If you read the Bible, you'll
come across the subject of fasting quite often, won't you? It's
in the Bible a whole lot. I think it's ignored quite a
bit, but the subject of fasting is in the Bible a whole lot. Fasting is not eating. That's all the word means, to
not eat. The Hebrew word means literally
to cover the mouth. You'll remember Elijah went 40
days and 40 nights without eating or drinking. Do you remember
how the Lord fasted 40 days in the wilderness? Now, 40 days
without eating, without drinking, that's a long time. And at that
time is when the devil tempted If you're the son of God, command
that these stones be made bread. He tempted him after this fast. Do you remember when the Lord
told David he was going to take his son after the sin with Bathsheba? And David, the son, the child
became sick and David prayed and he fasted and he fasted and
he prayed. He was miserable. He spent his
time in prayer and fasting and sackcloth, desiring that the
Lord would have mercy on his child. And do you remember when
the Lord took his child? You remember how he washed his
face and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped? They
said, well, how come you're not fasting now? This would seem to be the
time to be fasting. And he said, well, the Lord took
him. That was his will. It's over. And the fast was over.
Fasting, what is it? Fasting is a work of self-denial. This thing of not eating in the
scripture, withholding yourself from food, it may be 24 hours,
it may be 40 days. Fasting is a work of self-denial. In Matthew 6, the Lord speaks
of almsgiving. You remember this? When you give
your alms, don't be like the hypocrites. That's a work of
charity. Now, he's talking about the works
of true devotion. He talks about almsgiving. That's giving, the
work of charity. And then he talks about prayer.
Remember, in Matthew chapter 6, next, he talks about prayer,
works of devotion. And then he talks about fasting. works of self-denial. And he
said, when you fast, he didn't say if you fast, he said, when
you fast, it's a given that you fast when he says this. He doesn't
say if you do it. This is not a thing of unimportance. There's
a whole lot in the Bible about it. He said, when you fast, don't
be like the hypocrites are, for they disfigure their faces. They
want everybody to know they're fasting. Oh, I'm fasting. They're letting everybody know.
He said, don't be like them. If you do that, you have your
reward. Now, fasting in its very essence
is an act of self-denial. Now, for the last three days,
I've been fasting, praying for you. Now, would there be anything
wrong with it if I was doing that? No. But if I told you,
it's no fast, is it? It's not real. Not if I told
you about it. Was I lying? I wasn't telling
the truth. I was doing that to make a point.
I hope it wasn't a lie. I was trying to illustrate what
I'm saying. I'm trying to illustrate the fact that if you tell somebody
about your fasting, it's not fasting. But the Lord does say,
when you fast. And it represents, it's not just
the act as we see in this passage of scripture. It's not just the
act of withholding yourself from food, although that's what it
means. That's what it means. You know, when you when you desire
something from the Lord, you're so desirous of it. You say this
is more important to me than food itself. It's more important
to me than life itself. That's what you're saying when
you fast. Now, he says, when you fast,
don't be as the hypocrites are. Now, you see, the Pharisees fasted
twice a week. Now that's a lot to fast. Can you imagine going two days
a week without eating at all? They fasted twice a week. But
did they fast? Was it a true fast? Now, in this
passage of Scripture, we find out what the true fast really
is. You know, when we talk about
self-denial, how many people enjoy thinking about self-denial?
The first thing we think of When we think of self-denial, what
am I going to have to deny myself? May the Lord give us grace to
zero in on this passage of scripture and learn something about what
the Bible means by self-denial. And that's what fasting represents.
It's denying yourself. The Lord said, whosoever will
come after me, let him deny himself. Take up his cross daily and follow
me. Now, in verse one, God says to
Isaiah, cry aloud and spare not. Don't hedge on this. Lift up
your voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins. Now, do you want the Lord
to show you your sins? Now, I don't want to know them
in the sense of How can I say this? I remember
one time. I can remember one time very distinctly. I said, Lord, show me what I
really am. And I repeated that prayer, Lord,
show me what I really am. And I went through one of the
most miserable times I've ever gone through. As a matter of
fact, I can remember walking around, waiting for the ground
to swallow me up, send me into hell. I mean, it was just...
