The Danger of Decisional Salvation: Why Fasting Alone Cannot Save

• Emptying and Filling [00:05:37 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that God empties things (tombs, boats, disciples) before filling them, positioning the current fast as a 'filling line' rather than a finish line.
• Fasting for Power [00:07:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using Jesus' temptation in the wilderness as a model, the pastor claims fasting transforms spiritual filling into active power for ministry.
• Alignment Fasting [00:13:37 ▶️ 📄]
  > Distinguishing 'transactional fasting' from 'alignment fasting,' where the goal is to remove distractions to position the spirit for God's presence.
• Spreading Fire [00:15:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using Acts 2, the pastor illustrates that the Holy Spirit's fire is meant to spread and ignite others, making believers conduits rather than containers.
• Spiritual Conduits vs. Containers [00:19:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the purpose of fasting and receiving the Holy Spirit is to become a channel for God's power rather than hoarding it.
• Definition of Revival [00:21:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor corrects the cultural view that revival equals large crowds, asserting instead that it begins with individual believers being 'on fire' and unashamed.
• Evangelism and Anointing [00:20:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor encourages those who feel inadequate at witnessing, stating that the 'fire' (anointing/Spirit) prepares them and removes the need for perfect words.
• Prayer of Surrender and Salvation [00:24:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The segment transitions into a liturgical call for personal consecration and an altar call for salvation, inviting listeners to pray for fresh fire or surrender to Christ.

• Sermon Illustration [00:04:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > A Sunday school teacher asks students who think they are dumb to stand; little Johnny stands up and says he did it because he didn't want to leave the teacher standing alone.
• Sermon Illustration [00:14:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of fire: fire cannot be manufactured but can be made room for; if contained, it goes out, but if allowed to spread, it gains momentum and fuel.
• Sermon Illustration [00:22:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a single match in a dark room: initially small, but when lit, it changes the atmosphere; if it touches other wicks, the whole room lights up, illustrating how one person's spiritual fire can spread to save others.

• Pastoral Charge [00:20:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor commands the congregation to actively spread their spiritual experience and anointing to others rather than keeping it private or contained.
• Pastoral Charge [00:24:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > Open hands in a posture of receiving and pray a specific prayer asking God to fill them with fresh fire for various areas of life.
• Pastoral Charge [00:26:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > Lift hand and pray a sinner's prayer of surrender, forgiveness, and receiving the Holy Spirit to give one's life to Christ.

[00:00:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:52] Good morning, Encounter Fellowship. Here we are for round two of wintry weather schedule.
[00:01:02] So, even though I'm not excited about it, and I'm sure you're not either, at least the snow looks a little prettier than the ice.
[00:01:12] so we'll take the win but I will tell you this I'm so ready to get everybody back in the house because we really do miss being with everybody Donna and I were just talking about that this week
[00:01:26] just how we miss everybody miss the fellowship, miss the worship together, miss everybody's smiling faces anyway, just know that we miss you and hopefully you miss us as much as we miss you and next week we will be back together again so a couple quick announcements
[00:01:47] for you um because we are now into our february newsletter and um the the uh children and the youth have some things coming up that you want to go ahead and be aware of you still have time
[00:02:02] we'll have time next week and i'll sign up but i still want to get it to you so you can get it on your calendars um on uh february the 13th uh the kids encounter kids will have their love out loud
[00:02:16] kids event it is a friday night from 6 until 8 30 uh there'll be a sign-up sheet you can sign up with miss terry there's a sign-up sheet back in uh encounter kids area as well that you can you
[00:02:31] can have time to do so but go ahead and put that on your calendars husbands it is a good time hint wink wink hint to maybe that friday night go ahead and take your wife out for a valentine's
[00:02:45] dinner since the kids will be taken care of so anyway plan out that love out loud event for kids also the youth will be um doing their barbecue fundraiser again just like they did it's ten dollars a pound they're just selling it by the pound uh very good um and they'll they'll
[00:03:05] start pre-selling tickets for that on february the 15th and then also again on february the 22nd but go ahead and uh be prepared for that it'll be a youth fundraiser plenty of other things going on
[00:03:17] we have baptism this month so you should have your newsletter but if not you can get it next week when you get here and and just you know be prepared and put things on the
[00:03:29] calendar and be ready to do some cool things also before we jump into the sermon just as a quick reminder is that it is definitely week two if you are typically if you call encounter fellowship your home if you're just
[00:03:43] watching that's a different story but if this is your home and you typically give online I would encourage you to go ahead and do that if you typically do it in the offering plate. Just hold on to those because the church still does have to operate even in
[00:03:58] winter weather. So anyway, enough of that. Let's jump into our message for today. We are finishing our series, our fasting series. Now, I know that we'll be fasting all this week as we finish up
[00:04:16] week three um for our fast but uh this week would be our um our last sermon in the series and so we are going to jump into that um and we are going to the sermon today is called
[00:04:33] filled with fresh fire and um and and uh we'll we'll see what the lord speaks to us on that but I heard of this Sunday school teacher who was teaching the kids about self-esteem, about how God sees them in ways that other people may not see them.
