The Spiritual Benefits of Fasting | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter

come on if you're not already standing will you stay with me right now we got so much to thank god for tonight we've got so much to praise him look what god has done look what god has done look what god has done oh thank the lord come on let's give him a good handclap offering right now oh look what god has done if you have your bibles would you join me in the book of ezra ezra chapter number eight and we'll begin reading at verse number 21 ezra chapter 8 and verse number 21 while you're looking for that passage of scripture i want to say praise the lord to everyone and it's so good to to be back home since carpenter and i were preaching an anniversary service over in savannah tennessee over the weekend and we're so thankful to be back home and the 2021-22 school year is off and running man it is we are off to a great school year the hallways are packed we have a record attendance of students and we're just looking for we had to parent-teacher student orientation here on tuesday morning and i'll tell you i took a picture of this and this auditorium was just practically filled with parents and the students getting ready for a great school year and i'm just so thankful would you uh tonight would you give our faculty a hand right now they are doing such a wonderful job they are doing such a wonderful job they have already come to me and told me already brother carpenter we got to build we're out of classrooms we we're uh we're out of classrooms we got to build and god's will will be done in all of that amen ezra 8 and verse number 21 then i proclaimed a fast there at the river of ahava that we might afflict ourselves before our god to seek of him a right way for us comma and for our little ones comma and for all of our substance pray with me right now father i love you and i thank you lord as we are on a spiritual journey drawing close to you by calling a corporate fast on wednesdays lord as we are drawing closer to you god through denying our flesh and god drawing closer to you lord in prayer i just pray tonight that you would anoint my lips of clay that i would be able to take your word and once again lord show this wonderful group of people the blessings and the benefits god of anything that's in your word i asked tonight that you would anoint me i asked tonight lord you would open the hearts in jesus mighty name we pray amen and amen you may be seated god bless you for standing in honor of the reading of the word of god it is definitely proof positive that fasting fasting gets the attention of god fasting gets the attention of god fasting prepares us for what god is going to show us through fasting or where god is going to take us through fasting fasting is something that god ordained that conditions our heart fasting conditions our heart for what god desires to do in our lives now let me say tonight that if you haven't been disciplined to fast i'd like to operate a word of wisdom to you tonight please start out slow it may be good you may have something to celebrate you may have something to celebrate if you fast a meal or if you fast two meals you may have something to celebrate do not despise the day of small things do not despise the day don't get in your mind unless it's a three day fast a seven day fast a 21 day fast or a 40 day fast that you're not fasting can i tell you that a continual small spiritual effort can reap huge spiritual benefits so don't write it off don't write off i promise you that no one ever obtained what you would call an extended fast until they first conquered a small fast and i i want to just on the out at the outset of this bible lesson tonight say do not despise small things that you do for god do not despise that it was ezra who was leading the people of god back from captivity back to jerusalem to rebuild jerusalem to re-establish their worship to re-establish that their children and they themselves would be taught the wonderful life-changing word of god but ezra knew that between where he was at in jerusalem was bands of robbers with all kinds of dangers that lurked everywhere he knew that we are going to take our children and we're going to take our substance our wealth and we're going to leave one protective city and go to jerusalem and in between a protective city and jerusalem would be many dangers many risk the risk of being slaughtered by uh by bands of robbers that would have no mercy that would kill the children that would take away their wealth and so ezra did a very wise thing he called for a fast he proclaimed a fast he told the people before we ever leave i want us to proclaim a fast you see it there in chapter 8 verse 21 i want us to proclaim a fast and he says it he says this fast is intended that god would show us if you wouldn't mind to put that verse back on the screen please ezra 8 and 21 he said here's the purpose of this fast we're not just fasting to be fasting we are fasting that we might as verse 21 says to seek god for a right way for us we want to fast for god to show us the right way we want to fast because we are placing our little ones in danger now i happen to know this congregation very well and i know that our pride and joy is our children and our grandchildren and i know tonight that we have close to our hearts what we want best for our children is for our children to serve god ezra said we need to know the right way to go because we're taking our children with us and not only that and i i really like the fact that he names material things last because material things are last they do not take the place of your children you can lose a lot