WEBVTT - Moving Beyond Your Past – Part 1 0:00:00.880 --> 0:00:04.320 Today on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe reminds us our family 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:06.720 history influences the way we will go. 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:12.160 If there's a history in your family, chances are that 0:00:12.160 --> 0:00:17.160 you will be influenced by that spiritual history and that 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:21.239 cultural history of your family as well. And so it's 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:25.680 important to understand what is that influence of my family 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:28.680 and how do I break out of it? 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.519 Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is founding 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:47.680 pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. And I'm 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:50.919 Wayne Shepherd. Today we're beginning a new message titled Moving 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:54.560 Beyond Your Past from our series Breaking Free. And, and Mark, 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:57.440 we're all affected by our past, for better or for worse. 0:00:57.800 --> 0:00:59.920 Where you are today is a direct result of the 0:00:59.920 --> 0:01:01.800 decisions you made up until this point in life. Do 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:03.160 you agree or disagree with that? 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:06.399 Absolutely. I agree with that, Wayne. And not only the 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:11.440 decisions that we've made, but we're also affected by decisions 0:01:11.440 --> 0:01:15.479 that others made our parents and our family. And although 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:18.959 we're not responsible for their decisions, we are affected by 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:22.080 their decisions. And it has a huge effect on us. 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:25.200 And sometimes there's a cycle that, well, we have to 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:29.680 be intentional about breaking or we will repeat that cycle. 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:32.160 It doesn't determine who we are in the future, does it? 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:36.240 No, but it does explain why we're struggling in the present. 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:39.520 Okay, let's get into the message from Exodus chapter 20. 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:40.640 Here's Mark Jobe. 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:45.800 All of us here are influenced by our family culture 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:50.800 and the generations of good and bad that have been 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:55.720 handed down to us and landed in our laps. Spiritually speaking, 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:59.559 we call this well, these are sometimes what we call 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:06.450 generational sin. Secular psychologists would shy away from the term sin, 0:02:06.450 --> 0:02:09.050 but they would still acknowledge the idea that people have 0:02:09.050 --> 0:02:13.570 a predisposition to make a series of bad choices based 0:02:13.570 --> 0:02:17.530 on their family history. In fact, here's an illustration I 0:02:17.530 --> 0:02:19.970 want you to listen well, because this really struck me. 0:02:20.850 --> 0:02:26.610 In 1874, a long time ago, there was a member 0:02:26.610 --> 0:02:29.730 of New York State Prison Board, noticed that there were 0:02:29.730 --> 0:02:34.690 six members of the same family that were incarcerated at 0:02:34.690 --> 0:02:39.170 the same time. The board did some research, and looking 0:02:39.169 --> 0:02:41.970 back a few generations, to try to find the original 0:02:41.970 --> 0:02:47.650 couple who originated the tragic family legacy. So they studied 0:02:47.650 --> 0:02:51.490 the family