فصل 3

CHAPTER 3

The Power of Your Bloodline

I read recently about some famous racehorses, the kind you might see at the Kentucky Derby or other prestigious horse races. These are not ordinary horses; these are thoroughbreds. They have generation after generation of winners on the inside. These horses have been carefully studied and bred for generations.

In horse racing, the “blood stock agent” focuses his attention on the animal’s bloodline. He or she will examine how the horse’s father fared as a racer, how long his stride was, how fast he could run, what size he was, and on and on. The breeders understand that winners don’t randomly happen. Winning is in the blood.

Simply to breed one of these world champion thoroughbreds can cost up to half a million dollars. And there’s no guarantee that the colt will win. In fact, when that newborn colt is born, his legs are all wobbly, he can barely stand up, and his eyes are glazed. The uninformed observer might say, “Those poor owners wasted their money. That horse couldn’t win anything. He looks like an average, ordinary horse.” But the owners know that on the inside, in his blood, that colt has a legacy of championship genes. In fact, he may have a dozen world champions on the inside. It’s all in the blood. That’s why the owners are not necessarily concerned about the colt’s initial weakness. They don’t really care what color he is, how pretty he is, or even how large he is. They know that deep down on the inside, that colt has the blood of a winner.

Friend, that is how God looks at you and me. Our external appearance is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is or what your ethnic background is. It doesn’t matter how many weaknesses or flaws you have. You have the DNA of Almighty God. You come from a long line of champions.

Think about some of your natural ancestors: Moses parted the Red Sea. There’s great faith in your bloodline.

David, a shepherd boy, defeated Goliath with only a few pebbles he picked up from a brook. That is courage in your bloodline.

Samson toppled a building. There’s supernatural strength in your bloodline.

Daniel spent an entire night in a lion’s den and wasn’t harmed. Divine protection flows through your bloodline.

Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem when all the odds were against him. Determination and persistence pulsate through your bloodline.

Queen Esther put her life on the line to save God’s people. Sacrifice and heroism are in your bloodline.

Do you understand? You come from a bloodline of champions. You are not ordinary; you are a thoroughbred. It doesn’t matter what your present condition looks like; you need to know that inside you flows the blood of a winner. On the inside of you are seeds of greatness. Take a better look at your bloodline. On the inside of you is champion after champion. You are the seed of Almighty God.

That’s why you must quit focusing on your weaknesses and get a bigger vision for your life. Understand that God sees you already at the Winner’s Circle. He’s already seen them putting the roses around your neck. That’s what David was talking about when he said, “God, all of my days you ordained before one of them came to be.” In other words, you may be a mere thirty, forty, or fifty years of age, but God has been working on you for a long time. He had you planned long before you were born.

“But you don’t know the life I’ve led,” “I’ve failed here and I’ve made mistakes over there, and I still have this addiction.” That doesn’t change your bloodline; it doesn’t change what’s in you. You may never have realized how valuable you are. Perhaps you never realized the price God paid for you. You need to recognize what you have on the inside. It says in First Corinthians that you were bought with a high price. God gave His very best for you, His only Son. So please don’t go around thinking that you are worthless, that you don’t have a future. You are a champion on the inside. It’s in your blood.

Where I grew up, folks often described a troublemaker by saying, “Well, he’s just got bad blood.” Really, there’s some truth to that. What’s in our bloodline is extremely important. We all have a natural bloodline flowing from our parents and other family members. But we also have a spiritual bloodline. The good news is that our spiritual bloodline can override our natural bloodline. The Scripture talks about all things becoming new. The old is passed away. In other words, we have entered into a new bloodline. When you really understand all God has done for you, and you begin to act on it, then you can rise up out of any adversity; you can overcome anything negative from your past. There’s power in your spiritual bloodline.

David said in Psalm 139:13, “God, you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Verse 16 of that psalm says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Notice, David is saying that God saw us before we were born. Before Adam and Eve, before Abraham, before Moses or your grandparents, God knew you. In other words, your parents didn’t simply get together and decide to have a child. You were preordained to be here before the foundation of the world.

