NotitiesThe Rewards of Fasting
Mike Bickle & Dana Candler
Dit document bespreekt de voordelen van vasten, benadrukt de spirituele en fysieke voordelen, en moedigt gelovigen aan om regelmatig te vasten als een manier om dichter bij God te komen. Het legt uit dat vasten niet alleen lichamelijke onthouding is, maar een middel om onze harten te positioneren voor meer intimiteit met God. Het wijst ook op de uitdagingen en gevaren van een vastenlevensstijl, zoals fysieke zwakte en emotionele stress.
The idea of voluntary sacrifice is rare and has been lost in our culture of entertainment, gratification and pleasure
there is a constant search for pleasure
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Fasting is not only for the radical. It is not only for the extremist. It is not only for the religious saint. In fact, the results of fasting expose weakness and humility
Denying our desires and basic needs causes us to be more aware
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of our humanity and frailty
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fasting is not for the strong
fasting is really about experiencing more of God
Talk to Him; ask Him what and how you are to fast; and then pray for His grace, knowing that He loves that you are simply after more of Him. Fasting is not scary ... it is the Christian lifestyle
fasting is abstaining from food
The fast that we are after, however, goes far beyond just denying ourselves physical nourishment. Our desire is to position our hearts to encounter Jesus as the Bridegroom God
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What He delights in is our obedience and our pursuit of intimacy with Him
We do not fast to prove anything to God or to earn His favor
Scripture teaches us to fast to strengthen us in our quest to be preoccupied with God and His will.
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In Matthew 6:16, Jesus used the phrase, “When you fast” (not if you fast), implying that fasting was meant to occur in the normal course of any disciple’s life
In Isaiah 58, God ordained fasting to (1) loosen the bonds of wickedness in our lives; (2) undo heavy burdens in the lives of others; (3) help the oppressed be set free as we minister to them by the anointing of the Spirit; (4) break every yoke of the religious spirit; (5) give bread to the hungry and provide the poor with housing; (6) allow the light of revelation in God’s Word to break forth in us like the morning; (7) allow our emotional and physical health to speedily spring forth; (8) cause righteousness to break forth in the places where we struggle; and (9) cause the glory and power of the Lord to operate in our ministries.
I call believers to fast at least one day a week. It is better to fast two days a week
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Note: In praktijk brengen!
fasting is one way we express this longing.
long for His return
With boldness Jesus emphasized that the Father rewards fasting (Matt. 6:17, 18). This proclamation alone makes fasting of great importance to the true followers of Jesus. It is not secondary. The grace of fasting must not be neglected.
While God does reward fasting, the rewards He gives are not earned or deserved by us because of our fasting.
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never earn
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only receive
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Truly the rewards that the Father gives to those who fast regularly are vast
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Believe it or not, fasting is one of the most practical ways to posture our hearts to experience more of God’s affection and love
experiencing that love is rooted in living from a false identity based on the way people receive us, rather than on how God receives us
He tells us who we really are by revealing how much He loves us
Eph. 3:17-18
we must encounter Jesus as our Bridegroom God by positioning our hearts and lives in such a way that this revelation really takes root in us.
Instead of being called the “Church,” she will have completely assumed her identity as the “Bride” and will be fully participating in the bridal longing for the Bridegroom to “come,” to return.
bridal paradigm
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the Kingdom through the eyes of a Bride whose love is loyal, wholehearted and devoted
As women are the sons of God, so men are the Bride of Christ
We must understand that being His Bride points to a position of privileged nearness that enables us to encounter His heart.
Their intimacy with God did not undermine their masculinity, but rather strengthened and established it
He has opened Himself up for us to understand and feel His emotions, desires and affections
He is filled with tender mercy
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He feels pleasure over us while we are growing, not just after we’ve matured.
filled with gladness
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filled with fiery affections for us
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Jesus the Bridegroom is zealous
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Only when we understand Jesus’ great desire for us can we understand who we really are
We are His eternal companions
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Living according to the reality of Jesus being our heavenly Bridegroom and viewing ourselves as His cherished Bride is the only way we can prepare for the Lord’s return. It is our only hope of filling the void of our loneliness and rejection
By knowing Jesus as our Bridegroom and seeing ourselves as His Bride, we will become energized with a spirit of prayer and filled with courage to live lives abandoned to God in holiness. Only then will fasting seem appropriate, reasonable or even wise
The lovesick God will be worshiped by a Bride who is also lovesick.
We dive headlong into the revelation of His desire for us
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The grace of fasting is God’s answer to our cry for “more.”
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Prayer transcends time and distance
but the reality is that the spirit of prayer is foreign to the human spirit unless we are experiencing God’s grace
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Our part includes making quality decisions to deny ourselves (say no to sin and pride); to feed our spirit on the Word; to ask for Divine help and intervention through prayer with fasting; and to embrace godly activities (ministry, service) and relationships
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God’s part includes releasing supernatural influences on our hearts (power, wisdom, desires); on our bodies (healing); on our circumstances (provision, protection, direction); and on our relationships (favor).
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intercession
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First, God initiates
His Word
we respond
God answers our response
Our prayers matter greatly, even when we do not feel their power
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Some people “trust” the sovereignty of God in a non-biblical way by “trusting” God to do the role He has assigned to us. This is not trust; it is presumption. It is true that His big plan for the broad strokes of history will not be thwarted, but there are many things that God will not give us individually until we pursue them in faith and obedience.
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intercession
say back to God what He first says to us, either from Scripture or from personal prophetic information given to us by the Holy Spirit
praying always
Note: praying lifestyle?
In our war against sin and darkness, it is not enough to only do the physical outward activities of resisting sin or ministering to others. We must also engage in the spiritual part of this war by actively resisting Satan through prayer with fasting.
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God invites us to fast because He wants us to want more of Him
The nature of true desire to be with someone requires that we not be forced to desire them
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God uses this response as a doorway to bring us into greater measures of encountering His heart
He rewards hunger and imparts more grace to those who are hungry for more of Him.
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The paradox is that as we experience the pain of this rawness, our spirit is tenderized
We will sustain a life of fasting only by God’s grace, not by our own strength
the fear of fasting is far worse than the fasting itself
God designed our bodies to operate at their best with regular fasting. Our bodies are actually cleansed and strengthened in the process of fasting
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setting aside regular fast days each week
Note: Doen!
It is similar to working out
Certainly, as the pressure at the end of the age increases, a greater percentage of Christians will enter into the grace of fasting than ever before.
fasting is humbling
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fasting is worship
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Only weak people fast and pray; only those who recognize their need for more of God fast
offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship
often overlap
1. Fasting to experience the power of God in personal ministry
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The early Church fasted twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays, to experience more power with God
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The Lord is looking for people today who will seek Him with all of their hearts. He can entrust such people with His power.
to a people without mixture, He would give the Spirit without measure
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We are living in the generation in which God will raise up men and women of unusual prophetic insight
people with prophetic understanding” who would teach multitudes
It takes supernatural skill to understand the deeper things in God’s heart and His plans for the End Times
He will send angels to some of His end-time prophets like He did to Daniel
3. Fasting for the fulfillment of God’s promises to our city or nation
The Lord intends for us to actively petition Him for their fulfillment. There is no activity more integral to this than sustained corporate intercessory worship and prayer with fasting.
