Speaker: Mike Connell
Notice there that Jesus took our transgressions -
that’s breaking the law of God. He was bruised for our iniquities - that’s the
core twist in our nature against God. So when Jesus died at the cross, He took
all our iniquities, so that the power of iniquity could be broken completely.
He took our transgressions and our sins. Colossians 2:14-15 – he removed them
out of the way. Broke the power of curses, and positioned us to be blessed.
So therefore, what is required of us? How do we get a
person free of these cursings? When you are working with someone, we need to
ask the Holy Spirit to show us what the real problem is, and what its root is.
We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us. It’s always challenging to find the
problem and its root. The problem may be obvious, or not obvious; but the root
is what is empowering this thing. So we need to find: what is the root; and
remove it, so that the person gets free from the power.
How would we get to the root of the problem? You have
to ask the Holy Spirit to help you. You have to ask questions. So ask the Holy
Spirit to help you, and of course, listen to what He has to say. He might just
drop a thought in your mind to enquire about something.
Do you remember I’ve told you about the young man who
was angry - and the Lord just dropped a thought in my mind. Obviously I asked
the first question – “When did it start?”; “Are you the elder son? Were you
conceived out of wedlock?” He said: “Where did you get these questions from?”
“I just felt them inside - I was just listening to the Holy Spirit, and
immediately nailed the problem”. From there we could work out a solution.
So the first thing is to ask the Holy Spirit to help
you, and learn to listen to what He shows you. It may be that you just get a
thought that comes to mind, a picture comes to mind, or you just feel the need
to ask something. Stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
So when we’re looking at the person’s problem, you can
ask these questions. What is the problem? When did it start? The question ‘when
did it start?’ tends to open up whether this is a generational problem or not.
Did any member in your family have this problem? So
you could draw a simple family tree, and you begin to look and see where these
things have come from. When I’m working, I always have a piece of paper with
me, and I ask questions about the person, then about their father, about their
mother. I begin to look and see if there’re any issues coming down from either side
of the family. Asking questions can help establish where this thing had begun;
or the Holy Spirit will show you.
So you get it by listening - listen to the Holy
Spirit; listen to the person. So listening is very important in trying to
diagnose. Don’t jump to conclusions quickly. Listen and ask and follow what God
is saying to your heart. The first steps of getting a person free are what you
call ‘diagnose’. I would sit with a piece of paper, and I write down the things
which are apparently the problems.
Now, how do we deal with a generational curse, and
generational iniquity? Let me give you just a couple scriptures on that. In
Leviticus 26:40, there’s a clue to how the person can get set free. Notice what
God says in His word in verse 39 – 40: “They’re in their fathers’ iniquities,
and are wasting away; but if they confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of
their fathers, and their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me,
and walked contrary to Me.”
So you notice: confession of iniquity is important.
There are a number of examples of people confessing iniquity. For example,
Nehemiah 1:6 - he confessed his own iniquities, and the iniquities of his
fathers. Nehemiah 9:37 – Nehemiah confessed the iniquities of himself, and his
fathers. Daniel 9:3 – who also confessed his iniquities. So, there has to be
acknowledgment of the sin. The sin, the iniquity, must be brought to the cross.
So, what is the generational iniquity; and have you
been doing this yourself? You have to find that out. For example, if the issue
was idolatry - the parents were involved in idolatry; but did you do this as
well? Your own sins you need to acknowledge, and the sins of your parents that
opened the door for the sin.
1) We diagnose the problem - by asking the Holy
Spirit; and asking the person questions.
2) We talk to the person and we show them how to get
free. We explain to them what Christ has done for them. They are redeemed from
the curse. God desires to position them for blessing. Galatians 3:13-14. But
for this to happen, they need to do some things. So we explain to them what
they must do.
These are quite logical steps: the diagnosis of what
the problem is; help them understand what Christ has done; help them understand
what they need to do; then we tell them what we will do to help them. I will
lead you in a prayer, and this is what you will need to do in the prayer.
