by Bruno Arnesi | Sep 16, 2020 | The Jesus Fast 2020
As Gottliebin’s condition worsened, Blumhardt reached out to a friend in ministry (See yesterday’s devotional if you missed it). His friend pointed him to Matthew 17:21 where it says, “There is no means of casting out this sort but by prayer and fasting.” Awakened to a greater reality, Blumhardt wrote about his newfound understanding of fasting:
Insofar as fasting enhances the intensity of prayer and shows God the urgency of the person praying (in fact, it represents a continuous prayer without words), I believed it could prove effective, particularly since this was specific divine advice for the case at hand. I tried it, without telling anybody, and found it a tremendous help during the fight. It enabled me to be much calmer, firmer, and clearer in my speech. I no longer needed to be present for long stretches; I sensed that I could make my influence felt without even being there. And when I did come, I often noticed results within a few moments.
Armed with the power of fasting and prayer, Blumhardt continued fighting daily for Gottliebin’s life and freedom. Finally, in December of 1843, the enemy made his last stand and lost, shouting the words, “Jesus is the victor! Jesus is the victor!” Gottliebin was fully and permanently delivered and became a faithful children’s minister in Blumhardt’s parish.
After the fight was won, Möttlingen and the surrounding German area were thrust into a widespread movement of repentance. Men started coming to Blumhardt, voluntarily repenting of their sins and seeking forgiveness and salvation. So many people came that soon Blumhardt was busy from 6:00 AM to 11:30 PM everyday meeting with repentant sinners seeking salvation. One man known for his revelry and temper came to Blumhardt saying, “I am miserable! Last night I was in hell. I was told that the only way to get out again was to see the pastor.” That man gave his life to Jesus and so did hundreds more.
Physical healing soon followed. One man, who often fell to the ground because of rheumatism in his hip, experienced complete physical healing upon repentance. Word spread and people from all over the countryside came to Blumhardt for healing. All sorts of ailments were healed, including eye problems, tuberculosis, eczema, arthritis, and more. A person who was there at the time later said, “There were so many miracles that I can no longer recall the details. We felt the Lord’s nearness so tangibly that they seemed natural, and no one made a great deal of it.”
In writing to his friend, Blumhardt said of the awakening, “The relationship between the fight and the awakening is not such an outward one. If anything, the awakening was a fruit of the fight, won by it. Through battle and victory, satanic powers were broken. They can no longer work at all, or can work only feebly.”
What won the victory was the power of unrelenting prayer and fasting. After Blumhardt overcame the enemy through prayer and fasting, it was not long before repentance, salvation, and healing swept the nation of Germany. Blumhardt rediscovered Jesus’ pathway to power where Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days of fasting, overcame the enemy, and came out “in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14). This pathway to power is still the same today and is ours to pursue! Let us follow Jesus into the wilderness of fasting and prayer and come out in the power of the Spirit, having overcome the powers of darkness!
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by Bruno Arnesi | Sep 16, 2020 | The Jesus Fast 2020
At two o’clock in the morning, the demon shrieked its final, parting words, “Jesus is the victor! Jesus is the victor!” As it departed, for the first time in over two years, there was peace. Awakening soon followed.
In 1838, a man by the name of Johann Christoph Blumhardt arrived in the small German town of Möttlingen to take his first senior position as the pastor of the local parish. He was looking forward to marrying his fiancée and settling down to a life of ministry. Little did Blumhardt know what lay ahead.
All was going as expected for Blumhardt until he began interacting with the poor Dittus family, consisting of two brothers and three sisters. One of the three girls was named Gottliebin. She was a songwriter and a favorite pupil of the previous pastor. However, she was consistently stricken with all sorts of diseases and ailments, including stomach troubles and one leg that was shorter than the other. Blumhardt did his best to help her by making sure she received proper medical care from physicians, but no medical care seemed to really help. Soon Blumhardt realized there was a lot more occurring than physical illness.
One day as the Dittus family sat down to dinner, Gottliebin’s older brother prayed, “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.” At these words, Gottliebin fell to the floor unconscious. This began a long series of erratic and paranormal activities in Gottliebin’s life that caused the entire village to be greatly disturbed. As the pastor, Blumhardt was faced with Gottliebin’s condition and dubbed his experience with her over the next two years, “The Fight”.
For months Blumhardt would pray for Gottliebin in secret or with casual prayers. Nothing about her condition changed; rather, it got worse. Finally, one day as Blumhardt was witnessing one of Gottliebin’s demonic episodes, he was overcome with indignation regarding her state of torment and that nothing had worked to set her free. He firmly grabbed Gottliebin’s hands (she was unconscious) and shouted into her ear, “Gottliebin, put your hands together and pray, ‘Lord Jesus, help me!’ We have seen enough of what the devil can do; now let us see what the Lord Jesus can do!” Moments later the convulsions ceased and Gottliebin woke up and declared the words that Blumhardt had told her to speak. This led to a reprieve for some time, but the symptoms soon returned worse than ever. This encounter taught Blumhardt the power of prayer, but he had yet to find the atomic power of God through fasting. Stay tuned!
by Bruno Arnesi | Sep 16, 2020 | The Jesus Fast 2020
This excerpt is taken from Arthur Wallis’ book called God’s Chosen Fast: A Spiritual and Practical Guide to Fasting.
