If Thou Take Away From the Midst of Thee the Yoke, the Putting Forth of the Finger and Speaking Vanity, Then Shall the Lord thy God Satisfy thy Soul in Drought, Make Fat thy Bones, and Thou Shalt Be Like a Watered Garden - Part 1160

"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? 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?" (Isaiah 58:6-7)

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Therein, He was tempted of the devil for forty days. And in those days Jesus ate nothing, and when they were ended, He afterward hungered.

Read that scripture again. "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost ... was led by the Spirit." Not two Spirits but one and the same Spirit. Not a different person of the Godhead (as modern day religion teaches) but one and the same Spirit. The Holy Ghost being the same Spirit that Jesus was led by but also dwelt within. The same Holy Ghost which overshadowed Mary when she became pregnant with that "holy thing." God "hath in these last days spoken unto us by [His] Son -- whom He hath appointed heir of all things by whom also He made the worlds. (Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:20-23; Hebrews 1:2-8; John 1:1-18; I Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6)

And the angels answered and said unto [Mary], "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest [Most High] shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

This is why "ALL of the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in Him." (Collosians 2:9)

"By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament ..." (Hebrews 7:27)

The mystery that was hid in the bosom of the Father from before the foundation of the world.

"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of His dear Son - in whom we have redemption through His blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by Him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers -- ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY HIM, AND FOR HIM." (Colossians 1:12-17)

Who is this God the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light? Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness? Who hath translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son? Who created all things so we through His blood could have redemption -- the forgiveness of sins?

"And He is the Head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] He might have the preeminance. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him, [I say] whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled -- in the body of His flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight ..." (Hebrews 1:18-22)

This was the "fast" that the Lord thy God was referring to in the 58th chapter of Isaiah.

"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? 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?" (Isaiah 58:6-7)

This is the reason why He Himself -- Almighty God -- willingly took on a sin-prone flesh (even though He Himself was without sin) and dwelt among us. The same Word that spoke the world into being -- the same Word that was with God and was God was in the world. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)

Indeed, "He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not." (John 1:1-18)

"No man hath seen God at any time -- the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared." (John 1:18)

This is the "fast" that Almighty God Himself chose before the foundation of the world. (Isaiah 58:6) Not the "fast/fasting" that the religious culture holds onto in this day and age -- whereby we might do without food and water for a short time -- but God chose the ultimate "fast" whereby He would lay down His humanity for you and I. He would shed His holy blood on a cross for us.

Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) And yet, as we know, He laid down His life for His enemies.

Not another God but the same Spirit of God who created us in the beginning. This same heavenly Father who loved us so much that even before the world was formed, He had decided to willingly lay down His body on a cross for us. The same Holy Ghost Spirit that impregnated Mary with that holy thing dwells in us today when we believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and are baptized in His name -- as the first 3,000 were on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:37-42)

The Lord makes His love story very clear in Isaiah 58. He isn't looking for those who fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness -- that one when they fast do in this day or that day -- or as the scriptures point out -- "to make your voice to be heard on high." (Isaiah 58:2) No, our Lord God and Saviour is looking for those who are willing to die to the call of this world and heed His call. The same call that Jesus made to the disciples. That is when Jesus said --"follow Me." (Matthew 4:19; Matthew 8:22; Matthew 16:24; Luke 18:22; Mark 1:17; John 21:22)

Getting back to Luke, note that "when the devil had ended all the temptation [or testing], he departed from Him for a season." (Luke 4:13) An "opportune time" is the wording used to explain the term season in the footnotes. After this, Jesus returns in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and there went out a fame of Him through all the region and about. And He taught in their synagogue, being glorified of all.

When Jesus came to Nazareth (where He had been raised as a child) and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day to read, as was the custom, He stood up. There was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias [Isaiah], and when He opened the book, He found the place whereby the following was written.

"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 broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:1-19)

When Jesus had finished, He closed the book, giving it again to the minister. "And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fasted on Him. And He began to say unto them, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." And all bare Him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth." (Luke 4:18-22)

This day hath the Lord our God became our Saviour. Therefore, as Isaiah scribed for this day and age, believers need to stop playing church and be the Church -- His Church -- the body of Christ of which Jesus is the Head. Not fasting here and there but following His example, and making fasting for Jesus our life. Yes, Isaiah said it right. Stand in the offering plate.

Isaiah 58:

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. "Wherefore have we fasted," say they, "and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?"

But the Lord says, "Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? 

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? 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?

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 reward. 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 ... 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 noon day."

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. 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."

If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father."  -- For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."