The Life Changing Power of Prayer and Fasting

Prayer and fasting have real, life-changing power. If you want to see real change in your life and the lives of others, sometimes what you really need to do is PUSH: pray until something happens. Join Crossroads Senior Pastor Chuck Mingo as he shares stories from the Books of Mark and Matthew and describes how to fast and pray for a breakthrough with God – even if you’ve never done it before

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    - Hey, welcome to Crossroads.
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    My name is Rachel. - And I'm Andy.
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    - And we are so glad that you're with us today.
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    Crossroads is a church of people meeting
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    both physically and online all around the world,
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    and you are joining us today for our summer series,
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    where we're doing a little summer road trip
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    to celebrate what God is doing across our entire church.
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    But before we get to that, we're actually
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    going to start our time in something called worship.
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    We believe that church isn't confined
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    to just meeting in a specific building
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    on a specific day of the week,
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    and that something powerful happens when each of us
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    actually raise our voices and we say,
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    "These are our prayers set to music,"
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    when we use the same words with our voices to say,
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    "This is true about God,
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    and this is what He says is true about us."
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    - Yeah. And so wherever you are right now,
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    literally and emotionally, I just want to say
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    God sees you, like, He is with you right now.
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    He knows the stress and the pain, the regret,
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    the exhaustion, whatever you are walking in here with,
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    He knows, this is the time to actually connect
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    with the God who has the power to do something about it.
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    I know it may seem weird to sing,
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    especially if you're at home alone
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    or you're in the car or wherever you are,
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    but it actually releases things.
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    It moves us, burdens get lifted,
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    we get insight and connection that we need
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    to reset and refill.
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    So don't skip this part.
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    Lean in, sing along, and let's worship together.
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    - That's right Psalm 100 says
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    thanks is the way to His presence.
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    - Ain't that right?
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    Pray like Jesus taught us to pray.
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    - Hey, my name is Justin. I'm one of the pastors here.
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    And, you know, since Crossroads opened its doors
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    almost 30 years ago what we fought for is
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    to speak a language that everyone could understand,
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    to bring the good news of Jesus
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    into a language that everybody could understand.
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    So we try our best to not speak Christian,
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    not because we don't love Jesus.
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    Maybe you've heard the term christianese,
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    like, we try not to to say words or phrases
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    that if you haven't been in a church in 30 years
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    you wouldn't understand,
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    because we don't want to exclude anybody.
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    We want to bring the good news of Jesus
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    to a language everybody can understand.
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    That's why we do Kids' Club.
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    Can we give it up for our Kids' Club volunteers, people?
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    We take the message of Jesus and put it
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    in a language your kids and my kids can understand.
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    It's also why every single week this service
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    is translated into Spanish.
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    And at 11:45, in our chapel here at Oakley,
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    we have a Crossroads in Espanol community
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    that experiences this same service, all in Spanish,
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    all in a language they can understand,
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    because we want to serve people well,
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    because we want to serve them well.
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    And so, every Sunday they sing in English.
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    What I should have said is every spoken word,
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    like, this right now is in Spanish.
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    So, if you're in our 11:45 this Sunday,
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    you would hear me speaking Spanish right now.
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    But when we sing, they can't translate that.
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    So the music is all still in English.
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    So every Sunday they're singing,
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    not in their first language,
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    but in my first language.
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    I'd like to change that.
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    Y'all feel okay about that?
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    I'd like to try something.
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    We want to serve people well.
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    It's why we do that experience.
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    It's why also last Friday, us as Crossroads Music
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    released a full Spanish EP with the songs
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    we've been singing for the last year,
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    all in Spanish.
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    Yes, even a big dummy like me from Kentucky
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    can fumble his way through Spanish
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    and learn and develop it.
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    So here's what I want to do.
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    I want to sing this next song, all in Spanish.
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    And if you sing in English,
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    we're going to have English words up there for you.
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    And you can sing in English.
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    If that's too complicated for your brain,
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    then great, just relax.
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    But for those who speak Spanish, I want you
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    to be able to sing in your first language,
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    just like you pray to God.
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    The first time I heard this next song in Spanish
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    was with my friend Notielle. Everybody, say hi, Notielle.
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    - Hola, Notielle. - You can say Hola, Notielle.
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    Everybody say Hola, Notielle.
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    So the first time I heard this song in Spanish
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    was from a mutual friend that Notielle and I have,
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    and he sent me a video of Notielle playing
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    and singing this song.
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    He had translated it all in Spanish
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    because it meant something to him,
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    and he was just singing it.
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    And that that started something in our music to go,
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    "Whoa!" So Notielle and I are going to lead this
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    all in Spanish with English underneath.
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    Sing in your language and let's sing as one church.
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    - Amen.
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    [singing in Spanish]
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    - He's the same God to every one of us.
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    - God, we're here because we believe this
