1 00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:08,240 Alrighty, if you got a Bible, I'm gonna talk about fasting. Isn't that a 2 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:18,360 glorious thought, fasting? Us Americans like food. But, Beins, we kind of called 3 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:27,080 for a fast and obviously Steve mentioning us being on life support. You 4 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:32,600 know, as I look back and you know just hearing all the all the stuff, you know, 5 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:39,120 you hear from both camps, Republicans, Democrats. But I do have to say that for 6 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:47,080 me, what I've seen in the last four years from this administration is the most 7 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:56,080 pathetic thing that I've ever, most pathetic style or place of leadership 8 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:01,280 that I've ever seen in my life. I mean it is pathetic. The two of the biggest 9 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:07,640 things are the withdrawal from Afghanistan. It turned my stomach. I mean 10 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,880 to leave all of our billions of dollars worth of equipment over there and just 11 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:18,800 pull out like it was absolutely sickening. And then to 12 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:24,040 pull back the restrictions on our borders and to let people flood in. It's 13 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:28,560 almost like it was a declaration of war on America. What other country would let 14 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:33,680 that happen? Nobody would do that. In fact, my daughter and I were talking the other 15 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:37,000 day and because of what we see Israel going through, I said, "What would happen 16 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,720 if Israel pulled back and just let anybody come across the border they 17 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:45,440 wanted to? How long would they be a nation?" And Cheyenne said, yeah, Cheyenne said, 18 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:52,840 "They wouldn't last a day." And so I think they should be held 19 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:58,760 personally accountable for the deaths of Americans that were murdered at the 20 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,240 hands of people who came into this country illegally. So yes, we're in 21 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:10,600 trouble. Yes, we need to fast and pray as a country. Now individually, I'm 22 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:15,240 cool. I mean I have to agree with the Apostle Paul when he says, 23 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,840 "Whatever state I find myself in, I need to learn to therefore be content." 24 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:26,000 If I'm in the deep, possibly gonna die from a shark attack or if I'm 25 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:31,240 gone broke or if I'm having, you know, if my family is 26 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:35,600 killed or whatever, no matter what state I find myself in, in my relationship with 27 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,760 God, I'm comfortable with that. But what I'm not comfortable with is the 28 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:47,360 the future that I'm gonna leave my grandkids. And I'm just like, "Oh, Lord." So we gotta fast, 29 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:55,360 we gotta pray, we gotta vote. And if that fails, I'll pick up that subject later. 30 00:02:55,360 --> 00:03:02,320 I've seen this little voter guide. I gotta credit Dave Kirby for posting it. 31 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:08,240 And because, listen folks, we need to vote. It was shocking to me the 32 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,760 amount of Christians that don't vote. But this says, "How I will 33 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:17,000 vote in November." Some of you saw this. It's pretty good. It says, "I will vote for 34 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,160 the most pro-life candidate because God hates the shedding of innocent blood." 35 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,440 Right? He also says, "The nation that does that will not go unpunished." Proverbs 6 36 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,920 17. "I will vote for the most pro-Israel candidate because God blesses those who 37 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:34,040 bless Israel and curses those who don't." That's a good idea, right? Genesis 12 3. 38 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:39,760 "I will vote the most pro-debt reduction candidate because the borrower is servant 39 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:47,880 to the lender." Proverbs 22 7. "I will vote for the most pro-work candidate because 40 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:53,800 God says if a man don't work, he don't eat." Yes. 2 Thessalonians 3 10. "I will 41 00:03:53,800 --> 00:04:00,680 vote for the most pro-marriage candidate," that, may I clarify, man and woman, 42 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:06,400 "because God is for marriage as defined in Genesis chapter 2 verse 24. I will 43 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,400 vote for the candidate who most closely believes government's purpose is to 44 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:18,240 reward good and punish evil." Romans 13. "I will vote based as close as I can on 45 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:27,000 God's Word." 2 Timothy 3 16. So, yes, do we vote for the lesser of two evils? Yes. In 46 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,120 most cases, yes, because the Bible says, "Let God be true in every man a liar," and 47 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:39,200 that colludes politicians. And that is a true, true saying. But we've called for 48 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,800 this fast thing, and in one of our staff meetings we kind of got to talking 49 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:47,680 about it, and I thought, you know, that is it's a good idea to maybe just talk 50 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:53,000 about this. And this passage that I'm going to look at is found in Isaiah 51 00:04:53,000 --> 00:05:07,440 chapter 58, and it talks about fasting and why we should fast. Because it's 52 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:13,640 really something that the scripture talks about, though we don't see it much 53 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,600 in the law. The only fast that we see in the law is on the Day of Atonement, and 54 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:23,720 they just were just coming off of that feast there in Israel, and they would 55 