Shekinah – Break the Yoke

Okay, so let's read the word that we've been going over every time we meet with regard

to this revival that is afoot and that God is planning to affect the whole earth with.

Let's read it together.

It's on your screen, so let's read it together.

So don't be afraid.

I am with you, for I will pour water on thirsty land and streams on the dry ground.

I will pour out my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.

I will bring your children from the east and gather them from the west.

I'll send orders north and south.

I'll say to the north, give them up, and to the south, do not hold them back.

Return my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth.

I want them back, every last one who bears my name and every man, woman and child whom

I created for my glory.

How wonderful and beautiful they will be.

The young men will thrive on abundant grain and the young women will flourish on new wine.

They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.

You will raise up young men and young women, bishops, strong apostolic ministries, strong

teachers going out from your company, and they will reproduce this anointing.

Your young people will freely join you at the break of dawn with all the vigor of youth

resplendent and holy armor on the day of your conquest.

One more time.

So don't be afraid.

I am with you, says the Lord, for I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the

dry ground.

I will pour out my spirit on your offspring and blessings on your descendants.

I will bring your children from the east and gather them from the west.

I will send orders north and south.

I will say to the north, give them up.

And to the south, do not hold them back.

Return my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman and child whom I

created for my glory.

How wonderful and beautiful they will be.

The young men will thrive on abundant grain and the young women will flourish on new wine.

They will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.

You will raise up young men and young women.

Bishops, strong apostolic ministries, strong teachers going out from your company, and

they will reproduce this anointing.

Your young people will freely join you at the break of dawn with all the vigor of youth

resplendent in holy armor on the day of your conquest.

Hallelujah.

You can lower it a little more, Evan.

So guys, today I want to talk about breaking the yoke.

Breaking the yoke.

And the yoke is that which holds in.

So the yoke is always a coupling, as in it couples you with something.

And the yoke holds you in.

The yoke holds in its exact servitude.

It ensnares.

It ensnares.

It forces into step.

It forces into step, into slavery, into bondage.

That's what a yoke does.

Any yoke that is not of God does this.

That's what we're going to talk about because revivals break yokes.

Revivals break yokes.

Revivals.

Revivals break yokes.

When we talked, the first time we started down this road of revival, when we talked

about Shekinah, the first time we talked about how one of the reasons God sends revival is

to alter the course of that which would otherwise be destructive and that would bring disaster.

He averts disaster by bringing in a revival.

And so today we're going to talk about breaking the yoke because revivals break yokes.

And a yoke is that which couples you.

It's a coupling that holds in that exact servitude that ensnares, that forces into step, into

slavery and bondage.

When revivals break yokes and in global revivals, many patterns are set at the point of origin.

So if this is Vancouver and what we are saying is a global revival, what happens here sets

the pattern for what happens later.

These are perhaps statements I would not have made two weeks ago, but the more we are going

down this road, the more I'm walking down this road, I'm gaining greater confidence

to say that what is happening is global and that this global revival, especially among

the 13 to 30s, late 30s, especially among young men, young women, that this global revival

is actually beginning in Vancouver, in Acts 29.

That's what I'm saying.

That's a huge thing to say because you're either really foolish, crazy, presumptuous

or correct.

I want to say that very clearly so that you can either think about it, consider it, dismiss

it or embrace it.

That's the reason I'm putting it so plainly.

And all four reactions are absolutely legitimate because I would think so if I was sitting

there and someone was saying this too.

You can think about it, as in consider it, dismiss it or embrace it.

What happens here, how we go about it here, in all global revivals, many patterns are

set at the point of origin and this is the point of origin.

Many patterns are set at the point of origin.

Which is why we have to be so mindful, so tuned in, so all in or actually all out.

That's the other thing I want to say.

Either be all in or consider this with godly skepticism, if those two words can be put

together.

But do not be half in, half out.

If this is of god, lukewarmness is usually a very lousy place to be in because you're

neither here nor there.

But it's okay to stand out like the Berians and consider.

The other advantage you have, being part of this church for 14-15 years, is you can consider

my track record and see if this is a god thing.

Revivals break yokes and in global revivals many patterns that are set at the point of

origin then become that which gains momentum and begins to just leaven the dough, just

like a tiny bit of yeast that is potent begins to leaven the entire batch.

So when you look at Elisha, one of the first things that Elisha did after a new mantle

was given to him was there was an immediacy in the very city that he was in.

That's where things started.

So we can't expect this to start somewhere else.

We can't expect to break a yoke somewhere else.

