Transcription
The Bible says that God is our refuge, God is our strength, and God is our help. That is why, apart from God, we cannot function. That is why, today, God, you are in our lives. Whatever our struggles, God, you are our refuge. You are our strength, and you are also God, our help. Thank you, Father. We know that your word always has and always will strengthen our faith. We need God's word. We need Jesus, and we need awareness in our lives every day, knowing that God never leaves us. We need God's word of truth, only in one beautiful person, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Let us pray and give thanks. Let us say together, Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Please sit. Shalom. Okay, let's open from 2 Samuel. Let's start from verse 17 first, 17, 18, and 19. 2 Samuel chapter 5. 2 Samuel chapter 5, verses 17, 18, and 19. This is a very interesting passage, and why I want to discuss this is because I often hear people praying and even people making statements that need to be corrected. We often just follow along, you know, because other people are talking, we say something, we don't know the meaning, and it backfires. That's why we need an understanding of God's word so that we understand, so that when we pray, the prayer strengthens us, not ultimately brings us down. One example I've said many times: never pray like this, "Lord, make me worthy." Stop praying like that, because we are already made worthy. We were made worthy thousands of years ago. Instead, when you pray, you should say, "Lord, thank you, I am already made worthy." That awakens faith. If you are sick, say, "Lord, thank you that I have already received healing. Healing has been provided, has been given." So we declare that God is truly good and never opposes us. That is our God. So, the more we understand correctly, when we pray, the prayer will actually strengthen our faith. Now, 2 Samuel chapter 5 speaks of breakthrough. And often, when people pray, they ask God, "Lord, give me breakthrough, give me breakthrough." And often, when we ask for breakthrough, what we misunderstand is that we end up not breaking through the real thing, but taking another path that avoids the problem. Whereas the prayer is to break through, to ask for breakthrough. If it's breakthrough, it means the problem in front of us is broken through by us, by us and God, surely. But often, we pray in our minds, without realizing it, "Lord, give me breakthrough, meaning the problem is solved, or give me another easier way." It's not like that, actually. Now, 2 Samuel chapter 5, let's read verse 17. When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to capture David. But David heard of it and went to the stronghold. When the Philistines came and spread out in the valley of Rephaim, David then asked the Lord, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?" Notice God's statement. The Lord answered David, "Go up, for I will surely give the Philistines into your hand." God never said, "Take a shortcut." God never said, "Retreat." Go forward. And in this passage, we will see the understanding of breakthrough. So, if you pray for breakthrough, be prepared to be led to break through the problem. That's why, when a breakthrough occurs, make sure, and God certainly wants it, make sure that what happens is that we experience breakthrough in our lives first. And when that happens, then it's God's business when the problem is solved by God and so on and so forth. From this verse alone, we can see that understanding that He is our help, He is our strength, He is our refuge, is God, not somewhere else. That's why he runs to God. That's why he runs to the source. He runs there, not somewhere else. Ask, "How is this?" Make sure in all aspects of our lives, when a test is before us, before taking action, even before speaking, ask God. Start training yourself like that. That's why James says, "Be quick to listen, slow to speak." This is what happens. Let's continue. Verses 20 and 21. God's word says, "Then David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And David said, 'The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breakthrough of water.' Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim." Baal was the god of the Philistines. They thought that when they fought, they placed their god there, their god became their refuge, their strength, and their help. It didn't happen; it was destroyed by God. And then it says, "So when they struck them and defeated them there, he said, 'The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breakthrough of water.' Therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim." Baal-perazim means "broken through." This is the first time in the Bible that an understanding of breakthrough is revealed. I want all of us to understand God's word, so that when we pray, we don't just say those words because we're following others. Not because we're just following people who have spoken and ended up being wrong. Including myself, I have taught about blessings and so on. We need to understand first so that we experience breakthrough. And when we pray, all of it declares a truth that ultimately, when we hear our words, when we pray, we are strengthened, our faith is strengthened. Faith has been given to each of us with the same measure when we receive Jesus as Savior. The problem is, some people's faith grows, some people's faith becomes stronger, some people's faith is just so-so. Faith is still there, it's given by God, but some don't grow. There are many factors: not being intimate with God, not understanding God's word, just following others, not