(This transcript was generated by AI. Apologies for any inacuracies)

I'll ask you a question as we move into the new year, into 2026.

And again, it's a question that I asked my own self, so I thought I would ask the question to you too.

It's a simple question, but how's my heart?

Come on.

I'm not talking about the commercial that you watch.

Come on.

But I'm talking about how's your heart?

How's the condition of your heart as you prepare to move into 2026?

And God wants our heart to be a heart that is not stone, but a heart that's soft, a heart that's a lot like our flesh.

In other words, it's a place that God can work.

And again, if something over the past year, the past few months has got your heart a little calloused, maybe something happened in your life over the last few months.

We had a lot to happen in the life of our church in the last quarter of last year.

And whenever things happen, whenever challenges come our way, oftentimes what our heart can do is our heart can become calloused.

And our heart is not receptive to what God wants to do.

And I want you to know that, you know, we all face different challenges, we all face different circumstances, and you'll probably face some more as you continue to live.

But one of the ways to prepare our heart for even greater things, because if your heart's not in it, Bible says to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And if your heart's not in it, chances are you're probably not gonna progress.

And so I want your heart to be in it for what God wants to do.

And again, I want your heart to be connected to the local church because God is working in his people and through his people in the world.

And oftentimes you can get hurt in the church.

We talk a lot about a church hurt and those kinds of things.

Well, I just want you to know you're gonna get hurt wherever you are in life.

You're gonna get hurt in Walmart.

Somebody's gonna hurt your feelings.

Come on, somebody.

They're gonna get in front of you and it's gonna hurt a little bit.

But you gotta learn how to navigate those hurts.

And again, I just want you to know that God wants to work in you and he wants to work through you.

So starting tomorrow, we're kicking off what we refer to as 21 days of prayer and fasting.

And again, we're encouraging our church to be involved in this over the next 21 days.

I want you to really begin to set some time aside in your journey, wherever you are, and really begin to seek God about his vision for your life and the vision he has you connected to here in the life of the Valorous Church and begin to seek him for direction and really what he wants to do in and through you.

You see, whenever we do something together like this, a corporate fast and a corporate prayer together, we're not doing it so that we are just impressing each other with our fasting and prayer.

We're doing it because we are really together.

Everybody say together.

Together.

We're seeking God together so that he can begin to align us and do great and mighty things in us and through us.

Jesus had a lot to say about trying to impress other people with your praying, with your giving and with your fasting.

And again, it's not about doing these things to impress others, but it's about doing these things to align yourself with God's vision and purpose.

And I want you to know that giving, come on, prayer and fasting were very significant in the life of the church and the life of people.

And God expected you to use these tools in order to ramp up your faith and be all He's designed you to be.

And I wanna show you what the Bible says in Matthew chapter six, and we'll read through a few verses there about what Jesus says about not trying to impress others, but really trying to connect your heart to God so God can reward you and do amazing things through you.

Jesus says, when you give to someone, notice He says, not if you give, but He says when you give.

It's almost an expectation.

In other words, He's expecting you to give.

Come on.

He's expecting you to be a part of what He's doing.

And so He says, when you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

Give your gifts in private, and your Father who sees everything will reward you.

He goes on to say, when you pray, notice He says, when you pray, it's an expectation.

It isn't if you pray, it's not an option.

He says, when you pray, He says, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you and pray to your Father in a private.

And then your Father who sees everything will reward you.

And then He says in verse 17, He says, when you fast, come on.

He doesn't make it a thing that's really optional.

It's kind of, I'm expecting you to fast.

And again, He's not laying it down like a rule so that you impress those around you when you fast, but He's saying, you know what?

It has benefits if you'll participate and do what I'm asking you to do.

He says, when you fast, He says, comb your hair and wash your face.

Look at your neighbor and say, did you comb your hair this morning?

Come on.

He says, and then no one will notice that you are fasting except your father who knows what you do in private.

And your father who sees everything will reward you.

The purpose of giving fasting and prayer are they're really tools to help you and I become everything with our faith that God has created us to become.

They're tools.

And again, what God wants you to do is use these tools.

Prayer and fasting, He wants you to use these tools to fuel your faith and to sharpen your faith.

And they're great tools to help your faith connect with God and do everything you're designed to do.

