Controlling the Present, Managing the Past, Agreeing to a Future

Controlling the Present, Managing the Past, Agreeing to a Future
A. Don’t Partner with Present Devils:
You will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,
B. Leave the Devils of the Past in the Past:
Make sure that you do not take my son back there,"
C. Covenant for a Future Promise.
"Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth,

Genesis 24: 1- 9
1 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. 2 He said to the chief [a] servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."
5 The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"
6 "Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. 7 "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring [b] I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there." 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

I want to speak to you today about Controlling the Present, Managing the Past, Agreeing to a Future.

Every adult life has a present context that is rooted in the past. It is lived out in the present and should have a future hope. We all have victories and most of us have regret as well. We have things within ourselves that we are proud of and things that we are ashamed of. This holds true for our family heritage and our own personal sin propensities. What in Spiritual Warfare realm we call familiar spirits. Abraham takes control of these issues over his life. I believe he provides us with a wise pattern to follow in regards to living life within time.

I know that the Apostle Paul said forgetting that which is behind I press on to the high calling in Christ Jesus, but he also said I am a Hebrew of Hebrews of the tribe of Benjamin. He also exercised his present Roman citizenship when it was necessary. He controlled his present, managed his past, and was believing for a agreed future.

Abraham’s primary admonishment of his chief servant was that he not allow his son Isaac, or Laughter, to take a wife from among the Canaanites. The Canaanites of Abraham’s generation were a wicked people. This is the region of the world that gave rise to Sodom. Then, as now, kingdoms cultures affected one another.

Abraham’s people were not exempt from these sins either. They too were idolatrous and sinful. So why would Abraham send his servant back to his home, where the people were idol worshipers to get his son a wife? I hope we will track with me for a few minutes!!!! Because he was familiar with their spirit, he knew what his son would have to deal with. He was managing his past. Remember he said to his servant. “do not take my son back there!!!”

Principles to grasp from passage:
1. Don’t Partner with Present Devils
There are strong devils in the world we live in that our children should not be partnered to. “Do not let my son take a wife from among the Canaanites”

The Canaanites represent a present devil in the life of Abraham.

He would not partner with them.

As Christians we have to control influences in our lives and especially the lives of our children. This is absolutely possible. I am raising 7 children. We have never had cable TV in my home. My children have not died. We have some game systems but we control them. There are Canaanites in the Land. We can not be ignorant of the Devil’s devices.

I have a number of friends who are Liberian living in America. They have always been familiar with the spiritual realm around them. However, when they bring their children up in America they find they are dealing with a new kind of devil. Their children are exposed to things that they are not familiar with when they partner with the American devil, suddenly they are in the bondage of sin.
We have to protect our children from Canaanites. These are devils of the present, they are unfamiliar to us and will remain so if we do not partner with them. What I mean is that if we do not partake of the sin we will remain innocent of its fruit. I don't understand the high of heroin because I have never taken it for example.

2. Leave the Devils of the Past in the Past:
Abraham knew his own people and he dealt with the devil he knew

Familiar spirits are attached to generations of believers. The same spirit of lust that was on David was on his son Solomon. Isaac patterns of behavior of very similar to Abraham’s. Please do not despair. We have the victory.

If the devil is familiar with you and your family, can I say to you that you should be familiar with the devil attached to your family. If they have knowledge of you, praise the Lord you can have knowledge of them. Abraham said my son can have familiarity with the past of my family but just so much. I can bring the past in my family to be a blessing to my son but the curse is not following. “Don’t take my son into the land of idolatry” but bring the blessing of my line out of the past for my son. Glory to God!!!

I see there are patterns in my family that have devils attached to them that are unfamiliar to my children. Patterns of violence that took route from a WWII father who suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that may their way into my brother who then taught them to me. When you are in war violence is a strength; but when you hold your son by the neck against the wall because you are seeing a war the no longer exist, you have a devil attached to you. That son then will teach his son patterns of violence and the devils influence will perpetuate itself. Unless the Lord says, “come out from among them” “I am showing you a new land” a new way of being, a land where you will not teach war any more. I was taught to fight, but I did not teach my children. Why? Because I was breaking a generational pattern over their lives, as parents we can manage what we bring from our heritage to our children. Abraham is showing us how.

I could provide you with other illustrations of how sexual sin and addictions have also been defeated and broken off in our family line. It is time for us to manage our past. It is time to be set apart. That is what being Holy means. To be set apart. Let’s set our own lives and the lives of our children apart.

We can manage our past. We have a servant who goes before us. He is not like Abraham’s servant, He is a servant that is tempted in all was like we are but yet without sin. He is a servant at is the same yesterday today and forever. He is a servant that has victory in the past, present and future. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is Jesus. Amen!!!

3. Covenant for a Future Promise.
Abraham had his servant place his hand underneath his thigh. It was a covenantal act. He was giving his word. Abraham was old and dieing. He could not withhold wages, and entice by offering a bribe. He could only appeal to the man’s Love and integrity.
We have a covenant keeper who has made agreement with us by shedding his own blood. He said I can take your sin and remove it as far as the east is from the west. Your children do not need to know the sin of your past. You need not share it with them or expose it to them. However you should daily share a future hope, a future blessing, a promise of a resurrection of life and eternity. Yes also promise for fellowship with the living God in this life, a promise of a God that is for us and not against us, the promise of a God who is good to us even when we are powerless. Amen, A God who will help us Control the Present, Manage the Past, and has agree to give us a Glorious Future