1 The Power Of Fasting! 15-01-2012 Sharpening Your Spiritual Edge. Today we are going to take a look at the Power of Fasting. This is one of the crucial parts of the three-fold cord that cannot be broken. Fasting is a practice that has become a lifestyle to me. When I feel myself growing spiritually dry and dull, when I don t sense that cutting-edge anointing, or when I need a fresh encounter with God, fasting is the secret key that unlocks heaven s door and slams shut, the gates of hell. The discipline of fasting releases the anointing, the favor and the blessing of God in the life of a Christian. As we go through these notes, we will discover the untapped power in a truth that is not often practiced. Most importantly, my motivation today, is to stir up a hunger and thirst inside every single one of us for fasting. Many heroes of faith in the Bible fasted: Moses, David, Nehemiah, Daniel, Elijah, Paul, Peter and even Jesus Himself. They all committed themselves to a high standard of discipline to fulfill God s purposes in the earth. God honored their sacrifices! One specific individual among them was called Daniel. Daniel lived an extraordinary life of fasting, with great rewards that accompanied it! Daniel 10:1-9 "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. 4 Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. " I didn t have any space to add in all the occurrences of Daniel, but please go read the book of Daniel if you would like to see a good example of fasting and its rewards. Throughout the book of Daniel, whenever Daniel fasted we see one common denominator and that is that His spiritual edge was sharpened! We see that Daniel received understanding. He received strength. He received spiritual perception. He received wisdom and excellence And Daniel ultimately received the ability to be on the cutting edge. Another powerful example we can look at is Cornelius in Acts chapter 10.
2 Acts 10:1-4 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius! 4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, lord? So he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Acts 10:30-31 So Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. Cornelius lived a life filled with the three-fold cord principles that are prayer, fasting and giving alms. We see clearly in the scripture that Cornelius got the attention of God through these dynamics that he applied in his life. Cornelius received such favor from God that he was ultimately used to jump-start the first revival amongst the Gentiles! God is still honoring individuals who fast and set their hearts to understand today! God is still today answering our living sacrifices by fire! Fasting for me personally is one of the most powerful spiritual exercises we can do in order to sharpen our spiritual edge. I thought of including the following quote that is incredibly relevant for this morning s message: There was a story of two lumberjacks. One was quite older than the other. And the younger lumberjack was somewhat proud of the fact that he could chop down a certain number of trees quicker than the older lumberjack. Even though the older lumberjack was known for his speed he felt an urge to challenge the younger one. So he proposed a challenge to see who could cut down the most trees in one day. So they began, and the younger man was chopping down one after another and would not stop, he was determined. He knew it looked pretty good for himself when he noticed the older lumberjack would chop for only one hour then take a fifteen-minute rest. But when the end of the day came, the older lumberjack had cut down 1/3 more trees than the younger lumberjack. Somewhat miffed the younger man asked, how could it possibly be that you cut more than I after I saw you taking breaks all day and I cut furiously all day. The older lumberjack said, It s quite simple, every time I stopped and sat down, I sharpened my axe. A lot of us have been working hard, but with dull axes, and we re wondering why the trees aren t falling. We re going to church and serving and studying the Bible but aren t growing in our spiritual walk with God. That s what fasting and prayer is all about. It s about sharpening the axe of the inner man so we can gain spiritual victory. - Dr. Tony Evans Many might sit here this morning and know that they have lost their edge. We go to church, we do praise and worship, we go to home cell and we even pray, but we have lost that edge! We have lost the cutting-edge anointing
3 There are some people sitting here that are very discouraged, because at one time you were very anointed. At one time you were on fire. At one time you were walking close to God with dreams in front of you, just wanting to do something for Him. But now, that seems to no longer be happening because the cutting-edge might have been lost along the way. Fasting brings our edge back. Fasting brings our passion back. Fasting gives you and I the ability to be effective, productive and fruitful in the will of God for our lives. Fasting causes us to slow down a bit and sharpening our edge getting our edge back! Let s look at this story below of a young man who lost his spiritual cutting edge and what steps he took in order to retain it: 2 Kings 6:1-7 And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. 2 Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell. So he answered, Go. 3 Then one said, Please consent to go with your servants. And he answered, I will go. 4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, Alas, master! For it was borrowed. 6 So the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. 7 Therefore he said, Pick it up for yourself. So he reached out his hand and took it. The axe head is symbolic of the anointing and the power of God. It is symbolic of being on the cutting-edge! The enemy wants to convince many that the call of God on their lives is no longer there. The devil desperately endeavors to convince many that they are disqualified and can no longer be used by God. He whispers to them that they have lost the anointing and the power of God. He tries to persuade them that they are no longer in the will of God But God! God still makes iron axe heads float today! During and after this 21 day Daniel fast many in this place will reclaim their cutting edge back. Many will receive a new passion for praise and worship, for prayer and for walking in the will of God! For some it might have been routine or ritual, but now it will be because of passion and purpose! You will experience a new infilling of the demonstrative power of God! Let s look at how to get our spiritual cutting edge back through this 21 day Daniel fast: 1.) Start This Fast With A Clear Purpose & Be Persistent 2 Kings 6:1-5 And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. 2 Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell. So he answered, Go. 3 Then one said, Please consent to go with your servants. And he answered, I will go. 4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, Alas, master! For it was borrowed. This young man started his journey off with a clear-cut purpose! He set his mind on extending the prophetic quarters and nothing was going to stop him!
