Let’s make a deal up front here, that if you read anything in this lesson today that seems unclear, or you are just ‘not seeing it’ at first, do us both a favor- just set it aside, maybe place it on a ‘mental shelf’ somewhere, and give it some time. If there is any truth here to grasp and be received, I’m totally confident that God is more than able and willing to ‘confirm’ His word to you. (Mark 16:2; 2 Tim. 2:7). One nice thing about ‘growing in knowledge’ when it comes to God’s truths, is we don’t have to force or ‘make it happen’.

I only suggest this from experience; also because this topic is still one I’m learning more about, and I don’t want to be guilty of muddying the waters and confusing anyone, since we are going to be talking about ‘generational curses’.

One of the things we learn about God early on after He gives the 10 Commandments to His people, is that He is a ‘jealous God’, as in jealous for our hearts. Hence, the added clause found in the 2nd commandment: “For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Deut. 5:9-10)

Now let me make it known up front, before we proceed any further, that if you are struggling with some area in your life, be it physical, mental, or emotional…the reason for this is NOT … because you had some ancestor who ‘messed up big time’, and God was so angry with them…that He decided to punish you for their sins. That’s not the way this ‘works’.

The second thing I would like to make clear here is I’m not suggesting that every single area of ‘sin’ that you may struggle with and have failed to overcome, yet…is tied in with a ‘generational curse’; but some of them could be. God can, and will make it clear to you if they are.

So take a moment and simply identify an area that you have struggled with for as long as you can remember. I’m reluctant to start offering up ‘examples’, but for the sake of this lesson, let me use something ‘simple’ like ‘outburst of anger’ (Gal. 5:20), maybe characterized by the use of extreme profanity. It would be a fair question to ask: Is this ‘learned behavior’, like a bad habit? Or is it a ‘generational curse’, that we can lightheartedly refer to being ‘in our DNA’? Or could it be an actual ‘spirit’, and not the ‘good kind’ either?

Which then leads me to the third clarification I would like to make known before we proceed any further, and is this: I am not suggesting that every area of sin, or ‘shortcoming’ that you struggle with is a ‘spirit’; but it could be. (Eph. 6:12; Matt. 12:43-45). The Bible sure addresses the reality of various ‘spirits’ and the specific effect they have on people, like a ‘lying spirit’, or a ‘spirit of divination’, or various spirits of infirmities, etc. I would even go as far to suggest a ‘spirit of denial’ might even be whispering to some of you about now who are reading this. God’s word has a way of ‘stirring them up’’; trust me on that one. (Gen. 3:1)

As we learn from the 2nd Commandment, God is jealous for our hearts, and He makes it known that when we cross Him by breaking His commandments, there are times when the results, or consequences of that transgression…can open serious doors (to the enemy) where, in God’s words…those ‘iniquities are visited’ even to the next 3-4 generations that follow. Now I am no expert when it comes to breaking down languages and word usage, but a simple Strong’s concordance can come in handy at times; and that word ‘visiting’ used in the Hebrew language has a lot packed in it. So let me try and explain it this way, and I’ll trust the Holy Spirit to ‘make it clear’. Let's talk about how sins are.... ‘visited’.

Sin can 'open the door' for unclean spirits to ‘come in’ and affect our lives in adverse ways. Jesus came to deliver and set us free from all the influences of our ‘enemy’ (1 Pet. 5:8; Acts 10:38) who comes to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’ (John 10:10). And yes…even once they are gone, they can come back…if we give them room or a place (Matt. 12:43-45; Eph. 4:27).

I realize this becomes problematic for some folks who have been taught that ‘Christians can’t have demons!’, or the Holy Spirit can’t/won’t dwell where unclean spirits are, which I suppose ought to have us questioning which ‘spirit’ is actually in us, based on the ‘fruit’ being produced in our lives on a regular basis. Then there is the matter of which ‘word’ to use when it comes to opening the door to our enemy; are we suggesting you can be “possessed”, which conjures up all kinds of dramatic imagery…or can you simply be ‘demonized’ by unclean spirits when you fail to ‘resist’ them? (James 4:7). The apostle Paul was, but for other reasons... which we won’t be studying today (2 Cor. 12:7).

You may have also noticed there that these iniquities are visited upon those who ‘hate’ God. And our first response to that usually is: “I don’t hate God!”; yet Jesus does point out that ‘IF we love Him, we’ll do what He says.” (John 14:15). Jesus also seems to suggest that it’s ‘either or’, when it comes to ‘loving and hating’ something or someone (Matt. 6:24), so there is that to consider as well.

Suppose you had a grandparent who had an old car that they loved and refused to get rid of, despite the fact it was a ‘money trap’ and had all kinds of ‘issues’ wrong with it; and then they ‘left the car’ to you, as in…you inherited it from them. You didn’t ask for it, but now it’s yours, and all that ‘goes with it’; sort of like a child who was born into this world whose parents were ‘slaves’. If you have no desire to keep that old car, you do have options and can get rid of it once and for all; or you may opt to hold onto it for other reasons.

Now let’s say that grandparent was not a follower of Jesus. Ephesians 2:1-3 tells us plainly who or ‘what’ was working IN them. Acts 26:18 and 2 Tim. 2:24-26 also confirms this. And let’s say one of those ‘spirits’ was a ‘spirit or rage’ that influenced them regularly which was evident by their frequent outbursts where they would unleash all kinds of loud and profane words upon anyone who was nearby, even ‘cursing’ those who they might have claimed to ‘love’. Violent acts might also have been in the mix as well. If indeed, a ‘spirit’ was at work here, influencing them, as Eph. 6:12 suggest, what do you think happens to that ‘spirit’ when that person dies? Unclean or demon spirits don’t die, so what do you think might become of them?  Is it possible that they can be...'passed down'...through family blood lines, if certain 'doors' have been opened?

Now on the surface, this might seem like an unfair system of ‘justice’ to our way of thinking; but what was God’s plea and promise to His people, in Deut. 5:29 and vs. 10? And what did God say was the reason that His people would be ‘destroyed’…and why He would ‘forget our children’, as explained in Hosea 4:6?

Care to be rid of that old ‘car’ that is costing you joy and peace and blessings? We can talk about that …tomorrow, Lord willing.