Day 17 of the Fast of Daniel

Let him hear what the Spirit says

He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.

 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him?

 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?

 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.

 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.

 All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?

 The workman molds an image, the goldsmith overspreads it with gold, and the silversmith casts silver chains.

 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution chooses a tree that will not rot;

He seeks for himself a skillful workman to prepare a carved image that will not totter.

 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

 He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless.

 Scarcely shall they be planted, scarcely shall they be sown, scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, when He will also blow on them, and they will wither, and the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

 “To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God”?

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40.11-31

Is it possible to have free access to the source of Living Water, yet drink from this Water with a dropper?
Is it possible to have access to the Lord Almighty, yet settle for a life of crumbs?
Does it make sense to believe in the One Sovereign Lord of Heaven, Earth and
all of Infinity, yet live a mediocre, miserable and small life?
No! This makes no sense!
So you ask, “What else do I need to do?”
My friend, you are lacking a total surrender.
If God does not give us His Spirit by measure, how can we give Him part of our being?

God does not give the Spirit by measure. John 3.34

The reason why a person does not receive the Holy Spirit is not because he is a sinner or does not deserve Him, but because there is a lack of total surrender.
That’s it.
Jesus teaches us:

…Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. Luke 6.38

Is it hard to understand that we are measured according to what we give? In other words, the same measure we use to give will be the same measure used when we receive.
Therefore, those who want to receive the fullness of the Spirit should surrender themselves completely.

Comments
Gertrude Cardoso
Good morning!
I’m not very good with words, but I want to share how God spoke to me right now, at 6am, with your help, as I listened to your message on the radio.
I’ve been a member of the Universal Church for many years. However, I had just been attending services, because I thought that by no longer doing the wrong things, becoming a tithe giver, fulfilling my vows, going to Church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and hearing everyone say that I changed, I seemed like a completely different person, even the way I dress now is different… but even with all these changes, my faith was still filled with ups and downs, and because I attended meetings regularly, I did not accept to be called a mere VISITOR of the Church. Today, I understand that to follow the Lord Jesus, we must do like Zacchaeus and tell Him that we want TO SEE Him. So, I spoke to Him like I had never spoken to Him before. I did not ask for the Holy Spirit, but for His mercy, because I had been listening to His word for so long, yet I hadn’t set my focus on SEEING Him. I know He listened to my prayer, because He gave me the conviction to keep digging my well in search of Living Water. Thank you my Lord, and thank you also Bishop Macedo.

Miguel Saene
Good morning, Bishop Macedo. My name is Miguel and I am from Mozambique. I live in the city of Maputo and attend meetings at the Headquarters in Maputo as well.
For a long time, I was deceiving myself. When I say this happened for a long time, I mean it, because I spent 5 years in the UCKG and nothing in my life changed. I quickly learned the Word of God, yet nothing happened. I had no interest in walking with the Almighty and was mentally lazy to take the time to meditate on His word.
I was miserable in all the areas of my life, though I regularly went to Church. I reached the point of becoming homeless. Soon after this happened, I became the best student at my school and in my district. But I was not on the path of God. Let it be known that I was called when I was miserable and I remained miserable. I did not understand how someone like myself, with such knowledge, could have hit rock bottom in such a way!!!
The answer came with this Fast of Daniel, because I can already see the hand God moving in my favor, which never happened before and I even thought that God didn’t care about me anymore. But now that I decided to seek Him, I can see His favor in my life.
The battles that I’m facing now, allow me to see that I’m on the right path to be baptized with the Holy Spirit of God.
I thank the Lord Jesus for the patience and kindness He has with me, because I don’t deserve it. Thank you Bishop Macedo and all the other men of God in Maputo,
in Mozambique and throughout the world, for the disposition to be used by the Lord, because I, who am nobody, was reached.
May God bless you abundantly in the name of the Lord Jesus, who is also now my Lord.

