Jentezen Franklin - How to Redeem Your Family Name - Part 1
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The thing that I wanna bring your attention to as you open your Bibles with me to the book of Numbers 26. And I wanna preach today on, how to redeem your family name. I want you to look at the story with me in Numbers 26:9, «And the sons of Eliab, Nemuel, and Dathan and Abiram». This is that Dathan and that Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses. That’s what they were famous for. Against Aaron in the company of Korah, who was their leader. They strove against the Lord.
Verse 10, «And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah». When that company died, what time the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a sign. Verse 11 is so powerful, «Notwithstanding, the children of Korah died not». The word «notwithstanding» means in spite of this. In spite of this, the sons lived on. This is an amazing text. In spite of the fact that their father, and you can read the whole story. He’s referring to Numbers 16. It tells the story of how that not only did Korah, and these other men, and their sons, all the other men that named four leaders. And all of their sons died with them, and their daughters died with them when the earth opened up, and fire shot out and consumed them. But it says that they not only lost what they had in their lives. Not only did Korah die, his wife die. Not only did they lose their cattle, their sheep, their tent, everything they possessed, their wealth, their clothes, all consumed.
Two hundred and fifty families under extreme judgment of God are consumed by fire as the earth swallows them up. And then, it says that in spite of this, that one word, notwithstanding, in spite of this, these sons of Korah… When you read of the sons of Korah, they show up again in the Bible in the book of Psalms. They wrote 11 chapters of the book of Psalms in songwriting. They are the ones who wrote Psalms 47:1 that begins, «Clap your hands all ye people and shout unto God with a voice of triumph». It does down a few verses and then it says, «And make sure that when you do this, you praise with understanding,» of where we should have ended up and the miracle that we’re experiencing because our father chose to rebel, and our mother chose to rebel. Our whole family was swallowed up by flames, and sunk and perished. And we should have been part of that judgment of God, it should have fell on our lives, but they separated themselves.
They made a choice. They made a choice to say, «Our family name is not going down like that». And those sons made such a decision that they pulled themselves away from their own flesh and blood because they knew their dad was bitter. You see, their father was part of the priesthood, but he had what he thought was an insignificant job. You know what his job was? God gave commandment, this is all again in Numbers 16, that they would keep and take care of the brazen altar, and their job was, because it was a portable tabernacle. And when the cloud moved, the people had to move. And so, God gave commandment that Korah and his sons were to carry the brazen altar. It was to be covered, listen to this, this is so important.
This is so important. The brazen altar, what was that? That’s where the sacrifice was laid and split opened, and the blood was applied. You can’t get to the Ark of the Covenant. Now, what bothered him was Aaron and his sons, the high priest, were given the responsibility. They got to carry the Ark of the Covenant. And his position seemed so much less than, «Oh, Aaron and his family». And he got bitter, and he got angry, envious, and jealous. And Moses calls him before, and this is in Numbers 16. And he calls a meeting of the 250, they cause a insurrection, and they get to the temple, or to the tent of the tabernacle. And they’re saying, «We’re gonna take over, we’re gonna get rid of Moses, we’re gonna get rid of Aaron. We’re taking over this whole thing».
And Moses asked one question. He said, «I wanna ask you, Korah. Is it,» quote, «A small thing? Is it a small thing that the God of Israel has chosen you? Have you forgotten where you came from? Is it a small thing to you that you get the privilege of serving in the tabernacle? Is it a small thing to you that you get to take care of the altar of sacrifice»? He didn’t understand. He thought it was unimportant. He thought it wasn’t as glorious, but you can’t get to the arc of the covenant unless you come through the altar of sacrifice. It was a picture of calvary. That altar of sacrifice is where the blood was shed. Notice the purple-colored linen cloth is the purple robe that they tore from Jesus.
Notice that the blood was shed all over the place. He was carrying the very image and symbol and type of the cross of calvary. Sometimes, you think that when you’re doing something for the Lord and you’re volunteering, and you’re working, and these people that make ministry happen all around here, every time we gather, it may seem like you’re unseen, and other people see the platform and see what preachers doing, and what singers are doing, and all of these are important. We all have our place. But here’s the point that I want to make. Hey, Korah, run in your lane. Quit being envious and jealous of somebody else’s gift because what you’re doing for the Lord is hugely important. He had no idea that he was carrying the blood of sacrifice that would be a type of the blood of Jesus in calvary. He was carrying the cross on his shoulder, and his sons had the privilege.
But Moses had to remind him. Is it a small thing that you’re sitting in church this morning? Is it a small thing that you have not been swallowed up by the fires of hell? Is it a small thing that you are right at Free Chapel, and you shouldn’t be a part of the kingdom of God, but He’s washed you in the blood, and He’s cleansed you in the blood? And He’s pronounced you holy by the blood? Has it become a small thing? Is everything about you? That’s why when they wrote, «Clap your hands all ye people and shout unto God with triumph,» they were saying, «We were not supposed to be here. Praise with this understanding. Hell should’ve swallowed us. Hell should’ve destroyed us. We deserve judgment. But the grace and the mercy seat can only be accessed through the blood of the altar, of sacrifice».
Oh, I need somebody to shout unto God. You were not supposed to be in this service, even in prison. The devil never thought you would find peace, and forgiveness, and cleansing, but that’s the power of the blood. Take a praise break, everybody, and clap your hands and shout. Don’t do a little golf clap, but shout like you ought to shout. Is it a little thing to you that your family has been blessed and not cursed? Lord, let the fire of Holy Ghost. Instead of the earth swallowing you up, He opened the windows of Heaven and He poured you out His favor, His mercy, His forgiveness, and His goodness. You’re only alive now because angels held the sword of justice back and said, «Give him one more chance».
