Day 32 (2011)
3:25 - Sacrament of Communion - example of communing
➡ 15:30 - Where do we go from here? We’ve talked about healing pretty heavy the last two days and there is a lot more to say. I’m not going to talk as much about healing today. I’m going to talk about fasting.
17:00 - Some object to fasting saying that we are not under the law - Controversy over fasting - It has nothing to do with the law. It has to do with a spiritual truth and growing in the spirit and suppressing the cry of the flesh - the carnal cry of the flesh.
17:10 - Your flesh wants to have a voice in your life - There are flesh tendencies that come up in your life. Your flesh wants to have a voice. When you are trying to crucify it, that’s when it talks the most. “Come on man, we’ve been together a long time. I love you. What are you doing to me. I thought we were buds. I’ve been with you from the beginning.” That’s when you’ve got to get strong and say die.
Epileptic Boy
17:40 - Jesus teaches the importance of fasting in the story of the epileptic boy - Matthew 17 - During the transfiguration - Jesus, Peter, James, John together on the mountain. Nine other disciples hanging out. Father brought epileptic boy to the disciples. In Matt 10 they already went out two by two and did amazing things - they already saw healings. Jesus already gave them authority to go and told them to go. In Luke 10 you can see they came back and rejoiced because of the amazing things going on. So had these guys see healings and miracles by the time of Mt. 17? Yes. Had they see healings when Jesus was not with them? Yes. They are probably pretty pumped because the things they saw Jesus do, they started seeing flow out of their lives. That is the whole purpose of God anyway, right? That’s why we are to follow Jesus.
21:10 - v.14 - And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. - The boy’s father kneels before Jesus and explains the situation.
21:40 - v.16 - And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. - Amazing verse - I brought him to your disciples - That’s amazing. He thought to bring him to the disciples. Why? Because it was starting to get around that the disciples were starting to do the same things as Jesus was doing. Jesus had been on the mount of Transfiguration. But his disciples were there.
Miracles - Not Limited to the Twelve
22:40 - We are supposed to pass on what we were taught - Jesus told His disciples to go make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe everything I taught you. So if I taught you, you go and teach them and impart to them the same thing I have imparted to you. Do you see how it is supposed to go on from generation to generation?
23:00 - Some object to healing saying, "It stopped with the disciples" - a teaching these days. That is absolutely wrong teaching. You can’t substantiate that. That’s just taking natural circumstances (our experience) and coming up with reasons to explain it. There is a lot of scripture that blows that out of the water.
23:25 - Peter said that the Spirit that is upon us will come upon you and your children - Acts 2:39
23:35 - Jesus said, Go make disciples of every nation teaching them everything I taught you. Matt. 28:19-20
23:45 - Mark 16:17 - And these signs will follow those that believe. He is not even talking about the disciples now. He is talking about those who would believe through their message.
24:30 - The miraculous was not limited to the twelve - It's open to all who walk by the Spirit - Luke 10:1 - Jesus sends out 70 more - What is Jesus saying? It is not limited to the twelve. It is a prophetic statement pointing to the fact that one day all nations will be able to live by His Spirit if they choose and do the things that He did and follow.
Epileptic Boy (cont.)
25:30 - Epileptic boy (continued) - It means something to me that the man thought to bring the boy to the disciples. People can see Christ in us.
26:30 - Reports of healing get around - The demands of being more widely known. We are the body of Christ. People shouldn’t have to zero in on one person for healing. Jesus is in all of us. I can’t respond to every one. But there is a reason they are calling me. They hear a testimony or they see something.
28:00 - New couple meets Dan at church - just listened to CD - broken foot - still messed up - Healed.
29:25 - When that happens, especially if it has been prayed for before and nothing seemed to happen, word gets around. We just need to get the sick in front of him. Something like that happened here.
Faithless & Perverse Generation
29:40 - Epileptic boy (continued) - Jesus called them a faithless and perverse generation - There is something like that is happening here. Bringing the boy to His disciples.
30:00 - v.17 - Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. - They could not heal him. You faithless and perverse generation… Very convicting. This verse should cause us to seek God all the more. We push the conviction of this chapter away with all the things that we say. The biggest one is that God is sovereign. Another one is that it’s not your time, if it were your time you would have been healed. Another would be that God is using this in your life to build character - God is using this as a tool in your life. In the midst of this situation, Jesus didn’t say any of that.
31:30 - He was talking to His disciples, not to the father - Jesus did say… He was talking to the disciples - if you read the rest of the chapter, it is obvious. Jesus is not holding the man responsible, he doesn’t have a clue yet. Jesus is hanging out with His disciples every day and they are still struggling to understand. Is He holding the man to the same standard as His disciples? To he whom much is given, much is required. Who is He talking to when He says, “Faithless and perverse generation”? He is talking about His disciples.
32:30 - He's not condemning the disciples but saying - You’ve got to get this - That is a pretty intense response. It’s not condemning. Understand that Jesus knows who we are, that’s why He is here in the first place. He doesn’t think we are a bunch of losers. He’s here to make a statement - You are worth me dying for - You are worth my life in the flesh. It’s worth me coming and investing my life into this earth so that my life can get inside of you and keep on manifesting and reproducing for generations. You are worth Me coming and paying this price.
