Oop I don’t need it good evening good evening good evening want to welcome you to our Wednesday night bible class trust hope and pray that you’ve guys had a wonderful week thus far uh if you don’t mind just go ahead and uh put the greeting in the chat let
Me know who’s on we just appreciate you so much amen amen and Amen we’ll get started in just a a second if you would let us go to God in prayer Eternal Father we humbly approach Your Divine throne of grace we thank you so much for this time that you have given us to study your word we pray dear
Father that as a result of our study we may grow spiritually stronger dear father deepen our relationship with you be more embolden to share the gospel with those who desperately stand in need of it I pray the father that you will keep us focused on the Kingdom Agenda we
Love you we thank you we ask all of this in Jesus name amen all right all right it’s so good to see you all on amen amen amen we have been studying the spiritual disciplines we started with um meditation we moved from meditation to
Prayer and now we are in uh the study of fasting understanding biblical uh fasting and the last couple of times we discussed this we looked at the biblical definition of fasting uh which is to cover over the mouth and to abstain from eating and so we know that
Biblically fasting is all about doing without food for a specific period uh of time what we want to talk about on tonight and I’m not sure how long this is going to take I’m going to try to get through it as quickly and as understandably as possible we want to
Look at how to start and how to break a fast how to start how to break a fast and then what to do in the fast or during the fast so that the fast is spiritually productive uh now I do believe that once we get through with this if you want the
PowerPoint presentation that I have for some reason I could not sync it with the YouTube but if you uh desire the PowerPoint with all of the notes uh that we’ve discussed uh on fasting uh then we will make sure to get that PowerPoint to you so that you can
Have a reference of study for future studies uh and so tonight we want to look at how to start a fast how to break a fast and what to do during the fast so that the fast is indeed meaningful all right the first thing I want you to to understand is that one
Does not begin any spiritual discipline with superb proficiency uh that means that you don’t start anything whether it’s praying whether it’s meditating whether it’s fasting whether it’s studying you don’t start any of those things as a pro as an expert uh these are things that we grow
In we have to learn how to walk before we run uh we need to set an objective for our fast in other words when you decide to fast you need to know why you’re fasting what is the purpose what is the objective of your fast it’s not it’s not
Just about uh just doing without food uh for a period of time and then once that period of time is over you jump back into a normal routine uh there should be an objective there should be an objective for your fast why are you fasting uh is it for Spiritual renewal we know
That our thing this year is renew and restore in 2024 do you need spiritual renewal do you feel disconnected from God uh is it for guidance uh or for healing uh is it for wisdom to handle a difficult decision uh what’s the objective of your fasting you need to know the objective
So that you will enable able your prayers to be more specific and strategic let me tell you this our prayers must be strategic our communication with God even in the midst of the fast must be strategic it must be specific because we are targeting a certain area in our
Lives where we need Improvement where we want to grow strong all right so now once you begin this fast and I’m going to show you how to start it in just a moment once you begin it it’s something that you must commit to I think a couple of
Weeks ago brother swin raised uh the question how how long should I fast and and of course uh this is done on an individual basis unless we are doing a corporate fast as a congregation but when you are doing a fast individually you can decide the time frame uh in this
Particular fast how long will you fast uh for those who are starting I will recommend 24 hours now that may sound like a long time to go without food and drinking only water uh and so you may want to go below that uh but that’s recommended uh but even if you want to
Start at 12 hours that’s that’s good uh how much time will you spend devoting yourself to study to meditation uh and prayer uh this all takes place in the framework of the fast all right and so this is what you want to uh do find out how long you want to
Fast commit yourself to that time frame and then devote yourself to spiritual activity devote yourself to study devote yourself to prayer devote yourself to meditation make sure that this fast is Meaningful you have the objective you know what you’re trying to accomplish you know what you need and so you set
Out the time uh to do it now before you enter it you must prepare yourself spiritually you must prepare yourself spiritually what does that mean that means first and foremost repent and ask God to forgive you of your sins you want to go into the fast with the Clean Slate so to speak
You want to go with a mindset that you are connected with God this relationship is refreshed this relationship is reestablished and so you ask God to forgive you of your sins you repent and you ask God to forgive you of your sins a couple of scriptures Acts chapter 8
