The Power Of Fasting Part 1- Stephanie Ike

hey family welcome to the official youtube page of one i'm excited that you're here this message is getting ready to bless your life i want you to stay connected to the incredible things that are happening in this movement so don't forget to subscribe and turn on your notifications and if you want to partner with us and some of the great things that we're doing all over the world you can give as well now it's time to get into this word i love you god bless you let's stay connected hi family i am so excited to be with you tonight for activate i'm so excited for what god has purpose to do in and through your lives as a result of this word you know when i was in prayer for you there was of there was something that the lord kept showing me was a phrase and the phrase said mission possible and as i began to ponder on that and i'm saying god what is it about this phrase that you want me to tell your people and the lord began to show me that for that you know it's almost like for many they're in a season where they're beginning to you know question and doubt if the things and the promises that the lord had given them is indeed possible because you're faced by so many obstacles that are constantly challenging and constantly speaking what the lord has not spoken it is telling you that this very text that god has said in your heart this this vision and this mission he has set you on that it's not it can't be done the way he showed it to you and you start wondering god is this possible and he said to tell you that the mission is possible now the beauty of the word of god is that all throughout the scriptures we see that god gives us instructions and commandments and you know to the carnal mind in the wisdom of man it just seems like religious activities like god is telling us to do certain things just because but the reality is that every word of god is backed up by power there are mysteries in the word of god that when we move in the understanding of his of his word that we begin to function in the power that it releases unto us the word of god you know one of the things that the lord showed me one time it was almost like i was looking at the bible and i'm reading the words but the words look like open doors before me because the word of god is like a key it's like an open door that when you move in an understanding you begin to move in the possibilities of god and so when i'm saying mission possible i'm not just here to declare to you that the mission is possible i want to talk to you about one of the mysteries of god that releases a power of god as he instructed me to teach and i'm going to teach on the power of fasting now there's a scripture in first corinthians two seven it says this and this is the apostle paul speaking one of the things i loved about the apostle paul is that you know he he he talked about himself in many ways and one of the ways he talked about himself is a steward of the mysteries of god and in this scripture he says this but we speak the wisdom of god in the mystery the hidden wisdom which god ordained before the ages for our glory i hope you caught that he says that there there's hidden wisdom that god ordained before the ages for your glory you know it reminds me one of my favorite scriptures in the bible is in proverbs and the scripture talks about it is the glory of god to conceal a matter and it is the glory of kings to search it out and so what it's saying is that when you step into your position in god when you recognize i'm a child of god and you understand that the children of god are kings and priests but we only function as kings when we step into our priesthood when we begin to seek the holy spirit for understanding and wisdom when we begin to call upon the name of the lord that lord i feel like i'm i'm in a i'm in a cycle i feel like i'm stuck in something i believe that there is a season of my life that i'm supposed to experience a breakthrough in this area it's not just for you to sit down and cross your leg there are mysteries that when you tap into it it is for your glory and you see that word glory actually speaks about promotion it speaks about advancement that there is access there is favor that would be unlocked in your life when you tap into the understanding of the commandments and the instructions of god you see i want you if you're if you don't have notes right now we're gonna we're gonna take our time with this word because there's so much that i want to unpack as the lord was teaching me i mean this was so good to me that i i think i was studying this with the lord and i got emotional because i've lived a life of fasting and prayer but i have not seen fasting in the manner that he started teaching it to me that i'm so excited to share with you because i truly believe it's going to unlock some things in your life that are going to be so powerful and that very thing that feels like god i don't know if i can get breakthrough in this area mission possible even right now i want to actually pray for you but i'm going to take a moment i want you to think about what god has put in your heart to do i want you to think about the vision that seems so grand i want you to think about the things that sometimes it keeps you up at night because you're trying to wrap your head around god how are we gonna do this in the manner that you have spoken not in the way that you can finesse you see because when god speaks when when he told noah to build the ark he told he gave him specific instructions and he said noah build it according to the pattern that i have shown you he says don't build what you think is possible in your own ability build it exactly according to the pattern that i have shown you when god is dealing with your life there is a pattern for your life there is a pattern for the vision there is a pattern for the promise it's just that sometimes you know because of doubt and insecurity and inadequacy we begin to minimize what god has spoken to us even when we talk about it we talk about it in such a mediocre way that when we're even moving about it it's not yes everything is a it's one step after the next and things connect but you have to see it from the place of how god said it so that when you're building you have that vision in mind but not that you're building according to only the current capacity that you have and so mission is possible and we're going to talk about fasting fasting you know when i think about fasting there are so many i kept thinking like what testimony to share but the reality is that there are so many testimonies that i can tell you about fasting i've seen the power of god that released people from addiction through fasting i remember there was a friend of mine who