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:30,000 afflict their souls. And so we're just going to kind of jump into this. I 56 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,240 don't know if I'll get through the whole chapter, it's just 14 verses, but we'll 57 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:37,640 read, we'll start by reading the first five verses. Would you pray with me? 58 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:42,720 Father, thank you for your Word, and God that it brings clarity to things that 59 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:49,200 we have questions about, Lord, in our lives and concerning spiritual 60 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:53,840 things. Lord, I pray that you would, Lord, that you would just take us to a level 61 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:58,040 maybe that some of us have never been before, and I know, Lord, I need to go 62 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:05,820 deeper with you, and just pray that you would somehow do that, Lord. Show 63 00:06:05,820 --> 00:06:10,920 me as if Psalm has said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart and see if there be any 64 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:15,040 wicked way in me, and lead us in the way everlasting." And so I pray that 65 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:21,160 you would do that as we look at these verses here about fasting, and 66 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:26,080 what seems to always be coupled with that is prayer. Prayer and fasting, 67 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:30,960 seeking the face of our God, and realizing, Lord, that this life isn't 68 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:35,440 about us, but it's about others, and it's about your will for our 69 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:40,960 lives. And so teach us, Lord, as we look at this, and Lord, we just humbly 70 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:45,680 ask for the presence of your wonderful Holy Spirit that can show us 71 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:53,160 marvelous things from your Word. In Jesus' name, amen. And so he says, the 72 00:06:53,160 --> 00:07:01,760 book of Isaiah is...he's a prophet. Shortly before, Israel is taken captive by 73 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:10,000 Nebuchadnezzar. There in 585 BC, Nebuchadnezzar comes in and begins to 74 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:16,720 take the known world, a very powerful man, seemed to be a pretty wicked man as you 75 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:23,140 read through the book of Daniel and get some insight into who he is, and so 76 00:07:23,140 --> 00:07:30,000 he comes in and he takes Israel, and Isaiah gives some serious warnings to 77 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:35,220 Israel that this is coming, and it's because they refused to heed many of the 78 00:07:35,220 --> 00:07:40,560 warnings of the prophets, and they were worshipping idols, and they were doing 79 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:45,320 things that God had promised them. If you do this, I'm kicking your hind ends out 80 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:50,240 of the land, right? You're gonna be spread throughout the whole world, and I'm not 81 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:55,840 gonna put up with it. And so that's what he did, and so he's kind of 82 00:07:55,840 --> 00:08:03,600 with that in mind as we read this, it says, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your 83 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:07,840 voice like a trumpet, tell my people their transgression and the house of 84 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:14,400 Jacob their sins, yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways. As a nation, 85 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:20,120 they did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They 86 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:27,040 ask of me the ordinances of justice. They take delight in approaching God. Why have 87 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:32,760 we fasted, they say, and you have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls and you 88 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:39,280 take no notice? In fact, in the day of your fast, you find pleasure and 89 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:47,000 exploit all your labors. Indeed, you fast for strife and debate, to strike with the 90 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:54,000 fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard 91 00:08:54,000 --> 00:09:00,200 on earth. It is a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul. It 92 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:06,760 is to bow—is it to bow down his head like a bull rush and to spread out sackcloth 93 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:12,720 and ashes? Would you call this a fast?" And so the Lord right off the bat, he's 94 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:17,840 checking these people, their spiritual condition, right? That they're just 95 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:26,320 hypocrites. He, it's like he exposes it and Isaiah, he tells Isaiah, "Cry with a 96 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:31,640 loud voice, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet. Tell my people there's 97 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:37,780 transgression, there's sin. This is what you're doing and it's wrong." Those of you 98 00:09:37,780 --> 00:09:51,200 in the basement playing video games. But, but their sin seems to be gross 99 00:09:51,200 --> 00:10:01,080 hypocrisy, right? They have got hypocrisy down to a science. Now, Jesus talks about 100 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:07,360 this in Matthew chapter 15, right? In verse 8, he says, "These people draw near 101 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:12,880 me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from 102 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:17,940 me, and in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." 103 00:10:17,940 --> 00:10:26,140 Right? So this is, this is really nothing new, but their religiosity, they connected 104 00:10:26,140 --> 00:10:29,300 it to their relationship with God. I have a relationship with God because I go to 105 00:10:29,300 --> 00:10:34,000 church, because I have a dollar bill in my pocket that says, "In God we trust." I 106 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:38,200 mean, people think that. They think that they're okay with God because of that. 107 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:42,940 Right? I know people that think they're okay with God because they've never had 108 00:10:42,940 --> 00:10:47,200 a drink in their life. That means I'm right with God. Now, they cheat on their 109 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:51,600 wives, they commit adultery, but because they've never had a drink of alcohol, 110 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:55,800 they think they're right with God. That God looks at them and sees this goodness. 