Fasting to Unburden Your Soul | Jentezen Franklin

0:00 Hello, this is Jensen Franklin, and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast. Our goal is to provide you with biblically-based teachings that will challenge, inspire, and equip you to live for Jesus. If you haven't already, I'd love for you to go ahead and subscribe today to this podcast so you can get the latest updates from us and you don't ever have to miss a new message. Let's go right into the service. Record it at Free Chapel. I believe it's going to bless you today. If you have your Bibles, I want you to open them with me to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 18. Deuteronomy chapter 18. And as you know, this is the annual fast that we're upon. It begins today. it's an amazing thing that God has done in our lifetime to awaken many, many, many people in the body of Christ in many, many churches to fast and pray early in the new year. Seek first the kingdom.

1:05 Make sure that you shake yourself a little bit spiritually in the new year, that you dare not just join a fast because it's the tradition of our church. It'll do you no good. I do this because I am desperate for God. I have done this now for 30 plus years. and when we started, we started, Charisse and I, with nothing much of our own. but we knew to fast and to pray and to seek God, and as we sought him, he would guide us and he would lead us.

1:54 This is my time not to work harder. These 21 days are me saying, I am weak and you are strong. Without you, I can do nothing. And it's a powerful thing when you humble yourself in fasting and prayer. You cannot humble yourself in prayer and God not exalt you. It is impossible. You cannot humble yourself in fasting and seeking God with all of your heart and God not exalt you. It would be unbiblical for that to happen. If you humble yourself, and Psalms 35 says we humbled ourselves with fasting. So fasting is a manifestation of humility that says I desperately need you. I dare not go into this new year thinking my brilliance, my talent, my gifting, my career skills are enough.

3:01 I dare not do that. You can if you want to. I'm terrified to try to do this without God. I desperately need him. That's why I'm so desperate to do it. And it is a powerful thing when you begin to fast. I want to challenge you to join us. If you've never fasted, don't be intimidated. Don't be afraid. If you're an elder or if you are physically challenged in some areas and you're not able, you figure out your own fast and what you're going to do. And God will honor that. We've got you covered. We've got you covered. If you're going through treatments and all kinds of things with medication, we've got you covered. You're part of this church and we've got you covered. And if you're watching or wherever you are, one of the things that I want you to do is saturate yourself. And not only are we going to be fasting, I think it's important to have an accountability partner on a fast. In other words, go on and commit. Go on and say, I'm going to do this and here's what I'm going to do. And don't make up your mind later because your mind will tell you this is stupid. Forget it. Don't do it and bail out right now.

4:24 It makes no difference. He tells me that, and I've done this for over 30 years. I know what I'm talking about. But there is a real battle going on in the unseen world when you're fasting and praying. There is a real battle going on. You get God's attention, you get angels' attention, and you get demons' attention. It's very real, and it's very powerful. and you will go where you would not go without fasting and prayer when you open your life to this message.

5:03 And I have a pastor friend, and we kind of challenge each other on a fast every year. And the only reason we do that is it just strengthens us to know somebody's doing what we're doing. And I don't say this in any way to boast. God knows my heart motive. I say it as motivation. I feel like sometimes if you're not careful, you'll make the fast about food. You'll make the fast about yourself, your feelings, your emotions. I think, I feel, I won't. And you've got to get beyond that. It's possible to fast and not receive because you're not in it right. Feel it. Feel the hunger. Get in it. Quit worrying about food. Quit worrying about the next meal. Quit worrying about all of that. Put all of that aside and say, this is not about me. It's not about food, what I can eat.

5:59 I can't eat. It's about you. I'm coming after you. I'm desperate for you. I can't stand another year without you. I need you in my life. I need you in my family. I need you in my everything. I'm so desperate for you. Now, that's got to be your heart in this. It's got to be your heart.

