The 12 Laws of Fasting - Apostle Michael Orokpo, PhD. — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00I want to show you quickly guidelines,
2. 0:02what I call the 12 laws of fasting.
3. 0:04Whenever a man wants to separate himself
4. 0:06onto the Lord, especially for a long
5. 0:09period of time, there are laws, there
6. 0:11are principles that [music] you must
7. 0:12imbibe in order for the fast to be
8. 0:15effective. And so, I'm going to quickly,
9. 0:17you know, share this with you to help
10. 0:19make this fasting effective and
11. 0:22productive. Glory to God. And please,
12. 0:24write them down because every other
13. 0:26subsequent fast you are going to be
14. 0:28engaging in, you are going to apply
15. 0:30these laws. The first is the law of
16. 0:32separation. When a man wants to fast,
17. 0:35it's actually a time of separation. In
18. 0:37Joel chapter 2 verse 12, it say, "Return
19. 0:40onto me with all your heart and with
20. 0:43fasting. Return to me with your heart
21. 0:46and with fasting." So, when we are
22. 0:48fasting, our focus is not to while away
23. 0:51time. Our focus is not to beat time. You
24. 0:53know, there are many people when we are
25. 0:54fasting like this, they begin to create
26. 0:56all kinds of distractions so that they
27. 0:58are able to achieve the fasting [music]
28. 1:00time, but they don't get any result
29. 1:03because they don't understand the laws
30. 1:04of fasting. Fasting is a period of
31. 1:07separation onto God in prayer. You don't
32. 1:10fast if you are not praying. That's why
33. 1:12many times when the word fasting is
34. 1:14used, you hear fasting and prayer
35. 1:16because it's it's important that you are
36. 1:17separated onto God. So, I know most of
37. 1:20you work. I know most of you are busy
38. 1:21people, but as much as you can, create
39. 1:24periods of time to pray. Don't wait
40. 1:26until 3:00 when we are praying together
41. 1:27before you pray. Once, twice, thrice a
42. 1:30day, spend [music] time, 30 minutes.
43. 1:31Even if it's 10 minutes, at least make
44. 1:33it periodic that I'm going to be praying
45. 1:35three, four, five times in a day this
46. 1:37period that we are fast. It could be 10,
47. 1:3910 minutes. It could be 20, 20 minutes,
48. 1:40but just create that discipline, create
49. 1:42that time to separate yourself. The
50. 1:44reason is because you are trying to
51. 1:45conduct your heart towards God. A point
52. 1:48will come in the course of the fast that
53. 1:50your heart will be completely tuned
54. 1:52tuned to God's frequency. So, if you
55. 1:54want to be productive in fasting, the
56. 1:56first thing is to separate to God in
57. 1:58prayer. The second law of fasting is the
58. 2:01law of study or saturation with the word
59. 2:05of God. If you want to fast, you must
60. 2:07make sure that you are committed to the
61. 2:09word. You are not fasting if you are not
62. 2:12searching the mind of God. You are not
63. 2:14fasting if you are not looking into the
64. 2:17perfect law of liberty to secure the the
65. 2:20heart of God and the boardings of the
66. 2:23spirit for the time. Glory to God. You
67. 2:25know, Jesus was teaching in Matthew
68. 2:26chapter 4 verse 4. He said, "A man shall
69. 2:28not live by bread alone, but by every
70. 2:30word that proceed from the mouth of
71. 2:34God." So, when we are not eating food,
72. 2:36we have to be eating the word of God.
73. 2:38You know, Jeremiah said in Jeremiah
74. 2:3915:16, he said, "I found thy word, I did
75. 2:43eat them, [music] and they became the
76. 2:44joy and the rejoicing of my heart. I
77. 2:48found my thy word, I did eat them, and
78. 2:51they became the joy and rejoicing of my
79. 2:53heart." So, when we fast, we spend time
80. 2:55with the word of God. I'm going to give
81. 2:57you, you know, a reading program maybe
82. 3:00after the fifth day because many would
83. 3:02have joined and [music] would have hit
84. 3:04the frequency, but there has to be an
85. 3:06attitude of study in the time and in the
86. 3:08day of fasting to isolate the mind of
87. 3:10God. The third law of fasting is the law
88. 3:14of of kindness, kindness and [music]
89. 3:17justice. You cannot claim to be fasting
90. 3:20when you are not demonstrating kindness
91. 3:22[music] towards those who are in need or
92. 3:25those who are less privileged. Isaiah
93. 3:27chapter 58, you read from verse 6, and
94. 3:29the Lord was speaking to the children of
95. 3:30Israel. He said, "Is this not the fast
96. 3:32that I have chosen?" He said, "To loose
97. 3:34the bond of the wicked, to undo heavy
98. 3:36boardings, to let the oppressed go
99. 3:38free." You see that. He said that you
100. 3:40break every yoke upon the shoulder of
101. 3:42people. So, if you are fasting, it's a
102. 3:44time where you show kindness. Now,
103. 3:47kindness is supposed to be your
104. 3:48lifestyle, but in the day of fasting is
105. 3:50a time when you become more deliberate
106. 3:53about showing kindness [music]
107. 3:55and exercising justice and fairness in
108. 3:58all that you do. There are many people
109. 3:59who fast, but while they are yet
110. 4:01fasting, it doesn't reflect in how they
111. 4:02deal with others. It doesn't it it
112. 4:04doesn't show that you are committing
113. 4:06your heart to the Lord for that season.
