April 22, 2025 • 42 mins
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Esther chapter five.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Now, when we left off in Ester chapter four, Mordecai
was not bowing to Haman, Haman the Agagite, the son
of Hamadatha.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
And Hayman can't stand.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
He's got an ego the size of Texas, and he
can't stand that this Jewish man, Mordechai, will not bow
down to him. So he devises a plan, not just
to kill Mordecai, he wants to kill all the.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Jews, every single Jew. He wants to wipe them out.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
And so he goes to the king and he offers
to pay ten thousands of talents.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
And we talked about this last week.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
If you haven't watched that message, go to Waterschurch dot
org or YouTube dot com slash water Church and watch
part two of Providence, because it's all about the butt
thens in our lives, when the enemy comes at us,
when life hits us upside the head, when we get
into some kind of chaotic experience we did not anticipate.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Why do we do?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
And the enemy is serious and he's coming for you,
and he wants to consume.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
You and all he want you to do.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So the only thing you need to do for the
enemy to win and triumph is just be passive, just
be half hearted about Christ, just kind of you know,
go through the motions of Christianity or faith, or kind
of half in, half out of the church, and all
you need to see the enemy have his way with
you in life. He has to be passive. But today
I'm here to stir up some activity in your life
(01:23):
that will do damage to the spiritual realm.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Around you, that will knock the devil out. Now, I
was raised in the nineteen eighties.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
In the nineteen eighties, we were getting reruns every day
of certain TV shows from the nineteen seventies and nineteen sixties.
That's how it worked. And I remember one of my
favorite shows was Batman. And I'm not talking about the
Christian Bale Batman.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
That was phenomenal that trilogy.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
And I'm not talking about the Michael Keaton Batman from
the nineteen eighties, and that.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Was also a very cool style of Batman.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
I'm talking about that Adam West Batman.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
And raise your hand if.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
You're an Adamust Batman fan, I expect like four hands
and every look age. I loved that that show. Every
episode was the same, here's how the previous it would
go the previous episode ended with Batman and Robin in
this in this predicament that just seemed inescapable. They would
(02:24):
be strapped to the rotating disc hanging over the pool.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Of sharks with lasers on their head.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
No, that's a different movie, but they would They would
just be rotating and and the Joker would be laughing,
and then the Joker would monologue for about five minutes,
and then he would and he would run off to
the scene, and then you would see the credits would roll,
and that was it, and you were left with a
cliffhanger at every single episode's end. It was infuriating because
(02:56):
you you just couldn't stand it.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I want to see how it is. So that was
the trick.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
That was the e by which they got you to
come back to the show the next time, and so
you would tune in and then you would see it
and it was like the same thing every time.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And Batman in the first scene of.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
The next episode would suddenly get out of this predicament.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
He would somehow untie his wrists.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
With some kind of bat contraption, he'd set Robin free,
he'd jump over the shark tank and then what would
happen the guys, the Henchman would come running at Batman,
and then it was what Batman would face him and
go wah bam wah, whoosh wah bam zap globe like you.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Ask how it would go.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
And it was always funny because those graphics were seriously
impressive for.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Nineteen sixties and seventies television. But it was always the
same thing.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Like Josh, when you thought Batman couldn't get out of
his predicament, something broke in his life, something broke him free.
Let me tell you about your life. You might be
in a predicament. The spirit Joker, the spiritual Riddler, the
spiritual Penguin's coming after you. Wants your marriage, wants your
(04:07):
single hood, wants your purity, wants your peace, wants to
take your joy away from you. And you feel trapped.
You feel like this is it and the credits are
about to roll in your life. But I want to
give you the power of God. I want God's power
(04:28):
at work in your life. I can't give it you
God gives it to you, but I want.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
To give you the way to get it. And here's
what I thought. How many of.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
You need a miracle in your life? You are hooked
on some addiction that you just can't break free from,
or you are facing a relationship challenge that you have
never faced before and it's getting to the point where
you think it's just time to go our separate ways.
(04:55):
We're done, this is over, and you're thinking we need this,
we need a divorce. No, no, no, no, you need a miracle.
And some of you are like, I need to move,
I need to get out of my town, I need
to get out of my business. No, maybe you need
a miracle in that job, in that occupation. Or maybe
you're praying and weeping over a child that just refuses
(05:16):
to get right and you're thinking, maybe he needs medicine,
or maybe she needs pills, or maybe you know she
needs a different school. No wait, wait, wait, wait wait, maybe.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
She needs a miracle.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Because here's what I need to remind the Church of
Jesus Christ today.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
He is still a miracle working god.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
He is still the God who comes through when all
hope seems lost. He's still the God who breaks chains
off of people's arms and off of people's hearts. He's
still the God who divides, sees, who raises the dead,
who casts out demons, who heals.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
The sick and sets men and women free. And I
want to give you hope today.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Wherever you are, whatsever facing you, whatever trap the devil
is laid for you, I want to give you hope.
Because in the end of Esther chapter four, it seems
like all hope is lost. But chapter five, chapter five
starts to show us what fasting in prayer does for
(06:23):
God's people. Stand with me in all locations for the
reading of God's word. And I'm gonna read this couple
first verses here on Esther chapter five.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Here's what it says.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
On the third day, everybody say, on the third day,
on the count of three, one, two, three, On.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
The third day, how many No.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
God does some pretty amazing things on the third day, Amen, Amen, Amen.
On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes
and stood in the inner court of the King's palace
in front of the king's quarters, while the King was
sitting on those royal throne inside the throne room opposite
the entrance of the palace.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
When the King saw.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in
his sight, and he and he held out to Esther
the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Estra
approached and touched the tip of the sester, and the
King said to her, what is it, Queen Esther, what
is your request? It shall be given to you, even
to the half of my kingdom. And Esther said, if
it pleases the King, let the King and Hayman come
(07:16):
today to a feast that I have prepared for the King.
Then the King said, bring Hayman quickly, so that we
may do as Esther has asked. So the King and
Hayman came to the feast that Esther had prepared, and
as they were drinking wine after the feast.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
The King said to Esther, what is your wish?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
It shall be granted to you, And what is your request,
even to the half of my kingdom, It shall be fulfilled.
Remember he said that before he says it again. Then
Esther answered, my wish and my request is this. If
I have found favor in the sight of the King,
and if it pleased the King to grant my wish
and fulfill my request, let the King and Harmon Hayman
come to the feast that I will prepare for them,
and tomorrow I would do as the King has said.
(07:50):
So there's a lot of weird stuff going on, but
it's all going to point to some amazing truths in
just a moment verse nine. And Hayman went out that day,
this is the enemy of the Jews. He went out
that day glad of heart. But when he saw Mordechai
in the King's gate, and that he neither rose nor
trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordechai. Nevertheless,
(08:10):
Hayman restrained himself, went home, brought his friends and his
wife Zarah together, and Hayman recounted to them all the
splendor his riches, the number of his sons, all the
promotions with which the king had honored him, and how
he'd advanced above all his officials and the servants.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Of the king.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Then Hayman said, even Queen Esther, let no one but
me come with the king to the feast she prepared.
And tomorrow also I'm invited to buy her together with
the king. Yet all of this is worthless to me
so long as I see Mordecai, the Jew, sitting at
the King's gate. Then his wife Jerish and all his
friends said to him, let a gallows fifty cubas high
(08:45):
that's seventy five feet Hi, Let it gallows seventy five
feet high be made, and in the morning tell the
king to have Mordechai hanged upon it.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
This idea pleased Hamon, and he had the gallows maid.
What do you do when your enemy is building gallows
on which.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
To hang you? You fast and pray.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Let's pray right now over this word, Father, in Jesus name,
I ask that the words of my mouth would be
pleasing in your sight, and that the meditation of all
of our hearts will also be pleasing in your sight.
I pray you so seeds of holy discontent in every
single heart, that we will not be satisfied with where
(09:31):
we are, that we will not just settle for the
status quo.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
That we will not let.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Whatever's happening to us be just normal and eventually depressing
or gut wrenching or hardship.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
No, no, no, Lord.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
I pray that today every person hearing this word will
start to serve their spirits to action in fasting and
in prayer. Through this process, help us to see Jesus,
him and him only in his mighty name. We pray,
and everybody said Amen, Amen, Amen, God bless you at
(10:09):
all locations. Okay, so you need a miracle. Here's my
first thought. Want you to write this down in your notes.
Write this down. You've tried other things, now try fasting.
