Arise And Break Negative Patterns by Rev. Christie Bature: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Deceptive Nature of Negative Patterns

The deceptive thing about negative patterns is that they can appear very harmless. There's nothing to worry about. But that is an absolute lie. Read the book of Genesis and you will know that on two separate occasions — Genesis 12 and Genesis 20 — Abraham lied that Sarah was only his sister and not his wife, because he was scared of being killed. Yes, she was his half-sister, but he lied. It seemed very harmless when Abraham did it.

But a few chapters later, Isaac, his son, is grown and has his own wife — and he repeats the same pattern. You have to decide: I see this pattern running in my family. Am I going to sit down and just accept it, or am I going to do something about it? Everyone has individual responsibility.

Here is a personal illustration. My sister ran from home at age 16. We found her in the house of a man who had taken advantage of her — she was pregnant. Once he realized her family had found out, he kicked her out. My father took her in, she had a girl, and my father gave the girl his name. Years later, I got a call — my niece had run away at 16. My sister ran at 16. Here is her baby running at 16. What is going on? They found her. The enemy is an opportunist who attempts to repeat patterns and then normalize them so you will accept them.

Generational Sin, Curses, and Patterns

There are three things that can be operating:

• Generational sin: David committing adultery with Bathsheba in secret — getting another man's wife pregnant and killing the husband. By the time David's sons have grown, his son Absalom takes it a step further — he sleeps with David's wives in public. David slept with one woman in secret. Absalom slept with several in public. When you don't deal with yourself in one generation and it crosses to the next, it is compounded in the children, because children are the fruit and fruit is always multiplied over seed.
• Generational curses
• Generational patterns: the enemy works to establish a pattern and normalize it so you accept it as who you are.

For some families, it is all three at once.

I have a friend who has four sisters — five girls total. All of them got married and none could have a child. Five girls, none had a child, until this lady decided: no, this is not okay. What is going on? She took a stand and began to fight. She got pregnant first, even though she was the third daughter. And guess what happened immediately? All four other sisters got pregnant within months of each other — one month after the next. Five babies in five months because somebody decided.

You Have Individual Responsibility to Decide

Somebody who doesn't have understanding of spiritual things will say, oh well, is that not what her mother did? Like mother like daughter. What you don't realize is the enemy is attempting to establish a pattern and then normalize it so you will accept it.

Every individual must decide: am I going to sit down and accept it, or am I going to do something about it?