Called community fasting

Had a sermon last week, by Ps. Michael and he talked about End Time Revival - Repentance that Leads to Revival. Was just very refreshed by the second point he talked about, community repentance. The verses he quoted was Joel 2:15-16

¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.

¹⁶ Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.

Indeed God wishes for all of us to be involved. Every member in the community ought to take part to repent and to be consecrated to God =)

yup, i think that is why Tiomthy called for the whole NYC to have a 10-day fast during the sub-d meet last thursday =)
During the past few meetings, we have already been identifying areas that we need to repent from and have our hearts aligned with God, so now is the time that we carry them out in our lives to rid them and also draw closer to God.

To add on to what i mentioned in the previous post about fasting, i think the most important thing that we want to remind ourselves when we fast is that nothing can ensnare us from seeking God.

yup, so to share with you, the list that i made to fast from in this ten-days...
1. Lunch
depending on God alone to satisfy. Physical hunger will allow me to realise spiritual
hunger and feed on WOG
2. Chocolate
I can be reliant on chocolate to adjust my mood sometimes, always crave for choco when
having bad mood..
3. Going to bed after 1am
Unhealthy habit, not taking care of physical health
4. Sleeping for more than 8 hrs per day
Lazy habit, adequate rest is essential but sleeping too much ain't healthy too
5. Milo/any drink with milk in the morning
Have developed a reliance on it; it has become a must-have for me in the morning, so i wana
try and rid of any possible 'addiction'
6. Talking to stuffed soft/plush toy
finding comfort in unpractical manner, should instead talk to God or a fellow believer
7. Humanizing Rennie (my pet hamster)
creates emotional reliance on pet
8. Stoning on bus
idle-ing, unproductive, time could have been spent praying, reflecting or repenting
9. Dwelling in negative thoughts
magnifying problems instead of God
10. playing with nails
Bad habit that weakens my nails

Notice i not only mention the specific action/behaviour i wish to fast from, but also the reason why i want/need to carry out this fasting. Because this is not an opportunity to make myself appear spiritual but because i want fasting to be the tool for myself (not God) to see whether i am truly consecrating myself to God, not part of me but everything of me belongs to God.

Meditating on the passage Isaiah 58 =)

True Fasting

¹ "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.

² For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

³ 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

⁴ Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

⁵ Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

⁶ "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

¹³ "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.