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Neh. 1:1-11; 9:32-38
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Note: lees!
We must pray and fast until we see a breakthrough of the things that God has promised our city
and nation.
4. Fasting to stop a crisis
5. Fasting for protection
Church history is filled with examples of how prayer and fasting led to the deliverance of God’s servants from peril and danger. This will happen often in the End Times (Ps. 91).
6. Fasting for direction
7. Fasting for encounter and intimacy with God – the Bridegroom fast
Matt. 9:14-15
Note: lees!
They would fast to increase their experience of His presence and their revelation of His beauty and affection for them
fueled by desiring Jesus rather than by a desire for more power in ministry or escape from judgment and crisis.
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God has promised to reveal the depths of His heart to us (1 Cor. 2:10). Just a small taste of His love makes us insatiably hungry for more, and fasting accelerates the rate at which we receive revelation from God
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As we enter into a Bridegroom fast, our sins are mourned, our hearts are stirred with longing for Jesus, and our spiritual capacity to freely receive from Him is increased.
This mourning is meant to “afflict” our souls (Is. 58:3, 5), as we renounce everything that sets itself up against the knowledge of God’s love in our lives.
this was His first reference in Scripture to being the Bridegroom. He was introducing a new paradigm of fasting—a fast motivated by desire to encounter His beautiful and loving presence.
The indwelling Holy Spirit in each believer would make this possible. The fast His disciples would enter into would be one related to intimacy with Jesus as the Bridegroom.
In the New Covenant, God opened the depths of His heart to every believer through the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10; Heb. 10:19-22
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Lovesickness is mourning for the loving presence of Jesus as the Bridegroom God
No one can console our lovesick hearts except Him
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The Bridegroom fast is focused on desire: both understanding God’s desire for us and awakening our own desire for Him
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Once we taste just a little of God’s presence, we cannot live without more of Him
We fast in response to the groan in our hearts for more of God.
Joy apart from Jesus is no joy at all
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Mourning and fasting for the Bridegroom is our way of positioning our hearts to live by desire for God and not by the lusts of this age
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The purpose of the Bridegroom fast goes even beyond yearning for Jesus’ return—it is the yearning to experience His presence now
Fasting serves as a catalyst to increase the depth and the measure to which we receive from the Lord. By fasting we receive greater measures of revelation at an accelerated pace, which has a deeper impact upon our hearts.
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We do not fast in an attempt to make God pay attention to us, but to fully enter into the affection and presence of God that is already ours in Christ
The Bridegroom fast tenderizes our hearts so dullness is diminished and we are able to experience the affections of God in greater measure
We are wounded in love because He intentionally withholds a measure of His presence in order to bring us into greater intimacy as He works humility and produces meekness in us so God’s nearness is sustained in us for the long term.
The Bridegroom fast also brings holiness to our souls
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David spoke of humbling and chastening his soul with fasting as he confronted the sins that hindered his ability to behold the beauty of God
It is a way of keeping our hearts spiritually awake and alert in a dark world that naturally dulls and defiles the human spirit
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Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul
Fasting is a God-given gift that helps us “break out” of the cares of this life and the corruption of sin and darkness
Anyone who desires to live a life characterized by fasting must begin with a high vision, a vision to experience the fullness of what God wants to give each of us in this age
We fast because we cannot endure living in spiritual barrenness
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When we recognize that there is a realm in God to which we are invited but not yet experiencing, we become ruined. We must have this fullness. This state of “ruinedness” is an essential part of the lifestyle of fasting. Without a vision or hope for attaining more in God, we will not fast.
New wine speaks of the presence of the Holy Spirit and His impact on people as He releases power in us that causes us to rejoice in love
New wineskins represent the new structures necessary to serve the people who have new wine experiences
It’s not possible to dwell with God except in unity with Him
He began to purposely disrupt my life by revealing to me the principle that He gives more of Himself in accordance with my hunger for more
Until my capacity to receive from Him was enlarged by spiritual hunger, I would be limited in my experience of God.
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wanting to want God and not yet being overcome by hunger for Him; and this is exactly where God wanted me
Spiritual hunger comes as we get a vision to have everything that God will give our spirit on this side of eternity
God promises that He will be found when He is pursued by anyone with a genuinely hungry heart.
As long as we are content with paralytics not walking, the blind not seeing and the deaf not hearing, we will go without these miracles
The breakthrough we long for will not happen without spiritual intensity
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However, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit was made accessible to all. He now indwells and empowers every believer, giving experiential nearness to all who are hungry for His presence
He has made everything available to us by His Holy Spirit in our inner man
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Yes, everything is available to us in the Spirit, but we must actively walk into it
He was urging us to pursue deep intimacy with Him with a holy, violent love and to cultivate a lifestyle of “spiritual violence.”
demands that we address every area in our life that is not in agreement with the Spirit
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it releases a gloriously violent impact on our lives by freeing us from our sinful ways and filling us with the revelation of God
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any price of self-denial
when love is working its way in our hearts, there is no price too high
For the one he loves, a man would give all his possessions freely without consideration of the cost
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The source of our spiritual violence is not fear; it is the love of God
Radical obedience is disruptive to our flesh, but it causes our spirit to soar in God
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It confronts and reorders the way we spend time and money, the way we talk and entertain ourselves, and the way we express our sexuality and pursue success or honor
Jesus connected spiritual violence to the radical lifestyle of John the Baptist
John carried a tremendous resolve to follow God without compromise and thus Jesus described him with such a strong acclamation.
Pursuing the Full Measure
This may surprise us, but we ourselves actually determine some of the measure of spiritual blessing He will give us, as well as some of the measure of our greatness in the age to come
The necessary posture is that of a hearer
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it is a posture of receiving His promises as true and ordering our lives so as to reach for them
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We need to have a vision for what God will give our hearts, as well as a vision for what He will do through us in our ministry. Do not limit your vision to just your ministry, though
If we absolutely refuse to settle for anything less than His fullness, we will be rewarded with our desire.
Most Christians do not mind hearing sermons on holiness and radical obedience. What disturbs the western Church is watching someone actually live out these principles in real-life arenas that affect their time and money. That hits too close to home. It convicts believers who haven’t yet decided to live in 100-percent obedience. The reason is an automatic feeling of judgment.
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We must lay aside compromise, selfish comforts, pride, fear and religious reasoning
For those of us whose souls just love being radical, here is a caution: this is not an invitation to be irresponsible
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We do not need to abandon our God-given responsibilities in order to obey God.
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Note: Belangrijk!
The tears associated with fasting are not just tears of repentance, but also tears of tenderness
Fasting is a call to voluntarily embrace weakness in order to experience more of God’s power and presence
Jesus’ incarnation makes it clear that weakness is an integral part of God’s plan to bring people to Himself in love
the release of God’s power in his life was connected to his willingness to embrace weakness
Many desire to walk in perfected power, but do not want to embrace the weakness that is necessary to enter into it.