6:26 And if you do that, and it's okay, you're going to be okay if you fast. I remember my sister Jill told me the story during the fast. They've been here about as long as we have, her and her family, and she's got a bunch of kids, her and her husband Larry, and they'd been here forever and their kids were smaller. The culture of this church, this time of the year, is talking about fasting and prayer. And so it was going, everybody was fasting and praying. And so the kids even, one of the boys, my sister Jill, she said, her son said, I'm going to fast my Xbox. He's just a little kid. And she loved that. And so the little sister felt a little pressure about it. I think she was five years old, the little girl that Jill had.

7:25 And she said, came to her mother, and she said, Mama, she said, I'm going to fast. And she said, well, what are you going to fast, baby? And she said, well, she said, I'm going to fast. I'll tell you what I'm going to fast. She said, I think I'm going to fast my Barbie dolls. because she had just got some Barbie dolls for Christmas. And she said, I'm not going to play with them for 21 days. And she sat around for about 20 minutes. And she came back and she said, this is crazy. I'm playing with my baby dolls. This is what you go through when you fast. So you laugh, but you won't be laughing six hours from now. You'll be wanting your Barbie dolls. And so she said, baby, that's okay, go ahead. And Jill, you know, she had, I think, four kids at the time. and she was fixing the meal and she was fasting, doing a total fast. And so she was fixing chicken fingers and all the trimmings.

8:20 And she fixed it and they ate. And her little daughter spoke up after she ate and ate and ate. Jill said, it smelled so good. And she said, Mama, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to fast food now. And she said, no, baby, you can't. He said on a full stomach. You can't, you know, Mama. She said, baby, you can't. You're too young. you a little bit. How about this? She said, what do you think, baby, if you fasted candy and cake and cookies and no cookies for 21 days? And she said, that's insane. There's no way I'm doing that. No way. So she went off and came back about 30 minutes later. And she said, mom, I know what I'm going to fast. Dead serious. Said, what are you going to fast? She said, I'm going to fast cigarettes. So determine what you're going to fast. The Daniel fast is a partial fast, but I want to encourage you to just be led of the Holy Spirit.

9:36 Some of you may want to do a one meal sunup, sundown to get into that Daniel fast. Do that for two or three days. Some of you may want to do a total fast. My friend and I, we're going seven days. And we're just doing water, and I drink coffee in the morning. You say, well, I don't agree with that. It's not your fast. and I don't fast in, you know, through legalism. I fast through grace. And for me, I need my coffee. I need something warm. And the funny thing is in a few days, I won't have a, I won't want it. I won't want it, but I want it and I need it. And I don't care what you think. I don't, I'm not fasting for you. I am not, you're not worth that. No, I'm cute.

10:30 I am fasting for you actually. but not in that way, not to be seen or impressed. It's very important that you not get super spiritual, walk around like you're something special because you're fasting. It actually ought to give you a burden for people. And I'm gonna preach in just a minute. I'm not gonna preach long. But one of the other things that I felt led to say to you on this fast, I felt the need to do the seven days because I want to feel the weightiness of it again. And you will certainly on the 21 day. It is the Daniel. It is a taxing. It's a long term thing that really wears you down a little bit. And that's part of it. I'm just being honest. There's nothing pleasant about it.

11:24 There's nothing enjoyable about fasting other than the great, great presence of God that will come. I feel him here now. I do. It's not emotions either. He is drawn to sacrifice. That's it. Now, I want to challenge this church to do something that I don't think we've ever said we were going to do together with the 21-day fast. I want you to go back to your Bibles and for 21 days, if you will read nine chapters a day, just nine chapters a day, you can read the entire New Testament, the entire New Testament in 21 days. And so I want every one of us to get on track starting today and read nine chapters of the Bible to take you, if you read it slow and easy and get you a notepad or something and and write down the verses that really speak to you, and you will be amazed.

