This message is one of the Times Square
Church Pulpit Series.
It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times
Square Church in Manhattan, New York City.
You're welcome to make additional cassettes of this
message for free distribution to friends.
However, for all other forms of reproduction or
electronic transmission, existing copyright laws apply.
Praise God, that is exciting to see them
and to hear them.
And thank you very much, young people.
We love you.
...
into Bible study.
They have a regular worship time.
When we worship here at 3 o'clock,
they have their own service.
And we can see with that kind of
words and that kind of anointing why we
can bring young people into this house.
They're going to be spoken to.
They're going to see a difference.
So I'm really excited.
The next few days are going to be
our privilege to lift them up.
It's awesome to see some of them, if
you've been here any length of time, you
recognize some of them when they were little,
when they used to sing in the children's
choir.
And now here they are in the youth
choir, still singing.
And that's the grace of God.
There's so much to pull them out of
the house of God.
There's so much that comes against them.
We know very well, we know what the
battle is.
But in these younger years, we thank God
for them and we're going to pray for
them the next few days.
And if you know young people, if you
have young people in your house, don't stop
praying because this is God's time.
This is God's hour to break in and
break through.
He loves these young people and there comes
a level where even, you know, there's a
cry produced in them.
God puts it there.
God puts a cry in their heart.
But if there's no voice, if there's no
testimony, there's so many seeking ones that are
going to go off into the clutches of
the enemy, into that bondage and darkness that
wants to ruin and break their lives.
But these young people are going to be
a signpost.
These young people are going to be Jesus'
arms and voice.
And it's our privilege to pray for them
the next few days, that they'll just grow
stronger, bolder, more sure, and that this house
will be filled with young people.
Hallelujah.
Well, my message today is called Breaking Strongholds
When Our Past Is Our Teacher.
Breaking Strongholds When Our Past Is Our Teacher.
If you would just pray with me.
Father, I come to you in Jesus' name.
Lord, there is no other name in heaven
and earth, O God, by which men and
women are saved, but it is in the
precious name of your Son.
We thank you, Lord, that all power, all
dominion, all authority resides with you.
Lord, your Son was there at creation.
Your Son was there on Calvary.
Your Son is now there at the right
hand of the Father, beside your throne, O
God.
And Lord, we come to you today boldly,
boldly, because Jesus Christ has clothed us with
a righteousness.
And we can come, and God, I declare
I need you today.
I ask you, Holy Spirit, to come and
let this word find its mark.
Lord, I pray that strongholds will be broken.
I pray that the enemy, O God, and
his strongholds in us, O God, you expose.
And Lord, you will break through in a
mighty way, in a way only you can
do, in a way that we will know
we are free, in a way, O God,
that we will be compelled, O God, to
share the testimony of what you do in
every heart that is open to you.
Lord, we give you the praise for this.
Lord, we depend on you now to send
your Holy Spirit and teach us and bring
us through to the liberation that you have
for us as our inheritance.
And we'll pray for it in Jesus' precious
name.
Amen and amen.
In the New Year's Eve service, God gave
a word, and I believe it was a
word to us as a church.
And he said that he was going to
break through our strongholds.
This we as a body of believers.
That he was going to come to our
strong cities, every area where there is resistance.
God, if we have an open heart, I
felt he was saying, I know he was
saying to us, this is our year of
deliverance.
This is our year.
Our Joshua, our Jesus, goes before us, and
he has taken us to the gates of
our Jericho, and he says we're going in.
And every heart that is open to him,
I believe this year, by the end of
this year, we're going to have a testimony
of strongholds broken, of where the grace and
the mercy of God is flooded into every
dark place.
This is our heritage.
This is the testimony we are going to
have, that our God is great and he
is able and he has done something else.
You know, strongholds, every area that resists the
working of God, strongholds are found within and
strongholds are found without.
The battle is within and the battle is
without.
The battle without, to be able to open
our mouth boldly and preach Christ, to be
able to stand for him in the workplace,
to be able to, when things come against
our family, to be able to stand in
faith and grace.
When God opens doors for ministry and we
refuse to look at ourselves, we say, lead
on, Jesus.
Lord, for your grace, I will say yes.
That's a battle without.
And then the battle within, of course, you
know, are those areas where the Spirit of
Christ will come and as we release and
open ourselves up, he will come and he
will master the pride in us.
He will master the jealousy, the rebellion, the
fear, whatever.
Whatever the Holy Spirit reveals in us, so
that he can heal us.
And the world will go the way the
world will always go in 2003.
That's moving away from God and godliness.
Moving away from all that's right and pure
and holy.
But those this year that can hear the
voice of the Lord will know breaking of
strongholds and we will change under the Spirit
of Christ.
And things around us will be changed.
And I feel in my spirit that God
is saying, Jericho is coming down.
That strong city that stands as a fortress
into the promised land.
That stands as an impossibility before us.
God says, my way, my spirit, my plan
is how it will come down.
And that's how strongholds are taken down.
And I love it.
I would like to show you in the
Word where God describes to me what a
stronghold is and what a stronghold does.