genealogy, and they discovered that it went back 0:02:51.490 --> 0:02:56.410 to well, it went back to a couple from 1720, 0:02:56.850 --> 0:03:00.330 a man who was an alcoholic. Uh, he was viewed 0:03:00.330 --> 0:03:05.410 as having low character, lazy. And to make matters worse, 0:03:05.410 --> 0:03:09.450 he married a woman who was much like himself, and 0:03:09.450 --> 0:03:14.929 together they had six daughters and two sons. Eight kids. 0:03:15.730 --> 0:03:22.769 Here's what the report revealed about the approximately 1200 descendants 0:03:22.770 --> 0:03:28.010 of this one man that struggled with alcoholism, laziness, low character, 0:03:28.010 --> 0:03:30.929 and his wife who struggled the same and had eight kids. 0:03:31.050 --> 0:03:36.690 They traced 1200 of their descendants, and what they discovered 0:03:36.690 --> 0:03:47.690 is that 310 were homeless, 160 were prostitutes, 180 suffered 0:03:47.690 --> 0:03:53.890 from drug and alcohol abuse, 150 were criminals who spent 0:03:53.890 --> 0:04:00.050 time in prison, including seven for murder. They also found 0:04:00.050 --> 0:04:04.300 out that the state of New York spent $1.5 million 0:04:04.820 --> 0:04:09.740 very high for those days to care for the descendants 0:04:09.740 --> 0:04:15.580 of this couple. Are you tracking with me? This family 0:04:16.420 --> 0:04:24.780 had eight kids. Basically influenced an entire generation of criminals, alcoholics, prostitutes, 0:04:24.820 --> 0:04:32.140 people that were incarcerated because they handed down this generational influence. Now, 0:04:32.300 --> 0:04:36.620 around the same time, they did another study. They studied 0:04:36.620 --> 0:04:39.940 the descendants of a man by the name of Jonathan Edwards. 0:04:40.260 --> 0:04:43.180 For some of you, that name may be familiar. He 0:04:43.180 --> 0:04:47.940 was a preacher, a Puritan preacher, a pretty famous for 0:04:48.140 --> 0:04:51.340 his his zeal for God and his desire to follow 0:04:51.339 --> 0:04:54.260 the things of God. And so they studied his family 0:04:54.300 --> 0:04:59.340 heritage and involving also a couple that lived about the 0:04:59.339 --> 0:05:06.020 same time and Jonathan Edwards was born in 1703. Deeply religious, 0:05:06.020 --> 0:05:09.020 he lived a life of strong moral values, became a 0:05:09.020 --> 0:05:14.099 minister and a dedicated family man. He married a deeply 0:05:14.100 --> 0:05:17.940 religious woman by the name of Sarah, who also shared 0:05:17.940 --> 0:05:24.420 his values. Together they had help us 11 children. He 0:05:24.420 --> 0:05:26.540 needed to be preaching more. I think he was had 0:05:26.540 --> 0:05:32.620 a little too extra time on his hands there. 11 children. Eventually, 0:05:32.620 --> 0:05:38.740 Jonathan Edwards became the president of Princeton University. Here's what 0:05:38.740 --> 0:05:44.540 the researchers discovered about his descendants. They discovered around the 0:05:44.540 --> 0:05:47.460 same time that they studied the other family's descendants that 0:05:47.460 --> 0:05:52.580 he had his descendants. Among them were 13 college presidents, 0:05:53.500 --> 0:06:02.190 65 college professors. 100 of those were attorneys, 32 were 0:06:02.190 --> 0:06:09.270 state judges. 85 were authors of classic books. 66 were doctors, 0:06:09.750 --> 0:06:14.950 80 held political office, including three state governors. Three were 0:06:14.950 --> 0:06:18.670 state senators and one became the vice president of the 0:06:18.670 --> 0:06:23.310 United States of America. And what the study concluded is 0:06:23.310 --> 0:06:29.429 that although your past history does not dictate your future, 0:06:29.870 --> 0:06:33.950 your past family history does have a strong influence on 0:06:33.950 --> 0:06:36.229 the way that you can go. Now, some of you 0:06:36.230 --> 0:06:41.430 are here and you have a terrible family history. Some 0:06:41.430 --> 0:06:44.230 of you here. If you were to follow the natural 0:06:44.230 --> 0:06:48.270 flow of your family history, you also would become an alcoholic. 