When we think of King David, we most often envision him as a boy shepherding his father’s sheep while facing down a lion and a bear, a young man slaying the Philistine champion Goliath, a friend of Jonathan running from an insane King Saul, or a poet penning the words to great Psalms we have committed to memory.  To most of us, Davis is an heroic figure.  He was, after all, a man after God’s on heart.  

But then there was the episode with Bathsheba and her husband Uriah.  As you recall, Uriah was one of David’s mighty men who served as the king’s guard and who fought his battles.  In the Spring of the year, David’s troops went to war but, for some unstated reason, David stayed behind.  While walking on the roof of the palace in the cool of the evening, David saw Bathsheba taking a bath in her courtyard.  I’m certain it was behind a wall with no thought that someone might be on the palace roof where he could see over her privacy fence.  You know the rest of the story.

David had Bathsheba brought to him.  Before the evening was over, they ended up in each other’s arms committing adultery.  We don’t know if Bathsheba were a willing party or simply felt she could not sway not to a king. He most likely sent her home apologizing for what had happened with assurances that it would never happen again.  However, she soon reported she was pregnant. David found himself in a contorted dilemma.  He was responsible for what had happened.  Adultery was a crime punishable by death for both the man and the woman and, in this case, an innocent child.  Even if the law were not enforced, David would lose the loyalty of his men who were off risking their lives while he was at home trifling with their wives.

Satan had sprung the trap.  One moment of unguarded passion had led to unthinkable consequences for David, Bathsheba, and the kingdom.  In a desperate effort to cover up the sin, David called Uriah home from the front to “report on the battle.“ While there, David encouraged him to go home and be with his wife.  Later, they could explain the pregnancy as a result of his brief visit in Jerusalem.  However, Uriah would not go to his wife while his men slept in the field away from their families.  

Finally, David devised a plan. He sent Uriah back to the front, but instructed his commander to place Uriah in jeopardy in the battle in the hopes that he might lose his life.  He would not be around to deny that he had gone to Bathsheba on his trip back from the war. David’s plan worked and Uriah was killed in battle.  Then, in a seemingly compassionate move, David took the grieving widow to be one of his wives.  Now he had added murder to adultery.  We are told that David sat on the throne for nearly a year before he was confronted by Nathan the prophet about his sin.  God had given him that time to acknowledge what he had done and to repent.

We can only speculate, but David was a man like other men.  Undoubtedly, he kept quiet about what had happened and what he had done both out of shame and fear. Adultery was bad enough, but if it got out that David had set Uriah up for death, he might not have an army left nor the loyalty of his people.  Like most of us, he probably rationalized his silence and, perhaps, his sin. The enemy must have been whispering that Bathsheba should have been more careful with her privacy or perhaps, Uriah wasn’t the husband he should have been.  He put his men ahead of his marriage and maybe Bathsheba was susceptible because of an unloving husband.  Secrecy and murder was wrong but it was for the sake of the kingdom…the greater good.  Besides…God had made David with his sex drive.  He couldn’t help himself.  The death of Uriah, though tragic, may have saved three lives as the death penalty was attached to the adultery.  For months, David probably pushed back against any impulse to confess because of the dire consequences that would come from his failure.  In that season he felt the absence of God because, in his heart, he was hiding from the one he had once been so close to.

Even in this state of denial, God still pursued David.  His Spirit kept stirring David’s conscience and eventually he sent Nathan the prophet to confront him.  As the prophet rebuked David (2 Sam.12), the dam broke and David acknowledged his terrible sin. Psalm 51 is the substance of his confession. We need to notice a few critical things in this Psalm as David sought forgiveness from his creator.  The Psalm is a quick read, so I encourage you to read it now before continuing with this blog.

Importantly, David begins by trusting the character of God…especially his great mercy, his unfailing love, and his compassion. Before we go to God with a big fail (sin), we need to assure ourselves that when our heart is right, God is willing and quick to forgive.  Like the father of the “prodigal son,” he waits for us and longs for us to return no matter what we have done.   

Nowhere in this psalm does David minimize or justify his sin. He does not plead his case before God by blaming Bathsheba for her carelessness or Uriah for his neglect.  He doesn’t try to make a case that it was only one time and he couldn’t help himself.  He didn’t argue that his concern for the Kingdom demanded the coverup.  He simply stated he had sinned against God and he had no excuses.  He clearly was broken and remorseful and simply wanted to be restored so that he might praise God again and point sinners to salvation.

When he confessed and repented, his sin was immediately forgiven and his relationship with the Father renewed.  There would be difficult consequences in the natural realm, but his walk with God had been restored and God would see him through the hard times ahead.

Too often, we feel as if we have to talk God into forgiving our sins by down playing them, excusing them, blaming others, or even declaring that God’s expectations are not fair. David declared that God’s standards were just and right.  The problem was on David’s end, not God’s.  God does not forgive our sins because we deserve to or make a good case.  He forgives them because he is full of love, mercy and grace and we are his beloved children.  Knowing all of our sins before we were ever born, he still covered them by the blood of his son.

