Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns--February 26, 2008:
"Prepare for a relatively short season of "clean up" when you will have many and varied opportunities to spiritually clean house. Set yourself to be willing to yield to this process. There will be nothing left hidden in darkness or obscurity that will not be revealed. This procedure must take place before you can move up to new levels of spiritual growth and maturity. Trust Me that everything that is unclean and defiling will be removed to make way for that which is pure," says the Lord. Psalm 51:10: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Bill and Marsha Burns
Faith Tabernacle
Email: ft111@spiritofprophecy.com
This is our year to fully cycle out from the strongholds of our past. Though the Lord promises us that He will continue to perfect us and fashion us into His image, we are to seize specific times and seasons in which He empowers us with abundant grace to come out of the wilderness. And, precious believers, it is our season to cycle out of old patterns, paradigms and mindsets. Some of our past is dictated through generational patterns, which I share about in this article.
The Month of Adar
We are already about to enter into the third month of a new year according to the Gregorian calendar. Hebraically, we have entered into a new month, the month of Adar. Adar is said to be the happiest and most joyous month of the Hebrew calendar. In fact, the motto of the month is, "when Adar comes, then our joy is greatly increased." I have noticed that when God declares a victory, the enemy does everything possible to change the times and seasons so that our breakthrough "appears" opposite of what the Lord has declared. In other words, instead of experiencing "joy" at this time, we might be tempted to focus on sorrow, depression and pain. Have you also noticed that the enemy speaks opposite of what God says? We must remain focused on the "joy of the Lord becoming our strength" during this season. If we find our joy in Him, we can overcome any obstacle.
Adar is also the month when we must press into our "true identity." This is done by asking the Holy Spirit to overshadow us so that we become pregnant with His Word. In fact, Adar is even more so recognized as the month of pregnancy and "giving birth to our true identity." This means that whatever is hindering us from realizing who we are in Christ will be revealed during this season.
I recently had a dream about fear. In the dream, the stronghold of fear was being passed generationally through the bloodlines of God's people. This is what I refer to as a generational curse. According to Scripture, generational curses (such as iniquity, illness, sins of the fathers) are passed to the third and fourth generation (see Exodus 20:5). In my dream, God's people were unable to move forward because of fear, intimidation and false identities. The dream was significant because the Lord said that in order to cycle out of our past and move forward to possess our future, we had to be seriously committed to breaking old generational cycles.
Cutting the Umbilical Cord to Our Past
I heard the Lord say to tell His people to "cut the umbilical cord to their past." Most of us do not realize that we are actually held captive to demonic birth assignments that attempted to attach themselves to us through generational strongholds. If we can cut the cords to our past, we can cycle out of old death structures which have held us captive. Let's look at Ezekiel 16:1-5 to gain a greater understanding of the need to "cut the cord" (cutting the umbilical cord) to our past. In this passage, notice the Lord mentions that Jerusalem's father was an "Amorite" and her mother was a "Hittite" and that Jerusalem needed to cut herself free of the influences of these strongholds:
"The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices and say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.'"
The Canaanite, Amorite and Hittite Strongholds
Many of us have felt as if we have been open prey to the enemy. God is alerting us that if we close the doors to the past by cutting our ties and cutting the umbilical cord to our past behavior, then we can be free of death structures which have remained as generational assignments to destroy us. The Lord pointed out that Jerusalem 's ancestry was in the land of the Canaanites which means "a peddler or a trafficker." Interestingly, this implies one who "peddles their goods" in caravans, traveling or trafficking through the territories.
How many times has the devil attempted to "peddle his goods" to us? He comes into our lives and thoughts to sell us his lies and evil seductions and, if not careful, we buy into them. God was addressing Jerusalem's sins and desired to cut her free from her past. I believe that many precious saints have a "chronic dissatisfaction." If we allow a Canaanite spirit to keep us wandering in the wilderness to find out where we fit, we will never get out of the desert. The truth is we must realize that "we already fit!" Yes, we are part of the Body of Christ. We have our place and our identity in Him. If we look for acceptance elsewhere, we will continue to remain in the wilderness.
The Lord goes further and discusses the generational strongholds of the Amorite and Hittite influence over His people. Again, He said that Jerusalem's father was an Amorite which translates as "a mountaineer, talker or slayer." A mountaineer is one who has an elevated position. I believe that our enemy desires to have a seated position over us. He attempts to exalt his words above what God has declared concerning us. He wants to destroy us and slay us by speaking lies. If we believe what He says over what God has declared, we are in trouble! If we don't cut that cord to his lies, we will be held captive.