However, weakness is mandatory for those who desire spiritual strength
Fasting is not primarily a call to hunger. The most challenging issue in fasting is the physical weakness it produces, not the hunger
Nothing reveals just how noisy all of our wants and cravings are until they are denied
Our flesh has a natural dominance over our spirit. Fasting is a temporary way to purposely reverse this dominance, so that our spirit man gains the upper hand for a brief time.
The nature of fasting and prayer is that it separates us from all the “background noise” that has been concealing these realities
Only a deep craving for intimacy with God could convince us to willingly undergo the pain that accompanies this revealing of our flesh
Yet we are willing, for we know that we will only genuinely know His heart when our souls are freed from all secondary lovers and temporal affections
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Fasting not only weakens us, it humbles us
The heart of fasting is “afflicting our soul
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To top it off, fasting doesn’t always seem to “work.” Sometimes we fast without any immediately discernible results
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At the highest level of life, the human spirit was created to live primarily by the Word of God, not by natural stimuli. Though our bodies need food, our souls are to be propped up and stimulated primarily by God’s Word
Our raw, naked weakness rarely gets exposed because we keep it propped up by things like food, entertainment, recreation, money, music, activity, and even ministry endeavors
Many believers are terrified at the thought of forsaking these stimulants to wait on God in the absolute rawness of their hearts
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But how can we mourn for God when we have stuffed our souls with so much activity?
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Fasting does not restrain our pleasure; it enhances it.
The truth is that our greatest pleasure comes by feasting on the Person of Jesus
Though our soul lives in a physical body, it was not designed to be a slave to physical pleasures and passions.
God ordained fasting to strengthen our physical life, not to frustrate it
God created our physical body to fast so that we may enter into the highest places in experiencing Him.
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Fasting is a gift that we should embrace more than occasionally. It is to be our lifestyle. It is not meant to be used as a shot in the arm several times a year, but was designed to be a consistent part of our lives, an available tool to expand our spiritual capacity for more of Jesus.
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our bodies will acclimate and our emotions will change when we move into a natural rhythm of fasting.
a wilderness lifestyle
The wilderness in the Old Testament was a place of testing, training and meeting with God
The Shulamite, a representation of the Bride, arises from the wilderness leaning on her Beloved Jesus
This voluntary wilderness is the place of transformation
As we are stripped of all other lovers, He transforms us into lovers of Him.
We must transition into living primarily by the Word of God and secondarily by the legitimate pleasures God gives us, instead of the other way around, which is how most of us live now
We can feel ourselves dangling in between the two realms. Welcome to the fasted lifestyle!
We have not yet developed a capacity for the very thing we need for life and strength
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In this transition, we are left for a time in the raw crankiness of free falling. In that place, God births humility. It is precious
Because of the difficulty of our own journey we are less disposed to have judgmental attitudes toward others
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The Lord wants to raise up a people who can speak with authority about finding joy in the wilderness
People whose primary source is the Word of God give hope and courage to those who desire to enter into a deeper life in God
The fasted lifestyle is simply a life of regular prayer, fasting, giving, serving others, and blessing our enemies
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While the true Christian life becomes easy on our spirit and is an easy burden once we decide to live by God’s values, making the determination is not easy
What is this lifestyle? Jesus defined it as embracing godly attitudes (Matt. 5), as we give ourselves to prayer and the Word of God, with fasting, giving and serving others (Matt. 6). Serving others in love happens as we fellowship with believers and minister to unbelievers (Matt. 6-7). This calling of Jesus to all who respond in wholeheartedness is difficult in the actual tensions and frictions of walking out these principles in day-to-day life.
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Where love is present, the grueling quality of sacrifice and self-denial is absent.
We fast food, time, energy, money and words
giving, serving, praying (with the Word), blessing our enemies and fasting food
By giving, we fast our money and financial strength. In serving and prayer, we are fasting our time and energy, investing it in others and in intercession. Blessing our enemies requires that we fast our words and reputation. In giving up food, we are fasting our physical and emotional strength.
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Once again, unless done in a heart of love, these activities are empty and vain
God does not keep score of our good works and bad works so that they may balance each other out
Giving
your charitable deed may be in secret
We are trusting God to return and multiply back to us the financial strength that we have given away
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It is important in the fasted lifestyle to give in such a way that we feel its impact
Instead of using all our money on ourselves, we give all that we are able to build God’s Kingdom in others
We actually get more use out of our money by giving it to help build up Kingdom people and projects than we would ever get by keeping it for ourselves
His heart moves when we sow bountifully and readily into the lives of others with certainty that He will replenish our lack
In spending our time and energy on others we are fasting what we could have used to further our own interests
The time “wasted” in serving is time that we cannot use to jockey for position or establish our personal comfort and pleasure
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In the big picture, we get more done by investing time in serving and allowing God to reward our labors.
Praying
Prayer also is difficult in that our flesh so fights against the seeming lack of productivity
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Instead of using all of our time for the advancement of our status or success, we use some of it to seek the face of an invisible God. Instead of being entertained by the television or surfing the Internet, we intercede for those He loves.
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We are also fasting our emotional energy during prayer as we pour ourselves out and intercede for God’s blessing on others.
As we do this, we trust God to touch those we love. That would be reward enough. However, God also returns that very time and emotional energy to us in order to bless us personally
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Another part of the fasted lifestyle is seen in blessing and forgiving our enemies. This is an expression of fasting related to our relationships and position before people
When we bless our enemies, we are fasting our words and reputation
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To avoid speaking negative words about our enemies is a true fast
Our silence can hurt our reputation because we refuse to come to our own defense
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Instead of making full use of our words to defend and promote ourselves, the Lord calls us to restrain our speech and focus on others, including blessing our enemies
An “enemy” in the most general sense is one who blocks our goals
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we must actively forgive and bless our enemies
refraining from words that would have exposed our enemy
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Blessing others in the face of their accusation requires that we entrust ourselves to God
To be silent and let God answer on our behalf is perhaps the most difficult form of fasting.
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Our selfishness has to die before we are able to leave our defense completely in God’s hands
When we bless our enemies, we give up the right to the emotional and social strength we might have gotten from fighting back
Fasting from Food
First, a regular fast is one in which we go without food, drinking only water or liquids that have no calories
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Note: Doen
liquid fast is one in which we go without solid foods and drink only light liquids, such as fruit juices
absolute fast, sometimes called an Esther fast, is one in which we abstain from all food and water. This fast lasts for one to three days
never extend it beyond three days.
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partial fast, sometimes called a Daniel fast, is one in which we abstain from tasty foods and eat only certain things, like vegetables or nuts
We also encourage people to embrace a media fast in which they abstain from media entertainment, excluding news.
Benedict Fast, established by Saint Benedict of Nursia, Italy (525 ad), is one in which we eat only one meal a day
Fasting is normal and basic to the Christian life—it is Christianity 101
It is easy to be in God’s favor and receive His love
Yet, on the other hand, the way is difficult
Grace does not mean that the way will never be hard. It means God will always supply what we need to walk in it.
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I urge them to read ten chapters of the New Testament each day. In doing this, they will read through the entire New Testament once each month
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Note: Doen
give until they feel the cost of giving
God esteems and remembers these acts for eternity.
