CONQUERING CURSES
When you are constantly being pestered by life in general; when the harder you try, the behinder you get, suspect the working of curses!
Our first line of action when hard times hit should be to pray and seek God. If He reveals any sin in our life or if we've left a door open to the enemy, then we must quickly repent. When we feel the pressure to sin or beat on ourselves, we must go into action against the evil principalities mentioned in Ephesians 6:12. But, what if you do all these things and everything still goes wrong? Suspect curses at work!
There are three categories that curses fall into:
1. Legal curses (triggered by disobedience)
2. Traditional curses (inaugurated by others)
3. Hand-me-down curses (weed-seed) SOME CURSES WORK ON
A LEGAL BASIS
The first curse in recorded history was the one God placed on whomever would eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Don't eat the fruit and everything will be OK; eat the fruit and die! A person always knew where they stood--they either had eaten or had not eaten. The curse had a legal right to destroy the transgressor, yet it was powerless against the law-abiding citizen.
Several thousand years after the Garden of Eden incident, the Lord listed pages of curses that would come on those who broke His laws. God let Moses know that the curses for disobedience were aggressive; they would "come upon you" (Deuteronomy 4:30; 28:15) if you sinned. I get the picture of the curse tracking down the transgressor.
When we do certain "illegal" things, like getting
into pride or harboring lust thoughts, we actually give the enemy a legal right
to take us to the cleaners. Scripture warns us not to give him an opportunity
(Ephesians 4:27). Satan is the one who gets to test believers to determine their
quality, and he loves his work:
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; Luke 22:31
I believe that when this kind of curse is
acting against us, if we diligently seek the Lord, He will reveal to us where
we sinned. He may use a preacher, a TV program, a friend, an article we read,
a dream, or any other of a thousand things to show the tender heart what door
of opportunity was left open to the enemy.
Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, so a curse without cause does not alight. Proverbs 26:2
A curse without cause won't alight or work
because there is no legal basis for it to work. As a policeman can't give a
speeding ticket to someone driving at the speed limit, so a curse for breaking
a law or a covenant can't come on someone who is a law keeper or faithful to
a covenant.
What is the agent that carries out the dirty
work of enforcing a curse? Is it demons? Probably. It might be something inside
of us, like our subconscious mind, but regardless of who or what carries out
the destructive work of a curse, it can't be stopped by binding or loosing.
Knowing what you do about our aggressive foe,
do you think he will back off when he doesn't have to? Of course not! When our
opponent has the upper hand legally, don't expect any mercy! We can pray and
plead, but the only way to close the door of opportunity that we opened by our
disobedience is through repentance, confession, and receiving the cleansing
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 1:7-2:2; 2 Corinthians 7:9-11). Binding
with dirty hands won't work!
Someone might say, "But didn't Jesus take the
curse of the Law on Himself to free us from the curse?"
Christ 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" in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13,14
Yes, Jesus took the legal curses of the Law
upon Himself, so that we might escape the death and destruction that sin produces.
Notice, however, that this only works for the one operating by faith. The whole
universe was created by God's faith, and it must also work by faith! The laws
concerning curses and blessings also work by faith! ...and whatever is not from
faith is sin. Romans 14:23b
When we try to see how much we can get away
with, we actually slip into sin and out of faith. If this were not true, a believer
could live any way they wanted and suffer no ill effects. We know that's not
the case!
The picture I see is that we Christians are
like a person living in a submarine, passing through the sea, the sea being
the destructive, aggressive forces of the world. When the saint acts in disobedience
or unbelief, he punctures the wall of the sub. How much water rushes in depends
on the size of the puncture. Some sin can kill us (1 John 5:16,17), some weakens
us (1 Corinthians 11:29,30), but all sin hinders our prayers (Psalm 66:18).
A PATCH KIT
We've been talking about curses that come from
walking in disobedience. When we walk in love (1 Corinthians 13), and obedient
fellowship with our Lord (1 John 1:5-7), the door is tightly closed on our enemy
and, harassing spirits MUST obey our faith commands! Flowing in love and mercy
acts like a patch kit when we unintentionally sin (puncture our sub)--see 1
Peter 4:8 and James 2:13. Living the Spirit-filled life takes care of legal
curses, but, there are other types of curses that can work on sincere, obedient
believers. BROKEN COVENANT CURSES
When someone in authority over us or in our
lineage establishes a curse, it can affect us, even if we are ignorant of it!
For example, Joshua uttered a curse against anyone who would try to rebuild
the city of Jericho.
