Generational Curses in the Church, Part II
Yesterday’s post was inspired by this PHENOMENAL clip of Pastor Dharius Daniels on TBN. Somebody shared it in a Facebook group I belong to and I was so inspired, I had to write about it! The subject: generational curses--in the Church. Let’s dig in!
Spiritual Sons & Pyramid Schemes
We focus a lot on examples from the Old Testament in the last post, but now we’re speeding forward to the New Testament. We can easily imagine that the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes--ego-centric as they were--heaped up spiritual sons for themselves, not for the sake of God, but for the sake of ego. Dharius Daniels describes this as a “multi-level pyramid scheme.”
Oh sure, having spiritual sons and daughters is absolutely of Scripture. Moses had Joshua. Elijah had Elisha. Naomi had Ruth. Paul had Timothy and Titus. John Mark may have been Barnabas’ spiritual son. Jesus had the disciples.
To Timothy, a true son in the faith… (I Timothy 1:2)
For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. (I Corinthians 4:17)
To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. (I Titus 1:4)
I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains… (Philemon 1:10)
There is no problem with having spiritual children and imparting what God has given you to them. The problem comes when you reproduce yourself for the sake of selfish pride as if to say, “Look how many sons I have fathered in the spirit!” and forget to travail until Christ, not man, Spirit, not flesh, is reproduced in them.
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you… (Galatians 4:19)
You kind of get the sense from some of these “menD and womenD of Gawdt” (you have to say it *just* like that so you can sound as deep as these people think they are) that “collect” spiritual children the way Leah Black of Real Housewives of Miami collects weird people and basket cases; in the same way Absalom and Adonijah purchased 50 chariots, respectively, to run before them so they could cause everyone to think they were, respectively, the next king and thus, uber awesome (II Samuel 15:1, I Kings 1:5).
Newsflash: If God has truly called and ordained you to the ministry you have, then the amount of spiritual children you have (or don’t have) will not affect your anointing in any way. And let’s not forget, no flesh can glory in His presence (I Corinthians 1:29). He will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 42:8)! But there’s another aspect to consider.
Impartations
When a [wo]man of God imparts themself and their spirit to another human being, it can be a wond’rous thing! To have the Spirit of God on one man transferred to another is both biblical and desirable.
God placed the spirit on Moses on 70 other elders in the congregation to help share his burden. (Numbers 11:16-30)
Moses laid his hands on Joshua and imparted his own spirit to the young man. (Numbers 27:18-19)
Elijah cast his mantle (spirit) upon Elisha. (I Kings 19:15-21)
Jesus caused His disciples to breathe in and receive His Spirit. (John 20:21-22)
Just as in the Old Testament, we see that laying hands for the purpose of spiritual impartation is also a New Testament doctrine.
Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. (I Timothy 4:14)
Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure. (I Timothy 5:22)
Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. (II Timothy 1:6)
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. (Hebrews 6:1-2)
Laying hands to confirm new leadership is an elementary principle, basic doctrine in Christianity. Yet it comes with a warning:
Do not lay hands on anyone hastily… (I Timothy 5:22)
And there are two aspects of this warning:
Do not lay hands hastily because you do not want to induct or promote novices, immature/inexperienced individuals, or unsaved people in(to) ministry. (I Timothy 3:6, I Thessalonians 5:12)
Do not lay hands hastily because spirits transfer easily. It is a spiritual doctrine in Judeo-Christianity as well as pagan religions. (Acts 8:18-19, 11:15-17)
Now many people look at the latter warning in terms of evil spirits transferring to them from the people they are ministering to and that is absolutely possible. Yet all too often, we forget that spirits can transfer just as easily from the ministers to the congregants!
I had some acquaintances and friends who went to a Bob Larsen meeting some years ago and much to their surprise, the altar workers themselves started manifesting [demonic spirits]! Can you imagine?!
I often tell people of the times I’d visit churches growing up and I’d faithfully respond to the altar call, but before I could blink, my mother had snatched me out of the prayer line! I didn’t understand why at the time, but I know now, in retrospect, that in one stance, the man laying hands was a homosexual!
