Part 4: The Power of Solemn Assembly and Fasting

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Welcome back to Diary of Black Women with your host, Connie Morris,

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with our episode four, Affliction of the Soul.

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Thank you. Thank you for coming back. Welcome back to podcast episode series,

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The Affliction of the Soul, part four, The Power of Solemn Assembly and Fasting.

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We'll be taking our series from Joel 1 and Joel 2.

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Once again, this is Affliction of the Soul with your host, Connie Morris.

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In our previous episodes, we have explored the foundation of fasting,

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living as a living sacrifice, and then the lessons from Jesus experienced in

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the Garden of Gethsemane. me.

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Today, we'll delve into the concept of solemn fasting as described in the book

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of Joel, understanding its power and significance in our spiritual journey.

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We'll be using translations NLT and then a CEV, the contemporary version.

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The main points today will be the call to solemn fasting in Joel 1,

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solemn assembly, the call to solemn assembly in Joel 1, the return to God with

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With All Our Heart in Joel 2, 12 to 13.

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The Power of Collective Repentance in Joel 2, 15 through 17.

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God's Promise When We Fast Together, Joel 2, 18 through 27.

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And then the Restoration Through Solemn Fasting in Joel 2, 25 through 27.

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And like always, I'll have several different decrees today. I'll have seven

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decrees that we will decree together. gather.

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And then we'll close out this series of the affliction of the soul.

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So let's get started. We're going to go to Joel 1 verse 14. I'll read it from

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two different translations.

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The CEV translation, which is a new one I found, I thought it's kind of very

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clear. And then we'll go to the NLT translation.

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I'll read it first and then we'll go over the discussion points.

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It says, tell the leaders and the people to come together at the temple and,

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And order them to go without eating and to pray sincerely.

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When you pray sincerely, you pray honestly from your whole heart.

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And then the NLT, it reads, let me find it.

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And it reads, it says, announce a time of fasting.

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Call the people together for a solemn meeting. Bring the leaders of all the

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people of the land into the temple of the Lord your God and cry out to him there.

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So God has a specific place that we should pray and a specific people who should be there.

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It says, Joe calls the people to declare a holy fast.

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He summons the elders and he gathers the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord.

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He wants them to come together in an act of repentance and seeking God's mercy.

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It's a powerful way when we come together for humility and prayer.

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And God just, it's kind of like we all get together, we come in humility and we just repent.

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And then God shows up.

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God shows up. God loves when his people get together in an act of worship unto

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him to pray and to seek his face.

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Let's go to number two. It's returning to God with all our heart.

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Each one of these scriptures from Affliction of the Soul series, God wants our heart.

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He doesn't want this fake facade that we've been putting on.

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He wants our hearts. and so he

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you know when you give him your heart and you know when

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you've been faking and shaking God just wants a heart go with me to Joel chapter

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2 we're going to go in the NLT translation we're going to say there 12 and 13

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and then it reads it says that is why the Lord says turn to me now while there

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is time give me your hearts.

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Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don't tear your clothing in your grief,

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but tear your hearts instead.

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Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate,

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slow to anger, filled with unfailing love.

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He is eager to relent and not punish.

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God causes people to return to him with all their hearts, with fasting,

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weeping, and mourning. It's a call for sincere repentance and a heartfelt return to God.

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He says fasting is not just about abstaining from food, but a deep emotional

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return to God, seeking his mercy and grace.

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God knows how much we love our sleep and our food.

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And whenever we give that up for him, he knows that we're serious.

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Serious, getting serious by God is the next series.

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But this part talks about when we return to him with our hearts.

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That's when we just turn off everything. We've been so distracted with the computers and TV.

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And I mean, our phones go off, beep for this, beep for that,

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beep for that. Sometimes you just got to just turn the phone off.

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Even when you put it on silent, some beeps still get through, right?

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So when it's time to go into a fasting and a quiet time of devotion with God, I turn my phone off,

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turn it up, put it under the pillow and just totally forget about it so that

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I can totally commit that time to God.

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And I want my music to play on it, but still things seem to interrupt that time with God.

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So hello, just forget about the music and just seek God in silence.

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Amen. Let's go to the second, the third part. I'll add this to the devotion that's online.

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I have to update it. The power of collective repentance.

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Go with me to verse 15 through 17. You know, I'm here, you know,

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the prophet Joel emphasized the importance of collective repentance,

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urging priests, elders, and the people to gather fast and cry out to the Lord. And let's go here.

