Category: Wonderful Counseling

Practical Prayer Steps to Overcome Generational Devastation

This is the 19th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can browse the other related articles by clicking on the link in the above sentence.

 

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the foundations of past generations. You will be called the Rebuilder of Broken Walls and the Restorer of Streets Where People Live. Isaiah 58:12 (GW)

Here are some practical prayer steps we can take to experience freedom from long standing generational devastation.

  1. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, prayerfully identify and bring to the Lord any observed repeating generational devastation in our family line. This includes behaviors, beliefs, addictions, diseases, embedded lies, traumatic hurts, and demonization.
  2. As a representative of our families and on behalf of our families, repent for any known ancestral sins and ask Jesus to release our families from any looming judgment associated with past unconfessed and unforgiven sins. (Note: We are not asking Jesus to forgive our ancestors personally. We are asking forgiveness on behalf of the family still alive, who may bear the brunt of judgment against those past sins.)
  3. Repent of any personal participation I may have had by committing the same sins.
  4. Claim Christ’s victory over generational sins, judgments, and the resulting devastation for ourselves and our families. Remember: Jesus already won the victory at Calvary. (Galatians 3:13-14) We are tapping into that victory by faith. When our faith couples with God’s promises, God’s power is released.
  5. Declare Christ’s victory over embedded lies and pray for truth to permeate the family, setting us free. (John 8:31) (Note: The way we help others find freedom from embedded lies is the subject of another article.)
  6. Declare Christ’s victory over traumatic hurts and pray for his healing to touch every wounded area. (Note: This is covered later in another article.)
  7. Declare Christ’s victory over every form of demonization and ask for specific deliverance over family members. (Note: I will cover this in detail later.)
  8. Ask the Lord to bless us and our families in a way that directly contravenes the observed generational devastation. For example, if rage has been a problem, ask the Lord to make us gentle and patient. If poverty has been a generational problem, ask the Lord to prosper us and help us become generous givers.
  9. Thank the Lord for setting us free, even before we may observe any behavioral change.

When I minister to people for deliverance from generational devastation, I try to go through these steps for every identifiable generational issue. Usually this process is outwardly uneventful, but occasionally the person receiving ministry may have an emotional response which indicates the presence of an embedded lie or traumatic wound. It is possible to encounter demonization when going through this process as well. We may not realize the extent of how Christ is setting us free until later, when we realize we did not react as we had before. I have seen significant deliverance by praying in the way described above, and I encourage you to give it a try.

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Overcoming Generational Devastation: Standing in the Gap

This is the 18th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. The associated articles can be found by clicking on the link in the sentence above.

 

The Victory Has Been Won!

I have heard many people pray something like this when helping a person dealing with the effects of generational devastation: “I break the power of (you fill in the blank for the sin, curse, or devastation) in Jesus name.” I cringe at such prayers; although, I think the Lord graciously honors them.

My understanding of the gospel is that it is a proclamation of who Jesus is, what he did for us, and what he will yet do. It is an announcement of victory over Satan and his forces, including sin, sickness, death, and the traditions of men. It includes an invitation to repent, be forgiven, receive eternal life, and become God’s completely reconciled child. It also includes the expectation that anyone who accepts the gospel will follow Christ as his disciple and be part of his missionary army of disciple makers. (If you wish to read more about the gospel, click here.) For this reason, I believe our prayers over people suffering generational devastation should be more of a prophetic pronouncement of their liberation, based on Christ’s finished work, along the lines of Isaiah 61.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; Isaiah 61:1 (NASB)

Jesus taught us that we have what some people call the power of binding and loosing. The idea is that we have authority in Christ, which is enforced by the Holy Spirit, to bind and loose people. Here is what Jesus said.

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19 (NASB)

Without delving into the details of what is meant by binding and loosing, the point I wish to make related to what we are studying is the following:

  1. We have authority from Christ to declare that people have been set free.
  2. This authority is based on what Jesus has already accomplished for us.

This takes all the pressure off of us in this matter.

Our only job is to stand by faith in the victory Jesus has already won.

But let me caution you here: anyone who does this should prepare for battle. The devil does not like to let his prisoners go any more than Pharaoh wanted to allow Israel to leave Egypt.

Standing in the Gap

The mental picture associated with standing in the gap is someone who becomes part of the wall where it is broken down and gets between the enemy and the people under attack – a sort of mediator or savior, a hero, a knight in shining armor. In the Old Testament, many cities had defensive walls for protection against enemies that often roamed the countryside. Broken down walls became the symbol of abject defeat and humiliation because enemies could come and go unhindered, leaving the people defenseless. When people find themselves in such a situation, they need a rescuer to rebuild the walls and stand in the breach during the process. Nehemiah was an Israelite who was consumed with a desire to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, which had been destroyed by the Babylonian army. The words below describe his heart in the matter and illustrate perfectly what it means to become a “repairer of the breach” or an intercessor, a person who stands in the gap for others.

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capitol, 2  that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3  They said to me, "The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire." 4  When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5  I said, "I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6  let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father's house have sinned. 7  "We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8  "Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9  but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.' 10  "They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11  "O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man." Now I was the cupbearer to the king. Nehemiah 1:1-11 (NASB)

Nehemiah was granted permission by the king to carry out this momentous task. He met with fierce opposition every step of the way. It required great courage and wisdom for him to begin, continue, and finish the task. Along the way, he instructed his men to build and be ready to defend against threats of attack from Israel’s enemies.

When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. 16  From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah. 17  Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. 18  As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me. Nehemiah 4:15-18 (NASB)

Standing in the gap means that we choose to be someone who takes responsibility for standing by faith upon God’s promises for the benefit of ourselves and our family, or others, so that generational devastation will be stopped in tracks and God’s blessings will begin to flow.

It means we are ready and willing to endure whatever attacks may come our way. It will be worth it.

True Heroes

Those of us who have never been in combat cannot know what it is like. Saving Private Ryan made an attempt to recreate the horrors of D-Day. I cannot measure how successful the movie was in doing this, but it did give me a new appreciation for the soldiers that helped win our freedom and the enormous price they paid on that fateful day. Soldiers did not get to choose whether they were to be in the first wave or land later in the day when the worst was over. Those whose lot it was to be among the first paid for it with their lives, but their courage and determination pushed back the enemy, making it easier for succeeding waves of troops to push their advantage forward. The progress made that day was minuscule in terms of ground gained, but major in terms of obstacles overcome. It would be wrong to compare what they did on D-Day to what General Patton’s tank forces did later in relation to ground gained in a day. I imagine you see where I am going with this.

Those who volunteer to be the first in their family line to stand in the gap against long standing generational devastation are like those soldiers on D-Day. They deserve our admiration, encouragement, and support. Those who succeed will establish a new family legacy built on Christ and are true heroes.

The Devil’s Smack Down

Whenever some long oppressed person tries to stand to his or her feet in resistance, the oppressor usually tries to intimidate that person with a vicious retaliation. The devil tries to dissuade all would be intercessors by fiercely attacking them. When Moses announced to the enslaved Israelites in Egypt that God was going to rescue them, the first thing that happened was that Pharaoh retaliated, making their lives even more miserable.  This was very discouraging, and it required Moses to stand by faith for the people. He had God’s promise. That was enough for him. It must be enough for us, too, when the devil tries to smack us down.

