Dysfunction Is Not Your Destiny

It is family month building a legacy. You know legacy is a reality. We are always building legacy. Really the challenge the question today is what kind of legacy are we building? We're going to leave something with the next generation. Every generation stands in the middle between two other generations. And we have to make a decision. What are you going to pick up from the legacy of that generation before you? You don't have to pick up everything. You don't have to pick up everything from that legacy of the generation before you.

And what will you leave the generation coming behind you? So, every generation stands in the middle. We're going to go to the word of the Lord. Psalm 78. A psalm written by Asaf, the great Hebrew singer, musician, songwriter, a prophetic composer of David and Solomon's era. It's the longest of the historical psalms and it is a very unique psalm. It contains some warnings against repeating history, a warning against repeating failures from the past. We don't have to repeat every failure of the past.

We can learn from somebody else's mistakes. You don't have to make them all yourself. You can learn from somebody else's mistakes. It's a whole lot easier to do it that way. So, this particular psalm is addressed to the oncoming generation. Psalm 78. We're going to read the first eight verses. Oh my people, listen to my instructions. This is from the NLT version. Open your ears to what I am saying. For I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past.

Stories we have heard and known. Stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children. We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob. He gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children. So the next generation might know them, even the children not yet born. And they in turn will teach their own children.

So each generation should set its hope a new on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. then they will not be like their ancestors, stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God. Then the psalmist continues telling the story of God's people, 72 verses total in this particular psalm. I'm going to preach to you for just a few moments today. Dysfunction is not your destiny. Dysfunction is not your destiny. There's some things we need to pick up from the previous generation.

There's other things we just need to to leave buried. The failures of a previous generation, the dysfunction of the past doesn't have to define our future. It doesn't have to define our destiny today. But the God who changes not has the power to change our destiny today. No matter what the past may have looked like in a particular family or what influence may be there, the God who changes not, the one who is steadfast has the ability, the power to do a work of transformation in this service today.

Would you take a moment and just pray with me right now that the Holy Ghost would speak to us that God would have his way today? We thank you, Jesus, Lord, for your goodness and your mercy toward us. We thank you for this day, this moment. Everything that is being focused on this month, what this day represents for some individual, for some married couple, a family today, for generations today. Lord, I'm praying and that your will would be accomplished. Lord, that you would speak to us through your word, through the power of your spirit, that your will would be accomplished in us today.

Lord, we dedicate this time to you. We dedicate ourselves to you, Lord. giving you the glory for everything that you're going to do in the next few moments and we thank you for it Jesus in the name of Jesus and we pray. Amen. God bless you. You may be seated. The human family was the first institution established by God as expressed through his creative order and marriage is the foundation of the family. Adam and Eve were created according to God's design with a distinction of qualities, roles, and responsibilities.

They were instructed to be fruitful, multiply, replenish, subdue, and to have dominion. And I believe that dominion is a concept, a spiritual truth that we need to discover, rediscover today in 2026 that we would have dominion in our own lives, that we would have dominion in our homes, that we would have dominion in our community. >> The fulfillment of this divine purpose through marriage between a man and a woman is the highest human expression of God's holiness. Holiness means to be set apart for God's special purpose.

One is the numerical value of holiness. God's holiness is the expression of his oneness because the more rare something is, the more holy it is. He is holy because he is only. Anybody believe there's only one God. >> He's holy because he is only. Considering the raging cultural battle that is advancing its militant anti-God, anti-biblical agenda, I am more convinced than I've ever been before of the necessity and validity of the biblical doctrines of gender distinction. The word of God plainly declares that it is an abomination to God.

It is detestable to him to blur the lines of distinction when it comes to matters of gender. Nature itself teaches us that it matters to God. And if it matters to God, it ought to matter to the church. Uh I've never been more convinced than I am today, gender distinction matters. Heard somebody say one time concerning holiness, find out what God loves and do more of that. Find out what God hates and do less of that. That is the essence of holiness. And when it comes to our roles and distinctions within the family, it matters to God and it ought to matter to us.

>> Genesis 2:24 gives us a beautiful explanation of marriage and the family. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. I want us to just work our way and walk through this particular verse. There's some powerful truths being communicated. The very first word therefore the the scriptural foundation an explanation for why we are to be fruitful and multiply and replenish and have dominion. Therefore, this is why we need to do this.