We can't expect dancing to happen somewhere else.

We can't expect a party to happen somewhere else if we don't first begin to practice

it in the lab that we have.

You can only export that which you actually create in your own lab.

So when you look at 2 Kings 2.16, you find that as soon as Elisha received a new mantle,

the first city that was affected was Jericho, the city that he had just crossed back into

with the mantle that Elijah had handed him and with this double portion that he had inherited.

So in 2 Kings 2.16, you see starting at verse 15, this is the first city that Elisha received

The company of the prophets from Jericho who were watching said,

The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.

And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

Look they said, we your servants have fifty able men.

Let them go and look for your master.

Perhaps the spirit of the Lord has picked him up.

And so he's in Jericho and then verse 19,

The men of the city said to Elisha,

Look our Lord, this town is well situated as you can see,

but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.

Bring me a new bowl, he said, and put salt in it.

So they brought it to him.

And he went out to the spring, throwing the salt, saying,

This is what the Lord says, I have healed this water.

Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.

And the water has remained wholesome to this day,

according to the word Elisha had spoken.

So the breaking of the yoke first happens in the very city that you are in.

Let's look at Jesus.

If you go to Luke chapter 4, Luke 4, verse 14,

Luke 4 · chapter mention Luke 4:14

You find that as soon as Jesus receives a mantle that's going to shake the earth after the temptation,

it goes back to the very city that he grew up in.

Luke chapter 4, verse 14.

Luke 4:14

I love the challenge of it.

It is always easy to do something where you aren't actually an inhabitant.

It is always more difficult in the city that you belong to.

Because you've got to break past the familiarity.

You've got to break past what you know.

You've got to break past the hopelessness that has begun to seep into your own bones.

You've been going past the valley of bones every day for the last 27 years,

and you've seen the bones lying there.

It's easy to revive bones in Siberia.

It's very hard to revive it here.

Luke chapter 4, verse 14.

Luke 4:14

Jesus, Luke chapter 4, verse 14.

Luke 4:14

Let's start at verse 12.

Jesus answered, it says,

Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

When the devil had finished his tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,

and news about him spread in the whole country.

He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

And then he goes and opens the scroll and begins to read from it.

And the scroll is basically a breaking of bondage, a breaking of the yoke,

and a release of Jubilee, where he says,

The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to read good news to the poor,

to proclaim freedom to the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind,

releasing the oppressed, and proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor.

Let's look at another person.

Let's go to Acts chapter 9, verse 20, and look at Paul.

Acts 9:20

Why am I showing you this?

Just so we establish the premise that whenever something global is about to happen,

what happens at the point of origin sets the pattern that then gathers momentum

or begins to leaven the entire batter-dough, but it has to begin at the point of origin.

And we are talking about this being the point of origin.

Acts chapter 9, verse 20.

Acts 9:20

Let's start at verse 17.

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it, placed his hand on Saul,

and he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here,

has sent me that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again.

He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

All those who heard him were astonished and asked,

Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who called on his name?

And hasn't he come here to take prisoners to the chief priests?

Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus

by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

Paul didn't go to Ephesus first. He didn't go to Rome first.

He started where he was in Damascus.

That is the intent here, that we start here.

And when we start here, here's what happens.

Or as we begin to realize that the yoke has to be broken here first.

Today, we'll begin to fracture.

We'll begin to shake.

We'll begin to disintegrate

the foundations

of

the foundations of everything

in the first and second heavens

and we will release

the desire

and the delight

of the third heaven.

I'm just using this as a means of

speaking the truth. So don't get too hung up with first and second heavens.

The first heavens is basically the earth that we live in.

The second heavens is where the spirit forces occupy

and the third heavens is the realm of God.

So all I'm saying is that today we begin to fracture.

We begin to shake.

We begin to disintegrate the foundations of everything from the first and second heavens.

Be it spiritual powers, be it systems of the earth.

We begin to shake it. We begin to fracture it.

We begin to disintegrate it today.

Not tomorrow, today.

Guys, the great thing about this is that it is the work of the Holy Spirit.

We can opt out of it.

We can hinder it, but we cannot prevent it.

Opting out is a safer avenue.

Hindering it is really foolish.

Preventing it is not possible because God wants to save things in the future.

So today we start fracturing, shaking, and disintegrating the foundations

of everything that the first and second heavens have established.

Why? Because once you break the yoke, what did we say the yoke was?

The yoke is that which couples, that ensnares, that holds in,

that restrains, that forces into step, that brings into bondage, that brings into slavery.

Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of young men and women

who we saw in that song as we sang it saying,

Come, come. And they're being caught.

They're being held back. They're being restrained.

There's a blindness upon them that prevents them from seeing the light of the gospel

as it says in 2 Corinthians 4.4.

And we are fracturing, shaking, tearing, disintegrating

every foundation that yokes them that way so that when the voice calls out saying,

Come, there's a freedom to move instead of a catatonic place where they live in

where there's a blindness and a dullness and a deafness that doesn't even allow them to hear the voice.

That is what we want to shake and break today.

If you go to Haggai chapter 2, verse 20, you see this.

Haggai 2:20

You see some of these patterns in the Old and the New Testament.

Haggai chapter 2.

Haggai 2 · chapter mention

And you see this often in the beginning of a move of God.

Haggai chapter 2, verse 20 to 23.

Haggai 2:20–23

Let's try another version.

Haggai chapter 2, verse 20.

Haggai 2:20

Let's read it from the message.

I've looked over the field and chosen you for this work.

The message of the God of the angel armies.

It's literally what God is doing.

I've looked over the field and I've chosen you.

What qualifies you, don't ask Jacob.

You'll be surprised at the lack of qualifications.

But I've chosen you.

Let's look at another scripture.

Judges chapter 7.

Judges 7 · chapter mention

Judges chapter 7.

Judges 7 · chapter mention

Judges chapter 7.

Judges 7 · chapter mention

Judges chapter 7.

Judges 7 · chapter mention

Judges chapter 7.

Judges 7 · chapter mention

Verse 20.

Judges 7, 20.

Shaking, disintegrating, fracturing the foundation of things

that in the past held people captive.

Gideon and the hundred men with him

reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch

just after they changed guard.

They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.

The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars.

Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands.

The trumpets they were to blow, they shouted,

a sword for the Lord and for Gideon.

While each man held his position around the camp

and all the Midianites ran out crying out as they fled.

When the 300 trumpets sounded,

the Lord called the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords.

The army fled to Beth-Shita towards Zerera

as far as the border of Abel-Mehola near Chabad.

Israelites from Naftali, Asher and Manasseh were called out

and they pursued the Midianites.

Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country

with frames saying, come down against the Midianites,

seize the waters of Jordan ahead of them as far as Bedbaran.

And then they kill Oreb and Zeb, the kings.

The point being, whenever God wants to fracture, shake and disintegrate things,

he causes the enemy to fall into disarray, to be confused,

to begin to ambush amongst themselves when the fact remains

that the Satanic Kingdom is not divided.

Strange confusion hits the Satanic Kingdom.

And that is what I'm saying is going to happen today as we do what we need to do.

It's not tomorrow, it's today. Acts 19, verse 25.

Acts 19:25

Acts 19, 25.

Why am I giving you these scriptures to show you precedence that this has happened before?

And in each of these cases, as you notice in these two scriptures I've read,

it was the sovereign move of God. It had nothing to do with anybody.

God decided, how do you beat up an army that is 200 times bigger than you, man,

other than with God?

Acts chapter 19, verse 23 onwards.

Acts 19:23

About that time there arose a great disturbance about the way.

A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis,

brought in no little business for the craftsmen.

He called them together along with the workmen in related trades and said,

Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.

And you see and hear how you're talking about one man.

It doesn't say how this band of, no it says how this fellow, one man.

Always remember the majority of one, eh?

Jackie Pullinger, one man, one woman, one person.

David Wilkerson, one man.

William Wilberforce, one man.

Pawan Kumar, one man.

Charlene Lowe, one woman.

Charlene Lowe, one woman.

Verse 25.

He called them together along with the workmen in related trades and said,

Men, you know that we receive a good income from this business.

And you see and hear how this fellow, Paul, has convinced and led astray

large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia.

He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.

I love this next line.

There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name,

but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited

and the goddess herself who is worshipped throughout the province of Asia

and the world will be robbed of her divine majesty.

Fracture, shake, disintegrate and rob of any majesty attributed to any other name

than the name of Jesus Christ in this city.

And as we begin this process here, patterns that begin here

will be what begin to multiply and go forth across the earth.

First Samuel 5.

I love this story.

First time I read it was when I was a kid.

Like when I say kid, I mean like 20 something.

First Samuel 5.

I was so impressed with this story.

First Samuel 5, verse 1 to 5.

1 Samuel 5:1–5

After the Philistines had captured the Ark of God,

they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

Then they carried the Ark into Dagon's temple.

Big mistake and set it besides Dagon.