You've tried other things, now try fasting. You've tried medical prescriptions,
you've tried therapy and counseling.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
You've tried talking it out.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You've tried working harder, you've tried working over time. You've
tried new friends, you've tried new clothes, you've tried new diets,
you've tried new fads, new styles. Hey, you've tried it.
Now try fasting. Because here's the thing. Fasting does something
(10:53):
for you that Heaven offers that nothing in this world
can accomplish in your life.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
And I've got from.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
This text, I got seven benefits of fasting. Just picking
up the story once again in Esther five to one,
just notice this little textual hint here. The scripture says,
on the third day Esther put on a royal robes
and stood in the inner court of the King's palace.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Okay, on the third day of what well to know
the answer to that.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Just back up to chapter four, verse sixteen, what Esther
had just called for.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
It says that she said.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
To Mordecai, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa,
and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not
eat or drink for how many days?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Three days?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
You say, pastor, why are we doing seven if they
only did three? And I understand that question, but only
notice that they didn't eat or drink. This is an
extreme fast for extreme conditions. So we are doing an
extreme fast, but we're gonna drink for seven days instead
of not. You can't do a true fast, total fast
of not eating and drinking for more than three days.
It's unhealthy. You'll die. But this was an extreme fast
(12:03):
and it was to last for three days. And she said,
and I'm gonna do the same thing with my young women,
and then I will go to the king, and even
if it's against the law, and.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
If I perish my pairs. So she is facing a trap.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
She is batman clasped to the rotating contraption hovering over
the tank of sharks, and she says, we gotta fast,
so stay fast. And on the third day of the fast,
listen to this. On the third day of the fact
they fasted one two three day. This is the end
of the fast and things start moving in the spiritual
(12:37):
realm on Esther's behalf.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
And I just think that somebody needs to hear this.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Today. You have got no movement in the spiritual life,
and you're wondering what is going on?
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Why am I so stuck? Why can't I get any traction?
Why can't we get this fixed? Why can't I accomplish
this plan? Why can't I get victory of this? Is
because you need to fast and pray. And Jesus told
us that we need.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
To be people who fast and pray regularly.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
And I want to know. I want to know. Maybe
some of you need to.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Hear this text from Jesus because he assumed we would fast.
In Matthew chapter six seventeen, and he writes this, or
he said this. When you fast, anoint your head with oil,
wash your face, and you're fasting will not be seen
by others.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
But when your father, who is in secret, sees you.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Fast, the scripture says that your father will what the
last two words, The father will reward you. I don't
know about you, but I like rewards.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I sign up for the reward card. I got a reward.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Card for every grocery store, every shoe plays. I mean,
I got reward cards everywhere. I'm so thankful for iPhones now,
a lot of them. Times you can just put them
on your wallet and your iPhone. But I love rewards.
There are heavenly rewards waiting for you when you fast
and pray. And make no mistake about this text that
(13:57):
the first verse of Ester five is del They're brutally
saying that after three days of fasting stuff spiritual things
started to move in a positive direction for Esther and
the people of God. Seven benefits of fasting and then
we're done. Number one write this down Boldness, boldness. Some
(14:18):
of you need boldness in your life. You cannot be
a Christian without boldness, you can't.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
The Bible says that there's a God in.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
This world that is out to get you, and he
wants you to shrink back. He wants you to get
all scared and nervous and anxious and worried about your future.
He wants you living far less than where God has you.
And frankly, just to put as simply, the devil wants
(14:49):
to scare you. He's a roaring Peter says, he's a
roaring lion. You know what a roaring line is just
an image of fear. He's a roaring line seeking someone
at the bout and and esther up to chapter four
in the book.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
She's just a scared little mouse.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
She hears that the edict has been proclaimed that her
people are going to be annihilated in eleven months, and
Mordecai says, you gotta go. You've come to the kingdom
for this, such as I You've got to go talk
to the king. And she's like, well, I don't know.
He hasn't called me. I don't know where our relationship stands.
(15:25):
I used to get chocolates on a regular basis and
now nothing. And I don't think he's into me anymore.
And Mordecai is like, are.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
You kidding me?
Speaker 2 (15:34):
You're gonna die anyway. You have got to step up
and show up. And I wonder who needs to do
that in your life? You gotta step up, You gotta
show up. Hey, fathers, you got to step up and
show up in the home. Hey moms, you got to
step up and show up in your marriage, in your family.
Who needs to step up and show up in their business,
(15:56):
and you've allowed the devil to just roar you into
a closet of fear and anxiety and intrepidation. And what
I see happening in Esther's life is after the fast
on the third day, sisters got boldness. She's got boldness
looking again. She stood, she put on her royal robes.
(16:16):
Verse one, stood in the intercourt of the king's palth
just went right into.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
His palace and just presented herself.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
That's what we are given in Christ Jesus, the ability
to put ourselves into the presence of the king with boldness.
The scripture says that we can come before the throne
of God's grace with boldness, knowing that he will hear us,
he will respond to us. And some of you, you
(16:48):
have been shrinking back. You might not even realize it.
You've been shrinking back in life. You've been shrinking back
in your spirit. You've been kind of letting the devil
boom poo. He's hitting you, he's pushing you back poo.
And you're strapped with fear holding back your wrists. And
you need can we do it again? You need batman power, impotents,
just compel pam pooh, Pooh.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
In Jesus name, devil, step off, thank thank you to
Michael in the back, he's on top of it.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
But this is, this is what I'm asking you to
think about in your life.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Where do you have fear? Where you need to have faith?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
And you're not gonna have faith if there's no boldness
in your life. I wonder who here has lost your
nerve in the faith? You've You've you've gone cold with
expecting things to work out in your favor. You've allowed
the increase of wickedness in our culture to to shroud.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
You, to to cause you to fear and and and
and grow anxious.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
And I don't think that God's people are made to
be there.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
And I am expecting, I am.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Confident that if you fast and pray, you might not
feel feel it while you're fasting in praying. And that's
just a qualifier here. None of these things are you
really gonna feel why you fast in prayer. But on
the third day, come on, somebody. On the seventh day, man,
there's gonna be a breakthrough in the spiritual realm and
boldness is coming back into your life or maybe for
(18:17):
the first time in your life. Do you understand that
the Bible says that that fear is a spirit. Fear
is a spirit. All the young people listen to me.
I say this to you all the time. But anxiety, man,
that's not a chemical, it's a spirit.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
It's a spirit.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Your your social anxiety disorder, it's a spirit. It's the
devil having his way with you. It's your flesh thinking
you're a nobody. It's the world pushing you into a corner.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
And you need Christ to rise up in you.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Because my Bible tells me in two Timothy one point
seven that God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Power, and of love and of sound mind. Greater is
He that is in us, and He that is in
the world.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
That's the first benefit that some of you desperately need
a fasting.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Here's benefit number two. Favor. Well, I like this one.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I love this one because when Esther and the Jews
fast and pray, and Esther gets bowed and walks into
the presence of the king, he extends his scepter to her.
The Bible says in Chapter five, verse two, and when
the King saw Queen Esther standing in the.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Court, she won say the word everybody.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
She won favor in his sight, circle favor in your
notes if you got them out. And he held out
to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand.
Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
Let me tell you how this is important, because in
chapter two of Esther, there's favor all over this girl.
(19:54):
She's got natural beauty, and then she's just got like
this charm that just captivates everyone who's in her presence.
The King's eunuchs just favor her, and God favors her.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And then she walks into.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
The King's presence in Ester chapter two, and he favors.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Her, and there's just favor over her life.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Okay, but listen, this is something that some of you
are going to resonate with from Ester chapter two all
the way to Estra chapter five. That's a distance of
about three to four years. And there's no mention of
favor over Esther's life. There's none for those three to
four years. And I wonder who needs to think about
(20:38):
this for a moment. When you started out with Christ,
you could feel and sense God's favor. You saw supernatural,
serendipitous blessing come into your life but if you're honest,
it's been a while since you've seen it. You haven't
received favor like you had in the early days of
(21:01):
your faith. Or maybe you just realizing it now as
I'm talking to you that you're like, where is that
divine favor over my life? You know what fasting does.
It gets the favor back. It gets the favor back.
Come on, this is an ancient king. Ancient kings were
on to another woman every single week of the year.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
He estras old news.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
But he sees her and I have no doubt that
her boldness, because this is the truth. Men love a
bold woman. My wife came and found me. She's the
one that came and talk to me. But anyway, she's
got boldness in the presence of God, or in the
presence of the king, and he takes notice of her,
and favor comes upon. I think about some of you
(21:47):
think that Christianity is, Oh maybe I don't know. God
might know it is not that it is march into
the presence of God expecting him to hear you and
know that He is for you, and he wants to
blew you. And she gets that boldness and then favor.
