The average human body cannot survive past 40 days without food, 3 days without water and 3 minutes without oxygen. These are essential material agents needed for the sustainability of the human body. In much of the same way that our body needs nourishment, so does our spirit. We are not simply a bag of flesh walking about, we are also a spirit that possesses a soul.

In fact, you don’t have a spirit, you are a spirit. That spirit (Ruach) that hovered over the waters in Genesis, also breathed the breath of life into Adam, animating the first human being and has since been the source by which our body is able to cling to life. A wick of a candle can only be ignited by fire to burn. In the very beginning, God was that source of life that ignited the light of men. We read in John 1:3-4, “Through Him all things were made, and without Him, nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men”.

So what is the source of our spiritual food? In a nutshell, we are His progeny and we can only thrive and survive in him, remembering that we are spirit beings first. We feed our spirit by feeding off His Holy Spirit. Two of the greatest ways to feed our spirit is by fasting and praying. Fasting and praying is not a suggestion in scripture, it’s a commandment. We are not asked to fast and pray, we are told to. The Bible never said, “if you fast or if you pray”, it says, “when you fast and when you pray.”

So critical are these two methods of spiritual food that even Jesus Christ himself was led on a 40 day fast by the Holy spirit immediately following His baptism by John the Baptist, as recorded in Matthew chapter 3 and 4. Before He performed the first recorded miracle, before He faced off with the Devil, before He climbed on that cross, He fasted. We too must fast and pray. Understanding our need to nourish our spirit will determine our victory or our defeat in this walk of faith.

There are many examples in the Bible of this necessity to feed on Jesus Christ, the word. Remember how Jesus defied Satan when He was tempted to turn the stones into bread, appealing to the carnal necessity of food? Jesus makes the distinction between the need of food of the flesh and the food of the Spirit when He said, “It is written,‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

In another example, Jesus said in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

Jesus said again in John 6:48 & 51,“I am the bread of life, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” Our dependency on God and His word is fundamentally supreme in our search for being perfected in His image and fasting pulls the layers back to give us a better look behind the veil.

So what happens when I fast? Simply put, “you have more power!” Even faith can only take you so far when battling in the spirit realm. When the disciples could not cast a demon out of a boy in Matthew 17, Jesus rebuked the disciples and said to them, ”Oh faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you…” The disciples later asked him in verse 19-21, “…Why could we not cast it out?  So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (Note here) However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Notice Jesus doesn’t minimize the power of faith, but He does add a fine detail at the end of this passage when He said, “However.” That is, even with faith that can move a mountain, there are certain spirits that can only be subdued by the authority and power of an individual devoted to the discipline of fasting and prayer. Fasting releases atomic authority in the spirit realm, empowers and emboldens the individual and gives God the access he needs to an earthen vessel, by which He can use to execute His will on the earth. When we deny our flesh, our spiritual cravings are awakened.

THE BENEFIT(S) OF FASTING:

Fasting trains your flesh to be subservient to the Spirit and not the other way around. It kindles the heart to greater intimacy. I have fasted many times and I assure you, it fine tunes your ability to see, taste and feel things beyond the 5 human senses. Any search done on the greatest revivals in history, you will quickly discover a common thread in all of them, fasting and praying. No revival worth mentioning ever came about without it. It is the oxygen that fuels the fire of God in the hearts of revived men.

Here is an interesting note about the power of fasting. The Bible only records 3 people that did a 40 day fast… Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Watch this, when Jesus took his disciples Peter, James, and John to the mountain where He was transfigured, who was present with Jesus as He was transfigured under the power and Glory of the Father? It was Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, the only three people recorded in the Bible that fasted 40 days. (Matthew 17:1-3) Interesting isn’t it?

HOW DO I FAST: 

So, how do I fast? Well, fasting is not a diet, although there are tremendous health benefits. Motive matters! If you fast without any devotion to prayer, I wouldn’t even begin. For one, you will probably have an extremely difficult time since you will be doing it on the will and power of your flesh (which by the way, you are trying to kill), instead of the leading and dependency of the Holy spirit. When you fast, you must also continue to pray, as they work in tandem according to scripture. You should be praying already but if you’re not, start. (Read Isaiah 58)

The Bible specifies two main types of fasts: Full Fast and The Daniel fast.

