← Jentezen Franklin at Free Chapel
Jentezen Franklin at Free Chapel
Fasting: Stay Humble and Hungry I Fast 2026 I Jentezen Franklin
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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 Freechapel. I believe it's going to bless you today.
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Nothing like his presence. Nothing like his presence. Thank you, Jesus. Tonight at 5 o', clock, we'll be having our prayer and worship service for the beginning of the month that we do monthly, starting it back up the first of the year at five, from five to six o', clock. I'll be leading that worship time as we're fasting and praying and seeking God's will. It's possible for fasting to change the course of your life. It's possible for you to get directions and miracles from God that normally people do not get. And I'm going to begin preaching right now that there is nothing that fast tracks the purpose of God like fasting. The purpose of God is so important to discover and comprehend and apprehend in your life. But so many people don't know the ancient formula that they used in the Bible. For example, in Acts chapter 13, to find the plan of God, they fasted, they ministered unto the Lord, the text said in Acts 13 and 2, they ministered unto the Lord in fasting. And then the Holy Ghost said, separate unto me, Paul and Barnabas, for the work whereunto I have called them. Now, how important was that work? How important was the Apostle Paul's commissioning? And then the Bible said, after they had fasted in that same chapter, after they had fasted, they laid their hands on them and sent them forth. That was the commissioning, the sending forth of the great Apostle Paul in his ministry. It was done with fasting. It was the direction of God. The altered course of his life would never be the same. I think that is so important that we understand the power of fasting. And there are options that you have when you really are desperate for God, when you really, at the beginning of the year say, I really want to know you. I really want to experience your power in my life and your will, your provision, your help. You have options. And one of those mighty options in the playbook of the church is fasting. It's not weird, it's not strange. It's not fanatical, but it is not something that you do a lot. But when a fast is called in a church from a leader, it is a powerful thing to hook up to what God is doing corporately. It will impact your life. God will speak to you, God will lead you. God will clearly help you when you fast and when you pray. Now, we've been doing this 30 years and much of the things, when I read through some of my old notes on fasting, many of the things that I read, I am astounded because when I wrote them and when I said them, I was not experiencing what I was believing God for, nor was this church. But I have seen God through fasting and prayer, do the most miraculous things that you can imagine. This is the secret sauce. This is the key to it. It's seeking God, loving God, putting God first, and refusing to become dormant in our walk with God by just settling. Fasting stirs you up. Fasting causes you to use the no muscle. The no muscle is a muscle that the church has lost use of. Atrophy has set in. And people don't say no to temptation. They don't say no to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes. They don't say no to convictions. They just go with the flow of the flesh. But when you fast, you're flexing the no muscle, you're saying, no, the flesh must submit. I present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. There are 650 Skeletal muscles in your body. The hardest working muscle is the heart. It pumps 2,500 gallons of blood through your body every day. But it's interesting that the strongest muscle in the body, based on the weight, is the jaw muscle. Your jaw muscle is so powerful that it can bench press £200. It has the power to chomp down £200. And it's a tiny muscle. But when you conquer the jawbone and you say to the most powerful muscle in your body, no, I'm not going to eat. I'm not going to participate in normal living for a few days, I'm going to give God my body all over again. If you can conquer that fasting and that muscle of the jaw from eating for a few days, you can conquer all the other issues that you're dealing with with your flesh. That's why Jesus set the example. He fasted 40 days before he did one miracle or preached one sermon. He understood that it's critical that people give the Holy Spirit a vessel to dwell in. If you don't use that muscle, then it will, it will be lacking and it will waste away. That's why the Bible calls one of the fruits of the spirit. The last one that it lists self control as a fruit of the spirit. It's the hardest one of the fruits of the spirit to ripen and cultivate in your life. Self control drugs will not control me. Alcohol will not control me. Temper will not control me. Just the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh. It will not control me. That's what you're saying when you're fasting. Proverbs 16 and 32 said it's better to have self control than conquer a city. When you are out of options, when you don't have the power to do something, fasting gives you the grace to do what you cannot do on your own. What I've learned about fasting is when you come to a church like this, fasting in football terms would be one of those plays that you don't play normally. It's not a normal, you know, play that you have in your playbook is for, it's for those times when you really are desperate. Fasting is a trick play. It's a double reverse pass. It's a Hail Mary, not a Hail Mary. To a statue, it's a Hail Mary. Meaning you're really going for it. You're really saying, I want you to fast track my life. I got to get into that end zone. And it is so powerful when you begin to fast and pray. I have seen God do it. I have seen him bless us in ways that blow my mind. Fasting can fast track