When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day,

there was Dagon fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord.

Fractured, shaken, disintegrated.

When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day,

there was Dagon fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord.

They took Dagon and put him back in place.

But the following morning when they rose,

there was Dagon fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord.

Let me add the word again.

His head and hands had been broken off,

and they were lying on the threshold.

Only his body remained.

That is why to this day, neither the priests of Dagon,

nor any others who entered Dagon's temple at Ashdod,

step on the threshold.

How does this happen, man?

God has the ability to fracture, shake and disintegrate.

He does it through a people.

He can do it on his own.

But because the fight is not between God and the devil,

but man and the sons of Adam and the serpent,

it is through the sons of Adam that God will bring the victory.

He can do it himself.

But there is really no contest between God and the devil.

It's not a contest.

It's the sons of Adam who were deceived.

It's the sons of Adam who gave away their authority.

It is through the sons of Adam that God will restore.

And therefore, Jesus Christ did come as the last Adam.

So it's not even going to be angels that bring the victory to pass.

It is those that have been restored into the full image of God.

God's very logical, actually.

So how do we go about this?

How do we...you keep saying, Jacob, that we'll fracture, shake and disintegrate.

How? So here's how.

We're going to go read Acts 16 first.

Acts 16.

After we read Acts 16, I'm going to ask the music team to come back up.

Acts 16, verse 25 to 33.

Acts 16:25–33

And as we read this, I want you to understand what's going to happen.

Acts 16, verse 25 to 33.

Acts 16:25–33

Acts 16, 25 to 33.

We're talking about things being shaken, fractured, disintegrated, broken today in this city

as we indulge in something that happened in the Book of Acts.

And as we do that, things will begin to shake and things will begin to change.

About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.

And the other prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake.

The foundations of the prison were shaken.

You must understand, Paul and Silas were sent in there to break out.

They weren't sent in there to keep them there.

They were sent in there to break everybody out.

About midnight, starting again, verse 25,

about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.

And other prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake.

Then the foundations of the prison were shaken.

At once all the prison doors flew open and everybody's chains came loose.

The jailer woke up and when he saw the prison doors open,

he drew his sword and was about to kill himself

because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul shouted, don't harm yourself, we're all here.

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and felt trembling before Paul and Silas.

He then brought them out and asked, sirs, what must I do to be saved?

They replied, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all others in his house.

At that hour of the night the jailer took them, washed their wounds.

Immediately he and his family were baptized.

The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them.

He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole family.

So that's what we're going to do now.

I want you to trust that as we sing the song History Maker,

is it true today that when people pray, kings and queens will shake,

cloudless skies will break.

I want you in your homes, as many as that are watching,

not to sing this as a song of praise or worship,

but to sing it the same way Paul and Silas sang it that night.

Now as you begin to sing, God will fracture, God will shake, God will disintegrate.

God will uproot from its very foundations the prison doors,

the prison walls that have shut down people in this land.

He will break it, fracture it so that it will never be steady again, never be steady again.

That if a fox walked over those walls, those walls would collapse.

And as we begin to sing this, the same thing will happen.

That there will be a violent earthquake, that the foundations of every prison in the city will be shaken.

That doors will fly open, that everybody's chains will come loose.

And so the prisoners escaping, they will turn and come to the one who opened these doors.

That the question that will be heard by heaven, by angels, by us, by other churches will be,

Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And the response will be, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.

And the number of baptisms that will go up in 2021 will be ridiculous,

not so that we can add them to our churches or to our denominations,

but so that ones will publicly declare the knowledge of Jesus Christ in their lives.

This is what will happen today.

Jacob, can you make it happen? Absolutely not.

Jacob, are you sure it will happen? Absolutely yes.

So if you're lolling on your sofa, straighten up.

If you're sitting on your sofa, stand up.

If you're standing, prostrate yourself.

If you're wondering what to do, kneel.

Whatever it takes guys, the point is,

think this knowing that something is afoot in the first and second heavens

and the delight and the desire and the freedom that only the third heaven can bring to the city will come.

And that this, at the point of origin, will be the pattern as it goes city after city,

nation after nation, across the earth over the next two years.

Yeah? Let's do that.

So don't wait. Get into that place of this is what I'm here for already,

even as they come to play. And then sing it with everything you have.

Change the words if you have to.

It is true today that when people like me pray, cloudless skies will break.

Why? Because it is a yes and amen promise of God that kings and queens,

not here on earth, systems on earth and in the second heaven,

spirit realms, kings and queens will shake because they know what is afoot.

