What happens in the unseen world When you fast and when you pray It's the story of Moses and the Amalekites Moses and the children of Israel fighting the Amalekites and God told him to go up on the mountain and lift his hands Toward heaven He said in Exodus 17 and verse 8 verse 11 lift your hands Moses God commanded him to and as long as he had his hands and a physical Posture raised toward heaven and obedience to what God told him to do with a physical command and place a posture the way what he did with his body as long as as He had physical obedience. He was winning the battle in the unseen world because of his physical obedience This story 'm is important because it reinforces the fact that physical obedience listen bring spiritual release You can say well if god's gonna win the battle he'll just win the battle But in this story god said what you do with your physical body Moses? Determines whether or not this particular battle is going to be one because physical obedience brings spiritual release that's why this story is so important that somehow there is a connection between what we do physically and What happens spiritually what we do here with our physical bodies?
Makes a difference of what happens in the unseen world Angels were released into that battle when he raised his hands physically if his hands started coming down Because God told him to do it and if his hands started coming down Then the angels with withdrawal and the enemy would begin to defeat Hebrews chapter one says that angels are sent out to render services on behalf of those who inherit salvation it says the angels of God are spirits that are set as as flames of fire It says that in that same chapter later in that same chapter there. He'll make his ministers flames of fire. His he Mentions that there is breath there is wind this wind and fire that's what angels are like and he said I'll release those angels and they will be dispatched into the Situation so get it.
Now. Here's the point hands are raised and as long as Moses obeys what God tells him to do with a physical act The battle is won because of what he's doing physically with his body If his hands go down then he begins to lose the battle You see the Bible said lift up your hands without wrath Or doubting the word wrath means don't get mad about the instruction God's giving you to do something physically Do it without wrath and then do it without doubting doubting means don't question What good does it do? Don't question when God tells you to do something Physically, he said lift your hands don't stand there arguing with God saying I don't have to do that No, the truth is physical obedience brings spiritual release every time In the modern church, we have reduced everything down to feelings and intellect and not to any physical actions I Feel like I'm humble, so I never have to get on my knees and bow before the Lord.
I Feel like I love the Lord and I worship him on the inside and I don't have to clap my hands I don't have to raise my hands. I don't have to stand to my feet and worship God Physically with my body God knows my heart. I Feel faith so I don't have to risk anything I have faith in my heart Everything gets reduced down in the modern day Church to internal stuff and there is no outward manifestation But if you tell your wife or your husband, I love you on the inside, but you never show it on the outside they're gonna question you and God says sometimes I demand of my people a physical act of obedience before I release spiritual reward and Fasting is one of those acts of obedience there are times when God requires of all of us a physical action a physical action why because there's a connection between The physical action here and the spiritual power that is released there Moses with his hands up as long as his hands are up Israel wins physical obedience releases spiritual power favor help protection healing miracles blessing and When you begin to fast and pray you release God's supernatural Power and forces of heaven.
I'm going to show you this right out of the Bible, you know I hear this little saying higher levels higher devils, and that's a good saying and I get it you know that the higher you go up in God the more the devil fights you but it's almost that's statement almost glorifies the devil to me higher Levels higher - it's almost says I don't want to I don't want to I don't want to go too high cause then the devil And know who I am and really attack me. He already knows who you are and Who is protected more on a battlefield a private a new enlisted soldier or a Five-star general who has more soldiers around him protecting him the private or the general the truth is listen to this higher level Higher angelic protection higher angelic Participation in the assignment. God has given you the greater.
God trusts you with greater assignments the greater He's like Elijah when he when his servant went out said oh my god, the Assyrians are surrounding us What are we gonna do prophet? He said just relax Lord opened his eyes and he looked out and when he looked again He saw chariots of horses and fire Surrounding them because the higher the call on your life and assignment the higher the divine protection of God around you and Your family don't be afraid to dream big to ask big to believe could be I'm not gonna back down Cuz I'm scared the devil will fight me more if we keep doing more We've just begun and we're going to higher levels and we're gonna have more angelic protection clap your hands and praise God if you believe Chapter 10, I'll begin reading with verse 2 in those days. I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
I Ain't no Pleasant bread no meat no wine Came in my mouth Nor did I anoint myself at all till three whole weeks were fulfilled verse 10 Suddenly while I was fasting while I was eating vegetables While I was seeking God while I was praying I made a vow I told God if you read Daniel chapter one, he goes into detail of what he ate He said I ate vegetables and water and I abstained from pleasant food He said while I was in this three-week time an angel came verse 10 suddenly a hand touched me that made me tremble on my knees and on the palm of my hands and he Said Oh Daniel man greatly beloved Understand the words I speak to you. This is an angel talking to him and notice He said I come and this is how God feels about you Daniel greatly beloved Understand the words I speak to you stand upright for I have been sent to you while he was speaking the word to me I Started to trim it Verse three. He said I ate no Pleasant bread Listen carefully the word pleasant there is desirable.
