In this piece, we want to study together about something that I trust that the Holy Spirit will give insight and witness to our hearts, and help us to be established in the faith. We want to consider what has been titled: How to Connect with The Power of God to Create Change on the Earth. Part of the things I want to discuss with us has been dropped in my heart by the Holy Spirit for weeks now and part of it is a meditation that is fresh.
Certain things are important for us to note in this title: there is the matter of connecting or connection with God, and there is the matter of creating change. When change is not visible or available, the status quo is sustained, i.e., the old will continue when there is no change. Many times we are going through things that are not pleasant, we don't like them, and we want them to change. We are always in need of change, and we are always desiring change, but many of us don't have the understanding of how to create change. We know God to be the Creator just as I also do, but the question is how can you and I who are creatures of God become co-creators with God on the earth? That is almost what we are looking at.
It is God that is the Creator; He is the one that has all the power. The consideration is how I can as a man, a son, or as a disciple wield or carry the power of God that can create a change in my circumstance on this earth. Let’s begin with Matthew chapter 17:14-21. See what the Bible says:
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the child was cured from that very hour.
The healing of the child was something that took place in under an hour. The change in the life of that boy took place in less than one hour. Perhaps, the issue persisted for 5 hours, 5 days, 4 weeks or months. But under an hour there was a change, there was a change because Christ was able to connect with the power of God and was able to create that change in the life of the boy. Let's continue to see the reaction of His disciples; men and women like us. “19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” Like we have tried, even the father said, “I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t cure him”. In other words, “They could not heal him — they could not help my son.” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
May the Lord bless the reading of His word in our hearts in Jesus’ name. In verse 19, the disciples came to Jesus; there was a lot of confusion in their hearts. They were confused, ‘we followed you for thus far, we'll see you do mighty things, and we thought we could replicate the same. Why was it impossible for us to create that change in the life of the boy?’ Jesus was very clear, very direct; He said, “Because of your unbelief” not the unbeliever of the boy, not the unbelief of the Father. He said, “Because of your unbelief, for assuredly, I say to you [heaven and earth will rather pass away than this thing not becoming a reality], If you have faith as a mustard seed [the faith that you profess in God], and you say to this mountain,” with the faith that you have; not without that faith, don’t say my faith so little, Jesus said with that little faith if you can use it to speak, and, “you say to this mountain move from here to the other place, it will move, and nothing will be impossible.”
Nothing will be impossible; it is like a blank cheque, nothing that you believe in, nothing that you do not doubt, that will become impossible for you. So, you understand that this thing is not by your power that is why we are looking at how to connect with the power of God to create change. So, the first thing that we showing here is that the reason the disciples could not do much, or they couldn't do anything, was not because they were not disciples, but because they didn't believe. It wasn't because they didn't have faith, but they chose to be without their faith. If Jesus could say to His disciples that He sleeps besides, they talked, ate together, they walked around every day saying, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed”, that means Jesus knew their faith was much more than a mustard seed.
So, it's possible to have faith as a possession; like something you have, something you've been given, and it is possible not to use it. So, Jesus said, “It is your unbelief.” Don't be unbelieving, but believe. But Jesus said, “However, this kind of situation doesn't go out, except by prayer and fasting.” So, what is the place of prayer and fasting in our connection with the power of God? I'm sure you are familiar with the mannerism of Jesus; how He would wake early in the morning and goes to the mountain to pray. Do we still remember? Let's look a little bit at the Book of Matthew; Matthew chapter 4: a period in the life of Jesus that He had to fast. The Bible says:
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” God does not tempt anyone with evil, in verse 1 we are shown the one who tempts people with evil. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, just like many of us, was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and the reason is not to go and have some fun. The reason is that he may be tempted by the devil. When the temptations came to Him, they were not pleasant. If God does not tempt people with evil, then it means when the devil brings temptation is going to come in all manner of evil forms.
Let us continue:
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
A few things we must note from those verses. First, He had fasted for 40 days, and the only thing we were told after the fast was that he was hungry. Another meaning of He was hungry is that He was physically exhausted. You can say His body was lacking the necessary nutrients that could give him strength. So, you could say it was a period in His life that He was physically vulnerable to the elements of the world. That was when the tempter came. The tempter did not come when He was physically strong, but when He was physically weak. But the Lord has not revealed something to us about what happens to a man when he's physically weak, especially when he is fasting or he has fasted.