And I think that some of you need to get
(22:07):
the favor back. When Jesus was on this earth with
his disciples, he didn't fast and pray, and they criticize
him for it. They said, look, Jesus, why don't you
fasten and pray? We fast and pray all the time.
The Pharisees fasted twice a week. Why don't you fast
and pray? Jesus responds to them in Matthew chapter nine,
verse fifteen. He says, can the wedding guests mourn as
long as the bridegroom is with them?
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Translation, I'm here. They don't need to fast and pray.
I'm here.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
And if you have Jesus Christ physically in the flesh
standing next to you, walking with you through life, let
me tell you something.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
You don't need to fast and pray. He'll he'll just
move the traffic out of the way.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
He'll just you know, he'll just remove the enemy, he'll
just heal the sick. No, you don't need to fast
and pray. But notice what Jesus says in Matthew nine fifteen.
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away
from them, and then they will fast. Notice what Jesus
is saying, and this these are the days that we
live in. The bridegroom has gone to heaven. Jesus has
(23:03):
gone to heaven, and it's been a long time we've
been waiting for him to come back.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
And what are we supposed to do. We're supposed to
fast and pray because I.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Believe when we don't feel God, and some of you
will go through seasons in your life you don't feel good,
it's that time when you need to say, I'm not
sensing God's work in my life.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I don't see the favor in my life.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
And I know it's not a feeling all the time,
but just the favor of God and just knowing that
He's with you, and.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Just you know that confidence.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Fast and pray is you got to get it back.
You got to go back to where you began. Sometimes
and maybe you've never fastened before, but what fasting and
prayer does is it just kind of humbles yourself to
that place where you came to Christ humble, broken contrite
because of your sins, because of your messed up life,
and you came humble and fasting is let me get
back to that humility so that I know that God
(23:47):
is going to move and stir something up inside of me.
So boldness favor. Here's number three and open heaven. Benefits
of fasting and open heaven.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
And this is what.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
She gets, this golden offer from the king. It's said
twice I showed it to you.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Verse three.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
When the king saw her, he said to her, what
is it, Queen Esther, whatever you want up to you
the half of my kingdom. Later verse six, and when
they were eating and drinking wine out the thief, the
king said to Esther, what is your wish? It shall
be granted to you. What is your request? Even in
the half of my kingdom. When scripture repeats something, it's
meant to draw us in to focus on it. And
here's what Esther was given when she fasted in prayer,
(24:31):
when the people fasted and pray, she got an open
invitation to make her requests known to the king. And
I believe that's true. For you see what fasting does.
It deprives the flesh of what earth offers, so that
the spirit can receive what heaven offers. And I'm just
(24:54):
telling you that we live in a consumer culture in
this country. There are golden arches on every street, corner,
there are dunkin Donuts next.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
To every you know, outlet, mall everywhere.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
You can just appease the fleshly appetite at any moment.
And you might not realize this, but your flesh, your
your stomach is a spoiled, rotten brat, it really is.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Do you understand that you don't need to eat nearly
as much as you think you do? You don't.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
I mean, I think most of America is case in
point that you don't need to eat nearly as much
as you think you do. And some of you are
shooting up drugs to make sure that you remember that chemically.
But I got news for you.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Your body needs discipline.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Your body needs to be denied because it if you
feed this beast, the flesh I'm talking about my body,
If you feed this beast, it just gets grosser and
bigger and nearlier and more controlling. And the best way
to win some battles in the spiritual is to starve
that sucker, starve it. You know, this might sound morbid,
(26:02):
but when I start a fast, I look forward to
the hunger pains I do.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
This sounds so morbid, but it's true.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
I look forward to that hunger pain because that first
hunger pain, and it's gonna last. If you do this
all seven days, you're not gonna lose hunger pains for
the first two days. But when they come, I start
to say, that's right, flesh, take that, Oh tim you
see which you get under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
And I think you got to look forward to these.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I mean, it might be painful, it might be miserable,
but rejoice.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Because what you're doing is.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
You're beaten that flesh into the ground to say you're
not in charge. The Holy Spirit is in charge off
my life. And we get on open heaven. And what
does Heaven give us. Heaven gives us what earth can't
give us. Let her a in your nose, the fruit
of the Spirit. Some of you need joy and love
(27:00):
and peace, and patience, and kindness and goodness and faithfulness
and gentleness and self control. These things come not from
this world. They come from the Holy Spirit. And then
I thought about, there's another gift that Heaven gives through
the Holy Spirit through fasting and prayer, and it's the leading.
Let her be in your notes, the leading of the Spirit.
You need direction, you need to know where to go.
(27:21):
You need to understand the times. You need to know
what to say to the person who's confronting you. You
need to know how to talk to the person that
you've got to reconcile with. You've got to learn how
to parent, or you've got to learn how to do
the job well. And God's given you a mouth, but
you keep bumbling and stumbling in your words. But God
wants to give you leading on how to walk in confidence.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Act chapter thirteen.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
While they were praying, worshiping the Lord and fasting, the
Holy Spirit said, set apart from me, barnabas and soul.
It's one of my favorite passages of the Bible, Act
Chapter thirteen, verse two, because it's saying, Holy Holy Spirit
speaks when when we fast and pray, who needs to
(28:05):
hear from the Holy Spirit? Which brings me to number
four benefit of fasting in prayer. Write this down, discernment.
Oh my friends, this one's big. This one is huge.
And I get this from Estra chapter five. I do so.
She's got boldness, she's got favor, she's got an open heaven,
(28:25):
she's got the King literally saying to her, ask whatever
you want, and I'll give it to you.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
And amazingly Estra doesn't say.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Well, there is this law on the books that needs
to be removed. The reason why she doesn't say that
is because she understood the Kingdom of Persia. The Kingdom
of Persia, if the rule was if a law is
in place, the law never gets revoked. It's been repeated
in the Book of Esther several times up until this moment.
(28:57):
So she understands, let me just say it like this.
She has discerned the times in which she has lived.
So she comes up with this weird plan, like I
don't look at it.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
When you look at this, it's like, what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Girl? Look at verse four, and Ester said, if it
pleased the king, let the King and Hayman come today
to a feast that I have prepared. Really, that's your
plan that you're gonna throw a party, and this is
your means to delivering the Jews from annihilation. Okay, think
(29:31):
about this. Well, you've never thought about it, but I
had time to think about this.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
That's what my job is.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
And so I looked at the whole book of Esther
and I and I found something out about the Book
of Ester that's so cool.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
All right, here we go.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Did you know that there are seven feasts in the
Book of Ester. In fact, the book is just covered
with feasts. Feasts dominate the whole stinking story. In the
first chapter, there's two feasts going on. There's though, there's
three feasts. There's King xerxes first feast of six months,
then seven day after party feast, and then Vashti's personal
(30:03):
private feast with her lady friends. And then there's Esther's
feast in chapter two. And now she's gonna throw two
feasts in chapter five and six, and then there's gonna
be another feast when the Jews finally get victory over
their enemies, and now that leads to the feast of Purim,
a feast that the Jewish people to this day celebrate
(30:24):
every single year.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
You know what, Esther did? You know why she caught
for a.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Feast because she knew how this She knew how this
kingdom ticked. She knew what got Xerxes attention. This guy
liked a good party. And the reason why she doesn't
just come out and say I need you to deliver
my people from annihilation is she used discernment given to
(30:50):
her by the Holy Spirit. Listen to this to speak
Xerxes language. I wonder who needs to know how to
speak the language of the people you're dealing with. I
wonder who needs to know how to talk in such
a way that your voice starts to win people over
(31:13):
in your life? I wonder who needs to through this
fasting and prayer time, let the Holy Spirit come and
put a guard over your mouth, Because if you're honest today,
you'll say, my mouth gets me in so much trouble.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
And some of you you.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Boast about that, oh, oh, my mouth always gets me
in trouble, and really, under the surface, it bugs you
to death that you just can't keep your mouth from
getting you in trouble. And I think that this is
what God's going to do in some.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Of your lives this week. As you fasten, pray.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
He's gonna put a guard over your mouth, and then
He's gonna give you discernment on how to read the room,
to read the community, to read the family member, to
read the marriage partner, and start speaking in a way
that brings favor into your life with them.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
What Paul says in Philippians so powerful.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
He says, it is my prayer that your love may
have bound more and more with knowledge and discernment. We
can't just love people. We need knowledge and discernment on
how to love. We need the love with discernment. Some
people need different things than we are able to give.
