“ you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Our familiarity with some Biblical stories can sometimes cause us to miss their and . Jesus’ start of His ministry gives us key principals of fasting. Principal #1: Fasting reveals the of the flesh. Jesus was after 40 days (Matt. 4:2) Some desires of the flesh are not or . The devil’s temptation to Jesus is to His situation on His own (Matt. 4:3). Our flesh wants us to instead on trusting on God’s Words. Our flesh wants us to instead of holding to God’s Words. Principal #2: Fasting reveals the of the Word of God in our lives. Jesus starts His ministry with a public from His Father (Matt. 3:17). Jesus is then lead by the into the wilderness (Matt. 4:1). Why a right after a significant encounter with the Father? Because significant encounters with the Father are not on their own; look at . In those 40 days of fasting, testing, and suffering Jesus to hold to His Fathers Words (Heb. 5:8). When we fast, we are placing ourselves in a situation when we are truly dependent on God’s Words (Rom. 12:1-2). Principal #3: Fasting can our God given Identity. The important word is . Israel fasted, the Pharisees fasted, yet their reveals to us that their God given identity stayed at the head knowledge level (Matt. 27:29-32). As Jesus fasted, His head knowledge of His Father and His Words became and knowledge (Matt. 4:4) Jesus’ hunger Him of His Father’s promise and of who His Father said He . Application As children of God, we are to fast (Jh. 1:12-13 & Matt. 6:16-18) We what it is that our God wants from fasting (Is. 58:6-7) Our God accomplishes this by our own chains, bondage, and oppression as we (Matt. 7:1-6) Notes: