A Vow Before God
January 13, 2010 by pastor
Filed under 2010 Fasting Manual
A Vow Before God Is A Real Deal
When you set out to fast and make a promise to God, He judges that very seriously. To give up, and not fulfill your promise, except in the case of medical reasons, constitutes a violated fast. This happens when you (1) do not keep the spiritual vow to fast or, (2) break the physical restraints of the fast (ie. eating or drinking what you promised to abstain from). Sometimes this is done absentmindedly, at other times a person intentionally eats or drinks, just as purposely as a person chooses to sin.
Since the Bible is silent about principles, illustrations or actions to take when a fast is violated, we must draw principles from the general doctrine of the Word. Let’s look:
1) Nonjudgmental Because all sins have been forgiven at Calvary, a broken vow is covered by the grace of God.
2) Non-benefit If a vow is violated you will probably not receive the benefits for which you fasted. If the Nazirite vow was broken, according to Numbers 6, the man received no benefit from his vow.
3) Harm Because fasting is not required, a command is not violated. However, you may have harmed your personal endurance and self-esteem. You have demonstrated a lack of self-discipline or the weakness of your resolve. The best thing to do is to return to the making of the vow and start over, keeping it this time.
10 Purposes for Fasting
January 13, 2010 by pastor
Filed under 2010 Fasting Manual
10 Purposes For Fasting.
The Battleground is The Spirit vs. The Flesh to gain control for who runs your will. Denying the flesh in order to seek God is the best way to win that battle, but fasting is much more meaningful than that. To find the purposes for fasting we turn to the Word of God.
1) To Chasten the Soul – Psalm 69:10.
2) To Humble the soul (overcome our flesh) Ezra 8:21; Psalm 35:13; 69:10.
3) To Repent and seek the Lord – 2 Chronicles 20:3,4; 1 Samuel 7:2-6.
4) To Prepare for Spiritual Warfare – 1 Kings 21:27-29; Matthew 17:21.
5) To Experience God’s Habitation – Matt. 9:14; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35.
6) To Receive Spiritual Direction – Judges 20:26-28; Acts 13:2-3; 14:23.
7) To Gain Power over demonic forces – Matthew 7:14; Mark 9:16-29.
To Save our City/State/Nation – 2 Chronicles 20:3-30; Ester 4:3-16; Joel 1:14; 2:15.
9) To Minister to one another – 2 Corinthians 6:4-10; 11:21-31.
10) To Experience Revival – Zechariah 8:16-23.
