Five Lessons Learned From My Forty Day Fast
Introduction
1. Today I am finishing a forty day fast. When we started this stewardship campaign, I felt in my spirit that God was calling me to fast for forty days. I have never done anything like this. I have never desired to anything like this, but I just knew in my spirit that God was calling me to step out and take this journey with Him. I have not eaten any food for the past forty days at all. I have drunk a lot of water and a lot of juice. I have drunk a lot of warm water and tea but no food for forty days.
Enter Pizza man: “Excuse me, I have a pizza delivery. Is there a Mr. Di Yanni here?
Ps. Dave” “Oh yes, that’s for me!” Pizza man brings the pizza up on the stage, Ps. Dave pays him and he leaves.
Ps. Dave then open it up and says, “That is not delivery, that DeGorno’s!” Then he takes out a slice and eats it. “Wow that is good. I can’t tell you how much I wanted to eat a slice of pizza for the past forty days!”
2. All kidding aside, I want you all to know this has been the most incredible forty days of my entire life. I have never been so challenged. I have never prayed so much. I have never felt the presence of God as much in my entire life.
3. Today I would like to share with you some of the things that God has taught me these past forty days.
Spiritual warfare is real
1. The first lesson I have really learned is that spiritual warfare is real. As we attempt to grow spiritually, the enemy gets agitated and makes a more concerted effort to discourage and hinder us. During this forty day fast I have fought some of the most incredible spiritual battles of my life.
2. At the end of the first week, I had severe stomach pains. It got so bad I had to go to the emergency hospital. I ended up having my appendix taken out. Then the next week I was getting up in the night, a little dizzy with the meds I was taking and I slammed my head against the wall. I was back in the emergency room again! Now I have a reminder of my fast, a forty day scar! Then the next week I had a renter go ballistic on me. In the last 20 years I have had many renters and I have never had a renter problem like this. I actually had to contact a lawyer to start proceedings to take her to court if she did not stop harassing me with 15 and 20 telephone calls a day! Then the next week I wrote a letter to the newspaper about a situation that happened at the Reynoldsburg Home Coming Game. I complained that allowing a lesbian to be escorted by her girlfriend was totally inappropriate. Of course that got a bunch of homosexual, lesbians and a bunch of liberals who claim to be Christians raging mad at me. They wrote a bunch of mean-spirited and very judgmental letters to the newspapers and the school newspaper about my opinions. So much for diversity! I guess the diversity that liberals preach actually means that people should accept diversity so long as you are like them, but don’t dare speak out against them. I think that is also called censorship! Then had my car paint balled, I am not sure but I think it was some of the outraged students! Then last week my mother passed away. I truly felt I was being pushed to my limits.
3. When you attempt to do something out of the ordinary, whenever you attempt to try something new or great for God, all the demons get upset about that and it stirs up a demon hornets nest. Man have I been stung these last forty days. Which leads me to my second lesson I have gotten a true heart revelation of these past forty days.
Without friendship and support the Christian walk would be lonely and difficult
1. The second lesson I learned is that without friendship and support, the Christian walk would be lonely and difficult. When I struggled with the idea of doing this forty day fast, I was wondering if I would have the discipline to do this all the way. I did not want to start and then quit. God gave me the idea of asking six guys to fast one week with me. So I put some feelers out to see if there would be a response. Then on the Monday before the fast was to start that Wednesday I was out to lunch with Roxanna and my daughter Hannah and my son Jason, and I was telling them that I was thinking of doing a forty day fast, at that moment I was still unsure. My son Jason got all excited and said, “Dad, I was praying about doing a week long fast, but I asked God for someone to do it with. I’ll do the first week with you!” Now those of you who are parents know what I am saying when I say, “That got me excited! My son wants to fast a week with me?” I said right there, “I am going to do this” That was all I needed. Then the next day, my son in law Jesse calls me and tells me he wants to fast a week with me. Then I got a call from Steve Fitterer, he said he would fast a week with me, then a call from Dave Keseg and then Mark Poland and Ps. Simon also said they would fast a week with me. I would never have been able to do this without their support. Each Sunday they were all excited and ready for the week, and it got me all excited again and stirred my spirit. Each day we called each other at noon and talked and prayed. I know me and I would rather die that let someone down. I have gained great strength knowing someone is struggling with me. On top of all of that I have been so strengthened in my inner man, feeling the prayers of so many of you as you have told me that you were praying for me and then so many told me that they were fasting with me one week also. With all the struggles it was so uplifting to have the support and the concern of so many of you. I just don’t know how people survive without friends and family. This has truly made me appreciate all that I have with my family, and friends and all of you’re here at the church.