A man that speaks of maturity leaves. There is a transition that happens. His father and mother, this provides the model of marriage and what a complete family looks like. He's joined to there is the creation of a new family. He's becoming attached to his wife, his helpmate, that one who is of a complimentary nature. And they then become there's a process of relational growth, learning, uh developing friendship, developing trust. And this relationship of marriage, they become one flesh. This is speaking of deep intimacy.

It is physical. It's spiritual. It's mental. It is emotional. They become one flesh. and as one flesh, that married couple when operating according to creative order become the highest human expression of the holiness of God. That is God's plan and it works. >> THAT IS GOD'S plan and it's worked from the very beginning. But when it doesn't work according to God's plan, we have problems. Anything that operates outside of the godded function of the family is dysfunctional. Sociologists define dysfunction as any action or behavior that has negative consequences for a group.

Further defined as a family unit in which conflict, misbehavior and neglect occur regularly and are accepted as normal. God designed both the human family and the church family for the purpose of being fruitful and multiplying. And when the family is healthy, it produces a safe environment for the next generation to learn, to grow, to mature, both in the natural and in the spiritual. When the family is not healthy, then the next generation faces a more challenging path to become a productive and godly adult.

Any battle that your generation is not willing to win, the next generation is going to have to fight. Any battle that you're not willing to pay the price and do what it takes to conquer, the next generation is going to have to deal with. Let me just talk to some moms and dads, grandparents today. Any battle you're not willing to fight, the next generation is going to have to deal with it. I want to take care of my battles so the next generation doesn't have to deal with it.

I want to win my own battlesh so the next generation doesn't have to fight them. We understand this power of influence that one generation has upon the next. I want to read again this Psalm 78 as ASAF declares this incredible truth concerning generational influence. Oh my people, listen to my instructions and open your ears to what I'm saying. For I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past. We've got to learn from the past. Stories we have heard and known.

Stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children. We're not going to deny reality. Max Dri says the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. We got to know where we are if we're going to chart a path to where we want to go. >> Your navigation map on your phone doesn't do you any good if it doesn't know where you are. We're not going to hide from that reality. We're going to address that reality.

We won't hide these truths from our children. We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob. He gave his instruction to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them, even the children not yet born, and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope a new on God. You got to get it for yourself.

Every generation has to rediscover God, has to have a relationship with God. Every generation has to make that decision. You can't live for God based on mom and dad's relationship with God. You got to get a hold of God for yourself. Uh not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Then they will not be like some of those ancestors that were stubborn and rebellious and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God. I'm going to say this again. The failures of a pre previous generation, the dysfunction of the past does not have to define your future.

Just because you were raised in a dysfunctional home does not mean that you have to have a dysfunctional home today. Just because your marriage and your family have experienced some dysfunction in the past or maybe even in the present uh does not mean that you are without hope today. The way it has been or even the way it is today does not have to be the way it's always going to be. I still believe today in the old rugged cross. I still believe in the power of the gospel, his death, burial, and resurrection, and our obedient response to the gospel through faith that we can have a new beginning.

Uh that's what it means to be born again of water and of the spirit. Uh I DO NOT HAVE TO CARRY SOMEBODY ELSE'S dysfunction into my present. I DON'T HAVE TO CARRY MY OWN DYSFUNCTIONAL past into my future THROUGH THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL. I BELIEVE IN THE POWER of the Holy Ghost to transform a life, a marriage, a family. I've seen God do it. >> I've sat in the office across from those couples, those families with incredible dysfunction, with heartbreak, with infidelity, with pain, with brokenness.

But I've seen the hand of God step in and do a work of healing and restoration. when somebody made a decision, the dysfunction of the past isn't going to define our future. Maybe somebody would ask the question, what about generational curses? Well, first of all, say, I believe there are some misunderstandings concerning this concept. I would say it's even a a non-biblical concept. Some believe that a curse is passed down from one generation to another because of the rebellion, the sins of the past generation against God.

That this ungodly behavior is genetically transferred. That just like physical traits are passed down, that sinful traits are passed down to the next generation. I I want to take just a moment to challenge this curse concept because I believe it produces one or or both of two perspectives that are very destructive. First of all, the concept of the curse becomes a prison that we can't escape. >> It becomes a prison that I just have to live in. This is the hand that I was dealt.

