WEBVTT 00:00:07.690 --> 00:00:10.169 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:34.679 Lifehouse Church. We do have a family room that's 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:36.479 right across the square. If you got a little 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:38.799 one who is getting rambunctious, who's getting 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.399 noisy, who's just tired of hearing me preach, 00:00:41.659 --> 00:00:44.420 all right, that space is over there for you. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:47.179 We do live stream over there for that very reason, 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:48.899 because we know that you don't want to miss part 00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:50.280 of the service. So that's over there for you 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:53.899 to utilize. Please do at any point in time along 00:00:53.899 --> 00:00:56.729 the way. But it is good to be in God's house 00:00:56.729 --> 00:00:59.390 and it is good to worship with you. Heard you 00:00:59.390 --> 00:01:01.289 singing back there this morning, worshiping, 00:01:01.329 --> 00:01:03.729 praising his name. That's what we come together. 00:01:03.810 --> 00:01:05.409 We come together to lift up the name of Christ 00:01:05.409 --> 00:01:07.849 and to worship him every single time and chance 00:01:07.849 --> 00:01:10.950 that we get. But I am excited to preach this 00:01:10.950 --> 00:01:13.870 morning. And I got to tell you this, I have long 00:01:13.870 --> 00:01:18.280 been fascinated with how things work. how something 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:22.420 functions, how it goes together, how it comes 00:01:22.420 --> 00:01:25.959 apart, what's on the inside that makes it work 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:28.299 on the outside. I've always had this curiosity 00:01:28.299 --> 00:01:31.719 of what makes something tick. And sometimes that's 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:34.340 a mechanical thing. It could be all kinds of 00:01:34.340 --> 00:01:35.739 things. It could be a structural thing. It could 00:01:35.739 --> 00:01:38.140 even be in relationships. And even since my early 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:40.519 childhood, I've had this kind of fascination 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:43.060 with those kind of things and been curious enough 00:01:43.060 --> 00:01:45.480 to just dig around and look inside and take something 00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:49.540 apart to find out how it functions. Now, I cannot 00:01:49.540 --> 00:01:52.560 confirm this, but my mom, whom I trust, told 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:55.200 me that when I was about four years old, I was 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:57.000 left alone in a bedroom for a period of time 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.760 and completely dismantled an alarm clock. while 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:03.239 I was in there. Don't know how that worked. And 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:06.120 by the way, I'm not a prodigy. I did not put 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:09.060 it back together. I only took it apart. But I 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:12.879 do like to know how things work. How it works 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:17.310 is important. Whether it's an item, a thing, 00:02:17.509 --> 00:02:20.310 an inanimate object of some kind, whether it's 00:02:20.310 --> 00:02:23.189 a system, whether it's a relationship that we're 00:02:23.189 --> 00:02:26.189 maybe in at the time, we want to know how it 00:02:26.189 --> 00:02:28.289 works and what the dynamics are. But I think 00:02:28.289 --> 00:02:31.469 even the bigger question when it comes to how, 00:02:31.569 --> 00:02:35.030 the bigger question is why something works. The 00:02:35.030 --> 00:02:38.870 greater question to ask is why something is there. 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:42.969 Why does something exist? As important as how 00:02:42.969 --> 00:02:45.569 is, why? Why is even more important because why 00:02:45.569 --> 00:02:49.430 defines the purpose of whatever it is we're talking 00:02:49.430 --> 00:02:52.449 about. Whatever you're investigating, it is the 00:02:52.449 --> 00:02:54.889 why that gives you the purpose. The why of anything 00:02:54.889 --> 00:02:57.930 will actually answer the how. It will actually 00:02:57.930 --> 00:03:00.550 answer the who, the what, the when, the where, 00:03:00.689 --> 00:03:04.289 and even the how it works if you answer the why. 00:03:04.889 --> 00:03:08.210 Knowing the why even extends beyond the who, 00:03:08.270 --> 00:03:10.830 what, where, when, and how, and it will change 00:03:10.830 --> 00:03:14.840 your motivation. If you understand the why, it'll 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:17.460 cause you to engage in something or to withdraw 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:20.939 from something. If you know the why, it'll change 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:23.659 your attitude towards something. If you know 00:03:23.659 --> 00:03:27.439 the why, it'll shift the level of resources, 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:31.020 whether that's money, time, or energy that you 00:03:31.020 --> 00:03:36.659 put into something just by knowing why. Why is 00:03:36.659 --> 00:03:38.659 powerful. It's one of the most powerful questions 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:41.780 you'll ever ask is why. And if we don't understand, 00:03:41.900 --> 00:03:43.620 how many of your children do that all the time? 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:46.539 Why, right? They hit that stage, they ask 5 ,500, 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:49.419 some of them are like, yeah, 500 times, you know, 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:54.379 why? And if we don't understand the why, we just 00:03:54.379 --> 00:03:57.060 won't engage. If you don't understand why it's 00:03:57.060 --> 00:04:00.479 important to eat properly, you will not eat properly, 00:04:00.699 --> 00:04:02.680 right? If you don't understand why you should 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:05.599 read God's word daily, you know, we talk about 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:07.860 that here in scripture. We talk about getting 00:04:07.860 --> 00:04:11.539 into God's word daily. We talk about giving you 00:04:11.539 --> 00:04:14.979 tools to do that all along the way. But if you 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:17.480 don't understand the power of it, why it is so 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:19.620 powerful to get in God's word, you may or may 00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:22.540 not engage in that. You will not engage in worship 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:26.120 or giving or praising necessarily if you don't 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:28.939 understand why you're doing it. So this message 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:32.459 today, I want to answer a why in a particular 00:04:32.459 --> 00:04:36.540 area of a Christian walk. And I want to answer 00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:40.399 the question, why in the world should I fast? 00:04:41.100 --> 00:04:45.420 All right, say fast. Why in the world should 00:04:45.420 --> 00:04:50.199 I fast? Seriously. Why in the world would I skip 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:54.180 a meal or multiple meals, right, for spiritual 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:57.500 reasons? It's a legitimate question. especially 00:04:57.500 --> 00:05:00.750 if you happen to love food like I do. You need 00:05:00.750 --> 00:05:03.089 to know the why. Anybody with me? Come on. All 00:05:03.089 --> 00:05:04.870 right, it's a serious thing to skip a meal, right? 