Spiritual warfare is real. If you don’t yet believe it, try sharing the gospel. Try breaking loose from generational devastation. Try leading a church or a worship team. Try being a disciple making parent. You will quickly find out. Our warfare is not against people. Ultimately we must make a stand against spiritual forces of evil, who may use people.

We are able to fight by faith by standing on the what Christ has already done. We start off as victors in this warfare.

Our job is to stand in his victory against every counter attack.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13  Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Ephesians 6:10-13 (NASB)

As Winston Churchill so famously said and demonstrated:

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never–in nothing great or small, large or petty–never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

Those who make the decision to become family heroes by standing in the gap against generational devastation need to adopt these words for themselves. We are able to stand with the help of almighty God.

The next article will give steps we can take to secure our families’ freedom in Christ.

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Hello, Elephant in the Room

This is the 17th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. The rest of the articles in this series can be found by clicking on the link in the previous sentence.

 

Those who argue that there is no need to address generational devastation at all in light of the New Covenant usually use Ezekiel 18 as a proof text.

"Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity?' When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. 20  "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. Ezekiel 18:19-20 (NASB)

Properly interpreting and applying this passage in a New Covenant context is the focus of this article.

In order to understand Ezekiel 18’s impact on the subject of generational devastation, it is necessary to separate judicial judgment and sentencing from the law of sowing and reaping.

For example, if a father is a drug dealer and is apprehended by the law, his children will not go to jail with him. However, they will be negatively impacted by his incarceration. This is simple enough to grasp. The children will suffer the absence of their father in the home, with all that means – lack of income, lack of presence, lack of affirmation, lack of discipline, lack of wisdom and guidance, and lack of protection. The negative effects of the father’s imprisonment may last for a lifetime or even generations, especially if the sons in the family buy into the lie that their lot in life is to follow in their father’s footsteps. Or the daughters may accept the embedded lie that they are not loved and cannot depend on men. The poverty that will likely accompany the loss of their father may limit the children’s access to many things in life and may tempt them to try to better their situation illegally. Also the absence of a father may contribute to the proliferation of the single mom household pattern, which is all too prevalent today. Many low income communities are experiencing this type of generational devastation.

Children often suffer generationally; even though, they are not judicially sentenced for their father’s crimes.

The mechanics of reaping generational devastation, as described above, consists largely of the planting of deeply embedded lies in the hearts and minds of children which often persist into adulthood. In addition, it involves the creation of traumatic and painful wounds in the hearts of children, which, left unhealed, can negatively influence decision making and behavior into adulthood. It may also involve demonization, since people, especially young children, may be tempted to befriend evil spirits posing as imaginary friends and “helpers.” This may sound strange, but it happens a lot and will be covered later.

But let us consider Ezekiel 18 from another angle. Even though God commands us not to punish children in courts of law for the crimes or sins of their fathers, God may do so in his heavenly court.

We have that from no less an authority than our Lord Jesus himself.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,30 and say, 'If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'31 "So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.32 "Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.33 "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? 34 "Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.36 "Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.38 "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! Matthew 23:29-38 (NASB)

Jesus wept over the children of Jerusalem, knowing that they would reap the whirlwind of God’s judgment, when it finally fell upon the nation in 70 AD at the hands of the Romans. Those children in his hearing would be somewhere around 37 years older when judgment came. They would be the adults in positions of power and influence at that time of reckoning. Children who not even yet born were “in” their fathers when their fathers sinned. Children who were alive when their fathers sinned, as was the case with the children present when Jesus spoke the words above, still reaped the consequences for what their parents did – the judicial punishment for killing the Messiah. The only way out was for them to repent and renounce the evil deed, which is exactly what happened on the first New Covenant Pentecost.

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified." 37  Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 38  Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." 40  And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" 41  So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.Acts 2:36-41 (NASB)

Those who responded in faith to the Gospel message, were released from the awful prospect of being judged by God after death for rejecting and killing the Messianic King, but they still lived in a land that was under God’s judgment, because the vast majority of the leadership and populace refused to acknowledge their awful sin.

Unrepentant sin, even that of long dead ancestors, demands that God’s justice and judgment be released. When a person dies, their guilt does not evaporate. It gets passed to succeeding generations, who often replicate and participate the sins of their fathers.

When children do not renounce the sins of their fathers, according to Jesus, it puts them in agreement with their forefathers.

It’s not enough for descendants merely to say, “I did not do it.” From God’s point of view, we did do it, indirectly, perhaps, in and through the actions of our fathers.

As I pointed out earlier, this is hard for a Westerner to swallow; yet, if we are to be biblical in our thinking, we must.

God requires repentance from us on behalf of our fathers, which is one of the first steps in undoing the effects of generational devastation.

The Bible gives us numerous examples of this very thing. (E.g. Nehemiah 9:2; Jeremiah 14:20; Daniel 9:16-21)

In addition to forgiving those who repented, Jesus warned his forgiven followers to flee Jerusalem when they saw God’s wrath in judgment approaching. (Matthew 24:16) As is usually the case, I suppose that there were some who did not heed Christ’s warning and were caught up in the destruction of Jerusalem. Those who did obey escaped. Lot’s rescue from Sodom and Gomorrah was a Old Covenant picture of this. Sometimes, however, descendants cannot escape. An entire nation may get caught in the trap of reaping the whirlwind of God’s judgment. I fear what may be ahead for the USA for the horrific sin of slaughtering over sixty million innocent babies! May God have mercy on us and turn this nation back to him!

Summary

In conclusion, Ezekiel 18 states a principle that human courts of law should not judicially sentence children for the sins or crimes of their parents. However, in God’s heavenly court, when it comes to the judgment due our sins and the sins of our ancestors going back to Adam, this is only true for those who come under the New Covenant through believing the Gospel message and declaring allegiance to the risen Lord Jesus. Jesus took our guilt and punishment upon himself.

Believing the Gospel, however, though it releases us from condemnation to the lake of fire, does not necessarily release us from reaping the consequences of parental and personal sins.

God’s judgment looms over unconfessed and unrenounced generational sin. If the people and leadership of the United States were to suddenly reverse course regarding legalized abortion, repenting, confessing, and renouncing that sin, would that be enough to avert judgment? Only God knows the answer, but it will surely go better for those who do, especially at the final judgment.

Ezekiel 18 does not absolve children from reaping the non-judicial consequences of their forefathers’ sins. Suffering, embedded lies, traumatic pain, and demonization can devastate families for generations, unless someone decides to stand in the gap. God is raising up intercessors who will approach God’s throne on behalf of their families to ask forgiveness and release from any previous sins and looming judgments, and to pray for blessings to be released in keeping with God’s purposes in the New Covenant. Will you be one of those people? I will show you how in the next articles.

"Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. Isaiah 58:12 (NASB)
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Overcoming Generational Devastation by Faith

This is the 16th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can access the rest of the articles in this series by clicking on the link in the previous sentence.

 

Having identified the nature and source of generational devastation, this article will show how Christ has already broken the power of the curse of the Law and why we must apply his victory to our lives by faith.