When the devil came, he knew Jesus was tired, and He was angry, so he said to Him, “Turn this stone to bread if you are the Son of God.” Don't forget, we are looking at how to connect with the power of God, you cannot be a son of God, and you lack the expression, the connection with the power of God. How do you prove that you are a son when the power of God is not visible? So, the devil said to him, “If you are indeed a man that has a connection with God then prove it.” Use the power of God that you think you have; the connection, to sustain yourself, use it to fix your livelihood, and needs — something that you need urgently; otherwise, you may just lose your life.
Jesus resisted the temptation. Another way we can put it is that He chose to remain in weakness. Jesus could have sorted himself out with the option that the devil brought to him; it would just be a way to prove that I'm a man of God. If I am born of God, I should be able to turn things into things; I should be able to make things happen for myself. How else can I prove that God is with me, is it not by making sure that I use the name of God in a manner that sorts me and my family? But Jesus decided to go through an unpleasant experience to continue in that state of unpleasantness; just to make sure that He doesn't fall into temptation. And this is something that you and I must learn from.
Even though you are going through pains, even though you are suffering, it doesn't mean God is not with you, it doesn't mean you are not with God, and it doesn't mean God is not pleased with you. What else would have please God more than this: Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and Jesus followed? Jesus was inspired to fast and Jesus remained fast. Jesus has done everything God wanted him to do. Are you thinking God was not with him in the midst of the pain? God was with Him, but the Devil asked Him to prove that God is with you; use the presence of God in your life to fix your situation. If you cannot fix it, how do you think you can fix other people's situations? But Jesus said, “Man [a disciple] shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Am I doing this because God is asking me to do it? Or I'm doing this because I'm trying to survive — I'm trying to prove my identity; I'm trying to make myself believe God is with me? Whether I think it or I don't think it, God is with me, why? I'm where God has asked me to be. Does it not look like it? It was God that led him there. Do you understand? It was God that sustained him; He had fasted 40 days. God sustained him, and the devil said, “Prove that God is with you.” He didn't need to prove it; He knew it. And that is the lesson we must learn.
Again, the devil took him to another place. He said to Him, “Throw yourself down.” And the devil quoted Scripture to Him: “He shall give His angels charge over you. They will make sure nothing happens to you.” If you were to fall down nothing will happen to you, try it. If something should happen to you, then you will know God is not with you.” “In their hands, they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus in verse seven said to him, “It is written, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.” “8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall and worship me.”
From the first step to the second step the devil failed. From the first problem to another problem, the devil still failed. How can you go through a problem and in your problem, you are still victorious? That is a dimension we must take note of, when the devil took him to the third layer, He was still angry; He was still exhausted. There was nothing like physical strength yet in Him. Yet in that state, the devil was still a failure. Devil did one, he failed. The devil accepted he failed in the first temptation, but he said to himself, “Let me try the second time, my winning secrets; nobody ever escapes this.” The devil did the second one. It looks as if Jesus was still left in a vulnerable state, but Jesus was a victor. The devil was already defeated. And the devil took him to the third one. (It was like the devil came to the climax, “actually, the reason I was disturbing you with the bread I don't care whether you die of hunger or not, I don't care. I don't care whether you fall and nothing happens to you. They’re not really what I'm looking for, what I am looking for is you; changing your allegiance, decamping from the ruling party to the opposition party. I fell then; I have remained on the ground, Come and join me there.”)
The devil revealed the agenda on the third attempt. “Let me make my plan clear to you, I actually want you to fall. I want you to follow me from today. Stop following God. What has God brought to you?” I don't know if you think anybody that was serving Satan in those days was left in a hunger state for 40 days. Did you read it ever in the Bible that somebody was a follower of the Devil and was hungry for 40 days and vulnerable, did you read it? They are the people that live large; they are like subjects to their appetites. They eat anything, they drink anything, and they are gluttons. I don't know if you understand.