Nathalia
Hello Bishop. I was practically raised in the Universal Church, but over time, my parents fell away from the faith and we were apart from the presence of God for many years. During that time, my father had a stroke, and then came the cancer. An assistant invited my sister, who is now an assistant, to attend a youth group meeting. Through these meetings, my sister became firm in the faith. My mother and father followed, and I ended up going too, but I wouldn’t go for God, I went to please my parents, because they kept insisting. Eventually, they also became firm in the faith, but I stopped going completely.
My life became a living hell. My father was battling cancer and I had seizures, yet there was pride in me. I idolized singers and spent my life traveling to see them, but when it was time to seek God, I made no effort. I’d say that I would never return to the Universal Church and that I was happy, but I wasn’t Bishop. My father was getting worse, and so was I. He would be hospitalized for months, and I would have seizures while at home, alone with my sister. She would go to Church after school and I would just stay home doing nothing.
Months later, my father came home, but he was very weak due to the treatments. A group of assistants came over and baptized him at the house. It was a beautiful moment, Bishop. The assistants, pastor’s wives and pastors, would come to visit. They’d speak to me and invite me to go to Church, but I was very rude and acted with pride towards them.
I began to see spiders on my body, when there wasn’t any. A Pastor came to visit me and said I was spiritually unwell, but God’s arms were opened for me. This was the last straw. I rebelled and began disrespecting everyone. My seizures started happening more often, even though I was taking medicine. My father’s cancer got worse and a couple of months later, he was hospitalized for the last time. Around this time, I started cutting myself, because I thought it was cool. I was spiraling out of control.
Then, my father passed. It hit me like a ton of bricks, and I couldn’t take the pain. While my family was in Church, I stayed at home crying and “talking” to him.
My mother and sister invited the pastor to hold a special prayer at our house, but I hid in my bedroom because I wanted no part in that.
However, God was calling me and it was bigger than me. I began participating, returned to Church and clung to the arms of God. But I thought by seeking God, I would be healed of the seizures.
During another Fast of Daniel, I acted upon my emotions and decided to do it, but it would be done my way. Though I was in Church, I had bad eyes, so I began having thoughts to stop coming again. And, because if this, the seizures that had stopped occurring, returned. I never manifested, nor did I feel bad during the strong prayers. All I remember was having shivers sometimes, but they would go as quickly as they came.
I was in Church, but I had fallen away from the faith. In my head, I thought God did not want me and He did not listen to me. I wanted to serve Him, but I also wanted to fulfill my will all the time.
Last week, the light bulb in my head turned on. Once again, I was doing the Fast my way. So I stopped and thought, “where will this take me? I keep doing things my way, yet I want God to look at me!” And, I began to sacrifice, especially the TV series I was addicted to. Today, I no longer have that desperate need to watch them.
On Wednesday, while seeking the Holy Spirit, I humbled myself before God and asked Him to wash me, because I wanted to know Him. Everyone was having an encounter with Him, but me. Bishop, a joy came over my soul, which had been suffering for years. A peace that only God can provide covered my being! I was smiling as I cried, but they were happy tears. I didn’t want it to ever end. I wanted to continue praising and worshiping God. I stuttered my words and said things I didn’t understand!
This Fast has been marvelous. I’m still smiling right now. Before, I was consumed with uncertainties and doubts, but now I’m at peace and there are only certainties. I’m sure of my salvation, the Holy Spirit, my healing, and all I know is that I want more and more of God in me! A river of Living Water flows in me! I feel a great desire, a fire to tell others about what has happened to me and what’s happening within my soul!
Thank you, Bishop. May you and your family continue to be blessed. I would like to tell everyone to continue seeking, don’t give up because God is watching. He just wants us to dig a deeper well. This is how I found my Treasure. There are no words to describe this Treasure!

Christiano Vasconcelos
Good evening Bishop. Like you said in your message, we are usually on guard with those who aren’t of the faith, but we forget to keep an eye on those that are. I was a pastor for 8 years. I was always very dedicated, even when I was an assistant. I always gave my best, but as time passed, all I thought about was “me, me, me” and I wasn’t vigilant. I listened to the spirit of death instead of listening to the Spirit of Life.
Since I was very active, other pastors would tell me that I didn’t need to evangelize all the time, because it seemed like I was doing that to get attention from the leader. Now that I was a pastor, I didn’t need to be outside evangelizing all the time. So, I started listening to them and ended up leaving the Work of God over nonsense. At the time, I didn’t understand, but today I know it wasn’t the Bishop or Pastor that took me out of the Work, it was the Holy Spirit, because I allowed that spirit to come in me and it was suffocating me until about 3 weeks ago. When I heard about the Fast of Daniel, I was in Church, suffocating, dying on the inside. My soul wanted to cry out, but I wouldn’t let it. Until, I began listening to you everyday and started getting stronger with each message. Today, my soul is relieved and at peace, my bones are healed and I know that spirit no longer has power over me. I am going to fight with all my strength to save the maximum number of souls possible for the Kingdom of God. I hope my testimony helps prevent other servants from falling into the same mistake, because during the meetings, it often happens that the Bishop or Pastor are speaking and someone whispers that its not quite like they’re saying, just listen to the Holy Spirit. I hope my example can help others.