Derek Prince Sermons: The Secret Power of Fasting | When You Fast. This is an original Bible Study, teaching by Derek Prince. In Matthew, when Jesus says, “When you pray,” we all accept that He intends for prayer to be a key part of our life as a Christian. But then how do we respond when Jesus says, “When you fast”? Discover God’s mandate to fast—and the benefits and effects connected to it. Bible Teaching Resources: https://www.derekprince.com Subscribe to our channel ? https://www.youtube.com/c/DerekPrince… #TRENDING #DEREKPRINCE #DEREKPRINCEMINISTRIES #SUBSCRIBE ============================= Table of Contents: ============================= 00:00 I. Background For Fasting 00: 58 A. When you pray . . . (Matt. 6: 5–6) 1. Don’t pray like the hypocrites 2. Do pray this way: The Lord’s Prayer 02:02 B. When you fast . . . (Matt. 6: 16–17 [compare John 14: 12]) 1. Do not fast like the hypocrites 2. You are expected to fast. Not “if,” but “when” you fast 06:12 II. Purpose: Self-Humbling A. It removes pride—the first sin 1. Sit in the lowest place at the table (Luke 14: 11) 09:18 2. Humble yourself (James 4: 10) 3. God resists the proud (1 Pet. 5: 5–6) B. Pattern of David (Ps. 35: 13) 1. He humbled his soul with fasting 2. Soul: arrogant, ego, self-assertive—“I want . . . I think . . . I feel . . .” C. Israel on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16: 29–31 [Acts 27: 9]) D. Ezra and the returning exiles (Ezra 8: 21–23) 25:58 III. When To Fast A. People under God’s judgment 1. Elijah vs. Ahab (1 Kings 21: 21–22, 25–29) 2. Jonah vs. Nineveh (Jonah 3: 4–10) B. Averting disaster—Esther and the Jews in Persia (Esther 4: 13–17) 32:25 C. Individual fasting in New Testament 1. One way Paul validated his ministry (2 Cor. 6: 4–5) 2. In fastings often (2 Cor. 11: 23–27 [compare Acts 9: 8–9]) 37:37 D. Corporate fasting in New Testament 1. Sending out apostles (Acts 13: 1–4 [compare Acts 14: 14]) a. To select the two men b. To send the apostles out 2. Appointing elders (Acts 14: 21–23) 45:27 E. Mercy for a nation in seven steps—four things God requires (2 Chron. 7: 14) 1. Humble yourself—by fasting 2. Pray 3. Seek God’s face 4. Turn from your wicked ways 5. Then God will hear 6. Then God will forgive 7. Then God will heal your land 50:23 F. Prelude to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 1. Responsibility of leaders: elders, priests, ministers (Joel 2: 15–17) 2. Afterward: “I will pour out My Spirit . . .” (Joel 2: 25)
in this session I’m going to continue
with some of the secrets of answered
prayer in fact I’m going to deal with
one specific major key to effective
praying and although this key is clearly
presented throughout the Bible from the
Old Testament right through the new I
think the majority of Christians are
unaware that it exists and I think the
failure to use this key that I’m going
to be speaking about it’s one main
source of ineffectiveness in the body of
Christ no doubt you’re wondering what
the key is and let me say that when I
when you hear it you’re not likely to
say praise the Lord
I want to turn a game to the Sermon on
the Mount and where Jesus is giving
instruction about how to pray and I want
to take two parallel passages the first
one is in Matthew chapter 6 verses five
and six and Jesus says and when you pray
you shall not be like the hypocrites and
then he describes how the hypocrites act
and then he says in verse six
but when you pray pray in this way so he
uses the phrase when you pray twice the
first time he starts with a negative
don’t pray like the hypocrites but he
doesn’t finish there he ends with a
positive this is how you ought to pray
and we have actually devoted the last
session to analyzing the pattern that he
gave us but now I want to move on in
that same sixth chapter two verses 16
and 17
and here he introduces another dimension
of Prayer and he says moreover when you
fast do not be like the hypocrites but
he doesn’t stop with the negative a lot
of people think that’s where he ends but
he goes on the next verse but when you
fast and then he tells us how to do it
in a way that’s acceptable to God now I
think you can see there’s a close
parallel between what Jesus says about
praying and what he says about fasting
first of all he says when you fast then
he says don’t do it this way do it that
way too but to my way of thinking the
phrase when you fast indicates that
Jesus expects his disciples did I say
Pro fast when you pray Jesus expects his
disciples to pray how many of you would
agree that those words indicate Jesus
takes it for granted that we as his
disciples will pray he doesn’t say if
you pray but he says when you pray and I
imagined that most of us here tonight
would agree that the Lord expects us as
Christians to pray regularly said Ryan
okay now we go on to the next stage and
he doesn’t say if you fast he says when
you fast what does that indicate it
indicates that he expects us to fast in
just the same way as he expects us to
pray is that logical are you with me
even maybe reluctantly but still you’re
with me
well don’t be reluctant I agree that the
subject of fasting is not easy to say
praise the Lord about but I want to tell
you when you discover what’s in this