What he wants when we fall short, no matter how short, is for us to fully own our sin…no excuses, no rationalizations, no deflecting.  He wants is to trust in his love and grace rather than our ability to persuade him we are actually pretty good people who warrant him letting our sin slide.  That approach suggests that God is not so good and the blood of Christ is not really sufficient. That approach brings us into agreement with Satan and opens the door to his activity in our lives.  We are going to sin…sometimes in disastrous ways, but we cannot hide it from God because he knows all things.  We cannot blame others because we made our choices. We should not excuse ourselves because sin will not be excused.  What we should do is run to our Father, knowing he is full of mercy and quick to forgive, if we indeed have godly sorrow about what we have done. He will not keep bringing it up or rubbing our nose in what we have done because by the blood of Christ, in response to our repentance, our sin and the record of our sin are blotted out.  Good news!

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!

At then end of Luke 11, Jesus pronounces two more “woes” on the religious leaders of Israel. He rebukes them for building tombs or shrines for the prophets that their fathers had killed and then for taking away the key of knowledge so that others were hindered from entering in to the kingdom of God.

The first rebuke is repeated in other places in the gospels and carries the idea once again of blatant hypocrisy on the part of the Pharisees and scribes.  Their fathers had consistently rejected the prophets that God had sent to Israel and eventually murdered many of them to silence their calls to repentance.  In the generation of Jesus, the religious leaders were building shrines over the tombs of those slain prophets.  The implied message was that the Pharisees and scribes approved of God’s prophets and would not have done what their fathers did if they had been in their place.   However, Jesus knew their hearts. These same men had already rejected the teachings of John the Baptist and were rejecting the teachings of Jesus. In a short while they would have Jesus put to death just as their fathers had done to the other prophets God had sent.

The second rebuke accused them of distorting the meaning of scripture so much that they could not recognize the Messiah when he stood in front of them and by their teaching had prevented many others from seeing the truth and understanding God’s word as well. Because they had distorted God’s word, many whom they had taught would not enter the kingdom because they would not see Jesus for who he was.  These two remaining “woes” seem like distant warnings that have no application to us today but there are warnings imbedded in these last woes for us as well.

The question has always been why did the leaders of Israel reject the prophets when they came and why did they come to hate them so much that they had most of them killed to silence their rebukes?  I believe most of the reason rests in the human traits of pride and materialism.  Pride refuses to acknowledge error and wrongdoing.  When the prophets came to Israel they were always coming to call the nation to repentance because they had rejected the word of God and fallen into all kinds of sin including idolatry. When a nation is in error it is because it’s leaders have set the tone and led the way.  To receive the prophets rebuke would have meant acknowledging sin and error on their parts and they were not willing to admit their failures.  Rather than repenting, they claimed that God’s prophets were liars and heretics and eventually silenced many,

Materialism went hand in hand with pride because the leaders were living the good life.  They lived off the taxes of the people and spent their days circulating with the rich and powerful. When you reach a place of privilege you become invested in the status quo. You like the way things are and turn a deaf ear to those calling for reform.  Not only that but many religious individuals in places of privilege see their power and affluence as God’s seal of approval on their lives.  When prophets show up declaring that their spirituality is a sham, that they need to repent, and that judgment is in the pipeline….it’s not a message that is welcomed by the religious or political establishment.  Additionally, we can all fall into the trap of interpreting scripture in a way that justifies our own views and lifestyles and that condemns those who do not agree with us.

Eventually, those leaders who postured as those who loved and honored the prophets and who faithfully opened up God’s word to his people killed Jesus and persecuted the church.  They were so certain of themselves that even the miracles of Jesus and those who followed him would not open their eyes.  Pride refuses to ask, “Have I been wrong?”  The love of money and the praise of men refuse to consider their error and to repent because it might require walking away from the good life or losing their membership card to the upper rungs of society. These leaders truly chose riches in this world over riches in the next world.  They chose the pleasure of power and the praise of men over the applause of heaven.  The scary thing is that they did not seem to recognize what they were doing.

What then are the lessons for us? First of all we must always be aware that it is possible to be wrong and possible to be deceived by the flesh and the enemy.  Because of that we should constantly be asking the Spirit of God to lead us into all truth and to continue to give us hearts that will receive correction and be quick to repent.  We should sincerely ask for accountability in our lives and seek out faithful Christians who will tell us the truth.  We should even listen to our spouse who knows us better than anyone and to our enemies who may say some things we need to hear. When we are placed in positions of power and privilege we must monitor our hearts more than ever and invite accountability from spiritual people who have the character to offer course corrections when needed.

Ultimately, loving God, setting our mind on eternal things, and maintaining a heart of humility are the  great safeguards. If we want God to speak to us and work though us in powerful ways, we must always be open to the leading of the Spirit and the course corrections he brings to us each day.  Making small corrections each day is much easier than having to turn the ship 180 degrees and making up for lost time and opportunities. As I said yesterday, there is a little Pharisee in each of us so we must always guard against a tendency to ward pride and self-justification. But in doing so, we will be blessed!