Bobby Chandler - Push the Plate Aside
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Summary
In this closing message of the «Communicating with God 2.0» series, the preacher emphasizes that fasting combined with prayer is the key to hearing God on a deeper level and overcoming stubborn spiritual strongholds, drawing primarily from Matthew 17 where Jesus explains why the disciples couldn’t cast out a demon. He connects this to Jesus' own 40-day fast before His ministry and examples from Moses and Elijah, showing how denying the flesh builds spiritual strength. Ultimately, the call is to «push the plate aside"—to deny fleshly cravings through fasting—so we can feed our souls, rejoice in trials, surrender our hearts fully to God, and step boldly into the destiny He has for us.
Communicating with God: The Power of Fasting
I am finishing our series titled «Communicating with God 2.0, ” and we have been asking the question: Does God still speak with us today? The short answer to that is yes, He does. You can go home now. I’m just kidding! Don’t clap for that. No, no. But in the 2.0 series, we’ve talked about a lot of different things. We’ve talked about visions, dreams, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Key to Deeper Communication
So today, I want to close this series on a topic that many would say is the key to hearing God on a deeper level. Okay, so it’s going to be interesting, but before I tell you what that key is, if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Matthew chapter 17. So, Matthew chapter 17. Now, this is a story that God has called me to preach a few times. I’ve already spoken about this story to you guys, but every time, God shows me something different out of it.
So I want to show you something new today. In Matthew chapter 17, there is a desperate father who is in need of help because his son is demon-possessed. He cries out to the disciples and says, „Please help heal my son.“ All right? He’s a desperate father, and what the demons are doing is throwing him into the fire and into the water. So you can only imagine as a parent watching your child suffer in such a way.
A Father’s Desperate Plea
In fact, some translations would say that he looked like a lunatic. People were scared of him; they didn’t want to be around him. This father knew that there was a spiritual battle taking place. Some of you can relate to that; some of you know what it’s like to pray over your child and know that there is a spiritual battle occurring, that the devil is trying to tempt them and bring them into something that you know will lead to destruction. But I promise you, when Jesus shows up on the scene, healing takes place.
The father is reaching out to the disciples and saying, „Please heal my son.“ I don’t know if the disciples were just really scared of what was going on, but for the first time they noticed they kept trying to cast out the demon, and they were not able to. Then Jesus shows up, and it’s kind of funny to me because in the story, the father reaches out to Jesus and says, „Hey, Jesus, can you heal my son? Can you cast out this demon? Because they couldn’t.“ He’s talking about the disciples, and I kind of imagine, you know, as a child growing up, when you got in trouble and your parents gave you that glare like, you know, „Amen to that, ” looking at you like, „We’re going to have a talk later.“ That’s exactly how they felt, right? Because Jesus got onto them.
Jesus' Response and the Disciples' Question
Then Jesus comes in, rebukes the demon, and the son is healed. The father is happy. What happens after that is that the disciples kind of creep up to Jesus and say, „Hey, hey Jesus, how come we couldn’t cast out this demon? How come we didn’t have the authority to do what we’ve seen before?“ In Matthew chapter 17, verse 19, it says, „Afterward, the disciples asked Jesus privately, 'Why couldn’t we cast out that demon? '“ Then Jesus gives that famous line that many of us have heard before: „If you just have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move, and it would move.“ Right?
A lot of people do not know that the context of this scripture right here is actually about spiritual warfare. That’s what Jesus is talking about. If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, that demon has to leave. All right? That stronghold of your life has to be broken. There is healing for your life. All you have to do is trust in Jesus and have that faith. Stop being scared of the enemy; the enemy has already lost. He’s been defeated. He’s done. He’s been trampled upon. You have that authority because, guess what? Again, the Spirit of God lives inside of us, and it’s the name of Jesus that sets us free.
The Role of Prayer and Fasting
But there’s something interesting. So, in your Bibles, also look at Matthew chapter 17, verse 21. I’m going to show you the amplified version. This is a powerful scripture, but it also has controversy over it, and I’m going to tell you why in a second. Matthew chapter 17, verse 21, Jesus also said, „But this kind of demon does not go out except by prayer and fasting.“ So think about that: this type of demonic oppression will not leave your life unless you spend time in prayer communicating with God and also the biblical principle of fasting.