They have been hearing this.

Sometimes they understand, sometimes they don't,

but they have been hearing this and they know something is afoot.

But today is the day of reckoning where the final beginning of the fracture,

the collapse, the disintegration and the shaking of the foundations begin.

Yeah?

Don't turn me off, eh?

Sit down.

Can I sit down?

Yeah, just turn me down, yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That when people pray, cloudless skies will break, kings and queens will shake.

Is it true? Is it true today?

Actually, let's go back. Yes, it's true.

Yes, it's true today.

That when people, that when people pray,

cloudless skies will break, kings and queens will shake.

One more time. Yes, it's true today.

Yes, it's true today.

That when people, that when people pray,

cloudless skies will break, queens and queens will shake.

Yes, it's true.

And I believe it.

I'm living for you.

Next verse.

Yes, it's true today.

That when people pray,

that when people pray,

we'll see dead men rise,

and the blind set free.

Sing that again.

Yes, it's true today.

That when your people pray,

we'll see dead men rise,

and the blind set free.

One more time.

Is it true today?

That when people pray,

we'll see dead men rise,

and the blind set free.

Oh, yes, it's true.

And we believe it.

We're living for you.

We're gonna be,

we're gonna be,

history-maker in this town.

We're gonna be,

your speakers of truth to all mankind.

And we're gonna stand.

We're gonna run into your arms,

into your arms.

We're gonna be,

your history-makers in this land.

We're gonna be your speakers of truth.

We're gonna be,

your speakers of truth to all mankind.

We're gonna stand.

We're gonna stand.

And then they're gonna run.

And they're gonna run into your arms,

into your arms again.

We're gonna be,

we're gonna be your history-makers,

your history-makers in this town.

We're gonna be,

your speakers of truth to all mankind.

And we're gonna stand.

And they're gonna run into your arms,

into your arms again.

Well, it's true today,

that when people stand,

with a fire of heart,

and the truth in hand,

we'll see miracles,

we'll see angels sing,

we'll see broken hearts,

making history.

Well, it's true today,

well, it's true today,

that when people stand,

with a fire of heart,

and the truth in hand,

we'll see miracles,

we'll see angels sing,

we'll see broken hearts,

making history.

Yes, it's true.

Oh, yes, it's true.

And we believe it.

We're living for you.

We're gonna be,

we're gonna be your history-makers in this land.

We're gonna be,

your speakers of truth to all mankind.

We're gonna stand.

And they're gonna run into your arms,

into your arms again.

We're here to be,

your history-makers in this land.

We're here to be,

we're here to be,

your speakers of truth to all mankind.

We're here to stand,

so that they're gonna run into your arms,

into your arms again.

We're here to be,

your history-makers in this land.

We're here to be,

your speakers of truth to all mankind.

And we're here to stand,

so that they're gonna run into your arms,

into your arms again.

We're here to be,

your history-makers in this land.

We're here to be,

your speakers of truth to all mankind.

We're here to stand,

so that they're gonna run into your arms,

into your arms again.

We're here to stand,

so that they're gonna run into your arms,

into your arms again.

The shot of a king is in Ahmed,

the lion has roared, who can stop him?

He's the lion of Judah,

he arouses himself from a crouch,

he stands up on his feet.

When the lion roars, who can stop him?

The shot of a king is in Ahmed,

he carries the gates on his back,

walks up the mountain.

The city is free, foundations ripped out,

prison doors fling open,

open eyes, open hearts.

Says, what shall we do to be saved?

What shall we do to be saved?

He brah-yara-brah-fah-yara-yase.

Oh-ra-brah-fah-yara, lion of Judah,

lamb of God, leh-yara-brah-fah-yara.

See with our eyes broken foundations,

doors hanging by their hinges,

chains across the ground,

prisoners coming out, no longer confused,

eyes open.

The light of the gospel shining down on them.

Hear the sound, says, what shall we do to be saved?

Whispers that are growing louder across the city,

says, what shall we do to be saved?

Whispers getting louder and louder,

says, what shall we do to be saved?

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we say,

believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

We thank you Lord for what you do with us.

We thank you Lord, we cry for them.

We say to the north, south, east and the west,

let them go, let them go,

everyone named by the name of Jesus Christ,

let them go.

Leh-brah-baya-sho-ey-yeh,

sheh-brah-yara-ba,

we gather them, oh God.

Angels at work,

gathering their harvest,

we bless you, oh God,

to bless you all.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Let God arise,

let his enemies be scattered.