And if you would turn with me to
1 Samuel 7.
I'd like to look at that for a
few minutes.
1 Samuel 7.
I want to talk about a stronghold that
was found hovering over the people of God
and found in the people of God in
the time of Samuel.
And Samuel, as many of you know, was
the last judge of Israel.
When Joshua brought the people into the promised
land, after the leadership of Joshua who brought
them in, they were commissioned to take the
land.
And then there were judges that God raised
up to keep the people focused and to
keep a living Word before the people of
what God said He will do and what
He will do and would stir the people
many times to believe them.
But in between the time of the judges,
Israel would forget God and Israel would turn
to idol worship.
And they would be oppressed by their enemies.
They would cry to the Lord and then
God would send a judge.
And by the time of Samuel, there was
a history developed.
There was a predictable cycle happening in the
people.
It was like it happened so many years
under so many judges, under so many words
that there would be an ebb and a
flow.
There would be a turning to God and
for a season all of Israel would want
it or individuals would want it and then
there was a retreat.
And then people would forsake God and they
would slip back in and they would worship
the gods of the land all the while
proclaiming they were God's people but other loves
would get a hold of their heart in
idol worship.
And this ebb and flow and then they
would become oppressed and then a cry would
come and God would deliver through a judge.
But beloved, when we get to the time
of Samuel, if we look at the history
of the judges, there was no real progress
in the spiritual life of Israel.
They were not handing down a heritage to
their people and their children of victory.
They were handing down a heritage of a
cycle where they would cycle in and out
of oppression, in and out of sin, in
and out of deliverance.
And the power, the root of what was
truly happening in the life of the spiritual
life of God's people which was then forming
the individuals who lived in that culture and
that way of thinking was being perpetuated.
And if you'd ask these people, do you
love the Lord?
Of course.
Do you believe He can deliver you?
Yes.
But yet there would be this, it would
prove to be a lie because many times,
depending on what time you lived, depending what
cycle it was in your life, whether there
was true victory or not, that God had
a timing in all this and He wanted
to expose this and He wanted to bring
this cycle to an end.
He was going to close it out with
Samuel and there was going to be a
new thing.
You see, that's the pattern God does in
our life for those that begin or wake
up and say, God, I'm seeing something here
about me.
And God, you have a timing and you
have a purpose and open my eyes and
my spirit to your timing.
If this is your season that you're speaking
to me by your word, through your word,
and you say there's a new thing you
have for me, God, by grace, let me
hear it.
And so there was coming an end of
an era, the end of Samuel.
And beloved, let me remind you what most
of you know is that Prophet Samuel, he
was raised and he grew up in a
time of backsliding.
He grew up in a time of covetousness
and idolatry among the people and among the
priesthood.
God's hand was upon him and he had
a different mold, he had a different imprint.
And it is possible.
It is possible to go another way.
It is possible to stand when others don't.
It is possible.
And when God wants to do a new
thing, he gives us a new heart and
a new spirit.
He puts something in us and Samuel had
that.
And Samuel had a message in 1 Samuel
7.
Here is what he was speaking.
Here's what characterized his ministry.
In verse 3, it said, And Samuel spake
unto all the house of Israel, saying, If
ye do return unto the Lord with all
your hearts, and put away the strange gods
and asheroth from among you, and prepare your
hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only,
and he will deliver you out of the
hand of the Philistines.
And the scripture says they did what Samuel
said.
And here they are one more time, a
godly man, a man separated, a man with
an obvious spirit of the Lord upon him,
preaching a true word, and they respond to
it.
And the scripture says that they, in verse
4, that they put away all this.
And yet, beloved, to show you what I'm
saying, then the Philistines stood up because they
heard that something was stirring in Israel.
The Philistines know they must oppress Israel, they
must oppress the children of God to keep
dominion, just like the strongholds in you and
the strongholds in me.
Whenever there is a stirring and a beginning
to the word of the Lord begins to
stir us, know our enemy the Philistine will
raise his hand.
Know that when God begins to stir us
by the word, know we are going to
experience opposition in an even greater way.
And the Philistines stood up, and it says,
and the children of Israel said to Samuel,
cease not to cry unto the Lord our
God for us, and he will save us
out of the hand of the Philistines.
And, beloved, here is the battle that the
word Samuel was giving to them is if
you will do all these things, if you
will return with all your heart, if you
will put away the strange gods, if you
will prepare your heart and serve me, he
will deliver you.
But was there a question in their heart,
were they willing to do all that?
They had a godly man in their midst,
and God heard his prayer.
And there's like a safety when there's a
few that will stand, and they know the
word, and their prayers do something.
But when the word goes out, and Israel
has to receive that word, and ingest that
word, and every man has to decide for
himself, is that the course, is my heart
to be turned in this pattern now?
Or will I let the man of God,
or will I let the word over me,
or will I let the blessing of the
nation carry me?
And I go on fairly undisturbed.
And I think that this word was partially
heard, because when they come to Samuel, and
they say, pray for us, the Philistines have
raised their head, beloved, their battle is not
the Philistines, it's fear and unbelief.
