TOPIC: THE FASTING THAT DESTROYS THE YOKE
Isa 58:6-12(KJV)6 Is not this the fast that I have 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?7 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?8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
The foundation of your family has been established to break ancestral curses and disrupt generational patterns.
The concept of the yoke, as seen in the physical realm, is often a product of supernatural influences.
When the disciples asked Jesus “Who sinned, this man or his parents?’He responded by emphasizing the purpose of His manifestation to destroy the work of the devil.
1 John 3:8(KJV)For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
John 9:1-7(NLT)As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
Similarly, when the disciples questioned, “why couldn’t we cast the devil out, Jesus taught them the importance of fasting and prayer, stating, “This kind cannot come out except by prayer and fasting. Mark 9:25-29(KJV)25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
That goes to buttress the promise in the book of Isa 58:6(KJV)6 Is not this the fast that I have 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?
When challenges arise, humbling yourself through fasting and prayer is a powerful response.
Dan 10:12-14(NLT)12 Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. 14 Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”
To receive any serious thing from the Lord, you must fast, such as Moses going to receive 10 commandments, the legacy and principle that will lead the people of God – The constitution and government of Israel.
Moses fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in God’s presence. Ex 34:27-28(NLT)27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”28 Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.
Jesus Christ: After fasting, He declared, “.Luke 4:18-19(KJV)18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Embarking on a very serious spiritual project, you give yourself into fasting.
Ezra: when faced with a challenging journey, Ezra proclaimed a corporate fast. Through fasting and prayer, the people were able to navigate their path confidently.
Ezra 8:21-23(NLT)21 And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” 23 So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.
Jonah : Jonah’s fasting in the belly of the fish led to his deliverance.
Jonah 2:1-10 (TLB) “In my great trouble I cried to the Lord and he answered me; from the depths of death I called, and Lord, you heard me! 3 You threw me into the ocean depths; I sank down into the floods of waters and was covered by your wild and stormy waves. 4 Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have rejected me and cast me away. How shall I ever again see your holy Temple?’ 5 “I sank beneath the waves, and death was very near. The waters closed above me; the seaweed wrapped itself around my head. 6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains that rise from off the ocean floor. I was locked out of life and imprisoned in the land of death. But, O Lord my God, you have snatched me from the yawning jaws of death! 7 “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. And my earnest prayer went to you in your holy Temple. 8 (Those who worship false gods have turned their backs on all the mercies waiting for them from the Lord!) 9 “I will never worship anyone but you! For how can I thank you enough for all you have done? I will surely fulfill my promises. For my deliverance comes from the Lord alone.” 10 And the Lord ordered the fish to spit up Jonah on the beach, and it did.
The heathen nation of Nineveh: fasted and prayed and repented of their sins. This act of humility saved them from God’s judgment – Jonah 3:4- “4-5 But the very first day when Jonah entered the city and began to preach, the people repented. Jonah shouted to the crowds that gathered around him, “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” And they believed him and declared a fast; from the king on down, everyone put on sackcloth-the rough, coarse garments worn at times of mourning. 6 For when the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne, laid aside his royal robes, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And the king and his nobles sent this message throughout the city: “Let no one, not even the animals, eat anything at all, nor even drink any water. 8 Everyone must wear sackcloth and cry mightily to God, and let everyone turn from his evil ways, from his violence and robbing. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will decide to let us live and will hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” 10 And when God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, he abandoned his plan to destroy them and didn’t carry it through.
Esther and the Jews: Esther called for a fast among the Jews. Their prayer and fasting led to their deliverance from annihilation. Est 4:16-17(KJV)16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