Paul wrote the following declaration of victory by our Lord.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"— 14  in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13-14 (NASB)

Jesus’ death by crucifixion proved biblically that he was under God’s curse. That is how the Jewish leaders regarded it. They thought that he deserved a blasphemer’s punishment, since he claimed to be the divine Son of Man prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14. (Matthew 26:64) Paul further explained the theological import of his becoming a curse on our behalf in his Second Letter to the Corinthians.

He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)

Jesus identified himself with our sin. It was as if he were personally guilty of committing all the sins of mankind. The accumulated guilt fell on him, which apparently included the experience of being separated from the Father. This is a mystery that we try to understand and explain as best we can, realizing that we no doubt fall short. But we need some sort of handle to grasp theologically, and Paul gave us one.

The amazing transaction that Father God provided through his Son’s death and resurrection was that Jesus took upon himself the guilt and punishment for our sin and provided us with his perfect and proven righteous standing with God.

He “became” us, so to speak, and now we who believe are joined to him in the Spirit.

He became “one” with our sin, and we become one with him and his glorious relationship with Abba!

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 16  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, Romans 8:15-16 (NASB)

This also is a mystery, one we joyfully accept. In fact, isn’t all of life a mystery? Even the most educated scientist, if he or she is honest, will admit that we still know very little at all about this thing called life. We know even less about eternal life, since we have only experienced a foretaste of it as yet. The important thing for us to grasp, as far as this article is concerned, is that Jesus took our sin, guilt, and punishment upon himself and provided us with his right standing with his heavenly Father. Then why on earth am I even writing a series of articles on how to deal with generational devastation? Hasn’t this already been taken care of by the Lord?

The Requirement of Standing by Faith

A careful reading of Isaiah 53 reveals that the same Hebrew verbs are used to describe how Jesus bore our sins and how he carried our sicknesses and diseases. If the first is true, then so is the second. If our sins are forgiven, then we are also healed. The logic is inescapable. This is confirmed in the New Covenant scriptures.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 (NASB) 


When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17  This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES." Matthew 8:16-17 (NASB)

I imagine you see where I am going with this. Even though Jesus already paid the price to provide for our healing, people still get sick, even Christians. When we do, we are instructed to pray for one another for healing.

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15  and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. James 5:14-15 (NASB)

If we used the thought process of those who deny the need to intervene in cases of experienced generational devastation, we would simply tell the sick person, “You don’t need prayer. You have already been healed.” This theology would lead us to disobey the clear biblical command to pray for the sick. Any time our theology encourages us to disobey God, something is fundamentally wrong.

When we pray for the sick, we apply our faith in the finished work of Christ to the present need. When we pray for people experiencing generational devastation, we do the same.

We live is a world that is still largely afflicted with the curse of the Law associated with Adam’s first sin. Even though we have been rescued from eternal death and destruction, we still have to face physical death and sickness. But we do so in light of what Christ has already won for us and in the hope of the resurrection.

We live in a tension between what has already been done in Christ eternally and what remains to be completed in our experience. That is why we need faith.

Experiencing what Christ already has accomplished for us often comes with a battle. That is why it is called “overcoming.” If Satan cannot keep us from believing in Jesus, he will do his best to prevent us from being effective and fulfilled in our service to him.

Even though our “old man” has been crucified in Christ and sin shall no longer has dominion over us (Romans 6:6,14), we still must apply our faith in his finished work on a daily basis in our battle against sin. Sin still has the power to tempt us, even though Christ’s victory is complete.

The ongoing battle does not negate Christ’s victory. It is an opportunity for us to live by faith.

When we encounter evidence of ongoing generational devastation in an individual or family which has confessed Christ as Lord and Savior, it is important first of all to teach that Christ has already conquered the curse of the Law. It is also necessary to show how to apply this truth in a practical way in order to experience the freedom Jesus died to give us.

To conclude, an ongoing struggle against sin does not negate Christ’s victory over sin. A battle against sickness does not mean Christ failed to defeat sickness and death.

Likewise, a fight against generational devastation is not an admission that the curse of the Law still has power over us. Instead, it is an opportunity to stand by faith in the finished work of Christ against that which seems to contradict his glorious victory. It is our fight of faith and our opportunity to overcome.

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The Law of Sowing and Reaping

This is the 15th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can read the rest of the associated articles by clicking on the link above.

 

God’s righteous judgment upon sin, which is called the curse of the Law, is part of the reaping attached to the sowing of sin. As Paul put it, “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)

Sin has consequences, and all of them are bad.

Paul also wrote:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. Galatians 6:7 (ESV)

Sowing and reaping works for good and for bad, which is reflected in God’s proclamation to Moses in Exodus.

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7  keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6-7 (ESV)

This passage brings into focus the generational or corporate nature of judgment.

Personal Sin Carries Corporate Consequences

The old saying that the evil I do in private only hurts me is simply not true.

For example, in the time of Joshua, when Israel was in the process of conquering Canaan, God place a ban of destruction on the city of Jericho. He warned the Israelites that no one was to take any of the loot for themselves. It all belonged to God. Achan decided to secretly disobey God by stealing some silver, gold, and a Babylonian garment. In so doing he brought judgment upon the entire nation. (Joshua 7:1) When his sin was eventually exposed by God, he and his immediate family were sentenced to death by stoning. Achan’s private sin brought terrible consequences upon others in his family. Furthermore, his disobedience resulted in many Israelites outside of his family being killed in battle. The entire nation suffered because of one man’s secret sin.

There are no lack of historical examples of corporate “reaping” for the “sins of the fathers.” The USA endured a horrible Civil War, which many believe was a form of judgment against the injustices connected to slavery. Many of those who suffered and died in the conflict never owned slaves or approved of the practice; nevertheless, they were caught up in the conflagration that engulfed the nation. Many citizens of Germany, most of them old men, women, and children, including those who likely opposed the Nazis’ crimes, died in the horrific fire bombings inflicted by Allied bombers, as the horrible suffering inflicted on the rest of Europe returned upon Germany with a vengeance. The common people suffered greatly for the decisions and deeds of their leaders. The Israelites who lived in Babylon during the captivity never may have participated in idolatry, but they suffered the consequences of their forefathers’ disloyalty to God.

As Jeremiah wrote:

Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities. Lamentations 5:7 (ESV)

Need I go on? Can we agree that innocent people often reap judgment and experience the consequences of other people’s sins? Can we agree that innocent children sometimes suffer for a lifetime because of the sins of their parents or other adults? Alcoholism and sexual, emotional, verbal, and physical abuse inflict pain upon the immediate family that often reverberates for many generations. Abuse engenders abuse. Hurt people hurt people.

Sins usually produce negative consequences that extend generationally, unless their destructive effects are somehow neutralized.

Forgiveness and Prayer Do Not Necessarily Stop the Reaping Process

Imagine that a suicidal person climbs to the top of a bridge and, full of hopelessness, jumps. On the way down, in a flash of insight, he realizes that he made a big mistake and asks God to forgive him. In Christ, his forgiveness is instant, but it will not stop the law of gravity from bringing about his sudden demise. Forgiveness doesn’t necessarily undo the sowing and reaping process. Another way to say this is that God can remove the eternal consequences of our sin without removing the temporal ones.