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    or we want to believe this to be true.
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    We're here right now because
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    we need You to be a savior,
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    we need You to be a healer,
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    we need You to be a provider.
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    Would you see our steps here into this room,
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    online watching, streaming all around the world
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    as us saying, "Yes. Oh, my God, I need You.
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    I want you. Would you come?"
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    I believe You're not only able to do that,
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    but You desire to respond when we call on You.
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    So we call on You. Sing that chorus one more time.
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    - It's so good to worship with y'all.
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    Is that not good? It's so good.
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    Hey, why don't you turn to some --
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    Oh, some of you may be wondering,
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    where can I hear the songs in Spanish?
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    It's all the places you get music.
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    You're already paying for it.
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    Just go to all the places.
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    The Spotify, the Apple Music,
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    all the online people, they've already got it down.
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    It's just us that have to figure it out.
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    So say hi to somebody around you.
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    If you're joining us online all around the world,
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    we're glad you're here. It's so good.
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    - At camp, our whole focus is to encounter God
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    and women never take that kind of time
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    for themselves to say, "Hey, I am worth
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    the cost of this ticket.
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    I am worth these ten people around my fire
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    paying attention to me.
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    I am worth that because I have a Father
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    that has something for me and He wants me to get it.
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    I believe at Women Camp this year
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    that women are going to walk in
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    with all of the things that women carry with them,
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    and I believe that they're going to lay them down
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    at camp and walk out in freedom.
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    - Hey, something you need to know is that
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    Crossroads isn't just content to watch,
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    but a place and a church and a community
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    that you can fully belong to no matter where you live.
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    We've got so many ways that you can do that,
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    ways that you can grow that are designed
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    to help you connect with others and to experience more from God.
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    And one of those is camps.
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    - This year so far, we've already had
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    a bunch of camps, like Couples Camp,
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    Man, Vet Camp, Mother/Daughter Camp,
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    Father/Son Camp, and we still have more
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    coming later this summer and fall
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    that we would love for you to try.
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    Camps are unique Crossroads events
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    hosted on a large stretch of land here in Ohio
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    that are specifically designed to take you
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    to a new place, relationally and spiritually.
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    Just because it's located in Ohio, please
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    don't let that stop you from coming.
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    We've had people from coast to coast
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    attend our camps who have had powerful,
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    life-changing experiences.
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    So you can find more information about each camp
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    and which one is right for you
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    at Crossroads.net/camps.
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    - Yeah. Hey, have you ever wondered
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    how we're able to make possible experiences
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    like camps, like Go Trips,
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    or even this very video that you're watching?
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    Well, here's the answer.
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    It's all fueled by the generosity
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    of everyday people who are part of our church.
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    There is no corporate sponsor.
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    Crossroads is a tithing church, which means that
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    we believe in giving the first 10%
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    of our gross income to our local church.
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    This is what we do and we're happy to do it.
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    It's not always easy.
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    I don't mean to say it's easy.
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    I mean to say we think it's the right decision
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    and we've seen good things come from it.
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    And the examples that we have in Scripture
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    are of tithe money supporting the work
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    of the local faith community.
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    And in our context, that means the church
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    that you attend and call home.
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    - So you don't have to believe that,
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    but if you have any questions about
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    what we believe about money, or if you want
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    to join the team of faithful people
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    who make this place work, you can head to
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    Crossroads.net/give.
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    - Yeah, right now we're going to jump in
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    with Chuck Mingo on the power of prayer.
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    - I thought I was being rude, but it's Brian.
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    All right, each week this summer you will go
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    on the move on a summer road trip of sorts
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    to Crossroads locations and share something
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    that God is doing there.
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    You must return the camper in one piece.
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    - Camper? What? - This man and his camp's.
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    The map and card. - Okay.
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    - Will help you get started. I will be watching.
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    - Collect all six and win a free ice cream.
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    Let's hit the road. - Let's do it!
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    - Crossroads is one church with many locations,
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    and each week we'll use the map to explore
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    a different place and story
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    and hear the amazing things that God is doing.
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    - Hey, I'm Joel. - And I'm Debo.
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    And today we are heading to Lexington.
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    - Lexington, Kentucky. We're almost there.
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    What's the icon for Lexington?
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    - Well, this week's icon are prayer hands,
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    and the card says, "We really believe this stuff."
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    - Let's go get a story from some people
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    in Lexington about prayer.
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    We're here. - Yeah, we made it.
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    - With a couple people from Lexington.
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    - Yeah. - What's up guys?
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    - We have Nicole and Cameron here.
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    - Maybe you guys can share, like,