0:06:48.550 --> 0:06:51.909 You also will end would end up in prison. You 0:06:51.910 --> 0:06:57.430 also would have multiple, possibly multiple divorces and or infidelity 0:06:57.430 --> 0:07:00.430 or drug addiction issues in your life if you followed 0:07:00.550 --> 0:07:04.550 the natural history, that's what the studies would dictate that 0:07:04.550 --> 0:07:07.070 you would end up. But I believe in the power 0:07:07.070 --> 0:07:11.070 of God to change people's cycle and to determine a 0:07:11.070 --> 0:07:14.910 new history for every individual that is willing to follow 0:07:14.950 --> 0:07:18.350 the power of God, I believe it. And so today, 0:07:18.350 --> 0:07:19.750 I want to talk to you a little bit about 0:07:19.750 --> 0:07:22.710 how do we break the cycle of our past and 0:07:22.710 --> 0:07:26.550 how it influences us and what you can do about it. 0:07:27.910 --> 0:07:30.350 For some, this is good news. For some, it's bad 0:07:30.350 --> 0:07:35.030 news depending upon your past. In Exodus chapter 20, verses 0:07:35.030 --> 0:07:37.870 four through six, here's what it tells us. It's one 0:07:37.870 --> 0:07:41.390 of the Ten Commandments. But nestled in one of the 0:07:41.390 --> 0:07:49.470 Ten Commandments is an observation about our heritage and generational influence. 0:07:50.270 --> 0:07:53.790 It says in verse four of Exodus chapter 20, you 0:07:53.790 --> 0:07:56.510 shall not make for yourselves an image in the form 0:07:56.510 --> 0:08:00.680 of anything in heaven above, or on earth, beneath Or 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:04.000 in the waters below. You shall not bow down to 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:08.520 them or worship them. For I, the Lord your God, 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:12.240 am a jealous God. Now let me pause here for 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:16.840 a moment. And some of you often. Some of you 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:20.280 come from backgrounds where you worship in places that have 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:23.440 a lot of statues, a lot of images. And you 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:25.400 walk into this church and you say, what's up with 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:27.480 this church? Man, you guys are poor. Can't you even 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:33.280 afford a little statue? We on purpose don't have statues 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:42.920 or images of graven images of God or Jesus or others, 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.880 and we don't have them in a place of worship 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:52.000 specifically because we're trying to follow this commandment. We don't 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:58.479 want anybody to come to church and start to project 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:02.600 their worship upon a statue or an image, thinking that 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:07.040 that image or statue somehow has holy power or presence 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:09.640 of God. And I've been to a lot of countries 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:12.959 around the world, and there are statues that are venerated 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.959 as holy shrines, and people go and pray to those 0:09:15.960 --> 0:09:19.280 statues and, and touch those statues and, and feel like 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.719 they're very, very holy. And this is strictly forbidden in 0:09:22.720 --> 0:09:26.880 one of the commandments. Now, I don't believe that it's 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:31.080 a sin to make paintings. And I don't even believe 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:39.000 that it's a wrong necessarily to have sculptures of holy things, 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:41.960 but not in a house of worship, and not in 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:46.880 a place where people could direct their worship towards those 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:51.280 images or statues, because they become then idols in which 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:55.760 people pray to. And so this commandment tells us it's 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:59.520 forbidden to