I want to look at a case study on the word ‘breakthrough’ as
used in I Samuel 5 in the life of David. This passage is significant because it
marks the moment that Jerusalem became a royal city. David had started his work
of king at the age of 30 and had already reigned over Judah seven years and six
months from Hebron as we see from the first five verses.
David was first identified as a shepherd and then as a
ruler. It is the perfect combination of
qualities to trust in a leader and the same type of leader Jesus comes to be
with us. If we choose to remain in
control and take the route of self-made decisions we inevitably will fall
short.
1 All the tribes of
Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In
the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their
military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people
Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”
2
When you make the decision to move forward, to break out of
a pattern or cycle of defeat or addiction, the enemy is always there to
ridicule you, to make light of your commitment or resolve. It can come from a voice inside your head to
even well-meaning friends.
6 The king and his men
marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites
said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward
you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.”
For David it was reclaiming what already was rightfully
their capital city in the first place.
For my friend who is making the decision to go to Teen Challenge for a
year to restore himself spiritually, physically and emotionally, it means not
listening to friends who tell him, ‘you are too old for that sort of thing, you
not going to change…who are you kidding.’
God is in the restoration business! Joel
2:25“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
Make no mistake about it, God honors those who are sick and
tired of where they are and where their own devices have left them and want
more. He is looking for those who truly
are seeking for more.
Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6
3
David Conquers Jerusalem
7 Nevertheless,
David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.8 On that
day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the
water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.” That is
why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”
9 David then took up residence in the fortress and called it
the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward. 10
And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with
him.
There is a point where we move forward and we don’t
retreat. It is when the decision is made
and we follow through. It is when we
sign up for a race and there is no cancellation policy. It is the place where
we take God’s promises to heart and we put our money where our mouth is. We step out in faith with confidence. It is
NEVERTHELESS time and God is with him and God is with us. He is for us.
God + you = majority.
Romans 8:31 If God is
for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave
him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all
things?
4 The Power of Inquiry
David seeks the LORD’s face and knows that he must hear from
God to have strategy in the battle that he is facing and God brings clarity
through His still small voice. We don’t
tackle breakthrough with a list of pros and cons and what makes sense to us. It is only when we seek His face that He
shows the way and we go ahead with confidence.
17 When the
Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up
in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the
stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of
Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the
Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The Lord answered him,
“Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”
It is right here in this very passage that we see the word
bursting or also translated as ‘breakthrough’ being used.
So David went out and
fought with them at Baal-perazim and defeated them. “The Lord did it!” he
exclaimed. “He burst through my enemies like a raging flood.” So he named the
place “Bursting.” 21 At that time David and his troops confiscated many idols
that had been abandoned by the Philistines.
David clearly gives
God the credit and recognizes the power rests with Him. It is also interesting to note also that the
idols are confiscated. When we
experience victory with the LORD there can be no room for the enemy to regain a
stronghold. Idols are those things in
our lives that replace our love for the LORD or serve as our addiction of
choice when we don’t find our needs met in Christ. They are our ‘go to drug’ and we have to get
radical with them. They have to be
rooted out, but they also have to be replaced with healthy affections.
It is also interesting to note that David isn’t satisfied to
hear God’s voice once and rest on his laurels that God is always doing things
the same way or uses the same strategy for every battle we face. I think that is often we lose the
battle. It is when we assume that
victory will come to us the same way as we do the same thing in our relationship
with the LORD. So when David is
challenged again, he inquires of the LORD and the LORD gives Him a completely
different battle strategy.
22 Once more the
Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David
inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle
around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as
you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly,
because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the
Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down
the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
What is your prayer?
What will spark spiritual breakthrough in your life?
Do you inquire the LORD in everything you do?
I went to massage therapy after the winter carnival…as it
turns out I really did a number on my shoulder, but what I learned at her
office is that often the pain we experience is referral pain and it isn’t
necessarily where we think it is. This
is called referral pain. We have to go
to the place where the pain is coming from… sometimes we go to the symptoms and
not the source. Only the one that made
us can really diagnose us. I challenge
you as much as myself to really inquire of the LORD.
Here is a recent inquiry of the LORD as I asked the Holy
Spirit to show me what it means for Christ to be in me.
I am light, I am pure so you are light, you are pure. Remain in me so you can delight in my
love. Speak words that are true, embrace
My way, My will, My words, keep drawing close.
I will sustain you and fulfill you with my longings. Keep pressing in and you will never walk away
empty handed.
Manor Update
Breakthrough Partnerships!
Kim,* who works at the Manor recently came to faith in
Jesus. She is now experiencing so much
growth and transformation that others are noticing. She has been to prayer ministry at the
Freedom Center in Guelph, http://www.freedomhousechc.ca/
and we are excited to partner with them as Dr. Wendy counsels and also prepares to
open a home to minister to women coming out of addiction. We recently attended an amazing time of
training on ‘ministering into addiction’.
The teaching was so invaluable to us for working in our setting. She focused on attitudes on addiction,
patterns leading to self-destructive and self-sabotaging behavior. She also taught on what is
broken in the brain, foundational roots of all addictions and then led us
through healing what drives addiction and restoring broken lives.
It also has been a real joy to partner with the Father’s
Heart Healing Rooms based in Arthur, ON.
We have had the opportunity to
take attendees of our church to receive prayer ministry here and most recently
on Friday night. I took the time to
receive prayer as well and it was such a huge blessing. Our people are experiencing the release of
forgiveness towards others, restoration through healing and reconciliation with
others. God is doing powerful things in
their lives to reveal Himself, stories that are too personal for me to share,
but ones that they will share. 
This past Sunday Dan shared his journey with our church as
he has been with us and with our family for the past year. He is on a great adventure of healing and
freedom and we are so excited with him as he will be entering Teen Challenge on
March 31. http://www.teenchallenge.ca/ It was so amazing to see so many surround him in prayer after he spoke on Sunday.
Katarina McLeod, founder of Rising Angels https://www.facebook.com/risingangelscanada
will be our speaker on Resurrection Sunday when we celebrate one year of Church
at the Manor!