1)   Full Fast – drink only of water or liquids (no solids, you select the # of days)

2)   Daniel 10 Fast – Eat no meat, no sweets and no bread. Drink water and juice. Eat fruits and vegetables. (check the internet for how to sources)

(However, there are many other types of ways you can fast. Below are some examples)

3)   Partial Fast – A partial fast is from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm or from sun up to sundown. You can select from three types of fasting —a Full Fast, Daniel Fast or give up at least one item of food.

4)   Intermittent Fast – Is a fast where you select a block of time where you will not eat solid food during the day. For example; fasting from 6am to 6pm, or eating only within a 3-hour window per day.

5)   Sex Fasting – Huh? Yeah, the most unpopular type that should only be done in conjunction with food fasting and prayer. Note: The spouse must be in agreement as we are warned in the Bible of the consequences of such a fast without mutual consent. 1 Corinthians 7:5, Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. 

6)   Corporate Fast – Where more than one individual is fasting.

1 Samuel 7:5-6, Ezra 8:21-23, Nehemiah 9:1-3, Joel 2:15-16, Jonah 3:5-10, Acts 27:33-37

7)   Other Types of Fast – can include fasting entertainment or content that is non-spiritual in nature. Example: Fasting TV, video games, social media and etc…

Remember that fasting is an attitude of a heart fully set on seeking God and His will. He promises to honor you in your search. “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart”. Jeremiah 29:13 We don’t survive to eat, we eat to survive and survive we must. May God richly bless you on your fast.

• Date - January 23, 2019
• Author - Candace Read

On Saturday, January 5th, as I was finalizing my notes for our first Sunday service of 2019, the Lord dropped a prophetic word in my heart. I shared this on that Sunday and many of you have been asking for a copy of it, so here you go! As you read this word, it is my hope that it encourages and blesses YOU.

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I hear the words change, change, change… I see the tide turning. Things are not as they seem. There is a quickening that is coming. A time of new beginnings…a season and time of restoration, for I will restore the years the locust and the cankerworm has eaten, and will bring about healing and restoration in a moment. I will do it in a way that will be counted as strange and unorthodox.

What many have discounted as damaged goods God has set aside as prized possessions. The year of the underdog. For I do not search for capable men whose tainted by pride and selfish ambition, I look at the heart. Those who have sought me will encounter me.

Be not dismayed beloved bride, I have not forgotten you. You whom the nations despise for my namesake. Remember that you would be hated for my namesake, but the year of recompense is at hand. I will cause those who have risen to dare to touch my bride, I will cause them to turn to ashes under my mighty hand of judgment. And to those whom have held fast to my word, I will send the wings of healing. Healing in your hearts, restoration of your families, your promised seeds shall be preserved by my mighty hand.

Beloved, bride I have not forgotten you. To this generation I say, I am the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. I am not a man that I should lie of the son of man that I should repent. This year you will see my hand of mercy made visible in the midst of judgment.

Seek, seek, seek me this year, while I may be found by you. Turn your hearts back to be. Rekindle your love for me because I am a jealous God who longs to see you smile again, who longs to be intimate with you again. For my jealousy has been aroused. Return to me o bride, weep between the porch and alter.

Lay your burdens at my feet and I will remove your reproach. Repent all you sinners from your ways that you may be found by me. For the harvest is primed and ready for picking. My reserve army has been tested by the fires of suffering. The carriers of my glory are standing at attention waiting for my spirit to open the floodgates of heaven. From the East to the West, from the North to the South, the world will stand in amazement as they witness to power of my Glory. So pray, seek, fast… Let my love move you to action and let love bind you together as one. For this is how they will know you are from me, when you love one another. My promises are yes and amen, stand fast therefore and hold true to my word.