Now, some of you, if you’re looking in your Bible at that verse, you may not be able to find it. I don’t know if you noticed that; that’s where the controversy is because a lot of translations actually go from verse 20 to 22. The reason why some scholars believe that scribes added this in a little later is that they do not know if that’s what Matthew was trying to communicate about Jesus or if Jesus actually said that.
So the way to determine if Jesus said this or said something like it is called a cross-reference. That means looking in the Bible at other parts of the Bible, other gospels, to see what Jesus possibly said after the story. The cross-reference would be Mark chapter 9, and in Mark chapter 9, verse 29, the New Living Translation, Jesus replied, „This kind, this demon, can only be cast out by prayer.“ Okay? So this demon, this oppression, can only be cast out by prayer.
Why Some Miracles Require More
This is what Jesus is stating. This is what we know: He’s telling you some things in your life can only be gone by you talking and spending time with the Father. Right? Because a lot of times we show up on a Sunday morning, and we’re like, „God, I need a miracle. Give me a miracle! These people keep bothering me; they keep asking me to do stuff. God, I don’t even want to go with them. God, I need a miracle. I need a healing, or I need a better opportunity, or I need something to save my marriage. God, I need these things.“ And God’s saying, „Where have you been the rest of the week?“ Right?
Because it’s true. We get so busy with our lives the rest of the week that we’re kind of like, „All right, doing our own thing.“ And then we get in here like, „God, where are you?“ And God’s like, „I’ve been trying to get your attention all week. You’re a grown man; you’re still on PlayStation! What are you doing?“ There’ll be an altar call at the end; don’t worry. I know that’s a little bit of a dig at some of our guys. I love you.
But we get busy, we get busy, and God wants to speak to us. So this is what we know according to this text, okay? Jesus is stating this truth: some miracles that you want to see happen for your life require you to do something difficult through faith. Some of the miracles that you want to see happen in your life, some of the things that you’re asking God to do, will require you to have faith and do something difficult, to do something uncomfortable—to spend time with the Father.
Jesus' Example in the Wilderness
I’m telling you today, the truth is, sometimes God is calling you to fast. I was convicted last week because this love life came in. What they usually do is, the week of preparation for a church to come out, they say, „Okay, midweek, why don’t you fast?“ And I started to think about it. I don’t know if our church is fully ready yet or understands the biblical principle of what fasting stands for.
Okay, I grew up in the Baptist church, and I was kind of like, „Okay, you’re telling me I can’t eat?“ That’s what we do! We have potlucks, and we pray over fried chicken! Like, that’s what we do! What are you telling me? I can’t eat? What is that going to do for me? I’m hungry. Let me show you this. This was very important to Jesus—very important to Jesus.
Let me make this point: before Jesus ever preached a sermon, before Jesus ever raised the dead, before Jesus even called on His first disciple, you know what He did? He went into the wilderness, and He fasted. Isn’t that something? As soon as the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus in all of His fullness at John’s baptism, the scripture tells us this in Matthew chapter 4, verse 1: „Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.“
Now a lot of us would be like, „Why would that happen next?“ Right? The Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus in all of His fullness, and the very next thing the Holy Spirit tells Him to do is go into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. That’s like you joining next steps, and we’re celebrating your salvation, and we’re like, „Okay, all right, next, you’re going to be spending 40 days being tempted by the devil.“ Most of you would be like, „I’m out of here! That’s not what I signed up for! Where’s my miracle? Where’s my joy? Where’s my family? I want this restoration! I want this healing!“ But I don’t want to go through the process of a wilderness because that doesn’t sound appealing. It sounds crazy. You wouldn’t think that would be the next step.