This is the way it was. Dad was an alcoholic. Mom was a drug addict. That's just the way it way it was and that's the way it's going to be. and I'm going to follow those patterns and it becomes this prison that I can't break out of. Or it can create that victim mentality that shifts blame onto the previous generation as the reason for present dysfunction instead of taking present personal responsibility. Either one of those perspectives is destructive and are not the will of God.

YOUR PAST OR SOMEBODY ELSE'S past is not a prison that you have to live in. That's why Jesus died on the cross. Neither should it become an excuse. DON'T USE IT AS A WEAPON. DON'T USE IT AS AN EXCUSE. DON'T TAKE ON THAT VICTIM MENTALITY THAT JUST SAYS THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS. THAT'S THE WAY IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE THROUGH THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL. YOU DON'T HAVE to live out that past destiny. >> So, first of all, let's let's make sure we understand what is a reality.

Romans 5:12, "When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. And Adam's sin brought death. So death spread to everyone. For everyone sinned." Notice that everyone sinned. Through Adam's sin, each of us inherit this the sinful nature of death. That is we each have a propensity or a tendency to sin. But it is through our own sin because everyone has sinned. It's through our own sin that death spreads. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I'm not condemned by Adam's sin. I'm not condemned by my parents' sin.

It's my own sin. It's my own sin that is the problem. And the sooner I recognize that, the sooner I can begin to leave behind the dysfunction of the past, I have to repent because I'm a sinner. Not because my parents are were a sinner. Not because Adam sinned, but I have to take personal responsibility for my own sin. >> Just a few days ago, I was talking to my grandfather, J.R. Enzy, 88 years old, been preaching the gospel for 71 years. 71 years since he was 17 years of age.

And we were talking about church. And we were talking about growth. And we were talking about retention. And why do some people come into the church and experience God, repent, receive the Holy Ghost, get baptized in Jesus' name, and and they stick and they grow and they become disciples and they start discipling others. And then there are others who go through the same experience and they repent and they're baptized in Jesus' name and they receive the Holy Ghost and they go through the the disciplehip class, but then they just disappear and they're gone.

I was like, what what is that? And he said, "I believe that that long-term disciplehip relationship, that retention is connected to repentance." It's connected to repentance. And it's one thing to to come to an altar and say, "Jesus, I'm sorry for my sins and and I did wrong and I messed up and and we pray a little simple prayer and we kind of walk out the door." But there's something different when a person feels conviction deep in their spirit and they realize, and this is the words that he said that just stuck with me.

He said, "When a person realizes that it was their sin that caused Jesus to have to go to the cross, there's something about that revelation and there's something about that understanding." And when a person cries out in repentance and says, "God, I am sorry that my sin caused you to have to go to Calvary. I'm sorry that my sin was responsible for the pain that you experienced, for the for the death that you had to endure. Lord, you were bruised for my transgressions. YOU WERE BRUISED FOR MY TRANSGRESSIONS, GOD.

It was my sin that that was laid upon you. Your your your act on the cross was because of my sin. And when we get to that place of repentance, something transformational starts to happen in us. We make a true turn. We truly make a decision to go a different direction. We've got to come to that place of recognition, realization. It's my SIN THAT I'VE GOT TO repent of. >> My sin that caused him to go to the cross. The proof text that is often used to promote the concept of generational curses is Deuteronomy chapter 5.

Deuteronomy is the retelling of the law. Moses is giving the Ten Commandments again. Deuteronomy 5:9 says, "You must not bow down to them or worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. Notice this. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children. The entire family is affected. Even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. Yes. Yes, there is an effect. There is influence. I don't believe there's a curse.

I reject the premise that there is a curse that I have to carry. This verse must be understood within the broad context of scripture. Ezekiel 18:20 says, "The person who sins is the one who will die." The child will not be punished for the parents sins and the parent will not be punished for the child's sins. And righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness. And every individual is responsible for their own actions and and will receive the just recompense or reward for their behavior.

So what is God talking about in Deuteronomy? The sins of the parents would affect their family to the third and fourth generation. I don't believe that he is speaking of a curse or of the judgment of sin. But he is speaking of the consequences of sin and the influence of sin. Yes. If parents make bad decisions, the children and grandchildren may suffer some bad consequences. If one generation goes the wrong direction in a church, there are going to be some consequences. There is generational influence.

