“NEW LEVEL, NEW DEVIL”
2 Sam. 5:17-21
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: THE DIOR DRESS
1. One day, just as Rebecca was walking past Saks 5th Avenue she saw them putting a new dress in their window. It was a pale green Dior evening dress and she was totally entranced by this brilliant creation.
2. But it was priced at $3,500 and she had to think of a way to persuade her husband Patrick to buy it for her. Then she had an idea. She couldn’t wait to get home.
3. "Patrick, darling?" "Yes, what is it Rebecca?"
"Last night I had a lovely dream" she said. "I dreamed that we passed by Saks 5th Avenue and in the window was this gorgeous Dior dress at only $3,500. And do you know what you did?"
4."What did I do?" he asked. "You went into the store and bought it for me, darling."
5. "Did I really?" Patrick said, "That really WAS a wonderful dream. I hope that from now on you’ll get to wear it in all your dreams!”
B. TEXT
“But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold. The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up to [“attack,” NIV] 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.” And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, “The LORD has broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.” And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.” 2 Sam. 5:17-21.
C. THESIS
1. After 15 years of trouble and perseverance, David finally reaches the fulfillment of his dreams, the place he’s going to enjoy. He’s finally been anointed the king of all Israel and placed on the throne.
2. All is well, right? No! David has stepped up to a new level, but now faces a new devil. Taking spiritual turf always results in challenges.
3. We’re going to look at what it means to go up to a higher level, see the 3 anointings David received to go to another level, and see the culmination of God’s design for his life – the deliverance of his whole nation from oppression.
4. This message is entitled “New Level, New Devil.”
I. GOING TO A HIGHER LEVEL
A. WHAT IS “GOING TO A HIGHER LEVEL?”
“Going to a higher level” means that:
1. We recognize that we haven’t achieved perfection, but have room to grow.
2. It means that we refuse to be satisfied with where we are, but are taking action to improve ourselves.
3. It may be a higher level of obedience, of faith, of Holy Spirit empowering, of outreach to the lost, of walking with God in relationship, of attempting to master God’s Word, of ‘getting on fire,’ or of having a heart like David/Christ.
B. WHY SEEK TO GO TO A HIGHER LEVEL?
1. IT’S GOD’S WILL. David sought a new level because it was God’s will. Our growth & perfection is God’s will: Paul said, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Phip. 3:12.
2. TO DO A GREATER WORK. God had a greater work for David. God wants us to affect more people for Christ. As we obey God, the anointing on our lives will get stronger (Acts 5:32). Eph. 5:18, “Be filled with the Spirit.”
HUMOR. Many of us are like the guy who went fishing and caught nothing, so he went to the fish store. He told the attendant, “Throw me ten fish so I can tell my wife I caught them!” Don’t pretend; let’s do a greater work!
3. We should grow up in our RESPONSIBILITY – Heb. 5:12. John 17:4, "I have glorified Your Name on the Earth by completing the work You gave Me to do." I want to be able to say that. Paul said, "That I may finish my course with joy." We all have a destiny and a destination.
4. FULFILL YOUR PURPOSE. Eph. 5:15-17, Amplified Version; "Live purposefully... Therefore do not be vague or thoughtless or... but understand what the will of the Lord is." How can you believe God if you haven't even made up your own mind what you want to do? We must have a purpose and goals.
5. The devil will pull out all the stops to keep us from going on with God. The devil wants to keep us in a wimpy, lukewarm, lazy zone where we have no purpose or effect.
C. JABEZ & SPIRITUAL AMBITION
Jabez’ prayer, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.” 1 Chr. 4:10.
1. SPIRITUAL ENLARGEMENT
a. "Enlarge my territory" ("borders,” RSV). Probably NOT referring to property, but to how he might glorify God on a larger scale.
b. Jabez wanted to be valuable to the Lord; do we? SAND on the beach is free. If bagged, it’s worth $1/lb. If made into sandpaper, it’s worth $5/lb. If made into a silicon computer chip, it’s worth $500/tsp. The sand is the same, but it has increased value from greater purpose!
2. SUPERNATURAL EMPOWERMENT
a. "And that Your hand might be with me."
b. Jabez realized that if God enlarged his borders, he would need God more than ever.
3. People say, "I've been praying to come up higher and I get all is trouble. This isn’t going smooth; I guess it's not God." How wrong. "Narrow" means "contracted by pressure." On the narrow path there is no room for fleshly baggage. You don’t need less troubles, you need more anointing!
4. When God asked Gideon to go to a higher level, he said, "I'm the least of all my clan; surely you have the wrong man." You must begin seeing the possibilities in you that God sees. When God calls us, the first thing we do is tell God all the things wrong with us and every reason why it's not going to work.
II. THE CHALLENGES OF A NEW LEVEL
A. NEW LEVEL, NEW DEVIL
1. The Philistines came up to capture David (v. 17), when they heard that he was anointed king over Israel. They decided to crush his government in its infancy, before it was well organized.