My best friend, Jessica, shared a time with me that her father was waiting in line to receive prayer and she could see ahead of him that there was an off man laying hands and she was praying that he wouldn’t touch her father. Thank goodness, the Lord heard her prayer and just before her father reached the altar, another, non-off, man came and prayed for him.
Yes indeed, the transfer of spirits is a door that swings both ways! Just are there are people I would never in a million years let prophesy to me, there are also individuals you bet your bottom dollar I would NEVER EVER let lay hands on me. Many of you remember the controversial time when Bishop T.D. Jakes let Tyler Perry lay hands on him. Now I love a Tyler Perry play or movie just as much as the next person. But there’s no way on God’s green earth I’d EVER let that man lay hands on me!!
SPIRITS TRANSFER.
Individuals may be anointed, filled with the Holy Ghost, and gifted beyond their wildest measure. But some of these same individuals are whoring around, cheating on their spouses, getting drunk, doing drugs, and hitting the clubs.* I could give you names, but I won’t. The bottom line is when you go down, you may get some Holy Ghost, but you might be getting up with something you didn’t bargain for.
*God will use whoever makes themself available. He used a donkey, but that didn't mean He was promoting ordaining donkeys for ministry. He used Balaam, yet still speaks strongly against false prophets in both Testaments. He even used Judas in ministry until he betrayed Christ. God will use whomever is available. But that is not an endorsement of that person's character or personal life; it simply means people needed a particular ministry at that point in time and God loved it enough to give it to them.
This, naturally, goes for those who work in altar ministry, but the same can be said of those who lay hands in prophetic and ecclesiastical presbyteries.
Who do you call your mother and your father?
Who do you allow to impart into you?
Who ordained and released you into ministry?
Are they insecure men like Saul? Are they weak-willed and jelly-backed when it comes to laying down the law like Ahab? Are they indecisive and sexually immoral like David? Or are they flat out Jezebels? Spirits don’t just transfer by the laying on of hands, but also through tolerance. You can tolerate a spirit so much that you no longer think it bad and make a home for it in your own spirit. And as the saying goes,
What you tolerate, you won’t cast out!
Since I was 15 or 16 and knew my call to ministry, I was looking for spiritual parents and mentors to take me under their wing. I’d look at one woman and wonder if she could mother me. Nope, she gossips. I’d look at another. Nope, she goes shopping with the offering money. That wasn’t what I wanted imparted to me, even before I truly understood what impartation was.
I’d look at men too and while fathers did come into the picture, I had to learn the hard way there as well. Ladies, let’s not pretend some of y’all claiming to be so-and-so’s spiritual daughter aren’t really trying to be their first lady! And that door swings both ways as well pastors! #HindsightIs2020
Passing on Wounds and Issues
As is mentioned in the last post, wounds can be passed down as well as issues. Eli’s fathering issues were passed down to Samuel, who passed them to David, who passed them to all of his sons. In the non-Bible tale I told, spirits and tolerance of spirits were passed down, but more readily, wounds were passed down. In fact, it was those wounds which made way for those spirits. And the wounds were not just passed down from pastor to pastor, they were passed from pastor to people as well. They could most readily be seen when you left the church. You might be fooled into thinking that all is well while you remain present and useful, but let God call you elsewhere; let you get other life callings that prevent you from serving in church as much as you used to; let you discern behind the scenes what’s happening; and even if you leave respectfully, you will leave with a dark cloud over your head--sent by that pastor and ministry.
I’ve heard tell of wronged pastors wives, once free from marriage, launching out and starting their own churches and wouldn’t you know it, but the pews are full of women who also [feel they] have been wronged by their husbands.
You hear talk of a well-known bishop down in Atlanta. His ministry is steeped in sexual immorality and corruption and you see the same replicated in his spiritual sons and daughters.
