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Jesus Fast – Day 5

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I thought I would share this post from Lou Engle from Day Four of the 40 Day Jesus Fast:

You Can Climb This Mountain
“No one climbs Everest without a mesmerizing motivation of passion.” – Lou Engle“And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.” – 1 Kings 19:7-8We hope that yesterday’s video from my friend, Dr. Vaughn Lawrence, helped you in preparing for a healthy fast, but many of you may still be wondering how you can even do a 40-day fast. You may be asking, “What kind of fast should I do? How can I do a 40-day fast or any extended fast? How can I climb this 40-day mountain?” Recently, the wife of the young man who helped me write and edit my most recent book, The Fast, had a dream in which they were struggling to climb a mountain that was very difficult and steep. She looked up and saw me above them on the mountain, calling and encouraging them to come up to the top of the mountain. This young man had been feeling a desire to fast. I said to him, “I think the mountain is the Mountain of the Lord. Moses fasted for 40 days on the Mountain of the Lord and Elijah fasted for 40 days on that same mountain. I think the Lord wants you to come up to the Mountain of the Lord and fast for 40 days.” He had just completed his water and juice fast at the time we were finishing the book. God changed his life; he discovered his scroll. The 40-day fast can be done and the rewards are very great. As we are at the beginning of our 40-day journey together, you may be daunted by the sheer height of such a climbing endeavor. I understand. Paul boasted that he spoke in tongues “more than all of you” (1 Cor. 14:18). My claim to fame is that I’ve broken more fasts than all of you. It is amazing that the minute you begin to fast, that beautiful pink box of donuts appears at the office and immediately you start thinking, “I’ll start my fast at Noon.” For the next few days, we want to help you climb this mountain. First of all, you must understand that fasting must be born and motivated by the Spirit. “Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.” – Mark 1:12     “I should fast” or “I need to fast” will never bring about the kind of motivation required to subdue the appetites of the flesh. Legalism and law will not liberate you into the flight of freedom in fasting, they will only bring you under bondage and accusation. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God”(Romans 8:14). The Gospel writer of Mark said that the Spirit of the Lord drove (ekballo’d) Jesus into the wilderness to fast 40 days. It was the impetus of the Spirit that enabled Jesus to overcome the most intense temptations to eat. This is why we write this journal – to create within you an overpowering faith, a divine motivation, and an expectation for an unbelievable breakthrough. In fact, you would not even be reading this journal if God was not leading you by the Holy Spirit. It is our conviction that once again the Spirit that drove Jesus into the wilderness is now driving the Church worldwide into the wilderness of the 40-day fast because a great light is about to dawn.  Passion is like a mighty river that breaks the dam of our fleshly obstinance to spiritual sacrifice that brings great spiritual reward. When an inward desire to fast begins to overtake you, you can bet that the devil is not tempting you. No, the Spirit of the Lord uses inward desire, the life force of passion, to drive you into a new dimension. Many times there’s a build-up of the force of that river – overwhelming circumstances that nothing can move, an inward desperation for change, dreams and prophecies, even books that get into your hand (like this one) are the voice of the Lord screaming inside of you, “Fast for the unfolding of your new future!”    As you begin to climb this mountain, do not look at how steep the climb is, but look to the peak of spiritual pleasure that is at the top of that mountain. I would encourage you to ponder and be possessed by the prophecies, dreams, yearnings, and prayer requests that are stronger than the very desire for food. Live this fast under the shadow of a dominating prophecy. At the right hand of God “are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). Look to the rewards of fasting, not to the temporary reach for Adam’s apple. Take this moment right now to write down a list of what you want and need from God: a friend to be saved, a disease to be healed, a calling to be heard, an addiction to be overcome, a job or career to cross into, a  people group to be won. Set your eyes on things above, not on things below (Col. 3:2), for the joy that was set before Him, Jesus endured the cross (Heb. 12:2). 40 days is not too steep a climb for eternal pleasure, impact, and reward. Let passion be the fire for The Fast!
 Prayer: Lord, we pray that you would release the fire of prophetic passion on the thousands that are fasting. I pray that they would live under the shadow of a dominating prophecy that would so capture them that this fast will become a joy and not a burden. I pray that the joy set before them will release grace to endure the suffering, the Cross, for the reward that is coming, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ekballo!

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“The number of missionaries on the field depends entirely on the extent to which someone obeys that command (Mt 9:38) and prays out the laborers.” – Andrew Murray

“therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:38

I trust that you’ve watched the video for today (See Lou Engles Day 16) We are now launching into praying, what I believe, is the most revolutionary verse in the Bible for the activation of evangelists and missionaries needed to reap the harvest at the end of the age. “The harvest truly is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest”. Notice the problem is not the overwhelming harvest. NO! The problem is there are not enough workers to reap the harvest. The solution to the problem; a heaven and earth shaking prayer!

My convictions are simple:

1.) Christ Himself commanded not suggested this prayer;

2.) We have generally neglected this prayer, therefore its potency has never been fully tested;

3.) History depends on its fulfillment. Our neglect of this Prayer was never acceptable, yet it is even less so now.

We prophesied 7 years ago that TheSend at Camping World Stadium would signal a massive shift into a new day of evangelism and missions. If this is true, then this verse stands at the forefront of this new wave of global harvest. In this single scripture, we have been entrusted with fuel for global revival. Matthew 9:38 packs enough dynamite to spark a worldwide reformation of evangelism and missions, mobilize tens of thousands of missionaries and reformers, and literally bring back the King.

I dare say the absence of a final, great harvest is not primarily due to the lack of sincere missionary effort or commitment, but principally to the inconsistency, neglect, and passion with which we have attended to this verse, for it is the Lord of the Harvest’s most elemental harvest strategy. If Andrew Murray is right that the number of missionaries on the field is ENTIRELY DEPENDENT on this prayer then the church worldwide must be praying it day and night incessantly. Let the Church worldwide recognize that heaven’s program for evangelism is a prayer idea launched in red type, an idea whose time has fully come. Beginning today, let all of us who read, make a radical commitment to take up Jesus’ command to urgently pray this verse with faith and passion knowing his word will not return empty but will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent.

Prayer:
Lord of the Harvest, we beg you with thousands around the world to ekballo laborers into the harvest fields of the earth! We cry out for a mass sending. Lord. We are asking for 80 million souls in America and 200 thousand full time missionaries to be hurled forth into the nations. Lord, tattoo this verse into the soul of the church worldwide. Let it be prayed, in every nation, day by day, until it becomes a thundering, pounding sound on the gates of heaven. Let its roar reach to the millions of bored, unemployed potential harvesters standing on the street corners in the eleventh hour of history. Loose dreams and visions on unsuspecting hearts. Invade future harvesters with dreams and burdens. Ekballo them into the harvest field and start with me in Jesus name, Amen.