Jentezen Franklin - What Are You Hungry For?
If you have your Bibles, you can open them with me. I wanna show you one of the most powerful chapters in the Bible on fasting. It’s there over, and over, and over. Two men are highlighted in it, and we see in Acts 10:1, «There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius». Listen to what it says in verse 2, «A devout man, one who feared God with all his household». He didn’t know who God was, He didn’t know Jesus had died and rose from the dead because Peter will go preach that message to him and all the Gentiles for the first time that he could gather in his home, but he was after God. You know, there’s a lot of people out there that are after God, they have partial truth, they’re praying, they’re praying. Muslims pray more than most Christians. Buddhists pray more than most Christians.
People are praying. They don’t know that they want God, they don’t know who He is. Watch this, «Feared God with all of his house, who gave alms generously,» gave money, gave much money, «To the people and prayed to God always». And he starts having a vision and I’ll go down now. After that happens, you pick the story up and verse 9 said that Peter is up on the house top praying, about the sixth hour, listen to verse 10. I know got the right audience this morning. «Then he became…» You wanted a word from the Lord, God knows you, where you are. «He became very hungry and wanted to eat,» listen to this, «And while they made ready,» that’s in reference to food. They were cooking, he could smell it. He was about to break his fast, he was about to eat. He had his mind on food. The fast was about food.
«And while he made ready,» boom. This is what happens when people fast and pray, God does the unexpected. He fell into a trance and a table comes down from Heaven and food is on the table that is illegal for Him to eat according to Leviticus 11. According to the religious rules, he could not have anything to do with that. And God spoke to Him in verse 15. «A voice spoke to him and said, 'What I call clean, you must not call common.'» And this happened three times. And while he’s wondering, verse 17, and pondering the vision, Peter thought about the vision. Verse 19, «The spirit said to him, 'Behold there are three that are seeking you.'»
I have so many ways that I could go here, I wanna highlight one more quick verse for you. It’s important for you to understand not only was Peter fasting and was very hungry, verse 30 said, «Cornelius said to Simon Peter when he met him, 'Four days ago, I was fasting until this hour and I prayed in my house at the ninth hour and behold a man stood before me in bright clothing and he said, 'Cornelius, your prayers have been heard, your alms are remembered in the sight of God.'» And in verse 4, he gives even more detail, the angel told him, «Your prayers and your alms came up as a memorial before God». One more verse, I promise. I’m reading a lot, but this is powerful and I’m gonna sum it all up quick.
Verse 44, «While Peter was still speaking,» the words, while he was still preaching, right in the middle, maybe not even, maybe just the introduction of his sermon, «The Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word and people were astonished,» that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles also, those who had never been associated with. Because, if you take time to read it, he preached, he preached about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in the middle of it, the Holy Ghost fell on all who heard the word. And verse 46, «They were filled with the Holy Ghost and they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God».
Aren’t you glad that’s in the Bible? I preach the Bible. «And they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. And then Peter said, 'Can anyone forbid water that these should be baptized who received the Holy Spirit just as they have? ' And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days».
Let me sum it up real quick. There’s this man, he’s a Gentile, he’s an Italian, his name is Cornelius, and he is a devout man. First thing the Bible says about him, he is devoted, that’s where that word comes from. He’s committed. He’s seeking, he’s searching. He’s watched the Jews, they look different, they act different, there’s something different about 'em, he can’t put his finger on it. They stand out, they’re peculiar, they’re unusual, but there’s something more to what they do than religion. And he saw it and he said, «There’s something I feel when I get around those people. I don’t know what it is, but it stirs me, and it moves me». And he went after it and he started giving much alms and he started praying. And so, he’s devout and the Bible said, he’s praying and he’s giving, and we know, according to the verse I just read, he’s fasting. He was fasting. I mean, here’s a sinner fasting.
«Well Pastor, can I join the fast if I’m not living right»? You sure can. There’s Biblical proof right there that if the ungodly and if the lost and the sinner joins in on a fast, I would even say this. If you don’t believe God is real, fast for Him and the one true God will find you. He will find you wherever you are, no matter how bad, he’ll find you in a prison, He’ll find you anywhere you are if you’ll… The Bible said that if you draw nigh to God, He’ll draw nigh to you. And then, the angel appeared. Verse 3, «An angel came to Cornelius with a vision and he said, 'Your prayers, '» I want you to think about this, «Have built a memorial in Heaven».
Your fasting, your giving, your prayers have built a memorial in Heaven and it’s about your family and about who you are. God has seen your devotion. And please learn this, prayer and fasting builds things. It builds things in the spirit world that will invade the natural world. When you pray, you build up yourself in the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. When you pray, you build up your family, when you pray, you build up your marriage, when you pray, you build up the plan and the scheme, and the will, and the desire that God has for your life. When you’re praying, you’re building. And the angel said, «This is what God sent me to tell you. You’ve got His attention, but you can’t get to the next place God is going to take you without a preacher».
This is what God told him on a fast. He said, «You need a preacher and here’s his name,» they can just follow me with the verses. «There is by the seaside, a tanner who has a house». Now, that’s not talking about a suntan, that’s talking about a man who changes the color of animal skins and tints, he was all of that. «So, there’s a guy who’s living, Simon, a tanner whose house is by the sea, and I want you to go there, his name is Simon-Peter. I want you to go there and he, the preacher, will tell you what you must do. If you want your next step», thank God Cornelius wasn’t so super spiritual that he had the attitude that a lot of people have about preachers, «I don’t need a pastor, I read my own Bible».