12:26 You're kind of journaling your fast, and God will use those verses magnificently. He will give you things, and you may not even know why that verse so speaks to you, but write it down and keep up with that. Take your time. Everybody say nine chapters a day, and you'll read through the entire New Testament, and I'm going to hold you accountable. I'm your accountable buddy, okay? I'm going to ask you, how many of you will join me on the 21-day fast and read your Bible every day, nine chapters every day? Let me see your hand. This is powerful because when you saturate your spirit in the Word of God, remember what Jesus said, the replacement of food was, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word. This is so critical to the fast. every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

13:21 So every one of us, raise your hands again if you're going to read. See, put your hand down a minute. Because a lot of people say, I'm going to read all the way through the Bible. You'll never read through the whole Bible until you set a time, a date, and then you get accountable to something. That's why this is so powerful. If we do this, I know what's going to happen in this congregation. because when you read the word, you're saturating your spirit person with the anointing. The word is cleansing. The word is anointing. The word is revelatory. The word will speak. It will come alive. It will talk to you about things you are asking God's help in. You watch what I tell you, but you got to read it. And it's so, the devil does not want you to read the word while you fast. He wants you to focus on food.

14:18 And that's stupid. That does you no good. So let's do this. Are y'all ready to do this? Are you ready to do this? Deuteronomy 18. Just a few moments. I'll share three quick thoughts with you. Deuteronomy chapter 18. Again, I'm not going to try to work harder when I fast. I work. He said, his strength is made perfect in my weakness. In your weakness. That's what fasting does. It makes you weaker, but literally his strength. is coming to replace your strength. And I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So look now in Deuteronomy 18. The priest, the Levites, the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel, nor shall they eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire in his portion.

15:26 Therefore they shall have no inheritance among the brethren, The Lord is the inheritance. The Lord is their inheritance. As he said to them. Verse 3. And this shall be the priest's due from the people. This is what the people are to bring to the high priest when they bring their sacrifice. Sacrifice is a major part. All we hear about is grace today. And I'm a grace preacher. I believe in grace. but there is something that God says about sacrifice. I never outgrow it. I never, ever need to lose sacrifice in my walk with God. And listen to what he says. Tell the people to bring and offer a sacrifice, which is a bull or a sheep, and they shall give the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach.

16:25 I want to preach today on fasting to unburden your soul. Fasting to unburden your soul. Jesus Christ was our high priest under the new covenant. That's the old covenant. And the old covenant, when the families came, once a year, they brought a bull or a lamb, whatever they could afford, and God gave specific instructions to let the lamb be sacrificed. But I want you to take a portion of that lamb, take the shoulder, take the cheek, and take the stomach and give that to the priest as his inheritance. That's what he will live off of and what he will have. And it's a strange text, and yet it speaks some profound truth about what can happen when we fast, because Jesus is our high priest.

17:27 And he's saying to us on this fast, I want you to bring me your shoulders. Shoulders speak of burdens. I want you to bring me your cheek, and I'll explain what that represents, and I want you to bring me your stomach. So the shoulder deals with the burdens of life, the daily pressures, the worry, the fear.

17:52 It's what we carry the heaviness with. It's the heaviness of life, the burdens of life, the things that are missing in our life, and the questions and the hardships and the trials and the tough, tough seasons that we walk through. He says, if you are coming to your high priest, Jesus Christ, which is a type of this text, bring me your burdens. Bring me your shoulders on this fast. Bring me your heavy, heavy situations. The Bible said in Matthew 23 that they bind heavy burdens and place them on men's shoulders. What is that talking about? It's talking about the burdens of life that people, that they can get burdened down with things. And what fasting is, it's bringing your burdens to the Lord.

18:50 It's transferring from off of your shoulder all of the things that are heavy to you, that are tough for you, that are worrisome and fearful for you. Get it off of your shoulder. Bring him your shoulder on this fast and say, Lord, I'm going to wait on you. I'm going to look to you. I'm going to cast. And this is the great verse. This is the great promise. He said, cast all your cares on him for he loves you. And he said, my yoke is easy and my burden is light. So cast all, cast all, come unto me, all you who are weary, all of you who are heavy. All of you who've been through stuff and it's so heavy and some of you are carrying burdens. Just leave that up a moment. You're carrying burdens for your children and you're carrying burdens in your life and you're carrying burdens, health burdens and financial burdens.

