DURING THE PERIOD OF FASTING MARRIED COUPLES SHOULD NOT ONLY AVOID FOOD BUT ALSO THE ‘OTHER ONE’

 DURING THE PERIOD OF FASTING MARRIED COUPLES SHOULD NOT ONLY AVOID FOOD BUT ALSO THE ‘OTHER ONE’.

WHEN YOU BREAK THE FAST IN THE EVENING YOU ARE TO AVOID THE OTHER ONE TILL THE FASTING SEASON IS OVER. THAT IS THE SCRIPTURE.

HAVE DISCIPLINE! THE THING WILL NOT KILL YOU THOSE 21 DAYS.

TODAY CHRISTIANS JOIN OGBONI TO BECOME COMMISSIONERS

IN THIS KINGDOM NOTHING OF VALUE IS FREE AND VALUE DETERMINES THE COST

WAITING TO GET ANYTHING OF VALUE WITHOUT BEING READY TO PAY THE PRICE WILL END IN FUTILITY

WHEN THERE IS NO CONTENTION THERE WILL BE NO POSSESSION.

NOBODY AT THE TOP IS FREE, EVERYBODY STAYING AT THE TOP EITHER BELONGS TO DARKNESS OR THEY BELONG TO LIGHT AND MOST OF THEM ARE IN DARKNESS.

TEA AND TEAR ARE ONE WORD, THEIR IS ONLY ADDED TO THE TEA, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO TEAR DOWN YOUR DESTINY LEAVE TEA IN THE MORNING.

NOBODY CAN RISE TO THE TOP AND NOT BE IN DARKNESS OR LIGHT AND YOU KNOW THAT THE PRICE THAT GOES WITH THAT OF DARKNESS IS MUCH.

SOME PREACHERS WILL SAY: THE DAYS OF FASTING ARE OVER, EVEN IF YOU DON'T FAST GOD WILL MAKE THINGS FAST FOR YOU.

MANY OF US WANT BREAKFAST AND WE WANT OUR LIVES TO BE FAST, NO WAY.

IF YOU'RE FASTING AND YOU BECOME SICK THEN YOU'RE NOT FASTING WITH THE WORD.

WHAT YOU DON'T TAKE SERIOUS WILL NEVER GIVE YOU A GLORIOUS RESULT.

POOR PREPARATION IS THE REASON FOR  POOR PERFORMANCE

-Pastor David Ibiyeomie at Salvation Ministries Home of Success| 1st Service

That you're alive to see the early part of 2022, don't say well I slept and woke up by an alarm, the Bible says I slept and woke up the Lord sustained me, not everybody that slept woke up today, consciously this morning lift up your voice and tell him thank you, thank him for the gift of life, specifically tell him I thank you for the gift of life, thank you for the gift of life, I celebrate your faithfulness and your goodness, lift your voice and thank him because he is the one that gave you life, thank you mighty God for the gift of life, blessed be the mighty God forever, in Jesus mighty name. 

Jesus speaking to the lawyers of his days he said you have the key and the key is of knowledge - Luke 11:52 the key has to do with knowledge that means if I have the keys of knowledge, I have access to the things of God. ChurchGist. The Bible says I give you the keys in Heaven and on Earth - Matthew 16:19, there is a key I need to have access to my inheritance because if I pick the wrong key I can be frustrated, just imagine you went to a house and you're given a bunch of keys and you picked the wrong one, you might not be able to access the house. Lord, which key is the right key that will give me access to my inheritance in this service, open it up to me, show me that key, go ahead and pray in the name of Jesus.  Ignorance will die today, somebody will have access to the right key and that which belongs to you in Christ will be delivered to you today, in the precious name of Jesus. If you're expecting something great give Jesus a big hand and then you may be seated. 

Praise the Lord!  This is our year of possibilities, our God is a God of all possibilities, if you look at scriptures properly, there is nowhere God said anything is impossible, several scriptures attest to that - Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23 (The scripture for the year), Mark 10:27, Luke 18:27, each scripture points out that everything is possible with God. Impossibility is ending in your life today, whatever God has ordained for you this year will become a reality in your life, it will be made possible in the name of Jesus. 

TOPIC: PREPARING TO BE GREAT 

There is no impossibility in this Kingdom, your access to all round possibility is a function of your spiritual preparation. ChurchGist. Greatness becomes possible when preparation becomes valuable, to ignore the process is to remain a mediocre for life, hear me people of God many want to be great but they don't want to prepare for greatness, prayer and fasting are divine channels if you want to have a path to greatness, it is what empowers you for the fulfillment of prophecies in our favour. This year has been declared a year of all possibilities but that will not come to a reality if you fold your hands and just watch life. 

