We must recognize there is someone who sits above medical science. There's someone who sits above the doctors. And that is God. Dr. Tony Evans reminds us of God's awesome power and our access to him.
It is the Lord who healeth thee. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. At one point or another, many of us have adjusted our diet in pursuit of goals like weight loss, cholesterol reduction, or some other physical need. But Dr.
Evans says our eating habits have profound benefits for our spiritual health as well. Let's join him as he explains. The area that I would like to talk about today is fasting for healing. First of all, fasting for healing. is in God's will.
In the great chapter that we began with, Isaiah 58. In verse 6, verse 8, and verse 11. He again and again affirms that this is the fast. which I choose to heal broken bones, he says. He says to minister to the physical well-being that in my fast.
That is a legitimate thing to include. 2 John verse 2 says that God desires you to be in good health. even as your soul prospers. Please notice that he says I want your body to be healthy. But Don't let it lose track of your soul.
In other words, Don't allow your passion for Your physical well-being to override your passion for your spiritual well-being. That's cosmetic surgery, by the way. When all you want is for your outside to work. And you have little concern with whether your inside is keeping up. He says, I want you to be healthy, but even as your soul prospers.
Therefore, Since it is God's will for you to be healthy. That is God's, I'll call it this, normative desire. You ought not resign yourself to sickness. You ought not to say what will be will be. You must not limit God's ability.
to change your situation. You must never let the doctor have the bottom line. although you must respect his diagnosis as a line. You should never Resign yourself. To that which is declared to be terminal, unless God makes it terminal.
Because our God heals. He is the God that heals, according to Exodus 15, verse 26. God heals in two ways. He is a preventative healer. There's stuff wrong with you you don't know about yet.
And that's why you even bless God when you're feeling good, because the only reason you're feeling good is that he's constructed the body in such a way that it can heal itself. It's his preventative healing. But God not only heals preventatively, he heals curatively. That is, he takes illnesses that come. And he overrules them.
And that's why many times that you were sick, it didn't do you in. Because it was overruled. It was overruled by medicine or doctor's skills or by maybe your own body's immune system after it already occurred, but it was overruled. Deuteronomy 32, 39, God says, it is I who heal you. Psalm 103, verse 3 says, Bless God who heals all of our diseases.
The Bible is clear. That there is a correlation between fasting and healing. In fact, the Bible says never divorce food. and the lack thereof from your physical well-being exodus 23 25 says that food and god are to never be separated In order to have good health, he says, serve God. And he will bless you and bless your bread and water and remove your sickness.
Now most of us say grace because it's the thing to do. But let me tell you a deeper reason why you ought to say grace. Let me give you two. You ought to say grace, one, because you're thankful that God has supplied you something to eat and you're not starving. but you also honestly say grace so that the very food to keep you alive don't also helps to put you under You ought to say grace that God overrules.
even in the dietary intake. for it is the Lord who sustains health. And just as he is concerned first and foremost. about the eternal inner man. He does desire well-being.
as his normative prescription. for the external man, even the mental man.
Now Fasting is not to replace medicine. Even Jesus said that the sick need a physician. There are many times in the Bible where medicine In God's will was brought to bear. on a physical infirmity. like Hezekiah.
In uh Chapter 38. Verse 21 of Isaiah We must recognize medical science's limitations. The woman with the issue of blood, and she spent all of her money on doctors. I wonder if there's anybody here who spent all of your money on doctors. And they're still trying to find out what's wrong.
Therefore In this matter of fasting. We must recognize that there is someone who sits above medical science. There's someone who sits above the doctors. There's someone who sits above the medication. There's someone who sits above all the technology.
And that is God. Yes, you should use the technology. Yes, you should take the medicine. Yes, you should visit the doctor, but you should trust none of them. That is as an ultimate source of confidence.
You are to trust the Lord. It is the Lord who healeth thee. And while he may use any number of mechanisms. to do that. It is the Lord who is your Jehovah Rapha.
The Lord who heals you. Secondly. When you fast for healing. Promote God's program, 1 Samuel 1. One of the most beautiful stories in the Bible, one of the most touching.
It's about Hannah. Hannah was barren. She could not get. Pregnant. The Lord had closed her womb.
Not only that, but she's being made a fun of because it was viewed as a curse in Israel not to be able to have a child. It was a curse. God had promised them in Deuteronomy 7, verse 13 and 14 that they would be able to have children as a blessing from God.
So to be a Jewish woman and not be able to get pregnant, well, that was a curse. It was perceived as divine judgment. And I know that there are some folks in here that have had something go wrong with you emotionally or physically, and you want to know, why is this happening to me?
So she's greatly distressed, verse 10. Verse 11 says, she makes a vow to God and says, O Lord of hosts. If you will indeed look on the affliction of thy maidservant and remember me and for not forget thy maidservant, but will give thy maidservant a son, that I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life and a razor shall never come on his head. She cuts a deal with God. But the deal she cuts is for God's greater glory.
The deal she cuts will further God's program. She continued praying. Before the Lord. And she did not eat, verse 8 says.