subject you will say praise the Lord
you will say thank you God for giving us
this key see Jesus words about praying
and about fasting are acts exactly
parallel when you pray don’t pray this
way but pray that when you fast don’t
fast this way but fast then so Jesus
puts praying and fasting on exactly the
same level my conclusion is that if he
expects us to pray he also expects us to
fast and I’m so glad that I have one
great predecessor in the ministry that
arrived at the same conclusion actually
there were many of them Luther arrived
at that conclusion but the one I have in
mind is John Wesley and I read John
Wesley’s journals years ago and they
stirred me and stimulated me and he said
something to this effect I am persuaded
that if a Christian has understood the
need to fast and does not practice
fasting he will backslide just as surely
as a Christian who has understand
understood the need to pray and does not
pray and John Wesley would not ordain to
the Methodist ministry any man who did
not commit himself to fast every
Wednesday and Friday till 4:00 p.m. that
was a basic requirement for being a dame
to the Methodist minister
you might say well what’s the purpose of
fasting is it just to make life hard for
me to deny me pleasure my answer would
be no doubtless there are a number of
purposes but I’m going to deal with only
one and that is it is a God appointed
way to humble ourselves and I will show
you this very very clearly our
description see the greatest single
specific barrier to getting an answer to
our prayers is pride and anything that
will get that barrier out of the way
will facilitate the answer to our
prayers
God has been speaking to me personally
just lately about the awful dangers of
crime
and Ruth picked up a little book when
she owned it but we’d really not paid
much attention to it by Andrew Murray
who is one of those preachers of a
previous generation who’s still feeding
the people of God today how many of you
read at least one book by Andrew Murray
that’s most of the people here that’s
remarkable I don’t know whether you know
this at the book it’s entitled in the
original the humility of our Lord it’s
been republished with a simpler title I
think simply humility and I read this
just a few weeks ago and it really spoke
to me personally about my own life I’ve
hated pride for years but I got a new
vision of how vicious and how evil pride
is and how it keeps us back from all the
blessings that God intends for us this
message runs through the Bible it’s a
universal truth it was not demonstrated
first on earth you know the first
demonstration of the evil of prime what
was the first sin in the history of the
universe
tell me
pride is who committed the sin Lucifer
that’s right an angel in heaven and if
that pride a pride as a sin could break
out in heaven and cause an angel to lose
his place
how much more susceptible are we likely
to be depressed pride – pride as sinners
here on earth let me give you just three
passages of scripture that deal with
pride and with humility the first is in
Luke 14 and verse 11 and it’s the end of
a parable where Jesus speaks about how
to act when you invited to a banquet in
Luke 14 and I mean we get to invite it
to banquets nowadays sometimes fact I
was at one yesterday
and Jesus said how he’s so practical he
gives such simple illustrations first of
all I want to point out to you that God
never says he’ll humble us he always
tells us to humble ourselves
I tell people God can humiliate you that
only you can make yourself humble don’t
pray God make me humble because it’s not
a scriptural prayer and furthermore you
probably regret regret the results of
that prayer a few weeks or months later
when you find yourself in the most
humiliating situation you think God how
did I get here
that’s have you prayed you pray so Jesus
says when you’re invited to a banquet
don’t walk up to the head table and sit
at the chief place because you’ll be
embarrassed when somebody comes along
said but the speaker is going to sit
here you take a place that were there in
the corner
so Jesus says when you go take the
lowest place very wise when you are at
the bottom there’s only one way you can
go that’s up I don’t know whether you
know that prayer by joy a charm Bunyan
what’s his name place for John Bunyan
this has been with me for years he that
is down need fear no fall he that is low
no pride
he that is humble ever shall have God to
be his gun see when you’re on the floor
you’re safe
there’s no lower you can go very rarely
do i minister in a large public
gathering like this without first taking
my place on the floor on my face before
God and I can tell you before this
meetings Ruth and I were there for quite
a long one that’s where I feel really
safe is on the floor so Jesus said at
the end of that parable if you don’t
want to be embarrassed avoid the
situation don’t sit at the top table sit
in the lowest place and there’s only one
way you can be asked to go and that is
up and then he sums it up with these
this words in Luke 14 11 for whoever
exalts himself will be a beast but he
who humbles himself will be exalted
that’s universal in other words it
applies throughout the universe it
applies in heaven plus on earth the
