{"id":7930,"date":"2024-06-21T04:38:13","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T04:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/?p=7930"},"modified":"2024-06-25T04:16:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T04:16:46","slug":"then-they-will-fast-matthew-915","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/then-they-will-fast-matthew-915\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThen they will fast\u201d (Matthew 9:15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThen they will fast\u201d (Matthew 9:15)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Love of the Lord unconditional and bestowed dearly to them, it kept them yarning and fretful after His death, unable to believe His rise until their eyes witnessed His appearance, hands touched His pierced body and yet again ate with Him.<\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s promise was what made their strength and brought grace upon them. \u201cBehold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city\u00a0of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.\u201d (Luke 24:49)<\/p>\n

On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were gifted of the Holy Spirit that empowered them spiritual grace and endowing them seventy-one surplus languages. For this, they exited to fulfill the Lord\u2019s order, \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.\u201d (Matthew 28:19)<\/p>\n

This tremendous work of God was not to be done without payer and fast. The Lord has previously said, \u201cWhen the bridegroom will be taken away from them, … then they will fast.\u201d (Matthew 9:15) For this truth, the apostles embraced by the Holy Spirit and the Love of Christ, fasted on the Month of Sene.<\/p>\n

The bible states the Holy Spirit had words to the disciples on their fast. \u201cAs they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the\u00a0Holy Spirit\u00a0said, \u201cNow separate to Me\u00a0Barnabas\u00a0and\u00a0Saul\u00a0for the work to which I have called them.\u201d Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.\u201d (Acts 13:2,3)<\/p>\n

The disciples fast, by the Holy Spirit upon them, was not without hardships and suffering. The Apostle Saint Paul said, \u201cWe give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>But in all\u00a0things\u00a0we commend ourselves\u00a0as ministers of God: in much\u00a0patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fasting;\u00a0by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by\u00a0sincere love,\u00a0by the word of truth.\u201d (2 Corinthians 6:5) and again, \u201cin weariness and toil,\u00a0in sleeplessness often,\u00a0in hunger and thirst, in\u00a0fastings often, in cold and nakedness.\u201d (2 Corinthians 11:27)<\/p>\n

They have fulfilled the Lord\u2019s order and even were authorized on evil spirt that they become capable of casting out demons from humans after their fasting. We are therefore reminded of the Lord\u2019s words to them, \u201cThen the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, \u201cWhy could we not cast it out?\u201d \u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>So Jesus said to them,\u00a0\u201cBecause of your\u00a0unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you,\u00a0if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, \u2018Move from here to there,\u2019 and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.\u00a0However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.\u201d (Matthew 17:19-21)<\/p>\n

These kinds of miraculous are the work of prayer and fasting by the grace of the Holy Spirt. Though the apostles were the chosen ones for the spread of gospel, baptism of Christianity and revelation of the Lord\u2019s miracle, all are called upon for the endowment of the Holy Spirit. \u00a0It is the Will of God to be upon and in us when we are praying, fasting, prostrating and diligent.<\/p>\n

The Holy Spirit will be on upon us if we have good and clean hurt whilst our pleading, attendance of the Divine Liturgy and keeping the order of the Church as well as the commandment of God. He is what give us strength, grace and eternal life. Then, we shall embrace His Presence and Glory whenever the Will of God embraces us.<\/p>\n

May God\u2019s mercy, will and glory be upon us, Amen!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Love of the Lord unconditional and bestowed dearly to them, it kept them yarning and fretful after His death, unable to believe His rise until their eyes witnessed His appearance, hands touched His pierced body and yet again ate with Him.<\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s promise was what made their strength and brought grace upon them. \u201cBehold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city\u00a0of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.\u201d (Luke 24:49)<\/p>\n

On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were gifted of the Holy Spirit that empowered them spiritual grace and endowing them seventy-one surplus languages. For this, they exited to fulfill the Lord\u2019s order, \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.\u201d (Matthew 28:19)<\/p>\n

This tremendous work of God was not to be done without payer and fast. The Lord has previously said, \u201cWhen the bridegroom will be taken away from them, … then they will fast.\u201d (Matthew 9:15) For this truth, the apostles embraced by the Holy Spirit and the Love of Christ, fasted on the Month of Sene.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fasts","category-sermon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7930"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7930"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7962,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7930\/revisions\/7962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eotcmk.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}