God says, if you do all this thing,
no, the Philistines are under your feet.
But because of fear and unbelief is rising
up in their heart, the word that is
being preached, and one more time through Samuel,
they know it's the truth, but there's a
hardness, there's a stronghold in them.
And the scripture says that Samuel, he does
cry out, and it says in verse 10,
and the Lord thundered with a great thunder
on that day, upon the Philistines, and discomfited
them, and they were smitten.
And one more time, God stood up, their
battle was not the Philistines, God took care
of the Philistines like he said he would.
And the scripture says in verse 18, and
the hand of the Lord was against the
Philistines, all the days of Samuel.
Beloved, all the days of Samuel, as long
as that man was the leader, people felt
this kind of strength by association, this kind
of power by association, that this man, as
long as Samuel was in our midst, the
Philistines couldn't touch us.
But beloved, God who sees right through the
heart, and sees what the problem is, and
why we cycle in and out of sin,
and why there are no true strongholds broken,
is saying because I'm speaking to you, oh
Israel, my people as individuals, and not just
under the covering of sin.
And so God's about to bring a transition,
and he wants to break this cycle.
And the scripture tells us that Samuel became
old, in verse 8.
And Israel asked for a king.
Now that seemed like a very godly request,
because Samuel's sons were not godly men.
And they, the scripture says in verse 4,
that the elders of Israel gathered themselves together,
and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said
unto him, Behold thou art old, and thy
sons walk not in thy ways.
Now make us a king to judge us,
like all the nations.
Beloved, this seems like a very reasonable request,
because it's like after you leave Samuel, we're
without that covering.
These men aren't like you.
And they sensed that with the removal of
Samuel, they would one more time be vulnerable.
And so the solution is not to say,
God, your word is true, and what this
man is preaching to us.
That if we would return with our hearts,
if we would turn, if we would forsake,
if we would do everything he has been
preaching to us, and put away strange gods,
and prepare our hearts, and serve, if there
would be a willingness for us to hear
that, we wouldn't be so vulnerable.
But Israel didn't want that message.
Israel didn't want to have to stand as
individuals, and receive that message, and know that
covering.
They just knew it was easier if one
other man did it for them.
Vulnerable under the sun, so they said, No,
no, come let us have a king, because
we want to be like others.
And beloved, Samuel is disturbed.
That crime, make us a king, to judge
us like the other nations.
You know, that's amazing, because when you looked
around in that time at other nations, the
other nations had child sacrifice.
Every vile practice known to man was accepted
in their midst.
They were ruled by pitiless tyrants, were cruelty,
and total selfishness, and disregard by the ruler
at the top.
Beloved, in those societies, you could taste fear.
They said, We want a king.
We want to be like the others.
And it looks like they're moving on to
a new thing.
It looks like if God would give us
a king, hear us request, it's like, God,
we hear that we need a new thing,
so give us a king, and it's like,
we're moving on, triumphant under his banner.
We'll look like everybody else, but our king
will be powerful.
He'll be an anointed of God, and we
get to enter a new phase of how
we're led by you, and it sounded like
an incredibly good thing.
But in verse 6 and 7, the scripture
says that Samuel is troubled.
See, because he knew that man desires a
surface change, but that's no substitute for real
change.
And the cry for the king is that
they want to rule themselves, rejecting godly reign.
In verse 8, it says, in verse 7,
sorry, and the Lord said unto Samuel, hearken
unto the voice of the people in all
that they say unto thee, for they have
not rejected thee, but they have rejected me,
that I should not reign over them.
Samuel, don't let this be taken to heart
that it's a rejection of you.
You have been my faithful servant.
You have spoken as I have said, but
your word spoken in truth by the power
of the spirit has hit a stronghold, and
it's bouncing back.
And they've not rejected you, they're rejecting me.
They're rejecting me being king and me ruling
over them.
The cry is, we want to rule our
lives like the others in the other nations
do.
We want your name, but we don't want
your lordship.
And so here are these people don't realizing
what they're saying is, God, we don't want
you reigning over us, in their cry for
a king.
And God is trying to get their attention.
And he says, give them, Samuel, what they
want.
Give them that king.
Because, beloved, I believe what he's trying to
say, because he's going to speak very clear
words to them in this scripture when this
king is anointed.
And God's going to say, one more time,
whoever can hear me.
He's saying, you have a history.
You have a history.
And that is of forsaking me.
That is of loving.
You're going to accept other gods to worship.
And you're not going to deal with it.
You're going to want to be like the
others.
But in your day of oppression, and in
your day when you need me, you're going
to cry unto me, and I will not
be there.
You're going to have me in name only,
because that's the way you want it.
He says, you have a history with me.
If you would just open your eyes and
begin to see what has been the spiritual
history of Israel since the judges.
And this man, one more time, is speaking
to you my truth.
Listen to me.
Forsaking me invites oppression.
Following me uproots your oppression.
And I feel like God was saying to
them, what do you want to reign over
you now?
Why will you not deal with your history?
And we see that when Samuel goes to
anoint King Saul, he begins to rehearse in
their ears the history of Israel, so that
they have no doubt in their heart what
he is talking about.