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the anointing to break Satan’s power over the lives of His people was linked to prayer and fasting
Fasting is one of the necessary elements we should embrace when we confront demonic strongholds.
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Food, which is a God-ordained blessing, has been exploited by demonic powers
As shocking as it seems, we have given real territory in our lives over to demons by allowing food to be an idol in our lives. Paul put his finger right on this idol and called it a false god. It usually goes unrecognized today. Believers in the Western Church allow this god to reign in their lives uncontested, day in and day out, and do not realize that through indulgence they are worshipping something other than the one, true God.
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The measure of our discomfort and anger when we are denied food’s pleasure and comfort is the measure of our worship and adoration of it.
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The Lord wants voluntary lovers, those who will disavow their supreme loyalty to food, comfort and ease that they might enter into the fullness of God.
On one hand, we celebrate receiving strength, pleasure and fellowship through it. On the other hand, overindulgence in it will allow the enemy to gain territory in our lives that leads to demonic strongholds and tremendous destruction.
It is by God’s design that our emotional life, our spiritual capacities, and our physical appetites dynamically overlap, interact with and affect one another
Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. If it is dominated by sin, our ability to experience God’s life is quenched. We defile both our spirit and body if we yield to our physical appetites in an ungodly way
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Most of us easily see the connection between sinful actions and the defilement of our spirit, but often do not connect overindulgence of legitimate appetites to our spiritual dullness. We must realize they are deeply and profoundly connected.
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but we have stuffed our souls and our bodies in a way that shuts down our spirit and entrenches us in defilement of the flesh.
Fasting food is a brilliant strategy of God
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Spiritual Bondage Through Food
The first hint of it was when Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden
We generally think of the sin of Sodom as immorality, but immorality was the byproduct of the other underlying sins
Their problem was not that they were hungry, but that they wanted the taste and pleasure of food
the god of food has enslaved our hearts and established a stronghold
the Lord called him a fool. He lived for his money, food and free time so he could indulge him
The condition of the Church today demands that we dethrone the god of food and begin to embrace lifestyles of prayer with fasting
The Church has become content with being unable to heal the sick or free the people we pray for from demons
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Our preaching is often powerless and people pleasing
God promises that if we will enter into fasting and prayer, He will deliver us from our bondage and bring us into lives freed from the lusts of the age and the strongholds of food, comfort and ease.
Tearing Down the Stronghold of Physical Appetites
The fast was not part of His testing, but part of the process that strengthened Him to stand against Satan’s temptations
Fasting combined with agreement with God, which is repentance, and focused meditation on the Word result in our mind’s strongholds being pulled down
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Demonic powers know that fasting is a powerful tool in spiritual warfare, so it is in their best interest to keep us in bondage to food and thus unable to wield this explosive weapon
John was perceived as dangerous and deluded because of his message and his lifestyle of fasting and prayer
Fasting
Warring Against Besetting Sins through Prayer and
Besetting sins are more serious than sins into which we stumble on occasion
They are habitual actions or attitudes that hold God’s people in bondage
Common sins that beset people include pornography, immorality, anger, alcohol, drugs, tobacco and different eating disorders, such as either eating too much or too little
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Willpower is not strong enough to break us free of besetting sins
We must acknowledge the source of spiritual strongholds if we want to break their hold over us, and use the spiritual
weapons the Lord has given instead of our own carnal ones. We must sincerely repent of our involvement with each specific area of darkness in our lives.
Bitterness is a sin that keeps us bound to those who mistreated us
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Regardless of how we are involved, we must ruthlessly repent of all that we’ve done to allow spiritual strongholds and to give the enemy rights to territory in our lives
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If we ask in faith, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us what strongholds Satan has and what areas of darkness we perpetuate through the sin of our wrong mindsets
Our ability to repent, to resist the devil, and to walk in the truth of the Word and in the power of the Holy Spirit, is deepened as we fast and pray.
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Warring Against Besetting Sins Through the Word
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Our effectiveness in prayer and fasting is dynamically connected to our depth in the Word of God
“If My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you
Jesus promised that if God’s words, which are His thoughts, abide in us, we would have power in prayer
We do not want to just “say our prayers” in a religious, mechanical way
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Some fast as if it were a sort of magical trick to remove sin from the heart. They do not repent or fill themselves with God’s Word
Fasting in itself does not change us; the power of God does.
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Storing up God’s Word in our hearts is the way to freedom from earthly or sinful delights and the way to freedom and delight in God
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Lay up His Words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty ... then you will lay your gold in the dust ... Yes, the Almighty will be your gold ... for then you will have your delight in the Almighty ... You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you ... You will declare a thing, and it will be established for you ..
First, establish a personal Bible study plan to fill your heart with the Word until it becomes alive in you. If you find the Word boring, then press through
Read biographies of people who lived dedicated lives and operated in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Second, I pray for a breakthrough for my mind. I ask God for wisdom and direction for each of the specific areas of my life and ministry, then for the revelation of the Word of God (Eph. 1:17-18). Specifically, I ask to understand God’s personality and purposes. I want to know His emotions (Ps. 27:4) and will for my life and ministry (Col. 1:9). I ask for revelation of God’s end-time purposes (Dan. 11:35; 12:10).
Fourth, develop a personal prayer list. This will help you focus as you pray through it each day. Praying out loud helps me to control my thoughts. Even praying at a whisper makes a difference. My personal prayer list has three main areas. First, I pray for a breakthrough for my heart. I focus on growing in intimacy by asking the Lord to release in me the anointing to love. This includes the Spirit helping me to understand and feel God’s love and then to love Him in return (Eph. 3:16-19). I ask for the fear of God to be released to me (Ps. 86:11), and that I might learn meekness from Jesus (Matt. 11:29). We must imitate what Job did when he made a covenant with his eyes to walk in purity (Job 31:1; Ps. 101:3). Part of the breakthrough in the heart involves asking for divine help to control our speech (Ps. 141:3; James 3:2). In all this I want to hear God clearly and obey Him promptly.
Third, schedule regular fasting days. I urge all to fast at least once a week. It is better to fast two days a week. Also, go on a long fast occasionally.
Second, pray much in the Spirit. I encourage all to try to pray in the Spirit for one hour a day, while focusing on the Throne of God as described in Revelation 4. It is important to journal while doing this. Paul said that when we pray in the Spirit, we edify our spirit and receive mysteries (revelation) from God (1 Cor. 14:2, 4). Praying in the spirit was so important to Paul that he prayed this way more than anyone else (1 Cor. 14:18). Paul wrote, “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God ... however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries ... He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself ... ” (1 Cor. 14:2-4); and “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all” (1 Cor. 14:18).
Third, I ask God for a breakthrough of power on my ministry. I ask for anointed hands and words. I want God’s power to flow through us all in healings and miracles. I also ask for apostolic power on my words, that the conviction of the Spirit will rest on them whether I am praying, preaching or in personal conversations with friends or unbelievers. I ask for prophetic insight to perceive the secrets of men’s hearts so I might minister effectively to them (1 Cor. 14:25). I use the New Testament prayers of the apostles for each of these areas. There are many different prayer lists on IHOP-KC’s Web site to help you get started.