[00:04:54] And so to prove a point, she just asked the class this question.
[00:04:57] She said, if you think you are dumb, please stand.
[00:05:01] Well, obviously, she did not expect anyone to stand.
[00:05:03] But of course, little Johnny stood up and she thought, oh, my goodness, what am I going to do now?
[00:05:09] So, she said to Johnny, she said, now Johnny, you don't actually think that you're dumb, do you?
[00:05:17] And Johnny said, no ma'am, I just hate to see you standing there by yourself.
[00:05:22] Anyway, it's different without everybody laughing in the house, so shoot me a laughing emoji or something so I can see that you're there with us.
[00:05:32] This morning as we dive into this, I want to ask you this question.
[00:05:37] Have you ever noticed in the Bible that everything God fills, He first empties?
[00:05:42] He empties the tomb before He fills it with resurrection.
[00:05:45] He empties the boat before He fills it with fish.
[00:05:48] He empties the disciples before He fills them with the Holy Spirit.
[00:05:52] We've spent this fast over the last two weeks and going into the third week, we've spent this fast doing just that, emptying ourselves.
[00:06:04] but now church it's time for god to fill us our encounter point for today is this this isn't the finish line this is the filling line so bear into that with me just think on that
[00:06:21] just dive in just celebrate the fact that if you've if you've done this fast and you've done it and you've began to empty yourself we don't want to look at this week as oh my goodness it's
[00:06:37] the finish line we're just going to finish this fast and then we can put it behind us and move on no we've purposely emptied ourself this isn't the finish line it's the filling line because when god
[00:06:49] finds a hungry heart god fills it we see that all through scripture matthew 5 6 first comes to mind It's not going to be on your screen, but you can go back and look it up.
[00:07:00] And it says, from the Beatitudes, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
[00:07:10] God is irresistibly drawn.
[00:07:13] Listen to what I'm about to tell you.
[00:07:15] God is irresistibly drawn to a hungry heart.
[00:07:19] Because hunger says, God, I know there's more.
[00:07:25] And I want what you've got.
[00:07:28] God, I want all of it.
[00:07:30] And so God just can't resist a hungry heart.
[00:07:36] And so today brings me to my first point.
[00:07:40] Fasting prepares you for power.
[00:07:43] In Luke chapter 4 and verse 14, it says this, Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity.
[00:07:56] Let me give you just a little backdrop of what I'm saying here and how this pulls together.
[00:08:03] You can go back and read from chapter 4, verse 1 to 14, but it is the temptation of Jesus.
[00:08:14] Most of you know that passage, but even if you don't, but here's where I really want to bring this comparison and this together.
[00:08:23] The first verse says this.
[00:08:25] It's not going to be on your screen, but just listen to me.
[00:08:27] The first verse says, Then Jesus left the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit, and He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.
[00:08:35] Now, we know Jesus goes into the wilderness.
[00:08:37] He fasts for 40 days.
[00:08:39] During that time, the devil tries to tempt Him on multiple occasions, which Jesus does not give in.
[00:08:47] And then we get to verse 14, is what we said, is that Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.
[00:08:52] But, verse 1 says this, Jesus left full of the Holy Spirit.
[00:08:59] So, what if this fast wasn't about what you gave up at all?
[00:09:06] What if the fast had nothing to do with what you gave up, but about what God wants to release through you?
[00:09:16] Because even for Jesus, the power came after His fast.
[00:09:22] Verse 1 said that Jesus went into the wilderness full of the Spirit, but He came out in the power of the Spirit.
