|
A word for this hour as we approach the Presidential Election:
NKJ Joel 2:12 " Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn
to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and
with mourning." 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow
to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
14 Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind
Him -- A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your
God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call
a sacred assembly; 16 Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let
the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her
dressing room. 17 Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep
between the porch and the altar; Let them say, "Spare Your
people, O LORD, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That
the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the
peoples, 'Where is their God?' " 18 Then the LORD will be
zealous for His land, And pity His people.
A. Fasting is the Biblical way to humble ourselves.
NKJ Psalm 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing
was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer
would return to my own heart.
B. Only the humble receive God's grace which
is His ability or sufficiency (that is given unmerited). Furthermore,
we need His ability to do any good works.
NKJ James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore
He says: "God
resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
NKJ 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound
toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all
things, may have an abundance for every good work.
C. Fasting is to be for humbling ourselves;
however, we can defeat its purpose by using it for pride. Jesus
said:
NKJ Matthew 6:16 " Moreover, when you fast, do not be like
the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their
faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say
to you, they have their reward. 17 "But you, when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face, 18 "so that you do not
appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret
place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
D. Fasting is of no value if you are not living obedient to God
(living in the Fear of the Lord).
NKJ Jeremiah 14:10 Thus says the LORD to this
people: "Thus
they have loved to wander; They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the LORD does not accept them; He will remember their
iniquity now, And punish their sins." 11 Then said the LORD
unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. 12 When they
fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt
offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume
them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
E. We do not fast with the attitude of impressing God; thereby,
earning something from Him:
NKJ Luke 18:11 "The Pharisee stood and
prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like
other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this
tax collector. 12 I fast
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much
as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God
be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to
his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth
himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be
exalted.
F. The Fasting Chapter of the Bible:
God tells the prophet:
NKJ Isaiah 58:1 "Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me
the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.
Israel asks God:
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen? Why
have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?'
God answers:
"In fact, in the day of your fast you find
pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 4 Indeed you fast for
strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard
on high.
God describes the wrong attitude and actions in the fast:
5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict
his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread
out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable
day to the LORD?
God describes the correct attitude and action in the fast:
6 " Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you
bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the
naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own
flesh?
God states the benefit of fasting His way:
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing
shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before
you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you
shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will
say, 'Here I am.'
God reiterates the requirements of His fast:
"If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you
extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul,
God then continues with the benefits of fasting His way:
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness
shall be as the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You
shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose
waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you Shall build the old
waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer
of Streets to Dwell In.
God states His requirements for observing
the Lord’s Day:
13 " If you turn away your foot from the
Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the
Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall
honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
God states the benefits for observing the
Lord’s
Day His way:
14 Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth
of the LORD has spoken."
Conclusion:
The fast of God is not just giving up food but
is replacing it with intimate time with God and serving others. Remember
our King Jesus said:
NKJ Matthew 25:40 "And the King will answer
and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did
it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
Want to see Jesus? Go serve the least of these! Furthermore,
FAITH is a great tool for this!
|
