End Times Witnessing: Holy Spirit teaches how to fast

 Watchman heard: "To live End Times, you need to live by the Spirit of God. Pay attention to what the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Cor.2:13)

"But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God." (1 Cor.2:10)

___________________________What does the Spirit say on fasting?

Isaiah 58:6-12 (New King James Version)

⁶ “ Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
      To loose the bonds of wickedness,
      To undo the heavy burdens,
      To let the oppressed go free,
      And that you break every yoke?
       ⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
      And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
      When you see the naked, that you cover him,
      And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
       ⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
      Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
      And your righteousness shall go before you;
      The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
       ⁹ Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
      You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

      “ If you take away the yoke from your midst,
      The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
       ¹⁰ If you extend your soul to the hungry
      And satisfy the afflicted soul,
      Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
      And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
       ¹¹ The LORD will guide you continually,

      And satisfy your soul in drought,

      And strengthen your bones;

      You shall be like a watered garden,

      And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

       ¹² Those from among you
      Shall build the old waste places;
      You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
      And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
      The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
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When you think of fasting, consider this, what bondage oppresses the people of many nations most? Poverty? Many Christian (and other religious) organizations have been doing a lot of charity work throughout human history to feed the poor and cloth the naked. But many more peoples in many nations are increasingly under dark bondage and suffer worse fate. Why? Why? Why?
Even Christians (and other religious followers) are under the same fate.
Is there something in these verses/commands we have been blind to?
Why did Jesus tell the disciples this stunning statement praising and honoring Mary who anointed His feet with a jar of expensive perfume (worth a whole year's wages in those days) and wiping His feet with her hair, filling the whole house with fragrance?

Matthew 26:11-13 (New International Version)

¹¹The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. ¹²When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

Jesus revealed a lot of clues in His words. let us look at some and pray that the Holy Spirit illuminates our hearts to digest them and make them alive in us!
Matt.4:4 "But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,   ‘People do not live by bread alone,
      but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

John 6:63 "The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life."
 What did Jesus come to this world for? The Holy Spirit says, 
1 John 3:8 "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."
Luke 4:18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
       Because He has anointed Me
      To preach the gospel to the poor;
      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
      To proclaim liberty to the captives
      And recovery of sight to the blind,
      To set at liberty those who are oppressed;" 

Isaiah 10:27 "And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing."


2Cor.3:6 "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."


Now you know how to fast God's way!

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: BE PREPARED AND WATCHFUL AT THE HORSE GATE

Coming to the Horse Gate is no easy task. Jack tried to postpone this journey in the spirit. He went back to other Jerusalem Gates, dug and indeed found gold. But the next few Gates had to be explored and he knew sooner or later he had to face with the prophetic and visionary.

The following is a vision of John: Revelation 19:11-16 “Christ on a White Horse”:
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had[a] a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,[b] followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp[c] sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

What does this mean? Obviously this was predicted by Christ to the disciples. Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” Colossians 3:23-24 “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

Yes, Jesus promised He would come again and in a different role. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Christians all over the world are hoping for the soon return of the Lord. The problem Jack faced was that he knew he was not yet ready. So how should he prepare himself? He found the guide in the Book of Prophet Jeremiah. God expects holiness in His people.

Jeremiah 31:40 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the city shall be built for the Lord from the Tower of Hananeel (Mercy) to the corner (horse) gate… And the whole valley of the dead bodies (those sacrificed to idols).. All the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate shall be holy to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”
Nehemiah 3:28 “Beyond the Horse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house.”

The Horse Gate was located between the Water Gate (Words of the Lord) and the Sheep Gate (Declaration of truth). When Nehemiah restored this gate, the priests (spiritual leaders) were required to do the job. This is significant. The gate was used by horsemen of the king to enter and exit for war purposes. Yet the priests were living nearby. Why? This confirms the truth that spiritual war is just as important if not more important than the physical one. The Bible recorded that many physical wars were won by winning spiritually!

By deploying the priests to restore the Horse Gate, it signified the restoration of true worship and holiness for the Lord. Indeed when the walls and gates were rebuilt, the Spirit led the priests and people into a great spiritual revival at the Water Gate.

A writer wrote: “We are living between the Water Gate (God’s Word) and the Sheep Gate (Declarations of truth). Unless our lives and declarations come forth from a holy life, they are like the brass shields that fail to reflect His glory.” (The original shields put in the temple were in gold but they were replaced by brass at the time of spiritual low)

We all have our role at the Horse Gate. This was Jack’s conclusion. He resolved to be watchful and prepared for the Lord’s return, worshipping God in Truth and in Spirit. The following is taken from his Biblical living journal on how he focused on the seeking the Truth (Word of God).

JOURNAL DAY 92B: LET US PURSUE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD

“Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.” (Hosea 6:3)

I have returned to this prophetic book as it was the first word I heard from the Lord. I heard the word “Hosea” very clearly when I woke from a dream after much prayer, asking God to let me know more about Him. Although at that time, I thought I had the answer then in the last verse (“Who is wise? Let him understand these things.”), I now believe there is more in this book for me to ponder on.

When I have started this quest I asked the Lord to let me know Him and know Him more than what I thought I knew before. During the quest, I was led to use the spiritual gift of knowledge. I could see a word in my mind or hear a word of God in my spirit and knew it was from God. I did not know the meaning of the ‘knowing’ but I know it is a way God shows me Himself or something He wants me to do. In short, it is a way of communicating with me. He is Spirit and I am flesh. Obviously I find it very hard to receive His communication. He can hear me and I cannot hear Him.

Only by living in the Spirit, I can receive His communication. That is why Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit will come and tell us everything. Indeed those who live close to God, living in the Spirit and walking by the Spirit can receive His message accurately.

Hosea saw a sad situation among the people of Israel and Judah: they did not know the Lord. Therefore they ran here and there instead of running to God to seek help. Hosea described them as being sick and wounded. God can rescue them. God can heal them. But they had no knowledge of Him, so they did not ask Him to save them.

Today many Christians run here and there in time of troubles. They do not seek God first. Seeking God may be their last resort, because they do not know God. Recently a man collapsed and died suddenly outside a Christian gathering place. With his last breath, he screamed the name of a Christian worker for help, and he uttered in horror that the devils were coming to get him. He did not even call out to Jesus to save him. He called the wrong name instead. In your utmost danger, whom do you call first? In your extreme trial, whom do you turn to first? In desperation where do you run to first?

Let us know God. Let us pursue the knowledge of God diligently before it is too late.

AAA Jack