was struggling with addiction to a certain drug and we went on a fast together and it broke i've seen god even heal you know people that were even demonically oppressed i remember there was this gentleman that i know and there was an oppression in his life and before i was so quick to want to jump in and pray for him the lord said to me to go on a seven-day fast and on the seventh day that demon that was oppressing their home left there's so many things i can tell you in my personal life i've seen relationships restored i've seen breakthrough i've seen financial increase there are things that when you recognize that oh my gosh the hand of god did this and again it's not this religious name we're going to go into it but i'm so excited to share this and one of the questions you know when when you think about fasting is if there's all these things about fasting in the bible right if we see that even our lord jesus who is the ultimate model he fasted where we talk about the power fasting why is it that people do not fast and i want to address this before i actually get into the message because the number one thing is ignorance right ignorance is not like a curse word you know it is self-awareness that when you become aware that there is an area of my life that i don't understand the power and the benefit of this very thing and i'll prove it to you because if you've ever been led when the spirit of god all of a sudden so strongly convicts you maybe in a moment of worship in a moment of prayer where you were clear and you had this conviction that you needed to go on a fast that the lord was calling you to go deeper in him and you started fasting and maybe you know you experience one or two breakthroughs halfway midway and next thing you broke the fast right you break the fast not because you were just so physically exhausted but the reason why sometimes we don't see things all the way through is that we don't understand the power of what we're actually doing because when there is understanding it the understanding itself is like a fire the understanding of the word of god it sees you to the finish line you know i'm reminded jeremiah said something so beautiful he talked about how that the word of god is like fire shut up in his bones but this is what understanding does in the life of a believer when you have understanding of something your life begins to be marked by the fire of god that sees you through because when you move and understand it it is the difference between jesus and jesus it is the difference between calling someone jesus as a friend and saying jesus and all of a sudden demons begin to tremble because there is an understanding of who you're calling that when i say his name i'm not just calling the person who lives down the street i'm calling the king of kings there is a difference and so when you move in an understanding of something it causes you to see it through it causes you to desire and say oh my lord god i want to give myself to that so sometimes it's simply ignorance but it's not just ignorance of you know a lack of spiritual insight sometimes it's also ignorance of what happens in the natural body when we fast i remember a friend of mine she was like you know i don't think fasting is meant for me because my body just rejects it you know i get headaches and i get all kinds of things and i said no that's that's not that fasting is not meant for you or is it that the enemy is attacking you this is just natural things that happen to the body and sometimes in the beginning stages it could be that you know you are your body could be withdrawn from caffeine um it could be that you might be dehydrated there's so many things that just the lack of understanding of what happens to the natural body and the actual the reality is that this is temporary right because your body is coming it's adjusting to something different it's like wait this is not our normal schedule what is happening here and so sometimes yes you do have things like a headache and you do have you know little symptoms that happen but it passes and we think that men fasting is not for my natural body and the funny thing what i love so much about god is that even the things that he instructs us to do i love when science backs it up you know even for the natural body science actually there's there's so much research and study that shows that fasting is actually healthy and beneficial for your natural body i mean they can only talk about a natural because they're not gonna you know talk about the spiritual we'll talk about the spiritual but even to the natural body just to come against any lie that says you know it's not for my body even your natural body actually needs it that's why right now there's a whole trend with intermediate fasting right where people are just fasting for health benefits and weight loss right after a pandemic everybody started you know doing some intermittent fasting but one is ignorance number two is lack of hunger there was a quote i read that really struck me i want to read that to you was by a man of god named john piper and he said this the absence of fasting is the measure of our contentment with the absence of christ if we don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of god it is not because we we have drunk deeply and are satisfied it is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world that our soul is stuffed with small things that there is no room for the great that that last line just hit me that our soul is so stuffed with small things that there is no room for the great you see sometimes when you're when your life is driven by culture and all these things then your appetite is all for the things that you see you have an appetite to be up and acknowledged maybe by friends or by people you have an appetite to say god i want i want people to know who i am i want people to like me i want i want the applause you have an appetite for the small things that you make no room for the great because no matter how big your accomplishments may be there is nothing that can be compared to what life really is when you're growing in intimacy with christ the revelation that your life is backed by the insight that your life is backed by that you're building something that would last because you're building something connected to the kingdom but if we are so full of the little things we make no room for the great number two lack of appetite lack of hunger lack of the right appetite right then number three pride self-dependence now pride is very prideful it won't tell you that it's pride but it is this mentality of i got this it's my problem i know how to handle it and sometimes unfortunately we take how we have grown up in the natural and we relate that with