15 minute read
My pulpit message notes: Fasting that moves God
from TT 153
by TIMES TODAY
Fasting that moves God
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- Fasting is a focus for prayer. It focuses us so that we may be able to pray. So when you feel the hunger pangs, you are reminded, let me pray. When you have been craving for something and you have abstained for a while then it reminds you to commune with your God and your Father.
- John Piper describes fasting as, ‘a physical expression of our heart’s desire for God.’
- Rev. Dr. Tony Evans describes it as, ‘abstaining from a physical craving in order to feed a spiritual blessing.’
- Imagine getting to the end of fasting days and after self denial and affliction only for you to discover it was all wasted. That the going without food, the dedicated moments of prayers, the physical strain was all for nothing. That it did not move God. That is was not recognised by Him, let alone accepted. That would be a sad affair.
- The house of Jacob found themselves in this situation. They fasted and humbled themselves before God, yet He did not see it nor take notice of it. They asked and did not receive, they sought and did not find, they knocked and the door was not opened for them. That is what we read in Isaiah 58. - So what can we learning from their situation so that we do not find ourselves in a similar spiritual quagmire? Paul declares in Romans 15:4
- So the reason we are reading Isaiah’s prophecy to the children of Israel today is that it was written to teach us so that we might have hope. - Our fasting ought not to be futile.
Fasting that moves God
True fasting moves God.
This is sermon is about hope and
The hope of true fasting. (Isaiah 58:8-12)
1. Reprieve: Isaiah 58:8
- Reprieve is an escape from a bad situation, or experience. So after God had spoken to the children of Israel about true fasting He goes ahead and says, then, (after true fasting,) “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”
- God promises there is hope for reprieve if we truly fast. May the LORD grant you reprieve during the period of true fasting. May He grant you reprieve from that disease, or of a loved one. May God grant you reprieve from that financial trouble, from that difficult relational crisis.
- May this reprieve come quickly as it says, “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear.” It will not delay/tarry. I pray that the reprieve of God will abound in your life as has been promised in the Scripture. This is the first hope that I see.
2. Righteousness and radiance. Isaiah 58:8b
- Is there a sin that has been besetting you? I pray that in the period of fasting your righteousness will go before you. This is the good news brothers and sisters that for us who are believers we do not have a righteousness that is of our own, but that Jesus is our righteousness and so may His righteousness go before you and that the glory of the LORD be our rear guard.
What a safe place this is to be tucked in between the righteousness of Christ and the glory of God. What a glorious thing this is. I pray that you may be firmly guarded in God.
3. A response from God. Isaiah 58:9-10
- What a sweet thing it is to be heard by God. What a glorious thing for Him to answer us when we call on Him. How amazing it is that the Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, the Majestic One who looks after the affairs of the whole universe would pay attention to you and to me. Would pay attention to our cry, when you call Him, that He will respond and say “Here I am”.
- The most exciting thing about the response, “Here I am”, because it is said by the great I Am, could easily be replace by, I Am, is here. - When the great I Am is here, all things are possible. This is the hope of a response from God that when youcall on Him, when you cry to Him, He will respond and say, ‘Here I am.” May you receive a response from the LORD. May you hear Him say, I am here my son/daughter. May you be assured of His response that I Am is here.
- The great I Am, is none other than Jesus Christ. In the book of John are the great I Am statements so that there is no situation/trouble/circumstance that I Am will not appear/ be present. Do you have a hunger that nothing can satisfy? He says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty (John 6:35)
- Are you in some sort of darkness, you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel? He declares, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.(John 8:12)
- Are you wondering how to enter the kingdom of God? He says, “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. (John 10:9).
- Do you feel helpless and harassed by the vagaries of life? He says, “I am the good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)
- Do you have fear of death? “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even though he dies. And whoever believes in Me will never die. (John 11:25.
- Are you lost and confused. He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
- Do you desire to live and lead a fruitful life? He says, “I am the true Vine and my Father is the Gardener. (John 15:1)
4. Refreshing. Isaiah 58:11
- If you are feeling dry and weary. If your have a season of dryness/wilderness may the great I Am refresh you. May you indeed be a well watered garden, a spring of water.
5. Restoration. Isaiah 58:12
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” This is the hope that we have if we truly fast.
- I pray that during the season of fast that the LORD will restore every personal ruin that you have experienced. May He restore your marriage and your children. May God restore our land and nation so that justice will be our shield and defender and plenty will be found within our borders as we dwell in peace and unity. This is the hope that we have when we engage in a true fast. - We have the hope that we will receive reprieve from our troubles The hope of righteousness and radiance tucking us in. The hope of a response from the Great I Am. The hope being refreshed and restored.
The Hindrance of a True Fast.