[00:09:31] So you may have went into this fast full of something, but when you emptied yourself, God filled it with His power.
[00:09:43] Because there's a difference between being filled with the Spirit and moving in the power of the Spirit.
[00:09:50] Fasting is what transforms the filling into our fire power.
[00:09:57] So when you fast, you're not trying to get God to recognize you.
[00:10:02] You're not trying to get God to notice you.
[00:10:05] We're not fasting for attaboys and pats on the back from God.
[00:10:09] You're getting ready for Him to use you.
[00:10:12] You're saying, Lord, I'm not just here to survive a fast.
[00:10:18] I'm here to step into something supernatural, something fresh, God, something exciting, because everything you've laid down in the fast has been preparing you for a fresh power in your walk with God.
[00:10:35] Because fasting prepares you for power.
[00:10:39] I love that when we read and we see the model of Jesus doing things, When we see the model of Jesus, it's the same model for us today.
[00:10:50] We go in full, we empty ourselves, and we come back out with power.
[00:10:56] Fasting prepares you for power.
[00:11:00] Second point today I want to get across is that fasting also positions you for presence.
[00:11:09] In Acts chapter 2, I want to read the first four verses.
[00:11:13] It says, of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven and it filled the whole house where they were staying.
[00:11:27] They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them.
[00:11:35] And in verse four, then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues as the spirit enabled them fasting is a a posture fasting positions us for a greater
[00:11:56] presence of the lord if you notice in that passage the posture of the upper room in that upper room the bible says that they were all together in one place and so there was this
[00:12:16] posture of unity there was a posture of expectancy there was a posture of hunger remember what i said is god is irresistibly drawn to hungry people god can't resist someone who is hungry for him
[00:12:38] Someone who is hungry for His Spirit.
[00:12:41] Someone who is hungry for fresh power.
[00:12:44] God can't resist it.
[00:12:47] And there you were, this group in unity, expecting, doing exactly what they were told to do, waiting on the filling of the Spirit.
[00:13:01] So let me ask this question this morning.
[00:13:05] Could it be that God isn't distant at all?
[00:13:10] Could it be that God isn't distant?
[00:13:12] He's just waiting for you to make room.
[00:13:18] Remember last week I said that we're not after transactional fasting.
[00:13:23] We're not just fasting because the church is calling a fast.
[00:13:29] We're not after transactional fasting.
[00:13:32] We're not after being noticed by God.
[00:13:33] But what we're after is alignment fasting.
[00:13:37] Alignment fasting puts your spirit in position for His presence.
[00:13:44] My spirit in the position for His presence.
[00:13:48] That's alignment fasting.
[00:13:50] That's me aligning, emptying myself, getting rid of the noise and the distraction and the thing that's taking root and taking places, taking up space.
[00:14:05] That's putting me in a different position than where I need to be for His presence.
[00:14:13] See, you can't manufacture fire.
[00:14:16] It is impossible to manufacture the fire of the Holy Spirit.
[00:14:23] But friend, listen to what I'm telling you this morning.
[00:14:26] You can make room for it.
[00:14:28] You can empty the distractions.
[00:14:31] You can empty the noise.
[00:14:32] you can get rid of the blockages the things that in your life that may be blocking in certain areas to where you're not receiving the fullness of his fresh power because god always fills what's available and i mean if you give him surrendered space he will fill it i said last
[00:14:57] week god doesn't waste our surrendered moments we don't we just need to get to the place of surrender and that's where they were in this upper room and so fasting positions you for presence but also fasting produces a fire that spreads i want you to listen to this one if you didn't get
[00:15:28] nothing else out of this morning because all you're doing is thinking about going out and getting in the snow just stay with me a few more moments and then you can go sled build snowmen
[00:15:42] have snowball fights but get this fasting produces a fire that spreads when fire falls it doesn't stay contained it spritz when you continue reading in that Acts chapter 2 when you continue past 4 and read
[00:16:07] you begin to see as the fire came as they were filled with the spirit as the fire came they didn't just stay in the upper room they didn't look at one another with all of this
[00:16:20] filling all of this fire all of this movement of what God did and said okay guys let's keep it in the room oh they went out and the fire spread and thousands of people came to know the Lord because fire that doesn't spread
[00:16:39] will eventually go out and the quickest way to put out a fire is to contain it I'm not a fireman if I had one here today I'd be certain that they would tell you that one of the strategies to
[00:16:55] putting out a fire is to keep it from spreading because as a fire spreads it gains momentum it gains fuel it gains all of these things so when we try to contain it then it'll eventually go out
[00:17:13] let me put this into a spiritual perspective for you this morning the devil doesn't care if you are filled as long as you keep it to yourself.
