THE UNSEEN BARRIER

Dr. D. K. Olukoya

It is my prayer that the problem of anyone who reads this message and prays the accompanying prayer with faith shall receive solution and all the things hindering him from serving the Lord will be removed, in the name of Jesus.

Colossians 2:14 : “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

If you see somebody writing something on a paper, and you know that what he is writing will not favour you and you could see it with your own eyes, for example if:

1. You see the person writing the thing.
2. You see the instrument he is using to write it.
3. You see the material on which he is writing it.

You will either attack him, the instrument he is using or the material on which the thing is being written. Then you will be sure that the thing will not work.

In the above passage, the Bible is talking about contrary handwriting and things that were written against us. Those things were not written in the physical world but in the spiritual. Certain things could be written in the world of the spirits that could work against people who are living here physically. Although you cannot see them, they are binding on the people’s lives and would create an invisible barrier that they cannot see. Since the things have been written in the spirit world, God would read them, the devil would read them and witches and wizards would read them. Unless something is done to remove them, they would be there and the invisible barrier would remain with those affected.

So, in this message, we would be revealing some secrets of one of the greatest problems of man. Many Christians have been deceived that they can only be happy when they get to heaven. The devil, who is the most successful thief in the universe, has been capitalizing on people’s ignorance to steal so many things from them. Unfortunately, every individual on the face of the earth has in some little or big way been defrauded and robbed by the devil. This message will help us to serve a final notice to the devil. For too long, he has robbed believers of their possessions, he has plundered even the saints of God. He has reduced their quality of life and has taken the lion’s share of their possessions and assets. So, right now, pray like this: “Satan, I command you to depart from my life, and I reverse your past victories over me, in the name of Jesus”.

HOW DOES GOD OPERATE WHEN THERE IS A PROBLEM?

He starts with the diagnosis not the remedy. The problem with most people who bring their problems to the churches is that they want God to start with the remedy straight away without waiting to know the diagnosis. It is true that certain problems have defied natural solution, some have defied normal prayers and some have roots that are difficult to determine. The roots of some are determined but they still stay in place. Some pray for deliverance, no way. Some pray for healing, no way. There seems to be an invisible barrier somewhere keeping people from obtaining the promise that God has for them. All these are terrible things written down in the spirit world, but the strongest of the handwritings is what the Bible calls curses.

CURSES

A curse is an invisible barrier. It can keep people from receiving what God has for them. That is, God carries something and says, “Take,” but the person is unable to receive it because he is under a curse. A curse can keep somebody from receiving physical healing, financial blessing, salvation, academic success or even having a happy marital life. Somebody who is under a curse would not see God’s blessings at all because curses are vehicles of supernatural power, which can control from generation to generation. They are the opposite of what the Bible calls blessings. A person working under a curse will be struggling against something he does not understand, he would not be unable to overcome it, neither would he be able to master it. He could be very hardworking and plan very well but just at the verge of success something goes wrong and everything scatters.

There are many curses in the Bible that are still in operation today. The book of Matthew shows that at the time of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, Pilate found that He was innocent and was about to let Him go. He said, “This man has not done anything wrong.” But the people cried, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” “But why? He is your king,” said Pilate. They said, “He said He is a king, crucify Him.” As Pilate was still looking at them, they said, “Let His blood be upon us and upon our children.” In their desperation to have Jesus crucified, they put a curse on themselves and their generations to come. Till date, the Israelites are still labouring under that curse.

The right word to describe the situation of a person operating under a curse is “frustration.” The person is frustrated on every side, no matter how carefully or how hard he works, he will not be successful. The qualifications for success are there but the person will continue to stumble and fall. A single lady who is under a curse would always be disappointed by men on the issue of marriage. They would come at different times, propose marriage and then run away. Also somebody who has great difficulty receiving the Holy Spirit might be under a curse.

In Deuteronomy 28, Moses spells out clearly what are blessings and curses. We must understand that we either enjoy God’s blessings or suffer curses, there is no neutral ground.

Deuteronomy 28: 1: “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.” Verse 15 says, “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee.” We have two opposite things: blessing and curse. I counsel you to read the whole of Deuteronomy 28. The blessings that are listed there are exaltation, health, prosperity, productiveness, victory, favour, etc. The curses are humiliation, mental and physical sickness, family breakdown, poverty, defeat, oppression, failure and disfavour. Although the curses are more than the blessings, a single blessing can cancel almost all the curses.

HOW DOES SOMEBODY COME UNDER A CURSE?

Curses can come from two directions: vertical or horizontal, that is, either directly from God or from people. You may ask: “So, somebody can be under a curse from God?” Oh yes. It was God that cursed Adam, Eve and the snake. It is still happening now unless you get born again.

