Anointing Destroys the Yoke

Yokes Are No Joke

In that day the Lord will end the bondage of his people. He will break the yoke of slavery and lift it from their shoulders.

Isaiah 10:27

A yoke is no longer a piece of equipment that we are all familiar with, but in Isaiah’s day everyone would have witnessed animals working in the fields with a bar of wood joining them at the neck. A yoke is a symbol of slavery and bondage.

You must recognize and destroy the bondages that the enemy of your faith places on you! You must recognize spiritual battles for what they are! Only the anointing of God destroys your yoke! God has given you a spirit of love and has commanded you not to fear.

Romans 8:15 reminds you, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves…” Notice it says “received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves.” Slavery, whether emotional, physical or spiritual, is always accompanied by a spirit of fear! Fear is more than an emotional response, it is spiritual in nature!

2 Timothy 1:7 reads, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” The Greek word translated here as “spirit,” is translated “devil” and “demon” in almost every other passage. Consistent fear in any area of your life will prevent the will of God in your life. That is why the angels of the Lord always said, “Fear not” before they delivered the Word of God. You cannot receive the will and Word of the Lord when you are living under the spirit of fear.

God has not given us the spirit, or demon, of fear and timidity. Notice that fear and timidity usually work together. They are never from God, and always place a yoke of bondage in your life! The world calls this yoke a phobia, and most believers have accepted their phobias as normal. God sets His own standard of normal, and that does not include fear and timidity!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, let Your spirit of power, love, and self-discipline rise up in me in full strength! Fear in my life is not from You, and I bind it in the name of Jesus. Your perfect love casts out all fear, and I claim that love in all areas of my life. Let me be used boldly for Your kingdom and remove the enemy’s works of fear from my life. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Every Yoke Has to Go!

I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.

Leviticus 26:13

A yoke is a symbol of servanthood! The weight of the yoke brings loss of strength, causing the head to be lowered. Bondages drain your spiritual strength! Bondages lower your head to rob your vision! Looking down, you can only see where you are, not where you are going! God always desires to take you where you should be!

A yoke is a symbol of submission! The bondages of sin, along with the spirit of slavery and fear, cause you to give in, give up and submit. When you choose to submit to bondage, you make a decision to stay in bondage!

The yoke is a symbol of a burden! The farmer would secure the yoke tightly to the oxen. At first, the oxen felt very uncomfortable in the yoke. They knew it was unnatural, it was heavy, and throughout the day it robbed them of their strength. It caused their heads to hang low. The longer the oxen wore the yoke, the more they became accustomed to it. Finally, they accepted it. If you are not careful, you can live with a yoke for so long that you no longer discern how messed up you really are. God has to send someone with an anointing to ask why you are wearing the enemy’s yoke. The heavier your burden, the harder your life! It is just that simple.

But I have good news today! Christ died for you and wants to remove the burdens you are carrying. There is no yoke of bondage in your life that the anointing of the Lord cannot destroy! Today, tell every yoke in your life to go in the name of Jesus! Declare the anointing of the Holy Spirit and your freedom that Jesus purchased with His precious blood!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, open my eyes to see bondage clearly. I choose to step out of bondage and walk in Your freedom. You set me free, so I am free, indeed! I take on Your rest for my weariness, Your joy for my sadness, and Your life for my death. Remove bondage from me. Lift my head to see Your vision. Give me Your strength to carry out Your will. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Further Reading: Jeremiah 27:11, Isaiah 9:4, Matthew 11:28

What Are You Giving Birth To?

For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.

Isaiah 9:4

The yoke represents oppression! Webster’s dictionary defines oppression as, “The exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. The feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc.”

Believers cannot be possessed by demons, but they can be oppressed, that is, attacked from the outside, by demonic activity! The Bible says there are evil spirits in an unseen world! If you looked into that unseen world, you would find that many of the problems facing you are connected to the oppression of evil spirits! But God has not left us helpless, He gave us everything we need to live in victory, if we will follow His Word.

A yoke is a symbol of bondage to sin! If you continue to live with sin and do not resist or repent, it can turn into a prison from which you alone have no power to escape. Never forget that all sin leads to death! As James reminds us, “These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” (James 1:15)

The power of the life-giving Spirit freed you from this prison of sin! It is the Spirit-filled life, the power of walking in the anointing, that frees you from the power of sin, from every yoke of bondage! Praise God!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the life and freedom that is available to me in You! You have given me freedom from spiritual oppression and from the deadly consequences of my own wrong choices. I belong to You, and any spirits that would oppress me must leave. I declare freedom in You! My spirit rejoices in Your love, and I live in right standing with You! In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Further Reading: Ephesians 6:12-15, Lamentations 1:14, Romans 8:2

The Battle Is the Lord’s

And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!