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And it says, blow the ram's horn in Jerusalem.

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Announce a time of fasting. Call the people together for a solemn meeting.

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Gather all together.

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All the people, the elders, the children, even the babies, call the bridegrooms

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from his quarters and the brides from her private rooms.

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Let the priests who minister in the Lord's presence stand and weep between the

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entry rooms to the temple and the altar. Let them pray.

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Spare your people, Lord. Don't let your special possession become the object of mockery.

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Don't let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say,

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has the God of Israel left them?

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Collective repentance through fasting can bring about a powerful spiritual renewal

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and divine intervention.

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When I think about this mockery, I don't know about you, but I think I think

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the church has become a mockery where when we pray and or when,

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yeah, when we pray, people say, pray for me.

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When you do pray with power and God shows up, they're even amazed.

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Sometimes we're even amazed when God shows up.

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But God wants to show up in greater, greater measure. So as we come together

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in this solemn assembly, we can expect God to show up at the church.

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But what about at our workplace?

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What about in our homes?

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What about in our friends' homes? What about the grocery stores,

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at the malls, at the hair salon, at our nail place?

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Wherever we go? Can we expect God to show up?

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We can believe for that when we're at our collective repentance,

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that the power of God will go with us wherever we go, that the God that we believe in is a real God.

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We know that because we've already did three other series that as we devoted

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our heart to God, that God has become real to us.

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When he becomes real to us, then he can become real to other people around us.

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Until he becomes real to us, he cannot become real to anyone else.

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So as we commit to God and that personal relationship really,

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really becomes alive, this is when he's able to show up differently for you.

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You begin to see things, feel things, know things, and then guess what?

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Powerful spiritual renewal and divine intervention. and people know when you

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had a divine intervention.

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People know when you had a spiritual renewal.

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People know when you are different. People know when things have changed in

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your life. You don't have to say anything.

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You don't have to put a big old banner outside saying, I have changed.

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People know that God has done something different in your life without you saying anything.

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When you fast and when you pray and when you belong to a group of people who also fast and pray.

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Let's go with me to point four, where God promises when we fast together.

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Go with me to Joel 2, 18 to 27, verses 27.

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It's a little bit long, but it's still good. It says the promise of restoration.

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We've been through since the C word, I don't want to get deleted, but the C-O-V-I-D word.

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We've been through a lot in the last four years and now we're up with this,

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you know, E-L-E-C-T-I-O-N coming up.

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And so I think we should, as a group, get together and pray and fast because

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when we We get tired of it. You think God is tired of it?

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That when we've been looking on the news, trying to watch all these different

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podcasts who promises that they know more than our God about what's coming, we need to seek the Lord.

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God knows what he's about to do. Are you ready for what he's about to do?

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So let's look at what he wants to do. Are you ready for the restoration where

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God does what he does, what he did for the people of Israel, right?

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When he said they will not go empty and they did not leave empty-handed.

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They left with all the jewels, all the gold.

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I say all the furs, all the stuff that they took from the Egyptians.

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Let's go with me to first chapter two, verse 18 to 27 in the NLT.

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It says, It says, then the Lord will pity his people. We need that, don't we?

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And jealousy, the Lord will pity his people and jealousy guard the honor.

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Why am I messing this up? Then the Lord will pity his people and jealousy guard the honor of his land.

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The Lord will reply, look, I'm sending you grain and new wine and olive oil

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to satisfy your needs. You will no longer be an object of mockery among the

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surrounding nations. I will drive...

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I will drive away these armies from the north. I will send them into the parched wastelands.

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Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea, and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.

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The stench of their rotten bodies will rise over the land.

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Surely the Lord has done great things. Don't be afraid, O land.

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Be glad now and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things.

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Don't be afraid you animals of the field

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for the wilderness pastors will soon be green the trees will again be filled

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with fruit fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more rejoice you

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people oh Jerusalem rejoice in the Lord your God so you can say rejoice you people of whatever

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city or state you live in for the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.

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And we had a lot of rain.

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So God is showing you his faithfulness there.

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Once more, the autumn rains will come as well as the rains of the springs.

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The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain and the presses will

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overflow with new wine and olive oil.

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The Lord says, I will give you back what you lost.

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I'm going to pause there for a fact. The Lord says, I will give you back what

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you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, the cutting locusts.

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It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.

