Complete Sermon Notes
Fasting Forum Part 1 – The Crossroads and the Spiritual Benefits
It’s no secret that we are at the crossroads: Opioid and alcohol abuse are leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Obesity is skyrocketing and plaguing the young as well as the old; it has reached epidemic levels in children as well. Diabetes is plaguing millions, and cancer and heart disease are the number one killers in America.
“We pray for God to heal rather than for help with self-discipline to change harmful habits.”
Most are not caring for the wonderful gift of health that God has given them: “There are multitudes of diseases which have their origin in fullness, and might have their end in fasting” (James Morrison).
America, wake up! Fasting doesn’t kill us; over consumption does.
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Granted: the physical benefits of fasting are secondary, the spiritual benefits are the priority.
THE SPIRITUAL BENEFITS – WE HAVE COVERED MANY TIMES: Lean, mean, fasting, machine https://vimeo.com/253246415; Health—what does the bible say? https://vimeo.com/231641933; Fasting over forks pt.1 and pt.2 https://vimeo.com/224003262 – https://vimeo.com/224932899; A prisoner of appetite https://vimeo.com/197731085; Fasting—the good, the bad, and the hungry https://vimeo.com/172356334; Fasting—they found the secret https://vimeo.com/172332319; This does not go out except by prayer and fasting https://vimeo.com/135808252; Fasting breaks enslavement https://vimeo.com/57044810; Overcoming addictions through fasting [2011] https://vimeo.com/25117942
In Joel 1:14, we see the power of fasting, “Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.” The magnitude of the situation determined the response. Fasting is depriving the flesh of its appetite as we pray and seek God’s will and mercy.
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The flesh always wants to negotiate.
In Matthew 17:21, Jesus said that a certain evil spirit does not go out of a person except by prayer and fasting. The principle is throughout scripture: Fasting applies pressure to the spiritual realm.
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Arthur Wallace – “Often, pressure has to be maintained before there is a breakthrough in heavenly warfare.”
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4 things that affect health: 1] Fallen nature [DNA] 2] Demonic oppression 3] Toxic thoughts 4] Failing to steward the gift we have been given. MAIN FOCUS – fasting!
QUESTION: We teach stewarding finances; we encourage stewarding marriages…
Can you pray and seek God better with a headache, tight pants, and a sluggish, lethargic body strung out on your favorite addictive substance?
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WE Pray for heart trouble, but WE stop by McDonald’s and Cold Stone.
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WE Pray for MS, Parkinsons, and Alzheimers, but they can be caused by neglect?
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WE Pray for cancer, but our we consuming the things that fuel it?
What if you stop eating sugar for one week: https://youtu.be/Z5aYq0ASSHU
From teeth to our heart, from bad breathe to sick skin – from diabetes to cancer… Sugar also competes with Vitamin C to enter the cell.
WHY FASTING is soooooooooo important…
KEY: Fasting does not heal the body, it gives the body the optimal environment…
We all have cancer – cells that send the wrong single (leukemia in blood, or tissue in breast) – the cell no longer understands the single and a mutation forms.
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If our body could not fight disease, we would die at birth.
EXAMPLE ON SCREEN: [live stream can watch video] Atoms are surrounded by electrons that orbit the atom in layers called shells. Each shell needs to be filled by a set number of electrons.
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Full outer shells = stability.
BUT – If an atom has a shell that is not full, it may bond with another atom, and pull from it. These types of atoms are known as free radicals.
“Hey, don’t get radical” and steal electrons from DNA, proteins, and lipids – Helpful to kill bacteria
Fasting repairs – Oxidative stress and acts as an Antioxidants
Free radicals can be created by poorly functioning mitochondria (the powerhouses of the cell). Fasting can tell the cells to remove the unhealthy mitochondria and replace them with healthy ones.
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Fasting + Stewardship ⇙
Top 3 Antioxidant foods – Captain Crunch, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Anything from Mc’y D’s and Krispy Kreme.
If the underlying problem (poor health) isn’t dealt with, illness will return with vengeance. This is why many are chronically sick—they are always medicating and never healing – NEVER FASTING AND RESTING.
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Fasting is a SABBATH!
TAKEAWAYS:
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Pray for direction and strength. Seek God 1st…
Fasting is challenging because the flesh always wants to negotiate.
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Begin cleansing your diet and your lifestyle. Often, spiritual cleansing and physical cleansing go hand-in-hand.
If I’m abusing the temple, it will affect worship.
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Consume God-given food the way He created it; get out and up.
Lead by example – you are an influencer. Consider FASTING