114. 4:07One of the things God looks out for when
115. 4:09people are fasting is when they
116. 4:11demonstrate kindness toward others.
117. 4:13Number four, law of fasting is humility.
118. 4:16Fasting is actually a time when we
119. 4:18humble ourselves before the Lord. Again,
120. 4:20humility should be a lifestyle, but when
121. 4:22we are fasting in particular, we are
122. 4:24deliberately humbling ourselves before
123. 4:26the Lord in mercy in in in brokenness so
124. 4:29that he can show mercy onto us. That's
125. 4:31why if you study in the Old Testament,
126. 4:32when they fast, sometimes they they wore
127. 4:34sackcloth, they poured ashes on their
128. 4:36head. The idea is to demonstrate a
129. 4:39humble countenance. Glory to God. In
130. 4:41Matthew chapter 6, if you read verse 16
131. 4:43to 18, Jesus [music] was speaking to
132. 4:44hypocrites. He said he said he said when
133. 4:47when you fast, he said don't be like the
134. 4:49hypocrite that carry a sad countenance.
135. 4:52They want to show everybody their
136. 4:53spirituality, they want to show
137. 4:55everybody their exploit in the spirit so
138. 4:57that they receive praise of men. Jesus
139. 4:59said don't do that. In Psalm 35:13, the
140. 5:02Bible said, "I humbled myself in
141. 5:05fasting." So, the the fourth law of
142. 5:07fasting is the law of brokenness, is the
143. 5:10law of humility. When you fast, [snorts]
144. 5:12is a time when you humble yourself, you
145. 5:14come under the authority of of the power
146. 5:18of brokenness. You are showing it in
147. 5:20everything you do because the idea of
148. 5:22the fast generally is for you to be
149. 5:24transformed, and you are not transformed
150. 5:26if these things not you know, do not
151. 5:29predominate your your your your thinking
152. 5:32and your way of life. Glory to God. So,
153. 5:35you show kindness and then you
154. 5:36demonstrate humility. Number five, law
155. 5:39of fasting is the law of repentance and
156. 5:43purity. When a man begins to fast, is a
157. 5:45time to do away with every form of sin,
158. 5:48every form of idolatry, and to uphold
159. 5:51purity. One of the things we do when we
160. 5:53fast is as we mingle with God, as we
161. 5:55draw close to God, we are purged. We are
162. 5:58washed of every iniquity. In Joel
163. 6:00chapter 2 verse 13, God was speaking
164. 6:02through the prophet to his people. He
165. 6:03said, "Rend your heart, not your
166. 6:05garment." So, it's beyond outward
167. 6:07countenance. When we are fasting, we are
168. 6:09actually coming to the Lord to purge
169. 6:12ourselves. Because the Bible told us
170. 6:14clearly, glory to God. He said, "If I
171. 6:16regard iniquity in my heart," he said,
172. 6:19"the Lord will not hear me." Psalm 66
173. 6:20verse 18. So, in the time of fast is a
174. 6:23time when we
175. 6:25we we we we purge ourselves. He said,
176. 6:27"If a man purges himself from these
177. 6:29things." So, if there's any anything you
178. 6:32are doing that is not of God, this is
179. 6:34the time for you to cleanse, to purge,
180. 6:37and to to purify. Put away idols. Put
181. 6:40away, you know, sins. Put away weights
182. 6:42that beset you. This is what fasting is
183. 6:44targeted at, to helping you achieve.
184. 6:47Glory to Jesus. It's a time of of
185. 6:49self-examination, so that we are purged.
