God said in Isaiah 58:6-7 (Amplified), "(Rather) is not this the fast hat I have chosen; to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bonds of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every (enslaving) yoke?" Verse 7 goes on, "Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house-when you see the naked, that you cover him, and that you hide not yourself from (the needs of) your own flesh and blood."
When you read the above passage, you understand what Jesus preached in Luke 4:18-19 (Amplified) when He said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me (the Anointed One, the Messiah) to preach the goodness (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to sent forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are down trodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity). To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord (the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound)."
When Jesus said that He "only does what the Father says to do," He was quoting directly from what God told Him to say. Jesus taught the "chosen fast" from Isaiah 61:1 that came with the promise that once He had spoken the Word, then God would bring them to pass. These passages are still alive and true today in the life and spirit and mouth of God's children.
Jesus said that, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified Me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and the afflicted. He has sent Me to bind up and heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the (physical and spiritual) captives and the opening of the prison and the eyes of those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (the year of His favor)," in Isaiah 61:1-2 (Amplified).
Jesus didn't complete the reading of Isiah 61 because He didn't hear the Father speak it to Him as the time to bring it forth. This scripture still remains in the future and is yet to be fulfilled. Many have tried preaching this portion of Isaiah 61:1-2 to this generation, but God is not obligated to fulfill it until we hear Him say so. We only say what the Father tells us to say.
So often, we says what the Word says, without hearing the Father speak it to us. It is His Word and it is truth, but only when He tells us to speak it. God spoke Isaiah 58, Isaiah 61 through the mouth of Jesus and they are now living Words that remain living, for all who will believe. The "chosen fast" God speaks about in Isaiah 58 is true for all believers, because Jesus taught us to live this way. Throughout His teachings, Jesus disclosed the way for God's blessing and God's instructions for the new born child of God to walk and live.
As we walk out this truth and carry it out in our lives, God will carry out His part in it with His blessing He spoke on our behalf. This isn't something we have to work at, but only walk with the expectance of His fulfilled promise. Once Jesus taught this way of life (fasting), it became true for everyone who will live in it. Walking in God's chosen fast brings His blessing along with it. If God one part, He said both parts.
Please, don't misunderstand what I'm saying about this fast. If you do what God said, then the blessing will come upon you. This however, should not be the reason you walk this fast, you should do so because you have a new spirit and a God given love for man and God.
God asks in Isaiah 58:5 (Amplified), "Is such a fast as yours what I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself with sorrow in his soul? (Is true fasting merely mechanical)? Is it only to bow down his head like a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him (to indicate a condition of heart that he does not have)?"
This is why Jesus said in Matthew 6:16-18 (Amplified), "And whenever you are fasting, do not look gloomy and sour and dreary like the hypocrites, for they put on a dismal countenance, that their fasting may be apparent to and seen by men, truly I say to you, they have their reward in full already. but when you fast, perfume your head and wash your face So that your fasting may not be noticed by men but by your Father, Who sees in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open." This fast is the love for God and man and the attitude of the heart.
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