Let God arise,

and his enemies were scattered,

and then God arose,

his enemies were scattered,

and God, and God he arose.

The yoke in this city,

and for each city it might be different,

the yoke in this city that dulls or blinds it

to the light of the Gospel as it says

in 2 Corinthians 4, 4,

maybe summarized this way.

One, dullness,

I'm calling it dullness or blindness,

dullness that has been brought about by

sexual immorality

and a lack of restraint.

That begins to blur lines

and allows the crossing

of boundaries and domain.

We will talk about this in the future,

but this city is known for it.

This city has a lack of restraint

and allows to domain and boundary

that God has placed for different things.

The city crosses back and to and fro.

The lines are blurred.

What is good becomes evil,

what is evil becomes good,

what is male becomes female,

what is female becomes male.

There's this fluidity,

there's this freedom and fluidity,

there's this odd kind of evil freedom,

it's not real freedom,

and fluidity that exists in the city

that begins to dull its people.

It's just the Genesis 6 kind of blurring of lines

and the audacity to step out of your domain

and go into domains that you're not allowed to go into.

That's one of the things that this city has.

The other thing is the dullness that comes because of...

You'll have to read between the lines

when I talk about this.

The dullness that comes from meditative false religions.

Meditative false religions.

Revelations 9, 20, and 21 talks about how in the last days

there'll be sorceries, idolatry, false religions,

blasphemy spoken against the true God.

That'll be common and people,

instead of turning to God, will begin to defy God.

In Acts 19, verse 35, again going back to Ephesus

Acts 19:35

and Artemis of Ephesus, it was the same attitude.

And this city is dulled by meditative false religions.

And then the third thing is dullness

that has been brought on by an acceptance

of present conditions.

Of present conditions.

No one takes a stance in this city.

Stances are taken for all things that oppose God,

but stances for things that are necessarily virtuous,

you won't see that.

Dullness or a silent acceptance of present conditions.

John chapter 5, verse 5, kind of captures what I'm trying to say.

John 5:5

Where a man has been at a pool for almost 30 years

out of the 38 years that he's been paralyzed.

When someone comes along and asks him,

and this someone happens to be Jesus, asks him,

do you want to be healed?

His answer is not that he wants to be healed.

That I've been laying here for years,

and that occasionally someone comes and stirs up the water.

I would suggest to you it was a legend,

it wasn't true that God would send angels to stir up the water.

And that I never get there, so I've been lying here forever.

That was his response.

It is an acceptance of present condition.

These are three things that dulls this city.

When we begin to pray for this, and we will be,

and it might be midweek, this week.

When we begin to pray for this, I'll give you the topic to pray for,

but whatever is prayed for will not be recorded.

Whatever is prayed for will not be recorded.

So in your homes, you can Zoom with somebody and pray for a certain topic.

So you can get a group of guys to Zoom together and pray as we live stream,

but what you pray with somebody on Zoom, or what you pray alone, will not be recorded.

That will be topical, but it won't be recorded.

Just so you know, and you're aware of how we'll go about this.

Because these are things that dull the city,

sexual immorality and a lack of restraint,

a lack of restraint which blurs lines and allows the crossing of boundaries and domains,

just as it was in Genesis 6.

And the results are horrible.

Dullness that comes out of meditative false religions,

and dullness that comes out of a silent acceptance of present conditions,

particularly amongst churches.

Churches also accepted. It's like, this is where we are at.

I'm not talking about COVID, I'm not talking about lockdown restrictions.

I'm talking about an acceptance of present conditions.

Things don't need to change.

Amongst all the cities in Canada, this is perhaps the most lukewarm.

Other cities may have other problems,

but this city thrives on lukewarmness.

And so if this is the condition of the city,

then this is what churches will be attacked with too.

That's just a taster.

We'll talk about it in the future.

So, I'm going to go ahead and start with the first one.

So, I'm going to start with the first one.

So, I'm going to start with the first one.

That's just a taster.

We'll talk about it in the future.

So, how is this yoke broken?

How is this yoke broken?

And we'll stop with that.

These are just introductory,

introductory, what's the right word?

Introductions to what we'll be doing in terms of prayer to undo the yoke.

So, how are yokes broken?

Let's look at the patterns that are provided for us in scripture.

One of the ways yokes are broken is in Isaiah 10.27.

And basically a yoke is broken when your neck grows fat.

So, if you have a fat neck, blessed are you.

So, how is the yoke broken?

The first one is in Isaiah 10.27.

The yoke is broken from your neck when the neck grows fat.