having personal experiences with God, and so on and so forth. Ultimately, their faith is not strong. That's why some people are steadfast, some are strong, some are not. Yesterday, a friend told me, "Bro, my cancer relapsed, but I believe God has healed me. I ask for prayers to support me with prayer." I read his WhatsApp message to me, and I was blessed because before he receives healing, he has already experienced breakthrough. His faith is so strong. "I believe God has healed me." It's different. Another person told me, crying, "I can't take it anymore." And so on. Yesterday, a friend, a colleague, a doctor, said there's no hope. And according to his family, he said, "Well, I'll just let it be, let's see what happens." His family started coming to him, saying, "Come on, you have to believe in God. Come on, our family all loves God. Why are you far from God?" And so on and so forth. He had a video call with me, and when he declared to God, "Lord, I want to experience breakthrough in my life. I want to change." He just received news this afternoon. Praise God, sir. The lab results are extraordinary. Not what the doctor predicted. Hopefully, next week he can be discharged from the hospital. He was previously diagnosed with death. Everything we experience, we experience breakthrough first, from within. That's why when I was healed, people came to me and said, "Sir, receive the miracle of healing." Not the miracle, I was transformed by God. My wife, my wife is very logical. Logic can't be used when facing such problems. Logic is out the door, it can't be used. My children were transformed by God. They are used by God extraordinarily now. Because of going through those moments, my eldest son just graduated and is now in Los Angeles, used to deliver God's word to young people in his church. He said, "God, the foundation of my life, when I saw Dad in the hospital and saw how all four of us were transformed by God, that's what I call a miracle." Healing is just a matter of God's hand. It can be healed in a second. Breakthrough in our lives depends on our response to God. If we don't respond, and we don't understand God's word, we never want to study God's word, there's never breakthrough. Even our prayers are wrong. We ask for breakthrough, but in our minds, we don't want to go through the problem, we want an easier way. If possible, just make the problem disappear. God doesn't work like that. That's not the understanding. Verse 21 says, "And the Philistines left their images there, and David and his men carried them away." That is breakthrough. He asked God. God said, "Go up and confront them." He went up with God. That's what it means. And when we go up with God and face it together with God, we have an experience with God. That's why James 1:2 is full of revelation. Let's look at it. James 1:2. Let's look at the original language. James 1:2. God's word says, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials." "Fall" is the word. The word "fall" means "peripipto," which means to suddenly enter a hole with light. Let me repeat: the word "fall" means "peripipto," which means suddenly falling into a hole with light. So God's word says, "Count it all joy when suddenly before you there is a trial." The Indonesian Bible says "trial," but the more accurate translation is "test," because the original word for "trial" is "pirasmos," which is an opportunity where you will experience growth, an opportunity, an experience where you will experience growth, an experience that will test your faith. That's why in the English Bible, the word for trial is not "temptation" but "trials." If you haven't bought the TB2 Bible yet, it's available. Many words have been changed because when it was first printed in the 70s, the Indonesian vocabulary was still limited. Now it has been greatly improved. So, let me read again. So, it says, "My brethren, count it all joy, count it all joy, because this is an opportunity. What kind of opportunity? If suddenly we get an opportunity to enter a hole with light, it means God's presence is there to face what? To face an experience that will test our faith." So, this experience that tests faith, or the strength we have, is called training or preparation. From this passage, we get this understanding: obedience is actually preparation. That's why humans often don't like the process, don't like preparation, they want it fast. That's why people get married, right? "Sir, I need counseling." "When is the wedding?" "Six months later." "No, I don't want to wait too long." "Sir, I need counseling." "Have you been married before?" "The wedding is in three months." "No, I don't want to." "Even worse, sir, I need counseling." "Have you been married before?" "Next week." Goodbye. I said, suddenly a couple came after a service in 2013 or 2014. "Sir, I need pre-marital counseling." I didn't give it. I said, "So that everyone will tell me, 'I need pre-marital counseling,' right?" "No, this is different." I said, "I'll pray for you first." When they came, I was already prejudiced. I apologized to them inwardly, thinking, "Oh, here we go again." Then I asked, "How long until the wedding?" Suddenly they said, "One and a half years." "Huh? How amazing! Where did you get this understanding?" "We heard your sermon, brother. We want to do it." "I can assure you, my wife will want to." I said, "One and a half years." They came to my house every Wednesday at 7:30 PM after work, and stayed at my house until 12:00 AM. They prepared their lives so that when a test came, they would be ready. That means they argued in front of us for one and a half years. They even said, "If