War Against The Midianites by Pastor Jerry Eze: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

All Yokes Are Broken

Isaiah 10:24–27 establishes that God will deal with Assyria — and the evidence will be unmistakable. As He stilled the Red Sea before, so He will act again. The burden will be lifted from the shoulder. The yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing.

The Shepherd's Rod and Staff

In verse 24, God warns: the Assyrian will smite you with a rod and lift up his staff after the manner of Egypt. Two instruments — a rod and a staff. Those two words appear elsewhere in scripture. The psalmist, comparing himself to a sheep, addresses God as shepherd and says: Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4.

The rod and staff belong to the shepherd. They are the shepherd's tools for directing, correcting and protecting the flock. But here is the point: the only reason the Assyrian can raise a rod and staff against those who dwell in Zion is because the Assyrian has succeeded in acting as their shepherd — in feeding them — without their knowing it.

Whoever feeds you can use a rod and staff against you. Whatever feeds you can direct you, diminish you, and obscure your destiny.

The Enemy Feeds You Before He Afflicts You

Before the devil causes sickness, he feeds with fear of it. Before he makes a future look bleak, he feeds with uncertainty. Before he causes relational breakdown, he feeds with suspicion and bitterness. He does not simply place a burden in a life and activate it — he first conditions the mind through a sustained diet of wrong thinking.

This is what Job meant when he said: the thing I greatly feared has come upon me. He had been fed fear, and it became the vehicle through which the attack arrived.

The Bible says: whatever things are pure, whatever things are of a good report, if there is any virtue — think on these things. Philippians 4:8. This is not simply positive thinking. It is a strategic refusal to give the enemy feeding rights over your mind.

The battle did not start when the trouble appeared. It started when the suggestion first came — when the thought whispered that the business would close, that the diagnosis was terminal, that no one would ever come to help. That thought was not random; it was the first meal.

Do Not Dismiss Negative Thoughts — Quench Them

The instinct is to dismiss a troubling thought. But dismissal and quenching are different responses. To dismiss a thought is to wave it away without engaging. To quench it is to counter it with targeted prayer and declaration.

If a thought comes that someone in the family will die — do not simply say "that's not true" and move on. Quench it: "In the name of Jesus, I decree that no one in my family will die. Long life is my inheritance." That prayer closes a door the thought was trying to open. Thoughts left undressed have a way of maturing into reality — not because of fate, but because of what you continue to eat.

When driving alone, when lying awake, when an anxious thought arrives — open your mouth. Speak against it. The man of the spirit does not let the enemy's feeding go unchallenged.

God Lifts His Rod — and Opens the Sea

The Lord says: you lift your rod after the manner of Egypt? I will lift My rod after the manner of Egypt too. But recall what happened when God's rod was lifted over the sea. The Red Sea parted — and Israel walked through.

When the Assyrian lifts his rod, God lifts His. And when God lifts His rod, He does not come to meet the enemy blow for blow in the same arena. He divides a sea. He opens a way of escape that was not visible before. 1 Corinthians 10:13 confirms: there is no temptation or burden common to man that God has not also provided a way through.

Every way of escape is specific. Some ways of escape are geographic — a move, a change of location. Some are relational — a separation from people whose covenantal trajectory runs contrary to yours. Some are intellectual — a new idea, a fresh perspective that unlocks what years of old thinking could not. Some are simply directional — God showing which door to take next.

When the Red Sea opens, walk through it. Do not stand on the bank praying in tongues while the sea is parted. The miracle is not only in the opening — it is also in the walking. Act when the revelation comes. Step when the direction is clear.

Not everyone is prayed out of a situation. Some people need to be walked out. Some relationships are not changed through intercession — they are exited. Wisdom knows the difference.

You Are No Longer in Egypt

The Assyrian wants to repeat what happened in Egypt. But the people of God are no longer in Egypt. They dwell in Zion. What could be done in a season of ignorance — when prayer was absent, when the patterns of the spirit were not understood, when the enemy had unchallenged access — cannot be repeated now. Not now that the Word is known. Not now that the presence is cultivated. Not now that the priestly, prophetic and kingly dimensions are active.

What was done when fear was the diet cannot be done now — because the diet has changed. What took root in a season of spiritual passivity will not take root in a season of intentional pursuit. The Assyrian's rod breaks against the consciousness of a person who knows who they are and whose they are.

Whatever the enemy has decided for evil — at the sound of your amen, the rod of God swallows it right now. Every pattern of negativity that wants to arise again in your life — it is broken. Every junk thought, every fearful suggestion, every wrong thing fed to your mind by the enemy — let it be broken right now. You will not carry what you were carrying before. Anyone in a tight corner receives a way of escape today. In Jesus' name.

I decree: it is a new season. You are no longer where you were. The voice of rejoicing has been heard. The door has opened. You are in a new level. All yokes are broken. In the name of Jesus Christ.