how we also treat god you know maybe growing up you had the responsibility to take care of your siblings you had to some of you maybe even had to take care of your parents some of you maybe even for the realities that you took care of yourself from a very young age that even when you came to know the lord it is hard for you to actually relinquish control because all you've known is control that everything about your life that when you look on your life you're like yeah i remember how i did that i know how this happened i i did that too oh yeah what i invested time this ma this happened i i gave myself to this and this happened it's all natural results and so your life is marked by your hands and your control that when you encountered god you have not yet understood that there's some things in your life that you will not experience breakthrough because there are things in your life you are created to have partnership with god and so there are some battles that it would never be enough by your strength you will need to call in a strength that is higher than yours because you see the reality is that there are some things that when the enemy is up against you it's not you his he's up against he wants to discredit the name of god that marks your life he wants to discredit the promises of god that has been released to you and the promises of god can only be fulfilled by the hand of god and so when god is giving you a word and you're like god i got this i know how to handle this self-dependence you know self-made right this is what culture celebrates but then you have to come to a place and realize that god i cannot do this on my own i need you but this embrace of i got this mentality you know my problem my fight mentality we're never going to experience the life of abundance that jesus laid his life for for us to have because we're not even we're not inviting the victory that only comes through christ and so i want to talk about what is fasting there are eight truths i want to teach you on fasting and the next time i'm with you we're actually going to really dive into deeper on how we fast and just different things in regards to what to expect when you're fasting what happens when you're fasting the different you know even when the temptations and circumstances that the enemy tries to throw you away but right now i want to talk to you about eight things as it pertains to fasting number one fasting is an activity that brings you into the economy of spiritual possibilities fasting is an activity that brings you into the economy of spiritual possibilities i love that word economy because it speaks about wealth and resources and fasting it's an activity but it brings you into the divine possibilities of god you see i think about esther right some of you may know the story of esther she was an orphan girl who became queen and when she became queen there was a man named haman who was just a hater you know he was really the the most petty person in the bible and his pettiness opened the door for satan and haman had this whole plan to annihilate all the jews and even when esther esther's uncle informs her he's like look you need to do something about this and esther is like look the king has not even asked for me right i'm not even on his mind right now and if i just show up to him look i could actually be killed if he does not show me favor i could be killed and you know her uncle is just like look um esther don't think that you can escape this so esther does she tells the uncle to tell all the jews to fast with her for three days and after the fast there was such a supernatural favor from the king towards esther there was divine insight and strategic direction of what she must do in order to save her people what she should say to the king and how she should go about the situation and we see that esther from that posture of fasting tapped into divine possibilities now number two fasting is a sacrificial posture of our dependence on god you see make no mistakes about it fasting would always be a sacrifice i love it david in psalms he talked about i will not bring to the lord what cost me nothing you know when you talk about fasting you don't like if if someone says like hey you know i'm just gonna fast in the morning but you don't eat breakfast that does not make sense right that's not a sacrifice but when you talk about fasting it must be a sacrifice unto you it has to cost you something because it is your way of saying that lord i am dependent on you you see what fasting demonstrates it says that lord in my weakness you would be my strength you see paul we hear when paul talks about how the strength of god is made perfect in my weakness that was not an invitation to live in sin it was not to live in sin and say well god is my strength and it's okay if i do this he is saying that in my weakness when i acknowledge that i am weak that i cannot do this by myself that the strength of god comes upon me to equip me and enable me one of the things i told you earlier about fasting is that fasting can actually help you to break off addictive behaviors because when you fast you're saying that god i acknowledge that i cannot do this by myself when you fast with the understanding that lord i'm dealing with this drug problem i'm dealing with pornography lord i need you to take it away i need you to step in god i've seen it i'm not telling you something i don't know i've seen this happen i fasted with people who are struggling with things i've seen people who have told me their testimonies when you come in the understanding that god i'm struggling with this issue i'm going to acknowledge that i am weak before you that your power may be made known through me and so fast and says god i'm dependent on you and when you take that posture in prayer you would experience breakthrough in your own life and so for some of you that you're just like i've been dealing with this hidden addiction i've been dealing with this hidden cycle that i cannot break myself out of it i invite you to go on the fast where your intention behind it god i need your strength to set me free from this bondage that's number two let's go to number three fasting is an external practice fueled by an internal passion you see we fast from a place of desire of intimacy with christ we don't fast from a place of again it's not this religious activity or or duty we fast from a place of an internal passion that lord i want to grow in you that even when your fast is connected to maybe needing a breakthrough needing some type of move of god in your life you connected to the glory of god because the scripture tells us that even through our testimonies that people can overcome and so when something is going on in your life the promises of