Fasting that Pleases God - Part 2
Isaiah 58:8-12 New King James Version
Watch Part 1 HERE and read the sermon notes HERE
I. East Gate’s 2024 Corporate Fast
a. 40 days: January 1st – February 9th, 2024
i. Take the time to seek Holy Spirit and fast as He leads
Isaiah 58:6a New King James Version
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen…”
b. Why are we fasting corporately?
i. Fasting to loose our bonds of wickedness
ii. Fasting to undo the heavy burdens we place on ourselves and others
iii. Fasting to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke in our midst
iv. Fasting to connect with the Heart of Jesus, resulting in generosity and access
v. Fasting so that when we see the naked, cover them, and refuse to hide from our flesh
c. How are we fasting corporately?
i. Full/Water Fast
1. Only if Holy Spirit CLEARLY drives or draws you
ii. Partial Fast
1. Daniel, liquid, sugar, intermittent, etc.
iii. Additional forms of abstinence
1. Social media, digital entertainment, news, etc.
II. When We Fast to Please Him
a. We experience supernatural breakthrough
Isaiah 58:8 New King James Version
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
i. Light shall break through like the morning
1. Illumination, renewed vision, warmth, life, favor, purity, peace, and passion
2. Break – baqa (H1234) – split, cleave, break open, divide, break through, rip up, break up, tear
3. Gentle, gradual, consistent, persistent, and overpowering
ii. Your healing shall spring forth speedily
1. Your restoration (body and/or soul)
2. Spring forth - samah (H6779) – sprout and grow abundant and thick
3. Accelerated and supernatural progress
iii. Your righteousness shall go before you
1. You will continually walk into what is right before God
2. As we connect with and see Jesus rightly, the fear of the Lord shall lead you
3. Every step you take brings you further into the righteousness of Jesus
4. You will be further conformed to the image of Christ with every step
iv. The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard
1. Shall gather to you – resting place of glory/your reward
2. Shall bring up the rear – testimonies following you
3. Shall protect your rear – you will not be attacked and dragged back into your past
b. We experience His manifest presence
Isaiah 58:9 New King James Version
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
i. Then you shall call, and He will answer, “Here I am” – hen (H2005)
1. This is a thought-provoking and wild reversal
2. “Here I am,” is the accepted response of men, to the call of God
Exodus 3:4 New King James Version
4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
1 Samuel 3:4 New King James Version
4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!”
Isaiah 6:8 New King James Version
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
3. That God would answer like this to those who fast in ways that please Him is hard to comprehend, however it comes with a prerequisite
ii. If we take away the yoke (metaphor for oppression) from our midst
2. The pointing of the finger – scorn, critical measure, accusation
3. Speaking wickedness (vanity) – speech that causes trouble, wickedness and/or sorrow and which does nothing to edify the hearer; it would have been better off unsaid
James 4:11 New King James Version
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
4. When we humble ourselves in fasting, we become like Jesus who humbled Himself in complete surrender and obedience to the Lord
Philippians 2:5-8 New King James Version
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
iii. There are many of us here who desire greater encounter and intimacy with the presence of God in the secret place.
1. Let’s humble ourselves in fasting, repent of our pride and critical spirits, and watch what Holy Spirit does in our secret place encounters
c. We experience supernatural grace (empowerment)
Isaiah 58:10-11 New King James Version
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
i. Begins with another prerequisite: If we extend our souls to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul (in the midst of our self-humbling and mourning through fasting)
1. Rather than judging the weak(hungry) and afflicted we are called to mourn with them and provide relief in something as simple as genuine care and concern
2. If we intentionally extend our thoughts, feelings, and desires to the hungry/weak
3. If we genuinely provide comfort to the oppressed/suffering
ii. There will be times in our life when the Lord does not remove us from difficulty, but rather encounters, leads, and strengthens us in through it
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 New King James Version
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Acts 9:15-16 New King James Version
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
Acts 14:21-22 New King James Version
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
1 Peter 4:1 & 12-13 New King James Version
1Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
1. Your light shall dawn in the darkness and your darkness shall be as noonday
2. The Lord will guide you continually
3. He will satisfy your soul in drought and strengthen your bones
iii. You shall be like a well-watered garden, like a spring of water that will not fail
John 7:37-38 New King James Version
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
1. Satisfied and fruitful in the midst of the darkness and drought because of Holy Spirit within you, strengthening and encouraging you
iv. A spring that will not deceive, contrast a mirage vs an oasis in the midst of dessert
1. Sometimes we endure through trauma because of denial and adrenaline and then crash afterward instead of actually being given grace to not only endure but thrive
d. We experience supernatural restoration
Isaiah 58:12 New King James Version
12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In
i. You shall build anew the waste (destroyed and abandoned) places
1. As we humble ourselves, repent, and look to Jesus, He restores, in and through us, what we thought was destroyed and abandoned (by ourselves or others)
ii. Raise up foundations of many generations
1. What the Lord has stripped down to the foundations He will begin to rebuild with you, for you and your generations to come
2. The exposed foundations, He will repair and build up once again
iii. Repair, not only stand, in the gap
1. From interceding for prodigals, to leading them home
2. From interceding for marriages, to walking with them through restoration
3. From interceding for revival, reform, mercy, justice, to pioneering it
iv. Restorer of streets to dwell in
1. Dwelling in the secret place of the Most High
Jeremiah 6:16 New King James Version
16 Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
2. Abiding in Christ (the WAY, the truth, and the life)
III. This is God’s Prophetic Invitation for East Gate’s 2024 Corporate Fast
a. Four Things We Experience When We Fast to Please God
i. Supernatural Breakthrough
ii. Supernatural Manifest Presence
iii. Supernatural Grace
iv. Supernatural Restoration
b. This should be a regular discipline/rhythm/practice in the life of a disciple of Jesus
i. Fasting does not have to, nor should it, stop on February 9th, but continue with us until eternity with Jesus
ii. This is a perpetual invitation from Holy Spirit
c. If you are committed to fasting with us for 40 days, starting tomorrow, please come forward so that the elders can anoint you, lay hands on you, and bless you