And you know, I've not prayed that prayer since then. My prayer
is not show me who I am, but show me who Christ is. And if
I see who Christ is, I'll know enough about myself to know I
need to look only to him. But I do want, he says, show
my people their sins and their transgressions. He's speaking
to his people. He's not talking about unbelievers right now.
He's talking to his people. He says, show me, show my people
their sins and their transgressions. Now, I don't mean I want to know
everything about my heart, but I want to know. Examine me, O
Lord, and prove me, David said. Try me, and see if there be any
wicked way in me. I want to know. I want the Lord
to show me my sins and my transgressions and that sin. That doesn't mean
I want to see it in absolute sense, no. But I do want to know,
regarding me, that which is displeasing to him. Don't you? He says, now
you show my people their transgressions and their sins. Now, verse two.
He says, yet these people who I'm telling you to show them
their sins and their transgressions, if you listen to them talk, you
wouldn't think they had any. Yet they seek me daily and they
delight to know my ways as a nation that did righteousness and pursued
not the ordinance of their God. They ask of me the ordinances
of justice. They take delight in approaching
to God. That certainly is the way things
appear. And here's what they have to say. And that's a pretty
impressive resume, isn't it? What a set of these people in
verse two. I mean, that's that's an impressive resume. Verse three,
here's what they say. Wherefore, have we fasted? Say
they. And you don't pay any attention.
We fasted, we've chastened our souls with fasting and they had
withheld themselves from food. This is talking about a literal
fast and that That seems impressive, doesn't it? I mean, they had
withheld themselves from food. Whatever it was they were seeking,
they were willing to not eat in order that, oh, Lord, I'm
fasting. Can't you see this? Can't you
see what I'm doing? It seems like He's not paying attention
to this fast. Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou
takest no knowledge? I mean, we're doing all this
stuff and you're not paying any attention to us at all. Now,
if God speaks in answer to their question, Behold, in the day
of your fast, you find pleasure and you exact all your labors. Now, the Lord is telling them
why he does not acknowledge their fasting. All you're doing is
your pleasure. You're trying to work something
up that you think will make me respond to you. This is not a
true fast. Your attitude, all you're doing
is doing your own pleasure and you exact all your labors. You go through the motions of
fasting, but your actions are contradictory. You're harsh and
unmerciful. What that is, is the way you
treat your labors is what he's saying. You're harsh and unmerciful
and you don't even pay them fair wages. And yet you fast. You
talk about how you're seeking the Lord, but all of your actions
are contradictory. He says, that's not a true fast.
You're actually being unfair to people. You're exacting their
wages from them when you ought not. He says, now that's not
a true fast. You can talk all you want. You can demonstrate
this attitude toward God. Oh, I'm fasting. I'm afflicting
my soul. I'm praying. I'm seeking the
Lord. I'm doing this. I'm doing that. But if your actions
are contradictory, it shows that there's no reality to this fast.
That's what he's saying. You talk about this fast, but
it's not something I'm going to respond to. He says in verse
four, behold, you fast for strife and debate and to smite with
the fist of wickedness. You shall not fast as you do
this day to make your voice heard on high. Here's how I see your
fasting, strife, debate, and smiting with the fist of wickedness.
