Warfare portals pt2

Dear beloved: We all know of the damaging effect that generation curses have had on our own lives, and we can look around and see the effect it has on others we know, and the implications for this nation are very profound. The devil is making great inroads into the moral foundations of this nation; what started out as small leaks in the dike are now pouring through and across the top of the dam in a raging flood. Isaiah 59:18 says, When the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. And then in Isaiah 59:21 "As for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the Lord; My Spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, henceforth and forever."

Step one in the battle against generation curses in our life is to take responsibility and acknowledge the sins of our forefathers. We can start by listing all of our ancestors that we know about, usually that means going back to grandparents and maybe greatgrandparents, then also listing the sins that we know cropped up in the family tree. List all that you have heard about or know first hand; adultery, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, occult practices, false religions, lying, cheating, stealing, and anything else you know is a deviation of God's will. This can be very painful in some families! Then do as Nehemiah did in Neh. 1:6 Let Thine ear now be attentive, and Thine eyes open to hear the prayer of Thy servant which I am praying before Thee now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Thy servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against Thee; I and my father's house have sinned. v7 We have acted corruptly against Thee and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which Thou didst command Thy servant Moses.

Ezra did the same thing when he found out the sons of Israel had taken foreign wives for themselves so that the holy race was intermingled with the people of the lands. Ezra 9:3 And when I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled. v6 and I said"O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads, and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. v7 Since the days of our fathers we have been in great guilt, and on account of our iniquities we, our kings and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder and to open shame, as it is this day. v8 But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage." So Ezra and Nehemiah both took responsibility for the iniquities of their fathers, even though they were both righteous men, living lives that most would say were worthy of high esteem.

A look at the consequences that Ezra cited is a picture of what is happening here in America; we are being given into the hands of our enemies (through mountains of debt), to the sword (terrorist attack), to captivity (internment in persecution camps is looming on the horizon for Christians), and to plunder (our gold, and dollars, and manufacturing base), and open shame (the shame of exportation of pornography and Hollywood filth, the shame of abortion, of homosexuals clamoring for marriage). And in many families the devastation is immense, men in prison (there are now 2 million people incarcerated in jails and prisons in America), many more in bondage to drug and alcohol addiction, many more sick and ailing and taken out before their time.

As you think about your family tree and list the iniquity of your forefathers, then step two is to forgive them of their trespasses, as our Heavenly Father has forgiven us of our trespasses. Do this even for your mother and father, sister and brother, even though they may have sinned greviously against you. Matthew 6:14 "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. v15 But if you do not forgive men, the your Father in heaven will not forgive your transgressions." Remember what we are doing here is starting at the roots of the family tree and trying to clease it of all unrighteousness, cleansing by the blood of Jesus from the ground up. John the Baptist told the multitudes, in Luke 3:8 "Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'we have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." v9 "And also the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." ....We want to cleanse and chop off that which is not bearing good fruit in our life. Tomorrow we'll continue this cleansing process as we look at step three. God bless you as you go into battle this day, in Christ, Jim