BREAKING THE YOKE
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THAT DAY, THAT HIS BURDEN SHALL BE TAKEN AWAY FROM OFF THY SHOULDER, AND HIS YOKE FROM OFF THY NECK, AND THE YOKE SHALL BE DESTROYED BECAUSE OF THE ANOINTING. Isaiah 10:27.
In Boot Camp the Bride learns the principles of breaking the yoke of bondage that burdened and oppressed her before she was “re-born.” She has been “recreated” in the image of Christ and destined to walk beside Him for eternity. In understanding the principles of spiritual warfare she also understands how to break the yoke of bondage in the lives of others.
Jesus said that “His yoke is easy and His burden is light.” (See Matthew 11:28-30). When we are yoked together with Christ, we are able to walk free from oppression and the heavy burden sin imposes on those who dwell in darkness. The only burden Christ puts upon us is the burden to see souls saved and delivered from the clutches of the enemy.
It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that breaks the fetters which bind the soul and blinds the eyes of those in “spiritual bondage.” It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that sets people free from sin, sickness, and disease, as well as spiritual and financial poverty.
When we are yoked together with Christ we are also yoked together with Light and Life. The Life of Christ is the Light that shines in darkness and reproves our hearts of sin. It is the Life of Christ that separates us from the darkness that permeates the rest of the world. It is the Life of Christ that enables us to see and understand the truth that makes us free. It is the truth we know that sets us free from the bondage of sin and the darkness that once held us in spiritual bondage. In Christ the eyes of our understanding have been enlightened, and our “spiritual ears” acknowledge and adhere to the voice of godly reason.
GOING WITH THE FLOW
In Boot Camp the Bride learns how to flow with the Holy Spirit on the Battlefield of Life. She learns that without the Holy Spirit she can do nothing. She learns that without the Holy Spirit she does not possess the anointing that breaks the yoke of bondage upon her and others around her.
Flowing with the Holy Spirit is imperative on the Battlefield of Life. The Holy Spirit gives us power to tread upon serpents and scorpions that bite and sting with deadly accuracy. The Holy Spirit will reveal the strategies and tactics of the enemy if we are frequently “tuned in” to the “right frequency.” The Holy Spirit teaches us godly strategies which help empower us to overcome the enemy on the Battlefield of Life. The Bride must learn how to listen to the Voice of the Spirit in order to prosper. Jesus said my sheep “know” my voice and they will not follow another.
Many Christians know the voice of the Lord but at times fall prey to the wiles and schemes of the enemy. Learning to follow the “voice of godly reason” is imperative if we are going to walk in victory. A Christian soldier must know the voice of the Shepherd in order to follow the Shepherd. They must not hearken to the voice and the wiles and schemes of the enemy.
Jesus said to “watch and pray so that you will not give in to temptation.” (Matthew 26:41). Many have “fallen prey” to the deceptive tactics of the enemy because they fail to frequently “watch and pray.” Prayer is one of our greatest and most powerful weapons. If Christians fail to pray, they will surely be led into temptation.
Soldiers on the Battlefield of Life must submit to the authority of Christ. Walking in the Spirit means submitting to the will and desire of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will always lead us to complete victory on the Battlefield of Life if and when we listen to and adhere to the Voice of the Spirit.
Christians cannot flow with the Spirit if they are not walking in the Spirit. Many Christians are under the impression that the Holy Spirit is “their ride” and not “their guide.” In other words, they believe the Holy Spirit is there to do what they want Him to do, not what He wants them to do.
The Holy Spirit certainly is, among other things, our comforter and our advocate. However, He is not under our leadership or our authority. Christians must learn how to “go and flow” with the Holy Spirit on the Battlefield of Life. They may not know what to do when confronted with “adverse and perverse circumstances” without the Holy Spirit’s direction.
THE ANOINTING BREAKS THE YOKE
It is the anointing that breaks the yoke of bondage and the chains that bind the soul. It is the Holy Spirit that is the proprietor and administrator of the anointing. It is not natural power or might that moves mountains and destroys the yoke of bondage, but the anointing of the Holy Spirit. (See Zechariah 4:6-7). In other words, we cannot break the yoke of bondage without Holy Spirit power.
After the return of Israel from their captivity in Babylon Zerubabel was given the seemingly daunting task of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. It seemed to him to be an impossible task. In Zechariah, Chapter 4, the Lord was telling Zerubabel the Temple would be rebuilt by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by the hands of men. The Temple was a type and shadow of the Church, and Zerubabel was a type and shadow of Christ. The Church is established on the foundations Christ the Living Word laid at Calvary.
It is Christ the Living Word who establishes truth, righteousness, and justice in our hearts. It is the Spirit of Christ that adorns our “inner most being” with the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. It is Christ in us that breaks the yoke of bondage and sets us free from the darkness which permeates this present world. The Church is transformed into the image of Christ by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible tells us that we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit—the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies is where the Spirit of God dwelt in the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple of God We are the Ark of God’s Covenant because the Spirit of Christ dwells within our hearts. We are “covenant partners” with Christ and joint heirs with Him by virtue of His Spirit which dwells within our hearts. It is in our hearts where the power and presence of Christ richly dwells.
It is not by natural power or might that we live, and move, and have our being in Christ. It is the Spirit of God that dwells within us that makes us joint heirs with Jesus Christ. It is the Spirit that breaks the yoke of bondage and the chains of darkness that burden and oppress men and women. It is the Spirit that sets the captives free and gives hope to the hopeless and faith to the faithless.
Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit a Christian Soldier is powerless. Without the Holy Spirit we will lose the war on the Battlefield of Life. It is the Holy Spirit within us that gives us power over sin and all the works of the enemy.
When we are walking in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit will be directing our paths. The Spirit that dwells within us is the same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit is not just with us, He is also “in us.” It is by the Holy Spirit within us that we wage war against the Forces of Darkness. The power to cast out demons and break the yoke of bondage in others lives dwells within each of us as Soldiers of Christ.
The Christian Soldier is fighting on the Battlefield of Life in order to establish peace in their hearts and in the hearts and lives of others. When Christians “go with the flow” of the Holy Spirit, they will be able to vanquish their spiritual enemies. When we are being led by the Spirit there is no weapon the enemy has that can or will prosper against us. Obedience is the key to victory on the Battlefield of Life.