Reversing Generational Consequences, Part 1

We not only pass to our children our good looks, but we also transfer or have transferred to us the patterns of sinful behavior. But Dr. Tony Evans says the negative consequences of those behaviors can be reversed. Even though you were raised in it, he wants you to know you don't have to live the rest of your life in it.

Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is the alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. You may have your father's chin or your mother's nose. Maybe they left you property or cash. Or maybe they stuck you with a legacy they never managed to get rid of themselves. That's the kind Dr. Evans will deal with today as he talks about reversing generational consequences.

Let's join him. All of us bear the DNA of our mothers and fathers. They have transferred physiologically their makeup. We regularly talk about how a child looks like that. You look just like your mother.

You look just like your father. Our DNA determines the color of our skin, our racial makeup, the shape of our features. We are reflections of the life of our parents physically, and we give to our own children our DNA.

It's the way biology works. You would not expect anything different than a child to bear the marks of their parents. The physical DNA is not the only thing that gets transferred. There is a spiritual DNA that transfers as well. This is an unseen reality that passes between parents and children, grandparents, parents, and children, that leads to generational consequences.

It's a spiritual DNA. We not only pass to our children our good looks, but we also transfer or have transferred to us the patterns of sinful behavior. These patterns transferred from one generation to another create spiritual scars on our lives, scars that are reflected and then we pass them on, usually unbeknowingly, and it's usually not planned, but it is very real to our children. When I talk about generational consequences as opposed to generational curses—I'll explain in a moment—I am talking about the negative repercussions of the inculcating of sinful patterns that we've picked up across generations. These negative patterns create negative results in our lives and in our world. These generational realities come in all shapes and all sizes.

We talk about some people being a born liar. We've seen people whose father was an alcoholic and they become an alcoholic. My grandparents got divorced. My parents got divorced.

I'm getting divorced, because there has been this repetition of a negative pattern passed on. Children are not born racist. They're not born hating a group of people because of the color of their skin, regardless which way it goes. They pick that up. They learn that. They pick up a pattern of discrimination or prejudice or racism. They pick it up from their parents. They inculcate the pattern into their lives, and so they act out the transfer and then transfer it on. And so it becomes a generational problem that even in our country, after well over 200 years, we're still fighting with. It's because of generational transfer.

Husbands and wives are cussing each other out while telling their children, don't use profanity. They're watching the pattern unroll, and they may not use it around you, because you threaten them. But when they go out and they're free to express the pattern, they express the transfer that they have inculcated and absorbed in their lives. Some would say, well, my parents screamed at each other, and me and my mate, we scream at each other, because unbeknownst to you, you not only heard it, you absorbed it. And it became part of your spiritual DNA, and so you just spout out what you know and what you've seen practiced, and it becomes part of the generational transfer. Scar tissue on the soul that just keeps reflecting itself over and over. We talk about a cycle of poverty, where people have the mindset that being on welfare, living on welfare, even though I have the capacity to work—I'm not talking about those who can't—but they adopt the fact that that's really okay, because my grandmother was on welfare, my mama was on welfare, so I'm on welfare.

My grandmother was a single parent, my mother was a single parent, so that's how this thing rolls. And so the cycle continues on and on and on, and it's transferred—the consequence to the behavior. And so these patterns that are wrong are transferable. There are many who do what they do, think what they think, and act as they act, because it's transferred. It's part of your life, even if you don't like it. I know we all make this statement—it's not a great statement, but it's a true one.

That's who I am. This pattern of behavior, unaddressed, produces built-in consequences to our well-being, our peace, order, stability. My parents lived in debt.

I live in debt, and they're the consequence of never getting out of it. Patterns that are generational. They have to understand that God is a generational God. I am the God, he says, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—generations.

It goes on and on. He thinks generationally. Psalm 145, it says that you might one generation shall praise your name to another generation. You'll see this word generation all through Scripture, because God created the human race to generate. But with the generation not only comes the opportunity for life, it becomes the transfer of spiritual as well as physical DNA. So what many people do not know in our society, we're giving birth to a messed-up generation, because we're transferring the negative patterns of a messed-up generation.

They're just picking it up and amping it up, amplifying it. So when I talk about generational consequences, I'm talking about the transfer of the negative patterns. My mother was a worrier. I'm a worrier. My daddy had a temper. I got a temper. Daddy was irresponsible.

I'm irresponsible. It goes on and on and on and on. And it's deep, because even when we want to change it, it doesn't stop. In the Scripture I read to you from Ezekiel 18, God says, you Israelites are saying a proverb. A proverb is a saying. And here's the proverb. Verse 2 says, the proverb was, the fathers have eaten sour grapes, but the children's teeth are on edge. That was the proverb of the saying.