So she's in a fast refusing to eat and she's in sorrow for a physical emotional pain. And it came about in due time. After Hannah had conceived that she gave birth to a son and she named him Samuel because I have asked him of the Lord. We call this a miracle baby. This is a baby that's not supposed to happen because medically it cannot happen.
She cannot conceive. unless the Lord opens the womb and maybe you have some things in your life that cannot be fixed. Unless the Lord opens it up and he's waiting for you to get serious enough for him to be your deliverer. One of the reasons that you are feeling bad could be your sin. For example, 1 Corinthians 11 says: if you eat and drink of the cup unworthily, Some are weak.
Some are sick and some are dead. That is to take communion with unconfessed sinned. And no heart to want God to address the sin in your life makes you a candidate for illness. as God's discipline in your life. All through the Bible, you will find one of the ways God addresses the rebellion of his children is through sickness.
So God sends or allows the devil to bring sickness in order to discipline. His people. God told Israel in Deuteronomy 28, verses 20 to 22, he said to them, when you disobey me, these illnesses will come upon you. James 5 brings up the fact that if you've committed a sin, to confess the sin that you might be healed.
So you could be ill. Because sin. is there. There is a direct correlation between forgiveness for sin and health. We'll look at Samuel in a moment, but in Matthew 9, verses 2 and verse 6.
Jesus tells the sick man, your sins have been forgiven you.
Now you can take up your bed and walk. He correlates the forgiveness for sin. to his willingness to heal. Dr. Evans will return with another reason to fast for healing in just a moment.
First though, if Tony's messages on the subject of fasting are hitting home you need to know they're only a small part of his two volume collection on the subject. The set is simply called fasting. There's a lot packed into this series, and all 14 messages are our gift to you. when you make a contribution to help support our work here at The Alternative. and for a limited time, along with the audio messages, we'll also send you a special bonus, our Hope for the Herding leader kit.
In it, Dr. Evans provides practical spiritual insights for navigating life's trials, even during times of deep hurt. The kit includes the Hope for the Hurting book, study guide, printed content for six sessions, special access to teaching videos, and more. Whether you use it for a small group study or simply for your own personal growth, This is a valuable resource to help in times of hurt and pain. This unique double offer will only be available for a short time.
So be sure to contact us right away at tonyevans.org to make your contribution and request. or you can call 1-800-800-322. where members of our team are ready to help with your resource request. I'll repeat that contact information for you after the second part of today's lesson and this. On the Unbound podcast, Dr.
Tony Evans hosts meaningful conversations with all kinds of guests. Here's a moment with hip-hop artist Lecrae.
So when you are 76 and you look back over legacy, what do you want that to say? I love to stand in the gap between hip-hop world and the church and translate the languages for one another. And if I could die being that bridge, I'm a happy man. Catch talks like these on the Unbound podcast. You'll find the new Unbound podcast with Tony Evans on his YouTube channel or or on your favorite podcast platform.
Right now, let's get back to today's message. Fourthly. Fast for healing. In honor of God's word, look at Daniel 1. They had captured the Hebrew boys and When they captured the Hebrew boys, they were preparing them to work in Nebuchadnezzar's court.
Part of the deal was to change their diet. They were offering him the king's food, verse 8. But Daniel made up in his mind he would not defile himself with the king's choice food and with the wine which he drank.
So he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.
Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials. What is his offer? He says in verse 10, instead of me giving you your food, the appointed food, what I want you to do is give me vegetables to eat. Put us to the test, verse 12. Let us be given some vegetables to eat and to drink water.
Now, why would he not eat meat? Why would he fast off of their meat?
Well, it was based on the word of God. It was prepared by pagan hands, the Gentiles. It was pagan food, foods they were not allowed to eat, and they were sacrificed to idols. Those three reasons put the food off limits.
Okay, the food was what he calls defiled.
So, why didn't he eat the food? For spiritual reasons, all right? But notice where the physical fits in. He doesn't eat the food for spiritual reasons, but then he makes a statement of faith and it took faith and faith must always be married to fasting. Verse 13, then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the ewes that are eating the king's choice food and deal with your servants according to what you see.
Now that's a risk. He says, we're going to go with vegetables. God will so honor it that in 10 days we will look better than the folks who you're giving this lavish diet to. Would it be powerful? If we turn down all the secular ways for dealing with how we don't like how we look.
And went before the Lord. to change our appearance. Verse 15, at the end of 10 days, their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king's choice food. The king was trying to beef them up. These skinny boys.
How you going to gain weight, not getting some bulk on you? How are you going to just eat this rabbit food and look the way the king wants you to look? Because we figure, king, to eat less and to obey God. It's going to produce better physiology than to eat more and disobey God.
So we're going to fast for our appearance. And we're going to do this in the name of God. And not only that, God gave him a bonus, verse 17. And as for the four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence and every branch of literature and wisdom. And Daniel understood all kinds of visions and dreams.
While he was improving their bodies, he was also improving their minds. He gave them a bonus for their obedience. And so it was in honor of God's word. that they may not defile themselves. That led to this fourth.
physical fast. Fifthly, and finally. Fasting for healing develops God's people. Acts 9. verse one now saul was breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the lord And he went to the high priest.