it doesn't work out, it's okay. This is our preparation." What made me so touched was their commitment. "Brothers and sisters, I was so amazed. They had a commitment: 'We don't want to hold hands.'" Wow, holding hands isn't a sin, right? But after holding hands, there's like electricity. They said, "The electricity flows everywhere. We want more." "Then, after holding hands, you'll want to kiss, right? It's dangerous. After kissing, you'll want to have sex, right? It's dangerous. It's better to avoid it." So, I only hold my girlfriend's hand when crossing the street, and only the upper part of the hand. That was their commitment. In my 25 years of ministry, I have attended weddings or wedding blessings, more accurately, perhaps thousands of times. I have never shed a tear until I attended their wedding. Because for the first time, I saw them kiss at the altar. I saw their extraordinary commitment. They said to themselves, "We want to prepare ourselves." People who prepare themselves are people who experience breakthrough in their lives. That's what's extraordinary. So, when there's a storm of life, they are ready. A few weeks ago, I met them at a service in Jakarta. I asked, "How are you?" "We are having an extraordinary, happy marriage because of the foundation that was built underneath." Why did the Vietnamese army win guerrilla warfare against the American army? Brothers and sisters, if you have toured the tunnels, the Cu Chi tunnels, I will never forget entering the ground where they prepared everything, building a city, so to speak, underground. I sat in their kitchen underground. And what's extraordinary is that in one place, there was a place where smoke from a cooking area billowed out from underground. The American soldiers saw it and thought, "Wow, that's their kitchen there, their eating place. Bomb the kitchen." But the kitchen wasn't there. The kitchen was about 50 meters away. So, when they cooked, they made pipes, and the smoke came out 50 meters away. They prepared themselves like that. Even the holes to enter the Cu Chi tunnels underground, some of those holes, I couldn't even fit into because their bodies were so small. And when they ran, chased by American soldiers, how did they know where those holes were? They had marked trees with white chalk. There, on piles of leaves, there was a hole underneath. They just had to enter and hide there. So the American soldiers felt like they were fighting ghosts. They were scared. They were shot from behind and so on. They were defeated because of that preparation. That's breakthrough. That's what James 1:2 means. So, "count it all joy" is an opportunity for you to prepare, so that when the test comes, you are ready, you become strong. Preparation can never replace a promise. That's why many people make empty promises. "If I get married, I will surely be faithful," and so on. But without preparation, when the test comes, the promise is broken. It can't replace preparation. An athlete talks to his coach. "I promise, coach. I promise, I will play my best. I will give the game of the century. I will give my best game." But if he doesn't train, it's impossible. That's why Michael Jordan, when he played basketball, after the United Center was empty, all the basketball games were over, he would return to the court with only a small light on one side. Only him and the janitor. He would ask him to wait because he would take 1500 basketball shots after the game was over. That's what made him say, "That's what differentiates me from others. My preparation is more intense than others." That's what it means. Then verse 3 continues, James chapter 1, verse 3 says, "knowing that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." Testing ultimately produces steadfastness. Steadfastness, in the original language, is "tahan uji" (endurance), it's a character. So, endurance. "Let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." That is breakthrough. Lacking in nothing. Why? Because you have experienced breakthrough from within. The problem itself is God's business. That's what God wants. This is the essential meaning of breakthrough. So, if you pray, "Lord, I ask for breakthrough," be prepared to be transformed first, not just asking for breakthrough and the problem disappears. Not like that. If God asks for breakthrough, let Baal-perazim happen in your life. All idols, all that you used to consider help, refuge, and strength, are no longer meaningful. Everything is to God, and God transforms my life. What used to be money becoming my safety net, what used to be my position, or my status, or my fame becoming my refuge, is no longer possible. All my Baals are broken through by God. I want to make my life Baal-perazim because I am leaving all the idols in my life, all dependencies on anything in my life, so that I can experience breakthrough with God. Judges 14:5-6 says this: Judges 14:5-6. Later, brothers and sisters, before we finish, please read 1 Peter 5:8 at home. I won't quote it because we've discussed it several times. The devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. In the past, we discussed Psalm 23, which teaches us that the devil is only like a roaring lion, trying to scare us, not a lion trying to devour. This means there are people who cannot be devoured. Who are we? All of us here cannot be devoured by his lies. Everything depends on our mindset. That's why, what do we think when we see a problem? When the 12 spies were sent, what did the 10 who returned say? "They are a great nation, boss. We can't enter there." But the two who returned said, "Yes, they are a great nation, but my God is