THE LORD OF THE BREAKTHROUGH
TEXT: 2 Samuel 5:17-21
2 Samuel 5:17 21 -- “But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold.” “The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.” “And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.” “And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.” “And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.”
I. THE LIFE OF DAVID
-We find in our text the point that David is finally going to enjoy. He has waited for this day now for fifteen years. He is finally going to take the throne and rule as God’s rightful heir.
-The paths that he has had to walk through have been difficult. He has found himself fleeing from the hands of bitter enemies. He has had to endure the disdain of his older brothers. He has had to learn to keep his heart right with God. It was by long and painful discipline that David would have to preserve his anointing.
A. The First Anointing
-The youngest son of any family usually bears two distinctions: He is considered to be both spoiled and uninformed. Usually very little is expected of him therefore he displays fewer characteristics of leadership than the other children. He never leads, he only follows.
-But all of that would change in David’s life once he was hurriedly called in from the pastures as he watched his father’s sheep. An old sage, who roamed the towns and burgs of Israel, now came to Bethlehem on God’s business.
-Samuel had already reviewed and interviewed all seven of Jesse’s sons, not once, but twice. Now, David was summoned in to fill the bill. He looked with curiosity at the old prophet. Nothing about his appearance would arrest the attention, except for the eyes. The eyes of Samuel seemed to burn like hot coals taken from a dying fire.
-From the eyes of this old prophet emanated a passion that was startling to David. He had never met one of Jehovah’s prophets. He had never felt the hunger come from someone’s soul like Samuel’s.
-Commanding the young teenager to kneel on the floor, Samuel reaches inside of his cloak and removes a horn of oil. That horn had been provided upon the basis of a sacrifice from some animal now long dead. The animal’s blood had been spilled on some altar in the distant past. Out of the sacrifice came the oil of anointing.
-One must always remember that true and real anointing never comes without some form of sacrifice. It is a biblical pattern that we find beginning with Abel’s sacrifice and ending with the one in Revelation where the cries of the saints come from under the altar. If you are not yet prepared to sacrifice, then you really aren’t prepared to be anointed.
-Now the young man bends to his knees. He hears the old prophet pray and he feels the oil immediately drench his hair and run down the back of his neck. It was his first anointing, but it would be years before he finally came to be the king.
-Those first anointings that occur in our lives are crucial. The decisions that we make. The paths that we take. The lessons we learn with those first anointings hold so much magnitude. Those first few prayers that we pray. Those first few moments of real worship. Those first times that we become involved in spiritual warfare will always be significant to us.
-But often after that first anointing, we have to plod the weary path of preparation for God to use us in His Kingdom. Time spent waiting for advancement or for deliverance often seems like lost time. Men forget that preparation is demanded for all promotions.
-He had to sing to a mad king. He would be purified in furnace of affliction and humiliations. His faith would grow strong in the fantastic deliverances. His heart would feel the heaviness of despair. At other times, his soul would leap to the mountains with praise and worship for answered prayer.
B. The Other Two Anointings
-Besides the anointing at Bethlehem, he would have two more anointings in his life. One would be at age thirty and the last anointing would be at age 37 (2 Sam. 5:5).
-It was the last anointing that would be the one to carry him through the dark days of trouble and to a final place of power in the nation of Israel.
II. THE THIRD ANOINTING
-Now at thirty-seven years of age, David is anointed and recognized as the king of all of Israel. David, now the veteran soldier, is to take Jerusalem from the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6).
-My duty and your duty is like that of a soldier. We do not attempt to meet temptation, to fight the enemy, in our own strength. The watchfulness that we should have about our soul, warily watches the advance of the enemy and then telling God of it in prayer and being prepared in the strength of God.
-Not only is Jerusalem full of Jebusites, but the Jebusites are full of insults.
2 Samuel 5:6 -- “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.”
-The Living Bible gives it like this:
2 Samuel 5:6 -- “David now led his troops to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites who lived there. "You’ll never come in here," they told him. "Even the blind and lame could keep you out!" For they thought they were safe.”
-The question needs to be asked to all of us:
Has the world mocked you?
Has the world hurled defiance at the way that you live?
Has the world said that men cannot serve God in modern times?
Has the devil not whispered in your ear to give up and quit?
-Verse 7, informs us that David still went in and took that city. The answer to what made David successful is found in verse 10.
2 Samuel 5:10 -- “And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.”
-Those words are short but the meaning is without limit. David was a persistent man. . . . .He went on. It is the man who steadfastly goes on, who enters the city and clears a space for himself.
-Great men are defined by:
Walking the paths of righteousness.
The strength of their prayers.
Commitment to serving others.
Stumbling blocks becoming stepping stones.
Gaining power from seeming set-backs.
Seeking God rather than position.
-There is something about a man who just “goes on.” He “goes on” despite his circumstances. He “goes on” despite his trials. He “goes on” despite being in the minority.
-Our real security is not in the possession of what we can see, but in our relationship to what we cannot see.
-Once men become comfortable what they have, they no longer are dreamers. They are no longer visionary. They are no longer progressing but rather declining. If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward.
-But it is after the capture of Jerusalem that the Philistines determine that they are coming to capture David. Notice that the Philistines again rise after the anointing. Goliath, a Philistine came after the first anointing. Now after the third anointing, the Philistines are after him again.
-The enemies of the Kingdom and of your soul are not fazed by previous victories. They will continue to be persevering even in the face of continued defeats. The defeat of the Jebusites did not stop the Philistines from looking for David.
-Just because victory may have been present yesterday, that does not mean it is assured today. Too often we want the anointing but no battle. Or we want the battle without the anointing, but we must understand that both of them must come together and work together.
-So the Philistines came on, David got directions from God, and the Bible declares:
2 Samuel 5:20 -- “And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.”
-That is the Lord of the Breakthrough:
He is the Master of the Breach.
He has the battle in His hand.
He is the strong Tower.
He is the defense.
He is the shield.
He is the refuge.
Zechariah 14:7 8 -- “But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.” “And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out . . . . . .”
-While this verse is prophetic for a time that will be seen by all in the near future, this phrase denotes that it is a principle that will occur again and again.
-Some may find themselves in a time of lukewarm desire for God. But the Lord of the Breakthrough is on the way.
Matthew 3:11 -- “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”
Philip Harrelson
