INTRO: 1. When we think of Jerusalem we think of it as the pearl and glory of all Israel.
a. No other place in the world is considered as sacred by so many as is Jerusalem. (Three world Religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islamics)
b. Few places in the world has there been more blood-shed over a city than Jerusalem.
2. But we must remember that Jerusalem wasn’t always the possession of the children of Israel.
a. It wasn’t until King David had united the tribes of Israel before Jerusalem could be taken
b. It was not conquered even by the Joshua generation... Although part of the promised land
c. For years this city was occupied by the Jebusites, and it was their pride and joy.
d. This city was considered an “unconquerable fortress”, an impenetrable safe haven for the enemy to dwell in the very heart of Israel.
3. Jerusalem, in the hands of the Jebusites, represents for every child of God, those “unconquerable things” that has taken up residence in our lives.
a. They have a history of defeating us.
b. They mock us. (The lame was lined on the walls and David’s army was mocked)
c. They are central to our effectiveness. (We cannot be all that God intended until these areas of difficulty is dealt with)
d. They contaminate our Peace. (How could Israel live at peace until this enemy has been cast down)
e. They don’t belong in our lives. (this was God’s promise land, they had no real claim to it)
4. Like David & Joab we don’t have to surrender to the “unconquerable things” in our lives, God’s will and his Word has given us the power and the tools necessary for conquering the unconquerable in our lives.
a. Paul reminds us of our power in the face of “strongholds”.
2 Cor. 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5. The possessing of Jerusalem leaves us with some powerful principles concerning the conquering of seemingly impossible things in our life.
I. WE MUST FIRST CONQUER INTIMIDATION
a. The first response of the Jebusites that possessed the city of Jerusalem was a response to intimidate David's men
b. They mocked them by lining the blind and the lame along the wall to reveal the futility of what they were trying to do.
c. No doubt there was some among the ranks of the children of Israel who believed this trap and was at that time ready to return home.
A. INTIMIDATION IS THE ENEMY’S LAST HOPE FOR VICTORY.
1. The worst thing that can happen to the enemy is for you to realize the power and promise you possess.
2. He’ll mock our ability. (Say you don’t have the talent or the skill)
3. He’ll mock our spirituality. (Your not spiritual enough to content with such an enemy)
4. He’ll mock our past failures. (Remind you of the times you’ve failed before)
B. INTIMIDATION DISTRACTS US FROM WHO WE’RE WITH.
1. Joab didn’t fall for the strategy of the enemy because his attention was on one thing - who he was with - the “anointed one”, the King.
2. The enemy will try to distract us with the difficulty of the task.
3. The enemy will try to distract us by the faithlessness and criticism of others.
4. But Joab would not forget the miracles that followed King David and his reliance on the God of Israel.
5. It’s time to fix our eyes on Jesus and who we are or what we can do no longer matters - the “anointed one” becomes our key to successfully conquering the unconquerable.
II. WE MUST ACCEPT THAT GOD’S PEACE IS OURS TO HAVE.
a. The root word for Jerusalem and the ancient name for Jerusalem was Salem which literally meant “peace”.
b. For the enemy who lived inside the mighty walls of Jerusalem, they felt the security of this fortress that was surrounded by three valleys and would challenge some the world’s greatest empires.
c. But David understood that this city of Peace was intended by God for his people, but the enemy had taken their residence there.
d. David also understood that sometimes this “Place of Peace” would only come as a result of struggling with the enemy and the thieves of our peace.
e. ILL. The first mention of this city was in the time of Abraham, who received a visit from Melchizedek who was the king of Salem. This visit by the King of Peace, who brought a spiritual Peace to Abraham came as a result of his battles with the enemy who had kidnapped Lot.
A. GOD’S PEACE IS SOMETHING WE POSSESS.
1. David believed that this place of Peace was rightfully his to claim, because it was part of the promised land God had given him.