00:05:05.230 --> 00:05:08.290 Sure, I'll fast for other things, right? We know 00:05:08.290 --> 00:05:10.569 to fast before we go into surgery for something, 00:05:10.649 --> 00:05:13.209 and we understand the repercussions of that can 00:05:13.209 --> 00:05:15.829 be severe. If you get under anesthesia and you've 00:05:15.829 --> 00:05:17.910 eaten a bunch of food and your body reacts and 00:05:17.910 --> 00:05:20.350 you're out cold, you can throw up while that's 00:05:20.350 --> 00:05:22.009 taking place and during the surgery, and you 00:05:22.009 --> 00:05:23.990 can aspirate that back into your lungs, and it 00:05:23.990 --> 00:05:26.009 can be all kinds of things. But we understand 00:05:26.009 --> 00:05:28.230 that, but I don't understand sometimes for spiritual 00:05:28.230 --> 00:05:29.839 reasons. A lot of people don't understand. spiritual 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:32.360 reasons why I should give up pizza, why I should 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:35.100 give up steak, mashed potatoes, crescent rolls, 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:40.319 anybody ready for lunch? Come on, right? What 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:43.420 are the repercussions there spiritually? What 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:47.579 spiritual benefit possibly could be gained by 00:05:47.579 --> 00:05:51.040 starving myself from the next meal? I know that 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:53.800 was a little dramatic, right? Missing out on 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:57.019 a daily dose of chocolate. Right? Skipping the 00:05:57.019 --> 00:05:59.939 bagel that has this cream cheese and the butter 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:02.180 all over it, lightly toasted to a golden brown, 00:06:02.339 --> 00:06:06.220 I might add. All right? Can skipping all this 00:06:06.220 --> 00:06:10.199 actually produce spiritual value in my life? 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:14.639 And why should I do that? So my goal this morning 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:17.279 is to give you some good explanation of why in 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:19.180 the world we should gain into fast. So if you've 00:06:19.180 --> 00:06:20.959 got your Bibles, you can turn to 1 Samuel 7, 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:23.860 verse 5. I am going to jump around through God's 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:25.860 Word today, so you'll be flipping fast. Or if 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:27.279 you're taking notes, you can get ready to write 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:29.819 that down and check it out later. And of course, 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:32.180 it'll be up on the screens as always. But as 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:34.500 you're turning, I really want to give you two 00:06:34.500 --> 00:06:36.379 things. The timing of this message is important. 00:06:37.019 --> 00:06:39.829 I'm bringing this message to you now. Because 00:06:39.829 --> 00:06:41.230 we're going to do something here at LifeHouse. 00:06:41.329 --> 00:06:43.350 We're going to call a week of fasting for the 00:06:43.350 --> 00:06:45.149 whole church. And I don't know if you've ever 00:06:45.149 --> 00:06:46.649 been part of a church that does that, but we 00:06:46.649 --> 00:06:48.750 want to take a week and we want to set aside 00:06:48.750 --> 00:06:50.850 seven days where we're saying, hey, as a church, 00:06:50.930 --> 00:06:53.490 we're going to fast together. March 22nd through 00:06:53.490 --> 00:06:56.410 March 29th, coming up here soon, leading up to 00:06:56.410 --> 00:06:59.230 Palm Sunday, we're calling and declaring that 00:06:59.230 --> 00:07:02.430 a week of fasting. As we approach Easter, as 00:07:02.430 --> 00:07:04.670 we approach Holy Week, we really want to talk 00:07:04.670 --> 00:07:07.569 about what it means to fast, to pray and set 00:07:07.569 --> 00:07:11.430 aside food. set aside distractions so that we 00:07:11.430 --> 00:07:13.410 can get with God. And then secondly, I want to 00:07:13.410 --> 00:07:14.810 pray over the word this morning so that your 00:07:14.810 --> 00:07:17.529 ears will hear what's being said. Father, we 00:07:17.529 --> 00:07:18.930 thank you for this day. I thank you for each 00:07:18.930 --> 00:07:21.009 person, God, that came this morning, lifting 00:07:21.009 --> 00:07:22.769 up your name. And Lord, we ask that you would 00:07:22.769 --> 00:07:25.089 guide us, direct us. God, help us to see the 00:07:25.089 --> 00:07:28.389 why of fasting. Help us to engage. Help us, Lord, 00:07:28.509 --> 00:07:30.750 to make a commitment, Lord, that we'll walk this 00:07:30.750 --> 00:07:33.689 out as a spiritual discipline in our lives. And 00:07:33.689 --> 00:07:37.290 God, that we'll see the benefit of why we should 00:07:37.290 --> 00:07:40.470 fast. We ask this in Jesus' name, and everybody 00:07:40.470 --> 00:07:43.769 say it together. Amen. Amen. Number one, I'm 00:07:43.769 --> 00:07:45.310 going to give you number one. Why in the world 00:07:45.310 --> 00:07:48.550 should I fast? And the answer to that is to repent. 00:07:49.009 --> 00:07:52.509 To repent. One of the invaluable benefits of 00:07:52.509 --> 00:07:56.149 fasting is that it always seems to lead to a 00:07:56.149 --> 00:07:59.750 heart of repentance. Always. Somehow pushing 00:07:59.750 --> 00:08:03.069 away food. You know, pushing away from the table, 00:08:03.189 --> 00:08:06.029 pushing away from the snacks, pushing away from 00:08:06.029 --> 00:08:09.170 whatever, denying myself, humbling myself enough 00:08:09.170 --> 00:08:12.389 to push away from all that and not eat leads 00:08:12.389 --> 00:08:15.069 to a couple things. It leads to confession and 00:08:15.069 --> 00:08:18.410 then repentance in my life. It really does. It's 00:08:18.410 --> 00:08:20.089 one of the reasons it's so important because 00:08:20.089 --> 00:08:23.709 repentance is one of the steps, biblical steps, 00:08:23.810 --> 00:08:27.769 I believe one of the pieces within the Bible 00:08:27.769 --> 00:08:31.079 for healing in your life. One of the steps to 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:33.019 getting to healing in your life, and I believe 00:08:33.019 --> 00:08:35.340 that spiritually, that can be mentally, it could 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:37.080 be emotionally, and even somewhat physically, 00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:40.799 is repentance in our life. And repentance should 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:44.639 always follow confession. Confession is what 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:47.440 I speak out. Repentance is more about what I 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:50.899 do. If I confess some kind of sin, right, there's 00:08:50.899 --> 00:08:53.919 pride in my life. I got envy in my life. I got 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:57.460 jealousy. I got lust going on. You know, whatever. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.179 I got thievery in my heart of some kind, you 00:09:00.179 --> 00:09:02.820 know, and some reason I'm in rebellion to God 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:06.139 in his commands, in his righteousness. I should 00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:08.980 immediately confess. Confessing is saying it 00:09:08.980 --> 00:09:10.940 out loud, right? If you make a confession, like, 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:14.440 you got to name it. You can't, God can't heal 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:16.779 what you won't name. So if you've got a sin in 00:09:16.779 --> 00:09:20.200 your life, you confess it. But then after that 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:24.240 step of confession is repentance. Repentance 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:26.960 is different than confession. And I'm going to 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:28.659 give you a couple of scriptures to bear that 00:09:28.659 --> 00:09:31.159 out a little bit. First Samuel 7, 5 says this. 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:34.759 Then Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpah 00:09:34.759 --> 00:09:37.379 and I will pray to the Lord for you. So they 00:09:37.379 --> 00:09:40.690 gathered together at Mizpah, drew water. poured 00:09:40.690 --> 00:09:43.350 it out before the Lord, and they fasted that 00:09:43.350 --> 00:09:46.850 day and said there, we have sinned against the 00:09:46.850 --> 00:09:49.570 Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel 00:09:49.570 --> 00:09:53.129 at Mizpah. So you can see at this point in time, 00:09:53.149 --> 00:09:56.710 Israel is sinning against God. Samuel calls them 00:09:56.710 --> 00:09:59.389 out on it. They come together, they fast for 00:09:59.389 --> 00:10:02.309 a day, they pour water out before the Lord, and 00:10:02.309 --> 00:10:06.100 they begin to confess their sin to God. The nation 00:10:06.100 --> 00:10:08.759 of Israel does. Now let's jump to Joel 2 .12. 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:12.080 It says, Now therefore, says the Lord, turn to 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:15.539 me. Say turn to me. Turn to me. With all your 00:10:15.539 --> 00:10:17.980 heart, with fasting and with weeping and with 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:21.480 mourning, so rend your heart and not your garments. 00:10:21.899 --> 00:10:25.700 Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious 00:10:25.700 --> 00:10:28.720 and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:32.340 and he relents from doing harm. These two scriptures. 00:10:33.950 --> 00:10:36.669 Highlight what I'm talking about. One is confession 00:10:36.669 --> 00:10:39.549 to God. You're speaking out what it is. And the 00:10:39.549 --> 00:10:44.809 other is repentance. It's repenting. It is turning. 00:10:45.409 --> 00:10:48.250 Turning away from whatever you're engaged in 00:10:48.250 --> 00:10:51.870 and turning to God. Repentance really virtually 00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:55.129 means I was walking this way. I was heading in 00:10:55.129 --> 00:10:57.429 this path. I was going down this direction of 00:10:57.429 --> 00:11:00.789 sin. And I stopped. I changed my mind. And I 00:11:00.789 --> 00:11:06.480 go back the other way. It's really unfolded in 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:09.620 these scriptures. Repenting is this. It's a fundamental 00:11:09.620 --> 00:11:13.080 change of mind, of heart, and direction involving 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:17.480 a sincere turning away from sin and turning towards 00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:24.460 God. It goes beyond regret or godly sorrow. That 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:27.659 kind of all takes place. Regret and godly sorrow 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:30.179 are kind of all part of that process of leading 00:11:30.179 --> 00:11:33.090 up to confession. But repentance is a visible 00:11:33.090 --> 00:11:36.649 change in actions and in fruits. It's behavior 00:11:36.649 --> 00:11:39.350 that aligns with the will of God. It really is. 00:11:39.830 --> 00:11:42.190 Repentance is just exactly what I said. I was 00:11:42.190 --> 00:11:45.070 going this way, now I go that. And there is something 00:11:45.070 --> 00:11:49.549 about pushing away from the table, fasting, that 00:11:49.549 --> 00:11:54.870 causes me to pull up close to God, and it begins 00:11:54.870 --> 00:11:59.690 to expose in my life this sin. You know, there's 00:11:59.690 --> 00:12:01.570 something about when you push away from the table 00:12:01.570 --> 00:12:04.450 and you focus on the Lord and you spend that 00:12:04.450 --> 00:12:07.690 time that you slide into the light and it starts 00:12:07.690 --> 00:12:12.450 to expose the flaws. It really does. When I was 00:12:12.450 --> 00:12:14.830 younger, really young, I was a young teenager, 00:12:15.009 --> 00:12:18.620 and I got this curiosity. again, about how things 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:21.220 work. And I worked for a guy for an entire summer 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:23.679 to learn how to paint cars. My dad knew this 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:25.919 guy. He painted cars on the side. And I wanted 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:28.279 to learn how to paint cars. So I went and worked 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:30.720 for an entire summer for free just so he would 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.700 instruct me and teach me. And one of the things 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:34.620 that he did, you know, when he got a car and 00:12:34.620 --> 00:12:36.960 there was a scratch or there was a dent or there 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:39.279 was a hole that was rusted out, we would patch 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:41.419 that thing. And if it was a hole, you'd get metal 00:12:41.419 --> 00:12:43.340 and put on it. And then they used this stuff 00:12:43.340 --> 00:12:46.000 called putty. And it's either a fiberglass resin 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:48.529 that you put over it. and then this softer putty 00:12:48.529 --> 00:12:50.950 that you put over, and you put that on, and you 00:12:50.950 --> 00:12:54.649 form it. You sand it smooth and straight so that 00:12:54.649 --> 00:12:57.669 when you spray the car with paint, it looks exactly 00:12:57.669 --> 00:13:00.710 like it did from original. And one of the ways 00:13:00.710 --> 00:13:03.090 he would check your work, one of the ways that 00:13:03.090 --> 00:13:05.629 you learn is you would sand it, right? You'd 00:13:05.629 --> 00:13:07.309 get the putty, and you'd put on, you'd sand it 00:13:07.309 --> 00:13:09.450 down, and you'd put primer on it. You'd spray 00:13:09.450 --> 00:13:12.149 primer on, and they do this process called wet 00:13:12.149 --> 00:13:15.460 sanding. You take water and really fine grit 00:13:15.460 --> 00:13:18.100 sandpaper. It could be 800 grit, 1 ,000 grit. 