Defining Iniquity
Workers of Iniquity • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 7 viewsI want to stop iniquity in my life and and pass down good things to my children.
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5 But 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.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Lord it is not my will, but THY will be done in my life!
Lord it is not my will, but THY will be done in my life!
The last lesson we looked at the story of Balaam!
Rather than obeying the will of God, Balaam persisted in his self-will to cooperate with the King of Moab in order to get his reward.
And we know that God allowed him to follow after his desire - but He label his action iniquity!!
God help me to not be so stubborn, persistent in my actions.
Help me to get my own pride out of the way and follow after the will of God in my life!
How the “Definition of iniquity” is verified in the scriptures
How the “Definition of iniquity” is verified in the scriptures
Children are affected by the iniquities of their fathers!
There is good and bad that we get from our families
The (iniquity of deception) that Abraham practiced was passed on to his son and then his grandson.
I want you to notice something:
Abraham & Sarah
Abraham & Sarah
1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.
4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
Abraham and Sarah conspired together to deceive Abimelech!
6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
Because his parents did not deal with it, it was passed down to him and he did the same thing!
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:
12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
We know the story how Jacob & his mother conspired together to deceive his father
32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
With each generation the deception increased!!
And we know later in the story that Jacob himself was deceived by his Father-in-Law!
But the deception stopped when Jacob became Israel
But later on he was deceived by his sons.
We need to understand how iniquities are passed from parent to children, “to the third and forth generation.”
If you can learn to deal with these iniquities that have been passed down in your family in a Spiritual manner.
When you start to deal with them Spiritually you can start getting the victory over those long-standing conflicts and habits that have been rooted in your family!
Iniquities of our Forefathers
Iniquities of our Forefathers
It is important to (make a distinction) between iniquities of the forefathers and the sins of the forefathers.
The sins of the forefathers are not passed on to the children, but the iniquities are, as well as the consequences of the sins of the fathers.
Those sins might not be passed on to the children but the iniquities of the father can & will affect your family!
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
God is merciful!
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
You don’t obey me and put your own will / desires before me!
9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
The need to acknowledge the iniquities of our fathers
The need to acknowledge the iniquities of our fathers
Even though the sons and daughters are not responsible for or guilty of the iniquities of their fathers, they are affected by them.
1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.
2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God.
When they begin to acknowledge that there were iniquities in their family and agreed with God that they were wrong.
They begin to deal with them in a Spiritual manner!
You read the whole passage, they begin to rebuild spiritual disciplines in their life that their fathers had laid down.
Look how Daniel address the iniquities of his fathers!
16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
First he said becuase of our sin!!
He did not blame his father for his choices!
Lord Hear my Prayer
Forgive our Sins
How to deal with the iniquities of our fathers
How to deal with the iniquities of our fathers
There are steps of action that a person should take in order to deal with the iniquities that have been passed on
First: Identify the iniquity that has been passed on
First: Identify the iniquity that has been passed on
What do you struggle with that you have seen your parents struggle with?
A fifteen-year-old boy had a serious problem of overeating.
His parents were very disciplined about what they ate and were alarmed with the excess weight which their son was putting on.
Because the parents had not had a problem with overeating, it would at first seem that they had not contributed to their son's problem.
However, what they had never told their son was that when they were teenagers, they had not exercised self-control in the area of physical drives.
The result was moral impurity. They were wild!!
Their iniquity of sensual gratification had been passed on to their son in the area of eating pleasure.
It was not the same, but he lacked total self-control!
It was nearly killing him, he became a massive man.
In another case a young teenage girl was rebelling against her parents on several fronts.
The parents set her down and explained to her that for three generations in their family they had run off and gotten married as teenagers.
In each case, the iniquity was a strong, independent spirit.
Her parents lived it and had to deal with the consequences of it!
And here she was forth generation and getting ready to make the same mistakes as her forefathers!
2nd: Acknowledge your sin and your forefathers iniquities
2nd: Acknowledge your sin and your forefathers iniquities
Lets look at scripture and we will see the need to acknowledge the iniquities and what is required to get freedom from it!
The world today wants to blame it on the past instead of taking responsibility for their actions.
40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Jeremiah also acknowledged his wickedness
20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: For we have sinned against thee.
There is a principle of things being passed down both good & bad!!
9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
The Bible credited Levi for what his forefather Abraham had done.
We can take part in the good and the bad that are in our families.
We are obligated to acknowledge them!
God help me if I lack wisdom in knowing that particular iniquity that is affecting my life.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Acknowledge our weakness
Acknowledge our weakness
When we acknowledge the iniquities of our forefathers!
Does not mean that I have to be punished for them!
I’m only punished, IF I CONTINUE in their iniquities and sins.
In the days of Ezekiel, the people tried to blame their sins on the iniquities of their fathers.
It was their excuse!
19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
God responded by saying:
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
It does not matter what has been passed down or what excuses that the modern world wants to used to excuse their actions.
Phil 2:12 “12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Grace did much more abound!!
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Jeremiah makes it even clearer!
29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.
30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: Every man that eateth the sour grape, His teeth shall be set on edge.
Be like they were in Nehemiah’s day!
2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
First they took responsibility for their sins!
We have failed and we need the grace of God!
And God will help us overcome the weaknesses that were passed down to use through our forefathers.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Thank God for the Gospel!
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Reclaim “Ground” and yield yourself to God
Reclaim “Ground” and yield yourself to God
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
When we yield to the weaknesses in our life, we commit sin and when we commit sin we give ground unto Satan.
27 Neither give place to the devil.
God help me to acknowledge by sins and the iniquities of my forefathers!
I want to pass down - right things to my children!!
You can stop the generational momentum in your family!!
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.