1 Samuel 17:47

Like the prophet’s words told Israel and King Jehoshaphat, the battle is not yours, but God’s. So many Christians learn the truth of the Bible and then attempt to apply it to their lives by self-discipline and will power! The battle to live in victory over sin is not an intellectual battle, it is a spiritual battle! God’s truth has to move from your head to your heart! The Spirit-filled life is vitally important!

1 John 2:27 tells you, “the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you….” The anointing and power of the Spirit-filled life was never intended to be intermittent. The anointing and power of the Spirit should abide in you continuously!

This anointing did not cease when Jesus ascended into Heaven. Joel prophesied concerning the anointing, “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike.” (Joel 2:28-29)

The anointing removes all burdens from you and destroys the yokes of the oppressor. The Bible teaches that Jesus not only came to remove your burdens, but also to destroy the works of the devil’s yoke.

Praise God that the anointing of Jesus heals all! No mountain is too great for God to remove. No oppression is too strong for His glory to break from your life. No spirit of fear is too powerful for faith to conquer. Even the name of Jesus speaks of this. In Hebrew, it is “Yeshua,” which literally means “salvation” and speaks of deliverance, healing, and restoration to prosperity and wholeness.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your anointing! Above everything else that I may ask of You, I ask that Your anointing will abide in me. I need Your presence in my life every day. I need the deliverance, healing and restoration that You bring! You have opened my eyes to my need, and You are the only one who can meet that need! I ask that You continuously fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Let Your anointing oil flow over my life. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Further Reading: Acts 10:38, 1 John 3:8, Hebrews 2:14-15

Anointed and Free

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.

Isaiah 61:1-2

In these two verses, six things are mentioned as the result of the anointing of Christ. Three of them have to do with breaking bondages.

Comfort the broken hearted
Proclaim freedom to the captives
Bring release to those who are prisoners

Remember that Jesus is the Christ, the One anointed by God. Jesus came to lift every burden, and to destroy every demonic bondage in your life. He came to restore you to wholeness in every way. The divine flow of the Holy Spirit will break every yoke in your life!

Look at what is recorded in Colossians 2:15, “In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.“

He shamed them publicly. He literally led them in a triumphal procession. The Roman army celebrated a great victory with a triumphal procession. The victorious Roman general led his humiliated captives into the conquered city. The image vividly captures the glorious victory that God, through the cross of Christ, won over all spiritual powers against us!

Jesus died and rose again, not just to give you eternal salvation, but to redeem every day of your life. His victory ensures your freedom today! Your eternity starts now!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I acknowledge only You as my Lord. There is no other spiritual authority, no fear, no yoke, that stands above Your authority. You have declared that I am free, and in Your anointing, I live free! Thank You for leading the ultimate triumphal procession! In Jesus Name, amen.

I Declare Freedom!

So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

John 8:36

What would happen if the entire Body of Christ took on the anointing and broke away from yokes around their necks? Praise the Lord, you have the same Holy Spirit anointing that Christ has. You don’t have to let the devil trample all over you! You have the power of the anointing that will break every chain. Christ came to deliver you from fear, doubt and all oppression.

Isaiah 1:6 describes how too many Christians have been living, “You are battered from head to foot— covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds— without any soothing ointments or bandages.“

If you keep hiding hurts under bandages instead of anointing them with anointing oil, today is your day to draw a line in the sand. Let the devil know enough is enough! Today is your day to know that Jesus died on the cross to set you free from every work of sin, sickness and oppression in your life.

Declare of yourself: I AM FREE BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!

I am free from failure, for “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

I am free from want, for “my God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

I am free from fear, for “God has not given us the spirit fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

I am free from doubt, for “God has given to every man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3)

I am free from weakness, “for the Lord is the strength of my life.” (Psalm 27:1)

I am free from defeat, “for God always causes me to triumph in Christ Jesus.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

I am free from sin, “for the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sin.” (John 1:7)

I am free from worry, for I am to, “cast all my cares upon him.” (1 Peter 5:7)

I am free from bondage, “for where the spirit of The Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

I am free from condemnation, “for there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

Protect these declarations with the shield of faith! Don’t let go of your freedom!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, in You there is freedom for the oppressed. I declare today that I am free! The enemy has no claim here! I know that You broke the yokes that I had allowed in my life. The strength of Your anointing sweeps aside anything that wants to enslave me. You set me free, and I claim that freedom forever! In Jesus’ Name, amen.