A Legacy Of Faith

A continuation on the topic of generational blessings and curses...

The word inheritance comes from the root word heritage. The words heritage and legacy are both defined as something that is passed down from generation to generation. It could be:

The truth is that we all die, and everything we have, and all the influence we carry in this life, will be passed on to the next generation. And that doesn't mean only the things that we include in our will to be handed out after our funeral. It includes the legacy that we will leave behind in our family, our community, our nation, and the world.

I've spent a lot of time meditating on the concept of the generational curse, as the Bible defines it. Mostly because that's been the area of life that I came out of. I embraced my role as a generational curse breaker - and then I started digging in to what that means and looks like at a practical, everyday level.

At first I thought it was this complicated, half-hopeless concept of trying to work my way out of a debt that my parents left me. And, in a way, that's about right. It's not all that complicated, but it is a debt, and we do have to put in some work on our part. Now, we have all the hope and assurance in the world that it can be done, and all we need in order to get the ball rolling in the right direction is to put our faith in Jesus, that He paid all our debts, all our sins, and all the sins that we were born into and inherited from our ancestors - not just our parents, but all the way back to Adam and Eve. But we have to walk the walk. We have to stop following in our parents footsteps and start following in Jesus's footsteps.

When I was young I learned that it is important to leave things better than I found them. If you walk through the kitchen and see that someone made a mess, don't ask questions, and don't ignore it - go clean it up. Some people do the opposite - they come through making a mess and leaving it for others to clean up.

That same concept applies to our whole life, our legacy, and our impact on the world around us.

Some people go through life trying to help out, and clean up all the messes they find. Others go through life making a mess everywhere they go. In reality we all do a little of both - some just do more of one than the other.

And this is where we get the concept of the generational curse, and the generational blessing.

A person that goes through life making messes and causing chaos is a curse to the people around them. And their heritage is a curse.

A person that goes through life trying to clean up messes, fix what is broken, and generally leave things better than they found them is a blessing to the people around them. And their heritage is a blessing.

Now think of that on a scale, not just of one person, but of an entire generation of people. What is the impact that a generation has on the world, and on the future of the world? It is enormous.

In studying this topic in the Bible I found that a generational curse is not a final verdict. The idea is certainly there, but there are more verses that say we can get out of it than there are verses that say we are condemned to it.

The main idea of a generational curse can be found in Exodus 20:4-6, which is the second Commandment - “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

If iniquity sounds like a big word you can also call it: sin, evil, wrongdoing, evildoing, immorality, villainy, or crime.

So the curse is pronounced as God visiting the evildoing of the fathers on the children to the 3rd and 4th generations of those who hate Him. And that last detail is of the utmost importance - of those who hate Him.

If you don't hate God, then you are not under the curse! The curse ultimately is that the father hates God, and teaches his children to also hate God, and they pass that on to their kids, etc... The curse, no matter how it manifests, or what the specific consequences of it are, is ultimately that those people across those generations have turned away from God.

Now I want you to picture something with me.

Think of a long tunnel. It can be a beautiful tunnel, or it can be a vast expanse, that part doesn't matter. On one end you have complete light - the light of God's glory. And on the other end you have complete darkness, the realm of Satan.

As you turn toward God you walk into the light of His glory, and as you turn away from God you walk into the darkness. And this is a long tunnel, so you can take a lifelong journey in either direction and still not reach the end you are walking towards. Your whole life is spent walking around in that tunnel. And you, and your family, and your community, and your nation, and the living generation of the whole world, are in that tunnel. Before us was our parent's generation, and before them was their parents...

You were born in that tunnel at the point wherever your parents were at the time. If they were walking toward the darkness, then you were born in the darkness. If they were walking toward God, then you were born in the light of God's glory. As you grew up, you followed them in the direction they were going - whether you liked it or not.

When you became an adult, you started walking in your own direction - even if you were still following them - it was up to you now.

And this tunnel is the tunnel of the generational curse or blessing. You inherited a position in the tunnel - whether in darkness or light. That's where you started. And your children inherited the position in that tunnel of wherever you were at, and they followed you in whatever direction you were going.

Do you get the picture?

Now a generational curse is to lead your family away from God and into the darkness. That curse passes on to the third and fourth generation. If none of the children ever turn back to God they keep walking further into the darkness.

To break the curse, you simply turn around and start walking toward God - and taking as many people with you as you can! It's not easy, because you will still be in the darkness, and the darkness will pull at you. But God will not resist you coming to Him - in fact, He will help you. Jesus said that we can take His yoke upon us and His burden is light and easy. His yoke is His guidance, and His teaching, and His way.

Many of us were born into the darker side of the tunnel. Most of our parents - especially most of our fathers - were totally absorbed in themselves. They sacrificed us to their own comfort, and convenience, and selfish desires. They were walking directly into the darkness when we arrived, and we were dragged along in that direction for a couple of decades. By God's grace He turned us around, but we have had to make the intentional effort to stay turned around and walk out of the darkness and toward the light of God's glory. There's no way around it - you have to put in the work.

For those of you who were fortunate enough to be born on the light side of the tunnel and walking toward the light, I can only say keep going, and don't look back! You will be the biggest blessing of all to your family, and all of us, and the whole world! The further you are into the light side of the tunnel the more the rest of us need you! The more the whole world needs you! Keep going!

And for any of us who are walking toward the light of God's glory, no matter where you are, or how deep into the darkness you are coming from, keep going! Lead your family, and as many others as you can, out of the darkness with you on your way. And teach them to do the same. Walk toward God, every day, every step.

We think of inheritance as what we leave behind when we die. But you're building that inheritance now. And you are going to leave something behind to your family, and your community, and the world, eventually, so why not ask them to start helping you build it. Get them invested in building their inheritance, and then when they fully receive it they can just keep building it. And teach them to do the same thing with their children.

Let us partner together with our family, and our community, and our nation, and the world, to build a legacy of blessing and to continue building that legacy of blessing on through the generations.

I'm not talking about building bigger and better buildings. I'm talking about building bigger and better faith in God, and trust in God, and hearts surrendered to God. I'm talking about building a legacy of walking toward God - a lifelong journey, generation after generation.

Everything else, every other blessing, will be rooted in that, and will be a fruit of that.

Generational Curse

Exodus 20:4-6 - You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Exodus 34:6-7 - Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out:

“The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness, maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

Leviticus 26:39 - Those of you who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away in their iniquity and will decay in the sins of their fathers.

Deuteronomy 28:58-59 - If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God—He will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary disasters, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses.

Hosea 4:6 - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

Ezekiel 18:20 - The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.

Breaking the Curse

Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Matthew 11:28-30 - “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Galatians 3:10-14 - All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 8:2 - For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.

Generational Blessing

Exodus 20:6 - but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Deuteronomy 7:9 - Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

Deuteronomy 30:19 - I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,

Matthew 6:19-20 - Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Romans 5:17-19 - For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Legacy of Faith

2 Timothy 1:5 - I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced is in you as well.

1 Timothy 5:8 - If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Psalm 103:17 - But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children

1 Timothy 6:17-19 - Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Ephesians 4:11-16 - And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.

Psalm 78:1-8 - Give ear, O my people, to my instruction; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning, that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us. We will not hide them from their children but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might and the wonders He has performed. For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the coming generation would know them— even children yet to be born— to arise and tell their own children that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments. Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.