owning church family and ministry
friends I'm pastor Stephen Brooks
welcome today to our midweek Bible study
called morning glory I'm so glad that
you're here today and we are now in
officially the new year welcome to the
year 2020 and also to the new decade
praise the Lord it's your time to shine
say Amen now we're going to talk today
about launching out setting sail on our
21-day fast which is just about to start
praise God
so we'll go over a few things today and
discuss what to expect and some tips
concerning the 21 days of the liquid
fast that we are stepping into praise
God let's open up today's message with
prayer Heavenly Father we ask that by
your Holy Spirit the Scriptures would be
illuminated and that we can walk like
Jesus did in the power of your Holy
Spirit in the power of your Holy Spirit
now father we give you praise we thank
you for this in the name of Jesus we all
agree in save amen praise the Lord now
let's just briefly review a few things
before we get into some tips and
insights about doing that 21-day liquid
fast let's do a short abbreviated review
of why we should fast in the first place
okay so the Gospel of Luke chapter 4 has
always been the primary verses that I go
to when teaching on the subject of
fasting and prayer now we see here in
Luke chapter 4 verse 1 it says then
Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit
now he was baptized there at the Jordan
River by John and as Jesus was coming up
out of the waters the Holy Spirit came
down in bodily form looking somewhat
like what we would call a dove now
remember he's not a dove the Holy Spirit
is not a bird but he had the semblance
of a dove coming down upon the Lord
Jesus Christ Jesus was filled with the
spirit and it says he returned from the
Jordan and was led by the spirit in 2
the wilderness now that would be Luke
chapter four verse one let's go to the
conclusion of the 40 days of prayer and
fasting verse 14 then Jesus returned
okay so the fast is over he has overcome
the three primary temptations of the
devil
then Jesus returned in the power of the
Spirit to Galilee and news of him went
out through all the surrounding region
praise the Lord now verse 1 we see that
he was filled with the Holy Spirit but
notice a distinct difference after 40
days of prayer and fasting he comes back
and it says that he returns in the power
of the Spirit pastor Stephen what is
fasting and prayer put together what is
it mainly it is primarily a platform for
spiritual empowerment and let me say
this in all humility my friends if Jesus
needed it don't think for a moment that
you don't need it praise the Lord
mmm well pastor Stephen I don't need
that no you're not greater than Jesus if
Jesus need it too fast
and he did it to pray and he did it to
draw near to the Lord you're gonna have
times in your life where you need to
fast also and that is why we are doing a
corporate 21-day liquid fast by the way
this is the largest corporate fast that
we've ever had as a ministry as there
are people from all over the country and
literally from nations around the world
that are joining together on this 21-day
corporate fast Pastor Steven why should
I fast because of Luke chapter 4 yes but
also because of Matthew chapter 6 this
is amazing you've got to see it Matthew
chapter 6 verse 1 Jesus said take heed
that you do not do your charitable deeds
before men to be seen by them now there
is the giving of charitable deeds often
done
private sometimes also done as a public
act of worship when it's even done what
we would say corporately in other words
God told Moses to take an offering from
the Israelite people and that wasn't a
private offering where the people gave
privately no that was a public offering
and he said you know you can give on
different levels gold silver bronze and
you know linen and you know whatever
that you have a value you can contribute
to this that of course was going to the
construction of what we would call or
theologians called the tabernacle of
Moses that beautiful tent structure that
would house the Ark of the Covenant and
the other sacred furniture that would be
created so there's private giving at
times there's also public or what we
would call corporate giving here Jesus
refers to private giving take heed that
you do not do your charitable deeds or
acts of giving before men to be seen by
them so Jesus addresses the subject of
giving verse 2 therefore when you do a
charitable deed not if you do a
charitable deed not if in other words if
you give but when you give ok verse 3
but when you do a charitable deed ok in
other words when you give praise the
Lord I mean it's really very interesting
the verse 4 also be talks about your
charitable deed again or your giving can
you imagine a Christian talking to a
Christian who says they're born again
claims to be born again but they don't
give anything to God they don't give a
tithe they don't they don't give an
offering they don't even give a penny
you would have to think in your heart
there's something seriously wrong with
that Christian if they say there are a
Christian and they claim to be born
again but yet they don't give anything
and yet in church when an offering
basket is passed over in a man of God
gives an opportunity for tithes and
offerings to be received and they have
been in that atmosphere or environment
for years and they've never given one
thing you would think something is
really out of order there and you would
be correct you would be correct because
Jesus did not say if you give he said
when you give so in other words giving
is one of the primary tenants of the
Christian faith
if that is lacking in the life of a
believer something is going to be really
weird in their life this is why because
the symmetry the symmetry of the man or
woman of God is never going to be
developed if you're not a giver it's
it's very important Jesus talked about
it okay so we know that giving is
important no Christian would undermine
that teaching of Christ Matthew chapter
six verse five and when you pray again
not if you pray well pastor Stephen I'm
a Christian but I don't really pray you
know what that's like saying that you're
human and you don't breathe air you know
you would probably want to ask a person
you know well what planet are you from
are you from the planet Krypton I mean
why I've never met a person who doesn't
you know breathe and you know somehow
not live I've never met somebody who
says they're a Christian but yet has no
prayer life that would be extremely
