When Brother Fortner introduces
me, pay no attention whatsoever to what he says. I ain't that
person he's talking about. And I have a duty to perform
before I begin, but if you'll be turning to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 58. Isaiah 58. This will be our homepage, so
just hang on to that. Thank you all for your kindness
and hospitality. You make a fellow want to come
five or six times a year. That's just too much, way too
much. Now, without divulging to you
the particular reference Bible that I'm addicted to and have
been since about 1963, the heading to Isaiah 58 in my Bible
is Ethical Instructions. Now, that's not what we're about.
You and I know far more ethics than we practice. We know right from wrong. We
know moral from immoral. And that's not our problem for
the most part. I do not exempt you or me from
crossing the line on either one. But that's not what this book
is about. This book is about Christ. And I've marked through the word
ethical on my Bible, and I've written the word gospel. Gospel instructions. And I must do one other thing
by way of preparation. Somebody asked me last night
what I was going to preach on. And, well, last night I wasn't
sure myself, but I thought this might be where it was. I was
looking at this pretty strong. Tried to preach from this chapter
last Sunday. So if Doug goes to sleep over
here, he's heard it once, he'll hear it again. But the title is going to be a shocker.
I normally don't have titles until I've preached it once or
twice. Then I have to find one to go
on a CD. So hang on to your seat. God's
Chosen Fast. F-A-S-T. Now, where I live, that's
Fayetteville Area System of Transit, but that ain't what this is. God's chosen fast, and I'll guarantee
you it ain't what you think it is. It will surprise you. Now, when we start this chapter,
I'm going to read you a few verses and make a comment or two along
the way. But don't jump the gun. It'll trap you very quickly. You've got to read this chapter
a number of times to ever get this thing to sort itself out. Now verse 1 is fairly easily
understood. God is commissioning His prophet
Isaiah to the children of Israel. And here's His commission. And
everything in this chapter is designed to carry out this commission. Here it is. And Isaiah's commission
is my commission and yours. Cry aloud and spare not. Now, if you're worried about
hurting feelings, injuring friendships, This ain't the time or the place.
There's room for that, plenty of places for that, but this
is not it. Cry aloud and spare not. Lift up your voice like
a trumpet. Don't be bashful. Speak as plain
as words can make it. Lift up your voice like a trumpet
and show my people And in this case we would have to say God's
professing people. And I fear in our generation
we'll have to use the same kind of language because much of today's
Christianity is nothing more than a profession. Show my people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins. And here they are. And they have everything to do
with the subject of fasting. Now here's a friendly word of advice. Don't confuse the physical with
the spiritual. What we eat And what we drink
is not where it is. Now, I love North Carolina barbecue
better than anybody in this building. But the subject is not barbecue.
That's the most plastic word in the English language. It means
a lot of things to a lot of folks. But pay careful attention now
and don't confuse physical things with spiritual things. Here we
go. These are His people, at least
professedly. Yet, they seek Me daily. Daily. Not weekly or monthly
or at Christmas and Easter and a few other times. They seek
Me daily. and delight to know my ways." Delight to know my ways. As a nation that did, past tense,
did righteousness. And as a nation and then forsook
not the ordinance of their God, their Orthodox, Now look carefully at this next
statement. They ask of me the ordinances of justice. People bold enough to ask God
to give them what he owes them. And take delight in approaching
to God. Do you see what I'm saying? And
these people resort to fasting. And look at the description. Wherefore, same people, why have
we fasted? Why have we fasted and you, The
Lord takes no notice of it. He sees not. Why have we afflicted our soul
and you take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast,
the Lord now speaking, In the day of your fast, why have I
not taken notice of your fast? Behold, in the day of your fast,
you find pleasure and exact all your labors." Our deeds are unchanged
despite the fact that we're fasting. Wickedness doesn't even cease.
while at the very moment we are withholding ourselves from ourselves
certain foods in order for God to hear us. Behold, you fast for strife and
debate and to smite with the fist of wickedness? You shall
not fast as you do this day. How are they fasting this day?
Here's the worst line of all, to make your voice to be heard
on high. They have made a Christ of their
fasting. If God ever hears you and me, it'll be in and by and through
His Son or He won't hear us. Anything we do, designed to gain,
keep, or enhance God's favor is nothing less than an antichrist.
Be it fasting, or giving, or praying, my soul, every one of
these things that we do in the name of God and in the worship
of God has sin attached to it. praying sins and worshiping sins
and giving sins, all of which require the precious blood and
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ for God to accept them. Now we come to verses 5 and 6.
And here's how I arrive at my title. It's already made for
me. It's ready made. And I love those
kind. God's chosen fast. Is it such a fast as I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his
soul? That is, by afflicting his body. Punish the body in order to afflict
the soul. If you could explain that to
me, I'd like to know how that works. They are not the same thing.