[00:17:27] It doesn't bother the devil at all if you praise God silently in your house but stay quiet when you go out.
[00:17:37] It doesn't bother him if you praise in your car when you're all by yourself but you keep it to yourself when you're in public.
[00:17:48] The thing that threatens the devil the most is when your fire gets out of control.
[00:17:55] And that's what happened in Acts.
[00:17:58] No matter how much the Pharisees and the Sadducees and all of Rome tried to contain this fire, they couldn't contain it.
[00:18:09] Because it wasn't meant to be contained.
[00:18:12] It was meant to spread.
[00:18:14] And it got out of control to those who wanted to contain it.
[00:18:20] but what happened was it got out and it spread and it built fuel and fuel and fuel and fuel and thousands come to know him you see we want to our fasting produces something a fire that spreads
[00:18:40] these same disciples who were afraid behind locked doors became these bold witnesses once they were filled with fire fasting sets you ablaze and it's not just for you it's for others ponder this question for me right now who might god want to reach through the fire he's igniting in you
[00:19:05] now that's a deep question but i want you to ponder it for a moment who might god want to reach through the fire that he's igniting in you some of you probably already have an answer but
[00:19:19] it's typically not just one person i think that god wants to use that wherever we are as willing vessels we go in and we say i've fasted i've emptied myself god has filled me i have this fresh fire remember that's what our fast was we're fasting for fresh fire
[00:19:40] as a church, as a body of believers.
[00:19:45] And so God fills us not to be containers of His fire, but He fills us to be conduits of His fire so that everywhere we go, the fire goes through and the Spirit of God works in ways that you and me could never work.
[00:20:04] Because He works in the supernatural.
[00:20:08] You may say, I don't know how to witness to somebody.
[00:20:13] I don't know what the right things to say.
[00:20:16] But you don't have to.
[00:20:17] Because the fire is your anointing.
[00:20:20] The fire is what God, that's the Spirit of God.
[00:20:27] It's your anointing.
[00:20:29] It prepares you for ministry.
[00:20:32] We just have to go out and be willing to let it spread.
[00:20:37] Don't try to contain the fire.
[00:20:42] We're going to be conduits, not containers.
[00:20:45] You see, the fire that He starts in you is supposed to ignite everything around you.
[00:20:52] Your home, your workplace, your church, your city, everything around you.
[00:20:58] That fire is meant to ignite.
[00:21:02] Let me put it into this perspective for you.
[00:21:05] Revival doesn't begin with crowds.
[00:21:09] Everybody thinks revival crowds.
[00:21:11] If there's a crowd, it's a good revival.
[00:21:14] But listen, revival doesn't begin with crowds.
[00:21:16] It begins with God's people on fire for Him.
[00:21:20] Listen to this.
[00:21:21] Unashamed, uncontained, and unwilling to keep quiet.
[00:21:25] Go back to the New Testament.
[00:21:27] Go back to the church of Acts.
[00:21:29] Those people were so full of a fresh fire that they were unashamed.
[00:21:38] Unashamed, they could not be contained, and they were unwilling to be quiet.
[00:21:44] And so revival began.
[00:21:47] Thousands come to know the Lord.
[00:21:50] The Pharisees, the Sadducees, all of Rome could not stop it.
[00:21:57] They could not contain it because God's people were unashamed, uncontained, and unwilling to keep quiet.
[00:22:07] Let me illustrate it like this.
[00:22:08] Think of a single match in a dark room.
[00:22:11] It doesn't really seem like much, I get it.
[00:22:14] But when it's lit, it changes the entire atmosphere.
[00:22:20] And if that fire touches another wick or another match and another and another, soon the whole room is lit up.
[00:22:31] And that's what God wants to do through you.
[00:22:36] Hunger for God is contagious.
[00:22:39] Fire that spreads is hard to contain.