do this. And then because people were having 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:04.329 graven images. And because people were worshipping images and other 0:10:04.330 --> 0:10:09.610 things besides the invisible spirit God, he tells us that 0:10:09.610 --> 0:10:14.569 God is a jealous God. Now, God is not jealous 0:10:14.570 --> 0:10:18.610 in a sinful way. God is jealous in a holy way, 0:10:19.570 --> 0:10:23.689 in a protective way, in a way that understands that 0:10:24.450 --> 0:10:30.329 when you commit yourself to him, that following Him and 0:10:30.330 --> 0:10:35.449 His ways makes your life be the best life and 0:10:35.450 --> 0:10:39.010 the life that God has intended for you. Many people 0:10:39.210 --> 0:10:43.850 have jealousy out of insecurity. God's not insecure at all. 0:10:44.010 --> 0:10:48.010 God is self-contained. He needs no one to affirm who 0:10:48.010 --> 0:10:50.370 he is or to tell him who he is. He 0:10:50.370 --> 0:10:54.090 knows who he is, but he's a jealous God in 0:10:54.090 --> 0:10:56.490 the sense that when a commitment is made to him, 0:10:56.490 --> 0:11:00.690 he's jealous over that commitment and over that that relationship. 0:11:02.290 --> 0:11:06.250 And he says, um, those that worship other idols, those 0:11:06.250 --> 0:11:09.250 that give their worship to others, he talks about that sinning, 0:11:09.250 --> 0:11:11.890 he says, punishing the children for the sins of the 0:11:11.890 --> 0:11:15.330 parents to the third and fourth generation of those that 0:11:15.330 --> 0:11:19.569 hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of 0:11:19.570 --> 0:11:25.890 those who love me and keep my commandments. Jeremiah chapter 0:11:25.890 --> 0:11:28.770 32 talks about this as well, and I think it 0:11:28.809 --> 0:11:33.610 explains it a little bit better. Jeremiah chapter 32 verse 0:11:33.610 --> 0:11:37.210 18 says, O sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens 0:11:37.210 --> 0:11:40.530 and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. 0:11:41.450 --> 0:11:46.490 Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands, 0:11:46.890 --> 0:11:51.370 but bring the punishment for the father's sins into the 0:11:51.370 --> 0:11:55.890 laps of their children after them. Now I want to 0:11:55.890 --> 0:11:58.689 explain what this passage is saying and what this passage 0:11:58.690 --> 0:12:03.699 is not saying. this passage is not saying that God 0:12:03.700 --> 0:12:09.380 will hold you responsible for your parents sins. But what 0:12:09.380 --> 0:12:13.540 this passage does say is that you are negatively or 0:12:13.540 --> 0:12:20.580 positively impacted by the sins of your parents, your grandparents, 0:12:20.620 --> 0:12:25.860 your great grandparents down to the fourth generation. You are 0:12:25.860 --> 0:12:30.460 not responsible for their sin, but you are affected by 0:12:30.460 --> 0:12:31.300 their sin. 0:12:38.940 --> 0:12:41.540 The power of God can change people's cycles for all 0:12:41.580 --> 0:12:44.100 who are willing to follow him. That's our takeaway from 0:12:44.100 --> 0:12:46.420 the first half of this message from Mark Jobe on 0:12:46.420 --> 0:12:48.660 bold Steps today. Mark will return to give us some 0:12:48.660 --> 0:12:50.860 more ways to move beyond our past in just a moment. 0:12:50.860 --> 0:12:53.780 So please keep listening. Now, Mark, one of my favorite 0:12:53.780 --> 0:12:56.420 parts of Monday's is opening up the bold step for 0:12:56.420 --> 0:12:57.580 weekly Monday mornings. 0:12:57.700 --> 0:13:02.100 That's right, every Monday morning of the devotional. And let 0:13:02.100 --> 0:13:03.939 me tell you why I think it's so popular. It's 0:13:03.940 --> 0:13:07.820 because you can listen on the go while you're driving 0:13:07.820 --> 0:13:12.900 your kids to school, while you're commuting, doing an errand, 0:13:12.940 --> 0:13:16.780 working out. So if you don't know about that feature, 0:13:16.780 --> 0:13:18.500 then when you go there, just make sure you tap 0:13:18.500 --> 0:13:21.579 on the audio version and you'll be able to listen 0:13:21.580 --> 0:13:24.339 to the devotional. We don't in our busy lives, we 0:13:24.340 --> 0:13:27.699 can always read. So just an encouragement to. If you've 0:13:27.700 --> 0:13:29.819 never tried it, let's try it this week. 0:13:29.820 --> 0:13:32.340 Maybe that's why God gave us AirPods. Who knows, right? 