Fasting
When believers consider the word “fasting” most think of going without food, water, meats, etc. to be coupled with prayer. Many recall the 40-day fast Mashiyach completed and afterwards was hungered, was tempted by Satan, and overcame said temptations. While all these fasts are truly important, (when done properly—in secret, with humility, etc.), viable and relevant, especially if an individual is considering ministry, there is a fast that YHVH has chosen above all. It was a fast that Mashiyach and his disciples followed during Mashiyach earthly ministry as well as after he ascended into heaven. However, this fast is not commonly known, taught or discussed but yields the kind of results that most clerics and believers would like to see. But the cost/price of this fast is significant.
Consider what the prophet Isaiah said while under YHVH’s anointing relative to the fast YHVH chose. It should remind you of what Yahushua said, as recorded by Matthew (chapter 25).
"Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 58 (NIV)
Compare Isaiah 58 (above) with Matthew 25 (below) and notice the similarity.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Matthew 25:31-46
The above scriptures link closely to what James (James 2:15-17) said, what Paul (2 Corinthians 8:1-24; 8:8) said and how the early church continued the practice (Acts 2:44-45). It is what Yahushua modeled (John 13:29, etc.) for them. No wonder the early church experienced such explosive revival and such favor among all the people. They chose to abide by the fast that YHVH chose and YHVH in turn kept HIS promise of blessings. In modern times, what many overlook is the fact that the Azusa Street Mission followed this similar pattern of fasting and YHVH poured out great blessings. This fact is less observable among the many books about Azusa Street Revival, but it is there if one looks for it.
In conclusion, the most difficult fast to do and sustain is the fasting of materialism and render it to the widows, the orphans, the poor/needy, the abused, the maltreated, the neglected and the stranger (disenfranchised), but this is very close to the heart beat of YHVH. It was this neglect (among other things), which is also closely linked to the Third Year Tithe, that brought judgment upon Israel (Daniel’s 70 Weeks).
According to Isaiah 58, YHVH is not interested in fasts that are short lived, followed by behavior no different than before the fast began. YHVH is looking for a lifestyle change, a living fast, a sustained behavior that benefits HIS less fortunate (than you) children, your brother, your co-heir. Thereafter, one can focus on YHVH's "lost" children. This fast that YHVH chose does not negate the value of the other fasts when done properly and the results they yield, but this fast that YHVH chose should develop a profound perspective and insight into YHVH's passion for how HIS children are to treat/behave towards other fellow heirs of YHVH. This fast proves your LOVE for/towards YHVH and his children. How can you love YHVH who you have not seen if you cannot love YHVH's children whom you have seen?
Learn more about this subject by reading DOC Volume One and DOC Volume Seven.
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