great demonstration of this truth is
Lucifer and Jesus Lucifer was a created
being but he reached for equality with
God he slipped and fell
Jesus had equality with God he humbled
himself even to the death of the cross
and the scripture says God highly
exalted him it says in Philippians 2:9
therefore God highly exalted him why did
God exalt him because he humbled himself
and everyone who humbles himself will be
exalted
I can promise you exaltation if you
humble yourself there are no exceptions
I have a series of messages which has
this title the way up is down the lower
down you go the higher up you limit
there’s no exceptions to that but I want
to speak about humility as an essential
condition for effective prayer
and I want to take a number of
statements to this effect let’s look
first of all before we do that in James
chapter 4 verse 10 they’re just two
other passages that we look at James
4:10 humble yourselves in the sight of
the Lord and He will lift you up
notice humble yourselves don’t ask God
to do it you do it God will do the
lifting up if you do the humbling and
then a very similar passage in 1st Peter
chapter 5 actually Ruth and I proclaimed
this before the previous message verse 6
therefore humble yourselves under the
mighty hand of God that he may exalt you
in due tone and the previous verse says
God resists the proud but gives grace to
the humble so if you are coming to God
in prayer with your pride God is
resisting you and guess who can push
harder you cannot get close to God in
prime the book of Psalm says the Lord
knows the proud a far off and that’s
where he keeps there is no access to God
with pride and so anything that enables
us to humble ourselves is a priceless
blessing even that it isn’t always
enjoyable at the time and one of the
biblically appointed ways to humble
ourselves is by fasting now I’m going to
show you this right through the Bible I
want to start with a statement by David
a very simple statement in Psalm 35
verse 13 way he says I humbled my soul
with fasting
I think the modern translations mostly
say I humbled myself but the Hebrew says
I humbled my soul why do you need to
humble your soul well your soul is the
arrogant part of you it’s the
self-assertive part it’s the egoistic
part your soul has got
three main functions the will the
intellect and the emotions and it
expresses itself in these phrases I want
I think I feel and God says what you
want isn’t important what you think
isn’t important what you feel isn’t
important what’s important is my will
and if you’re going to align yourself
none of my will you’ve got the deal with
your soul and one way to deal with your
soul is to humble your soul with fasting
I remember years ago I preached this
kind of message in Washington DC and
there was a lawyer there Christian law
and he got the message and he said I’m
going to do it so tomorrow I’m going to
fast and what he did he had a miserable
day every time he walked past a
restaurant he could smell the food every
time he walked past a confectionary he
would stop and look in the window it was
just a miserable day so at the end of
the day he gave his stomach a lecture
and he said now stomach you’ve made a
lot of trouble for me today you’ve
caused me a lot of unnecessary
discomfort so for that I’m going to
punish you I’m going to fast tomorrow as
well
see that is humbling yourself it’s
bringing it into subjection let me say
this the stomach is a wonderful servant
but a terrible master who’s the master
in your life you or your stomach it’s
good question it’s a question we all
have to face believe me people in the
ministry are not exempted from that
question I’ve fought the Battle of my
stomach many times but when I get the
victory I get blessed not always
immediately not always dramatically but
in one way or another I come under the
blessing of God and then if I become
arrogant God withdraws his blessing
I say God what’s happened and he gently
indicates some way or other you’ve
become proud and self-assertive again
you want your way you’re letting your
will and your soul talk and it’s got to
be brought into subjection to my will
and my word and my waves so let’s look
at just a few examples just to as a
matter of fact first of all the Day of
Atonement in Leviticus chapter 16 verses
29 through 31
Leviticus the sixteenth chapter verses
29 through 31 now this is a lengthy
chapter and it’s the ordinances for the
Day of Atonement what the Jewish people
call Yom Kippur and this is the most
sacred day in the Jewish calendar from
then until now and it describes the way
that God ordained a sacrifice to make
atonement for Israel’s sins and
everything depended on that sacrifice
the whole future and destiny of the
nation depended on that sacrifice but in
the midst of the description of the
sacrifice God all
so requires a response from his people
and the response he requires is that
they shall afflict their souls that’s
the usual translation but the word
translated afflict is frequently
translated humble so God requires his
people to humble their souls and this is
a very significant truth the sacrifice
was something they could not arrange it
was outside their power to provide it
came in Tyla from God’s grace but they