111 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:07,040 Not. And so he's saying here, you know, "Yet they seek me daily." Right? They were into 112 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:13,660 the daily sacrifices, they were doing the letter of the law, so to speak. You 113 00:11:13,660 --> 00:11:19,560 remember the Apostle Paul? He thought he was all that, and began to persecute the 114 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:25,080 church. And this is the Pharisees that Jesus is talking about here, and 115 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:30,840 Matthew. But God first described the appearance of their spiritual life on 116 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:36,040 the surface. It seemed that God's people loved him and were devoted to him, and 117 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:41,440 they had the reputation of a nation that did righteousness. They had this 118 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,800 reputation that God had... A lot of the countries, when they had crossed over, 119 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:51,520 right, the Red Sea, and later, and when they crossed the Jordan, and the 120 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:56,520 nations had heard the works that God had done in this nation, and many of 121 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:03,400 them feared. But there was nothing to fear in these guys, because they were so... 122 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:11,000 They were so wicked, and yet they showed up every Sabbath. And how many people do 123 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:17,480 that? Right? They go to church, it's just something they check the box. Not really 124 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:23,880 to really hear anything, maybe hear a cool song, or maybe see a pretty girl. I 125 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:28,300 don't even know why some people come to church. They'd be maybe better off if 126 00:12:28,300 --> 00:12:37,480 they didn't at all. But he's saying here, he says, "For they seek me daily," verse 2. 127 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:47,800 Right? Seems to... It seems to, as he goes on, and he says, "And delight to know my ways. 128 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:52,980 As a nation, they did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their 129 00:12:52,980 --> 00:12:59,200 God. They ask of me ordinances of justice. They take to light in approaching God." 130 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:06,560 It's almost like, because we know that the hypocrisy is so terrible, it's like 131 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:12,720 they think that God is their boy. How many people, even Christians I have met, 132 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:19,000 that think God is their boy? You know what I mean by that, right? That God is 133 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:27,160 their slave. That God is bound to do what they tell him to do. For me, that's just 134 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:32,760 like, "Are you serious? This God with the breath of his mouth, he could like turn 135 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:40,360 you into a little ash heap?" You know? And yet they treat him like he is bound, 136 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:45,160 right? There's just arrogance in all of it. "And delight to know my 137 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:49,560 ways as a nation, and did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinances of 138 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:54,760 their God," or so they thought. They went through the motions, but their hearts... I'm 139 00:13:54,760 --> 00:14:06,600 gonna start preaching here in a minute. Fly off my stool, sorry. This is, you know, 140 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:16,680 this is expressed also in the first part there of verse 3, where it says, "We have 141 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:23,480 fasted, they say, and you have not seen. Why have we afflicted our souls? And you 142 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:28,000 take no notice." What are you doing, God? You're not listening to us! You're supposed to be 143 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:35,360 doing what we tell you to do! Is that ridiculous? That is ridiculous, but that 144 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:46,440 is what people think. I know people in church think that. And God is not bound 145 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:58,160 by us in the slightest, right? God rewards faith, but our faith is in Him. It's not 146 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:09,240 in us. My faith isn't in my faith. My faith is in Him, right? And so God is 147 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:16,080 not bound to agree with us. We are bound, listen, to agree with Him, right? We 148 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:21,360 are bound to agree with Him, not the other way around. And that's the idea 149 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:28,320 that Isaiah comes at these people, clear back in chapter 1 of Isaiah, where it 150 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:33,920 says in Isaiah 1 18-20, "Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord, 151 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:40,080 though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, and though 152 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:47,280 they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient," 153 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:54,560 right? To who? To God, right? That's us agreeing. "You shall eat the good of 154 00:15:54,560 --> 00:16:01,000 the land, but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword, for the 155 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:08,640 mouth of the Lord has spoken." Right? So I heard this one time that the word 156 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:18,040 "repent" means to agree with God. Agree with God about yourself. And I hope you're 157 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:23,240 agreeing with God today, right? Please don't expect Him to agree with you. I 158 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:29,240 mentioned it, that scripture, right? That "let God be true in every man a liar." So 159 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:36,080 we need to agree with Him about ourselves. And so the second part there 160 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:46,400 of verse 3, it says, "In fact, in the day of your..." This is actually God's 161 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:51,160 rebuttal. "In fact, in the day of your fast, you find pleasure and you exploit 162 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:57,560 all your labors. Indeed, you fast for strife and debate and to strike 163 