But I've got good news for you today. That influence goes two different directions. >> It's not all negative. All it takes is one generation to make up their mind to reverse the influence of a negative past AND START A NEW DIRECTIONAL INFLUENCE. All it takes is for one dad to stand up and say, "As for me at my house, WE'RE GOING TO SERVE THE LORD." GRANDMA AND GRANDPA MAY NOT HAVE SERVED GOD, BUT WE'RE GOING TO SERVE THE LORD. YOUR SIBLINGS MAY NOT LIVE BE LIVING FOR GOD, BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE'RE GOING TO SERVE THE LORD.

THAT INFLUENCE GOES two different directions. And you can make a declaration today. IT'S GOING TO BE A POSITIVE DIRECTION for my family. You may be first generation APOSTOLIC UH LIVING FOR GOD IN THIS kind of church. Uh but you can make a decision. Uh it's going to start with me. UH IT'S GOING TO START RIGHT HERE. UH IT'S GOING TO START RIGHT NOW. IT'S GOING TO START TODAY. Dysfunction is not your destiny. But generational influence is powerful. It's powerful. Jonathan Edwards was an American revivalist, pastor, philosopher, and theologian who was a significant figure during the first great awakening in the mid 1700s just prior to the American Revolution.

He began attending Yale University at the age of 13 and became a pastor at the age of 18. His father was also a pastor as was his grandfather. But his family was far from perfect. His grandmother was a scandalous woman and a disgrace to the family. His great aunt murdered a child. His great uncle was an axe murderer. Jonathan Edwards had a choice. Which influence is going to determine my destiny? It is said of him that he would rise at 4 in the morning and spend as many as 13 hours a day in prayer and study of the word.

An American educator decided to trace the descendants of Edwards almost 150 years after his death. And his findings are remarkable, especially when compared to another man named Max Jukes who lived at the same time as Edwards. I want you to look on the screen today. Believe they're going to show this. Look at Jonathan Edward's legacy. his descendants. One US vice president, one dean of a law school, one dean of a medical school, three US senators, three governors, three mayors, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 60 doctors, 65 professors, 75 military officers, 80 public office holders, 100 lawyers.

I don't know if that's a good thing. Uh 100, we have any lawyers in the house? 100 clergymen, 285 college graduates. Because a man made a decision concerning generational influence in my family. Not all of his descendants were perfect, but he made a decision. There are some elements of my legacy I'm going to pick up and others I'm going to bury. I'm going to deal with. I'm going to leave in the past. He made a decision concerning the direction of generational influence in his family.

Look at Max Juke's legacy. His legacy came to the attention of people when the family trees of 42 different men in the New York prison system were traced back to him. He lived in New York at about the same time period as Edwards. His legacy, seven murderers, 60 thieves, 190 prostitutes, 150 other convicts, 310 poppers, 440 alcoholics, and 300 who died prematurely. These contrasting legacies provide a powerful example of that four generation rule that God spoke of in Deuteronomy chapter 5. The decisions made in the home have farreaching consequences.

This is such a relevant message on a day that that it was baby dedication Sunday because as your pastor said, the example lived in the home is a whole lot more powerful than that example lived on this platform. What your child learns about God at home is going to be a whole lot more powerful than what they may learn in a classroom here at church. You have a decision to make. What will be the generational direction and influence of the legacy that I receive and the legacy that I pass on?

Let me just give somebody a little bit of hope this morning when we begin to look through scripture. We don't find a whole lot of perfect people. There's a whole lot of failure and brokenness. And but we do see God's redemptive plan at work. You look at God's covenant family. It was one of the most dysfunctional outfits you'll ever find. >> Look at Abraham. God calls Abram. He's supposed to leave behind his father's family, but he brings his nephew Lot with him, which would cause a whole lot of problems later.

When passing through Egypt, he lied about his wife Sarai being his sister. That iniquity of deception would become a family trend. They got impatient with God's plan, and Abram fathers a child, Ishmamail, with Sarai's servant, Hagar. Everything's fine until the promised child, Isaac, comes along. And then Ishmael makes fun of Isaac. And Hagar and Ishmael are thrown out of the family. They're rejected. Genesis 20, Abraham and Sarah's names have changed now, but their character remains the same. They lie again about Sarah being his sister, this time to King Aimilec and In and Guerrar, just perpetuating this character.