How does the neck grow fat?

The neck grows fat when it is greased or fed well.

What is another word for greased or fed well?

The word is anointing.

What is anointing?

The presence of the Spirit on you to achieve a specific purpose.

So, that's the first way the yoke is broken.

And in this we have an advantage because our necks are being fattened by God.

Fourteen years he's been fattening our necks.

Some of us have gotten fat in other parts too, but most of us have fat necks.

So, that's the first thing, that your necks are fattened.

And the anointing of God for a specific purpose, and in this case, initiating a global revival.

Every time I say that, I think to myself, shut up.

And then I think to myself, save.

So, this is the first part.

And we won't be able to do this alone, so we'll have to cause this to spread.

Just like God said, hey Moses, take what is on you and give it to the seventy.

So, we have to do it too.

Or like Saul, when he met the prophets that were coming down, he started prophesying too.

That must happen.

And so, one of the changes that you should look forward to in the next five to seven days is,

we might actually have a Saturday evening live stream too,

so that other people in this city and other people across the earth can tune in.

And with regard to Sundays, we'll see how it goes.

We'll see whether we need to do a 1.45 and 6 p.m. or a 11 and 6 p.m. or a Saturday 7 and morning 11, we don't know.

So, don't start praying for it right now.

We've got other things to pray about.

But at present, what we'd like to initiate is a 7 p.m. Saturday or 7.30 p.m. Saturday service that allows others to partake.

Others need to catch this, eh?

Now, the scripture that allows us to break the yoke is Isaiah 58.

Isaiah 58 verse 6.

Isaiah 58:6

Isaiah 58 verse 6.

Isaiah 58:6

Isaiah 58 verse 6.

Isaiah 58:6

Isaiah 58 verse 6.

Isaiah 58:6

Isaiah 58 verse 6.

Isaiah 58:6

Isaiah 58 verse 6.

Isaiah 58:6

Isaiah 58 verse 6.

Isaiah 58:6

Isaiah 58 verse 6.

Isaiah 58:6

Guys, if you feel like fasting during times like this, feel free.

But I love what God says in the air.

Is this not the fast that I have chosen?

To lose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burden, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke.

And so, one of the ways yokes are broken in any city is when we actually engage in what is called faith works.

Faith works, where the city begins to see people who aren't cleaning up your lawn or distributing Starbucks coffee.

Nothing wrong with that. That's a great thing.

I'd love for you to clean up my lawn and get me Starbucks coffee.

But this goes beyond that, where you're talking about real ways to undo heavy burdens, help the oppressed lose bands of wickedness.

Where there's an active stance that is taken by a people who begin to buck against the silent acceptance of conditions as they are.

And I'll be going through each of these in the weeks ahead so that we actually do something about it.

These are scriptural patterns of breaking the yoke.

God has fractured, disintegrated, dismantled, shaken.

Kings and queens, spirit powers, foundations in the city, so that people are suddenly feeling the change but not seeing the change.

I have the faith to carry that for the city right now.

And I'm sure there are many of you that have the faith to do it too.

So if you don't have the faith for it right now, that's okay.

Tomorrow we can be in a better place.

But do not park this as an okay teaching.

Isaiah 58-6 is a thing that we'll have to engage in if you want to see a city break out.

Have to.

These are scriptural patterns, eh?

And to talk about it and not do anything?

Oh my God, then you're more guilty.

Not you, me.

Third, the people who are not doing anything,

Third, and don't worry, there's just three.

Third, Isaiah 9-4, famous Christmas scripture.

For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

This is that scripture where it says unto us a child is born unto us a son is given.

It starts with this idea of there's dense darkness in Naphtali and Asher.

But don't worry, someone is on his way and he's going to change everything.

And when he comes, the yoke of the burden, the staff that was used to break your shoulder,

the rod of the oppressor that came across your back will be broken just as in the day of Midian.

What do you mean the day of Midian?

The day of Midian was the day when Gideon defeated the Midianites and broke their oppression over Israel.

Every time Israel would begin to cultivate or grow crops, the Midianites would come ravage the place.

It would be so hopeless because you just begin to see the first bud, you begin to see the first sheafs of corn.

You're thinking that perhaps the raiders won't come this time around.

And just when they would be ready to cut the grain, the Midianites would come

and they would go through the land like locusts leaving nothing and forget starving people who would break their hope.

And then along comes Gideon with a hundred men and he breaks the back of the Midianites.

He takes their staff and their rods and he breaks them, puts them aside and says,

Israel, you're free, takes the yoke off their backs.