could not benefit from the sacrifice
unless they meant God’s conditions and
humbled their souls and it’s true with
us as Christians the sacrifice of Jesus
on the cross is complete it’s perfect we
can ever add anything to it we can never
take anything from it but if we are to
benefit from it we have to meet God’s
conditions just as surely as Israel day
and this is the condition that God
stained in verses 29 and following of
Leviticus 16 this shall be a statute
forever for you in the seventh month on
the tenth day of the month you shall
afflict your souls and do no work at all
weather or native of your own country or
a stranger with surgeons among you for
on that day the priest shall make
atonement for you to cleanse you that
you may be clean from all your sins
before the Lord it is a Sabbath of rest
for you and you shall afflict your souls
it is a statute for ever now the Jewish
people have always understood quite
certainly that the phrase to afflict
your souls means to fast to go without
food as a matter of fact on that day
normally they go without food or water
let me define fasting as a matter of
fact just make them
my definition of fasting is abstaining
from food for spiritual purposes often
it’s also from drink but generally
speaking not so
and just how you abstain it’s up to you
to the son but what I want to point out
to you is that Israel were required to
humble their souls in order to receive
the benefit of the sacrifice offered on
their behalf and the Jewish people for
about three thousand four hundred years
have always known that to humble their
souls meant to fast and as a matter of
fact this is an unbroken practice in the
history of the Jewish people from the
time of Moses to this day on the day of
atonement
they have flicked their souls by fasting
and in the New Testament in Acts chapter
27 and verse 9 this day is called the
fast which is New Testament confirmation
that God understood that afflicting our
souls is fasting it’s bringing our souls
into subjection it’s not allowing our
souls to dictate to us or to go it’s
submitting ourselves to God and I
pointed out in the last talk that God is
down to earth when he speaks about the
response he wants from us to the message
of His grace its present your body it’s
not something high-flying and ethereal
something very down-to-earth and
practical and when God says I want you
to humble yourselves one way not the
only way by any means but one way is by
fasting and then we read about the
returning Exxon’s after the Babylonian
captivity in Ezra chapter 8
Ezra was assigned the task of leading a
group of X Isles back from Babylon to
Jerusalem it was a four month journey in
those days and it lay through territory
where there were brigands and robbers
and enemies of Israel and not only did
Ezra have women and children with him
but he had many of the most precious
vessels of the temple to tarry Bank the
question was how was he going to get
safe passage
and this is the solution of Ezreal yeah
we read as ra8 beginning in verse 21
then I proclaimed a fast there at the
river of Ahava that we might humble
ourselves before our God to seek from
him the right way for us and for our
little ones and all our possessions how
did they humble themselves they
proclaimed a fast you see it was a
public fast that concerned all of God’s
people and then he comes out with this
really interesting statement I was
ashamed to request from the king an
escort of soldiers and horsemen to help
us against the enemy in the way because
we had spoken to the king saying the
hand of our God is upon all those for
good who seek him but his power and his
wrath are against all those who forsaken
you see Ezra put himself in a place by
his testimony when he had to prove that
he really meant what he said he told the
King our God is the Almighty God is the
God of heaven he protects us then he was
assigned the task of leading these
exiles back through this very dangerous
situation and he said I could have gone
to the king and asked for an escort
soldiers and horsemen but how would that
fit in with my statement that our God
protects people see that often happens
to us we testify and then we have to
live up to our testimony and so he said
I didn’t choose the carnal way I didn’t
choose the world’s way I chose the
spiritual way to seek God’s protection
not from soldiers and horsemen but by
fasting and humbling ourselves before
God and invoking his protection you read
this story when he sums it up in the
next verse so we in fasted so we fasted
and entreated our God for this and he
answered our prayer and you read the
rest of the story they came through
safely without a loss without an
accident and in many many situations we
are confronted by two alternatives
shall we take the carnal way or shall we
take the spiritual way now it so happens
I can
testify from experience because I became
the adoptive father of a large family in
a very difficult situation and we have
moved from non country to country and
place the place I’d have to say that my
first wife and I Lydia followed
Ezra’s example when we had a journey to
make we fasted and pray and praise gone
our family survived intact in the midst
of tremendously dangerous circumstances
