"An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
'Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.'" Proverbs 31:10–11, 23, 28–29
“Because we recognize that God has ordained the institution of the nuclear family and called us into the greater familial community of the body of Christ, we celebrate and strive to build strong families within individual homes and across the generations within our church.” ECBC Core Value: We are a Family.
The Generations (Generational Sins/Curses or Blessings?)
1. We are not judged for the sins of our forefathers.
"One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts." Psalm 145:4
"You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:5-6
2. We are judged for our own sins.
"The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself." Ezekiel 18:20
3. The cross breaks all curses (generational or otherwise)
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'." Galatians 3:13-14
4. We aren’t compelled to renounce the sins of our forefathers, but we are emboldened to continually announce the victory, grandeur, and glory of the cross of Christ.
5. We should be aware of family patterns/systems and the negative or positive impact they have upon our behavior and worldview.
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
6. The principle of reaping and sowing.
"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:7-9
7. We are to continually submit ourselves to the Lord and resist the devil (James 4:7-8) as we experience the beauty of the Lord and continually taste the goodness and greatness of Jesus.
"In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel." Isaiah 4:2
"Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary." Psalm 96:6
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." James 4:7-8
QUESTIONS / APPLICATIONS:
1. How are all curses (real and potential) broken in the life of the believer?
2. We are called not to (primarily) renounce generational sins, but to boldly announce the victory of the cross.
3. As we submit to the Lord and resist the devil, we are to plead to taste/experience the goodness of Christ.
4. We're to live as called-out people (1 Peter 2:9-10) who strive to honor the Lord (seeking to live a life with no ongoing regrets).
5. What family traditions do you want to pass down to the coming generations?
6. What are the rules of life or keystone habits that build eternity in your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit?
“We tend to become what we do repeatedly. Good patterns become virtue; bad patterns become vice. But no pattern is biologically set in stone. The gospel is always good news, and it is good news for our minds and our bodies too.” Justin Early, The Body Teaches the Soul, p. 46 & 47