weird and again if there were a
Christian who did not pray you're
looking at somebody that as a child of
God is going to have a tremendous area
of their spiritual walk
totally undeveloped completely
undeveloped symmetry way out of
proportion in other words the image of
Christ there's no way it can be
expressed clearly or materially through
a believer who has no prayer life hmm
and when you pray okay that's verse 5
verse 6 but you when you pray Jesus
continues on he's not taking it for
credit that maybe you know is you know
prayer is optional no it's not optional
it is a necessity it's just like
breathing it's just a part of your life
verse 6 but you when you pray verse 7
but when you pray and when you pray do
not use vain repetitions verse 9 in this
manner therefore pray and then lays out
the classic prayer known as the Lord's
Prayer boom praise the Lord
so prayer prayer is presented also on
the same level as giving hey this is not
something that is that's optional this
is in the realm of this is a commandment
this is your this is your way of living
this is what God requires of you as as
one of his children praise the Lord
thank you Jesus
very amazing teachings here that Jesus
is bringing forth Wow
oh let's not stop he talks about three
primary things we've covered to verse 16
moreover he continues the subject
moreover when you fast woo and then he
goes into some teaching on this in other
words he doesn't say if you fast in
other words he doesn't say you know if
you ever get that feeling the fast trust
me you'll never ever get a feeling the
fast it's just something that you do
anyhow why because that's just what you
do you incorporate it into your life you
may never feel like praying you pray any
out wide that's what you're supposed to
do as a child of God well I don't really
feel led to give anything pastor Stephen
that's your flesh well your flesh will
never lead you to do anything that's
holy or that's pleasing to God
hallelujah rise up and be the person
that God wants you to be and practice
spiritual disciplines why because that's
what God's expects you to do that's just
what you're supposed to do moreover when
you fast
verse 16 verse 17 but you when you fast
mm-hmm praise the Lord
verse 18 he continues so that you do
that appeared to men to be fasting but
to your father who is in the secret
place wow he talks about giving he talks
about prayer and he talks about fasting
all in the same capacity this is the
lifestyle of the believer hallelujah now
I find it interesting let me give you a
natural example guys that like to build
up their muscles some guys you know they
build them up to a degree they do they
think you know maybe I should become a
bodybuilder I've done a lot with this
maybe I'll be a bodybuilder but here's
the thing
you could have your your chest your
pectoralis major pectoralis minor and
all of your chest your different
compartments of your chest built up
really well upper chest lower chest mid
the whole thing you know okay you get
your chest built up really well and then
you could develop your back really
really well and you know get your you
not just have width but also depth and
get the V look and get all of that taper
it in really well and put a lot of
weight in and do
a lot of dead lifts and a lot of lot of
things you know bent over rows get your
back built up really good it's a guy you
can do all that and you go off to a
bodybuilding competition and you can
compete but you know if your legs are
not developed the judges are gonna look
at you they're going to just say hey you
know can't you see that you're totally
out of symmetry you don't have symmetry
it's one of the major things they grade
you on in other words if you're out of
proportion this is built up really well
but over here you've totally neglected
that area you know what you really
shouldn't even go out on the stage
because they're gonna laugh at you
you're not you're not developed you're
out of symmetry and you shouldn't be
able to see that you should be able to
fix that and give correction to that an
area that's needed now in today's world
of bodybuilding if you mentioned the
name Arnold Schwarzenegger
everybody knows who that is because
before he was famous in movies and
things like that he already had
established his name and his identity as
being mr. Olympia mr. universe and
having won many titles but if you look
at his old pictures when he was very
young I'm talking around the age of 17
the age of 18 he would always pose with
these really big arms he already he
always had big arms okay so he just
developed what was already kind of like
in the genetic gene pool so to speak so
he developed that really well but what
and you'd had big back and stuff like
that strong chest strong legs as far as
quads but if you look at him posing when
he was 17 or 18 years old you'll always
see him posing in water up to his knees
why because he had very small calves and
it was one day when he was really
serious about training and he was around
some really other really good
bodybuilders and one of those men being
Ray Macaulay who was mr. South Africa by
the way Ray Macaulay today I think his
church probably has about 45,000 members
but he was mr. South Africa way back in
the early 70s and he was really big in
the bodybuilding scene too I think he
finished third and mr. America or
something like that but he was the one
that told Arnold Schwarzenegger hey if
you really want to go somewhere you're
gonna have to deal with those calves
because that's what's holding you back
you don't have the symmetry that the
judges are looking for you're doing
really good in these certain areas your
biceps nobody is really going to be able
to compete with you on in that area but
if you don't fix the thing with your
calves and get out of the water you're
not really going to go to where you're
supposed to go why the judges are going
to grade you on symmetry so he showed
arnold schwarzenegger how to blast his
calves and he you know he got to the
place where that was really a strong
part and he could hold his own in that
area while he really stood out primarily
of course with the upper body physique
now this is just a natural example but
you have to understand with symmetry
that's let me say it like this symmetry
is more than just beauty it's more than
just balance it's more than just nice
aesthetics symmetry in sports actually
is there for the prevention of injury
because if you build your arm but your
arms are really big with your biceps but