I love the Scripture that says, “If we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” That means we can all experience the blessings of Abraham. If you study Abraham’s record, you’ll discover that he was prosperous, healthy, and lived a long, productive life. Even though he didn’t always make the best choices, he enjoyed God’s blessings and favor.

No matter how many mistakes you’ve made, you need to know that on the inside, you have the seed of Almighty God. Your attitude should be, “I may have a lot to overcome, people may have tried to push me down, maybe I didn’t get the best breaks, but that does not change who I am. I know I can fulfill my destiny.” You should go out each day expecting good things, anticipating God’s blessings and favor. God has planned all of your days for good, not evil.

The Bible says, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.” The curse is behind any kind of defeat—sin, mistakes, wrong choices, fear, worry, constant sickness, unhealthy relationships, or bad attitudes. Please understand that those are all things from which you have already been set free. But here’s the catch: If you don’t appreciate and take advantage of your freedom, if you don’t get your thoughts, your words, your attitudes going in the right direction, it won’t do you any good.

You may be sitting back waiting on God to do something supernatural in your life, but the truth is, God is waiting on you. You must rise up in your authority, have a little backbone and determination, and say, “I am not going to live my life in mediocrity, bound by addictions, negative and defeated. No, I’m going to do like the Apostle Paul and start pressing forward. I’m going to take hold of everything God has in store for me.”

How do you do it? Change your attitude. Quit saying, “I can’t do it; I’ll never be well; I’ll always be in debt. I’ve got too much to overcome.” Refuse to sit back and accept things that are less than God’s best. Your attitude should be, “I know my chains have been removed; I know the price has been paid, and even if I have to believe my whole lifetime, even if I have to stand in faith till the day I die, I’m not going to sit back and accept a life of mediocrity. I’m going to keep pressing forward.”

“Well,” you say, “Joel, I’ve been this way so long. I don’t see how I could ever change.” No, your freedom has already been purchased, but you have to rid yourself of that defeated mentality and start thinking power thoughts. Start saying, “I’m free. This addiction does not control me. Greater is He who is in me than he that’s in the world.” Don’t ever say, “I’ll never see my dreams come to pass; I’ll probably never get married.” Or “My bills are so high, and my income is so low, I don’t think I’ll ever get out of debt.” No, turn that around. You need to be saying, “I am more than a conqueror. I will fulfill my destiny. God is supplying all of my needs.”

A young man named Eric told me, “Joel, my grandfather was an alcoholic and my dad was an alcoholic. Now, I’ve got the same problem. I just can’t beat it.” “No, you can beat it,” I encouraged him. “The power in you is greater than that addiction. But you’ve got to change your attitude. You’ve got to start saying, ‘I’m free.’ Declare that every day. Don’t talk about the way you are, talk about the way you want to be.”

In my family, on my father’s side, as far back as we can trace, there has been a history of heart disease—people in my family dying early deaths because of heart problems. But I’m not planning to have heart disease. I’m planning to live a long, healthy life. I do my part to stay healthy; I try to eat right and exercise regularly. And I declare every day, “I will fulfill my destiny in good health.” Maybe Alzheimer’s disease runs in your family genes, but don’t succumb to it. Instead, say every day, “My mind is alert. I have clarity of thought. I have a good memory. Every cell in my body is increasing and getting healthier.” If you’ll rise up in your authority, you can be the one to put a stop to the negative things in your family line.

What’s holding you back in life? Addictions, bad attitudes, low self-esteem? Recognize what it is. Don’t just learn to function in your dysfunction. Be willing to make some changes. The Old Testament prophet Joel said, “Wake up the mighty men.” You are a mighty man or woman; don’t settle for anything less than God’s best. Stir up the gift on the inside. Keep your dreams alive. Make a decision today that from now on, you are going to live under the blessing and not the curse. As you do, you’ll discover that Almighty God has already loosened the leash in your life and has given you the power to break free from things that have held you back.