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:04,200 with the fists of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day to make your 164 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:10,760 voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict 165 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:16,800 his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bull rush and to spread his sackcloth 166 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:22,920 and ashes? Would you call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?" God's 167 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:35,240 sin. Your religious, you know, show is nothing, is absolutely nothing. He really 168 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:41,680 lets them have it. He says you exploit, right? That means to drive hard or to 169 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:47,080 overwork. You're driving hard, you're overworking your people, you debate and 170 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:52,240 argue. You just, all you want to do, you're fasting because all you want to do is 171 00:17:52,240 --> 00:18:00,120 prove somebody wrong. What kind of hard is that? Or they're just wanting to or 172 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:04,200 actually were punching people in the face with your fists, there's fist 173 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:09,760 fighting. I haven't been in a fist fight in a long time, it's not that I'm totally 174 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:18,320 opposed to that. But it's not something I should do on a regular basis or try to 175 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:29,560 get my way. And he says you have struck with the fists of wickedness. 176 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:35,960 You put on this religious show by bowing down in sackcloth and ashes and you 177 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:45,200 think it's acceptable? It's not. It's not acceptable. These are those that Paul 178 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:50,800 mentions in Titus chapter 1 where he says, "They profess to know God but in works 179 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:56,480 they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient and disqualified for every 180 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:06,760 good work." Hypocrisy on steroids. And who doesn't hate hypocrisy, right? Ought not 181 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:12,320 we all hate hypocrisy even in our own selves? I don't know about you but my 182 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:22,240 hypocrisy is nasty. It's ugly. And this is what Isaiah is pointing out to 183 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:28,520 these people. He said, "This isn't a fast that I require of you. This 184 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:40,920 isn't a fast that I'm gonna bless and do a work." So and then the Lord tells them a 185 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:46,960 fast, talks about a fasting, a fast that He's chosen. Now before we get there a 186 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:51,560 few points I want to make about fasting. We see it throughout Scripture, right? In 187 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:57,300 fact if you want to look at the so-called heroes of the faith, here's a 188 00:19:57,300 --> 00:20:03,540 list of some of them who fasted. Moses the lawgiver, David the king, Elijah the 189 00:20:03,540 --> 00:20:11,900 prophet, Esther the queen, Daniel the seer, Anna the prophetess, prophetitist. I get 190 00:20:11,900 --> 00:20:15,020 a little tongue-tied on that one. Jesus the son of God and Paul the apostle. 191 00:20:15,020 --> 00:20:21,440 These are people who fasted, right? They went without food. And a fast is usually 192 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:26,020 without food. That's what it's, people try to say, "Well you can do this or you can 193 00:20:26,020 --> 00:20:29,380 know we're in our world you can fast from electronics." And yes you can do that. 194 00:20:29,380 --> 00:20:35,480 But primarily a fast is talking about starving your flesh from food. That's 195 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:40,180 what it's talking about. And so there were occasions throughout Scripture for 196 00:20:40,180 --> 00:20:48,540 fasting. Some of those were, they fasted when loved ones died, right? They would 197 00:20:48,540 --> 00:20:57,120 fast when a war or a threat was coming their way. Possible. They would fast when 198 00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:05,440 they sought God's forgiveness, right? We see them there. Ahab fasted and prayed. 199 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:13,580 Ahab. And God honored it. He repented. He fasted about his sin and he was 200 00:21:13,580 --> 00:21:19,940 forgiven, to be forgiven. Now he went on and did some pretty hideous things after 201 00:21:19,940 --> 00:21:23,860 that. I don't know if we'll see Ahab in heaven or not. His choice of a woman was 202 00:21:23,860 --> 00:21:34,940 not very good. Jezebel. Fasted when loved ones were sick. You remember David fasted 203 00:21:34,940 --> 00:21:43,680 when his little one was sick and then died. And they fasted, and this would 204 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:52,580 probably apply to us, they fasted when there was impending danger. I think these 205 00:21:52,580 --> 00:21:59,220 elections could pose maybe some impending danger. And so I think it's 206 00:21:59,220 --> 00:22:08,580 an occasion to fast and pray. Not this coming week, the following week. And so 207 00:22:08,580 --> 00:22:20,180 the nature, thirdly, the nature of fasting, right, it means abstaining from all food 208 00:22:20,180 --> 00:22:26,900 but not water except for in a couple cases, right? And that was Elijah and Moses. 209 00:22:26,900 --> 00:22:35,500 Moses fasted for 40 days and 40 nights from food and water. But it had to have 210 00:22:35,500 --> 00:22:45,660 been supernatural, right? God divinely protected those two as they did this, but 211 00:22:45,660 --> 00:22:53,140 Moses received the Word of God. And what does Jesus say? "Man shall not live by 212 00:22:53,140 --> 00:22:58,700 bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." The very 213 00:22:58,700 --> 00:23:04,580 presence of God kept Moses alive those 40 days and 40 nights. And he kept Elijah 214 00:23:04,580 --> 00:23:14,060 alive because he had to talk to him at the end of the 40 days. And so that we 215 00:23:14,060 --> 00:23:18,300 see partial fasts. How long do you fast? Some people have never fasted. Some 216 00:23:18,300 --> 00:23:24,660 people maybe can't fast because of for health reasons. I don't know. But there 217 00:23:24,660 --> 00:23:30,940 were partial fasts. We see Daniel, right? He purposed in his heart not to 218 00:23:30,940 --> 00:23:35,820 defile himself with the delicacies of the king. So he ate vegetables and 219 00:23:35,820 --> 00:23:41,980 water for ten days. And the overseer there of the eunuch said, "You can't do 220 00:23:41,980 --> 00:23:45,780 that, dude. The king sees your countenance and sees that I haven't 221 00:23:45,780 --> 00:23:50,140 been feeding you right, man. He's gonna kill me." And Daniel said, "Well, let's 222 00:23:50,140 --> 00:23:54,020 test it. We'll do it for ten days. And if we look like we're all drawed down and 223 00:23:54,020 --> 00:23:59,380 all ganted up, right, then whatever. But let's put it to the test." And what did 224 00:23:59,380 --> 00:24:05,060 it say? They were more fatter. God honored, God blessed that fast of Daniel 225 00:24:05,060 --> 00:24:16,240 and his cronies. And so we see Queen Esther, right? She fasts on behalf of the 226 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:22,460 nation of Israel and called others to do so. The length of fasts, some fast for one 227 00:24:22,460 --> 00:24:28,980 day, some fast for three days. We got occasions of a seven-day fast. We got an 228 00:24:28,980 --> 00:24:36,860 occasion of a 21-day fast and a couple of 40-day fasts. Three, actually. 