And he shows them that time and time
again, God is saying that the key to
you being a protected people and receiving my
blessing and my incredible love that would set
you to be a jewel on the face
of the earth.
That what happened to you in your midst
when Joshua led you, that a fear and
a trembling came upon all the nations, because
I was in the midst of you and
you were mine.
Where men's heart would melt like wax because
I, the Holy One of Israel, was in
your midst and you were a sanctified people.
And there was a longing for me in
your hearts and I could fight your battles.
And you would know deliverance.
And he begins to explain in 1 Samuel
8, he says, hearken unto their voice in
verse 9, and it says verse 10, and
Samuel told all the words of the Lord
unto the people that asked of the king.
And he says in verse 11, he's going
to take your sons, he's going to take
your chariots, he's going to take your horsemen,
he's going to appoint him captains that will
set them to ear his ground, reap his
harvest, make his instruments of war, his own
chariots.
He will take your daughters to be cooks
and bakers, he will take your fields, he
will take your vineyards, he will take your
olive fields, he will take the best of
you and give them to his servants.
He will take a tenth of your seed,
he will take your vineyards and give it
to his officers and his servants.
He will take your men's servants and your
maid's servants and the goodliest of among you,
your donkeys, and put them to his work.
He will take a tenth of your sheep
and you shall be his servants.
And you shall cry out in that day,
because of your king which you shall have
chosen.
And the Lord will not hear you in
that day and verse 19 says nevertheless The
people refused to obey the voice of Samuel,
and they said nay, but we will have
a king over us They could hear nothing,
but their own imaginings in their own voice
And this is what they thought verse 20
that we also may be like all the
nations that our king may judge us Go
out before us and fight our battles You
see we had men of God before us,
and they were a spiritual company now.
We're in another mood We've done the spiritual
thing we want to go out and do
war with those around we want conquest We
want to be known once again as a
great nation We want to be known as
a spiritually great people now We want a
king to ride before us on a high
horse with a banner, but when it all
said and done We want him to fight
our battles How blind can you get?
The scripture says that the battle belongs to
the Lord and they want to take it
out of God's hands and let the king
of our choosing fight our battles and The
people were creating this king because they did
not want God to rule over them in
the manner If God had determined he would
And they were setting up a king beloved
for a huge fall The people were creating
this king because they did not want a
God to rule over them And God's saying
I'm unveiling a stronghold to you.
I'm going to preach my word I'm going
to tell you exactly what this is all
about you think you're getting a leader.
I tell you you're getting oppressed You're crying
out to me, and you're saying well We
want to reject you your rulership because Lord
you know you're always putting your your finger
on an area of my heart I want
to keep for myself.
I want to cherish.
I don't want to forsake it all the
other nations they get to live their lives
as they choose and God you're forever moving
in and Causing me conviction and troubling me
I'm a lover They're absolutely blind blind blind
to who it is that is calling them
to bend their need It's one who loved
them who gave themselves who goes before in
them who created them who chose them Who
said I would be a fire in the
midst of you and the glory of you
my people Israel But they're saying now No
This cycling in and out of sin and
planting something so deep in them.
They didn't know it there was a stronghold
Beloved it happened It happens to people who
love God These were his people These were
his people at his ordinances his laws.
He knew this way ways They knew how
to sacrifice to please him there is a
stronghold.
How can they be that blind to say
those words?
That says no, I'm unveiling a stronghold Beloved
can God unveil our strongholds and we listen
to him.
They were so sure they understood the situation
So they made Saul King And Saul is
a product of this deep rebellion to God
And the hour that we live in in
the spiritual hour we live in shapes us,
too If the religious temperature all around us
is a very lukewarm bordering on cold and
very self-serving Beloved it is in us.
It is around us Because the heart of
man is always open to deceit the scripture
tells us that very clearly That we will
be deceived except for this word except for
the conviction of the Holy Spirit Except for
the love of God that passes knowledge beloved
Our heart will tell us we are in
a way totally pleasing and acceptable to God
We're going exactly the opposite direction completely deceived
and no word from heaven can turn us
When we've determined to set our face that
way but beloved God rules not men And
I love when the scripture says that he
gave Saul this king that the people had
chosen and that the people anointed But the
scripture says God's gonna have the last word
He gave this man chosen one of their
own kind of molded form by the spiritual
Understanding of the day that presented him here.
Take him.
We want him to lead us and fight
our battles God put a spirit and a
new heart in that man's soul And God
was saying he gave Saul a new heart
and a new spirit And He's saying so
you are going to need it That these
people think that they are making you and
they are forming you but one more time
I'm going to break through and I'm going
to intervene and I'm going to show my
people I'll bring them to me and reason
them to me because I love them and
I want to show them how the enemy
is blinding them And so I'm going to
give this king the capability the ability to
know my voice To know my leadership to
know my anointing that I may stand before
rebellious and a fearful and a hard-hearted
people and Speak to them But beloved I
want you to know something before they would
ever hear if they didn't hear Samuel Why
would they hear Saul if the same anointing
that was on Samuel?