Not at all. And people who fast on a regular
basis or an irregular basis, it makes no difference. What
can it do for our soul? God's grace and mercy in Christ
is the medicine of the soul. Is it to bow down His head? as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth
and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and
an acceptable day to the Lord? All three of these things are
but outward things for men to see." And God, according to this
book, looks on the heart. Alright, verse 6 is my primary
text and if I have time I might actually get to verse 7. So let's
just read it at the moment. Is not this the fast that I have
chosen? This is God's chosen fast. To loose the bands of wickedness. That's a tall order. to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke. Now, I'll be honest with you
up front. There is an application of these things in the literal
sense But for my purposes to you this
morning, I have every confidence of your kindness to your fellow
man. I don't think you need me to
tell you what you should do in relieving people's needs. Consequently,
we don't spend our church time trying to get people to do something
that under the grace of God and by the Spirit of God, they're
already doing. But in order for us to see these
precious statements in the gospel, and in a gospel sense, is where
the benefit to our souls comes from. Let's read a couple more verses.
Verse 7, Is it not to deal your bread to the hungry? And that you bring the poor that
are cast out to your house. We've got to find out if there's
a poor fellow living in our house already. When you see the naked, that
you cover him. Don't forget that real covering,
the righteousness of Christ. And that you hide not yourself
from your own flesh. perhaps referring to our kin.
But we need to learn not to hide ourselves from what we are. Then shall your light break forth,
as the morning and your health, spiritual health, shall spring
forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you, and the
glory of the Lord shall be behind you, be your re-reward. Then
shall you call, and the Lord shall answer. Then thou shalt
cry, and He will say, Here I am. If you take away from the midst
of you the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking
vanity, If you draw out your soul to the hungry and satisfy
the afflicted soul, then shall your light rise in obscurity
and your darkness be as the noonday. And the Lord shall guide you
continually and satisfy your soul in drought and make fat
your bones and you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring
of water whose waters fail not. Now we go back to verse 6. And in the time that remains
to me, here's what I'm after. God's blessed gospel of Christ
is designed on purpose, to quote Mr. Mason, to make poor sinners
rich and miserable sinners happy. So let's work on these four things.
The first one is in verse 6, to loose the bands of wickedness. Best thing you can do for a fellow
sinner is tell him how to be rid of his sin. If you'll hang on to this spot,
And look at a verse in Luke chapter 4. I'll let that be my exposition
of that expression. To loose the bands of wickedness. The Lord Jesus in the early part of His public
life and ministry is returning to Nazareth for the very first
time since He left. for his baptism. And in verse
18, he describes his blessed, blessed work. He's quoting, he's
reading from Isaiah, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because
he has anointed me, number one, to preach the gospel to the poor. Do you know it is well nigh impossible
to find a spiritually poor sinner? The Holy Ghost must make him
so. A sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost must make him
so. He sent me to heal the broken
hearted. And that broken heart is a heart
broken over one's own sins. To preach deliverance to the
captives. And I'll forego a comment, but
I'm coming back to that. Because it's in that list in
verse 6 of Isaiah 58. To preach deliverance to the
captives. And the recovery of sight to
the blind. And to set at liberty them that
are bruised, the poor. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of God. And if we ever become poor
in spirit, we'll already be in that kingdom. And you can't be poor in spirit
without being in Christ's kingdom. And He'll give you a broken heart, And He alone can set the captives
free. That wonderful stanza that's
not in this hymn book, and can it be that I should gain, the
fourth stanza I think it is, goes something like, and if you've
ever noticed the verses, the stanzas, my mother said don't
ever call them verses in a song, they're stanzas. The stanzas
that are generally omitted are the ones that are the very best
in the whole hymn. Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
fast bound in sin and nature's night. Thine eye diffused a quickening
ray. I woke, the dungeon flamed with
light. My chains fell off, my heart
was free. I rose, went forth, and followed
Thee. That, my dear friend, is what
God does for us. in the precious gospel of His
Son to set the captives free. I greatly fear that in our generation, men and women just like ourselves,
who've never been in bondage, declare themselves to be set
free in Christ. Oh, beware of faith ill-grounded,
tis but fancied faith at most. To be healed and not be wounded
is to be found before we're lost. You ever been lost? I mean really,
really lost. To loose the bands of wickedness. The second thing in Isaiah 58
verse 6, God's chosen fast. Now this is, I'm telling you,
this is the description of God's approved fast. Here's the second
thing. To undo the heavy burdens. You know this scripture so well,
I'll just see if I can quote it, and if I get hung up somewhere,
if you'll help me out, we'll finish it. To undo the heavy
burdens. Matthew 11, 28. Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find
rest unto your souls." Now this is a fast that's not
one day a year, or one day a month, or like the
Catholics used to do, was it Friday or Wednesday and Friday?