you neglect your triceps you're going to
get an injury it's just a matter of time
because after all your arms are
two-thirds triceps and that that's not
developed and you keep just building up
the front of the arm and not the back of
the arm you're risking injury and it's
probably going to bite you sooner or
later so you have to you have to have
symmetry in other words if you're going
to develop the front develop the back
you're going to develop the chest
develop the back area if you develop
your chest and you never touch your back
and you just keep doing bench press and
things like that your shoulders will
start to pull inward because of the
chest muscles getting so strong you'll
actually pull your shoulders inward and
now you're going to look goofy
when you turn sideways and people see
your your Anatomy they're gonna like hey
why your shoulders doing that that
doesn't look right
that's because you're not developing
your back to strengthen the back muscles
to keep it in the right symmetry these
these are all things where you've got to
be properly developed let me say this in
the order of symmetry these body
builders stand in front of mirrors and
they look at every detail and when you
stand in front of the word of God the
Holy Spirit anoints the word and shows
you the area how you need to focus on
that because
symmetries not right there you're
risking injury by really all over
developing this one area and completely
ignoring this like it doesn't exist and
so that's what the Word of God is James
said it's a mirror and you can look into
that mirror of the Word of God it'll
show you anything that you need
development in or help in that's what
the Holy Spirit will do praise God
so if you skip any of the big three
giving prayer fasting if you if you if
if you think well I'll just do prayer
I'm not much of a giver and you know
that's just not my thing and I'm
certainly not a faster that I don't do
any fasting there's going to be some
areas where you're not going to have the
strength especially in these last days
that we're living in where you really
need to have that fine-tuned precision
hearing that comes through fasting and
prayer where your spiritual ears your
spiritual eyes are open and you can move
with the spirit you're gonna you're
gonna need that this is absolutely
essential for living in the last days so
if you think that you can somehow soar
like an eagle spiritually without
walking in all three of these you're
kidding yourself you're not looking in
the mirror and you're not looking at
what the Holy Spirit wants you to see
that needs to be developed right now
he'll show you well by the way usually
in the Western Church its fasting that's
usually the neglected oh not that one
pastor Stephen anything about that I
can't speak about the church in Africa I
can't speak about the church in Asia or
in Russia or you know other parts of the
world I'm not talking about the global
church I'm talking about primarily the
American church and you know we have up
we have a lot of situations in America
the number one killer in America is
heart disease and you know the they call
it the standard American diet
abbreviated s ad in other words it's a
sad diet standard American diet an
acronym for s ad and it's not good no I
fast totally for spiritual reasons I I'm
not into the health aspect you know I
know there's blessings in it that you
know that it is what it is on that so
that that's cool but I'm after the
spiritual aspect
but I will say this don't be surprised
you start fasting and you know you get
back to your college weight getting who
knows - maybe even get back to your high
school weight it's amazing
that what it will do to your physiology
and you it can really help some of you
who you've really been hit by this
American diet whoo-hoo fry it's like
everything's fried everything everything
has high fructose corn syrup in it every
drink does even ketchup does all you
know and unless you're really eating the
good healthy organic stuff and but
outside of that it's just everything's
fried it's just a it's dangerous out
there the the King's food that Daniels
said hey up not eating that that's what
most Americans are eating so this is an
area that if you ignore it you're gonna
ignore the beautiful symmetry the image
of Christ that the Holy Spirit is trying
to get you conformed into so allow the
Holy Spirit to lead you to strengthen
you as you step into it the grace of God
will be there praise God thank you Lord
Jesus hallelujah so the Holy Spirit is
highlighting that area I think for many
in the at least from what I've seen in
the American church is the area fasting
mister area fasting praise the Lord for
some believers it could be all three
master Steven I'm guilty I'm a tightwad
and I don't really have a prayer life I
have a very strong TV life i watch a lot
of television and watch a lot of sports
a lot of movies uh I really need to pull
it up on all three praise God welcome to
the set sailed 21-day fast get on board
the ship is about to hit out in just a
few more hours you would be amazed at
what the grace of God could do for you
so you got a lot of grace teachers out
there hey teach on teach on fasting
praise God you you want to know the
grace of God I'm not talking about the
grace of God the cover sin the forgive
sin or even the grace of God to live a
holy life which is really the primary
thrust the grace to empower you to live
holy different subject though but if you
really just say if you're one today
what's all this up what's all the
message about grace I'd really like to
experience grace okay step into a fast
and watch God's grace come but you'll
never you'll never encounter it in that
area unless you step into it make a
commitment to go for it I mean it's
amazing while you step into it
you know I'll never make it I'll never
get past day one next thing you know
you're on day ten oh I'm never gonna
make it the next thing you know it's day
21 wow what was that that was the grace
of God that my friends was the grace of
God
whew praise the Lord and when the grace
is there it's there and it will be here
on this fast this is a God ordained
spiritual exercise that we are stepping
into today praise the Lord now little
reminder the fast starts on January the
9th at 12:01 in the morning 12:01 a.m.
pastor Stephen I'll be asleep good that
way when you wake up you're already like
maybe five or six hours into the first
day how about that isn't that nice okay
but it starts January the 9th 12:01 a.m.