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:20.980 And you take it, or 600 grit, and you begin to 00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:23.480 sand it. And you're kind of squeezing water on. 00:13:23.620 --> 00:13:25.980 And at the same time, you put a light right over 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:29.139 it. And as you sand and that water flows over 00:13:29.139 --> 00:13:32.480 and the light shines on it, you see every imperfection. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:36.700 If there's a divot in the putty, if it's wavy 00:13:36.700 --> 00:13:39.759 because you didn't sand it straight, if there's 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:43.340 some flaw there, it all comes to light. It actually 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:46.039 enhances it with the water and the light that 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.299 shines on. And that's exactly what happens when 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:50.779 you begin to fast. When you begin to fast, the 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:52.940 light of God begins to shine in your life. And 00:13:52.940 --> 00:13:54.899 all of a sudden, those little flaws that were 00:13:54.899 --> 00:13:57.559 under the surface begin to come to the top, right? 00:13:57.700 --> 00:13:59.799 All of a sudden, those things begin to get exposed 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:01.960 in our life. And the water of the Spirit begins 00:14:01.960 --> 00:14:04.120 to wash over, and the light of God begins to 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:06.460 shine on it. And all of a sudden, you see, ah, 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:09.299 man, there's a dent there, right? There's a dent 00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:12.200 of pride in my life. There's this thing. And 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:14.120 you might think, well, this sounds terrible. 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:17.360 Why would I ever want to see the flaws in my 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:19.500 life? Why would I ever want to see all the things 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:23.179 that aren't lining up with God? It's not terrible. 00:14:23.340 --> 00:14:26.460 It is absolutely beautiful. Because in Jesus, 00:14:26.620 --> 00:14:28.860 in the relationship with God, when you're in 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:31.059 communion with God, in your relationship with 00:14:31.059 --> 00:14:33.460 God, all that thing that comes to the surface 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:35.419 and all that light that exposes those things, 00:14:35.500 --> 00:14:38.159 it's not to condemn you. It's not to place you 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:41.279 in judgment. It's so God can remove it from your 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:44.120 life. It's to raise you up. Because how many 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:46.419 know if you leave rust under the surface, what 00:14:46.419 --> 00:14:48.789 happens? I don't know if you've ever seen something 00:14:48.789 --> 00:14:50.549 that's painted, and it starts to begin underneath. 00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:52.769 It doesn't take long until you start to scratch 00:14:52.769 --> 00:14:55.509 it off, and there's holes, and there's decay, 00:14:55.970 --> 00:14:58.629 right? And things begin to fall apart. And the 00:14:58.629 --> 00:15:00.889 beautiful process is when you start fasting, 00:15:01.029 --> 00:15:03.309 you start sliding up. God starts shining a light. 00:15:03.389 --> 00:15:05.049 The Holy Spirit begins to pour water on you. 00:15:05.110 --> 00:15:07.149 Things start to come to the surface. You start 00:15:07.149 --> 00:15:09.309 to see the flaws, and you start to confess, and 00:15:09.309 --> 00:15:11.309 you start to repent. And all of a sudden, God 00:15:11.309 --> 00:15:13.990 washes you clean and takes you to another place 00:15:13.990 --> 00:15:19.159 in him. It's amazing. Repentance. Repentance. 00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:24.340 Say number two. Why in the world should I fast? 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:29.899 To overcome evil and temptation. At the very 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:32.200 beginning of Jesus' public ministry, at about 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:35.139 age 30, Jesus goes into the wilderness. The Word 00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:36.960 of God says that the Holy Spirit drives him into 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:39.120 the wilderness, and he spends an extended amount 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:42.799 of time. praying and fasting, 40 days. And we 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:47.360 read in scripture that as he's there, he begins 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:49.659 to be tempted by the devil. And if you look at 00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:51.159 this, and we're going to read it in just a moment, 00:15:51.220 --> 00:15:53.620 if you look at this whole scene with Jesus and 00:15:53.620 --> 00:15:56.519 the devil tempting him, it begins to help you 00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:59.440 understand how to overcome evil, how to overcome 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:02.279 the enemy, right? Sometimes as a pastor, I need 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:05.240 to remind you, you have an enemy. His name is 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:08.710 Satan. And he has demonic force that goes out 00:16:08.710 --> 00:16:12.029 across this world. Millions of demonic forces 00:16:12.029 --> 00:16:14.269 going out across the world. And there's evil 00:16:14.269 --> 00:16:16.509 in the world. Anybody look at the newspaper lately, 00:16:16.750 --> 00:16:19.149 right? Anybody look at the news lately? You wanna 00:16:19.149 --> 00:16:21.350 find some evil, just take a look at the news. 00:16:21.429 --> 00:16:23.629 Just pull it up on your phone. Just begin it. 00:16:23.710 --> 00:16:25.309 Anybody read a newspaper anymore? I don't know 00:16:25.309 --> 00:16:27.169 if anybody reads a newspaper, right? But you're 00:16:27.169 --> 00:16:29.649 gonna see it somewhere on a screen. And we've 00:16:29.649 --> 00:16:33.919 got an enemy who is out to get us. He is against 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.539 God. He's always been against God. And he is 00:16:37.539 --> 00:16:40.500 out to get you because you are made in the image 00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:43.200 of God. He's after you. And evil is dispersed 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:45.679 on the earth. And we've got an enemy. We have 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:47.950 to know how to overcome the enemy. We've got 00:16:47.950 --> 00:16:50.970 to know how to be empowered to do this. We need 00:16:50.970 --> 00:16:53.909 to know that it's the word of God, right? That's 00:16:53.909 --> 00:16:55.750 why we got Bible recap. That's why we keep talking 00:16:55.750 --> 00:16:58.090 about getting engaged in that. It's the word 00:16:58.090 --> 00:17:01.190 of God plus the spirit of God. And if you couple 00:17:01.190 --> 00:17:03.570 that along with fasting, I'm telling you, you 00:17:03.570 --> 00:17:05.890 can overcome the enemy. You can overcome evil. 00:17:06.710 --> 00:17:10.109 We do not overcome Satan and legions and legions 00:17:10.109 --> 00:17:13.930 of enemies and the presence of evil just in our 00:17:13.930 --> 00:17:17.059 own way. See, fasting helps you get out of your 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:19.359 own way and get into God's way. It really does. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:22.400 A lot of times when I've engaged in fasting, 00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:24.420 it gets me out of the way and I start to get 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:26.599 engaged in God's way. That's what fasting will 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:28.500 do for you. And in this portion of scripture, 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:31.019 you're going to see what I'm talking about. Matthew 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:33.559 4, 1 says this, then Jesus was led up by the 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:35.680 spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:37.859 devil. By the way, if Jesus was tempted, how 00:17:37.859 --> 00:17:39.299 many know we're going to be tempted by the devil? 00:17:39.380 --> 00:17:42.220 Amen. Come on, he was the son of God. And when 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:44.700 he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, afterward 00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:47.660 he was hungry. And now when the tempter came 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:50.759 to him, he said, if you are the son of God, command 00:17:50.759 --> 00:17:53.140 these stones to become bread. He hasn't eaten 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:56.359 in 40 days. But he, Jesus, answered and said, 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:58.640 it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, 00:17:58.819 --> 00:18:00.859 but by every word that proceeds out from the 00:18:00.859 --> 00:18:03.259 mouth of God. Then the devil took him up into 00:18:03.259 --> 00:18:06.240 a holy city, set him on a pinnacle of a temple, 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:09.240 and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:12.119 yourself down, for it's written, he shall give 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:15.119 charge over his angels, his angels charge over 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:17.519 you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, 00:18:17.539 --> 00:18:20.119 lest you dash your foot against the stone. Jesus 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:22.339 said to him, it is written again, you shall not 00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:25.220 tempt the Lord your God. Again, the devil took 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:27.460 him up into exceedingly high mountain, showed 00:18:27.460 --> 00:18:29.519 him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:32.119 And he said to him, all these things I will give 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:35.099 to you if you will fall down and worship me. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:37.859 And what Jesus said to him, then Jesus said to 00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:40.400 him, away with you, Satan. For it is written, 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:43.099 you shall worship the Lord your God and him alone 00:18:43.099 --> 00:18:46.460 shall you serve. Then the devil left him and 00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:50.700 behold, angels came and ministered to him. Jesus 00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:54.230 fasts 40 days, 40 nights. And the devil takes 00:18:54.230 --> 00:18:57.869 his best shot at Jesus. He comes with three different 00:18:57.869 --> 00:19:01.210 types of temptation to Jesus. And I can tell 00:19:01.210 --> 00:19:02.630 you, you can learn one thing just looking at 00:19:02.630 --> 00:19:05.549 this. The devil will always come to you when 00:19:05.549 --> 00:19:08.490 you're weak. If you've not eaten for 40 days, 00:19:08.569 --> 00:19:11.170 how many know you're weak, right? Your body is 00:19:11.170 --> 00:19:15.250 depleted. Jesus' body was depleted. Satan will 00:19:15.250 --> 00:19:17.849 come to you when you're weak. When you're tired, 00:19:18.289 --> 00:19:21.490 when you're hungry, when you're frustrated, when 00:19:21.490 --> 00:19:24.230 you're stressed out, the enemy knows you're in 00:19:24.230 --> 00:19:26.309 a weak spot. That's when the enemy begins to 00:19:26.309 --> 00:19:28.329 slide in. You've got to be aware of that. And 00:19:28.329 --> 00:19:30.089 that's exactly what happens here. The enemy comes 00:19:30.089 --> 00:19:32.950 in. Jesus hasn't eaten. The enemy knows that. 00:19:32.970 --> 00:19:35.150 He comes in. And he comes with three primary 00:19:35.150 --> 00:19:37.670 approaches, right? Lust of the eyes, lust of 00:19:37.670 --> 00:19:39.670 the flesh, and pride of life. And I don't got 00:19:39.670 --> 00:19:41.930 time to unfold all that. Lust of the eyes. The 00:19:41.930 --> 00:19:44.130 eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. 00:19:44.210 --> 00:19:46.009 Those three different ways the enemy is going 00:19:46.009 --> 00:19:48.930 to come in. And because Jesus fasted and because 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:52.670 Jesus drew near to the Father, he saw right through 00:19:52.670 --> 00:19:57.289 Satan's tactics. He saw the enemy, right? Fasting 00:19:57.289 --> 00:20:01.009 will enhance your spiritual vision. You will 00:20:01.009 --> 00:20:04.109 be able to see. You will help you identify when 00:20:04.109 --> 00:20:07.359 the enemy is sneaking up on you. When he's sliding 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:09.819 around in the dark, when you're at a weak spot, 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:12.960 it'll help you see what's taking place. It kind 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.799 of gives you night vision. It really does. You'll 00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:19.079 see the enemy coming in the darkness when you 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:21.640 normally wouldn't see him. You'll recognize his 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:25.819 tactics. You'll get a spiritual radar about you, 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:28.960 and you will begin to see what's happening around 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:33.059 you. The way you overcome the enemy, any enemy 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:36.420 that you have, is to know their tactics. To know 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:39.339 their approach. How is the enemy going to come 00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:42.279 in and attack you? When is he going to attack 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:45.569 you? Where is he going to attack you? All those 00:20:45.569 --> 00:20:49.150 things, when you fast, all that heightens. All 00:20:49.150 --> 00:20:52.809 that awareness becomes higher. There's a spiritual 00:20:52.809 --> 00:20:55.490 radar that begins to take place. And Jesus was 00:20:55.490 --> 00:20:58.470 there. He was fasting for 40 days. He saw the 00:20:58.470 --> 00:21:01.230 devil coming a mile away. He knew exactly what 00:21:01.230 --> 00:21:04.930 the tactics were going to be. He knew that this 00:21:04.930 --> 00:21:06.809 was how he was going to come in and try to tempt. 