So, Jesus had chosen God, and the devil was making him see how the God He had chosen messed up His life. “The 40 days you had fasted, who told you that you would not even die of hunger?” If not for God, Jesus could even lose his life in the Will of God. It was like He put his life on the edge just following God. And the devil was flaunting an alternative to Him; “don't continue your life like this, fall and worship me, your life would become better, I will give you all that I have,” The devil didn’t know that Jesus had those things, if not he wouldn't say, “I will give you,” you can't give me what you think or you see that I already have. He thought Jesus was in a pitiable state. He was profiling alternative; “this is a new life you can live. You can't continue to live your life like this.” Following God has brought you here in this mess, do you want to remain here, just fall and worship me, and I will give you all these kingdoms and their glories.”
See what Jesus said in verse 10, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God [despite your circumstance], and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels, came, and ministered to Him.” In the book of Luke, when Luke described this situation, in his conclusion, he said, “…and Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.” When he was going through something that looked unpleasant, he was looking like a defeated person. He was looking like a pitiable person. He was following God, he was fasting; He was seeking the face of God. Jesus couldn't be in the wilderness, playing Lido. He wouldn't just be fasting during a hunger strike and just playing around. No, He was fasting and praying. And the Bible says, “He returned in the power of the Holy Spirit from that experience.” The question is, even though He looked pitiable, did He return from the experience pitiable? The devil thought he was making jest of Jesus, but he was actually to be pitied after the experience.
When Jesus was teaching his disciples, don’t forget, that He didn't stop the fasting or prayer at that moment. He kept on going in the nights, sometimes He would stay overnight on the mountain, and He would be praying. And then He told His disciples so that you don't get confused about this matter; the power of God is available. It is possible to make a change happen on the earth even now, but there is a way to do it. You must be a man or a woman who lives a prayerful and fasted life. That was what Jesus told them. Now, let's go to the Book of Isaiah chapter 58 from verse 1:
“Cry aloud, spare not; lift your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching God. 3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
Why did they come to this conclusion? They felt that even though they pray, they pray many times in a day, even though they go to the temple to pray, even though they pray in their houses, they didn't see much happening in their lives. So they felt God was not seeing them. They felt God did not hear them. So, they were just simply afflicting themselves. “In fact, on the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your labourers.” This was God responding to them. Of course, you have claimed that God has not seen you, God has not heard you. Nothing has changed in your life. Nothing has changed in your family. Nothing is changing in your country. God says, “Even though you're filling you have afflicting yourself, see in the days of your own fast, you find pleasure. And then you are exploiting people.”
So, there was something wrong with their fast, yet they thought they were fasting. There was something that Jesus did for 40 days that they did too, but theirs wasn't right. God said they found pleasure in their fast. “Indeed, you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high.” God was complaining about the mannerism of their fast; when they fast, they fast for strife. Another word for strife is to fight. They fight to have and to engage in battle. They fight because they want to win against somebody else. They want somebody to be worse off, for them to be better off. Again, the Bible says, “Debate” when you engage in debate, you want to have the upper hand. You want your reasoning to overcome the reasoning of another person. You can see selfishness, and self-centeredness in the fast, and God said that was not the right way to fast.
Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
These things among others were the things they were doing, and God was not comfortable with it. They were doing it, and it didn’t help their connectivity with God. They were doing it, yet they were not able to use the fast to connect with the power that they needed. God started proffering the solution from verse 6: “Is this not the fast that I have chosen,” God was showing them the kind of fast he wanted them to engage in. He said: “to lose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?”
Initially, we said they were fasting for themselves. They were fasting because they wanted themselves to look better. They wanted to have the upper hand; they didn't care. There are Yoruba proverbs that say, “I have eaten and my belly is full. I'm satisfied, and I don't know or care whether somebody else is hungry.” Is that not selfishness? Imagine a fast in that manner. If you fast in such a manner, then you will likely pray in the manner of your fast. Your prayers will be self-oriented and selfish in outlook. God was providing a solution by saying, this is the fast you should engage in, don’t go about afflicting your body, and getting leaner and leaner day by day. This is what you should do: “Fast to lose the bonds of wickedness.”