of material things but thank god for your children many i've heard many a father and mother after getting the phone call bishop croucher after they got the phone call from that son or daughter saying mom dad i've been in a car accident and i've heard them say son daughter thank god you're alive we can buy another car but thank god thank god that you are alive look at how ezra look at how ezra if you would please leave the verse on there leave the verse on the screen if you see how that he says for our little ones and for our substance we are seeking god for our little ones this fast that we're on this fast that we're doing this wednesday fasting it's for our little ones it's for our children and it's for for our substance well you have never fasted you have never refused a meal to what god did not take note of it that's verse 21 ezra 8 21 now look at ezra 8 23 just a verse or so later so we fasted and besought our god for this and he was entreated of us that's another way of saying he heard our prayer and he answered our fast that's another way of saying that don't don't allow the adversary don't allow your flesh to tell you it's not doing any good it may not be you may seem like at the moment it's killing you but i promise you i promise you god is going to be entreated for what we're doing there is a god that saw us pushing our plates back today there is a god that that that was with us every time we wanted to go to the refrigerator every time we wanted to eat a bite but we reminded ourselves today's fast day we're fasting for god to move we're fasting for god to be upon us i'm glad to preach to your teach to you verse number 23 and he was entreated of us he heard us he saw that fast there and go down to verse number 31 he not only heard us he not only saw us then we departed verse 31 then we departed from the river ahava on the 12th day of the first month to go into jerusalem and the hand of our god was upon us and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and as such as lay in weight by the way now stop and just think about this scripture here they called a fast verse 23 god was entreated they had a they had a moment that they felt like we god has answered this god has saw this now let's move on and when they moved on the bible says that the hand of god they said in verse 31 and the hand of god was upon us however they knew that you know that's something about just knowing god's upon your life isn't it and there's just something about the peace of god that no we you just know i call it the green light you just know the hand of god is upon your life and then look at this and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy that one verse tells me that they were approached by the enemy they were approached by the enemy but because a fast had been proclaimed and a fast had been obeyed the enemy was not able to put their hand upon them and then not only from the enemy and of such as lay in weight by the way look at what this fast did this fast was proved positive as they began their journey from one city to the other as they opened up and become vulnerable to robbers and thieves along the way because they had fasted and they had got the attention of their god they saw the enemy but the enemy's hand did not prevail against them there were those that laid traps for them but their traps did not work because they had proclaimed a fast now go to verse number 32 and we came to jerusalem and abode there three days from from ezra 8 21 to ezra 8 32 they have reached their goal they were leaving and they were fearful because they were taking with them their children and their substance and they really didn't even know the way to go and so they proclaimed a fast before they took one foot one step they proclaimed a fast and somehow they felt like god heard them and they began to march and god protected them from the enemy god showed them the way god kept them from all the robbers and they came to jerusalem they got to where they had fasted and they wanted to go church i'm telling you there are spiritual benefits to fasting there are things that god wants to show us there's levels that god wants to take us to but we have got to be willing to show god that we mean business god we really mean business god and we will push back our plate for a meal for a day we will push back our plate and i'm just as convinced that god is no respecter of persons if god answered ezra's fast god's going to answer our fast in this church god's going to take us and god's going to lead us will go with me to the book of nehemiah nehemiah chapter 1 and verse 4. nehemiah is captive and he hears the horrible report of jerusalem being laid waste the rocks and the walls were pulled down the people that once lived in jerusalem was in great reproach and the bible says in nehemiah chapter 1 verse number four and it came to pass when i heard these things when i heard this devastating news when i heard this devastating news anybody in this room ever heard any devastating news i have anybody ever heard any devastating news in the last seven days i have but you know the question we ought to ask is what are we going to do after we we have heard the devastating news because that will really determine what happens to what we've heard he heard and it came to pass verse 4 when i heard these words that i sat down and wept and mourned certain days and what's that other thing that he did would you help me i want to see if you're still here with me tonight he fasted he wept and he mourned certain days and fasted and prayed before the god of heaven now what's nehemiah doing he is what are we talking about tonight he is what fasting because