00:21:06.990 --> 00:21:09.309 And while he was weak, he was going to try to 00:21:09.309 --> 00:21:11.930 get Jesus to lose it, right? Just fall off the 00:21:11.930 --> 00:21:14.289 wagon and completely sin against God the Father. 00:21:14.750 --> 00:21:19.089 Jesus saw it. Fasting will give you night vision. 00:21:20.849 --> 00:21:23.349 And Jesus hammered Satan with something as soon 00:21:23.349 --> 00:21:26.130 as he saw what he was doing, right? He hammered 00:21:26.130 --> 00:21:28.289 him with the word of God. As soon as Satan came 00:21:28.289 --> 00:21:30.890 at him, Jesus didn't get into an argument. He 00:21:30.890 --> 00:21:32.970 didn't give how he felt about the whole thing. 00:21:33.109 --> 00:21:35.710 He didn't discuss any of that. He comes back 00:21:35.710 --> 00:21:39.569 to him with the word of God. The word of God, 00:21:39.609 --> 00:21:43.630 coupled with fasting, is your ammunition. Say 00:21:43.630 --> 00:21:47.190 ammunition. Come on. You've got to have ammunition. 00:21:47.730 --> 00:21:50.009 You want to get locked and loaded as a Christian? 00:21:50.349 --> 00:21:53.430 You want to get ready to fire on the enemy? We 00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:55.390 don't wrestle against flesh and blood. We wrestle 00:21:55.390 --> 00:21:57.710 against principalities and powers and forces 00:21:57.710 --> 00:22:00.609 of evil. The word of God tells us that. You want 00:22:00.609 --> 00:22:03.049 to get locked and loaded and ready to go against 00:22:03.049 --> 00:22:05.710 the enemy? You start fasting. You start getting 00:22:05.710 --> 00:22:08.599 in God's word. You start praying, right? So we 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:11.960 fast so we see in the dark clearly. We fast so 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:14.700 we see the enemy when he sneaks up. We get locked 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:16.420 and loaded. Say locked and loaded. Turn to your 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:17.500 neighbor and tell him, get locked and loaded. 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:20.079 Come on. Locked and loaded this morning. You 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:22.099 want to get locked in. You need to be ready when 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:26.539 the enemy sets you up. You need to understand 00:22:26.539 --> 00:22:28.799 how the enemy is going to try to take you down 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:32.519 and have you fall. Because he will. You have 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:35.319 to have this kind of radar. You have to engage 00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:38.029 in this. Because the enemy is going to try to 00:22:38.029 --> 00:22:40.130 take out you. He's going to try to take out your 00:22:40.130 --> 00:22:41.990 children. He's going to try to take out your 00:22:41.990 --> 00:22:43.890 relatives. He's going to try to take out your 00:22:43.890 --> 00:22:45.690 friends. He's going to try to take those close 00:22:45.690 --> 00:22:48.690 to you. And you need that spiritual radar just 00:22:48.690 --> 00:22:52.130 going around. I know what he's doing. I know 00:22:52.130 --> 00:22:54.809 how he's coming in. I know how I'm going to fight. 00:22:54.970 --> 00:22:59.809 Amen? Say number three. Number three. Why in 00:22:59.809 --> 00:23:02.670 the world should I fast? For godly direction. 00:23:03.089 --> 00:23:05.609 Godly direction. Acts 13 says this now in the 00:23:05.609 --> 00:23:08.359 church. That was at Antioch. There were certain 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:10.940 prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, who 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:14.480 was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manian, who 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:16.359 had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:18.980 and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and 00:23:18.980 --> 00:23:22.119 fasted, ministered to the Lord and fasted, the 00:23:22.119 --> 00:23:24.380 Holy Spirit said, now separate to me Barnabas 00:23:24.380 --> 00:23:26.279 and Saul for the work to which I have called 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:29.980 them. Then having prayed and fasted, laid hands 00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:34.019 on them and sent them away. The Holy Spirit is 00:23:34.019 --> 00:23:37.640 given to us as a work in every believer to guide 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:40.640 us, to give us wisdom, to help us in decisions 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:42.799 that we need to make. He is the teacher, the 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:44.799 guide, the counselor. I've preached this over 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:48.279 and over here at LifeHouse. And the Father sent 00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:51.559 this. Jesus first, and then when Jesus left, 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:53.980 the Holy Spirit second, so that we would have 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:57.359 this guide. And he will nudge you and shove you 00:23:57.359 --> 00:23:59.380 the right direction. He will give you the bump 00:23:59.380 --> 00:24:01.420 the right way. He will shove you the right way. 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:03.880 He'll give you the commands. He'll give you the 00:24:03.880 --> 00:24:06.079 conviction to go forward with what God wants. 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:09.079 And fasting does something in particular with 00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:14.359 all this. It positions us to hear God. Fasting 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:18.450 positions us to hear the Holy Spirit. I can hear 00:24:18.450 --> 00:24:20.710 you better, and you can hear me better if we 00:24:20.710 --> 00:24:22.970 get in the right environment. If we're in the 00:24:22.970 --> 00:24:25.690 right place in the right space, I can hear you 00:24:25.690 --> 00:24:30.829 well, and vice versa. If we go to a coffee shop, 00:24:30.869 --> 00:24:33.009 and we go into a corner booth, and we're just 00:24:33.009 --> 00:24:35.269 back there in this little booth, and we can talk 00:24:35.269 --> 00:24:37.569 with one another, right? But there's other environments 00:24:37.569 --> 00:24:40.930 you can't hear so well. My wife, Dixie, when 00:24:40.930 --> 00:24:43.430 her relatives come to our house for a family 00:24:43.430 --> 00:24:46.269 gathering, and it's a holiday, They have this 00:24:46.269 --> 00:24:48.250 strange thing. They all like to sit at the same 00:24:48.250 --> 00:24:50.049 table, no matter how big the table is, right? 