33:10 - Jesus wasn't mad or frustrated but His time was short - When Peter said, “This shall never happen,” Jesus said, “Get behind me satan. This is happening to me.” Most of us in His shoes would be praying for deliverance from the cross. Because we have in mind the things of man and not God. No, it was fitting that He go to the cross. He set His face to the cross.
33:45 - So He is headed to Jerusalem to the cross. And these are the men He has invested in - imparted to - and taught that what He does, they can do also. The fact that He is here in the flesh means that we have found favor with God.
34:15 - You perverse generation. How long shall I be with you? - That doesn’t mean that He is frustrated and ready to leave them. How long shall I be with you? - means my time is short. I’m heading to the cross soon. I won’t be here in the flesh much longer. You’ve got to get this.
34:45 - It was clearly God’s will to heal the boy - Bring him here to me. That almost sounds arrogant - It’s not arrogant. Jesus knows the will of God to heal the boy. Is it the will of God to heal the boy? Yes. If it wasn’t Jesus wouldn’t say, “Bring him to me,” and then heal him. This is so convicting.
35:15 - Was it the will of God to heal the boy? People are afraid to answer because they feel like they are being set up. I ask this question because people have a lot of reasons why we are not healed. Jesus didn’t give other reasons as to why the boy was not healed.
Our thinking became twisted and corrupt through the fall - our minds need renewing - He said, “You faithless, twisted minded, corrupted thinking people…” - that’s what it means - perverse generation. Jesus is saying our thinking is twisted, perverse, corrupted and we are still trying to think up reasons to justify why the lack of healing is not our fault. We have a mindset that is self-serving, self-centered, self-protecting and void of power. Jesus didn't use the explanations that we like to use - it's just not your time - God is using this as a tool etc. Jesus declared the Father to us and He never said that stuff. Why do we say it all the time?
37:45 - Perverse generation - Jesus is face to face with the fall of man. Our minds need renewing - transforming. The effect of the fall on the thinking of man. Self-focused, self-centered, self-conscious.
38:40 - His time is short and this baton needs to be passed to them - I’m heading to the cross soon. I’m handing you the baton of the new covenant, new testament church and you are going in the authority and power of my name and subdue the works of my hands. You have to get this. Let me show you again. Because I am about to hand you the baton and you will soon be the the body of Christ - embodiment of Christ - the embodiment of what I am showing you. Jesus went to the Father's right hand. He gave us His Spirit to follow Him. He is saying, Guys, it's the will of God to heal the boy.
39:25 - Jesus rebuked the spirit. It came out of him. And the child was healed that very hour.
God's Will - But Healing Didn't Happen through the Disciples
39:40 - We need to grow up in Him - Just because it's not happening doesn't mean it's not His will - Was it the will of God to heal the boy? Yes. Was he healed when the disciples prayed? No. Ooops. And what Jesus had to say about it is what we almost never say. I need to grow up in Him because I know that there is a place for that healing. Just because it didn’t happen doesn’t mean it wasn’t the will of God. We just need more of Jesus. That’s not what we usually hear. But that is what Jesus is saying. We try to come with some other reason (blame shift).
41:35 - There is no need to prophesy healing - We already have His word - Have faith - No need to prophesy healing. You already have God’s prophetic word (the Bible) concerning healing. You already have the word of the Lord. You don’t need a man to rise and prophesy. The reason we rejoice over prophecies is that our hearts were failing and we were not believing God’s word. People put all their confidence in the prophecy instead of the word of God. You already have the word. If you understand the finished work of Christ, you have every reason to have faith in your heart. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word and it works through love. So if we can build on the love of God for the people and the finished work of Christ and get out of the way and learn to minister by the Spirit, we will walk like Jesus walked.
44:10 - The disciples already had confidence - When the man brought his boy to the disciples and asked them to pray, I don’t think they were like, “Who us?” They were already out doing it. They were probably like, “Sure.” They wanted to know, “Why couldn’t we do that?” I don’t think they were sheepish - Jesus gave them permission.
45:00 - I don’t want to argue doctrine. It takes us nowhere. I want my life to bear witness to truth - finding a place of truth where the power of God flows. The boy must have continued to seize...
45:30 - Visuals tend to trip us up - our eyes fix on what is not changing - and then we start "trying harder" - Your senses and mind are involved. [Sometimes we think it’s our prayer that makes the difference. It has nothing to do with your prayer. It has to do with your belief about God’s love for people and His finished work. You can say, “Hand be whole.”] When something doesn’t change your eyes start fixing on what hasn’t changed. That visual gets in your head. You shift a gear and start to pray another prayer - pray harder - trying to get a breakthrough.
47:20 - “Breakthrough” - I don’t like that phrase. The stone has already been rolled away. Shows that we are striving - trying so hard. Waiting for a sensual manifestation. You live by faith.
48:05 - I believe the nine disciples were confident to pray for him. When you are confident and something doesn’t change that can burst the bubble and then you are stumbling and tripping and you have a million questions.
48:50 - The key: In the end Jesus healed the boy and corrected his disciples in the process. So we know that it was the will of God to heal him. And the disciples could have healed him. But I have never heard that taught in the church.
49:30 - Things nobody ever told me. Spend time in His word to get into the truth of these things.
51:00 -The disciples had the authority already and heaven was with them - And yet it didn't happen - In this situation, Jesus’ disciples had the authority, had the will of God on their side, had heaven with them and yet they prayed and it didn’t happen. That gets my attention. Why? Because it has happened to me way too many times.