Fifth, develop a prayer list that focuses on praying for others. Pray specifically for God’s breakthrough in various areas of their lives. Include on this list family, friends, ministries, the unsaved, the sick, etc. Pray through the same three areas outlined above in my personal prayer list.
use your evenings to strengthen your spirit
When you fast ... do not appear to men to be fasting ... your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly
What we must know from the beginning of this journey, however, is that many of these rewards are at first hidden from us because they are internal rewards, related to our intimacy with God
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These benefits often carry a “delay element” in that we cannot recognize them until we look back in retrospect. Knowing about this delay factor in advance allows us to resist discouragement at what appears to be a lack of breakthrough when we first start fasting.
His greatness was found in his obedience to and intimacy with God, which He cultivated by living a fasted lifestyle.
Reward #1: Fasting tenderizes and sensitizes our hearts to receive more of God.
This tenderizing of the heart is something that is hard to recognize at first. It’s not initially blatant or intense, so we can’t always perceive its progress. Sometimes only when we look back in retrospect can we perceive how soft He has made our hearts before Him through the grace of fasting.
Over time we find an increased anointing to bring the first commandment into first place in our lives: we begin to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. We increase in our ability to feel and experience God’s affection and beauty. We feel His love for us and we feel love for Him in return. What experience in life could be more powerful than this? Not only are we catching a greater glimpse of His beauty, we’re also seeing our own beauty in Him. This back-and-forth interaction is the foundation of divine romance. We encounter and experience the superior pleasures of the gospel. Nothing thrills and frees the human heart more than the exhilarating feeling that comes when the Spirit communicates the love of Jesus to our hearts.
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Reward #2: Fasting enlarges our capacity for a righteous and focused life.
Through the Bridegroom fast, our desires change
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Scripture declares that Jesus loves righteousness and hates sin with a passion:
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We want sin to be as repugnant to us as it is to Jesus, and we want to be gripped with His intense love for holiness
By saying that God should be our main occupation in life, I do not mean that we should not engage in lesser things. Part of being like Him is walking in faithfulness through the routine and mundane things of life—yet in all things, directing our hearts toward the one prevailing aim of Jesus.
We increase in intensity, but the increase is not merely an increase in the intensity of our personality or temperament; it is an increase in our passionate focus on God
Detachment is when we are no longer dominated by possessiveness, no longer living primarily before men, and we are freed from having our identity be defined by what others say of us.
He wanted God’s perfect will more than man’s affirmation of His ministry.
When we are pursuing the beauty of God, we do not have the same energy for vengeance or self-promotion
Reward #3: Fasting illuminates the mind with the Spirit of Revelation.
Another of the rewards of fasting is that the Holy Spirit illuminates our understanding. Engaging in the Bridegroom fast positions us to receive revelation about the Word by sharpening our mind and enhancing the amount of revelation of God we receive. When Jesus appeared to the disciples on the Emmaus road, He opened their understanding and caused their hearts to burn within them (Luke 24:29-36). This is what we pray for as we fast—the burning Word to become alive on the inside. There is nothing more powerful than when God reveals God—when Jesus reveals Jesus—to the human heart.
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Another benefit of the Bridegroom fast is that God opens up revelation to us through prophetic dreams and visions
Eternity, the Second Coming of Jesus, the Great Tribulation, and the eternal fires of Hell are the truly big things of life. As big as they are, however, they usually seem remote to us and don’t really capture much of our thinking. The Spirit wants to make these truths big to us. Through fasting, our understanding begins to transcend some of the common values of our culture, rising above the things that normally bog us down. We find the grace to not get lost in the pettiness that is so natural to every one of us.
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Reward #4: Fasting strengthens a deep sense of our spiritual identity.
When we connect with our true identity in our eternal glory, we become powerful and fearless
You are worthy ... for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood ... and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth
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Most people are obsessed with themselves, but as we grow up we learn to restrain and cover up the expressions of our self-absorption
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We learn to hide them with good manners so as to preserve our dignity before others
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It takes divine might on the inside to not be this way
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We were created for a kind of significance
Our full identity is founded on the knowledge of God’s affection for us
John’s heart was filled with joy at the end of his life. He lived an ascetic lifestyle and was rejected by the people, but he knew who he was. And he rejoiced.
When we hear Jesus’ voice, it also changes what we want and what we fear losing
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The main result of knowing who we are is fearlessness
We become people who are living lives of another world, lives anchored in eternity.
Reward #5: Fasting equips our bodies and enhances our physical health and spiritual intimacy.
It is common to think of intimacy with God as purely spiritual and having no relationship to our physical body, but that’s not the way it works
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Our bodies, souls and spirits are integrated in the design and plan of God
Engaging in sinful physical appetites defiles our body
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Overindulging in legitimate physical appetites quenches the Spirit’s life in us
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Neglecting God’s physical health principles puts our bodies out of rhythm with the Holy Spirit
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Part of being wholehearted toward God is cooperating with His physical principles.
The Physical Benefits of Fasting
Our bodies were designed to need periodic rests from food
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God designed our bodies to often respond to disease with fevers and automatic fasting. We do not usually want to eat when we are sick
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In one study, fifty people in good health agreed to go on a three-week fast. The results showed a lowering of their cholesterol and blood pressure. In another study, fasting reduced rheumatoid arthritis and joint pain. Fasting strengthens our enzyme system, which can become overtaxed by gluttony or overindulgence. Even the medicine of ancient cultures prescribed fasting for health. Hippocrates (460-375 bc), the father of medicine, used it himself to fight illness.
Along with the rewards, there are significant difficulties and even dangers in the fasted lifestyle. Just as God gives us a vision of the rewards He will give us, He also wants us to be aware of the perils as we pursue a fasted lifestyle
The way to sustain a lifestyle of fasting and prayer is to run at a long-distance, marathon pace
Difficulty #1: Physical Weakness and Side Effects
Fasting is primarily a call to weakness; hunger is a secondary issue. Yes, we are very hungry at first, but weakness builds and accumulates as fasting becomes a lifestyle rather than just an occasional event. Even on the “eating days,” we can have some physical weakness from previous “fasting days.” David wrote of this: “My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh is feeble” (Ps. 109:24).
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First, our sleep patterns are altered in that we actually need less sleep while fasting, but the sleep we do have is irregular and not completely sound
headaches
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slight dizziness
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lightheadedness
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inner trembling and shakiness
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hypersensitivity
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Digestion disruptions
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Part of fasting as a lifestyle is that even when we are not fasting, we are ordering our lives to serve the goal of strengthening this lifestyle in the strongest way possible.
Difficulty #2: Change of Metabolism
Difficulty #3: Mental Weakness
often spacey
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dazed, disconnected
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distracted
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forgetful
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This mental weakness is definitely a burden and is sometimes even embarrassing.
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Difficulty #4: Emotional Stress
It is common to feel periods of heaviness while fasting.
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But even when we feel “down,” we experience intimacy with Jesus.
Fasting temporarily minimizes our strength in our natural emotions.