We need discernment to know that. The word for discernment
and the Greek from Philippians one nine is as the thesi.
We get the word thesis from this. It means to
(32:27):
understand the real nature of something, to understand. You might
see it one way, but discernment gives you a backstage
view of what's really going on. And some of you,
I'm telling you, I'm so excited for this to happen
in you because you've never operated in discernment, and this
is going to be the first time in your life.
You don't just see things on face value. You can
(32:49):
see behind the thing, and you can start speaking in
such a way that you start to move things with
your mouth in a positive direction in your life with you,
your children, with your spouse, with your family, with your boss,
with your employees.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
And God's gonna.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Give you grace and a conversation gift that's seasoned with salt.
What Paul talks about season your conversation with salt, so
that people want to hear more of what you're saying. Man,
we need this now more than ever before.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
In a world confusion.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
We need discernment and what's true and what's right and
what's good.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
And esther just she's just got it.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
She just starts nailing this number five benefit of a
fasting peace under pressure. This one, Oh, somebody needs this
one in their life. Do you ever think about the
fact that the Bible says in verse four that she said,
if it please the King, let the King and Hayman come.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Today to a feast I prepared.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
And then later and this is not on the screen yet,
but later verse eight, during that feast, the king makes
another offer, have whatever you'll open, have it again. And
she said, Okay, I'm gonna throw a feast tomorrow and
I want you and Hayman to come.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Then again, Hayman.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
I get, I get inviting the king to the feast,
but I don't get Hayman. But this is the discernment
at work, and she is given. She has been given
spiritual discernment. I don't even know if she was really
thinking this out. I think the spirit was guy. I
think the Holy Spirit was guiding her. But here's what
(34:22):
I thought about, And you got to think about this.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
The guy who.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Literally signed the edict, wrote the document to kill her
people is going to be eating at the table with her.
And I just had this thought. How do you eat
in the presence of your enemy?
Speaker 1 (34:46):
How do you eat when you know the people at
the table are coming for you?
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Oh, my friends, you might know that passage from Psalm
twenty three. The Lord is my shepherd. He makes me
like I don't want. He makes me down in green pastures.
He leaves me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
He leaves me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I'll fear no evil. You're roding your staff, They comfort me.
You prepare a table before me, where in the presence
(35:15):
of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil. My
cup runs over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life, and I will dwell
in the house of the Lord forever and ever and ever.
And David had gotten a hold of what Esther got
a hold of in Estra five through fasting and prayer,
that when you are filled with.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
The spirit of God. Through fasting in.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Prayer, you can have peace in the presence of your enemies.
Somebody is facing somebody in your life and they're coming
at you, and they're harassing you, and you're like, they're
just getting inside. It's one thing for how enemies to
be outside of you, but how many know they so
often get up inside of you.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
You know what you need? You need peace. You need
peace in the pressure.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Number six, Fasting gives patience in the process of God's deliverance.
I want to do this one real quick because it's
about patience. And I don't like talking about patience because
I don't like patience. That's why it's a gift of
the Holy Spirit. But here's what you see now back
to Estra chapter five, verse eight.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
She's got patience.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
She's like having feast day after feast day, and she's
not in a rush. And to me, it's like, man,
if there's a if there's an edict that's about to
come for my people, I'm like, let me let me
get this thing fixed quick. That's me I like to think.
I like to fix things quick. But discernment added to
peace yields patience.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Huh. Are you hearing that discernment?
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Knowing what to do, added to peace in the presence
of your enemies, leads to leads to patience in the process.
So she she invites them to the next night, and
then things really start to roll. In the next chapter.
I love this passage from James chapter five. Be patient, therefore, brothers,
until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer
waits for the precious through the earth. Be patient about it,
(37:01):
being patient about it until it receives the earth the
early and late rains. You also be patient. And then
this next line, establish your hearts. What is fasting in prayer?
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Father?
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Some of you this has got to be your prayer
this week. Father puts some patience in here. I need
my heart established so that I'm not freaking out at everybody,
so that I'm not worried all the time, so that
I'm not always complaining about where I am in life.
How often it is so easy to fall into just
complaint central and just start You're not praying, You're just
complaining to God. You're just telling them all the things.
(37:34):
Everything's not work. I don't know why where are you
gouy And I get it. You should complain because he'll
hear you and he will respond. But sometimes we got
to realize that all we've done for the last couple
of weeks with our prayer life is complain, and we
now need to be patient and to know that the
latter reigns are on the way. Colossians, Chapter one, verse
eleven says, we also pray that you will be strengthened
(37:56):
with all his glorious powers, so that you will have
the endurance and patience you need. Underline you need you
need it. May you be filled with joy. I think
joy is on the other side of patience, but patience
is on the other side of discernment and peace. And finally,
number seven benefits of fasting frustration in the enemy. Frustration
(38:22):
in the enemy. Now this this one doesn't come to you.
This one comes to your enemy. And I'm not talking
about people. It might be people, but you've got a
spiritual enemy that needs that that you can frustrate. Listen
to me very carefully, waters church people, listen to me,
everybody watching me online, even if you don't come.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
To my church.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Nothing frustrates the spiritual adversary coming at you. Then fasting
in prayer, because he only he only has one fastball.
He only has one fastball with humanity. And you know what,
he's been throwing the same fastball since the Garden of Eden.
And the fastball is this just please yourself. Just please yourself.
(39:04):
That's what he does. He gets up on the mound
and he hot kicks his his leg and he throws
please yourself. That's what the devil's been doing for thousands
upon thousands of years. That's how we got wars we
got that's how we got land grabs that we've seen.
That's how we've got the political division that we've got.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
He's just putting into everybody's mind.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Please yourself, Please live for you, feed your flesh. If
you've got an urge, meet it. If you've got an itch,
scratch it. It's all about you. And this has been
the game plan from the Garden of Eden. And the
best way to frustrate him is to just refuse to
swing it his pitch, just refuse to even get into
the batter's box. Just just say no, I'm not playing
(39:45):
that game. I am actually gonna deny myself. What did
Jesus say? When you deny yourself, you'll find life. So
the Bible says really quickly summing up the last part
of of chapter five, when Hayman went out that day,
joyfuln gun and hert he saw Mordecai in the king's gate,
and he neither rows nor trouble.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
He was filled with wrath.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
And then he goes home and he gathers his friends
and he starts spragging because he's got to overcompensate for
the fact that this one guy won't bout him. And
the Bible says that he said, even Queen Esther verse twelve,
let me come to the king, to the feast with
the king. She prepared, and I'm also invited tomorrow. But
then she says this, and all this is worth nothing
as long as I see morrete kai than you. And
you just see this, this weak man, he's he's the
(40:25):
symbol of a colonel man.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
This is the symbol of the carnal woman. Listen to
me very.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Carefully, because this will save your soul. A colonel man,
a carnal woman. They obsess about one thing in their life,
and all their emotions are like wagons circling that one thing.
And if they have that one thing, their emotions are
(40:50):
sky high. And if they don't have that one thing.
Their emotions are sky. I wonder if that's you here today.
I wonder if there's somebody here today. You don't even
realize it. Your entire emotional is wrapped up in one thing,
maybe the approval of a parent, maybe the love of
another person. Maybe you're looking for fame, Maybe you're looking
for fortune, Maybe you're looking for power. Maybe you're just
(41:12):
looking for I don't know, more money. And you're just
obsessed and obsessed, and it's just gotten.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
A hold of you.
