Week 5: Familial Vices and Virtues (16-22nd September 2016)

VIRTUES

³I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, ⁴greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, ⁵when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. ⁶Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:3-5

⁴Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. ⁵And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; ⁶but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷Now beyond all contradiction, the lesser is blessed by the better. ⁸Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. ⁹Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, ¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
Hebrews 7:4-10

God’s plan is for parents to pass on the godly values/morals to their children. Timothy was the third of three (3) generations of sincere faith – note that each generation had sincere faith. The principle seen in the Hebrews passage is that when Abraham paid the tithe Isaac, Jacob and Levi also paid the tithe because they were in the body of Abraham. When family life is lived in accordance with the laws and principles of God, virtues are passed to the next generation. On the other hand, when family life is lived against God’s principles and in accordance with the principles of the kingdom of darkness, vices, and iniquity enter the bloodline. So one could ask: where were you when your great grandfather was bowing down to that idol?

Transgressions of laws, commandments, and ordinances bring the punishment of God, not only on the transgressors but upon their offspring, family, community, city or even nation. The effect runs from one generation to another (Exodus 20:5). In other words, there are certain inherent things (or character traits) that seem to be passed from one generation unto another. They keep on recurring in the lives of individuals in different generations.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Hebrews 12:1

¹⁰By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
¹¹And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹²But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
See Hebrews 10:11-14

Verse 10 states that we have been sanctified once and for all but note that verse 14 states that the same people are in the process of being made sanctified (holy). As Priests, it is utmost important to identify the weights and begin to deal with them, for these are the same areas the devil will use to bring us down.

He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)

Sin means to miss the mark. So when you sin, you miss the mark or fall below the mark of what God has called you to do. We all have been guilty of missing the mark at some time in our lives: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…” (Rom. 3:23).

Transgress, on the other hand, means to trespass or overstep pre-established boundaries. We can trespass against man and God. If we were to come up to you and purposely step on your foot or violate your “NO TRESSPASSING” sign by entering onto your property without permission, this is transgressing against you.

The word iniquity means to bend or to distort (the heart). It also implies a certain weakness or predisposition toward a certain sin. Isaiah says Christ was “bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). If a sin is repeatedly committed, it becomes an iniquity, which can be passed down through the bloodline. When a person continually transgresses the law, iniquity is created in him and that iniquity is passed to his children. The offspring will have a weakness to the same kind of sin. Each generation adds to the overall iniquity, further weakening the resistance of the next generation to sin.

Exodus 20:5 speaks very specifically about the iniquities of the forefathers. If the family tree is not cleansed of this iniquity, then each generation becomes worse and will do what their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents did. The next generation will bend in the same way of the past generations, and it becomes a bond of iniquity or a generational curse in that family. Iniquity enters the bloodline through inheritance, idolatry, and deliberately continued practice of sin.

Reflection

Are there signs of iniquity in your family line? During this week ask God to open your eyes to things you may be blind to.
Ask His forgiveness and release from consequences that may have arisen as a result of vices and iniquity in the family line.
Renew your family prayer altar and pray for the spiritual, mental, emotional, physical and material needs of your family.
Pray and consider gathering family both – nuclear and extended – for a time of praying over issues that affect them.

2062 SECTOR FOCUS: CELEBRATION, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS AND THE ARTS

We desire to see God’s Kingdom fully manifested in the Celebration, Entertainment, Sports, and Arts Sphere of Uganda by 2062

This sector includes the arts, music, sports, fashion, entertainment and any other way we celebrate and enjoy life. It is a sector that captures the hearts of our youth. The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). God is a God of pleasure and joy. In, His presence there is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). God is the creator of everything we enjoy in this sector but Satan through the spirit of Jezebel, who lives in this sector, counterfeits, corrupts and prostitutes what God meant for good by enticing men to be “lovers of pleasure than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4). What is good in the right measure then becomes sin when over indulged in.

Pray that:

God will raise people who will produce music, art, poetry, fashion, film, literature and every other form of celebration in ways that will set trends to redeem our cultures back to God’s ways;
This work of redemption will be so strong that secular artists will begin to take their cues and leadership from the kingdom of God and not the other way around;
The power of God will visit the places of worldly entertainment like nightclubs and pubs and redeem the lost therein;
The altars of darkness that undergird the spirit of Jezebel in this sector will be uncovered, destroyed and that this principality will be overthrown;
Sports related evangelism and ministry will flourish.

“For physical training is of some value…”
I Timothy 4:7

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training…”
I Corinthians 9:24

Pray that:

The nation will recognize and put the necessary emphasis in promoting sports both for healthy living and for unifying the country;
Sports will be properly organized and utilized so that the young people will find this a positive outlet for their energy and vitality instead of engaging in activities that are detrimental to their health and to society;
The State will formulate policies and create the environment that will make it conducive for the private sector to effectively participate in the development of recreation and sports;
God will bless Uganda with extraordinary success on both the national and international scene out of this sector.

PRAY THAT GOD WILL BE GREATLY GLORIFIED IN THE CELEBRATION, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS AND THE ARTS SECTOR IN THE YEARS LEADING UP TO 2062.