I ate no Pleasant or desirable bread What's interesting is when when Daniel 11 said our Daniel 10 and verse 11 says old Daniel man greatly beloved the word greatly beloved is the same word described desirable old Daniel Greatly desired. I ate no desirable bread God's response was Oh Daniel You are greatly desired by me I Ate no desirable food. I became a man greatly desired by God during this 21 days There's a difference folks between God's love and God's favor God's love is 100% full-on seven days a week It 24 hours a day.
There's nothing you can do that can make him love you more There's nothing you can do that can make him love you less. You don't earn it. You can never deserve it His love is full.
His love is free and God loves you There is a difference between God's love and God's favor Favor is different because it is initially given to us as a gift and It's increase in our life is dependent upon our stewardship of what we do to gain God's favor The love of God is it is absolutely full and free It's perfect love and it's full and it's yours, but the favor of God does not come In its fullness on your life Until you do certain things that gets God's attention You can't by God's favor, but you do not get more of God's favor without sacrifice The increase of favor comes from obedience and sacrifice Daniels story is a story of favor It's a picture of unusual increase of favor God says when you win my favor when you do things there's something about you doing a physical act of obedience that brings spiritual release a favour and blessing Look out Miracles will come favor will come Blessing will come God will raise you up It's less of you and more of him and you know when you get there to God be the glory he said Daniel man greatly beloved understands the words that I speak to you stand upright For I've been sent to you. Do not fear Daniel. Listen from the first day you set your heart to understand and Humble yourself before God your words were heard.
I Have come because of your words Listen now the Angels talking but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days There was a principality over Persia witches Iran, and this strong demon power Withstood me the angel said for 21 days But because you kept fasting and praying Michael one of the chief Prince's Michael came to help me There are three major angels Gabriel Michael and Lucifer Lucifer failed Gabriel brings messages but Michael is the warring angel and he was sent as reinforcements to break through the enemy's resistance Now let me explain something to you There is no battle between God and Satan God God's not warring with the devil God said if I by the finger of God cast Satan out, all God's got to do is flip his finger He gave the devil the finger and and cast him out of heaven There's not like this speak about there is no war between God and Satan but listen, everything was created for purpose there is a war between the Angelic forces and demonic forces and you and I get to vote who wins That's what this story teaches that there are angels and demons that are battling and Angels have the answer to prayer and they're battling and you and I what we do physically can release spiritual power to those angels We vote in the Battle of the heavenlies Let me close with this thought in that story In mark chapter 17 when the disciples said why could we not cast this devil out? Jesus gave two reasons he said you have unbelief and You are a perverse generation In other words, he was saying to his own disciples because that's who asked him number one if you have unbelief you have you have disconnected from God you Have disconnected from the word You have disconnected from praise and worship you have disconnected from church you have disconnected from my presence you have disconnected from hunger in for me and When you disconnect from God unbelief begins to take over your not faith filled Unbelief begins to take over your life fear anxiety hopelessness despair And he said first of all your unbelief you're disconnected from God and watch this and your perverse comes from the word pervert In other words, he's saying you you're not connected to God and on top of that you're too connected to the world But let me tell you how you fix that this kind comes by fasting and prayer What is prayer prayer is connecting to God? Connecting back to God fasting is disconnecting from the world Disconnecting from the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes the pride of life.
I don't care who you are Constantly. I am your pastor. I am your preacher I do this full-time and I constantly have to go back and align myself and say God help me Because I'm disconnecting from you and I'm connecting to the world and that's why I love This season when we get real when we get honest when we get to this place where we feel like we're disconnected from God We're too connected to the world in comes fasting and it disconnects us from the world and in comes prayer it reconnects us to God and suddenly We have Dominion and power over the enemy and a fresh anointing and we obtain the favor of God again on our lives Somebody give him a great shout of praise Don't you want that?