Verse number 22 which says repent therefore of this thine wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee and then 1 John 1: 7-9 speaks of confessing your faults if you confess your sins he is faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all
Unrighteousness and so when you go into this fast go in it first and foremost acknowledging confessing and asking God to forgive you of your sins not only that but you want to seek forgiven foress from anyone you have offended or forgive someone that has wronged you
Mark chap 11 verse number 25 Luke chap 12 verses 3 and 4 all right you want to make sure that not only that your horizontal relationship is where it needs to be you want to make sure uh your vertical rather you want to make sure that your horizontal also is where
It needs to be your in Matthew Chapter 5 when Jesus says before you offer a gift at the altar if there’s somebody that has an ALT against you you go fix that you leave your gift at the altar and you go fix that you go restore that relationship because there’s no sense in
Going into a spiritual activity such as fasting seeking something from God when you are disconnected from his child all right and so forgiveness is is necessary vertically as as well as horizontally all right uh when you fast when you fast you want to meditate on the attributes
Of God you want to think about God if ever you just read through the Psalms all 100 and and 50 Psalms you will note that David who wrote the majority of the Psalms often reflected on God reflected on the glory of God and so when we fast
In this period we’re not spending time watching TV watching shows binge watching shows uh just to make the fast go by faster all right no you want to feel this time that you have set apart too fast with spiritual activity and so when you reflect on the attributes of
God here’s what you’re reflecting on you’re reflecting on his love you’re reflecting on his sovereignty you’re reflecting on his power his Grace his Mercy his forgiveness his wisdom his faithfulness and other qualities his his longsuffering all right and so you are dwelling on the attributes of
God but not only that when you are in this fast when you are in the middle of your fast you want to make sure that you begin your fasting and praying with an expectant heart that is not only are you needing something but you are looking to get exactly what you need
You are expecting to get from God what it is that you need from him we know Hebrews chapter 11 and verse number six uh but without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must believe that he is watch this and
That he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him so when you’re diligently seeking God pursuing God pursuing the very purpose of God uh in this fast then you ought to have an expectant heart not a heart of Doubt not a heart of fear but a heart of
Expectation I’m expecting to get something from God as a a result of this fast that I am engaged in all right and so you want to make sure real quick recap that you seek forgiveness from God that you seek forgiveness from man that you offer forgiveness to man that you
Dwell on the attributes of God and that you begin with a heart of expectation I’m looking to get some something from God as a means of connecting to him through the spiritual discipline of fasting all right you guys got that we’re GNA move right on because
We want to uh break down how you prepare yourself because it’s not prudent uh to say okay I just want to start a fast uh tomorrow and I’m just going to start a 24-hour fast tomorrow uh I’m not going to do anything but drink water water uh
For the next 24 hours you have to prepare your physical body you have to prepare your temple uh for such a fast and I’m going to show you how uh to do that now of course there are reasonable precautions uh when it comes to fasting you want to consult your
Physician hear me clearly you want to consult your physician first especially if you are taking prescribed medication or you have a chronic ailment and so you don’t want to do something that is going to hurt or harm you physically all right we want to uh make sure that we don’t we
Don’t do that and so consult to see well if I can do it how long can I do it all right because you may feel the need to do it you may feel drawn in your spirit to fast uh but you want to make sure that you are in a position physically to
Do so all right so consult your uh pH uh the objective of the fast is to make a drastic change in your eating a little easier so you can devote your full attention to God In Praise and prayer and so as you prepare your body you are preparing to make a change in
Your eating pattern so that you can spend quantitative and qualitative time with God all right in praise and in prayer so you do not want to rush into a fast you don’t want to rush into a fast you just don’t want to decide when you
Wake up you know what I’m G start a 24hour fast right now no you don’t want to rush into a fast you need to prepare your body that means that you eat smaller meals before starting to fast now I know this seems counterproductive because you may feel that if I’m going
To do a 24 hour fast then I need to hit the nearest Chinese buffet I I need to hit I need to get a big juicy steak in in a baked potato I need to make sure that I am filled so that during the course of this 24 hours I’m not needing
