I’m convinced that the great majority of mankind struggles daily with the little voice that constantly whispers, You don’t matter and what you do doesn’t matter.” The exponential increase in diagnosed depression and suicide rates over the past decade would seem to confirm that theory.

When we feel that we don’t matter, we feel that we have no value. The rush to find alternate identities in today’s world is, I think, a clear side effect of feeling worthless and having no compelling purpose for our life. If I feel worthless as the person I am, perhaps, I can find worth in another identity or, at least, in a group with a strong identity that I might share. So, we see teens and young adults discarding the gender identity God gave them and opting for another. In a world where transgenders have taken on celebrity status, it’s no wonder that many young people are attaching themselves to that wave in an effort to feel special or revolutionary. The thought makes them feel as if they matter. The problem is that is doesn’t work..at least, not for long. Suicide rates for transexuals are much higher than the rest of the population. Gender is really not the issue. Trying to find value, meaning, and love is the driving force behind nearly everything man does or tries.

For those that don’t opt to try a new gender identity, it seems that many are attempting to find identity by partnering with political groups driven by a world view that those in their party have been cheated and abused by a world that makes it impossible for them to succeed or find happiness. There is a certain feeling of power that comes with anger, rage, blaming others, and burning buildings. For a while, that feeling of empowerment and belonging will bolster an identity, but it won’t last because it is all external. After a while, the “victim card” simply makes us feel more alienated and even more disempowered rather than valuable. After that realization, comes depression, medicating and, perhaps, suicide.

One off the great blessings of the gospel is the evidence that we do matter. Our life does have purpose. Someone loves us so much that he has invested everything in us, including the suffering and death of his own Son The problem is that many believers still feel worthless. I think that is because we can feel loved as a group, but not as an individual. What I mean by that is we think that God loves all of his children generically…as a group. It’s like when celebrities declare their love for all their fans…but wouldn’t know one if they bumped into them on the street. When I think of God loving the world…I may still feel like just a face in the crowd. That is why I need to know that God knows me and loves me as a unique individual and has invested himself in me and my personal destiny from before the foundation of the world.

I love Psalms 139. David wrote, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them” (Ps. 139:13-17)

We are so personally known by God that he was involved in our very creation. It seems that at the moment of conception, God establishes an identity in us. Yes…he chooses our gender but also our personality, our temperament, and our talents. Then, he shapes our purpose by establishing a unique future that fits the individual God has made us to be. It is impressive that God has taken the time to craft a future for us that will bless us and others, and has written everyday of that future in a book in heaven before we are ever born. That already is a huge investment of thought, time, and energy that God has poured into each of us individually.

In addition, one possible translation of the phrase,”How precious to me are your thoughtsS O God,” is “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! How vast is the sum of them.” Contextually, that fits very well with the David’s thought. God dreams us, designs us, creates us, and lays out a future for us even before birth. After that, he thinks about us all the time as any loving parent thinks about their child. Of course, the future that has been laid out for us is a “potential future” that depends on our decisions.

Not only that, but God is so invested in us and our individual lives, that he gave his only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins, so that we could fulfill his purposes for us and know his love forever. He has also had to chase down many of us who ran from him as prodigals if he were the enemy. Think about how much time, energy, and resources God spent keeping you alive until he could chase you down and draw you back to him. Angels have been assigned to you, hundreds of “divine appointments” have been arranged and orchestrated, and thousands of prayers have been answered. He has deposited his Spirit in you who has made you better and has delivered you from yourself and the enemy time and again. Jesus has even gone to prepare a place just for you and will come back and take you with him…and he will know your name without a roster or a name tag. He will know everything about you – all your hurts, hopes, and successes.

God has given us both identity and value in abundance if we will simply open ourselves up to him. Jesus said that the Father not only knows our name, but even the number of hairs on our head. Satan is the one who steals and hides our identity, and then coaxes us to search for it in every place but the only place we can truly find it. If we don’t know who we are, we should ask the one who made us rather than a world that has rebelled.

If the world had the answer, depression, suicide, and homicide would be on the decrease rather than the increase. War would be known only in history books. If the world had the answer, celebrities would be the happiest and healthiest people in the world…but as a whole they are miserable and insecure…medicating, overdosing, failing at multiple marriages, and still in desperate search of something that gives their peace and lasting meaning.

