Break the Curse of Dysfunctional Family
The genealogy of Jesus Christ has a lot to teach us about how God uses even dysfunctional family lines to bring forth His plans. During a sermon series over the holidays Pastor Mike Signorelli talked about God's plan even through family trauma. For V1 Church and the body of Christ at large it’s important for everyone to know that you have the authority to break the curse and leave a righteous legacy in Christ regardless of what family background you came from.
What Legacy Will You Leave?
A study conducted by American educator, A.E. Winship showed the power that leaving a strong legacy has on the generations to come. He examined one of the greatest theologians and philosophers of British American Puritanism – Jonathan Edwards. He and his wife Sara, were married in 1727 and went on to have 11 children. He was a righteous, godly man and took time everyday to intentionally pour into his family. Winship also included the family line of Max Jukes, another man born into the same generation as Edwards who lived an entirely different life as a criminal.
The research followed the generations 150 years after Edwards and Jukes and showed that Edwards’ godly legacy produced a United States Vice President, several US Senators, mayors, doctors, professors, military officers, hundreds of pastors and 285 college graduates. The study on Jukes descendants included murders, hundreds of thieves, prostitutes, beggars, and addicts. Of the 1,200 descendants 300 of them died prematurely.
Photo courtesy of https://ywam-fmi.org
Scripture is clear that a believer in God should raise up families in the ways of the Lord:
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6
The study on Edwards and Jukes proves what some call the five generation rule, which writer Mark Merrill describes as, "How a parent raises their child — the love they give, the values they teach, the emotional environment they offer, the education they provide — influences not only their children but the four generations to follow."
The prophet Joshua was clear about where he stood as he brought a strong rebuke on the people of Israel. It’s important to examine yourself.
What would you want four generations that follow you to look like?
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15
Jesus’ lineage of Prostitutes, Gentiles and Liars
Some people skip over reading the lineage of Jesus found in Matthew 1. It's a bunch of biblical names who ultimately get us to Jesus but the author was intentional in naming each name because it shows that although Jesus is the spotless, sinless Messiah, He came from a lineage of broken sinful people. Many people today count themselves out because of where they came from but this passage of scripture shows that when Jesus steps into the scene, it doesn't matter where you came from you can rest in Him. All the generations before Christ were striving, many of them falling short and when Jesus entered the picture it was time for rest!
Let’s take a closer look at this genealogy:
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.” – Matthew 1:1-16
As seen in the scripture, Matthew the apostle, intentionally mentions every descendant of Christ that was born from an unorthodox situation. First century writers would have hidden those truths about someone's genealogy to avoid scandal but Matthew intentionally did not because it is important for followers of God to know that even those snapshots of your life and past can be used as memorial stones to remind yourself of where you came from and how God has redeemed you.
Pastor Mike adamantly encourages us to stop trying to delete all the ugly parts of your past because God will use it for His glory! Religion will make you think you can’t show the bad parts of your life but freedom in Christ will have you testifying that even those things God worked for good as we see in Christ genealogy.
To zoom in on this family photo of Jesus’s generations for a moment we see that this lineage was made up of all kinds of people. Tamar tricked her father in law Judah into sleeping with her and that produced two of Christ’s descendants Perez and Zerah. Rahab was a prostitute and brought forth Boaz. Ruth, a gentile, was from the Moabite people, she was not a Jew but married a Jewish man – Boaz. Their son, Obed is the grandfather of King David from which came the lineage of Jesus.
None of this information was left out because scripture wants us to see that God takes our weaknesses and uses it for His will. God is a generational curse breaker but you must decide to face the reality of who you are so God can change who you are and where you came from to start a new generational course ahead. You can change the meaning of the dysfunctional generations in the past as Jesus did because we have access to Him.
Pastor Mike often shares about his father being a murderer, this author came from a lineage of witches and drunkards, I’m sure if you are reading this, you too, are trying to break the cycle of dysfunction in your own family line. Make a decision today to break the curse and forge ahead in Christ. When Jesus enters the picture everything changes. Make a decision today to leave a godly legacy to the generations that come and shift your entire family line for good.
About the Author:
Jeannie Ortega Law is a chart-topping singer, evangelist, media personality and author from New York City. She can be reached on social media: @JeannieOrtega or emailed at Info@JeannieO.com
At V1 Church we believe in teaching Bible-based relationship principles so that you can your family can be strengthened. Connect with us using one of the links below – we’d love to see you and help you walk through the process of reconciliation.