the purposes of God like nothing else in your life. The least practiced spiritual discipline in the church, and yet the most powerful spiritual discipline in the Bible is the most least practiced and that is fasting. Fasting is giving up food. You say, well, I don't know how to do it. Don't eat. That's how you fast. We're doing a 21 day Daniel fast. It's in the book of Daniel, chapter 10. You should read about it this week. But in the Book of Daniel, he said, I ate no bread, I ate no meat, and I drunk no wine, no pleasant bread, which would be sweet, no sugar, no sweets, no bread, no meat. Many people have learned to jump start. And if you've never fasted, you just, you just jump in and do it. I don't know any other way to tell you I can't make it easy. This is a discipline. This is a thing we do because the Bible teaches us in Matthew 6, when you fast, meaning there should be set times when you fast, just like there's in the same text it says when you pray, when you give, just like you're intentional with it. That's what you do with fasting. It's a predetermined purpose, it's a predetermined time. It's not a diet, it's saying, God, I crave you more than I crave food. It shows God how serious you are. Man shall, Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The greatest miracles I have received in my life can be traced back to seasons of fasting. I was on a 21 day fast many, many, many years ago, decades ago, when we desperately needed resources to build our first building and a man and a family walked in and gave the first one million dollar gift our ministry had ever received on a 21 day fast. I can't explain that, but that's what I'm talking about. Every one of the buildings that we have are debt free. Everything that we have is debt free. I don't believe that's an accident. I believe one of the purposes that God has raised freechapel up as a church was to model and to continue to model to the nation and to young pastors and to young and many thousands of churches. The pattern of fasting and prayer and how critical it is to never, ever lose your passion for God. And when we fast, it stirs us up and it causes us to draw near to God. It's a powerful thing when you fast. Fasting and prayer are mentioned at the same time and it releases amazing miracles. I wouldn't do it if it didn't work. I like to start out just in. My fast is my fast. I'm doing a regular fast for the first few days of just water and coffee. Well, I don't believe that. Coffee. No, that's my fast. I drink black coffee all I want with no condemnation. Enjoy it. Now, if the Lord tells you to do something different, mind your own business and do it. I need a little coffee. I'm cold all the time when I'm fasting. I need some warmth and I need something to keep on living for. Amen. That coffee means something to me. When you fast, you say no to the status quo. The Daniel fast is fruit and vegetables. No bread, no meat, no sweets. The length of time is 21 days. That's what we're doing as a church and I know that there's all kinds of situations and elderly and people who have medical issues. All of that is between you and God. Figure it out, work it out. Some of you have heavy labor, manual labor jobs. Figure it out, work it out. I don't know what you need to do. If you feel released, the sacrifice is there. Take some protein powder and some water or something. I don't know. You work all that out, God will see the sacrifice. The purpose of fasting is you seek from God with an intensity and an intentionality. It's going after him with this. I am. I'm intense about it. I'm going after you. I'm not going to halfway serve you. Nehemiah 9. They said that they fasted. And he said what we did was after we fasted, he said they were. They read the Word of God. Please put my scripture up. They read the Word of God. They stood in a place and read the book of the law and the Lord their God. They read it, the book of the law, of the Lord their God, one fourth part of the day, or three hours and another three hours. They confessed, they prayed, they confessed their sins. They confessed the covenant. They confessed the Word of God. They were into it. They worship the Lord. What kind of church would this be next Sunday? If between now and next Sunday, everybody under the sound of my voice at every campus could spend three hours in the Word and three hours worshiping and praying in personal prayer to God this week? What would happen to families? What would happen to this church? What kind of anointing would be in this room next Sunday if thousands of people said, I'm going to spend hours with God and his Word. And while I'm doing it, I'm putting the extra special sauce of fasting on my worship and on my Bible reading. Look out. See, no wonder the devil doesn't want anybody to fast. Because when Jesus fasted, he rebuked the devil. He said, you'll not live. Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word. And Satan had to leave him. The seeking of God is in fasting. I want to know you, Lord. I want you to sensitize my spirit. You'll have moments where tears will come in your eyes during this fast and you'll be overwhelmed with gratitude. You'll have moments when you'll be listening to worship and a song will touch you in a way that you haven't been touched in months. You'll have a moment when you see a bus ride by or something, and you'll get gripped with a burden and you won't Know why you've got a tear, but it's those people. Do they know the Lord? Are they on their way to heaven or are they on their way to hell? These are the things that happen to you. Burdens come, direction comes. When you fast, it triggers your worship. The favor of God will find you when you fast. Is there a situation where you need the favor of God? Favor of God is what God can do for you that you can't do for yourself. God loves to grace and to favor his people. And he says, if you'll stay humble and you'll stay hungry, my favor will come to you in a new year. You must stay humble, you must stay hungry. And fasting does both to you. It causes you to submit to God. According to James, chapter four. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and in due season he will exalt you. And fasting is humbling. It's being humble and it's being hungry. Blessed are they that hunger in thirst, for they shall be filled. Esther fasted in the book of Esther for three days and she had all of Israel fast. As she went into the presence of the king, and the king gave her favor. God's favor is coming after you in this new year. Raise your hands and say, lord, I expect your favorite in this new year when God's favor comes on you. I know what I'm preaching about. I can't explain why I have the microphone. I can't explain why God opens doors. I can't explain why he's done what he's done. It is the favor of God. It's very real. And I don't know why. But when you fast and you stay humble and you stay hungry, God's favor chases you down. And the whole nation of Israel was spared from a calamity because the favor of God came on Esther. A fast will cause you to be able to discern the right people. If you have a major decision to make, always go into a season of fasting about it. Fasting purges your motives. Fasting purges your body. Fasting purges your will. It clears your mind so you can hear God's voice. God will say no. God will say, yes, but God will speak to you. I can guarantee you that if you will seek him and you need direction and you need to know his will, you will reach a point while you fast where you want it to be. Yes, maybe. But God will get you to the place to where you don't just pray for what you want. You pray not my will. Thy will be done. And when you do, he'll give you a yes or he'll give you a no. Every major decision that we've made in this ministry, we have fasted and prayed about every major decision. Sometimes you need to fast because you're in a slump. There's something called the slump fast. It resets your spirit. It hot wires your spiritual engine. Every one of you on your car have a sticker that is a oil change sticker. And it warns you that after you get so many miles on that sticker, 5,000, 10,000 at the most miles, you better stop and change the oil because old oil gets heavy, it will destroy the engine. It will burn up the engine. You'll be on the side of the road, you won't be in motion. You won't be moving. I don't care who you are, you can get spiritually oil in you. That was powerful back in the day. See, let me preach this. Just a minute. I want to take my time right here. Just one minute. David was anointed one time and it lasted 25 years. We don't read that he was ever re anointed until 25 years later. He was anointed. And that anointing was with him when he went against Goliath. He was anointed. And that anointing was good enough for him. When he faced King Saul and his insane jealousy, he was anointed. Everything that he dealt with, he had the anointing. But somewhere he should have changed his oil. Somewhere he lost his humility when he was in the palace and he lost his hunger for God. And he walked out on the balcony and saw a woman bathing somewhere, he lost the anointing. And every once in a while, you got to get a fresh oil change. Fasting is getting an oil change. When you get an oil change, they do two things. They drain out the old oil. There's some things that God wants to drain out of you. There's some stuff that you have collected, some pollution in the. Some flies in the ointment that you need to just have a old fashioned draining God, get it out of me. Get that bitterness out of me. Get that anger out of me. Get that lust out of me. Get that selfishness out of me. Get that unforgiveness out of me. You got to let it get out of you. And fasting empties the old oil. You know what else they do? They change the filter when you fast. It's God giving you a new filter over your mind. Hallelujah, you got some of you, your Filter is so filthy that anything gets in now. But when you get fresh anointing, you get a new filter. And your thoughts are renewed, your mind is renewed. Some of us need a filter on our mouth. You know that your oil is running low. When you as a Christian start saying blankety blank. Blankety blank. Little kids listening people, you don't. Blankety blank. You need a filter on your mouth. Mouth. You need a filter on your mind. You need a filter on your eyes. Come on. You need some convictions that says turn it off. That's not right. Walk out of the movie. That's too much. I'm not going. We need filters. We need fresh oil. And David reached a point in Psalms 92 and 10 when he said, you've exalted my horn like the horn of a unicorn. I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Everybody throw your hands up and say, lord, here's the funnel. I shall be anointed with fresh oil. On this fast, hallelujah. The impurities have to get out. Fasting according to Isaiah 58, destroys the yoke of Satan. Is not this the fast that I have chosen to destroy? Every yoke. It breaks every yoke. It's breakthrough. Nothing will break bondage in your life like fasting. Habitual sin, addiction. Fasting breaks bondages. It breaks addictions. An empty stomach, listen carefully positions you God's presence to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Because the book of John said, out of your belly. Isn't that interesting? Out of your belly will flow rivers of living water when you're filled with the Holy Spirit. So isn't it something that when we fast, we empty our belly so we can be filled. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by Holy Spirit filling. And like a river coming out of your belly, if you don't change the oil, it breaks down the engine. You don't need to divorce your wife. You need fresh oil. You don't need to quit. You don't need to backslide. You need fresh oil. And when you get that anointing with the Holy Spirit comes power. And with the power of the Holy Spirit comes willpower to flex the no muscle and say no to that which you know is not pleasing to the Lord. You know something else? The Bible said this kind cometh out but by fasting and prayer. Jesus himself said that this kind. The disciples said, why can't we cast this devil out? And he said in response, this kind comes out only by fasting and prayer. I believe that we are dealing with those kinds of spirits in the age that we're living. And the only way that they can be defeated is when someone has gotten along with the Lord, filled up their self with the word, drained out the old oil, received a fresh anointing with a filter on their mind and their heart. And they look at that situation and say, in the name of Jesus, Satan, you get out. It's not strange. Read this book. Read it. In my name, you will cast out devils in my name, he said in Mark 16, you will speak with new tongues. In my name you shall lay hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. And amazing miracles are coming to free Chapel in 2026. Amazing. People you thought were never going to get free are going to get free. People you thought would die an addict are not going to die an addict. The prodigals are coming in Jesus. They're coming home. They're going to be free. God is going to touch our sons and our daughters. I was thinking about it this week. I'll close with this. But fasting, there's a gratitude fast. What are you talking about? Let me tell you. When you. A spirit of gratitude will overwhelm you. After you fast and you eat your first meal, food has never tasted. I remember when I went on my first 21 day fast, the first thing I ate was a saltine cracker. My God, I have never tasted anything like that. And when you fast and you say no and you give up to gain him, a gratitude. When you start eating again, a gratitude and excitement about being alive, something new is coming. Whoo. I felt that down into my soul. A gratitude even for the simple things of life. Lord, you've been so good to me, Lord, this food. Thank you, this life. Thank you, this health. Oh, I'm not sick. Thank you. A gratitude. A gratitude will overwhelm you when you start eating again. Not just about food, but about life in general. My wife, my children, my grandchildren. I'm so blessed. Cherise should be here this morning. She's watching me online. You know what she told me? You know, my daughter and her husband had their first baby a couple weeks ago, Three or four weeks ago. Thank you. And she's beautiful. But Cherise said, well, you know, the church gives maternity leave. And she said, I'm on maternity leave. I said, it's not even your baby. What are you talking about? She thinks it's her baby. She's cutting up. I hope. But I'm telling you, a gratitude. Y' all know what? Does this make sense? A gratitude about life. Just, we need to get up and be happy. Again, I know life is never going to be. Everything's great and everything's wonderful and beautiful and da, da. So at some point, you ain't going to enjoy any of life. If you're waiting on a perfect day, this is the day the Lord has made. See, I feel a joy that the world can't give, is what I'm trying to preach. A gratitude that my sins are forgiven. I've been baptized in the Holy Ghost. I have a comforter, a prayer warrior in me called the Holy Spirit. And my goodness, I know this year is going to be in God's hands. It makes me grateful. I want to get up in all of God again, in all of life. Joy and expectation. Praise the Lord. It's a good day. It's a happy day. Just lift your hands right where you're sitting. I really feel something stirring in this place. Place. I hear the Lord say this now, for he has not given us a spirit of fear. Don't fear the future. Don't fear the health. Don't fear old age. Don't fear any of that stuff. He has not given us. Don't fear the economy. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound, healthy mind. Shout. Shout. Fear must back up. Fear must move. Fear cannot dominate. This year. I close with this. Just stand to your feet for a moment. There's a dream. Fast. Acts, Chapter two. They fasted and then the word of the Lord came in the last day, saith God, I'll pour out my spirit on your sons and your daughters. And the old men will dream dreams and the young men will see. You cannot fast. Listen to this preacher. Young people listen to me very, very carefully. I started fasting when I was a teenager. You cannot fast and seek God and God not give you dream and a vision for your life. It's impossible. Fasting is vitally connected to the dream and the vision that God has for your life. And when you fast and pray and seek God first, one of the automatics is he will give you vision. He will give you dreams. Dreams. Another way is the pathway to your destiny. That's what fasting does. And I don't know why, I don't know why I knew to do it. I look back on so many things, and I'm not nothing. But when I would fast at the beginning of the year, somewhere in there, something down there, the road would say, hey, you should do this, you should do. You should do that. You should do this. That's a dream. That's a vision. Looking back, I didn't know it's despise not the day of small things. I didn't know what would happen from that simple act. I don't believe I would have had that vision to do that had I not fasted and prayed. I could give you illustration after illustrate. I don't have time. But my point is this many of you have lost your ways. It's a little confusing and I know how it is to be a young person and say, where am I going with my life? But I'm so glad that there's a Savior. I'm telling you, I've been young and now I'm old. But I can tell you that if you'll seek the Lord, if you'll stay humble and you'll stay hungry, he will direct your path right over here. Right over there. Let me introduce you to this one. Let me connect. Oh, you like her? Marry her. Yeah, that's great. Oh, okay, this one. Yes. Yes. Oh, yes. This is it.
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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.