Fasting – Answers Are Waiting in His Presence | Jentezen Franklin

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friends and partners of Kingdom

connection it is not outrageous to say

God I so want you to order my steps in a

new year I want to see God breakthrough

and bless me in finances like I’ve never

seen so I can in return be a blessing

that is the kind of prayer God will

honor and he says what you do in secret

I will release I can’t keep it secret

and because of your private discipline I

will release public rewards

[Music]

don’t want you to look with me in

Matthew chapter 6 for just a few moments

in verse 1 he talks about charitable

giving and I’m just gonna sum it up and

he says you’ll get no reward if you do

it to be seen of people and he said in

verse 4 and when you give your

charitable deed let it be in secret and

your father who sees in secret will

himself reward you openly will himself

reward you openly then in verse 5 when

you pray don’t be like hypocrites

standing on the corner of the street

praying out loud so people to see you

but he says but when you pray verse 6

enter into your room where you have shut

your door in private pray to your father

who is in the secret place and your

father who sees in secret what you do

listen will reward you openly and he

said when you fast don’t fast to be seen

of men notice this now and go around and

disfigure your face as though you appear

to be fasting assuredly I say to you you

have your reward but when you fast

anoint your head and wash your face and

and take asserts – they men and get some

mouthwash I’ll throw that in there so

that you do not appear to men to be

fasting but listen to your father who in

the secret place and he will reward you

openly I’m telling you today that we

serve a God who sees what we do in

secret and he says I can’t keep its

secret God can’t keep secrets and he

says what you do in the secret place in

private discipline is going to release

public rewards if you seek me privately

in prayer in reading the word it’s just

me and you and I

see it nobody else sees it but me and

you I see you pushing away from that

table I see you fasting and you’re not

doing it to be seen the people you’re

doing it because you really do want to

know me more you really do want to be

awakened again you really do want to

feel my touch on your life again because

there’s more to life than making money

there’s more to life than raising a

family there’s more to life than just

living Christianity is not Church

christianity is not conduct christianity

after all is not a checklist of biblical

rules christianity is a relationship

with jesus christ and if you don’t have

that you don’t have anything and so he

concludes this magnificent chapter that

i don’t have time to go into every part

of it because he keeps saying three

times don’t worry don’t worry

after you fast after you pray after you

give don’t worry take no thought of

tomorrow don’t worry don’t worry

and then he concludes I believe it’s the

33rd verse but seek first the kingdom of

God that’s why we fast in a new year and

he says when you seek me first when you

put me at the beginning at the first of

your year then get ready because I’m

going to see to it because I’ve seen

what you’ve done early you saw me first

at the beginning of a new year and I’m

going to see to it get ready for things

to be added unto you over and over and

over and over and over there was an

American Indian tribe Native American

Indian tribe that that had a rite of

passage for the young men who were about

to become warriors that wanted to fight

with the other warriors and the test

that they had to pass for rite of

passage to have the

the privilege of fighting beside the

Warriors was the chief said you’ve got

to climb that mountain and it was a very

steep mountain very hard very grueling

to challenge and many of them got

halfway and gave up some of them claimed

to go to the top but they really didn’t

do it and the way that the chief knew

whether or not they made it to the top

he would bring them in individually and

he’d say what did you see when you got

to the top and that was the one if they

had the right answer that he knew made

it to the summit and he said the one

with the right answer

I saw something I’ve never seen before I

saw the sea I saw the ocean and that’s

what fasting is it’s like climbing a

mountain it gets very very difficult

your mind will tell you even

well-meaning friends and family will try

to talk you out of it your own mind will

tell you it’s not necessary this is

extreme you need to eat but I’m saying

to you that it is not outrageous for you

for a season to say god I so want you to

order my steps in a new year I so want

you to pronounce blessings on my family

and all my children and all my

children’s children I want to leave a

legacy of something that will outlive me

that will bring glory to your name I

want to see Souls saved in my church I

want to see God breakthrough and bless

me in finances like I’ve never seen so I

can in return be a blessing that is the

kind of prayer God will honor and he

says what you do in secret I will

release I can’t keep it secret and

because of your private dis

I will release public rewards everybody

will see it Jesus fasted for 40 days in

private in secret nobody was in the

wilderness but him and God and the devil

three people see it when you fast God

you and the devil and the devil came to

him and said if you are the son of God

if you are who you say you are attacking