Now, you can't expect me to hear you when that's what your fast
is made of. Don't think I'm going to. Verse 5, is it such a fast
that I've chosen? A day for a man to afflict his
soul? You know, these national days
of fasting and so on. Is this what I've chosen? For
everybody to get together. We're all going to fast and afflict
Our soul. Is that what the Bible means
by fasting? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, verse
5, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will thou call
this a fast, an acceptable day to the Lord? Do you think this
is fasting? You're withholding yourself from food. You're spreading
your sackcloth. You're letting everybody know
just how sorry you are. You're trying to let God know,
but you're letting everybody else know. Is this the fast that
I desire? Is this what I consider true
fasting? Now, you've got to admit, there's
some real discipline involved here, isn't there? I mean, these
fellows are fasting. Why aren't you paying attention
to this? The Lord says, do you even think this is fasting in
the first place? To bow your head as a bulrush
and show how sorry and desirous you are? Verse 6. He tells us what the true fast
is. Let's read verses 6 and 7 together. Is not this the fast that I've
chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free,
and that ye break every yoke. Is it not to deal thy bread to
the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to
thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and
that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh. Then shall thy
light break forth as the morning, and thine hell shall spring forth
speedily, and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the
glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward." Now he tells us what
the true fast is. And remember, fasting in its
very essence is self-denial. That's what it means. Self-denial. And remember, there's no following
of Christ without self-denial. I must deny myself. Take up my cross daily and follow
him. And the fast he's speaking of
here is self-denial. Self-denial is always the essence
of fasting. And it's always involved in these
things coming to pass. Now, I can remember the first
time I read this, I thought it sounded almost like political
activism. You know, you read this passage
of scripture, it sounds like a political party kind of giving
their their cry. You know, if you get us into
office, this is what's going to take place. And I can almost
I can see it. Let's look again. If you elect
me, if you do this, then I'll loose the bands of wickedness.
I'll undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free, and
that you break every yoke. We'll deal our bread to the hungry,
and we'll bring the poor that are cast out to thy house. And
when you see the naked, you'll cover him, and that you hide
not thyself from your own flesh." That sounds like the promises
of a politician, almost. If our party gets in office,
this is what's going to take place. And it almost sounds like
political activism, doesn't it? Let me say this. When the gospel
is believed, these things will happen. Literally. What he's speaking
about. When the gospel is believed,
these things will happen, literally. But the first application of
this is spiritual. Now this is the true fast. Now
remember, fasting, let me repeat this. I'm saying this a lot.
I want it to sink in. Fasting is not just the act of
withholding food for yourself, although that's certainly what
it is by definition. It has something to do with self-denial. If any man... Now think of what
our Lord said. He looked at that crowd that was following Him.
He said, if any man will come after Me... You fellas serious?
You really think you want to come after Me? If any man will
come after Me, Let him deny, say no to himself. Take up, that's something you
willingly do, take up his cross, that which is involved in the
confession of Christ, and follow after me. Now that's self-denial. You deny righteous self, you
deny sinful self, you forsake your dreams, you deny yourself. And to follow Christ, self-denial
is absolutely necessary. And this is what takes place
in this true fast, this true self-denial and looking to Christ. Here's what will take place,
verse 6. Here's the fast that I've chosen to loose the bands
of wickedness. The tractates are set free in
that sense. The heavy burden of salvation
by works is undone, and self-denial is involved in all these things.
Those who are oppressed in their burdens, they're set free. The
yoke of salvation by law is broken. Where the Spirit of the Lord
is, there's liberty. Verse seven, is it not to deal
thy bread to the hungry? That's talking about gospel preaching.
Our bread is the gospel, isn't it? And we deal our bread to
the hungry. and that you bring the poor that
are cast out to thy house, that are excommunicated. You know,
whenever somebody confesses Christ, they're going to be kicked out
of religion, aren't they? They're going to be excommunicated. You
find it throughout the Scriptures. Remember that fellow in John
chapter 9? When he had confessed Christ, they kicked him out,
they cast him out, and the Lord came to him. He says, you're
to come to those who are kicked out and give your bread to the
hungry and seek. They're good. That you bring
the poor that are cast out to thy house when you see them naked,
that you cover them. That's speaking of being covered
by Christ. And that covering happens in
the gospel. And that you hide not yourself from your own flesh,
but you give yourself to them. And when these things are done
spiritually, what he's saying here, you know what else is going
to happen? They'll be done physically. They surely will. This is not
just pie in the sky. When these things are done spiritually,
They'll be done physically, too. That's exactly what we're going
to be doing. That's what we're going to be
seeking. And self-denial is involved in all of this. Verse 8. Then, when the bands
of wickedness are loosed, when the heavy burdens are undone
and the oppressed go free and every yoke is broken, when the
Hungry have bread dealt to them, and the poor are brought to your
house, and when the naked are covered, and you don't hide yourself
from your own flesh, but you give yourself. Instead of hiding
yourself, you give yourself. Then shall thy light break forth
as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.
And thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of
the Lord shall be thy rearward. Then, and not until then, will
these things take place. Now, understand this. Only the
Lord can give you grace to understand this, and me grace to understand
this, but understand this. What I'm saying is so. You and I cannot
be saved by our personal obedience. Now, don't you know that so?
What if it was up to you to obey anything that's in your own strength?
Where would that leave you? You and I cannot be saved by
our personal obedience, by our fasting, by our prayer, by our
almsgiving, by our acts of whatever we do. We can't be saved by our
obedience. But we will not be saved without
obedience. Now, we can't be saved by our
obedience, but we will not be saved without obedience. Let me show you a passage of
Scripture in Luke chapter 14. Would you turn with me there?
Luke 14. Verse 25. And there were great multitudes
with him, and he turned and said unto them, If any man come to
me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, He cannot
be my disciple. Now, you know that he's not telling
us to positively have a vindictive hatred towards our relatives,
but he's saying in comparison with following me, let him go. If they would hinder you in following
me, I'm to be followed whatever they do. That's what he means
by that. You're to hate. Look what he
says in verse 27. Whosoever does not bear his cross
and come after me, he cannot, he is unable to be my disciple. This is absolutely necessary
in following the Lord Jesus Christ. Look what he says in verse 33.
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all
that he hath. Did you hear that? Whosoever
he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath. He cannot be
my disciple. And let me try to illustrate
this. Strictly speaking, my faith, my personal faith cannot
save me. Strictly speaking. I'm not saved because I believe. I'm saved because God elected
me. I'm saved because Jesus Christ worked out a perfect righteousness
for me and charged it to my account. I'm saved because Jesus Christ
the Lord paid for my sins and they're all gone. I'm saved because
God the Holy Spirit creates life in me and gave me a new nature
and I now see Christ. That's why I'm saved. I'm not
saved because of something I do in any way. I'm saved by what
He has done only. Amen? You believe that? I know
that so. I am saved by what He has done. Strictly speaking, it's not my
faith that saves me. It's Him. Now, can I be saved without faith? Absolutely not. Can I be saved
unless I personally believe the Gospel? Absolutely not. And the Lord
puts such honor on faith. He says on seven or eight different
occasions throughout the Gospels, Thy faith hath saved thee. That's what the Lord says. And
you know, that's the best way to say it if He says it that
way. I've had people correct me for saying that. Are you saying
that it's your faith? No, the Lord said that. And it's
a good way to say it if He said it. Thy faith. has saved thee. Go in peace. I will not be saved
apart from obedience to the gospel. Believe in the gospel. No, my
faith doesn't save me strictly speaking. Christ does. But I
will not be saved without faith. In obedience, in self-denial,
He says your light will shine. And look at verse 8. Then, then. Not before then. Then shall thy
light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring forth
speedily." You know, there is, thy health, thy health. You know,
it's a healthy thing. It's for your spiritual, it's
for your emotional, it's for your physical health to obey
the gospel. I have no doubt about that. It's
good for you to obey, it's good for you emotionally. In every
respect, it's good for you to obey the gospel. Just the freedom
of knowing I've done what's right. You know, that's a wonderful
feeling, isn't it? That's the reward in itself.
Your health will go before you speedily. Look what he says.
In verse 8, then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and
thy health shall spring forth speedily, and thy righteousness
shall go before thee. Now, how does an unbeliever see
that? Well, that means your righteous
works, they'll go before you. No, it doesn't really mean it.
Thy righteousness. What's your righteousness? Who's
your righteousness? There's only one answer to that.