51:20 - Jesus healed prolifically - We are meant to heal like that too - Jesus’ healings - So many that the world could not contain the written record.
53:00 - And He said, As the Father sent me, I send you. And He said, He who believes in me will also do the works that I do. That is clear language. How do we muddy that up? We stay self-conscious, low-esteem, insecure, identity issues but yet what Jesus said is still true. It’s still possible.
53:50 - Epileptic seizures - being thrown around, out of control - into fire and water - crazy. They are praying for him and he is out of control. And he didn’t stop seizing.
55:40 - Corrupted thinking - the problem wasn’t in their hearts but in their minds.
Why Couldn't We Cast It Out?
56:15 - v.19 - Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? - Private session - He was giving secrets to them - a place of intimacy.
56:40 - If it is God’s will to heal, why isn’t everyone healed? The number one question at Power and Love conferences. Because we aren’t walking in the revelation we are called to and we still have issues that are getting resolved in our lives. Our lack of results doesn’t have anything to do with God. Did He give us the authority of His name? Did He tell us, whatever we ask in prayer believing shall be done? Did He say, If you believe in me you’ll do the things I do and even greater things because I go to the Father? Did He say as the Father sent me, I send you? Do you believe it? Then we have to grow into it. Why don’t we press in?
58:00 - Prayer is not the evidence of faith. Sometimes you are trying it just to see if it works. It doesn’t mean that you have a revelation of God’s love for people and the finished work of Christ.
58:30 - Why couldn’t we cast it out? Because of your little faith - the little faith of the disciples - He took blame off of the man and the son completely.
58:50 - Faith is not required on the part of the sick person - It has nothing to do with the sick person. They are the ones saying help me. The signs follow believers. Doesn’t say anything about the sick believing.
100:50 - Power and Love Colorado - Wegman’s - manager very busy - big apparatus on wrist - Tim - carpal tunnel - One problem, I don’t believe in that - God won’t hold you to what you don’t see or understand - But He will bless you with what I do see and understand - hand comes alive - Just because you didn’t believe in Him doesn’t mean He is not real - He loves you. It had nothing to do with that man's faith.
105:25 - In about a third of the healings of Jesus, He acknowledged their faith because He wanted to encourage them. But when He didn’t acknowledge faith, I wonder whose faith healed them?
105:55 - Paralytic at Pool of Bethsaida - He didn’t even know Jesus’ name.
106:05 - Man with the withered hand in the temple - Setting Jesus up to heal on the Sabbath. The Pharisees made him a test case. Just picked him out of the congregation. Animosity throughout the room - zero love - exploiting the man. And love covers all that stuff. Authority and power.
108:45 - Woman manager at Walmart - knee brace - never touched her - she thought I was nuts - Her lack of faith didn’t stop the healing. It’s grace.
110:40 - The more you minister that way, the more you grow in faith.
110:50 - Then you go to church and pray for someone that believes and it seems harder to get the answer. It tries to drive your mind crazy.
111:10 - If we are walking in authority, darkness just has to flee? Because Jesus knew who He was with His Father - Watch this: John 1 - v.1 and reading…
112:00 - v.4 - In him was life; and the life was the light of men. - life - He breathes life back into you. The life is the light. Watch what the light does.
112:20 - v.5 - And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. - The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can’t overtake it or comprehend it.
Reasons why we can't heal are lies designed to keep us from loving people the way that Jesus did - We’ve got so many teachings on why men are not healed. So technical. They can’t be healed if there is unforgiveness, generational curses, unbelief… It’s all lies. Jesus healed first and then the ducks were put in a row. If you see what we are saying, it’s what will cause you to stop somebody and ask to pray. (Let’s go out there and lay some hands on people!) That’s exactly what it should do.
114:05 - Laying hands on sick is the first sign of a believer - These signs follow those who believe. What is the first sign? Healing? First sign is they will lay hands on the sick. The fact that we are not stopping the sick to lay hands on them reveals that we don’t believe. The first sign of a believer is getting your hands on the sick. If you believe, you will put your hands on the sick. We have so many issues with healing that it is causing unbelief and we won’t even put our hands on the sick. When you don’t lay hands on the sick, you are confessing that you don’t believe. We are thinking too much. We’ve got to get our hands on the sick. It doesn’t mean that we don’t believe that Jesus heals, it means we have issues with ourselves and Jesus healing through us. You can believe that Jesus heals and never lays hands on the sick. Why? Because you don’t have a revelation of your own birthright.
115:45 - We get so caught up in uncertainties - What if God doesn’t show up?
116:40 - Stepping Out - Don’t ask too many questions of the sick person - Then you have to believe through all of that knowledge - Don’t allow what someone else does not see to determine what you do see. It subverts the authority that is in your spirit. Don’t ask too many questions. Don’t inventory too much. (You will come up with reasons why they can’t be healed.) The more natural knowledge you have - you have to believe through all of that. Sometimes you don’t need to know anything. (It gives your brain too much to think about.) Now you are playing detective instead of just, “Be healed in Jesus Name.”
117:35 - Do we need to wait for the Holy Spirit to highlight someone to pray for?
