"...having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,..."

Believers, by all means, fast, but not to make yourself be "in the Spirit" or to "purify yourself" before entering God's presence (the Holiest/Holy of Holies) to ask and receive from Him. The Hebrew priests of the Old Covenant had to prepare themselves before going into God's presence or else they would die but in Christ, we have unfettered, unqualified, undeserved, unmerited access to our heavenly Father. Romans 8:32 says of Him-

"He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

FREELY and not because we fasted, sowed seed or did anything by human effort to better position ourselves to receive from Him. Only when we freely receive can we freely give.

Exodus 19 gives a account of what God told Moses to tell the children of Israel to do before their meeting with Him at Mount Sinai where the law was given, or else they would die:

"10 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for My arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. 11 Be sure they are ready on the third day, for on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch. 12 Mark off a boundary all around the mountain. Warn the people, ‘Be careful! Do not go up on the mountain or even touch its boundaries. Anyone who touches the mountain will certainly be put to death. 13 No hand may touch the person or animal that crosses the boundary; instead, stone them or shoot them with arrows. They must be put to death.’ However, when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, then the people may go up on the mountain.”

14 So Moses went down to the people. He consecrated them for worship, and they washed their clothes. 15 He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.”

16 On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. 17 Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered His reply. 20 The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.

21 Then the Lord told Moses, “Go back down and warn the people not to break through the boundaries to see the Lord, or they will die. 22 Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them.”

This is the reality of the Old Covenant. The people had to purify themselves first before meeting with God. No one except the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies and only once a year, after much preparation. Remember Moses said: "Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them." The people purified themselves so that they would not die.

But in Christ, we are a royal priesthood, and not according to the order of the Old Covenant where priests had to purify themselves before going into God's presence- the Holy of Holies. In Christ, having Him as our righteousness and strength, we are forever purified, accepted by God and walk ALWAYS in the Spirit, and not because of anything we did like purifying ourselves with fasts in order to be "in the Spirit" or to make ourselves more acceptable to God. Christ offered Himself to make us forever pure and acceptable inside and outside before God. Christ's sacrifice has made us perfect forever in God's sight. See Hebrews 10:

12 "Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective forever, and then He sat down at the right side of God. 13 There He now waits until God puts His enemies as a footstool under His feet. 14 With one sacrifice, then, He has made perfect forever those who are purified from sin."

15 And the Holy Spirit also gives us His witness. First He says,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them

in the days to come, says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their hearts

and write them on their minds.”

17 And then He says, “I will not remember their sins and evil deeds any longer.” 18 So when these have been forgiven, an offering to take away sins is no longer needed."

Believer, Jesus is not going to come and die for us again with each new sin. His one sacrifice for sins is "effective forever." God can only "not remember" sins and evil deeds that exist. If you have no sins now or in the future, then what is the point of verse 17 above? God is not limited by time and space. All of our sins were "future sins" when Christ "offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective forever." In Him, our sins- past, present and future- have been forgiven.

The very next verses of Hebrews 10 (19-22) tells us how we enter into the real Holy of Holies - God's heavenly presence which is the believer's permanent abode in Christ- and it is all based on the finished work of Christ in making us perfect and purified from sin:

19 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

See the MSG: 19-21 "So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of His sacrifice, acting as our Priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is His body. 22-25 So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps His word..."

Believer, this is how we enter into the Holiest- through Jesus Christ, confident that in Him, we are presentable to God inside and out. No fanfare of "come fasting" to support our prayers or to become "pure" before God or to get Him to answer. His was blood shed to give us everlasting righteousness before God. Romans 9 tells us:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Like the veil in the temple that was torn from top to bottom, Christ's body was torn to give us unfettered, unqualified, undeserved, unmerited access into the Holy of Holies- God's presence. Not because we fasted. Not because we sowed seed. Not because we have been paying tithe regularly. Not because we deserve it. ONLY because of what our Saviour Jesus Christ has done for us. Good works are EVIDENCES of our salvation; not CONDITIONS.

To add something to what Christ has done to purify us and to give us "anytime, anywhere" access to our heavenly Father and His blessings is to say that what He did is not enough, so we need to do more to make ourselves more acceptable, pure and well-positioned to receive from God.

Relying on any form of abstinence or actions undertaken by the arm of flesh that will fail in order to be presentable before God and better-positioned to receive from Him is to reject His grace that we have through Christ to "enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,..."

Believer, God gives us ALL things FREELY with Christ (Romans 8:32) and not because we obeyed the law or fasted before coming to receive.

Believer, in Christ, we get to "....draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

By HiGod's grace, don't let anyone deceive you into believing that an evil conscience is one whose owner can kill helpless infants without batting an eyelid. An evil conscience is one that toils under the guilt of sin. Its owner does not believe that he has been made righteous, clean, purified, perfected and freed from the guilt of his sins through Christ. He believes that he is imperfect still so he tries to do things like fasting and abstaining from all sorts to make himself presentable before approaching God, after Christ died to make us presentable inside and out forever. This is even weird in a Father-child relationship. Imagine a child skipping breakfast in order to get his parents to buy him a video game or give him accommodation. Your child's behaviour is dependent on the training that he receives. How much more we who are children of God and taught by the Lord? With Christ, we don't HAVE TO live right, we GET TO live right.

Believer, understand that we are under the care of Jesus Christ the Great Physician. We have been admitted into His care by God's grace alone. If there is a surgery for Him to do in our lives, He has our activity schedule. He knows what is wrong and where. His heart's delight is to see us blessed and His blessings are without terms and conditions. When we trust in Him alone and stop trying to better our chances of getting from Him by doing what we think will make Him get up to help us, we get to follow His schedule, down to our meals and without even knowing it. This is why we sing "tis no longer I that liveth but Christ that liveth in me." None of us. All of Christ.

I remember when my mom would wake us early to give us laxatives or worm expeller. We disliked it and never knew when it was going to happen. But it kept us healthy. If abstinence from food or other good things of life is necessary for our well-being, know that our heavenly Father already has everything prepared for us in Christ and we will GET TO do them, not in order to get Him to help us but because He helps us and makes sure that we get to do them.

Believer in Christ, having Him as our righteousness and strength, by all means we can fast if we want, but not to purify ourselves to be more spiritual or presentable before God or to make Him more favourably disposed to granting our requests. God took care of all of that when He gave His own Son to take our place on the cross in the greatest expression of love: 1 John 4:10-

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering] for our sins [fulfilling God’s requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath]."

Not just our sins of yesterday, but also of today and forever. Hebrews 10:12 says- "Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective forever,..."

Romans 5:9 says of our Abba Father: "And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Believer, our purity, perfection, 'presentability' and a acceptance before God is found in Christ and Christ alone. No amount of human effort at trying to be presentable or "be in the Spirit" before God amounts to anything. 1 John 4:17 says:

"By living in God, love has been brought to its full expression in us so that we may fearlessly face the day of judgment, because all that Jesus now is, so are we in this world."

By grace, know that with Christ as our righteousness, "All that Jesus is now, so are we in this world."

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.

Believe Right and you will Live Right