229 00:24:36,860 --> 00:24:42,740 Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. I personally know two men who have fasted for 40 days and 230 00:24:42,740 --> 00:24:55,740 40 nights. Interesting. It was a good weight loss program. But people just 231 00:24:55,740 --> 00:25:00,940 wanting to seek the Lord, denying themselves, right? It's a great practice. 232 00:25:00,940 --> 00:25:06,820 It's a great discipline because Jesus said when he calls us to himself, what 233 00:25:06,820 --> 00:25:13,220 does he say? "Deny yourself and pick up your cross and follow me." That's just a 234 00:25:13,220 --> 00:25:25,220 great way to practice that. Just some practical ways of fasting. And 235 00:25:25,220 --> 00:25:29,780 notice, it's like a law. No, if you got to do a fast, you got to do it 236 00:25:29,780 --> 00:25:36,500 for three days. If you got to do a fast, you, sorry, 40 days or you're not a 237 00:25:36,500 --> 00:25:46,780 true faster. No. Now some people fast meals. Some people fast morning and 238 00:25:46,780 --> 00:25:52,020 noon and eat at the evening. They'll break their fast and that's okay. 239 00:25:52,020 --> 00:25:58,660 But I think to get the full effect of it, and years ago when we were in the 240 00:25:58,660 --> 00:26:03,620 school we did what they call the 30-hour famine, right? That you would fast for 30 241 00:26:03,620 --> 00:26:09,660 hours. Go 30 hours without eating. Have you done that? You ever done that? 242 00:26:09,660 --> 00:26:13,660 A lot of people, "Well no, why would I do that? That's stupid. We're in America. We got 243 00:26:13,660 --> 00:26:19,640 all kinds of food. Why should we go without?" Well the Lord talks about it 244 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:29,480 here. Check this out. Verse 6, it says, "Is this not the fast that I have chosen? To 245 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:35,100 loose the bonds of wickedness? To undo heavy burdens? To let the oppressed go 246 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:43,100 free? And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry? 247 00:26:43,100 --> 00:26:50,120 And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out when you see the 248 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:59,520 naked that you cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh?" This is 249 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:05,800 what it's talking about. This is what the Lord is saying that you should do. 250 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:15,880 The reason you should fast. And really it's to be victorious. 251 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:23,360 And not only that, but to be free. To have freedom. Notice the first thing, freedom 252 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:29,960 from. Freedom from. You want to be set free from something? Get serious with the 253 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:36,440 Lord. Get on your face, right? Go without food. Seek Him. And you want to be set 254 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:42,240 free from something? God will. That's part of what Isaiah says. Come, let us reason. 255 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:47,680 Let's talk about this. How serious are you? How serious are you about your 256 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:55,520 relationship with God, right? Can you not do this? So the first thing is a freedom 257 00:27:55,520 --> 00:28:01,040 from. Freedom from wickedness. Freedom from burdens. Freedom from oppression. 258 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:05,200 Every yoke broken. 259 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:19,320 And so it kind of is reminding me of Acts chapter 15 verses 8 through 11 when it 260 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:23,720 says, "So God who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving them the 261 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:28,640 Holy Spirit just as He did to us and made no distinction between us and them 262 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:34,480 purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you test God by putting 263 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:39,800 a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were 264 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:44,440 able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we 265 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:50,680 shall be saved in the same manner as they." This yoke, this heaviness that you 266 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:56,960 can never measure up. You're never gonna be good enough. And that's, 267 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:02,580 he's speaking specifically about the yoke of the law. That the yoke of the law 268 00:29:02,580 --> 00:29:10,440 was never to be born because we can't bear it. It's too much. I've sinned and I 269 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:15,480 fall short of God's glory. I can't attain to that. That's why the grace of the Lord 270 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:28,320 is what I trust in and I put my faith in Him. But yoke, the idea of a yoke 271 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:34,460 means you're tied to something, right? You're tied to something. I used to work 272 00:29:34,460 --> 00:29:41,320 a team of horses and in the morning I would get them. It was Leo and Lucy was 273 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:46,880 our names. And I would yoke them together. Leo was kind of a lazy dog. He was a lot 274 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:51,360 bigger than Lucy but he never pulled near as hard as she did, right? He'd always 275 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:56,620 kind of lagged back. But they were tied together, right? Wherever she went he had 276 00:29:56,620 --> 00:30:03,080 to go even when it was hard. And that's the idea is being tied to 277 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:07,960 something. And the Bible says that here when you enter a fast, something 278 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:13,360 that's probably tied to you that is not healthy, it can be broken. To break it. Get 279 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:21,840 it away from you. Or like Paul told Timothy, "Flee youthful lusts." Break