Full transcript
0:00Why did Jesus say that some types of
0:03demons only leave through fasting and
0:05prayer ? You can find this passage in
0:10the Gospel of Mark , chapter 9 , when a
0:15father brought his son who had a
0:19disturbance , a demonic possession since
0:22childhood . His son was already a young
0:28man , a teenager , and he had behaviors
0:32completely inappropriate for a normal
0:35youth . He could not speak or hear ; he
0:40was mute and deaf . He had aggressive
0:44behaviors , sudden mood swings , much
0:48like many have today , only they go by
0:53other names , right ? Nowadays , there are
0:57other names ; there are names for
0:58everything we have mentioned . And we
1:01understand that , although not everyone
1:05with these symptoms is necessarily
1:08demonized , many similar cases are
1:10spiritual problems . But people , because
1:15they receive a diagnosis , a technical ,
1:18scientific , or medical name for that
1:21condition , they put that problem into
1:24the disease category and then try to
1:27treat it with medicine ; they try to
1:30treat the spiritual with the material ,
1:33with the physical . But Jesus made it
1:37very clear in that situation that the
1:39young man's problem was spiritual . And
1:42what did he do ? He cast that spirit out
1:46of the young man and immediately the
1:48young man returned to normal . Because
1:52that's how it is : when the evil leaves ,
1:55life returns to normal . And so the
2:00issue here was that the young man's
2:02father had already taken his son to the
2:05disciples , and the disciples tried to
2:08cast out that spirit and could not . So ,
2:14after Jesus cast it out , when they went
2:16home , upon arriving home , the disciples
2:19asked the obvious question , wanting to
2:21know why they had tried to cast out
2:24that demon and the demon did not obey .
2:29And Jesus then replied : " This kind , and
2:33this kind means this type , this species
2:38of demons cannot be driven out by
2:41anything except prayer and fasting . " In
2:50other words , we understand from the
2:53word of God that there are demons that
2:56are persistent , resistant , stubborn ,
2:59that stay there in a person's life . And
3:05they only show respect when someone
3:09with spiritual authority , anointing ,
3:15casts them out . They did not recognize
3:19the authority in the disciples , even
3:22though the disciples had already cast
3:25out other demons , but that particular
3:27demon they could not . They did not
3:30respect the disciples . And Jesus then
3:34made it clear that that type required
3:37greater consecration , a greater
3:40spiritual consecration . And what do we
3:44understand about fasting , right ?
3:47Because the disciples prayed , but they
3:50were not fasting or had not been
3:52fasting . So what do we understand from
3:57this ? Fasting means a sacrifice of the
4:03flesh . When a person is fasting , they
4:07are sacrificing their own desires . The
4:12flesh is not in the sense of what you
4:15pinch on your arm . " Oh , this is my
4:18flesh here , " you feel pain when you
4:20pinch your arm . That is my flesh . No ,
4:22that is not the flesh we are dealing
4:24with . Flesh in the biblical sense means
4:29self-will , human pleasures , especially
4:33that which inclines toward sin . Not
4:38everything of the flesh is sin , is it ?
4:41For example , it is not a sin to have
4:43fun . Entertainment is not a sin , but
4:47entertainment in excess , entertainment
4:49when a person doesn't want to do
4:51anything else but have fun , that
4:53becomes a sin . So it is not wrong for
4:57you , for example , to rest . You worked
5:00and you rest for a day , right ? The
5:03Bible tells us to rest one day of the
5:05week . Six days you shall work and one
5:09day you shall rest . Isn't that right ?
5:12Someone tell that to our politicians .
5:14But anyway , that's another subject . Six
5:16days you shall work and one day you
5:18shall rest . God commands us to rest one
5:20day and resting one day is biblical ,
5:28it's healthy , but when a person wants
5:31to just chill every day , wants to rest
5:34every day , it starts to become a sin .