2. Here was a piece of the promise that no one bothered to claim - Peace of God is the same way in the body of Christ. (So many believers struggle with the same stress and unrest as the world)
3. God’s peace is not an optional benefit for the spiritually elite, but for those who are willing to lay hold on the promise of Jesus Christ and possess what he has left us.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
4. Without God’s peace in our life, all the other provisions are somehow far less than they were intended to be.
B. GOD’S PEACE IS SOMETHING WE PROTECT.
1. God’s peace is something worth fighting for.
2. David was willing to crush the enemy to gain his place of “peace”.
3. Jesus in His promise warns us that their are things that can contaminate our peace.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
4. There are multitudes of enemies that are out to steal our peace.
5. There’s the enemy of fear, of strife, of discouragement, of carnality, and of stress.
6. Don’t let anything take your peace, stand and fight for it.
III. WE MUST HEAR THE WORD OF OUR KING.
2 Sam. 5:8 And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.
a. 1 Chronicles 11 let’s us know that it was Joab who heard the word of the king and quickly moved to meet the challenge of the King.
b. Our king Jesus, is looking for champions who would dare receive his word and accept the challenge the word brings to our life.
c. Notice why Joab received the word of the “anointed one”.
A. BECAUSE NO OTHER WORD MATTERS.
1. Joab saw no one’s advice or suggestion as valid, he was only concerned with pleasing the king by doing things his way.
2. Paul says that if we are to succeed in conquering our strongholds it will have to be in the spirit of Joab, accepting God’s word as the only valid word.
2 Cor. 10:4,5 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
3. Paul says we “Casting down imaginations” - the word of the Kings does not need debating or questioning, just obeying.
4. Paul says “every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God” - no other source matters when the king has spoken, not even our own opinion.
5. Paul said that every thought is taken “captive” to the obedience of Christ.
6. Like Joab, we need not even try and think of a better way - the king has spoken.
B. BECAUSE NO OTHER SOLUTION IS A SOLUTION.
1. In our world we have so many counselors and so many advisors, it’s tempting to believe they may know what they’re talking about. (Psychologists, talk shows, friends, etc.)
2. It would be easy to believe that their solutions are “real” solutions, but often they are nothing more than surface solutions.
3. Only the solution of our “King” is the real solution to our difficulty and to the strongholds in our life.
4. Don’t settle for a counterfeit solution - choose to do things God’s way first.
5. This “real solution” of the king leads us to our final principle that David demonstrates in the conquering of Jerusalem.
IV. WE MUST LET GOD UNCOVER WHAT’S AT THE HEART OF OUR UNCONQUERABLE THING.
a. The word of the King made Joab aware of the underground spring that fed Jerusalem.
b. What appeared to be Jerusalem’s greatest strength was also it’s greatest weakness, the Gihon spring.
c. God always deals with problems from the inside out, while we often try and deal with it from the outside in.
A. GOD REVEALED WHAT FED THIS STRONGHOLD
1. Sometime the solution is clear if we can just determine what feeds something in our lives.
2. We might actually be feeding the strongholds that stand against us.
3. Difficult relationships can be fed by our anger and our bitterness.
4. Job difficulties can be fed by our fears and frustrations.
5. Financial difficulties can be fed by bad spending habits.
6. Marital difficulties can be fed by discontentment and blame.
7. Anger issues are often fed by insecurities
8. Lust issues are often fed by what we allow our eyes to feed on.
8. The list can go on and on.
9. It’s on this level that the king wants us to draw our attention.
10. It was the discovering of the streams of Gihon that lead to David’s victory over Jerusalem.
11. If you'll let God, He'll reveal the Gihon Spring in the strongholds in your life.
B. WE MUST STRIKE THE ENEMY OF OUR PEACE AT IT’S HEART.
1. While David created a diversion from outside the city, Joab conquered it from within it’s own walls. (David’s effort was a counterfeit invasion, knew it would do no good)
2. Too often we’ve struggled with physical circumstances and hardships, doing nothing but exhausting our resources, when we need to turn to the real solutions the spiritual solutions.
3. God can reveal the hidden keys to that unconquerable thing in your life, but then we must be willing to by faith act on them.
CONCLUSION: Our King wants to lead us to victory over the unconquerable places in our lives and restore us to that place of peace.
a. He wants to lead us in conquering the intimidation.
b. He wants to show us that His Peace belongs to us.
c. He wants to show us the power of his word.
d. And he wants to defeat our difficulty at the root of the problem.
