Fasting...the Powerful Secret Weapon of the Believer (part 2)

What is the fast that God has chosen?

#2 - Practice Charity

Isa 58:7 Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives.

Isa 58:10 if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need,

Mat 6:1 "Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven.
Mat 6:2 "So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.
Mat 6:3 But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it.
Mat 6:4 Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.

Why is giving in Isaiah 58 and in Matt 6 so closely connected to prayer and fasting, because again as I mentioned early as you become broken and become more humble YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF MORE COMPASSIONATE AND MORE BENEVOLENT TOWARD THE NEEDY, POOR, AND HURTING. This is the kind of spirit that God wants us to have toward others!

#3 – Prayer, Praise, Worship, and Solitude with God

Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Mat 6:8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Isa 58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I [am].

David spent a lot of time with God without praying. Read the Psalms, you see David in solitude with God, worshipping praising, meditating, and being still before Him. YOU PROBABLY SEE HIM DOING THESE THINGS MORE THAN PRAYING!


Conclusion: Look at how God blesses us when we fast the fast that God has chosen?

Isa 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
Isa 58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I [am].

Isa 58:11 And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never goes dry.
Isa 58:12 Your people will rebuild what has long been in ruins, building again on the old foundations. You will be known as the people who rebuilt the walls, who restored the ruined houses."

Mat 6:31 "So do not start worrying: 'Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?'
Mat 6:32 (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.
Mat 6:33 Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.
Mat 6:34 So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.

-Pastor Randy