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    when was that moment for you that you guys
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    realized that this was, like, your home,
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    like, your home church,
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    a place that you could feel like you belong?
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    - So during the midst of when I had
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    just started volunteering, I also had given birth
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    to our second daughter, Evelyn.
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    And within a few days of her being born,
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    we found out that she had a liver disease.
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    - One of her effects was that her stomach
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    would swell, and it'd just be rock hard.
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    - Oh, wow.
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    -And she'd have her veins and stuff that would show.
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    And you can tell it hurt her bad.
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    She would scream, or she would tense up
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    and just it was hard to see.
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    - Yeah.
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    - We kind of went through that a little privately, actually.
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    It was towards the end of the year
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    and she had a very major abdominal surgery
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    at about a month and a half old.
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    So we were in the hospital a lot.
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    And we really, other than Summer,
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    in our Lexington campus,
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    she runs the Kids' Club program there,
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    hadn't made a ton of connections at the church yet.
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    After that surgery, we went into 2023.
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    Evelyn was doing okay for a couple of months,
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    but the surgery started to fail.
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    We were in the hospital with Evelyn for, I think,
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    at least like seven months, if not longer.
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    - I mean we're experiencing something
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    you shouldn't never have to experience,
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    and I've had a lot, of lot of doubts.
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    - Yeah. - A lot of questions of why.
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    - She started to get really sick.
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    And that was kind of our moment where
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    I feel like we were like, "Okay, we can't do this alone."
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    So I told Summer, because I was trying
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    to volunteer regularly, that we would be up
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    at Cincinnati Children's and explained, you know,
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    why we wouldn't be there anymore.
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    And it was just, like, instant. "What can we do?
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    How can we support you?"
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    And we were praying together and crying together.
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    And it seemed easier to lean into faith
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    than to lean away from it.
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    It was kind of all we had. - Yeah.
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    - I didn't pray a whole lot before all of this.
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    That was kind of new for me.
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    - Yeah, there were plenty of times where
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    we had her swaddled and we're just, like,
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    holding her down while somebody stabbing her with a needle.
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    And I feel like those were the moments
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    where, obviously, we did a lot of praying ourselves.
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    I mean, we would just, like, each
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    have a hand on her chest, and we'd, like,
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    clasp each other's hands from across
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    the hospital bed and just, you know,
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    pray over her while she's in this moment of pain
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    or or discomfort.
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    I don't know if had we not had the support
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    of the Lexington community,
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    if we would be where we are.
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    - Yeah. Yeah.
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    It's okay.
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    - Woo, okay. I think I'm okay.
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    - Yeah. - Where's Evelyn at today?
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    She's a year and a half old.
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    Where are we at in her story?
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    - Evelyn was blessed to receive
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    a liver transplant in September of 2023.
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    So, which was incredible in itself.
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    She was only on the list for two months,
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    which is a very short time period, actually,
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    to be on the transplant list.
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    I attribute that to all of the prayers we received.
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    When people are praying for you,
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    we always feel comforted.
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    We always feel like a weight
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    has been lifted off her shoulder.
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    We knew that that's what, if anything,
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    was going to get us through that,
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    that's what it would be.
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    And not just our faith, but the faith of others.
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    It, once you lean into that, I just --
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    I just feel like it lifts you up.
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    - What a story about the power of prayer.
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    Man, I am so inspired and encouraged
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    when I hear stories like that.
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    How are we doing, Crossroads family?
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    It is so good to be with all of you.
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    And I want to today encourage all of us
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    to lean into the power of prayer and fasting.
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    That's what we're going to be talking about
  • 00:33:54
    for our time today. I have a question for you.
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    Have you ever heard of hysterical strength?
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    Anybody familiar with that term hysterical strength?
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    Somebody is. You may not have heard it as that,
  • 00:34:05
    but you certainly heard the stories.
  • 00:34:07
    There's stories out there of superhuman feats,
  • 00:34:10
    people doing things that are beyond human ability.
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    There's two that I've been thinking about
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    coming into this weekend.
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    One is there's this kid, Zach Clark.
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    He was a football player and previously,
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    I mean, he's probably a lineman.
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    He had deadlifted like 400 pounds.
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    But his neighbors came over to his house in a panic
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    because his neighbor's husband
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    had been pinned under a vehicle, under a car.
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    And Zach and his mom go to the situation,
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    see his neighbor pinned under the car,
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    and Zach deadlifts a vehicle for just enough time
  • 00:34:43
    for these two women to pull this man out to safety.
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    The EMT and people who were called on to the scene
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    said, had he not done that, had he not done that,
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    his neighbor would have died.
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    That was hysterical strength
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    and he just had a sore back at the end of it.
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    A crazy thing. Here's one that blows me away.
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    There's a woman. Her name is Lydia Anjou.
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    She fought off a 700 pound polar bear
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    that attacked two of her children.
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    Now, the mother's in the house are like,