Identity is the key to a fulfilling life…knowing who we are and why we are is everything. If we read scripture with an eye to who we are in Christ, the realization that we are unique children of God – loved, valued, and known since before the creation of the world – will bring us into a place of worth and security that the entire world is desperately looking for. Only God can truly tell you who you are and why you are. Listen to him!

Few of us are ever aware of the provision and power that God offers us when we face impossible circumstances in our lives.  I admit that I am one who often misses it as well.

I love the story of Elisha when he was surrounded by the army of Aram in the small town of Dothan.  The king of Aram was at war with Israel. Each time he set an ambush for Israeli troops, Elisha would receive a word of knowledge from the Lord, warn the leaders of Israel, and the King of Aram’s plans would collapse. His initial thought was that a spy was leaking his battle plans to Israel but one of his captains convinced him that the prophet Elisha was the one informing on the King.

The King ordered a nationwide manhunt for the prophet who was to be found and captured.  Word got back to the king that Elisha had been seen in Dothan in northern Samaria and so he commanded his army to surround the settlement.  We’re told in 2 Kings 6, “When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots surrounded the city. ‘O my lord, what shall we do?’ the servant asked.  ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ’O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

Here is the lesson.  If God is for us, who can stand against us?  God is never taken by surprise.  When the King of Aram ordered the capture of Elisha, God had already made provision for Elisha’s victory. The servant was overcome by fear.  Given the chance he would have stolen away in the night and hidden in the hills. Elisha, having faith in both the power and the character of God, stood without fear and saw the provision of God that others could not see.

The Lord had already responded to the need of Elisha and his servant with the power of heaven poised to do battle on behalf of the man of God. The servant was terrified because he had no faith to believe that God would provide a way, even in the most impossible circumstances.  He could not see what God had already made available in this impossible moment.  Elisha, on the other hand, had faith that God would meet his greatest need and had simply been waiting t see how God would do that.  With that faith and anticipation, he could see the provision of God.  In this moment, it was the army of heaven poised to give Elisha victory.  

Apparently, God left the fate of those soldiers in the hands of his prophet who could have called on the angelic army to destroy his enemies.  Instead, he asked the Lord to strike the army blind for a season while he led them to Samaria where they were eventually released. After a demonstration of God’s power on behalf of his people, the text says, “So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory” (2 Kings 6:23).

We will all face our impossible moments when no strength or resource of our own will provide the victory we need. Failing marriages, children bent on self-destruction, financial crisis, advanced cancer, or the overwhelming loss of a loved one. We all come to moments when we feel as if we are surrounded by an overpowering force that we cannot stand against. In the moment, pray Elijah’s prayer for yourself, “O Lord, open my eyes that I might see!  Lord, show me by faith and by your Spirit, the power and provision that you have already made available to me for this impossible moment. For with you nothing is impossible.” In the kingdom of God, those who are with us are always more than those who are with them.

When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. Matthew 12:43-45

Jesus told this parable as a warning to each of us to constantly monitor the contents of our house…meaning our body, heart, mind, and our spirit. This individual had been demonized by one evil spirit. This was not possession, but one spirit that had been given a assignment against this man or woman. A single spirit typically works to undermine and distort one slice of our life through temptation and lies expressed in persistent or even obsessive thoughts and actions. The unrelenting nature of those thoughts is experienced as bondage. They will continue and typically get stronger until the spirit is cast out.

Deliverance or freedom is an amazing experience, but there is a danger that Jesus warns about. The “house” was vacated by the spirit and some semblance of balance and order returned to the persons life. However, the house was not filled with the word and the Spirit of God, so a spiritual vacuum was created. Because the spirit could not find rest outside of a body, he decided to go back and see if he might find a way back in.

To the demon’s delight, when he returned he found the house empty and the doors unlocked. So more entered in with him, and the person’s condition was worse in the end than in the beginning. I have seen that very thing happen to a few people who have come through our church and ministries. One young woman, especially, comes to mind. She was in her late twenties, sweet, attractive, accomplished and everyone loved her. On the outside everything looked in order, but on the onside she was tormented by insecurities and fear.

She decided to seek God and freedom from torment by going through Free Indeed, an 8-week class and a weekend of healing and deliverance. On the weekend she had some extreme manifestations, but was set free and found a peace she had never known. One of the things she had confessed to her group leaders was that she was in an intimate relationship with a man who was not a believer. She made a commitment to break off the relationship and seek God.