Another example might be a murderer who asks for and receives forgiveness for his crime, but this does not bring back the dead person or remove the loss from the grieving family. It also will not stop the wheels of justice from imposing a proper judgment against him in the court system. We can be forgiven in heaven but reap judgment on earth.

I have witnessed praying mothers wringing their hands because their children repeated their same mistakes, despite their prayers. The beat goes on. By itself, prayer does not have the power to undo the sowing and reaping principle. The same is true when it comes to weight loss or any number of health related issues. We cannot break all the rules for maintaining healthy bodies and expect God to overrule the law of sowing and reaping just because we pray. What is true in the natural realm is also true spiritually.

Praying for a Crop Failure or a Crop Transformation?

I have a friend who once prayed that God would bring about a “crop failure” with regard to what he had earlier sown in his life. We all laughed, but it was a good thing to do. We have a very encouraging verse to lean upon.

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12  as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. Psalm 103:10-13 (ESV)

If God returned “tit for tat” to us according to our sins, we would all be dead by now. I think it is altogether proper to pray for mercy when it comes to sowing and reaping; nevertheless, we must realistically face the fact that God has put this law into effect.

Notwithstanding, we do have an ultimate weapon against this relentless law. We can have complete confidence that Romans 8:28 has the power to turn everything in our favor, even when we are reaping the consequences of our own foolishness and sin.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 (ESV)

God is able to take what we reap because of sinful sowing and work it out for our ultimate good and his glory. This trumps everything!

When we praise God in the midst of whatever suffering or confusion we may be enduring, even if it is our own doing, it honors God and opens our hearts to see things from his perspective. It helps us grasp what he is doing in the midst of it all – how he is working it out for our benefit and his glory.

Praise in the midst of suffering is one of our greatest spiritual weapons.

We may not be able to obtain a crop failure, but we can see God transform something painful into something beautiful and God honoring.

Nevertheless, we must be realistic, God’s working out our difficulties for good is not always easy or pretty. King David spent many years reaping the consequences of his adultery and murder. He was forgiven, but the ongoing consequences were real, painful, and extremely costly for him, his family, and the nation of Israel. We do indeed reap what we sow.

The Awful Prospect of Looming Judgment

One of the great deceptions people fall for is the false sense of security gained from delayed judgment.

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Ecclesiastes 8:11 (ESV)

Things have continued to go well in this country, to a great extent, since Roe v. Wade was passed and the killing of unborn babies was legalized. That does not mean we have escaped God’s judgment.

God’s judgment against unforgiven sins committed by our ancestors and our nation’s leaders and people may still be looming on the horizon, waiting for God’s timing to release it.

Jesus, the Author of the New Covenant, proclaimed the following just before offering himself for our sins.

Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48  So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49  Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50  so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51  from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Luke 11:47-51 (ESV)

He knew that his coming sacrifice of himself as God’s Lamb would provide forgiveness for sins, even the sin of putting him, the Messiah, to death, for those who would choose to repent and believe the Good News. Nevertheless, God’s justice would roll on and result in the smashing of the rebellious Jewish nation under the wheel of Roman might. Jesus warned his followers to flee the city of Jerusalem when they saw God’s judgment at the door. If they failed to extricate themselves from the city, they would reap the consequences of covenant betrayal along with the unrepentant perpetrators. (Matthew 24:15-23) History tells us that the Christians followed our Lord’s advice and escaped when the Roman army approached. They understood the nature of sowing and reaping.

The blood of over sixty million innocent babies slaughtered in government sanctioned abortion clinics cries out to God for justice. Will the prayers of those who oppose this practice undo the terrible law of sowing and reaping? Will the USA escape the judgment of God that looms? Discerning eyes can see storm clouds on the horizon. Our nation’s leaders have been leading us down a road to destruction for many years. Those who have participated in the crime of abortion may be personally forgiven by Christ, but judgment still looms over the nation, just as it did over Israel. God will not be mocked. What we have sown, that shall we also reap as a nation.

Until that judgment arrives, we still have hope for mercy, however. As followers of Christ, we can still cry out to God for mercy and ask him for crop failure. We can repent on behalf of the nation, asking God to turn the tide of injustice and immorality. We can plead with him to turn the nation to Jesus.

Just as we have an individual and a national identity, we also have an individual and a family identity.

The unconfessed sins of our forefathers may be looming over the family line.

I believe it is our responsibility to confess and forsake these sins, as living representatives of the family, and thank God for releasing the family from any inherited judgments and claim God’s blessings that are ours in Christ. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Abraham stood in the gap for Sodom and Gomorrah and for his nephew’s family who lived there. In the end, only Lot and his daughters survived, but that was better than everyone perishing. I wonder who will escape generational devastation because we stand in the gap?

In conclusion, generational sins and their attached judgments can affect not only the sinner but also his family, community, and nation. The law of sowing and reaping has a big part to play in this process. As believers, we recognize that we are personally forgiven for our own sins in an eternal sense, but we may still reap negative consequences for what we have done. We can trust God to turn even the worst situations into something that will bring him glory and work for our good. (Romans 8:28)

We can also pray (proclaim, declare) for ourselves and our family to be freed from any passed down family and corporate judgments (curses). (Galatians 3:13-14)

In the next article I will lay out in more detail the foundation of how we can experience freedom from generational judgments based on Christ’s finished work. I hope you will continue with me.

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Overcoming Generational Devastation: Lessons from DNA

This is the 14th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can find the rest of the articles by clicking on the link above.

Western society is intensely individualistic. The idea that we might be corporately responsible, guilty, or subject to punishment for sins committed by others in our family lineage or group chafes against our Greek-based logic and world view. Old Testament people, however, saw things differently. Perhaps they had more common sense.

Common sense observations tell us that people often suffer because of the sins of others.

For example, if a father commits a crime and goes to prison, he suffers as does his entire family. Some of this suffering likely will impact future generations. When children do not have a father present, it causes damage. Grandchildren may suffer from a lack of proper fathering because their own Dad did not get fathered as God would have intended. This is a clear example of the sin of a father being passed down in unexpected ways.

Old Covenant people understood and believed that they were linked to the blessings and the sins of their ancestors and their nation.

We can see this clearly in a variety of passages. Below I list a few in which various leaders and prophets confessed their own, their forefathers’, and the nation’s sin to God.

Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. Nehemiah 9:2 (NIV) 

O LORD, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against you. Jeremiah 14:20 (NIV) 

O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. 17  "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.  Daniel 9:16-17 (NIV)

Is this merely an Old Covenant concept that was done away with in Christ, or do we have the same sort of corporate responsibility before God today?

Lessons from DNA

There is a very interesting passage in the Letter to the Hebrews that has a lot to say about generational sins, guilt, judgments, and devastation.

One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10  for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. Hebrews 7:9-10 (ESV)

When Abraham paid tithes, all of his descendants paid tithes. This is a profound statement that should make us rethink things. Negatively, when Adam sinned, all of his progeny sinned. (Romans 5:19) On the positive side, when Jesus rose from the dead, all of his spiritual descendants through the new birth rose from the dead. (Ephesians 2:5-6) In the natural world, a similar process works in our bodies that is based on DNA.

I believe God uses the properties of inheritance through the genome to reveal to us a spiritual principle called identification.

Physically, all of us are the sum total of the DNA inherited from all our ancestors. Each male inherits Y-DNA from his father going all the way back to Adam. Males and females inherit mitochondrial DNA from their mothers going all the way back to Eve. The rest of our genome comes from others in our line. If we go back to our great-great grandparents, we have a total of sixteen persons contributing to our make up. This means that in a sense we were “in” those sixteen individuals and their forefathers when they lived their lives here on planet earth as they were obeying, disobeying, or simply ignoring God.

Theologically, the principle of identification means that our identity is connected to Christ in a very real way.

Paul called this being “in” Christ. What was and is true for him, excepting his divinity, is ours through our unity or identification with him. Christianity would not provide a way for us to overcome sin, Satan, death, and disease if we were not identified with Christ. It is not enough to be merely forgiven through Christ’s dying as our substitute. True victory lies in his living his life in and through us via the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 2:20) We are forgiven because he paid the penalty for our sins. We are justified because we have been given (in Christ) his actual right standing before God. We are children of God through the new birth which provides us with God’s “spiritual DNA,” so to speak. We have the ability to live for God because he lives in and through us.

Simply put, if not for identification, we would not be saved.

But identification also was the cause of our needing salvation. Our identities are linked to fallen Adam’s prior to the new birth. Just as surely as we were “in Christ” when he walked the earth in complete harmony with and obedience to the Father and in reliance upon the Holy Spirit, did miracles, died a sacrificial death, and rose again in glory; so, we were in Adam when he betrayed God in the garden. We cannot have it only one way. Either both are true or neither is true. Thankfully, both are real!

This forces us to conclude that the guilt-justification paradigm for understanding what Christ did for us on the cross is inadequate.

His dying as our substitute, taking our guilt and punishment upon himself, does not tell the whole story. In a very real way, our salvation is more about “Who’s your Daddy?” than anything else. From whom do we derive our life, our makeup, and our inheritance? Is it from Adam or God the Father through the new birth?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 1 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV)

We inherited Adam’s “sin nature,” the inborn propensity to sin, via our natural birth. Along with this spiritual inheritance comes a plethora of other things that are handed down regarding physical attributes, inclinations, giftings, etc., along with inherited guilt, since in Adam, we all sinned.

Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19 (NLT)

Likewise, the new birth is what gives us new life in Christ and a wonderful spiritual inheritance. So then, the idea of corporate guilt is not such a strange idea after all. Neither is the concept of corporate righteousness that we enjoy in Christ as the church. The bigger question, then, is how did Christ deal with this enormous weight of corporate guilt that infected all of humanity? Is there anything left for us to do? I will look at these two questions in coming articles.

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A Biblical Curse Is a Pronouncement of God’s Judgment

 

This is the 13th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can view the rest of the articles by clicking on the link above.

 

A Pronouncement of God’s Judgment

Because the word “curse” is often used quite differently by moderns, it is very important to understand the biblical meaning.

In the Old Testament, a curse was a pronouncement of judgment by God on those who violated covenant stipulations.

When a covenant was made or “cut,” an animal was sacrificed and cut in two. The covenant makers would walk between the pieces of the dead animal, invoking a curse upon themselves should they violate the covenant. The following is an example of the curse or pronounced judgment attached to would be covenant violators.

“Therefore, thus says the LORD: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the LORD. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18  And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— Jeremiah 34:17-18 (ESV)

 

A Revelation of God’s Justice

The curse or pronouncement of judgment was a revelation of God’s justice in that it provided the proper warning and punishment for disloyalty to God.

Adam and Eve betrayed God when they chose self-rule over his loving lordship by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead of the tree of life. They valued and believed the serpent’s words more than God’s. The judgment upon their sin was the pronouncement of God’s justice in the form of a curse.

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring;he shall bruise your head,and you shall bruise his heel.”16  To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;in pain you shall bring forth children.Your desire shall be for your husband,and he shall rule over you.”17  And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,‘You shall not eat of it,’cursed is the ground because of you;in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;18  thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.19  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,till you return to the ground,for out of it you were taken;for you are dust,and to dust you shall return.”Genesis 3:14-19 (ESV)

The curse contained the following components, including a messianic promise.

  1. The serpent would be cursed or judged more than any other animal.
  2. He (Satan) would be ultimately crushed by the coming Messiah.
  3. The woman would suffer great pain in birthing children.
  4. The relationship between the husband and wife would be strained.
  5. The entire earth (creation) would be cursed, making life much more difficult for people and animals.
  6. The final aspect of the curse was the penalty of death.

It should be clear to us that, as descendants of Adam, we participate in this curse. The explanation we will explore later is that the effects of the curse were passed down to succeeding generations.

A Curse Pronounced by Jesus

Below I quote a New Testament example of a “curse” pronounced by Jesus over the residents of Jerusalem who were about to reject and crucify him, the ultimate act of covenant disloyalty.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30  saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31  Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33  You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34  Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35  so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36  Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. Matthew 23:29-36 (ESV)

Jesus understood that succeeding generations inherit the judgment earned by their ancestors. Do we?

Accumulated Looming Judgment

We see in Jesus’ words the principle that unconfessed and unforgiven sin accumulates judgment that looms over the generation of descendants still living.

Jesus linked the generation he was speaking to with their forefathers and their sins. The innocent blood shed by their forefathers still cried out to heaven for vengeance (Genesis 4:10), which God had been storing up to release on a future day.

God held (holds) successive generations corporately responsible for the sins of their fathers, especially if they chose (choose) to actively participate in those sins.

To the modern Westerner this seems very strange and maybe even wrong. To the New Covenant theologian, it also seems to violate the Law’s pronouncement that children will not die for the sins of their fathers.

Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin. Deuteronomy 24:16 (NIV)

Surely Jesus knew about that law; yet, he made the pronouncement quoted above. There is something going on here that deserves a better explanation. This goes to the heart of grasping what is the nature of generational sin, curses, and the consequent devastation. In my next article, I will explore in greater depth the nature of corporate sin, guilt, and judgment.

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Overcoming Generational Devastation: Overview

This is the twelfth article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can click on the link to find the entire listing of articles.

One of the least understood and most controversial areas of bondage is related to the sins that are repeated generationally in families. When these sins are not acknowledged and forgiven by God, they invite his judgment, resulting in generational devastation. We have all witnessed the repetition of certain sins in certain families, be they abuse, alcoholism, divorce, etc. There can be numerous reasons for these sins to continue generationally, one of which is the modeling of destructive behavior, setting up an expectation for repetition. Another might be a genetic propensity toward something such as an addiction to alcohol. We cannot rule out a spiritual component to sins continuing down through the generations either.

Most Bible students are aware of God’s Old Covenant warning that he will visit the sins of the fathers on the third and fourth generation of those who hate him.