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    "You doggone right she did.
  • 00:35:12
    You're a doggone right she did." Right?
  • 00:35:14
    Amazing. She actually was kicking this bear,
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    fighting this bear.
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    She left with only scratches and bruises.
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    Someone actually saw her fighting the bear.
  • 00:35:23
    Eventually, they were able to let off warning shots
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    and ultimately shoot the bear.
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    But she actually received a national award for courage.
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    Hysterical strength. It is a real thing.
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    And there are times in life
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    when you need hysterical strength.
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    There are situations that you and I face in life
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    that we need hysterical strength.
  • 00:35:45
    And I want to tell you that's not just true
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    in the physical, but it's true in the spiritual.
  • 00:35:50
    And so today we're going to talk about a 1-2 punch,
  • 00:35:53
    prayer and fasting, that has the ability
  • 00:35:56
    to give you the spiritual equivalence
  • 00:35:58
    of hysterical strength.
  • 00:35:59
    Here's the big idea today.
  • 00:36:01
    Prayer and fasting is a way to push,
  • 00:36:04
    to pray until something happens.
  • 00:36:08
    And I want to encourage you to pray
  • 00:36:11
    until something happens.
  • 00:36:14
    Let's pray as we get started.
  • 00:36:15
    God, I'm asking that You would use this time
  • 00:36:17
    for all of us to just lean in and learn.
  • 00:36:21
    God, I know that we've probably all heard
  • 00:36:23
    about prayer and done prayer.
  • 00:36:24
    That's a familiar topic.
  • 00:36:25
    Maybe fasting less so.
  • 00:36:27
    But God, I believe You have something
  • 00:36:28
    for everyone who is listening to this this weekend.
  • 00:36:31
    So I'm praying, God, that You would move,
  • 00:36:33
    that Your Word would come alive,
  • 00:36:36
    that Your presence would be here,
  • 00:36:38
    and that we would all push closer into You today.
  • 00:36:41
    I pray this in Jesus's name. Amen.
  • 00:36:45
    So we're going to look at a story in the Bible
  • 00:36:47
    where Jesus illustrates the power of push,
  • 00:36:51
    of praying until something happens.
  • 00:36:53
    And He actually educates His disciples on how to do this.
  • 00:36:56
    This comes from Mark 9.
  • 00:36:58
    And just to give you context,
  • 00:36:59
    right before this story,
  • 00:37:01
    a supernatural thing has happened.
  • 00:37:02
    We're going to be talking about things in the Bible
  • 00:37:04
    today that are just straight up supernatural.
  • 00:37:06
    And they might sound weird.
  • 00:37:07
    We're going to be talking about demons today.
  • 00:37:09
    We're going to we're going to be talking about
  • 00:37:11
    all kinds of healing that happened today.
  • 00:37:12
    And I just want you to know, I know that
  • 00:37:14
    if you're not familiar, don't always come around church,
  • 00:37:16
    some of that stuff just sounds like,
  • 00:37:18
    "Chuck, that sounds a little bit out there."
  • 00:37:20
    And that's okay. You're in the right place.
  • 00:37:22
    But I'm hoping today that you're up for being pushed,
  • 00:37:24
    you're up for maybe entering into a realm
  • 00:37:27
    of understanding of God and His power
  • 00:37:29
    that might be different
  • 00:37:30
    and actually might be life giving for you.
  • 00:37:32
    So right before the story we're going to look at today,
  • 00:37:35
    Jesus has been on a mountain with his closest disciples.
  • 00:37:38
    Not all 12, but a couple of them were up there
  • 00:37:40
    with Him for something called the Transfiguration.
  • 00:37:43
    This crazy thing happens where two dead people,
  • 00:37:45
    I see dead people, yes. Two dead people.
  • 00:37:47
    All the young people are like,
  • 00:37:48
    "Is he about to go into the Kendrick?"
  • 00:37:50
    I'm not going into the Kendrick Lamar thing.
  • 00:37:52
    But anyway, but they're like, "Hey,
  • 00:37:54
    there's two dead people up there with Jesus."
  • 00:37:56
    There's Elijah and Moses,
  • 00:37:58
    but they have actually come and these disciples
  • 00:38:00
    see them connecting with Jesus.
  • 00:38:02
    And then Jesus begins to glow? Shine?
  • 00:38:07
    I don't know, but there's a glory, it says,
  • 00:38:09
    that they see Jesus differently.
  • 00:38:10
    It's called the Transfiguration.
  • 00:38:12
    And so they have had this supernaturally
  • 00:38:14
    powerful experience understanding that
  • 00:38:16
    Jesus is a man, yes, but He is also the God man.
  • 00:38:19
    And they're coming down off of that mountain.
  • 00:38:21
    And as Jesus and this small band of disciples
  • 00:38:24
    come down off the mountain, they see
  • 00:38:26
    the rest of the disciples in a bit of a scuffle.
  • 00:38:28
    That's what we're going to pick up the story.
  • 00:38:30
    Mark 9:14 says:
  • 00:39:00
    I mean, you could see this as this kid
  • 00:39:02
    was having epileptic seizures,
  • 00:39:03
    probably something like that.
  • 00:40:03
    Verse 26 says:
  • 00:40:23
    And I want to emphasize what Jesus says next,
  • 00:40:26
    because it's the reason why we're leaning into
  • 00:40:28
    this 1-2 punch of prayer and fasting.
  • 00:40:31
    In one of the translations of the Bible,
  • 00:40:32
    Jesus responds to them:
  • 00:40:34
    This kind can come out
  • 00:40:36
    by nothing but prayer and fasting.
  • 00:40:40
    What is it in your life that no matter what you've done,
  • 00:40:44
    it seems like it's just intractable?
  • 00:40:47
    Maybe it's a problem. Maybe it's a sickness.
  • 00:40:50
    Maybe it's a weakness. Maybe it's a struggle.
  • 00:40:52
    Maybe it's a hard relationship.
  • 00:40:54
    I don't know, maybe it's a family lineage thing
  • 00:40:56
    that you're trying to overcome.
  • 00:40:57
    What is it in your life that just feels like
  • 00:41:00
    it can't be overcome?
  • 00:41:01
    Jesus says there are times in life
  • 00:41:04
    where you need more spiritual octane.
  • 00:41:06
    There are times in life where we have to press in
  • 00:41:08
    and push, pray until something happens.
  • 00:41:12
    Interestingly, Jesus assumed that people
  • 00:41:15
    who follow him will fast.
  • 00:41:16
    Notice what it says in Matthew 6:16.
  • 00:41:18
    It doesn't say if you fast,
  • 00:41:20
    but Jesus says when you fast.
  • 00:41:23
    So Jesus assumed that we would fast.
  • 00:41:25
    He assumed that that would be a part of
  • 00:41:27
    the regular rhythms of a follower of Jesus.
  • 00:41:29
    Now let me be honest and tell you,
  • 00:41:30
    fasting is one of the most difficult
  • 00:41:33
    spiritual disciplines to practice in our culture,
  • 00:41:35
    in our context, it is for me, it is for me.
  • 00:41:39
    And it also bears major spiritual fruit.
  • 00:41:43
    See, the goal of fasting is very clear.
  • 00:41:45
    You give up something in the physical
  • 00:41:47
    to gain something in the spiritual.
  • 00:41:49
    And just to be clear, when Jesus was talking
  • 00:41:52
    about fasting, he was talking about food.
  • 00:41:55
    He was talking about giving up food.
  • 00:41:57
    There's someone who wrote a book about fasting,
  • 00:41:59
    Arthur Wells, and he says this:
  • 00:42:09
    And I think that's true when it comes to fasting.
  • 00:42:11
    When we read about fasting, it's easy for us
  • 00:42:13
    to say, "Yeah, I should fast from the news,"
  • 00:42:16
    and maybe you should.
  • 00:42:17
    I should fast from social media.
  • 00:42:19
    Yeah, maybe you should.
  • 00:42:20
    I should fast from, you know, whatever these things are,
  • 00:42:23
    I should fast from my favorite Netflix show.
  • 00:42:24
    Maybe you should.
  • 00:42:26
    But to be very clear,
  • 00:42:27
    when Jesus was talking about fasting,
  • 00:42:29
    he was talking about fasting from food.
  • 00:42:33
    But man, that's hard, isn't it?
  • 00:42:35
    I mean, I don't know about you,
  • 00:42:36
    but I'm on team feasting.
  • 00:42:37
    Anybody with me?
  • 00:42:39
    I'm a team feasting guy, right?
  • 00:42:41
    I mean, I mean, think about it.
  • 00:42:42
    Our culture is all about food.
  • 00:42:44
    There's so much food available to us all the time,
  • 00:42:48
    and I take advantage of that, you can see.
  • 00:42:50
    So I'm just saying, like,
  • 00:42:51
    I'm not naturally oriented to fasting,
  • 00:42:55
    but it's something that I am learning to grow in
  • 00:42:58
    because as John Mark Comer, he's a writer, he said this:
  • 00:43:05
    And it's just true.
  • 00:43:07
    And let me tell you, you don't have
  • 00:43:08
    to be overweight for food to have
  • 00:43:10
    that power over your life.
  • 00:43:12
    But this is what another sermon said.
  • 00:43:14
    And I just think this is really direct. He said:
  • 00:43:20
    And so maybe, maybe God is actually calling us
  • 00:43:25
    to prayer and fasting in those areas of our life
  • 00:43:28
    where we just need a spiritual breakthrough.
  • 00:43:32
    Let me tell you, my first fast
  • 00:43:33
    that I remember doing and committing to
  • 00:43:35
    was in college, and I just was --
  • 00:43:37
    I was actually reading a book called
  • 00:43:39
    The Celebration of Disciplines, a classic book.
  • 00:43:41
    And it talks about all these spiritual disciplines,
  • 00:43:43
    prayer and solitude, and I was trying them all.
  • 00:43:46
    And it came to fasting, and I'm like, "Man, ugh,
  • 00:43:50
    I don't really want to do this one,
  • 00:43:51
    but I'm going to commit.
  • 00:43:53
    I'm going to commit to a 24 hour fast."
  • 00:43:56
    And I remember preparing for that fast
  • 00:43:58
    and praying and like I had planned out the day,
  • 00:44:00
    like, how I was going to do it.
  • 00:44:01
    I was in college.
  • 00:44:02
    I had a little bit more flexibility with my time.
  • 00:44:04
    I was really looking forward to it.
  • 00:44:06
    And the day came and let me just tell you,
  • 00:44:08
    I made it 8 of those 24 hours.
  • 00:44:10
    I did not -- I did not make it all the way through that fast.
  • 00:44:15
    And so I want to say very clearly,
  • 00:44:16
    I'm going to challenge you today.
  • 00:44:17
    I'm going to call you to think about fasting.
  • 00:44:20
    And it could be that you're fasting one meal.
  • 00:44:23
    It could be that you're going to fast one day.
  • 00:44:24
    This is between you and God.
  • 00:44:27
    But I do want to challenge you because
  • 00:44:29
    there are times in your life where
  • 00:44:31
    the thing that you're wrestling with
  • 00:44:32
    or dealing with will not change,
  • 00:44:35
    but for prayer and fasting.
  • 00:44:38
    How do you know if you're in one of those situations?