his identity and Jesus said it is

written it is written it is written I

know who I am and this battle in secret

was won when Jesus said it is written

three times Satan said if you are the

son of God three times he said it is

written and the Bible said and Jesus

after the fast returned in the power of

the Spirit he’s not turning brick stone

into bread he’s not jumping off of the

wall and being rescued by angels he’s

not having the kingdoms of the world

becoming his own Kingdom nothing is

happening

except he returns from the fast in the

power of the Holy Spirit you can return

to a new year to an it to your job to

your company in the power of the Holy

Spirit for a new year we’ve seen what

you can do congratulations you’ve done

good but you’ve never seen the things

that God wants to show you at the top of

this summit fasting Mountain things

you’ve never seen things you’ve never

imagined things you’ve never thought of

God has up there and he says answers are

waiting in my presence at the top of the

summit of the fasting mountain who will

come on up higher who will turn the

flesh off and say I’m coming after you

God with all of my heart

that’s what fasting is when our eyes are

dry our souls are dry but he said in joy

to come to me with fasting and weeping

get broken again you remember when I

used to touch you you remember when my

presence used to come on you and it was

it made you so sensitive and it made you

so alive I want to do that again in your

life and it’ll happen when you fast and

when you pray write down your reasons

for fasting and when you’re tempted to

quit

ask yourself what David said in 1st

Samuel 17 is there not a cause I’m

fighting this Goliath of King stomach

and the flesh but there’s a calls to my

fast there’s a plan of why I’m fasting

and write down what you’re fasting for

why am i fasting is there not a calls

when when when the flesh says just

forget it what’s it what’s the use

everything went bad you fasted all hell

broke loose on the job nothing Goods

happening the phone’s not ringing that’s

how it goes the miracle doesn’t come

while you’re fasting it usually comes

after the fast you have to win in secret

and God releases the reward publicly and

many of the battles will be in your own

mind asking for big things on this fast

is in line ask him for divine

instructions ask him for his will

fasting will release the birthplace of

your assignment in your life god alone

knows what’s best for us ask him for

personal cleansing ask him for it

there’s something about fasting that

cleanses the temple of the holy spirit

which is our body Isaac and Esau both

were deceived because of their hunger

for food Esau wanted a bowl of beans and

his brother Jacob said give me the

birthright

and I’ll give you the food and he chose

food over spiritual blessing it still

happens today it will happen even in

this room and wherever you’re listening

to me this stuff matters God sees what

we do in secret he said in James 4 and

verse 8 draw nigh unto me and I will

draw nigh unto you cleanse your hands

you sinners and purify your hearts you

double-minded listen he said I don’t

want my children to have dirty hands and

defiled hearts and double minds I want

you to come to me in a season of fasting

and say wash my hands and wash my heart

and wash my mind and renew me O God and

restore unto me the joy of my salvation

I’m emptying out so you can feel me up

that’s what fasting is and it’s powerful

and it’ll get you there quick the

children of Israel over 8 and Paul said

in first Corinthians that they lusted

for food and it overthrew them in the

wilderness

that’s an amazing Scripture Paul said in

first Corinthians 6 all things are

lawful for me but not everything is

helpful I will not be enslaved to

anything and that includes food food can

enslave you for what ever overcomes a

man 2nd Peter 2:19

is what he’s enslaved by I want to give

you one quick scripture stay with me

1st Corinthians 10 is a warning to us

and he says don’t be like your

forefathers don’t be idolaters as some

of them were as it is written the people

sat down to eat and drink and rose up to

play do you know that God says that if I

call you to fast and seek my face and

you turn around and sit down and eat and

drink and play I see

as idolatry this is strong in it but we

don’t understand that we’re not here

just to enjoy life we are here to

present ourselves as a living sacrifice

holy and acceptable unto God and here’s

the amazing thing the more you give of

yourself to him the more life you will

enjoy the more you’ll come alive the

more things that God has planned for you

at the summit you’ll begin to see you’ll

never see them you’ll see things people

ordinary people will never see if you’ll

climb this 21-day fast mountain I want

you to hear me now I thought about how

that every now and then everything needs

cleaning you know your car just gets

dirty just to clink cumulate stuff and

it needs cleaning your house it needs

spring cleaning things just start

accumulating and we need to reconsecrate

when we go on a fast we reconsecrate our

time we reconsecrate our entertainment

we reconsecrate our family our marriage

our tongue our soul our spirit our mind

our body listen to this verse 2nd

Corinthians 7 says let us enter into the

promises and he said cleanse yourself

from all filthiness of the flesh and the

spirit cleanse yourself how do I do that

when I go on a fast I’m saying God

cleanse me of filthiness of the flesh

and of the spirit perfecting holiness in

the eyes of God he sees what I’m doing