Strength Through Denial
So why would the Holy Spirit lead Him there? Why would the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil? Because He would need to fast for 40 days and 40 nights to have the strength to overcome every obstacle that He was about to face. Think about that! You know what the devil did? The first thing the devil tempted Jesus with was food—was food! Some of us would say, „Amen! I know that struggle every day; I’m praying over that!“
Let me show you Matthew chapter 4, verse 2 and 3. „For 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus fasted, and He became very hungry. During that time, the devil came to Him and said, 'Hey, if you are the Son of God, prove it! Prove that you’re the Son of God! ' Right? Just me and you, Jesus, come on, prove it right now! If you’re the Son of God, then what I want you to do is take one of these stones, and I want you to make it a loaf of bread. Come on! You know your body’s hungry! You know you crave it! You know this is what you want in your life! Why not just do it? If you have the authority and the power to do it right now, then just do it!“
But what did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus to do? To fast for 40 days, to spend time with the Father. And the Holy Spirit, remember, communicates to us by who? The Father! This was what God was telling Him to do. This is what Jesus was being led to do by the Father. He knew that He could not give in to this!
And it made me think because you know what it’s like to be on that new diet, and all of a sudden, you’re like, „Okay, I’ve been doing good now! Right? It’s been a month; I’m looking skinnier! All right, this is working! I like this!“ And then all of a sudden, everybody and their mama comes up to you and says, „Hey, you know what? There’s a good place to go eat! I’ll get you food!“ Come on, lovingly, in a church manner, look them in the eyes and say, „I rebuke you in the name of Jesus! For you, I’m going to take my celery stick and keep walking!“ Okay? Because I don’t need that. I got goals. You got goals. But it’s hard to reach sometimes; it’s hard to get there. Sometimes you’re going to have to deny what your body craves. Jesus knew that He could not allow Himself to be controlled by His appetite.
Cravings of the Flesh
I want you to think about that. Jesus knew that He could not allow Himself to be controlled by the cravings of the flesh because we know what that’s like. You know, it breaks my heart because my wife and I have been talking just this week about our culture today. There’s like a spirit of self—have you noticed that? A spirit of self? „Like, I’m going to do this for me.“ And I’ve seen people be confused by this idea because they have left what they love the most to pursue their self. And it’s just selfishness, and you can see it, but it’s like they’re blind; they don’t even know what’s happening! Right?
And when I look at Jesus, He taught us that true love, first of all, is a commitment, but it’s selflessness. It’s selflessness. „I’m going to give up myself.“ But I realize it’s just that people don’t know how to—they don’t understand the biblical principle of even just fasting and giving up something for maybe a day, maybe an hour. We have everything that we want at our fingertips; anything that I desire, any information that I need to know, I can do it right now! I can tell you all kinds of things. Why? Because we’re used to that instant gratification! But some things God is going to tell you, „If you really want that miracle, you’re going to have to say no!“ Because your body is going to want all kinds of things; your flesh is going to crave it.
Push the Plate Aside
So the title of today’s message is this: „Push the Plate Aside.“ So let me ask you this question: What do you crave? What do you crave? What do you crave the most? If you could have any food, what would it be? Right? Because the temptation just got real! All right, I’m showing you right now. I’m looking at this thing. Fun fact about me: every Sunday morning, I don’t eat anything until after service. I don’t touch anything. I don’t need breakfast. I don’t want anything in my stomach. I spend that time fasting, and then after service, I’ll go eat.
Part of that reason is because, yeah, I’m a public speaker. I really don’t want a lot of food in my belly while I’m speaking to you. Okay? It wouldn’t be comfortable. But at the same time, it’s because I’ve realized that when I get here, I want my mind, my heart, and my soul to be completely dedicated to God because He has entrusted me to speak to you the Word, and I don’t take that lightly. I want to make sure that when I’m here, I am fully focused.
Everybody who is here early in the morning—they see me coming here; I yell at them, „Good morning!“ Then I disappear for a while. The reason that is, is because I am in my office, and I’m praying to the Lord, and I’m going over His Word on what He wants me to speak. That’s the only thing I want to concentrate on because I know that’s what changes lives; it’s living and breathing, like I’ve said, and it is powerful.
But I also got to be honest with you: I crave doughnuts, and the church is like the biggest temptation on a Sunday—not to eat doughnuts! I don’t know what’s going on with Kirk, but last week he brought doughnuts in the back, and we got to have a meeting this week about that. I don’t know what you’re trying to do! I’m having fun with you all today; it’s cool! But it’s hard sometimes.
