ARE YOU READY FOR THE FAST OF DANIEL?
“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
(Romans 8:9)
In Daniel 10 in the Bible, we see that, for 21 days, Daniel decided to fast in order to find favour, wisdom, and understanding from God.
Nowadays, amongst the list of things that get in the way of our relationship with God, distractions are ever present, and they come in all forms of entertainment and secular information which constantly bombards us.
The Lord Jesus said: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:9). The purpose of the Fast of Daniel is exactly this – to open our ears to the voice of God.
We live in a reality where we are constantly bombarded by various voices, at times, simultaneously. The problem is that most of these words and opinions don’t meet our needs nor lead us in the right way; otherwise, everyone’s life, including yours, would be completely different, and much happier.
That is why it is important to listen to the Voice that really matters. However, this becomes more and more difficult, since the other voices will never be silent unless we make them silent ourselves.
This is the purpose of the Fast of Daniel. If you commit yourself to this challenge, you will be able to hear the Voice of God and receive instructions from Him so that you will not only be able to solve your problems but also completely change your life.
For this to happen, it is advised that you abstain from secular information during the quarantine. This includes news, music, movies, or any other form of entertainment that could divert your thoughts and your focus from your goal of listening to God. After all, to achieve something so important and decisive like this, you cannot afford to have any distractions.
How important is the baptism with the Holy Spirit and how do you reach Him?
“If you have to invest in something in your life, the most important thing you can invest in is the Holy Spirit”
Bishop Macedo
Family, financial, marital, emotional, physical problems – whatever the situation or the need of the human being, the Holy Spirit is the solution. This statement was made by Bishop Macedo, during a message that was recently broadcast. According to him, the Holy Spirit is the biggest investment anyone can make. Besides the fact that the Holy Spirit leads one to the Kingdom of God, He also gives people the faith, capacity, strength, and wisdom necessary to overcome every problem in this world. “If you have to invest in something in your life, the most important thing you can invest in is the Holy Spirit”, Bishop Macedo advises. The reason why many people’s lives within the church do not change, is due to the absence of the Spirit of God within them. They do not have it because they do not want to give themselves up. They are guided by their own thoughts and desires, and they live according to their own will. They belong to an institution, but not to the Kingdom of God. The apostle Paul knew that among the converted Romans, there were also false converts who were born of the flesh.
“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9)
“The apostle Paul is incisive in his statement because many Christians were not sincere in their conversion. Though some professed the faith, they still remained committed to the pleasures of the flesh and inclined to be guided by their emotions. This is what happens to many Christians who know the Word of Truth; they have spent years in the church, but fail to make their lives the centre of God’s will. They live in spiritual ‘lukewarmness’, so they cannot receive the Holy Spirit”, Bishop Macedo explains. Unfortunately, this is the reality of most people inside the church. They say they believe in the Lord Jesus, but their behaviour, attitude, and character does not match the Word of God. Their lips keep uttering lies, deceit, and gossip, and so they are weak and inconstant. As long as they insist on immoral behaviour, they will never receive the Holy Spirit. “You can even preach, heal the sick, cast out demons, evangelise – you can do all this and still be full of demons. Because the devil wants to make people believe that these people are servants of God, when in fact they are not. Their behaviour is contrary to the Christian faith”, Bishop Macedo warns. Someone who has the Spirit of God lives an honourable life. They have nothing to be ashamed of, they have good eyes, and they are merciful, tolerant, and compassionate. When this person’s life is consecrated and dedicated to the altar of God, they live happily. There is peace in their house. If you are convinced that the Holy Spirit is lacking in your life, the first step to receiving Him is to abandon what is wrong and start obeying the Word of God. “When one begins to practice the Word of God, he begins to walk towards the Lord Jesus and, walking towards him, he will receive the Holy Spirit”, Bishop Macedo says. Be defined, let go of sin, rid yourself of your desires, of your will; then come before God and put yourself at His disposal so that He may come into your life.
WE RECEIVED HIM
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
Why am I alive?
Due to many bad choices, setbacks and disappointments over the years, my life was spiralling out of control. It put such a strain on my family; it seemed that the only time we communicated was when we were arguing. I constantly asked myself ‘why am I alive?’
I had attended the Universal Church earlier on in my life and felt the need to return. I called out to God to save me from the mess I had put myself in. Soon after, I noticed that the deep sadness I felt was being replaced with joy. I wanted that joy to be permanent, so I decided to seek the Holy Spirit with all my strength.
Today I have His peace within me and my relationship with my family is restored.
Olu Oluwatoyin
I found life and I’m no longer afraid of death
From a very young age, I was controlled by an anger that I couldn’t explain. At school, I would be aggressive towards other children, and at home, it wasn’t any different. I was also very afraid of death.