Was on Saul.
Why should they listen to them him?
Because I'll tell you beloved I believe that
Saul The man who most greatly squandered the
anointing of God in the whole Bible a
man that squandered and lived in such a
stronghold that When he did not give in
to the Spirit of God and went his
own Way, even though God gave him the
capability a new mind in a new heart
To cry out for his own strongholds.
You see that's the only way he was
gonna leave this people That a man shaped
and formed from that age God give me
ability to cry out to repent to seek
him He gave him anointing a strong desire
to know him and the scripture tells us
in the early days of Saul He did
he went forth and he conquered Israel's enemies
and all of Israel could begin to see.
Oh We have chosen rightly But God wanted
to take that man and bend that man
and let him and admit that he had
a stronghold And that Israel's eyes could begin
to open when the king of their choosing
began to bend his knee and begin to
admit who he Was but I'm not talking
about struggling Christians I'm talking about when God
begins to reveal to us that our stubbornness
in our rebellion witchcraft and idolatry like he
did I'm talking when we say God, I
love you, but there are things that we
cling to and it's a fight and We
are stubborn and we cannot be shown and
we cannot be led in the house of
God God's intention was to take this man
and By his obedience and by the grace
upon him Lead Israel into a new dimension
And God in his humility it tells us
in Samuel for Samuel 12 Verse 7 it
says therefore stand still that I may reason
with you You see Samuel is addressing Israel
after Saul is a successful king And he's
telling these people I want to reason with
you and he begins to recount how Jacob
came out of Egypt in verse 8 and
the father's cried and God sent Moses and
Aaron brought them forth out of Egypt First
night and when they forgot the Lord their
God he sold them in the hand of
Sisera And then it tells us verse 10
they cried unto the Lord and they said
we have sinned because we've forsaken the Lord
and the scripture says in verse 11 and
the Lord sent Jerubabbel and Badan and Jephthah
and Samuel and delivered you out of the
hand of your enemies on every side and
he dwelled safe and Then he's trying to
tell them I'm reasoning with you.
This is your history, but there's now an
anointed King before you but he gives them
a word He says if you will fear
the Lord Verse 14 and serve him and
obey his voice and not rebel against the
commandment of the Lord Then shall both he
and also the king that reigneth over you
continue following the Lord your God but if
you will not obey the voice of the
Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord
be against you as It was against your
father's Verse 24 only fear the Lord and
serve him in truth with all your heart
For consider how great things he has done
for you But if he shall still do
wickedly you shall be consumed Both ye and
your king it doesn't get any more simple
or clearer than that God says in asking
for a king.
Here's what you have done and remember how
many times I have delivered you But he
says I want you to I'm calling you
to reason with you He's saying I know
the kind of people you are and I
know the kind of King in the weakness
that is inherent in him In you that
I will be faithful to you He says
I want you my people and he says
remember and consider the great things I have
done for you nothing Even your strongholds are
too great for me You're unbelief.
You're forsaking me everything I have if I
hear a cry from you He says I
will come and be all that I promised
to do but if you will continue in
this way he says I'm going to move
against you and Beloved then we see That
is that the story of Saul starts and
though he comes up with a Victory The
strongholds in him now have to be confronted
now.
God asked him to do things that he
doesn't do it And the more I thought
about that I realized they seemed like small
things one thing when I thought about the
story of Saul The first time when the
scripture says that God tells him That I
have taken the kingdom from you.
It is not established.
It always seemed to me such a light
thing.
I Knew it wasn't a light thing, but
it seemed that you know in the offenses
of what some other people did It seemed
like a light thing when Paul had that
that kingdom taken from him But I realized
that God was going after his stronghold He
would think so if you obey me and
what seems a little thing to you.
I'm going after the heart of the matter
I'm going after exactly a strategic stronghold in
you.
You can't see it.
You don't understand it You don't understand all
the forces are shaping you most of Israel
is dumb to my voice But he says
if you will obey me in this if
what I point out to you What seems
a small thing to you I can establish
your kingdom beloved.
It's such an incredible principle Sometimes we sit
in our stronghold.
Sometimes we sit in our despair.
Sometimes we sit When we hear a word
like this and the enemy wants to come
and say there's nothing but defeat and despair
for you But God is saying no You
are going to be sidetracked and you and
I in the natural are going to look
to battles that don't really count We're gonna
thank God if I can do this for
you if I can do that for you
God is saying no listen to me.
I repeatedly tell you to do something.
I repeatedly highlight something Don't give up even
though you've known repeated failure in this area
If there is a cry in you, I
will keep returning you to the same place.
It's strategic The enemy is gonna try to
tell you there's this or that but when
my spirit comes upon you There's gonna be
something that you and I can't get away
from it's a strategic stronghold It may look
small in our own sight God says you
don't know what the roots on this thing
You don't know if you would obey me
in this the earthquake and the earth that
would crack and move and be removed if
you will obey me in this and So
the scripture tells us that Saul goes to
a place and it's called Gilgal in first
Samuel 13 and He can't wait For a
sacrifice to me baby because the Philistines are
gathering against him and the people are beginning
to depart from him And he's fearing now
that people are deserting in his army is
deserting him and he's going to have to
stand alone beloved We have to learn stand
alone And when we go to confront our
strongholds the enemy is oppressing us It looks
bad in the natural.