0:13:33.220 --> 0:13:35.260 So if you'd like to receive the Bold Stepper weekly, 0:13:35.260 --> 0:13:38.740 you can visit our website, Bold steps.org, and take advantage 0:13:38.740 --> 0:13:41.860 of that audio feature on the Bold Stepper weekly. Now 0:13:41.860 --> 0:13:44.300 let's get back into today's bold steps. The message is 0:13:44.300 --> 0:13:47.500 titled Moving Beyond Your Past. And once again, here's Mark. 0:13:52.860 --> 0:13:56.700 I remember when I went into the doctor's office for 0:13:56.700 --> 0:13:59.380 the first time to see a new doctor, and they 0:13:59.380 --> 0:14:03.510 had me fill out 3 or 4 pages of medical 0:14:03.510 --> 0:14:07.949 family history. Anybody else have to do that ever? I'm like, hey, 0:14:07.950 --> 0:14:11.350 I'm here to. I'm here about me, not about my grandfather. 0:14:12.670 --> 0:14:14.990 But they wanted to know, is there a history of 0:14:14.990 --> 0:14:19.390 heart disease? Is there a history of diabetes? Has anybody 0:14:19.390 --> 0:14:23.710 died of cancer? Um, is there a propensity in your 0:14:23.710 --> 0:14:28.630 family towards, uh, any kind of chronic illnesses? And they're 0:14:28.630 --> 0:14:32.470 talking about something that, in a way, I feel like, hey, 0:14:32.510 --> 0:14:35.430 what's that have to do with me? But see, what 0:14:35.470 --> 0:14:39.790 a doctor understands is that if there's a predisposition in 0:14:39.790 --> 0:14:45.030 your family towards diabetes, then chances are that you also 0:14:45.030 --> 0:14:51.110 could struggle with diabetes because of that biological influence in 0:14:51.110 --> 0:14:55.870 your life. Spiritually speaking, the same thing happens in our 0:14:55.870 --> 0:15:00.000 life as well. If there's a history of Of depression. 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.360 If there's a history of divorce, if there's a history 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:07.000 of addiction, if there's a history of incest, if there's 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:11.400 a history of poverty, if there's a history of abuse, sexual, verbal, 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:17.040 physical abuse, if there's a history in your family, chances 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:22.640 are that you will be influenced by that spiritual history 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:27.560 and that cultural history of your family as well. And 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:31.520 so it's important to understand what is that influence of 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:35.680 my family and how do I break out of it? 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:38.000 So I want to talk to you about a few 0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:42.880 steps of moving beyond your past today, because I believe 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:47.120 I run into a lot of people that desperately need 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.400 to break the cycles of their past and start new 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:54.080 cycles in their future. I'm going to give you a 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:57.120 couple of steps that are important to, to, to take. 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:02.240 Number one, if you're taking notes, write this down. I 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:07.320 believe it starts by admitting and confessing what I would 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:13.680 call binding cycles in you and your family. You know, 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:15.560 before we can ever deal with the problem, we have 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:19.040 to admit we have a problem. You learned that if 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:21.360 you've ever struggled with addiction, that's one of the first 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:25.520 steps in any 12 step recovery program is that they 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:28.240 say you can't deal with an issue that you don't 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:33.080 believe you have. You can't deal with a problem unless 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:36.480 you acknowledge I have a problem. You won't go to 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:42.200 the doctor unless you admit that you have a physical problem. 