Soulties and your Calling - Rev. Benita Francis

Soul ties are a great obstacle to the fulfillment of your calling. Our father Abraham, the great hero of faith, also experienced the problems of soul ties hindering his calling! God had told him very clearly to get out of his country, from his family and from his fathers house, and he obeyed. In one small detail, however, we see Abraham giving in to a soul tie: "So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him" (Ge.12:1-4). Again and again, Lot brought heart-breaking situations to Abraham by choosing the best land for himself, settling in a sinful city, being captured by enemies… This one soul tie even endangered Abraham's life as he had to set out with his 318 household servants to fight against five kings on Lot's behalf (Ge.14)!

Please note that although Abraham obeyed God and left Ur in Chaldea, his greater vision and promises could come only after Lot separated from him:


14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are - northward, southward, eastward, and westward;


15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.


16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.


17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you" (Ge.13:14-17).


After Abraham had proved that he wouldn't allow his soul to be bound to riches nor to any person who might later on claim that he made Abraham rich, God again appeared to Abraham in a vision and confirmed his covenant. He once again promised him descendants and lands (Ge.15:1-7,14).


When Abraham obeyed the Lord in sending away Hagar and Ishmael at Sarah's request, again the Lord rewarded his soul-tie-cutting with a promise: "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed" (Ge.21:12-13). More and more nations were promised to Abraham as he went cutting more and more soul ties!


We already studied in the last chapter God's marvelous answer to Abraham's willingness to cut his soul tie with Isaac, but let us read it again to get it deep into our spirit! Soul-tie-cutting has a great reward! It will make you fulfill your divine destiny:


15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,


16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son -


17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.


18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice" (Ge.22:15-18).


What a reward! What a promise! Hallelujah! And yet, Abraham had to cut still one more soul tie. When Sarah died, Abraham wept; but he had to get up immediately, talk to people, bargain for the burial ground, etc. His strong spirit subdued his natural grief (Ge.23:1-20)! Can you imagine bargaining for the burial place when the wife of his youth was lying dead before him? How calmly and composedly he could act after he subdued that soul tie in Hagar's, Ishmael’s and Isaac's case!


Overcoming soul ties will make you a great leader whom God can safely trust in any distressing situation.


Since he was so well trained in cutting soul ties, Abraham was even able to marry again and have children again with Keturah (Ge.25:1-4). In all this, he didn't lose track of his calling but made very sure he had provided well for Isaac, giving him all that he had (Ge.25:5). He fulfilled his calling by bringing forth Isaac and caring for him until his last breath. Both Isaac and Ishmael buried him together, and God blessed Isaac after Abraham's death (Ge.25:9-11). Overcoming soul ties unites your generations and brings God's blessing upon them.


Only by cutting all soul ties as God commanded him, Abraham could step by step walk into his calling and fulfill his divine destiny.


In our day and age, many people lose their marriage partner by death or divorce, but they fail to cut soul ties. That leads to an inability to bond again with another partner since all the pros and cons from the former marriage will be carried over into this new relationship.


It is one thing to cry at the death of a loved one, but it is an entirely different thing to be swallowed up by grief to the point of being unable to take care of your daily responsibilities. When soul ties are involved, people remain bound to the deceased person in such a way that they themselves are in danger of dying an early death! They have a kind of gloominess and a death atmosphere around them that comes clearly from that bondage of their soul to the dead person.


Mothers who have lost a child often become completely unable to love or care for their husbands and even the other children because they are so swallowed up by grief. You need to cut the soul ties even to deceased loved ones if you want to live life in its fullness!


Recently I ministered in the beautiful island of Sri Lanka on soul ties. Terrorism and civil war have taken a toll of millions of lives over the years, and there is a sense of gloominess even over many Christians. As I was teaching, the Lord directed me to place special emphasis on cutting the soul ties to deceased loved ones. We could clearly see a change in the atmosphere as ties to death and grave were broken and life more abundantly was invoked over the congregation (Jn.10:10). After the ministry, faces were shining with God's glory and joy. Hallelujah to the mighty Blood of the Risen Savior!


Being called to serve the Creator of heaven and earth is the greatest privilege we could ever imagine, and yet, many forfeit it because of soul ties! The temptation comes to all of us, even in the New Testament, as we see in Luke 9:57-62:


57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."


58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."


59 Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."


60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."


61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."


62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Lk.9:57- 62).


Many things can keep you back from following Jesus whole-heartedly, but see Jesus emphasizing relationships twice here! In calling His disciples, He made sure they had to deal with soul ties from the very beginning: James and John had to leave their nets and their father (Mt.4:21; Mk.1:19-20). Simon Peter and his brother


Andrew immediately left their boats and their nets (Mt.4:18-20; Mk.1:16-18). Imagine! Such a drastic step would definitely upset many people that had soul ties with them. If you want to follow Jesus, soul ties must be cut by whatever means it takes!


The higher the calling, the more you must be cautious of soul ties. The Israelites were called out from among the nations, so God demanded them to prove their allegiance to God above all else. From His priests and His high priest, He expected even more! Let us study.


Every Israelite had the God-given obligation to kill even the closest person without any pity when that person tried to entice him away from his God. Notice the hint: the person 'who is as your own soul'. What was God's intention? He was after their soul ties!


6 If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers…,


8 you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him;


9 but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.


10 And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.


11 So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you (Dt.13:6,8-11).


Just as in any field, there are different levels also in the spiritual world. The higher the calling, the greater the cost of dedication and commitment that must be paid. The Lord Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Mt.22:14). I am sure that this is a heart cry straight from God's heart! Why could they not be chosen though they were called? They had somewhere along the way failed the test of cutting their soul ties (Lk.9: 57-62)!


Out of the Israelites, God separated the tribe of Levi to serve Him. What were His criteria for choosing one specific tribe? They had to be willing to cut all their soul ties even to their closest heart relationships for God’s cause and for the destruction of sin, rebellion and disobedience!


26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD’S sidecome to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.


27 And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.'"


28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day (Ex.32:26-28).


To have the privilege to judge God's people, to teach God's laws and judgments and to offer incense and sacrifices, they had to forget all their family ties and obligations. God had tested them and found them faithful to be put into the ministry, as Paul puts it (1.Ti.1:12). What was their specialty?


8 And of Levi he said: "Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one, whom You tested at Massah, and with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah,


9 Who says of his father and mother, 'I have not seen them'; nor did he acknowledge his brothers, or know his own children; for they have observed Your word and kept Your covenant.


10 They shall teach Jacob Your judgments, and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You, and a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar (Dt.33:8-10).


Out of the tribe of Levi, the family of Aaron was chosen as God's priest. For them, God's requirements were even stricter. In the Old Testament, God allowed His priests to defile themselves only with the corpses of their closest relatives, not for any other dead body:


25 They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves (Eze.44:25).


From the high priest, however, a much higher level of commitment was required. He was not even allowed to show any emotions at the death of his own father or mother! He was not allowed to leave the sanctuary or profane it by soulish entanglements and sorrow! This is what our Lord Jesus meant when He said, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple". (Lk.14:26)!


10 He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes;


11 nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother


12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD (Lev.21:10-12).


Of course, in the New Testament, we all are kings and priests, but still the same principles apply (Rev.1:5f). Not all are equally used by the Lord, and many high callings are wasted in daily relationship routines and struggles, just because they were not willing to cut their soul ties! Jesus Himself told one of His soul-tie-afflicted followers unmistakably, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God" (Lk.9:60).


If you want to serve the Lord, you must strive to be able to say with His disciples and apostles: "See, we have left all and followed You!" (Mt.19:27; Mk.10:28; Lk.18:28). They all followed their Lord and master into a glorious death as martyrs, except John who was sent to the island of Patmos. They all faithfully carried their cross and finished their race with endurance and joy (2.Ti.4:7; Heb.12:1).


God has a very high calling for your life! You are a dream conceived in the loving heart of God! You are to bless the world with your pure existence and relationship with your Creator! Don't be satisfied with lower stages of calling, ministry and usefulness for God. Strive to fulfill you high calling in Christ and cut those soul ties once and for all, in Jesus' Name!