It looks like we're going down And the
Philistines are coming against him and beloved the
scripture says there was no weapon found in
all the land And we feel defenseless and
we feel like we have nothing in our
hands to fight when God begins to bring
us to an appointed Place in Saul Samuel
Saul's place.
It was called Gilgal.
God's gonna take us to our Gilgal the
appointed place a strategic stronghold a place where
he knows something a Place where if we
will hear him on this if we will
cry out for the grave in this place
It's very strategic.
And so the enemy is oppressing.
We feel defenseless.
Everybody is deserting us And Saul can't wait
and He himself takes the sacrifice Beloved that's
such a picture when we take into our
own hands trying to our up a salvation
and figure it all out When we're trying
to work and figure things out how this
goes how I'm gonna fight my way out
of it How do I get out of
this place?
How do I run from this?
And finally he sacrifices.
It's his plan.
It's his way to appease God It's his
way to say God now look it, you
know the circumstance and everybody deserted me.
I had to do this God saying no
you had to wait on me.
You had to listen to me I'm sending
my man at my right appointed time.
You gotta learn to wait on me.
You've got to learn to listen to me
You've got to learn to say I know
exactly where you are what you're facing.
I know where every Philistine is I know
where every weapon is.
I know what's coming against you But you
will never win this battle because you are
a product of the
fear they cause When we want to travel
before enemies when we have fallen before this
stronghold time and time again It's an appointed
place our Gilgal That's all couldn't wait He
sacrifices he makes excuses.
He explains himself and Samuel tells him I
would have established your kingdom I would have
made it firm.
I would have settled in you.
I want to go to the root I
want to go to the root of what
your problem is.
It looks small to you, but I know
He says God says in 2003.
I know I know the heart of the
matter.
I know what troubles you I know what
causes you to cycle in and out of
sin I know it's a stronghold of the
rebellion and stubbornness is about even when it's
cloaked in religion You Know God is gracious
And Saul is called back to Gilgal and
In Gilgal He one more time I believe
is given a Opportunity To do it God's
way Many times the scripture tells us where
it repented God where he changed his mind
where a man began to wake up Where
a man began to consider his actions in
its history Where a man began to say,
you know what the whole story of judges
is about we can't Where the whole story
when Samuel come and say return your heart
prepare your heart release yourself from your idols
and there becomes a cry Oh God, we've
tried it our own way all through the
judges and we've come to the understanding we
That's the message of judges, but Saul is
still a product of that thinking And he
comes one more time to Gilgal God gives
him a word and he says I want
you to go and I want you to
destroy this enemy that I have put Before
you and he said I want you to
smite and kill everything that comes in your
path I want you to kill the king.
I want you to kill the army I
want you to kill the men women and
children.
I want you to kill the cattle the
sheep and the donkey I want it all
to go Beloved that is a spiritual principle
You see when we begin to cry out
God Go after my strongholds Has to be
a realization It's got all of it It
has to be whatever it takes Is the
cry behind it?
Has to be God every stronghold you see
I present to you no halfway measures Everything
and sometimes it's going to be in a
way.
I don't understand Who can understand?
the smiting and the destruction of everything But
God says you see that's my heart you
don't understand what all that means But the
destruction of everything is a picture of what
I will do to your strongholds if you
obey me And so, you know the story
he's back at Gilgal He's back at that
place where he has to face the stronghold
that record is in him and in the
nation.
It is critical He has to break off
and break through what surrounds him He has
to break away from the forces and the
thinking and the powers that grip him all
around him on the outside but beloved the
stronghold on the And So he returns to
Gilgal that it plays and God gives him
a word and he goes against God's chosen
enemy the Amalekites God's going against our chosen
strongholds and he does all that God asked
him to do except the king and Accept
the sheep to sacrifice.
Oh, but he's got a reason God I
didn't obey you on this because the sheep
I wanted to sacrifice and tell you thank
you He didn't give a reason to the
king, but it's not unlike a king to
spare a king Beloved we as kings and
priests to God if we will spare another
king in here, he will conquer us There
are kings to be defeated in here there
are kings here that rule It is not
to choose what lives or what dies If
God says it all goes beloved for a
stronghold we have to agree and we have
to obey and this stronghold here and he
spares a king and God says that's it.
And when he was so determined in his
own heart to go his own way You
know that in the end this man resisting
the Spirit of God Resisting the Spirit of
God goes and he becomes he loses his
mind He ends up seeking counsel to which
is it is an incredible thing The Lord
says when I've called the people only I
can satisfy them When I call the people
only I can satisfy them and when I
am forsaken the Underneathness the the energy to
eat the unsettledness the void the emptiness will
rise up in us Because God created us
for himself And when he called us when
he puts his hand on us I'll tell
you some of them.
It's one way or the other when he
puts his hand on us.