it off. 280 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:28,200 Maybe you got things in your life you want broken off. They control you. What 281 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:35,400 controls you? Technology controls our society in a big way. A really big way. 282 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:44,720 And to me it's a fearful thing. But if you want to be set free from that, 283 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:51,720 if you want to have the freedom from these things, right? Then draw near to God. 284 00:30:51,720 --> 00:31:01,880 Enter a time of prayer and fasting. A day, two days, a week. You're not gonna die. You 285 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:08,400 might feel like you're gonna die, right? But it's a great discipline. Actually the 286 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:12,960 health benefits that people are coming out with now with fasting is 287 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:19,280 pretty interesting. The studies they've done if someone will fast three days a 288 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:26,680 month, three days a month, it's amazing the health benefits from that. But that's 289 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:30,880 not why we do it. We want to see more to be purposeful, right? We want to 290 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:38,000 seek the Lord. So secondly, it was a freedom for something. So first it's a 291 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:45,480 freedom from wickedness, burdens, oppression, every yoke. And secondly it's a 292 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:54,080 freedom for, for what? For others. It frees you up to minister to others, right? It 293 00:31:54,080 --> 00:32:02,560 helps free you up from your own selfishness. You're freed to minister. 294 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:09,480 Notice he says, "To feed the hungry, to house the poor, to clothe the naked." 295 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:15,040 God's, when we purpose in our heart to seek the Lord in this way, it's like, "Oh, I 296 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:19,560 can work with that. That's some pliable clay in my hands that I can 297 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:26,040 mold into what I want you to be." And then God will present those things that 298 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:36,360 He'll set you free for. And I don't know about you, but notice it says, "And not hide 299 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:40,440 yourself from your own flesh." In other words, when you see people in need, you 300 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:45,400 don't ignore them, the needs of the people around you. Does this ring a bell? 301 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:52,880 Right? Jesus, in Matthew chapter 25, where He says, "Then He will also say to 302 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,680 those on His left," this is talking about the sheep and the goat judgments, and it 303 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:01,600 says, "Then He will also say to those on the left, 'Apart from Me, you cursed 304 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:05,680 into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was 305 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:10,300 hungry and you gave Me no food. I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink. I was a 306 00:33:10,300 --> 00:33:14,560 stranger and you did not take Me in naked and you did not clothe Me sick and 307 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:22,400 in prison and you did not visit Me.'" So here's some people with a, maybe a very 308 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:28,200 religious, or the thing that people like to say that, "I'm a very spiritual person." 309 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:35,120 Really, have you been born again? Then your spirit's dead. If you haven't been 310 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:40,760 born again, your spirit's dead. You need to be quickened and made alive by the 311 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:50,360 Holy Spirit of God. So God says this fast, it should free you from something 312 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:59,840 and for something. Verse 8, it says, "Then your light shall break forth like the 313 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:04,820 morning. Your healing shall spring forth speedily and your righteousness shall go 314 00:34:04,820 --> 00:34:15,620 before you. The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard." Your relationship 315 00:34:15,620 --> 00:34:22,160 with the Lord, it's right. You're right. You're experiencing true freedom. The 316 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:26,880 Christians that I've talked to who have really got a taste of this lately, just 317 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:32,320 it's just so refreshing to my soul. They're going, "I'm free! I mean, I thought I was 318 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:36,620 free before to do all these things, these bad things that I was doing, but I wasn't 319 00:34:36,620 --> 00:34:41,880 free at all. I was a slave to them." Right? And Jesus says that, "Whoever sins is a 320 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:53,740 slave to sin." And yet, true freedom is found in that place of communion at 321 00:34:53,740 --> 00:34:59,700 konia with God's Holy Spirit. You're just not going through the motions 322 00:34:59,700 --> 00:35:07,980 anymore, but it's actually real to you, this relationship with God. That's 323 00:35:07,980 --> 00:35:14,460 what this country needs, you guys. Right? They need to be quickened. They need to 324 00:35:14,460 --> 00:35:22,360 have an experience like the Ninevites did and be broken before the Lord 325 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:31,180 and realize that God has a plan and He wants our light to shine. Notice, "Your 326 00:35:31,180 --> 00:35:37,300 healing shall spring forth speedily." When there's no hindrances between you and 327 00:35:37,300 --> 00:35:42,580 the God of heaven. You don't have any pent-up sinfulness in your heart that 328 00:35:42,580 --> 00:35:46,380 you haven't brought before Him to be forgiven of, and God goes, "Yes, I can bless 329 00:35:46,380 --> 00:35:48,780 you now." 330 00:35:48,780 --> 00:36:00,020 Your righteousness will go before you. Matthew 5 16, right? Jesus says, "Let your 331 00:36:00,020 --> 00:36:03,980 light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your 332 00:36:03,980 --> 00:36:13,560 Father in heaven." It reminds me we have access to the Father through the Son. "Let 333 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:19,760 us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find 334 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:28,000 grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4 16. Have you come before the Lord? 335 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:31,940 You let Him know you're serious. 