...I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:5-6 (ESV)

The concept of generational curses or judgments being able to continue running through the families of born again believers as a result of the sins of their ancestors is highly controversial in light of what Christ accomplished through his death and resurrection. Our Lord Jesus broke the power of sin, guilt, condemnation, death, disease, and everything else that seeks to hold us in bondage; yet, I also have seen generational sins repeat even in families that love the Lord. What gives? Is there a way to prevent this from happening? Can we tap into Christ’s finished work in a way that will stop these family sins from afflicting the next generation? I believe the answer is an authoritative “Yes!”

How we can cooperate with the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ’s finished work to overcome the effects of generational sin is what I plan to lay out in the next several articles under the sub-heading of “Overcoming Generational Devastation.”

I will examine what exactly is a curse in the biblical sense and how that relates to the principle of sowing and reaping. I will also take a look at the nature of corporate guilt, repentance, and judgment, and how blessings, sin, and sinful patterns are passed down through families and even nations. I will also cover what Christ did to liberate us, and what is our responsibility in the matter. I will also examine the nature vs. nurture argument and show how both are true.

My purpose in writing is to help people like us experience the fullness of what Jesus died and rose to win for us. Isaiah prophesied that in the coming days, God’s followers would rebuild what was previously destroyed and ruined, which he identified as being generational desolation or devastation.

Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up the former devastations; And they will repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. Isaiah 61:4 (NASB)

Followers of Christ who have been set free from the power of sin, have been given the enormous privilege and responsibility to help others find freedom in Christ. Rebuilding what sin has devastated over generations can be hard work and requires tremendous courage and perseverance. Our Lord has already done the “heavy lifting” through his death and resurrection, but we have a part to play, just as those who witnessed Lazarus’ resurrection were told to “unbind him and let him go.” (John 11:44)

I hope you will stay with me as I cover these various aspects of generational sin, the devastation it causes, and the the way out through Christ. I believe it will be well worth the effort.

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How God Moves Us from Fear to Faith

 

This is the eleventh article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. I sometimes use other names for this ministry, such as Personal Prayer Ministry and Biblical Healing and Deliverance. The adjective "wonderful" is used because Jesus is the "wonderful Counselor" of Isaiah 9:6. This ministry attempts to make room for Jesus to personally counsel people by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit, with human ministers acting as facilitators. This makes it different from most counseling. It is highly effective at teaching the recipient how to hear the voice of the Spirit and to receive his life giving words.

 

The opening scene in Judges 6 shows Gideon threshing wheat in a wine press. Wine presses were located in valleys which made them generally less visible to prying eyes. Wheat was usually threshed on top of hills where there likely would be more of a breeze to separate the heavy wheat from the lighter chaff, when the mixture was thrown into the air. Gideon chose to work in the less efficient wine press for fear that Israel’s enemies, the invading Midianites, might see him, steal his crops, and perhaps even injure or kill him. He was a fearful and oppressed person who was intimidated by his oppressor – not a likely candidate for being a hero.

The angel of the Lord stood under a tree watching all this, most likely a little amused because he knew what was coming. God’s sense of humor can be found throughout the Bible. If we need more proof, consider that he made you and me.

God loves to choose unlikely people to accomplish the seemingly impossible because it gives him pleasure, fulfillment to us, and brings glory to his name.

God selected Gideon to lead Israel to victory over apparently insurmountable odds. The Lord picked a man who was fearful, insecure, and small in his own eyes, a man who at the time had very little faith in God because he believed some very big lies.

Imagine Gideon’s surprise when he heard the angel’s greeting.

The LORD’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The LORD is with you, courageous warrior!” Judges 6:12 (NET1)

Gideon must have been taken aback by this announcement because he believed neither of these things. He saw no evidence that God was with him and certainly did not believe he was a courageous warrior. When God starts to work on destroying the lies in which we trust, he doesn’t beat around the bush. By addressing Gideon in this way, the Lord prompted Gideon to state what he believed on a heart level.

Exposing the Lie

Getting the lie into the open is a great first step toward freedom.

Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, but if the LORD is with us, why has such disaster overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Did the LORD not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” Judges 6:13 (NET1)

Let’s look at some of the key words: if, why, where, and but. We often reveal the lies we believe when we use these words.

Satan loves to insert an “if” into the equation to inspire doubt in God’s character, God’s promise, and God’s plan.

The “if” was derived from the why and where. Gideon showed that he depended on his own powers of deduction rather than on God’s character and promises. Paul called this a “stronghold” – a logical speculation or argument derived from our experience or observations that prevents us from knowing and trusting in God. (2 Corinthians 10:4-6) Gideon saw that disaster had overcome Israel and that no known miracles had taken place in his day. This led him to conclude or speculate that God was no longer on Israel’s side and that he was not doing anything powerful at all. This logical argument stood between him and the experience of deliverance and freedom. It blocked him initially from simply believing God’s word to him.

The “but” surfaced the lie in which Gideon trusted: God had abandoned Israel, he thought, leaving them powerless against their enemies.

In Gideon’s lie-based worldview, God was not present and Israel had no hope, thereby providing Gideon with no basis for faith from which to derive courage.

The lie was now out in the open, as was Gideon’s unbelief. Gideon had been paralyzed by lies of abandonment and powerlessness, two of the most prevalent lies we all must face and conquer.

Once the embedded lie is exposed, the Lord desires to speak his truth into our lives, which will demolish the stronghold, if we hear, receive, believe, and act on it.

The devil loves to hide in the darkness, and he wants our lie-based arguments and speculations to swirl around in our minds pulling us deeper into the abyss of unbelief, fear, and confusion. Once these lies are exposed to the light of God’s truth, they tend to dissipate like the morning mist.

Lies cannot coexist with truth, just as darkness and light cannot exist side by side.

The Power of a Personal Word from God

God’s answer to Gideon was a “rhema” word to him. I use the Greek word for “word,” “rhema,” to describe the experience of God’s revealing himself and his eternally true logos Word to us by the Spirit. In other words, a “rhema” word makes the eternally true “logos” Word found in the Bible both personal and faith inspiring.

A personal “rhema” revelation of truth has the power to destroy lies and transform us.

God’s rhema word to Gideon invited him to see things as God did and to believe the truth that the Lord was still with him and is much bigger than any fear or enemy.

Then the LORD himself turned to him and said, “You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! Have I not sent you?” Judges 6:14 (NET1)

We should pay close attention to what happened in this verse. Suddenly it was no longer God’s messenger speaking: now it was the Lord himself. My next sentence is one of the biggest keys to being set free. This truth is able to unlock some of the strongest prison doors.

In order for us to be delivered from deeply embedded lies, we must hear the Lord himself speak his truth to our hearts.

This is called revelation in the Bible and comes via the Holy Spirit.

God can speak through another person, a Bible verse or passage, or by his Spirit in the inner recesses of our hearts. In this case, it was through a pre-incarnational appearance of the Lord. God’s rhema to Gideon smashed both of the lies in which Gideon trusted: God had not abandoned him or Israel, and Gideon was not powerless because God was with him.

When the Light of the world, Jesus, enters our hearts, darkness is dispelled.

God himself told Gideon that he had the strength to deliver Israel and gave him the command to go do it. Gideon still has his doubts, however, because there were yet more lies to be confronted.

