The messages over the past few weeks have been challenging to many of you and caused you to think more deeply about the impacts the previous generations are having currently in your life. There seems to be a real move of the Spirit in the world right now to address the impact curses, iniquities, sins, and inner vows from our forefathers have had on us, and I believe it is because God is wanting to bring a level of freedom to your heart that you've never experienced before.

Listen to me very clearly: You do not have to repeat the sins of your forefathers. You do not have to continue living under the repercussions of their choices. There is freedom found in the cross, in the name of Jesus, in the blood of the lamb, through the power of the Holy Spirit, through your testimony, and they loved not their lives even unto death. (Rev 12:11).

I’ve preached this verse multiple times here and each time I've said that might not necessarily mean martyrdom in the physical sense, but it might mean you being willing to lay down your life in other ways,
- Like laying down your life that was driven by pride or some sin or iniquity,
- Laying down your life where you were the victim, the abused, the broken,
- Laying down your life where your expectation was never met, and the result has been hopelessness.
All of those lives need to be laid down so that you can pick up the life God has called you to live.

God has a life he wants you to live, and that means he does not want you to try to become the embodiment of some other person that you idolize or respect. If God wanted you to live life like them, he would've made you them, but he made you you, and that means that God has a specific plan and purpose for your life, regardless of the lives lived in the generations before you, regardless of the sins and iniquities in the generations before you.

Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.
His plans are for you. They are personalized. God's plans are as intimate to you as your fingerprints are to you. So if you've tried to ascertain your purpose, but you've been doing it through the lens of somebody else's life experiences or successes, hear the word of the Lord today: his relationship with you and his purpose for you are personal to you.

We've been talking for weeks now about consuming and how God wants us to become contributors. He wants us walking in purpose, using our gifts, talents and abilities, sharing our experiences and wisdom, and fully engaged in his Kingdom plan of restoring people to himself. And while we've talked about things that we consume and things that we contribute,
we haven't talked a whole lot about what things are consuming you.

So let me just ask: What are some things that are consuming you?
Now, what do I mean by things that consume us? What are those things in your life right now that lead you into either agreement with the enemy, blatant sin and iniquity, abject complacency, or a mixture of all three?

Is there anything in your life right now that you are either thinking, believing, or doing that is giving satan a foothold, that is giving sin and iniquity a foothold, that is giving lukewarmness a foothold? Like it or not, if you're giving these things a foothold, they are consuming you. And if something isn't done, they have the potential to eat up the purpose and potential inside of you.

There absolutely could be more things than this, but let's take some time today and reference three Bible characters that help explain, identify, and deal with things that might be consuming us.

1. Being Consumed by Spiritual Torment
We talked about King Saul earlier in the series, about how his frantic and devastating actions not only caused the downfall of his armies, but of himself, his family line. When I talk about spiritual torment, I mean the footholds we give Satan in our lives, which could be generational curses, demonic agreements, and more. For some of you this might be new territory let me explain for just a moment.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

When you get angry, are tempted, or are faced with a choice to do the right thing or not, it is so easy to just chalk this up as, "that's life," or, "that's the way it is." But you need to understand that you are not a body with a spirit, you are a spirit with a body: the eternal you is your spirit, and the temporal you is your flesh. What's really happening in your life is happening in the spirit, and the flesh simply reveals the fight that's in the spirit. The fleshly reaction is simply a reflection of what's going on in the spirit: you are being attacked by the enemy.

Now, why is he attacking you?
Of course, he wants to drag you down to hell with him, sure, but that's only half of it. The other half is that he wants the temptation and attack to turn into a foothold, an access point, an opportunity to influence you to begin with and at the extreme, to control you. Satan wants you to be completely and totally tormented, influenced, and led by his demons.

This is why Paul, in two different places, reminded us that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but we are fighting against rulers in spiritual places. This is a spirit fight, not a fleshly one

So what Satan will do is to torment you just like he did with King Saul.

1 Samuel 16:14-15
14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you.”

Now, I am sure you have noticed the phrase "from the Lord,” and, "from God” in this passage. Even though the demons rebelled, they are still subject to God's voice and his word. And before we look down on God for allowing that spirit to torment Saul, go back and read all the chapters leading up to 16 and what you will find is Saul constantly choosing the opposite of what God has told him to do. Hear me: direct disobedience gives satan the right to traffic in your heart. Remember Ephesians 6:12 - Satan is the ruler of darkness.