in the morning the ship sails out of the
spiritual harbour on a fast ok it ends
on January the 30th at 12:01 a.m. that
is a complete 21 days of no food this is
a liquid fast speaking of a liquid fast
a lot of people asked me pastor Stephen
what do you actually drink on a liquid
fast well I'll give you a few examples
here's my here's my number one friend
praise the Lord
okay I'm talking about a juice friend
now if Pastor Kelly were sitting here
and she were teaching from her angle she
wouldn't have any fruit juice
she would have vegetable juice and fruit
juice just doesn't work for her please
find what works for you by the way if
you have a medical condition please
consult with your doctor unless you get
into something that could negatively
affect your health I had a pastor friend
that he did a he did a fast one time and
he was on all kinds of prescription
heavy prescription drugs and he did this
fast and he passed out on the tenth day
and he died they took him to the
hospital gave him the shot you know he
hook you up to the electric shock thing
they were able to bring him back to life
then he died again they kept on shocking
him and doing their stuff after the
second time they brought him back that
doctor you know a couple days later when
they when the doctor could finally talk
to him when he's coherent he said what
happens you said I was the pastor simple
I was fasting
and when he fast it when he when he on
day ten when he fell out and died as he
was falling his head his mouth struck
the granite countertop and knocked his
uh doctor who actually didn't knock him
out knocked him really loose a few weeks
later when he was preaching in the
church his teeth that were real loose
they just fell out when he was preaching
picked him up and he stuck him back in
him different story
but nevertheless the doctor said now why
would you do a fast when you're on all
of these heavy heavy medications and he
said well I didn't know what it would
affect me like that so if you are on
some type of medication or think you
know something like that just check with
your doctor maybe your doctor will say
hey you're good to go go for it anyhow
you know so just check with your doctor
but there's many of you that you're not
in that category you know you're good to
go for it so just step into it just step
into it and experiment find out what
works well for you as I was saying it
pastor Kelly were sitting here talking
to you she'd have different things she
would have probably carrot juice that's
one of her favorites and she likes yeah
you know mixing these green drinks and
things like that that's more of her
thing and you know over 20-plus years
ago she used to work at a juice bar and
she was the juicer and you know just
basically ran the juice bar and so uh
she knows all about that so veggie juice
is her thing
and she would always laugh there was
this one guy that would come in every
day sometimes multiple times today to
get this big huge you know raw carrot
juice you know like this big of a thing
of carrot juice and um Kelly told me she
said Stephen he is drunk so much carrot
juice it took him like three months he's
actually completely orange now he would
walk into the store as the orange man
well I mean orange he literally turned
orange and can you imagine if you got so
much of the Word of God inside of you
that you that you started just being
illuminated with the anointed Word of
God well let's get filled up on the
things of God don't drink so much carrot
juice please that you turn orange that
might not be good for you but I love
orange juice but for me
I'd like the the low acid Minute Maid
orange juice this just you know low acid
that works for me because after about
five days normal normal orange juice can
kind of upset my tummy so I just drink
something that's super smooth nice and
easy and really if this is all I had
that's all I need I'm happy just give me
some orange juice but
sometimes because you know it's just
good to break up the monotony you might
want to throw something else in here's
something I really enjoy a whole lot
this is fresh Concord grape juice so
good so good praise the Lord let me say
this
the number one reason many Christians
that start off on a fast but break it
and they they don't they don't complete
their time of consecration is because of
this they're not drinking enough liquid
and they get dehydrated and they just
run out of steam and they think oh it
must not be God's will
well that was God's will you're just not
drinking enough juice and that's why you
ran out of energy ran out of steam I'll
drink one of these a day okay what does
this have half a gallon or fifty nine
ounces all easily drink one of these a
day and I don't drink it refrigerated I
drink at room temperature because when
it's cold it doesn't go down this good
when it's room temperature it's just
like getting an orange off of a tree
well it's going to be the ambient
temperature of whatever the temperature
is outside tastes better okay so I'm
gonna drink this room trim temperature
actually on all of them I don't like it
refrigerate it I don't like cold stuff
so find what works for you this is
orange juice excuse me orange juice low
acid grape juice right here blueberry
pomegranate why not try something
different I actually tried this one a
little while back and I liked it but I'm
not honestly not that big on pomegranate
some people are crazy about it I know
some of you watching me right now you've
been with me to Israel before I've seen
you guzzle down the orange juice you
know and and the pomegranates I see when
we go to Israel and they you see all the
vendors and particularly in Jerusalem
squeezing their fresh orange juice
you'll find me in the orange juice line
you'll find a lot of my friends over in
the pomegranate juice lying I don't know
why a lot of people I know they'll
totally go for the pomegranate juice and
it's and its really good the pomegranate
granite is actually a symbol of the
Torah because there's supposed to be 600
I believe in 33 or 638 seeds
I believe it's 633 seeds in every
pomegranate in other words 633 rules
regulations that are contained in the
Mosaic law so that's that but it's good
stuff it's
all good stuff you don't find what works
for you don't be afraid to experiment
but make sure you're drinking a lot of
liquids look I'm working full-time just
like you are and you know there's
probably gonna be a lot going on in your
life witness life slow right so
everything's busy life keeps coming full
speed and you're going full speed drink
a lot and that way you stay up and that
way you keep on going
by the way the only other thing that
I'll throw in maybe apple juice but
outside of that my juice the only thing
I'll throw them in will probably be some
coffee
oh ho Pastor Steven do you actually
drink coffee yeah I'll drink a coffee
every morning because there's something
about holding something hot in your hand
and drinking something hot that really
helps your soul
what is your soul your soul is your mind
it's your will it's your emotions it's
that realm of your feelings and so it
helps your soul to have something hot
because remember what is one of the main
purposes of a fast it's to get the soul
we could we could say in a sense humbled
it's to get the flesh crucified the
urges and the desires of the flesh
get them all under so that your spirit
is dominant because it's your spirit
that's regenerated it's your spirit that
is born again not your soul and