This piece of history in the Bible is one of the most powerful portions of scripture for me. This was a young man who was called by God. He had a clear call of God on his life. He was passionate, he was on fire and he had purpose. One of the things the enemy hates the most about fasting is being persistent. Our persistence will break the enemy s resistance. This young man made up his mind about the task that was ahead of him. He was a committed and hard working individual. He was so relentless and persistent about his mission that even though he lost the axe head, he immediately realized something was wrong, determining to fix it. Some people express concern, even fear, before attempting a fast. They are afraid that they might fail, unable to stick to a fast for even one day, let alone for several days. But that mindset changes the moment a person succeeds. The only way to know that we can succeed is to make up our minds to determine in advance that we will succeed, remaining faithful for the full length of the fast. If failure is not a possibility then success doesn t mean anything. When a person starts taking some risks, he will pray like he has never prayed before, because his life might depend on it! When we begin to fast, we take a risk. We are basically saying to God that we now trust Him. We are surrendering our lives to Him, fully aware that we cannot do it in our own strength. Therefore we must make up our minds that we will not be someone who compromises when things get tough. When we draw closer to God, He draws closer to us. I love David s attitude when he entered the battlefield. His brothers were cowering in fear against Goliath yet this young man, full of passion for God, pipes up and asks, IS THERE NOT A CAUSE? When we choose to fast, our fast must be with a cause! I want to challenge us all to look deep inside of our hearts and determine the reason for our fasting, and then write down that cause. It will help us to stay focused! 2.) During This Fast I Must Go Back To Where I Lost The Axe Head 2 Kings 6:6 6 So the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. The young man had to take the prophet Elisha back to the specific place where this axe head fell. He had to go back to the same place where he lost his cutting edge. It works exactly the same way in the spirit. Before you and I can recover the cutting edge in our lives, we must first return to that place where we once lost it. That is, we must uncover the reason why the power of God has been forfeited in our lives. A time of fasting is incredibly necessary because it allows us to reflect on our current spiritual condition. It allows us to start making an assessment as to why the cutting edge was lost in the first place. We must ask ourselves why the power of God is no longer fully operating, why the passion has dwindled. Is it because my priorities have become misplaced? Is it because I am guilty of trusting the arm of the flesh instead of the power of the Spirit? Is it because of some habitual sin that I haven t dealt with yet? Where on earth did I lose my cutting edge? This fast is a perfect opportunity for us to begin to reflect back on our lives and see exactly where we have lost our passion, our cutting-edge. 4
5 Notes Compiled by Leon du Preez 3.) During This Fast I Must Be Committed & Once Again Pick Up The Axe Head 2 Kings 6:6-7 6 So the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. 7 Therefore he said, Pick it up for yourself. So he reached out his hand and took it. God wanted the young man to do something by himself as well. Elisha wanted to see some participation from the young prophet s side. In the same manner, God wants to see participation from our side. He is looking to see if we are serious about our lives being changed for the glory of God. He is looking to see if we are serious about experiencing revival. He is waiting in anticipation, right now to see if we are serious about getting our cutting edge back. I am, are you? Elisha is a symbol of a N.T Prophet and Elisha required participation before a miracle could work. Even in our times now, it is still the same. God is still requiring participation from our side, because He wants to see how much passion do we really have. James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. God always answered a pure sacrifice by fire in the Old Testament. Now we are living sacrifices. When we fast we become a living sacrifice and He still answers by fire. We participate, He responds! Elisha knew exactly what he was doing when he asked the boy to pick up the axe head. How many of you remember that once upon a time Elisha had to do the same thing? He had to pick up Elijah s mantle! Only once he had picked it up, could he then operate in the double portion! Only once this young man picked up the axe head, could he carry on in his purpose and call of God, being effective! Many times God has given us a miracle, or a breakthrough! Something impossible, but it is my duty to stretch out my hand and PICK IT UP! If I don t stretch out and take it then it will be lost. Are you ready this morning to pick up the axe head again? How do we pick it up? One sure way is by applying our spiritual disciplines with which fasting is a big part of. When you and I go on this fast we will get our axes sharpened again. We will receive a fresh anointing and fire. With a sharp axe we will once again be able to destroy the works of the devil. Our sharp axes will sever every form of bondage, addiction and oppression that holds us down because after all, it is only the anointing that destroys the yoke! So let s enter this fast by: i)having a clear purpose and persistence to finish it. ii)reflecting back to where I might have lost the cutting edge. iii)making a commitment to pick up my cutting edge and do the will of God. Let s go for it!