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“Go Up” 2 Samuel 2:1-11

Recap

David is still in the land of the Philistines, before this point  he had experienced discouragement and despair, running away from King Saul, hanging out with the enemy and now Saul is dead

This is the moment he has been waiting for. Since he was anointed by Samuel as a little boy – a shepherd, the time he has been waiting for has finally come and he can be King

Lion King “I just can’t wait to be King”

He does what every good bible loving, Christ serving Christian would do. He enquires of the Lord

                “Shall I go to any cities of Judah?” – God answers him and says GO UP!

And like a good Christian (described above) he sets out with God’s blessing – NO

He asks a for further direction “Where shall I go up to?”

Man, do we miss the mark on this part – We take over/ argue/ ignore etc.

Story – California Trip – (the moment we have been waiting for)

• Down 101
• Eureka CA – 9hrs
• GPS trying to get me back to I-5
• 7 or 8hrs later (we were still 7hrs away from our destination) – we were 2.5hr away from home

It’s sad that we have Him who knows our destiny/ journey path – yet we tell God, I got it from here Lord (GPS – keep me on 101)

I believe that half the time intentions are good- but we are not diligent to adhere to the steps that are laid out in the Bible, that guides us in order to end up in the city that God wants us in.

This morning I want to talk to you about Going up.

• A time has to come when we have to put effort to leave where we are and move closer to where God is callings us or called us.
• This Christian walk is not an easy one. The enemy will bring, disappointment, deception, distraction – he will try and get you off goal.
• Watch out!

Ephesians 6:12  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [a]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

How can we overcome this – How can we successfully run our race? How can we go up to where God is sending us?

1. Get up

For the longest I can remember was not a morning person. I prided in telling people how productive I was at night. That changed

I realized that in order to accomplish all that I needed to do in a day I had to “get up” earlier every day.

1. I acknowledged where I was, and that I need to do something different

Today God is asking you to acknowledge where you because it’s time to GET UP

David had spent this period of his life running and watching his back and now, it was time for him to go and in order to do that he had to get up!

Today I am asking somebody to GET UP spiritually.

Let us have a spiritual awareness – Ask yourself where are you and where do you need to go?

David had spent a lot of time running, hiding, fighting to be relevant ….and a time had come when that was now the past and now he had a choice to make.

What had sustained him in the past, would not be sufficient to for the journey ahead.

He enquired of the Lord!!

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope

Spurgeon – God does not only think of you, but towards you. His thoughts are all drifting towards you (as one in love, thinking of their loved one (me add)

The devils work is to keep us down, keep those plans in check- David was in a battle for a long time…and if he wasn’t in a close relationship with God, that could have easily become his identity.

We are not immune to staying down and not “getting up” – “Things will never change”” This is who I am” “This always happens” “That’s my luck”

You see this in the Story of Elijah

• A man that calls for a draught for 3 years
• A man that calls for fire from heaven
• A man that walks with God, yet he ran from Beershaba threat
• But God! Got him up.

1 King 19:3-7 (NLT)  Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”

5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” 6 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.

7 Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you

God would have just given him strength without having him “Get up” and eat. But Elijah had to wake up – if I may from the lies of the enemy- Today don’t let the enemy keep you down

This is your call to “Get Up”

• Look up

Sometimes looking up is not easy especially when we are weighed down by the things of this world

Sometime, our focus is on the wrong things and no matter how much God says look up…we can’t get ourselves to look up – variety of reasons.

Man, it’s hard to do life sometimes, especially after a bad day, a bad week

No wonder when you are sad and some one looks at your face “why are you down bro”

Hebrew 12:1 – Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

We have to fight to “look up”

Psalms 121:1 -8 – I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

This are our promises to hold on to.

IT IS POSSIBLE, to look up even when things are hard and don’t make sense …. Abraham did it

Genesis 22:3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the [a]lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

We have to look up regardless of the season we are in – Abraham looked up!

It’s very easy to look at our own ability, reasoning, way …e.t.c

David could have look at the situation and say that most of the Israelites were following another King, but no He knew who God had anointed him to be a King!! And he had to look up to Him.

This morning I want to remind you that though your situation may look different from what God has promised

• He is a promise Keeper, miracle worker, Light in the darkness – That is who He is.
• Stand up

Do you know who you are? Do you know your identity in Christ?

Bible says that you were purchased with a price ….You are God’s beloved

Stand up and recognize who you are

You are a CHILD OF GOD!!!

David knew that He was child of God, that that God who gave him strength to fight the lions and the bears, kill Goliath and even escape death from Saul. – Was going to do the same.

When he asks “Shall I go up “and “Where shall I go”? he was asking from a point of Faith

Palms 100:3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and [a]not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture

You are God’s people – “Stand-up” like God’s people

It’s a spiritual Standing Up! – some of us are being dragged and tossed around by the enemy because we are slouching on the coach ( Spiritual couch)

Get up, dust up and look up!

You got to know who you are!  –say it until you believe it, I am a child of God

Ephesians 1:1-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

It’s easy to dies to self, completely die to self and surrender our desires, our ideas, our plans when we know who we are…we get to be guided by God.

My girls will stand on their bed and ask me to take this many steps away from the bed and they will ask me to put my hand up and they will jump. And man, do I make sure I catch them….

They have Faith I will catch them…!

Do you have Faith that God will see you through whatever you going through?

David knew his position- through many trials and hardship, he knew His dad was great

Do you know who you are? And if so – Stand up!

• Keep looking up

We have recognized that we need to Get up, so that we can look up and Stand up…. now am asking you to look up again – but this time round I am asking you to keep looking up

Sometime we are too busy we look up and we hear God speaks, but before He is done, we are looking down again (Cell phones)

We have to train ourselves to keep our eyes on Christ.

In one instance Jesus is dismissing the crowd and tells his disciples to get into the boat and meet Him on the other side

• I wonder if anyone cared to know how He would get there?

He goes to pray and then walk on water to catch up with them  and the disciples see Him 

Matthew 14: 28- 33 Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

(Peter Got up, Looked up and Stood up…)

 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

When Peter jumped out of the boat, it was because he had seen Jesus.  But when he got “distracted” by what was happening around him

• There is a lot that happens on the ocean, especially during a storm

He began to sink. It’s only when he looked up again and “kept looking” that his hand was caught by Jesus #Jesusgotyou

This morning, some of you have jumped out of the boat (Taken faith and trust in God) and into the sea… you are walking on water towards Jesus – its so cool because, you don’t even care about the fact that  you are walking on water …You are just excited knowing that  

• The greatest thing is that You are walking towards Jesus

Keep your eyes on Him and Him alone least you get distracted.

David goes on to be anointed as King of Judah and eventually ruling the other tribes of Israel as we going to see in the coming weeks.

I don’t know where you are today – if you need to: 

Get up – Get rid of sin in your life and submit fully to the ONE that knows you, knows where you should go. Today is a perfect day to give your life to Christ and change directions

Maybe you have gotten up – And now its time to look up – change your focus – Focus on what is true, what is of God

Or you are here and you are you have gotten up, you are looking up and just need to stand up so you can have the strength to move  to what God has called you…today is you day cry out to Him who is able to guide you

And for the rest – Ignore the distraction around you and keep your eyes on Jesus.

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