It is time for what? It is Breakthrough Time !

2. It is time for what? It is Breakthrough Time! • Definition: The Breakthrough time is the period between exposure to a harmful substance and the appearance of its effects. • In other words, it is the time it takes for a chemical to work through a glove & be detected on the skin. • What does that have to do with us? • This is breakthrough time for this church. • The answer has been granted, but it is not manifested. • We need a final push to breakthrough, and NOW is time to do it!

3. Micah 2:13 – The Breaker [the Messiah] will go up before them. They will break through, pass in through the gate and go out through it, and their King will pass on before them, the Lord at their head. (AMP) • The Breaker – is a messianic title for Jesus. • It is a lesser known title but a very important one. • This verse gives the idea that we are in a sheep pen and have been there for some time. • The grass is now gone and nothing is left but mud, dirt and dust. • We need a breakthrough!

4. This is where many of us are in our present walk with the Lord. • The place where you are right now was at one time a place of victory and provision, but it is time to move on. • This place is no longer meeting your needs spiritually. • You are on a plateau. • But, you need the Breaker to show up and break you through the gate to a new level.

5. I feel the word of God to Summit Church and to each of us as individuals is found in: Deuteronomy 2:2-3 – 2 "And the Lord spoke to me, saying, 3 'You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north.” (NASB) • Many have plateaued, and it is our time to move on to new places in our walk with God. • We can’t just rest where we are. • We must keep growing. • But, there are forces which are resisting our growth.

6. Many of you need breakthrough in your: • Health • Finances • Marriage • Jobs • Salvation of loved ones • Children • Now is the time for this to take place! • God is a now God. • If not now, then when? • If not with you, then with whom? • If not here, then where?

7. Many times there are things that are blocking breakthrough from coming and just praying about it (as important as that is) is not enough. • Often we need to place ourselves in a position to hear and receive from God. • Remember when the disciples were trying to cast a demon out of a boy and were not successful?

8. Matthew 17:14-21 – 14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." 17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

9. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. • Most people stop reading right here and focus on Nothing will be impossible for you. • But, the word however shows that there is more to this. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." (NKJV)

10. If Jesus could have accomplished all He did without fasting, why did He fast? • Remember He fasted 40 days and 40 nights at the beginning of His earthly ministry. • Jesus knew that there are spiritual things that can only be released through prayer AND fasting. • This brings me to my main point this morning. • Lisa and I have been praying about those who need breakthrough in their lives as well as breakthrough for this church. • And, we felt that the Lord speak, “Prayer and fasting and nothing will be impossible for you.”

11. There are keys to our breakthrough on a corporate level as well as on a personal level. • And, fasting puts us in the position to receive the answers we need. • Our church needs breakthrough in finances, and we need a new building. • We also need a fresh release of God’s anointing and power in our services. • It is time for us to step it up to a new level and place in the Spirit.

12. As the pastor of this church, I want to ask you to prayerfully consider fasting during the first 21 days of January 2011 for Breakthrough.

13. Now, before you get your defenses up and protest that you cannot fast, let me explain more fully. • I am aware that some people are not able to fast food for health reasons. • But, there are different kinds of fasts. • You can ask the Lord and seek what He would have you fast for 21 days. • This will be a great opportunity for everyone to hear from the Lord about this. • Let me give you several examples of what you can fast.

14. You can fast: • TV • Sugar • Soft Drinks • One meal a day • Desserts • Coffee • Videos & Movies • Video Games • Texting • Daniel Fast – only fruits, vegetables &water for 21 days • Or, you can do a food fast and drink only water.

15. (If you are not used to fasting regularly, I do recommend starting out with a 21 day food fast.) • There are different types of fasts. • You need to hear from God to see what He would have you do or if you should do anything at all. • We are not going to condemn you if you don’t. • We only want those whose hearts have been stirred by the Holy Spirit to do this.

16. Allow me to give you 3 reasons it is good to start out the New Year with a fast. (Jentzen Franklin) • You set the course for the whole year. • Just as starting your day out with prayer sets the course for your whole day and covers all that may happen during that day, the same is true of starting your year with a fast. • You set the course for the entire year by what you do during the 1st few days of each new year. • You do this by giving God the 1st portion of your pay check (tithe), and it will protect the remaining 90%. • Also, give God the 1st consideration of every decision you make.