1) You will need to acknowledge Christ, because it is
by identifying with Christ that we are free.
2) You will need to acknowledge the iniquity - for
family iniquity, and your own iniquity.
3) You will need to renounce the generational curse.
To renounce means to cancel its power. You need to speak words, to break the
power of this iniquity and cursing. You need to ask Jesus to forgive you, to
cleanse you from this iniquity. You’ll need to release forgiveness – to forgive
family members who opened the door for this iniquity; and you’ll need to make a
stand of faith, calling on the Lord to deliver you, and holding on to His
words.
We’ll go through that again, so we’ve got the pattern
of what must happen. It begins with diagnosis – asking the questions and
listening to the person and the Holy Spirit. Identifying where this came from,
father or mother - through which line? So we’ve done the diagnosis.
Then we need to explain to them what Jesus has done,
because it’s faith in Christ that brings freedom. Galatians 3:13-14 are very
good verses for this - very clear. So help them understand, that it is by faith
in Christ that the remedy comes. Then we explain to them their part in the
process; and what our part will be. We will lead them through a prayer to
acknowledge Christ. We will lead them through a prayer to acknowledge the
generational iniquity, and their own iniquity. To renounce and cancel the
cursing, ask forgiveness and cleansing; release forgiveness to family members
who open the door; to resist this curse, and reach out to Jesus in faith. So
that’s the process.
Then of course, the last thing I found which is
helpful, is to teach them to hold the cross of Christ between them and the
family line. You are a new person in Christ.
What would the prayer look like? What would a prayer
for generational idolatry look like? I’ll go through now, and I’ll put words to
what I’ve just said. I’ll go slowly, because you may decide you’d like to write
it down. Here’s the thing: don’t be preoccupied trying to get exact wording.
Some people get fussed over getting the wording right - which is just the
externals. I’d rather get the heart right, and stay in the flow of the Spirit,
than be worried about getting every detail right.
Let me just break the prayer down for you, following
exactly the steps we said.
1) The confession of faith. It would sound something
like this. “Father I come to You in Jesus’ name. I confess Jesus Christ as my
Saviour and Lord. I am redeemed by the blood of Jesus. From every curse, every
evil spirit, all iniquity, all sin, I am redeemed. I belong to Jesus.” That’s
just a confession of faith. It is extremely powerful. It’s really good for you
to lead the person in that. You notice it’s just confessing my connection with
Christ, and belief in what he’s done - this is the basis of freedom. What sets
you free is faith in the blood, not faith in the prayer. What sets a person
free is faith in Christ, not faith in the person praying - so you’re directing
them towards Christ. Now we’ll go to the next part.
2) “Lord I stand as a representative of my family, and
acknowledge our iniquity. I bring our family generational iniquity of idolatry
to the cross. I confess I have also been involved in idolatry, so I bring my
iniquity to the cross.”
You notice quite clearly that we brought family
iniquity or sin to the cross; we brought personal sin to the cross. It may well
be that the person has not actually been involved in that iniquity themselves,
but most likely they have. You can see that it is important to confess the sin.
“I ask you Lord to forgive me, and cleanse me of this iniquity and from all
iniquity and sin”. So sin is confessed.
3.) Now speak words to renounce. “In Jesus’ name, I
renounce, I cancel, all generational curses, all agreements with evil spirits.
I renounce them, and cancel them. I renounce all iniquity in our family line,
in Jesus’ name.
Lord I forgive my family; I forgive my parents; and
those in my family who opened the door for this iniquity, who opened the door
for this curse - I forgive them and bless them.”
It may be helpful at that point to renounce any
judgements - “I renounce all judgements I made against my father and mother. I
cancel them now.”