You don't need to wait for leading to pray for people - You already have the "Go!" - The Holy Spirit might highlight someone to you out of 100. But you have the privilege to love all of them. You already have the yes and the go. You don’t need the Holy Spirit to lead you to people, the word already leads you to people.
118:45 - Hypothetical example of leading - impression for someone. That’s fun when that happens. But if you wait to only follow impressions, you are going to miss opportunities to love people all along the way. It’s God’s will that you pray for THE sick. The Lord already told you to go and do that, you don’t need a leading of the Spirit.
119:20 - Lead weights - feel led.
119:35 - If Jesus is saying pray for the sick. The Father is saying pray for the sick. The Holy Spirit will highlight people at times. But we’re not just waiting for those highlights. People get stuck on phenomenal encounters and a year later they are still waiting for another phenomenal encounter. But you can just step forward in love all along the way.
Unbelief - What You Fail to See
121:30 - Matthew 17 v.20 - And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. - This verse is written because the question in v.19 was humbly asked. [You don’t want to quote your Bible, you want to become what it says. Understanding it is our priority.] Why couldn’t we heal the boy? Because of your unbelief. Don’t make exceptions if you can’t find them illustrated through the life of Jesus.
124:00 - Unforgiveness can be dealt with after healing - Often people with unforgiveness will get healed and that will lead to them seeing clearly their unforgiveness. Brings them to repentance. If you try to deal with it before you pray you leave yourself an out - an excuse for not healing - “Well, we must have missed something.” Jesus said, “It is finished.” He didn’t miss anything. We are missing something.
125:20 - We put the blame on sick people - Jesus never did that - We put the blame on the sick people. You (the sick person) need more faith. Jesus never did that to people. In this situation Jesus is not even addressing the sick person but His ministers - the disciples.
126:45 - Unbelief - It's what you fail to see - little faith - Lack of healing in this situation has nothing to do with anything or anyone else. Jesus is talking to His own guys. It’s what you guys are failing to see. He’s not being mean.
128:00 - We hurt others in the way we talk about faith - “If they had had faith their son wouldn’t have died.” Don’t ever talk to people like that. God will hold you to that same standard. Why didn’t you go and get the boy up? You don’t put it on a family. God has put it on His body - His family.
128:30 - It's not the sick persons faith that is needed, otherwise why would anyone be told to ask for prayer? - I am called to the privilege of faith. But how can the sick in the church ask for prayer if it is just up to the individual’s faith? Is anyone among you sick? He is talking to the church in James. He is talking to the church - believers. Let them call for help. Whatever you are standing on and believing - it’s not happening. Ask for prayer. Prayer of faith will save the sick. That’s a promise.
129:15 - God’s will is to heal, otherwise He wouldn't tell the sick to ask for prayer - So is it the will of God to heal? Yes, or He wouldn’t be asking the sick to ask for prayer. He’s not playing charades - ask me and I’ll see if I do it. He has already made His will clear. He is yes and amen on the matter. Was God yes and amen to heal the boy? Did He choose not to heal? So we have the privilege of representing the heart of God, the will of God, the kingdom and we need to know God because those that know their God do great exploits. Not those who read their Bible and take a crack at it.
130:00 - This thing is all about sell out, integrity, honor, humility, surrender - it’s all about living by the Spirit.
130:25 - What you fail to see - Identity is foundational to praying for the sick - Understand who you are - "What you fail to see" goes back to perverse genertation - He’s saying, “The fall of man sure got into your heads. And you’ve lost sight of who you are because of me. If you knew who you were because I came - if you understood your identity because I am here - this boy would be healed. You are losing sight of who you are now that I have come. You are reverting back to mere man. You are seeing through some other eye.” Identity is huge. (He's talking about a mindset that is contrary to truth.)
131:45 - Jesus addresses the disciples, not the dad, when He talks about the solution - v.20 (continued) - Jesus identifies the problem for them and then gets right into the solution. “Assuredly” - take it to the bank. I say to YOU. Not talking to the dad and the boy but to the disciples. Say to who? Oh my goodness, it has nothing to do with God and His will right now. Do you hear the privilege in this?
132:15 - We have the privilege to live like He lived - If we will really step into it - Do you hear that this is worth going for and laying your life down for. Or you can get distracted and live menial (not requiring much skill and lacking prestige) and just kind of live half hearted and half in and half out. God forbid that we face so much loss that we don’t get serious or make up more reasons for the loss.
132:45 - Experiencing loss can either drive you nearer to God for answers or cause you to excuse yourself for it not happening - Loss will do one of two things to you. It will either drive you to Him and His presence for answers and for more (of Him) or it will cause you to write a book that is already written and compromise the truth to encounter even more loss - to have a grid for loss.
133:30 - "Little faith" wasn't even as big as a mustard seed - He just told them “because of your little faith” so that level of faith must not be as much as even mustard seed of faith (a-pistos - not faith). He's talking about realization of hope, evidence of what has not been seen yet, the knowing of God’s will, the knowing of the yes and amen through Christ. Mark 11:22 - Have faith in God - Not, have faith in your prayer, your ability, your Bible knowledge but have faith in God.
134:35 - He is talking to believers - you will.
135:20 - Jesus doesn't give up on us - He is still teaching - So there is hope for loving and healing to become our lifestyle - It's because of what you are failing to see. Jesus speaks this to us it means there is hope to see something clearer and more. God is always thumbs up to heal, never thumbs down. Jesus says, “Truly, If you see what I see, you will do what I do. And nothing will be impossible for you.” Now whether you take that serious or not is up to you. It’s for you to surrender your life to. I can go after this because I believe this is possible for us.