Satan is attempting to destroy our image. We are created in the image of God and if the devil can seduce us to believe that we are unworthy, hopeless, less than and not measuring up, we are exalting his words above what God has said concerning us. Then, we are in idolatry--plain and simple. God has instructed us that we are to never bow down to a false image. If we have an image of ourselves that is opposite of what God has declared, then we are bowing down to a false image!
Now, let's look at the Hittite influence God is addressing in this passage. The Hebrew translation for Hittite means "an annoyer, dread or fear." This is self-explanatory. However, I must add that I have experienced the demonic presence of fear as never before. Let me encourage you that if you are being tormented by fear or dread, it is time to cut the cord of that old pattern and shift into greater faith.
In the natural, an umbilical cord is a feeding mechanism. It is what nourishes a baby while in the mother's womb. While in the womb, the entire nourishment for the baby is given through this cord. However, the cord is to be cut after delivery. In the spiritual realm, many of us have not cut the cord to an old "feeding" mechanism. We have listened to the enemy's lies and have been fed by our past wounds, behaviors and belief systems. We cannot rely on the old; we must be cut free and embrace the new. A baby cannot survive in its new life while still connected to an old umbilical cord. Neither can we spiritually.
When Israel left Egypt, they could no longer be fed by Egypt. It was time to let go of the "leeks and garlic" of Egypt. Yet during difficult seasons they still craved the food from their past. The Lord was addressing this and commanding them to cut those ties to the past. He wanted to feed them, nourish them, and care for them. He desired to clean her up and care for her. Look what He desired to do for Israel, according to Ezekiel 16:6-14 (which by the way, He also desires to do the same for each of us):
"And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare. When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, says the Lord GOD.
Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you, says the Lord GOD."
To put it plainly, this is what the Lord was saying to His children:
1. They had a death structure attached to their lives. God passed by them and saw them struggling in their blood. For us, God is saying that He is presently overshadowing us with His presence and desires to set us free from generational blood lines that are affecting our future.
2. He is overthrowing that death structure and declaring, "Live!" We can shift today by hearing the Word of the Lord and not listening to the devil who tries to "peddle his lies."
3. God desires to cover us with His love and power. He is promising to remove us from barrenness and cause us to thrive and mature.
4. He is washing us, cleansing us and anointing us.
5. He is reinforcing His covenant with each of us and placing a crown on our heads.
How awesome! This promise is for us to receive today. Unfortunately, Jerusalem chose to not receive God's best for her. She became unfaithful to Him and negated the covenant relationship that God so very much desired. This attitude kept Israel in bondage and, if we do not choose to cut the cords to our past, we will also remain a slave to our enemy. Dear ones, let's decide today to cut ourselves free.
In my recent book, Strategies From Heaven's Throne, I discuss many different strategies which will empower you to shift into greater levels of freedom. This book will empower you to cut the cords to your past and is available through the ElijahList. In this book you will read:
• How Abraham was empowered to fight the four kings and save his family. (For those of you who are praying for your family, this book will really empower you.)
• How to rise up from where you are and run with the horses.
• How to see yourself as God sees you.
• How to pray positively concerning your future.
• How to gain more revelation on the Sevenfold Spirit of God.
• How to cross over into your place of victory and establish a victory structure.
The Lord has provided Heavenly strategies--all from His throne--to shift us into a kairos moment for healing and maturity. He is passing by and desires to deliver us from our past. Let's make a decision today to hear Him and move forward to fulfill divine destiny.
My Prayer for You:
Father, I pray for each of these readers to seize his/her moment of breakthrough. Many of Your children have been held captive to their past and have not understood why. I thank You that You have provided insight as to how the captives can be set free. I pray that You cut them free from whatever "false feeding" they have received. I ask that You cut them free from the devil's lies and the death structure which have held them captive. I also ask that You cut them loose from all generational death assignments. I thank You for Your Blood covenant with us which promises to cover, protect, adorn and anoint us. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Your Confession and Declaration:
Lord, I decree and declare that I will no longer be hindered by my past. I make a decision to cut myself loose from Egypt. I negate the lies of the enemy and I will not listen to him any longer. I thank You for the Sword of the Spirit which cuts me loose from my past. I confess that I am being cut free from all generational iniquities and patterns. I thank You that I am no longer held captive to a death structure. I will live and not die! In Jesus' name. Amen.
Sandie Freed
Zion Ministries
Email: zionministries1@sbcglobal.net