336 00:36:31,940 --> 00:36:39,640 You can do that by maybe just implementing your own little personal 337 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:47,220 fast. And that's why we're gonna do this week coming up here in a week from 338 00:36:47,220 --> 00:36:53,180 Monday. Just to give you an opportunity. I don't monitor that. I'm not 339 00:36:53,180 --> 00:36:57,040 gonna call you, "All right, I was looking through your window. I saw you eat that 340 00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:06,880 biscuit. Sinner!" Like we're hiding anything from the Lord. You know how 341 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:10,720 hungry you get sometimes when you're fasting. 342 00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:21,200 But when we come to that place, right, and we're free from those things and we 343 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:26,040 fast and we pray and we seek the Lord and we're released from those things, God 344 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:31,480 hears us. He hears that prayer of repentance. But Psalm 66 18 says, "If we 345 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:36,520 regard iniquity in our heart, the Lord will not hear." How many people is God not 346 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:42,440 listening to? Because you refuse to repent of something in your life that's 347 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:48,840 got its hooks in you. God doesn't hear you, "I'm sorry." You feel like your prayers 348 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:53,880 are just bouncing off the ceiling. It's because they are. The first prayer that 349 00:37:53,880 --> 00:38:01,120 God's gonna hear is a prayer of repentance. "Forgive me, Lord, a sinner." 350 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:12,360 Isaiah 59 1 through 3 says, "Behold, the Lord hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor 351 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:18,260 his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from 352 00:38:18,260 --> 00:38:24,480 your God, and your sins have has hidden his face from you, so that he will not 353 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:30,120 hear. For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity. 354 00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:36,280 Your lips have spoken lies and your tongue has muttered perversity." The United 355 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:41,240 States of America, that is us right there. 356 00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:54,000 But God is so drawn to somebody who will humble themselves, right? And when you 357 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:57,920 fast you get low. But Jesus said, "Listen, don't let your left hand know what your 358 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:03,480 right hand is doing. Wash your face. Don't tell people you're fasting." It's like you 359 00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:07,680 got your reward. Oh well, aren't you spiritual? There's your reward right 360 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:14,320 there. No, don't tell people you're fasting, right? But wash your face, the 361 00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:22,560 Bible says. Let your light shine, be cheerful, and the Lord who sees in secret 362 00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:30,320 will reward you openly. I want to just remind you of a story in Luke 363 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:38,760 chapter 18. I love this story about two men, right? And I'm just gonna read it 364 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:46,780 to you. It's found in Luke 18 verses 9 through about 14, and it's about the two 365 00:39:46,780 --> 00:39:51,680 men that came before the Lord to pray. Because fasting, folks, is almost always 366 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:58,320 coupled with prayer. It's fasting and prayer, right? Why? Because you're 367 00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:03,120 drawn near the Lord. You talk to the God of heaven when you fast. And so it 368 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:07,920 says this, it says, "He also," this is Jesus talking about Jesus, "He also spoke this 369 00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:13,600 peril to some who trusted in themselves." How many times have you heard that phrase? 370 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:18,480 "You gotta believe in yourself!" I hear coaches tell kids that all the time. No, 371 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:24,320 they don't! They gotta believe in Jesus, right? Now, there is something to have 372 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:28,440 confidence with the giftings that God's given you and recognizes that it's God 373 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:34,080 that's done it. Good gracious, don't believe in yourself. That is pathetic. 374 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:39,240 God's so much bigger than us. He's so much better to believe in than ourselves. 375 00:40:39,240 --> 00:40:45,120 Those who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous and despised others. 376 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:49,040 Doesn't that just sound like the people we just read about? Two men went up to the 377 00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:53,600 temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other tax collector. The Pharisee stood 378 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:59,440 and prayed thus with himself, "God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, 379 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:05,360 extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a 380 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:10,840 week. I give tithes of all that I possess." And the tax collector standing far off 381 00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:16,600 would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be 382 00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:21,400 merciful to me, a sinner." I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, 383 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:26,120 rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he 384 00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:32,560 who humbles himself will be exalted." This week coming up is just, it's just an 385 00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:42,360 opportunity to just be hummable for the Lord, right? And he so loves humility. God 386 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:48,360 loves it. And so then we question, "Does God love us? Because I know I don't have 387 00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:57,920 much humility. So I have to constantly humble myself before him and realize on 388 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:02,520 Sunday mornings I get up and I say this little prayer. It's a little too weird 389 00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:08,280 prayer. It's profound. You ready for it? 390 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:18,240 Excuse me. I don't count very good. It's three words. "Jesus, help me." I pray that 391 00:42:18,240 --> 00:42:28,440 earnestly every Sunday morning when I get out of bed. The last weeks or so I've 392 00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:38,360 added another word. "Lord, Jesus, help me walk." But notice this man would not even 393 00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:45,560 lift his eyes up. He knew what he was, but he was humble before the Lord. "Lord, 394 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:52,560 forgive me a sinner." And he said he went, he went down to his home. He was justified. 