You cannot afford to break Yahuah’s Law whilst fasting or practising abstinence. Abstinence or fasting means dedicating oneself to Yahuah, taking a vow to live according to God’s will.
1.Shabbat Shalom to the saints. The topic for this sermon is, “Fasting that is acceptable to Yahuah.”
Isaiah 58:1-14: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
2. 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.
3. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
4. 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.
5. 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?
6.“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?
7. 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?
8.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.
9. 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;
10. 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:
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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:
14.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.” – King James Version
15.In this entire chapter, God speaks through Prophet Isaiah Shembe (peace be upon him) about fasting and abstinence.
16.What is fasting? Fasting or abstinence is self-restraint from numerous earthly pleasures, allowing one’s mind and soul to meditate on God.
17.Normally, one abstains by fasting according to their own choice so that they may gain spiritual power to solve various problems.
18.I have never come across a text, in Mosaic Law, where Yahuah teaches us about a fasting procedure, but it is clear that fasting was an existing practice because the prophet mentioned it.
19.God instructs the prophet to cry out loudly, just like a trumpet, and tell the children of Yisra’el that they should refrain from abandoning God; they should abandon sins.
20.God goes on, saying that the children of Yisra’el pretended to observe His laws; that is why they want to know His ways.
21.These people were worried that even when they fasted their prayers were not acceptable to God.
22.They asked Yahuah: “Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?”
23.It is obvious that they were troubled because their fasting yielded no results. They thought this was due to the fact that God did not realise that they were fasting.
24.God then responded to their queries, saying: “Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
25. 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.”
26.God continues, saying: “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?”
27.Yahuah says: No, 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?
28. 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.
29. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am!”
30.But all this will happen if one does the following: “Removing the yoke from the people, not afflicting the people and abstaining from gossip, not uttering vain things!”
31.Yahuah continues, saying: “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. Yahuah will take care of your qualms.”
32.Lastly, God reveals correlation between fasting and keeping the Shabbat. He says He associates fasting with refraining from labour on Shabbat, His holy day, and calling it joy and exalt it!
33.As we have alluded before, here God is teaching us about fasting, that the fast that we practise is not known to Yahuah; He never taught us to bow like bulrush and put on sackcloth whenever we are troubled by problems.
34.Trying to solve problems by fasting without knowing anything about piety, is a waste of time. If God is to accept one’s request, for which they have engaged in a fast, they should first be completely pious.
35.Fasting emanates from piety; one should keep God’s Law and show compassion to the afflicted. Keep the Shabbat.
36.You cannot be found oppressing your servant whilst fasting, not being willing to even pay them. You cannot be found quarrelling whilst fasting, being engaged in a strife with fists. All that simply keeps Yahuah away from you.
37.Fasting by married couples should be marked by co-operation and peace. Even when they are fasting, Yahuah does not dwell among quarrelsome people. One cannot engage in cheap talks, gossiping about others and discussing vain matters. Yahuah steps back from such a person.
38.One should demonstrate fasting by assisting impoverished people, by supplying them with food and by providing shelter to homeless people; one should go out of their way to search for sleeping place for the destitute. Since this is winter season, take your blankets and give them to the poor.
39.Above anything else, Yahuah says we should observe His Law whilst fasting. Our fasting should correspond with our observation of the Shabbat and understand that this Shabbat is Yahuah’s. Let us call Shabbat joy, let us glorify it, hallow it and do not do any work on it.
40.You cannot afford to break Yahuah’s Law whilst fasting or practising abstinence. Abstinence or fasting means dedicating oneself to Yahuah, taking a vow to live according to God’s will.
41.The month of July (Av) is the month of Yahuah’s holy assembly or feast. This feast is derived from the book of Exodus (Shemot) 23:14, where Yahuah says we will observe the feasts of unleavened bread three times a year. This means fasting or abstinence that Yahuah has appointed for us.
42.According to Prophet Isaiah Shembe’s (peace be upon him) teaching, the feasts start in January upon Mount Nhlangakazi, followed by the Feast of Booths in April and then another one in July (Av).
43.In these holy assemblies which are Yahuah’s feasts, we abstain for the whole month because we would stay with God. Even if we are in our residences or at a meeting camp, we should still practise abstinence. The first thing that we abstain from in these months is eating leavened bread.
44.Secondly, during any holy assembly month we do not engage in sexual relations in any way. The reason for this restriction is that chastity or holiness does not correspond with sexual entertainment or any bodily pleasures. Wherever there is God, engaging in sexual activities is tantamount to ritual uncleanness.