“Pastor Hsi was surely one of the greatest saints that the land of China has produced. Delivered at the time of his conversion from the awful tyranny of opium smoking, God used this man in a ministry that brought deliverance to hundreds of his fellow countrymen from opium and demon possession. Many were healed through the laying on of hands. The hearts of multitudes were thus opened to the gospel, and churches sprang up throughout the region. From the time of his conversion, he took the name of Sheng-mo, meaning “conqueror of demons,” as if by some strange intuition he knew the work that God had raised him up to do.
Within a few months of his own deliverance came the first great test. His wife, who had given evidence of being influenced by his new-found faith, became demon-possessed. She suffered from deep depression and mental torment, and when the time came for daily worship, she was seized with “paroxysms of ungovernable rage.” The villagers to a man believed that her possession by evil spirits was a judgment upon Hsi for his sin against the gods. “A famous conqueror of demons!” they cried. “Let us see what his faith can do now!”
Hsi had already learned the power of prayer coupled with fasting in the conflict with Satan:
He called for a fast of three days and nights in his household and gave himself to prayer. Weak in body, but strong in faith, he laid hold on the promises of God and claimed complete deliverance. Then, without hesitation, he went to his distressed wife, and laying his hands upon her, in the name of Jesus commanded the evil spirits to depart and torment her no more.
Mrs. Hsi was delivered instantly and permanently, and forthwith declared herself a Christian. She became his able and devoted partner in the work of God.
Thus began a ministry which has been rightly described as “apostolic”. It was characterized by tremendous conflict with the powers of darkness. Great was the power of Satan let loose against him, but greater was the power of God with him to save, deliver and heal. Whatever the crisis that arose – the need for guidance in some important decision, wisdom in handling difficult people or difficult situations, the deliverance of opium addicts or those possessed by demons, the withstanding of persecution or opposition – Hsi had only one remedy. He gave himself to prayer and fasting!”
Pastor Hsi changed his name to Sheng-Mo. China has found a fasting father.
Prayer:
God, once again, raise up a generation through fasting and prayer that could call itself “Conqueror of Demons!”
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by Bruno Arnesi | Sep 15, 2020 | The Jesus Fast 2020
“Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” – Luke 17:11-19
While in Argentina, I was struck by Claudio Freidzon’s rendition of, and insight into, this passage. Ten men came to Jesus to be healed of the physical ailment of leprosy. Jesus sent them away and, as they went, they were healed. Of the ten, only one man was moved to return to Jesus and thank Him. Jesus was surprised that only one came back. When Jesus healed the leper, I believe something more than physical healing took place. I believe that man was touched in his deepest being by the Presence of Jesus.
Freidzon says that everyone can receive power, but only a few pursue the Presence. Receiving is by simple faith, but to lay hold of the Presence a man must pursue it with all of his being. Claudio, in his revival encounter of 40 days of fasting, simply hungered for the Presence. It was the Presence of Jesus that rocked Argentina.
As we are reading these revival accounts where God poured out His remarkable power, it is easy to get sidetracked by pursuing God’s power rather than His Presence. Let us not just simply ask and receive power, but let us seek and pursue the Presence of the Lord. Receiving is free, but pursuing is costly. Jesus doesn’t share His manifest Presence with mere religionists. Do we want Him more than food?
In pursuit of God, a man must be a man of one thing. David said, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4). To be a man of one thing takes focus. There are no side issues. Other passions are squeezed out by one consuming passion.
Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart
Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame;
The kindling of the heaven descended Dove,
My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.
May all across the globe in this 40-day fast, men and women, not just look for and receive power, but let them pursue the Presence and, in beholding His face, be transformed into that image from glory to glory.
by Bruno Arnesi | Sep 15, 2020 | The Jesus Fast 2020
In the 1990s, I began a ministry called “Pasadena For Christ”. In one of our earlier gatherings, we were privileged to have a mighty man of God from Argentina come and speak. His name was Omar Cabrera. He had experienced, similar to Argentina’s earlier revivalists, a deep sense of frustration in ministry with little breakthrough and fruitfulness. He tells the story of shutting down everything, going to Miami, and fasting 40 days on water.
Returning to Argentina, the hand of the Lord came upon him. He would go into cities, unite the pastors, and set himself apart to fast and seek God. He would stay in a hotel room and cleanse himself for days while his wife stayed in the adjacent hotel room praying for him. After deep cleansing, demonic spirits who ruled over the region would appear in his room. He would wrestle with them in the spirit and bind them (could this be what Paul was talking about when he said in Eph. 6:12 that “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world”?). Cabrera would come out of his hotel having gained a spiritual victory. As a result, mass gatherings in stadiums and arenas began to take place in which people would be healed and saved before he even stood up to preach.
One story passed on, as I recall, declared that before their very eyes a man without an arm had a new arm grow out!