Now, what becomes confusing about this to some people is like for instance, Jesus says in this same context, in this same passage, in this same speech known as the Sermon on the Mount, He says in Matthew chapter five, verse 17, He says, let your good deeds shine before men so that they may know your heavenly Father.

So in one context, He's saying, don't give to impress others, but in the other flip side of the coin, He says, when you do good things, let other people see them, come on, so that they may praise your heavenly Father.

And it really all has to do with our heart.

It has to do with how's our heart?

Why are we doing the things that we're doing?

Why are we giving?

Why are we fasting?

Why are we praying?

And again, it's not simply to do these things, you know, to just be religious, it's to do these things because God has designed these things, these disciplines to help us grow in our faith and become all God has designed us to be.

So, fasting and praying are a lot like tools.

Fasting is something that can sharpen your faith.

A prayer is something that can fuel your faith.

But both of them help us align with God's vision for our life and live that out, live that out in the world.

You know, I was thinking a lot about fasting and praying.

And to me, I like this analogy because it helps me understand how these tools work in my life.

But the analogy is using the object of a chainsaw.

And in case many of you don't come from that kind of background, a chainsaw is something that some people refer to it as a power saw.

Sometimes they got some battery powered ones now, but back in the day, they were all gas powered.

And it's a saw that the chain rotates around a bar.

And when it rotates, what the chain does is it cuts through big logs and stuff.

You've probably seen logging shows and things like that where someone will take a chainsaw and they'll cut through a log.

But, you know, what's amazing about a chainsaw is if a chainsaw isn't functioning properly, the work for the user of the chainsaw becomes a lot more difficult.

It's more of striving than it is participating and using the saw.

And if you ever watch someone cut with a chainsaw, if the chainsaw is just gliding through the log, that means the chainsaw is properly prepared to cut that log.

But I remember whenever I used to use a chainsaw a lot in the kind of work I was in, oftentimes the chain would hit the dirt and the chain itself would become very dull.

And if the chain become dull, it was very difficult to cut through a log.

It took a lot longer to get through that log.

And oftentimes I wouldn't want to stop and sharpen the blade because I would just use the saw and just grind on the saw and sit there because I didn't want to stop.

Come on.

And you think, well, that's ridiculous.

You're gonna sit there for 15 minutes and grind on a log with a saw that's designed to cut through the log because it's dull because you're refusing to stop and sharpen the blade.

And not only did you have to have a sharp blade, you had to have the proper gas mixed in it in order for the engine to run properly.

And so I like to compare my life of faith to the chainsaw because literally what fasting is, is fasting is sharpening your faith, sharpening that blade so your faith works properly when it's laid up against life, come on.

But many of us don't have sharp faith because our faith has hit the dirt and we just keep grinding, grinding.

We won't stop and use the file.

That's what you use in order to sharpen a chainsaw blade.

You have to stop and use a file to sharpen it.

We won't stop and use fasting to sharpen our faith long enough for it to work properly because we're just thinking, well, if I can just keep on grinding and keep on working, it's gonna work out.

I'm inviting you to pause for a minute and see fasting as a tool to help you be all God's created you to be.

And then prayer is a lot like that fuel, that gas you put in the chainsaw.

It begins to help it function properly and run properly.

So again, as we move into 21 days of prayer and fasting, I invite you to consider, you know what, that God wants to align you and he wants you to walk in your faith properly.

And today we're gonna look at a passage of scripture found in the Bible, in the book of Joel.

And it's where God calls the people in this particular day to stop drifting, to stop being dull, to, you know what, to stop walking away from him instead of walking with him.

You know, it's really easy to drift, isn't it?

I mean, we can get distracted so easily today.

I mean, all kinds of things in this world distract us from the calling and the purpose that God has for our life.

And I'm not telling you to not live in this world.

As a fact, Jesus said you had to be in this world.

But when you're in the world, don't get distracted by all the things of the world and remember your purpose and walk it out, no matter where you are in life.

And again, what fasting and prayer do, it helps bring us back to God so that we can live out our purpose.

Fasting and prayer is about the relationship you have with God.

And again, it's not things to earn God's favor.

It's not things we do so God likes us more.

We're not sacrificing things so God's more impressed with us.