Look at this plate. We got some good stuff. We got doughnuts, chocolate doughnuts; we got Pringles. I’ve never seen you all so awake as this morning! I’m telling you! We got Reese’s, we got Starbursts, we got all these things. What if—I’m serious—what if I couldn’t control my cravings? What if I ate this entire plate? Fun trip to the hospital, right? But what if I just ate everything? I couldn’t control myself; I just gave in to my flesh. Anything that I wanted to eat that looks good, I can eat that now! What’s stopping me? What’s stopping me?
Feeding Flesh vs. Feeding Soul
And if I ate this entire plate, do you know how I would feel on this stage? Sick! I need you to understand that when I feed my flesh whatever it wants, it makes me sick in the end. A sugar rush, and my stomach would probably be making noises that would make you not want to come back. But I feel sick in the presence of God, and I realize that’s what people don’t understand. They come into the presence of the Lord, but they’ve been feeding their flesh all week but not the spirit, and they feel sick in His presence.
And they feel like, „Okay, God, there’s a disconnect. I’m not hearing your voice! The pastor’s talking about You wanting to communicate with me, but where are You?“ But anything and everything the devil puts out in front of you, because I promise you, now every time he puts it out in front of you, it’s a big plateful, and it’s full of stuff that will satisfy your flesh. It’s full of the things that you want to eat and just bring into your life and you crave.
So I want to ask you: Are you feeding your flesh, or are you feeding your soul? Because I realize demons stay in your life when all you do is feed your flesh. And the reason why is because you keep feeding the beast. You want a miracle? You want this out of your life, but you can’t control your actions. Maybe it’s your mouth; maybe it’s what you allow into your life; maybe it’s the things, the routine that you have to do—if you don’t do it perfectly, your life’s out of whack, and you’ve had a bad day, and everybody knows it.
And so I want to tell you right now: it is time to push the plate aside because it’s deeper than food. For some of you, the plate in front of you is recognition. You crave it! „I have to get the recognition! I have to prove to people that I worked hard, and this is what I deserve!“ Right? „I need success in everything that I do.“ For many of us, the culture in the world has gotten us, and so many people just feed their flesh with lust! Lust! Or maybe it’s this passion for this romance, this mysterious romance—this is what makes life exciting! And you’re constantly craving it, but it’s never satisfying. It just makes you sick!
For some of you, it’s control. „I gotta prove to everybody that I’m strong, because all my life, everybody said I was weak.“ What did God say about you? When are you going to listen to that? What has God said about you? He created you in His image. You don’t think you have a purpose? And the devil knows it, so every time you start stepping into the way—because God always provides a way, but you’ve got to walk into it—the devil puts out that plate.
What Is Biblical Fasting?
And it’s through biblical principles like fasting that we learn, „I’m going to push the plate aside. I don’t need it! Lord, all I need is You!“ So let me ask this question: What is fasting according to the Bible? Yes, it does mean to deny ourselves food in order to seek God more. It means denying our flesh so that we can rely on God when we feel weak—to realize that He is strong when we feel like we can’t keep going or we can’t make it, right?
But also, what I think is interesting is that there is a strong connection between fasting and a season of testing. I’m going to say that again: there is a strong connection between fasting and a season of testing. Jesus fasted for how many days? 40. The number 40 in the Bible means a period of testing. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. Jonah warned the people of Nineveh for 40 days. Every time you see the number 40, it is a period of testing in your life. It is a season of trials.
So what if God is telling you now, „Hey, I need you to learn this principle because I need you to rely on My strength because there are going to come seasons of trials and testing.“ And God says, „I want you to make it through! I want you to see that when people talk about you and things don’t go your way, life is not over. I got you!“ And guess what’s going to happen? They talk about you now—just wait till I get you to where I’m taking you. They’ll really talk about you then! But they’ll see the glory of God, and they can’t deny that. And it’s realizing, „Okay, this may be hard, but God is still good when you push the plate aside.“
The Transfiguration Connection
Let’s look at something else that’s interesting in chapter 17. Right? So we talked about that Jesus comes in, heals the boy, and rebukes the demon. But I want to see where Jesus was right before that because that’s not the beginning of Matthew chapter 17. But in chapter 17, verses 2 and 3, we see this story where Jesus, for six days, led a few disciples—He led Peter, James, and John—upon a high mountain. So remember that: He led them up on a high mountain. And on the seventh day, His appearance transformed.