Only he will satisfy us And we refuse
him and we refuse his way.
No, we are inviting oppression No that strongholds
remain in us and beloved this be this
emptiness of wanting our way and Fighting what
God wants us to do it creates a
driving force in itself and I'll tell you
something an Unsatisfied soul is a stronghold waiting
to happen When we do not satisfy ourselves
in God, it is a stronghold waiting to
happen When his hand is upon us and
he says it is in me that you
will be sent you will be satisfied in
and we fight against them But God was
doing a new thing in Israel and he
rose up a king David He said I'm
not finished with you yet.
Oh Israel the history the lesson from judges
as you can't But I'm going to put
a David on the throne and he's a
man after my own heart And he's going
to be considered little and insignificant in your
sight, but he is going to open his
heart out wide to me he's going to
open every door and he's going to he's
going to love me and he's going to
be a Worshipper of me and the clothes
if you would just turn with me to
psalm 63 God says for Israel for it
the Israel that wants me that have learned
the lessons of Saul That have considered the
history is considered their past thank God you
have something so much better God I want
again.
I Want the testimony in the glory of
Israel in my soul?
I Want it real to me.
I don't just want to reel in Joshua's
day.
I want something real in me and God
raised up a king He could speak to
God and raised up a king that no
matter what his battle no matter what his
strongholds He would open up his heart wide
and God would come in And God would
destroy those strongholds and we now read the
writings of a man Who knew what it
was the liberation of the Spirit of God
in him that loosed him from every power
of darkness his own desires His own flesh
God would come in every time.
You don't put up his heart And God
would be incredible in his life And Dave
wrote in Psalm 63 when he says Oh
God thou art my God early Will I
seek thee my soul thirsts for thee my
flesh longs for thee in a dry and
thirsty land Where no water is?
Beloved when it says my soul thirsts for
me thirst for thee that's salvation My soul
thirst that's salvation for thee But salvation is
not enough because if he if God gave
us the first it must be satisfied I'm
a lot of we satisfy it through or
the Creating our strongholds are inviting our strongholds
to satisfy it.
Do you see what happens?
Because we have been created now for it
with a thirst But David was wise enough
to know God you created it in me
you will satisfy it So we've given the
first So I'll have that same thirst planted
in him But the strongholds in him overpowered
not that God could not have overpowered them,
but beloved he made a choice And David's
making a choice and he says my soul
thirsts for me, but God you alone will
satisfy me and we are Unsatisfied till it
is Jesus in our hearts and souls refreshing
us He says I dwell in a land
of no water He says God.
I've got my eyes open I'm never going
to be satisfied in this land because the
land with no living water I will not
search in this land for living water because
you told me there's no water.
That's good enough for me How simple does
it get?
Things get so clear with an open heart
David says there's no water in this land,
but you put a thirst in me.
So you're gonna satisfy it Jesus says I'm
living water He says in verse 3 thy
loving kindness is better than life But we've
got a testimony now the men whose strongholds
are getting broken whose strongholds are broken And
it says I loving kindness is better than
life and it says to know your love
and favor Whatever it brings is better than
life without you When you're in my life,
no matter what it brings It's a thousand
times better than a pampered life without you
Because you are life to me I've experienced
true life I've experienced the life I have
no I can't explain I've experienced a life
that is true life that opens my mind
in my heart.
I can do things I never thought I
could do God.
I know you love me Love it.
That's a revelation that changes us.
But how many sit in the house of
God and they don't know that How many
sit outside of that deep revelation and knowing
that God is for you he loves you
That he has chosen and favored you Because
when the old stronghold stands up in the
oppression all that realization leaves but not with
David I loving kindness is better than life
He says my soul is satisfied with marrow
and fatness in verse 5 He says you
giving me the richest food spiritual food I
could ever imagine God every time I turn
to you you came and you ministered to
me You gave me spiritual food and drink
You gave me life.
You quickens me.
You put me back on my feet.
You put a sword in my hand You
showed me the right enemy and by your
grace and the strength of your arm.
I flew everything that came against me Because
you've dealt with the stronghold within my I
see the strongholds without this man is making
progress This man is effective.
This man is a threat to the kingdom
of darkness First take this my soul follows
hard after thee Early, well, I seek thee.
I'm gonna remember you on my bed.
I'm gonna meditate on you in my night
watches David says my strength is I remember
I'm not going to be like Israel that
forgot the lessons that can't look at their
history and learn But I remember and Lord,
I'm gonna let my mind be centered on
you when I have a free moment I'm
gonna train my thoughts to go back to
you when I'm at rest I'm going to
train my thoughts to go back to you
when I wake up in the first thing
in the morning I'm going to say my
Jesus.
I love you My mind is gonna go
to you I'm gonna meditate on your greatness
I'm gonna meditate on your word and in
the night watches God you're gonna be able
to stir me and I will know I'm
never alone He's a man who can lift
up his hands and say God this morning
as I rise, I'm an empty cup fill
me God fill me every morning and he
knows it that God does fill him.
God is faithful And beloved death can be
our Christ.