137:10 - Unbelief - What you are failing to see. What goes through your mind that creates doubt self-consciousness, self-focus, “Did I pray right? - I wonder if that was the right thing to pray?”
137:35 - You will say to the mountain - You are not crying out in despair - not begging and pleading - in authority.
137:50 - Manager at Walmart (continued) - Knee be healed in Jesus’ name. How can this be? It doesn’t hurt at all. You believed that was going to happen? I stopped you didn't I?.
139:00 - I've seen it and tasted it. I want healing not to elude me but to be my everyday reality. I've got enough stories now that I'm not turning back.
139:30 - Evidence of faith is the mountain moving - The mountain will move - Is the evidence of faith you speaking at the mountain or the mountain moving? So if a mountain doesn’t move let’s not be presumptuous and say "I was in faith." Let’s say, God keep taking me in deeper - God I need to see you clearer - Lord I feel like I am striving - God I need to back off and get a grip.
140:10 - It's about us seeing clearly - And nothing will be impossible to you - It doesn’t say if God wills. It says if you see clear. God already wills. He sent a Son. It’s all about us seeing clear. We’re still writing a book that is already written. There is a place for us to grow to where there is no limit and the things that Jesus did, you’ll do.
"This Kind" - Unbelief
141:20 - v.21 - Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. -
"This kind" refers to unbelief - However - this kind… Is He talking about epilepsy? No, that was 4 verses ago. The topic of conversation is unbelief - perverse thinking - corrupted mindedness - the effects of the fall on the mind. If you only read Mark 9 you will preach that He is talking about epilepsy. But if you read the rest of the story in Matt. 17 you’ll find that He can’t possibly be talking about the epilepsy because He just gave an unlimited promise that nothing will be impossible. - Oh wait, this spirit is a little tougher, more resistant… it’s probably more than believing, you’ll probably have to do something to cast him out. - NO, that’s not what He is saying. When He said nothing, He meant nothing.
142:30 - This kind - What kind? Here is what He is saying, “Look I know the promise sounds great and I know the sky seems to be the limit [meaning no limit]. But (As great as this promise sounds) it will never be fulfilled in your life until you get this potential of thinking through self-consciousness, flesh awareness, works, striving, your own ability, out of you. This thing that stumbled you from healing the epileptic boy, this thing that I addressed - in your mind - will not come out of you - this kind of unbelief - will not come out of your life unless you stay in a place of prayer and of seeking God and fasting.
➡ 144:00 - And that is what we will talk about in the second half.
144:05 - He’s talking about a mindset that is contrary to truth. (with terms like "perverse" and "unbeleif" and "what you fail to see")
"This kind" refers to unbelief - Seeing yourself for less than who He knows you to be - A belief that empowers you to see yourself apart from Him - an ability to see yourself apart from Him - any level of self-consciousness at all. (See notes above on verse 21) Who is the hope of glory that is inside of you? Christ. So Christ in you is the hope of glory. So it has nothing to do with works. Works is a zero. His work is already finished. So this kind of unbelief He is talking about is anything that allows you to see yourself apart from what He accomplished and who you are because He is alive.
Prayer & Fasting - Motive
➡ 146:00 - Prayer and fasting takes you into that place.
146:35 - Matthew 9
146:50 - Fasting is not a curse word and is not something that is just under the law. Fasting is beautiful if you understand it. There some people who say that fasting is under the law and that we are in the season of feasting not fasting.
147:25 - v.14 - Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? -
Motive in fasting - Fast not as a work or to be right with God or to get God to move but to see clearly - Disciples of John come and say we fast, the Pharisees fast, why don’t you guys fast? When John’s disciples and the Pharisees fasted they were fasting as a work - to try to find themselves to be right with God - they were living under the law. We don’t fast to be right with God. We don’t even fast to move God. God has already moved. You are not fasting to find favor, draw favor or to get the hand of God to move. We’ve already found favor. He has already moved. Fasting has nothing to do with getting God to move. Fasting has to do with you seeing clear.
148:05 - Give no place to the voice of the flesh - We have a voice of the flesh that tries to rise up. We hear things that are contrary to truth a lot in our heads - hear / think something not so encouraging. You want that voice to be crushed. It’s the voice of a lie - the voice that we all learned and earned through the fall of man. It came with the package of sin and self-consciousness.
148:55 - Fasting is not to make you righteous - In Luke 18:11 a man says, “I am glad I am not like others - I fast twice a week.” That is a zero. He thought his fasting made him right in God’s sight - it’s self-righteousness. Fasting doesn’t make you right with God. The finished work of Jesus makes you right. You are already right with God.
149:30 - v.14 - Why do we and the Pharisees fast often but your disciples do not? Jesus didn’t put His disciples under the law - He wasn’t removing the law in the sense that they were not under any law. The higher law is the law of love. If you walk in love you are going to fulfill the whole law. All of the law and the prophets hang on love. Jesus didn’t come to erase the law but to fulfill the law.
150:00 - His disciples didn’t have the ability to fulfill the law. So Jesus fulfilled the law for them and entered them into Him. They didn’t fast because fasting had nothing to do with the reason Jesus was here.