19:50 Come unto me. This is God's invitation. I don't want you to carry it. I don't want you to work harder. I don't want you to try harder to fix it. I don't want you to do, I want you to bring the heavy burdens. Bring it to me, the stuff you cry about, the stuff you worry about. Bring it to me, all you who are laboring and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke. Learn from me. I'm gentle in heart. You will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy. My burden is light. Bring me your shoulder. Bring it to me. I'll take the burden off of you. And yes, you'll still have the issue, but I'm going to work on it. I can fix it. I can carry it. I can do it. You can't. Now, right along with this shoulder and burden process is the promise of the fasting chapter in Isaiah 58. He says that when you fast, is not this the fast that I've chosen?

20:52 And it goes on to say that you will on this fast loose the bonds of wickedness. You will undo heavy burdens. When you fast, I want you to come to me and I want you to bring those heavy burdens. And when you fast, you're going to unload. You're going to give me the shoulder that's been carrying all this stuff. And I'm going to let the oppressed go free. And I'm going to break every yoke. And I'm going to lift the heaviness off of you. and you're going to smile again and you're going to have faith again and you're not going to let the trials of life just oppress you and beat you down. But I want you to bring the shoulder, bring the burdens, bring the heaviness because I can take it. I can carry it. Sometimes we think that, you know, when we go into a new year, we just are supposed to bring the same old stuff.

21:48 But I feel like God is trying to say to us today on this fast, don't go into the new year with last year's burdens. Let it go. Leave it there. Lay it down on this fast. Say, I'm just not going to go around like this the rest of my life. How many of you are burdened for your children? How many of you are burdened for your grandchildren? Let me see your hand. How many of you are burdened about situations and you think about them all the time? Could we give him our shoulder? And he just gave you the promise that if you do it in fasting, I will break the oppression. I will lift and undo the heavy burdens that's been on you. Hallelujah. Galatians 6 and 2 said, bear one another's burdens. And if you're carrying a heavy burden, I want you to know Jesus carried the cross. And the scripture said when the burden got so heavy of the cross that he broke and he fell under the weight, Simon Cyrene was there to help him pick up his cross.

22:52 And on this fast, we are joining our fast and our faith with you to say you don't have to bear your burden alone, and I'm going to help you carry it. and we all do this together, and together we will see our high priest, King Jesus, defeat it all at the cross of Calvary. If you believe it, say amen, somebody. I need you to praise him just a minute, that burdens are going to lift. I want somebody to praise God that heavy burdens of oppression, of mental oppression can come off of you. In Jesus' mighty name. Hallelujah. and then he said, you know, just give me the shoulder, the burden of guilt, the burden of shame, the burden of condemnation.

23:58 Just let me carry it. Give me your heavy burdens as you fast. Secondly, bring the cheek. What is that about? That speaks of offense. That speaks of being offended. Because the Bible said in Luke chapter 6 and verse 29, if someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one. And from him who takes away your cloak, the direction that you were focused in going. And the attempt of offense, when it strikes, is to turn you in another direction, in a direction of bitterness, in a direction of unforgiveness, in a direction of filthiness of the spirit where you become an angry, bitter person.

24:57 And God says, I want you to bring me your offenses on this fast. I want you to bring me the wounds and the hurts and the hits that people have done to you, the injustices. I want you to quit trying to fight it. And all you're doing in being ugly about it is being more bitter yourself. You're getting more bitter yourself. The only answer is to get somewhere with God and pray and read your Bible and be cleansed and be freed from all of that. and say, I am not too proud, oh God, to say, turn me back in the right direction. I was offended and I don't want to go down that road. I want to go more toward forgiveness and you and your promise.