What was it meaning? Daddy has eaten sour grapes, and that's made my teeth crooked. The reason why my teeth are messed up is because of what daddy ate. In other words, I am how I am because daddy was who he was. That was the proverb. Let me put it another way. What they were saying was, if it wasn't for my mom and daddy, I wouldn't be like I am.

I'd be better off than them if it wasn't for them. God says, don't use that proverb anymore. Don't blame mother and father for what you do.

You have to stick with me on that. Mother and father may have transferred it, illustrated it, demonstrated it, amplified it, but you took it on by choice. In other words, don't use what somebody else did in a previous generation as an excuse for you to keep it going.

He says, I am the God of the Father, verse 4, the soul of the Father is mine, the soul of the Son of mine, so it is the one who sins that shall die. So if you are messed up like your mama and daddy were messed up, it's because you chose to adopt their mess. Now I hear the objections. I hear the objections.

I don't think that's fair. That's fair, because if I was raised this way, brought up this way, learned this way, observed this way, why am I being held responsible for them? He says, don't use this proverb, don't use this excuse, is another way of saying that. Regularly in the New Testament, Jesus would ask people, are you willing to be made whole?

He would ask them, are you willing? Before He did anything, He wanted to know, do you even want to change? Because if you don't want to change, even God won't help you. So for everybody who wants to change, wants something different, even though you were raised in it, passed down in it, He wants you to know you don't have to live the rest of your life in it. When Dr. Evans continues our message in just a moment, he'll talk to us about the importance of following something other than our parents' footsteps.

We'll be right back after this 40-year reflection from Dr. Evans. As we come into the celebration of our 40th year since the beginning of the Urban Alternative, words cannot express my gratitude to God for His faithfulness to the development of this ministry. Little did I know when we began with cassette tapes and we were bagging them up because people were requesting the sermons, that He would take humble beginnings and turn it into an international ministry. Now, on over 1,400 stations daily in 130 countries around the world, reaching hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people with the truth of God, I am humbled by His faithfulness to me and to us and to the Urban Alternative. And I'm certainly grateful for all the friends He's given us who have been faithful to.

I praise God for 40 years of His favor on us. Here in 2021, we're celebrating 40 years of God's faithfulness, and we look forward to seeing what He has in store for the ministry and work of the alternative in the future. Right now, I wanted to let you know that Dr. Evans has written and released a brand new book that goes hand-in-hand with the lesson he's been teaching today. It's called U-Turns, and it's a look at how you can turn around vital areas of your life and allow God to manage them— areas like fear and anxiety, financial challenges, addiction issues, and as Tony has been talking about today, sins that can be passed down from generation to generation. For a limited time, we're bundling this powerful new book, along with all 12 full-length messages from his current teaching series, U-Turn, Reversing Spiritual Consequences, and offering them as our gift to you when you make a donation to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station. And if you're interested in sharing these powerful lessons with others or just understanding the concepts better for yourself, be sure to ask about the companion U-Turns Bible Study and DVD Kit. Together, this complete package of powerful resources can help you get yourself and those you share it with headed in a whole new direction. Just call us at 1-800-832-22, or visit tonyevans.org to get the details before time runs out. Again, that's tonyevans.org. I'll have our contact information for you again after Dr. Evans brings us the second part of today's lesson and this.

The Bible makes it clear that you know when God has cursed a land, when its fathers are nowhere to be found. Dr. Tony Evans says that what becomes of the next generation of men depends on what happens with this one. But what does it take to be that kind of man?

You can find out with the help of the Tony Evans Training Center's free course called Kingdom Man. It'll teach you to see past the phony images of manhood that society surrounds us with and become the loving leader that a wife and family would want to follow. As with all of our courses, there's in-depth study material you can work through at your own pace. Lots of exclusive content from Tony, tightly focused Q&A videos, and an online forum where you can collaborate with other students. It's almost like having a seminary on your smartphone. Check out the free course called Kingdom Man and the growing list of other subjects waiting for you.

Visit tonyevans.org today and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center. This all started, this chain of DNA, physical and spiritual, with a guy named Adam. Romans chapter 5 verse 12 says, Therefore just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all have sinned. Verse 15 says, For by the transgression of the one, many died. Do you know the only reason you have to die? The only reason you have to die is because of what Adam did that got transferred to the human race. Death was the transfer of rebellion against God. God says that the consequence of our sin we bear because we make a decision to repeat the practice that may have been transferred to us. He says the soul of the Father is mine, the soul of the Son is mine, so don't use an excuse. Daddy made me do it.