greater." As a result, people like Paltin, Bigal, and so on, never entered the promised land. These are the names of the 10 spies, whose names we don't know, and they are in the Bible. They have names in the Bible, but we probably never read them because they are not heroes of faith. They were punished and not allowed to enter the promised land. But the two who said, "Even though they are great, my God is greater," their names are still documented to this day. We even still give names to our children, Joshua and Caleb. The mindset is different, you see. Judges 14:5-6: "Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. And when they came to the vineyards of Timnah, behold, a young lion roared at him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, so that he tore him apart as one tears a young goat, though he had nothing in his hands. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done." Notice this sentence: "as one tears a young goat." Not a goat, a young goat. That's the mindset. "Because my God is greater." That's what it means. That's someone who has experienced breakthrough in their life. Someone who always says, "Lord, this is an opportunity for me. Lord, a shell, when sand enters its body, it becomes an opportunity for a pearl because the sand is turned into a pearl." Often, we don't "count it all joy." We don't consider it joy when a life struggle comes into our lives, because for us, it's a bad opportunity. As a result, the sand that enters becomes mud, becomes something worse in our lives. The mindset should change. "Lord, this is an opportunity for the bad things I experience to make me a pearl in my life." That's why everyone who decides to become a pearl, even if they are in bad places, for example, at a workplace where they don't get welfare and so on, they complain. After complaining, they complain to God, and they don't want to give their best. They don't understand God's word that "I work for the kingdom of heaven." So they just let it be. "I don't like it. I'm bitter towards my boss or anyone I work with." But it's different for someone with a kingdom mindset. They say to themselves, "Even though I am in a place where I am not valued, I am a diamond, I am a pearl. I will decide to continue to shine amidst the trash. One day, someone will see this shining pearl, and that pearl will be moved to a more suitable place." Promotions always come from God, not from humans. Our task is to experience breakthrough from within. Give your best from your heart. Ultimately, great things happen, and that's what happens. That's why when Samson saw a lion, he tore it apart as if it were a young goat. The mindset is different. I will give two more. This is because of time. There is actually a lot I want to give to you, brothers and sisters. Look at Daniel chapter 10, verse 12. This is also a lesson. So remember, when we pray like this, this is a breakthrough in life. It should be like this. About two weeks ago, a mother came to me and said this. And this is why I always say, "Let's change, let's do this." "Sir, I have prayed. Sir, I have fasted. Sir, I have done this and this and this. Where is it, sir? Why hasn't God answered?" Never say that. Following God is not with a formula. "I have done this, I have done this, I have done this. I have done this. Where is it? Why hasn't God given it to me?" Is God a genie? I said, "No, ma'am, no. You can't pray with that kind of heart. You can't. The attitude should be different." "What should our attitude be when we pray? If we do anything, whether fasting, praying, worshipping God with praise, whatever, the heart is a receiving heart, ma'am. If you have that kind of heart, you are just trying to get something from God. It's impossible. You won't experience breakthrough." Finally, look at Luke chapter 10, verses 38 to 42. This morning we discussed it in Manyar, but the passage is different. We are talking about God's kairos, which is extraordinary. Look at Luke 10:38-42. This is the key to breakthrough in our lives. Because, you see, everything has been given, it's finished on the cross. It is finished. We are the ones who sometimes make things complicated for ourselves. "What else should I do, Lord? What else should I do?" No, no. We can't do that. Not with our efforts so that we get something from God. No. We have been given. Now, our position when facing God, who never opposes me, is to receive from God. If our heart's position is to receive, we pray from a position of victory. We will be different. "I am obedient because I am already made worthy, not to be made worthy." The attitude is different. Luke 10:38: "Now as they went on their way, he entered a village. And a woman named Martha received him into her house." We have read this verse many times. This woman had a sister named Mary. Notice this: "Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to his word." Religious people will validate what Martha did. While Martha was busy serving. I'm not saying we shouldn't serve. I'm talking about mindset here. Because many people say, "I have served God, why is it like this, sir? I have served God. Why is it like this? I'm tired of hearing all this." All bad situations that happen to people can happen to anyone. Storms can happen to anyone. We live in a fallen world. It can happen to God's children. We must be mature Christians. "I must build my life on a solid rock, not on sand." That's it. And when a problem comes, I will have experienced breakthrough in my life first, then I will see God's great works in my life. That's the mindset. Then she came to Jesus and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her, then, to