Looking at Questions in God’s Word - 2

Looking at Questions in God’s Word - 2

Subject – Why Have We Fasted?

By Rick Welborne

Isaiah 58:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.
²  Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.
³  'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?' "In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 

--We seem to go to this verse a lot during our 21 days of fasting but with our emphasis on Looking at Questions in God’s Word I believe we will get a new perspective.

--The first question in God’s Word we will be looking at today is Why Have We Fasted? We have a tendency to look at the what and God looks at the why. The people ask why but they are sarcastic with God.

1. The people’s questions.

--The heart of people back then is really no different than people today. The people were frustrated with God because, in their minds, they had fasted and prayed and God had not answered their prayers.

Another question we may look at in a future sermon is the question coming from Gideon. He is wondering where God has been in all their dilemma. 

Judges 6:12-13 (NKJV)
¹²  And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!"
¹³  Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

--I personally believe it is okay to ask God questions if we are sincere. My God, my God why? I believe Gideon was sincere and I believe he was truly in search of answers from God. 

--I believe the same problem with the children of Israel is the same problem we have today. What’s that, Pastor Rick? God’s promises are conditional.

--No, Pastor Rick, salvation is not conditional, it is a free gift. I guess you would have me except for the Word of God. Salvation is free but we still have to do our part and receive.

John 1:11-13 (NKJV)
¹¹  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
¹²  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
¹³  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

--So that is the condition to God’s free gift of salvation…we have to believe and we have to receive. 

--Well, Pastor Rick, God will give me the desires of my heart…I know that is in the Bible and I have heard it all my life. You are right but there are conditions. What?

Psalm 37:3-7 (NKJV)
³  Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴  Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
⁵  Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶  He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.
⁷  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 

--You probably do not want to hear the conditions of getting the desire of your heart. Here are a few…You must trust, you must do good, you must dwell in His presence, and you must feed on His faithfulness.

--There is more…you must delight yourself in Him, you must commit your way to Him, you must rest and wait patiently on the Lord, and not fret or worry. 

--When you do all these things (meet these conditions) God will give you the desires of your heart, He will bring it to pass, and He will bring forth your righteousness (the condition) as the noonday light.

--Well, Pastor Rick, I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength. True but there is a spoiler alert here too. There are conditions to this promise.

Philippians 4:11-13 (NKJV)
¹¹  Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
¹²  I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
¹³  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

--The condition is that you have learned to be content with having a lot or having little, to be hungry or to be full, or to abound or to suffer need. I can do all these things. 

--The children of Israel wanted the blessings of praying and fasting but the failed to meet God’s conditions.

2. God’s Questions.

Isaiah 58:4-5 (NLT2)
⁴  What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with Me.
⁵  You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD? 

--God says what good is your fasting when you keep fighting with each other. What are you saying, Pastor Rick? Not me, God. The Lord says it matters how you treat each other.

--Let’s just say it! God will not respond in a good way for you even if you fast and pray if you are not treating your brothers and sisters in a good way. It will not get you anywhere with God. Sobering!

--False humility and simply going through the motions with fasting or anything else will not get you anywhere with God. God is saying the other aspects of your life are important too. 

1 John 4:19-21 (NLT2)
¹⁹  We love each other because he loved us first.
²⁰  If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?
²¹  And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters. 

--Here’s the point…Don’t expect God to answer your prayers or to respond to your fasting in a positive way if you are fighting with your brothers or sisters or if you have un-forgiveness in your heart. Listen to Jesus:

Matthew 6:9-18 (NLT2)
⁹  Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
¹⁰  May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
¹¹  Give us today the food we need,
¹²  and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
¹³  And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
¹⁴  “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
¹⁵  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
¹⁶  “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.
¹⁷  But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
¹⁸  Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. 

--Pastor Rick, fasting and praying is hard enough without all these conditions. Forgiving is hard so I am not sure I am ready to let this go. Then, stop fasting and get yourself a good steak and baked potato. 

3. God’s questions and sincere answers to true fasting.

Isaiah 58:6-7 (NKJV)
⁶  "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?
⁷  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 

--God wants our fasting and praying to be pro-active. What do you mean, Pastor Rick? Fasting is more than just doing without food, it is how you treat those who are bound, those who are hungry, and to care for your family.

--It is about denying your appetite for food so that your appetite for God gets stronger. Think about it…fasting is about loving people and it is about loving God more. The results are wonderful when we meet the conditions.

 Isaiah 58:8-12 (NKJV)
⁸  Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
⁹  Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰  If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
¹¹  The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
¹²  Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.