in the midst of war and famine we
survived I want to testify God’s Way
works it’s practical it’s not something
theoretical all right now then let’s
consider for a moment people under God’s
judgement if the judgment of God were to
be proclaimed upon the nation of New
Zealand and we wanted to avert it and
that could easily happen I don’t believe
it’s far away what could we do we could
fast and humble ourselves before God see
there was one outstanding the wicked
King in Israel called Ahab I don’t know
whether you remember the story of Ahab
but he married Jezebel and he led Israel
into idolatry and every kind of
wickedness and in first Kings chapter 21
yeah Elisha had a confrontation with it
with a ham and he pronounced God’s
judgment on him and that is God says to
him in verse 22 I will make your house
like the house of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat
and like the house of bosch and the son
of a Hydra every male and every female
in your family will be destroyed that’s
God’s judgment and then it goes on to
say in verse 25 but there was no one
like a hab who sold himself to do
wickedness in the sight of the Lord
because Jezebel his wife stirred him up
so he was the most wicked King and God
had pronounced judgment on him through
the prophet Elijah but Ahab feared the
Lord in verse 27 heard these words he
tore his clothes put sackcloth on his
body and fasted and lay in sackcloth and
went about mourning and the word of the
Lord came to Elijah saying see how a hab
has humbled himself before me because he
has humbled himself before me I will not
bring the calamity in his days but in
the days of his son now there is a man
singled out as the most wicked king of
Israel up to that time God’s judgment
was pronounced on him and his family but
when he humbled himself with fasting God
said I won’t bring the judgment in his
day
now fasting could do that for a ham what
could he do for you and me as children
have gone do you see the potential and
then in the story of Jonah and its
message to Nineveh we read how he walked
into the city a very wicked violent evil
city and he proclaimed that in 40 days
the city would be destroyed now that was
a message from God how did the
inhabitants of Nineveh respond it says
in John of chapter 3 then word came to
the king of Nineveh he arose from his
throne and laid aside his robe covered
himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes
he caused the whole city to fast even
the animals fasted and it says at the
end of that then God saw their works
that they turned from their evil way and
God relented from the disaster that he
had said he would bring upon them and he
did not do it a Gentile City notorious
for its wickedness heard the message of
one prophet once repented with fasting
and morning and God spared the entire
city and ninna day was spared judgment
for well over 100 years from that time
so if fasting would do that for Nineveh
what would it do for this nation what
would it do where people have gone
humble themselves call out to him and
then to avert disaster if you read the
book of Esther you read how hey hey
ma’am had secured succeeded in bringing
a plot in which the entire Jewish nation
in the territory of the kingdom of
Persia was to be destroyed and I suppose
every Jew on earth in those days was in
that Kingdom because it consisted of 127
provinces and extended from India to
Ethiopia and the decree had gone on that
there was in the king’s palace a Jewess
whose nationality was not known Esther
and her cousin Mordecai sent a message
to her and said don’t think that you’ll
escape more than all the other Jews in
the king’s palace because who knows if
you’re there for such a time as this and
Esther rose to the challenge and she
said go gather all the Jews who are
present in Shushan and fast for me
neither eat nor drink for three days
night and day my maids and I will fast
likewise and so I will go to the King
which is against the law and if I perish
I perish you read the rest of the story
further edict was issued the whole
situation was totally reversed and it
ended up in a triumph for
Jewish people and the present
preservation of the Jewish nation won’t
change history what was the turning
point when God’s people fasted see I
think it would be almost impossible to
exaggerate the potential for fasting to
change the course of history it’s no
wonder that Satan tries to keep this key
out of the hands of God’s people he’s
afraid of it now there are many examples
in the New Testament of fasting I just
want to take two kinds of examples what
is that I call the individual fast and
the corporate fast and out in the
Ministry of Paul in 2nd Corinthians
chapter 6 he gives a list of the ways in
which he approved himself as a minister
of Christ in 2nd Corinthians 6 verses 4
and 5 but in all things we commend
ourselves as ministers of God and then
he lists many different ways in which he
commended himself as a minister of God
and he says this in much patience in
tribulations in needs in de-stresses in
stripes in imprisonments in two modes in
Labor’s in sleeplessness in fastings so
Paul says one of the ways that I proved
that I was a minister of Christ was by
fasting and then in the same epistle
