Good morning.
My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.
! And it's my joy to bring God's word to you this morning.
We're continuing our series in the book of Genesis.
You'll remember that Genesis tells the origin story of God's people, Israel.
And this summer we're looking at the story of Isaac and Jacob, mostly Jacob, which is in chapters 25 through 36.
And to a certain extent we're asking the same question we asked last summer.
You'll remember we were in the Abraham story and we said, what does it look like to follow God in faith?
That question is going to continue for Isaac and Jacob, although as I mentioned last week we're going to have some new layers,
some new themes that get brought to the forefront in this part of the story.
So last week we looked at God's faithfulness to his covenant generation to generation.
There's the passing on of the blessing from Abraham to Isaac.
This week we're going to start a theme that is going to show up over and over in the book of Genesis,
which is God's work in and through dysfunctional families.
It's going to be a repeated theme.
So remember chapter 25, we had the birth of the twins, Jacob and Esau, to Isaac and Rebekah.
Now in chapter 26, we have gone back in time.
Jacob and Esau have not been born yet.
So this is back when Isaac and Rebekah were just the two of them before they had kids.
You'll remember verses 1 through 5 of 26, Isaac took on the mantle of Abraham.
Okay, that was our main focus last week.
This week, it's not the mantle he takes on.
Isaac takes on the sins of Abraham.
So that's our topic this morning, generational sin.
You'll see that the title of our sermon on page 7.
That is sin patterns that are passed down from parents to their children.
I'm going to talk about two things with that.
First, we're going to talk about generational sin in general,
the concept and idea of that.
And then secondly, we'll look at the specific sins that get passed down through Abraham and his line.
So with that, I invite you to turn with me now to Genesis chapter 26.
You'll find it page 7 of your worship guide.
And as we turn there, remember, Proverbs chapter 30 tells us,
Every word of God proves true.
He's a shield to those who take refuge in him.
And so that's why we read now Genesis chapter 26, starting at verse 6.
So Isaac settled in Gerar.
When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said,
She is my sister.
For he feared to say, My wife.
Thinking, lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,
because she was attractive in appearance.
When he had been there a long time,
Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out of a window
and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah, his wife.
So Abimelech called Isaac and said,
Behold, she is your wife.
How then could you say, she is my sister?
Isaac said to him,
Because I thought, lest I die because of her.
Abimelech said,
What is this you have done to us?
One of the people might easily have lain with your wife,
and you would have brought guilt upon us.
So Abimelech warned all the people, saying,
Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven, we do thank you and praise you again this morning,
that you've given us life and breath to come before you.
You've given us the health to gather.
We thank you that you've given us your word to remind us
of your great grace and mercy in Jesus Christ.
We ask that you would be at work here and now in a special way,
by your Holy Spirit,
that you would penetrate our hearts and our minds with your word,
that would lead us to great conviction,
and even more than that,
it would lead us to great love and devotion to Jesus Christ,
that you would show us Jesus in his great beauty and glory and majesty.
And we ask all of these things in his mighty name.
Amen.
I'm not as tall as Daniel Sanchez,
so I have to bring this down a little bit.
The story is told of a young couple, a newly married.
Their first holiday rolls around,
and so the wife cooks the family recipe of the roast
that has been cooked for generations in her family.
And before placing the roast in the oven,
she cuts off the ends of the roast.
Roast comes out.
It's wonderful.
Her husband compliments it.
He says,
Honey, this is a wonderful roast.
It's the best I've ever had.
But I have a question for you.
Why did you cut off the ends of the roast?
She says,
That's how my mother did it.
That's how it's done.
So he calls up his mother-in-law and says,
Why do you cut off the ends of the roast?
And she says,
That's the way my mother did it.
That's how you cook a roast.
And the husband thinks to himself,
That doesn't make any sense.
It's an expensive cut of meat.
Why would you cut part of it off and throw it away?
So he calls the grandmother.
Why do you cut off the ends of the roast?
And she said,
Well, that's quite simple.
I had a small oven.
And that's the only way the roast would fit in the pan.
