Ezra 8:23 “So we fasted
and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”
Picking up with Pastor Kyle's Sunday sermon:
Repentance of sin and that which is not pleasing in the eyes
of God is central and vital. Our Maker meets us where we are at in life, so
know that our Heavenly Father cares about the information that He has already
given us. So, we need to think about our life before fasting, because it is
pointless without a surrendered obedient life. We need to fast for a season, but also do it
regularly in order to focus on God, tune out fears to hear from the Lord and
learn from our Father in Heaven. Pastor David Guzik of Calvary Chapel in Santa
Barbara , California
Matthew
4:1-4 Then Jesus
was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And
when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now
when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that
these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is
written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.’”
Along with doing it regularly, the way to implement feasting
in our fasting is by doing it purposefully and alone in the wilderness (between
you and God). Temptation will come because a comfort mechanism has been
removed, so a wall of emotion will appear that must be given to the Lord.
Spiritually and soulfully, we do not need food, because our Heavenly Father’s
food is our provision. Man does not live on bread alone. We sincerely say: “I
need you Lord.”, then, we will be driven and launched into the Lord’s ministry
from that platform. We feast on the presence of the Lord, because we pursue
Jesus. Our righteousness is Christ’s righteousness, not ours. We think that we
are fasting about things, but its much deeper because it is about hearing from
God. Its not just what is going to happen, but what is happening inside of us
as He hears from us and we hear from Him. We fast to feast, and feast to live.
Live for God.
In the next couple days, I’m going to post a couple
Proclamations by two of our past great American Presidents that understood our
nation’s need for “fasting before the Lord”. As you read their call to
humiliation of sin in our life and world, fasting and prayer, think about the
application today. Fasting brings blessings and joy in experiencing God in true
loving relationship, which is what the child of God longs for in the deepest
part of our being.
In Christ, Brian
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