certainly not your body now one day
we'll get a new glorified body and one
day we'll get to heaven and our souls
our minds will be fully renewed in the
image of God completely and so that's
all good to go but for right now the
only thing that's been regenerated is
our spirit okay so those are things to
be mindful of it's very helpful for your
soul they have something hot to drink so
I'll drink a coffee while I'm on my fast
because it it makes me happy and you'll
need that because your soul will be like
your soul will be thinking whoa and you
know you're thinking about pizza and
stuff like that or whatever your type of
food is - makes you happy
don't worry the restaurants all the
restaurants all the supermarkets all the
stores all the food will still be there
after you come back after your fast is
completed it's not going anywhere
praise the Lord all right let's talk
about a few things that you can expect a
few things that you're probably going to
run into while you are on this 21-day
lick
it fast and when I say liquid fast I'm
not talking about blended food Oh Pastor
Steven I was gonna take a steak and
throw it in the blender and grind it all
up and tried to drink it no I'm not
talking about that I'm talking about
just liquid fast okay liquid
praise the Lord we're not getting into
you know blended foods of uh you know
trying to somehow liquify a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich and blend it
and drink it no we're talking about good
clean liquids flush your body and let a
fast do its work no food praise the Lord
thank you Jesus all right things to
expect and things you're probably going
to run into on a 21 day liquid fast
number one if this happens to you it may
happen it may not let me tell you what
you need to do to fix it if you run into
a place where your voice I'm talking
about your vocal cords your speaking
voice begins to get weak in other words
you tried to speak but you realize you I
don't have the normal volume that I
normally have what's going on okay
what's taking place is actually you're
not drinking enough juice you're not
drinking enough liquid or vegetable
juice or whatever it is you're drinking
you're not drinking enough oh yes I am
pastor Steve and I drank two glasses
it's not enough okay if you're
experiencing your voice your vocal cords
getting weak what's actually happening
is you're getting dehydrated you may not
think you are but that's what's going on
so immediately if you notice that start
drinking a whole lot more I mean drink
28 ounces drink drink 30 maybe not all
at once but start getting liquid into
your system because you're getting
dehydrated that's why your voice is
getting real weak like that praise God
so make sure you are drinking a lot of
juice a lot of liquid veggie juice or
whatever it is praise God
whoa hallelujah oh thank you Jesus I
know some my wife I just kind of
laughing because my wife she likes these
green drinks I don't see how she does it
I know maybe some of you like them who
through those green drinks Wow mm-hmm I
don't know I don't know how some of you
get them down so some of the things that
are in them I'm just like I cringe yet
but you know what we're all different
and it's all wonderful whatever makes
you happy
drink it praise God drink your veggie
juice or fruit juice whatever it is be
careful with the good old prune juice
Alleluia your
probably be wanting to visit the
restroom quite often you know one time I
was at the grocery store I actually was
a super Walmart I think it was like
maybe day twelve of a juice fast and I
felt I felt like my stomach was a little
bit constipated kind of a strange thing
to be have a constipation while you're
on a fast but it can be a little bit
normal sometimes and because your body
is really getting flushed just getting
cleansed but things weren't quite
getting flushed maybe the way they
should so I thought you know what maybe
I should get some prune juice so I I
went to the Super Walmart and for
whatever reason it was just packed the
aisles were packed full of people and
you know prune juice is kind of like
yeah if you live outside of America I
don't know if it's like this in other
countries but I know in America prune
juice is kind of like a funny thing it's
like a joke you know usually prune juice
is somebody you know something for some
ninety year old person who's wearing
dentures and they're all constipated so
they drink prune juice there's always
some kind of like joke associated with
prune juice but it'll certainly clean
your system out at least that's right
that's what I was told swipe I thought
I'll go to the store get some prune
juice and so on I kind of wanted to be
as low-profile about it just because of
the joke all the jokes associated what
prunes you so there were so there was
like an old lady she was working on the
on the Isle of where all the juices were
at and I couldn't find the prune juice
so um I said ma'am kind of low profile I
said I said can you tell me where the
prune juice is that she said the what I
said the prune juice
she said you're looking for prune juice
and she said it real loud I said yes yes
she said I don't know where it's at and
she turned around and one of her
associates standing at the very far end
of the aisle packed and the whole aisles
packed with people she yelled to her
associate friend at the end of the aisle
she said Jamie do you know where the
prune juice is this man's looking for
prune juice and everybody on the Isle of
course turned and looked at me who's the
guy looking for prune juice well
eventually I found the prune juice as
she walked me all over the find it where
it is the brain juice we finally found
it
what are you drinking prune juice for
well I that's just you know I just
started could use some mmm well enjoy
enjoy well I enjoyed and it did the job
praise the Lord but if you drink it
don't be too far away from the toilet
praise the Lord amen yes it's good it's
it's cleansing for your body but
remember we're after the spiritual games
you're probably going to be touched in
every area spirit soul and body get
ready for it mm-hmm number two get ready
for this one you're going to have bad
breath
not me Pastor Steven oh yes you will yes
you will you did be aware of that
because you might not notice that you
probably won't actually but your friends
around you will and if you are in places
in your work or your career field where
maybe there's like a corporate board
meeting and the boss leans over to you
and says what would you suggest before
you whisper back your suggestion make
sure you're chewing some gum Pastor
Steven I thought you wrote in your book
not to chew gum well I'd rather chew
some gum and then breathe awful breath
into the person that's maybe writing me
a check you know you know paying the
bills and so forth so just be mindful of
things like that
you you want to try to hide what you're
up to you know this is a corporate fast
between us we all know that we're
fasting but out there in the world go
about your business let them have no
idea that you're in a fasting mode so if
you have to juice of gum do that okay
you know there's there's the sugar-free
gum tastes good and it'll hide and fake
out that yucky breath that everybody
gets when they're fasting okay you need
to you need to know this also while
you're fasting liquid fast it's even
it's even amplified if you do water only
but today we're just mainly talking
about juice fasting veggie fasting any