So the grandmother's solution to a temporary problem
becomes this permanent practice.
And on the one hand,
it is completely irrational.
Right?
They have larger ovens now.
They don't have to cut off the ends of the roast.
On the other hand,
it makes complete sense.
Because patterns, habits, values, quirks,
get passed down generation to generation.
And if you've been married for more than a few minutes,
of course you know this.
You don't just marry a person.
You marry their family
and the currents,
the forces that have been flowing there
for years and years and years.
You know this intuitively.
If you look at a family,
you see patterns.
You might say,
Hey, you know,
that family,
they,
they are like that.
They are generous.
They are kind.
They are weird.
They are smart.
Whatever it is.
Right?
And not just harmless patterns.
Not just quirks.
There's also sin patterns.
They are really greedy.
They are really rude.
Whatever it is,
the patterns of sin,
things that are passed
from parents
to their children.
Because that's what we see here
in this passage in Genesis.
Verse 7,
Isaac lies about his wife,
Rebecca,
out of fear.
When the men of the place
asked him about his wife,
he said,
She is my sister.
For he feared to say,
My wife,
thinking,
lest the men of the place
should kill me
because of Rebecca,
because she was attractive
in appearance.
Now,
if you were here with us
last summer,
this should sound super familiar.
Abraham did this
not once,
but twice.
Remember Genesis chapter 12.
Abraham heads down
into Egypt.
He is scared,
and so he says,
His wife Sarai
is his sister,
and Pharaoh takes her.
Then,
God afflicts Pharaoh
and his household
with great plagues,
and so Pharaoh
kicks Abraham
and Sarai
out of Egypt.
If that weren't enough,
it shows up again,
chapter 20,
Abraham is in Gerar,
the exact same place
that Isaac is in now.
Notice verse 6,
so Isaac settled
in Gerar.
It's not just
the same pattern,
it's the same place,
and this,
again,
Abraham encounters
Abimelech.
Now,
whether it's the same
Abimelech,
it could be.
It could also be
that Abimelech's
what they call
a dynastic name,
which you're familiar
with with Egypt.
There's not just one Pharaoh,
but many Pharaohs.
Pharaoh is just
what you call the ruler.
So,
maybe Isaac is dealing
with the same Abimelech
from chapter 20.
It's possible.
Maybe he isn't.
Either way,
Abraham says Sarah,
because her name
has changed at this point,
is his sister.
Abimelech takes Sarah.
This time,
God warns Abimelech
in a dream,
Abimelech returns Sarah.
Abraham runs
the same play twice.
And so,
it's not a coincidence
that Isaac here
in this passage
experiences the same fear
and has the same
crafty response.
Dad,
that is Abraham,
feared man
more than God.
And so,
the son,
that is Isaac,
fears man
more than God.
Dad,
that is Abraham,
lied
rather than trusting
God.
And so,
the son,
that is Isaac,
lies rather than
trusting God.
All of this
is tied up
in this basic
principle
of reality.
And it's this.
God has designed
the world
in such a way
that the family
has incredible
power
and influence.
God has
designed
the universe.
He set it up
so that families
are what shape us
and form us.
It can be negative,
it can be positive,
it can be for good
or for ill.
Counselors will tell you
there's no more
important relationship
in your entire life
than the relationship
you have
with your parents.
That's the way
God's made things.
And so,
our parents'
practices
become our
path
of least
resistance.
The stories
that your parents
lived by
become the default
stories for you
to live by.
Now,
don't hear what I'm
not saying.
Those things are not
your destiny.
This isn't set in stone,
but they're your default.
How did your parents
deal with pain
or stress
or fear?
That's often
going to become
the way that you
deal with pain
or stress
or fear.
Not your destiny,
but your default.
pain
You'll see this
on page 8
of your worship guide,
a quote from
a woman named
Steffi Wagner.
Pain
travels
through
families
until
someone
is ready
to feel it.
Now,
I'm going to
rephrase that
for us.
As Christians,
we might put it
this way.
Sin
travels
through
families
until
someone
is willing
to repent.
