An Equal Yoke
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28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 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.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Introduction
Introduction
Bro. Danny’s announcement.
The word yoke can denote a type of wooden device used for many centuries past, and still today in various parts of the world, to harness animals that have been bred and trained to pull heavy loads, known as draft animals. (lewis-clark.org)
(Show picture)
Being yoked with someone means that when you move, they move. When they move, you move.
It was important that yoked animals be a similar size, strength and even temperament, so they could pull together and not destroy one another.
An equal yoke pulls far more than the sum of its parts, an unequal yoke pulls nothing at all.
It would be very difficult to plow with animals of different kinds. (Deut 22:10)
The most obvious application of this is in marriage.
(Don’t take to long on this point)
When you are married, you are more tightly yoked with someone than in any other relationship in our life.
For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, til death do us part.
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Marriage is for life. When you are unequally yoked in marriage, it causes both parties to suffer.
Do you know that’s still a good thing, young man, to think about, young woman? Marry someone who is a Christian. Don’t marry unbelievers. “Yoke yourself not up among unbelievers.” Paul said for us not to do that. The Scriptures, all through, forbid us, to yoke ourself with unbelievers.
But if you are already yoked up with an unbeliever, and he’s willing to live with you, or she, in peace, don’t leave them. Just remain and live a Christian life, that you might win your companion to Christ. 54-0403 - "The Hand Of The Lord Came Upon Him"
You say “but my circumstances are different”.
And no believer should ever marry an unbeliever, under no circumstances. Should always marry believers. 59-0125 - "Be Certain Of God"
God wants His people to be separated from unbelief and unbelievers. So many of you people make a mistake in this, sometimes letting your children play out here a little Oswald.
I don’t mean to be different now, and starchy, and so forth, and be some kind of a fanatic. I don’t mean that. But you let a…You be sure who your daughter goes out with at nighttime. See?
Maybe you raised her a godly little old girl around the church, and the first thing you know she gets out with Oswald or some of them, and he’s an atheist, unbeliever, and her life will come up ruined and you don’t know what he is.
You see? Then he’ll marry her, and look where your kids are, your grandchildren, then, you see. Be careful. God wants His people to be separated. 62-0603 - "The End-Time Evangelism"
This Message is a Message of Grace when it comes to marriage and divorce.
So under the modern conditions, I command you to go to your home, with your wife now. If you are happy with her, live with her, raise your children in the admonition of God. But God be merciful to you if you ever do that again!
You teach your children to never do a thing like that, bring them up in the admonition of God. And now that you are as you are, let us go now, at the late evening hour that we’re living in, and “press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ,” where all things will be possible. 65-0221M - "Marriage And Divorce"
Lets turn from marriage and think spiritually for a moment.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 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.
How will we, sinful creatures, be yoked with Christ, the sinless one? Would not that be an unequal yoke?
We are called the Bride of Christ.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
This is who He is:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
This is who we are:
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me.
God has come into man, and God does nothing apart from man. That’s what He does. His works is through man. He made man His partner. 63-1130E - "Go, Awake Jesus"
How could I be worthy of Him. How could I be His partner?
He’s looking for her character, the character of Christ. Now, just a moment now. That’s it. He chooses a Bride to reflect His character, to which the modern churches of today certainly misses His program here, a million miles, ’cause they deny This to be the Truth.
So how could it be? Now, He’s looking for the day for that Bride to be formed, Hebrews 13:8, just exactly like It was, like He was. It’s got to be His same flesh, same bones, same Spirit, same everything, just exactly built up, and them two then become one.
Until the church becomes that, they’re not one. The character of Him, the Word, for this age, must be molded. She must be molded like He is. 65-0429E - "The Choosing Of A Bride"
How can I be under a yoke with Christ?
Christ has the ability to do something that we cannot do in our natural relationships. We cannot foreknow the choices they will make and how they will act, and you cannot change who they are.
He can do both.
He chose you before you ever sinned.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
We cannot escape the fact that we are chosen.
You can run, but you can’t hide. If He chose you before the foundation of the world, you cannot escape that.
He will patiently wait until the right time, He will overwhelm you with His love. He will set up governments and move kings and potentates in and out of power, so you can hear His Message.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
He’s going to form you into an equal partner.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Whatever happens, is for our good. He is making us equally yoked with Him. It was not enough for Him to save us, but He translated us into His kingdom. We are flesh of His flesh, bone of His bone.
And as He, being the Groom, the Bride has to come forth, ’cause It’s part of Him. And It can only be the manifestation of the fulfilling of all the revelations any others has spoke of the Bride; It can only manifest.
If it does something different from the Groom, it isn’t the Bride. Because, She is flesh of His flesh, bone of His bone; Life of His Life, Power of His Power! She is Him!
