the Romans 7 prayer goes like this you may not use these words but you prayed a little something like this here it is here's the prayer God might even try to lie to you while I'm praying I'm be honest Lord hear me out I did some I brought some of myself and I got myself a little bit of bind and I know I shouldn't have done this Jesus Jesus I know I know I shouldn't have done this but lord I want to make a deal with you if you get me out of this Lord I promise I promise in Jesus name Lord I promise I will never see you know the prayer ever ever ever do it again we got to deal amen and the Lord brought you out the Lord kept you all of you to find yourself back in it again and this way that second prayer wake you know everybody here does here's a second prayer lord I don't even know how to say this but you and I both know what we said last week and Lord I made you a promise below you know my heart [Applause] your flesh will try to convince you you are a slave to sin then you cannot control your flesh and the whole purpose of fasting is to remind you yes you can through the Holy Spirit you can control your flesh you don't have to do it you don't have to be it you don't have to live it you can be changed and transformed and delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit if you weaken your flesh that's why you don't watch sports center that's why you don't drink the coffee that's why you don't go shopping you learn in a week in your flesh now that's the good news here's the challenging news the Bible says that when Jesus had finished fasting Luke 4:13 says the devil left him for a more opportune time his what the devil said I I'll be back I'm coming again because when the fast is over the temptations aren't and the devil would love nothing more than to take you back to where you were before this fast began and many of us come to the end of this fast knowing that there's some things I'm not going back to you the fast is over but the new me is just getting started there's some things God and this fast wasn't just keeping you from God was breaking you from some things I'm not going back to I'm not going back to beef and pork I like the way my body feels I'm not going back to social media there's an ignorant waste of my time some friendships I'm not going back to add it nothing to me and God revealed God's self and this fast let you know there's some things don't go back to and you could do it through the power of the Holy Spirit in the fast I learned to rely on the power of Jesus and the fast I've learned to discern the still small voice of God and the fast we learned that the power of the Holy Spirit in us is greater than the flesh were in and here's the fourth reward of fasting and this one gets me excited it comes from mark chapter 9 and let me give you the background in mark chapter 9 a father has a son who's demon-possessed and for some reason the father believes that if I can get my son around a group of disciples he'll be healed if I can find a group that says they follow Jesus his life ought to be changed if I could get him in the midst of folk who worship and shout there's something ought to happen in his life so the dad brings the son with the demons to the disciples and the disciples can't do anything with it they can't heal him they can't cast the demons out they are impotent they are disciples with no power the man brings the Sun to Jesus and files a grievance says listen I brought my son to your disciples on Sunday and they couldn't do nothing I thought that group of folks that called you by your name and said they believed in you and followed after you would be able to make a difference and those disciples had no power Jesus lays his hand on a son and heals them the disciples flip out how could Jesus do what we couldn't do Jesus says to them in mark chapter 9 verse 29 this kind of power is only found in prayer and fasting that the reason you have no power is that you call yourself disciples you read your Bible you show up on Sunday you shout when you're told to shout but you don't know how to pray and fast and therefore you have no power within you but when disciples pray and fast they witness the power of God when disciples pray and fast they see God do amazing things when you pray and fast God shows you his undeniable power and the forth reward of fasting is being able to witness the undeniable power of God you want to see God do amazing things i double-dog dare you too fast you want to see God really move a mountain pray in fast you want to see God turn someone else's life around pray and fast you want to see God bring a healing pray and fast okay y'all don't believe me imma prove it to you I want to start by telling you I don't believe in coincidence I don't believe that things just happen I believe God is in control of everything I believe God orders our steps and numbers our days I believe God sends the right people in the right place to do the right thing at the right time I believe God is so much God that God knows what so tomorrow will be and God will set you up in your yesterday to get you ready for your tomorrow by everything God has been doing God has a way of preparing you for what you don't even know is coming down the road so let me tell you how I know fasting works God put the vision of fasting on my mind back in the fall of last year to make certain that I heard God correctly I call it the staff ministers together in our retreat and I share it with them listen the Lord is putting a fast on my mind let's pray and hear God out and we put stickies all on the wall and wrote out everything we were