This man was devout, this man was a prayer person praying always, this man was a giving person, he had a giving statement, he was a tithe, he was giving, giving, giving all the time, doing amazing things, but something was missing and God said, «You’re not gonna get it till you get connected to a preacher». Now, this sounds a little self-serving, but I’mma tell you something. There’s some things you will never get from God until you get a preacher in your life. A lot of people like to criticize 'em and put 'em down and put 'em all in a boat and say, «They all are after the same thing,» and this and that. No, you know what it is? We’re just like you. We struggle just like you, we go through ups and downs just like you, we have problems just like you, we feel like quitting just like you, we have temptations just like you. But this is what the Bible said about the preacher.
It said in 1 Corinthians 1:21, «It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching». Do you know, when you get under the right preacher you’re supposed to have, it’ll save you from things, it can save your marriage, it can save you from missing God, it can save you from leaving your husband or leaving your wife, it can save you from giving up on your children, it can save you from making the wrong step and going in the wrong direction. I’m sorry, but you need a preacher. The Bible said in Jeremiah, He will give you shepherds who have His heart, and they will teach you His knowledge, and His wisdom and His truth. And brothers and sisters, never has there been a time when you needed a real preacher. And if ever you needed a preacher, it’s in times like these.
I wanna celebrate ministry in this house just a minute. I wanna celebrate the preachers on our staff, I wanna celebrate the pastors on our staff, I wanna say, «To God be the glory for men and their precious wives who are willing to lay down their life». They could be in business, they could start a business, but they say, «No, I’m called. I’m called to have a word in season for them that are weary». Do you know that God… and you know, that’s how it is. And I guess, from a lot of you, I’m your preacher. And I’mma say it like I want to. And you can’t do nothing about it. If God really connected you to this pulpit, I can’t run you off, I can’t offend you. I may get on your nerves, «Well, I don’t even like that hair on your face,» doesn’t matter. You can’t go nowhere because when God calls you to a house, you can’t just get up and leave, you can’t just go somewhere. You better leave right if you do leave because when you leave, you leave the word.
Cornelius was a Gentile, Gentiles were forbidden by the law of Moses, the Jews could not have any association with those Gentiles, but a man is praying and fasting, who doesn’t even know God, really, but he’s hungry after God and God sends the vision, and they’re going to his house. Your Bible said when they got to the gate of the house, that Simon-Peter stepped out on his rooftop, he’s smelling the food, he can smell the steak sizzling in the skillet, he can smell the macaroni and cheese, and he can smell the cake baking.
The text, verse 10, His mind wasn’t on God. Prove it. «He was very hungry and wanted to eat». And I’d like to add one word, «Meat». He wanted… To eat meat, bread. Can I get a witness? And while they were preparing it, cooking it, his mind was on food. But watch, this is what happens when you fast. God releases, boom, suddenly he goes into a trance and the Heavens were opened, the text said, the Heavens were open unto him and a sheet and a table, what he’s describing there is a table, a covered table with food on it that he was forbidden to eat, and this happens three times, three times, and a voice speaks.
Notice that when you fast, number one, you build a memorial, when you pray, I want you to know that dreams and visions and angels are activated when you fast and you pray. You don’t, you think, all you thinking about is… All you thinking about is the fast but you don’t understand that angels got activated, a dream came to one, a vision came to another. The next step was connected to missing meals in God’s dynamic plan for two different men. And then, he said, «Tell me what you want me to do,» and they said, «We want you to tell us».
The Bible said that he stood up and he started preaching. And here’s the part I wanted to get to. Here it is, verse 44, «While Peter was still speaking these words, he had just started», if you go back and read it, he preaches about three verses. He preaches the introduction of his message, but he got a lot in. He said, «They hung Him on a tree,» that’s what he said, read it. «They hung him on a tree, and they killed Him and he died for you». And then he said, «But God raised Him from the dead». And within seconds of that saying, notice what happens.
When you fast and you pray, folks, not only will God give you kingdom connections, but He will send interventions and interruptions into your life that you were not planning for. He had a whole sermon, he had all kinds of things, he probably had four or five points that he thought he would get to, but right then, and this is a big deal, what I’m really trying to say is when you fast and pray, not only will you have kingdom connections, but you will develop a sensitivity, God can shift things, God can break things, God can say, «No, I know you’re used to doing it that way and you’re programmed to do it that way and that’s how you’ve always done it, but I’m about to shift things».
And the Bible said, «The Holy Ghost fell on them,» all them, all them, «Which heard the word». I think he was probably reaching 50%. I’m not naive, when I stand up here and preach, because there’s phones, you know? People are on their phones, you know? They talking to each other and texting their cousin over in, I’m up preaching and people, I’m not naive. It’s almost like the Holy Ghost probably said, «You a good preacher. Now, you keep the rest of that sermon, I enjoyed that. Now, go sit down and let me take over 'cause I can touch 'em all at the same time».
See, the question is, are you hungry? This is so important because what happened to Simon-Peter is he was very hungry and he was ready to eat, but then the Heavens opened up, he got in the glory, he got a fresh vision, he got a fresh dream, he got his next assignment, and he never mentions food again. See, I know you’re hungry, but which one are you most hungry for? The Holy Ghost fell on the house. You know who was in that house? It tells you, the family and everybody he could find room for in the neighborhood, and they filled the house up, but it was his personal residence and his family.
The Holy Ghost fell on his house and and then it goes on to say, «They were filled with the Holy Ghost,» the same Holy Ghost they got in the upper room. Listen to this, «And they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God». When you fast and you pray, God will give you a prayer language, fill you with the Holy Ghost. He does not care about your denominational eyeglasses you read everything through. He’s up to something and He’s just looking for people. All of this is dependent. I mean, he goes in and for the first time, the Gentiles hear the gospel, and we would not be here this morning had some two people not fasted and prayed and missed meals.