Baalperazim

Baalperazim

“David attacked the Philistines and defeated them. Then he said, “I watched the Lord break through my enemies like a mighty flood.” So he named the place “The Lord Broke Through.”

2 Samuel 5:20 Contemporary English Version

Intro: In the bible lesson for today…, David had just been chosen king of Israel.

Everything seems to be going good.

The Philistines…, are the sworn enemy…, of the Israelites.

When the Philistines learned that David had been made king of Israel.

They ordered all their forces…, against David…, to attack and enslave him.

They have more spears.

They have more chariots.

They have more swords.

They've got a bigger army than the Israelites.

Now, we have all been in this place in our own life.

Things start getting better.

It looks like things are about to turn around.

Then suddenly out of nowhere…, there comes a setback or a hardship.

This delay

This attack

This stop or detour in progress

often happens when we are just starting to come out of hurt or a difficult situation.

You were just starting to heal.

You were just beginning to feel like you were normal.

Again you are being tempted.

Again you are under attack.

Again something is molesting you…,

and harassing you…, and means to do harm in your life once more.

The bible describes an enemy comes when you have something.

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed King they decided to attack.

All this time they knew David existed.

David had already killed Goliath.

They knew who David was.

They knew where David kept his flock of sheep.

For a long time, even while Soul was still King,

David was really the one who had been leading the Israel.

All of this time they had done nothing against David.

But when they heard that he had become King…, then they rose up against him.

There is an enemy…, that only comes…, when you have something.

When you receive some unexpected money, that’s when the car breaks down.

When you have just made a very good deal, then what happens?

When you get some unexpected good news, is when you often receive some unexpected bad news.

There is an unexpected problem that comes up.

There is an enemy that only comes to kill, steal and destroy.

But there is an answer for this problem in the bible tells us.

David had a stronghold.

When David hears the news that the Philistines were being mobilized to come against him …,

David moved to his fortified place.

Now, that's a good thing.

We all need to have a fortified place, a stronghold against the enemy.

Where is your stronghold?

Where is your fortified place against the enemy?

Where do you turn when things go from good to bad to worse?

Do you have a support system?

Do you have a safe place?

When you're under attack

When times are tough,

when you don't know which way to turn,

when you feel like everything has turn against you, what is your fortified place?

If you are here today and don’t have a safe place to go to when you are under attack

I want to change that.

I hope that this church will be a fortified place.

Your stronghold will be in your place of prayer.

Your stronghold will be in your place where you have friends who will have your back.

Your stronghold will be in your place where you will have people to support you.

Your stronghold will be in your study and learning of the bible, the word of God.

Your stronghold will be in your place where you seek God.

If you don't have a fortified place when the enemy comes after you,

you're going to get wounded or worse.

killed and destroyed.

David pulls back to his fortified place.

The church, the family of God, these Christians around you are fortified places.

Now, it says this, “…Then, the Philistine army moved in and spread out across the entire valley.

They have pretty much surrounded him.

They're trying to cut off any road of escape or way out.

What does David do?

David sought the Lord in prayer.

That's what we're going to do.

Pray about everything.

Pray about everything.

There's nothing too small to pray about.

There's nothing too big to pray about.

If it's worth worrying about, it's worth praying about.

If it's worth thinking about, then it's worth praying about.

You mean I can pray about, I don't have money to pay for my kid's braces.

Yes, you can pray about that.

My face is broken out; can I pray about it?

You can pray about that.

My back is out.

You can pray about that.

There is nothing too small ...

There are no big requests to God and there are no small requests to God.