150:15 - v.15 - And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. - Can the wedding guest mourn when the bridegroom is with them? But the day will come… then they will fast. Then watch, you have to catch this, because this sounds off the wall but He goes right into two analogies…
New Wine - New Wine-skins
150:40 - v.16 - No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. - unshrunk patch on old garment - He is revealing the power of fasting and the purpose of it.
151:05 - v.17 - Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. -
This new kind of new life demands a new way of thinking and doing - new wine into new wineskins - New and living way - He is bringing a new testament, new covenant to men. John’s disciples are wondering why Jesus’ disciples aren’t doing the same old thing. Why aren’t your disciples fasting like we fast? Well, because you are still doing the old thing and I have come to do the new. When they do it it will be in a new way for a new reason. We are not going to slap on the old and sew it to the new because it’s not going to hold. We are not going to pour the old way of thinking into brand new wineskins. We are not going to pour in old perspective and old motivation and old legalistic mentalities into something brand new.
152:05 - But in that day they will fast - It's not an option - That means the fasting and the reason for fasting is going to be brand new. John’s disciple fasted to be qualified - for self-righteous reasons.
152:35 - This is not legalistic, Jesus is saying it is not even an option. It’s part of kingdom living. It’s part of a reality we embrace because of the benefit and blessing of getting free from ourselves. In that day they WILL fast.
The Purpose of Fasting
153:35 - Matthew 6 - v.16 - Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. -
The purpose of fasting is not to win approval from man (or God) - not to be seen by men - When you are fasting to be seen by men you are just trying to get people to think you are spiritual because you want to be encouraged in the belief that you are spiritual. You don’t need to fast openly. Nobody should even know you are fasting. Why? Because it’s before the Lord and the benefits are within yourself - within your own mind. It has nothing to do with finding favor with God. You have already found favor with God. It has nothing to do with making yourself right with God. You are as right as you could ever be. The blood speaks on your behalf.
154:30 - Fasting is not optional - We want more of Him - Matt 6:16 - WHEN you fast. NOT IF you fast. That’s like 1 John 2:1 - IF you sin. Not WHEN you sin. We think sin is a habit and fasting is a law. Jesus says IF you sin and WHEN you fast. We get it so backwards it’s amazing. Our believing has gotten twisted up. We’ve made fasting something optional and sin absolute. We are not thinking for sin (about sin). We are thinking for the kingdom. And because we’re thinking for the kingdom we’re understanding why we are fasting and fasting is a given because we want more of Him.
155:45 - The purpose of fasting is to see clearer - to understand - to know truth - If He said, “However, this kind of unbelief - this kind of failing to see because of what’s going on in the mind - is not going to come out of you except by prayer and fasting, that means that the benefit of fasting is that you are going to see clearer, understand and come to the knowledge of truth.
156:05 - So fasting has nothing to do with a legality. Fasting has to do with a revelation. It has to do with faith rising up - seeing what you are entitled to see and getting away the fog - the clouds - the cobwebs - the self-consciousness. Fasting gets you to live by the Spirit.
156:25 - There is a contrariness between our flesh and the things of the Spirit - There is a war - a contrariness - a conflict - between the spirit and the flesh. Gal. 5:17 - You don’t do what you ought (on your own). Why? Because no one is self made. Your ingenuity is not enough. You are dependent on Christ. You are in Christ. You live by Christ. With Him we can do anything. Without Him we are nothing.
156:50 - We subdue our flesh because we are in love with Him - You are not called to live by the flesh. You are called to live by the Spirit. God doesn’t just (instantaneously make us what He desires us to grow to be.) He lets us work out our salvation with fear and reverence to God and come to the knowledge of truth. It has to do with the heart. We are not puppet / robot Christians. We are people full of heart. We are willingly His children. We are in love. It’s not just doing the Christian thing to do. I’m in love.
157:45 - Wife out of town 21 days. She takes such good care. Mint tea. Great food. When I fast for long times it is challenging for her. She likes to bless me. Good time to fast. It’s cool that that rose up in my heart when I realized she would be away.
Living in Temperance - Fasted Lifestyle
200:10 - Live in temperance - self control. So I don’t indulge. I don’t go excessive. To me there is a health in that. I believe temperance is one of the greatest things we can embrace. You don’t have to live in fear. Just live in temperance. Just be self-controlled. Eat in moderation - don’t eat more than you need to. Don’t splurge, indulge.
200:45 - The world trains us to live by the flesh - Look at our society. Two for one - all you can eat - king sized. Look how we are geared (trained) our whole life - more, more, more - feeeed me. It’s the mentality we are raised in and it is on purpose. All of the sudden you are living to eat instead of eating to live. There is a shift. You become more sensual driven, more flesh conscious, more nurturing and pampering of yourself than seeking the Spirit. There is a trap there you don’t understand. It’s not legalistic.
201:30 - Most people are geared to not even want to hear what we are talking about right now. But if Jesus told His disciples that there is something going on in your mind that is hindering what is in your spirit - what I have given you - and it won’t come out of you except by prayer and fasting. That’s not a works thing. It’s a place to suppress the carnal nature - the cry of the flesh.