[00:22:41] What God ignites in you could be the very flame that pulls someone out of their darkness into salvation, into freedom from addiction, or into a healing that maybe they've waited for years for.
[00:22:57] We don't know.
[00:22:59] But I think it goes right back to the question that I asked you.
[00:23:03] And I want to ask you that same question again.
[00:23:06] Who might God want to reach through the fire He's igniting in you?
[00:23:15] It's a worthy question to say, God, who might you want to reach through the fire that you've ignited in me? It's a prayer point. It's a question to ask God. We ask God questions all the time.
[00:23:31] Think about all the questions we ask God. God, why did this happen? God, why did this have to happen to me? God, why do those people have to deal with that? God, why can't I get this new job?
[00:23:43] God, why can't I get this right?
[00:23:44] We ask God questions all the time.
[00:23:48] What if we asked Him a question that said, God, I've fasted.
[00:23:52] I've emptied myself.
[00:23:54] I've prayed.
[00:23:55] God, You're filling me.
[00:23:57] So God, who do You want to ignite?
[00:24:01] Who do You want to change through the fire You're igniting in me?
[00:24:06] What a question to ask God.
[00:24:09] Today, we're going to close out right now.
[00:24:12] And wherever you are, I would like for you to participate.
[00:24:17] If you're able, I want you to just open your hands like this.
[00:24:24] Just kind of keep your hands in front of you and just open them.
[00:24:26] This is kind of a posture of receiving.
[00:24:31] And then quietly, or loudly if you want, but right where you are, I want you to say, Lord, fill me again.
[00:24:42] Fill me with fresh fire.
[00:24:46] For fire for my purpose.
[00:24:49] God, fire for my family.
[00:24:50] fire for my generation fire for my city fire for my work fire for my neighborhood god fill me with fresh fire for you to use for you to ignite the world around me god i'm scared i don't know
[00:25:10] what to do but god i want you to do it now i want us to pray together god we've built the altar even in our homes today we've laid it all down now god today we ask for you to let your fire fall
[00:25:35] consume everything in our lives that's not like you and fill us again fill us fresh fill us god with your spirit and we receive your fresh fire today if you prayed that prayer and you meant it,
[00:26:03] then God's filling you.
[00:26:05] But there's another prayer I want us to pray today.
[00:26:08] Maybe you're watching.
[00:26:09] Maybe you're not even a part of our church.
[00:26:10] Maybe you are a part of our church.
[00:26:13] But maybe today, through this message, you want to give your life to Christ.
[00:26:20] Maybe today, your filling begins with your surrender for salvation.
[00:26:27] If that's you, right where you are, I just want you to just lift your hand in front of the tv or maybe you're wherever you're on your phone or somewhere but if you would just lift your hand and just pray this prayer with me dear jesus thank you for
[00:26:46] coming and dying on the cross to save me from the penalty of my sins god today i want to surrender my life to you today i want to come to you i want to return to you however maybe you're coming back
[00:27:03] to Him. Maybe it's your first time, but Lord, today I surrender my life to You. God, I ask for You to forgive me of every sin that I've ever committed. God, today I want You to make me new, make me
[00:27:16] fresh, make me whole. Fill me with Your Spirit today. And God, I want to give You all of my life.
[00:27:24] God, today I'm hungry. I'm hungry for You. I'm hungry for Your salvation. God, I'm hungry for a new life. I'm tired of doing things the way I'm doing. And today, I want to surrender it all to
[00:27:37] you. God, I'm asking you to save me and to make me yours. I want to be a child of God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And if you prayed that prayer, then based off of the integrity of God's Word,
[00:27:50] you're saved. But I want to just encourage you to get into a good church, get into a good discipleship a good fellowship if you've got one near you if you live here in rock hill or in our
[00:28:05] clover area love to have you come and fellowship with us at encounter either in our rock hill campus or in our clover campus but maybe you don't live here at all just find you a good bible
[00:28:18] believing church and go into a fellowship walk life together and grow together just continue to Watch what God will do.
[00:28:26] The more you hunger for Him, the more you give to Him of yourself, just watch what He'll do.
[00:28:32] Well, thank you all for being with us today.
[00:28:34] And again, for our Encounter Fellowship family, as I said, I can't wait for next week for us to get back together.
[00:28:43] So enjoy your afternoon.
[00:28:46] Be careful in the snow.
[00:28:47] God bless.