Therefore, to one who knows the
right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17
Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, "Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his first-born he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates." Joshua 6:26
Though hundreds of years passed by, this curse
was still able to carry out its destruction! It didn't matter if the person
rebuilding Jericho was ignorant of the curse--it still worked!
In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his first-born, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun. 1 Kings 16:34
Jacob inadvertently released a curse against
his own beloved wife, to her destruction. Jacob rounded up his entire family,
possessions and work-force and snuck away from his father-in-law's compound.
He did this because he did not trust his father-in-law (Laban) and feared that
he would trick him into staying when God told him to return to the land of promise.
Jacob and his crew had only gotten a few days out when Laban overtook him. Not
only did Laban feel that Jacob's secret departure was rude, he, in anger, reported
that someone had stolen his idols. Jacob's hasty reply proved his sincerity
and innocence, yet it doomed the culprit--his wife! Unknowingly, Jacob cursed his wife with death.
Before his trip home ended, his favorite spouse died in the throws of childbirth!
King David found things going roughly and
suspected something amiss. As he sought the Lord, it was revealed that his predecessor,
King Saul had afflicted the Gibeonites, in violation of a treaty made centuries
earlier. This story shows us that there is a way out of traditional curses,
but it requires hearing from God and negotiating! If we enter into a covenant or vow, and the
vow is broken, the consequences of the covenant are activated--unless
a new covenant is negotiated! Basically, God had David renegotiate
a covenant with the Gibeonites. Seeking the Lord will usually result in finding
a solution that will negate a traditional curse.
If you suspect a curse is working in your life,
check first through your memory banks. Did you ever make a "foxhole" vow to
God? Did you make a promise to the Lord when you were young, and you failed
to keep your word? What about religious relatives that may have dedicated you
to God like Hannah did with her son in 1 Samuel 1:11? If a parent set you aside
for special service before the Lord, you may have to do some readjusting of
your vocation or do some serious renegotiating with the Master!
A twist of traditional curses is seen when
Jesus said that man's traditions can make the Word of God of no effect (Mark
7:9-13). Silly doctrines concocted by our forefathers, can make it very difficult
for us to flow in spiritual freedom, and in effect, can leave us high and dry
when we're supposed to be walking in God's abundant promises! This is why some
folks have such a hard time with healing and the full gospel message! It will
require time with the Master and His Word to break such stifling curses!
HAND-ME-DOWN CURSES
Some of the most powerful curses are passed
on to us by those who love us the most--our parents. Some parents may not act
too fond of their kids, but most love their offspring in spite of what they
convey or what is misconstrued (with you-know- who's help). Out of frustration
or ignorance, some parents say things that become haunting curses. They probably
hoped their words would chide their children into compliance or prompt maturity;
however, too frequently their slogans became a sentence or irritant that produced
the wrong fruit.
When someone says:
"The one with whom you find your
gods shall not live; in the presence of our kinsmen point out what is yours
among my belongings and take it for yourself." For Jacob did not know that Rachel
had stolen them. Genesis 31:32
And it came about as her soul
was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called
him Benjamin. Genesis 35:18
Thus David said to the Gibeonites,
"What should I do for you? And how can I make atonement that you may bless the
inheritance of the Lord?" Then the Gibeonites said to him, "We have no concern
of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to
death in Israel." And he said, "I will do for you whatever you say." So they
said to the king, "The man who consumed us, and who planned to exterminate us
from remaining within any border of Israel, let seven men from his sons be given
to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of
the Lord." And the king said, "I will give them." Then he gave them into the
hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the mountain before the Lord,
so that the seven of them fell together; and they were put to death in the first
days of harvest at the beginning of barley harvest. 2 Samuel 21:3-6,9
"You're just like your father"
"You're stupid"
"You're lazy"
"Can't you do anything right?"
"Boy, you're sure clumsy"
"You'll never make it!"
"Cancer runs in our family"
"You're a pain in the neck!"
"I never wanted you"
"Why can't you do as good as your..."
...they have sown weed-seed that can grow
into a nasty curse. There may be some truth to what the curse giver sees in
the victim, or they may be parroting phrases passed down from their parents!
Siblings pick up digs from other kids and throw them at their brothers or sisters.
These put-downs don't need to be true in order to work because they're weed-seed
and if told enough, they will start to work by the mere power of repetition.
Somewhere along the line, the lies (curses) are assumed to be true! This negative
use of faith takes great work and understanding to break.