Isaac follows in his father's footsteps and he lies to King Aimilec, saying that Rebecca is his sister. Deception just runs in the family. Isaac and Rebecca have twins. Jacob and Esau, these boys were so dysfunctional, they're wrestling in the womb. That's how far this dysfunction goes. They're wrestling in the womb. They're born with Jacob holding on to Esau's heel. And Jacob, the suppler, the deceiver, the heel grabber. It wasn't an accident. He was a deceiver. It was a family trait. Takes advantage of his brother and trades a bowl of beans for his birthright.

And then he deceives his father and betrays his brother and receives the firstborn blessing. Deception just runs in the family. He flees and works for Laban for seven years for the right to marry his daughter Rachel. But guess what? He's deceived and he marries Leah instead. He reaps what he's been sewing. He's got to work seven more years to marry Rachel. He does. And you know what he what he does to his father-in-law, Laban? He deceives him. It just continues on. It's perpetuated incredible dysfunction.

But then there is Joseph, the fourth generation, Jacob's favorite son, Joseph, the dreamer. is attacked by his brothers and thrown into a pit. And the deception continues. They lie to their father. Jacob fears the worst, believing he's dead. Joseph sold into slavery. He ends up in Egypt. He finds success in Piper's house, but he's lied on. [panting] Deception continues to surround him and his family, but he refuses to to take up the weapon of deception. The setup lands him in prison, but he maintains his integrity.

He interprets dreams in prison, but he's forgotten until one day Pharaoh has a dream. The butler remembers the interpreter of dreams in the prison. And Joseph rises to second power in Egypt. And finally, his brothers are bowing down before him, begging for food, begging for their lives. And Joseph has this revelation that which was meant for evil, God has turned it for good. And so God navigates his way through all of the dysfunction of the past to preserve Joseph. So Joseph can preserve his family.

So Joseph can literally preserve the world. He ultimately preserves the lineage of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Joseph was faithful. He was committed. He never wavered in the pit, in Piper's house, in the prison. He was still faithful. He refused the generational influence of the past. He refused to perpetuate the dysfunctional deception that had plagued previous generations. And he saved his entire family. And he reversed that generational direction. And he turned the momentum of that negative influence. I want our musicians to come. I'm getting ready to close.

Dysfunction is not your destiny. You don't have to live in constant chaos. You don't have to live in pain and confusion and brokenness because of somebody else's past or because of your own past. The failures of the previous generation does not have to define your future, your purpose, your ministry, your marriage, your children, your grandchildren. There is hope today. I'll declare it again. And I still believe in the power of the old rugged cross and the blood that Jesus Christ shed 2,000 years ago.

You want to talk about a miracle that the blood that he shed 2,000 years ago still has the power and the ability to heal in this service this morning. By his stripes, WE ARE HEALED. THERE IS HOPE TODAY. You can be born again and again and again. YOU CAN HAVE A FRESH START, A NEW BEGINNING. >> It's the will of God. I believe in this this morning service to deliver somebody from that influence to heal somebody's heart today. You carry some wounds from the past.

It's the will of God for some moms and dads, grandparents, those who have influence in the next generation to determine the direction of that legacy. The direction of that legacy for future generations to leave a lasting legacy of godliness and faithfulness. Function according to God's plan, not dysfunction because of the brokenness of sin. I want you to stand with me today. You can't stop reading scripture too soon or you'll miss the full picture. I want us to go back to Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 9.

You must not bow down to them or worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children. The entire family is affected. And some today you you feel that impact, that effect of the past, even carry some of the scars, the consequences maybe of somebody else's bad decision. Cain and Abel had to deal with it. They had to deal with the the consequences of mom and dad's bad decisions.

Maybe today you carry those those scars. You you deal with the consequences of those generations in the past. The entire family is affected. Even the children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. Don't stop reading right there. I want you to look at verse number 10. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and those who obey my commands. There may be some negative influences. There may be some negative consequences that might travel down through three or four generations and we look back to mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, great grandma and grandpa.