202:00 - Fasts help to break compulsions - Most addictive habits most compulsive behaviors can be crushed in a three day water fast. But we don’t fast because the compulsion is more alive than our desire to break it. If you really want to break things, a fast and getting into a supernatural, Spirit led fast where you are trusting in God’s grace… I asked the Lord how to fast and I don’t go through all of the symptoms that people talk about - the shakes, the headaches. You wouldn’t know that I am fasting.
202:50 - People get concerned about you. You look pretty thin. We get so flesh conscious. I hope you are ok.
203:00 - Fasting - you look thinner than you should - I was doing better than ever.
203:55 - v.16 - They want their fasting to be known - how long they fasted. That’s a zero. I learned that the hard way.
204:40 - Fasting - on the day of the longest length fast I had ever done. Tomorrow would have been the longest. You’ve lost sight of what you are doing and why. Break your fast. "Yeah butted" God. The why behind your fast is all that matters - not the length. The why behind your fast is what brings the benefit. Otherwise it shifts into a work.
207:50 - Fasting has nothing to do with you being an amazing faster - how long you fast. Fasting has to do with subduing the carnal nature, flesh of man. Suppressing the cry of the flesh - to be pampered and nurtured.
208:00 - We coddle the flesh rather than pay the cost of loving - Isn’t that why we don’t go out of the way to bless and help. Because it is too painful. We don’t have time - self-preserving, self-protecting, self-conscious, fear of man - and all that stuff entails. Look, I’m tired. I want to go home. I don’t want to stop and pray. And you justify it. I’m under grace, not the law. I don’t have to pray for everybody. We might be pacifying the flesh instead of building our spirit.
208:40 - Subdue the flesh - Get militant - Fasting helps - Who cares if I am tired if they need Jesus. There is a place to get that way. Who cares if I am hurting - what it costs me? There is a place where fasting will put that militancy in you. Where the flesh won’t have the voice that it has had most of our lives. How I feel - What I think - has a lot to do with the flesh.
Practical Advice on Fasting
209:10 - Fasting - please teach me to fast.
210:00 - Juice v. water fast - You constantly keep hunger activated with juice. If you just do water, you shut down your hunger after a couple of days. Your body goes into a shutdown / survival mode - a house cleaning time - useless tissue. Drink a lot of water and eat no food. After the 40 days the scripture says that Jesus hungered, not thirsted. If you don’t drink water your body in the natural would shut down quickly.
212:20 - Fasting - eating or drinking - eat with family - I want you to live a fasted life - temperance.213:30 - Water but no food. If you eat a breath mint you trigger hunger. Your body goes, “Yeah, that’s right we used to eat. He’s feeding me.”
213:50 - The challenges of fasting - practical advice - Biggest challenge - during the first couple of days is hunger. After 3,4,5 days hunger will go away. And the only thing that will come is a habit hunger every once in awhile.
214:10 - Fasting - at about 2 weeks - I swore I smelled a cheeseburger sub - I saw it. I thought I broke my fast.
214:40 - Habit hunger - That was my body saying, “Hello, do you remember me? Do you remember how that tastes?”
215:00 - After a week it is a 100% effort to come off of the fast. Your body is in a (fasting) groove.
215:20 - Don't lose sight of the reason you are fasting - It’s not just suffering our bodies. If you are fasting but wishing you were eating. “Wouldn’t you know that this would be the day of the men’s breakfast. What a tough day to fast. God get me through.” I would just say go to the men’s breakfast and eat. Because you have lost sight, understanding of why you are fasting.
215:50 - The benefit of fasting far outweighs the pleasure of eating breakfast. I could make you dinner (while fasting, without a problem) because of what I understand about fasting. It’s not a challenge because you understand why you are doing it. It is not about abstaining from food, it’s about seeking the things of the Spirit.
Decision to Fast
216:30 - Is fasting something that the Lord needs to lead you into or can you just decide to fast? You absolutely have the privilege to decide to fast. You also can be led into a fast.
217:10 - Different fasting experiences - being led into fasting - 3 mo. 1 sandwich, 1 water - worked and ran - impossible - didn’t lose a pound - right after that, calling to pastor - three times.
219:45 - Knowledge of nutritional health is not bad - I’m not against it. Some people are so conscious of it and don’t feel as good as someone who knows nothing of it. I live in temperance.
220:10 - One time He said too much sugar - And I just stopped in that area. I didn’t need to look into it.
220:30 - Nutritional knowledge should not be allowed to produce fear in you - Thank God for the gospel - You get afraid because of something that you’ve read about - something you’ve eaten your whole life. I don’t know how to get afraid. I thank God that if it wasn’t for the gospel, I would probably die. I thank God that He has kept me. I don’t ask for prayers for cleansing - that would be to say that you are vulnerable based on that natural knowledge. Vulnerability is fear.
221:10 - Fast whenever you want - But do it for the right reasons - You have the right to fast because you want to. But you have to fast for the reason to suppress the things of the flesh and grow in the things of the Spirit - to get your mind in a place where you are seeing, you are reading and it is coming alive - “God I want to know You more - Thank you for illuminating me - I’m not indulging in the flesh. I want to grow in the things of the Spirit. And “this kind,” this ability to see apart from you (to see any other way than You see) is being removed from my life.”
221:50 - It's prayer and fasting - Prayer in the midst of fasting is powerful - It gives extra focus - Your prayer in the midst of fasting is a powerful place - even more so than just prayer alone. Because you are tuned in, dialed in. That combination of prayer and fasting makes for a higher place of prayer because of the extra focus.