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Once again, you will have all the food you want and you will praise the Lord,

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your God, who does these are miracles for you.

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Never again will my people will be disgraced.

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The last verse 27, then you will know that I am among my people,

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Israel, that I am the Lord, your God, and there is no other.

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Never again will my people be disgraced. When you pray in a solemn fast,

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God says, I will heal your land.

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The church will no longer be disgraced. He will bless the church.

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When he says no more disgrace.

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He said, the Lord has done this thing. I will give you back what was lost.

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Once again, you will have all the food you want.

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And he said, you will praise the Lord, your God, who does those miracles for you.

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Miracles in the land.

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Amen. When the people come together in a solemn fast, God promises to be jealous

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for his land and take pity on his people.

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He ensures them of restoration, provisions, and blessing.

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God promised to restore the years the locusts have eaten, send grain,

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new wine, and oil, and bring satisfaction and no shame to his people.

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God promises that. we don't

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have to wait for an election the e-word

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for god to do what he said he's gonna

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do he says call a solemn fast for your church for your home we we keep waiting

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for man to do stuff we've been waiting since 23 bleep bleep god said he'll do

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that for you we've already covered the affliction of the soul.

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We're done with this series. Has God did it yet?

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He's going to do it for you. I love them. Read it again.

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When the people come together in a solemn fast, God promised to be jealous for

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his land and to take pity on his people.

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He assured them for restoration, provision, and blessing.

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We're not going to God for stuff, but yet we go to him with our heart.

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We go to him as a living sacrifice he promised to provide for us,

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to restore us, to bless us.

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Our God is not broke, he's not stingy, and he is not dead.

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He promised to take the years that the locusts have eaten.

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It might have been before the blank, blank years.

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All the years. How would you live in the time where restoration is something that is just normal?

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We're not always praying for a blessing. It's just automatic.

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How would we live like that? When we live devoted to God, that's how you will live.

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You will live in a place of new wine and oil and satisfaction.

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What would that feel like to live without shame, to live bold as a Christian?

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They're bringing Jesus back in the schools.

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We have never had Jesus in the school as long as I have been alive.

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What would that be to talk about Jesus in the schools?

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They won't be able to blank, blank the children anymore. more.

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Jesus can come and talk through the teachers, can talk through the students.

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The Spirit of God will be welcome in the school. There'll be no more shootings

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and killings and molestations in the schools.

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When the Spirit of God is there, there is freedom.

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Wow, we were the top education. We will be back at the top.

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So let's not just think about what restoration will look in our life.

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What will restoration look in the world?

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We will no longer be the bottom, but we will be the top.

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Our students will be accepted worldwide, not just at the bottom, barely getting by.

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Are you with me on this fast?

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Let's keep going on this restoration. Our last point is verse 5.

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Joel 2, 25 to 27.

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So good. The Lord says, I will give you back what you lost.

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The swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts,

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the cutting locusts. It was I who sent them, sent this great destroying army against you.

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Once again, you will have all the food you want.

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And you will praise the Lord your God. God, and who does the miracles for you.

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Never again will my people be disgraced.

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Then you will know that I am among my people, Israel, and I am the Lord your

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God, and there will be no other.

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Never again will my people be disgraced. God promised explicitly to restore

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the years that have been lost due to the locus,

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due to the blankety blank, whatever you can put in that blank. This is about locus.

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Whatever was destroyed, remember the devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy.

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Whatever was destroyed, God says, I'm going to restore that loss.

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Symbolizes his ability, capital H means God's ability to restore what was lost,

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damaged in our lives. Can we believe that?

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You know, I was dealing with some plantar fasciitis, which is an injury to my

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feet because I was walking in the wrong shoes.

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And I went to the doctor, he did something and I didn't know if it was going

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to work or not, but I didn't believe what the doctor was going to do.

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I was praying for what God would do.

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And it was a minute or two later, I was like, I'm like healed, restored.

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And I was like, okay, because the doctor was talking about surgery,

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cutting this, moving that over there.

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I was like, that is not God doing all that. You have surgery,

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that's fine. But we believe at different levels.

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So don't get mad at me. but I wasn't about to have this cut to move over there to do that.

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I just, I want God to do what he said. He says he does miracles and I just want

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you to do a miracle, Jesus.

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And so he did a miracle.

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And I was like, wow. And that was in 2024.

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If that's a sample of what he can do. Sorry about that noise effect.

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I should have pushed the button on one of my machines.