Eight months later she returned to attend Free indeed again. She had gone back to the relationship she had promised to leave and was now more demonized than before. Again, she experienced severe manifestations during deliverance, but was set free. Once more she promised to break off the relationship and serve God. Her group leaders tried to keep in contact with her but found she had gone back to the same man again. This time, however, when they did contact her, she was hostile and no longer had any interest in talking about the things of God. We have not seen her since. As her demonization increased, her desire for godly things decreased. Each time we fail to press into God after deliverance, the enemy gains more access than before.

When a spirit or spirits leave, we must fill our lives, our hearts, and our minds up with the things of God – worship, word, fellowship with other believers, service, etc., or we risk walking around around with an empty house or, at least a vacant room, where the enemy is glad to set up residence. Each time we fail to surrender parts of our lives to Jesus, the enemy gains a greater legal right to afflict us.

In the realm of spiritual warfare, half-heartedness or double-mindedness is a dangerous thing. As we try to stand with one foot in the kingdom of light and the other foot in the kingdom of darkness, we are at risk. There is a wide chasm between the two, so a person cannot keep their balance for long. Eventually he or she will fall. Jesus warns us over and over that divided loyalties are unacceptable. He demands every part of our lives too be surrendered to him. But, when we do surrender, he fills our rooms with the blessings of God’s kingdom.

We need to be cautious when ministering deliverance or receiving deliverance. It is not a game and a great deal is at stake. Sometimes people want to get rid of the torment a demon provides, but not the sin that gives them pleasure. The sin, however, is the open door through which the enemy enters.

Remember the incident in Acts 16 where a young woman with a spirit of divination kept following Paul around Philippi shouting that they were servants of the Most High God. Apparently, the whole thing was very distracting and was, perhaps, an attempt by the spirit to associate itself with Paul and Jesus.

At any rate, the text says that after many days, Paul turned and cast out the demon. Why would he not do that as soon as he encountered the woman? My guess is that he knew the woman might not surrender to Jesus and would then become a person with a vacancy that would be filled with many more spirits, so he restrained himself as long as he could, out of concern for her. We may need to use the same discernment when our first impulse is to set someone free.

So…if you are ministering deliverance, take time to explain the necessity of filling the vacancy with the things of God. Make sure the individual knows what that looks like and the risk of returning to a sin or a relationship that opened the door in the first place. Sometimes our desire to free someone from the enemy makes us rush to deliverance rather than preparing the person to maintain their freedom after they have received it.

Curses are a spiritual reality. Certainly, not everyone has a curse operating against them. In this life we all have tragedies, failures, and losses. It is the nature of living in a fallen world. But more of us than you think have curses operating in our lives and are unaware of it. The curse and the negative outcomes it produces will not go away on its own and has no shelf life. So…determining whether a curse may be operating so that we can nullify the curse is a prudent thing to do.

There are indicators that a curse is operating in the life of an in individual or family. Let me list some of those indicators briefly. You can find all of these in Deuteronomy 28-30.

• When a family or individual continually suffers business failures or financial lack, even though they are working hard and making reasonably good decisions, a curse may be operating. When you can never seem to get out of debt because another financial demand occurs each time you get close to your goals, you may be dealing with a curse. If you see the same pattern in your family line, it is a very strong indicator.
• If you experience patterns of chronic, lingering health issues that are difficult to diagnose, keep recurring, or that proven treatments don’t seem to manage, you may be looking at a curse. Again…if there is a history of such things in your bloodline, this can be a strong indicator.
• If you or your parents or grandparents struggle with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, despair, confusion, etc. when you have prayed, counseled, and taken treatments, there may be demonic influences operating through a curse.
• When there is a history of an inability to get pregnant or multiple miscarriages, this may also indicate a curse.
• When you see patterns of victimization in your life or family where you have been defrauded, passed over for promotions, taken advantage of, harassed, and so forth when you have acted with integrity and done the right things, a curse may be operating.

In general, when you recognize a repeating history of negative outcomes in your life or family line, that are not clearly results of your bad decisions or rebellion, you may need to address the possibility of demonic activity enforcing a curse.

To break or nullify a curse requires a legal transaction in the spiritual realm. The cause of the curse must be removed and then the enemy must be commanded to discontinue the harassment or oppression in your life. Proverbs declares, “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest” (Prov. 26:2). The cause of a curse can ultimately be nullified through the the blood of Christ. However, we have to take several steps before the blood can be applied.