Now, this is really cool because on the way here this morning, the sun was coming up, and I mean, it was so bright I could barely see. And I thought about that because, out of scripture, the Son of God, His face was shining so bright—I don’t think we really fathom that a lot—or the presence of God being so bright, the light of the world! He truly is the light, and no darkness can stand. So imagine being in that presence!
So they’re with Him, Peter, James, and John, and all of a sudden, they’re upon this high mountain, and Jesus does this. Matthew chapter 17, verse 2 and 3: „As the men watched, Jesus’s appearance was transformed, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light.“ What would you do? Wow! We get to see the glory of Christ like this! God, I’m honored! And yet He wants this for every one of you! Remember, there’s no special group. He wants this for you—to experience this, to know Him in this way.
And then all of a sudden, it says next, „Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.“ What’s funny is the scripture is pretty much like Peter’s like, „Whoa! Whoa! You see what’s going on? Like, Moses, can you sign this rock, please? I’ll take it back home!“ Right? He’s just like, „I can’t believe this is happening! It’s like, ‘Hey, I’ll go get tents! I’ll go make sure everything is perfect for you guys! It’s going to be great! ’“
And as he’s talking, more takes place. Matthew chapter 17, verse 5: „But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to Him! '“ And the disciples did what we would all do—they fell face down. There is something powerful about understanding how big God is and how small we are! It’s very powerful to understand how much God is in control, that His very presence would blind you and pierce your heart.
The Freedom in Fasting
A lot of us go through the week without ever being in any type of way of submission before the Lord! I’m saying, I don’t know what to do because I’ll be honest with you: it’s hard to push the plate aside. It’s hard! Your friends are going out, and they’re doing that. It’s hard to say no, or it’s hard to get back in the Word. It’s hard to not want to control things. It’s hard to not keep feeding my flesh from my ego or want the success of my life. It’s hard to say no.
But it’s those principles that put you back on track. And you know what? You know what’s so great about fasting? It’s freeing! It’s so freeing! I’m not controlled by my body anymore! Because a lot of people believe that lie that they have to give in to the sin! Jesus set you free! But the only way you’re going to believe it is to deny your body! „I don’t want that! I don’t care if my body craves it! I will crave God’s Spirit more; His presence!“
Did you know that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah had something very special in common? Remember? Remember I told you Jesus led them up the mountain? But all three of them had also fasted for 40 days each. Exodus chapter 34, verse 28: „Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights, and in all that time, he ate no bread and drank no water.“ Guess what he received from God? The Ten Commandments, because the only thing he desired was the voice of God! He didn’t care about food!
Can you imagine? You know we joke about it. Every church I’ve been in growing up, there’s always that joke: „Hey, we’re gonna end shortly so we can go eat.“ But what if it was the other way around? „We’re going to get full off the presence of God“ because that’s the only thing that’s going to satisfy my cravings, and my body can wait because what I have right now will make me full forever! I’ll never be thirsty again!
See, God wants you to have this relationship with Him. So Moses, for 40 days and 40 nights, fasted upon the mountain of God. In 1 Kings chapter 19, verse 8, the Amplified Version talking about Elijah says that he got up, ate, and drank, and with that strength of that food, guess what? He traveled 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Sinai, this is the mountain of God! And it was at that moment that he also heard from the Lord in a gentle whisper wind.
And this is why a lot of people say it’s the key to hearing God on a deeper level because you’re telling everything that your body wants, „I don’t have time for that right now! The only thing that I need in my life is to hear from God so that I’m not sick anymore! So I don’t feel so full off the world! So I’m not constantly thinking about my regrets and my mistakes! But instead, I’ve been set free!“ This is a powerful thing about fasting.
Three Reasons to Push the Plate Aside
So here’s what I want to do before we leave today. I’m going to give you three points on why you need to push the plate aside at times in your life. Point number one is this: You learn how to rejoice and not complain. I’m going to say that again. You learn how to rejoice and not complain!
I think everybody in this room has that one friend on Facebook, and you know if they’re having a good day or a bad day depending on their status because they’re going to let you know all about it. „Well, I went to the grocery store, and this person gave me a look, and now my whole week’s ruined!“ Right? You know those people! Do you rejoice, or do you complain when God is giving you a mission? Do you rejoice, or do you complain? It makes a difference.
Matthew chapter 6, verses 16-18: „When you fast, do not make it obvious. Do not do as the hypocrites do, for when they do it, they want to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for fasting.“ Now listen to this warning: „I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will get.“ You want to be legalistic in it? You want to get the credit? Then that’s your reward, and you’re not going to hear from God on a deeper level. Why? Because God always wants your heart. He wants your heart more than anything else because that’s a true relationship! That’s commitment, and that’s love—to know Him.
And Jesus said this: „Hey, so when you fast, comb your hair.“ It’d be a good thing to do anyway! Comb your hair! Unless you have curly hair—wash your face! Right? Don’t let people know that you’re struggling because when the Father sees you, He will reward you. And that’s a powerful principle to remember—that when you’re going through a trial, but you believe and you praise God that He’s going to do something, then don’t complain to everybody because it’s two-sided.
Like, if they’re watching you through the process and all you do is gripe and complain, „I can’t believe this is happening! Why would God do this?!“ And those people keep talking their breaths. It’s like, „I don’t want to be around them!“ Blah, blah, blah, blah! And then the miracle comes and you’re like, „Oh, praise Jesus!“ Well, you seem like two different people! Did you trust God, or did you not? Right?
Don’t complain because I realize when we complain to people, especially about doing something for God, all we’re trying to do is feed our flesh, not our spirit. Be careful when God is calling you to do something humble: do not showcase it to the world! Right? Do not showcase it to the world. Be very careful about that because it should be between you and God. Why are you doing this? Right? Because there’s a major difference.
Rejoice in the Secret Place
Let me show you why. Because if we’re fasting and I want to complain about it, this is how I sound: „Oh man, I’m so hungry! Oh man, I can’t believe I’m doing this! I haven’t eaten all day; it’s been like two hours!“ Some of you know the real—it’s been two hours! „That sandwich looks good! Can I smell it?“ Like, some people are extra, and you know who you are. You’re like, „I’m not going to eat that, but can I smell it real quick?“ There’s kind of a—you know, this is a weird sermon today! I’m sorry!
We’re trying to tell people, „Hey man, look what I’m doing for God, ” and you’re complaining about every bit of it. But you know what happens when I flip that around? „All right! I don’t need people’s approval for this, but I run to God!“ And here’s the difference: „God, I’m hungry and I’m tired, and I’m weak, and I feel like I have nothing left to give in this season. Will you please satisfy my soul?“ And right there, God does something that nobody else could ever do, and He satisfies your soul! He fills you up!
And what happens is you learn to rejoice in the Lord even when life is hard, and that reward is more filling than any plate Satan could offer you, any plate the world could offer you. „God, I’m struggling! This temptation—I can’t do it! But I’m going to try! Now I got to learn! God, it’s hard to forgive them, but I don’t want to look like them, so I got to learn! I just hold!“ It’s hard to hold back, but I know if I hold back, what You have for me is better! So I need You! I want to know what it’s like to be that sinner at the well that knows Your love and You give me that drink of water, and You free me! I want to be full on You! And we rejoice instead of complain.