One day, my aunt invited my family to the Universal Church and we began taking part in the weekly meetings. I could clearly see massive changes in my mum and sister, but I was too proud to seek help. It took me two years to finally decide to change, but I’m happy I went against my pride. After cutting off all the wrong things, I started seeking God’s Spirit because I didn’t want to be the same anymore.
I received the Holy Spirit and today I am free from the anger and pride. I have peace inside of me. I found life and I’m no longer afraid of death.
Vera Silva
I was loud outside, but insecure inside
“I did a good job of imitating the people around me to fit in, but inside I was insecure and empty. Things changed when a friend from school invited me to the VYG (the Youth Ministry of the Universal Church).
The meetings at the church helped me fight my internal battles. Although many times I felt like giving up, God helped me to be strong. I understood the importance of the Holy Spirit, so I started seeking Him wholeheartedly.
Now, with the Holy Spirit, my life is completely different. I have the determination and confidence that I once lacked. The voids I struggled to fill over the years have gone and I’m happy to be just me!”
Naomi Boketsu
Cutting all ties with the world
Becoming frustrated while being in church is one of the worst things to happen, yet, sadly, it happened to me.
When I took part in the Fast of Daniel, I decided to cut off all remaining ties I had with the world. This included certain friends outside and even inside the church. I even quit my job, as I knew it had links with my old life. I was so serious that I placed a sacrificial offering on the altar and did everything I could to show God how much I truly wanted Him.
On the last of the fast I received the Holy Spirit, and it was the best day of my life. This purposeful faith was exactly what I needed, and it is most probably what you need too.
Denise-Claire Lamun
A new me
The Fast of Daniel was exactly what I needed. I say this because I always struggled to take my relationship with God outside the church. I would always plan to seek the Holy Spirit at home and meditate on the word of God, yet I never had the strength to do it. However, during the fast I had no distractions, and as a result, I was able to take small steps each day to develop the intimacy with God that I had never had. I have now established my relationship with God and I am also born of Him.
David Kinganga
I wanted to belong to Him not a religion.
“Today I have true peace, joy and I want to tell everyone about what I’ve received! I am now a new person because of my experience during the Fast of Daniel. It was then that I surrendered myself totally to God. I had to erase the religious mentality I picked up from my background and understood that I needed to have my own personal relationship with God. From then, I started to see changes in my way of thinking and behaviour. I spent more time reading my Bible to really understand God’s will for myself. I let go of all the things that I noticed did not please Him. I made Him my all and He gave me His all in return.”
Priscilla Theodore
Attention worth seeking for.
“The service at the UCKG helped me understand the reason why I felt so empty inside. Change became something very real to me, but every time I attempted to convert, I would fall right back to my attention-seeking ways.
This was because although I wanted to be different, I was never decided, but the day I made up my mind, the only attention that I wanted was God’s!
I let go of everything that would separate me from Him starting with my past.
Today, I can say that I know the true meaning of the word ‘happiness’. The attention I thought I lacked, I have received from the One who well and truly gives it in abundance. I am whole within and there is no club, drink or wild party that can do what God has done for me.”
Paulett Bandeira
A true commitment.
“When I was younger, a male family friend abused me. I didn’t understand it at the time and as I grew older, I suppressed it. But in the back of my mind, I knew it was the reason why I would hook up with so many girls just to forget the past and prove my masculinity.
So though I wanted to have a serious relationship, I couldn’t help myself. My unfaithfulness was okay in my conscience, because I believed that God knew I had a good heart, despite all the bad things I did…I was wrong!
Today, I am a faithful married man because I surrendered to God the root of my problem and He transformed everything.
He gave me the greatest gift of all—His Holy Spirit. I changed individually and consequently, me and my partner, Yasmin, changed as a couple.
I am faithful to her and we do everything together. There is now trust and commitment in our relationship because I have a true commitment with God.”
Tapiwa Senah
Seeking a new nature
The Fast of Daniel provided renewal and revival for many people, but they pushed Davina to overcome herself.
“Throughout 2015, I spent a very long time trying to overcome a certain sin in my own way. I would feel guilty, but would never truly repent. I kept this sin under the carpet. As a result, the sin took me away from God. Every day, I only felt further and further away from Him.
As I sat down in church, I was spiritually dead. I was oblivious to what was really going on.
It was during the Fast of Daniel that I realised how deep I had sunk. I realised how much I needed God. In order to be completely focused on Him, I disconnected from everything else. There were no more distractions or excuses. Once I found the root cause that explained why I was always falling behind, I was able to break this cycle.
Davina Taylor