The question is, is it the bonds of wickedness in your life or the life of people outside you? He said, “To undo the heavy burdens” is it the heavy burden on your head on somebody else's head? “To let the oppressed go free,” are you the same person that is oppressed? Look at it, I don't think this is about you. I think this is about somebody else, “To let the oppressed go free and that you break every yoke” whether in your life, people outside you, or people that are far and near. You fast to break the joke over their lives. Now, God was giving them the details of how they should fast, the Jesus' kind of fast that produces great power in His life.
“Is not to share your bread with the hungry?” Imagine you are fasting you are not eating yet you are giving other people food. “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bringing to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide from your flesh?” God said, if you can do this, you are not eating you are giving people food. Whether you wear cloth or you don't wear cloth, you get cloth for other people. You take care of other people; you are not concerned with and focused on yourself. You are concerned about the people around you. You are concerned about people that come to you. There is a time in the Bible that the Bible says, “When somebody comes to ask you for something, don't turn him back.”
We as a church, we have also accepted that principle in the Western World: individualism; I and my family. When going to fellowship meetings, you can only carry your children or your family alone in your car. Somebody else is trekking to meetings, as far as you are concerned, to God be all the glory. You could be thinking in your mind, “They didn’t bathe very well; the body odor will be left behind in my car.” “They will dirty my car. We do all manner of things. So, we are people that are just thinking about ourselves. When they raise prayer points in the church, our voices will be very loud, but guess what, we're only praying about our husband, our wives, and our children — that is all. This has made us weak. That's what the Lord is making us see.
When Jesus goes to the mountain to pray, was Jesus praying for his wife and his children? The people even told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers have come to see you,” and Jesus asked, “Who are My mother, brothers, and sisters?” Jesus added saying, “These that are listening to Me, listening to the Word of God, and who are willing to do it; they are my brothers, my sisters, and my mother.” How big is yourself that it occupies hours of your prayers every day? It could be advisable for people that know they're dealing with selfishness and self-centeredness to learn to pray in the Spirit. It is difficult to be selfish in the Spirit. You'll be dealing with Kingdom matters in the Spirit. And that's a piece of advice that some of us may have to start learning.
Don't be a man that prays for 30 minutes and is all about you. It weakens you; it weakens us. Imagine you disturbing God for many people, God Himself will be disturbed about your case. Every time you come to go you carry people to God, God will be the One carrying you. But we always carry ourselves, and our families, but how much power do we have? So, when you see somebody that’s trying to carry himself, that's when God will allow him to carry himself or herself very well. There's something I used to do to my mother anytime I am around her. Oftentimes, she forgets that I'm a man that has muscle; she will still be showing muscle trying to carry things, and then I'll be looking at her and asking myself, what then is my relevance here? I will tell you, if you can’t allow me to do this thing, to help you, I will go. And she would say, oh, sorry I thought we could do it together. “No, no, I'm here to help you.”
When God is showing up for you, but you are still trying to show muscle, what are you trying to tell God? I can do it myself. Please, let us come to a point where we carry people, we carry people to the point that we are weak to carry ourselves while allowing God to carry us. Do you remember what Jesus said, “Those who are trying to save their lives, they will lose it? But those who are losing their lives for my sake, they will gain it back.” This is a contrary message to the world. The world is telling you to fight for yourself; defend yourself. See, they fast for strife, they fast for debates, to strike with the feast of wickedness. My enemies fall and die. But in the case of Jesus, it was a different thing entirely. Jesus was blessing his enemies and he knew they were His enemies. But we are being taught as a people to pray against our enemies. And Jesus is saying, “Don't do that.” Don't have the attitude of condemning your enemies. You are not the one that made them. Allow God to judge them.
When you fast, you are engaging with divine power. Don't engage with divine power just to afflict people around you. Don't engage the power of God just to put bread on your table. The power of God is bigger than that. Each time you connect with the power of God, it is to change situations, situations on the earth. God is saying if you can do this: fast the right way or pray the right way,” see what will happen to you in verse 8:
Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.”
God is on His throne, of course, when we cry God hears, but really, we are far from God —Geographically. You know, looking at the scientists sometimes they will tell us that when we see a light in the sky, the light started travelling from where it is to us several years ago. So, we are seeing light in the past. God is far. The Bible says, “He dwells in unapproachable light.” We know the Holy Spirit is in us, and that is how God comes down to us, right? That’s a good understanding, please, keep that in your heart let’s just see through this. Let's meditate on the fact that God is on His throne in heaven, and you are on the earth.