Speaker 2 (41:18):
You're doing what the enemy is all about, and fasting
in prayer breaks that out of your life so that
you can please God and frustrate Hell. I'm trying to
give you the keys to frustrating the enemy, and you're like,
because I want the enemy frustrated. When the enemy is frustrated,
(41:42):
he doesn't know what to do with me anymore. And
the power God comes up in me, and the wards
of heaven start to fall upon me.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
If our keyboardists are not already up.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
Come on up, as we get ready to close at
every location, come on up and start to play some music.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Last verse I want to leave you with is Hebrews,
Chapter eleven. Verse six watch this, and.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
Without faith it is impossible to please God. For whoever
would draw near to God must believe that He exists,
and that hear what, and that he rewards those, and
that the es ofv doesn't have this word, but other
translations of this word. He rewards those who diligently seek him.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
Let's take some ground now over this year and in
your own life, your family, or your own personal life,
your professional life wherever it is, and especially in your
spiritual life. Let's take some ground so that we can
get out of whatever traps the devil is laying for
(42:47):
us and walk in victory
Esther chapter five.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Now, when we left off in Ester chapter four, Mordecai
was not bowing to Haman, Haman the Agagite, the son
of Hamadatha.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
And Hayman can't stand.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
He's got an ego the size of Texas, and he
can't stand that this Jewish man, Mordechai, will not bow
down to him. So he devises a plan, not just
to kill Mordecai, he wants to kill all the.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Jews, every single Jew. He wants to wipe them out.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
And so he goes to the king and he offers
to pay ten thousands of talents.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
And we talked about this last week.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
If you haven't watched that message, go to Waterschurch dot
org or YouTube dot com slash water Church and watch
part two of Providence, because it's all about the butt
thens in our lives, when the enemy comes at us,
when life hits us upside the head, when we get
into some kind of chaotic experience we did not anticipate.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Why do we do?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
And the enemy is serious and he's coming for you,
and he wants to consume.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
You and all he want you to do.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So the only thing you need to do for the
enemy to win and triumph is just be passive, just
be half hearted about Christ, just kind of you know,
go through the motions of Christianity or faith, or kind
of half in, half out of the church, and all
you need to see the enemy have his way with
you in life. He has to be passive. But today
I'm here to stir up some activity in your life
(01:23):
that will do damage to the spiritual realm.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Around you, that will knock the devil out. Now, I
was raised in the nineteen eighties.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
In the nineteen eighties, we were getting reruns every day
of certain TV shows from the nineteen seventies and nineteen sixties.
That's how it worked. And I remember one of my
favorite shows was Batman. And I'm not talking about the
Christian Bale Batman.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
That was phenomenal that trilogy.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
And I'm not talking about the Michael Keaton Batman from
the nineteen eighties, and that.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Was also a very cool style of Batman.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
I'm talking about that Adam West Batman.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
And raise your hand if.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
You're an Adamust Batman fan, I expect like four hands
and every look age. I loved that that show. Every
episode was the same, here's how the previous it would
go the previous episode ended with Batman and Robin in
this in this predicament that just seemed inescapable. They would
(02:24):
be strapped to the rotating disc hanging over the pool.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Of sharks with lasers on their head.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
No, that's a different movie, but they would They would
just be rotating and and the Joker would be laughing,
and then the Joker would monologue for about five minutes,
and then he would and he would run off to
the scene, and then you would see the credits would roll,
and that was it, and you were left with a
cliffhanger at every single episode's end. It was infuriating because
(02:56):
you you just couldn't stand it.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I want to see how it is. So that was
the trick.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
That was the e by which they got you to
come back to the show the next time, and so
you would tune in and then you would see it
and it was like the same thing every time.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And Batman in the first scene of.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
The next episode would suddenly get out of this predicament.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
He would somehow untie his wrists.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
With some kind of bat contraption, he'd set Robin free,
he'd jump over the shark tank and then what would
happen the guys, the Henchman would come running at Batman,
and then it was what Batman would face him and
go wah bam wah, whoosh wah bam zap globe like you.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Ask how it would go.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
And it was always funny because those graphics were seriously
impressive for.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Nineteen sixties and seventies television. But it was always the
same thing.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Like Josh, when you thought Batman couldn't get out of
his predicament, something broke in his life, something broke him free.
Let me tell you about your life. You might be
in a predicament. The spirit Joker, the spiritual Riddler, the
spiritual Penguin's coming after you. Wants your marriage, wants your
(04:07):
single hood, wants your purity, wants your peace, wants to
take your joy away from you. And you feel trapped.
You feel like this is it and the credits are
about to roll in your life. But I want to
give you the power of God. I want God's power
(04:28):
at work in your life. I can't give it you
God gives it to you, but I want.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
To give you the way to get it. And here's
what I thought. How many of.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
You need a miracle in your life? You are hooked
on some addiction that you just can't break free from,
or you are facing a relationship challenge that you have
never faced before and it's getting to the point where
you think it's just time to go our separate ways.
(04:55):
We're done, this is over, and you're thinking we need this,
we need a divorce. No, no, no, no, you need a miracle.
And some of you are like, I need to move,
I need to get out of my town, I need
to get out of my business. No, maybe you need
a miracle in that job, in that occupation. Or maybe
you're praying and weeping over a child that just refuses
(05:16):
to get right and you're thinking, maybe he needs medicine,
or maybe she needs pills, or maybe you know she
needs a different school. No wait, wait, wait, wait wait, maybe.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
She needs a miracle.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Because here's what I need to remind the Church of
Jesus Christ today.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
He is still a miracle working god.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
He is still the God who comes through when all
hope seems lost. He's still the God who breaks chains
off of people's arms and off of people's hearts. He's
still the God who divides, sees, who raises the dead,
who casts out demons, who heals.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
The sick and sets men and women free. And I
want to give you hope today.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Wherever you are, whatsever facing you, whatever trap the devil
is laid for you, I want to give you hope.
Because in the end of Esther chapter four, it seems
like all hope is lost. But chapter five, chapter five
starts to show us what fasting in prayer does for
(06:23):
God's people. Stand with me in all locations for the
reading of God's word. And I'm gonna read this couple
first verses here on Esther chapter five.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Here's what it says.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
On the third day, everybody say, on the third day,
on the count of three, one, two, three, On.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
The third day, how many No.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
God does some pretty amazing things on the third day, Amen, Amen, Amen.
On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes
and stood in the inner court of the King's palace
in front of the king's quarters, while the King was
sitting on those royal throne inside the throne room opposite
the entrance of the palace.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
When the King saw.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in
his sight, and he and he held out to Esther
the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Estra
approached and touched the tip of the sester, and the
King said to her, what is it, Queen Esther, what
is your request? It shall be given to you, even
to the half of my kingdom. And Esther said, if
it pleases the King, let the King and Hayman come
(07:16):
today to a feast that I have prepared for the King.
Then the King said, bring Hayman quickly, so that we
may do as Esther has asked. So the King and
Hayman came to the feast that Esther had prepared, and
as they were drinking wine after the feast.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
The King said to Esther, what is your wish?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
It shall be granted to you, And what is your request,
even to the half of my kingdom, It shall be fulfilled.
Remember he said that before he says it again. Then
Esther answered, my wish and my request is this. If
I have found favor in the sight of the King,
and if it pleased the King to grant my wish
and fulfill my request, let the King and Harmon Hayman
come to the feast that I will prepare for them,
and tomorrow I would do as the King has said.
(07:50):
So there's a lot of weird stuff going on, but
it's all going to point to some amazing truths in
just a moment verse nine. And Hayman went out that day,
this is the enemy of the Jews. He went out
that day glad of heart. But when he saw Mordechai
in the King's gate, and that he neither rose nor
trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordechai. Nevertheless,
(08:10):
Hayman restrained himself, went home, brought his friends and his
wife Zarah together, and Hayman recounted to them all the
splendor his riches, the number of his sons, all the
promotions with which the king had honored him, and how
he'd advanced above all his officials and the servants.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Of the king.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Then Hayman said, even Queen Esther, let no one but
me come with the king to the feast she prepared.
And tomorrow also I'm invited to buy her together with
the king. Yet all of this is worthless to me
so long as I see Mordecai, the Jew, sitting at
the King's gate. Then his wife Jerish and all his
friends said to him, let a gallows fifty cubas high
(08:45):
that's seventy five feet Hi, Let it gallows seventy five
feet high be made, and in the morning tell the
king to have Mordechai hanged upon it.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
This idea pleased Hamon, and he had the gallows maid.
What do you do when your enemy is building gallows
on which.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
To hang you? You fast and pray.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Let's pray right now over this word, Father, in Jesus name,
I ask that the words of my mouth would be
pleasing in your sight, and that the meditation of all
of our hearts will also be pleasing in your sight.
I pray you so seeds of holy discontent in every
single heart, that we will not be satisfied with where
(09:31):
we are, that we will not just settle for the
status quo.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
That we will not let.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Whatever's happening to us be just normal and eventually depressing
or gut wrenching or hardship.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
No, no, no, Lord.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
I pray that today every person hearing this word will
start to serve their spirits to action in fasting and
in prayer. Through this process, help us to see Jesus,
him and him only in his mighty name. We pray,
and everybody said Amen, Amen, Amen, God bless you at
(10:09):
all locations. Okay, so you need a miracle. Here's my
first thought. Want you to write this down in your notes.
Write this down. You've tried other things, now try fasting.
You've tried other things, now try fasting. You've tried medical prescriptions,
you've tried therapy and counseling.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
You've tried talking it out.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You've tried working harder, you've tried working over time. You've
tried new friends, you've tried new clothes, you've tried new diets,
you've tried new fads, new styles. Hey, you've tried it.