he's heard devastating news but you see once again the god of ezra is going to be the god of nehemiah because in nehemiah chapter 2 and verse number 8 and i'm reading the last few words you see nehemiah was under the yoke in the bondage of one man one man stood between nehemiah and going back to jerusalem one man stood between him in being able to roll the reproach back one man and when he prayed and he fasted the god of ezra became the god of nehemiah and that king was touched and the bible says in nehemiah 2 and 8 the latter part of the verse and the king granted me according to the good hand of my god upon me in other words when he heard the devastating news he knew what had to happen somebody's got to go back to jerusalem they've got to organize the rebuilding of the wall they've got to organize the wall to come back up a man has got to have timber a man has got to have all the wealth to go back and do this and there's one man that has it all in his hands and the bible says that after nehemiah fasted and prayed that one man that one man gave him leave gave him lumber and gave him material to go back to jerusalem and rebuild the walls of jerusalem the benefits of fasting you hear me the enemy is scared to death that we're gonna start fasting the enemy is scared to death that you're gonna as a matter of fact as a matter of fact let me help let me help us out a little bit let me help us out i want to be like a good pilot on the plane a good pilot on the plane before we ever leave the ground a good pilot will tell me it's going to be a little bumpy on the flight you're going to get to where you're going but it's going to be a little bit bumpy a little bit of turbulence i like that i like that i like the pilot telling me we're going to have a few bumps here and there because when them bumps do like that and like this you take comfort the pilot said it was going to be this way that pilot said it was going to be this way can i tell you as we're taking the church to a dimension of fasting you get ready there's going to be some demonic bumps along the way the enemy's going to do everything to distract you the enemy is going to do everything to distract you and attack you because the last thing the enemy wants you to do is to fast about the dilemma that's in your life because he knows the god of ezra and he knows the god of nehemiah and he knows that this god is still the same i say tonight there may be a few bumps along the way we may have some services it gets a little bumpy there may be some services that you you begin to say well you know this don't just don't feel like it's riding here tonight oh friend don't give up on god we're just getting our way to our destination and we're going to get there and the god of nehemiah and the god of ezra is going to take us on that journey give god a hand of praise if you believe it tonight if you don't believe it put your hands to your side and shut your mouth but if you do believe fasting works give god a hand and open up your mouth and give god a praise tonight if you believe that it works oh daniel daniel came upon a situation in his life he didn't understand some of the things he was shown from god in a vision and in daniel chapter number 9 and verse number three daniel's very perplexed he's perplexed at what he sees he he don't understand what he's seeing and he don't have this understanding here's what he did and i set my face until the lord god to seek by prayer and supplications with help me out now with fasting and sackcloth and ashes he said i don't understand what god's trying to show me i don't understand some of the things i've been i i've had a vision and i'm perplexed i'm troubled i've had a vision and and i'm just troubled and i don't understand it well the god of ezra the god of nehemiah and the god of daniel daniel said well let's just fast about this let's just push a plate back let's just fast about this let's let's just fast about that that's daniel 9 and 3. now look at daniel chapter 9 verse number 20. and while i was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people israel and presenting my supplication before the lord my god for the holy mountain of my god now now wait a minute now although it doesn't say it church it doesn't say fasting here we know he was fasting while he was fasting and while he was praying in verse number 21 yea while i was speaking in prayer even the man gabriel whom i had seen in a vision at the beginning being caused to fly swiftly that's the angel gabriel and touched me about the time of the evening ablation in other words gabriel stands in the presence of god gabriel is a is a messenger angel he stands in the presence of god and in the spiritual realm of the presence of god god looked down upon the earth and god saw a daniel that were was perplexed and troubled and this daniel began to pray and he began to make supplication and he began to miss some meals and the god of ezra and the god of nehemiah becomes the god of daniel and god says gabriel go down there swiftly and give daniel an answer of peace and he came and it can all be traced back to daniel prayer and fasting well just exactly just exactly what does fasting do besides making us hungry all right let's just be real with each other tonight what does fasting do besides affecting our appetite well psalms chapter 35 and verse number 13. psalms chapter 35 and 13 verse 13. but as for me when they were sick my clothing was sackcloth i humbled my soul with what i humbled my soul with fasting and my prayer returned into my own bosom i humbled my soul please tonight let me be your pastor let me save myself as i help save you but you know if we let our