Slay Your Father’s Demon

Shyju Mathew

"Experience the Word of God, in the power of the Spirit."

September 17, 2011

[French Translation] [Spanish Translation] Is there something known as a ‘father’s demon’? What does it mean?

Simply look through the Bible and you will see many repetitive patterns of sins, sicknesses and circumstances being passed on from one generation to the other.
Abraham’s weak heart told him to call his wife as his sister to keep himself alive. His son, Isaac, behaves the same way when faced with a similar situation and ends up calling his wife as his sister as well.

Also, the cycle of famine in the life of Abraham repeats after many decades in the life of his son, Isaac.

What is even scarier is the behaviour and characteristic similarities that are passed down from one generation to another. Many characters in the Old Testament are proof of this: Sarah was barren, then Rebekah was barren; for both David and Solomon, women were their weakness; and many in the line of kings in books of Kings followed in their father’s footsteps of idol worship.

Dad is an alcoholic; the son ends up being the same. Mother suffers from diabetes, and so does her daughter. Debts that chased the parents are now after the children. The same demon that has been tormenting the parents is now haunting the children!

You cannot defeat something that you do not believe exists. Whether you believe it or not, there are certain issues that do not go away unless you identify and break that hold over your life.

A young man held my hands and wept the other day saying that he was struggling with a similar type of destructive anger that his dad had. Another young man, who confessed that as he grew up watching his father being a womanizer, now struggles with the same issue.

I don’t know how crazy your fight is, but I believe there is hope for you!

What do you do?

Acknowledge

Start by first acknowledging it. Zero in on the traits, and then you can identify and understand what exactly may be the issue that is pursuing you.

Refuse to Justify

Don’t justify it. The moment you justify it by saying that I suffer because my mother was like this, then you take away the possibility of a breakthrough. Even when you know that this might be transferred from a previous generation, you also have to understand that you don’t have to live with it.

Take Responsibility

Don’t play the blame game. Don’t say stuff like: “I would not have got angry if it was not for him provoking me” or “I wouldn’t have fallen in this sin if it was not for this college I’m studying in or my particular friends.” You are responsible for the decisions you make in your life; period.

Guard your Heart

Now that you are conscious about the things I have mentioned above, take a pen and write down the concrete steps you need to take to intentionally be careful in those areas of your life. Pursue that with all your heart.

Pursue God

There is nothing you can do by yourself. All the decisions you have taken above is only possible when God anoints you. It is that empowerment from God that breaks the generational yoke that is on you. Every time you feel helpless, pray in the Spirit, cry out to God, and hold on to Jesus.

Now it is important that you believe the Word of God and walk in the freedom that you have in Christ. There in standing with God, all things are possible!

BELIEVE it!
Have you come across these situations? How have you exercised freedom out of it?