god seems to be delayed or denied and you say you know what lord i'm going on the fast to seek you because you're you cannot lie you are not meant to lie you are not the son of man to repent that the world will know that you are faithful god through my life lord every time you fast it should be fueled by an internal passion for christ it's not about the thing it's about christ being glorified and being magnified right and the next reason is that we fast as an expression of worship you see when we worship god we are setting our affection on god we're saying that god you are my focus you are my attention that god i want it's you that i'm after in this moment there are many times in the scriptures and i'm gonna we'll talk about this too but in the scriptures you sometimes see where people are fasting because maybe they need revelation people are fasting because they need breakthrough in their life people are fasting because they need direction they need strategic insight but there are times that people are fastened as a lifestyle where it's just you know you see scriptures there's a prophet says anna all we know about her is that she was worshiping in the temple day and night praying and fasting it was her lifestyle we see this sometimes even with the disciples there's a scripture i love so much it's in acts 13 verse 2 and it says while they were worshiping the lord and fasting the holy spirit said set apart for me barnabas and saul for the work to which i have called them that you just see people having this lifestyle of fasting because it is an act of worship when you reverence god when you see god in his proper place when you live a life and you're moving in the fear of the lord you begin to recognize god i want to be intentional about setting time aside setting myself apart from distractions to seek you in a deeper way sometimes your fasting your lifestyle of fasting is simply worship that if i'm fasting once a week once a month three times a month whatever the case might be it's not every time that you might actually be led into a fast it becomes part of who you are it becomes part of your walk with god that's why jesus will say things like when you fast not if you fast he just says when you fast when you pray right we pray at any time of the day we don't always have to feel led by the spirit to pray you can start praying right now and it's the same thing with fasting it is a posture of worship that lord i reverence you lord i want to see i i want to see your glory in the world i want to spend time with you i want to know you lord jesus and you're intentional because even when you think about prayer right your intention about your prayer life you set time aside to to seek the lord to pray to study the word and fasting just takes it up a notch because fasting says i'm gonna make more time the time that i used to cook the time that i use for many maybe to microwave the time that i used to be on social media the time that i give myself to the distractions and the appetite of the world lord i'm after you and the beauty just like the scripture i read the the disciples the apostles were just worshiping and fasting it was just part of their lifestyle and all of a sudden the holy spirit releases an assignment he says you know what set apart from me barnabas and saul there is a call there's a mission there is a task i have for them could it be that for some of you that you're in a space where you're so focused like god you know i just feel like i'm not doing what i'm supposed to do and the lord is just like when you get in a rhythm when you get in the rhythm of my grace when you get in the rhythm when you get in my flow revelation will just come to you there was a posture where the holy spirit met them and revealed to them the appointment and the calling of barnabas and saul he met them in the place of worshiping and fasting and he said you know what set apart from me this too there's a call that i have for them you see sometimes the silence you're experiencing in your life is not because god is trying to be intentionally silent but you have not postured yourself to hear him because the bible says that the secrets of the lord are with those that fear him and to them he would reveal his covenant the lord has a system that that he he has to follow because that reveals the justice of god in order for god to be a just god he cannot put himself above his own systems and so sometimes in your life you're just like god but what's going on you're not talking you're not doing this you're you know i feel like there are things that are hidden from me there are things that are hidden from us but it takes the ability to search it out that brings glory to you the promotion that you might be looking for that the growth that you might be looking for the glory that is connected to your name is not just gonna meet you when you're sleeping there is a posture that you come under and it's not a posture of works it is a posture of reverence god i see you in your proper place i want to set my eyes on you i want to set my gaze on you and so this becomes my lifestyle because the reality is that the world has so many distractions that if you're not intentional about being about focusing on the lord and setting yourself apart for the lord you will be dragged in so many directions and in the end of our days god forbid it's not for us to say man i wish i would have done this differently i wish i would have known this you know i was i was reading a survey it was a survey and there were several people advanced in age from different countries and they asked them what is one thing that you regret if you look back in your life what is one thing no what is one thing you would have done differently and the majority of the answers had to do with regrets of things they wish they would have done but the distractions of life pulled them away from it and so i ask you are you distracted have you created a culture around grace for your life have you created disciplines that bring you into the rhythm of god's grace again it's not religion it's reverence right so fasting is an expression of worship number five fasting is the humbling of our soul david said this in psalms 35 13 i humbled myself with fasting you see the soul of man represents his wisdom his intellect his understanding and all that stuff and fasting humbles the soul it says you know what lord i'm not gonna rely on what i think i know i'm not gonna rely on how i think i can go about this i need your direction i need your insight i need your wisdom that's why we even see a man like daniel when he needed to understand something he was not going to rely on his own wisdom he went on a fast and all of a sudden an angel was released to him to bring him