Gideon said to him, “But Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” 16 The LORD said to him, “Ah, but I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.” Judges 6:15-16 (NET1)

“But Lord!” How contradictory are these two words when used side by side! Here Gideon revealed that his calculations did not include God at all. He still saw things through the lens of his own inadequacies and failed to factor in God’s ability and power. (Don’t we all tend to do this?) When we make excuses for not doing what God commands us, it reveals that we believe that God is either not with us or not up to the task of enabling us.

Our unbelief clearly indicates we doubt either God’s trustworthiness, power, or his love – or maybe all three.

In other words, unbelief impugns God’s character and negates his power; whereas, faith upholds both.

Only faith glorifies God. Peter Block wrote in his book, The Answer to How Is Yes, that when we commit to do something, negativity evaporates and we begin to use our faith to become creative problem solvers.  The “how” of unbelief does not calculate on God and makes excuses for disobedience; whereas, the “yes” of faith moves forward in obedience trusting that God will somehow come through.

When the Lord reaffirmed that he would be with Gideon, he revealed the key to living the faith life – God is always with us.

Jesus is Immanuel – God with us. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this truth.

The root of many deeply embedded lies is a deep sense of abandonment by God.

This derives from humanity’s actual separation from him in the Garden of Eden because of our sin. But Genesis 3:15 reveals that God never actually abandoned us at all. He promised Adam and Eve that one of their descendants would crush the head of the serpent – Satan. This is the Bible’s first messianic promise.

Because Jesus, our Messiah and Immanuel, died and rose again, no one who believes in him needs to experience life apart from God any longer. (John 14:16)

When we imagine that we do, it reveals how far we still have to go in our understanding of grace and how sinfully independent our thinking still is.

Amazingly, God allows us to collaborate with him in life and when we face obstacles. This is one of the great joys of being a follower of Christ. We are not alone any longer! God delights to use us, even though, ultimately, all the glory will go to him, because he alone is able to pull off the miracle. What a joy for us to be his partner! When God allows us to participate, he shares his power, glory, and honor with us in a similar fashion as the moon shares the sun’s glorious radiance. The moon has no light of its own, yet it shines beautifully in the night sky. We have no power or glory of our own, yet we can win great victories when we obey God and trust him completely.

God’s grace shines through us, despite our weaknesses.

But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NET1)

When God made Gideon a promise that he would be with him, it should have confirmed to him that God was loyal and loving toward him; but, he was still not convinced of where he stood with God. This is a common problem for many of us – yes, even with Bible-believing followers of Christ. Because we are at least partially aware of our own faults and shortcomings, we cannot imagine that God could be truly pleased with us or use us in any significant way.

This shows that we have negated God’s gracious promises with a lie-based argument, which causes us to miss a central point of the gospel of grace. No one can possibly be good enough to please God: that is why Jesus had to die for us.

The mindset that God cannot use us is sinful and must be repudiated.

When we receive the benefits of the finished work of Christ by faith, not only are we forgiven, but we are completely reconciled to God. We become members of God’s family and true friends. God provides the Spirit of his Son to indwell us. We have been given the Son of God’s relationship with the Father, minus the divinity part; therefore, when God looks at us, he is as pleased with us as he is with his Son.

Consequently, because of our relationship with God, our commission to be his representatives on the earth, and the  indwelling Spirit, we are able to do whatever he tells us.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15-16 (NET1)

But Gideon did not know this, since he lived in a time before Christ’s death and resurrection. Even though God told him he was highly favored, he still wanted further proof.

So Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. Judges 6:17 (NASB)

If you are like me, you might be thinking that God was beginning to get a little impatient with Gideon, as he did with Moses when he made excuse after excuse. But that was not the case. God was calling and commissioning Gideon to do the impossible; so, he was willing to corroborate his word to him.

The greater the task the more willing is God to make it plain to us. He knows that our faith needs bolstering.

Gideon offered the Lord a sacrifice, which God accepted by consuming it on the spot with fire in which the angel disappeared from sight. Gideon promptly went from doubt that it was God to doubt as to whether he would continue to live after seeing God. You have to admit this is at least a little humorous. After receiving an assurance that he would not die, Gideon built an altar to the Lord there, naming it “Jehovah-Shalom” – the Lord is peace, security, wholeness, success, or prosperity. All of the these concepts are rolled up into one word – shalom. I like how the New English Translation translates Jehovah-Shalom: “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.”

God took Gideon from doubting his good intentions to worshiping him for showing shalom towards his servant.

By revealing himself as Jehovah-Shalom, God shattered the foundation of several strongholds at once.

Once again, God revealed himself personally with a “rhema” word. He nullified the lie that God did not favor Israel or Gideon. He broke the power of the lie that God is not able to give victory over his circumstances and fears. Shalom declared that God was the provider of financial well being, healing, success, victory, and peace. Gideon’s faith in these truths would later be tested even further; so, Gideon could come to know this amazing God of shalom better.

Faith grows when it is tested, just as muscles are strengthened by exertion.

The Lord moved quickly on the heels of Gideon’s breakthrough revelation. It is important for us to realize that God does not reveal himself to us just for fun. It is to prepare us for what he has called us to do. That same night God gave Gideon his first big job, one that confronted his remaining fears to the core. I find it ironic and intensely interesting that God would reveal himself as Gideon’s peace (shalom) just before commissioning him to fight.

Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the presence of God that gives us the courage to fight the Lord’s battles.

That night the LORD said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole. 26 Then build an altar for the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.” Judges 6:25-26 (NET1)

In the afterglow of finding out that God favored him and was with him, Gideon was told to provoke the anger of the local idol worshipers, which included members of his own family. This man who went out of his way to stay hidden from danger now was told to stir up trouble and bring down the wrath of the community upon his head. Gideon obeyed, but stuck to his old ways of trying to stay hidden. He did the deed at night with the help of ten associates.

The command to build an altar on top of the idolatrous stronghold is especially significant. Not only does God intend to smash our lie-based strongholds, but he plans to transform their rubble into a place of worship for us, building an altar faith and devotion to God upon which we can give ourselves unreservedly to him.

From the rubble of our smashed strongholds likely will emerge our ministry to the Lord and other people.

As expected, the local townspeople threatened Gideon, but God preserved his life. His name was changed to Jerub-Baal, meaning “let Baal contend with him.” In other words, he became known for his brave and confrontational act of destroying the idols that offended God. God insulated him from men’s threats and violence by personally defending him. His own father, a former idolater-in-chief, defended his son when an angry mob wanted to harm him. God was indeed his “shalom.”

But this test was only the “warm up.” Next God told him to confront and defeat a vast horde of Midianites which oppressed Israel. In a very short time God took Gideon from fearing those invaders to becoming the captain of the minuscule force that defeated them. What an amazing turn around! But this next task required that Gideon become even more convinced that God was with him.

Strongholds run deep. Even though Gideon had obtained some deliverance, he still battled unbelief and fear, as is often the case with us. How could he be sure that this command was really the Lord? When the Lord asks us to do things within our “comfort zone,” we may obey him fairly promptly; but, when he tells us to do something of which we are afraid, suddenly we are not sure if it’s really the Lord! That is probably why God “broke in” Gideon with a lesser task first before sending him against a huge army.