Now try fasting. Because here's the thing. Fasting does something
(10:53):
for you that Heaven offers that nothing in this world
can accomplish in your life.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
And I've got from.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
This text, I got seven benefits of fasting. Just picking
up the story once again in Esther five to one,
just notice this little textual hint here. The scripture says,
on the third day Esther put on a royal robes
and stood in the inner court of the King's palace.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Okay, on the third day of what well to know
the answer to that.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Just back up to chapter four, verse sixteen, what Esther
had just called for.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
It says that she said.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
To Mordecai, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa,
and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not
eat or drink for how many days?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Three days?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
You say, pastor, why are we doing seven if they
only did three? And I understand that question, but only
notice that they didn't eat or drink. This is an
extreme fast for extreme conditions. So we are doing an
extreme fast, but we're gonna drink for seven days instead
of not. You can't do a true fast, total fast
of not eating and drinking for more than three days.
It's unhealthy. You'll die. But this was an extreme fast
(12:03):
and it was to last for three days. And she said,
and I'm gonna do the same thing with my young women,
and then I will go to the king, and even
if it's against the law, and.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
If I perish my pairs. So she is facing a trap.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
She is batman clasped to the rotating contraption hovering over
the tank of sharks, and she says, we gotta fast,
so stay fast. And on the third day of the fast,
listen to this. On the third day of the fact
they fasted one two three day. This is the end
of the fast and things start moving in the spiritual
(12:37):
realm on Esther's behalf.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
And I just think that somebody needs to hear this.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Today. You have got no movement in the spiritual life,
and you're wondering what is going on?
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Why am I so stuck? Why can't I get any traction?
Why can't we get this fixed? Why can't I accomplish
this plan? Why can't I get victory of this? Is
because you need to fast and pray. And Jesus told
us that we need.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
To be people who fast and pray regularly.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
And I want to know. I want to know. Maybe
some of you need to.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Hear this text from Jesus because he assumed we would fast.
In Matthew chapter six seventeen, and he writes this, or
he said this. When you fast, anoint your head with oil,
wash your face, and you're fasting will not be seen
by others.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
But when your father, who is in secret, sees you.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Fast, the scripture says that your father will what the
last two words, The father will reward you. I don't
know about you, but I like rewards.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I sign up for the reward card. I got a reward.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Card for every grocery store, every shoe plays. I mean,
I got reward cards everywhere. I'm so thankful for iPhones now,
a lot of them. Times you can just put them
on your wallet and your iPhone. But I love rewards.
There are heavenly rewards waiting for you when you fast
and pray. And make no mistake about this text that
(13:57):
the first verse of Ester five is del They're brutally
saying that after three days of fasting stuff spiritual things
started to move in a positive direction for Esther and
the people of God. Seven benefits of fasting and then
we're done. Number one write this down Boldness, boldness. Some
(14:18):
of you need boldness in your life. You cannot be
a Christian without boldness, you can't.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
The Bible says that there's a God in.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
This world that is out to get you, and he
wants you to shrink back. He wants you to get
all scared and nervous and anxious and worried about your future.
He wants you living far less than where God has you.
And frankly, just to put as simply, the devil wants
(14:49):
to scare you. He's a roaring Peter says, he's a
roaring lion. You know what a roaring line is just
an image of fear. He's a roaring line seeking someone
at the bout and and esther up to chapter four
in the book.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
She's just a scared little mouse.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
She hears that the edict has been proclaimed that her
people are going to be annihilated in eleven months, and
Mordecai says, you gotta go. You've come to the kingdom
for this, such as I You've got to go talk
to the king. And she's like, well, I don't know.
He hasn't called me. I don't know where our relationship stands.
(15:25):
I used to get chocolates on a regular basis and
now nothing. And I don't think he's into me anymore.
And Mordecai is like, are.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
You kidding me?
Speaker 2 (15:34):
You're gonna die anyway. You have got to step up
and show up. And I wonder who needs to do
that in your life? You gotta step up, You gotta
show up. Hey, fathers, you got to step up and
show up in the home. Hey moms, you got to
step up and show up in your marriage, in your family.
Who needs to step up and show up in their business,
(15:56):
and you've allowed the devil to just roar you into
a closet of fear and anxiety and intrepidation. And what
I see happening in Esther's life is after the fast
on the third day, sisters got boldness. She's got boldness
looking again. She stood, she put on her royal robes.
(16:16):
Verse one, stood in the intercourt of the king's palth
just went right into.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
His palace and just presented herself.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
That's what we are given in Christ Jesus, the ability
to put ourselves into the presence of the king with boldness.
The scripture says that we can come before the throne
of God's grace with boldness, knowing that he will hear us,
he will respond to us. And some of you, you
(16:48):
have been shrinking back. You might not even realize it.
You've been shrinking back in life. You've been shrinking back
in your spirit. You've been kind of letting the devil
boom poo. He's hitting you, he's pushing you back poo.
And you're strapped with fear holding back your wrists. And
you need can we do it again? You need batman power, impotents,
just compel pam pooh, Pooh.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
In Jesus name, devil, step off, thank thank you to
Michael in the back, he's on top of it.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
But this is, this is what I'm asking you to
think about in your life.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Where do you have fear? Where you need to have faith?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
And you're not gonna have faith if there's no boldness
in your life. I wonder who here has lost your
nerve in the faith? You've You've you've gone cold with
expecting things to work out in your favor. You've allowed
the increase of wickedness in our culture to to shroud.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
You, to to cause you to fear and and and
and grow anxious.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
And I don't think that God's people are made to
be there.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
And I am expecting, I am.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Confident that if you fast and pray, you might not
feel feel it while you're fasting in praying. And that's
just a qualifier here. None of these things are you
really gonna feel why you fast in prayer. But on
the third day, come on, somebody. On the seventh day, man,
there's gonna be a breakthrough in the spiritual realm and
boldness is coming back into your life or maybe for
(18:17):
the first time in your life. Do you understand that
the Bible says that that fear is a spirit. Fear
is a spirit. All the young people listen to me.
I say this to you all the time. But anxiety, man,
that's not a chemical, it's a spirit.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
It's a spirit.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Your your social anxiety disorder, it's a spirit. It's the
devil having his way with you. It's your flesh thinking
you're a nobody. It's the world pushing you into a corner.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
And you need Christ to rise up in you.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Because my Bible tells me in two Timothy one point
seven that God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Power, and of love and of sound mind. Greater is
He that is in us, and He that is in
the world.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
That's the first benefit that some of you desperately need
a fasting.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Here's benefit number two. Favor. Well, I like this one.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
I love this one because when Esther and the Jews
fast and pray, and Esther gets bowed and walks into
the presence of the king, he extends his scepter to her.
The Bible says in Chapter five, verse two, and when
the King saw Queen Esther standing in the.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Court, she won say the word everybody.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
She won favor in his sight, circle favor in your
notes if you got them out. And he held out
to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand.
Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
Let me tell you how this is important, because in
chapter two of Esther, there's favor all over this girl.
(19:54):
She's got natural beauty, and then she's just got like
this charm that just captivates everyone who's in her presence.
The King's eunuchs just favor her, and God favors her.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And then she walks into.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
The King's presence in Ester chapter two, and he favors.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Her, and there's just favor over her life.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Okay, but listen, this is something that some of you
are going to resonate with from Ester chapter two all
the way to Estra chapter five. That's a distance of
about three to four years. And there's no mention of
favor over Esther's life. There's none for those three to
four years. And I wonder who needs to think about
(20:38):
this for a moment. When you started out with Christ,
you could feel and sense God's favor. You saw supernatural,
serendipitous blessing come into your life but if you're honest,
it's been a while since you've seen it. You haven't
received favor like you had in the early days of
(21:01):
your faith. Or maybe you just realizing it now as
I'm talking to you that you're like, where is that
divine favor over my life? You know what fasting does.
It gets the favor back. It gets the favor back.
Come on, this is an ancient king. Ancient kings were
on to another woman every single week of the year.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
He estras old news.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
But he sees her and I have no doubt that
her boldness, because this is the truth. Men love a
bold woman. My wife came and found me. She's the
one that came and talk to me. But anyway, she's
got boldness in the presence of God, or in the
presence of the king, and he takes notice of her,
and favor comes upon. I think about some of you
(21:47):
think that Christianity is, Oh maybe I don't know. God
might know it is not that it is march into
the presence of God expecting him to hear you and
know that He is for you, and he wants to
blew you. And she gets that boldness and then favor.