HOW DO PEOPLE COME UNDER CURSES FROM GOD?

Deuteronomy 27:15 says, “Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.” So if you make an image of cross, Mary, Sango, Ogun or anything at all and worship it, the Bible says you are cursed.

Verse 16 says, “Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.” So, if you have no respect for your parents, the Bible says you are cursed.

Verse 17-18: “Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.”

A long time ago, in an all girls secondary school, two girls were fighting in their dormitory. The matron saw them and went to find out why they were fighting and one of them said, “When I arrived in this school, I was the girlfriend of the principal and this girl is now competing with me.” The two girls were fighting because they wanted to befriend the principal. To the amazement of a Christian standing by, the matron said to them, “Don’t be so childish, it is a simple thing. Both of you should make a timetable. If you are sleeping with him Monday to Wednesday, let the other girl take over from Thursday to Sunday. No problem at all.” Both of them said, “Thank you, ma” and stopped fighting. The Christian called the matron and said, “Mama, how can you give this type of advice when you have your own children.” The woman said, “The children whose lives are already spoilt, let us spoil it more for them.” “Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way.” Those girls were already blind and the matron helped them to wander out of the way. The Bible says, “cursed be such people.”

Verse 19 - 26: “Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widows. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife; because he uncovereth his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen. Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.”

All these twelve things qualify one to be under God’s curse. It is not a matter of whether we think it is right or wrong. God has so ordained that if you do certain things you automatically come under His curse.

THESE TWELVE THINGS CAN BE GROUPED INTO FOUR:

1. Idolatry: Serving and worshipping false gods, occult involvement, special baths in the sea, etc. could place a person under a curse. A person whose ancestors were involved in these things also comes under the curse even though he did not do so himself. Out of their activities some forefathers put their descendants under a curse. Until anyone concerned releases himself from the curse and breaks it, he will not be free. Idolatry or involvement in occult practices puts one under automatic curse. There is no prayer that can help such a person except he repents.

2. Dishonouring one’s parents: The reason so many people are cursed is because they dishonour their parents. It is not possible for anybody with wrong attitudes towards his or her parents to come under the full blessing of the Lord. The Bible says, “Honour your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, this is the first commandment with a promise” (Ephesians 6:2-3). Dishonouring parents puts somebody under God’s curse.

3. Sexual perversion: Adultery, fornication or incest puts a person under a curse.

4. Injustice to the meek or the helpless: Exploiting your neighbour's weakness, stealing money from the blind, telling lies to somebody who is not educated so that you can extract money from him, abusing a person in a language he does not understand, procuring abortion, etc. put a person automatically under God’s curse.

5. Hatred for Jews: There are people who hate the Jews and always speak against them. Such people place themselves under a curse because the Bible says, “Abraham, anyone who curses your children shall be cursed, anyone who blesses them shall be blessed.” If somebody hates the Jews, he automatically comes under God’s curse.

6. Stealing and cursing: Zechariah 5:1-3 says, “Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. And he said unto me, what seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll ; the length thereof is twenty cubits and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, this is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth; for everyone that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.” So, stealing and cursing puts a person under God’s curse. Somebody takes something and swears under oath that he did not take it, such a person automatically comes under God’s curse. Somebody goes to the court and swears to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, but his next sentence is a lie. Such a person automatically comes under a curse. That is what the Bible says. Such people need to repent. Repentance is the answer.

Jeremiah 17:5-6 tells us why another type of curse can come upon people. It says, “Thus saith the Lord, cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert and shall not see when good cometh but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.” Trusting in man or yourself, your natural ability, cleverness or education instead of depending on God, brings one under the curse of God.

Malachi 3:8-9 tells us about another curse. It is about being stingy with God. The passage says, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.” Anyone who wants to be cursed should be stingy with God. But the person that wants to be blessed should be generous with God. When people do the work of God miserably, they pronounce curses on themselves.

These are the vertical ones. If you have come under any of them, repentance is the only solution. No prayer can help you out. Any prophet that says he can help you is lying. You must repent.

HORIZONTAL CURSES

These are curses from fellow men. Some people are under curses by their parents, husbands or wives. A teacher may also curse a pupil in the school. All these things would be binding because those who issued them have authority over those they cursed. The Bible says that the husband is the head of the home. If you are a woman and you do not really agree with that, it does not matter because the word of the Bible is final. If God says the husband is the head and the husband issues a curse on his wife, it could be binding on that wife until she looses herself. Likewise if parents issue curses on their children, it could come to pass.

The Bible says a fearful thing in Proverbs 28: 9: "He that turneth away his ears from learning the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." So, a person’s prayer can become an abomination. It means that when those who do not have God in their lives, who are not born again start to pray, they are indirectly cursing themselves.