Saul lived his entire life in disobedience, rejection, and pride, to be honest.
He lived under a curse that he embraces in 1 Samuel 9:21
21 And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”

And let me quickly add that the generational curse of rejection wasn’t the only choice Saul had. He could have chosen blessing.

1 Samuel 9:1-3
There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

He could’ve embraced the blessing but he instead chose to embrace the curse. One of satan’s best strategies is to get you hyper focused on what you don’t have so you will never embrace what you do have.

Some of you here today are struggling beneath the weight of the spiritual torment that is raging in your life as a result of your willingness to engage with not only generational curses, but with mindsets that are counter to what God thinks, inner vows that we've made, reactions to negative life experiences that have shaped our mindset. When you embrace all of these things designed by the enemy to destroy you, you create footholds, handles within you, where the enemy can latch on and torment you.

- When the pace of life around you is so fast that your mind reels constantly, you lose sleep, you constantly worry, an anxious spirit is tormenting you.
- When you have a physical reaction to the temptation for that addiction that your body has learned to crave because of your actions, an addictive spirit is tormenting you.
- When you walk into a room and it feels like every eye is on you, and you struggle with feelings of inadequacy, that you're never good enough for any room that you walk into, a rejection spirit is tormenting you.

And listen, I am fully aware that there are some things that are going on in people that are physiological at their core, and there are medicines that are necessary in order to correct chemical imbalances, but don't think for one second that Satan won't use every little thing, including your physiological issue, to torment you spiritually.

Don’t be consumed by generational curses and inner vows. Don’t agree with the enemy that you are rejected and always alone and a constant victim.

Remember, 2 Corinthians 10:5
5 we cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

What words, thoughts, or beliefs are high things in your life right now, things to which you’ve given precedence, things that you’ve believed are true, and what thoughts have you embraced that need to be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ? You refute the lie of the high thing with the truth of the Word of God. You are chosen, not rejected, a son and daughter, not alone.

This is how you pull down those arguments that cause your soul to be consumed by spiritual torment.

2. Being Consumed by Sin Related Torment
Ok, we know that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2)
But sin also gives satan a foothold where he can torment us, and all of that effort is with a plan in mind - death.

James 1:14-15
14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

But wait, the verse says that temptation comes from our own desires.

Romans 13:14 make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires
Ephesians 4:22 throw off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires

Satan's plan is to use the fleshly desires in you to get you to succumb to temptation borne out of those desires so he can torment you with your sin through shame, separation, and guilt.

So how does he do this?
King David is a prime example of what I'm talking about here. This was a person God called a man after his own heart, and for the most part, David was good and honorable and a godly king. But he was also a human being who, just like us, was susceptible to fleshly desires that go unchecked based on our choices.

2 Samuel 11:1
1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

They may not seem to be a great deal of information in this one verse, but the last five words tell the story: but David remained at Jerusalem.

Death is the result of sin, and it starts with a choice. Something we hear, something we watch, something we consume, they all stir up the desires within our flesh that lead us down the path to sin and death.

David should've been out at war, not wandering around the rooftop of his house. That one choice led to looking which led to his sin with Bathsheba.

It may not have seemed to be such a big deal to David to hang back this one time, but that one choice created an opportunity for simple desires in his flesh to be stirred, and in that moment, when Satan saw David's eyes lock on Bathsheba as she bathed on her roof, that's when the sin-related torment began. I wonder if he wasn’t at war because he wanted to build the Temple for God but God said no based on the fact that David was a man of war. When you try to be something you’re not, compromise tends to happen.

Let me ask you point-blank: What little choices are you making right now that are leading you down a path to sin and death? Take some time this week and really evaluate because often, the sins that are leading you to that place are not the blatant obvious ones, but the tiny little hidden ones that may not seem like such a big deal but are bringing death to you.

I need to quickly tell you, however, how to stop this.

Genesis 4:7 says: if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.

How do you rule over it? Let me give the context of that verse I read in Ephesians.

Ephesians 4:21-23, 31-32
21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Listen, all these things I’ve talked about so far, spiritual torment, sin-related torment, they keep you from contributing in the way God’s called you to contribute. You get stuck in curse loops or sin loops (death loops, really) where your entire existence is wrapped up in dealing with generational curses and vows and demonic ideologies, and iniquity and sin and shame. So we aren’t going to God for his plans for today or hopes for tomorrow,
we are constantly crawling to his feet with our oppression and torment,
even though God has called us to overcome and has given us every tool to do so!