In the Kingdom of God, God has given us access to things but there is a price to pay, as free as salvation is you must confess Jesus otherwise you won't be free, don't say well it is a free salvation so I take it, you have to confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. ChurchGist. It is our year of possibilities but we have to enforce it through prayer and fasting. 1st Timothy 1: 18, to war a good warfare means prayer and fasting. The prophecy is fulfilled on the platform of fighting a good warfare. No good warfare, no good welfare. You have to war, who goes to war and folds his hands, is that possible, the man says I am fighting and he does nothing. 

Many people want things to happen yet they don't want to pay the price for it. ChurchGist. Hear this and hear me well, in this Kingdom nothing of value is free and value determines the cost, there is a price tag attached to it, the value of a bicycle is not the same value as that of an aircraft, they can build a bicycle in one day but they don't build an aircraft in a week, so the values are not the same. So don't expect noodles to become a complete meal, noodles take 2 minutes, that's why we have noodles Christians, it takes time to prepare soup, there is no anointing that will make you say that in 2 minutes pot of soup will be ready, noodles can be ready in 2 minutes except you want to be a noodles kind of a Christian. 

Many of us want a noodles kind of miracle. ChurchGist. Hear me people of God, waiting to get anything of value without being ready to pay the price will end in futility, so you have to pay the price before you can get the prize. There is always a story behind the glory, preparation is the story, possibility is the glory and in this year the glory shall be revealed in your own life.

Desiring a great future without adequate preparation is like someone who wants to become a first-class student without studying, is it possible? Gods plan for you is to give you a future you hope for but you have your own part to play - Jeremiah 29:11, 1st Corinthians 16:9, a great door of all round of possibilities has been opened for you to access but the enemies will want to stop you, they will not stop you this year. ChurchGist. God did not say you will sit down and watch it come to pass, because the adversary will always want to resist your advancement, it is now left for you to say no, when there is no contention there will be no possession - Deuteronomy 2:24, no contention no possession, but as you contend beginning from tomorrow, you will take your own possession, shout a better amen - 1st Peter 2:9, you are supposed to be a marvel to your world, this scripture clearly defines that you're born into royalty having a birthright of colour, beauty and excellence in Christ but why is it not manifesting? Because there are opposing forces contending with you.

Arise and resist that devil, get him off your part and take what belongs to you - 1st Peter 5:8, James 4:7, you don't watch what you don't want, you don't resist him by just frowning your face. ChurchGist. You resist him with prayer and fasting, is that clear? Because his mission is to kill, to steal and to destroy - John 10:10, you don't wish the devil to go away, you resist him, crying does not move the Devil out, are you hearing me? The more you cry the happier the Devil gets, he has no friends, he is called the wicked one, so you have to fight back and get him off your life. ChurchGist. Please make sure you take this fasting and prayer seriously, don't sell off your birthright because of food, you know you can sell your birthright to food, there are people who don't know that their birthright has been sold. 

Let me say this to you, nobody at the top is free, everybody staying at the top either belongs to darkness or they belong to light and most of them are in darkness. ChurchGist. The top 20 billionaires they belong to cult, very few are in Christ, the rest are all members of occultic groups and you want to contend you with them, even in politics you can't rise to the top, with the kind of politics they play in the world today. ChurchGist. There is nobody at the top who is neutral, not one. Go and read Steve Jobs book, I have one of his books in my library, he was a Buddhist, go and find out, I won't call his name, the one that sponsored Coro, go and find out his name? He is among the top 4 billionaires in the world, heavily into occultism, he is a demon himself and you're now contending with them and then in in Nigeria, some of them they have become Satan associates. 

Then you sit down here and be chanting Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Glory be to God! Bring me tea in the morning, tea and tear are one word the r is only added to the tea, if you don't want to tear down your destiny leave tea in the morning, so r is to resist tea. ChurchGist.  Listen, there is a young man called Esau - Genesis 25:27-34, Esau was a hunter, Jacob was a cultivator, Jacob was in the house while Esau was hunting, when Esau came back, he brought what he caught, in the natural who should give who food? Esau should give Jacob food because he went to hunt, he came back to ask the man in the house food, you know the reason? The man in the house is more prepared than the man who went to hunt. ChurchGist. How can one meal kill you? Many will say if I don't eat, I will die, it is a lie you won't die. Some of us will say if I don't fast this January does that mean I will not be successful, let me tell you, you will not be successful o! Don't deceive yourself, things will be hard o, except you want to put your hands into dirty stuffs, in this wicked world, things will be hard except you want to go to another place. 

They brought a bank manager, she was like a vegetable when they brought her, she is not a member of this Church, the mother was crying she brought her picture I told her to bring her in person here. ChurchGist. The day they promoted her to the position of a manager, she sat on her sit and she could not move her two legs, maggots were on the sit she sat on, where did they come from, bankers don't go to church, you keeping hearing something like I am going to balance my ledger this evening, in this wicked world. ChurchGist. There are some people in Church whose hands are not clean o, don't follow their pattern, they go to all kinds of places, you your hands are clean and you're there saying I will not fast, I will not fast, what of this brother who is making it, you go and find out how he his surviving, nobody can rise to the top and not be in darkness or light and you know that the price that goes with that of darkness is much. So, if you are for light don't behave like Esau, don't sell your birthright for a morsel of meal, shout Hallelujah.

Hebrews 12:16, tell your stomach and say you won't kill me, if you want a turnaround in your life, this is a time to make it a reality and how do you make it a reality? By fasting. 

Why is fasting very important?

In these days there are all kinds of funny preachers. Some preachers will say: the days of fasting are over, even if you don't fast God will make things fast for you. All kinds of preachers on the television, whereas the man is with just 200 people in his Church. ChurchGist. All the big men of God, there is no single one of them who does not fast, go and meet Papa Adeboye, Papa Oyedepo they are fasting giants, you can't pastor a big church without fasting, you will pastor 2 to 4 people, those church you're seeing in America where they are shouting no fasting their members are 100, no mega church can do without fasting, because Satan will stand to resist. Fasting is a major requirement in the school of empowerment. 

Isaiah 58:6-14, It subdues wickedness, it loses you from the wickedness of the world and we are in a wicked world. ChurchGist. So, what fasting does is that it makes sure you're not a victim of wickedness. This world is wicked maybe you don't know. So, I am fasting because I don't want the wickedness of the wicked to keep me down. ChurchGist. There are certain challenges that will never go until you fast and pray, Jesus empowered them in Matthew 10 and they came back with reports that they casted out demons in his name, in the same Matthew 17:19-21, they could not cast out demon in a little child and Jesus came and said it is because of your unbelief, the Disciples said master we need to ask you something, in chapter 10 we did it but this one we cannot and Jesus answered them in verse 21 that this kind of challenge goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. 

There are certain challenges in your life that wickedness will place on you that no matter what you do it won't go until you pray and fast. ChurchGist. If you don't know the purpose of a thing abuse is inevitable, if you just sit down here and say I don't need to fast and you keep shouting Glory to God and you're demanding for good tea in the morning and good breakfast, even English is correct, break your fast, you don't fast in the morning so you take breakfast. ChurchGist. What do you break your fast with? Food, so the morning own they call it breakfast. I am sure God revealed it to them in English before they came up with that name. 

Many of us want breakfast and we want our lives to be fast, no way. ChurchGist. You can't take breakfast and your life becomes fast, once you've taken breakfast you've broken your fast. So, I fast to make sure the yoke upon me is broken. When I fast and pray, things that are not working will begin to work and this year everything not working will work for you. 

Your health begins to bounce back as you fast and pray, fasting does not affect health it makes your health come back, if you're fasting and you become sick then you're not fasting with the Word. ChurchGist. When I was sick, I fasted and I read the Bible, when I got to Matthew, it was in the fasting that light came from Matthew 8:27 and my health bounced back, I used my last strength to read the Bible. ChurchGist. You begin to live clean, fasting enhances answers to prayers. Fasting makes God to give you divine direction, when you're fasting you hear God very fast, your ears becomes very sensitive to the signals of God. If God guides you continually, will you be stranded? No way. You will not be stranded.

Please, that is why it is very important, don't joke with these 21 days of prayers and fasting if you don't want to be left behind. ChurchGist. Jesus fasted and when he left, the apostles had to fast, it is for every believer, please don't allow the enemy mess up your destiny. Arise and face him in battle to phase him out, our victory is sure but we have a part to play. How many of you will be serious this year? Because what you don't take serious will never give you a glorious result. Do you want to get things out of this year, be determined to prepare spiritually. Without adequate preparation spiritually, you can't succeed maximally in this Kingdom -2nd Chronicles 27:6, the way you prepare for an exam will determine whether you will pass or not, poor preparation is the reason for poor performance, most times you will see people that do not prepare yet they want to win.

The way we do in Nigeria football, they will assemble players a week to the tournament and they expect them to carry the gold medal and then when they are in the field they will start praying to win, how will they win like that with no preparation, they don't do things like that, most times it happens here. Olympics will be close and Nigeria will not prepare, Russia will have been preparing for four years but Nigeria will not prepare, two weeks to the Olympics we assemble our athletes and we pray for them and they go and come back with one bronze, poor preparation is the reason for poor performance. 

A miracle will be born when preparation meets opportunities. ChurchGist. I am praying for things to happen, no you have to prepare, stop waiting for God to fulfill things in your life, God is waiting for you to prepare adequately. Say I refuse to be lukewarm. Jesus prayed and fasted and Satan went to him how much more you and I. 