222:10 - We pray for a lot of reasons - sometimes fear, worry, troubleshooting, desperation. And you can fast for a lot of reasons - (many of which are not on target). But what if we combined them in a healthy way. So you get alone and pray and you are building yourself up in God. And all of the sudden the things you are praying for seem more real - God Is more prevalent in your life - greater awareness. And it’s all through the process of prayer and fasting. And your flesh is submitted - your flesh is hushed.
222:45 - Fasting helps the stranger's voice sound strange - The flesh and the voices you hear contrary to truth are connected - the self-conscious tendencies and all that stuff - it’s all connected to living by the flesh. The more Spirit conscious I become, I don’t hear that voice or if I hear it, it’s so exposed that I don’t even follow it.
223:00 - Why don’t you follow a stranger's voice? Because it’s strange. You want the stranger’s voice to be strange.
223:15 - Entering a fast - So when I go into a fast, I’ll submit myself to God and I’ll put down the things of the flesh. “Father I just yield to you. I thank you that you have made me to be spirit and you’ve made me to have authority in the name of Jesus and walk in the kingdom of God and reveal the glory of God. Thank you I am not a limited man. I’m not a selfish man. I’m not a self-conscious man. I thank you that anger and frustration and jealousy and wrath have no place in my life. I surrender and submit myself to you. And Father I just renounce any weakness, anything lethargic, anything undisciplined, anything unyielded. I just give myself to you. And I thank you I am a man of the Spirit. I just humbly bow to you and I yield to you and I renounce the things of the flesh and I just thank you and honor you as Almighty God. The Spirit of God in me rules and the Spirit of God reigns and I just humble myself before you and honor you as Almighty God, the lifter of my head. You’re the One that has literally raised me from the dead. I bow before you and surely You are the One who raises me up. I am a man of the Spirit. I am filled with the Holy Ghost. Father I think in agreement with your mind and your heart inside of me. Father I yield myself to you and I thank you that the things of the Spirit are what moves my life. I am a man of the Spirit, my soul agrees and my flesh says, “Yes sir.” We are in agreement. My spirit is willing and my flesh is strong - not a distraction. We are one and we are running together to fulfill the will of God. And we will finish this course. I will see your glory and move in your power and not be limited or restricted. My life is in You and surely You are in me.”
225:00 - There is a way to enter into the things of the Spirit. Most people don’t think or have the confidence to pray that way. That kind of prayer builds in you, over years, where you really begin to see and believe.
225:30 - So I am renouncing, surrendering and yielding and as I am doing that I am believing who I really am and I am coming up in Him. Holy Spirit taught me to enter into fasts like that. Once I get up from that prayer, I am locked. It’s not even like, “Oh my, I am hungry.” I am just conscious of Him.
226:05 - You don’t need to fast to live that way (with that kind of communing). I encourage you to commune that way every day. Fasting just keeps you flesh in submission where it belongs - where you are not just giving yourself to the things of the flesh. I would encourage you not to pamper your flesh a whole lot. Don’t nurture your flesh, nurture your Spirit.
How Long?
226:50 - Does a fast need to be a certain length to be beneficial - lightheadedness? It’s not legalistic. Just miss a meal now and then.
227:40 - Todd and fasting.
229:00 - There is no prescribed length. It’s about your heart wanting to know Him more - to press in. If you called me to fast, there has to be a place to press in and do it. Don’t be afraid, fear is never of God. If it is in your heart, you have that privilege.
229:40 - Start somewhere and just miss a meal. You’ll be amazed how just missing a meals seems very inconvenient. Just pray through the shakes. If missing a meal wipes us out, we are accommodating the flesh in more ways than we realize.
232:00 - The fast zeroes you in to God and His voice.
New Motive for Fasting - See Clearer - Suppress the Flesh
232:25 - The woman caught in adultery. He disqualified everyone else from throwing a stone. He qualified Himself - He was legally qualified. But He didn’t come to judge. He came to save. He saw her as a daughter.
234:40 - Jesus brings a new motive for fasting - To see clearer - To suppress the flesh - Just remember: Jesus said, In that day they will fast. He wasn’t interested in them fasting then because it was under the legal code of why people were fasting and He wasn’t going to put a new patch on an old garment - old wine into something new. He wanted the motive, the reason for fasting to be new too.
235:00 - He is pointing to that new motive here in Isaiah 58. They thought that fasting was making up for sin. Fasting is to see clearer - to suppress the carnal nature.
235:50 - Natural health benefits.
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236:20 - Coming off a fast - over 3 days - gently, slowly.
238:00 - Two weeks into fasting - I have a lot of zip - like a live wire.
239:00 - Fasting experiences in Franklin Hall’s book. Atomic Power with God, Through Prayer and Fasting Don’t read it legalistically. It would be very easy to read that book legalistically and get condemned and go into a fast because you ought to. Fasting is a privilege. It’s written legalistically but I got a lot of benefit out of his understanding on why to fast.
242:20 - The faith I have when I fast is what motivates me in the fast. If it is a work, no wonder it’s so hard.
244:00 - Prayer and fasting is the answer to the problem of Matt. 17 - Why couldn’t we cast it out?
244:30 - Closing prayer - nothing is impossible - get rid of what is hindering the possible