Anything because I’m full from what I ate before all right there’s a whole lot that could be said about that but that’s not how you want to do it you want to eat fewer meals before starting to fast you want to avoid high fat foods and you
Want to also avoid sugary foods and drinks all right you talk about getting your body ready to endure a 24hour fast when a person uh runs a marathon they don’t wake up and just say I’m going to run these 26.2 miles no they spend months and sometimes even
Years training for this Marathon all right and so when you talk about a fasting when you talk about devoting yourself spiritually to God when you talk about praising and praying and getting connected to God on a deeper level you want to make sure that your
Body is at a level that is able to sustain you as you are involved in this spiritual activity all right and so you want to uh not just eat anything you want to eat raw vegetables and fruits for two days before starting a fast what are you
Doing you are preparing your body you you know when you often eat regular food your normal diet and I know that I don’t always have the best diet I don’t always eat the right thing but when I eat the wrong thing I feel sluggish I don’t have
As much energy to do what it is that I need to do and so if you have the mindset of doing a 24-hour fast and you eat food foods that are high in fat and high in sugar and you drink uh beverages that are high in sugar it’s going to
Make you lethargic it’s going to slow your body down you’re going to be filled with fatigue and not have the energy to engage in the spiritual activities during the fast all right and so you want to prepare your body all right now while you are fasting here it is this is
What I want you to get down moving real good you guys understand and just give me a thumbs up if you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth uh in the words of Chris Tucker do you understand the words that are coming out
Of my mouth all right so now the question is preacher what do I do while I’m fasting I just shared with you a few moments ago you don’t want to engage yourself in themselves in non-spiritual activities to speed up the time to make it go faster you don’t want to uh just
Turn on Netflix or uh turn on Amazon Prime and and just watch one show after the other so that uh you can feel that time feel that Gap uh that you have chosen to fast unto the Lord Zechariah Chapter 7 verse number five if you are Desiring a maximum spiritual
Benefit set aside ample time to be alone with the Lord I’m trying to show you how to make the most of your fast whether it’s a 12h hour whether it’s 24hour fast you want to set aside ample time to be alone with the Lord you want to listen for his leading
You want to listen for his guidance the more time you spend with him the more meaningful your fasting and praying will be because it’s a fast unto him it’s all about the Lord so what I’m going to do now at this point 720 is I’m going to give you a sample
Schedule a sample schedule and then I’ll show you how to end the fast so if you’re doing a 24hour fast this is a sample schedule in the morning you want to begin your day in praise and worship whether you’re singing I love listening to GOP music on the Amazon
Alexa or Sirus radio you want to spend time in praise and worship and that can also include as we said earlier dwelling on the attributes of God how good God is how you have been a recipient of the blessings of God you devote a time in this fast for this praise and worship
That’s how you want to start you don’t want to start off uh complaining you don’t want to start off off Lord I need this Lord I need that you want to start off with a thankful Spirit Lord thank you for this I praise you for who you
Are I praise you for what you have done I praise you for what you have done in my life my life may not be all that I would like for it to be but you have been such a significant part in my life and so even amidst the problems I still
Praise you I still praise you I still worship you you want to also spend time reading and meditating on God’s word now if you are fasting for a particular reason maybe it’s for Spiritual renewal maybe you want to overcome an addiction maybe you want to overcome some area of
Weakness in your life there are many scriptures that deal with certain targeted areas uh in our lives spiritually speaking and see you want to jot down these scriptures you want to read these scriptures you want to meditate on these scriptures you want to pray these scriptures because you’re
Trying to get victory in your life over this particular area so you read and you meditate on God’s word watch this you invite God to use you all right Lord I want you to use me me all right you want to petition him on how you can influence
Your world your family your church the community the country globally Lord I just need you to use me the way that you want to use me it’s not my will it’s your will and so you’re seeking the will of God because fasting when we look at
The very first lesson a couple of weeks ago it’s about pursuing God it’s about pursuing the purpose of God for your life you want to pray for his vision for your life and the power to execute his will now you know what you want to do
You may have a vision over your life you may have a vision for your life uh you may have a vision uh from a career perspective a family perspective but wouldn’t it be more rewarding to have God’s vision for your life and to have his power running
Through you so that you are able to execute his will all right so that’s the morning begin with prayer and praise read and meditate and in your prayer invite God to use you in a mighty mighty way pray for his vision for your life Lord I want what you want for me all
