- 2 sam 5:17-25READ David becomes King, and right after the philistines come and try to go to war with him. He inquires of the lord, Lord says go- he defeats them, and then they come back again and he has to fight them again. He waits for the sound and then he goes after them again.
- Why does it seem that we have repeated battles that we have to face?
- Why does it seem that David, even tho repeatedly victorious, repeatedly faces battles
- He’s never done fighting. Hes never not dealing with something. Challenging and encouraging
- 2 Cor 12:7 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to [b]buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
- So what Gives? What encouragement can we get from David as we deal with battles?
- Satan comes immediately
- 17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David.
- Now the philistines were not Satan, but enigmatic of him in that as Satan is a relentless attacker, the Philistines are a constant enemy of the Israelites in the Bible.
- All throughout the OT we see Satan attacking and chastising his people. Job, Joshua the High priest, David.
- Satan wants to thwart the plans and purposes of God. HE’s a power hungry entity. He’s the father of lies. The author of rebellion and selfishness. He never relents in his attacks.
- So when David experiences victory in Jerusalem, and then with the philistines, boom- he comes
- What does it mean to you?
- Do you realize that Satan wants to destroy the plans of God in yoru life?
- 1 Peter 5:8 Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- It happens every time you come to church- you’ll hear a word- get excited about it and it starts to come out of your heart before you ever leave the parking Lot.
- Luke 8:12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
- That’s his purpose- to get you to not believe the word of God- so that you would not be saved
- He hates saved people. He hates worship of God, love, forgiveness, service, sacrifice.
- 2 Corinthians 2:11 says you shouldn’t be ignorant of his plans and devices.
- I heard someone once say that Satan never attacks him- Id be concerned- Only attacks enemies
- How do you combat him? How do you fight him? (armor of God- but lets stick in this script)
- Learn the voice of the Lord
- And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
- 19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”
- Part of what gave David the strength to withstand the attacks of the devil was that he was dependent on God and knew what his voice sounded like- He won when he sought God
- Psalm 32:8-9 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. 9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you.
- Notice- The disobedient will not hear from God- Stubbornness stops the voice of the Lord.
- One of the great things about following the life of David- is that we see a man who heard and talked with God. The psalms declare it.
- Its not an exceptional experience. I believe that any human that is fully submitted to God can hear from God and experience hearing from him.
- Jer 33:3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and [a]mighty things, which you do not know.’
- But if you’re not fully submitted to God- you will struggle to discern his voice.
- What does it mean to you?
- Do you know the voice of the Lord? Do you know what it sounds like?
- Many people think they know the voice of the Lord, but when the only time you hear his voice is getting validation on your pre-planned decisions- I’d question if its of him or not.
- Reasons why people don’t hear the voice of the Lord-
- Number one– Not a Christian- saved, submitted, committed, made new, etc
- Jn 8:47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
- Number two– Disobedience- If you’re not responding to what you know- no extra
- Isaiah 30:21 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.
- Number three- Haven’t received the Holy Spirit- Longer sermon- you can have the HS w/o being baptized in it- There are sermons I have preached on this
- John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
- Don’t get discouraged by repeated attacks
- Pay attention here- David defeats them once- v 20 “and david defeated them there” and then v22 “went up once again”
- This is the crux of the message here- David fought a lot of battles. Not just with the philistines, but with many of the enemies of Israel. It was continual and it was relentless, but David never lost heart.
- Psa 144:1 Blessed be the Lord my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle—
- Psalm 56:2 My enemies would hound me all day, For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
- But he wasn’t discouraged- He would not give up- He wasn’t discouraged because he knew he was CALLED and that God NEEDED him to rule and reign over Israel
- Psalm 18:29 For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.
- What does it mean to you?
- Are you easily discouraged? Do you have it in your mind that you should never struggle?
- That’s just not bible. At all. Even the righteous struggle and the committed hurt.
- David, Jesus, Paul, Peter, the 12- They all struggle plus more in the Bible
- No one gets out unscathed- None of us.
- How to get through it? One- Welcome it- share in the fellowship of Christ
- Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
- Two- Find it pleasurable because it will show God’s power in your life.
- 2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
- Three- Know that God can grow you in it.
- Romans 5:3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 1 Peter 5:10, Acts 5:41
- Expect supernatural Manifestations
- 24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly.
- This is a really cool part of the story- don’t get it twisted- this isn’t wind. This is an angelic visitation where the angels come to give a supernatural sign to David to ADVANCE
- Had he not had this sign- he may not have advanced at the correct time. IT could have failed.
- Lots of miracles in the Bible.
- Genesis- Creation of the world, plagues on pharaoh, sarah’s conception, lot’s wife into salt, Exodus, burning bush, moses’s Rod, water turned into blood in Egypt, the the plagues, fire and smoke on Sinai, God gives the commandments, Numbers- fire from God to consume murmurers, Korah swallowed into the earth, Moses brings water from a rock, Balaams donkey speaks, Joshua- waters of Jordan are divided, Fall of Jericho, sun stands still, Judges- Angels appear, sign of Gideons fleece, 1 Kings, Elijah prays no rain for 3 years, fed by ravens, Elijah raises the dead, Fire comes from Heaven in the NT- Jesus performed signs, water to wine, healings, fish catching, casting out demons, feeding the five thousand, coin in fishes mouth, raises himself from the dead, appears to the disciples, speaking in other tongues, holy spirit comes, apostles heal, angels show up to get peter out of prision, Paul gets visions of heaven.
- We serve a supernatural God that does supernatural things. David didn’t question it.
- What does it mean to you?
- If you’re walking with God- expect that God can move supernaturally in your life.
- We live in an age of miracles and signs and wonders. We don’t FOLLOW them- but they happen
- At least 20 times the Bible talks about signs and wonders as being of God-
- But we get afraid of them- instead of seeking after them
- You’re going to go through repeated attacks- expect, pray and ask for supernatural manifestations
- These aren’t for YOUR glory- they are for GODS glory- Not to make YOU special
- Acts 4:29-30 READ
- In worship a few years ago- had a visitation- supernatural.
- Act quickly with God’s help
- then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines. IT WILL BE GOD THAT HELPS YOU IN THE ATTACKS- Not YOUR POWER
- Sometimes when you want to see God move before you, you have to move- You can’t wait.
- You’ll struggle through repeated attacks in your life- Go with God youll be fine.
- James 2:14 1 John 3:18 James 4:17 Luke 11:9
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