in secret and I’m cleansing myself a

filthiness of the flesh and the spirit

in 2nd chronicles 29 there’s an amazing

story

Hezekiah came in the first year of his

reign the Bible said he opened the doors

of the temple and he restored the temple

and verse 5 said that he called for the

priest and the

priest came and it said they were called

upon to carry out the rubbish of the

holy place everybody look at me just a

moment every campus how did the most

magnificent temple that human eyes have

ever seen become a glorified warehouse

that was filled with rubbish which is

another word for trash God’s holy temple

had somehow gone from glory and

sacrifices and burning incense and lamps

burning to close doors and the people

were bringing their garbage now normally

they had to walk all the way to the

valley of Gehenna I’ve gone there many

times it’s a valley on these side of

Jerusalem and they would throw their

trash in a burning fire that never stops

burning but they got lazy and what

happened is after doing that somebody

noticed that there was no revival before

Hezekiah the priest had gone out of

business the doors of the temple were

shut the lamp had gone out and somebody

just said well there’s a big old

warehouse that’s a big old room and he

stops by and throws his bag of trash in

there rubbish and then another guy stops

by and dumps his trash I don’t feel like

going a mile to to the burning fire

let’s just throw it in here and after

Tom had passed an accumulation of trash

and filth and rubbish had filled the

glorious magnificent temple of God and

Hezekiah the first thing he did was he

said we’ve got to take the trash out he

puts up a sign no dumping here he bursts

the doors open and he calls the priest

and he says take the trash out that’s

what fasting is fasting is taking a

spiritual bath fasting is taking the

trash out all the rubbish all the works

of the flesh all of the thoughts all of

the things that we’ve seen that we’ve

looked at that we’ve listened to all

along your body is the temple of the

Living God

it’s magnificent it was born for him

made by

him for his glory and if we don’t watch

it we fill it with filth and it just

accumulates and accumulates but when you

fast you take the trash out you empty

yourself of the rubbish the field we

live in a dirty world and it’s getting

in the temple and so we need seasons of

prayer and fasting where we say God take

the trash out I’m Yours I belong to you

I want to serve here and God is saying

on this fast that it that that when you

become a carnal Christian please hear me

God help me to say this right when you

become a carnal Christian neglects the

Word of God and treats God’s house as

though as some plaything if I feel like

it I’ll go something is wrong with you

you’ve accumulated so much of the world

that your heart is no longer receptive

and sensitive to the Holy Spirit and

when you fast he takes the trash out and

his presence comes back and it’s no

longer just songs but it’s a song that’s

coming from your heart because you’ve

been with him in secret I’m almost done

I’m almost there Jacob he’s got his

brother Esau and 400 assassins coming to

kill him and he’s desperate and he goes

to the river and he gets in a wrestling

match with God just like you’re gonna be

for the next 21 days wrestling wrestling

with God wrestling with the old flesh

wrestling with the stomach wrestling

with the lust of the flesh the lust of

the eyes the pride of life all the works

of the flesh and Galatians 5 they’ll all

manifest outburst of anger all of it

you’re gonna rassle and every voice in

Hell will say give up give up give up

but he’s doing it in secret it’s night

nobody can see it but he and God the

next day when the Sun came up oh by the

way the

angel said you have prevailed you

wouldn’t give up he said I won’t let go

until you bless me do you want a

blessing in 2016 I won’t let go I won’t

let go I won’t quit I won’t stop I wanna

bless it do you want the favor of God

like you’ve never seen it do you want

your children saved and bless get a hold

of God and say I won’t let go until you

bless me 21 days of fasting in prayer

and I’m not let him go

[Applause]

you know what God said you have power

with God

listen and favor with men that’s in

Genesis 32 favor with men why does that

import it the next morning

Esau shows up coming to kill him and

when he sees him instead of killing him

the Bible said Esau ran and laid his

head on his shoulder of his brother and

wrapped his arms around him and well and

everybody’s thinking man that he saw is

a good guy look at him forgiving mean

awful Jacob who stole his birthright

what a good guy Esau is it had nothing

to do with he saw it had the fact that

God told Jacob in secret I give you

favor with men and now he’s getting a

public reward a favor with me and God

can give you favor with judges God can

give you favor with bankers God can give

you favor with elected officials God can

give you favor in court systems God can

give you favor with men but it happens

not there it happens in private secret

consecration and that’s what I feel

strongly about this fast that God is

going to reward us publicly in ways that

he’ll prepare a table before us in the

presence of our enemies he said because

you skip that meal let me feed you this

meal in the

presence of the enemies because I’m a

God who sees private discipline and I

can’t keep it secret but I will reward

you openly in a new year if you seek me

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