The basis of any curse being established against us is sin…either our own or the sins of our fathers. That sin must be submitted to the blood of Christ to remove it, so that the enemy cannot use it against us. For sin to be forgiven, it must be recognized, acknowledged, confessed, repented of, and renounced.

I continue to be concerned about how many “believers” are ignorant of God’s word and so are ignorant of their sins. Many believers let culture determine what is right or wrong and simply assume that God will agree with cultural norms. I’m often surprised at how many young couples in church are unmarried, but living together and have no idea that God would have an issue with that. Many believing men think that indulging in porn is not an issue as long as they don’t “act on it.” Believers are prone to make promises or commitments and then ditch them at the last minute because they got a “better offer” and think that breaking commitments or promises is not an issue with the Lord. We make judgments against others and feel no conviction because we feel justified in what we said or thought. We believe the cultural lie that same sex marriage is moral because it is tolerant and so we go along with the moral trend.

I could go on, but we need to be more biblically informed and train our consciences around the word of God rather than cultural values. We may also need to ask the Holy Spirit to inform us of issues we don’t recognize that are giving Satan a legal right to afflict us. King David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psm. 139:23-24) We need to pray the same prayer on a regular basis. Even if we are unaware that we are sinning, the sin still gives Satan a right to oppress us.

Once we become aware of something in our lives that is not aligned with God’s will, we need to acknowledge that it is sin and that we are responsible for our choices. Too many of us seek to excuse or rationalize what we are doing or blame others rather than simply owning it and confessing it. Any attempt on our part have “our sin” excused, gives the enemy an open door to attack us.

In conjunction with owning the sin, we must confess it…to God and, sometimes to others. If we have wronged others, we may need to confess that to them and ask their forgiveness. The key is found in 1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The cleansing takes away the legal right of the enemy to attack us on the basis of that sin. However, unconfessed sin isa weapon the enemy will use against us.

There is also the heart-matter of repentance. Am I just saying the words or do I truly have godly sorrow for my failings and do I intend to do it God’s way from that point forward? Genuine repentance is required before forgiveness is released. In addition, Proverbs declares, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Prov. 28:13).To renounce means to declare publicly that you no longer support, agree, or have a connection with something or someone…in this case, the sin and the one who promotes sin. Publicly does not typically mean that we must renounce it in front of the church, but I do need to declare it out loud to God and to the spiritual realm if to no one else.

Once we have recognized, acknowledged, confessed, repented, and renounced a sin in our life or in our bloodline, we can declare verbally that the curse is cancelled and nullified by the blood of Christ and by his authority. We can then cancel the assignment of any unclean spirit that has been afflicting us and command it to leave.

The question remains, what if I don’t know the specific sins of my “fathers” or may still be unaware of my own sin? When Nehemiah was informed of the state of Jerusalem during his exile, he prayed to God that he would be given favor to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. He prayed, “I confess the sins we Israelites , including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses…(Neh.1:6-7). He then went on to ask for forgiveness and favor in accomplishing God’s purposes for his people. Daniel also prayed this way regarding the sins of Israel. He said, “we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws…Lord, in keeping with your righteous acts turn away your anger and your wrath…hear the prayers and petitions of your servant” (Dan. 9:5,16,17).

If we specifically know our sin or the sins of our fathers, then confess them specifically. Repent on behalf of your bloodlines and renounce the sins. If not, pray as Nehemiah and Daniel prayed. They were essentially asking God to lift the curse that had been established against them for their sins and to bless Israel once again. We can pray in a similar way for ourselves, our family, and our nation.

In closing, we need to be aware of curses and take them seriously. The blood of Christ has more than enough power to nullify any curse. Indeed, Christ became a curse for us that we might be blessed. But curses aren’t dismissed automatically. We have our part to play through our own repentance and confession and even when the legal right of the enemy has been removed, you will still need to command these rebellious spirits to leave.

So there is the basic reality about curse and how to deal with them. Now that you know, get busy!

In my last blog, I discussed the reality of curses. Curses are a very biblical topic and play a significant role from Genesis to Revelation. The very first curse is established in Genesis 3:14-19 after Adam and Eve sinned. They are a critical part of God’s first covenant with Israel and reveal how he deals with men and nations. Many are spelled out in detail in Deuteronomy 28-30. If you have never read that section you should. In those chapters, God promises abundant blessings if Israel will follow him and abundant curses if they rebel. These curses were established to be spiritual consequences that function as a restraint against sin. From the very beginning, God established the law of sowing and reaping. Paul succinctly summarizes it in Galatians 6:7-8. He writes that a man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh will reap destruction (curses). Whoever sows to please the Spirit will reap life.