Fill me my Jesus Fill me you may
not have a lot of time for prayer
near session But surely we have is David
we can rise early in the morning His
name can be the first one that comes
his name can be the first name on
our lips We can lift our hands and
say fill me Lord.
Jesus fill me I'm an empty cup and
then all through the day we can pour
out the poison.
We can pour out our hurts We can
part our anxiety and fear our questions.
We can pour our heart out to him
And as we confess our sin, then we
remember beloved that he will fill us Because
he put the thirst there he's gonna fill
us with living water He's faithful and David
knew that he knew that he had his
Israel's history was they could not do things
that pleased him But David had found a
key.
Oh My god, I will worship you and
I want to learn to love you with
all my heart soul mind and strength Because
beloved that's the key.
That is the key to obedience The scripture
says if we Love him, we will keep
his commandments, but it really reads if you
love me, then you have the power to
keep my command It is the love that
gives us the power and the most important
prayer.
We will ever pray If God I would
love you with all my heart all my
soul all my mind and all my strength
And if we can live in the power
of his love no stronghold will triumph over
us When we remember that his love to
us is unconditional when we remember When Jesus
his life, you know what his life says
to you and I Jesus life says that
loving you was better to me than my
own life Loving you was better than hanging
on to my my own life Jesus values
loving us above his own life That's why
he laid down his life And that's where
we get our life this kind of love
that is offered us and that Oh beloved
We need a breakthrough like David did and
I know that there are so many ways,
you know We cast out the devil and
we bind this and we buy that and
there are some things that are so true
But I want to close with this thought
that I felt the Holy Spirit so strong
said when we're dealing With our strongholds when
we're dealing with a strong enemy that wants
to oppress us in fear beloved We need
to throw up our hands and say Jesus
remind me remind me how much you love
me Remind me how your eye has never
taken off.
We remind me how you gave yourself for
me that my life That my life was
more precious to you than your own life
And I receive it And I thank you
God that perfect love cast out fear and
every time I the enemy wants to oppress
me with fear Lord I open myself up
and I say Lord Remind me of the
incredible love that you have for me that
you have not deserted me Your hand is
upon me that you're going to quicken me
and give me living water at this moment
There are times that we need to change
down the road by and by but beloved
There are times we need it right this
minute right at this moment and God will
be faithful to do that for us Hallelujah,
I Just want to close Saul when he
clung to his fear and rebellion God stopped
talking to him and Saul never Chose to
find out why?
He went repeatedly to the same spot carried
on his king Look like the leader of
Israel many would say God's anointed But he
never chose to find out why God has
stopped talking to him And many in Israel
that followed him were never hearing the voice
of God because otherwise they'd know God anointed
another king in their midst Beloved this is
serious about this coming year God does not
want us forever doomed to repeat and people
the cycle strongholds in us and I know
that this coming year God is going after
those things in us Don't fear it Don't
be turned back Don't say this is too
hard Don't say this can't be God in
Revelation 2216 you don't need to turn there,
but Jesus said I am the root and
the offspring of David I am the root
and the offspring Everything David was and everything
he prayed.
I was the root of it and All
the fruit of a life that stays open
to me the offspring that life that flows
From people who will hear me It is
incredible God says I want to be your
root and your fruit.
I want to displace the root of the
stronghold and replace it with myself and the
Spirit of Christ is this when Jesus said
I Hear and I do what I hear
That's the Spirit of Christ And God is
saying today hear me You don't understand the
depth of the battle.
You don't understand the strategy.
You don't know the enemy You don't know
the issues except by my spirit And if
you will hear me and if you will
cry out God I can't obey you But
I'll be like David and I'll say when
I open my heart.
Why do you God you will never fail
me but you will feel me and You
will come in marching and you will break
through my stronghold and you will give me
grace and you will give me the power
And you will be my Savior You will
be my God and I will be not
like Saul and the rest of them the
thought they had to fight their own Battles
and when they knew nothing but defeat didn't
want to deal with it anymore Didn't want
to look and Stayed in their strongholds 2003
is going to be a different year beloved
2003 is going to be year of incredible
battle and incredible victory so that when we
go out there we have a real testimony
I mean we say you want to see
scars.
I got some spiritual scars Because there's a
real lion out there, but there's a lion
in here And We
know who won the lion fight Hallelujah, hallelujah,
let's pray for the grace to hear him.
Will you stand with me?
We thank you that it's not endless battles
It's a few appointed chosen battles that you
win the victory in the day and we
thank you Lord Our battle is not with
the Philistines But it's with the fear and
we stand against you and we say we
will be made perfect in love That we
will cast it out when we remember how
you are for us You are with us
and nothing can stand before you my God.
We thank you God We give you control
that we give you control of our minds.
We give you control of the situation We
give you control of our fears.
We give you control of our failure.
We give you control of our rebellion We
give you control of our stuff We give
you control of all of God that seeks
to come Great against us and oppress us
and God everything must bend its knees We
believe you we move forward and we thank
you hallelujah in Jesus name we love you
Jesus we love you Lord hallelujah we thank
you in Jesus name hallelujah hallelujah This
is the conclusion of the message