00:24:50.109 --> 00:24:52.009 It could be this big. They'll all, 50 of them 00:24:52.009 --> 00:24:54.509 will sit around this table. You know, they'll 00:24:54.509 --> 00:24:56.710 all sit around the table and they all talk at 00:24:56.710 --> 00:25:00.130 once. There's 15 conversations going. And it's 00:25:00.130 --> 00:25:02.410 across the table, sometimes to the end of the 00:25:02.410 --> 00:25:04.869 table. And it's all going across, firing back 00:25:04.869 --> 00:25:06.789 and forth. And when they come and they do that, 00:25:06.910 --> 00:25:09.329 do you know how much of that I catch? Nah, maybe 00:25:09.329 --> 00:25:13.440 10%. Maybe. It's just this mess all the time. 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:16.900 And it's just the noise of crescendos until they 00:25:16.900 --> 00:25:19.240 leave, and then it goes back down. And it's just 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:22.819 the whole time they're there. But I've sat with 00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:25.240 all those family members in a room one -on -one. 00:25:25.380 --> 00:25:27.559 I've had conversation with each one of them, 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:30.119 sitting across looking eye -to -eye, and I catch 00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:32.640 everything that they're saying. I hear their 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:35.829 heart. Why in the world do you fast? You fast 00:25:35.829 --> 00:25:38.369 so you get yourself in an environment where you're 00:25:38.369 --> 00:25:40.089 going to hear God and you're going to hear him 00:25:40.089 --> 00:25:42.829 clearly. You get yourself out of the noise. You 00:25:42.829 --> 00:25:45.430 get yourself out of the fray, right? It's kind 00:25:45.430 --> 00:25:47.269 of almost like getting in a coffee shop with 00:25:47.269 --> 00:25:49.950 the Holy Spirit. It's just you and the Holy Spirit 00:25:49.950 --> 00:25:52.210 in this coffee shop. There might be some background 00:25:52.210 --> 00:25:54.089 noise, but you're just looking across the table 00:25:54.089 --> 00:25:56.569 and it's just you and him talking together and 00:25:56.569 --> 00:25:59.650 listening together, right? And clearly communication 00:25:59.650 --> 00:26:03.809 and dialogue taking place. We need that. We need 00:26:03.809 --> 00:26:06.509 to fast. We need to set ourselves aside. We should 00:26:06.509 --> 00:26:08.690 teach our children to do this. And you might 00:26:08.690 --> 00:26:09.849 say, well, I don't want my children skipping 00:26:09.849 --> 00:26:13.109 a meal. I'll let that up to you. And if you've 00:26:13.109 --> 00:26:15.829 got medical reasons not to skip a meal, we're 00:26:15.829 --> 00:26:17.349 going to give you information about that and 00:26:17.349 --> 00:26:19.230 how to do this. There's another way. But we should 00:26:19.230 --> 00:26:21.009 teach our kids to push away from some kind of 00:26:21.009 --> 00:26:23.289 distraction, right? Get them off the iPad for 00:26:23.289 --> 00:26:27.410 30 minutes. Come on, 15 minutes, right? Get them 00:26:27.410 --> 00:26:29.410 off for 15 minutes and teach them to kind of 00:26:29.410 --> 00:26:32.599 coffee shop with God. Get alone and hear God. 00:26:32.839 --> 00:26:35.660 Push away from something so that you can connect 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:38.319 with the Lord Jesus Christ. And you need to do 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:41.940 this. Parents, you need to listen to me. I parented. 00:26:41.940 --> 00:26:44.059 My children are grown. I now have five grandchildren. 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:46.339 I got at least a little bit of experience in 00:26:46.339 --> 00:26:49.099 this area. And I worked probably over a decade. 00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:51.559 It was actually over a decade as a youth pastor. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:55.180 Hear me in this. The greatest skill you will 00:26:55.180 --> 00:26:58.859 teach your child is to hear God. The greatest 00:26:58.859 --> 00:27:01.200 spiritual gift you will ever give them is to 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:03.440 teach them how to hear the Holy Spirit. Because 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:05.920 while they're little, you have a wild amount 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:08.319 of influence over them. You can corral them whatever 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:10.400 direction you want them to go in. You can tell 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:12.539 them no. And for the most part, they'll listen, 00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:14.680 right? But you can keep herding in the right 00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:16.880 direction. But I'm telling you, when they turn 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:18.920 teenagers, when they come into those teenage 00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:21.420 years, your influence begins to go from here 00:27:21.420 --> 00:27:24.160 to here. You cannot believe that. You can't believe 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:26.140 that if you want to, but I'm telling you the 00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:28.319 truth. And all the other voices are going to 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:30.619 start to come into their ears in the world around. 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:32.420 They're going to start to filter and figure out 00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:33.660 where they're going and what they're going to 00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:36.119 become in life. And at that moment in time, you 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:38.420 want the Holy Spirit speaking because your influence 00:27:38.420 --> 00:27:41.460 is going down. You want his to go up in their 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:45.099 lives. Get them in. Get them in circles where 00:27:45.099 --> 00:27:47.019 they're hearing the word of God. Get them in 00:27:47.019 --> 00:27:49.599 influences where they hear the word of God. Get 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:52.359 them to church. Get them to youth group. Get 00:27:52.359 --> 00:27:54.940 them to children's, right? And don't ask them, 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:57.000 tell them. I know some of you might email me 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:58.960 after this. Just go ahead. I'm going to ignore 00:27:58.960 --> 00:28:01.180 it anyway. Because I've been there, done that. 00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:05.480 Right? What did somebody say? My parents used 00:28:05.480 --> 00:28:07.759 to drug me to get me to church. They drug me 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:10.119 to church on Sunday. They drug me to church on 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:14.869 Wednesday. Just take them. Don't ask. You got 00:28:14.869 --> 00:28:17.789 to get them around godly influence. Because there's 00:28:17.789 --> 00:28:21.069 going to be a time in your life when your voice 00:28:21.069 --> 00:28:23.650 is going to start to diminish and other voices 00:28:23.650 --> 00:28:26.089 are going to rise. And they need to hear the 00:28:26.089 --> 00:28:28.329 Holy Spirit. By that point in time, they need 00:28:28.329 --> 00:28:30.930 to know how to coffee shop with the Holy Spirit. 