Now you recall Saul was the persecutor of the church. He was throwing Christians in prisons. He was overseeing their demise. Then one day on the road to Damascus, Verse 3, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
Verse 5 says, he says, I am Jesus who you are persecuting. Rise and enter the city. And it shall be told to you what to do. Saul verse 8 got up from the ground though his eyes were open he could see nothing Now, watch this. He is blinded on the road to Damascus.
Why? Because this boy needed to be humbled. He was persecuting Jesus Christ in the name of Jesus' people. And he needed to be put in his place. He also needed to be saved, by the way.
And that's why when people are sick, always give them the gospel. They're more open in the listening. He's blind. All of a sudden, he's not Mr. Big Stuff anymore.
God tells him, arise, verse 11, go to the street called straight. Inquired the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul, he tells Ananias, for behold, he is praying, but not only is he praying, he's fasting, verse 9, and he was three days without sight and neither ate nor drank. Why is he fasting? He's fasting because in verse 6, God told him to go to a city and I'm going to show you what to do. He's now dependent.
Ananias comes into his house, calls him brother of the Lord Jesus Christ. God sent me that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And scales fell from his eyes. He regained his sight. He then took food and was strengthened.
And immediately, verse 20, he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogue. And you know the story from there. He becomes the leader of the church. He becomes the leader Christian in the whole Christian faith and winning the Gentiles to Christ. God blinded him to humble him so that he might look to him.
If God has given you a big problem, look for God. Because he's up to something. And if you are down physically, look up spiritually. If you're going through a crisis emotionally, look up. He fasted and prayed for three days.
That God would bring him deliverance. James 5. If you're talking to God and you can't get through on your own, Here's what James says. Verse 14, is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church.
Let them pray over him. Anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, refreshment. physical support. And the prayer offered in faith, in confidence in God's will, restore or rebuild up the one who is sick. and the lord will raise them up and if he has committed sins they will be forgiven him why the church What is special?
in terms of getting God in on this act about the church. Simple. The church has the keys to the kingdom. The church has been given access to the throne. Like no other institution, including your local doctor, the church has been given access to open up heaven because he says whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.
Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
So he says, go to the church. Call on spiritual people, not only the leaders, he goes on to say, and pray for one another. When you see somebody who's struggling with cancer and you don't even know who they are, but you know God healed you, you better pick up your telephone. Because you can be an encouragement and a restorer. You find out somebody else has had a miscarriage, but God has blessed you with a healthy child.
You better pick up your phone so you can be an encourager to someone else. He says, pray for one another. It is the life of the church. that gets the attention of God. It was when Peter was in jail.
It said the church prayed, Acts 16, and the angels loosed him. There's a name, Steve Austin. Ring a bell, anybody in here? I used to watch that show every week. Do you know how you got to be the six million dollar man?
See, he was an astronaut and he was in a terrible, terrible crash. And his body was ripped. From limb to limb. And end to end. He was employed by the government.
They paid his salary, provided his benefits. And in government service. He ran into physical disability. That was terrible and life-threatening. The government brought all of its technology, all of its ability.
And gave him Bionic arms. Bionic legs. A bionic ass. They rebuilt the man. When the government healed him.
They said, Steve, we need you. We need you. Because they are criminals who are subverting the government of the United States. And we need somebody. Who has been a beneficiary?
Upgrades. to take care of the enemies that would seek to bring us down.
Some of you while working for the kingdom. or gonna find yourself sick. But the same one who brought you into the kingdom of light. And out of the kingdom of darkness is going to make you better. When it does, he needs you to take that new strength and that new energy and be his $6 million kingdom man, $6 million kingdom woman who uses that expensive grace not just to go out and party some more, not just to have a good time some more, but to say, how can I use this new energy for the kingdom of God?
How can I use this new sight for the kingdom of God? How can I do the fact that you raised me up from my sick bed? The doctor said I was terminal. You said terminally not. And you brought me back.
How can I serve you more? If you've been put down by God and raised up by God, you ought to be able to be used by God because God is the one. He is Jehovah Rapha. He is the one who healeth thee. He is your healer.
He is your sustainer. Dr. Tony Evans, reminding us to put our complete trust in the power of God.
Now, if you'd like to get the complete full-length version of today's message, check with us for details on the title Fasting for Healing. better yet, get it as a part of Tony's powerful sermon series, simply titled Fasting. As I mentioned earlier, it's available right now as our gift, in appreciation for your donation to this ministry. And we're including a special bonus, the Hope for the Herding leader kit. This entire bundle is yours with our thanks when you make a donation to help us keep sharing the good news on this station and others like it.
Contact us today at tonyevans.org to get the details and make the arrangements. or call 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night. and let one of our team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222-1. or online at tonyevans.org.
Navigating life can sometimes feel like driving a car without windows. uncertain where you are and fearful of what lies ahead. That sense of desperation leads people to seek direction from just about anywhere. But tomorrow, Dr. Evans reminds us there's only one truly reliable source of guidance.
Be sure to join us for that.