form of liquid fast you're going to get
this yucky white coating of film that's
going to be on your tongue for the
entire 21 days yeah they'll start
showing up somewhere along day one
probably six or nine or ten hours into
the first day you're gonna get this
yucky coating on your tongue by the way
that's a universal indicator that the
fast is already beginning to work
Stephen what is that yucky stuff well
that those are toxins that are being
released out of your body when your body
Detox's when you're on a fast and your
body is doing a detox and expelling all
the yucky things out of you that need to
come out that that are not it's not
natural to be in there so often a lot of
it comes out of guess where your tongue
and that's also why you're having bad
breath it's not just something in your
mouth it's what's coming out of your
body okay and a lot of it comes out of
your mouth sometimes it can come out of
your nose but most of us gonna come out
of your mouth and a lot of it it's gonna
come out of your tongue and your tongue
is gonna be yucky that white stuff's
gonna be there just want you to know
that's normal that's called the
detoxification process and by the way
once the fast is complete the moment you
start eating again that goes away okay
that's just something to know by the way
if you if you're curious about how long
does the white stuff stay on your tongue
it would actually stay there until your
body is completely flushed from all
toxins and usually if your disgusting
liquid fast you would usually hit that
around somewhere around 30 days that
means your systems totally flushed okay
but I think for some of you you're
probably going to make it you'll
probably might even see that clearing up
around day 20 maybe even day 21 praise
the Lord now the next thing to know
while you're on this fast is that get
ready for this this is kind of fun maybe
an aggravating fun okay but it's still
fun your sense of smell is going to go
to an entirely new level I don't know if
it's doubled it's at least that maybe
even triple sometimes you may think it's
10 times stronger than what it normally
is you'll be able to smell food like
you've never smelt it before yeah I was
doing a fast some time back and my wife
she had these chocolate bub I think they
were like chocolate cherries and soon as
she opened the bag from the other side
of the kitchen I'm just like wow that
chocolate smells so good is she's like
you can smell that I'm like yes that's
amazing and just you're gonna be amazed
of what's gonna happen with your nose
well what's going on pastor Steven
you're getting flushed you're getting
flushed and the senses of your body are
gonna be
lightin to a new sense especially your
smell it's incredible the sensitivity of
your smell just be aware of that it's a
very good thing but like I said it could
be a little bit a grating better to
smell food oh yes you're smelling roses
your smell perfume you'll smell flowers
just no beautiful things yeah you're
gonna smell food too
and don't worry the food's not going
anywhere it'll all be there after your
fast is over but your sense of smell is
going to go into an entirely new realm
number three you're gonna get tired at
night and usually right around nine
o'clock or maybe 9:30 you're gonna feel
fatigued I would just say go ahead and
go to sleep you're not in a normal type
way of living if maybe normally you stay
up till 11:00 or 11:30 but you're gonna
find yourself getting tired the
battery's gonna run down about 9:00 or
9:30 just go ahead and go to sleep and
you're gonna need that that good sleep
and by the way you're going to sleep
really really good it's when I when the
lights are out you'll fall asleep Polly
in a couple of minutes and the next
thing you know it's time to get up in
the morning get up in the morning and
pray and then get ready for your get
ready to step into your day go to work
but you're gonna sleep really really
good thank you Lord Jesus number four
you are going to lose weight oh not me
Pastor Steven nothing causes me to lose
weight nope do it do a liquid fast with
us you're going to lose weight now we're
not fasting for the purpose of losing
weight we're fasting for the purpose of
spiritual empowerment but you might as
well know the reality of it you are
going to have weight loss and you're the
average is usually a half pound today I
would suggest don't get on the scale you
don't need to be weighing yourself every
day and looking at that that's really
irrelevant you may be just for the sake
of it when you start check your weight
when you finish check your weight but
look we're not into all this stuff of
like this is not about this is not a
health thing that there's other people
that do that for strictly health reasons
you know god bless your health just go
after the spiritual things okay so don't
be I would encourage you don't be trying
to weigh yourself and get hung up on all
that every day it's no big deal okay but
just to let you know you're gonna lose
about a half pound a day
some of you you'll actually lose a full
1 pound today and you're going to lose
some
yeah I think it's fascinating when you
finish your fast after 21 days don't be
surprised also if your body still craves
juice or just is craving whatever you've
been drinking if it's the veggie liquids
or whatever don't be surprised because
your body's gonna get used to getting
all of this life giving nourishment it's
going to be used to just getting hydrate
it really well so for a few days after
the fast your body's probably still
gonna crave a lot of liquid and so just
you know start assimilating food back
into your system slowly but keep the
liquids going because your body is going
to want that the prey use the Lord
now I would also suggest as a little tip
this is point number five that you do
some walking that you do some walking
forms of exercise but by all means
please don't do strength training when I
say strength training I'm talking about
you know like weight lifting uh you know
push-ups pull-ups don't do that unless
you want to faint black out pass out
okay you will have plenty of energy by
liquid fasting veggie juice fasting
you're gonna have all the energy you
need but you're not going to have what
we would call raw brute strength that's
not going to be there but walking which
requires energy but not strength walking
is a great just relaxer when you're
fasting maybe you could maybe have a few
days you feel a little edgy you know
your flesh is bugging you wanting food
or just go take a nice walk I mean when
I say take a nice walk I'm not talking
five minutes go out walk twenty
okay walk thirty if you can and just
enjoy that breathe air walk you'll feel
good and to help you to really really
really relax
pastor Steven can I do that when liquid
fast you yeah sure you can sure you can
you can do that but you're not going to
want to do the strength stuff because
that that level is not going to be there
okay praise the Lord
all right so do some good walking and
let's close out with this tip while
you're fasting make sure you pray okay
if you know if you're not praying it's
almost like you're doing some kind of
hunger strike that's not what we're up
to we really want to draw near to the
Lord and so you really need to lean into
the Lord and pray I mean get over prate
until you get over to the spirit and
when you're in the spirit stay as long
as you can
take great advantage of that and I would
also say this along with with your