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Fasting
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minimizes some of the natural strength we use to suppress our weak spots
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and our raw weakness stares us in the face
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By revealing the truth of these hidden fault lines in our personalities, we have the opportunity to walk into a new freedom. As we learn to continually bring these fault lines to God, we are transformed, humbled and taught how to walk in the freedom of weakness
Difficulty #5: Loss of Effectiveness in the Short Term
In other words, our success before man may seem to diminish somewhat during periods of fasting
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Barring health issues or pregnancy, everyone can fast two days a week without negative side effects on our health
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The Western mindset measures productivity differently than God does
In the Kingdom of God, there is often a delay factor as we wait for the Lord’s blessing on what we do
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Difficulty #6: Relational Disruptions and Social Pressures
Therefore, as we give ourselves to the fasted lifestyle, the impact will not only be felt personally, but will affect our relationships and perhaps even create tension in some relationships
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People want you to be happy with what makes them happy
People often feel judged by the lifestyles of those who do not have the same desire for possessions, comforts and pleasures.
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This tension grew to such a degree that David became like a stranger to his brothers
Fasting makes us more fearless in our spirits. This can cause relational problems as well
People with this type of confidence can cause some disturbance by making social and economic choices and speaking boldly on issues
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The lovesick are often accused of being elitist, socially isolated or super spiritual because they do not want to socialize in the same way they did before embracing the fasted lifestyle
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True fellowship is actually hindered by the way many Christians hang out and “socialize
People may call their socializing fellowship, but much of it is no more than idle chatter, vain babbling, and coarse jesting
filled with inappropriate amounts of what I call sitcom humor
True fellowship requires sharing God’s life and revelation with one another
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We must not walk in complete isolation, have spiritual pride, or judge others who do not fast
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Yet, we must take ample time to be in the Word and in prayer. There is absolutely no substitute for time with God
Difficulty #7: An Increase of Demonic Attack
The enemy specifically targets the lifestyle that releases God’s power.
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It is common for those who fast and pray with unusual intensity to tell of experiences where demons manifested to threaten and to strike fear into them
In these attacks we must stay in relationship with like-minded believers and read God’s Word often
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The paradox is that fasting draws more demonic attacks, but is one of the things the Spirit uses to help us overcome the attacks of the enemy
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We need not waver at such times, because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4
It is wise to be aware of the potential difficulties we might experience as we enter into a life of fasting and prayer. By acknowledging them and being warned of them, we are freed to embrace the benefits and rewards of fasting in their fullness. These difficulties are not meant as discouragements, but exhortations. As Jesus said, we who desire to follow Him must first count the cost (Luke 14:28). In the next chapter, we will address seven potential pitfalls that the lovesick warrior must be prepared to avoid.
Whatever motivation we have when fasting, that is what is strengthened in us
fasting is not neutral
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If our motivation is to grow in love, then this is what will be strengthened in us
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Thus, it is important that we not treat fasting casually, with unchecked motives, or we will be at risk of doing more harm than good to our spiritual lives.
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The pursuit of wholeheartedness has potential dangers related to it. We need to use wisdom and not be simplistic or naïve, knowing there are such dangers as the possibility of counterfeit demonic encounters, isolationism, a spirit of poverty, eating disorders, legalism that operates in a religious spirit (seeking to earn our standing with God), inappropriate asceticism, and spiritual pride. The only way we can be safe from falling into these is by pursuing 100-percent obedience as we stay committed to other believers, and by spending much time in the Word of God. Scripture is the final authority that judges all our experiences.
Note: Onthoud en realiseer dit!
Danger #1: Demonic Deceptions and Doctrines
Fasting, like dynamite, has great power that can be used for either good or evil. Whether this activity is used for good purposes or bad, the results in the soul are always powerful and never neutral
This is a point of utmost importance because the enemy wants us to be swayed into darkness without realizing it
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Fasting sensitizes the human spirit to the spirit realm, including both the genuine and the occult realms.
Satan counterfeits the things of God in an attempt to deceive the faithful
Christians who increase their fasting may experience an increase of demonic activity designed to confuse and deceive them.
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When people fast intensely, Satan may attack by giving them supernatural experiences that lead them into false doctrine. This is not unusual or unexpected.
Demonic deception will increase to unprecedented levels before Jesus returns. Paul prophesied that in the End-Times some would fall away from Christianity because they paid attention to demons. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1).
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we must warn sincere believers who love Jesus and who go on long fasts, but who do not have a strong foundation in the Word
The stories are endless of sincere believers who get deceived by approaching fasting in an unwise or inappropriate way
superior spirituality
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intensive fasting
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separate themselves from other believers
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neglect the Word
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special guard
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stay focused on intimacy with Jesus, connected to the Body of Christ in authentic relationship, immersed in the Word of God, even twice as much as usual, and open to correction from those in spiritual authority.
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The fruit of the true Bridegroom fast is hearts that are becoming more humble, submissive and tender, rather than increasing in pride and growing distant from others
Danger #2: Isolationism
Fasting must be accompanied by great humility and godly interdependence on one another in order to preserve us from wrong thinking
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God has set up His Kingdom in such a way that we must pursue the Lord together as a family
We are not complete in ourselves. We are only complete when we’re functioning together as the Body of Christ
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We have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) as we relate to one another
When entering a lifestyle of fasting and prayer, we must be intentional about being committed to our brothers and sisters in the Lord
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Isolationism disregards the glory and grace of God that is imparted to others
However, Scripture calls us to the fasted lifestyle because it is the best way to fulfill the two great commandments—loving God and loving others
But it is essential to stay committed to other believers; we must refuse to retreat into a strange isolation.
Danger #3: A Spirit of Poverty
we must not allow ourselves to fall prey to a spirit of material poverty
The spirit of material poverty deludes people into believing they must give everything away because having abundance is wrong
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The answer to this common error is not a spirit of poverty, but rather a generous spirit that gives to others in an extravagant way
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We need to understand that prosperity is a blessing of the Lord. He promises to supply all of our needs
Because we want to be rich in blessing and give to others, we are to resist the spirit of poverty and believe God for financial increase
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Yes, we will receive much increase, and yes, we will give it away freely. Why would we rejoice in lack? We rejoice that we can share abundantly with others as we pursue a deep spirituality.
Danger #4: Eating Disorders
Be aware that a person might begin fasting with pure motivations and slowly move into false motivations without being aware of it
Eating disorders are very dangerous and are rooted in darkness
We fast to position our hearts to receive more from the Lord, not to enhance our appearance
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Note: Belangrijk!
We must not seek our identity in being thin but in being loved by God
If he cannot destroy us by overindulgence, then he will go to the other extreme and try to trick us into denying our flesh for wrong reasons.
Danger #5: Legalism and the Religious Spirit
Another common danger in fasting is becoming ensnared in legalism
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seeks to earn one’s standing with God by dedication and personal effort
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Our motivation in fasting should have everything to do with responding to God’s love
It is not fasting to gain standing with God through our works, but rather to enter more deeply into the experience of His freely-given love.
