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Breaking Curses, Including Breaking Generational Curses (book by Eric Gondwe)
Chapter 9. Breaking Curses from People: No. 3 Source of Curses Deliverance from people’s curses (breaking curses from people) “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest,” Proverbs 26:2. People are scared (including some believers) when someone outwardly proclaims words of doom against them. It’s like the other person has bewitched them with his/her words. Other people’s words seem like they have unrestricted power in the heavens. Some people even respond appropriately to strange letters or emails they receive warning them of consequences if they don’t follow the instructions. With the advent of the internet these letters are now more outrageous. And some people respond to them. It shows you how people are scared of what others say. Curses from people are the least effectual among all the three curses. The most effectual or having the most entitlement are curses from God, followed by self-inflected curses. At a drop of a hat (i.e. for the slightest reason) people would pronounce negative words on themselves without any concern yet when people say it against them they think disaster is coming. We ought to be more watchful about what we say regarding ourselves than minding about what people say against us. Above all we ought to be more watchful about our walk with God. Our walk with God is what gives us spiritual immunity from what people say or do against us. It also unchains us from words of doom we may have uttered carelessly. “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest,” Proverbs 26:2. An undeserved curse no matter where it’s from cannot rest or settle on an innocent person. It would be a violation of God’s spiritual laws if it did. So there is no need for a believer to worry about coming under a generational curse by being born in a certain family, coming under a territorial curse by living in a certain neighborhood or region, coming under a soul tie curse from previously repented sexual sins, and so on. As for people who may curse us by speaking evil against us the scripture is more than clear here. “They may curse, but you will bless; when they attack they will be put to shame, but your servant will rejoice. My accusers will be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak,” Psalm 109:28-29. It may not work out exactly the way we envision over our opponents. However we are not to be concerned that their words will have any effect on us. God will ensure no undeserving curse reaches us. “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest,” Proverbs 26:2. There are no exceptions. Even curses from witches, voodoo curses, curses from people in the occult have no legal power over a Christian. Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology says, “The curse is totally under Yahweh's control. It is his power, not magical forces, which brings about the curse. His sovereign decision alone decides who merits being cursed (1 Kings 8:31-32). He cannot be forced into action by proper wording or ritual. Thus a curse could not be used capriciously as a weapon against one's personal enemies.” In one biblical example, Balak, a son of a Moabite king tried to seek protection for his kingdom by means of sorcery or witchcraft. The Israelites, under Moses, were taking over one territory after another. The Moabites knew they were next and had heard the miraculous conquests of the Israelites. Not a good story about wiping out other ethnic groups in our New Testament Christian era where God loves all people and wants all to be saved. Balak knew sorcery from his own Moabite people would have no effect against the Israelites. So he sought for an Israelite who would put a curse on his own people, that is, would seek the Israelite God in cursing the Israelites. Balaam, an Israelite prophet was given a huge amount of money called a “fee for divination,” (Numbers 22: 7). It could have been millions of dollars worth in our day. It appears that Balaam somehow wanted the fortunes. He knew the Israelites were God’s people and could not be cursed. But he kept looking for a way for God to bend the rules. The Lord showed him in miraculous ways, including having his donkey speak to him, that his cursing attempts would not prosper. In the final stages of the cursing attempts Balaam told Balak, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.” Numbers 23:19-20. The same is true over Christians, spiritual Israelites through Christ. Balaam confessed about his fellow Israelites, “God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, `See what God has done!'” Numbers 23:22-23. In applying the above passage to Christians we can say, “God brought them out of their Egypt, a bondage to sin that goes back to Adam. They are now saved through Christ who purchased them through his blood. They are now under God’s blessing, not the curse of the law nor any other curse. “There is no sorcery, no divination, not occult curse, no involuntary curse, no territorial curse, no generational curse, no satanic curse, no demonic curse, no witch curse, no voodoo curse, nor any other curse against those whose sins are under the blood of Jesus and are children of God.” We do not have any business to speak to demons or evil spirits about our freedom in Christ. It speaks for itself and whatever any evil spirits or human agents attempt against us will not prosper. Our Christian faith is God-centric not Satan-centric and Christ-centered, not demon-centered. Applying our God-centered Christian disciplines of walking in obedience, prayerfulness, love, charity, faith, and so on, is what enables God to deal with adversarial matters in the realm of the spirit. It’s God’s business to be preoccupied with what’s going on in the spirit realm. It’s our business to ensure we’re doing our part of effectively walking with God so that he’s able to fight on our behalf the unseen battles against us. Thus we’re to be preoccupied with God and his business, not with what demons are up to. My book on spiritual warfare has more info on how our walk with God through our Christian disciplines work as indirect weapons against all evil. The book is titled Major Spiritual Warfare Principles: Biblical Do’s and Don’ts of Warfare. More content available in the Second Edition of the book: Click here to acquire it Blessing others and avoiding the superiority complex In relation to speaking to