As man and woman are one, and woman taken from his side, She had taken a Spirit, the feminish Spirit, from Him. The flesh from His side, made both Mechanics and Dynamics, the Wife.
The Spirit of Him and the flesh of Him, and put it together, and made Mechanics and Dynamics.
Until that Church becomes both Dynamics and Mechanics; and the Spirit of God, that moved Him, to do the things that He did! If He hit on sixteen cylinders, so will the Bride. Amen! For He said, in John 14:12, “He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also.
I’ll give him a charge of My Dynamics, in his Mechanics, that the world will not be able to withstand it; and I’ll raise him up again at the last day.” 65-0418M - "It Is The Rising Of The Sun"
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
He wants a bride with the same character that He has.
We can only be that Bride by the Holy Ghost.
We have been predestined to receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. That’s the only way we could be yoked with Him.
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
We must be born again of the water, blood and spirit.
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
You don’t know nothing about It until you’ve received the Holy Ghost. You say, “I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour.” Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?
If you don’t, you can’t even call Him the Lord, because He’s not Lord. He’s a historical Being that you, by faith, have accepted. But when He’s come into you, by the Holy Ghost, He is your Lord.
No man can call Jesus, “Lord,” only by the Holy Ghost; until you are born of the Spirit of God, and the Holy Ghost is in you. Then, if you are, you’re born into this Kingdom, and you’re part of the Church. You’re the called-out Ones, then.
Can life come out of a corn, except that corn have life in it? If a grain of corn is put in the ground, one is germitized, and the other one is not germitized. The one that’s not germitized, can it live again? Not by no means. There’s nothing in it.
Although, materially, it’ll make just as good, just as good of corn flakes as the other one will. It’ll make just as good of cornbread as the other one will. It’ll look just as good on the shelf as the other one will. But if it hasn’t got life into it, it cannot rise again.
A man that’s a good man, can be just as good church member as a Christian. A man that’s a good man, can be just as good a citizen as a Christian; a good man, moral man. But when he dies, that’s it, unless he’s born again of the Spirit of God. Because, everything that had a beginning has an end.
God is the only thing that’s Eternal. Therefore, we are a part of God, by receiving His Life. Jesus said, “I give unto them Eternal Life.” The Greek word there is Zoe, means “God’s Own Life.”
And the only way that you can ever live again is to have Eternal Life, which is God’s Life, because your life will perish. But His Life will be raised up again, because God is Eternal.
And you’ve got Eternal Life, and can…more die than God can die. “He that believeth on Me has Eternal Life, and I’ll raise him up at the last day, raise him up again.” The Eternal Life that’s in him will raise him up.
Now, can we get into Heaven without be in the Church? You can’t be in the Church until you’re born again. You can’t go to Heaven until you’re born again.
If you’re born again, you’re in the Church. So you can’t go to Heaven until you’re a member of this Church, and you can’t be a member until you’re born into It.
And now let me smother you a little. And you can’t be a member unless God has called you to be a member. Now, how happy you ought to be for that, for you were predestinated before the foundation of the world. 60-0911E - "Five Definite Identifications Of The True Church Of The Living God"
How do I receive the Holy Ghost?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
How do I know I have the Holy Ghost?
1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
And when we were sinners, alienated, without God; in the world, in that muck of mud, as I talked about this morning, God come to us! God sought you, you never sought God. “No man can come to Me except the Father draws him first.”
And God came down in that muck, what you were, and sought you out and brought you out! That ought to create a Perfect Love. Look what you was, and look what you are.
What did that? Somebody that loves you! Can’t you have faith in what He’s promised you, then? Real genuine love will create a confidence in His Word.
He caught me when I was nothing. I’m still nothing, but I’m in His hand. See, He caught me. And He loved me when I was unlovable. He loved you when you was unlovable, but He changed you.
And that’s the way it is. If God, when I was an alien from Him, so loved me till He stooped down to get me and pick me up, that gives me confidence that He wants to use me. He’s got a purpose in doing it. He seen something in me. He seen something in you.
He had a reason to save you, look at the people that’s unsaved today. Look at the millions He could have took beside you, but He took you. Amen! No one can take your place. Amen! You’re in God’s economy. No one can do it. That’s His Love to you.
Then, won’t your love reach right back to Him? And there’s a love affair. No matter what the situation is, its circumstances is governed by this Love that creates Faith: that God loves you and you love God, and you love one another, and that brings the Faith.
All right. Then it can’t keep from bringing out just exactly what God promised it would do. 63-0825E - "Perfect Faith"
Conclusion
Conclusion
We’ve married up. We were not worthy, but He has made us equally yoked with Him. By His Spirit we have been baptized into the body.
If you have never received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, would you receive it now?
If you have, won’t you ask Him for a refilling? Lord send the power so I can partner with you in this great work we have to do.