This is what we've been given the privilege of partnering and participating in.

Rights to it. This is the only reason why you're alive right now and that you should be living right now.

Everything else, your work, your money, your family is secondary.

Ah, Jacob, it's easy for you to say because you don't work and you get paid and you don't have a family.

True. Well, that is not my fault.

Let's look at what Gideon did. We already read it, so let me go over it.

So he has some guys, a hundred of them, a hundred, just a hundred, a small number.

Guys, here's the thing, I was walking, let me tell you two things that really frightened me and encouraged me.

One, I went and bought a map of the world. Not a small map, a map you can roll me up in.

It's pretty big. Now you know how big it is.

So I put this map up on the wall.

And then suddenly this idea of a global revival felt totally impossible.

Because somehow when you don't have a map, you think it's possible.

When you look at the number of nations, you think to yourself,

what in the world got into you to make statements like this?

There's so many blooming provinces, leave alone countries.

And then you realize, oh my God, either you're going to lose your reputation fully,

or this is something that God is doing and you can jump into.

So that's the first thing.

The second thing is, what if only 20 of us stood up and drank water?

What if only 20 of us knelt down and lapped up water like dogs?

Well then, 20 it is.

Because anyways, even with 100, you couldn't do anything once you looked at that map.

That map makes me feel so small.

Some trust in chariots, some trust in princes.

We trust in the name of the Lord our God.

This is His move, man.

So these guys hold a pitcher in one hand.

And inside the pitcher is a flaming torch.

And in the other hand, they hold a trumpet.

With the trumpet, they begin to blow.

And with the pitcher, they break the pitcher and suddenly the light is revealed.

And that's how they overcome an entire army.

They throw an entire army into confusion, coming down the hills, eh?

You think God didn't have anything to do with it.

You think 200,000 strong, seasoned battle-seasoned soldiers

see some lights coming down the mountains and hear some trumpets and they go,

Oh, let's kill each other.

Really?

This is a God thing, man.

But the trumpets and the pitcher do stand for things.

The trumpets announce, they declare God's intent.

It's Ezekiel 37, verse 1 to 4,

Ezekiel 37:1–4

Speak to the valley of bones, Jacob.

But, Lord, what should I speak?

Smart question, Jacob.

Prophesy to the bones.

Say, breath, enter.

All right, now that I have your words, I'll speak them.

And then there are the pitchers that you break and the light.

And that is so referred to in Matthew 5, 14 to 16, where it says,

let me read Matthew 5, 14 to 16.

It's such a cool verse.

I'm telling you, God is brilliant and he's very logical and very illogical.

Only he can be both at the same time.

Matthew 5, 14 to 16, reading from two different versions.

Here's another way to put it.

You are here to be light, bringing out the God colors in the world.

God is not a secret to be kept.

We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.

If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you?

I'm putting you on a light stand.

You know, churches should do this.

Once Sunday a week, everyone should come with buckets on their heads.

That'll be something, eh?

If I make you light-bearers, and then if someone kicks the bucket...

No, let's not go there.

Sorry, this is not going the way I wanted it to.

Let me just go to NIV and read straight from there.

Here's Matthew 5, 14 to 16.

You are the light of the world.

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

I want you to do one thing at some point this week.

Go to Acts 29.ca and listen to a sermon from March 3, 2019.

March 3, 2019.

It'll tell you what good works are.

March 3, 2019, Acts 29.ca.

Listen to that sermon when you can this week.

I know it's listening to a lot of sermons, but listen to it.

It'll give you an idea of what good works is.

Let your light so shine before men.

These are things that go hand in hand, eh?

On one hand, you have the blazing torch.

Shine your light and your good works.

On the other hand, you have the trumpet with which you declare.

When you do, the enemy is thrown into disarray.

The yoke is broken.

The rod on the back of people is broken.

So here's what I want to do as we close.

I want you to use the trumpet now.

No, I'm not talking just to Mike. I'm talking to you.

So here's what we do.

Write down right now a prophetic declaration upon the city,

as best as you can, right now.

So let's take two or three minutes.

I haven't done this either.

I'm looking forward to doing it.

And then together, even though it's different declarations,

it comes from one spirit and we declare it upon the city.

So let's go.

What are you writing?

I'm writing a declaration that you can speak over the city

that specifically aims at breaking the yoke

so that people that cannot escape,

I mean, imagine a huge weight on someone's back.

They can't even reach out.

What is it that God will have you declare upon this city?

The patterns that start here are the patterns that will continue elsewhere.