others the bible says “bless and do not curse,” Romans 12:14. As God’s children we’re to grow in the habit of lifting people up and avoiding every attempt to put anyone down. There is a scripture that applies to all matters in our lives though has often been used to refer to material belongings. Prosperity preachers love to bring it up. However it applies to all matters in our lives, including our time, abilities, and including our conversations with others. In this scripture Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you,” Luke 6:38 (emphasis added). Before Jesus said these famous words the previous verse tells us the main issues he was concerned with. The matters he was mainly concerned with were on how we use our mouths in relation to other people. Here is the verse: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven,” Luke 6:37. This does not mean we’re to praise the wrong deeds or wrong lifestyles of others who are in disobedience to God’s will. Those in liberal or lukewarm gospel circles assume this is so. If they’re right it would make Jesus a hypocrite. This is because Jesus never missed an opportunity to judge and condemn wrong deeds and wrong lifestyles of others who were in disobedience to God’s will. His biggest targets were the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They were attacked from every angle. What Jesus meant was that we’re not to make personal attacks against others. Personal attacks originate from a superiority complex that “I am better then you.” What is a superiority complex? A dictionary definition says it is “an exaggerated feeling of being superior to others. It is a psychological defense mechanism in which feelings of superiority counter or conceal feelings of inferiority.” A person with a superiority complex always sees himself/herself better than others (or his group better than others). He develops what may be called a judgmental personality - easily making and voicing harsh opinionated references to others. This is easy even among us Christians. Some easily assume their salvation and walk with God is their own making. So they harshly criticize and condemn those who fail to meet their standards. There’s no love, just a zero tolerance attitude towards others. To such Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye,” Luke 6:41-42. Remember the above verses are in the same passage given earlier about “Give, and it will be given to you...” Jesus is saying we’re not to live with a superiority complex that makes us easily want to harshly point out the wrongs of others. A superiority complex has a hidden agenda of attempting to uplift oneself by demeaning or lowering others. Jesus said each of us is not perfect, even though we may think so in our eyes. Many people, even in the body of Christ have a wrong standard of measuring perfection and holiness. Their standard is other people. They use other people to determine whether they are good or not. Some pick the worst people in society – criminals, ruthless and greedy people, some corrupt politicians, and so on. Through such comparisons they assume a self-righteous attitude. Some Christians in the body of Christ who compare themselves with other people may pick fellow believers as their criteria. They may pick others in their own church to measure themselves in their uprightness. For instance, a believer who falls and it’s found out may be a punch bag of ridicule and condemnation. In the final analysis it only serves to uplift themselves by demeaning or lowering others. Little if any empathy, grace, prayer and counsel to the believer is shown. Others may pick other churches or denominations to measure themselves in their uprightness. Leftwing churches that preach the liberal gospel are the biggest targets in our fundamentalist circles. Some go to the extent of labeling such churches as cults, Satan worshipers. Do you know that there are some believers in leftwing churches that will receive bigger rewards than some of us? The little grace they received of knowing and following Jesus they used it all up. Some of us the much grace we receive of knowing and walking with God we spend it crucifying others. It is not wrong pointing out errors but it’s unscriptural black listing our own siblings in the body of Christ. “A servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required,” Luke 12:47-48 (emphasis added). Needless to say that leftwing churches have not been the only target among us fundamentalists. We have even had occasions of bigger fights among ourselves (some are still doing it). That is why some outsiders call us fundies. This is a derogatory (rude) term to refer to fundamentalist evangelical groups. They know us for being professional judges over every matter. It’s good in a way but within its context. Out of context it just ends up being mere expressions of a superiority complex and measuring ourselves through people, not God’s word. For example Pentecostals at one point slammed some Baptist segments that allowed consumption of alcohol in moderation. They were accused of licensing alcohol intoxication in the body of Christ. The Baptist segments then hit back accusing Pentecostals of being narrow-minded dividers who preferred to use their emotions and not their minds to understand the bible. It was like kids fighting over who’s right between each other. A mutual and healthy dialogue would be healthy compared to such egoistic ways of addressing issues. So the matter here is primarily not what to say but how to say it. It’s not what you say but it’s how you say it. Is it said appropriately, in the right context, with the right motives, right heart, etc? So even among ourselves as fundamentalists there is potential to inappropriately condemn each other. In a way we use such condemnations to uplift ourselves by demeaning or lowering others. We measure ourselves by how others serve God. Does God use this standard of measuring holiness by rating people based on other fellow humans? The answer is no. God uses his word to measure us. On Judgment Day we’ll be judged based on our level of obedience to his will not on the level we compared with fellow humans. Did we obey his word in walking in love, in charity, in forgiveness, in burdened prayer for the lost, for the less privileged, and so on? Did we have a loving concern for those whose wrongs we appropriately condemned or was it out of self-righteousness? So no matter how much praises others may say about any of us we ought