• Date - January 17, 2019
• Author - Eb Penha

You have heard it said that, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results.” Another year is past and a new one has begun. For many of us, this is a time to reflect on what we did right, what we did wrong and what we could have done better. Many will set new goals, New Year’s resolutions with bigger and brighter expectations than the previous year. The sad truth is that 35% of participants who failed their New Year’s Resolutions admitted they had unrealistic goals, 33% of participants didn’t keep track of their progress and a further 23% forgot about it.

Nearly one in 10 respondents claimed they made too many resolutions and well over half of all New Year’s resolutions fail. Where do we miss it? Why do we, year after year set goals that we cannot attain? Why do people purchase books on how to make and keep New Year’s Resolutions and never even make it to the second chapter? The answer is much simpler than you think.

You see, every year we tap into our emotions and begin to decree, declare and prophesy – name it and claim it, health and wealth – but if you want things to change, but fail to change yourself, nothing will change… it is that simple. You cannot expect God to do something new in your life if you fail to do something new yourself. You see, God is not moved simply by your emotions, he doesn’t work in obscurity or false expectations.

The problem in many churches today is that we inadvertently fall prey to an overemphasis on emotionally driven sermons that lack the practicality of implementation. People desire and truly want to get better results, but many times after the hooting and hollering, after the sermon ends and the church doors close, we are still left with, “how do I get there?”

Everything spiritual must be practical, because if it’s not practical then I can’t incorporate it into my life. The Bible is the manual on how God works, and God responds well to His word and His word alone. We read in the Bible that, “He places His word above His name,” (Psalm 138:2). He moves and acts within the patterns, parameters, and principles that He has established from the beginning of time. If you’re not having success in life, get out of the way and get in, “The Way”. He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Stop looking at God as a genie in a bottle.

So how do we get there?

PLAN: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, (I-pad J) so he may run who reads it”. Write your plan/vision for 2019 and make sure to set goals, because a plan without a goal is just a wish. You need to have measurable goals so you can evaluate your progress. Listen to this passage of scripture, “Before you do anything, (in 2019) put your trust totally in God and not in yourself. Then every plan you make will succeed. The Lord works everything together to accomplish his purpose.” (Prov 16:1-3)

No treasure map contains the treasure; the treasure map has instructions on how to get to the treasure. God’s word is not only the map but also the treasure and as we follow His patterns, principles, and plans we can take hold of His treasured promises. Jesus said, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks…(Luke 6:45)

PRAY:  Not only pray, but we must do so by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught His disciples to pray for Gods will to be done on earth, not theirs. Many times we pray with carnal minds and selfish ambition. Our prayer falls on deaf ears when we pray for our will to be done versus His. Your motive either moves God or it doesn’t. Listen to these sobering words, “You jealously want what others have so you begin to see yourself as better than others. You scheme with envy and harm others to selfishly obtain what you crave—that’s why you quarrel and fight. And all the time you don’t obtain what you want because you won’t ask God for it! And if you ask, you won’t receive it for you’re asking with corrupt motives, seeking only to fulfill your own selfish desires. (James 4:2-3)

NewsFlash >> Prayer is not to inform God, but to exercise our faith in God. “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts, and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

ACT: The Bible has a whole book dedicated to the Acts of the early church, I like to call it the book of action. You have to take action. Nothing is accomplished without some elbow grease, right? Most people don’t take action because they are either lazy or fearful. I like this scripture that addresses laziness, “A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.” (Prov 6:10-11) If we have God on our side, then we have everything we need. Well, what if I fail? Well, what if you succeed? I would rather aim for something and miss, than aim for nothing and hit. Are there risks? Yes, but you will never discover the power of faith if you don’t let go of fear. I would rather be freed by faith than imprisoned by fear. Here’s what God says about taking action, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” (James 1:22) The Word is a series of principles that builds character and if we heed His word and choose to be transformed by it, something miraculous takes place, it changes us and thereby begins affecting our everyday life.

You want things to change in 2019? Then Plan, Pray and Act, because if you don’t change, nothing will.

• Date - January 9, 2019
• Author - Eb Penha