No, no, we're setting some things aside, come on, so that we can connect with the living God and understand the vision that he has for our life and get that back on track and live that out each and every day.

Prayer and fasting are awesome things.

But oftentimes, and again, a lot of churches participate in prayer and fasting this time of the year because we're aligning ourself for the new year with the good things that God wants to do in us and through us.

Remember last weekend, we talked about Ephesians 2.10.

For we are God's masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things He created for us to do before the foundation of the world.

And so God has some good things He wants to do through us together.

We are God's masterpiece, not just you by yourself.

You're not a masterpiece by yourself.

You gotta have some other components to come alongside of you to be God's masterpiece.

That's what it means to belong to a local church.

It's coming together using our gifts and talents to do the good thing that God created for us to do before the foundations of the world and in this world.

So today, as we look at this passage in Joel chapter two, we're gonna learn some things about what fasting and prayer do.

And the Bible says in Joel chapter two, verses 12 and 13, that this is why the Lord says, turn to me now while there is time, give me your hearts.

Come on, somebody.

Come with fasting, weeping and mourning in this particular day.

He says, don't tear your clothing in grief, but tear your hearts instead.

There was a practice during biblical times where people would oftentimes tear their clothing in grief, in repentance.

And God says, look, stop doing these outwardly things to try to impress me or impress somebody else.

He says, open your heart, tear your heart open so that I can do a great and mighty work in you.

He says, return to the Lord, your God, for he is merciful and compassionate.

Come on, somebody.

He is merciful and he is compassionate.

He is slow to get angry and he is filled with unfailing love.

You see, biblical fasting, it's about returning to God.

It's about repenting, you know what, from maybe something that has gotten me off a track.

It's about turning away from the things that have gotten me off track and turning my heart back towards God and then beginning to pray to realign myself with God.

Biblical fasting is God's invitation, come on.

It's God's invitation for his people.

That would be me and you if you're a Christ follower in the room.

It's an invitation for us to humble ourself before the Lord and realign our heart and draw near to him.

Fasting is saying, God saying, hey, turn to me, come to me, return to me.

It's not fix yourself, it's not do better, it's not do more.

Biblical fasting is returning my heart to God and aligning my heart with God and letting God do a work in me and letting God do a work through me.

Come on, somebody.

It's saying, you know what, God, I'm gonna put aside some of these things that have captured my appetite.

You know, you have an appetite for a lot of things.

And again, we have wants, we have desires in our life, but I have to ask myself, what is my appetite really about?

What is my appetite in life really about?

Do I just crave and seek this or seek that?

Well, maybe that thing you're craving, is it the purpose that God has for your life?

Maybe God's inviting you in time of fasting so that he can realign your heart with his purpose.

And again, it's not being driven by what has my appetite.

It's being driven, setting that aside and saying, no, no, no, I'm not gonna let that control me.

I'm gonna let the spirit of the living God control me and I'm gonna surrender to him so that he can do a work in me and through me.

I like this word picture that I have in my mind.

And it's a cup filled with something, let's just call it, let's call it water.

And it's filled with water, but I want Coca-Cola.

And again, fasting is like pouring the Coca-Cola in there, but you see, if you don't get some of the water out, the Coca-Cola ain't gonna taste right.

It's gonna be flat, come on.

It ain't gonna have no pizzazz.

It ain't gonna be fizzing, it's gonna be dull.

So what Biblical fasting is is saying, no, no, I'm gonna pour the water out, come on.

I'm gonna get rid of the water in there so I can put something new in there that tastes good, that's remarkable, that's incredible.

Biblical fasting is ridding myself of something that has taken place of God and then filling it up with the goodness of God so that amazing things can begin to happen with my life.

It's maintenance.

You know, some of you, you're driving your car, you've been driving it forever with the same oil in it.

I'm talking about your personal vehicle.

And you never stop and change the oil.

Well, eventually, it's gonna break down.

See, fasting is a lot like changing the oil.

Oil, well, you say it that way in the South, come on.

But fasting is like, you know what?

I'm gonna drain the old oil out and I'm gonna put some new oil in so that my engine, my faith runs properly and I'm connected to God and I'm trusting God for these new things He wants to do in my life.