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fast out of the place of marveling over the free grace He shows us
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Anyone who is not grounded in the grace of God should wait before they start fasting in more aggressive ways
How do we know if we are operating in a spirit of legalism or a religious spirit? Let’s ask ourselves a few questions. Do we feel more confident before God and worship with greater assurance because we are fasting? Do we tend to shrink back in shame when we are not fasting? If so, we know we are putting confidence in our fasting or in our dedication to God rather than His dedication to us. This is a deceptive trap, which leads to one of two dead ends: condemnation or pride.
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The religious spirit of self-loathing that condemns us when we do not fast is the same spirit that boasts in us when we follow through in our fasting and prayer, and both find their roots in spiritual pride
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Beloved, we must never think that God’s affections for us are greater because we are fasting
and the truth of His love for us.
Our confidence before Him should be grounded in Jesus’ work on the cross (2 Cor.
Paul warned the early Church against the spiritual deception and pride that can come with self-denial
We must beware of magnifying ourselves in the act of denying ourselves. It is a grave danger.
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All of God’s children can enter into the free enjoyment of God, regardless of whether we have fasted that week
It is only in the presence of a Bridegroom of joy that our fasting is safe and most edifying to us.
A religious spirit does not enhance our gratitude or our affection for God and others
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It puts a false dividing line between the “spiritual” and “unspiritual
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If we are fasting because of love, there is no boasting or comparison
Danger #6: Inappropriate Asceticism or Self-Denial
We must watch for two great enemies of fasting: the destructiveness of carnal self-indulgence and the destructiveness of religious self-denial. Though there are more perils in self-indulgence than in abstinence, the dangers of fasting come when our focus is not on a God of love, a God of burning affections. The Bridegroom fast leads us into having confidence in God’s burning heart of love, not in our flesh. It leads us into an essential deliverance from ungodly self-denial.
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Jesus calls us to take up our cross and deny ourselves as we follow Him in the grace of God
False asceticism leads people into confidence in their religious sufferings instead of God’s mercy and goodness
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It is the strength of God’s love that seals and empowers our hearts, not the strength of our own flesh (Song 8:6).
Danger #7: Spiritual Pride
This pride is the most common danger of the fasted lifestyle, and it is lethal to true spiritually
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elitism—hidden feelings of superiority
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don’t ask, don’t tell
We find ourselves desiring to be recognized as one uniquely dedicated and close to God
It may be more personal to us than we realize. This is the main struggle for sincere people.
Fasting provides a tremendous open door for religious arrogance
Sometimes those who have given themselves to intense prayer and fasting are the most angry and judgmental people
The Pharisee thanked God that he was not like other men, noting that he fasted twice a week and gave tithes of all he possessed. The tax collector cried out, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” He was the one justified, not the Pharisee
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Jesus called His people to night and day prayer
When I began to seek to live a life of prayer, I did not realize that I would need so much of the grace of God to sustain it
I began to hate going to my own prayer meetings, but I couldn’t quit attending because of my pride. I had made such a show out of calling everyone to long hours of prayer. I continued to go even though I hated every minute. I felt oppressed. When fasting, I could not make it past noon without eating. Finally, the Lord let me know that I had grieved the Holy Spirit so much that He would not help me in prayer until I confessed my spiritual pride to others and humbled myself. I reluctantly did this. Though it was a horrible time in my life, afterwards the grace for prayer returned.
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Note: Gevaar
When God gives the revelation of the importance of prayer with fasting and then gives us the grace to sustain it, the only response is to say, “Thank You, Lord, for this glorious gift.”
It has never been about our ability to listen all that well, but about His exceptional ability to communicate in a way that gets our attention.
As we humble ourselves and receive the revelation that God’s grace is the only reason we can obey Him in any capacity, we are in a good position to resist the devil’s schemes against the fasted lifestyle
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strong foundation in what the Word says about the grace of God
During times of fasting, we must stay focused on intimacy with Jesus
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stay connected to the Body of Christ in authentic relationship; stay in the Word, even twice as much as usual
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Note: 2 keer zoveel als normaal!
Ps. 2 reveals an astounding facet of the relationship between the Father and the Son, bestowing significance to prayer that we can scarcely fathom. In verse 8, God the Father says to the Jesus the Son, “Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.” Peering into the mystery of the Godhead, we see that the Man Jesus, as the second Person of the Trinity, operates His government through intercession. Throughout His days on Earth, He was ever retreating in seclusion to pray (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16). Jesus chose the apostles after a night in prayer (Luke 6:12), and in the hours leading up to His crucifixion He cried out to God on behalf of His disciples (John 17). Jesus’ role in prayer stretches far beyond the bounds of His first coming. He sits at the right hand of God and ever lives to make intercession (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). When He returns and rules the Earth from Zion, His government will function as a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7).
prayer is the primary mode God has chosen for Jesus to release the Father’s power and usher in His everlasting Kingdom.
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As His Bride, when we pray, we are entering into partnership with Him, the eternal intercessor. As Christ sought friends to watch with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-38), forever He invites His people into the intimacy and authority of prayer
Regardless of what people or demons do, God will accomplish the main events of the plan He has determined for the future
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However, He has given us a dynamic role, through our response to Him in prayer, fasting and obedience, in determining some of the “quality of life” we experience in the natural and in the spiritual
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There are blessings God will only release as His people ask for them in the intimate partnership of prayer. There are demonic oppressions that only leave as a result of prayer and fasting
The Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on High to have compassion on you ... .He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you
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corporate intercessory worship
Corporate
It requires humility to embrace all that is implied in gathering corporately
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united together in prayer in conjunction with the great release of the power of the Holy Spirit
The Father only releases His fullness to His family
there is a ceiling in the Spirit until we come together
We are strengthened by clustering together with people of similar passion and vision.
Intercessory
on behalf of others
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influences the courses of nations
Moses’ intercession resulted in God manifesting His mercy instead of judgment
It is not enough for us to only pray to express our personal devotion to God. Many who love their communion with God in prayer do not have revelation of the authority the Church has in intercession. We are called to stand with authority in the gap for others, whether for the Church, for whole cities and nations, or for individuals who do not yet know the Lord.
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Worship
Finally, when corporate intercession occurs in the setting of prophetic music and songs, it unifies, sustains, and inspires God’s people in a unique way
More people can enter in at a deeper level for longer periods of time when prayer is coupled with anointed worship
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God’s primary call to a nation in crisis is to gather together to pray, worship, fast and repent of our sins, asking God to release His power on our behalf
Understanding Global Crisis
Most believers live as though it will never come.
God’s Zeal
God’s judgments are motivated by His zeal for purity in His people
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Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God
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Yet God’s role in judgment is very controversial, even within the Church.
His purpose in judgment is to remove everything that hinders love
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Satan’s Rage
Satan’s rage causes great turmoil on the Earth within the boundaries that God sets
Man’s Sin
The most terrifying problem that a nation in sin will face is God
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Creation’s Groans and Travails
There is a mysterious but glorious connection between the actions of the human race and the condition of the natural creation, such as land and vegetation
The Response that God Requires
God is calling the entire human race to repentance
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because we are the first line of defense in the day of shaking
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land
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The Church, as the covenant people in the land, is most responsible before Heaven to cry out, stand in the gap and oppose sin
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the redeemed must arise
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With hearts emboldened by confidence in the Word of God and full of love for Jesus, we will lead the groping throngs to the truth of the Gospel.
