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Welcome to the Special Fasting Edition of the Prayer Motivator Devotional Broadcast #62
This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International. It is good to be with you today.
The simple purpose of this broadcast is to encourage Christians who may not be familiar with fasting through the sometimes difficult and strange process of fasting so that they can fast and pray more effectively and reap the benefits and blessings for themselves, their families, their churches, the nation, and the world. This broadcast is not a veiled attempt to bring attention to the people who are fasting or to ourselves, for that would be in violation of the biblical principles of fasting. However, we are aware that many people in the body of Christ have simply not fasted at all in the past and we want to take the fear out of it so people can get down to the business of fasting and praying to God for the salvation of the nation and the world.
We praise the Lord for all of you who fasted for the first 10 days of July, those who fasted for 40 days and nights from June 1 through July 10, and those who fasted this past Wednesday, July 11. Please be reminded of the 24 hour fast today, Wednesday, July 18th. For all healthy young men between the ages of 30 and 45, if you are so led of the Lord to do so, please be reminded of the 40 day fast which begins on August 1 and lasts through September 9. This fast is specifically for the children of America. As you fast, please continue to pray for the following among other things:
1. For God to heal Christian families
2. For God to revive the church
3. For God to heal the nation
4. For 3 million or more people to come to Christ
5. And if the Lord is going to tarry His coming, for God to give us the godly leadership that this nation needs going forward.
Our Scripture reading for today is Esther 4 from the King James Version which reads:
1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
2 And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
3 And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not.
5 Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was.
6 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king’s gate.
7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.
9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
10 Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;
11 All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or women, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
12 And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words.
13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews.
14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
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.
Allow me to share with you some important points regarding this passage from Matthew Henry’s Commentary:
We see in verse 16 that with the courage and resolution that became a queen. “When we have sought God in this matter, I will go unto the king to intercede for my people. I know it is not according to the king’s law, but it is according to God’s law; and therefore, whatever comes of it, I will venture, and not count my life dear to me, so that I may serve God and his church, and, if I perish, I perish. I cannot lose my life in a better cause. Better do my duty and die for my people than shrink from my duty and die with them.’’
We will discuss this passage further in the next broadcast.
Our fasting quote of encouragement today is from Richard Foster. He said: “Fasting reminds us that we are sustained by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Food does not sustain us; God sustains us.”
Our fasting devotional today is titled “THE DANIEL FAST PRESCRIPTION: DEAL WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF THE FAST’S FAILURE” (part 1) from Dr. Elmer L. Towns in his book “Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough”.
You may enter the Daniel Fast—either for yourself or for someone else’s healing—and the person doesn’t get better. Despite prayer, the illness seems to increase. What should be your reaction?
First, don’t terminate your fast, or cut it short. A fever frequently gets worse before it is broken, and health returns. Keep your commitment to God.
Second, realize that some diseases are so advanced that healing is not possible.
Third, recall that all healing is subject to the will of God. He may have in mind a purpose in this illness that you cannot see. Remember that God controls all of our lives; no one dies prematurely. When God does heal, it is temporary, because as Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed for men to die.” God controls the hands of the clock that determines the death of all people. Some healthy people die by accident, yet other diseased people live on for years.
Now, let’s take this moment to break up the fallow ground in our lives. Hosea 10:12 states, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”
The great evangelist Charles G. Finney preached a message titled “Break Up the Fallow Ground – It Is Time to Seek the Lord”. In this sermon, he listed 27 sins that we as Christians should confess and repent of. We have gone through each of those sins in previous broadcasts. We have added sins to that list ourselves and to date, we have covered 58 sins. Today we are going to deal with the 59th sin of Judging Others.
There are two types of “judging” that are described in the Bible. The first kind is the Godly kind that we exercise with prayer and careful discernment. The second kind is the sinful, hypocritical kind that always looks for a fault or sin in someone else’s life. This is the type of “judging” that God does not want us to do. Matthew 7:1-5 states, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” In this verse, Jesus condemns the hypocritical judgment of others. How often have you looked down your nose at someone else who was in sin? Have you pulled out the mote from a brother’s or sister’s eye, but had a beam in your eye? Do you stand in church all pius and holy and look for faults in other people? As Christians, we are not to judge other Christians who may be sinning, when we are sinning ourselves. If we have a Christ-like heart, when we see a fellow Christian sinning, we will approach them respectfully and lovingly, and help them get out of that sin. It is not our job to judge and condemn other people but to lovingly help them grow closer to Jesus Christ.
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer right now and confess our sins before God.
GENERAL PRAYER
Dear friend, if you are listening to this broadcast and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how. Please understand that you are a sinner, just as I am, and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve permanent punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death…” This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell. That is the bad news.
But here is the good news. John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today and forever. Amen.
If you believed that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, and you meant this prayer from your heart, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! We’re here to help you, feel free to contact us at GospelLightSociety.com
Until next time, continue to fast and pray. God Bless You!