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If that's a sample of what he can do. so it says through collective fasting

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and repentance God can bring about complete restoration.

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Healing past wounds, not just just past wounds, providing new opportunities and blessing.

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God wants to do a new thing in our lives, something that we can't say we had a part in.

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Like, like, you know, I said that I went to the doctor. He did this thing and, you know, God did it.

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How about if I didn't have to go to the doctor? We got doctors. They're fine.

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The doctor did his thing. What happened if that didn't work?

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I want to get healed without the doctor.

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How about that? I'm not saying doctors are bad.

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I'm just saying like, can I get a miracle, Jesus? Right?

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So one of the key takeaways from this message and all the affliction of the

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soul, we just take away just this, is that the healing power of God,

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he can completely restore. door.

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He can completely heal past wounds, the wounds in our heart that was done when we were a child.

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How about that? We wake up one day and that's gone.

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How about an opportunity that comes up like this podcast for me? It's a new opportunity.

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I would have never thought to do this. This is not something that I would do.

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I thank you, Lord, for this idea and blessing.

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All right. So let's get ready to close this out with the decrees.

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We got seven decrees. I'll read them slow. I'll decree these over you and let's go.

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It says, I commit to participating in solemn assembly and fasting,

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seeking God's mercy and guidance.

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If you have to do it with you, yourself and I, that's a solemn assembly, right?

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But the Bible says with the church, you can't find a church,

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find three or four friends, because believe for the big things.

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Believe for the big things in this time and let God do it, right?

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And it says, I will return to God with all my heart, embracing sincere repentance.

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Give it all to Jesus.

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Affliction of the soul, whatever had been afflicting you, give it all to Jesus.

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We talked about that in detail in the living sacrifice.

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Give it all to him. Everything that hurts, let him have it. I believe in the

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power of collective prayer and fasting to bring about spiritual renewal.

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If you are a church leader, you know, you don't have to wait till January to fast.

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You can bring it up in July. You can bring it up anytime because you know the power of fasting.

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Of course, people are going to have their own reasoning. I got to do it this

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month. I got to do it next month.

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You can do it with your friends in your group because you know restoration is

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yours. And when you look like you, when God bless you, they're going to wish

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they would have joined you.

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Yes. And then number four, I would gather with others in humility and seek God's face together.

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Number five, I trust that our collective repentance will lead to divine and

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intervention and blessing.

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Don't just pray for you four and no more. Pray for divine restoration of the

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United States of America.

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How about africa things happening

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over in africa how about places that

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you see that show up in the news whatever place

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that god places on your heart you know pray

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and fast for that area cuba has been a place that's been destroyed they've been

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human trafficking oops say the h word over there they've been doing stuff over

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there places that that are impoverished because they don't know jesus pray Pray

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for the spirit of God to rest over there.

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You know, let's just do something without us.

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Go back to Isaiah 58 and listen to that podcast again.

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I believe in God's promise to restore, provide, and bless us as we seek him together.

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And the last one, I trust that God will restore the years the locusts have eaten in my life.

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Yes, I'm going to repeat that. that I trust that God will restore what the locust has eaten in my life.

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As we conclude the episode of the affliction of the soul, remember the power of solemn assembly.

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Fasting as described in the book of Joel, when we come together in humility

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and seek God with all our heart, he promised to restore, provide, and bless abundantly.

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Let's embrace this practice and experience the profound impact of collective

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repentance, fasting, and restoration.

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Join us on our next episode, our next series, actually, of taking God seriously.

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That will be our next one. So until next time, enjoy your fasting journey.

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And I can't wait to send me some emails or respond on the podcast on how God has blessed you.

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But I also want to say thank you for joining on this episode of Diary of Black

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Women. I hope you found this series inspirational and encouraging as we explore

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God's word together, as we fast together.

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Remember, you can access the devotionals and scriptural decrees that we discussed

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today on my website, DiaryofBlackWomenLLC.com.

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If you have any questions or need further support, feel free to email me directly

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at ConnieMorris at DiaryofABlackWomenLLC.com.

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Don't forget to subscribe to our email list for updates and exclusive content

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and more resources to deepen your walk with Christ.

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Your support helps us reach more women seeking to deepen their relation with God.

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Stay connected with our community on social media and join the conversation.

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Let's uplift and support each other in our faith journeys until next time keep

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the faith stay in power and continue to walk in God's love and believe and be blessed,

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next time.