I feel that curses associated with Voodoo and
Witchcraft fall into this category of "Hand-me-down" curses because they depend
upon the person being aware of the curse and believing it. The subject of such
a curse may say they do not receive it, but if they are double-minded, or slip
into one of the following improper responses, they can empower the curse to
destroy. THE DEADLINESS OF FALSE
CURSES
Most of us know innately that a curse without
a cause will not alight (Proverbs 26:2); therefore, our typical response
is to refute baseless curses. When a bratty brother says, "You're dumb," the
standard response is "am not"!
Frequently, the temptation is to "prove" the
curse-sayer wrong. If the unfounded curses thrown at us were ignored, I think
they would quickly die. But, here is the dig, because we know the curse is false,
we tend to resist the curse and can slip into one of two dangerous positions:
PRIDE & JUDGING
If the "am not" is shot back in self-defensive
pride, we're in big trouble. "I'll show you" can trigger the negative power
of pride! When pride comes, then comes
dishonor... Proverbs 11:2
Look at Matthew 16:25, and notice how dangerous
it is to get into self-defense: Fighting to save our pride (self-defense)
is not the right response to baseless curses. Feeling superior to a cult member
or a witch that cursed us can trip us up with fleshly pride. We stand humbly,
because of the grace of Jesus, not because we are in anyway superior to anyone
else. JUDGE NOT
Most people know the gist of Matthew 7:1,2--if
we judge others, we'll be judged! If I say that the person who told me, "You'll
never make it", is cruel, then every one of my acts will be judged for its cruel-ness.
That's not something frail humans needs to contend with. Whatever I sow, I will
reap, even if I do it out of self-defense! That's why Jesus told us to return
good for evil! Giving people "a piece of my mind" or setting them straight,
sows weed-seed, and goodness knows we don't need a field of weeds in our own
backyard!
When I return a curse of anger to someone for
cursing me, I plant anger seed. The law of sowing and reaping insures an ugly
crop is "in the mail" for little old me, the hapless victim! Our enemy loves
this law of sowing and reaping, and he legally uses it to bury believers! God
designed the law of sowing and reaping to be an easy way to bless us; and to
reserve the blessings for those who deserve them! REPETITION AS A NOOSE
In the worse-case-scenario, the power
of repetition is employed by the enemy working through ignorant people.
Some authority figure in our life repeatedly speaks a curse over us, and we
agree with them, thus releasing our faith. The weed-seed produces a crop without
legal basis, yet it's licensed by our faith! These curses,
I believe, make way for some very big demons. This is what I feel is going on
with people who have a terrible self-image, or suffer from strong mental disorders.
Tell someone they're fat (to keep them thin),
and if it backfires, they will become anorexic. They can look into a mirror,
and instead of seeing the actual emaciated reflection, they only see ugly fat.
I feel that this is the process that produces many of the personality quirks
that sideline God's people. "Reverse psychology" is used to make a kid try harder,
stay thin, be humble, etc., and because it's not God's method for child rearing,
it produces death! The Bible wants parents to sow life-giving seeds in the garden
of their child's mind! Planting weeds with good intentions still grows weeds!
A BETTER WAY
If we resist curse input, we chance becoming
judgmental or prideful (defensive); agree with it and you've licensed the destroyer
to bruise you badly! Help! What are we to do? Look at these two verses:
The Word of God is asking us to go exactly
opposite of our natural tendency! What kind of logic do you think the enemy
will pump into our minds to keep us from obeying these verses? "I can't let
them get away with this!" A very noble hook the adversary uses to draw us into
fighting curses is, "If I let them get away with this, they'll do it to someone
else." What the foe doesn't tell us is that as long as we return evil for evil,
we spread the disease of the curse! If we want to stop the plague, we must return
good for evil! We must overcome evil with good! One day Jesus passed a fig tree and, because
it did not have any fruit on it, He cursed it. The next day, the disciples noticed
that it was dead. In the simple dialogue, Jesus fills us in on a few details
concerning curses: The first thing we see is that a curse has
to work by faith. The victim of a curse has to believe that it's true. Our legal-minded
enemy is more than commodious when it comes to presenting partial, distorted
evidence. In this story, we learn that it wasn't even the season for figs (Mark
11:13), which means that a curse doesn't require all the facts; merely a sliver
of truth. You can't expect a fig tree to bear figs out of season, but you have
to admit that it was a fig tree! That's all it takes!