Now can you see that just by words - we’re dismantling
things. If you can remember just the key things that are involved, it’s quite
easy to remember how to pray a prayer to dismantle it - “I renounce all
agreements my family members have entered into with evil spirits. I renounce
all generational curses - I renounce and cancel their power. I renounce all
agreements with evil spirits. I renounce this iniquity in my family line, and I
cancel its power.”
Now, here’s where you would put in the cross - “Father
I forgive my family, forgive my father and mother; renounce all judgements I’ve
made against them. I hold the cross of Christ between me and my family line,
and declare this iniquity and curse broken.” You see that the person, by
confession, is dismantling this problem. “Now Lord I ask You to set me free”.
I tried to break that down into its elements. Now,
what would you do at that point? At that point, you need to minister to them;
so, this is what you would do. You need to speak into two things” 1) into the
iniquity and curses, to break them; and 2) to the demonic spirits that are in
the person. So one: you need to confront and break bondages, break the
generational curses and iniquity, and two: you need to command the spirits to
come out of them. Let the Holy Spirit to guide and direct.
You would do it something like this. Remember when
you’re speaking now into the spirit realm - speak differently to when you are
leading them in a prayer. Rise up in your spirit – “In the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, I break the generational curses. I break all agreements made with
evil spirits. I break them in Jesus’ name. I break all generational iniquity. I
break it in Jesus’ name. I cut off this hold from your life.”
It’s like you’re speaking, as God’s representative, to
cancel things. “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command the spirits of
idolatry - I command you to go”. Of course, the spirits you will command depend
on the nature of the thing you’ve been dealing with - the unclean spirits. As
the Holy Spirit leads you, you’ll command different spirits.
There’s one more part. This is what the person must
fulfil. Let’s go back to Galatians 3:14-15. Here’s the last thing the person
needs to do: they need to meditate, and renew in the word of God, and renew their
thinking. They need to meditate in the word of God; and renew their thinking -
this would lead to a change in how they behave or respond. There should be a
shift in thinking, and a shift in behaving - both are needed. That will need to
be specific, depending on what the person has been involved in.
In Galatians 3:14-15 – “He has redeemed us from the
curse of the law”. So that is actually broken, but it’s important I don’t live
anymore like a man under law. It’s important I live as a blessed person. That the
blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles through faith in Christ, and I
receive the promise of the Spirit.
So what I need to do is to take the word of God, and
begin to meditate in it. To meditate in God’s word, and relate it to the
specific area I’ve been defeated in. I need to begin to picture this word as
real in my life. I’m not earning blessing - Jesus earned the blessing. What I
need to do, is believe that I am blessed; and think like I am blessed; and hold
on to ‘I am blessed’; and then begin to live it out. So I need to renew how I
think. This is where a lot of people get into difficulties - they’ve gone
through ministry, but in their thinking, they still think like a cursed person;
rather than think like a blessed person.
For example, suppose the issue was repeated cycles of
financial failure. So when a person fails financially, they tend to believe in
their heart: I’m no good with money; I’m a failure; there’s always a lack;
something will always go wrong. They begin to think: failure; their heart
becomes set on failure, expecting failure. They live and behave in ways that
produce failure.
The person has come into a place now where they are
free from that - they can change their believing. That means to meditate –
Today I am blessed as I come in, I am blessed as I go out. God’s favour is on
all that I do. Thank you that my finances are blessed. I now need to shift the
way I behave, to live that out.
Before when I was cursed, living under bondage, I was
afraid and fearful to give; or if I did give, it’s giving out of fear. You do
this and you’ll be blessed; don’t do this and you’ll be cursed. I’m going to
shift my thinking now - I am living in blessing. I have all I need. God
supplies everything. I have no lack. Now, externally, I may not have changed,
but internally I have to change. I’ve got to start to align with what God says
is true. If I align internally, with faith, in what God says - eventually,
externally everything will change as well.