Giving Your Heart Fully to God
My second point is this: fasting gives your heart to God, and I’ll say it on a deeper level: fasting gives your heart to God on a deeper level. There’s another warning in Isaiah chapter 58, verse 3. The people were crying out, and they said to God, „We’ve been fasting, Lord! We fasted before You! Why aren’t You impressed?“ That’s real! „God, I gave last week; where’s my blessing? Why aren’t You impressed? God, I served; why aren’t You impressed? God, I invited somebody to church! I said no to the plate one day, but then life was still hard; why aren’t You impressed? Look at me, look what I’m doing!“ Everybody is suffering because of Your rules! They said, „We’ve been very hard on ourselves, God! We’ve been fasting, and You didn’t even notice!“
Oh man, look at God’s reply! God says, „I will tell you why.“ This reminds me of the book of Job: „Hey, how about you face Me like a man and listen up? I’m going to tell you why! Because everything that you’re doing is fasting. It’s not to please Me, but it’s to please yourself! It’s to make your flesh full! You want to complain about the journey? You won’t even want my living water!“
What I have for you—these biblical principles that you complain about because you don’t want to give, because you don’t want to serve, because you don’t want to get more involved—don’t you understand it’s also the process of healing? Because when you give, you give up something, and you give your very best, and I promise you I’ll give you my best! And when you serve, you’re an example of the Son who came to serve and not be served! You’re learning what you need to learn to overcome! It requires discipline.
In the world we live in today, Christians as believers, it is time to be spiritually mature! I’m not craving a show! God, I don’t even want to be entertained! And I love that one worship song where he says, „Forgive me for coming to You for the blessing! Always running to You for the blessing, but the biggest blessing is just to be allowed to be in Your presence!“
Peter saw the face of Jesus shining! That’s what you get to sit and be in and pray together! When Jesus fasted for 40 days, He was in solitude, and He didn’t come out saying, „You know what, guys? Look at me! 40 days! Put my name on the list—let’s get wings!“ No! I’ve decided—and look, it’s okay! It’s a church; it’s okay for the pastor to encourage you guys! There are going to be times I’m going to encourage you to fast. There are going to be times I encourage you to pray. But if your heart’s not in it, it doesn’t change anything for you! Okay? It’s got to be your decision.
And so I made the decision a long time ago: this is my stance on fasting. When I fast, you won’t know it! You’re not going to know it! Now, when I’m dieting for fitness, you’re going to know it! I’m going to tell you something! But when I’m fasting for the Lord? No! Because that’s between me and God, and I want to learn to overcome my flesh more and more. Man, why is this so important?
Stepping Into Your Destiny
My last point is this: fasting trains us to step into our destiny. In the beginning of the series, I told you God wants to communicate with you so that you can step into your destiny—the desire that He has for your life. And after fasting for 40 days, it was then that Jesus stepped into His destiny, prepared to face every difficulty known to mankind, because you need to remember some miracles that you want to see happen for your life require you to do something difficult through faith.
Because God knows this! Did you know that God knows when you’re not ready to fight your cravings? And it’s real! And it can be hard sometimes! „But God, I have this talent! I want to use this talent for You!“ „Yeah, yeah, that’s true! God says, 'I gave you that talent, but you’re not ready to fight that craving for attention! '“
Because if I allow you into that position, that full plate of attention is going to get to you, and it’s going to crush the very talent I put in you! „But God, I want to be a leader!“ „Okay, I feel anointed!“ „You are, but you’re still craving too much of the world.“ „I’m not giving up on you. This is what we all walk through. But until you learn to be humble and push the plate aside, that position that you desire will ruin you and the people you lead.“
It’s a hard truth to really look at the plate that we’ve been eating off of for a long time. And it’s time to push the plate aside! And that’s what’s so powerful about fasting! God wants to train you to seek Him and see that there’s nothing else in this world that can compare!
I’m going to ask you to stand right here, and it can be a dangerous thing when you’re not ready to fight your cravings, because since the very beginning, Adam and Eve could not fight their one craving. „You could eat of everything in the garden; it’s not this one thing!“ What did they do? And because they couldn’t fight that craving, sin came into this world, and we feel it! Man, we feel it, and it’s heavy. And we can blame them, but we would do the same thing.
But even at that moment, God says, „It’s not over, because I’m going to make a way!“ And in the very beginning of Genesis, God says, „My Son will crush the head of the serpent, ” and that battle has already been won! It has been spoken! And my people, my believers, will be forgiven and set free and restored and redeemed, and they will learn how to stand strong upon the foundation of God because every plate that comes their way, as the world feeds off of it, we throw it out of our way! God, through You, the enemy cannot stand, and I pray in the name of Jesus that You keep leading us here, that You keep leading us and guiding us to see Your glory and to overcome!