(Tenth part)
Memory verse (Is58: 7) “ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? ”
One of the greatest enemies to God’s working in our lives is selfishness. The greatest obstacle to God’s moves in our lives is self. The only person self can see is self. The only person self wants to be appreciated is self; the only person self desires to be promoted is self. Self always stands between you and God and he can’t allow you to see God and others. Many Christians work so much and all they earn they spend it on the desires of self. Self will never be satisfied; self will never be loved enough. Self is always obsessed by itself.
But Paul said: I have been crucified with Christ, it’s no longer I (self) that lives but Christ that lives in me (Gal 2:20). Paul had mastered self and brought self under his feet, he said: I box but not boxing the air, I box my body and bring it under subjection (1 Cor9: 27). Paul made a point, that if he didn’t put his flesh under subjection he would be disqualified. God taught Israel that they had to let selfishness die through prayer and fasting. The goal of fasting is to destroy selfishness in our lives so that God’s agape love may begin to grow in us. When God’s love flow out of our lives, God’s power will flow in and through us. God wants to bless you but selfishness will cause God’s blessing to become a curse to you. In this love chapter of (1Cor13), Paul teaches that whatever amount of power, gifts, talents, wisdom, revelations, knowledge, sacrifice a man can have or demonstrate if he is not acting with God’s agape love, the results will be negative and fruitless.
Self must die so Christ may shine in our lives. We need to allow God to break us down enough to love others. God’s compassion for other should be the highest goal of our prayer and fasting. Pray God to break you. Pray God to melt your hearts, so you can groan with intercession for the lost, the hungry, and those in pain. We need to pray that God would open our eyes to see beyond ourselves and see those people who are invisible. We need to come to a place where we can hear and feel the pains in people’s lives. A man or woman who is broken by people’s pain will flow in God’s supernatural power and provision beyond limits.
Tomorrow’s subject: “Benefits of true fasting”