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him ... ? Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes ... Let the priests ... weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord ...” (Joel 2:12-17).
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Note: Memorizeren
call solemn assemblies, turn to Him and rend, or tear, our hearts in repentance, and believe in His kindness and mercy
We can act with certainty in times of crisis
Solemn Assemblies
We must be clear on the importance of corporate dimensions of prayer and fasting
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critical component
corporately cry out
all the people
When we gather in the wake of calamity or in preparation for what is impending, we must do so in a posture of humility and lamentation
fast and mourn
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weep in intercession all night long
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we must set aside all distractions and throw our hearts into groaning and travail in one accord, beseeching the Lord to have mercy.
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Rending Our Hearts
In order for fasting and corporate intercessory worship to be effective, it must be embraced by a wholehearted people
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When we violently tear our hearts away from areas of sin, we line up with what God requires
If there is an issue in your life that quenches the Holy Spirit, get rid of it!”
we are to forsake all compromise, no matter what the cost.
there is usually pain involved in cooperating with the Lord to pull out the root system of bondage in our lives
we usually overlook the necessity of tearing our hearts because we don’t want the pain of such an intimate, personal rending.
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God the Father’s heart was torn when He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for sin, and it continues to be torn in His patient longsuffering with His people as they refuse to respond with repentance
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Jesus tore His heart when He went to the cross.
He has proven that He does not love us in a detached, distant way
Have Confidence in God’s Kindness and Mercy
“Return to the Lord ... for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent ... ?” (Joel 2:13-14). Joel summoned the people to return to the Lord, giving five reasons why they could have confidence even in their weakness: God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, of great kindness and He relents from doing harm. He desires to make a way of deliverance. The knowledge of God’s heart for us gives us courage to tear our hearts in repentance. If we take one step toward Him, He will take ten steps toward us.
Out of the vast repository of kindness in His heart, God relents from sending judgment when His people turn to Him
God delights in relenting from judgment. He honors our free will
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two stages
First, the decree is established in the heavenly court
Second, it is either canceled or issued
God is willing to relent, or to cancel the decree of judgment, instead of issuing it
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Scripture abundantly testifies to the fact that the course of events, or even their end results, can be changed
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I encourage everyone to study the Book of Joel
Note: Doen!
This worldwide call is not a call for people to join a specific structure or ministry associated with IHOP-KC. On the contrary, it is an invitation to all believers scattered throughout the world to rend their hearts and give themselves to a radical lifestyle of fasting that is rooted in the affections of Jesus and His imminent return. The vision is for 100 million believers around the world to assemble in their localities and contend for a breakthrough of the power of God and for unprecedented revival to touch the nations, especially Israel.
Imagine 100 million saints praying and fasting at the same time, and focusing on the revelation of the Lord Jesus as the Bridegroom
The devil is orchestrating the greatest release of evil ever known in human history
The great conflict at the end of the age will be between two houses of prayer. Both houses come from the loins of Abraham—the house of Jacob (who God renamed Israel) and the house of Ishmael. In other words, the end-time Body of Christ and the house of Islam, each functioning as a house of prayer, are on the path for a great collision just before Jesus returns
The Body of Christ must have a response that matches and even exceeds the dedication of false religions
It takes the work of the Holy Spirit for our hearts to receive the revelation of this message
Joel challenges the people to “hear,” which means they need to lead lifestyles that enhance hearing. We must “give ear” in order to commit to going deeply into the message. This hearing does not come automatically because we are Christians. It requires an intentional, deliberate cultivation of the revelation of the Joel message. In order to hear clearly we need the spirit of revelation (Eph. 1:17).
The end-time message is offensive to our flesh
eat the scroll
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If we do not feed our spirit on the message, the initial inspiration we experience by hearing it will quickly evaporate
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unprecedented magnitude
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We are in a unique time period for which we have no frame of reference; its unfamiliarity is part of the difficulty of preparing for it. Most people do not really think about living through the events recorded in the Book of Revelation.
The scoffers Peter foresaw will be both inside the Church and outside of it. Their worldview will come not from the revelation of Scripture but from their lusts or their wishful thinking
Not willing to let their money, pleasure or power be disrupted, they will deem the lifestyle God prescribed in His Word to be extreme and unnecessary, and the message of the End-Times to be false or unbiblical
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These scoffers will perpetuate the lie that everything will continue as it always has
What we as believers in the Western world must be alerted to is that truly we do not realize how greatly influenced we are by the scoffing spirit of our culture and the age in which we live
Even without loud mockery of the Second Coming, we are not immune to the residue of this spirit, which permeates our culture and many of our mindsets
The world has been lured to sleep under a false sense of peace as if we were hypnotized by the darkness of this age.
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Unless we vigorously posture ourselves to mourn for the Bridegroom and come together to fast and intercede, we will be deceived and lured into sleep by the evil one, and thus be caught unaware in the hour of the Lord’s return
ostrich syndrome
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Will God change His plans if we simply remain ignorant?
Noah is a premier example of someone who responded rightly to God in an unprecedented hour of judgment
He embraced a prophetic message that was totally unfamiliar to him
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Noah didn’t know what rain was; it had never rained before. Until that time, God watered the ground from below
Note: klopt
when Noah heard this message from God he was “moved with godly fear
Jesus likened the last days to the generation of Noah
Leaders Must Lead
The mandate to “hear” begins with spiritual leadership
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they must give themselves to this message. They must get on their knees before God with an open Bible and begin to study and meditate on what the Old Testament prophets say will happen in the generation that the Lord returns
The greatest gift that God can give a nation is to raise up leaders who have a spirit of revelation and the grace of fasting and prayer.
Proclaim the Message
We must not only hear and be gripped by this message; we must also proclaim it
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The price we will pay for boldly telling the truth can be seen in the persecutions that the Old Testament prophets endured
Establish a Dynamic Spiritual Culture – Tell the Children
Every child must hear this message clearly and grow up understanding end-time realities
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In preparation for this hour, they must understand and believe that fasting and prayer are normal for God’s people
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Perhaps the most difficult part of the process of teaching our children is the constant personal realignment necessary in our own hearts to swim against a raging current of comfort, ease and passivity
What is our normal will become her normal, no matter what that looks like. Urgency and a lifestyle of mourning for the Bridegroom is not something that we sign up for one day and it is finalized in our hearts. Rather, it is something that we have to recommit to doing every single day—shaking ourselves out of lethargy and passivity by the grace of God. This is our heart for our daughter, our own lives, the community of believers we live among, and for the Body of Christ in our day.
A spiritual culture is established in the Church based on what we teach our children
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The spiritual culture of the Body of Christ is filled right now with a scoffing and complacent spirit
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Our children must be raised in a spiritual atmosphere of faith and wholeheartedness
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I believe that God is raising up an army of spiritual dads and moms who will take seriously the challenge to cultivate the spiritual culture described in the Book of Joel