186. 6:51Number six law of fasting is the law of
187. 6:55of the leading of the spirit. It's also
188. 6:57called the law of wisdom or the law of
189. 6:59grace. Don't overdo things.
190. 7:02When you are fasting, [music]
191. 7:03allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you.
192. 7:05You know, I know people who kill
193. 7:07themselves in the course of fasting. We
194. 7:09say we are fasting for 40 days. We have
195. 7:11given the instruction that if you
196. 7:12dehydrate too much, you can take water.
197. 7:14We have given [music] the instruction
198. 7:15that if you are a pregnant woman, a
199. 7:17nursing mother, eat. I mean, pregnant
200. 7:19people don't don't don't don't fast. If
201. 7:21you are a nursing mother, we say you can
202. 7:23take something light. If you are you are
203. 7:25you are sick, you are still trusting God
204. 7:27for healing, we say you can take
205. 7:28something light. You are working, you
206. 7:30are dehydrated, you can drink water.
207. 7:32take juice, take tea. I mean, this is
208. 7:33not you trying to eat food as it were,
209. 7:35but just to stay [music] hydrated. But,
210. 7:37there are many people who we say, "Ah,
211. 7:39this 40 days fast, the first 14 days I
212. 7:41won't take water. The first 21, don't
213. 7:43kill yourself. That's not the idea. When
214. 7:45we are fasting, it's important to be
215. 7:47sensitive to the Holy Spirit, to apply
216. 7:49wisdom, and to do based on the level of
217. 7:52grace we carry. Glory to Jesus. In
218. 7:54Matthew chapter 4:1-4, when Jesus fasted
219. 7:56for 40 days, the Bible said he was led
220. 7:59of the spirit into the wilderness to be
221. 8:02tempted of the devil. And then he fasted
222. 8:04for 40 days and 40 nights. Meaning Jesus
223. 8:06was operating based on the wisdom and
224. 8:10the discretion of the spirit. It wasn't
225. 8:12just zeal. I've seen people who fast
226. 8:13like this before and went down with
227. 8:15ulcer, and they were never able to fast
228. 8:17again. So, when you are fasting, you
229. 8:19must sustain the law of the leading of
230. 8:21the spirit and the law of grace and
231. 8:24wisdom. Then number seven is the law of
232. 8:26faith and expectation. You are waiting
233. 8:28on the Lord. And as you are waiting on
234. 8:30the Lord, you should be expectant. This
235. 8:32is not um or setting a time target. Oh,
236. 8:34we are going to fast for 40 days. No, we
237. 8:36we we we have an expectation. We believe
238. 8:39[music] is a transition season. And
239. 8:41that's why I was telling you I told you
240. 8:42that there are three major things God is
241. 8:44going to do. That's to help your
242. 8:45expectation. Because when you are
243. 8:46fasting, your faith level should be
244. 8:48high. Your expectation level is high
245. 8:50because something has to be achieved.
246. 8:52It's not an exercise in futility. The
247. 8:54Bible said in Hebrews chapter 11:6 that
248. 8:56whoever come it to him must believe that
249. 8:59he is and that is the rewarder of them
250. 9:02that diligently seek him. So, when you
251. 9:04are fasting, there must be that
252. 9:06expectation of of of of what God is
253. 9:09going to do. There must be that
254. 9:11hopefulness of God's power, you know,
255. 9:14manifesting. Glory to God. It's very
256. 9:16important. So, you if you don't have an
257. 9:18expectation, you better write it down in
258. 9:20addition to the three things I'm going
259. 9:21to give you so that you don't waste your
260. 9:23time at the end of 40 days. What's the
261. 9:25point of saying, "Me too, I fasted for
262. 9:2640 days." and there's nothing to show
263. 9:28for it. So, the law of faith and
264. 9:31expectation is critical. And then number
265. 9:33eight is the is is the law of focus.
266. 9:36When [music] you are fasting, don't lose
267. 9:38your focus.
268. 9:40This is not showmanship. You know, the
269. 9:42the Bible said something that that
270. 9:44amazed me in in Isaiah 58 around verse
271. 9:47three or four now. It said, "You fast
272. 9:49for strife [music] and for debate."
273. 9:51There are people who fast to brag. You
274. 9:54know, I've already told you about
275. 9:55humility, but it's important for you to
276. 9:57maintain focus when you are fasting.
277. 9:59They don't corrupt Don't corrupt your
278. 10:02fast through bitterness, through corrupt
279. 10:04speech, through rough, through malice.
