OUR LORD WHO INHERITS THE TRIBES

Isaiah chapter 63 verse 17 says this;

Why, Lord, do you make us wander from your ways and harden our hearts so we do not revere you?

Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes that are your inheritance.

The prophet implores the Lord to look down over His people from His throne in heaven and then asks the Lord  why He has withheld his tenderness and compassion from them.

The prophet reminds the Lord that He is the Father of His people even though Abraham does not know them nor does Israel acknowledge them.

He asks the Lord in verse 17 why He makes His people wander from His ways and hardens their hearts so that they do not revere Him.

The prophet cries out to the Lord to call Him to return for the sake of those who have served God because of the tribes of God's inheritance.

Amen.

2

OUR LORD WHO REJOICES OVER HIS BRIDE

Isaiah chapter 62 verses 5 - 7 says this;

As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

This passage reveals a glimpse into the relationship that the Lord has with His bride. 

She is compared to a young woman being married by a young man. In this case, the Lord Himself builds Jerusalem and then marries the city as His bride and He rejoices over His bride even as a young man rejoices over his bride.

The Lord reveals that He has posted watchmen on her walls to diligently watch over her day and night.

The Lord charges the people who are His to be unrelenting in their pressing of the Lord to establish Jerusalem until she is the praise of the earth.

Amen.

4

OUR FATHER WHO HOLDS HIS PEOPLE SO THAT THEY SHOULD NOT FEAR

Isaiah chapter 41 verse 13 says this;

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

The Lord, speaking to the children of Israel, comforts them by reassuring them that even though they are a small people called from a distant land at the ends of the earth, He will hold them by the right hand and tell them not to fear because He will be with them to help them.

Even though their enemies rage against them and wage war against them, they will be as nothing and perish.

The Lord tells His people that they have nothing to fear and that he will help them.

Amen

12

OUR FATHER WHO WELCOMES THOSE WHO SEEK HIM

Luke chapter 11 verse 9 - 11 says this;

But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.

When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

As the apostles went from town to town proclaiming the kingdom as they had been instructed by the Lord, word about all this activity got back to king Herod.

He was perplexed because some people were saying that these were the miraculous  works of John the Baptist who had come back to life.

Herod knew that he had beheaded John and so he wanted to see Jesus so that he could verify His identity and try to understand what was going on.

At the end of their mission, the apostles returned to Jesus and reported to Him the things they had done. Jesus took them and withdrew to the town of  Bethsaida on the north side of the Sea of Galilee to try cool down the political tension that was being generated by their work among the towns.

However, even as they tried to lower their profiles, the whereabouts of Jesus and His disciples was leaked and the people followed them there. Jesus welcomed them and taught them things about the kingdom of God and healed those who needed healing.

The Lord, unfailingly generous to those who were hungry for the words He spoke, yielded time to teach them and to heal them.

Amen.

7

OUR FATHER IS THE LIGHT OF HIS PEOPLE

Isaiah chapter 60 verses 3 - 4 says this;

Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 

“Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip.

This passage speaks of the effect of the Lord's exaltation on His people.

When the Glory of the Lord rises upon the bride of Christ and when His  glory appears over her, the magnificence of her light will draw the nations to herself and the kings of the earth will come to the brightness of Her dawn which marks the beginning of her the manifestation.

The Lord's bride is humble and her eyes are lowered and so the Lord says to His bride, "Lift up your eyes and look about you." 

The Lord tells her that everyone has assembled for her and that all who are hers have come from far away.

The Lord then says to His bride in Isaiah chapter 60 verse 5;

Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy.

The bride of Christ, the glorious new Jerusalem, will no more be lit by the sun but by the everlasting light of God.

The people of this city are the work of the Lord's  hands as displays of His splendor.

As Isaiah chapter 60 verse 22 says;

The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”

Amen

7

OUR FATHER REQUIRES A HIGHER LEVEL OF FASTING

Isaiah chapter 58 verses 5 - 6 says this;

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves?

Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords Qaeda ee ease eee the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

This passage captures the Lord challenging believers to aspire to a higher level of fasting than what they perceived fasting to be.

The standard view was that fasting was a day of being humble, a day for head bowing and for lying in sackcloth and ashes.

The Lord rhetorically asked the people if such a fast would be acceptable to Him. 

With the Lord disapproving the standard fasting model, He then outlines the nature of an acceptable fast. People on such a fast would act to undo injustice, they would work to set the oppressed free and they would strike yokes of bondage and control over people in order to release them from captivity.

The higher level of fasting is one that operates in the spirit where its aim is to raise those who are fasting to a higher plateau where they can do battle against injustice, spiritual oppression and bondage.

This elevated function of fasting is what the Lord Jesus was referencing when the disciples, after going into the mission field to proclaim the kingdom, returned to him and asked Him why they were unable to cast out a particular demon that was tormenting a young man.  

The Lord pointed out to them that they lacked the prerequisite faith but, in Mathew chapter 17 verse 21, He added this;

However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

First, it is revealed that there are gradations of demons and the particular kind in question required a greater authority in the spirit to dislodge. 

Second, the practice of prayer and fasting can escalate one's authority in the spirit so that even entrenched demons can be rebuked and expelled.

It is thus part and parcel of the lifestyle of fasting to ascend to the spiritual stance of restoring  justice, ending oppression and breaking yokes.

Amen.

7

OUR FATHER WHO SHOWS MERCY AND FREELY PARDONS

Isaiah chapter 55 verse 7 says this;

Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

This verse sets the templates by which people can obtain mercy from the Lord and be freely pardoned by God.

First, the wicked need to abandon their ways, behaviours and actions.

The unrighteous need to abandon their thoughts which are the expressions of the flesh in the mind.

Having done this,  we can turn towards the Lord and He will respond in mercy and grace towards those who repent from sin and humble themselves before him.

Amen.

7