understanding about the visions he saw now it may or may not be an angel can come to you or it could just be that you become more sensitive to the things of god that you begin to flow in a deeper level of insight and wisdom about what god has called you to do fasting says lord i humble my soul before you i humble myself before you what is it that you have to say about my life you know this reminds me for some of you you may have heard this testimony but i remember when i was in business at the time i was flipping i was flipping properties and there was i felt disconnected i felt far from god first for some reason something didn't just feel right and then i went into a fast i said god i i need insight i need direction i need clarity something in my life feels off i don't it something is not in alignment and i went into a fast and as a result of that fast the lord then said to me leave the business and move out of that fest of humbling my soul that yeah i i there's a way that i can go about in life but i'm not going to rely on my wisdom or my inside god what is it about me that i do not know reveal to me how what step i should take in my life and the lord said leave the business and move to a different city and as a result of moving i found myself in this church and serving in this church and when i walked in this church i never i could never forget the day that i walked into this building then the lord said to me now this is the place i would raise you in ministry and then he started talking to me about my calling ministry but you see these things were hidden from me i never growing up i encountered god early and all of that beautiful things but i didn't think this was this this would be how it would look like my biggest admiration you know the person i admired the most as a kid was oprah i was like oh yeah i like oprah i wanted to be like oprah and i wanted to be a lawyer that was my story as a kid i was like i want to do law and i want to do talk show it was there was nothing about ministry or pastoring i loved the lord i knew the lord and i was just like this is great this is about a relationship this is nothing more but when i humbled myself and say god what else is it about me that i do not know i don't want to rely on what i think is my passion and my insight and my wisdom what is it about me that i do not know he revealed to me his hand on my life and his instruction and his call on my life to minister his word and to be a shepherd over his people through fasting right and so humble your soul number six fasting is a pattern that has consistently birthed the same results this is so critical fasting is a pattern there's a scripture i'll start with jeremiah 29 13 says this and you will seek me and you will find me when you search for me with all your heart god says it's not that there's a way everything i do there is a way he said are you looking for me that's all right you will find me when you will seek me with all your heart and it's so interesting and it's so not even interesting so critical that we recognize that fasting is one of god's many patterns because we see that all throughout the bible there are patterns in which god moves we see this through numbers right in culture they talk about angel numbers not the foolishness of that because with angel numbers they're talking about worshipping the numbers and all this stuff no but we see that god moves even that through numbers there is a mystery right it is not coincidence that jesus would be in the wilderness fasting for forty days it is not coincidence that moses would be on the mountain with god to receive the tablets the ten commandments for forty days it is not coincidence that elijah when he ran away from jezebel on his mission to go and meet the lord the angel of the lord met with him and gave him food to eat that and told him that hey the journey ahead of you is long but that journey from where elijah was to go and meet with the lord was a 40-day journey why all these things are marked by the number 40. right we see that even in the bible there are other consistencies with numbers like seven and three it's just like evil for example i mean this is so random but even when we think about um you know people have this fear of the number 666 right like you know the mark of the beast and all that stuff but the numbers have a cold because even when you talk about let's just this is not even though why i need to say this but even when you talk about the number 666 for example it's not a fear of like oh my gosh there's going to be a mark that says 666 the bible is veiled before us six actually speaks to the number of man because on the sixth day man was formed and so when you're talking about 666 as the mark of the beast it could actually point to three people three individuals that will come together to execute the plan that will bring about the antichrist so it's not just like oh my gosh i gotta be scared of the number six was the day that we were the sixth day was when god made mad so even when we see seven for example the number of completion and then we see god has a pattern with the number seven forty has this thing with with the number of trial and being prepared and got positioned in you god's deliverance god has a system and he moves with patterns and so fasting is also a pattern and the patterns of god it produces the same results over and over again and that is why even satanists and witches fast because they recognize that even in the demonic kingdom in this human body to be empowered by whatever spirit that they give themselves to they have to empty of themselves so even they understand and have tapped into something about fasting did you know that even in the book of acts that there was a time that 40 men came together and these 40 men came together and bound themselves and said we would neither eat nor drink until the apostle paul is killed these 40 men said you know what we are going on a fast in order and to make sure that we will not break this fast until we kill the apostle paul it was not random that it was 40 men coming together who you want to fast just to kill somebody there was something they understood but at the end of the day the power of god will prevail while i'm sharing this with you is to stare something up in you to begin to wonder have i actually applied myself to the things of god in the manner that i should have have i actually applied myself in the way that god is calling me to live out my life fasting is a pattern and when we give ourselves to fasting with understanding there are results that we will see in our lives as well they're results of growth they're results of spiritual maturity because even when i talk to you about how fast and humbles the soul what also happens in that