I heard the Lord say the other day:
"Tell My people don't settle for the second best, or the third best. Tell them to get ready for the very best that I have prepared for them!"
People of God, this is a time to break free from any generation curse, so that you will be ready for the very best that the Lord God has for you!
Does generation curse exist?
Exodus 34:6-7 (NKJV) says, 'And the Lord passed before him (Moses) and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."'
From the above verses, if you ask if there's such thing called 'generation curse' running in a family, the answer is obviously yes. In fact, Exodus 34:7 says such curse is due to the iniquity (e.g. sins, idolatry, wickedness, etc) of the previous generation (or generations). For some families, this curse may be reflected in tragedy after tragedy that keeps happening along the family line; or it may be frequent occurrence of accidents, premature deaths, murders, and even certain diseases.
But fear not! There's a piece of good news for you today! Because this curse has to stop from you onwards! As a believer in the New Covenant, know that you are already set free from such curse! In John 8:32, Jesus says, 'And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free'. You see, the truth is already there. John 1:17 says, '...grace and truth came through Jesus'. Jesus has already come, and He has already died for all your sins and curse on the cross! But many believers are still 'limping around' and walking in fear of generation curse, because they do not know the truth!
By the way, the word 'know' here is 'ginosko' in Greek, and it can be defined as 'to know for sure, to be sure, to understand'.
Notice Jesus never just say, '... the truth shall set you free', but He says, '... you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free'. In other words, knowing the truth sets you free! Hosea 4:6 says, 'My people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge'!
You might ask, "But Exodus 34:7 says 'the Lord will by no means clear the guilty'! How do you explain that?"
It is true that Exodus 34:7 says 'the Lord will by no means clear the guilty'. He is a God of holiness and righteousness, and He cannot condone sin. A sin is a sin, and a sin has to be judged. He is still Judge, and He hasn't changed. The only thing that changed is the covenant - from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. So, you need to know which covenant you are in now. Someone will have to pay the price for the sin committed. As a believer in the New Covenant, know that Jesus has fully paid the price when He died for you on the cross, and know also that the sins of the generation (or generations) before you cannot 'rub off on you'!
"Where's the evidence in the Bible that Jesus has redeemed us from generation curse?"
Jeremiah 31:29-30 (NKJV) says, 'In those days, they shall say no more: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'. But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge'.
In cross-reference, Ezekiel 18:2 (NKJV) says, 'The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?" "As I live", says the Lord, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel."'
How many of you here have tasted 'sour grapes' before? How about 'sour wine' or 'vinegar'? Not diluted, but concentrated ones. Those who have tried it would know it causes your teeth to be set on edge, i.e. it causes irritation to your teeth! There's an English idiom that goes like this, 'set someone's teeth on edge', and it means 'to annoy (that someone), or to cause irritation or disturbance (to that someone)'.
So, what does it mean by 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? It means to say 'the present generation is punished for the sins (and idolatry) committed by their forefathers'. To put it simply, the father (earlier generation) did it (i.e. ate the 'sour grapes'), but the children (later generation) suffer!
But God! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new'. Let Scripture interpret Scripture. Watch now what comes right after Jeremiah 31:29-30! Jeremiah 31:31-34 says, 'Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah - not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more'.
You see, Jesus has already redeemed you from every generation curse! Notice these words 'they shall say no more' and 'you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel' in Jeremiah 31:29-30 and Ezekiel 18:2 respectively! In fact, Jesus has taken the sour grapes (or sour wine) on the cross, so that you don't have to! Here's what John 19:28-30 says, 'After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!" Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit'.
Was Jesus thirsty physically at that time? No, that's not the real reason Jesus said, "I thirst!". He actually thirsted for the righteousness of God! Why? Because He gave up His righteousness when He became sin for us on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). Of course the Roman soldiers thought He thirsted for water! And instead of giving Him drinking water, they mockingly gave Him sour wine! When you are thirsty, you drink water! You don't drink sour wine!
By the way, sour wine here is in actual fact vinegar (a kind of acid)! Imagine the extreme burning and pain on the already open wounds in Jesus' lips and mouth, and then right through His dry throat and into His lung! Isaiah 53:4-5 says, 'Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed'.
After He had said, "It is finished!", He then bowed His head, and gave up His spirit. The word 'bow' here is 'klino' in Greek, which means 'to recline (i.e. to put/lay one's head/arm in a position of rest), to rest'. It means He has finally found rest in redeeming you and saving you (from every form of curse)! This word 'klino' is also found in Luke 9:58 when Jesus said, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay ('klino') His head." At that time, He hasn't found rest in redeeming you and saving you yet! But at the cross, He did!
Today, people of God, once and for all, and beyond a shadow of doubt, know that you have ALREADY been set free from every curse, and from every form of generation curse! This is your time to walk in the freedom that Christ has set you free! And this is your time to walk right into the very best that the Lord has prepared for you! You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free! (John 8:32)
Let's also remind ourselves of the promises of God in Galatians 3:13-14 that says, 'Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith'.
Believe and receive. In Jesus' name. Amen!