This kind of living that keeps us in death loops also keeps us in the last torment I want to share today:

3. Being Consumed by Existential Torment
"Existential" refers to the nature of human existence, experience, and survival. The layman terms would be, “God, why am I even here? What’s the plan? Why do I exist?”

This kind of thinking is definitely influenced by curses we’ve embrace like Saul or sin like David, but it is also fed by inaction due to comfort.

We do everything we can these days to be comfortable. It feels good but it makes us soft. “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” Comfort can create weakness in that when we get comfortable, we get lazy, we let our guard down, and the result is almost always compromise.

Solomon had it all - wisdom, riches, honor, loyalty, respect, and God’s favor, yet all of that comfort led him to compromise.

Ecclesiastes 1:2-8
2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” 3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

This is how so many people feel, running to and fro, life just rolls on,
we’re never satisfied, never content. That’s torment, but it is torment that is easily corrected. How?

Get uncomfortable.
Luke 10:1,3-4, 7
1 The Lord chose 72 other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 3 …remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’

How uncomfortable do you think you’d have been? No money, no bag, no extras, no clear direction, no protection. The reason we don’t do great things for God is often because we’re too addicted to comfort. Maybe Alpha is uncomfortable for you. Maybe serving. Maybe giving. You need to get uncomfortable. You need it to get uncomfortable to kill complacency. FYI the 72 came back filled with joy. Joy is often on the other side of uncomfortable.

Get generous.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

While the verse references riches, be sure that you don't make the mistake of thinking this is just about money. Waterers get watered. Blessers get blessed.

Get serious.
Solomon proves even great blessings can lead to spiritual compromise and emotional hollowness if God is sidelined. Truth is, he let complacency kill his drive to take God and obedience seriously. You need to be serious about your relationship with God. It is the priority, not just an add on to your existence. And one thing you can count on is that you’ll be tested in this! Solomon was! He sidelined God and the result was existential torment. He failed the test!

1 Corinthians 3:13-15
13 …on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss.

The builder’s quality is known by the builder’s work. If I took inventory of your works, would your faith be evident or not?

My point is that when you get serious about your faith, you get serious about doing those things that are the evidence of your faith. This KILLS the comfort and complacency in you and as a side effect, kills the existential torment of trying to figure out why you are here! There’s no such thing as a singular overarching purpose in your life. God’s purpose for you is in the thousands of yesses you give him as he directs you. And if you stay obedient, stay willing, stay close to him, “Why, God,” turns into “What’s next, God?”

I know that I've given you a lot to think about today, the last several weeks to be honest. I want you to know deep down to your core that you do not have to continue living under the weight of spiritual and sin-related torment.
You don't have to live with the meaningless and hopelessness of existential torment. You can be everything God created you to be and walk in the beautiful purpose and plan he has for your life.

But you're gonna have to let go of what lies behind: the sins of your forefathers, the rejection and anxiety and thought processes and the like that are ungodly.

- You’re gonna have to crucify your flesh and kill those desires and refuse to fall into temptation.
- You’re gonna have to realize that God has too big a plan for you than for you to be comfortable and complacent.
- You’re gonna have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and crave opportunities to be generous.
You're gonna have to seriously get serious about Jesus.

We are here to help and we have plenty of tools and resources, but you are gonna have to make a choice.

- You need to choose Jesus.
Jesus, I confess you as Lord. I believe you died and rose again. I confess my sins and repent. Save me Lord.

- You need to let go of those thoughts and mindset and curses that are tormenting you.
Jesus, I've embraced these thoughts, mindsets, and curses. I was wrong to do that. I fall out of agreement with every single thought, mindset, or curse that thwarts your plan for my life.

- You need to confess sin.
Jesus, I have fallen short of your glory and have send by, now tell him. Jesus, I ask you to forgive me as I repent and confess.

- You need to get uncomfortable, get generous, get serious.
Jesus, I'm making some choices today to get in a game. Forgive me for being too complacent and too greedy and too unconcerned. I'm all in Jesus.

You don't have to live in torment anymore. Let's respond today as the spirit leads you.