2. New Level, New Devil. What you could get by with at one level, you can't at a higher level. Before David was king, he could travel and even live in Philistine territory and it was ok with them.
3. Some of them, like Achish, were friendly to him. But when David became king, he became a target, an open enemy.
B. THE ENEMY DOESN’T RECKON ON THE ANOINTING OF GOD
1. Their success against Saul had made the Philistines overconfident to attack David; they didn’t realize the presence of God that was on David, had been missing from King Saul.
2. Their “spreading themselves” indicates they were very numerous and made a very formidable appearance. The place of miracles is usually a place where you're over your head.
3. ILLUS. A boxcar’s not going anywhere until it’s hooked up to an engine. A boxcar has no means of propulsion; neither do you! That’s why we must have the engine of the Holy Spirit, we must have His anointing!
4. The devil isn’t going to roll out the red carpet to welcome you to a new level. He’s not going to help you be more dangerous to the kingdom of darkness. Don’t be surprised if you encounter trouble.
5. But the Philistine’s made the mistake of not considering that they had always been defeated by the greater anointing that was on David. David was not another King Saul.
C. GOD’S 3 ANOINTINGS TO ASSIST DAVID
1. THE FIRST ANOINTING (1 Sam. 16:13) took place when the prophet Samuel anointed the teenager David. This anointing brought him to the king’s court and national prominence, but it also brought the opposition of his brothers and the jealousy of King Saul.
2. THE SECOND ANOINTING (2 Sam. 2:4) took place when he was anointed as king over the tribe of Judah. He fortified Hebron and took it as his capital. He reigned there for 7 years. But with this level came open warfare between the house of David and the house of the King Saul’s descendants.
3. THE THIRD ANOINTING (2 Sam. 5:3) was when they made David King over all Israel. He was 37 years old.
a. David knew he was entering a larger arena of conflict, so he decided to capture Jerusalem, the strongest fortress in that area of Palestine.
b. The Philistines determined to stop David. Notice that the Philistines again rise after the anointing. Goliath, a Philistine came after the first anointing. Now after the third anointing, the Philistines are after him again.
c. Too often we want the anointing but no battle. Or we want the battle without the anointing, but we must understand that both of them must come together and work together.
III. GOD IS A GOD OF THE BREAKTHROUGH
A. THE TURNING POINT
1. So as the Philistines came on, David heard from God about what to do. 2 Sam. 5:20 declares -- “And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, ‘The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters.’ Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.”
2. This verse is prophetic. David calls God “The Lord of the Breakthrough!” and that’s what David named that location.
3. THIS BATTLE WAS A TURNING POINT. Up to this time, the Philistines had always dominated in their wars with Israel. They had never even been defeated/ dislodged during the days of Joshua (Joshua 13:2).
4. They plagued Israel all during the time of the Judges, during Samuel’s life, and ultimately defeated and killed Saul & his sons.
5. But this battle was the turning point, the beginning of the breach in the power of the Philistines, and was the breaking of the domination of the promised land by them.
6. From this point on, David had the stronger position and always defeated them in battle. THE SPIRITUAL TIDE OF VICTORY HAD TURNED!
B. THE TIDES OF VICTORY LOOSED
1. David’s words, “The LORD has broken mine enemies before me, like the breach of waters …” or like waters breaking a dam open, means that the blessings that have been dammed up a long time have now been breached and are being released! Praise God!
2. But understand, that this breakthrough for Israel could not have occurred unless David had been willing to go to the next level and face a new devil.
3. This is a story of growth in God and assuming our proper place as soldiers in the army of God.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. There was an old Western with Gary Cooper called, “The Hanging Tree.” Gary Cooper is a doctor and he saves people’s lives.
2. In one scene, a young man gets shot; he’s dying. Gary Cooper goes in, pulls out the bullets, and saves the man’s life. The man, grateful for being rescued, asks what he can do for the doctor.
3. Gary Cooper says, “Well, you know, I’ve always needed an assistant, so why don’t you assist me. I’ll teach you what to do.”
4. When the young man asked how long the doctor wanted his help, Gary Cooper replied, “For the rest of your life, for that’s how long you would’ve been dead if I hadn’t saved you.”
5. That’s what God says to us. “For the rest of your life, since I’ve saved you, I want you to yield yourself to My purposes, My pleasure, and My goals.”
6. Prayer for commitment & salvation.
B. THE CALL
1. We all have a destiny and a destination. God wants us to do all He’s called us to & finish our course with joy and not let all the devils in hell stop us! "Devil, you might as well go hang yourself!"
2. We need a heightened sense of the opportunities around us. Paul said, “But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me” 1 Cor. 16:8-9.
3. If you want to go up to a higher level, I want you to come to the front and form a single row behind the altar. I’m going to anoint you with oil and pray for a new anointing to make you more than conquerors!
4. Prayer.
[This message has some contribution from from Joyce Myers, Philip Harrelson, “THE LORD OF THE BREAKTHROUGH”]
