Leave cleave one flesh (I) Dishonour

The extremes you see in twelve-step programs illustrate well the principles I am talking about this morning. In particular in difficult homes we too easily make inner vows of the type “I will never be like my father.” A typical example is alcoholism, but it can include such things as judgmentalism, self righteousness, or gossip. And what I hear over and over, that is “In spite of my vow, I became exactly like my father (mother)”. Actually it is not so much in spite of the vow, but rather because of it. What I mean is that such inner vows dishonour the parent, and gives the Enemy legal access, the right if you like, to work on you in this area. And this is true even when we have forgotten the vow! This morning’s verse is Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to (cleave to) his wife, and they shall become one flesh. The order is important leave – cleave – one flesh. This morning I want to say that if we do not leave well, we will not be able to cleave (bond) well either.

There are many ways to fail to leave well. We can leave physically, without leaving emotionally. If, for example, there is unforgiveness, then that person will occupy space in your head rent free. As I keep saying we reap what we sow, and when we sow dishonour, it will come back on us. Is works both positively and negatively in particular it comes back amplified thirty fold, sixty fold etc. (see Mark 4:3-8). There is truth in the saying that six month after you marry, your attitude to your spouse will be the same as to the parent you have the most trouble with. The Bible specifically tells us that if we want life to go well for us, we need to honour our parents (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:3). When we have not honoured them, we need to repent, turn and interpose the cross between our reaping and our sowing. When we do this, we take away the Enemy's legal right to continue to kill, steal and destroy in that area (see John 10:10a).

At this point the Lord may, or may not, remove some, or all, of the consequences of what we have sown. I know of cases where prison sentences have been reduced from what could reasonably be expected. When we have repented and turned, we need to trust the Lord that He knows what is best for us. If He removed all consequences, we could likely finish up illustrating the proverb “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). What I do know, is that when I repent, confess and turn, then the Lord is free from the legal obligations to Satan, and He starts to use even my sin to work for my good (Romans 8:28). Here is a sample prayer of repentance:-

Father, I forgive myself for cursing myself with the spoken words  ”I will never by like my father.” I repent for making this curse, and giving it place in my life. I ask You to forgive me Lord. I receive Your forgiveness. I renounce and break the legal rights/power of this curse in my life based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and His finished work on the Cross. I appropriate the power of the Cross to cancel all judgements and to stop all demonic influence associated with this curse, in Jesus Name Amen!