Water Under the Bridge

Roger Cooper

Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Generations (post birth of Christ)

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Many of us encounter systematic problems in our families and lives that we cannot get rid of. Many of these issues are generational curses. Little do we know that God has given us the power to rid ourselves of such problems.

Notes

Transcript

Invocation

The Lord is in His Holy Temple.

Let all the Earth keep silent before him.

I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the House of the Lord.

Our feet shall stand within Thy gates Oh Jerusalem.

Song- More Than Anything (Lamar Campbell)

I lift my hands in total adoration unto You You reign on the throne For You are God and God alone Because of You, my cloudy days are gone (Thank You) I can sing to You this song I just want to say that I love You more than anything

Wrap me in your arms You are my shelter from the storm (When all my friends were gone) You were right there all a long I've never known a love like this before (I just want to say that I love You more than anything)

I love You, Jesus I worship and adore You Just want to tell You Lord, I love You more than anything

Opening

1 Peter 2:9 KJV 1900

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Amen. to everyone in their respective places. To our Deacon, Elders, and other leaders. Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope everyone is doing well and it is my honest prayer that each of you has been safe and enjoyed your week. I want to thank everyone for joining our Virtual Sunday Morning Service this morning as we seek to break forth the bread of life. Amen.

To my beautiful wife, we have just celebrated 2 years of marriage this past Tuesday. Truly, God has been good to us. Listen I do not want to labor long before you. I am still recovering from a COLD (and it is just that guys a cold, I am fine) so I do not have a great amount of energy but I do want to preach the Word.

Give Scriptures: 1 Kings 1:1-5; 1 Kings 11:1-4; Psalms 51:1-10 (For Private Study)

Read Scripture: 1 Kings 1:1-5; 1 Kings 11:1-4

1 Kings 1:1–5 KJV 1900

1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. 2 Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. 3 So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not. 5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

1 Kings 11:1–4 KJV 1900

1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 2 Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Subject: Water Under the Bridge

Prayer

Introduction

Their is an old saying that says, “out of sight, often means out of mind.” The meaning of the idiom is quite simple in that it infers failure to see something can lead you to become forgetful of that thing. It is something fairly easy to wrap your head around, especially for those of us who can see because our vision is often the most critical of all our senses. We use it in everything that we do and it serves as a key component of our cognitive and physical abilities.

This notion of, “out of sight, out of mind” is not just a wives tale but is in part based on psychological research which corroborates the reality of the phenomenal.

For example, it is commonly accepted by psychologists and financial experts alike that the transition from cash to debit cards and the overall increase in digital transactions have made it easier for people to spend money.

Because you cannot physically see the dollars leaving your hand, you are not writing a check, and you are not filling out requests for money orders.

Its easier to ignore the cost of milk if you only swipe your card for it.

Its easier to overlook stagnation in your wages if you never physically see the check.

Its easier to reduce interest rates on your savings and investment accounts when you only receive e-statements.

Operators of these large banks, financial firms, and business offices are counting on you to remain oblivious in your life to keep you unaware while they slowly accrue wealth.

This is all not to say that other factors have no influence on your financial choices, inflation rates, and interest rates (they do).

But do not fool yourself into thinking that this is not all by design in a country where the government might as well be a For-Profit entity.

With that understanding then, it becomes important to recognize that every moment you spend with things outside of your sight, your ability to fix it decreases.

The longer you leave bread, the more it molds.

The longer your car sits the more likely it is to rust or develop other serious problems.

The longer you leave something cooking the more it burns.

“Out of sight, out of mind” has real life implications especially in our family lives.

In our households (especially the black household), we tend to brush issues under the rug in the hopes that the family can grow past it or heal from it....

I remember hearing as I grew up the saying, “what goes on in this house stays in this house.”

It was used as a way to keep our affairs out of the community and to prevent people from becoming too knowledgeable about the choices we made.

Put simply, it kept people out of our business.

And of course, I obliged (to the best of my ability) what my parents instructed me because I did not want to face the repercussion of disobedience.

But now that I am older, I can take time to reflect on my life (As I am sure many of us have and can do) and I have realized something.

We used this idea of keeping people out of our business not to protect our privacy but we really did it to guard our image

How do you know that preacher;

Because, it only applied to the stuff that people would think ill of...

If we get a new car, the first thing we want to do is tell everybody

But when that same car gets repossessed we will hide it and sometimes tell outright lies to save face

We can make a huge spectacle in the Church about getting married and having a wedding

But we continually walk around the issue and challenge of divorce among the Saints

Our churches are filled with stories about how God gave us a new job that pays more money

But we gloss over the issue of unemployment and poverty among the Church population

Despite being a rest stop and hospital for the saints, we as a body of believers have made it tantamount to a sin to be afflicted in God’s Church.

Prosperity Gospel has led to faithful church members who will weaponize God’s promises of blessing but ignores the need for disciples who will equip themselves for the struggles of the faith walk.

Consequently in the Church, we treat our problems like they are water under a bridge. See, the water under the bridge is scarcely thought about because on any given day it has little to no impact on how we live our daily lives. So long as it stays calm, we drive over the bridge as though the water was not there. On the occasional day high winds cause the water to churn ever so much and heavy rain may cause it to rise, but within a degree of control we can overcome it and mostly ignore it. Just like our problems… Some days childhood traumas rear their ugly head and you see a face in the dark or you have a flashback from a particular word or phrase that was used. But, you give it a second glance and you drive on over it like its not a problem... But over a long period of time, that same water that you ignored and thought could cause no harm erodes the bridge and if you are not careful can cause it to become an unstable structure susceptible to rupture. Then those same winds and heavy rains come and what used to be no problem suddenly becomes a huge issue and before you know it the bridge collapses because of decades and generations of neglect… And the sad part is it can take so long that a bridge you drove over becomes a bridge your kids drive over and when it collapses its not you that faces the backlash but its your future generations.

