THE 2012 CHURCH THEME AND DANIEL FAST SCHEDULE

THEME: “Impacting This Generation Through Obedience, Prayer & The Word of God”   

Scripture References:  II Chronicles 7: 12-14   &    Ezra  8:21-23

II.  THE 2012 TEN DAY DANIEL FAST: January  3-12 (Tuesday-Thursday)

What is fasting? 

It is an act of self-denial.  When we fast, we give up eating and drinking certain foods and liquids, going certain places, and doing things that we might normally do for pleasure.   Fasting can last for various lengths of time, depending on your needs and goals.    One form of fasting consists of total abstinence from food and drinks.  Some people do a “bread and water” fast; during which they only eat and drink bread and water.  The Daniel Fast consists essentially of a vegetarian diet and water. 

What is a Daniel Fast?

The “Daniel Fast” is a practice that is based on the life Daniel, the Old Testament Prophet.  In Daniel 1:8-14, we are told of how Daniel and his fellow Jews fasted by abstaining from eating the King’s food.    “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you." Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.”

Daniel was one among thousands of Jews who had been taken captive by the Babylonians, under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, the wicked King.  Daniel and his friends were very brilliant, well-mannered, and very devout in their devotion to God.   They were selected by the King’s assistants to be servants in the King’s palace and to perform other duties for the King.  This would normally require them to eat the food that was served from the King’s dining room.  The meat, along with the other food items that were prepared for such meals, was “dedicated” to the Babylonian gods.  Jews who followed the teachings of Moses were forbidden to eat such foods.  Being a devout Jew, Daniel resolved that he would refuse the King’s food and asked for a diet that consisted of fruit, vegetables and water.   Permission was granted and the Hebrew Boys fasted for ten days, eating fruits and vegetables and drinking water.   At the end of the ten days of fasting, the Hebrew Boys were stronger and more fit than the other servants. 

From Daniel, then, we learn this particular method of fasting that consists of eating fruits and vegetables and drinking water.  It is a voluntary fast that Christians follow as an act of spiritual discipline.

Why are we fasting?  

The purpose of fasting is to exercise discipline and control of our flesh (body) and our soul (mind, emotions, behavior). As you deny you body and soul the things that they need and crave, a true fast also demands that you feed and strengthen your spirit.  This is done as we pray, study, and meditate on the Word of God.  There are some things that God will only release into your life as you spend time in communion with Him.  When fasting is combined with prayer, your spirit communes with God and he speaks to you.  Moreover, we are fasting this year in order to seek God’s face about His will for our church in 2012.  We do not want our calendar filled with meaningless dates and are time spent on “church busy work.”  We want His had upon us and we want to move intentionally into the year with His blessings.  So we will be praying for these things over the next ten days. 

What are Some Key Biblical References on Fasting?  

• II Samuel 12: 1-20   
• II Chronicles 20: 1-30   
• Ezra 8  
• Nehemiah 9  
• Esther 4  
• 1Kings 21:9   
• Nehemiah 9:1   
• Esther 4:3 & 9:3 Psalms 35:13
• Psalms 109:24 
• Isaiah 58:4   
• Jeremiah 36:9   
• Daniel 9  
• Joel 2:12              
• Matthew 4:2     
• Mark 2:18           
• Mark 9:29           
• Luke 2:37            
• Acts 13:2  & 14:23                      

How Might I Join in With Other Universal Members in  Prayer & Study During the Fast?

• Call and join Pastor Johnson & the Intercessors @ 6:00 a.m. M-F: 213.416.6650   Code: 42016.
• Join others who will come to the church each night during the consecration for One Hour of Prayer  @ 7 p.
• Attend Prayer & Bible Study on Thursday.
• Be in Sunday School at 8:45 am.
• Follow Pastor’s Daily Blog @ www.universaloutreach.org and on the Universal Outreach Facebook page.

 How To Pray During the Daniel Fast.

Be Very Specific About What Your Are Praying For.  During our fast, we will be reflecting on specific Scriptures and we will also be focusing on specific needs that the church has.  You should add these to your prayer concerns.

Pray Specifically for the Following Needs as you Read the Scriptures that are Noted.