  • 00:44:41
    Well, I want to look at this story that we see
  • 00:44:44
    because there are elements of this story
  • 00:44:45
    and what this boy was struggling with,
  • 00:44:47
    as the father describes it, that I think
  • 00:44:49
    are good indicators for you and for me
  • 00:44:51
    that maybe this is a situation in my life,
  • 00:44:53
    maybe this is a struggle in my life,
  • 00:44:55
    maybe this is a prayer request in my life
  • 00:44:57
    where I need to pray and fast
  • 00:44:59
    to see if God won't use that surrender
  • 00:45:02
    to move me to a different place.
  • 00:45:04
    First and foremost, this problem
  • 00:45:06
    the boy was struggling with was demonic
  • 00:45:09
    and it had duration.
  • 00:45:12
    This wasn't just a physical thing.
  • 00:45:14
    Yes, he was illustrating the signs of a physical seizure.
  • 00:45:17
    But it wasn't just a physical thing.
  • 00:45:19
    This was a spiritual thing.
  • 00:45:21
    The father said, "Some being is trying
  • 00:45:23
    to destroy my son."
  • 00:45:25
    And when Jesus asked how long this has been going on,
  • 00:45:28
    he said, since childhood.
  • 00:45:29
    I wonder, are there things in your life
  • 00:45:31
    that go way back, that are real deep,
  • 00:45:35
    that have duration in your life,
  • 00:45:37
    and it just seems like there is a spiritual force
  • 00:45:40
    working against you in that area?
  • 00:45:43
    It might be a sign that this is something
  • 00:45:45
    that may not come out by just the regular means.
  • 00:45:48
    But the second thing is, this was
  • 00:45:49
    a destructive thing in this person's life.
  • 00:45:51
    The boy literally was being thrown into the fire
  • 00:45:54
    or thrown into water to drown.
  • 00:45:56
    It wanted to destroy him.
  • 00:45:57
    I wonder, is there something in your life
  • 00:45:59
    that has that level of a destructive force?
  • 00:46:01
    You know it.
  • 00:46:02
    You know your anger has been
  • 00:46:04
    that destructive in your life.
  • 00:46:06
    You know your fears have been that limiting in your life.
  • 00:46:09
    I just wonder, are there things in your life
  • 00:46:11
    that resonate with that?
  • 00:46:12
    The other thing is, it says
  • 00:46:13
    this spirit caused deafness and muteness.
  • 00:46:17
    Deafness and muteness, which means the boy
  • 00:46:20
    was not able to hear
  • 00:46:22
    and he also wasn't able to speak.
  • 00:46:25
    And I wonder again if there are areas in your life
  • 00:46:27
    where somehow it feels like you hear the truth of God,
  • 00:46:30
    but you're not able to retain it?
  • 00:46:32
    That's your identity.
  • 00:46:34
    You know your identity is in Jesus,
  • 00:46:36
    but it just keeps bringing you back to,
  • 00:46:38
    no, no, you're believing lies.
  • 00:46:40
    Or maybe your voice has been muted
  • 00:46:42
    or muffled or muzzled.
  • 00:46:43
    There's areas in your life where you just
  • 00:46:45
    don't feel like you can even speak the truth
  • 00:46:47
    that you know.
  • 00:46:48
    I just wonder, do you have areas in your life like this?
  • 00:46:52
    You know, doing a deeper dive
  • 00:46:54
    on some of the words in this text.
  • 00:46:56
    This verb, the father says that it throws the son down.
  • 00:47:01
    Well, that verb can also mean it tears him apart.
  • 00:47:05
    Again, we're talking about something that is heavy,
  • 00:47:08
    that is challenging.
  • 00:47:10
    It says later, he says that the spirit,
  • 00:47:12
    when it overtakes him, it causes him to become rigid.
  • 00:47:15
    And that actually can also be translated
  • 00:47:17
    it causes him to be exhausted.
  • 00:47:20
    And I just want you to think about
  • 00:47:21
    what is an area in your life
  • 00:47:24
    that resonates with these descriptions?
  • 00:47:27
    I'll tell you one for me right now
  • 00:47:29
    that I'm in the middle of,
  • 00:47:30
    and I've talked about this in the last couple of months.
  • 00:47:33
    I'm realizing that there are
  • 00:47:34
    some childhood trauma wounds that
  • 00:47:36
    have gone untreated in me,
  • 00:47:38
    maybe even unrecognized in me.
  • 00:47:41
    It hasn't happened yet, but I'm getting to believe
  • 00:47:43
    that there are some memories that I have literally repressed,
  • 00:47:45
    that I can't even bring to the surface.
  • 00:47:48
    But the impact of them is showing up
  • 00:47:51
    in different areas of my life.
  • 00:47:52
    And I just want to tell you,
  • 00:47:54
    I'm doing all the things I know to do.
  • 00:47:57
    I'm going to therapy
  • 00:47:59
    and I'm going to keep going to therapy.
  • 00:48:01
    But last week, actually a week ago today,
  • 00:48:03
    I actually had a chance to spend time
  • 00:48:06
    with a group of people who do prophetic prayer.
  • 00:48:09
    What do I mean when I say prophetic prayer?
  • 00:48:10
    These are people who listen to God
  • 00:48:12
    on the behalf of others.
  • 00:48:13
    These people didn't know much about me.
  • 00:48:16
    That's part of the process is
  • 00:48:18
    they're just kind of openly listening.
  • 00:48:19
    And it wasn't weird. Nothing levitated.
  • 00:48:21
    It wasn't anything like that.
  • 00:48:22
    I was in a comfortable chair the whole time,
  • 00:48:25
    but they were speaking things about my background,
  • 00:48:28
    my past, things that I had experienced
  • 00:48:30
    that they couldn't have known.
  • 00:48:33
    And there were connections being made.
  • 00:48:34
    And the reason that I was availing myself to that
  • 00:48:36
    is because I think there are certain parts
  • 00:48:38
    of this in my life that I'm dealing with
  • 00:48:40
    that are not going to just come out
  • 00:48:41
    by the regular methods.
  • 00:48:42
    I've got to avail myself to prayer.
  • 00:48:44
    I've got to be willing to surrender myself
  • 00:48:47
    in these situations.
  • 00:48:48
    So I want you to think about what is that in your life?
  • 00:48:51
    What would it be in your life
  • 00:48:52
    that would resonate with that?
  • 00:48:54
    Because I believe that's the place
  • 00:48:56
    where God is inviting you to push,
  • 00:48:59
    to pray until something happens.
  • 00:49:02
    Why? Because when you pray this way,
  • 00:49:06
    prayer and fasting gets God's attention.
  • 00:49:09
    It gets God's attention.
  • 00:49:12
    I mean, prayer is foundational
  • 00:49:13
    to our relationship with Jesus.
  • 00:49:15
    It's foundational to our relationship with God.
  • 00:49:17
    It's foundational to our relationship.
  • 00:49:19
    And when I'm talking about prayer,
  • 00:49:20
    I'm talking about talking to God,
  • 00:49:22
    just like you talk to a friend.
  • 00:49:24
    I'm not talking about prayers
  • 00:49:25
    that you have to memorize and recite,
  • 00:49:26
    although it's wonderful if you memorize
  • 00:49:28
    and recite prayers.
  • 00:49:29
    That's part of my prayer life too.
  • 00:49:31
    Don't make it anything other than, God, I need you.
  • 00:49:33
    Some of the songs that we sing and we're like,
  • 00:49:35
    God, I need you. I need your help.
  • 00:49:37
    God, what do you see in my life?
  • 00:49:38
    I'm wrestling with this.
  • 00:49:39
    This has been in my life for a lot of years.
  • 00:49:41
    God, would you help me see what I need to see?
  • 00:49:43
    Like, it's just conversation with God.
  • 00:49:46
    But, man, I want you to know it matters to God.
  • 00:49:48
    You praying matters to God.
  • 00:49:51
    One person put it this way:
  • 00:50:01
    And I want to tell you,
  • 00:50:02
    when you come to God in prayer,
  • 00:50:03
    it's basically you saying, "Hey, guess what?
  • 00:50:06
    There's a God and it's not me, but I need You.
  • 00:50:10
    I'm limited in my power.
  • 00:50:12
    I'm limited in what I can even see or understand.
  • 00:50:14
    But God, You aren't. And I need You."
  • 00:50:15
    And I want you to know when you come to God,
  • 00:50:18
    it gets His attention.
  • 00:50:19
    God is eager to hear from you.
  • 00:50:20
    I think about this as a father.
  • 00:50:22
    I love my kids. I love my kids.
  • 00:50:25
    And when my kids come to me and say,
  • 00:50:26
    "Hey, dad, I want to hang out,"
  • 00:50:27
    I am so excited to hang out with my kids.
  • 00:50:30
    Most of the time. I'm --
  • 00:50:31
    But most of the time, really I am.
  • 00:50:32
    I'm excited to hang out with my kids.
  • 00:50:34
    And here's the thing I'm limited.
  • 00:50:36
    There's a limit to my ability to love my kids.
  • 00:50:38
    God is unlimited in His love for you as your as His child.
  • 00:50:41
    So every time you pray, no matter what you've done,
  • 00:50:45
    no matter where you are in life,
  • 00:50:46
    no matter if you're coming to Him angry or sad
  • 00:50:49
    or happy or worried, He is excited.
  • 00:50:51
    God responds to your prayers.
  • 00:50:53
    That's why I love these words in Matthew 7:7, it says:
  • 00:51:05
    And these verbs are in the present progressive,
  • 00:51:08
    which means ask, and keep on asking;
  • 00:51:11
    seek, and keep on seeking,
  • 00:51:13
    knock, and keep on knocking.
  • 00:51:15
    Push, pray until something happens.
  • 00:51:20
    God loves it when you come to Him and trust.
  • 00:51:23
    He loves it when you pray.
  • 00:51:25
    I think about this story from Jesus's life.
  • 00:51:27
    One of my favorite.
  • 00:51:28
    There was a group of friends who had a paralyzed friend.
  • 00:51:31
    We'll call him Matt because he was on a mat.
  • 00:51:32
    We don't know his name, so we'll just call him Matt
  • 00:51:34
    because he's on the mat.
  • 00:51:36
    Matt's friends knew that Jesus could heal Matt.
  • 00:51:41
    And that's friends were willing
  • 00:51:43
    to cut open someone else's roof,
  • 00:51:46
    to lower Matt to the ground so Jesus could heal Matt.
  • 00:51:51
    Now, here's the interesting thing.
  • 00:51:52
    We don't know Matt's level of faith in this.
  • 00:51:55
    Matt could have been like,
  • 00:51:56
    "This is the craziest idea
  • 00:51:58
    you guys have ever come up with.
  • 00:51:59
    I don't want to be there.
  • 00:52:01
    I don't want this guy praying for me.
  • 00:52:02
    I don't know who this guy is."
  • 00:52:03
    Matt's friends said, "You know what?
  • 00:52:05
    You can't walk, so we're going to just take you anyway.
  • 00:52:07
    All you got to do, all you got to do
  • 00:52:08
    is just be quiet and go."
  • 00:52:10
    And here's the thing, they lowered Matt
  • 00:52:11
    and look at what the Bible says in Luke 5:20.
  • 00:52:14
    It says, when Jesus saw, whose faith? Matt's faith?
  • 00:52:18
    When he saw his friend's faith,
  • 00:52:20
    based on the faith of his friend,
  • 00:52:22
    Jesus said, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
  • 00:52:26
    And he wound up healing Matt.
  • 00:52:28
    Matt took up his mat
  • 00:52:29
    and walked out of that house healed.
  • 00:52:31
    I wonder if maybe God wants you to push,
  • 00:52:34
    to pray until something happens
  • 00:52:36
    and it's not even for you.
  • 00:52:38
    It's for the Matt in your life.
  • 00:52:40
    It's for the Mary in your life.
  • 00:52:42