25:45 That's the power of fasting. You say, well, I'm just not there yet. Go on this fast. God will get you there. God will break you up. God will get you. His presence will mean more to you than your offense. His presence, you'll hear a song or something, something will happen, and suddenly you'll forget about, you'll feel like you've gone a million miles away from all that stuff that was occupying your mind. just remember Isaiah 50 and verse 6 make the decision to forgive your last year slap if you got slapped last year emotionally let it go let it go on this fast refuse to hate and be embittered against anyone in the name of Jesus Church, this is the gospel.

26:43 This is what holds us up. This is what spoils the harvest. This is what destroys the souls of people. You cannot let that stuff accumulate and build inside of you if you don't empty it out. If you don't come all along, that's why this is so powerful. because if you've drifted off in your attitude and in your actions and in your soul, this fast will bring you back to the point that, hey, I've forgiven you of millions of things, and you're worried about that one little fence that they did. You forget about them, and you get your eyes back on the cross and the blood. Isaiah 50 and 6 said, thousands of years before Christ would go to the cross, the prophet saw the Messiah and he said, he will give his back to plowing and his cheeks will be spit upon and the hair plucked from his cheeks.

27:47 my cheeks to those he gave. In other words, he's saying, I paid the price for when someone strikes you and offends you, and I want you to bring that to me on this fast. Bring your heavy burdens. And lastly, and you know when they did that to Jesus when they plowed his back and when they nailed him to the cross and when they pulled his beard he didn't get offended at them that's when he prayed father forgive them they know not what they do and that's what tore the veil down hallelujah when you release forgiveness it'll tear the veil between earth and heaven and suddenly you'll feel God's presence and you'll feel joy and you'll feel faith for that situation.

28:48 Hallelujah. And lastly, give him your stomach. What is that about? When you come to the high priest, give him your shoulder, your burdens, give him your cheek, your offenses, your hurts, your wounds, your pains. Give it to him. But then give him your stomach.

29:13 Give him those wrong appetites. Give him your appetites. It speaks of our appetites. It speaks of... giving on these 21 days to God everything in us that we've just picked up. And I'm telling you, this is why it's so necessary to go on a fast. Because you don't realize how far you can. I promise you if you go on this fast that you will look back in a few days and you will say, I can't believe how far I drifted. your stomach speaks of your appetites and you have to, it speaks of your flesh. It speaks of the human part of you that, that are you going to be dominated by the flesh or are you going to be walking in the spirit?

30:13 And that's why we come and we say on these 21 days, God, I give you my stomach. I give you this hunger. I have this hunger for you. I am not satisfied with other things. I hunger for you. I thirst for you. And blessed are they that hunger and thirst, for they shall be filled. I give you my stomach. I don't want anything in my life to keep me from the call of God. I don't want to pick up anything now in my life that is not from you. I want you to empty out my stomach so that out of my belly will flow rivers of living water. And this spake he of the Holy Spirit. You need to be cleansed.

31:07 You need to take the trash out. You need to get renewed in your stomach for the appetites that are not pleasing to the Lord. man shall not live by bread alone but I need God to fill me up with his word and fill me up with his calling and fill me up with his purpose I'm telling you today that there is a powerful scripture that says in Psalms 106 that he gave them their request but sent them leanness of soul. And what happens is we get so into stuff. Don't hunger for a bigger house. Seek first the kingdom.

31:59 And he'll add everything to you that you need and many times even that you won't. He is a good God. He'll withhold no good thing from them who walk uprightly. But you have to have seasons. And a lot of people, they get more and they get more. Throw that verse up. They get more and they get more. No, the one from Psalms 106. And he gave them their request. This is what happens. We get more, we get more, we get more, but we don't hunger for him anymore. Our contentment is in things, and it's temporal, and it will not last. And if you don't feed that spiritual hunger with something that is spiritual, you'll try to replace it with more stuff, and ultimately, it will lead you to leanness of soul. that's why I'm bringing him my stomach on this fast, I'm saying, I don't want any appetites in my life that you can't satisfy in your word.