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:46.200 You won't go to the counselor unless you determine I 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:50.200 need counseling. You'll never deal with an issue in your 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:54.400 life unless you come to the realization that I truly 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:56.960 have an issue. You know, a lot of us spend 0:16:56.960 --> 0:17:00.160 a lot of our lives excusing what we have and 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:04.960 making it sound normal. So the husband that has an 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:12.880 anger issue gives his wife a black eye, bruises. And 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:16.600 then finally when he goes back and he says, you know, 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:21.320 you made me do that. You know that, right? You 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:25.160 pushed me to the edge and and I didn't want 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:27.840 to do it. I never oh, I love you, honey. 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:30.040 I don't want to do that. But you push me. 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:35.159 And because of you, I did that. And if she 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:38.600 feels like it's not normal and wants to say something 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:40.640 about it, you know, he tries to make it sound 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:43.600 like everybody does that. Like, well, you know, at least 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:46.760 I didn't break your jaw like Jose down the block 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.359 did to his wife. And, you know, my father used 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:51.560 to do this and he was a lot worse than 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:55.520 this is kind of normal. This is normal behavior. Everybody 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:59.439 kind of does this. And and so if it's normal, 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:01.930 then you should accept it as normal in your life. 0:18:01.930 --> 0:18:05.370 And if you're around abuse long enough, you start to 0:18:05.369 --> 0:18:08.450 feel like, okay, well, it's no big deal. It's normal. 0:18:08.450 --> 0:18:12.450 This happens in every household. Everybody goes through this. And 0:18:12.450 --> 0:18:15.770 the reality is that you'll never deal with a problem 0:18:15.810 --> 0:18:23.450 until you realize, I can't excuse it. This is an issue. Hello. 0:18:24.850 --> 0:18:27.770 And so it is in our spiritual life as well. 0:18:28.890 --> 0:18:32.250 You start asking yourselves, what are the binding tendencies in 0:18:32.250 --> 0:18:35.370 my life? Is there a pattern in my family's past? 0:18:35.410 --> 0:18:39.250 Do my siblings or children struggle with the same tendencies 0:18:39.450 --> 0:18:45.010 in their life? I some people talk about generational curses. 0:18:45.010 --> 0:18:48.409 I really don't like that term curses because I believe 0:18:48.410 --> 0:18:52.810 in Jesus Christ. Every curse has been broken. Every curse 0:18:52.810 --> 0:18:57.889 has been broken. Galatians chapter three, verse 13 says, Christ 0:18:57.890 --> 0:19:00.220 has redeemed us from the curse of the law being 0:19:00.220 --> 0:19:02.780 made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed 0:19:02.780 --> 0:19:04.980 is every one man that hangs on a tree. I 0:19:04.980 --> 0:19:07.260 believe that in the power of Jesus every curse has 0:19:07.260 --> 0:19:09.900 been broken. And so I don't. I don't look at 0:19:09.900 --> 0:19:13.540 this as generational curses. I look at this as generational 0:19:13.540 --> 0:19:18.900 influence in our life. Some people struggle with the negative 0:19:18.900 --> 0:19:29.460 influence on their life and the family background of defeatism, divorce, pessimism, selfishness, greed, anger, addictions, laziness. 