It's not your act of self-denial. It's not your fasting. It's not
something you do. Your righteousness is Jesus Christ
the Lord. His perfect obedience will go
before you. In this. His righteousness will
go before you. And His glory, His grace, shall
be thy rearward. It will be protecting you. You'll
have Him before you. You'll have His grace, His glory
behind you protecting you. Verse 9, Then shalt thou call
And the Lord shall answer. Thou shalt cry, and he shall
say, Here I am. And not before then. This is
not going to happen without obedience. Obedience to the Gospel. Obedience
in what he's talking about in this thing of self-denial. It's
not going to happen without this. Then shalt thou call, and the
Lord shall answer. Thou shalt cry, and he shall
say, Here I am. If you take away from thee the
midst of the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and the
speaking of vanity. And not until then. Quit pointing
your finger and stop speaking vanity. And if you draw out your
soul to the hungry, verse 10, and satisfy the afflicted soul,
then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness as
the doomed day. If you do these things, what
blessings we'll have. Verse 11, And the Lord shall
guide thee continually. Now that is something I greatly
desire. Don't you want the Lord to guide
every step you take? You know, David said, order my
steps in your word and let not any iniquity have dominion over
me. Now then, he says, I'll guide you continually and I'll satisfy
your soul in the drought. You know, we're living in a drought
right now, aren't we? A drought of gospel preaching, a drought
of truth. But the Lord says your soul is
going to be satisfied at this time. And you know what satisfaction
there is? In simply resting in the Lord
Jesus Christ. You know, I'm talking about all
this stuff about self-denial. No salvation apart from this.
Is that where I find my satisfaction in my self-denial? The only place
I find satisfaction is in being in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
what satisfaction my soul finds in that, to think of standing
before God in Judgment Day, simply being found in Christ. I'm not
asking to be found fasting or working in self-denial. That's
not what I'm seeking. I'm seeking simply to be found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And what satisfaction I receive
out of simply knowing that He is everything in salvation. I
don't need anything else. He says, the Lord shall guide
you continually, verse 11, and satisfy your soul in this famine
and make fat thy bones. And this is a reference to health.
And it's not even talking about physical health, although physical
health may be included. But I don't know. You know, I
have a hard time right now thinking, well, you know, if I'm walking
with the Lord, I'm going to be physically blessed because I
think, man, I must be in trouble then, you know, if that's the
case. I mean, I'm looking some sickness ahead of me. But I tell
you what, I am looking at some sickness ahead of me. I know
you all remember me in prayer, but let me remind you, pray for
me. Pray for me. But you know what? My bones are
fat. And my soul is healthy. I'm rejoicing
in God my Savior. And thank God I don't have to
have health And I don't have to have wealth. But oh how I
have to have the Lord Jesus Christ. And I must be found in Him. And oh how I need Him. Don't you? I love that hymn,
I need Thee, oh I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. And that's
the health of the soul. That's the fat bones. And you
know, this is emotional health, too. There's nothing more emotionally
healthy than simply resting in Christ. The Lord is my shepherd. And because my shepherd is the
Lord, I shall not want, I shall not lack anything. Healthier
bones, he says, you'll be, in verse 11, like a watered garden. And like a spring of waters,
whose waters fail not." Now, you know what happens to your
plants and your flowers when you don't water them. You know
how they dry up and shrivel up and they lose their color. You
know what happens to them. But, oh, when they're watered,
you know what takes place. And he says, you'll have these
streams of mercy never ceasing. You'll be like a well-watered
garden. You'll persevere. You'll have this continual spring
of grace gushing out of your heart, causing you to continue. Verse 12, And they that shall
be of thee shall build the old waste places, and thou shalt
raise up the foundation of many generations, and thou shalt be
called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell
in. Here will be the fruit of your
life. Here's what you'll be privileged to do. You'll be a restorer. You'll be a repairer of the bridge.