Abraham's
line
is going
to continue
to be
crafty
and conniving
until
someone
is willing
to feel
vulnerable
and trust
God.
Abraham's
family
is going
to continue
to be
a family
of schemes
until
they're willing
to let
their grasp
go
and trust
that God
is in
control.
Now,
this isn't
saying that
we're not
responsible
for our
own sin.
We are,
all of us.
It is saying
our parents'
patterns are
going to
determine
which sins
are easier
for us,
which are
more tempting.
It's possible
to take this
too far.
It is a
principle.
It is not
an unbreakable
rule.
But it's a
powerful principle.
You see on
page 7
of your
worship guide,
I've shown
you guys
this quote
before.
Communities
have their
own stories
and those
stories
are
contagious.
Families
have their
own
stories.
Those
stories
are also
contagious.
Contagious.
do you
know
the story
that your
family
has been
telling?
Do you
know the
story
that was
handed to
you
by previous
generations?
Do you
understand it?
Can you
name it?
Do you
know what
has been
passed along?
Do you
know your
inheritance?
For good
or for
ill?
If you
don't know
it,
and if you
can't name
it,
you have
some homework.
Because whether
you know it
or not,
it is
there.
Now some
of it, I'm
sure, is
really good and
positive.
We've talked
about this
before.
Everyone's
made in the
image of
God.
Everyone has
something good
and beautiful
about them.
I'm
confident that
your parents
have passed
on something
good to
you.
Some of
it is not
so good.
And God
is calling
you to
repent of
those things
and to
turn away
from them.
the question
is, do
you know
what places
those are?
Do you
know the
story your
family has
told?
what you
have
inherited?
I want
to talk
for just
one minute
about what
you're passing
on because
of course
there's a
bit of a
warning here
for parents.
Robert
Murray McShane
who is a
Scottish pastor
in the
19th century
said this,
this is on
page 8
of your
worship guide,
what your
people need
from you
most
is your
own
personal
holiness.
Now he's
speaking to
pastors,
so we'll
change this,
what your
children
need from
you most
is your
own
personal
holiness.
That's part
of their
inheritance.
That's part
of what you're
passing on.
Are you
passing on
a story
of trusting
God and
his providence?
Are you
passing on
a story
of righteousness
and holiness?
Is that
what they're
receiving?
That's more
important than
money and
experiences
and getting
into a good
school.
Those things
aren't bad,
they're just
not the most
important.
Look with me
for a minute
on the back
of your
worship guide.
there's this
haunting quote
from Richard
Rohr.
By the way,
I don't
recommend this
book or
Richard Rohr
necessarily.
I'm just
giving you
this quote.
If we do
not transform
our pain,
we will
most assuredly
transmit it.
Usually to
those closest
to us,
our family,
our neighbors,
our coworkers,
and,
this is the
hard part,
invariably
the most
vulnerable,
our children.
And I'll
change this
quote as
well.
If we do
not repent
of our
sin,
it will
become
baggage
that we
hand off
to our
children and
they will
get to
unpack.
It will
that we
your sins
become
your
children's
default.
And they
will have
to choose
whether to
accept it
or to
repent
and head
in a
different
direction.
What
story,
what baggage
do you
want to
pass
along?
what your
people
need from
you most
is your
own
personal
holiness.
I told you
we would
talk about
two things,
generational
sin in
general and
the specific
sins of
Abraham's
line.
We've
talked about
generational
sin,
so we're
going to
pick up
the story
of Abraham.
Abraham,
verse 8
tells us
when he
had been
there a
long
time.
Commentators
make a
big deal
out of
that phrase
because what
they say
what this
tells us
is that
Abraham
had this
fear,
he had
this fear
that people
were going
to head,
or sorry,
not Abraham,
Isaac had
this fear,
Isaac had
this fear
that people
were going
to go
for
Rebecca,
right?
He's
there a
long
time and
what's
happened?
Nothing.
No one
has made
a move
for
Rebecca.
Isaac's
fear
was
a
fantasy.
He made
it up.
They had
all this
time.
They had
all this
time to
head after
Rebecca,
and no
one did.