And I think that some of you need to get
(22:07):
the favor back. When Jesus was on this earth with
his disciples, he didn't fast and pray, and they criticize
him for it. They said, look, Jesus, why don't you
fasten and pray? We fast and pray all the time.
The Pharisees fasted twice a week. Why don't you fast
and pray? Jesus responds to them in Matthew chapter nine,
verse fifteen. He says, can the wedding guests mourn as
long as the bridegroom is with them?
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Translation, I'm here. They don't need to fast and pray.
I'm here.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
And if you have Jesus Christ physically in the flesh
standing next to you, walking with you through life, let
me tell you something.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
You don't need to fast and pray. He'll he'll just
move the traffic out of the way.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
He'll just you know, he'll just remove the enemy, he'll
just heal the sick. No, you don't need to fast
and pray. But notice what Jesus says in Matthew nine fifteen.
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away
from them, and then they will fast. Notice what Jesus
is saying, and this these are the days that we
live in. The bridegroom has gone to heaven. Jesus has
(23:03):
gone to heaven, and it's been a long time we've
been waiting for him to come back.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
And what are we supposed to do. We're supposed to
fast and pray because I.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Believe when we don't feel God, and some of you
will go through seasons in your life you don't feel good,
it's that time when you need to say, I'm not
sensing God's work in my life.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I don't see the favor in my life.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
And I know it's not a feeling all the time,
but just the favor of God and just knowing that
He's with you, and.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Just you know that confidence.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Fast and pray is you got to get it back.
You got to go back to where you began. Sometimes
and maybe you've never fastened before, but what fasting and
prayer does is it just kind of humbles yourself to
that place where you came to Christ humble, broken contrite
because of your sins, because of your messed up life,
and you came humble and fasting is let me get
back to that humility so that I know that God
(23:47):
is going to move and stir something up inside of me.
So boldness favor. Here's number three and open heaven. Benefits
of fasting and open heaven.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
And this is what.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
She gets, this golden offer from the king. It's said
twice I showed it to you.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Verse three.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
When the king saw her, he said to her, what
is it, Queen Esther, whatever you want up to you
the half of my kingdom. Later verse six, and when
they were eating and drinking wine out the thief, the
king said to Esther, what is your wish? It shall
be granted to you. What is your request? Even in
the half of my kingdom. When scripture repeats something, it's
meant to draw us in to focus on it. And
here's what Esther was given when she fasted in prayer,
(24:31):
when the people fasted and pray, she got an open
invitation to make her requests known to the king. And
I believe that's true. For you see what fasting does.
It deprives the flesh of what earth offers, so that
the spirit can receive what heaven offers. And I'm just
(24:54):
telling you that we live in a consumer culture in
this country. There are golden arches on every street, corner,
there are dunkin Donuts next.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
To every you know, outlet, mall everywhere.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
You can just appease the fleshly appetite at any moment.
And you might not realize this, but your flesh, your
your stomach is a spoiled, rotten brat, it really is.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Do you understand that you don't need to eat nearly
as much as you think you do? You don't.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
I mean, I think most of America is case in
point that you don't need to eat nearly as much
as you think you do. And some of you are
shooting up drugs to make sure that you remember that chemically.
But I got news for you.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Your body needs discipline.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Your body needs to be denied because it if you
feed this beast, the flesh I'm talking about my body,
If you feed this beast, it just gets grosser and
bigger and nearlier and more controlling. And the best way
to win some battles in the spiritual is to starve
that sucker, starve it. You know, this might sound morbid,
(26:02):
but when I start a fast, I look forward to
the hunger pains I do.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
This sounds so morbid, but it's true.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
I look forward to that hunger pain because that first
hunger pain, and it's gonna last. If you do this
all seven days, you're not gonna lose hunger pains for
the first two days. But when they come, I start
to say, that's right, flesh, take that, Oh tim you
see which you get under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
And I think you got to look forward to these.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I mean, it might be painful, it might be miserable,
but rejoice.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Because what you're doing is.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
You're beaten that flesh into the ground to say you're
not in charge. The Holy Spirit is in charge off
my life. And we get on open heaven. And what
does Heaven give us. Heaven gives us what earth can't
give us. Let her a in your nose, the fruit
of the Spirit. Some of you need joy and love
(27:00):
and peace, and patience, and kindness and goodness and faithfulness
and gentleness and self control. These things come not from
this world. They come from the Holy Spirit. And then
I thought about, there's another gift that Heaven gives through
the Holy Spirit through fasting and prayer, and it's the leading.
Let her be in your notes, the leading of the Spirit.
You need direction, you need to know where to go.
(27:21):
You need to understand the times. You need to know
what to say to the person who's confronting you. You
need to know how to talk to the person that
you've got to reconcile with. You've got to learn how
to parent, or you've got to learn how to do
the job well. And God's given you a mouth, but
you keep bumbling and stumbling in your words. But God
wants to give you leading on how to walk in confidence.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Act chapter thirteen.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
While they were praying, worshiping the Lord and fasting, the
Holy Spirit said, set apart from me, barnabas and soul.
It's one of my favorite passages of the Bible, Act
Chapter thirteen, verse two, because it's saying, Holy Holy Spirit
speaks when when we fast and pray, who needs to
(28:05):
hear from the Holy Spirit? Which brings me to number
four benefit of fasting in prayer. Write this down, discernment.
Oh my friends, this one's big. This one is huge.
And I get this from Estra chapter five. I do so.
She's got boldness, she's got favor, she's got an open heaven,
(28:25):
she's got the King literally saying to her, ask whatever
you want, and I'll give it to you.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
And amazingly Estra doesn't say.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Well, there is this law on the books that needs
to be removed. The reason why she doesn't say that
is because she understood the Kingdom of Persia. The Kingdom
of Persia, if the rule was if a law is
in place, the law never gets revoked. It's been repeated
in the Book of Esther several times up until this moment.
(28:57):
So she understands, let me just say it like this.
She has discerned the times in which she has lived.
So she comes up with this weird plan, like I
don't look at it.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
When you look at this, it's like, what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Girl? Look at verse four, and Ester said, if it
pleased the king, let the King and Hayman come today
to a feast that I have prepared. Really, that's your
plan that you're gonna throw a party, and this is
your means to delivering the Jews from annihilation. Okay, think
(29:31):
about this. Well, you've never thought about it, but I
had time to think about this.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
That's what my job is.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
And so I looked at the whole book of Esther
and I and I found something out about the Book
of Ester that's so cool.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
All right, here we go.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Did you know that there are seven feasts in the
Book of Ester. In fact, the book is just covered
with feasts. Feasts dominate the whole stinking story. In the
first chapter, there's two feasts going on. There's though, there's
three feasts. There's King xerxes first feast of six months,
then seven day after party feast, and then Vashti's personal
(30:03):
private feast with her lady friends. And then there's Esther's
feast in chapter two. And now she's gonna throw two
feasts in chapter five and six, and then there's gonna
be another feast when the Jews finally get victory over
their enemies, and now that leads to the feast of Purim,
a feast that the Jewish people to this day celebrate
(30:24):
every single year.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
You know what, Esther did? You know why she caught
for a.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Feast because she knew how this She knew how this
kingdom ticked. She knew what got Xerxes attention. This guy
liked a good party. And the reason why she doesn't
just come out and say I need you to deliver
my people from annihilation is she used discernment given to
(30:50):
her by the Holy Spirit. Listen to this to speak
Xerxes language. I wonder who needs to know how to
speak the language of the people you're dealing with. I
wonder who needs to know how to talk in such
a way that your voice starts to win people over
(31:13):
in your life? I wonder who needs to through this
fasting and prayer time, let the Holy Spirit come and
put a guard over your mouth, Because if you're honest today,
you'll say, my mouth gets me in so much trouble.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
And some of you you.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Boast about that, oh, oh, my mouth always gets me
in trouble, and really, under the surface, it bugs you
to death that you just can't keep your mouth from
getting you in trouble. And I think that this is
what God's going to do in some.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Of your lives this week. As you fasten, pray.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
He's gonna put a guard over your mouth, and then
He's gonna give you discernment on how to read the room,
to read the community, to read the family member, to
read the marriage partner, and start speaking in a way
that brings favor into your life with them.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
What Paul says in Philippians so powerful.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
He says, it is my prayer that your love may
have bound more and more with knowledge and discernment. We
can't just love people. We need knowledge and discernment on
how to love. We need the love with discernment. Some
people need different things than we are able to give.
We need discernment to know that. The word for discernment
and the Greek from Philippians one nine is as the thesi.