prayer time please don't forget to
praise the Lord
and you know just if it's just sitting
down just lift your hands up and just
sing a little song to the Lord you don't
have to start turning on music and
playing CDs or you know I've got to get
some you know you don't need to do all
of that you just sit there you know you
got your own data system inside of your
songs songs on the inside of you you've
been in church long enough you probably
know thousands of songs just sit there
and the Holy Spirit help you get a song
and just sing a song to Jesus to the
Father God I worship you and just begin
to praise the Lord and spend time in
prayer but also spend time praising him
spend time loving on the Lord praising
his name worshiping him and that's
something that is very very pleasing to
the Lord I think that there's something
that God has put within the heart of all
people where you do have those times you
long for solitude you long for those
moments you can get away I know right
now actually in the month of January
that it's a very popular time for many
people to do what's called these
transatlantic crossings and I'm not
talking on a cruise ship or by an
airplane I'm talking about sailing on us
on a sailboat and a lot of the people
that do those transatlantic crossings of
going from America to Europe or a lot of
them go from Europe to America from
Europe down to the Bahamas you know
about a 3,000 or 4,000 mile journey
depending on which route you take a lot
of them take those journeys because they
they want solitude they want to know
what's it like to get out in the middle
of nowhere and hear nothing to see
nothing but blue and to lay on the deck
of a ship at night and look up with no
clouds in no light pollution and see
millions upon millions of stars
glittering in the sky so a lot of people
want that they want to maybe find out
more about you know who they are in a
sense so that's that's why they take
those what would we call the
transatlantic journey sailing across the
Atlantic Ocean by the way how long does
it take the sail across the Atlantic
Ocean
it takes usually give or take a day give
or take a few hours but it usually takes
exactly 21 days praise the Lord and I
believe that this will be a cruise this
will be a sailing out where you discover
deeper the heart of God and you find out
who you are in Christ and you find out
all that Christ has made available for
you and you receive power and grace and
strength and anointing and a wisdom from
God above empowered into you deposited
into you Christ in you Christ living in
you to be the man to be the woman that
God has called you to be
praise the Lord get ready for an epic
journey in the spirit praise God you're
gonna really make some amazing
discoveries hallelujah now again the
fast starts January the 9th early in the
morning 12:01 a.m. you don't have to be
awake for the kickoff or for the launch
off but if you are up you know what just
say Lord I'm in here I am praise God
then go to sleep if you want to or step
all that if you want some it's up to you
however you live your life and the fast
ends January the 30th at 12:01 a.m. we
pull back into the harbour after
successfully having crossed over the to
the other side praise the Lord
a 21-day journey of no food now there's
one thing I would like to give you right
now as an assignment okay get your
liquids together okay get them all get
them all together and I'm not saying you
have to buy them all up front of course
but just get you enough that when you
can least start for the first couple
days and you know find out what tastes
good to you what works good to you and
then a few days later go out buy some
more and whatever makes you happy then
you'll find probably something that you
end up mainly sticking to for me it's
always been this I really like this but
again we're all different but I would I
would like to give you an assignment
something to pull together that will
help you on this 21-day liquid fast I
want you to create what I call a vision
board okay it could be a piece of
cardboard a full side a full-size piece
of cardboard maybe uh a three by two
foot size or cardboard something big
okay
you can keep in front of you maybe in
your prayer room maybe in your prayer
closet for me it'll be in my office okay
so I can see it every day when I'm
praying but I want you to create a
vision board and on that board I want
you to put images pictures of what
you're expecting God to do in your life
this year it's called the vision board
and the scripture to back it up is found
in Romans Romans chapter 4 verse 17 as
it is written I have made you a father
of many nations this is God referring to
Abraham in the presence of him whom he
believed God watch this who gives life
to the dead and calls those things this
is what God did this is what Abraham did
you're a descendant of Abraham this is
what you were to do also who calls those
things which do not exist as though they
did I want you to have your vision board
I want you to be like God I want you to
be like Abraham I want you to look at
that vision board and call those things
that do not exist as though they already
did speak to them and say in the name of
Jesus you're coming forth this year in
my life in the name of Jesus but I want
you have a board where you could put
images up there of what you want to see
happen that way you can speak to it and
call literally call those things that be
not as though they were and you're going
to see them come to pass in your life
you know every spring of the year
usually before spring even but
especially during spring you can go into
any home improvement store you'll see
them you'll see them even in many of the
grocery stores today where you walk in
and you see on those little revolving
racks these seed packets and you'll have
tomatoes and their tomato seeds in a
little packet and there's different
varieties of tomato you could spin the
rack oh and then over here they have
watermelons different types of
watermelons and you know the kind that
are red on the inside the kind of
they're orange on the inside spin the
rack more oh there's cantaloupes spin
the rack more old bell peppers spin the
rack more oh there's jalapenos and all
kinds of onions whoo
I like
around you go and there's all these seed
packs that are on those racks and
they're on display but let me ask you a
question we know that there they are
seed packets let's take tomatoes for
example because tomatoes are extremely
popular everybody likes to grow tomatoes
even if they're homegrown and you grow
it and you've even in your kitchen
they're in the window so we'll get
sunlight a lot of people grow them
outdoors but people are crazy about
Tomatoes I think one of the reasons
because so many people do they like to
make their own fresh salsa so people
like to grow their own Tomatoes so they
can do that sounds good to me
okay so here's the thing let's say that
you buy one of those seed packets of
your favorite let's say like a beefsteak
tomato which is a big juicy hardy tomato
and you you buy that packet of seeds
what's on the inside of that packet
seeds okay but when you look at the
packet and you hold it in your hand and
you look at it what image is on the
front of that packet is is there a
picture of what's on the inside is in
other words is it just a picture of you
know tomato seeds oh no they don't do
that do they
what's on the front cover what's on the
picture the picture is always a picture