I don't remember. This is 24-7. This is where we
live. Undo the heavy burdens. How about turning to John chapter
8. I can't preach any time without going to John. one or two things, but this is
so easy. This is so plain and so clear. We come to the third description
of God's chosen fast. And that fast is all of these
things that are set forth in those four categories, not only
in verse 6 in Isaiah 58, but also verse 7. But the third thing
in verse 6 is this. to let the oppressed go free. And if I've never been oppressed
by sin, had no way out, I've never been set free. In John chapter 8, the chapter
begins with our Lord teaching in the temple area and they drag
this poor unwilling woman found in the very act of adultery into
the presence of Christ. Can't you just imagine somebody
dragging somebody here in front of us this morning and demanding
of this pastor that this woman be stoned to death? These people have no interest
in making people moral. stamping out immorality. My soul,
their very religion was immoral. And so it is to this day. I've been there, have you? Arrogant, proud, looking down
our noses. That's not the gospel. That's
not Christ. So our Lord began to speak of
Himself as the light of the world. And in verse 30 of John chapter
8 it says, and many, let me find it, many believed on Him. Now the Bible does not always
mean what we think it's going to mean, just like that chapter
in Isaiah 58. These people profess to believe,
and how they gave evidence of that I have no idea, and I don't
think it's material to understand it. But they are said to have
believed on Him. And so our Lord begins to speak.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If you
continue in My Word, then are you My disciples indeed. Now
that is not an if of condition. It is rather an if of evidence. Then in the very next verse,
the 32nd, he makes this tame, simple, unoffensive statement. You shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free. You can go to any church in this
county this morning and read that verse and preach on it. If you don't go to meddling and
trying to tell the real truth about it, you'll get along fine. They did not like what our Lord
said. They said, we'll have you to
know we've never been in bondage to anybody. The Lord Jesus said,
he that commits sin is the servant or slave of sin. You mean you
don't sin? I mean, either you do or you don't. These people didn't. Not in their
own eyes. And I think we're just like them
except for the grace of God. You shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free. They let him know in no uncertain
terms that they were the children of Abraham. Abraham was their
father. And the Lord Jesus iced the cake
when in verse 36 He said, If the Son shall make you free,
you shall be free indeed. So if our fast, if our worship
to God, our service to him, now I'm worried about that one word,
you know, that I heard a while ago, something about a worship,
but I have to use the word worship. No offense, where's Bruce? Oh, excuse me. I couldn't, pastor,
I couldn't help that. in our service to God in His
kingdom and in our worship of Him, how are we going to tell a poor
sinner how he can break the shackles
of sin and Satan? We best be telling You shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free. If the Son shall make you free,
you shall be free indeed. In fact, gloriously free. And you can't ever be in bondage
again. Are we on the same page? Had a visitor at the church a month, six weeks ago, I'm not
sure. This lady is getting her master's
degree in psychology and counseling. And she told me after worship, I shouldn't have ever said that,
but she told me after worship, She said, when I get my degree,
if you have some folks that need counseling, I'd be glad to counsel. I said, well, you know, I don't
know a soul that needs any. When we find out who God is and
who I am and who Christ is, we understand that things come to
us in this life, and it doesn't mean that God's smile and love
is no longer upon us. We're able to cope because we
know those things. And I told her what a friend
of mine said about counseling once upon a time. Somebody asked
him if he counseled folks. He said, yes, I do. As a matter
of fact, three times a week, Sunday morning, Sunday night,
and Wednesday night. And that's our counsel. Let the oppressed go free. Freedom. Indeed. And then the fourth thing in
that statement in Isaiah 58 and verse 6, to break every yoke,
about turning to Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1. And I'll remind you of that statement
that our Lord made in Matthew 11. Galatians 5 and verse 1,
He said, We're going to break every yoke now. He said, take
my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of
heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. Break every yoke. What does Paul
say in Galatians 5 and 1? Stand fast. Therefore in the
liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. And be not entangled
again, listen now, to the yoke of bondage. This same man proclaimed himself
to be the servant of Jesus Christ. Now you know this already, I
just remind you. You're going to be somebody's
servant. We're either slaves to ourselves, or to the devil,
or to anybody and his brother, or we're slaves to Christ, one
or the other, to break every yoke. The yoke of the law, the
yoke of the flesh, The yoke of popular opinion. These preachers
will work this out for you. They got a list. Six or eight
of them, I bet you. God's chosen class. We sing a little chorus at home
on Galatians 5.1 that runs something like this. If I can get the first word,
that is. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made us free. and be not entangled again with
the yoke of bondage, stand fast in the liberty wherewith God
Christ hath made us free. God's chosen fast.