• Days One & Two:  Tuesday-Wednesday-- II Samuel 12: 1-20 & I Corinthians 12: 8-12;   David seeks healing for his son and Paul taught the church about spiritual gifts.   Pray for God to impart supernatural gifts in our church that       will manifest in our worship.   Your Prayer needs: ____________________________________________________________________________________
• Days Three-Fiver: Thursday-Saturday—II Chronicles 20: 1-30:  Jehoshaphat seeks an answer from God. Pray that God will answer our personal and corporate prayer requests.  Pray specifically that He will direct our ministries into the center of His will for our lives. ____________________________________________________________________________________
• Days  Six-Seven:  Sunday-Monday--  Ezra 8: Seeking God’s Protection & Supernatural Provisions.  We are tasked with doing God’s work, yet we need His protection & provisions to get His work done.  Pray that the year 2012 will be one of safety for our ministries and that God will touch the hearts of person who will give to the Ministry. ____________________________________________________________________________________
• Days  Eight-Nine  Tuesday-Wednesday —Nehemiah 9:  A time of Confession.  Confess your shortcomings and sins.  Pray for the shortcomings and sins of our members and for God’s forgiveness. _________________________________________________________________________

Day Ten:  Thursday:   Genes 12:1-6; Esther 4, Numbers 6:24-26:  Esther seeks God’s favor.   Pray for God’s hand  to work in our ministry and for the favor of God upon all of our efforts.

What Should I Eat and Drink During the Fast? 

What to eat...

• Whole Grains: Brown Rice, Oats, Barley
• Legumes: Dried Beans, Pinto Beans, Split
• Peas, Lentils, Black Eyed Peas
• Fruits: Apples, Apricots, Bananas,  Blackberries, Blueberries, Boysenberries,  Cantaloupe, Cherries, Cranberries, Oats, Figs, Grapefruit, Grapes, Guava, Honeydew Melon, Kiwi, Lemons, Limes,
• Mangoes, Nectarines, Papayas, Peaches, Pears, Pineapples, Plums, Prunes, Raisins, Raspberries, Strawberries,
• Tangelos, Tangerines, Watermelon
• Vegetables: Artichokes, Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chili Peppers, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Gingerroot, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce,  Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Okra,
• Onions, Parsley, Potatoes, Radishes, Rutabagas, Scallions, Spinach, Sprouts, Squashes, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes,
• Turnips, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini
• Seeds: Nuts, Sprouts
• Liquids: Spring Water, Distilled Water,   100% All-Natural Fruit Juices, 100% All Natural Vegetable Juices

What to avoid...

• Meat, because Daniel wouldn't want to take the chance of eating non-kosher meat or meat that was offered to idols.
• White Rice, Fried Foods, Caffeine Carbonated Beverages  Foods Containing Preservatives or Additives Refined Sugar Sugar Substitutes White Flour and All Products
• Using Margarine, Shortening, High Fat

Over the past few years many individuals and families have experienced extremely high levels of stress and anxiety as a result of the economic recession that has devastated our global economy.  Many surveys reveal that there has been a dramatic increase in divorce rates, families and individuals filing for bankruptcy, and health issues directly related to financial problems resulting from this poor economic climate. 

Now let's be honest with one another - there is plenty of blame to go around.  Unfortunately, pointing fingers will not solve this worlds problems. It never has and it never will because as the saying goes: "every time you point your finger at someone in an effort to blame them, there are at least three other fingers pointing back at you." That's why we always need to refer to God's word for "best practices" for financial wellness and all that we may face in life. 

Please know that this most recent recession did not catch God by surprise like it did many of us.  Neither did the Great Depression of the 1930's nor the tremendous famine recorded in Genesis 47 which impacted entire countries.      

Over the course of my lifetime I've seen our Western society become more consumer driven year after year, with people never being satisfied (content) with what they have but always wanting more (greed) regardless of whether what they desire fits within the budget. That has been the case with Christians as well as non-Christians.  The result has been devastating to our nation and our world as many are now subject to their creditors in ways that they never thought possible (i.e., high interest rates, title loans, foreclosures, etc.) 

God's word speaks of this in Proverbs 22:7:

"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave."  (NASB)

Whenever we do not practice self-control in our spending, live within our financial means, and operate with fiscal integrity, we end up with what we currently have - a society teetering on financial ruin - trying to maintain a very delicate balancing act with its' future. 

Over the course of the next several weeks I'll be sharing biblical principles to help us achieve financial wellness as we seek to come out of financial slavery and become a society that is not intent on living beyond our means (greed) but within them (being content) so that God can be glorified and we have the necessary resources to expand His kingdom and not our own. 

Realistically speaking, the kingdom of those who have allocated billions of advertising dollars in their budget to tempt us to spend beyond our means have been expanded tremendously.  Now, it's our turn to follow God's financial plan found in Deuteronomy 28:1-2 to not only recover but increase:

"Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.  All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God."