    It's for a son. It's for a daughter.
  • 00:52:44
    It's for a friend. It's for a father.
  • 00:52:46
    It's for a parent.
  • 00:52:47
    All I need you to know tonight is that
  • 00:52:50
    God loves it when you pray
  • 00:52:52
    and it gets God's attention and He responds.
  • 00:52:57
    But here's the second thing:
  • 00:52:58
    prayer and fasting also changes our attentions.
  • 00:53:03
    It changes us as well,
  • 00:53:05
    especially when we fast and pray.
  • 00:53:07
    See, fasting has a way of quieting our carnal cravings.
  • 00:53:13
    Man we all crave, don't we?
  • 00:53:16
    You might not crave food,
  • 00:53:17
    you might crave attention.
  • 00:53:19
    You might crave power.
  • 00:53:21
    You might crave adventure.
  • 00:53:22
    You might crave risk.
  • 00:53:24
    Whatever it is, we all have some craving that we have.
  • 00:53:28
    And when we fast, it elevates the awareness that,
  • 00:53:31
    man, there are things that I'm craving for
  • 00:53:33
    that are not God.
  • 00:53:35
    That's what fasting does.
  • 00:53:36
    But here's the other thing,
  • 00:53:38
    it doesn't just quiet your carnal cravings,
  • 00:53:40
    it actually steadies your spirit.
  • 00:53:43
    You know, I said this to some folks, I was like,
  • 00:53:46
    "Whenever I teach something in the Bible,
  • 00:53:49
    if I'm wrong, I want to have the courage
  • 00:53:51
    to come back to the community, to you guys
  • 00:53:53
    and say, 'I taught that, I preached that wrong.'"
  • 00:53:56
    And I want to make that confession right now,
  • 00:53:58
    because for years I've looked at the story
  • 00:54:01
    of when Jesus goes into the wilderness
  • 00:54:03
    and fasts for 40 days and 40 nights.
  • 00:54:06
    And I've said, man, when the enemy came to Jesus,
  • 00:54:08
    Jesus was at His weakest.
  • 00:54:11
    And I don't think that's right.
  • 00:54:13
    I mean, think about it. Yes, Jesus was hungry,
  • 00:54:16
    maybe even hangry after 40 days of fasting.
  • 00:54:20
    But spiritually speaking, He was on fire.
  • 00:54:24
    You know how connected He was to God?
  • 00:54:26
    You know how free he was of his carnal cravings?
  • 00:54:30
    Man, I think the enemy miscalculated
  • 00:54:32
    and thought that just because Jesus was hungry,
  • 00:54:34
    He was weak.
  • 00:54:35
    But he wasn't ready for the strength
  • 00:54:37
    that Jesus was ready to bring in that moment.
  • 00:54:39
    And I just wonder, friends, I wonder
  • 00:54:41
    if one of the reasons we're not experiencing
  • 00:54:43
    that kind of power is because we're so busy
  • 00:54:46
    focused on feasting.
  • 00:54:47
    We're not allowing ourselves to get to a place
  • 00:54:50
    where we become spiritually strong,
  • 00:54:52
    where the enemy would come to you
  • 00:54:54
    with that same crap and say,
  • 00:54:55
    "I don't know what changed in your life,
  • 00:54:57
    but nothing is working.
  • 00:54:58
    I got to go mess with somebody else."
  • 00:55:01
    It changes our attentions when we fast
  • 00:55:06
    and it reveals our true heart.
  • 00:55:08
    It shows us our self in a fresh light.
  • 00:55:10
    Charles Spurgeon, not ancient preacher,
  • 00:55:12
    but a preacher from a long time ago. He said this:
  • 00:55:26
    See, I believe when we fast and pray,
  • 00:55:29
    it begins to reveal our true heart.
  • 00:55:33
    Fasting and praying is a gut check. Pun intended.
  • 00:55:40
    It's a gut check because fasting and praying
  • 00:55:43
    and our ability or willingness, I should say,
  • 00:55:45
    to do it, I don't think we can do it
  • 00:55:46
    in our own strength.
  • 00:55:47
    I think the Holy Spirit actually empowers us to do this,
  • 00:55:49
    but our willingness to even lean into it
  • 00:55:51
    says something about the level of surrender
  • 00:55:54
    that we have toward God
  • 00:55:55
    in that specific area of our life.
  • 00:55:56
    You can think about it like red light,
  • 00:55:58
    yellow light, green light.
  • 00:55:59
    If you're on red with God in that area,
  • 00:56:02
    you could care less what God has to say.
  • 00:56:05
    You might be struggling with an addiction
  • 00:56:07
    and you're like, "You know what?
  • 00:56:08
    I want to enjoy my addiction.
  • 00:56:09
    I'm not even interested in what God has to say."
  • 00:56:11
    If that's you, you're on red with God.
  • 00:56:13
    There's no level of surrender there.
  • 00:56:15
    And that's going to limit the experience
  • 00:56:17
    of transformation you can have.
  • 00:56:20
    But maybe you're on yellow.
  • 00:56:21
    Maybe you're like, "Chuck, I'm being honest, I do.
  • 00:56:24
    There's a part of me that has that craving.
  • 00:56:26
    I'm not denying that.
  • 00:56:27
    But man, there's a part of me that wants to lean in.
  • 00:56:29
    I want to grow. I want to change.
  • 00:56:31
    I want more of God.
  • 00:56:32
    And so I'm kind of in this in-between phase,
  • 00:56:34
    that that may be in yellow.
  • 00:56:37
    Friends, God wants you to be on green.
  • 00:56:39
    He wants you to be on green.
  • 00:56:40
    He wants me to be on green.
  • 00:56:42
    It doesn't mean you're perfect, but being on green
  • 00:56:44
    says, God, I know that this is killing me.
  • 00:56:47
    I know this is destroying me.
  • 00:56:49
    And I also know I can't do anything about it
  • 00:56:52
    without Your help.
  • 00:56:53
    But if you're on green, there's a God
  • 00:56:55
    who responds to green.
  • 00:56:57
    There's a God who, when you give Him a green light,
  • 00:56:59
    He shows up in your life with new power.
  • 00:57:01
    He shows up in your life, perhaps with community.
  • 00:57:03
    But we got to wrestle with where are we really?
  • 00:57:06
    How surrendered am I really?
  • 00:57:08
    Am I really ready to experience
  • 00:57:10
    God's transformation in my life?
  • 00:57:12
    Lysa Terkeurst wrote a book called Made to Crave.
  • 00:57:14
    She says:
  • 00:57:26
    Now, let me be very clear, I'm not trying
  • 00:57:28
    to put on you a spiritual ladder of success.
  • 00:57:32
    This isn't about a spiritual pecking order of,
  • 00:57:34
    like, oh, are you a fasting Christian
  • 00:57:35
    or a non fasting Christian?
  • 00:57:36
    That's not what I'm doing. It's not what I'm doing.
  • 00:57:38
    It's why I love in the story this father
  • 00:57:42
    who when Jesus says all things are possible
  • 00:57:44
    to him who believes.
  • 00:57:45
    I love the father's response.
  • 00:57:47
    I think it's one of the most honest responses
  • 00:57:48
    Jesus ever got to anything He ever said in the Bible.
  • 00:57:51
    When the father says, "I believe,
  • 00:57:53
    but help my unbelief."
  • 00:57:56
    See if you're like me, even when it comes
  • 00:57:58
    to prayer and fasting, there is some doubt.
  • 00:58:01
    I still have some doubt. Like, is this really?
  • 00:58:03
    You know how long I've struggled with this thing?
  • 00:58:05
    God, is this really going to be the turning point?
  • 00:58:07
    Is this really going to be the change?
  • 00:58:09
    I believe, but help my unbelief.
  • 00:58:11
    What I love about God is God will take you
  • 00:58:13
    from the place of faith you are and say,
  • 00:58:15
    "Hey, I'll work with that, I'll work with that.
  • 00:58:17
    I'll work with where you are, even as
  • 00:58:19
    I'm growing your faith," and fasting, does that.
  • 00:58:22
    See, here's the thing
  • 00:58:23
    prayer always changes the situation.
  • 00:58:26
    It's just that most of the time the thing
  • 00:58:28
    that needs to change isn't my circumstances, it's me.
  • 00:58:32
    And prayer always changes me.
  • 00:58:36
    Prayer and fasting gets God's attention.
  • 00:58:38
    Prayer and fasting changes our attention.
  • 00:58:41
    And here's the powerful thing,
  • 00:58:42
    prayer and fasting delivers God's intentions.
  • 00:58:47
    You know, we all probably have heard this prayer,
  • 00:58:50
    maybe learned this prayer,
  • 00:58:52
    maybe even said this prayer that Jesus gives us,
  • 00:58:55
    this model prayer.
  • 00:58:56
    You might know it as the Lord's Prayer,
  • 00:58:58
    or you might know it as the Our Father.
  • 00:59:00
    Have you ever stopped to think about
  • 00:59:02
    the gumption in those words?
  • 00:59:05
    The audacious nature of saying to the God
  • 00:59:08
    of heaven, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done
  • 00:59:14
    on earth as it is in heaven?
  • 00:59:16
    Do you know how jacked up the earth is?
  • 00:59:19
    Do you know how broken this world is?
  • 00:59:21
    You know how many things in this world
  • 00:59:23
    just seem to be going down, down to zero?
  • 00:59:25
    And yet Jesus says, when you pray,
  • 00:59:28
    have the audacity to believe that your words
  • 00:59:32
    can cause heaven to break through.
  • 00:59:35
    Have the audacity to believe that heaven
  • 00:59:38
    where everything is right and as it should be,
  • 00:59:40
    that when you pray, God will actually,
  • 00:59:43
    through your prayers, bring pieces of heaven
  • 00:59:46
    down to earth.
  • 00:59:47
    Man, that's an audacious prayer.
  • 00:59:49
    And yet that's exactly what we're called to pray.
  • 00:59:52
    And what I love about this story is
  • 00:59:54
    that's exactly what happens to this little boy.
  • 00:59:57
    Heaven breaks through.
  • 00:59:58
    Heaven breaks through all the noise.
  • 01:00:00
    Heaven breaks through all the debates
  • 01:00:02
    that they were having there. All the scuffle.
  • 01:00:03
    Heaven breaks through because of the power of prayer.
  • 01:00:06
    Look at what happens next, in Mark 9:25 it says:
  • 01:00:21
    Jesus is praying with authority.
  • 01:00:24
    Jesus is not making suggestions here.
  • 01:00:26
    He's not making suggestions to this demonic power.
  • 01:00:29
    He's commanding this demonic power
  • 01:00:30
    to act in the power of the name of Jesus.
  • 01:00:33
    The same name that you you pray in.
  • 01:00:35
    The same power and authority
  • 01:00:36
    that you and I can speak to God in. It says:
  • 01:00:52
    Now I want you to understand words matter in the Bible.
  • 01:00:56
    Words matter very much in the Bible.
  • 01:00:58
    And there are two phrases here
  • 01:01:01
    that are intentionally used.
  • 01:01:03
    Because when it says that Jesus lifted him up,
  • 01:01:07
    and when it says that Jesus,
  • 01:01:09
    through Jesus the boy arose.
  • 01:01:11
    These are language that ties to the resurrection of Jesus.
  • 01:01:15
    After three days in the grave,
  • 01:01:17
    Jesus was lifted up from death to life.
  • 01:01:19
    After three days in the grave,
  • 01:01:21
    Jesus was the one who was arose. He arose.
  • 01:01:24
    And let me tell you what Jesus is illustrating
  • 01:01:26
    in this story, and what the writer
  • 01:01:28
    is helping us to see is that yours
  • 01:01:30
    and my prayers have resurrection power
  • 01:01:33
    to lift things up that we think are dead,
  • 01:01:35
    to raise things up that we think are done.
  • 01:01:38
    This is the power that we press into when we push,
  • 01:01:42
    pray until something happens.
  • 01:01:44
