Fasting

Watching and Waiting

The Glory Of God

There is a truth revealed throughout the word of God that explains why Christians suffer, why God seems to wait until our situation seems impossible before he moves to deliver, why Jesus said “take up your cross and follow me”, why God chooses the weak and foolish things of the earth to confound the wise, why God chose Abraham and his children after him when they were the smallest family not the greatest, and just about every other question we have about the trials and the weaknesses Christians face. 

It has to do with his glory being revealed in the earth according to his many promises.

As background to what I want to share, there is a series of three David Wilkerson messages explaining what the glory of God is. But I can only find Youtube links for messages two and three.

The Effects of Seeing the Glory of God

Walking in the Glory of God

It doesn’t matter if you read my message below or listen to David Wilkerson first. I listened to the Wilkerson messages several times before absorbing them completely.

August 8th 2019.

Two nights in a row the Holy Spirit gave me a prayer and the prayer was, “Lord, for the church to affect the world, the world needs to see you miraculously preserving and delivering your people.”

I was under the night sky where I had already learned months before that the stars cannot be seen in the day when the light is bright, they can only be seen at night when it is dark.

This is also true of the light in the lives of Christians. The bible reveals that the light of God is seen when it is dark, and more and more light is evident as the darkness increases.

And recently, David Wilkerson’s messages on the glory of God reminded me that the glory of God is not merely the manifestation of his power and kingdom, it is his nature as he revealed it to Moses on Mount Sinai, and reminded me that specifically, God’s glory is seen in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:6). As Jesus walked the earth, the glory (nature) of God was revealed in him.

And then, last night, I remembered Isaiah 60 which says that “darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the glory of the Lord shall arise upon thee and His glory shall be seen upon thee”. And I understood, with a true shout of joy, that God’s purpose for the darkness in the world, and God’s purpose for the persecution and suffering we all face, is to reveal his mercy and grace, which is his glory, in a dark world. GOD’S TRUE NATURE CANNOT BE FULLY REVEALED IN ANY OTHER WAY. This has been his plan all along and is what is described by Paul as God’s perfect will.

As we rest in his perfect will, we are totally (TOTALLY) secure in the love of God as we pass through the fire, the storm, and the shadow of death… in the process God is revealed in all of his glory… and, this has been his plan from the beginning.

This truth explains why Jesus was a Man of Sorrows, why Paul (as soon as he was saved) was told of all he would suffer for Jesus’ sake, and why true disciples of Jesus throughout the world all partake of the same sufferings to this day.

The glory of God is revealed as we rest secure in his will for our lives. He asks us to trust him, and when we do, a river of life springs up within, and we never again have to ask why, because we know that we are in the perfect will of God.

That is the revelation that made me shout, and that I am convinced will be a huge blessing to all who embrace it.

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Watching and Waiting

Prayer and Fasting

Immediately after filling Jesus, the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness to fast and pray. Fasting, as a biblical discipline, is practiced primarily to increase faith (or dissolve unbelief, see Mark 9:29), and is mentioned repeatedly in scripture for that reason.

When fasting is ignored, a great disservice is done. Since our battle is against principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness, we need every spiritual weapon offered to us. The amount of scriptural evidence for fasting should convince Christians everywhere to practice it.

I have encouraged you in previous posts to allow the word of God to wash away all of your doubts. But now, also let the word of God completely transform your view of things. We see men, and the effect of their unbelief as sin dictates their actions. But we need to see beyond that, to spiritual realities. The forces who originated this rebellion against God must be dealt with, we cannot avoid it. And whether or not we understand how power over Satan is obtained through prayer and fasting, we need it, and should trust and follow Jesus’ example and instructions.

In my experience, practicing fasting is far more important that understanding fasting. You don’t need to answer every question regarding how and why. Simply believe, Jesus said. Every example of prayer and fasting in the Bible demonstrates that faith increases, power increases, and victories are won. And that is all you need to know.

It should be acknowledged that fasting is easy for some individuals, difficult for others, impossible for some people, and also impossible in certain circumstances. No one should ever be proud of their ease, or embarrassed by their struggle when fasting. Neither should anyone feel guilty if they simply cannot fast. Although it is very valuable, fasting is not obligatory. God gives different abilities to each of us, and His plan includes times and seasons for everything. And fasting has absolutely nothing to do with punishing or buffeting the flesh, there is enough adversity in everyday life for that.

So, learning to fast one meal or two in the beginning, and extending the length of time as spiritual hunger increases is recommended. Keep in mind that God is more than patient while we learn, and if we think we have mastered anything, we have not. God looks on the heart, sees our spiritual hunger, and guides us every step of the way. Learning the faith building, power producing practice of fasting is no exception.

Fasting is by definition, “to not eat food,” and there are two main types of fasting in the bible.

  1. A Public or Proclaimed Fast called for in times of national or spiritual crisis and entered into by the entire, repentant, congregation.
  2. A Personal Fast performed simply out of an individual’s hunger for God, with the power obtained having a great variety of personal and corporate manifestations.

Then there are three methods of fasting.

  1. Partial fast – John Wesley (for example) would eat nothing but bread for various periods of time. In captivity, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego ate only pulse and water. At the end, the king of Babylon “found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.” There are no health concerns restricting the length of a partial fast.
  2. Normal fast – Luke 4:2 “And in those days he did eat nothing.” Jesus had no solid (or liquid) food, only water. A normal fast should not extend beyond 21 days (the time when excess fatty deposits are all used up and the body starts to convert protein and muscle, harming the body).
  3. Absolute Fast – In the Book of Ester they fasted from food and water for three days. An absolute fast should never extend beyond three days.

Although Moses, Elijah and Jesus experienced miraculous 40 day fasts in the bible, a normal fast should never extend beyond 21 days.

Fasting, like praying and giving, should be a private matter between you and God. (Matthew 6:18)

A highly regarded, expert resource for biblical fasting is Arthur Wallis’ book, “God’s Chosen Fast.”

And an excellent video teaching is available at http://media3c.tscnyc.ws/2016/04/10s2/20160410s2.mp4

Fast and pray… you will not be disappointed.