of the harvest in other words it's this
massive tomato plant with just hanging
with the most beautiful red vine ripened
tomatoes and you look at that packet you
think huh yeah I'm gonna grow this whoa
what wide you're inspired what by what
you see you're inspired by that picture
of what it's actually a picture of the
harvest and so the picture of the
harvest inspires you well what's inside
of that packet well you know a person
can open it up and look inside well
that's misleading advertisement there's
no harvest in there there's just a bunch
of seeds in there no no no the harvest
is actually contained within the seeds
you'd I know that but they advertise it
and promote it that way what are they
doing they're calling those things that
be not as though they already were whoo
praise the Lord and so based upon Romans
chapter four verse verse 17 I want you
to create your own vision board so that
while you're fasting while you're
praying and please put a picture also
there of the
president pray over him put a picture
there a Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu pray over him and put a
picture of their of Jerusalem pray over
Jerusalem and put a picture maybe over
any unsaved family members or family
members that aren't serving God and
walking with God the way they should put
them on the board and if you need some
things in your life put those things on
the board put the images of them on the
on the board put real pictures up there
whoa hallelujah that way while you're
praying and you're fasting and you're
seeking the Lord you could just look to
your vision board say now Lord I've
prayed for this now I'm moving over here
I'm praying for this yes I'm not about
Bach Katya Katya I pray in the spirit
and then pray in English or whatever
your native language is but pray pray
pray and then when you're done praise
the Lord say Lord you've heard these
prayers lords are going to move in a
mighty way god I think you I praise you
how to lose your glory to God and as you
as you create that vision board allow
the Holy Spirit to help you create it
and look go for it go for it
if you believe God can do it put it up
there hallelujah put it up there be bold
pray to God create your own vision board
because there's there's no provision
unless you have the vision hallelujah so
you have to have the vision then God
brings to provision mmm God releases the
Angels thank you Jesus
so this will really really help you with
your prayer focus on your 21-day liquid
fast praise God all right let me pray
for you Heavenly Father I pray for those
that are watching I know that many from
around America and around the world are
stepping into this corporate 21-day
liquid fast father I just asked he would
release grace in the name of Jesus
hallelujah father that even though we're
drinking liquids it's not it's never
gonna feel like a steak or a piece of
slice of pizza but Lord we just thank
you for grace that we'll make it and we
thank you that we will we give you all
the praise we also thank you Father that
your grace is always more than enough so
we just thank you for grace strengthen
and enjoy joy on their journey and many
amazing discoveries into the mysteries
of Christ The Treasures of Christ being
unveiled to us we give you praise father
god this is going to be an epic
experience in you we thank you Father I
release grace to your people now receive
in the name of Jesus
amen and amen all right let's take Holy
Communion please grab some unleavened
bread and some grape juice we're going
to take communion together if you're
watching this program and you're
thinking pastor Steve but I'd like I'd
like to join the fast so I'm not a
Christian but I like all this but I
don't really understand what it's all
about well it's all about Jesus and us
drawing near to the God that we serve
and the God that we love and if you
would like to know him as your own
personal Lord and Savior please right
now pray this prayer after me say Lord
Jesus I'm a sinner separated from God
separate it from you because of my sins
but Jesus I repent I turn from my sin
and I turn to you Jesus saved me right
now wash all of my sins away I ask you
to be my Lord and Savior Jesus come into
my heart and write my name in your book
of life I receive you now as my Lord my
Savior and my king in your name I pray
amen
hallelujah welcome my friends to the
family of God those of you that just
prayed that let's all take Holy
Communion father we thank you for the
bread for the juice we consecrate it
this is set apart now as Holy
thank you Father thank you father
there's some of you you're wondering
pastor Steven could I do this fast yes
you can come discover what grace really
is hallelujah step into it I know you've
had other experiences with the grace of
God step into this fast experience grace
in a new dimension you'll find us there
no need to fear don't fear anything guts
with you God's in it hallelujah father
thank you for the body of Jesus we
receive his body his nourishment his
strength in his name amen let's protect
the body of Jesus together
praise the Lord praise the Lord we serve
our good God I feel that the Holy Spirit
to say this
don't drink junk while you're on this
fast don't go out and drink stuff that's
you know gonna mess you up
okay don't drink sodas and you know
don't do that stuff drink good healthy
stuff and as you fast unto the Lord and
honor the Lord the Lord will supply
provision so that you can fast and drink
things that are actually healthy for
your body and that bring healing
cleansing and rejuvenation into your
body okay come on don't treat your body
like a Ford Pinto treat your body like a
Ferrari praise the Lord and take good
care of it and let the healing process
take place let cleansing take place
while you primarily focus upon drawing
near to the heart of God thank you Jesus
look at the ingredients don't go out buy
something drink something that's just
sugar water that's loaded with
high-fructose corn syrup
don't do that to your liver don't do
that to your body take care of yourself
I'm not saying we have to be you know
health nuts okay but please don't hurt
your body take good care of your body
drink healthy things read the
ingredients take good care of yourself
thank you Jesus father thank you for the
blood of Jesus father we thank you that
you are Jehovah Rapha the Lord God who
is our healer we thank you God for
exemption from sickness and disease
because we are your covenant people it
has no right to be on our bodies or in
our bodies in any way so father we thank
you we cast it out by faith we take hold
of the healing covenant and we receive
healing we just receive miracles and we
receive divine health that we might
serve you that we might live for you and
be your ambassadors in the earth we give
you all the praise in Jesus name Amen
and amen
let's receive the blood of Jesus
hallelujah praise the Lord my friends go
out grab your drinks get them ready
we're about to start in just a few hours
and get your vision board ready whoo-hoo
have fun with it make it colorful you'll
never you'll never forget it I believe
you'll keep it always each year you'll
have a new vision board you'll need it
why because the things are your vision
now they're gonna become reality the
next year you'll need something
different this year go for it have a
beautiful vision board watch what God
will do father we give you praise bless
your people in the name of Jesus amen
thanks for watching I'll see you back