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Breaking The Power of the Taskmaster
8Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.
Exodus 1:8-11
Satan has made it his priority to keep the saints of God from there priorities, to keep us so bogged down with “tasks”, “problems” and “issues”, that we neglect to spend time with God in prayer, in church, in his word, because of the burdens that are laid upon us by the taskmasters.
As a result, we become burdened down and driven by forces that are seemingly beyond our control, and unknowingly we allow a taskmaster to afflict burdens upon us that drive a wedge between the spiritual man and the carnal man that we are.
Pharaoh and the taskmasters of Egypt attempted to wear out the children of Israel by placing extra burdens upon them which were hard to bear.
In our day, Satan attempts to increase our “Egyptian responsibilities” in the hopes of doing the same thing, his motto is if you can’t beat them wear them out!
This spirit of Anti-Christ is at work today coming against the people of God both in the form of little things that keep weighing us down, and big things that cause major distractions in our lives.
The goal is to cause the temporal or worldly issues to outweigh the eternal issues in our lives.
If you want to survive as a child of God in the world in which we live, you have got to learn some principles.
If you want…
· The power to run
· The power to endure
· The power to stay focused
It rests with your ability to unload encumbering, entangling weights.
It rests with exercising wisdom in knowing what to take on and what to let go.
If you want to break the power of the taskmaster in your life, it is essential to understand where they come from and how to battle them spiritually.
There are two types of taskmasters, those sent by Satan and those invited by us.
Let’s 1st look at breaking the power of a taskmaster you invited into your life.
There are so many things to do in life, that you have got to learn to pick and choose those things that are profitable for you spiritually.
Consider the words of the apostle Paul in:
23All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.
1 Corinthians 10:23
Your relationship with God is the single most important relationship in your life
If your not careful you can unwittingly bring a taskmaster into your life.
The Amplified Bible states it like this;
23All things are legitimate [permissible–and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].
1 Corinthians 10:23
By allowing yourself to as you please without convictions you will find that not everything is constructive for your character and edifying, or uplifting, to your spiritual life.
The word edify in the Greek is the word:
G3618
ïkêïäïìÝù
From the same as G3619; to be a house builder, that is, construct or
(figuratively) confirm:—(be in) build (-er, -ing, up), edify, embolden.
It means to be a house builder, to construct.
The scripture tells us in 1 Peter 2:5:
5you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:5
We are being edified as we go, being built up a spiritual house.
22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Matthew 6:22
There’s a saying in the world of computers, “Garbage in Garbage out.”
Jesus asked if the disciples had any understanding:
17Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?
It is the way God’s creation, you eat or drink and sooner or later you have to go to the bathroom.
This principle applies not only to what we bring in the mouth, but what we bring in the eyes and ears.
16So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
Matthew 15:16-20
If you allow things in your eyes and in your ears that shouldn’t be there it will eventually come out to become your taskmaster and burden you down and ruin your witness and walk with God.
If you want to break the power of the taskmaster in your life you have to start by cutting off what it feeds on, and unless your just so dense no light can penetrate your strata, you know what’s feeding the taskmaster you brought into your life.
Its enough that Satan seeks to bring a taskmaster in your life without creating your own!
To battle this type of taskmaster you must first battle yourself.
If you want to break the power of a taskmaster you invited into your life you have got to 1st break yourself.
It might be good to apply an AA principle here, they say that you cannot break the power of alcoholism in your life unless you 1st admit you’re an alcoholic. And I think that’s right.
If you want to break the power of a taskmaster you invited into your life you have to admit you invited him.
Wittingly or unwittingly you invited him to have power over you.
Whether it was because of:
· Pornography
· Drug Use
· Alcohol Abuse
· Theft
· Sexual Immorality
Or some other sin, The taskmaster has power over you because you 1st sinned and you will not break the power of the taskmaster until you repent of your sin and forsake it.
Find and old fashioned altar and pray and fast until the power is broken in your life.
So many want victory over sin but wont forsake there sin but want to continue to dabble in it.
You will never get victory over the power of a taskmaster you invited into your life without using these principles:
1) Repent of and forsake sin – don’t keep dabbling in it
2) Build a prayer life and come before God in prayer for help in being victorious
3) Begin to fast along with that prayer, a day a week is fine, it will give you power
Using these principles you can break the power of the taskmaster you invited into your life.
You may ask the question, “Pastor how do I judge what is good for me and not good for me?”
Use these 5 rules as a guide:
1) Whatever weakens your reasoning
2) Whatever impairs the tenderness of your conscience
3) Whatever obscures your vision of God
4) Whatever takes away the appreciation of spiritual things
5) Whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind
Should be avoided and the habit broken, or partaking of discontinued, if it causes any of these 5 things in you.
Lets look at the 2nd type of taskmaster, the one sent by Satan.
This is the one responsible for burdens beyond your control.
He motivates the boss on the job that makes your work life unbearable because of all the extra duties assigned. I’m not talking about working hard and giving an employer there just due, I am talking about unreasonable demands that are above and beyond the call of duty and affect your walk with God your family relationships and your church attendance.
He curses you home and causes burdens of calamity to come upon you and your family.
We find an example of this in 1 Samuel 30:
1Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
7Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
1 Samuel 30:1-7
This was beyond David’s control, he didn’t bring it upon himself, it was an attack of the enemy.
But David had learned a principle, some call it the principle of unloading. He did not carry the burden himself.
· He didn’t have a nervous breakdown
· He didn’t go get drunk and think about it tomorrow
· He didn’t smoke some of the mountain herbs from Jamaica so he could calm down and deal with the situation
Instead he called to Abiathar and told him to bring an ephod.
This principle of unloading can break the power of a taskmaster in your life.
If you don’t learn to unload you will overload!
David called for an ephod which was a prayer shawl and took time off for a prayer meeting because he had to unload and get a word from God.
Everything was stacked against David, the sounds of discontent and anger and despair filled the air around him, but while the sounds of discontent and anger and despair filled the air around him the put on that old prayer shawl and encouraged himself in the Lord prayed until he got direction from God.
Too often we panic when we ought to pray, we faint when we ought to have faith. Jesus said it like this in Luke 18:1:
“Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”
Luke 18:1
Its not time to faint or lose heart when the attack of the enemy or the difficulties of life come its time to pray and not faint, pray and don’t give in.
Understand that the Lord is able “to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
Ephesians 3:20
Satan has no power to harm you in and of himself.
He gets his power from you when you release it to him.
And you might say, Pastor what happens when life shows up and God doesn’t.
I feel like Job in Job 23:9:
9On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
Job 23:9
I can tell you what not to do, don’t faint, apply the scripture to your life:
7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
Learn the principle of unloading and you can break the power of the taskmaster in your life.
The power of the taskmaster comes when we are driven debt, fear, loneliness, anger, tiredness and more.
When you can learn the principle of unloading your burdens become lighter because you know God is in control and he’s going to help you through these situations and you can get out of the lowlands and begin going up to the high places.
33 He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
Psalms 18:33
Begin going up to the high places and break the power of the taskmasters in your life!