Wounds pass on and they can be as dangerous and more so than the spirits themselves because the wounds act as door holders for the strongmen that would demonize them. In my post, “How I Fell Prey to Jezebel, Part I,” the very first point I make is that Jezebel is not born; she’s made. While reading the foremost book I’ve ever read on this spirit to date, The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel, I learned that this spirit (and others) will first wound you, and then swoop in as your pretended saviour and most people will never know the difference. The victim becomes the host; the captive becomes the captor. Perhaps the best example we’re familiar with is child molesters.
Most of the men and women who rape and molest little children were, themselves, raped and molested as children. Many make an inner vow to never do the same thing again, but that vow was not made in the power of God or likely even to God. It takes the power of God to overcome something like that. Human will cannot do it alone. And thus, the wound of abuse is passed on.
Just like these plants have become infused with the dye placed into the water they stand in, so our spiritual sons and daughters can become tainted with our own personal issues when we impart into them. Beware.
We must be careful WHY we impart, HOW we impart, and WHO we impart to. The Body of Christ is just that: a Body. Many members, one Body; many gifts, one mandate. (See Romans 12:3-8, I Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:1-16.) Christ is the Head of the Church-Body. And while there is a Church government in place--Fivefold ministers: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, in that order! (Ephesians 4:7-16)--the Body of Christ is not two-headed; it is not double-minded. And our goal should be to baptize people into our FAITH, not into our PERSONALITIES. Paul had to bring correction on this subject to the Early Church.
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. (I Corinthians 1:10-17)
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… (I Corinthians 12:13)
Paul preached against sectarianism and factions. And there is only one good thing about factions: they expose who is of God and who is not.
For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. (I Corinthians 11:18-19)
We all have preferences, people we receive from better than others, individuals whose style fits our own or that we are more comfortable with than others, but if we are in Christ, then we are in Christ and as such, should be able to learn from and receive from each other. One denomination is not better than the other. Denominational leaders and saints are not closer to God than non-denominational leaders and saints (although some actually believe the opposite!). The white church is no better and no worse than the black church. The move of God in Asia and the Middle-East is no less worthy than the move of God in Central and South America. The pastor is not better than the teacher. Neither the bishop, overseer, nor apostle are better than the evangelist or pastor.
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (I Corinthians 3:4-15)
Hear the words of the apostle: Take heed HOW you build. Take heed WHAT you build. Christ, the Word made flesh, is our Chief Corner Stone. We must build with stones: God’s people, crafted individually to bring Him glory; not man-made bricks, made in our image, and held together by worthless means. Not wood, hay, and straw which can be burned up in the fire on the Day of Judgement. What we build must be pure as gold, refined as silver, hard and withstanding as precious stones. It must be able to stand on its own two feet and glorify God (Psalm 145:10, Proverbs 31:31), not crumble in the day of adversity and testing (Proverbs 24:10). Our sons must be honourable royal-priests before God (I Peter 2:9). Not those who offer strange fire like Aaron’s sons (Leviticus 10:1-3). Our sons must be those who rebuild the altar of the Lord and David’s tabernacle (I Kings 18:20-40, Amos 9:11, Acts 15:16). Not ones who can be bought and seduced into idolatry (Judges 17-18). Our sons must be those who give and teach others to bring an acceptable offering to the Lord (II Samuel 24:24, I Chronicles 21:24). Not those who profane the offering and cause the people of God to abhor it (I Samuel 2:17). In short, there is a standard that must be maintained for the sake of the honour of the Lord. Because while people will indeed answer to God for their actions (Romans 14:12) and we are warned that offenses will increase in the last days (Matthew 24:3-14), woe unto those who offend God’s people and those who would be!
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! (Matthew 18:6-7)
I don’t know about you, but I NEVER want to find myself on the wrong side of a “woe” from Heaven! When we create these egocentric, pyramid-scheme “sonships,” we mock the order God has set and offend the people, saved and unsaved alike. And worse, we taint the faithful, the believing, the young in their faith, and the undiscerning. We will not go unpunished! The curses in and of themselves are a punishment for the “sins of the father.” But there comes a curse in the land when the Spirit of Elijah, fatherhood, is not properly in place or is corrupted.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:5-6)
True fatherhood, free of generational curses and full of generational blessings, must be restored in the Church!
