Sunday, 2 September

Nehemiah 2:19-20 – “But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that you do? will you rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.”(NKJV)

On this first day, I want to challenge you with an important question: Why are you doing this Fast? Are you doing it just because everyone else in the church is doing it?  Or are you doing it because you sincerely believe that God wants to do something in your life through this Fast?  Unless your response is the second, this Fast will only be a three-week vegan diet for you, and nothing else.  However, if you believe that God wants to do something important in your life, then He will respond to your faith!

One thing that I have learned anything in my walk with Christ it is that anything worth building will cost you a high price. If it comes easy, it is either not authentic, not durable, or it is not from God.

The second thing I have learned in my walk with Christ is that the seduction of the devil causes you to believe that you can receive the promise from God without paying the price that God demands.

Finally, the biggest thing I have learned about myself is that I get tired of having to pay the price. The constant call from God to walk before Him with integrity, to walk with others in love, and to walk in the presence of demons with authority, while at times, not seeing this bear much fruit can be very demoralising. This is why our challenge is not only to fight the next battle, it is to build something that will last beyond our lifetime.

The Jews who left Babylon to go to Jerusalem were leaving a life of comfort and prosperity for a life of hardship, deprivation, threat from hostile adversaries and separation from most of their friends and family who did not return. But they did so because of a vision to rebuild the temple and the city of God.  It is the vision to build something for future generations that will always inspire you to act out of a position of courage rather than the pursuit of comfort.

Prayer :

Ask God today to give you a clear vision of what He wants you to build in your life and through your life. He will always start something on the inside of you that will, through time, manifest on the outside.  Make that your prayer today.  And give yourself to the Spirit during this time of fasting.

Robert BAXTER