280. 10:06The goal of the fast is not to prove a
281. 10:08point to anybody.
282. 10:09And the goal of the fast is not to brag.
283. 10:11We must know why we are fasting. I told
284. 10:13you already one of the reasons why we
285. 10:15are fasting is because it's we we we are
286. 10:17we God is is saying he wants to bring us
287. 10:20encounters, and we need our hearts
288. 10:22prepared. And the reason God is bringing
289. 10:23encounters [music] is because we are in
290. 10:25a transition season, and we need these
291. 10:27encounters to move to the next level.
292. 10:30So,
293. 10:30>> [music]
294. 10:30>> you you maintain this focus. This is why
295. 10:32we are fasting. Don't fast for strife.
296. 10:34Don't fast for vain glory. Don't fast
297. 10:36for debate. It's not necessary. You
298. 10:39don't need to punish yourself for 40
299. 10:41days at the end of [music] the day to
300. 10:42win the trophy of a debate. That's a
301. 10:44waste of life. Glory to God. These are
302. 10:46laws of fasting. When you see people who
303. 10:48fast [clears throat] and make the most
304. 10:49of it, these are some of the things they
305. 10:51apply either consciously or
306. 10:54unconsciously. Glory to Jesus. Number
307. 10:56nine is the law of of persistence.
308. 11:00>> [music]
309. 11:00>> Many times there will be that weakness.
310. 11:03I'm going to stop. Ah, I'm tired. See,
311. 11:06you must press to hit the mark. There is
312. 11:08a discipline requirement in fasting.
313. 11:11Don't follow us and after seven days you
314. 11:12say, "Ah, I've tried my bit." No, that's
315. 11:14not how it works. When we started we say
316. 11:16it's a 40-days fast. You have joined the
317. 11:18train. Come what may. Ensure that you
318. 11:21finish because there are things that we
319. 11:23only answer to you. There are things
320. 11:25that will only be activated when you
321. 11:27finish. Because consistency has its
322. 11:30power in the realm of the spirit. Look
323. 11:32at Daniel. When Daniel began to fast,
324. 11:34Daniel said in Daniel chapter 9, I think
325. 11:36verse 3, he said, "When I prepared when
326. 11:39I set forth my heart to wait upon the
327. 11:41Lord." So, [music] the guy was ready.
328. 11:44There was a discipline. There was a
329. 11:46persistent disposition. And guess what?
330. 11:48Nothing happened until after 21 days.
331. 11:51What if Daniel stopped? What if he
332. 11:53stopped on day 11? What if he stopped on
333. 11:56day 19? Some of you, what God will do
334. 11:58for you is on the 40th day. So, you have
335. 12:01to press. You study Daniel chapter 9,
336. 12:03verse 3, verse 20 and 21, Daniel chapter
337. 12:0610, you know, verse 2 to 3, verse 12 and
338. 12:0813. You're going to find the story
339. 12:10there. That there was war going on in
340. 12:11the heavenlies. If What if Daniel had
341. 12:13stopped? That encounter would have been
342. 12:15truncated because Gabriel came after 21
343. 12:18days. What if Daniel stopped? So, there
344. 12:20is the necessity of persistence. There
345. 12:22are days you wake up, it will look like
346. 12:24if you don't eat, you will die. It's a
347. 12:25lie. You will not die. If you don't eat,
348. 12:28you will not die. You will be shocked
349. 12:30that you will continue for the 40 days,
350. 12:33and some of you grace will even be
351. 12:35available to continue. So, please, there
352. 12:37is the need and necessity for
353. 12:40consistency. Persistence is a critical
354. 12:44law in fasting. Then number 10 is the
355. 12:46law of warfare. Every time you begin to
356. 12:49fast, get ready for battles. Don't
357. 12:50expect that, "Oh, as I'm fasting now,
358. 12:53come on. And not I'm I'm floating in the
359. 12:55spirit." No. The moment you start
360. 12:57fasting, you are releasing energies in
361. 12:59the spirit. Satan can discern it. When
362. 13:01Jesus started fasting in Matthew chapter
363. 13:034, verse 3, the Bible said the tempter
364. 13:05came. The tempter came. He didn't show
365. 13:07up until until Jesus fasted. He said the
366. 13:10tempter Now, the tempter came to him,
367. 13:12and he was with Jesus three times.
368. 13:14[music]
369. 13:15You see that Jesus had had persistence.