You know why some of you are eating in the dream, it is because you don't fast, so when they put food in your mouth, there is no resistance it just goes straight into your mouth. ChurchGist. Please fast, say I will fast, I will not sell my birthright like Esau. Don’t allow the enemy to have their way in your life, silence them with prayer and fasting. 

Let me say this to you before we round up, we are not fasting just to fulfill all righteousness, many of us will say well in our Church 21 days of fasting is the beginning of the new year, no that is not the purpose. ChurchGist. It is the adequate spiritual preparation to get result, because if you don't know you will say well every year we fast, last year I did it to 40 days, Glory to God, we are not in a competition. 

How to prepare for fasting.

During your fasting there are things you must prepare fast, no man fasts and then they are not spiritually prepared, in fasting you must know what you want, what do you want this year? Where there is no vision the people perish, surely there is an end and thy expectation shall not be cut off Proverbs 23:18, before you fast you must know what you want, what you want? What is the purpose you are fasting? 

1) Define what you want otherwise you will be weary and frustrated along the line, because if you don't define what you want you will be tired, I am fasting to be spiritually empowered for instance. ChurchGist. So, if I don't know that purpose, I will be tired along the line, but if know what I want so I can pay the price. 

The first time I walked into the supernatural, I went for Shiloh and while I was in Shiloh God spoke to me, he said I want to empower you for signs and wonders, separate yourself in the beginning of the year for 40 days, that was the first time I fasted 40 days. ChurchGist. Now, that fasting was not funny because I was not staying in Port Harcourt I was staying in Lagos, I fly to Port Harcourt on Saturday and do Sunday service and I fly back to Lagos, it was not funny, I stayed in the Old Governor’s Guest house for 40 days, the purpose was to be empowered for signs and wonders, so as to avoid distraction I stayed in Lagos and Sunday was the most challenging day,, when you enter the aircraft they will say should we serve you meal, Satan will now tell you; your throat is dry o, take something o, the real day of fasting is Sunday, after service your legs will be weak and I did it for 40 days and after the fasting my life never remained the same. 

2) Make sure in this fasting you engage your heart in seeking the Lord - Proverbs 16:1, your heart has to be prepared 

3) Stay out of sin, fasting time is not a time for pleasure, you must come confessing and forsaking your sins, that is when you say God forgive me and then you clean up. We have to clean up for God to show up - 1st John 1:8-9, Proverbs 28:13, to grow in grace you have to go out of sin.

4) Discipline yourself, no man can pray and fast without self-discipline. ChurchGist. That is not the time for you to be talking too much, that is the time to discipline even your language, you have to pick your word and if you don't know how to fast, some of you, you're fasting and you're watching Soap Opera, Zee World. You must discipline yourself, it is not a time to be visiting people, there are places you go to when you're fasting you just know yourself that you have entered trouble. ChurchGist. Your boss, you can't visit him that time except it is for official work, because he is your boss if you visit him, he can tell you sit with me at the breakfast table, will you tell him sorry sir I am fasting, leave him alone that period. Make sure you discipline yourself, know when to pray, know when to read the Bible, know when to talk, know how to talk.

Even married people during fasting you must avoid everything. ChurchGist. Yes, read your Bible it is there, during fasting, you know we read all manner of things, during fasting don't sleep with your wife, some of us will say since we have broken the fast in the evening then we can break everything, you people know that you're turning everything upside down. During fasting don't break o until the fasting is over, because some people are very funny, they say we have broken the fast in the evening with food, you know people find a way of turning the Bible upside down negatively, they say we break in the evening with food we can also break with the other one and start again. The Bible says you should abstain for the reason of fasting, two of you will agree that this period it is a no-go area for the purpose of fasting.

Have self-discipline and the thing will not kill you for those 21 days, will it kill you?  The man who wants to fast will fast, if you like quote all the scriptures he won't fast. ChurchGist. Christians listen, do you know why many Christians compromise, they don't prepare spiritually, so because you're not spiritually adequately prepared when challenge comes you will give up.

A true-life story In Lagos, a Christian was called to become the MD of a company and they were all occult men. ChurchGist. The person did not know that everyone that enters into that organization was initiated and he happens to be a charged believer not anyhow believer, the day they were to officially give him the position they held a board meeting and they put a calabash at the center and they cut everybody's blood and they told him to cut his blood, he said no he is not going to cut his blood, they told him that to be part of this system he has to do that. ChurchGist. When they were still talking, he brought out his mantle and waved it to the calabash and fire caught the calabash and all of them ran out of the room, he walked away. But if he was the type that has no spiritually power, he will sheepishly agree to their condition. Today Christians join “ogboni” to be commissioners, even in this government of Nigeria, they join the cult and they come to Church, they will appoint him as a commissioner, hell is real o! Heaven is real! 

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