flesh go unchecked we can become a bunch of proud arrogant self-confident so-called christians that's right we can get stubborn of course we're talking about the ones that are not here tonight we can get stubborn and rebellious and all-knowing and this is really a few years old matter of fact it may be a decade old we can get to thinking we're everything in a bag of chips right we can just get to thinking man where did we man we just i'm telling y'all i just got this thing that's that's really the answer it's not that god's not good the reason people don't praise him it's not that people don't think god is good everybody thinks god is good it's just without having a check on our flesh we can just get so confident in ourselves that we don't think we need god we got it all under control i'm a self-made man man i know how to do this i know how to do that i'm pretty smart man pretty smart woman we can get real arrogant and cocky in our ways and that's why god wants us to fast because fasting humbles our soul fasting causes you to see you don't have it in control as a matter of fact would you please notice the things i read to you about fasting all had to do with men that had things in their life that was beyond their control you see this is the reason god puts things beyond our control is because god wants us to humble our souls with fasting you're not you don't even know you don't even know if you'll be alive tomorrow we live like we're gonna we we but we live like we're never gonna die we live like there's no tomorrow but the truth of the matter is that none of us are promised the next minute just a few weeks ago i conducted a funeral of a former missionary brother potter i conducted the funeral in the very church i believe honey helped me out was it on tuesday we were there we were there on tuesday monday that's correct we were there on monday conducting his funeral in the very church that just eight days before brother potter had stood in that pulpit and preached climbing the mountain to be with jesus and at the end of his message with plans to go somewhere else that evening and preach at the end of his message he suffered a massive heart attack and died right on the right in the altar area is where he died so we don't have a promise of tomorrow he said well that's that's kind of morbid and i'm i really i didn't come to be put on a guilt trip it's not a guilt trip it's a reality trip and if we can just understand and really mean it when we sing the song i can't even walk without him holding my hand you know we ought to get in the car before we ever leave the garage and say god i just i just thank you god it shouldn't be after that person is veered over in our lane that we scream out jesus we ought to have him on our mind before he ever left the house god i just i just need you god in all of my ways to humble your soul none of us are know-it-alls can i tell you tonight do not look at a man or a woman in their prosperity and say man they've got it all together you don't know if they got it all together or not but fasting causes us to humble to humble our souls it causes me to realize you don't have it all in control you really need god you you really you really do need god you really do need god he said i humbled my soul with fastings why is it important to humble your soul why would heaven an humble soul and please let me just throw this out for good measure don't be like the guy that stood up to testify and said i'm just so thankful that i'm humble all right or i believe you said i'm so proud that i'm humble all right truth the matter is if you know you're humble you're probably not if you think you're right you're probably rotten all right but just having an attitude god i need you god i really don't know how to i'll do my best raising these children god but god i sure need you to help me raise these children god i'll do my best to pastor this church god there's situations beyond my control there's things going on that a counseling session won't work out there's things going on god i really don't i don't really have the i don't really have the answer for god but i believe i serve the god of ezra and i serve the god of nehemiah and i serve the god of daniel and i believe that he's no respecter of person and if i'll push back the plate like they push back the plate whatever my dilemma is tonight the god of heaven will talk to my gabriel and send my gabriel down to come in the midst why is it important to humble yourself well isaiah chapter 57 verse number 15 answers this very clearly why is it important to humble your soul listen to the almighty god talk listen to the almighty god talk for thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy i dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contract once you you know why it's important to be humble you know what's important to have the attitude that you need god because that's what god is attracted to you that's why god sees a desire in you because if you're proud you're annoyed all you're you're arrogant in your spirit you don't need him god resists you but if you walk in here and you're saying god i can't even walk god without your holding my hand god i'm going out on this job tomorrow to to make an estimate and god i really need you to help me god things are upside down on the workplace right now and god i really need you to help me god there's some things in our marriage lord that has that has sprung up there's some trouble here we've got a child god that's not showing any spiritual interest i want you to know tonight the god of ezra the god of nehemiah and the god of daniel will hear you and see you when you begin to push back that