We see the impact of decisions, the course and a direction that was set and some bad days and some dark things that maybe even today three or four generations down the line, we can still see the impact and we carry some of those scars and deal with those consequences. and we see the effect of it all. Maybe even in your own life as you look back over your past, we've all got some regrets. I wish I could have done that differently. I wish I wouldn't have said that or done that or made that decision or not made that decision.

And so we look back and we see the consequences of our own decisions. But I've got some good news for you today. I've come to give you some hope. There is a God who lavishes his unfailing love for A THOUSAND GENERATIONS on those who love him and are obedient to his word. Positive uh godly GENERATIONAL INFLUENCE GOES A WHOLE LOT FURTHER THAN UNGODLY INFLUENCE FOR A THOUSAND GENERATIONS. YOU know what he was saying? One godly person. uh one godly generation, one dad, one mom, somebody in a family who makes up their mind.

Uh come on, we're going to turn this thing around. Um we're going to leave a legacy for the next generation that's GOING TO BE GODLY. THE INFLUENCE OF one person gives God opportunity to pour out his love. He lavishes his unfailing love on a thousand generations. His goodness is forever. His kindness is forever. His mercy is forever. His goodness is forever. His kindness is forever. I want us to sing that. His mercy is forever. I want to open these altars right now to anybody who would like to step out from where you are and just make a declaration about the direction of the legacy that you're going to leave for oncoming generations to make a decision about the legacy that you're going to receive from previous generations.

Maybe there's a young person, young adult today, you'd step out and say that maybe in my life there's some things I need to leave behind from previous generations. I I'm going to find a a way today to start a new direction in my family. Somebody today, you're making that decision. The dysfunction of the past is not going to define my future. It's not going to define my ministry. It's not going to define my family. This weekend, I shared I shared a little bit of the story of my life.

Shared a little bit of that story when I wasn't born into an apostolic family. When I was a year old, mom and dad received the Holy Ghost, were baptized in Jesus name, and made the decision immediately to go to Texas Bible College to prepare for ministry. But after two years at TBC, my my father dies tragically in an accident. I'm 3 and a half years old, my brother's 6 and a half, my mom is 24 years old, three-year-old, six-year-old. After about a year, we grieved.

We worked our way through the brokenness, the pain, trying to figure out a way. Somebody gave my word. I gave a word to my mom that said, "You can praise your way through anything." And so my mom started making a decision. I'm going to praise my way through this. The tragedy is not going to define us. The tragedy is not going to define our family. It's not going to define our future. It's not going to be the legacy. She said, "Grief and tragedy is not going to be the legacy that she left with her two boys."

And and so a year later, she made a decision to go to Texas Bible College herself as a 25-year-old mom with a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old. She goes as a student. She came to this realization. God didn't just call my husband to ministry. He called us, our family, to ministry. I've still got a ministry in spite of the TRAG TRAGEDY. I'VE STILL GOT A MINISTRY IN SPITE of the brokenness. And so she goes to college, spent a year there where she met Randy Enzy who married my mom when I was five.

He was eight. and adopted me, my older brother, and I was I was grafted into an apostolic heritage that I wasn't born into. Somebody made a decision that affected my destiny, determined the direction of my destiny. My mom made a decision. Tragedy will not define us. The call of God will define us. The mercy and grace of God will define us. His goodness is forever. His kindness is forever. His mercy is forever. Right now, wherever you are, all over this sanctuary, would you just lift your hands toward heaven right now?

Would you open your heart to the Lord and just make yourself available to him? No matter what you carried to this service today, pain, brokenness, rejection, resentment, disappointment, bitterness, the pain of the past, the dysfunction of previous generations, whatever it may be, you can lay it down at this altar. You can surrender it right now. And the wounded healer who is in this sanctuary wants to step into your world today. The one who is wounded for our transgressions. The one who is bruised for our iniquities.

The chastisement of our peace is upon him. But by his stripes we're healed. By his stripes we're healed. That can be physical healing right now. That could be emotional healing. Can be spiritual healing, mental healing. It's forever. It's forever. It's forever. No matter how many generations of of dysfunction, his kindness is forever. His goodness is forever. >> His mercy is forever. Come on. Your decision today is affecting tomorrow. Your surrender today is determining the direction of destiny tomorrow.