Day 18- Spiritual Renewal I. The Samuel Fast Purpose: To let the oppressed (physically and spiritually) go free (Isa. 58:6) - for revival and soul winning, to identify with people everywhere enslaved literally or by sin and to pray to be used of God to bring people out of the kingdom of darkness and into Gods marvelous light. Key verse: So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord (I Sam. 7:6). Background: Samuel led Gods people in a fast to celebrate the return of the Ark of the Covenant from its captivity by the Philistines, and to pray that Israel might be delivered from the sin that allowed the Ark to be captured in the first place. A. Pre-fast preparation-Samuel did not introduce the fast for revival to Israel without requiring serious preparation. He required that the people put away the foreign gods they had accumulated and commit themselves wholly to God. 1. Recognize your bondage: sinful habits, specific sins, demonic influences, memories and your past. Whatever is holding you back from revival. When Samuel called Israel to revival, he people recognized their bondages. They cried out, Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us (I Sam. 7:8) 2. Pray for Gods presence Among His people. a. Recognize its need for Gods presence among its people. Notice what initiated the revival when Samuel was leading the people. The men...fetched up the ark of the Lord. (I Sam. 7:1) You must confess Ichabod, I have lost the presence of God in my life.(When the wife of Phinehas-one of the priests who was responsible for the spiritual debacle-delivered her child, she named him Ichabod, saying, the glory has departed from Israel! because the ark of God had been captured (I Sam. 4:21) b. Assemble the people at Gods place. Samuel wanted the people to experience revival, so he commanded, gather all Israel to Mizpah (I Sam. 7:5) 3. Be sure Gods leaders are in place. All bible history flows through leaders - their births, their lives, their works, their calls, their successes, their failures, the things they did, the things they taught and finally, their deaths. You enter the Samuel fast to pray for revival and evangelism. As you pray for God to pour out His spirit on His people, you must be leadership conscious. This means you must be willing to be a leader, pray for God to raise up leaders and pray for God to use the leaders that are already in place. B. Conducting the Samuel Fast 1. Call the body together. Individual fasting makes a person individually responsible to God. Corporate fasting makes a person responsible for what God does to the corporate body. 2. Demonstrate true repentance. When you use the Samuel Fast to bring about revival, you must follow the example of Israel: All the people of Israel mourned and sought after the Lord. (I Sam. 7:2 NIV). Samuel then tested the people to determine their true repentance. He said, If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths (v.3). God may convict you of a sin as you are praying. The evidence of you sincerity is seen when you stop sinning. 3. Separate from secret sin. Search me, O God, and know my heart...And see if there is any wicked way in me Ps. 139:23,24. 4. Have corporate confession of sin. Daniel privately confessed Israels corporate sin: We have sinned and done wrong (Dan. 9:5). In the Samuel Fast, the people confessed, We have sinned against the Lord (I Sam. 7:6). Although you may not have individually sinned as part of the group, you must take responsibility for the sins of the group in order for a revival to occur. Nehemiah is a great example of this: Neh. 1:6,7 I am your servant, so please have mercy on me and answer the prayer that I make day and night for these people of Israel who serve you. I, my family, and the rest of your people have sinned by choosing to disobey you and the laws and teachings you gave to your servant Moses (vv. 6,7). 5. Acknowledge the power of the Word. NO revival has ever occurred without the involvement of the Word of God as The power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes Rom. 1:16. 6. Get in touch with the symbolic. The Samuel Fast will be more meaningful for you if you are aware of its symbolic significance. It is an outer symbol of an inner desire for Gods presence in your life. When you enter the Samuel Fast, you make a statement to God, to others and to yourself. What symbols in the Samuel Fast will bring Gods refreshing in you life? a. not eating. When Israel came to Mizpah, On that same day they went without eating to show their sorrow, and they confessed they had been unfaithful to the Lord. (I Sam. 7:6) b. sacrificing to God. From the first time man offended God through sin, he was required to bring a sacrifice to God to demonstrate his sorrow for sin and his request for forgiveness. Gen. 4:3-5 Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. What should you sacrifice to show yourself and God that youre serious: a bad habit, T.V. time or anything that steals time from your relationship with God. C. Post Fast Events 1. Attacks: When the Philistine rulers found out about the meeting at Mizpah, they sent an army there to attack the people of Israel. Just like the Philistines above, Satan may tempt you to abandon your goal. He will try to 1. make you too hungry, 2. put other thoughts in your mind, 3. tempt you to quit 4. interrupt your schedule 5. discourage you and 6. generally attack your fast. 2. Fasting as a process: We cannot waltz into the throne room of almighty God and immediately get His wholehearted support for our spiritually rich quick plans. Just as a sales presentation at a multinational organization leading to a large contract involves a process of time, so a Samuel fast leading to revival involves time. The Israelites were afraid when they heard that the Philistines were coming. Dont stop praying! They told Samuel. Ask the Lord our God to rescue us (v7) 3. Post fasting action: ask forgiveness of someone, make restitution or start a new Christian service. Also, you may have to tithe, share the gospel or spend lengthy times at the church where the presence of God is manifesting itself. 4. Look for signs of victory. As Samuel was praying for Israel, they went out to attack the Philistines. But God saw the hearts of the people, and began answering even as they prepared to fight. The Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and they were thrown into confusion, and the Israelis routed them, and chased them...killing them all along the way. v.10 TLB Take on an attitude of expectancy! 5. Victory as a process. What Israel experienced at the Battle of Mizpah was similar to the first British victory over the Germans at Alemein during World War II. Following the battle, Winston Churchill stood to speak in Parliament with cautious optimism: This is not the end. This is not the beginning of the end. This is the end of the beginning. v.12 says The Philistines were so badly beaten that it was quite a while before they attacked Israel again. Is was quite a while, but they did attack again. The principles learned from the Samuel fast must be employed in our lives for as long as we live.....because attacks will come again. 6. Celebrating with Symbols of Victory. After the great battle at Mizpah, Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer (which means stone of help), saying, Thus far the Lord has helped us. v.12. a. Your victory stone should look to the past. Like trophies, plaques and mementos. b. Your victory stone should look to the present. Like the completion of our church, where we can enjoy that victory weekly, it has become an Ebenezer - a stone of help. c. Your victory should look to the future. Like the victory banners that hang in the gymnasium, players are motivated to win another as they look at the memorial.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 11:00:00 +0000
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