45.Exodus 19:14-15 reads thus: “And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: COME NOT AT YOUR WIVES.” – KJV
46.The reason why they abstained from sexual relations for three days was that they would meet Yahuah; ascetism contradicts sexual relations; sexual relations acts are ritually unclean to God. That is why Yeshua said that those who die and go to God live like angels, and they do not get married!
47.As we have explained, within the Nazarite Church, Shembe taught us to abstain, meaning that we should refrain from sexual relations. The first instance of abstinence occurs when we anticipate the beginning of Shabbat holy hours. Yom Shabbat begins at sunset on Friday and stops at sunset on Yom Shabbat.
48.Engaging in sexual relations stops from Thursday until the end of Yom Shabbat. The following pattern of abstinence pertains to feast days called 14 and 23 (dates of each month). 14, which is women’s feast day, starts at sunset on the 13th day of each month and ends at sun rise on the 15th day.
49.The woman stops engaging in sexual relations with her husband on the 12th until the morning of the 15th day. The feast of the 23rd day, which is the feast for menfolk, starts at sunset on the 22nd day and ends at sunrise on the 24th day.
50.The man stops sexual contact with his wife on the 21st day until the morning of the 24th day. These feasts of Yahuah which include three holy assemblies per year are marked by restrictions on sexual relations which are observed by every Nazarite.
51.Hlaleleni, the angel, often calls on us to advise us on the significance of fasting and abstinence during Yahuah’s feast days. This divine being once said Prophet Isaiah Shembe would teach the Nazarites about the importance of abstaining from sexual relations during Yahuah’s holy days.
52.But a certain preacher once said, “I will never adhere to Shembe’s teaching; I will never restricted by another man concerning my wife. Shembe never contributed with a penny while I was paying dowry for this wife.”
53.This divine being said indeed the preacher never complied with the prophet’s teaching. He would always engage in sexual relations with his wife on Shabbat (Friday night before sunrise) and then conduct Shabbat services the following morning. The angel said, “God simply kept quiet and did nothing.”
54.The preacher ended up in a polygamous marriage and bragged a lot about his wives. He continued ridiculing the rules of respecting Yahuah’s feast days; he said nobody would regulate patterns of his sexual engagements with his wives. The angel said, “God simply kept quiet and said nothing.
55.But one day Yahuah’s wrath came down upon him. Yahuah smashed the preacher into a muddy matter!” Then the angel said: “Do you know muck? The preacher turned into the muck. Yahuah turned him into the same muck through which he used to mess up to his wives’ detriment; all of a sudden he met his earthly and spiritual unfortunate fate!“
56.Then the divine maiden said, “If, as a Nazarite, one is found engaging in sexual activities during fasting days, a sin of adultery is recorded in heaven because the wife belongs exclusively to Yahuah throughout the period.
57.Yahuah has generously granted one with days during which he can freely engage in sexual relations with his wife, but he develops jealousy against Yahuah. Infatuation that makes one feel jealous against Yahuah can only come from Satan; during ordinary days that Yahuah has granted for such intimate activities, such love will then be removed from such delinquents.
58.Your marriage will lack a blessing; when you need Yahuah to support it, you will realize that He will be far from you. You drove Him away through your jealousy against Him during days dedicated to His adoration.”
59.The divine being continued, saying, “Nothing is as abominable to God as a church member that engages in illicit love affairs; nothing is as abominable to Yahuah as a prince, princess or even an ordained church member using Yahuah’s feast as an opportunity to accomplish their dark, evil plans.”
60.The angel said, “if one engages in illicit love affairs within the church, they cannot grow to a ripe age; the number of their days on earth will be reduced. Even when one is married, their marriage will not be peaceful; it will fall apart as time progresses and problems will never cease. That happens because the marriage is founded on a curse.”
61.When Eli’s sons engaged in illicit sexual acts with females in Yahuah’s place, according to 1 Samuel 2:25, Eli said: “If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him?” – KJV
62.We are discussing abstinence; we are discussing fasting. God says fasting has nothing to do with remembering it during problematic times, starting to get accustomed to fasting for certain days and staying out in the fields under the guise of waiting for God.
63.Yahuah says fasting is a pious person’s act of waiting for His grace, a person who always meditates on God’s holy statutes, also keeping the Shabbat. If one does that, they will cry out, Yahuah will respond and the impending darkness will turn into noonday.
64.Yahuah will always lead you, satisfy your soul in dry places strengthen your bones and Yahuah’s glory will follow you! Yahuah has spoken, let His name be praised!
May the Lord bless His Word.
This sermon is also available on YouTube channel: REV MPANZA NCG.