Scriptures about fasting become more personal
1. The next lesson that I learned is that the Scriptures about fasting have become much more personal to me! They seemed to open up to me and become more real. At first I felt funny about talking about doing a forty day fast to people. I kept thinking about Jesus rebuking the Pharisees for letting everyone know that they were fasting. Jesus said we were not supposed to be going around and letting everyone know we were fasting. Yet, I had to talk to my wife and then my children, then I asked six guys if they would fast a week with me, so they had to talk to their wives, and pretty soon everyone was asking me about my forty day fast. Then I realized something, how do we know that Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness? No one was with Him. He didn’t have any disciples at that time. He did not have a wife or children to tell. So how do we know that Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days? Jesus talked about His forty day fast. Then it was written in the gospels so that all the world would know throughout all the ages, that Jesus fasted forty days. And how do we know that Moses fasted forty days? No one went up into the mountain with him during those forty days. Moses told everyone about it afterwards or we would never have known. When Jesus rebuked the Pharisees about telling everyone about their fasting, He was rebuking their attitude. They were going around trying to appear more spiritual than everyone else by their fasting. Jesus did not mean that we were never to tell anyone about our fasting, or we would never have known about His fast.
2. Then even when I was reading about Jesus fast, I felt I could truly relate to the Jesus’ temptation to turn the rocks into bread. We are told that the devil was constantly tempting Jesus all during this forty day fast. I can say this is true, the devil has been riding me from the first day to quit, telling me I couldn’t do this. I was ready to give up the fast in the hospital after the operation. I heard a voice in my head that said, “You can get out of this fast, now with honor. Just tell everyone you had to start eating because of the operation. They will understand and you will get out without looking bad.” Then the nurse came in and offered to bring me dinner that night, I said, “Okay,” but they never brought it in! I can imagine an angel guarding my door that night, not letting the dinner nurse in! The devil is constantly trying to tempt us to fail and to quit and give up. Anything to be able to accuse us before God.
3. Then the next week after I slammed my head, I was so discouraged I just wanted to give up. All that I could think of was, “I quit. I am going to eat.” But the Holy Spirit was right there gently encouraging me, that I could do this, don’t give up. He would help me.
4. Which brings me to the next lesson I have learned.
Obedience brings an “anointing”
1. All during the fast people kept asking me, “How are you doing? Are you hungry?” I can honestly say that I have not been hungry during this entire forty day fast. I have wanted to eat, but not because I was hungry, but because I wanted to experience that pleasure. It is sort of like when you eat a large meal, like at a restaurant and then they bring out the dessert. You take one look at eat, and even though you are not hungry, you want to eat it for the pleasure of it. I believe that it was the anointing of God which sustained me these forty days. When I was talking about doing this fast with Roxanna a few weeks before, she said, “David how are you going to do that and still go to work. The last two weeks you will probably just be lying in bed!” I said, “Well lets just see. If the Lord can’t sustain me and I can’t keep going doing my regular work, then I will just quit fasting and start eating, but let’s see if the Lord can sustain me! I am here to tell you this morning that God has sustained me. When we obey God, He gives us the strength to do what He asks. He is just looking for a willing spirit. The anointing ONLY comes was we walk in obedience. We don’t have the anointing when we get ahead of God or when we are behind Him. When God guides He provides. When He says to do something if we obey He will provide the extra strength.
2. Each week as each one of the guys told me they were feeling great, after the first two days of getting sick, because all that poison in their system was coming out, they all had great experiences fasting for a week. Several of them said they were willing to go another week if I needed someone to do it with. I was honored that they were willing, but I told them the reason they had good experiences was because they were walking in obedience to God and His anointing was upon them. If they did it the second week, they needed to be sure that God wanted them to do it or else they would be doing it in their own strength and then it might not be such a good experience. Often times when we are walking in obedience we don’t’ even realize that the reason we are succeeding is because the anointing of God is upon us. It is almost naturally supernatural. The only reason we succeed in life is because God’s anointing is upon us.
Faithfulness in little things becomes the building blocks for future success
1. We don’t know what tomorrow holds but God does and what He is asking us to do today will help us with tomorrow’s challenges if we succeed. When God challenges us to do great things, as we succeed, these successes become building blocks for future successes
2. I did not know that back in January of 2005, when God lead me to start training for the triathlon, that my experience in that training would be so helpful in helping me succeed in this forty day fast. God knew it all along and He was preparing me. Many times during this forty day fast, I referred to my triathlon experience when I felt like I just could not go on, but I knew God wanted me to do it so I just pushed myself to continue. Training for the triathlon prepared me for the many times I felt like quitting during this forty day fast.
3. It is important to succeed one step at a time, to build precept upon precept, line upon line. He that is faithful in little will be faithful in much. I have a much greater understanding of how important it is to complete a task, that when you set your hand to do something, don’t quit. Finish it, no excuses, no quitting, follow it out to its end. It will pay great dividends down the road. I have greater faith that “with God all things are possible.” I truly believe I can do anything if I believe that God is leading me to do it.
Summary
1. I set out with one goal in mind. I wanted this fast to make me a stronger spiritual man, so that I could pastor this church better, be a better husband and father. I believe I am a much stronger spiritual man. I have learned that I am not just a body but I am a spirit that lives in a body and my spirit is in control. I don’t have to give in to feelings or emotions if they are wrong or to temptations
2. “Only those who attempt to do more than they think they can do, will ever find out what they really can do”