0:19:29.940 --> 0:19:35.060 One person's dysfunctional behavior becomes the model or the example 0:19:35.060 --> 0:19:41.580 for the next generation. Uh, Christian psychologist Kevin Lehman, he 0:19:41.580 --> 0:19:43.780 written a couple of books. One of the books is 0:19:43.780 --> 0:19:46.619 the birth order book. The other book is what your 0:19:46.619 --> 0:19:50.780 childhood memories say about you. He says that it's a 0:19:50.780 --> 0:19:57.580 combination of both, both our, um, our DNA, so to speak, 0:19:57.580 --> 0:20:05.300 and our mode of Operation. Dysfunctional families beget dysfunction, he explains, 0:20:05.859 --> 0:20:10.580 adding that even sometimes when children are adopted from birth, 0:20:10.580 --> 0:20:14.380 they may have the tendencies to mirror their biological parents, 0:20:14.380 --> 0:20:17.900 even though they've never been raised by those biological parents. 0:20:18.460 --> 0:20:22.580 I believe that we reproduce family culture. Studies show that 0:20:22.580 --> 0:20:26.660 families tend to reproduce their own culture and dysfunctions from 0:20:26.660 --> 0:20:31.580 one generation to the next generation. For example, selfish parents 0:20:31.580 --> 0:20:36.140 tend to produce selfish children. An alcoholic parent is likely 0:20:36.140 --> 0:20:42.379 to produce alcoholic children a spousal abusers often produce children 0:20:42.380 --> 0:20:46.700 who grow up to abuse their spouses or are abused 0:20:46.700 --> 0:20:51.820 by their spouses. And it takes one generation to rise 0:20:51.820 --> 0:20:57.060 up and say, I will not pass this down to 0:20:57.100 --> 0:21:02.820 the next generation. My kids and grandkids and great grandkids 0:21:02.820 --> 0:21:08.820 will not perpetuate this cycle in their life either. Jeremiah 0:21:08.859 --> 0:21:11.700 chapter 14 verse 20 says, O Lord, we acknowledge our 0:21:11.700 --> 0:21:15.740 wickedness and the guilt of our fathers. We have indeed 0:21:15.740 --> 0:21:20.460 sinned against you. You see, part of breaking free is 0:21:20.460 --> 0:21:24.740 admitting and confessing that there is an issue. First of all, 0:21:24.740 --> 0:21:29.300 in your life, but also in your family culture. So 0:21:29.300 --> 0:21:33.140 it starts with admitting and confessing. There is an issue, 0:21:33.140 --> 0:21:36.980 and I can't excuse my anger issue by saying, well, 0:21:37.100 --> 0:21:39.540 I'm half Irish and half Puerto Rican, so that's why 0:21:39.540 --> 0:21:41.580 I blow up all the time. It's just sort of, 0:21:41.940 --> 0:21:44.660 you know, it's my personality. No, no, you can't excuse 0:21:44.660 --> 0:21:47.940 it that way. You can't blame it on your heritage. 0:21:48.619 --> 0:21:51.580 Don't tell me what, pastor on my side of the tracks, everybody. No, no, no. 0:21:51.580 --> 0:21:55.619 I don't care what everybody did. You are not everybody. 0:21:55.619 --> 0:21:57.940 And you are called to live a different life at 0:21:57.940 --> 0:22:00.990 a different level, with a different system, with a different God, 0:22:00.990 --> 0:22:04.590 with a different character, with a different value. That's your calling. 0:22:10.350 --> 0:22:14.070 It starts by admitting and confessing binding cycles. That's the 0:22:14.070 --> 0:22:16.870 first step for moving beyond your past. Today's message with 0:22:16.869 --> 0:22:19.350 Mark Jobe. You're listening to Bold Steps, and Mark will 0:22:19.350 --> 0:22:21.910 have two more suggestions for us tomorrow, so make plans 0:22:21.910 --> 0:22:24.270 to join us then. If you've missed any of the 0:22:24.270 --> 0:22:26.910 messages from this series called Breaking Free What It Means 0:22:26.910 --> 0:22:29.150 to Walk Tall Again, let me invite you to catch 0:22:29.150 --> 0:22:32.869 up right now by visiting bold steps.org. While you're there 0:22:32.910 --> 0:22:34.710 on the website, you'll also want to check out our 0:22:34.710 --> 0:22:38.149 special Bold Step gift we're offering exclusively this month from 0:22:38.150 --> 0:22:42.430 pastor and author Louie Giglio. Mark is called Goliath Must Fall, 0:22:42.430 --> 0:22:45.869 and one of the giants that Louie takes on is addiction. 