plague and you begin to seek god that's what god wants us to do said i'm god i dwell and i inhabit eternity i'm god i'm the holy one in the holy place and i dwell in the holy place with the humble of spirit that's why it's important you're the closest to god when you fumbled your soul when you've humbled your soul you are the closest that you will ever be to god no wonder jesus christ god robed in flesh made this comment in matthew chapter 23 and verse number 12 matthew chapter 23 and verse number 12 and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased and he that and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted i don't care what the corporate world is teaching you elbow your way to the top step on everybody going to the top it's just a you know look out for number one look out for number one don't care about anybody else that's not the way of the christian the way of the christian is you don't build yourself up by exalting yourself you build yourself up by humbling yourself you don't build yourself up by wanting to have the appearance and the image of a know-it-all and i've got it all together you build yourself up when you're willing to humble yourself in the presence of god and say god i've got to have you god before i get up and go to work god before i get in the car i want to stop here by my lazy boy for just a moment and i want you to go with me today god i want you to be with me today god lord when i go about my business when i go out in the world god i want you to be with me god i've got a i've got an appointment at two o'clock and i really don't know how it's going to turn out and we could really lose a lot in our business god that some things could really be upside down but god would you be in that business i'm here to tell you god will help us if we're willing to humble ourselves abase ourselves he is then willing to exalt you are y'all getting what i'm saying tonight well let's go to the half-brother of jesus christ the half-brother of jesus christ james he wrote in james chapter four and verse number six james chapter four and verse number six he said but god giveth more grace james 4 and 6 but he giveth more grace now you understand get your mind off mercy it's not mercy grace is not mercy grace is strength grace is god giving you the ability to do what you can't do on your own does anybody want to make an application for that tonight anybody want to fill out an application for that tonight that god will give you the strength to do what you can't do it's called grace how many want to fill out that application tonight i want to fill out that application tonight because i've got things in my life god that i want you to help me do what i can't do god i want you to help me do what i can't do but it says in james 4 and 6 but he giveth more strength grace wherefore saith wherefore he saith god resistive the what what does god resist what does he resist he resists what to resist something means to pull back to resist something means he pulls back he pushes away think about the hands of god doing this to your life think about the hands of god doing this pushing you away wherefore god resisted the proud but giveth strength grace unto the what what's he giving grace to right what does he resist the proud now notice it notice my hands now when we're proud god pushes away when we're not willing to raise our hands it causes god to take his and push you away i don't need you i don't need you because you don't need me but when we humble ourselves those same hands that resist become the hands that give look at that hand the hands it gives and it all determines whether he does this or does that all has to do with your soul being proud and arrogant or your soul being humble and saying god i've got to have you in my life or it's 8 28 just 32 minutes to go determines whether god is doing this oh god i'm going to start fasting god i'm going to push back the plate god the pastor's reminding me of a bible doctrine i'm gonna push back the plate and when we do that god takes inside the same hands and what does he do he gives don't know about you but that's the hand i want with god i want this with god i want god to give me submit yourselves look at verse number seven submit yourselves therefore to god god is not going to make you do it if you're waiting on god to make you he is not going to make you submit stop believing the myth that one day god's going to hit you and you're going to fall in love with him that is a myth that is a pentecostal myth that does not exist if you are going to have god in your life he stands back and says it's up to you to submit yourselves therefore to god resist the devil and he will flee from you now i'm going to stop right there and show you oh if i resist the devil he's afraid of me no no no no no he's not afraid of you he's afraid of who shows up in your life when you resist because you cannot serve two masters you cannot serve flesh and spirit at the same time you cannot serve the world and god at the same time you are either serving god tonight or you're serving the world and if you're serving the world you cannot resist the devil he has a heyday with your life your life is a playground to you he's missing your teenager's life your teenage years up he's messing your young married life up some of your middle age and he's messing that up tonight but if you could just buy into the bible doctrine of humbling yourself in the presence of god and you begin to resist the devil it's not that the devil looks down and says he's resisting me he's not letting me in no it's who shows up in your life when you resist him the greater that he that is within you than he