The Power of Fasting
Ministered by Pastor Harold F. Weitsz – Sunday 14 January 2007
Gen 3:1-10 NKJV
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, ’You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?"
2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ’You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’" 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
Did you ever realize that it was food that caused the fall of man?
Fasting therefore involves abstaining from food that caused our fall and the receiving of a sinful nature. It involves yielding to God in consecration and prayer devotion. It involves the restoration of our relationship with God and humbling ourselves to perform His will for our personal lives. The blessing of God is far greater than the desire for food.
Psychologists teach that the strongest of all drives in man is that for survival, which in turn is connected to food that sustains life.
Second to that is the drive of procreation (to produce offspring by reproduction).
If you cannot control your diet, you also will not have enough strength to fight other weakness caused by drives connected to the works of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16-23 NLT So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. 18 But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, 20 idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
Once a person has gained victory over his diet intake, he has the absolute positive chance of gaining victory of any other of the areas of the works of the flesh in his life. Weak willpower is powerfully overcome by fasting.
Therefore fasting is seen as a major way to liberty or freedom from captivity or slavery!
Fasting is also the major key for gaining Spiritual Power to break the yoke of numerous problems and sicknesses.
Fasting with constant prayers, based upon the word of God causes us to rise to high levels of faith.
Also, fasting is the starting block for getting into a brand new close relationship with God and a new anointing over your life.
All the great men and woman of God in the Bible, and of the New Testament church history were fasters as Paul once said in
2 Corinthians 11:27, “in fastings often”.
Abraham Lincoln wrote an address to the nation during the Civil War that was at least as important as the Gettysburg Address. It was his proclamation for a national fastday, by which he did designate and set apart Thursday the 30th day of April 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer.
Lincoln wrote: "It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.
"The awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people.
"Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity, too proud to pray to the God that made us.
"It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."
—The Bible Friend —Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
When Jonathan Edwards preached his great sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," it is said that he had a little manuscript that he held up so close to his face that no one could see his countenance. He went on and on, but the people in the crowded church were tremendously moved.
One man sprang to his feet, rushed down the aisle and cried, "Mr. Edwards have mercy!" Others grabbed hold of the backs of the pews lest they should slip into perdition. They were under such conviction that they felt as if the Day of Judgment had already dawned upon them. There was a real spiritual reason behind the power of that sermon.
The secret: For three days Edwards had not eaten a morsel of food, nor closed his eyes in sleep. Over and over again he had been heard to exclaim, "Oh, God give me New England! Give me New England!"
And when he finally arose from his knees and made his way to the pulpit, he looked as if he had been gazing straight into the face of God. Before he even opened his lips to speak, great conviction fell upon his audience.
—Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
Jesus spoke these words to the disciples:
Matt 6:16-18 NKJV
"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Isaiah the prophet wrote down the following words of God Himself:
Isaiah 58 NLT "Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Tell my people Israel of their sins! 2 Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to hear my laws. You would almost think this was a righteous nation that would never abandon its God. They love to make a show of coming to me and asking me to take action on their behalf. 3 ’We have fasted before you!’ they say. ’Why aren’t you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don’t even notice it!’ "I will tell you why! It’s because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. 4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. 5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?
6 "No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. 7 I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. 8 "If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. 9 Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ’Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. "Stop oppressing the helpless and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors! 10 Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well watered garden, like an ever flowing spring. 12 Your children will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as
the people who rebuild their walls and cities. 13 "Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the LORD in everything you do, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. If you do this, 14 the LORD will be your delight. I will give you great honor and give you your full share of the inheritance I promised to Jacob, your ancestor. I, the LORD, have spoken!"
The fast of consecration to God accompanied by sincere prayer is very powerful:
The Daniel Fast (Dan 1:1-20; Dan 10:1-14)
Fasting releases mountain moving faith and is the cure for unbelief
Mark 9:14-29 NKJV
And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?" 17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not." 19 He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me." 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. 21 So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." 23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29 So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."
Faith needs prayer for its full growth and application and activation.
Prayer needs fasting to achieve its full power.
Prayer accompanied by fasting has produced major miracles in the Bible. (2 Chronicles 20)