Right uh in the afternoon you want to return to God’s word and so here’s what I’m saying you want to map out your fast you want to map out what you’re going to be doing at what particular time and all of this is spiritual activity all right the
Afternoon you go back to the word of God you look at other scriptures uh for strength other scriptures that reveal the attributes of God and you focus you meditate uh on these things all right you take a short prayer walk you just walk around your neighborhood walk around the community
Go to a park uh walk around look at creation look at the sky look at the clouds nahom chapter one verse number three the Bible says the clouds are the dust of God’s feet and so when you look at the nature and when you look at everything God has created it just
Causes you to fall in love with him over and over and over again again so take a short prayer walk and just thank God thank God for the simple things thank God for the oxygen thank God for your job thank God for your family just just be in awe of
Who God is and what God has done and invite him to work in your life and in the lives of others all right spend time in intercessory prayer all right pray pray for your leaders in the church pray for the cliff you leadership team pray for our elders pray for the
Ministers pray for uh the deacons uh pray for our secretary pray pray for one another that’s what intercessory prayer is you get a prayer list together and say you know what I’m going to pray for every individual on this list during my fast all right that’s intercessory
Prayer all right we’re going to pray for the world’s unreached billions when I talk about unreached I’m talking about those who are unsaved there are billions who are unsaved that need to be on our prayer list pray for our family pray uh for our friends pray for our
Co-workers uh pray for our enemies praise the mighty name of Jesus you want to fill this time with intercessory prayer fill it with intercessory prayer all right the Bible says in Romans chapter 15 verse number 30 Paul says now I beg you Brothers uh through the Lord Jesus
Christ and through the love of the spirit that you strive together with me in prayer to God for me so Paul says I’m praying for myself but I need you to strive I need you to wrestle I need you uh to wear that floor out I need you to
Pray for me me all right and so you spend this time in intercessory prayer what are you doing you are mapping out your fast you are filling your fast with spiritual activities so that you’re not tempted to involve yourself in anything that would dampen your spirit all right
Um so that’s an example for the afternoon all right uh the evening evening Solitude and that’s one of the disciplines that we’re going to discuss a little later on uh in this series of uh discipline spiritual discipline Solitude you need to get alone for some unhurried time of seeking God’s face uh
When I lived in California California uh was a culture of hurry if I called the preacher say man let’s meet for lunch he he’ll ask me how long do you need everything was hurried everything was was a Rush well in this fast you want to set time to be alone for God you
Want it to be unhurried you don’t want it to be rushed you want to seek his face uh 2 chonicles chapter 7 and verse number 14 seek the very face of God seeking the face of God implies intimacy it uh it implies Union it implies Fellowship you’re seeking the very face
Of of God Jesus often spent time in unhurried prayer he will pray for hours upon hours upon hours in a mountain by himself because he saw the value of this communication and communion With God all right here’s another thing uh if you are fasting with others Converse together talk with one
Another during the day maybe through Zoom uh FaceTime phone calls Etc this provides much needed encouragement and motivation to continue the fast well let me tell you this if you are not accustomed to fasting and you decide to do a 24hour fast it may be a couple of
Hours into it you gonna want some food you going to need somebody to encourage you Hey Brother Hey sister keep keep going keep going uh we got this we got this we are we are praying we are seeking the face of God we are getting connction to him on a deeper deeper
Level it is going to be worth it for you to to finish this objective for you to stick with your commitment to the fast we need that type of encouragement even during the midst of the fast all right you want to also avoid distractions such as television news outlets negative information there’s all
Type of negative information in the media there’s negative people that you need to steer clear of anything that will dampen your spiritual Focus you need to separate yourself from don’t let this interfere with your fast don’t let it be a monkey rid in your fast don’t
Let it destroy what it is you’re seeking to accomplish in your fast stay away from all negativity all right uh and then how to break your fast we gr closing uh how to break your your fast uh that is how do I come out of it and then start start consuming things again
Do I do I once I finish it say thank you Jesus and then head to the buffet no that’s not what you want to do because there are some physical changes uh in your body what we call physiological changes that take place uh in the body