that is in the world shows up and that's who he is afraid of resist the devil and he will flee from you draw nigh to god and he will draw an eye to you cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your heart you double-minded be afflicted and mourn and weep let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to heaviness humble yourselves in the sight of the lord and he shall lift you up look at that very simple what does fasting do it humbles our soul it humbles our soul we're fasting to do something that we can't do on our own we're fasting for god to do something that only god can do well let's don't stop there let's go to the man jesus gave the keys to the kingdom to he has an epistle called first peter chapter five verse number one first peter chapter five and verse number one listen to to the apostle peter the elders which are among you i exhort who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed feed the flock of god which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for filthy lucr but of a ready mind now he's talking to these leaders of congregations because i'm an elder and he's talking to leaders of congregations of people and he says verse number one he says the elders that are among you the leaders of congregations the leaders of congregations i exhort you and then he says i'm also an elder and i'm a witness of the sufferings of christ partaker of the glory that shall be revealed he gives our responsibility of the of the elders the feeders the leaders of the flock feed the flock of god which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint in other words you cannot make people submit it has to be yielded it can't be a forced thing it can't be a power struggle you're not you're you're not you're not by constraint but willingly not for filthy lucr money but of a ready mind neither as being lords over god's heritage it's where pride comes back in but being examples to the flock and when the chief shepherd shall appear you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away likewise you younger now he's talking here he's talking here about aged elders leaders of congregations and young elders or leaders of congregations and he says likewise ye younger submit yourselves unto the elder yay all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with what humility for god resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble humble yourselves therefore unto the mighty hand of god that you may that he may exalt you in due time now he says to them here in the congregation the elders and the younger and the truth of matter is the truth of matter is the enemy would love to wear out our elders and i'm talking about aged people i'm talking about people that are past retirement and all of that i'm talking about those that are whiteheaded and i'm talking about those that are that are that are elders the devil and i want every young person listen i want every strong tower student listen to me the devil is working on our elders telling them they're no longer needed telling them they're no longer of use telling them they've had their best day and they're just in the way they're just something they're just a inconvenience to have around that could not be further from the truth our elders represent what god has done for us in our past we need the younger to look at them and say he's the god of ezra he's the god of nehemiah he's the god of daniel we need to look at them and understand they have weathered no they may not be pew-jumping they may not be i'll running they may not be demonstrative worship arthritis may have set into shoulder blades and elbows and fingertips but can i tell you in their day they weathered some storms they have killed some giants they have killed some lions they have walked through some fiery furnaces they have come through some things and god has left them here for us that in the midst of our dilemma we can look at our wide-headed saints of god and rejoice because god was faithful to them we need them in our lives the younger the younger generation i get so sick of overhearing congress conversations from younger upcoming leaders that are talking about how we've done things all wrong all these years and it oh i don't i can't even oh brother i can't even go down that road i i i'll need to fast another day if i get down that road and how that we're going to get in there and we're going to do things different the way them old men did the old man's ways and all of this and i want to say to them you wouldn't even have a building if it wasn't for them you you know those wide-headed saints that you take a few pot shots at and call them uh tombstones with faces and and those wide-headed people that you've made some pot shots you wouldn't even have a church building had it not been that they made peanut brittle and sowed peanut brittle to buy cinder block you you wouldn't even have stable people if it wasn't for that old man that just got up there and said we're going to talk about fasting it's going to get quiet it's going to get a little bumpy there won't be a church here 30 years from now if we don't you know keep digging up those old ways you better look you better look at them and say you know what i may not understand that whiteheaded man but i'll tell you what i'm going to do i'm going to trust him i'm going to tell you what i'm going to do that's that's a word right there for somebody tonight you may not understand you may not understand the white-headed man you may not understand you you may not understand the man that's getting white-headed but i i listen you may not understand me but i'm asking you to trust me tonight and if you'll