17. This leads to the 2nd reason for starting the year out with a fast: • God’s blessings will follow you and your family all year. • The favor and blessing of God will follow you all year because you started out the year by fasting and sacrificing something for the Lord.

18. You will release the Matthew 6:33 Principle in your life. Matthew 6:33 – But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV) • If you seek Him first in the year, get ready for all these “things” to be added to your life throughout the year.

19. What is fasting? • Because there are so many misconceptions about fasting I need to tell you first what it is not. • Fasting is not merely going without food. • That would be a diet. • Nor, is fasting something for monks or ministers only. • It is a practice that should be a normal part of our Christian walk.

20. Biblical Fasting is simply going without food or something else for a spiritual purpose. • Fasting brings you into a more intimate relationship with the Lord. • It is about developing a deeper hunger for the presence of God in your life. • By refraining from food for a number of days, you will notice that your life will become less cluttered by the things of this world. • You will become more sensitive to the Lord and to His voice. • It allows us to position ourselves for breakthrough to come in our lives.

21. Body Surfing technique. • Those who are positioned to hear the quiet, gentle voice of the Holy Spirit will know exactly what to do. • Fasting filters out all the competing noises, so you can hear the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit. • And, you will receive the power of the Lord for your Breakthrough.

22. Matthew 9:15 – And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. (NKJV) • The time for us to fast is now! • The Bridegroom, Jesus, is in heaven, and we are living in the age when fasting should be a normal part of our Christian walk.

23. “Fasting . . . opens the way for the outpouring of the Spirit and the restoration of God’s house. Fasting in this age of the absent Bridegroom is in expectation of His return. Soon there will be the midnight cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet Him.’ It will be too late then to fast and to pray. The time is now.” — God's Chosen Fast, Arthur Wallis

24. Now, let me give some practical points about fasting. • Whatever you eliminate from your life for a period of time, replace it with prayer and worship. • For instance, if you are going to fast lunch every day, spend that time praying and seeking the Lord. • You need to listen to your body. • If you are getting sick, you may need to go back to eating normally. • If you fail, that is OK. • Just continue where you left off.

25. If you have blood sugar issues or other health problems, you should not refrain from foods unless you have your doctor’s permission. • Fast TV and spend the time you usually watch TV to pray and worship the Lord. • Pregnant or nursing mothers should not refrain from food either. • Drink lots of water! • Breakthrough often comes after the fast rather than during the fast.

26. Often it seems like all you are thinking of during your fast is eating and especially during the 1st few days, but after the fast is over, God speaks. • Have a clear focus on what you are fasting about—breakthrough for the church and for your life. • It is easier to fast with someone else. • If you have small children, it may be more difficult to do it as well. • Be creative and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in this.

27. Finally, Why 21 days? • In Daniel 10 we read about how Daniel was burdened about a revelation he had about Israel. • He prayed to God and did not eat for 21 days. • After 21 days, the angel of the Lord came to him with his answer. • The angel told Daniel that he had been sent immediately after Daniel 1st prayed but that he had been delayed by the demonic prince of Persia. • Daniel’s fast for 21 days broke the power of the enemy from holding back his answer. • His fast led to his breakthrough. • It can do the same for us and this church.

28. Daniel 10:12-14 – 12 Then he said, "Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. 14 Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.“ (NLT)

29. I am asking anyone who is capable and hears from the Lord to join Lisa and me in a 21 day fast at the 1st of January. • Understand that I am not compelling you to do this. • I want you to hear the Lord’s direction on this. • If you do not feel a direction from the Lord to do this, do not do it. • But, I ask that you pray for those of us who are and spend extra time praying for breakthrough. • Over the next few weeks, please pray about this and see if the Lord would have you join us. • If He does, then ask what type of fast.

30. I believe that 2011 can be a year of breakthrough for our church and for each of us as individuals in it. • I do not want to miss the opportunity that we have. • I want to be positioned to receive from the Lord. • Jesus can come in and break us out of this place where many of us have been hemmed in! • Are you in a pen of sickness, bondage to a bad habit or just need to see answers to your prayers? • The Breaker has the Anointing to bust you out to a new place of Freedom and Deliverance! • It is time! • We need the Breaker’s Anointing here!