Title: Fasting / Isaiah 58: 6-12
Content: Fasting / Isaiah 58: 6-12
fast food
(Isaiah 58: 6-12) Is not the fast that I rejoice to loose the bonds of cruelty, to untie the yokes, to set the oppressed free, to break every yoke? Is it not that you bring into your house and clothe you when you see the naked, and do not hide yourself from your own flesh and bones? Then your light will shine like morning, and your healing will be swift, and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will guard you behind you When I call, the Lord will answer; when you cry, I will say, ‘Here I am. I will come out of darkness, and your darkness will become like the daytime; I, the LORD, will guide you always, satisfy your soul in dry places, and strengthen your bones; you will be like a watered garden, like a spring where waters never fail. They will rebuild old ruins, and you will build the foundations that have been torn down from generation to generation; and you will be called the keeper of the ruins, and you will reconstruct the way and make it a dwelling place.
Hallelujah! Today is a very good day, holy Sunday morning before our Lord
I pray in the name of the Lord that God's spiritual grace, power, and blessings be with you, dear saints who have come to visit. If we look around us today, we are experiencing difficulties as a whole, whether individuals, societies, or nations. No matter where you look, the sunlight of hope does not shine. According to the Bible, in the midst of national difficulties, many forefathers of faith overcame such difficulties by fasting, repenting, and crying out in prayer. Ahead of the “New Year's Fast Blessing Crusade,” we will share the grace of fasting together.
1. Let's look at the case of overcoming crisis through national fasting in the Bible.
Second, in Esther 4:16, Haman's plan to annihilate the Israelites is stopped by the Israelites' fasting and prayer. Esther proclaims. For three days from now on, do not eat or drink anything, but cry out to the Lord God and pray, pray for me. If I die, I will die. A woman's prayer created a great desire for the nation and accomplished the history of saving her own nation. Above all, those who are considered to be church lay leaders, please participate in this fasting and prayer meeting and cry out for the country and people, for the church, and for individual prayer topics.
Third, the fasting and prayers of the people of Nineveh in the time of Jonah save Nineveh from destruction. Nineveh was a city that was destined to be destroyed because of their evil deeds, but it has survived. If Sodom and Gomorrah had this kind of repentance in the old days, if there was such a repentance for Achan before the Israelites attacked the city of Ai, if there was such a repentance of fasting in the life of King Saul, that life and the nation would not have been defeated or destroyed is. It is important to note that in the Bible, neither individual nor nation have ever perished because they fasted, repented, and cried out. This is a very difficult time for our country in every way. In these difficult times, the believing people should fast and seek God's help. Please do not pray for the country and people with your lips only, and cry out more earnestly through these fasting and prayer meetings.
2. Let's look at the importance of fasting and prayer.
The most important prayer among prayers, and the strongest repentance among repentance is fasting prayer.
There is nothing more important than cutting off the most important food. The Bible always has two sides, and in Romans 14:17 it is written, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” But there are not only such verses, the Bible also speaks of a “wedding banquet in heaven.” There is plenty to eat at the wedding feast. In the book of Revelation, it is said that the fruit of life is opened according to the seasons and we drink the water of life. It is a problem to fast in order to be seen by others, but fasting toward God is a fact that there is a blessing of receiving answers. In Ezra 8:23, it says, “Therefore, we fasted for this and made our petitions to our God, and it was answered.”
3. Then how should we fast?
Not all fasting prayers are answered. Jeremiah 14:12 says, “Even if they fast, I will not hear their cry; if I offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them, but I will destroy them with the sword and with famine and pestilence.” That's why Matthew 6:16 says, "Do not fast to be seen by men, for such prayers are not acceptable to God." Let's look at the fast that pleases God.
First, we must loosen the bonds of darkness. If you look at another translation, it means, “Release the one who asked me for shame.” I mean, don't make people unfairly entangled.
Second, we must break the cords of the yoke. You must break the yoke of others.
Third, we must set the oppressed free and give food to the hungry. It means to break free from oppression, to fast, and to share the food you have saved with your neighbors.
4. Let's take a look at the blessings that those who have fasted will enjoy.
First, your light will shine like the morning, and there is the blessing of your light bursting out like the dawn.
Second, there is the blessing that your treatment progresses rapidly.
Third, there is a blessing that your righteousness works before you.
Fourth, the glory of the LORD will guard you behind you, and when you call, I, the LORD, will answer you, and when you call out, I will say, "Here I am." It is a blessing from God Emmanuel.
Fasting, of course, is not easy. In a way, it's really hard. However, just as there is no suffering without glory, and no resurrection without the cross, without fasting and prayer, we cannot experience various changes and mystical experiences and grace that we cannot imagine. I hope that you will become the protagonist of a mysterious experience in your life by humbly falling before God and participating in fasting and prayer without worrying more about various life problems. Please bear in mind that this is the time for all believers to rise, fast, pray, repent, and seek God's help.