chapter 11 verses 23 and 27 he gives a
somewhat similar list he says are they
ministers of Christ I speak as a fool I
am more and then he gives a whole list
of ways in which he proved he was a
minister of Christ
and in verse 27 this is part of the list
in weariness and toil in sleeplessness
often in hunger and thirst in fastings
often in cold and mega news
so he says I fasted often and notice he
says hunger and thirst is one thing
fasting as another hunger and thirst is
when you can’t eat because you don’t
have anything to eat
fasting is when you could eat but you
deny you some that was one of the ways
that Paul proved himself as a minister
of Christ and I believe Christ ministers
should prove themselves that way today
I’ve spoken about my own experience but
I just mentioned this after all it’s not
much use preaching if you don’t practice
it when I was saved I was just I had
been a nominal Christian I’d given up on
Christianity I turned my back on the
church I was looking for the answers to
God’s problems and other problems in
other places but when I was saved and
baptized in the spirit and I didn’t even
know the words for what had happened to
me I had to read the New Testament to
find out what had happened to me one
thing
within I think a month God just made it
clear to me that he wanted me to fast
every Wednesday I didn’t read Wesley’s
journals in those days and I had no one
to preach sermons to me I wouldn’t have
known where to find fasting in the Bible
but I just had this in a conviction that
I was too fast every Wednesday and for
the next four and a half years
throughout the rest of World War two
every Wednesday I fasted I was in the
desert
on a lorry with ten other soldiers and
we were just thrown together I mean when
you’re in a desert there’s only one
place for shade you’ve got to be there
whether you like them or not
and I lived with those soldiers you know
that the we were in Egypt and the
Moslems have a month that they call
Ramadan you know then when they don’t
eat at least they don’t eat in the
daytime they eat up a lot at night and
they more than make up for they don’t
eat in the daytime but my fellow
soldiers called Wednesday Ramadan
because you can’t fast in secret when
you’re just living with people
continually all the time I mean you
never can get away from and I would say
that I would never have made the
progress that I made if I hadn’t if God
hadn’t showed me that key there been
times I remember in Kenya when I was
there in educational work I said to
myself I’m too busy too fast got too
much to do so for a few weeks I didn’t
fast the results were so disastrous that
I decided I could never be too busy too
fast I’m talking about something that
I’ve experienced instead I believe
passionately in what I’m telling you
let’s talk about corporate fasting in
the New Testament just two examples from
the book of Acts Acts chapter 13 this is
one of the most significant moments in
the history of the book of Acts people
have called this the beginning of a
missionary program actually the word
missionary is not New Testament the New
Testament word is apostolic and this is
the first sending forth of apostles in
the record of the book of Acts then it
happened in the city of Antioch in acts
13 verses 1 through 4 we read this now
in the church that was at Antioch there
were certain prophets and teachers
barnabas simeon lucius Mannion
and so who later became poor so there
were five men who were recognized as
prophets and teachers the next verse
says as they ministered to the Lord and
fasted how did they minister to the Lord
by fasting by turning away from every
activity and simply being in God’s
presence and waiting for him to speak
the New International Version says as
they worshiped the Lord and fasted this
is one of the most crucial points in the
history of the church how did it come
about did they sit down and think of a
plan or work out a system no they
vacated from everything of their own
efforts and waited for God to speak and
the way they vacated was to turn away
from food who knows for how long maybe
in a day maybe in two days I don’t
suppose it was lengthy but they just
took time off from every other
occupation and distraction in order to
hear from God and God spoke it says as
they ministered to the Lord and fasted
the Holy Spirit said now separate to me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which
I’ve called them so they heard from God
his stratagem you know one of the great
problems of the church today is very
seldom does the church get God’s
stratagem very seldom we have our own
plans our own programs our own systems
and most of it God is not initiated and
God is only committed to finish what he
begins Paul says in Philippians 1:6
being confident of this very thing that
he who began a good work in you will see
it through Jesus says I am the Alpha and
the Omega the beginning and the end what
he begins he’ll end but what he doesn’t
begin he has no commitment to him the
important thing is to find out what is
God beginning what is God’s plan
how can we hear from God and the early
church set the pattern they took time
off from everything including eating
they said we have to hear from God and
they heard God said now I have a plan I
want you to take two men Barnabas and
Saul send them out they didn’t send them
out immediately listen it says then
having fasted and prayed they laid hands
on them and sent them away so they
fasted again the first time they fasted
to find God’s will the second time they
fasted to commit those two men to their
carrying out of God’s will and then the
next verse says so they being sent out
by the Holy Spirit
and the word sent out there is a
beautiful Greek word which means sent
and accompanied the Holy Spirit didn’t
just said go he said go and I’ll be with
you and that’s the beginning of
apostolic ministry at that time they
were called prophets and teachers but in
the next chapter of Acts chapter 14
verse 14 it says when the Apostles
Barnabas and Saul when did they become
apostles when they were sent out by the
church you see an apostle is a sent out
one this is tremendously important
because it indicates a a scriptural way
that we can Institute apostolic ministry
how many of us can believe for prophets
and teachers can you believe that there
are prophets and teachers in the church
today I certainly believe there are if
prophets and teachers wait on God in
fasting and seeking Him it opens a
scriptural way for God to send forth
apostles how many of you believe there
can be apostles in the church today it’s
a good thing because they put in the
church to perfect it for if if they were
withdrawing the church would never be
completed so the most decisive
moment in that period was the sending
forth of those apostles what brought it
forth tell me in one word I didn’t hear
you
that’s right now they won many people to
the Lord in the cities they visited and
then they had to establish churches
first of all they just had groups of
disciples and then they needed to make
churches what was the point of
transition from just a group of
disciples to a church what persons had
to be appointed tell me elders that’s
right
that’s when disciples become a church
when they have elders when they have
government and so they did this we read
in acts 14 in verse 21 when they had
preached the gospel to that city and
made many disciples they returned to
Lystra Iconium and Antioch city cities
they’d already preached him
strengthening the souls of the disciples
exhorting them to continue in the faith
and saying we must through many
tribulations enter the kingdom of God so
when they had appointed elders in every
Church and prayed with fasting they
commended them to the Lord how did they
appoint elders how did they get the mind
of the Lord as to who was to be the
elders did they have an election yes but
it was God’s election how did they find
God’s mind what was the key I didn’t
hear you asking thank you you see the
two decisive appointments in the work of
the church apostles and elders and in
the early church both those appointments
were arrived at through prayer and
fasting why should we expect do it any
other way
in this age can we improve on those
methods God has never asked us to
improve all he’s asked us is to follow
you see here is a key and I’m placing it
in your hands
what are you going to do with it one of
the Christians of this nation going to
do with this key one of the Christians
of Australia are going to do with this
key one of the Christians of Britain
going to do with this key South Africa
the other nations that are represented
here do you think God has changed do you
think we have found a better way all
right now let me just point you to two
conclusions the first is in that
well-known verse in 2nd chronicles 7:14
I call this hope for a nation hope for a
nation how many of you know what 2nd
chronicles 7:14 says many of you do
praise God I could quote it by heart but
I won’t God speaks and he says if my
people who are called by my name will
humble themselves and pray and seek my
face and turn from their wicked ways
then I will hear from heaven and will
forgive their sin and heal their land
there are seven steps four steps that
God’s people have to take three steps
that God will take when we take the four
steps what are the four steps we have to
take what’s the first one I didn’t give
you humble ourselves why because pride
is a barrier to the answer to our Prince
the next thing is praying God says don’t
start praying until you’ve dealt with
your prime and then he says seek my face
let’s not just have a pre-meeting from
8:00 to 9:30 let’s pray until you get
into God’s prisons and then it says turn
from your wicked wings you say God I
don’t think I have any wicked ways God
says wait till you get into my presence
and you find out
we experienced that in our church in
Fort Lauderdale about one five years ago
one of the elders wines had a word from
the Lord to proclaim a fast which I’m
going to talk about in a moment a javo
fast and it wasn’t received with much
enthusiasm but eventually I think the
elders of whom I was one were kind of
ashamed into admitting what we better do
something about this and so we said
we’ll have certain period we’ll fast and
pray and we’ll meet every morning and I
think 5 a.m. was it well I wasn’t there
the reason I were away when this started
and I understand the first morning they
were about 13 people the congregation
