Fasting for the Next Great Awakening: Sept 8 - Oct. 17, 2009
Week One: God’s Chosen Fast
Enter into Rest through Christ’s Death, Burial & Resurrection.
Honor also those who died on 9/11
From the Cross at Calvary, Jesus declared for all the universe and every power and principality in heaven and earth, “It is Finished!” Scripture records that the earth shook, the sky darkened, the temple veil was rent from top to bottom, and the graves of the saints were opened when Jesus finished His work and exhaled His last breath. Many of these saints that took up mortal life again, went on to live among the first century church, testifying of Christ and His resurrection!
Just as God finished all His works on the seventh day and entered into rest, Christ having triumphed over principalities, unlocking the doors of death and hell and leading out the righteous souls in a pageant of victory, ascended on High and sat down! There are a lot of believers who have been battling, standing on the promises of God, standing for the breakthrough, standing in faith for victory. But Psalm 110:1 declares, “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” The mightiest earthly kings don’t stand in order to exercise power. They sit peacefully in their position of authority and simply make the decree! Enter the finished works! We are seated in heavenly places, seated in Christ at the right hand of the Father, and are anointed and ordained to reign and rule in His authority on the earth.
There is Ease in the Glory:
Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. Exodus 24:16-18
On the seventh day – the Sabbath, the day of rest ordained by God –God called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud and said, “Come on into my glory. Come into My presence.” It is a picture for us as the Church. Mountains represent spiritual authority. God’s glory is the effulgence of His Person, His authority, His Presence, His power. He calls each of us to “Come up here,” like John, who entered the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. Exiled and in sentenced to hard labor in the quarries of Patmos for his faith, John entered into God’s rest. He saw the Lamb on the throne, the One who is worthy to open the scrolls, the One who will judge the kingdoms of this world.
There is an ease in the glory. Just as Moses entered into the perfect rest of the finished victories of God when he came into that cloud of glory, we each can enter into the glory of Christ’s victory. He has invited us to His Mountain, the Chief Mountain, from where all His authority won at Calvary flows down from the Head to His Church.
Rule in the Midst of Your enemies:
Psalm 110 continues in verse 2, “The Lord shall send forth the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!” Whether we like it or not we are in a battle. It is a battle against spirits. It is a battle against the spirit of antichrist. It is a battle against powers and ideologies that hate the gospel advancing in the earth. It is a battle against the liberties that Christ died to apprehend for the human race. Our battle against spiritual enemies and forces of wickedness is already settled in heaven. Jesus is the King who rules from Zion. He is in us and with us because after He ascended to heaven and sat down on His throne, He poured out His Spirit. As He assured His disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7 We are His Kingdom of Priests, anointed and ordained in the power of the Holy Spirit to reign on the earth. Our weapons are spiritual weapons of prayer and fasting. These are mighty weapons and in the name of Jesus we have confidence that God is with us and will give us breakthrough and victory over every power and principality that opposes the reign of God and oppresses the people.
It is the season for miracles! Our foundation is the power of the blood covenant we have with God in Jesus Christ. Heb. 4:3 “For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: ‘So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest,’ although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” Jesus’ finished work at Calvary is the pillar by which we can enter His rest.
The Fast God Has Chosen:
What challenge are you facing? What miracle do you need? Jesus said, “This kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting” (Mk 9:29). Is. 58:6 states, “Is this not the fast I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” This season for miracles is not just about our lives as individuals but it’s about our nation and about the church in our nation. We are praying for the next great awakening. President Woodrow Wilson said, “America was born a Christian nation.” We need a rebirth!
God told Solomon, “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and turn and heal their land.” This battle calls for the people of God, Christians, to take their responsibility as the priests of the Lord, to humble themselves and in one great appeal to heaven, call upon His name. As when He answered Solomon, we are believing for His glory to come again and fill the whole nation as one house once again.
In the days of the first great awakening, founder, framer and forefather of America, Benjamin Franklin, said,
In 1739 arrived among us from Ireland the Reverend Mr. Whitefield, who had made himself remarkable there as an itinerant preacher. He was at first permitted to preach in some of our churches; but the clergy, taking a dislike to him, soon refus'd him their pulpits, and he was oblig'd to preach in the fields. The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended his sermons were enormous, and it was matter of speculation to me, who was one of the number, to observe the extraordinary influence of his oratory on his hearers, and bow much they admir'd and respected him, notwithstanding his common abuse of them, by assuring them that they were naturally half beasts and half devils. It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem'd as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro' the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.
Franklin helped to publish Whitefield’s sermons also financed orphanages the evangelist founded. Within that generation God awakened through the preaching of the gospel America was birthed. Many of her founders were among those going about in the streets singing psalms.
Leaders of Great Awakening were all fasting people. The first sparks of revival burned in the heart of America through the preaching of Jonathan Edwards. He was so weak from fasting that he had to clutch the pulpit to deliver his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Accounts report that his parishioners were so convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit that they so moaned, shrieked, and cried out for salvation when confronted with the reality of their spiritual condition. Physically weakened, but spiritually empowered, Edward’s sermon resounded across New England and re-awakened the sleeping colony to her destiny. Francis Asbury, John Wesley, George Whitefield were all men who made fasting a primary part of their spiritual discipline, and carried a flaming torch of the gospel that continued the wave of the Awakening in England and America, preparing the ground for nationhood and liberty. Before He began His earthly ministry, Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to fast and pray for forty days. Luke 4 records that He came back in the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah brings it all together as he calls for a return to the Lord, to His ways and to honor for His word: If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Is. 58:13-14). Through the sacrifice of death Jesus became a curse that we might be redeemed from every curse, oppression and stronghold and into the blessings of Abraham. As He sat down as King enthroned over the world, its kingdoms and all it’s inhabitants He also poured out Spirit. May we enter humbly into this season of fasting as we recognize that it is not by our own wisdom or ability but by His Spirit we possess our freedoms. For “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” When we do the fasting and praying, God does the pouring out!
September 11 is Patriot’s Day
By special presidential proclamation the Congress passed a bill in Dec of 2001, naming the anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks as Patriot day. As we fast and pray, remembering the death of our Savior, we also honor the memory of the 2,976 innocent victims who died in those attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001. May God’s gracious favor be upon their families and loved ones, bringing comfort to those who grieve. We honor the courage of rescue workers and ask for guidance for our leaders. Let this be a time of remembrance, repentance and renewal, and may the world see a strong America, one nation under God’s care and keeping. May America never forget the Source of her liberties.
Do not forget the scenes of thousands of innocent people crushed to death and burned in this violent attack of terror. We want to know the principality we are facing – the spirit of violent Islamic Jihadism. On this Patriot day we are going to honor the memory of the patriots and victims of 9-11, not sing politically correct songs. These attacks are an affront to liberty in America and across the nations, and we are going to continue to battle through the victory of the Lord at Calvary against the violent spirit and dark powers that would like to dominate and manipulate the nations through fear.
As we pray we pray for an awakening, we pray for a restoration of the American patriot spirit of our forefathers who pledged their own lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for the cause of liberty which they saw as the providence of Almighty God in the founding of our nation. Let us arise once again in the Spirit of the Lord to pursue, overtake and recover all of our rich heritage as Christians and as Americans. “For the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” Deut. 20:4 “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
*If you are unfamiliar with fasting or would like to be further equipped in this powerful spiritual discipline, you may find practical guidelines and spiritual foundations in my classic book, The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting.
All rights reserved. No part of this message can be used without permission. © 2009
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Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda, 9/8/2009 |
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