hearing from God we shaped the fast and then we try to find the dates 40 days 30 days when should we fast we tried to find it during Lent it didn't work try to find something before Christmas it didn't work try to find something in August but we knew all y'all would be at the vineyard so that didn't work and finally the only dates that worked were January 6 through January 26 so in September we heard God say six to twenty six of January go too fast we had no idea in September then at the end of December the government would shut down that 800,000 people would be out of work that members of our church would be furloughed with no income we did not know but we went to praying on January 6 and you cannot tell me that it is coincidence that just the other day that the government opened its doors hey hey listen listen listen I came by taking case you didn't get it this ain't cause Trump changed his mind this isn't cuz Pelosi made a deal this is because 4000 sheiks who believe in the power of God nailed down and fasted and God showed us amazing things would you would you not your neighbor come this is not coincidence this is fulfillment of promise because my Bible says when my people call by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face God says I'll heal your nation [Applause] Sidon coincidence raid this is what happens when the church decides to pray we got power [Applause] you know why some churches are impotent they know fast and this type of power only comes through prayer and fasting they shout they pack members in but they're not a threat cuz they ain't got no power Kevin I finally help me make sense of something I'm done I'm done November 3rd was probably the roughest day I've seen that alpha Street Baptist Church November 3rd was a Saturday and that evening worship we had just finished the deacons were finishing up their wood tree prayers have been lifted people joined the church Souls got saved it was time for the benediction I'm getting ready to give the benediction and I see flashing lights outside I assume it's just the ambulance that may be a member had taken sick get ready give the benediction we're ever near Jackson ran from the back along the side and came up and said pastor you can't let people go I said what are you talking about church is over he said the police are outside they've quarantined the church because there's a bomb threat and we sat in this building not knowing if we're about to die since then I've had the opportunity to hear the phone call that came in to the police and it made me mad the voice on the other end said there's a bomb at Alpha Street Baptist Church and that in Word Church and that inward pastor are going to die tonight to think that someone wouldn't want to destroy our church to think that someone would take me and not let me be here for my sons again asking God why in the world would someone want to kill me and destroy our church we've done nothing other but trying to help this community feed clothe put kids in school build something that's never been seen God why blow us up why did we get a bomb threat in November cuz we're a threat do I get a bomb threat in November because the government was shutting down in December and in January we had already scheduled our prayer you're not threatened if you're not a threat but back in September the Lord told us to pray in January we got the bomb threat in November then December the government shutdown in January we prayed and that Joker opened back up because we have found out that a praying and fasting Church has power that this world has never seen before and we are able to do amazing things in the name of Jesus Christ and we are a threat to darkness in order to remind me of I'm done Jesus built the church and Jesus says in Matthew 16 I will build my church upon this rock and what do you say the very gates of Hell will not prevail against it says Linda most of times we read that incorrectly we hear that the church is building the gates of Hell will not prevail against it and because we intend to read the word prevail as attack we read it to suggest that Jesus built a church and the gates of Hell can't even attack the church the church can withstand the gates of hell that's not what that verse means the King James translates it incorrectly it's not prevail its withstand so if you translate it correct Jesus I'll build my church and the gates of Hell cannot withstand the church that when the church does what God created it to do we will tear hell down we will destroy darkness in the world we will change the world we got power to pull down the very gates of Hell to pull down every wall and everything that exalts itself against the name of Jesus Christ a praying and fasting Church can change when we fast we learn to rely on the power Jesus I can do all things when you pray and fast you can just hear the still small voice of God we pray and fast you'll find out that there's no temptation you can't endure when you pray and fast you will see God do amazing things the next time you need to see a miracle i double-dog dare you too fast next time you want God to heal fast this type of power only comes due prayer and fasting you

Channel: Alfred Street Baptist Church

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Keywords: Alfred Street Baptist Church, 2019, Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, #therewardsoffasting, #pastorhjw, #shutdown, #governmentshutdown, #superbowl, #seek2019

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Length: 51min 51sec (3111 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 28 2019