trust me tonight i promise you the day will come when you get a few little streaks of gray in your hair and you'll begin to turn around and say i understand that man now thank god i understand why he was so dogmatic about the prayer room i understand why he was so dogmatic about holiness i understand why why he he would he would do this and he would do that hey wait a minute first peter written by peter about being humble first peter written by peter about being humble do you know that some people got humble by failure did you hear that some people some people learned how to be humble by having some major failures in their lives and failures should humble you say it again failures should humble you peter had some major failures i've kind of let time get by with me but luke luke chapter 22 verse number 31 luke 22 31 and the lord said simon simon behold satan hath desired to have you that he may sip to you like we but i have prayed for thee that thy faith failed not and when thou art converted strengthened thy brethren they said peter let me talk to you for a moment simon let me talk to you for a moment the devil's coming after you simon simon the devil's coming after you and he wants to tear you apart but i have prayed for you i have prayed for you that your faith does not fail and when you're converted strengthen the brethren now let's stop right there how do you react when somebody says brother i'm praying for you two reactions sometimes brother i'm praying for you oh thank you so much thank you for praying for me sister i'm praying for you well i'm all right ah you know i got you treated tonight i'm all right what are you praying for well i'm just praying for you why okay simon simon satan desires to have you you're going to sip you like wheat what did peter do verse 33 peter said unto him lord i am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death you know you know what peter really said right then i'm okay are you praying for me for praying for me that my faith fail not well i want you to know i'm ready to go to prison i'd even die for you lord oh is that right you see when you're proud you don't know what's in your heart people often flippantly use that well i know what's in my heart that's what scares me to death is i know that i don't know what's in my heart i don't go to prison i go to death with you what are you praying for me for get over there on thomas get over there on matthew and he said i tell thee peter the shall not crow this day but before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me that's something a man so arrogant and cocky prideful i will die for you i would go to prison with you just a few hours later not once not twice but three times i don't know him was peter lying when he said to jesus i'll go to prison and death no he wasn't lying he was simply looking at his life through the eyes of pride but let peter have a major failure in his life and he'll become a man that'll pick up a pen one day and he'll write an epistle and he'll say be humble humble yourselves under the mighty hand of god you see tonight in closing fasting is really a faith booster fasting not only humbles your soul but it boosts your faith to see things that you can't see without the aid of fasting and just in reference matthew tells about a father who had a son and the son was demon-possessed and the son was suicidal i don't know what it must have been like for the life of this father because the father says jesus i have to watch him around the fireplace i have to watch him around the fire because if we take our eyes off of him he'll try to jump into the flames jesus i'm a nervous wreck when we get around a body of water because he tries to drown himself and he says it i went to your disciples and they could not cure him jesus spoke a word and the boy was delivered later that evening the the disciples came around jesus and they they said to jesus they said lord would you tell us why we couldn't cast him out and jesus said it had to do with your faith it had to do with your faith and he taught him a little lesson about if you've got faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to a mountain he he addressed their faith and then he stopped and said but this kind does not go about but by what prayer fasting now which is it jesus is it my faith you talked about my faith but then you put an addendum on it and said this kind only moves by prayer and fasting that's because there is a faith that is connected to fasting there is seeing things that you'll only see when you're willing to turn down the flesh and let god see that you really mean business would you stand with me right now church if it's a meal fast a meal if it's just one meal start out with a meal every father every mother every young person if it's a favorite beverage whatever it can be just start would you please i'm asking you tonight i mean i'm not i'm not i'm not i'm not trying to keep your attention by by by waving my hands or running up and down the aisles i'm just asking you as your pastor as your spiritual leader there's things that god wants you to see that you'll only see when you're willing to push back the plate and say god i want some things in my life more than my natural craving i believe by the word of god if you'll do that tonight i have confidence mrs carpenter i have confidence in this congregation we are about to blow the spiritual lid off of our church with prayer and fasting it may be a little bit bumpy on the climb out but we're going to go to an altitude and we're going to get to where we need to get amen would you just in closing tonight just raise your hands bless the wonderful name of jesus tonight