    Because let me tell you, you never have to guess
  • 01:01:46
    Jesus's intentions for your life.
  • 01:01:48
    You don't ever have to guess when you pray,
  • 01:01:51
    Well, does Jesus want life for me in this area or not?
  • 01:01:53
    Does Jesus want healing for me in this area or not?
  • 01:01:56
    You never have to guess His intentions.
  • 01:01:57
    It doesn't mean it always happens that way
  • 01:01:59
    because we do live in a broken, fallen world.
  • 01:02:01
    There are other factors at play.
  • 01:02:02
    I'm not giving you a magic formula today,
  • 01:02:04
    but what I'm telling you is this,
  • 01:02:06
    Jesus is very clear in His intentions.
  • 01:02:08
    In John 10:10 He says:
  • 01:02:19
    So push. So push. Pray until something happens,
  • 01:02:23
    because we serve a God who resurrects.
  • 01:02:26
    We serve a God who heals.
  • 01:02:28
    We serve a God who changes things.
  • 01:02:30
    And so I want to challenge you,
  • 01:02:32
    I want to challenge all of us
  • 01:02:34
    to put this into practice.
  • 01:02:35
    I want you to take out your phones.
  • 01:02:37
    I want you to take out your phones.
  • 01:02:39
    And I want to tell you how you
  • 01:02:41
    can lean into this as a practice.
  • 01:02:44
    Take out your phone, go to your texting,
  • 01:02:47
    and I want you to text the word "fast" to 301301.
  • 01:02:53
    And I'm going to ask you to join me in this challenge.
  • 01:02:55
    I'm doing this and I'm going to ask you to do this.
  • 01:02:58
    I don't know what the area is for you.
  • 01:03:00
    I know what it is for me.
  • 01:03:01
    I told you, it's about healing from childhood wounds.
  • 01:03:04
    I'm going to commit to a day of fasting
  • 01:03:07
    to see if God wouldn't usher in more breakthrough
  • 01:03:10
    and healing in my life in this area.
  • 01:03:13
    And as you text the word fast to 301301,
  • 01:03:16
    I'm inviting you to do the same thing.
  • 01:03:17
    Whatever the area is in your life,
  • 01:03:19
    maybe it's a person you want to pray for.
  • 01:03:20
    Maybe it's something that you're longing for.
  • 01:03:22
    Maybe it's something where you need healing.
  • 01:03:24
    Whatever it is, I want to encourage you
  • 01:03:26
    to pray and to fast,
  • 01:03:27
    to push, pray until something happens.
  • 01:03:31
    When you send that text, what you're going
  • 01:03:32
    to get back immediately is a resource,
  • 01:03:35
    and give you a lot of practical tips on fasting.
  • 01:03:38
    We want to help you through this.
  • 01:03:39
    And then you're also going to fill out
  • 01:03:41
    two pieces of information.
  • 01:03:42
    You're just going to tell us what are you fasting for.
  • 01:03:44
    And it's anonymous.
  • 01:03:45
    We can't trace this to your name.
  • 01:03:46
    And that's not the point.
  • 01:03:48
    What are you fasting for?
  • 01:03:49
    And also when are you going to fast?
  • 01:03:51
    It's going to have you pick a date.
  • 01:03:54
    And I want you to do that because on that date,
  • 01:03:56
    you're going to get a text reminder
  • 01:03:59
    and some encouragement just so you know,
  • 01:04:01
    you're not in this alone.
  • 01:04:03
    Friends, I want you to push,
  • 01:04:04
    to pray until something happens.
  • 01:04:08
    Now, you might be saying, "Chuck, me?
  • 01:04:13
    Do you know me? Do you know my situation?
  • 01:04:15
    Like, I just don't think
  • 01:04:17
    God is going to show up for me."
  • 01:04:20
    I don't know what your reason might be.
  • 01:04:22
    You might have some legitimate excuse why
  • 01:04:24
    you just think, "No, I've tried this before."
  • 01:04:26
    Or maybe you're like, no, I'm too far gone.
  • 01:04:29
    Is God going to show up for me?
  • 01:04:33
    I want to tell you a story that encourages me
  • 01:04:36
    when I feel discouraged about prayer.
  • 01:04:38
    I actually was in New York City earlier this week,
  • 01:04:40
    and I have a favorite statue in New York City,
  • 01:04:44
    and it's this one.
  • 01:04:46
    The name of the statue is Invitation to Prayer,
  • 01:04:49
    and it's the statue of a man who lived in the 1850s
  • 01:04:52
    named Jeremiah Lanphier, who nobody knows.
  • 01:04:56
    Very few people know, but Jeremiah Lanphier
  • 01:05:00
    in the 1850s felt the prompting from God
  • 01:05:03
    to start a prayer meeting at his church.
  • 01:05:05
    He was a businessman. He wasn't a pastor.
  • 01:05:07
    He wasn't like, you know, one of these --
  • 01:05:09
    He was a Christian, but he wasn't like these,
  • 01:05:10
    like, religious leaders.
  • 01:05:12
    He just was like, "Man, I feel like
  • 01:05:13
    I'm supposed to do this."
  • 01:05:14
    So he put out one of those sandwich signs
  • 01:05:16
    and just said, hey, noon prayer.
  • 01:05:17
    And he kind of had some fliers
  • 01:05:18
    that he was putting around town just to tell people
  • 01:05:20
    like, "Hey, we'd love for you to join me in prayer."
  • 01:05:23
    So he does all this preparation.
  • 01:05:25
    The day comes and he goes into the prayer meeting
  • 01:05:29
    and guess how many people were there with him?
  • 01:05:32
    Zero, for the first half hour.
  • 01:05:37
    And maybe 4 or 5 for the last half hour.
  • 01:05:41
    But Jeremiah felt like God had called him
  • 01:05:43
    to do this so the next week
  • 01:05:44
    he put out that sandwich board again.
  • 01:05:46
    And the next week after that,
  • 01:05:47
    he put out that sandwich board again.
  • 01:05:48
    And before long, five became 40.
  • 01:05:52
    40 grew out of the room that they were praying in.
  • 01:05:55
    They had this big auditorium that sat 3000 people,
  • 01:05:58
    and they needed that space
  • 01:06:00
    for all the people who were coming to pray.
  • 01:06:02
    And then later on, other churches in New York City
  • 01:06:04
    got word that this was something going on.
  • 01:06:07
    And so all these other churches in New York City
  • 01:06:09
    began to open up their doors for noon prayer as well.
  • 01:06:11
    And back then they had the ability to get
  • 01:06:13
    the word out to other parts of the country.
  • 01:06:15
    And before long, there were literally
  • 01:06:16
    these prayer meetings popping up
  • 01:06:18
    where business people were gathering at noon
  • 01:06:20
    to pray all over the country.
  • 01:06:22
    And someone did research and said,
  • 01:06:24
    "Hey, what happened during that window of time?"
  • 01:06:27
    And it is estimated that 3% of
  • 01:06:29
    the American population at that time
  • 01:06:32
    came into relationship with Jesus
  • 01:06:34
    because one man decided to be faithful
  • 01:06:37
    and push, pray until something happens.
  • 01:06:41
    Let me ask you this:
  • 01:06:42
    why can't you be the Jeremiah of this generation?
  • 01:06:45
    Why can't God use your prayers first and foremost
  • 01:06:48
    to change your own heart?
  • 01:06:49
    But maybe to change a family lineage,
  • 01:06:52
    maybe to change a community,
  • 01:06:54
    maybe to change this violence that continues
  • 01:06:56
    to wrack our inner cities?
  • 01:06:57
    Maybe God wants to use your prayers
  • 01:07:00
    to bring about transformation.
  • 01:07:01
    Why not you?
  • 01:07:02
    Why can't you be the one that experiences the healing?
  • 01:07:05
    Why can't you be the one
  • 01:07:06
    that experienced deliverance?
  • 01:07:07
    Why can't you be the one that
  • 01:07:08
    experiences the victory?
  • 01:07:10
    Will you push? Will you push?
  • 01:07:12
    Will you push and pray until something happens?
  • 01:07:17
    I want to call it out again if you haven't done it,
  • 01:07:19
    if you're like, "All right, whatever,
  • 01:07:21
    this is the next Crossroads thing."
  • 01:07:22
    No, this is for you.
  • 01:07:23
    Take out your phone and text 301301.
  • 01:07:28
    Text the word "fast," not for me, not for me,
  • 01:07:32
    but because there's a God who responds when you pray.
  • 01:07:38
    It gets His attention.
  • 01:07:40
    Do it because it changes your attentions
  • 01:07:43
    and do it because it delivers God's intentions.
  • 01:07:47
    I want to invite you at all of our sites to stand.
  • 01:07:49
    And as you stand, we're going to take
  • 01:07:52
    those words of gumption, that audacious prayer
  • 01:07:54
    that Jesus invites us to pray, the Lord's Prayer.
  • 01:07:56
    We're going to pray it together.
  • 01:07:57
    And I love this version that we're about to sing.
  • 01:07:59
    It just says, Father, let Your Kingdom come.
  • 01:08:02
    Father, let Your will be done
  • 01:08:03
    on earth as in heaven.
  • 01:08:05
    Starting where? Right here in my heart.
  • 01:08:07
    So, God, I pray all over as we pray this prayer,
  • 01:08:10
    and more than that, as we leave this place
  • 01:08:13
    and push, pray until something happens
  • 01:08:15
    that we would be blown away by
  • 01:08:17
    how Your power shows up in our own hearts,
  • 01:08:20
    in our church, in our cities, in our country,
  • 01:08:24
    and even in the world. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
  • 01:08:32
    - I don't know what God might be doing
  • 01:08:34
    in your heart and mind right now,
  • 01:08:35
    but I do know we would love to pray with you,
  • 01:08:38
    help you process it.
  • 01:08:39
    You're not alone out there.
  • 01:08:40
    Even if you're sitting somewhere alone watching this,
  • 01:08:42
    you are actually a part of a whole community
  • 01:08:44
    of people who want to talk to you.
  • 01:08:46
    You can email one of us, Rachel.Ryder@crossroads.net
  • 01:08:49
    or Andy.Reider@crossroads.net,
  • 01:08:50
    or just go to crossroads.net
  • 01:08:52
    and hit the chat button.
  • 01:08:53
    Someone from our team would love
  • 01:08:55
    to talk to you in real life.
  • 01:08:57
    - Yeah, we have an entire team at Crossroads
  • 01:08:58
    who exist to help care for you,
  • 01:09:00
    whether that's through prayer or support
  • 01:09:02
    through a difficult time,
  • 01:09:04
    whether it's navigating loss,
  • 01:09:05
    whether it's celebrating with you
  • 01:09:06
    and helping you prepare for marriage,
  • 01:09:08
    and so much more, like, it's why we exist,
  • 01:09:10
    we are here to help.
  • 01:09:11
    And you can connect with us and find out
  • 01:09:13
    more about what we offer and how we can join
  • 01:09:15
    in your journey at Crossroads.net/care.
  • 01:09:17
    And specifically, you can meet our teammate,
  • 01:09:20
    a good friend of ours, Sam Hill,
  • 01:09:21
    if you're a part of our Anywhere community.
  • 01:09:23
    - We really believe you can fully belong
  • 01:09:25
    to Crossroads no matter where you live.
  • 01:09:27
    So if you haven't got the chance to meet anyone
  • 01:09:29
    in our Anywhere community yet, a great way to do it
  • 01:09:32
    is at our connect event that's coming up
  • 01:09:34
    on July 14th at noon Eastern Standard Time.
  • 01:09:37
    There are amazing people all over the world
  • 01:09:39
    who call Crossroads home,
  • 01:09:40
    and they would love to connect with you too.
  • 01:09:41
    - Yeah. Hey, thank you so much for joining us.
  • 01:09:44
    We'll see you back next week on Crossroads.