was about 500 at the time the next
morning I think they were about seven
and then it was going you know the
typical charismatic prayer meeting the
next morning there was about four but
then a brother who was not an elder got
a burden from the Lord and he spent 24
hours weeping and things changed and
when Ruth and I got back I said whether
we like it or not this is from God we
better get involved we don’t want to
miss God and I can’t go into all the
details but for the next I think six
weeks we were meeting every morning at 5
a.m. and we spend most of the time on
our faces and the sins that were
confessed was startling it was a nice
respectable church but there was a dull
tree there was fornication there was
alcoholism didn’t come out till we were
in God’s presence don’t say to God I
have no wicked ways to repent on that
probably simply tells you how far you
are from his face in the light of his
countenance things look different
what does God asked of us for things
humble ourselves pray seek his face turn
from our wicked wings how do we humble
ourselves by one
you’ve got the message that’s right
now you can fast and be very proud jesus
said don’t fast that way that’s not the
way to fast that’s the way the
hypocrites fast but he didn’t say that’s
a reason for not fasting he said fast
the right way and not the wrong way then
God says I’ll do three things from if
you’ll do the four I’ll do the three I
will hear I will forgive this sin and I
will heal their land
how many of you would like to see your
land healed has God shown you a way
is there a scriptural remedy I believe
there is let’s turn to one final passage
of Scripture Joell chapter 2
this is the passage that the sister had
in mind when she spoke about a Joel fast
Joel 214 blow the trumpet in Zion
consecrate a fast called a sacred
assembly gather the people sanctified
the congregation assemble the elders
gather the children and nursing babies
and incidentally in those days we had
children and nursing babies in that
meeting almost every morning and the
little children were disappointed when
their parents didn’t wait them up to
take them to the fast to the prayer I
mean it was a real example of this let’s
go on let the bridegroom go out from his
chamber and the bride from her dressing
room let the priests who ministered to
the Lord we between the porch and the
altar
let them say spare your people our Lord
and do not give your heritage to
reproach that the nation should rule
over them why should they say among the
peoples where is their gone notice if
you follow the end or a three categories
mention the priests the ministers and
the elders and here is a responsibility
of leadership in the church to set the
example to take the lead you know who
leaders are they’re people who go in
front
sometimes the ministers are leading from
behind that’s not a leadership Jesus in
the Garden of Gethsemane took his
disciples with him then he took three
and they stopped and then it says he
went a little further that’s leadership
is to go a little further I heard a
pastor once say I have to run to catch
up with my people that’s not leadership
here’s a responsibility of leadership
now listen to the the final statement
we’re in the same chapter verse 28 and
it shall come to pass afterward that I
will pour out my spirit on all flesh
your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy your young men shall dream
dreams your old men shall dream dreams
young men men shall see visions
afterward after what after what after
God’s people have met his conditions now
I know that Peter quoted at the day of
Pentecost and he said it shall come to
pass in the last days but that was not a
total fulfillment that was an
anticipated fulfillment and it’s very
significant because in that passage in
acts 2 Peter quotes the Lord is saying I
will pour out of my spirit some of my
spirit and that began on the day of
Pentecost but in this passage God says I
will pour out my spirit not some of my
spirit but I will release my spirit on a
on all flesh brothers and sisters we
haven’t seen that we’ve seen a
sprinkling there are about 1 billion
Muslims in the earth that have never
been touched by the Spirit of God how
are we going to reach them
what will release the Spirit of God I
tell you if you’ve ever dealt with Islam
it’s an impregnable fortress to any
natural approach you have to meet it
with the spiritual means what is God’s
program call a fast sanctifying assembly
let the elders the priests and the
ministers set an example and God says in
my time when you’ve met my conditions I
will pour out my spirit upon all flesh I
believe that’s the solution and I don’t
believe there is any other and I believe
God has shown us in Scripture the way
shall we just bow our heads before the
Lord for a moment and ask God I want to
ask God that you I want to ask you that
you’ll ask God to show you if this is
from him
Ruth and I were with David and Dale
Garrett just recently in Hawaii close
friends uh vants and they very
graciously and wonderfully prayed for
our meetings here and they said they
felt that God wanted to speak to New
Zealand I’m inclined to think this is
God’s message to New Zealand let’s just
pour our hearts