If we are predisposed to unbelief because of our fears, we may lack confidence that we really have heard the Lord or have difficulty accepting even the most obvious confirmations. Fear lacks the ability to think clearly.

Understanding this human frailty, the Lord was very patient with our reluctant hero. When Gideon asked him for a double reverse sign involving a fleece, God obliged both times. On top of that, God even came up with a further sign to help fortify Gideon’s faith. He told him to venture near the enemy’s camp, where he heard one of the enemy soldiers voice his interpretation of an ominous dream in which he predicted that Gideon and his army would prevail over them in battle. This was all Gideon needed. Gideon promptly marched back into camp and spoke rousing words of faith to his men.

When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the LORD is handing the Midianite army over to you!” Judges 7:15 (NET1)

Isn’t it interesting that Gideon put more stock in a dream’s interpretation than he did in God’s direct promise? May God give us more reliance on his Word than in anything else!

But we get ahead of ourselves. God had previously reduced the size of Gideon’s army from 32,000 to 300, saying:

…“With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army and I will hand Midian over to you. The rest of the men should go home.” Judges 7:7 (NET1)

God really does have a sense of humor, but I am sure it did not seem so at the time to Gideon. After thoroughly convincing Gideon that it was really He giving him the command to destroy the Midianites, God removed 99% of his army, giving the following reason:

… “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. Israel might brag, ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’’ Judges 7:2 (NET1)

This is one of the ways God operates. He convinces us to sign on to his program and then removes from us some of the resources we thought we could count on. He does this so that we can learn to trust in him alone.

Even before reducing the size of the army, Israel was hugely outnumbered, but now the odds were ridiculous from a human point of view. If God did not do a major miracle, Gideon would go down in history as one of the biggest fools who ever lived. This must have been why God obliged him with the two fleece confirmations and gave him the interpretation of the enemy’s dream. Gideon needed to know that this adventure with God was legitimate. His life and that of his men, as well as Israel’s freedom, depended on it.

Well, if you don’t know the rest of the story, it’s in Judges 7. As you might have guessed, Gideon, with God’s help, triumphed and became one of the great heroes of Israel.

When we cooperate with God by allowing him to help us conquer our fears by smashing our strongholds of lies and unbelief, it is no telling what great things can be accomplished in God’s kingdom.

Maybe God has a Gideon-sized job for you? If so, you likely have a Gideon-sized set of embedded lies that need uprooting. Don’t be surprised if God requires you confront your fears head on. Draw near to him and let the Lord speak his loving truth into those hidden places in your heart. The truth will set you free.

Go back to Part 10.

Read Part 12: An Introduction to Overcoming Generational Devastation

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Finding Freedom in Christ – Overcoming Abandonment

 

This article is related to a series entitled Wonderful Counseling.

 

One of the foundational principles of what I call either Biblical Healing and Deliverance, Personal Prayer Ministry, or Wonderful Counseling is that all bondage is based on a lie.

All bondage is based on a lie.

This goes back to the garden of Eden where Satan seduced Adam and Eve to open the door to bondage and death by believing multiple lies. Satan convinced them that God did not have their best interests at heart and that disobeying him would not result in death. You know the rest of the story. Ever since then Satan, whom Jesus called the “father of lies,” has been hard at work convincing each generation to believe lies instead of God’s truth, which is found in the Bible and in the person of Jesus the Messiah.

One of the most devastating and predominant lies comes under the general category of abandonment.

Adam and Eve abandoned God when they chose to follow the interloper instead of their Creator, which resulted in God’s casting them out of the garden, sentencing them to a life of hardship, and cutting them off from the source of eternal life. However, God never truly abandoned them. In words spoken to the serpent just after the exposing of Adam’s and Eve’s sin, God gave all of us the promise that one of Eve’s descendants would defeat Satan.

And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15 (NLT)

This is the very first Bible verse related to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of that promise. The Hebrew word translated “strike” can also mean “bruise” or “crush.” Paul wrote thousands of years later that God’s people will play a part in Satan’s ultimate and utter defeat, when he penned these words: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20 NLT) If I were translating the Genesis passage, I probably would word it thusly: “He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Satan indeed struck Jesus at the cross, but that strike did not ultimately kill him. Instead God the Father raised him from the dead and gave him authority over all things, including Satan. Satan was defeated on the cross, but we are still in the middle of “mopping up” operations. God is using his people to finally and completely crush the devil.

The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.” Psalm 110:1 (NLT)

We also learn from that Genesis verse that God has a line of people and Satan has one. God has separated out for himself people from the beginning of time.

God chose the ones who would belong to him before he created the world.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4  Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:3-5 (NLT)

This passage strikes a death blow at the lie-based stronghold named abandonment. It does not matter whether we have been abandoned by our parents, spouses, or anyone else. If we become followers of Christ, the Bible tells us that it was because God chose us, not because we chose him.

For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. John 6:44 (NLT)

No one has the innate spiritual ability to come to Christ without being drawn by the Father via his Holy Spirit. If you are a follower of Christ it is because God knew you and chose you to be his before he made the world. It means that he sent his Son to die for you and afterward sent his Spirit to draw you to Christ. He worked in you to open your heart to the gospel, resulting in your being able to properly respond in repentance and faith.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)

Once we come to Christ by faith, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee that God will complete or finish what he began on Calvary.

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14  The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. Ephesians 1:13-14 (NLT)

Sometimes parents reject their own children. Often marriage partners become disillusioned or embittered with their spouses and abandon them.

God never becomes disillusioned with us because he knew all about us before he created and redeemed us.

There is nothing we may say or do that will catch him by surprise. When Jesus died for us, he saw us completely – the good, the bad, and the ugly, and he said a resounding “yes” to our heavenly Father’s choice of us to be in his eternal family.

Jesus will never reject those for whom he died.

Never will you hear our Lord say, “Oops, my bad. I made a mistake choosing you.” Instead he boldly declared the following words.

...those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. John 6:37 (NLT)

If you are a person who continually battles with the inner belief that you will ultimately be rejected and abandoned by those you love, that stronghold is no doubt based on past experience with disloyal people. It is likely that you participated in the lie by preemptively abandoning others before they could do it to you. You have been deeply wounded, which set the stage for believing the lie that even God will abandon you. It is not true. God will never leave you or forsake you. (Joshua 1:5 and Hebrews 13:5)

I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, ‘You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. 10  Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:9-10 (NLT)
 
Prayer to Overcome Abandonment

Father God, I now realize that I have believed the lie that everyone I love and even you will eventually abandon me. Forgive me for thinking that you are like people who have rejected and left me. Thank you that you chose me to be your child before you created the world. Thank you for sending Jesus to pay the penalty for my sins so that I could be reconciled to you. Thank you for sending your Spirit to work inside me to make me open to the gospel. Thank you for sending those persons who shared the good news about Jesus with me. Thank you for those you sent to pray for me and disciple me. Thank you that you sealed me with your Holy Spirit, which guarantees that you will complete in my life what you began when you will one day raise me from the dead to dwell with you forever. I now renounce the generational lie of abandonment. I repent for believing that lie and acting in accordance with it. I believe that you set me from from these things. Help me to show love and loyalty to you and others for the rest of my life. Amen.

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