Weapons of War: Fasting.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6
We, like Paul, are merely weak humans, but we don't need to use human plans and methods to win our battles. God's mighty weapons are available to us as we fight against the Satan's "strongholds."
We must choose whose methods to use - God's or the world's, Paul assures us that God's weapons are mighty weapons. The one weapon I want to write about today is fasting. However, fasting is like the poor relative that no one seems to speaks about.
So what did Jesus say about fasting?
Matthew 6:5 When you pray
How many books have been written on the Lords prayer?

Matt 6:16 When you fast
How many books have been written on Fasting?

My question is what is the difference between v5 and v16?
There is none Jesus expected us to pray and he expected us to fast. Jesus considered that both prayer and fasting would be a natural part of every Christians life that he told both his disciples and his critics (Matt 9:14) that pray and fasting would be part of their lives when he has left. What has changed since Jesus spoke these words? NOTHING

So if you are a Christian you should pray.
And if you are a Christian you should also fast. I wonder do we have any understanding of the power of fasting? The one thing that I would love to achieve in writing this is that each one of us takes the weapon of fasting off the shelf, dusts it down, and starts using it.

Matthew 17:14-21(NASB)
When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. "I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him."
Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?"
He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there," and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

Fasting releases the power of God into situations that seem impossible. If you and I are willing to pay the price of regular prayer and fasting then we will be able to: With physical exercise you start at the level you can manage and build it up.
With Fasting you start at the level you can manage and then build it up.
God may lead you to: Whatever God leads to do, commit yourself to it, and trust the God to give you grace to obey. There will be times that as a church we will corporately fast together. However, the most important thing is that we are obedient to what God ask us to do. Our obedient response to God is one of the most feared and dangerous disasters that comes on the kingdom of darkness. Satan knows that you and I can change the shape and destiny of Longton and the south side of Stoke on Trent by joining God's men and women who are committed to fasting and praying.

Benefits of Fasting

We fast in obedience to the word of God.
Fasting is deeply embedded in the word of God. It is a tool of overcomers and is used both in the Old and New Testaments.
"Winners fast, losers don't"

Joel 2:12 (NIV)
"Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."

2 Corinthians 6:4-7 (NIV)
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;
Hunger = same Greek word for fast, fasting and going without food.

We fast to humble ourselves before God.
We need the continuous power of the Holy Spirit to live a victorious Christian life. As we fast and humble ourselves before God it's like cleaning the spark plugs in an engine!

James 4:10 (NIV)
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
How do you humble yourself – one way is by fasting.

We fast to overcome temptation in areas that keep us from moving into God's power

Luke 4:14 (NIV)
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
We know Jesus had just come out of the wilderness of temptation, he had eaten nothing for 40 days and when Satan tempted him Jesus completely destroyed his arguments and temptations.

We fast to be purified from sin
Jesus took away all the sins of the world on the cross once and for all. But many of us have to deal with entangling sins that keep popping up time and time again. God wants us to defeat these sins that ensnare us by fasting and allowing God to purify us. He may even ask us then to stand in the gap and pray for others who are trapped in sin.

Daniel 9:3 (NIV)
So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:"O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws…

We fast to become weak before God so God's power can be strong
When you fast you are making a deliberate choice for God, that you want God's power to flow through you, not your own.You want God's answer, not yours.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)
Jesus said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

We fast in order to obtain God's support to accomplish his will
The leaders at Antioch fasted and prayed before sending Barnabas and Paul on their missionary journey. The fasting and praying helped guide their choices
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

We fast in times of crisis.
It is common for mankind to turn to God in times of crisis. We only have to listen to the news and the commenters are saying that people will be going to church more today because of the credit crunch. In the time of Ester the Jewish nation is about to be completely wiped out. Ester commanded the Jews to observe a fast before she risked her life by entering the king's presence to ask for a pardon for her people.

Esther 4:15-16 (NIV)
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:"Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

Jesus didn't say 'if you fancy fasting" He said 'when you fast'
Have a look at this weapon of fasting in your spiritual armory, take off the shelf dust it down and start using it. Start practicing by asking God how you should fast?
One meal a day
One day a week
One day a month

Then be obedient to what he tells you. Our obedient response to God is one of the most feared and dangerous disasters that come on the kingdom of darkness. Satan knows that you and I can change the shape and destiny of Longton by joining God's men and women who are committed to fasting and praying