There was
a study
that came
out in
2019
about people
who experienced
generalized
anxiety
disorder,
and they
tracked all
the things
that they
worried
about to
see if
they
actually
came
true.
91.4%
of worry
predictions
did not
come true.
The most
common
percentage
of untrue
worries
per person
was
100%.
In other
words,
they're
worrying
about all
these things
that are
not going
to come
to pass.
The same
thing here
happens
with Isaac.
He's
put all
this work
into controlling
the world
and protecting
himself
for nothing.
Of course,
it reminds
me of that
line from
Crime and
Punishment,
which is on
page 7
of your
worship guide.
Your worst
sin is that
you have
destroyed and
betrayed
yourself
for nothing.
Isaac has
gotten all
worked up
about something
that's not
real.
He lies
about his
wife.
He's
sneaking
around.
He refuses
to trust
God.
All for
a fantasy.
That takes
us to
verse 8
again.
Abimelech,
king of
the Philistines,
looked out
of a
window and
saw Isaac
laughing with
Rebecca,
his wife.
Now,
we can tell
from the
context here,
laughing is
a euphemism.
Laughing is
apparently
something that
brothers and
sisters never
do.
Verse 9,
he says,
how could
you do
this?
In other
words,
even the
pagans know
this is a
terrible idea.
Verse 10,
you could have
brought guilt
on us.
And so,
there's this
rich irony,
the same
irony that
was in
chapter 20
with Abraham.
The pagans
are more
righteous than
the patriarchs.
They have
a clear
moral compass.
They know
what is good
and wise
more than
Abraham
and Isaac.
Why?
Why does
Abraham,
why does
Isaac do
this?
Well,
he tells
us,
verse 9,
because I
thought,
lest I
die because
of her.
Of course,
we knew that
already,
right?
Verse 6,
he feared
to say,
my wife.
And so,
the point
is this,
Isaac fears
man more
than God.
Isaac trusts
his own
schemes,
he trusts
his own
cleverness
more than
God's promises
and protection.
Isaac has
decided
there's only
one person
who can get
things done
and it's
him.
Families
have their
own stories
and those
stories
are
contagious.
And the
story of
Abraham's
family
is this,
it is
100%
up to
me
to protect
myself.
if I
don't
make sure
it gets
done,
it won't
happen.
The ends
are going to
have to
justify the
means because
God
will not
show up.
It's my
cunning
and my
schemes
that will
make
things
happen.
That's a
very different
story
than the
story that
we're told
in the
gospel.
The story
of the
gospel is
not that
it is all
up to
you and
your
cunning
and your
schemes
that you
have to
hold the
world
together
by white
knuckling.
The story
of the
gospel is
very different.
It's the
story of
Hebrews
chapter 1
that God
holds the
world
together
by the
power
of his
word.
It's the
story of
Psalm 23.
The Lord
is my
shepherd
I shall
not
want.
And for
Isaac
in this
moment
that
story
loses.
Isaac
forgets
or does
not believe
what we
saw last
week.
Remember
the blessing
is passed
on.
What does
it say?
Chapter 26
if you're
reading with
your Bible
look back
on verse
3.
God
has made
Isaac a
promise.
He doesn't
have to
figure it
all out
on his
own.
He doesn't
have to
scheme
and connive.
He doesn't
have to
lie
and
sulk
around
hoping
that no
one
catches
that him
and
Rebecca
are
married.
Now if
it were
just a
promise
from God
it would
be one
thing
but it's
actually
even worse
than that.
It's
more
staggering
because Isaac
has seen
with his
own two
eyes
how great
God is.
Last
summer
chapter 22
what happens?
God
saves
Isaac
from being
sacrificed
and he
provides
a ram.
If
anyone
at this
point
in the
history
of God's
people
has seen
how great
and powerful
God is
it is
Isaac.
And yet
the story
of his
family
wins.
Brothers
and sisters
even
more
than
Isaac
we
have
seen
how
great
God
is.
And
we've
seen
how
great
God
is
in
the
death
and
the
resurrection
of
Jesus
Christ.