This is not a story to present values of morality
or fairness; Jesus is teaching Peter things concerning faith. The bottom line,
in the flow of the context of the story, is that a curse operates in the faith
realm. We know that faith comes from hearing (Romans 10:17), and Ecclesiastes
tells us that unless we hear the curse, it won't hurt us: People can say all kinds of things about us
and it won't hurt us unless we hear it and respond improperly. The enemy tries
his best to get someone to "enlighten" us on how others have cursed us. Then,
our foe uses the law of repetition, pumping our head full of the curse, as though
it were a broken record! If we're in the habit of taking every thought captive
to Christ, this trick won't bear fruit against us. FORGIVENESS AND CURSES
What does a curse have to do with forgiveness?
Jesus ends this teaching vignette by admonishing the disciples to always flow
in forgiveness: Whenever you stand praying,
forgive. There is an old saying that the remedy is not
far from the malady. I believe that the truth concerning forgiveness is Jesus'
hidden cure for a curse! If we are to overcome evil with good and return a blessing
for a curse, then we need something to empower us to be able to muster up a
blessing. The only way I know to cut the tug-o-war rope of curses is with forgiveness.
When we forgive, we're freed from getting involved with the curse: either resisting
or receiving the curse.
When we return a blessing for a curse, we tap
the power of the law of sowing and reaping, and we get our socks blessed off!
Plant a good seed with each curse, and you'll harvest a great blessing in return.
See the curse as fertilizer for the good seed you plant! Fertilizer is nasty,
but it does promote growth! The law of harvest is that you plant a little,
and get a bunch back. Plant one grain of corn and you get a stock with perhaps
three ears of corn, each containing hundreds of new seeds! When I sow love instead
of hate, I will harvest a hundredfold of love! When I return evil for evil,
I will get a hundredfold return on the evil I give. This law works either for
us or against us, and it works for everyone regardless of who they are!
The law of sowing and reaping doesn't give
discounts for those who are "getting even" because we are forbidden to touch
revenge: Let me share a little insight that I believe
the Lord gave me that can help us return good for evil. IT'S OK TO BLESS
1. When we return blessing for cursing, we
tap the law of liberty (James 1:25; 2:12,13).
2. When we bless, we use Romans 8:6 for our
good!
3. If, perchance, we've misunderstood the person
who cursed us, our blessing will provide mercy for us. Misjudging others heaps
misjudging on ourselves!
4. Mercy will keep us teachable and produce
growth in our life.
5. We avoid the emotional drain of trying to
prove that we're right (tug-o-wars are work!).
6. It's easy to slip into praise from giving
a blessing. Can you imagine how hard it would be to return a curse to someone
and then switch immediately into praise for our Lord?
7. Don't worry; if the person who cursed you
is unworthy of your blessing, it won't stick! Check out Matthew 10:13!
FOUR POINT CURSE-BLASTER
PLAN
This plan of attack is so slick. When a curse
bounces around in your head (either from childhood or of recent), quickly go
into action:
1. Forgive the person. Add, "for they know
not what they do" because little do they realize that they are going to receive
a hundredfold return on the weed-seed they're sowing!
2. Speak a blessing to them, regardless if
they are present or not. We're returning a blessing for the evil, and if the
whole scenario takes place in our mind, then that's where the blessing takes
place.
3. Make the blessing something that you would
like to have come back on you a hundredfold.
4. Slip into praise. Get your eyes back on
the King of kings and Lord of lords. Don't forget that if we've knowingly or unknowingly
opened the door to the enemy by disobedience, we must go through the steps of
repentance and obedience. Legal curses do not respond to the same treatment
as do hand-me-down curses, and traditional curses will require special advice
from the Lord!
Spend some time reflecting on your life to
see if any curses have been put on you. If you spot any, try this four step
anti-curse plan.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references
are from the New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation. Copyright
1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1987, 1988. Used by permission.
Abbreviation, NASB.
Spear Ministries
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before stumbling. Proverbs 16:18
For whoever wishes to save his
life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.
Bless those who curse you, and
pray for those who spitefully use you. Luke 6:28
Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse. Romans 12:14
Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
And being reminded, Peter said
to Him, "Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which You cursed has withered." And Jesus
answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says
to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in
his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted
him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe
that you have received them, and they shall be granted you. And whenever you
stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father
also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not
forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."Mark
11:21-26
Do not pay attention to every
word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you! Ecclesiastes
7:21 NIV
Do not be deceived, God is not
mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.Galatians 6:7
Never take your own revenge, beloved,
but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I
will repay," says the Lord. Romans 12:19
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