Now, I've thought of this so many
times. You know, people talk about leaving a legacy. Leaving
a legacy. And I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in being found
in Christ. And as far as leaving a legacy, you take the best man to ever
live, and what he did is by grace. And what he did in and of itself
is all a vanity anyway, every bit of it. And I'm not interested
in trying to leave a legacy. The whole thing, I know what
I am. Need leave a legacy? I know a
little bit about myself, and it's really laughable. And all
of us ought to think the same thing about ourselves. You know,
we just simply want to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. That
being said, every believer in these acts of self-denial will
be a builder, a restorer of the breach. While I said I don't care anything
about leaving a legacy, I also would love to be described like
this. The repairer of the breach. The
restorer of paths to dwell in. And that's what every believer
is. You know, you become a blessing to others. You become an encouragement
to others in self-denial. In what he's talking about right
here. Verse 13. If you turn away thy foot from
the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure, on my holy day, and call the
Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord honorable, and shalt
honor him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure,
nor speaking your own words. Then shalt thou delight thyself
in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places
of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father,
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." What's going to happen to you
in keeping the Sabbath? Not working, but resting in Christ
and finding it to be delightful. Do you find it delightful when
God looks in your heart? And he's looking in your heart
right now. Does he see someone who actually delights in resting
in Christ? You really do find this a delight,
and when you get miserable, Is anything away from this? Simply
resting. Not doing anything! Simply resting
in Christ. Now, I've been talking about
self-denial. Oh, I need to deny myself more. Well, yes, I'm sure
we do. But that's not where I find my
delight. Not in anything I do. Simply
resting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I find this day a delight. It's not talking about Saturday
or Sunday. It's talking about resting in Christ. You find this
day a delight. That's the purpose of the Sabbath.
It's to not work. To not work. To rest. They which have believed
do enter into rest. Oh, the rest of not working. I only rest when I really believe
the work is finished. The work is completed. Christ
completed it for me. What a rest there is. Now, that's
the rest of the Sabbath, and I find that, every believer finds
that a delight. Now, when I was a kid, I've told
you this before, you know, the thought of not doing, I didn't
like Sundays when you couldn't do anything, you know, you couldn't,
you just felt like, I can't have any fun on this day. That's not
what is being taught. It's talking about the rest that's
in Christ. You don't do your own pleasure
on His holy day. You call the Sabbath a delight,
the holy of the Lord. Christ is my holiness before
God. He is the holy of the Lord. He
is honorable. And you shall honor Him, trusting
Him only, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure,
nor speaking your own words. Then, in resting, then, shalt
thou delight thyself. in the Lord. Now, so many of us spend a lot of time just feeling
guilty and miserable. You know why? We're not resting. That's why. You rest in the Lord. You know what else you'll do?
You'll delight yourself in the Lord. You'll have the boldness
in resting in Christ to draw near. And you'll say, let Him
kiss me with the kisses of His mouth. Oh, that I might embrace
Him, that I might delight myself in Him. Oh, the joy of knowing
Him. The joy! And this is only known
in keeping the savage. Then shalt thou delight thyself
in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places
of the Lord. Now, here we have irresistible
grace. Now, I know this. Whatever I've been able to do,
it's going to be because He caused me to. Don't you want to be caused
by the Lord? That means He causes you to do
it. He causes you to walk in His
path. He causes you to ride on the high places. It's a work
of irresistible, invincible grace. He causes you to. Then you'll
be caused to ride upon the high places of the earth and feed
thee with the heritage of Jacob, thy father, who ate upon the
Gospel, the children's bread. He'll feed you. with the inheritance
of Jacob. Jacob have I loved. For the children
being not yet born, either having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand not of works, but
of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elders
shall serve the younger. As it's written, Jacob have I
loved, and Esau have I hated. And we feed upon this salvation
without works. Oh, that's food to my soul. I
rejoice in it right now. Fit for fellowship of God. Fit for all things. What good
food that is. For the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it. He's promised this. But do you
know that we'll have none of these things without this true
fast that He speaks of? Now, don't say We fasted and
you've not responded. No, you haven't. Wherever this
fast is, this true fast, the Lord responds in these blessings.
He gave you the grace to do that in the first place. And He responds
in these blessings. And if we do not deny ourselves
and we're seeking to benefit from not denying ourselves, we
only lose. It's only in losing our life
that we gain it. It is only in losing our life
that we gain it. I would challenge us all to carefully
study the fast that God has chosen. This is the fast that we must
keep. It would be a blessing to us
this week, maybe a couple of times, to go back and read this
passage of Scripture again. and look at the fast that God
has chosen. Let's pray together.