We get the word thesis from this. It means to
(32:27):
understand the real nature of something, to understand. You might
see it one way, but discernment gives you a backstage
view of what's really going on. And some of you,
I'm telling you, I'm so excited for this to happen
in you because you've never operated in discernment, and this
is going to be the first time in your life.
You don't just see things on face value. You can
(32:49):
see behind the thing, and you can start speaking in
such a way that you start to move things with
your mouth in a positive direction in your life with you,
your children, with your spouse, with your family, with your boss,
with your employees.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
And God's gonna.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Give you grace and a conversation gift that's seasoned with salt.
What Paul talks about season your conversation with salt, so
that people want to hear more of what you're saying. Man,
we need this now more than ever before.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
In a world confusion.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
We need discernment and what's true and what's right and
what's good.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
And esther just she's just got it.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
She just starts nailing this number five benefit of a
fasting peace under pressure. This one, Oh, somebody needs this
one in their life. Do you ever think about the
fact that the Bible says in verse four that she said,
if it please the King, let the King and Hayman come.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Today to a feast I prepared.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
And then later and this is not on the screen yet,
but later verse eight, during that feast, the king makes
another offer, have whatever you'll open, have it again. And
she said, Okay, I'm gonna throw a feast tomorrow and
I want you and Hayman to come.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Then again, Hayman.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
I get, I get inviting the king to the feast,
but I don't get Hayman. But this is the discernment
at work, and she is given. She has been given
spiritual discernment. I don't even know if she was really
thinking this out. I think the spirit was guy. I
think the Holy Spirit was guiding her. But here's what
(34:22):
I thought about, And you got to think about this.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
The guy who.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Literally signed the edict, wrote the document to kill her
people is going to be eating at the table with her.
And I just had this thought. How do you eat
in the presence of your enemy?
Speaker 1 (34:46):
How do you eat when you know the people at
the table are coming for you?
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Oh, my friends, you might know that passage from Psalm
twenty three. The Lord is my shepherd. He makes me
like I don't want. He makes me down in green pastures.
He leaves me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
He leaves me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I'll fear no evil. You're roding your staff, They comfort me.
You prepare a table before me, where in the presence
(35:15):
of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil. My
cup runs over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life, and I will dwell
in the house of the Lord forever and ever and ever.
And David had gotten a hold of what Esther got
a hold of in Estra five through fasting and prayer,
that when you are filled with.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
The spirit of God. Through fasting in.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Prayer, you can have peace in the presence of your enemies.
Somebody is facing somebody in your life and they're coming
at you, and they're harassing you, and you're like, they're
just getting inside. It's one thing for how enemies to
be outside of you, but how many know they so
often get up inside of you.
Speaker 1 (35:57):
You know what you need? You need peace. You need
peace in the pressure.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Number six, Fasting gives patience in the process of God's deliverance.
I want to do this one real quick because it's
about patience. And I don't like talking about patience because
I don't like patience. That's why it's a gift of
the Holy Spirit. But here's what you see now back
to Estra chapter five, verse eight.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
She's got patience.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
She's like having feast day after feast day, and she's
not in a rush. And to me, it's like, man,
if there's a if there's an edict that's about to
come for my people, I'm like, let me let me
get this thing fixed quick. That's me I like to think.
I like to fix things quick. But discernment added to
peace yields patience.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Huh. Are you hearing that discernment?
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Knowing what to do, added to peace in the presence
of your enemies, leads to leads to patience in the process.
So she she invites them to the next night, and
then things really start to roll. In the next chapter.
I love this passage from James chapter five. Be patient, therefore, brothers,
until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer
waits for the precious through the earth. Be patient about it,
(37:01):
being patient about it until it receives the earth the
early and late rains. You also be patient. And then
this next line, establish your hearts. What is fasting in prayer?
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Father?
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Some of you this has got to be your prayer
this week. Father puts some patience in here. I need
my heart established so that I'm not freaking out at everybody,
so that I'm not worried all the time, so that
I'm not always complaining about where I am in life.
How often it is so easy to fall into just
complaint central and just start You're not praying, You're just
complaining to God. You're just telling them all the things.
(37:34):
Everything's not work. I don't know why where are you
gouy And I get it. You should complain because he'll
hear you and he will respond. But sometimes we got
to realize that all we've done for the last couple
of weeks with our prayer life is complain, and we
now need to be patient and to know that the
latter reigns are on the way. Colossians, Chapter one, verse
eleven says, we also pray that you will be strengthened
(37:56):
with all his glorious powers, so that you will have
the endurance and patience you need. Underline you need you
need it. May you be filled with joy. I think
joy is on the other side of patience, but patience
is on the other side of discernment and peace. And finally,
number seven benefits of fasting frustration in the enemy. Frustration
(38:22):
in the enemy. Now this this one doesn't come to you.
This one comes to your enemy. And I'm not talking
about people. It might be people, but you've got a
spiritual enemy that needs that that you can frustrate. Listen
to me very carefully, waters church people, listen to me,
everybody watching me online, even if you don't come.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
To my church.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Nothing frustrates the spiritual adversary coming at you. Then fasting
in prayer, because he only he only has one fastball.
He only has one fastball with humanity. And you know what,
he's been throwing the same fastball since the Garden of Eden.
And the fastball is this just please yourself. Just please yourself.
(39:04):
That's what he does. He gets up on the mound
and he hot kicks his his leg and he throws
please yourself. That's what the devil's been doing for thousands
upon thousands of years. That's how we got wars we
got that's how we got land grabs that we've seen.
That's how we've got the political division that we've got.
Speaker 1 (39:19):
He's just putting into everybody's mind.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Please yourself, Please live for you, feed your flesh. If
you've got an urge, meet it. If you've got an itch,
scratch it. It's all about you. And this has been
the game plan from the Garden of Eden. And the
best way to frustrate him is to just refuse to
swing it his pitch, just refuse to even get into
the batter's box. Just just say no, I'm not playing
(39:45):
that game. I am actually gonna deny myself. What did
Jesus say? When you deny yourself, you'll find life. So
the Bible says really quickly summing up the last part
of of chapter five, when Hayman went out that day,
joyfuln gun and hert he saw Mordecai in the king's gate,
and he neither rows nor trouble.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
He was filled with wrath.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
And then he goes home and he gathers his friends
and he starts spragging because he's got to overcompensate for
the fact that this one guy won't bout him. And
the Bible says that he said, even Queen Esther verse twelve,
let me come to the king, to the feast with
the king. She prepared, and I'm also invited tomorrow. But
then she says this, and all this is worth nothing
as long as I see morrete kai than you. And
you just see this, this weak man, he's he's the
(40:25):
symbol of a colonel man.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
This is the symbol of the carnal woman. Listen to
me very.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Carefully, because this will save your soul. A colonel man,
a carnal woman. They obsess about one thing in their life,
and all their emotions are like wagons circling that one thing.
And if they have that one thing, their emotions are
(40:50):
sky high. And if they don't have that one thing.
Their emotions are sky. I wonder if that's you here today.
I wonder if there's somebody here today. You don't even
realize it. Your entire emotional is wrapped up in one thing,
maybe the approval of a parent, maybe the love of
another person. Maybe you're looking for fame, Maybe you're looking
for fortune, Maybe you're looking for power. Maybe you're just
(41:12):
looking for I don't know, more money. And you're just
obsessed and obsessed, and it's just gotten.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
A hold of you.
Speaker 2 (41:18):
You're doing what the enemy is all about, and fasting
in prayer breaks that out of your life so that
you can please God and frustrate Hell. I'm trying to
give you the keys to frustrating the enemy, and you're like,
because I want the enemy frustrated. When the enemy is frustrated,
(41:42):
he doesn't know what to do with me anymore. And
the power God comes up in me, and the wards
of heaven start to fall upon me.
Speaker 1 (41:51):
If our keyboardists are not already up.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
Come on up, as we get ready to close at
every location, come on up and start to play some music.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Last verse I want to leave you with is Hebrews,
Chapter eleven. Verse six watch this, and.
Speaker 2 (42:04):
Without faith it is impossible to please God. For whoever
would draw near to God must believe that He exists,
and that hear what, and that he rewards those, and
that the es ofv doesn't have this word, but other
translations of this word. He rewards those who diligently seek him.
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
Let's take some ground now over this year and in
your own life, your family, or your own personal life,
your professional life wherever it is, and especially in your
spiritual life. Let's take some ground so that we can
get out of whatever traps the devil is laying for
(42:47):
us and walk in victory
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!