And so you don’t want to beat the body up by overloading it with food to make up for what you didn’t eat in a 24-hour period no that’s not what you want to do uh and so there’s a process just like there’s a process to start it there’s a
Process to to break it all right do not attempt to break it with a hefty meal all right don’t do it with a hefty meal uh breaking your fast depending on the length of the fast it’s a gradual process all right you want to break an extended water fast with with fruit such
As a a watermellon right water Bellon watermellon has a whole lot of water it’s a melon with a lot of water and so you want to make sure that you get those type of nutrients in in your system you want to start off with with fruit and then uh you want to
Uh drink fruit or vegetable juices and then you want to add to that on the first day a salad now don’t go crazy on the salad all right we ain’t talked about baking bits and and and and ranch and and and cheese and sock and all this other stuff no that’s not what
We’re talking about we’re talking about a raw salad some folk may call that rabbit food what are you doing your body has gone through a significant change in a 24hour period all right it’s accustomed to to eating uh it’s accustomed to being fed uh and so when you reintroduce a diet into your
Body you want to do so slowly all right so you add a a raw salad I know that don’t sound good but that’s what you got to do if you want even the optimal uh benefits physically we’re going to talk about the spiritual and the physical benefits when we close out
The lesson on fasting on next week all right you then you want to add add a baked or boiled potato once again don’t go crazy on the potato don’t don’t no butter no seasoning what are you doing you are helping your temple you are protecting your your body your body just went
Through something now of course your spirit is high man you are on cloud 99 forget Cloud n you way past uh Cloud n spiritually you on cloud 99 but physically your body is in repair mode and you don’t want to further damage your body while it’s in prepare mode
Repair mode I’m sorry uh then you want to add a steamed vegetable all right steamed vegetable and this is really sounding like The Daniel Plan uh in Daniel chapter 1 fruits vegetables and so forth uh steamed vegetables and then you can slowly reintroduce your body to
The normal diet and so what I’ve shared with you is not only preparing yourself physically but first and foremost preparing yourself spiritually ask God to forgive you seek forgiveness from others extend forgiveness uh to others dwell on the attributes of of God understand why it is you’re fasting
What is your objective you decide you determine how long you’re going to do it if you’re doing it as an individual when we do it not not if but when we do it as a congregation then we will have a set time that we’re going to do it those who
Are able to do it those who are unable to do it for health reasons that’s completely all right we completely understand it doesn’t mean that you know you’re not gonna get all the rewards from Glory it doesn’t mean that at all all right uh but if you’re able to do it
It’s is wonderful especially when you’re doing it uh together with your brothers and sisters uh you want to make sure that you have the objective what it is you’re seeking to accomplish you want to make sure that you have scriptures written down in advance what it is you’re going to read
What it is you’re going to study what it is you’re going to meditate on not only do you want to write that down you also want to write down the list of those that you’re going to be praying for and when we really sit down and think about
Those that need our prayers it’s going to fill some pages and so it’s not going to be difficult at all to find yourself praying for an extended period of time because we all stand in the need of prayer all right and so as we go into it
We want to make sure that we prepare our body for what is going to undergo over the next 24 hours all right and so you want to eat less and less and then a couple of days before you want to eat raw fruit and vegetables you’re putting your body in preparation for what’s
Getting ready to train transpire all right and then you feel it the simple schedule you put your schedule together what’s going to happen in the morning what’s going to happen in the afternoon what are you going to do in the evening you want to fill it with spiritual
Activity because here it is if you spend time that’s dedicated for a fast watching TV you have destroyed your fast you have destroyed the very purpose of your fasting yes you’re still going without food but it’s lost its spiritual significance because it’s not being filled with spiritual activity all right does that
Make sense and so you want to make sure you map it out map it out what it is that you you want to do uh what it is uh that you want to pray for what it is you want to meditate on uh what it is
That you want to to study all right you can sing praises listen to to gospel music you want to just stay spiritually aware and spiritually conscious during the course of your fast and then as you come out of the fast um you don’t want to do so
With a heavy meal don’t go to a buffet spend a few days repairing your body uh fruit and uh fruit drinks uh vegetable drinks V8 uh other other things then you want to add a raw salad then the baked to boiled potato then you you want to slowly reintroduce your normal diet now
