Shake yourself LOOSE

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free , 

and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1

God will allow and does allow difficult situations in our lives so that His glory may be revealed to the world.  The bible tells us to:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.  Galatians 5:1

God has freed us through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and yet we are not standing fast in that liberty!

Do you every wonder why it is so hard; try as you might, to progress in God and live the life that God promised us when it is expressly stated in His word:

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.  Ephesians 3:20-21

This is a faith walk!  We have to believe that the power of God, the Holy Spirit within, actively works on our behalf.

It is God's desire that every yoke of bondage including sin, self, and man in our life be broken, but we must follow His plan.   He tells us to case our cares on Him as well as the weights that so easily beset us.  

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  Hebrews 12:1

The old man-made traditional network is inadequate, broken, and empty. It can no longer accommodate the abundant glory of God. God is a progressive God; His methods change while His word remains the same.  Therefore, the old yokes of tradition, denomination, self-effort, and unconcern must be broken.   The bible tells us that we should not put our faith in the wisdom of man:

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.   1 Corinthians 2:5

We must go back to the old path.  This is not contradictory of God being progressive.  The old path is not what grandma or grandpa said.  They told us out of love and the best of their ability.  We have to let go of old traditions that do not have foundation according to the word of God.  The bad thing about tradition is that we lose the reason of why or how it was started.  So to say 'get back to the old path' sounds like a misnormer; a contradiction; particularly when we read in His word:

Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. . . .  Jeremiah 6:16

However, the old path is found in the word of God, not the passing down through the family tree.  God's word stands forever; it does not change.  Against God's word, new foundations, new yokes (new rules and regulations from man, not God), a new network is not what is necessary to bridge the gap between sinful man and a righteous God.   It is in the old path that we find new life.  a life where we and our soul can prosper.

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.  3 John 1:2

Though God desires us to prosper and be whole, there is the new life that God offers.  A new life is more than accepting Jesus because of a 'Prosperity Plan', or 'Faith Healing'.  God's purpose in our life will only be fulfilled by men and women who have experienced the anointing -- the indwelling of the Holy Spirit  This is what breaks the yoke.  Yes, we can have prosperity and yes we can and are healed through Jesus but that is not the purpose of salvation nor is it the way to break the yoke of bondage.  We must come to God with sincerity of heart and faith to believe that it is God and only God who can free us and loose us from a life filled with disappointment, degradation, false hope, unwise entanglements and other influences of the world.

Faith in God is necessary if we are to fulfill the vision of God! It is impossible to be effective or pleasing unto God when we are burdened down by sin and the cares of this world. God expressly tells us to come out from the world, to be separate, to be holy, to be peculiar. No doubt, for some, this is a difficult thing to do but with God it is possible to live not only a sin-free life but a life that is free of the burdens pressed on us by the standards and care of the world. This is only possible with the help of the power of the Holy Spirit within us. 

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me . . .   Acts 1:8

The bible tells us that 

. . . greater is he within us than he that is in the world.  1 John 4:4

Peter describes us as 'strangers' or 'pilgrims'  passing through this land' on our way to a better place prepared for us and urges us not to partake of the things of the land.

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;  1 Peter 2:11

This is exactly what the children of Israel were doing and God helped them all along the way!

Jesus himself tells us not to be concerned with the cares of this world:

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is , and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Matthew 6:30

God frees us from bondage so that His purpose can be fulfilled.  

God shows us through His word that when He is for us, it doesn't matter who or what is against us.   

Consider when the last plague came upon the land of Egypt.  God told the children of Israel exactly what to do as he prepared the way to free them.  They had a choice to follow the plan of God just as we have a choice today.  (Exodus 12)  God gives us the tools and the wherewithal to walk out the door and down the path that He has opened and prepared for us.   

The yoke of bondage had to be broken so they could begin the process of letting the world know of the one true living God!  They could not do that as long as they were bound and neither can we.

In another Old Testament account, Israel was surrounded by the enemy army of the Assyrians. God spoke to Israel and declared:

The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: Then shall His yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.  Isaiah 14:24-25

God wanted to break the yoke from off the neck of Israel. But His purpose extended beyond Israel to the nations of the world:  

This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: And this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.  Isaiah 14:26

What was God's purpose? His purpose was that the yoke of bondage be broken from the nations of the world.

A few chapters later in Isaiah, it is recorded that:  

The angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses.   Isaiah 37:36 

God wants every yoke in our life to become as a dead corpse. He wants to destroy it in order to bring us under submission of His will.

. . . and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.  Isaiah 10:27

Ø      It will not be destroyed by deep teaching. It will not be destroyed by psychology or education.

Ø     It will not be destroyed through counseling or through an organization or denomination.

It will only be destroyed by the anointing which is the power of God.

But God's purpose for breaking the yoke extends beyond our life to the nations of the world. He wants to break the yoke of bondage in our life to enable us to fulfill the vision of breaking the yoke from the nations of the world.

Remember, the yoke of bondage from the Egyptians had to be broken for the children of Israel in order for them to fulfill the vision of God which was the whole world would know of God through them.  They couldn’t show the Egyptians, let alone the world who God was as long as they remained shackled.  Keep in mind that even though God freed them, there was some preparation that they themselves had to do.

That last plague that swept through the land required some prep from the Israelites if they were to make it through it.  There are some spiritual and natural prep that must take place in our life in order for us to shake our self loose from the bondage that Jesus has already freed us from.

Jesus teaches that if your hand or foot offends you, you are to cut them off. He says if your eye offends you, pluck it out:

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  Mark 9:43-48

Jesus means that anything which causes sin in your life must be removed. Even if it is something you consider needful or precious, it must be removed. He uses the example of the hand, foot, and eye. In the natural these are needful and precious body parts. But Jesus says if they cause you to sin, it is better to remove them than to let them prevent your entrance into the Kingdom!

The after effects of the yoke being broken:

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say Here I am...  Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day; And the Lord shall guide thee continually and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.  Isaiah 58:9-12

When the yoke is broken the results are:

    ®     We will know the voice of God. We will call, and the Lord will answer, "Here I      am.” (Verse 9)

    ®     We will be successful in the fulfillment of our vision. Oour light will rise in obscurity which speaks of success.   (Verse 10)

    ®     The Lord will guide us continually. (Verse 11)

     ®     He will be our provision. (Verse 11)

    ®     We will be reproductive. (Verses 11-12)

     ®     We will be like a watered garden which is fruitful. We will be reproductive and those we produce in the spirit world will be reproductive. They will rise up to rebuild the old structures on the right foundation.

God promised Israel in the natural world:

And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke...   Ezekiel 34:27

The same is true in the spirit world. The breaking of the yoke results in spiritual productivity.

Take Jesus at His word when He says:  

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.   Matthew 11:28-30
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  John 10:10

(Biblical Studies)

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