Family Worship Center
Fasting - Prayer's Secret Weapon
Locations & Times
Family Worship Center - Murfreesboro
3045 Memorial Blvd, Murfreesboro, TN 37129, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 11:00 AM
Fasting - Prayer's Secret Weapon
Pastor Eddie Turner
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Isaiah 58:6-12(MSG)- “This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places, firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build a new,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.
------------------
When we pray effectively we give the Holy Spirit an invitation and permission to invade our situations.
------------------
It seems God is limited by our prayer life. God can do nothing for mankind unless someone asks Him.” (John Wesley)
------------------
James 4:2(NIV)- You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.
-------------------
Benefits of spending a few minutes daily in prayer:
-------------------
1). We invite God to get involved in our situation
-------------------
2). We acknowledge our dependence upon Him
Prov. 3:6(NLT)- Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
--------------------
3). We slow down and becoming sensitive to eternal things (most of us spend our time, mental and physical energy and financial resources on things that 10 years from now will be gone)
--------------------
4). We get ahead and prepared for our tomorrows
--------------------
John 16:13(NLT)- When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
------------------------------
Matt. 17:14-21(NKJV)- And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
--------------------
Matt. 17:21(NKJV)- 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
--------------------
Jesus declares that there are some mountains, some strongholds, some challenges, some evil that we face in life that requires an authority and power that only comes through prayer and fasting.
--------------------
The word “fast,” or “fasting,” means a voluntary abstinence from food. The literal Hebrew translation means “not to eat.” The literal Greek translation means “no food.”
-------------------
Fasting is an understood biblical principle that was a regular part of the spiritual discipline of God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments.
-------------------
Mark 2:18-20(NLT)- Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?”
19 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. 20 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Matt. 6:16-18(NLT)- 16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
------------------
Notice as Jesus was teaching his disciples effective prayer he also says- “and when you fast…”. Jesus did not say- “if you fast...” he said, “when you fast…”
------------------
Fasting is an understood biblical principle that was a regular part of the spiritual discipline of God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments.
------------------
Fasting is to be done as the occasion arises
------------------
The purpose of a spiritual fast is to get a breakthrough on a particular matter that is lifted to the Lord in prayer.
------------------
The spiritual discipline of fasting was a practice which was encouraged by our nation’s leaders when our nation was facing dark days.
------------------
President Abraham Lincoln called for three National Fasts during the Civil War. President Lincoln asked our nation to fast and pray for the restoration of national peace and unity.
------------------
What is it about fasting that adds power to our prayers?
------------------
1). Fasting does not change God:
------------------
Malachi 3:6(NLT)- I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.
------------------
Heb. 13:8(NLT)- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
------------------
2). Fasting changes us:
------------------
When we fast, for that moment we our making our flesh become servant to our spirit man.
------------------
In fasting we put our flesh under, we say no to our appetites and yield to our spirit man. Then we become more sensitive to the Spirit that lives inside us.
------------------
3). Fasting changes the balance of power in the spirit realm:
-------------------
Daniel 10:1-13(NLT)- In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.
2 When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. 3 All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.
4 On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, 5 I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. 6 His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.
7 Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. 8 So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. 9 Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.
10 Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. 11 And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.
12 Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia.
Pastor Eddie Turner
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Isaiah 58:6-12(MSG)- “This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places, firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build a new,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.
------------------
When we pray effectively we give the Holy Spirit an invitation and permission to invade our situations.
------------------
It seems God is limited by our prayer life. God can do nothing for mankind unless someone asks Him.” (John Wesley)
------------------
James 4:2(NIV)- You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.
-------------------
Benefits of spending a few minutes daily in prayer:
-------------------
1). We invite God to get involved in our situation
-------------------
2). We acknowledge our dependence upon Him
Prov. 3:6(NLT)- Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
--------------------
3). We slow down and becoming sensitive to eternal things (most of us spend our time, mental and physical energy and financial resources on things that 10 years from now will be gone)
--------------------
4). We get ahead and prepared for our tomorrows
--------------------
John 16:13(NLT)- When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
------------------------------
Matt. 17:14-21(NKJV)- And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
--------------------
Matt. 17:21(NKJV)- 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
--------------------
Jesus declares that there are some mountains, some strongholds, some challenges, some evil that we face in life that requires an authority and power that only comes through prayer and fasting.
--------------------
The word “fast,” or “fasting,” means a voluntary abstinence from food. The literal Hebrew translation means “not to eat.” The literal Greek translation means “no food.”
-------------------
Fasting is an understood biblical principle that was a regular part of the spiritual discipline of God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments.
-------------------
Mark 2:18-20(NLT)- Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?”
19 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. 20 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Matt. 6:16-18(NLT)- 16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
------------------
Notice as Jesus was teaching his disciples effective prayer he also says- “and when you fast…”. Jesus did not say- “if you fast...” he said, “when you fast…”
------------------
Fasting is an understood biblical principle that was a regular part of the spiritual discipline of God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments.
------------------
Fasting is to be done as the occasion arises
------------------
The purpose of a spiritual fast is to get a breakthrough on a particular matter that is lifted to the Lord in prayer.
------------------
The spiritual discipline of fasting was a practice which was encouraged by our nation’s leaders when our nation was facing dark days.
------------------
President Abraham Lincoln called for three National Fasts during the Civil War. President Lincoln asked our nation to fast and pray for the restoration of national peace and unity.
------------------
What is it about fasting that adds power to our prayers?
------------------
1). Fasting does not change God:
------------------
Malachi 3:6(NLT)- I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.
------------------
Heb. 13:8(NLT)- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
------------------
2). Fasting changes us:
------------------
When we fast, for that moment we our making our flesh become servant to our spirit man.
------------------
In fasting we put our flesh under, we say no to our appetites and yield to our spirit man. Then we become more sensitive to the Spirit that lives inside us.
------------------
3). Fasting changes the balance of power in the spirit realm:
-------------------
Daniel 10:1-13(NLT)- In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.
2 When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. 3 All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.
4 On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, 5 I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. 6 His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.
7 Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. 8 So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. 9 Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.
10 Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. 11 And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.
12 Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia.