Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30)

This week has been a very tough week. I have been wrestling a lot. I have been crying out and my eyes hurt! The sins of the church are becoming overwhelming, the state of the government is crippling and the world seems to be coming to an end before my eyes. I see prophecy being fulfilled, which is very encouraging. However, the state of man is very frustrating. Speaking to people is like hitting your head on a cement wall, it is useless!

I was speaking to a good friend this morning, he said that I remind him of the weeping prophet, Jeremiah. This resonated with me. So I began to read and study and now I am here testifying of the things I hear and see.

Jeremiah was Gods prophet for more than 40 years. The leaders of his day did not listen to his warnings. He was rejected by his family, friends, priests, and prophets alike. He was put into prison and taken to Egypt against his will. He stood alone as he preached repentance. Some consider his ministry a failure because no one responded even though the things he said actually came to pass. However, he stayed faithful to God and the call on his life no matter what.

Jeremiah spent his days crying out to Gods people, trying to get them to understand. He preached truth and repentance. God ALWAYS looks for truth…When truth is not found or when it is lacking, judgment is at hand. Today, more and more, you find preachers talking about the promises of God but are not teaching the conditions of the promises. They are like sales men. They are lacking truth. Truth is not our enemy. In fact, truth is what breaks the chains of our sins. We cannot be free from our sin and chains, apart from truth.  

Jeremiah 5:3-6 (NKJV) O Lord, are not Your eyes on the truth?
You have stricken them,
But they have not grieved;
You have consumed them,
But they have refused to receive correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to return.

⁴ Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor.
They are foolish;
For they do not know the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.
⁵ I will go to the great men and speak to them,
For they have known the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.”

But these have altogether broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
⁶ Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them,
A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;
A leopard will watch over their cities.
Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many;
Their backslidings have increased.

In verse 5 it says “But these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds,” really spoke to me and reminded me of Matt 1:28-30. They both talk about the yoke of oxen. Jesus said His yoke is easy….

Greatness is achieved not by wealth and power but by the knowledge of God and obedience to Him…

Hosea 4:6(NKJV)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

Notice that the scripture says “My people.” This is referring to the people of God. The leaders failed to teach Gods law. It goes on to say that they perish because of their lack of knowledge. If they had been taught Gods precepts, then they would have been ok. This should shake us a bit because this is happening today. People are claiming the promises of God and wondering why they are not experiencing those same promises in accordance with the word of God. They are baffled, unknowledgeable.

It is interesting, people think they can live any way they choose but even Jesus said….

Matt 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This scripture is quoted a lot but people use this scripture incorrectly. When you tell them that they shouldn’t do this or that, they say you are being legalistic. Notice: “the Yoke is easy and light,” NOT GONE!!!!

Oxen would wear yokes to keep them on the right track. Without the yoke, they would wander aimlessly and they would be guided by their own desires, much like the church today.

The yoke in today’s church has been removed and broken just like is Jeremiahs day:

Verse 5: But these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds…

Jesus said His yoke is easy and light but many have broken their yoke off completely. Jesus’ yoke naturally directs our path, if you do not wear it or apply it then you will be exposed to bad elements and the wild animals of the forest/desert (verse 6). The wild animals are a picture of foreign nations who will lay siege to our life city, or worse our country.

Why? Because of our transgressions and backsliding ways. Many will say that this is an Old Testament story; therefore, it does not apply today. I would beg to differ.

Jesus preached repentance and so did many New Testament believers.  Whether repentance is for yesterday or today is not the question, the question is of the heart.

Again, Jesus said: “19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

 John 3:19-21 (NKJV)

People love their sin more than they love Jesus… doesn't it grieve your heart? I am not saying that we need to be sinless, because we can’t. However I am saying that we need to repent, turn from our sin, deny ourselves and take up our cross (Jesus's yoke)….

Matthew 4:17(NKJV) From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Luke 9:23 Then He (Jesus)said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

So my question to you is: Will you take up your cross, deny yourself and follow Jesus or will you love the darkness and not listen, like in the days of Jeremiah?

Your goal is to find out what Jesus’ yoke is. What did He preach and teach….many preachers and pastors have forsaken these teaching so you will have to dig. There are many different versions of the Bible, start where you need to, and seek God with all of your heart. Do not rely on man to teach you what you must know. 

Do Not Grieve the Spirit

Lately I have been really in tuned to the fact that we can grieve the Holy Spirit. Grieve here means to cause injury or to distress Him. The Holy Spirit resides in us and as we live our lives we will either be living according to Gods will or living according to our will. When we sin, we actually offend (grieve) the Holy Spirit.

Eph 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil.28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

When we first get saved, we can actually feel the grief of the Holy Spirit when we sin. This can and will remain if we stay sensitive to it. When we feel conviction or distaste for the sin we have committed, we should honor it. This is God’s love. He chastises those that He loves (Hebrews 12:5-8) and one of the reasons the Holy Spirit was sent, was to convict us (John 16:8) and keep us on the straight and narrow path (Matt 7:14).  Many people confuse conviction and condemnation, which is another study all together, but I encourage you to learn the difference. Conviction is our friend, condemnation is not.

In the scripture above, we can actually know what grieves the spirit. Even though the Holy Spirit teaches us and convicts us, God still felt it necessary to put it in writing. I believe that is because we can sear our conscious (1 Tim 4:2) and become insensitive to spiritual truths. When we ignore the conviction and continue in our sin, we actually grieve the Holy Spirit. When we feel the conviction we should stop immediately!!  If we do not, we put ourselves in a very dangerous situation because this makes us vulnerable to deceiving spirits that will lead us astray (1 Tim 4:1-5). The goal is to have a soft pliable heart, ears to hear the spirit (chaos silenced) and our minds filled with the word.

The text talks about several things that we should “put away.”

1.       Bitterness

2.      Wrath

3.       Anger

4.      Clamor

5.      Evil speaking

Instead we should be:

1.       Kind

2.      Tenderhearted

3.       Forgiving one another

My personal goal is to not grieve the spirit…I believe that when we do we actually lose dominion or ground in the kingdom. I know God never leaves us or forsakes us but when we willfully sin, we lose power.

Sin separates us from God and enslaves us (Romans 6:16). Although we walk by faith and God’s grace is sufficient, this does not void the principle of “you reap what you sew” (Galatians 6:7-8).  Now understand, there are two kinds of sin, deliberate or premeditated sin and then there is the sin we commit because we are human and imperfect. I am talking about willful, premeditated sin that you have full control over. When we commit such sin, we lose ground or dominion, just like Adam in the Garden of Eden.  The bible says that sin, no longer has dominion over us and we can die to it or rule over it (Romans 6:14, Romans 6:11, Genesis 4:7).

The bible says that signs and wonders will follow those that believe (Mk 16:17). In fact, the disciples asked Jesus privately, why they couldn't cast a certain demo n out. Jesus replied that there are certain demons, that only come out by praying and fasting (Mk 9:29). This tells me that there are some things that we will not have power over, unless we do x, y, and z.  Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that we are saved by our works. However, what I am saying is that in order to have a certain level of dominion or power, we need to be set apart. We need to not grieve the Holy Spirit and we need to be doing what scripture prescribes.

When I lay my hands on someone, I want them to experience healing. When I pray, I want to see signs and wonders. I do not want to have all these promises in the bible and never experience them to the fullest. We are given these promises and we are expected to be a good steward of them.  It is our responsibility and mandate.

My question to you, have you seen someone healed when you have prayed? Have you seen signs and wonders manifest? If you haven’t, is it because you are grieving the Holy Spirit?

I pray that your heart would be softened to these truths.