In 2 Corinthians 6 v. 14, God mentions to not "be unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteous with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?" In v. 17 God says: "wherefore come out from among them and be separate, saith the LORD and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you"…. Do you realize that there are unbelievers in church? There is so much manipulation and control, right in church! You need to separate form these controlling people! Also, when God gives you a vision sometimes the worst thing that you can do is share this with another believer! The enemy could possibly use that person to try to talk you out of it! The three degrees of separation that the LORD gave me are:

1.) Are you being dictated over?- If you feel manipulation, control and being dictated to, you need to separate from that relationship. Don’t mistake concern for control! They may act concerned and keep checking up on you, but in reality they want to control you by knowing your every movement! This is of Satan! Eventually, if you keep letting people control you, they may want to enslave you, where you can’t do anything without their approval. Sadly, some Pastors and other leaders are so concerned about "their" flock that they manipulate and control them by keeping them in a spiritual corral! They are forbidden to visit other churches. These ministers reflect their own insecurity. They feel that if someone visits a minister who is more anointed than they are, they may not come back. They act like they are their sheep and not God’s. Some ministers use membership, which normally could be a good thing, to control. They are told that as members, they can’t go to other ministries. Some other ministers use membership to control people’s finances. They are told that once they sign as members they have to pay tithes. Paying tithes to a local church is an OK thing but to be forced to is another element of control. People should be taught about the importance of tithes and let God talk and deal with them. Some ministers just see new people in church as potential "money." Sadly, all they think about is how fast they can get them to be members, so they can make them promise to pay their tithes.

2.) Are you unable to criticize some people around you? Some people, especially some ministers are so insecure and lifted up in pride that nobody is allowed to criticize them. He/she is not open to criticism. This is a situation that you must separate from. This is not wholesome and the spirit of pride and control is using them. In some churches you can’t even approach a minister, especially if you have a criticism. He usually has an entourage around him. You have so many elders to go through to even try to set up an appointment with the Pastor.

3.) Not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers- Some marriages are over and they are divorced but one could still have their identity shaped by that relationship. They can’t seem to be able to exist without that person. Their life just seems to "cave in" after the divorce. They are really unequally yoked! We need to have an identity that is not defined by a relationship with anybody else. Marriage is not supposed to define who you are but complete who you are. Some singles have definition in their lives already and don’t need a partner to define them. We need to find out who we are personally and who we are in Christ. We need to be able to exist separate from anybody else, if necessary, totally dependant on Jesus! Some people always need company. They always want to be in the majority! They just want to flow with everybody else! They are afraid of being different! In 1 Samuel Chapter 14, there is a story about Jonathan and the army of Israel. There were only two swords in the army as they had given their swords to the Philistines, who then decided to attack! Jonathan grabbed a sword and started to go after the enemy. He was willing to go alone! Are you? As he went, he went with his armourbearer and advance towards the enemy (v. 6, 7). Jonathan told his armourbearer to continue to approach them because they had the victory if the enemy tells them to come up and talk with them, which they did (v.10)! The enemy was over confident. As Jonathan and his armourbearer started to fight against the enemy, they killed about 20 of them and then the enemy started to kill each other (v. 14 and 20). See what one person’s determination can do?

Some people can’t be blessed by God until they separate from another person! In Genesis Chapter 13 v. 14, after Abraham and Lot, his nephew had separated because of strife, God was now able to make a promise of blessing to Abraham. Who could possibly be interfering with the blessing God has for you and as a result you need to be separated from? Remember, your blessing could be at stake. Who has been hand-picked by God to help you in your walk with Him and who was sent by the enemy to hinder your walk? Please talk to the LORD about this message!