because when you you know what kendrick said be humble sit down right when you when when the lord when you give yourself to the lord to humble your soul he also begins to reveal in you things that require repentance which brings about spiritual maturity when you say lord here i am if there is anything in me search my heart oh god i want to be closer to you i want to grow in you all of a sudden the lord begins to show you yourself and he begins to show you you see well you did right there this is something that needs repentance and repentance simply means that there is a way that you have been going and you need to turn and turn in another direction that will bring you closer to the assignment of god in your life and will bring you closer to the nature and to the ways of god right the next thing number seven fasting puts the nature of the flesh under the authority of your spirit now this is so critical critical because from the beginning of time the one thing that has caused the fall of man and the very same thing that the enemy continues to use as a temptation has been the appetite of the flesh adam and eve it was the appetite of the flesh oh look at this fruit would bring you wisdom oh it was good to the eyes it was good to this adam and eve lost dominion in the earth as a result it was the it was really just a reflection of the loss of inner dominion when they lost dominion over the flesh they lost dominion over the earth it didn't start with the earth satan knew what he was after satan knew that in order for me to gain authority i have to cause you to lose dominion in yourself first because if i get you to lose dominion and give your flesh the upper hand then i have you you see that's why jesus there's a time when jesus looked at peter and when you know peter jesus just told peter he was like peter on this rock i'll build my church and all that stuff peter was filling himself right peter was like look at me just over here having revelation and then jesus is talking about going to the cross peter is just like whoo jesus definitely i need to school you right the teacher or the the student has become the master and peter goes to jesus and he's just like master you would do no such thing and jesus says to him that's when jesus called peter you know said get away from me satan but then jesus reveals how did satan get in and jesus said to peter your mind is not set on things above that your mind is focused on the earthly things what was jesus saying he said peter your flesh is in the is in the seat of dominion that your flesh has taken over satan knows that if i need you to lose the battle that in order for me to have the upper hand with you i need you to lose the battle in yourself because the you see the human body when we talk about the flesh and a lot of times you know the flesh has all this bad credit because it's like oh my gosh the flesh is just evil right even the bible talks about like you know the the ways and the nature of the flesh is against the nature of the spirit but you see the flesh is only supposed to be one thing a vehicle it's not supposed to be the driver the lord calls this body a temple of the holy spirit even demons call your body a home the flesh is only supposed to be a house that is why even in the scriptures there was a there was a scripture when a demon left a man and the demon goes into the dry place the demon is so uncomfortable can you imagine that that the demon is like why what what am i doing in this desert place the demon is in this dry place and he's just like i don't want to be here i want to go back to my home even the demon calls the body of man a home because that's the only place that they have they have the ability to really function so the flesh is only supposed to do one thing to be a vehicle and it's supposed to be a vehicle of the spirit of god that the spirit of god is supposed to have dominion over this body the flesh should not be driving you when the flesh begins to drive you you will lose dominion on the outside because what the flesh craves that's why the bible says things like it calls their scriptures in the new testament that can seem confusing when it says that satan is the god of this age and we're like wait that doesn't make sense because jesus has the victory but they're not saying that satan is the ruler over the world but they're talking about the age the the age speaks to the nature of man that the nature of the fallen man that he is the one who rules over it and so we see scriptures that says that even though we are in this world we are not of this world and so when you fast when you apply the the activity and the discipline of fasting you stay flesh you are not in control i am not going to give myself to the appetites of your desires i am going to give myself to the spirit of god this is also the it's it's it also speaks to why the the the significance of baptism because when we're baptized we're saying that in the water the the nature of the flesh we're saying that no you died on the cross and we are accepting and we are testifying that in the water that's where you're going and then when we are raised up out of the water we're saying that it is the life of christ that now lives that's why even jesus had to be baptized before he started his own ministry and so fasting fasting says you know what the spirit is back in position and one of the reasons that is so important is this check this in philippians 3 3 19 it says they are headed for destruction their god is their appetite they brag about shameful things and think only about this life here on earth their god is their appetite we have to take a moment and ask ourselves who is lord over our lives because to say that jesus is lord is not just because you recognize he's a savior to say that jesus is lord is to say that it is for christ i live and it is for christ i will lay my life that my life is governed by the principles and the ways of christ that is what it means for him to be your lord that for him to be your lord it means that you have laid your life before him you know it's so fascinating elijah the prophet elijah powerful man of god when he had this whole moment where there was a showdown right and you know he he's with the prophets of baal and he's you know going to make a mockery of them and he's saying you know what if you have never read this just google elijah prophet of baal and you'll see the story it's powerful read the whole bible like my pastor would say and there's something crazy that happens right elijah pours water on the altar and he puts the sacrifice and he's about to call you know ask the lord to rain down fire but elijah says something so powerful he says lord prove this day that i am your servant elijah had the ability to