In the story of Daniel, he didn’t pray and fast for himself, it was for the sake of Israel. And the Bible says, “He began fasting,” and he fasted for many days before he got the answer, not before the answer was given. As soon as Daniel began to fast, God responded. The Bible says, “And you shall call,” please, let's look at these things that have been written. This was written in the Old Testament, and I'm sure Daniel conformed to this. Daniel didn't know fast about the unnecessary things. Do you understand? Daniel did the right thing. So, his fasting was potent, his prayer also was potent. The Bible says, “As soon as he began to pray, God responded to him.”
So, he called on God, and God answered him. But even though God has answered him, he did not see the impact until after many days — 21 days. If Daniel had Prince of Persia as a hindrance to his answered prayers, which force is it that is disturbing your prayer and destiny? You don't have any prince, enemy; no spiritual force of darkness that is upholding you. He started praying and got the answer in 21 days, but how long will it take you to get an answer? How long does it take you to give up? We prayed and God dispatched, and we were supposed to be praying until we see results. But we give up because we are looking at our time. Heaven does not work with the calendar and times that we have. The answer has been sent, but you are thinking God has not responded, and you are giving up. That is what leads to unbelief, you have faith, and you started with it, but you are checking and you cannot see.
See what happened to Elijah, he told the servant to go and check the physical outcome of something he was seeing and hearing in the spirit. For the first time, he said he didn't see anything. He prayed a little more and asked him to go and check again. Imagine Elijah stopping the prayer. He continued to pray till the point that the answer came; he got visibility. When he could see something, he instructed that the King should start running back home. “Even though the whole community isn’t aware of what is happening, I have sensed it, something is coming.”
Imagine us having that kind of belief, knowing that each time we call on God, number one, he has answered us. Whether you see it or you don't see it, He has answered. So, what do you do, do you begin to doubt it immediately? Or will you wait in hope for what God has said he will do until He has done it? That's how we enter unbelief. “Lord, I need a good wife. Lord settles me martially”, immediately you called on to him, He answered you. Don’t forget, you just finished three days fast, He has answered you. But since you waited for a few weeks, no man said, “How far” to you, and no woman said, “Yes I do”. So, you now begin to think about the things the devil has been telling you before then; “you are not fine enough, you are not good enough, you are not tall enough, you are too short, you are too tall”, that has begun to make you forget that you have even asked God for husband. What will happen is that, even though you are started in faith, you are not currently in unbelief. And let no one who is wavering in his mind, let him not think he can receive anything from God.
Even though God has answered you, your unbelief could make God stop the answer. See what James said, “Let him not think he can receive. What about the person that started in faith and God has answered, then he went into unbelief will he still receive? The Scripture will be broken. If you want to engage with the power of God, let us understand. There is a place to connect with the power of God. It looks like the place of your physical witness, but that is where your spiritual power is. Apostles Paul said, “Where I am weak, there I am strong.” I am weak in the flesh. I am strong in the Spirit. Even though our outward man parishes we know that our inward man is being renewed day by day. So, we are waxing strong in the spirit, even though, our outward man doesn't look it.
We are not going to say, “Lord, we don't want to look like this, we want to look fresh, plump, look big; it's not about how we look.” It's about the power of God that we're able to engage to create change on the earth. So the choice is yours. Do you want to continue to look strong physically but the status quo in your life continues? That's the first question. Or do you want to be a man or a woman that fast? Don’t be like the Pharisees who do everything to glory in it, rather, do everything for God's glory. You will fast for others to eat; you will fast that those who are bound by the devil can experience freedom. Whether they say thank you to you or not, you will do that because you know the glory of the Lord will be your guard.
Imagine when you are trying to carry others, somebody wants to stab you at the back, and God's glory becomes your rearguard. That's the experience that God wants us to step in. Not that you are watching your back, somebody is like saying to you, ‘watch your back,’ or ‘you are not watching your back.’ Christ is at your back. Christ is behind you because you are living for His course. The power of God is available. Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain…,” what is the mountain before you? What is that mountain before you? They will become plains.
Hallelujah