0:22:45.869 --> 0:22:47.669 That feels especially relevant right now. 0:22:47.710 --> 0:22:50.270 It does. And I love the image of a giant 0:22:50.270 --> 0:22:53.950 in our life that needs to come down. David was 0:22:54.230 --> 0:22:59.109 facing something insurmountable without the power of God. There are 0:22:59.109 --> 0:23:03.030 so many people today in our society that have been 0:23:03.030 --> 0:23:08.469 lured into addictions, and now that addiction has become the giant, right? 0:23:08.790 --> 0:23:11.469 You know, when I pastored in the city of Chicago 0:23:11.470 --> 0:23:16.950 for many, many years, and everything from hardcore heroin addicts 0:23:16.950 --> 0:23:21.750 to cocaine addicts to so many other addictions, and you say, oh, 0:23:21.910 --> 0:23:24.750 that's great, pastor Mark. That's not me. But let me just. 0:23:24.790 --> 0:23:27.070 Yeah, let's stop for a moment. Right. Yeah. 0:23:27.510 --> 0:23:32.510 Because anything that you go to, to make you feel 0:23:32.550 --> 0:23:37.310 better and relieve your pain, that eventually starts to take 0:23:37.310 --> 0:23:39.990 over your life. And you need it when you're going 0:23:39.990 --> 0:23:44.469 through a difficulty. Mhm. You went to it to, uh, 0:23:44.470 --> 0:23:48.709 just get relief, but now it's become your master. That 0:23:48.710 --> 0:23:53.390 is an addiction. That can be chocolate silk pie or 0:23:53.710 --> 0:23:57.110 that can be a pornography that you go to. Uh, 0:23:57.109 --> 0:23:59.760 it could be a lot of things in your life, 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:05.280 not just alcohol or hardcore drugs. That giant must fall 0:24:05.320 --> 0:24:09.399 or that giant will rule you. Jigdo gives some just 0:24:09.400 --> 0:24:15.760 some real practical, good, insightful lessons in overcoming addiction in 0:24:15.760 --> 0:24:18.480 this book called Goliath Must Fall. 0:24:18.560 --> 0:24:20.719 So let us know where to send you your copy 0:24:20.720 --> 0:24:22.760 of this Bold Step gift. When you give a gift 0:24:22.760 --> 0:24:25.880 of any amount to support bold steps. To donate and 0:24:25.880 --> 0:24:29.000 request a copy, just give us a call at 800 D.L. 0:24:29.040 --> 0:24:34.560 Moody or give online at bold steps.org/give. And you can 0:24:34.560 --> 0:24:37.200 also send your gift and request the book. Our address 0:24:37.240 --> 0:24:43.640 is Bold steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 606 ten. Now, 0:24:43.640 --> 0:24:45.920 when you partner with us by giving a monthly gift, 0:24:45.920 --> 0:24:48.119 we'll add your name to the growing list of faithful 0:24:48.119 --> 0:24:51.920 listeners we call Bold Partners. Our monthly partners are such 0:24:51.920 --> 0:24:54.880 an important part of this media ministry, and your generous 0:24:54.880 --> 0:24:57.120 gifts not only make a difference here and now, but 0:24:57.119 --> 0:25:00.200 in the generations to come. So sign up right now 0:25:00.200 --> 0:25:07.000 at bold steps.org or by calling (800) 356-6639. And before we 0:25:07.040 --> 0:25:09.600 close today, let me remind you to like or follow 0:25:09.600 --> 0:25:12.440 us on your favorite social media platform. You'll find us 0:25:12.440 --> 0:25:16.000 listed as Bold Steps Radio on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. 0:25:16.280 --> 0:25:18.760 Log in to your account, like and follow our pages 0:25:18.760 --> 0:25:21.080 and stay up to date with all new content. Mark 0:25:21.080 --> 0:25:24.200 has to share. I'm Wayne Shepherd. That's our time today. 0:25:24.200 --> 0:25:26.280 Be sure to come back next week though, when Mark 0:25:26.280 --> 0:25:29.160 continues with the final half of this message called Moving 0:25:29.160 --> 0:25:32.400 Beyond Your Past. We'll learn more about the binding cycles 0:25:32.400 --> 0:25:36.000 in our family history and steps to move beyond our past. 0:25:36.359 --> 0:25:38.600 The message comes from our series Breaking Free. What it 0:25:38.600 --> 0:25:41.040 Means to Walk Tall Again. And you will hear it 0:25:41.040 --> 0:25:46.280 right here Monday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold 0:25:46.280 --> 0:25:49.199 steps is a production of Moody Radio, a Ministry of 0:25:49.240 --> 0:25:50.640 Moody Bible Institute.