Recently, while mobilizing for The Send in Argentina, I was telling his story. A pastor interrupted me, saying, “Lou, this man who’s interpreting for you right now is Omar Cabrera’s son!” I was so moved. Omar was one of the earliest firebrands who ignited the vision of fasting in my own soul. I felt as if I had come back to the original flame.
I pray that even in the reading of Argentina’s history, you may light your candle to the torch of the bright flame of these pioneers of fasting and evangelism and put that candle on a lampstand for all the world to see.
by Bruno Arnesi | Sep 15, 2020 | The Jesus Fast 2020
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13
Heroes will arise from the dust of obscure and despised circumstances, whose names will be in blazoned on heaven’s eternal page of fame. The spirit is brooding over our land again as at creation’s dawn, and the fiat of God goes forth. “Let there be light.” – November 16, 1905, Frank Bartleman
Many have heard of the movie, Evita, about the wife of President Juan Peron of Argentina. A song by Madonna called “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” was made famous in that movie. In that time of Argentina’s history, something far more amazing was taking place.
In 1952, an American evangelist named Tommy Hicks was in Tallahassee, FL, when God gave him a vision. He saw a map of South America covered in golden fields of ripe harvest. As he watched, the wheat turned into men and women with hands raised who cried out, “Come, Brother Hicks, come and help us!” (Friends, the Macedonian Call continues to happen!)
At the same time, God gave Hicks a prophetic word that was confirmed verbatim three months later by a prophet.
“For two snows will not pass over the earth until thou shalt go to this land, for thou shalt not go by boat nor by land, but as a bird, flying through the air shalt thou go.”
By 1954, “two snows” later, Hicks was flying to Argentina. He had been invited by a group of pastors to speak at an evangelistic campaign they were planning in Buenos Aires. Hicks wasn’t their first choice. He was invited because T.L. Osborn had declined the invitation. As Hicks set foot in Buenos Aires, the nation’s capital, he encountered a nation that was considered by mission boards to be the least fruitful missions field in the Western Hemisphere. A census in 1949 of the three largest Protestant denominations in Argentina yielded a paltry 574 members. Argentina was gripped by occultic worship and spiritism. Hicks was unfazed. He had heard from the Lord of History.
During his flight, Hicks kept hearing the word “Peron” whispered to his spirit. He asked the stewardess if that word meant anything to her. She informed him that Juan Peron was President of Argentina.
In Hicks’ first meeting with the pastoral committee in Buenos Aires, he informed them that he had two prerequisites for the evangelistic campaign. First, he would need an in-person meeting with President Juan Peron. Second, he would need a 25,000-seat stadium for the campaign. The committee told him that his demands were impossible. President Peron only supported the state-sanctioned Roman Catholic church. Furthermore, a stadium could only be obtained by direct approval from the President. For both requests, a meeting with the President was needed.
Hicks knew what God had spoken and decided to take a step of faith. With an interpreter, he went to the Casa Rosada, President Juan Peron’s house. Not surprisingly, he was unable to obtain a meeting with the President. As he was waiting in the office of the Minister of Cults, a man limped into the room. Hicks noticed the limp and asked if he could pray for him. Complaining, the man said, “If Jesus Christ were here Himself, He couldn’t help this leg.” Hicks, who didn’t speak Spanish, said, “What did he say about Jesus Christ?” Upon understanding the man’s response, Hicks bent down and prayed for him. The man’s leg was healed immediately and all the pain left. The man Hicks prayed for was President Peron’s personal bodyguard! Hicks received an invitation to return the next day to meet with the president.
Meeting with President Peron, Hicks made a request for a stadium to host an evangelistic campaign and for full media coverage. President Peron asked Hicks if God could heal him since he had a disfiguring and incurable skin condition. Hicks prayed for him and President Peron was healed instantly! Hicks now had full permission for his crusade.
With the use of the 25,000-seat Atlantic Stadium, free access to state radio and press, and freedom to preach anywhere he wished, Hicks began the campaign on April 14, 1954, with 6,000 people in attendance. Every night, Hicks preached the gospel and then prayed for the sick. God healed the sick, the press verified and reported the miracles, and the Argentine crowds, filled with curiosity and wonder, grew. This began 54 straight days of campaigns as Hicks and the campaign quickly outgrew Atlantic Stadium and moved to the 180,000-seat Huracan bullfighting ring. By the final night, 200,000 people were in attendance! During these 54 days, somewhere between three to six million people attended the evangelistic campaign. Baptist missiologist and statistician, Arno Enns, later wrote that the Hicks campaign “broke the back of the rigid Argentine resistance to the evangelical witness.”
What was the secret of Tommy Hicks’ power? How did a second-stringer arise to such a place of shaking a nation? Franklin Hall’s newsletter wrote of the great evangelists who had fasting experiences that marked their lives and defined their ministries. The last name mentioned was Tommy Hicks. Where did he get his power? Atomic Power With God Thru Fasting and Prayer.
There are thousands of men and women nobody knows who are digging deep into the wells of revival history through extended fasting. These heroes will arise from the pages of obscurity and they will release the fiat of God. Let there be light! So give encouragement to people that nobody knows, for they may be God’s chosen vessels of power, forged in the fires of fasting!
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