We’re going to look at uh some of the things that are going to take place some of the changes some of the benefits uh first and foremost spiritually but then secondly uh there are some physical benefits uh that take place as a result of the fast we’ll talk about that uh on
Next week so has this been some helpful information for you uh okay I see a question on here uh is it okay to choose sugar-free peppermint gum while fasting that’s a good that’s a good question uh because I know sometimes during the course of the fast your mouth
Can can get dried of course um you could have something and so I think that that becomes a matter of personal judgment personally I I wouldn’t I would just stick to uh the the water the water fast uh but uh it would not have I don’t think any impact negatively on on the
Spirituality of what it is we’re seeking to accomplish uh during the fast all right we want to pray for uh brother Lawler he’s asking for traveling grace for safe passage back to Dallas amen we will definitely keep brother Lawler in our prayers um let’s see all right I think that’s that’s all
We all we have all right all right so hopefully this is this is good information and that you can use it uh in your spiritual walk with the Lord as I stated uh this PowerPoint will be available to anyone who who wants it uh there’s no cost to
It whatsoever uh use it uh to study and I encourage you to further your study on fasting because there’s still a lot more more things that that we can uh glean from this significant subject because this is something that we don’t normally talk about in the Church of Christ we don’t talk about
Fasting uh in the Lord’s church it’s present in scriptures it’s present uh at the time of the selection of leaders in the New Testament uh and so yeah we want to make sure that we really understand it and incorporate it into our spiritual spiritual walk all right sister Johnny Ford yes we will
Continue to pray uh for for you uh daily daily daily definitely want to keep Sister four in our prayers Mighty soldier on the battle field want to continue to pray for her that God will bless her health uh so that she can continue to do the great things that
She’s doing uh in the kingdom of God Amen so it is 7:41 7:41 and we are going to go ahead and close out in prayer uh looking forward to this coming Sunday at 300 p.m the popup musical amen amen amen the popup musical is going to be off the chain praising
God with our brothers and sisters uh from around the Dallas Brotherhood uh just going to have a great time make sure that you wear your college gear your HBCU gear uh and it has also a fraternity sororities you want to make sure we all decked out uh you know and
Just have a great time in the Lord amen sister Helen McGee looking forward to the group fast that’s going to be awesome that is going to be awesome and perhaps we’ll get on here at a set time during the corporate fast once we decide that I’ll be talking with uh the
Leadership uh once we get that going and put it out before the church then we’ll have a set time when we get on here uh and and just or or or the zoom I believe that’ be better the zoom uh to uh to really talk and to encourage uh one another I’m looking
Forward to it uh as well uh and so if you would if you would please bow with me as we go to God In Prayer Eternal Father we come before your throne of grace and mercy we are just so ever grateful for this opportunity that you have allowed us to
To get in your word dear father and to stand fasting just a little better we just pray to father that we will be in constant preparation uh to do those things there father that would draw us closer to you we know your word says if
We draw nigh to you you will draw nigh unto us and so right now dear father we’re just praying that you will help us help us to be committed to uh this this spiritual discipline of fasting that father help us to have meaningful objectives dear father help us to to get
Closer to you dear father help us dear father with every aspect of Our Lives where we need strength and I pray now dear father for brother Lawler at this time I’m praying that you will bless him as he travels back to Dallas I pray that you will be with him protect him from
Any hurt harm or danger and dear father we’re lifting up Sister four in our prayers dear father we know that you know you are are the great physician dear father you have fearfully and you have wonderfully made her I pray now dear father that you will be with her in
This journey I pray that you will strengthen her I pray that you will give her a reasonable portion of health and strength I pray there father that the resolve in her spirit will be that much stronger dear father for her to carry out your will I just pray that you’ll be
With her dear father be with her family be with the cliff youw congregation de father as we are seeking to do your will we know that the devil is busy but we know that you’re even more busy and even more powerful and so right now de father
We just ask and we beg that you just continue to guide us protect us strengthen us and dear father we will be ever careful to give you all praise to give you all glory and to give you all honor it is in the sweet and it is in
The mighty name of Jesus that we lift this prayer amen and amen all right you guys have a wonderful wonderful um rest of the week looking forward to seeing you tomorrow on High Noon prayer looking forward to seeing all the brothers uh there this coming Saturday at our meeting and then looking forward
To seeing you on Sunday may God bless you may he keep you this is my prayer
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