It's just getting rid of the stuff that weighs me down, that holds me back from achieving the great things that God desires for me to achieve.

It's like returning to God.

You know, Jesus once said you can't put new wine in an old wine skin, it'll bust it.

And again, I'm inviting you to begin to enter into this season of prayer and fasting.

And again, it's not about perfect fasting, but it's about trusting a perfect God to remove some things out of my life, come on, and put some new things in so I can begin to do remarkable things with my life.

See, here in Joel, God's inviting these people to return to Him.

He's compassionate, He's merciful.

He's not full of anger.

He wants to do great things in them and through them.

And I'm here to declare to you today, God wants to do great things in and through His people today if we'll return to Him, come on.

Make a commitment that you're not gonna be dull this year.

You're gonna trust God.

And guess what?

You can fast more than one time a year.

Come on.

And you don't always have to do 21 days.

You can do a couple of hours.

But the thing is, is when you fast, when you give up some of those things, what are you filling up with?

Return to God.

Don't be so focused on my stomach's so hungry I can't function.

I need to take this time and put it before God so that God can do amazing things in my heart and change my life.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the physical part of it, we miss the spiritual part of it.

Understand, my friend, God wants to fill your heart with mercy, with goodness, with who he is.

Sow that.

That's a purpose clause.

Everybody say sow that together.

Let's say it together.

No, no, no, I said together.

Let's say it together.

Sow that.

I can change the world.

God can't work through my dull spiritual life.

God wants it to be sharp.

And he wants it to function in this world and change other people's life.

See, fasting and prayer is not just about returning to God, it's also about the heart.

It's not about what's on the outside, it's about God changing something on the inside.

Look what it says in Joel chapter two, verse 13.

He says, don't tear your clothing in grief, but tear your hearts instead.

I love that.

Because God's basically saying to these people in that particular day, he would tear their clothing and say, I'm repenting and I'm returning to God and I'm doing all these things.

And they were outwardly showing that, but they wasn't inward change.

You see, God's not, he's not interested in what we're outwardly always exposing to the world around us, you know, with our actions, but he's oftentimes looking at the motives of our heart.

And he's saying, what is your heart really connected to?

You should have a natural action on the outside, but again, God's not looking at it, God's looking at the heart.

You know, and again, we're not here to judge each other's motives.

All I can see is what you do outwardly, but you need to know today that God sees inwardly in the secret places and he cares about your heart.

Because the Bible says, you know what?

You can give and give and give and give and serve and serve and serve and serve and not have the right heart.

You're doing it to try to impress God instead of connect with God.

And you're totally missing by faith what you're designed to be and do.

God cares about your heart, my friend.

And again, he wants a heart that is workable.

He wants a heart that's a lot like clay.

Oh, that's my name.

No, no, no, he wants a moldable heart.

He wants one he can work with, not one say I got my own mind made up.

I pull myself up by my own bootstraps.

I can do it all by myself.

Look at me, look at my religious countenance.

Look at me, look how impressed.

I'm just fasting in these 21 days with water.

Everybody look at me.

Oh my goodness.

If that's what you're doing, I'm inviting you to give God your heart.

And maybe he just wants you to fast from green beans this season.

I don't know what he's asking you to fast from, but don't do it outwardly to impress everybody else.

Check your heart and see what God wants to do in you and through you and give it up and give God that opportunity.

Bible says, seek him with all of your heart, Proverbs 3, verses five and six.

Trust in the Lord with your heart.

Do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek him in all you do and he will show you which path to take.

Isn't that beautiful?

Seek him with all of your heart and he'll show you which path to take.

Are you confused about which path to take?

You don't have to be.

Seek God with all of your heart.

You don't have to be confused about what local body and what church you need to belong to.

Seek God with your heart and he will show you what you need to belong to and commit to, come on.

I invite people to stop treating church like Golden Corral, like it's a buffet you go to.

Well, I'm going over to that church because I like the music.

I'm going to that church because I like the pastor.

I'm going to that church because you know what?

I like how they make me feel.

I'm going to that church because there's more people there that I like.

Well, again, I understand all of that.

But the reality of it is this, is God calls you to a local church to be a contributor with the gifts He has placed inside of you to change the world.

And He's inviting every one of us to seek Him.

And I promise you, He will align you and put you right where you need to do.

And be on mission with Him if you'll seek Him with your heart.

See, biblical fasting is saying, God, where do I belong?

It's about returning to God, but it's also saying, God, you know what?

I'm not here to be an outward show.

I'm here to have an inward change so that you can use my life to change the world.

And again, God is serious about this thing.

I like to say it this way.

You know, biblical fasting is about the heart, just like baptism.

You saw some people go through the baptism orders today.

See, what does baptism say?

It's not about the physical baptism.

It does show something outwardly, but it's about an inward change.

Baptism don't save you, Jesus saves you.

Come on, somebody.

By the blood he shed on that cross through his death, burial, and resurrection, the Bible says he's forgiven you of your past, your present, and your future sin, missing the mark of God's glorious standard.

The Bible says that we put our faith in him, and you know what?

And then we are saved by grace through faith.

But many people think, well, shoot, I gotta get in that water because that water's gonna forever save me.

No, no, no, you're misunderstanding what water baptism is.

Water baptism is an outward expression of an inward change.

When you go under that water, it's saying to the world around you that I have died to my old self, my fleshly nature.

I've been raised out of that water in new life that Christ Jesus has given me.

And I'm committing from this day forward, outwardly to live by the inward change that has happened to me.

Come on, somebody, it's a powerful thing.

That's why we, as a church, invite people, you know, to not just, hey, don't just go through the waters because everybody else is doing it.

That's why, again, we believe here that, you know what, that children can understand what it means to put faith in Jesus Christ and trust him with their life.

But what we do whenever someone is very young, we have one of our folks here that speak on a children's level and they speak to him because, really, it's not about them going through the baptism water.

It's about, do they understand that they are a sinner in need of a savior and Jesus is that savior and he's the one that will change their life so we have them to talk to them in an age-appropriate way.

And again, we know that people walk through those baptism waters all the time.

They don't fully understand.

Well, guess what?

They're not gonna go to hell because they walked through the baptism waters and not fully understood and didn't have 42 classes on baptism, but we're here to declare over and over again what real truth is and I want you to know today when people, adults, kids, or whatever, walk through those baptism waters, the water don't change them.

God changes them.

The Spirit changes them.

The Spirit that's alive in them.

And again, it's about an inward change.

See, fasting is a lot like that.

Prayer is a lot like that.

You can pray heaven down outwardly, but what is your connection to?

What's your heart connected to?

Are you praying big, bold prayers because you're connected to the living God and He's the one that's inspiring your faith and changing your life and doing great and mighty things?

See, fasting and prayer is about the heart.

It's a time for us to come before God.

And again, be in reverence to God and understanding who He is and trusting Him with our full heart.

Fasting and prayer is about returning to God.

It's about connecting my heart to God.

And then the last thing I wrote down is it's about removing the distractions and restores the intimacy that I should have with God.

Did you know God wants an intimate relationship with you?

He does and that's why Jesus came.

That's why Jesus gave His life on a cross because God cares enough for you and me in our sin to die for us and put us in a right relationship with Him through what Jesus did on that cross.

Jesus sacrificed everything so you and I could connect to the living God and return to Him.

As a matter of fact, the Bible compares the relationship that we as human beings have with God through Christ Jesus as a groom and a bride.

It's very intimate.

We're the bride, Jesus is the groom.

And the Bible says Jesus sacrifices everything for His bride.

He's perfecting His bride.

He's making His bride spotless and doing amazing things.

He cares about you, my friend.

And so God wants to restore that intimacy.

It's about drawing close to your great God.

He's awesome and He cares for us.

He loves us.

He creates warriors.

He creates people that do great things in this earth.

He has a gift He's given you as a believer in Christ Jesus that He wants you to leverage and use to make a difference in this world.

He wants us to come alongside of Him.

He wants you to do great and mighty things.

He wants to be a shining light in this world, but we have to humble ourselves.

It's about having a heart of humility.

It's about believing and not impressing everybody, but believing that God has changed me and he has rearranged me.

And he wants me to give of my resources.

He wants me to fast.

He wants me to pray.

He wants me to believe him for greater things.

Come on church.

James chapter four, verses seven and eight says this, humble yourselves before God.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Come close to God and God will come close to you.