33:16 I want it your way. I want your plan. I want your will. we as we for these 21 days read 9 chapters a day of this book we're giving him our stomach we're replacing our hunger for things and we're saying early in the new year I'm turning back to you I'm taking all the burdens and I'm putting them on you I'm taking all of the offenses and the hurts, and I'm asking you to rip them out of me and give me joy unspeakable and full of glory. I lay it down on the altar, and God hears my stomach. here it is. I empty myself out so you can fill me up. on one of the fasts, you can come to the music, on one of the fasts, Courtney had invited her husband Tyler's cousin to come.

34:27 And back then we had Wednesday night services and it was on a Wednesday night. And he came in and he sat up in one of these sections in the balcony up there on a Wednesday night. and kind of snuck in and just sat up there. And he was sitting there, and the Spirit of God was during the 21-day fast. And it's one of those Wednesday nights when the presence of God just filled this place. It's just a strong move of God. And he texted her in the middle of the service, at the end of it, actually, in the middle of the worship time. And he said, something has happened to me. I feel God moving in my life. And then he said these words to her. He said, I've got to get back into the Bible. I've got to start reading my Bible.

35:25 And he had taken $2,000 cash that he had made six months before. and I don't know what kind of characters he had hanging around his house, but he didn't trust them. And he thought to himself, he had to do it quick, I'm going to hide this money somewhere where nobody will find my cash and steal it. And he had hid it in his Bible. And then he got busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, and forgot about it. Completely forgot about $2,000 cash. and he even called Courtney and her husband and said, y'all got to help me search this house and they searched his house and they looked and she helped him and Tyler helped. They looked, they could not find it anywhere for months and months and months.

36:21 He went home that Wednesday night after being in a service and he said, I got to get back to reading my Bible. opened the Bible and there was the $2,000. I wonder what treasures are waiting when you go back and open the Bible and empty your stomach and say, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.

37:01 Wonder what blessings and open doors that are on the way if God's people will humble themselves. He will hear us. He will heal us. He will help us. Shout amen, somebody. Say on this fast, I'm going to receive God's help. God's going to hear me when I pray, and God's going to heal every wound, every disease, every hurt. Throw your hands up a moment and lift up a worship to God all over this building. Praise Him. Just a moment. Just a moment. Open your mouth and thank Him and say, Here I am. Here I am, Lord. Here I am. Here's my body. Here's my shoulder. Here's all the burdens, the stuff that I really feel. Look up here a minute. I didn't make that point like I really feel it. Every time at a new year, I feel this thing of, can I do this again?

38:03 Can I do another year? Can we have another glorious year? And every year, this is the honest to God truth, God takes it to another level and another level and another level. It never has to stop. it never has to stop. It's up to us do we hunger for it. Give him the burdens. I don't want none of you to leave here worried about your children and your family. Let's give him on this fast. I'm giving you Courtney and Carissa and Caroline and Connor and Drake. I'm giving you Amelia and Elliot and Luca and Leo and Vivian. I'm giving you Jamie. I'm giving you Tyler. I'm giving you Cherise. I'm giving you Mom. I'm giving you my family.

38:56 I'm unburdening. I worry about all of them. If I were to be truth, I worry all the time about all of them. And the Lord spoke to me and said, you carry too much. Give me your shoulder. Hallelujah. Do you believe that? Do you believe he can help you with that kind of stuff that really torments your mind if you let it? Throw your hands up and worship Him with me. Stir it up in your heart right now. Give Him your belly. Hallelujah. Give Him your shoulder. Give Him your cheek. Give Him that offense. Just turn your direction back in the right direction. Don't be better. Get better. And just say, God, I'm going to do right whether they do or not.

39:43 I really want to say thank you for joining us this week. if you haven't already, make sure you click on the subscription button and leave us a review. It helps this podcast reach even more people when you comment, when you give us your feedback. For more messages and inspirational materials, download the Jensen Franklin app, or you can head over to jensenfranklin.org. I want to thank all of you who give generously to help us produce weekly content like this to reach the world with the message of Jesus. God bless you, and we'll see you next time.