5:38Then it's called laziness . It's no
5:40longer rest , it's laziness . So rest is
5:43good , but in excess it turns into
5:45laziness . So , the works of the flesh
5:50are those human desires that lean
5:53toward comfort , lean toward pleasure ,
5:56toward the ego , toward personal
5:59satisfaction , toward amusement , toward
6:02wasting time . That's it . So , when we
6:09fast , we do the opposite . We do not
6:14give our flesh what it likes , what it
6:16wants . So , for example , the classic
6:20fast is the food fast , right ? There are
6:24other types of fasting , but the classic
6:26fast is the food fast , because there is
6:29nothing more pleasurable for the flesh
6:31than eating . Eating and drinking . Isn't
6:35that so ? There is nothing more
6:36pleasurable . Solomon spoke about this .
6:38There is nothing more pleasurable than
6:39eating and drinking . You eat good food ,
6:42you drink a good drink , you are hungry ,
6:46you go there and satisfy your body .
6:50Nothing more pleasurable than that .
6:52Indeed . Then you go and decide : " I am
6:54going to fast . I will not give food to
6:58my body for a time . For a time . Do not
7:02exaggerate . There are people who enter
7:05a mode of super-holiness ,
7:07super-spirituality and want to fast for
7:1036 hours , 72 hours , 4 , 5 days without
7:14eating ; you will do yourself harm . Then
7:17, then you start entering the realm of
7:20sin ; you start hurting your body . And
7:22that is not the idea . The idea is to
7:26sacrifice , to give up your own will , a
7:29pleasure , for a spiritual benefit . So ,
7:34spiritual fasting has nothing to do
7:37with intermittent fasting for your
7:39health , to regulate your metabolism ,
7:42that some people do . Nothing wrong with
7:45that . You can do intermittent fasting ,
7:48you can — fasting is , medicine
7:50recognizes the benefits of fasting ,
7:52right ? God was already , already ahead ,
7:55wasn't He ? When He promoted fasting
7:59back then , before medicine discovered
8:02the benefits of fasting . God had
8:06already determined the benefits of
8:08fasting , but far more than just
8:09physical ones . Spiritual fasting is not
8:14just for physical health ; it's for you
8:18to be strengthened in the spirit . You
8:23are focusing on that which is spiritual
8:25. You are turning your attention to the
8:27things of God . So you give up food , and
8:32during that time , that period when you
8:36are not eating , you are naturally
8:39focusing your mind on something
8:41spiritual and focusing on the purpose
8:45of your fast . So you , for example , are
8:50fighting for deliverance ; you have a
8:52problem like this young man here , the
8:54father of this young man , you want to
8:57face this evil and you want to overcome
8:59this evil . So you can pray , and you can
9:03add fasting to your life , fasting from
9:05food . Many people today can do a social
9:09media fast , they should do a social
9:11media fast because they are distracting
9:13themselves with social media all the
9:14time . All the time , they live on their
9:18phone , they live there focusing on
9:20content that adds nothing to their
9:22faith . So , the person has to do a fast
9:25of , " Look , I will only use my phone for
9:27work and that's it . " Finished work , I
9:30will put the phone aside and I won't
9:32use it anymore . I'll set a limit here
9:34on the maximum , how much time per day
9:37I'll use my phone . That's it . I mean ,
9:40they can do a fast of giving up what is
9:43strengthening their flesh and weakening
9:46their spirit and do the opposite :
9:52incorporate into their life activities
9:54that will strengthen their spirit , like
9:57reading the Bible , prayer , going to
9:59church , working on their spiritual life
10:02, abandoning sin , and things like that .
10:07So , for you to face evil , you have to
10:10be strengthened in the spirit , because
10:13evil is a spiritual force . So , you
10:18strengthen your spirit by giving up
10:21what your flesh desires , leaving sin
10:24behind , making sacrifices , and you go
10:27after the devil and he will have to
10:29leave , just as he did by the authority
10:33of the Lord Jesus . So , if you wish to
10:38overcome a problem that has not
10:41responded to prayer alone , consider
10:44adding fasting to your prayer . Fasting
10:50is a practice of faith that all
10:53disciples of the Lord Jesus should
10:55practice regularly , especially in times
10:59of crisis , in times of great demand ,
11:02great need for deliverance , and great
11:05confrontation with evil . Do not go into
11:11spiritual warfare without fasting and
11:13prayer .
11:15>> If you have made it this far , it is
11:16because you want to be a better person .
11:19I challenge you to choose one thing you
11:21learned in today's video and put it
11:23into practice . And I will see you here
11:25next time . M.