to see for ourselves whether we measure up with the One to whom it matters most. His word is our mirror to see any blemishes while we avoid looking at other people to see how we measure up. That is why Jesus gave the example of a person who assumed he was good by comparing himself to his brother. He couldn’t even see that he had bigger issues to deal with. The only judgment we’re to pass is that founded on right motives and detached from self-elevation motives. Jesus is our example. He was harsh were it was needed yet all his motives descended from a deep love for people. He never had a superiority complex. There’s a quote from an unknown person that says, “If you have no will to change it, you have no right to criticize it.” Abraham Lincoln is also quoted as saying, “He (a person) has the right to criticize who has the heart to help.” There is a lot of truth in these words –just what has been covered above using scriptures. We ought to use our mouths wisely, with the mind of Christ in us switched on. It is to engage the brain before operating the mouth. This means thinking before we speak, analyzing our deeper motives, knowing the right context to speak, how to speak, and so on. This discipline is most important when dealing with those in most contact with - family members, relatives, friends, neighbors, workmates, and so on. The next sub-topic addresses this area in overcoming a control freak nature and choosing one’s battles. Overcoming a control freak nature and choosing your battles Some have a high inner urge to fix things. It is such fixers, many times with genuine motives, that usually generate the biggest conflicts – in spite of their genuine motives. When conflicts arise the exchange of words are generally unpleasant and sometimes cursing. This is most pronounced among those they are in most contact with: family members, relatives, friends, neighbors, workmates, and so on. Thus if you’re a fixer, the discipline of engaging the brain before operating the mouth is critical. Being a fixer is not a personality defect or flaw. This world desperately needs fixers – good fixers of things and of people. It’s when it’s applied wrongly or taken to extremes that it becomes dysfunctional. People with the fixing mentality are usually perfectionists. A perfectionist personality can focus its energies on various things and in different degrees from person to person. Some can be towards moral principles, others religion, staying healthy, fitness and exercise, sports, career interests, family, entertainment, the environment, nature, animals, charity causes, and so on. In a most non-people matters a perfectionist personality is an asset or valuable to have. It is a when perfectionist personality is applied to dealing with people that it becomes a liability or a problem. Being a perfectionist in an imperfect fallen world is a miserable occupation for the perfectionist and the people around him/her. When dealing with people the tendency to desire matters to be in perfect ways becomes a more subjective issue rather than an objective reality. It is a subjective issue partly because the perfectionist has imperfections to live with himself. He therefore ought not to expect or insist on others meeting up to his unrealistic standards. This insisting on others to meet up to one’s unrealistic standards is what is normally called a control freak nature. Here is a good definition of a control freak: “a person whose behavior indicates a powerful need to control people or circumstances in everyday matters” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). You can see this is not a healthy area to have a perfectionist personality. It is a formula for constant conflicts particularly with those that will resist being put in a box of the control freak. Few people want to be caged up into a person defined by someone else. Our individualities are what make us unique from each other. These individualities are not defects or flaws per se. They are in two parts: good individualities and unhealthy individualities. My book Breaking Spiritual Strongholds and Healing the Wounded Spirit: Dealing with Root Causes, has more detailed info in this topic. The key therefore for a control freak or perfectionist personality towards people is to know when he/she is overstepping boundaries. Even over unhealthy individualities it is not necessarily the control freak’s duty to straighten the other person. A control freak has an instinctive drive to manipulate others. He/she feels duty bound over others as a self-appointed police and law enforcement officer. No one enjoys being around someone seeking to police or supervise them – especially if he only appointed himself to lord it over them. Control freaks are difficult to get along with most of the time because of their dictatorial and bossy attitude. A control freak will choose conflict over harmony over even the least important matters. Overcoming a control freak nature is so important when dealing with those in most contact with - family members, relatives, friends, neighbors, workmates, and so on. It is a needles liability or problem to have when it can be avoided. If you have this nature here are steps to overcoming it: More content available in the Second Edition of the book: Click here to acquire it Breaking Curses, Including Breaking Generational Curses: i. INTRODUCTION: Breaking Curses, Including Breaking Generational Curses Chapter 1. What is a Curse and the Nature of Curses? (What are curses?) Chapter 2. Five Conditions for Cursing Words Before Resulting into Curses Chapter 3. What Curses are Not: Matters that do not Constitute Curses Chapter 4. Three Sources of Curses: God, People and Self-Infliction Chapter 5. Can Satan Bring Curses? Can Satan Curse People? Chapter 6. The Nature of Angels: God’s Angels and Fallen Angels Chapter 7. Breaking Curses from God: No. 1 Source of Curses Chapter 8. Breaking Curses from Self-infliction: No. 2 Source of Curses Chapter 9. Breaking Curses from People: No. 3 Source of Curses Chapter 10. Breaking Generational Curses: God’s Traditional & Non-Traditional Ways Chapter 11. Deliverance from Unforgiveness Curses by Overcoming Unforgiveness Chapter 12. Deliverance from Family Curses: Breaking Family Curses Chapter 13. Familiar Spirits: Eliminating Myths from a Biblical Perspective * Breaking Curses Book References * Breaking Curses Book Index Breaking Curses, Including Breaking Generational Curses (book by Eric Gondwe) ©2013 Eric Gondwe |