The blood commands that he be given, she be given one more chance. Fentanyl should’ve killed you. The car wreck should’ve killed you. The gun should’ve killed you. I want you to notice something else. Just that word, I could just preach on that word, «notwithstanding,» meaning in spite of. In spite of the fact dad didn’t wanna serve God and grandad was cursing the preacher, and mom and them hated the church, and the leaders of the church, 'cause that’s how they try to get to you 'cause a preacher’s hurt 'em, or messed up, or whatever. Looking unto Jesus. Once you get your eyes on me, once you get to thinking that I’m a saint, but looking unto Jesus. You don’t have to walk in generational curses, Jesus can get in your genetics. The Holy Ghost can become your heritage.
Whew. I feel like shouting on that one myself. Whew. My daddy used to preach, and when he’d really get excited, I just saw him do it in my mind. He would say, «Whoopee for Jesus». I can admit, I’d like to hear him scream it. He would scream it. «Whoopee for Jesus». Well, turn to somebody and say, «Whoopee for Jesus». I got Jesus in my genetics and it’s stronger than alcoholism, it’s stronger than shame, it’s stronger than prostitution, it’s stronger than sexual immorality, and child abuse, and wife beating. It’s stronger. Jesus can set you free and He can remove the shame from your family. Hallelujah. You can overcome what you came up in. Oh, can you lift your hands and praise Him just a moment? He’s the God of our families.
And I feel so heavy right now that God wants to rename, how to rename your family, how to remake your family name. It all begins at the very thing Korah rejected, the altar of sacrifice where Jesus, He was torn apart, nailed, bled, and died for your sins of your house and my sins of my house. Thank you for the blood. Can you just say, «Thank you for the blood»? That was Jesus in your genetics. Thank you for the blood. Stand to your feet, no one moving, please, every campus. I feel led to do something different this morning. If you want this, if you desire this, if you wanna redeem your family name. Maybe the enemy has one of your loved ones so deceived, tightly gripped you can redeem your family name.
All it takes was the sons of Korah, and they will… The name Korah will not be associated with the failure of that family. It is forever praising God and glorifying God in 11 chapters of the book of Psalm. Little scriptures like this, somebody wrote a song out of it: «As the deer panteth for the water». Guess who wrote that? The sons of Korah. Somebody else wrote a song, «Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere». Guess who wrote that song? The sons of Korah. It says it in the top of your Bible. The sons of Korah. You can rename. You can redeem your family name by the grace and blood of Jesus.
I’m gonna ask families. This is an altar call for families. If you want God to do a miracle in your family, get out of your seat and come forward. Dads, come with your kids. Moms, come with your kids. Husband, come with your wife. Grab that teenager, grab that son, grab that daughter. Come and stand as a family. And say, «We give you our family again, we give you our home again, we give you our marriage again. Redeem our family name. Redeem us. We won’t be known as alcoholic. We won’t be known, our family name, the thing that stands out, it’ll be a miracle of grace».
When you worship, that’s what Korah’s sons did. They did exactly what we’re doing. They just begin to sing and worship their way to redeeming their family name. Don’t underestimate the power of a worshiper, a server working in the kingdom, and a lover of the house of God. Come on, let’s worship all over this room. «He is for you. He’s for you». Lift up that family. The enemy is trying to kill, steal, destroy, distract, defeat. What will your children inherit? What will your children’s children inherit? Things will pass away. Only what’s done for Christ. «Amen. Singing amen. Amen».
With every head bowed, with every head bowed, every eye closed. Your life will either be a stepping stone or a stumbling block for your children and your children’s children. You choose, you decide. And if you’re a dad, if you’re a mom, if you’re a grandparent, if you’re single, if you are here and… you see the enemy doing a destructive work in your family, all it takes is one to step back and say, «I love you, but I’m going to redeem our family name and start a blessing instead of a curse».
And this is the decision time. Destiny is not bequeathed. Destiny is not something that you, you know, because you were born in a certain family that it just happens, no. Destiny is determined by decisions, good or bad, and you’re about to make a decision. I’m confronting you with the gospel of Jesus Christ. What an honor. It’s not a small thing to me to be holding the microphone preaching to dying people who will spend eternity somewhere. What will we say about you? What will your family say about you? What will your children say about you? What footprint will they follow? To an open pit of fire or an open door to Heaven through Jesus Christ?
«Pastor, pray for me. I’m lukewarm, I’m not right. I love God, you know, in my own way, but I gotta be honest». Maybe you’re bitter, maybe you’re the total opposite, maybe you’re as lost as you can be, and you’re angry at God, and angry at preachers in church. And maybe you have a right to be. And yet, when it’s all said and done, you have to put all of that stuff in God’s hands and forgive.
«Pastor, pray for me, I need to get right with God. This is a service for me. I want to redeem my family name. I want Jesus in my genetics, pray for me». If that’s you, lift your hand high, I wanna see it. If you don’t know that you’re born again and saved, raise your hand high, high. I wanna be very clear. This is powerful. So many hands. If you see anyone with a hand raised, gently reach over and touch them on the shoulder. Just look around you, if there’s anybody with their hand raised, be a brother, be a sister to 'em. Everybody pray this prayer, say, «Jesus». Come on, everybody out loud:
Jesus. This is more than words. I’m praying this prayer with understanding that if it were not for the grace and protection of God, I would already be in the open pit. The fire would be consuming me. So I say yes Lord to your will. Yes to your way. I surrender all. I lay down my life. I take up my cross, and it’s a joy to do it. Bless me. As for me. And my house. We will serve the Lord.