370. 13:17He would have stopped the fast. He would
371. 13:18have And he had focus. He would have
372. 13:20swung switched to what the devil was
373. 13:22offering. But Jesus knew his objective
374. 13:24because he was led of the spirit. That
375. 13:27was why all the bargains Satan gave
376. 13:28Jesus never yielded. He was focused. He
377. 13:31was persistent. And Satan couldn't stop
378. 13:33him. Glory to God. So, when you fast,
379. 13:35expect battles. Some of you, now that
380. 13:37you started fasting, demons will
381. 13:39intensify attack in your dreams. Some of
382. 13:41you, some of the things you had your
383. 13:43hands on, businesses, suddenly will
384. 13:45start failing. Some of you, accusation
385. 13:47will come. The whole idea is to
386. 13:48discourage you because Satan knows you
387. 13:50are ascending to a higher ground. But if
388. 13:52you understand the law of warfare, you
389. 13:54will know that the battles are battles
390. 13:57that the devil would have used against
391. 13:58you for 10 years. He just converged it
392. 14:01so that he can discourage you with the
393. 14:02fast. But if you don't stop, you are
394. 14:04going to overcome. And when you
395. 14:06overcome, you are going to discover that
396. 14:09that battle will not only be dealt with,
397. 14:11but at the end of the day, it will be
398. 14:13removed from your life forever. Number
399. 14:1711 is the law of love. Paul was speaking
400. 14:19in 1 Corinthians 13 from verse 1 to 3.
401. 14:21And the summary of it is that what does
402. 14:24any spirit [music] what in profit me if
403. 14:26I don't have love? That means fasting
404. 14:28will be useless if there's no love.
405. 14:30Tongues, prophecy, he said, all these
406. 14:32things are useless to me if I don't have
407. 14:34love. So, if you want your fasting to be
408. 14:36effective, the law of love must be
409. 14:38critical. Those of you who who you
410. 14:40cannot have a good relationship with
411. 14:41anybody, ah, you you can't afford that
412. 14:44during this fast. You must master
413. 14:45[music]
414. 14:46the art of love. And you know love is
415. 14:48not a feeling. I've taught you before,
416. 14:50love is patience, love is kindness, love
417. 14:52is meekness, love is endurance, love you
418. 14:55know, love is is is faithfulness. Every
419. 14:58attribute of love, make sure you embody
420. 15:00them in this season so that your fasting
421. 15:03becomes very very effective because you
422. 15:05can't do without it. Love is what
423. 15:07substantiates every spiritual engagement
424. 15:10that we find ourselves in. So, you must
425. 15:12make sure that you are thoroughly
426. 15:15thoroughly furnished with love. And then
427. 15:17finally is the law of discernment. When
428. 15:19you are fasting, your spiritual senses
429. 15:21are activated. Sometimes you can pick
430. 15:23frequencies from God. Sometimes you can
431. 15:24pick frequencies from the demonic realm.
432. 15:26You need to pray for discernment. Don't
433. 15:28just take actions carelessly. I know
434. 15:30most of you, any vision you see is God.
435. 15:32You start acting. [music] This is not
436. 15:34the season where you just want to take
437. 15:35actions because your spirit, you are
438. 15:37opening up your spirit, you are charging
439. 15:39your spirit. You are going to pick a lot
440. 15:40of frequencies, especially if you are
441. 15:42not a word-based person. This is the
442. 15:44time for discernment. If you pick
443. 15:45[music] anything in your spirit and you
444. 15:47lose your peace, if you pick anything in
445. 15:49your spirit and it's not in the word of
446. 15:51God, consistent with the revelation of
447. 15:52the word of God, please don't act upon
448. 15:54it. Take time to pray about it. Ask
449. 15:56those who are more mature than you. Let
450. 15:58them guide you on what to do so that you
451. 16:00don't get into trouble fasting. I've
452. 16:02known people who fasted before and had
453. 16:04demonic encounters. Somebody went to the
454. 16:06mountain to fast and an old person
455. 16:08>> [music]
456. 16:08>> appeared to the person and gave the
457. 16:10person some instructions. The person
458. 16:11obeyed the instructions and became
459. 16:12demonized. So, there is the law of
460. 16:14discernment. It's critical when you are
461. 16:16fasting. These 12 laws, if you imbibe
462. 16:19them, you will discover that your
463. 16:20fasting will not only be effective,
464. 16:22[music] but it will leave you something
465. 16:24that will outlive the fasting period.
466. 16:26Glory to God.