In other words, I need to begin to meditate on God
being an abundant God, and agree that I’ve got no lack. I need to be
established in what God’s word says is true. I don’t want to go back into some
old thing, where I’m thinking: if I tithe I’m blessed; if I don’t tithe, I’m
cursed - then I’m living under the law again. A lot of Christians go back to
the law. I need to stay in this place: I am blessed; and a blessed person is a
generous person - who gives. I give because I’m blessed. I’m not giving because
if I don’t, I’m afraid I’ll be cursed! I need to adjust my thinking to live how
a blessed person lives.
What I have noticed with people is that they want you
to come fix their problems with a prayer; but they often don’t want to follow
on to know the Lord in the area of blessing, because this requires work and
effort and responsibility. It requires that I begin to meditate in the word,
and begin to align my life to agree with the word of God.
In other words, I need to follow on to know the Lord -
I need to become a disciple of Christ. So there is no neutral ground: I’m
either dropping back into the old way of living; or I’m turning to the new way
of living - I need to hold that constantly.
So what do I do when I still feel the pressure on me
leading me back to the old way? I need to declare strongly: the blood of Jesus
has broken iniquity, I refuse to yield to it - I am blessed. I need to
identify: I am a new person now.
So I begin to picture what that looks like. Thank you
Lord I’m blessed in all that I do. Begin to see it, imagine it, and allow truth
to be established. Then look at my life - am I living it out like a blessed
person. What would that look like? You notice that it’s not passive. It’s not –
I have these problems, please pray for me. No, I am a new creation in Christ -
I am a blessed person. I have the Spirit of God, and I live in blessing as I
set my mind on the Spirit, and not on the old ways of the flesh.
So the life of blessing is something given to me
freely; but I need to believe and walk out of my life. That is where a lot of
people don’t move on. They don’t realise that I have to tear down old thinking
patterns as they come back into my mind. If any thoughts of poverty come, I
have to pull them down quick; or I’ll start to feel lack, and I’ll start to
respond in fear, and go back to how I used to live. Living in blessing, means
living in faith - confident in what God says is true. It may take time to
educate my heart to believe, that I have really changed.
So what happens in something like this: I’m living in
this path of iniquity and cursing and bondage; then I come to Christ, and He
says: now you are a blessed person. So I cut off all of those things; but I
still at times keep thinking like the old way used to think. It’s like this
pull towards the old way, all the time.
I need to speak: iniquity is broken, I am a blessed
person. I’ve got to speak to this thing: that it’s broken by the blood of
Jesus, and I live as a blessed person; and you meditate on that blessed life –
God is with me, my needs are met, I have abundance, the Lord is my Sheppard and
I shall not want. People know ‘the Lord is my Sheppard and I shall not want’;
but what they don’t know in their heart is that: God Almighty is my friend, and
there’s no area that I lack. It’s a heart place of confidence in God. So I’ve
been shifted into blessing by Christ. Now I have to think and live like a
blessed person.
When maybe there’s some pressure that comes
financially - old thinking starts to return. I’ve got to constantly push
against it, and redirect my attention: I have abundance in Christ - I am
blessed. I look out, and it doesn’t look like I’m blessed; but don’t go back to
old thinking, stay in the new. It’s an internal shift from iniquity,
crookedness, demonic power, cursing Me and resisting Me; to now: confident in
God, and living like a blessed person.
So if I live like a blessed person, then a blessed
person is generous, confident. So the battle is now not a battle to make God
bless me; it’s a battle to believe I’m blessed, and to be at rest - it’s an
internal battle, and that’s the battle all believers have to face. When your
heart becomes at rest, actually, God is blessing you. Each time your heart
comes to rest, you’ve won the fight. This is an ongoing thing all your life.
People all love to just get ministry to get free; and
there’s a place in the power that release can come; but they have to then
change and live like a free person. Very soon they go back, and instead of
living from the spirit and heart, they live out of the mind, and all its old
opinions and thinking.
Above information was collected from the internet. Copyright belongs to
the original author. Please contact us if there is any objection. We will
remove it from our website when it is necessary.