Wash your hands, you sinners, purify your hearts for your loyalty is divided.

Here he says to those people between God and the world.

Oh my gosh.

Who's your loyalty to?

What's your loyalty to?

Is it to God?

And my friends, I'm not telling everybody in here that we need to go do a bunch of religious stuff and cut our hair a certain way.

And you know, I'm not here to tell you, you know what, what's good enough for you and what's good enough for me and what's enough, all the, I'm not here to say, I'm just asking you, what has your heart?

Is it the world around you?

You see, sometimes it's easy for my own physical body to have my heart and not God.

But see, what God's inviting me to do is look, don't worry about where you are physically, connect to me spiritually, and I will raise you up and do great and mighty things.

My friends, these 21 days of prayer and fasting, we're inviting you into, it's an invitation from God.

You don't have to, we get to.

And so together as we do this, there's gonna be some difficult moments, there's gonna be some times you probably fall off the wagon, there's gonna be some times that you can't get it just right but what I'm inviting you today is to maybe enter this moment with us and begin to trust God during this particular season and let's see what God wants to do.

So here's some practical applications for you this week.

Begin with a simple fast.

Again, if God's calling you right now, start tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. just to do a water fast for 21 days, get on it.

But there's a lot of us in this room that we just need to simply maybe give up one meal a day, maybe a couple of hours.

And say, you know what, instead of doing this in this 30 minutes, you know, wolfing down my breakfast, I'm gonna spend this 30 minutes with God and seek God.

Do a simple fast.

Replace the time with prayer and Scripture.

I'm inviting every one of us to get a copy of God's Word and go to Scripture, get you a journal, and maybe write a couple of sentences of what God's doing through this 21 days.

Again, pray, seek God, write some stuff down.

Ask God these questions.

Where do I need to return to you?

What do I need to return to you?

Lord, search my heart and then ask Him this question.

What has distracted me so I can get my life back on track and be everything you've designed me to be?

This is a season that we're doing together as a church family.

I'm inviting you into it, and I do believe that God's gonna do great and mighty things.

Maybe you wanna do a progressive fast.

For me personally, that's probably how I'm gonna have to move, is I'm gonna start with week one doing one thing, week two doing another, week three doing another.

Kim and I, my wife and I, are praying about the things that we need to fast based on where our life is right now, where our circumstances are right now.

You need to also know that corporately, we're gonna open up the upper room, our prayer room here at our church on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for one hour.

We're inviting people to come in and pray together in the upper room.

Yes, you can pray at home, that's awesome, but if you can get here maybe one of those three evenings, and then maybe come and pray with others in the upper room.

Let's see what God wants to do through us together.

It's gonna be an awesome time.

It's gonna be an incredible time, but God is inviting us to return to Him, give Him our heart, and begin to remove some distractions that are keeping us and holding us back from the great things that He wants to do in us and through us.

Let me pray for you today.

God, I thank You for every man, woman, boy, and girl here.

Thank You for Your Word.

God, this season, 2026, may it be incredible.

God, may we seek You during these 21 days and begin to ask You, God, what do we need to remove?

What do we need to get in shape?

How do we need to file our faith so that it is sharper?

God, how do we need to pray?

What do we need to pray?

What kind of fuel do You wanna put in our life right now to do great and mighty things?

God, I pray that we would be people that are in a relationship with You because of what Jesus has done.

And God, we put our faith in Him, we walk with Him, we trust Him, and God, we are fueled by Your Spirit on a daily basis.

And God, help us remove the objects that are in our life that distract us, help us put the right things in, and God, help us grow.

Help us grow during this season, grow in our faith, grow in our journey, and do great and mighty things.

Help us not to just sit, but God, help us participate and see You go to work.

God, if there's one here today that hasn't received You as their Lord and Savior through Christ Jesus, God, I pray today they would understand the sacrifice Jesus made on that cross, they would begin to put their faith in His resurrection and understand that no matter who they are, He came and He died on that cross for their sin so that they could be in right relationship with You.

God, it's not the work we do.

It's not all those things, God, it is simply putting our faith in the work You did, Jesus.

And God, if there's one here today that needs to put their faith in that, I pray today would be the day of their salvation.

We pray all these prayers in Jesus' name.

Amen.