We are ignoring our problems and in so doing we are creating generations of children and believers who treat all their problems like water under the bridge.... which leads me to my text.

1 Kings 1:1-5

In the scripture, we see that David has become an old man.

We are entering a new period in the scripture after 1 and 2 Samuel have spent the better part of the two books outlining the life and times of David both before and during his reign as King of Judah and eventually King over the combined Kingdom of Israel.

We have seen David at his highs and his lows throughout his journey to and his life on the throne of Israel

Him being discounted by his own family...

Being chosen by God and anointed by Samuel...

Slaying Goliath and serving in the Court of Solomon...

Fleeing Solomon’s wrath and seeking assistance from Jonathan...

Sleeping with a married woman and organizing a conspiracy to hide it...

Losing his son as a consequence of his actions with Bathsheba and Uriah...

Gaining victory over the Philistines and others surrounding the Kingdom...

Being ridiculed and threatened by his own men for failure to protect the women and children at Ziklag...

And the list could go ON and ON and On and On...

David, like each and every one of us, David made mistakes in his walk with God.

But at each stage of his life, he worked to make atonement with God.

Now, David is at the latter point of his life and we see several things all of which are made evident through the text.

No matter what you say or confess, it is the action you undertake that truly defines who you are to other people who watch you...

And people are predisposed to see the worst of your actions as the defining points and parts of your character...

We can argue over the origin of David’s mentality and actions regarding women… but we can easily infer and understand that Solomon learned everything about being a King and a man from his father King David.

It is this fact that makes me point to 1 Kings 11 where the bible comes alive to us concerning the life of Solomon.

1 Kings 11:1-4

Here, Solomon has now become King, following the footsteps of his Father (David).

Now we know from our study of 2 Chronicles that Solomon was very wise and wealthy.

So wise in fact that it is commonly accepted that he was the wisest man to ever life.

So wealthy in fact that he is regarded as one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, people to ever life.

And yet, despite his wisdom and his wealth, he still made mistakes that cost him and the Kingdom he was born to serve.

You see the same problem his father had, manifested within him and caused him to lose control over the Kingdom.

And you have to think about what he spent his life watching his father do.

His father had wives everywhere.

His father had concubines everywhere.

His father lost a child due to his actions in trying to get with a woman.

He had siblings from different marriages.

And his father had the blood of Uriah on his hands that prevented him from building God a house.

And Solomon sees all of this growing up only to become King in his own right.

And if my father was a great man doing these things… it leads you to wonder do I double down on it because it worked for my father.

And so Solomon spends a good chunk of time in his Kingdom forming international alliances with other Kingdoms.

This is part way done by marrying or intermingling with the women of these Kingdoms.

He connects with;

The Egyptians

The Moabites

The Edomites

The Zidionians

The Hittites

All people that had been defeated by some combination of Divine Favor, hard fought battles, and spilled blood

But Solomon thought his path to conquest was in where he laid and not in how he led.

And so he made a habit out of the very behaviors he had observed in his Father.

Because David had unhealthy behaviors… Solomon observed those and replicated them but in Solomon they had a more devastating impact.

Solomon turns away from God and begins a nasty cycle wherein Kings would turn away from the God of Abraham...

Furthermore, the very thing that Solomon thought would expand the Kingdom and bring it together… drove it apart as the Kingdom was split at the Word of God as punishment for Solomon’s actions.

And so the Kingdom is split into two pieces because of an action Solomon observed in his father and carried out himself.

For David, it was wrong but he still maintained a love for God in his heart and mind… never giving himself over completely to the women that he was with.

But Solomon, lost control of his own desires and eventually lost control of the Kingdom… and in so doing paves the way for a divided Kingdom, for profane worship, and the eventual collapse of the Kingdom.

Conclusion

I say these things to say this...

What have you let float by as water under the bridge?

What have you allowed to pass on to your children or your loved ones as a burden?

What problems have you inherited from your forebears that you are dealing with right now?

Can I be honest with you and tell you that what we are talking about is generational curses?

Many times we talk about them like a taboo or as something that is only for Bible times but they exist here and now.

Poverty is a generational curse

Many illnesses and diseases are generational curses

Mentalities and ideologies can be generational curses

And many times we cannot truly solve problems because we are not willing to accept the fact that many of the problems we face and have faced are the direct result of generational curses passed down (some knowingly and other unknowingly) from generation to generation.

You cannot lose weight because you won’t accept that the way we as African Americans were FORCED to cook is not the healthiest way.

We have a fearful or dismissive attitude because we know but will not deal with the fact that black people for centuries were mistreated and abused by the medical system.

Black men refuse to go to the hospital and have the lowest life expectancy in the United States because they spent year being told they weren't human and we never gave them the okay to feel

And so, we ignore issues and try to skirt the issues because we want to keep it simple… because we want to keep driving over the bridge… not realizing that everything you do not deal with NOW.... someone will pay for it LATER.

And we have to ask ourselves...

What legacy are we leaving our children?

What legacy are we leaving future generations?

What will people go on to say about us when it is over?

And how will what they say affect those who will come after you?

Lets be clear.

It is no mistake that they thought David was dead when he ignored the woman.

And then his son lost control of the Kingdom because he refused to ignore any women.

So I ask you… will you deal with your issues or let is become water under the bridge