Know this - God has been known to use difficult times to turn His people back towards Him (note the book of Judges).  I firmly believe that this is one of those seasons.  His word is still true and He has not turned His back on us.  2 Chronicles should be a focal point not just for financial healing but also for a nation that, in many ways, has turned it's back on God - the very same God that our financial currency proclaims 'In God we Trust.'  Let's take heed to the words found in 2 Chronicles 7:14: 

"...and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 

God bless,

Pastor Garry

        Has God ever done something so fantastic, unexpected, and undeserving for you that simply blew your mind?  Have you ever been in a moment of desperation, a time when you were in need of a miracle and did not know which way to turn?  I can answer yes to these questions a thousand times over.  Many believers today, however, suffer because they have low expectations.  They have no great project in life anything that would command the forces of heaven to give them a miracle.  This is why we need more churches to become “Gate Churches.”   A Gate Church is a place that prepares you to receive God’s blessings, miracles, and favor.  The blog for today focuses on an incident in the life of Jacob, an experience that changed his life forever.  We believe in such life-changing experience and have adopted this idea as our theme for 2011:    “God’s Gate Church:  A Call to Greatness” (Genesis 28:17 & Daniel 11:32)         

        Our thought for today centers on Genesis 28: 10-22.  In these verses, a couple of key ideas are being raised and we will refer to them in our messages, during Bible Study and during our daily impartation sessions.   The Genesis passage tells the story of Jacob’s life-changing dream, the dream in which he saw a vision of Heaven.   He saw the doors of heaven being opened, a ladder that extended from heaven to earth.  Angels descend from Heaven’s doors and they ascended back up to Heaven.   When he awakened from the dream, Jacob made a wonderful declaration:  “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to Heaven!” (Gen. 28:17).

        This verse is pregnant with challenge for the Body of Christ.   The church must strive to be the kind of place where every worship service becomes a “gateway to Heaven.”  In his book, The Gate Church, Frank Damazio talks about what it means for the church to see herself as a “gate” church.  He challenges leaders and members to become intercessors and accept the call to create a climate in our churches where the very “gates” of Heaven open for all to receive of the richness of heavenly anointing, gifting, miracles, and life-altering power.  There must be the sense that the worship service has opened the very gateway of Heaven and Heaven itself must come down to visit with us.  We must see, feel, and hear, the voice and presence of God. We need the visitation of angels, and we need the miraculous to come upon us afresh.   Just as the case with Jacob, our churches must be places where people have such powerful experiences of God until their destinies are transformed.  The experience changes Jacob, the young Trickster, into Jacob the Patriarch of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.   Jacob was on the run; you see, he had tricked his father and stolen his brother’s blessing, and he had swindled his brother’s birthright at a time when his brother needed him most.  So he left home because his brother was threatening to kill him.  Ahead of him was a life of uncertainty; he was on his way to live with relatives, but it was an uncertain time in his life. He did not know this place and these people as he did his immediate family and the region where he lived.  He was rich, young, and single. There were no children to take care of and other such things.  But there was so much fear in him because of his past; there was so much uncertainty about what would happen to him in this strange land.   There were questions about how long he would stay and whether or not he would be successful in this new place.  Would he like his relatives?  Would they like him? 

        In the midst of all of this uncertainty in his life, Jacob got a word from the Lord; he had a life-changing dream.  He spent a place in a regular place that was transformed into the “house of God.”   This experience changed his life.   His vision of God’s heavenly gateway made him a new person.  It changed his name and in changing his name, it changed his destiny. 

This is the challenge to us today; will we become a “Gate” church?   Will we be the place where people can have a life-changing experience of God? Imagine the difference there would be among us if we lived with the expectation that God was going to show up in a miraculous way every time we gather together. Imagine what will happen among us as men and women who have been used to doing things their own way, of carniving, scheming, taking advantage of others, cheating, and being toxic persons.  

       Feeling like you are stressed out, or emotionally burnt out, being overly critical, distrustful or protective of others, speaking harsh negative words, being physically and emotionally abusive to others, feeling extreme self-doubt, undue pride and arrogance, all are the results of overly toxic thoughts.   In the past few posts, I have clearly noted that these toxic thoughts and behaviors can manifest in Christians and non-Christians.   Too many Christians are being overwhelmed by negative, toxic thinking; they are filled with negative memories, regrets, jealousy, envy, divisiveness and even rage.  Needless to say, toxic Christians do not fully possess the “fruit of the Spirit.”  They may be fully-Charismatic and manifest some of the “gifts” of the Spirit; but if their thoughts are toxic, the Holy Spirit’s fruit and virtues will never be fully manifested. 