Many parents who do not understand this and curse their children everyday are putting the children in serious problem. In many parts of this country, they do not count it as a serious matter to curse somebody. One day, a mother was cursing her child. She said that the life of the boy would be like the life of a gate. It took me time to understand what she meant. I reasoned that truly gates do not have rest. When somebody issues that type of curse and thinks it is a play thing, the person is joking. It would be recorded in the spiritual world against the child. When you say a child is a bastard, it is recorded. So, we have to be careful with what we say even as we are entering a New Year. In many places, it is a common thing to see children cursing one another with the names of the idols of that particular place. When somebody says, “Well, your children will do that to you.” It will happen. If your parents say you will never succeed, it will happen. These are some of the reasons you find many people with natural talents or gifted suffering. They are struggling against curses that have been issued on them by their parents. At that time it was just a plaything. You can help those parents to ask for God’s forgiveness and loose the children from such curses. Many people are still under the curses pronounced on them by their teachers in school. We must loose ourselves from all these things.

There is also what we call self-imposed curses. These are curses people put on themselves everyday. When somebody says, “I wish I were dead.” What is the good in living? The whole of life is a big bag of frustration,” or he says, “I am always having bad luck, I don’t have any friend,” the person is cursing himself and it is binding. A lot of people do that everyday, they commit spiritual murder with their mouth.

Another form of horizontal curses are those from some people representing the devil. Herbalists and diviners that claim to be able to see things belong to this group. Sometimes, it is when you accept the vision that they see that it happens. They are curses indirectly. If somebody says, “I see a vision that you will marry four husbands or you will have accident or you will loose your money,” and you do not reject it immediately, it will become binding. You must reject such things straight away.

HOW DO YOU RECOGNISE THAT THERE IS A CURSE IN PLACE

If a particular tragedy is happening to all the members of a family then you know there is a curse in place. It has to be cancelled. If there are serious marital problems, every lady in a particular family finds it difficult to find a husband, or they are not able to stay with one man or their husbands just continually beat them up or they are always getting unserious men, or all the girls are prostitutes, or all the men are have troublesome wives who disorganise the home. These are evidences that there is an unseen barrier in operation.

When somebody is experiencing mental or emotional breakdown, stubborn sicknesses, inherited sickness or sicknesses without any medical diagnosis, there is an unseen barrier in place or when a woman experiences incessant female problems, regular child death, bearing illegitimate children and things that are contrary to the life of a woman. When somebody has financial problems all the time. Although he comes in contact with money, he is duped by robbers or invests in the wrong business, such a person is under a curse.

If you are a teacher it is good for you to have the power of God in your life. Some of the children you teach can be anything in the spirit world and when these children issue curses on you, it can be serious. Ten years after I left primary school, I met one of my old teachers in the bus. His shirt was still tattered like it was before and he was wearing a bathroom slippers. I greeted him and he nodded at me. I said, “I would like to pay your fare.” He said, “Yes, but I don’t know you,” I said, “You were my teacher sir.” He thanked me, shook my hands and asked what I was doing then. When I asked the Lord what was wrong with him, the Lord said, “The school children put them under curses and that is why they have financial difficulties and they never really balance.” Unless they have the power of God in their lives, they will not be able to break it.

Being prone to accidents, accumulation of problems and history of suicide or sudden deaths are all signs of curses. Does God want us to be under these kinds of things? No. Galatians. 3:13 says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree that the blessings of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.” So, Jesus is our exchange. Matthew 18:18 says, “Whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 1 John 3:8 says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

HOW DO YOU BREAK FREE?

1. You must confess your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. You must commit your obedience to God.
3. You must repent of your own sins and those of your ancestors.
4. You must forgive everyone who has offended you.
5. You must renounce all false gods.
6. If you still have any occult material in your house, destroy them. Loose yourself from the curse and things will change for you.

Beloved, the heavens are watching to see the choice that you will make. One of the most salient passages in the Bible is Deuteronomy 30:19 which says, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed will live.” Likewise through this message, I have put life before you as put forth by Jesus Christ and blessings as put forth by the Lord Jesus Christ and also curse and death. But I pray that you must choose life and blessings and reject curse and death.

Anyone whom God has cursed cannot be blessed by anybody. It would be a wasteful exercise to pray for somebody who is under God’s curse. God bless you as you make the right choice. PRAYER POINTS

1. I renounce completely every contact with satan or any occult society that I have gotten involved with in the past, in the name of Jesus.

2. Father Lord, forgive and blot out any sin committed by me or by my ancestors that has placed me under any curse, in Jesus’ name.

3. I break every curse brought upon my life by past generations in my family, in Jesus’ name.

4. I loose myself from every parental curse working against my life, in the name of Jesus.

5. I break and loose myself from any curse working against my life, in Jesus’ name ( Pray this three times).