00:28:31.670 --> 00:28:34.750 My parents, I remember, man, when I was 16, I 00:28:34.750 --> 00:28:38.210 didn't care what my parents said. Come on. Amen. 00:28:39.490 --> 00:28:41.410 Yeah, you act like I'm the only one. Come on. 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:45.380 Right? Like, what can I do to avoid my parents? 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:48.759 They better be hearing from the Holy Spirit. 00:28:49.579 --> 00:28:52.220 I remember the Holy Spirit's conviction at 16, 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:58.799 17, 18, 19, 20, hearing his voice. Amen? It's 00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:03.319 true. Come on. Coffee shop. Coffee shop with 00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:06.359 him. Number four, as the worship team comes, 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:10.220 worship team, if you'd come. Why in the world 00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:14.200 should I fast? So I make a difference in the 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:17.960 world around me. I want to have spiritual impact 00:29:17.960 --> 00:29:23.039 with a lost world that surrounds me. I want Jesus 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:28.240 to help me make that happen for him. I want the 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:31.259 power of God active in my life. So that I have 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:33.460 some kind of impact in the world. So it's one 00:29:33.460 --> 00:29:35.980 day when I stand before the King of Kings and 00:29:35.980 --> 00:29:38.019 the Lord of Lords, I have something to lay before 00:29:38.019 --> 00:29:41.519 him. I have something to lay at his feet. My 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:44.480 heart's desire, I hope it is yours as well, is 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:46.740 to one day walk in the kingdom of God and hear, 00:29:46.779 --> 00:29:49.339 well done, good and faithful servant. Enter in 00:29:49.339 --> 00:29:51.140 to the joy of the Lord. I want to hear those 00:29:51.140 --> 00:29:53.740 words. And I want to have something to give God. 00:29:54.109 --> 00:29:56.730 If you look at Isaiah chapter 58, verse six, 00:29:56.750 --> 00:29:59.609 it says this, is this not the fast that I have 00:29:59.609 --> 00:30:01.569 chosen for you? This is God speaking, right? 00:30:01.690 --> 00:30:05.269 To lose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the 00:30:05.269 --> 00:30:08.769 heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free and 00:30:08.769 --> 00:30:12.609 that you break every yoke. Is it not to share 00:30:12.609 --> 00:30:15.410 your bread with the hungry and to bring to your 00:30:15.410 --> 00:30:18.769 house the poor who are cast out when you see 00:30:18.769 --> 00:30:21.630 the naked, that you cover them and hide not yourself 00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:24.869 from your own flesh? Then your light shall break 00:30:24.869 --> 00:30:27.930 forth like the morning. Your healing shall spring 00:30:27.930 --> 00:30:30.849 forth speedily and your righteousness shall go 00:30:30.849 --> 00:30:33.609 before you. The glory of the Lord shall be your 00:30:33.609 --> 00:30:36.009 rear guard. Then you shall call and the Lord 00:30:36.009 --> 00:30:39.589 will answer. You shall cry and he will say, here 00:30:39.589 --> 00:30:43.690 am I. God's looking for fasting that is not just 00:30:43.690 --> 00:30:46.470 a spiritual heap it on myself kind of thing, 00:30:46.470 --> 00:30:50.049 right? I just need some stuff for me. It's so 00:30:50.049 --> 00:30:54.420 God can break us. for break our hearts for someone 00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:58.400 else so that we can be effective ambassadors 00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:02.400 for Jesus Christ. So we wake up every day thinking, 00:31:02.519 --> 00:31:06.200 how can I help the next person undo a heavy burden 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:10.500 in the name of Jesus? How can I help somebody 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:14.259 break the yoke of the enemy in their lives? Somebody 00:31:14.259 --> 00:31:17.039 who is bound and caught up either in their mind, 00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:19.940 in their heart, in their physical body in some 00:31:19.940 --> 00:31:22.279 way. How do I help break that in their lives, 00:31:22.420 --> 00:31:25.460 right? If you take a look at that verse, you'll 00:31:25.460 --> 00:31:27.819 notice a bunch of times it says, you will do 00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:30.920 this. God empowers you, but you're going to break 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:34.400 the chains. You're going to lift the burdens 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:38.349 in his name. You're going to feed the hungry 00:31:38.349 --> 00:31:41.190 and clothe the naked. And you can be physically 00:31:41.190 --> 00:31:44.130 hungry and you can be physically naked or you 00:31:44.130 --> 00:31:46.930 can be spiritually bankrupt, right? You can be 00:31:46.930 --> 00:31:50.289 spiritually naked and starving in a spiritual 00:31:50.289 --> 00:31:53.170 way. It says, God, then the light will break 00:31:53.170 --> 00:31:57.549 forth like the morning. It'll break forth like 00:31:57.549 --> 00:32:05.500 the morning. We fast. So that we have power over 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:09.079 the enemy. We fast so we can make a difference 00:32:09.079 --> 00:32:12.319 in the world around us. And as we draw near to 00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:16.569 God. As we come into the light and the water 00:32:16.569 --> 00:32:19.470 of the Spirit washes over us and we get hearts 00:32:19.470 --> 00:32:22.490 of repentance before God, as we step into that 00:32:22.490 --> 00:32:25.829 and as temptation begins to flee, as we overcome 00:32:25.829 --> 00:32:28.630 the darkness and the enemy's tactics are no longer 00:32:28.630 --> 00:32:30.990 now hidden under the surface and we begin to 00:32:30.990 --> 00:32:33.490 see, right? When all those things begin to take 00:32:33.490 --> 00:32:36.269 place, we start to become a powerful weapon against 00:32:36.269 --> 00:32:39.769 the enemy in the hands of God to make a difference 00:32:39.769 --> 00:32:44.009 in the world around us. And I'm giving you just 00:32:44.009 --> 00:32:47.450 a couple reasons for fasting. There's more. And 00:32:47.450 --> 00:32:56.910 God's where I'm asking you to stand. Thank you 00:32:56.910 --> 00:32:59.630 for tuning in to this message from Lifehouse 00:32:59.630 --> 00:33:03.029 Church. We pray that you were impacted powerfully 00:33:03.029 --> 00:33:05.809 by this message. If you have been personally 00:33:05.809 --> 00:33:08.369 affected by our ministry and you would like to 00:33:08.369 --> 00:33:11.670 partner with us as we love God, love people every 00:33:11.670 --> 00:33:13.569 day, visit our website at