“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,”
??II Corinthians? ?1:8-10? ?NKJV??????????????????????
Breakthrough doesn’t come easy, in order for you to see this breakthrough their will have to be sacrifices, pain and anguish will be a part of this make up and nothing you can do but look up will be the answer.
” Cowards never start. The weak never finish. Winners never quit.”
There is a misunderstood concept of Christianity that I would like to address today concerning the promotion of salvation that many people are clueless about, and that beloved is that as Christians we are forever until Jesus returns fighting, we are forever battling and pushing away the enemy of our soul.
People are going to need to understand that the enemies strategy is to try his very best to get you to quit, get you to quit on God, to quit on the brethren, quit on the church that He has placed you in and to quit on your Pastor beloved to quit on the very ones that are looking at your life for hope.
Everyday you are going to have to make a conscience decision to serve God not only for your self but also for those around you. Fighting the unseen and believing God for breakthrough.
Matthew 11:12
"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
A very understandable quotation by our Lord Jesus Christ as He is addressing the men of this age the men that we still read about today in this Holy Word and that is since the beginning of time war has been declared upon the people of God and even as far as up to God. The enemy wants you to quit and he desires for you to give up. The enemy will use the savage and the crafty to discourage you to obstruct your peace and will begin to orchestrate demonic attack’s to be targeted in your direction to befall you and to get you to surrender by all means, the devils plan is to get you to raise the white flag of submission to him.
When does he come against you, when does he decide to flood your life with tragedy or chaos and trials, when? When you decide to get real with God, when you decided in your heart to throw up your hands to God and give Him all, your sin, your fears, your concerns, your lies and your life, satan takes notice and begins to devise attacks to get you to quit. See beloved the enemy saw and heard that verbal promise you made to God and now has strategized a plan to get you to fall, to get you to give up and quit. Beloved as Christians we need to understand that the enemy had no problem with you in your sin, its when you get saved, repent of your sin and surrender to God that he begins his mass rampage against your life. When salvation is accepted by the sinner in sincere repentance, it is now that the battle begins people have a misconception that all the battles and fights are over but no it’s not finished but on the contrary it has just begun.
1st Point “After promotion comes persistence”
(From sin to salvation there’s a promotion)
2 Samuel 5:17-21
17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?" And the LORD said to David, "Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand." 20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, "The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. 21 And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away.
A. “The battle just begun”
a. The enemy sees and hears the plan of God for your life
b. The enemy will search for you and what he will do is that He’ll try to corner your life
(I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place)
I. We could look at David’s life here’s a man who fought battles throughout his whole reign over Israel.
II. We know as a shepherd he killed lions and bears and as he came into what God was preparing for his life he slew the giant Goliath. Just because he won that battle doesn’t mean he won the war, later on in his latter years he saw himself almost snuffed out by other giants who tried to kill him.
B. There is an ongoing demonic strategy from hell to try to get you to quit, near death circumstances, heartaches and disappointments, distractions, the devil wants to take the fight out of you and kill you.
a. The hallmark of David’s life is going from one battle to another battle
b. From day one to the very last day we find him always in battle
I. This tells me something about us, beloved we all need breakthrough. We are going to have to fight for peace on all corners of life. You are going to have to settle in you heart that God is in control and you trust He will help you breakthrough.
2 Corinthians 11:24-33
24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness-- 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? 30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.
C. Here we see Paul’s life the greatest missionary on planet earth and in the midst of his calling we see the battles that he went through and the struggles he endured and in that we see the desire and the confidence he continued to have in Christ for breakthrough.
a. Paul was emphasizing on the ongoing need for breakthrough in his life and in the church
b. I wonder who here needs a breakthrough in their life right now! Who is enduring and proclaiming Christ through the uncertainty and the difficulty of your circumstance in your life? You need to still believe God for breakthrough because the enemy wants you to quit, just when the breakthrough is around the corner is when he is pressing on you wanting you to give up and give in. Don’t do it! Keep your eyes on the prize!
Sometimes God's way of answering prayer is not by removing the pressure, but by increasing your strength to bear it.
2nd Point “Finding the strategy of refuge”
Battles just won’t go away they are just ongoing and always seem to be around when we have other things to deal with.
No pressure, No diamonds. The reality is that:
A. The enemy just doesn’t go away
I. The strategy of the enemy is strategic and positioning
II. There is a place where the enemy will try to bring you to
a. For David it was the rooftop that led him to have an affair with a married woman, kill her husband and lie to the people, for Peter is was his rejecting Christ, the enemy used a little girl to make Peter curse God.
b. The place where the enemy will try to bring you is in that place that has always been there, those flaws that we have that have never been surrendered to God.
I. gossip
II. Lying
III. Pornography
IV. Greed
V. Hatred
VI. Worry
VII. Unbelief
As the enemy is looking for flaws we need to look for God to help us with these flaws and overcome them. Your flaws don’t define who you can be in Christ Jesus. David had a strategy to overcome, he went to the only source that was able to direct his paths and give him clear instructions and that was to hear from God. In the midst of his failures an short comings he still had a desire to please God.
1 Peter 5:8
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
a. David was an observer and he was persistent and he was intact with the enemies strategy, he understood that the only way to defeat a demonically inspired attack is to go to the one who can expose the supernatural realm to him and help him and that was and for us should still be God! Prayer, persistent prayer.
Ephesians 6:11-12
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
b. David took on a posture of hope in God and went and inquired of God. He prayed.
c. Prayer beloved is a key factor to obtain the strategy of hell and get the breakthrough that we need in these times of chaos.
Psalms? ?31:3? ?NKJV??????
“For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me.
Psalms 27:14
14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Someone needs to take heed to this right now, the strategy of hell is upon you and you feel cornered and hopeless but think of how these men felt fighting against giants and men who intimidated others, they probably felt just as some of you may feel this very moment but they inquired of the Lord, beloved you need to pray and ask God what will He have you do, God told David I’ll deliver them into your hands.
Isaiah 40:31
31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
3rd Point “God will help us breakthrough”
And the LORD said to David, "Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand."
A. God responds to faith and prayer and the promise we have is that He will respond to your prayer by faith as well.
I. We need to understand that God’s strategy always wins we see it in our text that God gave David a hope and a promise which we hold on to today as well. He inquired and God gave instructional promises, go up and I will deliver.
Philippians 1:6
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Isaiah 30:21
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.
(A gracious promise to those who trusted in God, that they should not only see through the trouble, but should see happy days after it, times of joy and reformation, plenty of the means of grace, and therewith plenty of outward good things and increasing joys and triumphs)
This is the hope we have today, we were or could be promoted into salvation in Christ and in that promotion as hell comes our way we could have the confidence in Christ that He in His word promises us to finish what He has begun to do in us, by directing us and guiding us into that victory
II. God ultimately gets the victory because there is no defense for what God does.
1 Corinthians 15:27
27 For "He has put all things under His feet." But when He says "all things are put under Him," it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.
God’s word stands and is true, do not quit but be strong and pray, listen to instruction and trust that what He has begun He will finish in Jesus name. Beloved breakthrough is just around the corner keep on fighting and do not quit.
The single most important question that we face when we are under pressure is: Do I see the situation as a crisis or a challenge? God builds His people and He will build you, and give you breakthrough.
God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls and coal into diamonds using time and pressure. He's working on you, too.