395 00:42:52,560 --> 00:43:00,960 You ever broke that word down? Such a cool word. Justified. Just if I'd never 396 00:43:00,960 --> 00:43:18,240 sinned. Just if I'd never sinned. So I'm gonna finish reading this this chapter 397 00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:23,840 real quick. There's only a few more verses. But it's such a powerful 398 00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:28,360 passage of Scripture and just the results of somebody who would humble 399 00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:37,360 themselves before the Lord and be blessed and be set free. True, bonafide 400 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:43,360 freedom. Verse 9 says, "Then you shall call and I the Lord will answer. You shall cry 401 00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:51,880 and will say, you shall cry and he will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke 402 00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:55,760 from your midst, the pointing of the finger and the speaking of wittiness, if 403 00:43:55,760 --> 00:44:00,480 you could extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your 404 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:04,880 light shall dawn in the darkness and your dark shall be as the noonday. The 405 00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:09,240 Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your soul in drought and 406 00:44:09,240 --> 00:44:14,320 strengthen your bones. You shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of 407 00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:19,840 water whose waters do not fail." Didn't it just make your mouth water? "Those from 408 00:44:19,840 --> 00:44:24,880 among you shall shall build the old waste places and they shall raise up the 409 00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:28,980 foundations of many generations and you shall be called the repairer of the 410 00:44:28,980 --> 00:44:34,120 breach, the restorer of the streets to dwell in. If you turn away your foot from 411 00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:39,720 the Sabbath from doing your pleasure on my holy day and call the 412 00:44:39,720 --> 00:44:46,160 Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable and shall honor him, not 413 00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:51,600 doing your own ways nor finding your own pleasure nor speaking your own words, 414 00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:57,000 then you shall delight yourself in the Lord and I will cause you to ride on the 415 00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:01,360 high hills of the earth and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. 416 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:11,400 The mouth of the Lord has spoken this." Amen? Amen. We just need to do this prayer 417 00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:15,400 and fasting thing with the right heart this week. Just do it with the right 418 00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:20,600 heart. Lord, I just want to seek you. You know, start with with a prayer of 419 00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:26,560 repentance. Oh Lord, you can even pound on your chest. That's when it's 420 00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:30,360 acceptable for the Lord. Not in the end zone. It's like, "God, oh you got your 421 00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:34,680 reward, dude. You just pounded your chest in the end zone. You think you're cool?" 422 00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:47,160 Whatever, right? But we just need to do it with the right heart. Let's pray. Father, 423 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:56,520 I pray that you would have your way in us and just knowing that when we humble 424 00:45:56,520 --> 00:46:05,360 ourselves before you, Lord, we own our own wickedness, our own sin, our own falling 425 00:46:05,360 --> 00:46:13,760 short of your glory. You can work with that, Lord, then so as you have your way 426 00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:20,280 in us and we yield to you, Lord, and we we do what you've called us to do, just 427 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:27,040 knowing that the the rest is going to take care of itself. So Lord, may we find 428 00:46:27,040 --> 00:46:32,640 ourselves walking in your ways, Lord, as we prepare for this week of fasting, just 429 00:46:32,640 --> 00:46:38,480 lifting up our country to you. I'm so concerned, Lord, for the future 430 00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:46,000 generations. I know my generation is going fast, Lord, but these generations coming 431 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:50,440 after us, Lord, I pray for an outpouring of your Holy Spirit, Lord, that you would 432 00:46:50,440 --> 00:46:58,080 empower them to be these who let their light shine and shall break forth 433 00:46:58,080 --> 00:47:02,360 like the morning, Lord, that your healing shall spring forth speedily in these 434 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:07,520 young people's lives, Lord, and your righteousness shall go before for them, 435 00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:11,520 Lord, for truly it's your righteousness and that you would be their rear guard. 436 00:47:11,520 --> 00:47:15,400 Lord, we love you. Thank you for the hope that you give us as we read these things 437 00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:19,480 and, Lord, they're so simple to apply to our own lives as we humble ourselves 438 00:47:19,480 --> 00:47:25,400 before you. Have your way, Lord. Pray that you would be right in the middle of all 439 00:47:25,400 --> 00:47:30,220 the crazy stuff going on in our country and in our world, praying for the 440 00:47:30,220 --> 00:47:37,520 peace of Jerusalem, Lord, and your hand upon your people. Lord, we just 441 00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:42,280 have great confidence in our God, Lord, and that we can actually sleep at 442 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:47,960 night because of who you are. And so, Lord, give us your spirit and give us a boldness, 443 00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:53,200 Lord, in these days to speak in the name of Jesus to a lost and dying world that 444 00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:56,800 needs to hear the truth of who you are. In Jesus' name, amen. 445 00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:59,480 Let's all stand. 446 00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:01,540 you