Finding pleasure in what they're doing to seek Him

Zechariah 7: [4] Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,

[5] Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
[6] And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

"God says, 'When you were fasting, were you doing it just for you or were you doing it because your heart wanted to find me?'

"There's a difference between setting up regulations about eating and drinking so that you can brag about your self-will; your willpower," explains Richard Jordan. "In Colossians 2 Paul talks about a voluntary humility. He talks about will worship. That's religion.

"They actually took the ordinances and commandments God gave them, the physical activities, and they did them, but they didn't do them by faith. They did them for themselves.

Isaiah 58: [1] Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

[2] Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

"All that sounds great. They're seeking me daily. They say, 'What does God want us to do, and as a nation, let's do this!' They took pride in worshipping and offering, in their altars and sacrifices and so forth.

[3] Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

"They say, 'We've done all the religion. We've done everything you've told us to and you don't pay any attention.'

"You see, they weren't finding pleasure in the Lord; they were finding pleasure in what they were doing to seek Him. They found pleasure in themselves and in their religion.

[4] Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

"I mean, they just bite and devour one another. They'd made a big religion out of it.

[6] Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

"If you had the heart right, then the activities would follow. They got caught up in doing the activities 'and their heart's far from me.'

"When He calls them to repentance, He says, 'I don't want you to repent like with your religious repentance; like you been doing all along. You've had plenty of that and I'm not at all interested in any of that. I don't want that kind of activity from you; what I want is your heart to be . . . ' Joel 2:13 says, [13] And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

"Rending is the idea of tearing and breaking up the fallow ground. He said, 'Don't come here and just tear up your garments and make like you're doing it. Let it come from your heart.'

"You remember what He told them back in Hosea 10: [12] Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

"He's talking about, 'You've got some places in your heart that have just laid dormant; you need to do some breaking up inside--you need to do some plowing inside,' and that's what repentance is about.

"That's the issue in the call to repentance--in the call to come out of that apostate situation where it's just the religion, and to have the heart that's designed to produce these things.

Joel 2:12: [12] Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

"That's fasting, weeping and mourning that comes out of the sorrow for having violated His Word and having faith in Him and turning to Him."