Romans
chapter 8
what did
we finish
with?
He
who
gave
you
his
son
will
he
not
also
with
him
give
you
all
things?
How
could
we
doubt?
How
could
we
believe
that
it's
all
up
to
us
when
God
has
given
us
Christ?
And
yet
we
do.
Isaac
did
as
well.
That's
our
hope.
That's
the horizon
line we
set our
eyes
on.
That
God
has
saved
his
people.
That
he's
given
them
a
glorious
future
in
heaven
with
him.
And
of
course
he
will
give
them
all
they
need
along
the
way.
!
Now
some
of
what
I've
said
this
morning
about
generational
sin,
about
passing
things
from
father
to
son
and
mother
to
daughter,
some
of
that
I
could
have
told
you
if
I
was
a
Muslim.
There's
a
certain
common
sense
wisdom
to
this.
Of
course
we
know
families
have
patterns.
Of
course
they're
powerful.
What's
different
about
the
gospel,
what's
different
about
the
story
that
the
Bible
tells
us
is
this,
that
in
the
midst
of
the
mess
that
we
have
made
in
and
with
and
through
our
families,
God
intervenes.
The
family
is
powerful.
Hopefully
I made
that point
in the
first half
of the
sermon.
It
has
incredible
power.
God's
grace
and his
commitment
to his
covenant
and his
steadfast
love
are much
more
powerful.
The
story
of Abraham
and Isaac
and their
generational
sin
does
not
have
the
last
word.
Christian,
no
matter
how
messed
up
your
family
is
and
it
is
because
you
live
east
of
Eden,
God
is
more
powerful.
Jeremiah
23,
God's
word
is a
rock,
excuse
me,
a hammer
that breaks
a rock
into
pieces.
What do
I always
say?
It means
there's
nothing
so
powerful
that
God's
word
is
not
more
powerful
still.
There
is
nothing
that
has
happened
in
your
family
or
that
you
have
given
to
your
children
that
God
is
not
more
powerful
still.
Genesis
is a
story
about
a
wildly
dysfunctional
family
and this
is just
the start.
Okay,
buckle in.
It's
going to
get worse
in coming
weeks.
And
God
works
his
covenant
promises
through
them.
All
these
people
show up
in the
genealogy
of
Jesus.
God's
grace
is
more
powerful.
God's
grace
has
the
last
word.
Family
is a
painful
topic.
If
you're
paying
attention
this
morning,
my guess
is it
stirred
things
up
in
you.
Whatever
it stirred
up in
you,
that's
not
the
end
of
the
story.
It's
not
too
late
for
something
new.
And
that's
not
because
of
some
therapeutic
healing
journey
that
you're
going
to
go
on
through
another
country.
No,
it's
not
too
late
for
something
new
because
of
the
steadfast
love
of
the
Lord.
God
is
more
powerful.
Isaac's
sin
doesn't
have
the
last
word.
God's
covenant
does.
Next
week,
I should
have
included
next
week's
verses
in this
week's
reading.
Next
week,
it starts
out,
our passage,
it starts
like this.
This is
verses
12 and
13.
And Isaac
sowed in
that land
and reaped
in the
same
year
a hundred
fold.
the
Lord
blessed
him.
In
the
midst
of
Isaac's
stupidity,
in the
midst
of
his
fear,
in the
midst
of
his
sin,
God
is
still
at
work.
Praise
the
Lord,
his
mercy
is
more.
Stronger
than
darkness,
new
every
morn,
our
sins
they
are
many,
his
mercy
is
more.
Let's
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we do
praise you
and thank
you again
for your
word.
Thank you
that you
present
us
in the
Bible,
not with
stories of
people who
are scrubbed
and polished,
but with
people who
are messy
and dysfunctional,
just like
us.
You show
us in
the midst
of that
your
great
grace
and
mercy,
which
gets
the
last
word.
We
ask
that you
would
remind
us
of
that,
that it
would
become
our
great
hope
and our
confidence.
We ask
these things
in Jesus
name,
amen.
Amen.