You chose. So what you see in the Bible—stay with me here—is the transfer of consequences when another generation makes the decision to pick up what the previous generation did. In Joshua chapter 7, Achan and his whole family were judged by God because he stole the things that were under the ban, banned by God, but his children consented to the theft. When his children consented to the theft, they bore the judgment of the Father who stole.

Okay, let me give you another one. Ananias and Sapphira, Acts chapter 5. Ananias stole from God that which he had promised to give to God and jeopardized the whole church's well-being. It wasn't just that he lied.

It was what he lied about. He went before Peter. Peter stood before him and said, Did you do this? He said, No, I didn't do that. He says, Because you have lied, you've jeopardized the church, this will be the last one you tell.

Bam! He dropped dead on the spot. Peter then called in Sapphira. Did you take what belonged to God and what was for the people of God? She said, No.

You just joined in your husband's lie, so now you can join him. She dropped dead on the spot. She dropped dead because she agreed with her husband on that which is outside of the will of God.

So let me explain something. When they rebel against the clearly revealed will of God—not talking about preferences. I'm talking about where God has clearly made a statement, you are to love God even more than your mate. So the cycle of consequences keeps flowing from the rebellion of God's people. Now God makes it clear in Ezekiel 18 verse 20 that the kids do not suffer the consequences of the iniquity of their parents. He says that also in Deuteronomy 24 16.

He says the consequences of the children is because of what they choose to do. What makes this problem worse is that demons ride on top of the transfer. There is a spiritual realm occupied by God and angels and the Holy Spirit as well as Satan and demons.

Now I know because it's unseen, people don't think it's real. Demons are like roaches around garbage. When a roach knows that garbage is hanging out, they are attracted and they bring their people with them. They bring their posse. Look, if you see one roach, that means there is a posse, a family.

You got one that comes out in daylight to scout things out. So when the demonic realm sees the sin that has been adopted, it piggybacks on that. It's drawn to it. So the reason it's so difficult to get rid of habits that we have taken into our lives from our forefathers is because the demonic realm has amplified it so big in our lives that it becomes what seems to be something you can't help or change. Remember the seven sons of Sceva in the book of Acts? The demons left them and went to all of them.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, went down the whole family line. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 says that Christians can sit at the table of demons, verses 20 and 21. You can actually sit at the table. That means fellowship with them. He says there's a table of the Lord and there's a table of demons, and if you fellowship with a table of demons, it doesn't mean you invited a demon to dinner.

It means you fellowship with the sin, which they assume was an invitation to them. And that, of course, makes the problem even more difficult to overcome, because you now not only have to overcome the problem, you've got to overcome the demonic infestation of the problem. And so once it's adopted, you've adopted more than the issue, you've adopted demonic engagement with the issue. Okay, I know what you're saying. Give me some good news. Give me some good news, because—how many of you can see some transfer from the parents that you don't like, or from grandparents?

Okay, a lot of us, a lot of us. That temperament, that arguing, that fussing, that cussing, that fighting, that disrespect, that pornography, that illegitimate gambling that's putting you in debt, that cycle of welfarism, that racism, you picked that thing up and that's what you saw and heard and adopted. Obviously, it goes beyond singing the song, Break Every Chain, because if the song was enough, it'd been gone a long time ago. Dr. Tony Evans, sharing some biblical wisdom on how to overcome our inherited sin habits. Now, if you desire to go deeper into today's message, it's available in its entirety on both CD and digital download, including portions we didn't have time to include in the broadcast. Better yet, you can get it as a part of Tony's complete series, U-Turn, Reversing Spiritual Consequences. For limited time, we're bundling all 12 full-length messages in this powerful two-volume collection, along with Dr. Evans' brand-new book, U-Turns, and sending them to you as our thank-you gift when you help support this ministry with a generous contribution. And don't forget, Tony has created a complete companion Bible study kit and teaching DVD that goes along with the U-Turn series. Get all the details and make your request online at tonyevans.org, where you can browse through our huge library of resources and sign up for Tony's free weekly email devotional. Again, that's tonyevans.org. Or you can call us at 1-800-800-3300 where team members are standing by around the clock to help you with your resource request.

Again, that's 1-800-800-3222. It's undeniable that choices have consequences, and as we've learned today, even the choices family members have made before us will affect our circumstances. Be sure to join us tomorrow as Tony continues to explore how we can reverse those negative consequences. The alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.