16. I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5)

Each of these “fruit” reflects aspects of human thought and behavior.  The first three:  love, joy and peace, center on your thoughts and feelings about God.  The next three, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, focus on your thoughts and feelings about other people.  The last three fruits of the Spirit, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control focus on your thoughts and feelings about yourself. Toxic, jacked-up thinking run counter to all of these fruits and virtues of the Holy Spirit.  These fruits will only fully-manifest in our lives when we continuously surrender ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit.

        When the Holy Spirit’s influence on you life is allowed to manifest fully, it radically changes your thoughts, emotions and behavior.  One of the key fruits is “peace.”   The peace of which Paul speaks here is referenced throughout the New Testament; it has to do with a person’s state of mind, sense of self, and emotions.  It is amazing how many passages in the New Testament speak of peace.  The references to peace focus on the need for believers to receive peace and to have it multiplied in their lives.   II Peter 1 reminds us of this, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.”  Notice his connection between the “knowledge of God” and the experience of peace.  Thoughts and feelings of peace and well-being will naturally manifest themselves as the mind receives more knowledge of who God is, all that He requires of us, and yields to the work of the Holy Spirit.   No passage makes this connection between the Holy Spirit’s fruit of “peace” and human thoughts and emotions than that of Philippians 4:

6. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  9. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Being “careful” has to do with “anxious” thoughts and feelings.   But the believer is here called to live a life of prayer and contemplation.  The result of this life of discipline is that one will come to know a peace of mind, emotions, and thoughts that otherwise cannot be known.   V.  7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.   

Concluding Power Point:

         As I reflect upon these passages, I am struck by the references that we have made to the Dual-Action Activity that is involved in fasting and praying, there must be both denial and pursuit on your part. Denying the flesh and pursuing the things of the spirit are both necessary in fasting.  In this case, if you are to have thoughts and feelings of peace and tranquility, you must pursue it; it must become a compelling passion. Only in this way will we completely and continuously renew our minds. 

       Based on what we said on yesterday about Romans 12:1-2, it should be obvious that true fasting, praying and consecration should help you to become a more spiritual person.  These practices should make you a new person, someone who is always flowing in harmony with God’s Word and God’s will.  It is preparing you to become a true “world overcomer.”  In the face of a world that is dominated by war, economic uncertainties, drug infestation, sexual perversion, suicidal mania,and moral confusion, the world needs believers who have “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”   If you are to be the person that God wants you to be, you must do more than simply believe and have faith in God.  Rather, your entire thoughts and emotions must be different.  There is no transformation if there is not a change of mindset. A changed mind produces changed emotions; II Corinthians 5: 17 is still the guiding for how believers should live:  “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  Believers who have been transformed into new persons and who continuously grow spiritually can command the power to control their thought life, their brain:

3.We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.                 (II Corinthians 10).

            If Paul is describing here the power of the new, transformed mind of a believer, we might ask what the condition of that mind was before Christ was received.  To begin with, it is a mind that is dominated by sin. Romans 3:23 says: "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard."  The thoughts, emotions, and behavior of sinners are bent on and dominated by things that emerge from toxic thinking.  Romans 1 provides a laundry list of the thoughts, emotions, and behavior that sinners have.   

         28. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. 

As you examine this list of deplorable actions, so much of what is said is based in human thought and harbored in human emotions.  Dr. Caroline Leaf’s book, Who Switched off My Brain?, subtitled: “controlling toxic thoughts and emotions,”   places the actions that are described in Romans 1 under the category of  toxic thoughts.  These are: “Thoughts that trigger negative, anxious emotions, which produce biochemicals that cause the body stress,”  (Caroline Leaf, Who Switched Off My Brain? p.19)

Toxic thoughts and emotions are natural for sinners, because they reflect the sinful nature that exists among human beings.  But the problem is that they can also dominate the lives of believers.  This is why Paul warned so strongly against the “works of the flesh” that manifest in the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of weak Christians.  When you examine some of his descriptions of these things, you see that they are similar to what he describes as the characteristics of sinners.  Look at Galatians 5:   

19. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20. idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21. envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. 

     Again you see that the actions are very similar, and the key is that each passage describes how sinful human nature is compounded with negative thoughts, emotions, and behavior.  The problem is that too many Christians do not see the connection between their negative thoughts, emotions, and behavior and the sins that God despises.  You cannot take authority over negative thoughts and emotions if you do not understand what they are, why they need to be changed and how. 

On tomorrow we will go one step deeper into this process as we continue to talk about renewing your mind.