Process, journal or discuss the themes of this article - here's a few questions to get the ball rolling...

Welcome to the Weekend-Follow Up! This is the group part of the Bible Challenge, so your questions are based on specific Bible passages from the weekend message. Each week, your group will discover what God might be saying to you, and how you can respond through a group discussion.

  1. If you could create your own holiday, what would it be? Would it have any themes, colors, or fun activities?

  2. What stood out to you most from the message?

  3. What is a habit you would like to change or a practice you want to improve?

  4. Why can prayer be difficult or challenging to you?

  5. What worries or hesitations do you have about fasting?

  6. Read Mark 9:21-24. What makes it difficult for you to believe in Jesus’ power? Where do your doubts come from?

  7. Read Mark 9:25-29. Fasting and praying shows God our willingness to surrender and encourages Him to move. Where would you like to see Him move in your life?

  8. Where can you take a step toward praying and fasting this week?

More from the Weekend

Bonus Questions! Check these out if you’re on a roll and want to go a little deeper.

  • Have you (or someone you know) ever fasted? What was hard about it? Where did you see some benefits or life change?
  • Is there anyone in your life right now you feel moved to pray and fast for? Share with the group.

0 people are discussing these questions

(This stuff helps us figure out how many fruitcakes to make come December)

You must include at least one person

Got it! Enjoy your discussion.


Jun 29, 2024 1 hr 9 mins 48 sec

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