Fasting: A Call To Repentence

Joel 2:12 (NASB95)

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning;”

Introduction

IF A person goes on a long trip and they travel the same route there and back, most time, it seems like the trip home is shorter than the trip to the destination. In actuality, it doesn’t take less time, but it just seems that way. Why is that? There is something about traveling home. No matter how far a person has traveled away from God, if they are willing to make the return trip, God will make the time coming back a lot shorter than the time moving away from Him. The trip home always seems shorter.

A. Background of the book of Joel

1. Author: Prophet Joel

The book of Joel is a prophetic book found in the Old Testament. It is named after the prophet Joel, who is believed to have lived during the reign of King Joash of Judah.

The book begins with a description of a devastating locust plague that has swept over the land, causing destruction to the crops and leaving the people in despair.

Joel uses this natural disaster as a metaphor for the impending "Day of the Lord," a time of divine judgment and reckoning.

Joel calls upon the people to wake up from their spiritual slumber and repent of their sins.

He urges them to return to the Lord with fasting, weeping, and mourning, emphasizing the need for genuine heart transformation.

The prophet declares that if the people repent, the Lord is gracious and compassionate, and He will relent from bringing further judgment upon them.

- Joel 2:12: "Even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."

I. Today there is an urgency for repentance.

A while back the engine light appeared on my car. When I saw it I was aware that it needed my attention. I became busy with my time and eventually ignored the sign that required my attention. It wasn’t till after my car suddenly turned off one day that the light on my dash was a signal for me to address an urgent matter. That urgency required me to act immediately so that I would not be left stranded on the road. There are a lot of people who are ignoring the check engine light of their soul and its not until their life has left them stranded that they run to God to fix what they ignored.

A. This verse reminds us of God’s call to return.

When ever God calls His people to return its because they have strayed away from Him. You are with God or you are not. If you are not then you cannot stray from what you have never been a part of. But if you have strayed from the goodness, faithfulness and presence its a ...

1. The urgency of repentance.

Isaiah 55:6–7“Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.”

God's call to seek Him while He may be found and to turn from wickedness.

2. The immediacy of the call to repentance

Amos 4:12 “Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced. Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!”

God's warning to Israel to prepare to meet Him, emphasizing the urgency of repentance.

B. The nature of true repentance.

1. Returning with all your heart.

Deuteronomy 4:29 “But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.”

God's call to seek Him with all your heart and soul.

2. Demonstrating repentance through fasting, weeping, and mourning.

James 4:9–10“Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

The call to humble ourselves, mourn over our sins, and draw near to God.

When we fast and repent we have:

II. The Promise of Restoration

When you make a repair on your home that is out of your scope of expertise you hire an expert. You choose them from two critical markers. 1) Does their character line up with what they say they can do. 2) Is their proof of the work they have done to testify of their character. God’s character whose resume speaks for itself. He always does what He says He will do. His work speaks for itself.

A. God's compassion and mercy.

1. The character of God revealed

Exodus 34:6–7“The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.”

God Himself proclaimed that he is compassionate and merciful. Moses wanted to see God’s face, but God was merciful to reveal His glory. God has declared that He is not an angry and vengeful God, but the GOD of compassion and mercy. He is patiently waiting to lavish His unfailing love on those who return to Him.

The character of God shows us that he is compassionate, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

2. God's desire to relent from judgment

Jonah 4:2 “So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.”

God wanted Ninevah to repent for their evil. Jonah wanted to see Nineveh burn to the ground. Yet God demonstrated his love and compassion for them by sending Jonah to preach repentence.

B. The blessings of restoration

1. Spiritual renewal and closeness to God

Isaiah 57:15 “The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”

God dwells with the contrite and lowly in spirit, reviving their hearts.

2. Physical and material restoration

Joel 2:25–26“The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you. Once again you will have all the food you want, and you will praise the Lord your God, who does these miracles for you. Never again will my people be disgraced.”

God's promise to restore what the locusts have destroyed, providing abundance and provision.

III. The Invitation to Repentance

One my last birthday I began to do something that in years past I had never done. I had begun to do an internal examination of myself. I noticed that my body was not doing the things it used to. I was also examining my inward character.

A. Examine our hearts and turn away from sinful behavior.

Psalm 139:23–24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

David's prayer for God to search his heart, revealing any offensive way in him.

Engaging in acts of repentance and seeking God's forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

The promise of God to forgive our sins when we confess them to Him.

B. Embrace the hope of restoration

1. Trusting in God's faithfulness and promises

Lamentations 3:22–23 (NASB95) 22 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

Jeremiah's declaration of God's steadfast love and faithfulness, providing hope in times of trouble.

2. Seeking God's presence and revival in our lives

Acts 3:19 “Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.”

The call to repent and turn to God for times of refreshing and restoration.

V. Conclusion

REPENTANCE is when you are going south on the highway and then recognize you need to be going north.

Repentance isn’t just thinking about changing directions. It isn’t just watching other folk go by wondering if they’re going wrong too.

Repentance is looking for the next exit, getting off, crossing over, and getting back on the other road on your way home. That’s repentance; it’s turning the other way.

If you are twenty miles out of the way and decide to change directions, you must take the exit ramp. This is the ramp of confession where you agree that you have been going the wrong way.

Then you have to cross over the grace overpass where God gives you the opportunity and the privilege to turn around.

Confession gets you to the place where you can make that U-turn. Grace crosses you over. Now, there is another ramp that you have to take to get back on the highway headed in the right direction.

This is the restoration on-ramp. The confession off-ramp leads to the grace overpass, which carries you over and puts you right in front of the restoration on-ramp, so that you can begin heading in the right direction.

Once the turn has been made and repentance has been accomplished, you may still be twenty miles out of the way. You might be discouraged because you’ve gone twenty miles wrong or maybe twenty years wrong.

In fact, many folks get stuck here, thinking that since they are already twenty miles out of the way they, might as well keep on heading in that same wrong direction.

The thing to remember is that when taking a trip, the ride coming back home always seems shorter than the ride going.

There’s something about coming home that shortens the feeling of distance even when the actual distance to cover is the same.

Fasting helps us to get there.