When we act in ways that violate God’s law and do so without confession or repentance, we open ourselves up to a curse. If our fathers sinned against God without repentance, those sins can also be used by Satan as legal grounds to afflict us (Ex. 20:5). That is the nature of generational sin and generational curses. If Satan discovers a cause against us – our sin, the sins of our fathers, to the sins of those are in ca covenant with – he can bring an accusation before the Father, and the Father will have to grant him permission to enforce a curse against us.

Satan is constantly looking for something in our lives or bloodline that gives him a legal right to establish and maintain a curse. With that in view, a curse can be defined as a supernatural assignment of the demonic against a person, family, place, organization, or nation that constantly brings about negative outcomes over a sustained period of time. God’s heart is to bless. Satan’s heart is to establish curses that steal, kill and destroy. God’s desire is that we never open ourselves up to the enemy, but justice in the spiritual realm allows Satan to afflict us if he can find a cause.

There are many believers today who are being oppressed or tormented by demonic spirits that have taken an assignment against them based on something that has given them a legal right to do so. Many times, deliverance ministries rush to cast out a demon only to find that it remains or leaves and then returns…because that unclean spirit still has legal grounds to oppress and torment. An essential step in casting out a demon or in breaking a curse is to take away the legal right of the enemy to be present. When that has been accomplished, then we can effectively command the spirit to leave and forbid it to return.

So, what are common open doors for curses in the lives of believers? The Bible lists many….

Idolatry or involvement in false religions. Idolatry is anything we bow down to in place of God. It can be an idol in the traditional sense, but can also be addictions, materialism, power, popularity, a sinful relationship, etc. Many of us have ancestors that did worship false gods, offer human sacrifices, bow down to idols, etc. and that idolatry can be a source of generational curses. (Dt. 5:8-10)

Dishonoring parents. (Dt. 27:16) This sin carried the death penalty under the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant it can still give the devil a right to torment us.

Injustice and violence, including abortion that was not medically mandated.

Sexual immorality which includes pornography, sex outside the marriage covenant, homosexuality, molestation, incest, etc.

Robbing God of tithes and offerings. (Mal.3:8-9)

Anti-semitism or hatred of Jews. (Gen. 12:3) Individuals of German descent may be affected with generational curses due to the holocaust, etc.

Ignoring the poor. (Pr. 28:27)

Turning our heart away from God, which constitutes unbelief. (Jer.17:5)

Refusing to honor God. (Mal.2:2)

Unforgiveness towards others. (Matt.6:14-15)

Judging others with an attitude of condemnation and self-righteousness. (Matt.7:1-2).

Rebellion. Some sin is from from ignorance, some from weakness. Rebellion knows what God requires and chooses to reject it.

Occult involvement includes witchcraft, psychic readings, astrology, Ouija boards, white magic, black magic, Freemasonry, etc. If parents or grandparents dabbled in those things, their involvement may open the door to a generational curse.

Pride and arrogance. Pride is always an open door for the enemy because God humbles the proud.

There are other causes for curses as well, but these are the most apparent in scripture. We all sin, so are we all going to be cursed? Not necessarily. Sin becomes an open door when it is not quickly dealt with through confession and repentance. If we continue in a sin, fail to forgive, maintain a judgmental attitude toward others, rationalize our rebellion against God’s law, etc. we definitely become prime real estate for a curse. If, however, we quickly acknowledge those attitudes and behaviors as sin and bring those issues before the Lord to be submitted to the blood of Christ, the enemy will have no case against us.

If we are honest with ourselves, we can typically recognize the sin and issues in our own lives. We should deal with those quickly. Of course, we can be blind to some, so we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us any sin in our lives that we do not recognize. You might even ask believers who know you well to share any thoughts they have about what they see. Some of the more challenging issues that can open the door to curses for us, are the sins of the fathers. Few of us know what our grandparents or great grandparents were involved in, and yet their sins need to be submitted to the blood of Christ as well.

In my next blog, I will talk about how we can determine whether a curse is operating in our lives or family and how to nullify generational curses that we may b e unaware of.