1. Hypocrisy of religion; Isaiah 58:1-2
- The people of God could not be faulted for their lack of religion, or religious activities. At the time of this prophesy, God is rebuking them, not for neglecting their religious duty, but for hypocrisy that surrounded their religion.
- It seemed that they delighted to know God’s way and to draw near to God. Notice verse 2 “Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways… They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.”
- What the passage is communicating is that it is not that these people delighted to know God’s ways, or draw near to God. Rather, it ‘seemed’ from the outset that this is someone who qualified to be a lover of God, a worshipper of YAHWEH, yet God is calling out their hypocrisy. Why? Because, how can you delight to know God’s way? How can you delight to draw near to God and yet you don’t do his righteousness, and yet you forsake the judgement of God? Their behaviour contradicted what they claimed to believed and that is what hypocrisy is all about. Hypocrisy is when our behaviour contradicts what we communicate as believing.
- The kind of hypocrisy presented here is a dangerous kind of hypocrisy. It is the kind that you are actually able to fool others. That other following your life can say they can vouch for you. In fact one might fool themselves into believing their own lie. The worst of all about this hypocrisy of religion is when it assumes that even God can be fooled.
- Hypocrisy of religion may fool others, it may even fool you, but it cannot fool God, for God does not look at external appearances and works, but rather He looks and sees the heart. Beware of this hypocrisy because it is deadly.
- Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord Lord, did we not prophesy in your Name and in Your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles, then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from Me you evildoers.
It is easy to read that passage and just skip through it, but this were people that were convinced, they were right with God. That is why they are wondering, why cant you let us in, we prophesied in Your name, we cast out demons in Your name, we did may great works in Your name and Jesus is telling them, “Away from me, I never knew you,”. Why? Because hypocrisy of religion will cause you to lie even to yourself, but unfortunately you cannot lie to God. - What is the nature of your religion? Do you actually delight to know God’s ways? Do you actually delight to draw near to God? Or does it only seem so? I pray that we would examine ourself.
2. Hollow rituals. Isaiah 58:3-5
- God’s people were alarmed that God did not take notice of their fasting. That He did not acknowledge their humbling themselves and so they made their protest against God. And they ask “‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ And when God responded, He called out their hollow rituals, for their rituals of fasting were empty, hollow and devoid of substance.
Theirs was a confirmation of what God had declared earlier through the same prophet in Isaiah 29:13, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
- They claimed to honour God, but dishonoured Him in their hearts.
- Their fasting was hollow and not from the heart. And if our fasting is to be true and thus move God, then it must proceed from our hearts.
- Note that as a result of their hollow ritual, it did not change them at all. It did not confront their sinful tendencies. And so God says, “How can you claim to be fasting yet it is your pleasure that you are pursuing? How can you claim to be fasting yet you mistreat and oppress those who work for you? How can you claim to be fasting and yet you go ahead to quarrel and strive with others and to fight? How is this fasting that I can accept?” God seems to ask them.
- God goes on to say, it is not mere self denial and self affliction that moves. A humbling of self, a bowing of head like a reed. That is not the kind of fasting that moves Him. That kind of fasting is unacceptable to Him.
- I pray that our fasting will not be hollow, but rather straight from the heart and will be the kind that will not leave you comfortable in your sin.
- If there is any transformation to happen in a season of prayer and fasting, you will be delivered from that sin that easily besets you for the glory and honour of God’s Name, because that is the kind that moves God. That is a true fast. - But our gracious God not only points the wrong way in which His people were fasting, but He also points them to the right way.
How to truly fast (Isaiah 58:6-7)
- God Himself declares the kind of fast that He has chosen. It comes with freedom, justice and charity. Freedom and justice to the bound and oppressed and charity to those in need.
- If we are to engage in a true fast, that we will be aware of the people around us. A true fast is a classic case of what 1 John 4:20
- Fasting is a voluntary denial and affliction of self. It is supposed to make us sensitive to those involuntarily denied and afflicted. In our hunger we need to remember those who go hungry, not by choice, but by circumstances outside of their control. In our affliction we ought to be reminded of those who are afflicted not by any choice or fault of theirs, but by people, or events outside of them.
- God is calling us to engage in a true fast so that we may bring freedom to those bound by wickedness, by proclaiming freedom that is only found in Christ. That we will be burdened by our friends, colleagues, family members who have not yet come to saving faith. That they would be delivered from their live of sin.
- Also we will advocate for justice for those who are oppressed. And if it happens that God is convicting you that you are the oppressor that you will repent and stop your oppression. - Practice the true religion that James says in James 1:27
- I wonder, what if, just what if, you used the money that you would have spent in meals when you are fasting to actually give someone food, provide someone with clothing, or even shelter? Is fasting an opportunity to grow our savings account, or an opportunity for us to practice true fasting that reminds us there are people who are going hungry and they are not fasting. Circumstances have forced them. - Let us press on in true fasting for that is the kind of fasting that will move God.