stand boldly in front of a situation that seemed so impossible and asked the lord to prove himself because he said that i am your servant i'm not i'm not just one of the people that says you're lord but i'm not a servant in order for you to be my lord that means that i serve you with everything and we have to ask ourselves who is lord is jesus lord or is our appetite our god the things that we have an appetite for when it comes to the carnal nature of man when it comes to the things of this world has that overtaking our submission to god because the reality is that true power true freedom true authority is found when your appetite is connected to the things of god that is when your life lives a mark that is worthy of something it's not just about living a life that is led by every appetite you go after it and then culture sometimes wants to encourage us you know what do you boo no if christ is lord then also show yourself true as a servant show yourself true as one who serves him what is god over you for these people their appetite was their god but that is why when we come back to that place and say lord i'm gonna i'm gonna accept the lifestyle of fasting the flesh cannot have authority and the beautiful thing family is that even when we think about this is that when you live in this manner you become more sensitive to the things of god because when your spirit has the seat of dominion over your life you become more spiritually inclined when you're surround when you're in a place you're not just experiencing a place in the natural you're also experiencing what god is doing in the spiritual you become highly sensitive your visions increase your dreams become it's not just random things happening that your dreams start even becoming prophetic that your life is not just like this random thing that you start realizing that oh my gosh you start living with intention and precision because you're more sensitive to the things of god and lastly family fasting prepares you for good works ephesians 2 10 says for we are god's handiwork created in christ jesus to do good works which god prepared in advance for us to do right so when i talk about good works not just anything good i'm talking about the things that god prepared for us to do and this is the beauty right we even see that jesus before he started his ministry that he went into a season of fasting in the wilderness being prepared for what was to come as a result of his calling and so sometimes when the lord has given you an instruction and assignment it is good to consecrate yourself it is called setting yourself apart for a specific time that you would be in the presence of god to say lord give me understanding how should i go about this season how should i go about this vision how shall i go about this thing that this calling that you have placed in my heart this this this calling that is burning in my heart this desire sometimes you just need to get away with god and one instruction from the lord can change your whole life and the beauty as well you see because sometimes it may not even be just the instruction because sometimes yes we may be fasting for breakthrough but sometimes when we are fasting god breaks us so that his spirit can flow through us and so when you're saying god prepare me you're saying god let me be a conduit of your power let me be a conduit of your glory flow through me in everything i do in my business in my in my in my passion in my writing in my music in everything in in my creativity god i want your glory to be made known sometimes you have to be disciplined about taking time away take time away to say you know what this is going to be a season then i just want to seek god it could be seven days it could be ten days it could be three days but you are intentional to say god it's a discipline it's not just this once in a lifetime thing jesus did not only fast when he was in the wilderness there are times in the scripture that the disciples will come to him and they will bring him food and they're telling him to eat and jesus is like look i i have food that you don't know of right jesus baby jesus is you know what i sometimes i'm like man i wish i was in those times but not really but i do because the way he talks you're just like bruh he's like yeah i have food that you don't know of and the disciples are like confused they're like man did somebody give him something to eat and then jesus would tell them that my food is to do the will of the one who sent me you see there are many times that jesus would reject even the food that the disciples would bring before him but what they didn't realize is that jesus was marked also by a lifestyle of fasting and prayer and the next time that i come to be with you i'm going to continue from this understanding of the power of fasting because there's so much in it and when we begin to move in this understanding and tap into the power your life will change in ways that you are going to be like wait all i had to do was that and not in the sense of a check mark no in the sense of oh my gosh lord i like i just didn't get it before i didn't understand it before and it brings you to this place first of all you become even more sensitive in returning back to the heart of god you see i just sense that some of you you know in revelations it talks about this there was a church that jesus said return to your first love that you have walked away from the first works that you used to do you're so full of many things returned to your first love and the beauty is that when you start living a lifestyle of fasting it makes you more sensitive to just this desire to grow in intimacy with god but for many of you maybe even in this season as we're closing out a new a season 2022 is coming 2021 is coming to an end and we're about to go into 2022 you need clarity for your life you need wisdom for your life you need revelation you need divine strategy for your life you cannot rely on your own wisdom when you did not give yourself life your breath came from somewhere there is a plan for your life there is there is it's already set out by god it's already mapped out by god you just need to come into the awareness of it and maybe you need to go on the fast to say god i submit myself before you i humble my soul before you give me insight about what i need to do in this new season maybe you're struggling with an addiction god i humble myself before you i am i'm weak oh god i need your power to break and set me free from this maybe you need direction about you not even just direction you need to understand god you gave me this promise i don't know what is happening i want to see your glory because you are not a liar this is a promise i've shared with many people and you confess and say god i need your divine intervention i don't know what may be going on but i need you to move do you know that when daniel daniel said that he set his mind to fast for 21 days and what he didn't realize was happening was that god already sent the answer but the answer was held up that there was the prince of persia demonic forces had held up the answer but in daniel's posture of consistency and dependence on god that god what i'm seeking you for i realize it's not something i can do with just good intentions it's not because i have good intentions for this people that this answer would be released god i'm dependent on you i need your power to be released and in daniel's consistency all of a sudden the angel was released to set that angel free to go meet daniel and reveal to him what god has already said do you know that sometimes there are answers that are released and the only reason it is hanging it's not hanging because saiyan is is more powerful than god it's only hanging because this is the place of partnership god has done his part he said you know what this is a season for my child to move in this manner and he has sent you understanding and insight and revelation but all god needs is that hey come in partnership with me do you realize that you cannot do this on your own do you realize that you are not ordained to live life by yourself do you realize that you need the strength of god for this next season and the moment you begin to apply yourself and say god here i am there is something about this new season there is a burden on my heart i can't understand it god speak to me and all of a sudden there's a release all of a sudden you start experiencing breakthrough because all god was waiting for was for you to acknowledge the need of partnership that you are dependent on him it's not because he's trying to you know just kind of play with your emotions and toy with you and control you know in him we live and move and have our being everything exists because of him it works when it's connected it works when it's connected so i want to pray for you when i meet with you again we're going to continue on this message but i believe in that for many of you because of what the lord showed me i know this with all my heart that many of you are watching and you need to go into a season of fasting you need to go into a season of recognizing that god i need to hear something that did not come from my own wisdom that god i need to grow in you that god i need your counsel i need you to show me areas in my own life that i need to also repent of my ways god i don't know if i'm going the wrong way there's a scripture that says there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads in destruction god i don't know if this is my way or this is your way god i just need you to speak and sometimes it may not be that it's like you know the says the lord but all of a sudden you have a sensitivity and a peace about the direction that you need to take but i want to pray with you and maybe you're giving your life to christ for the first time today maybe you know what you've been kind of just hopping in and out of this faith thing you're like you know what i grew up in a christian home so i guess this is cool but you have not committed your life to christ it is a personal relationship your relationship with jesus is not the relationship you experience through your parents you can have a testimony of your parents that inspires you and draws you to him but it's personal and so if that is you and you're saying god i want to actually know you i want you to be god over my life i don't want my appetites to be god over my life i don't want culture to be god over my life i want you to be lord over my life if that is you there's a qr code on the screen and i want you to scan that because we want to get in touch with you but i'm going to pray with you and i will just dare you to put in the chat here i am here i am and if you are making the commitment because this word has touched you in a way that you're like god maybe i didn't see fasting properly in the past and this is a season that i actually need to engage in this mystery of yours that would bring me into glory god i'm saying yes to it and if that is you i just want you to put mission possible in the chat hallelujah and let us pray heavenly father we just thank you so much for your goodness and for your love we thank you lord god that even your hidden wisdom has always been ordained for our glory and lord as we begin to engage your principles as we begin to engage your your instructions and your commandments recognizing that it did not come from a place of just of it being empty and void without power but it came from a place that it releases us lord god to engage and experience your possibilities heavenly father i thank you for the testimonies that are on the other side as your children begin to engage with you in a deeper way and i thank you lord jesus because you are preparing them you are preparing their hearts for what you have to say you are preparing their hearts for what you have to show them you are preparing their hearts for their maturity in you and so lord we just say thank you and i thank you lord for those that are saying yes to you for the very first time they've known you through their parents but they've never actually submitted to you as lord heavenly father i thank you that you would be the strength of their life and that they would know that you're a god that chases after them and you are so for them even more than they are for themselves lord i pray that they would experience your love that comes without conditions but your love that would also call and pull them higher heavenly father we just say yes to you and even as they say yes to you i pray for the strength for their perpetual yes and they're consistent yes that even when a yes feels hard that they would recognize i'm saying yes to my maker and so lord we thank you have your way we thank you lord jesus that you died on the cross for our sins we thank you lord jesus that when you were raised up you raised us up with you and that because of you having victory and conquering death that lord we recognize that in you we are overcomers and we're going to tap into that reality and we're gonna live like we know that we who whose we are and where we come from have your way lord in jesus mighty name

Channel: ONE | A Potter's House Church

Views: 452,479

Keywords: TPH, The Potters House, TPH LA, The Potters House LA, One LA, Toure Roberts, Sarah Jakes Roberts, tphla, LA Churches, One Church, onela, Sarah Jakes, Pastor Touré, TPH Denver, Bishop Jakes, one.online, one

Id: hxY-VQ9iFQ4

Length: 60min 52sec (3652 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 17 2021