“When you were little in your own eyes, you were of great value to me” -1 Samuel 15:17
welcome to another day of fasting in
prayer I just agree with you today for
God to do something mighty in your life
you know when you’re talking about
fasting fasting is a way of humbling
yourself the scripture said humble
yourself in the book of James humble
yourself before the mighty hand of God
and in due season he will exalt you if
you humble yourself God will exalt you
the hand of God will exalt you one of
the greatest stories in the Bible
happened here one of the greatest
lessons that I think on pride happened
here
scripture talks about in Proverbs that
pride goes before a phone let me tell
you the story of a man that that was
that ended in in right behind me on the
mountain that you can see behind me
that’s Mount Gilboa his name was Saul he
was the first king of Israel the Bible
said he stood head and shoulders above
all the other men in Israel and when he
began he was extremely humbled the
reason I know he was humble was when the
Bible said that they called for him to
be anointed the king of Israel he was
hiding among the staff he was so humble
and so feeling as though he was unworthy
of that high lofty position that he was
hiding feeling his own insecurity
feeling his own insufficiency and the
Prophet poured all on King Saul and the
Bible said and he was turned into
another man I love that about Solace a
powerful verse when the anointing of the
Holy Spirit comes on you he can turn
your weakness into strength he can turn
your defeat into victory listen to this
the Bible said that Saul was born on
Mount Mizpah Mizpah in Hebrew means to
be bent low he started out in humility
he started out love he started out
humble
he started out meek hiding among the
stuff that’s the kind of leader God can
you
but he died on Mount Gilboa and the word
Gilboa means to be exalted to be exalted
now you think about that a man started
on Mount miss but being bent low totally
depending on God totally humble hiding
feeling like if God doesn’t help me I
can’t do this but the more that God
raised him and the more that God blessed
him and actually one of the most
powerful verses in the Bible in the Old
Testament is God before he removed salt
from office and replaced him with David
said these words over Saul when you were
little in your own eyes you were of
great value to me what a lesson that
that when you become big in your own
eyes
God says pride is is something that will
cause your downfall pride goes before a
fall
when you were little in your own eyes
there’s nothing wrong with good
self-esteem and believing in yourself
but don’t ever get to the place that you
feel like you can do it your talent is
enough your education your gifting you
need the anointing you need God’s
presence the more he raises you the more
you need to seek Him one time the Lord
spoke to me about our ministry and he
said it’s dangerous
we were really growing and I was getting
so busy I didn’t have time to pray and
read the Bible like I needed to and the
Lord said to me it’s dangerous to have a
growing ministry and a shrinking passion
for me some of you have growing
businesses growing families growing
careers
don’t let your passion shrink because he
ended up on Mount Gilboa the mountain of
pride the mountain of being exalted and
they hung him and his sons on that
mountain
the whole story of a man’s life can be
told by the two mountains one he was
born on in humility and the one he died
on in pride it cost him everything
costing his family
cost him his children and it cost him
the kingdom so what’s powerful about
fasting is that as you fast you’re
humbling yourself you’re humbling
yourself before God and you’re saying
God use me again God filled me again
God blessed me again God I I’ve grown
I’ve come a mighty long way I started
out with little to nothing and your
presence and your power and your favor
has raised me but I need you more now
than I did then that’s the right spirit
I’m more desperate for you now than I
was then
now that you’ve given me much than much
is required of me and I need you like
I’ve never needed you before and there’s
nothing that says that more to God
people don’t understand why we do this
every year people don’t understand those
of you who are watching this right now
you know you you you I’m sure people
have said you’re crazy why are you doing
that but it’s our way of saying one of
the big themes of fasting is so
consistent throughout the scripture is
it’s um it’s a way of humbling yourself
it’s a way of saying I don’t want pride
to get a death grip on me in my life and
you don’t know pride as insidious’ pride
is pride is there and you don’t know
it’s there
you know that the first sin and the
Bible was pride the first sin in
creation was pride pride got turned an
angel into a devil because Lucifer was
was according to the scripture an arch
angel that was in an exalted high place
read it in Ezekiel and it’ll tell you
about it and Isaiah 14 he said I will
ascend above the throne I will be like
the Most High
it’s all about me it’s all about me
that’s pride and he was cast out of
heaven
think about it pride can turn an angel
into a devil and I don’t want pride to
get a hold of me I don’t want it to get
a hold of you and it certainly has I
mean if we would be honest we’d all have
to say there are times where we begin to
become self-sufficient more than God
you know desperate and that’s why
fasting is so so so powerful it’s us
coming again at the beginning of a new
year and saying Holy Spirit I need you
Holy Spirit fill me again and I humble
myself there’s there’s only two ways of
being you know you got a choice he said
humble yourself before the mighty hand
of God that’s what you’re doing in
fasting or God will humble you so you
can humble yourself or God’s gonna
humble you and that’s why when I fast
and when I pray thousands and thousands
and thousands of people are doing it as
we’re on this fast one of the greatest
things God will do is humble you you’ll
see it you you you won’t you you’ll
think I can’t I can’t believe I was
thinking that way I can’t believe I was
acting that way I can’t believe I talked
to that person that way because pride
can can blind you but when you fast God
will show you those areas of your life
that pride is creeping in and you know
just humble yourself a speed let’s be
people who give God the glory nothing
wrong with succeeding nothing wrong with
being super successful but give God the
glory
that’s humility
humility is not putting yourself down
humility is lifting Jesus up now I just
said something right there a lot of
people think that humility is is just
you know putting yourself down all the
time that’s not humility humility is
lifting Jesus up not putting you down
and so God I give you the glory God I
you you deserve the honor you deserve
the praise every achievement every
success in my life to God be the glory
for the things he has done father in the
name of Jesus we learned from King Saul
and his sons the deadly deadly trap of
pride it has taken out so many leaders
in the body of Christ it is destroyed
marriages and homes and families and so
today we humble ourselves and fasting
and prayer in seeking your face we say
cleanse us again do a work in our heart
again we humble ourselves before the
mighty hand of God and in due season you
will exalt us in Jesus mighty name god
bless you
you