help me." I like Jesus' statement. When he speaks, he always hits the mark. He said, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things." If your mindset is, "I must do this, sir. I must do this, sir. My prayer must be long, sir. It must be like this, sir." You become anxious about many things, thinking about rituals and forms of worship to God, in other words, your efforts. God doesn't want our efforts to be close to Him. No, that's not what it means. It's not that. It's finished. I'm not saying we shouldn't live obediently. No, not that. Our mindset when coming to God should be like this: "Lord, I receive God's goodness in my life." Praying for 5 minutes, praying for half an hour. The content of the prayer and the attitude of the heart is: "Lord, I am receiving from you. I believe healing has been given. Restoration has been given." If you ask at the beginning, okay, it's fine to ask at the beginning. This is what makes people give up when praying until they get an answer. In the middle of the process, many give up because they use effort like Martha. But someone who, at the beginning, says, "Lord, truly I need healing. Lord, at the beginning, I also prayed like this. Lord, tomorrow I won't ask anymore. I believe healing has been given." God understands. God has given it. I believe God, that healing is in my hands, even though I still see bad things. And I fill it with thanksgiving. From the position of praying until receiving the answer, their faith does not fail because it is filled with thanksgiving. Their faith becomes stronger. That's what Jesus wants to convey in this passage. That's why he says, "Only one thing is necessary." So, there is nothing else more necessary. Then he says what? "Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her." That means there is nothing better than that. And what's extraordinary is that it cannot be taken away from her. That is breakthrough. Experiencing breakthrough at God's time and so on and so forth. There is nothing better than that. There is nothing more necessary, and it cannot be taken away from her. That is when we sit at the Lord's feet and receive what God has prepared for us. That is our heart's attitude. We have also discussed this in Psalm 23. Our heart enters God's rest. That's why people who receive God's peace make the right decisions. They will not live in disobedience. Ultimately, people who constantly think, "What else should I do? What else should I do?" become weary. They become spiritually tired because they lack the understanding of grace. "What else should I do? What else should I do?" Stop thinking like that. Everything has been accomplished on the cross. Today, whatever your need, receive it from God. He has prepared everything for us. Take Mary's attitude. Sit at the Lord's feet. I will close with this story. Read it at home later. The story of Acts 12:6-7. When Peter was chained, Peter was chained with two chains, and his friend James had just had his head cut off, martyred by King Herod. There was a high probability that the next day he would be paraded and executed. Before the breakthrough happened, what was the breakthrough? An angel of the Lord descended that night and freed him, even bringing him out past the soldiers or guards. That is breakthrough. He passed them. The Bible does not explain whether their eyes were closed. The Bible clearly states that he passed them and was brought out of prison by an angel of the Lord. Before that happened, when an angel of the Lord shone in the prison cell, Peter woke up. Usually, when an angel descends, light shines, people wake up in fear. The Bible clearly records that the angel tapped Peter to wake him up. This means he was sleeping soundly, meaning he was living in God's peace, even though there was a problem. And whatever happened, breakthrough had already occurred in Peter's life. He slept soundly. The angel said to him, "Get up quickly." The Bible does not explain in detail that light shone in the room. He didn't wake up until he was freed, until he broke out of prison. Breakthrough had already happened in his life. I long for us all to experience that tonight. Whatever our problems, God has prepared the best. Make sure breakthrough happens within. What is our Baal-perazim? What did we used to be proud of? What became our refuge, protection, and strength? Money, position, status, fame. Get rid of them. Make that moment our Baal-perazim. God, these are my Baals. That's why I never feel breakthrough in my life. Lord, tonight, I believe God. God is my refuge, my protection, and my strength. When I am transformed, when breakthrough happens in my life, I will see great things happen. Even I will be led to break through my problems with God. And after that happens, when people come to me and say, "Wow, you got a miracle. You got healing." That's not the bonus. The miracle is that I was transformed by God. Because everything is for God's glory. Give your applause to God. Hallelujah, Father. Thank you for this beautiful evening. God, if tonight we have our Baal-perazim, God, we want to surrender it to God. Whatever we used to be proud of, that became our refuge, protection, and even our strength. We sought strength and protection there. God, all of that is fleeting outside of God. All of it is fleeting, and ultimately, we never feel and never enjoy breakthrough in our lives. That's why, God, today, all those Baals, God, we will surrender them to God. Because today, God, just like Peter, just like Mary, we want to experience God. And even today, when we pray, we pray from a position of receiving from God. All of God's goodness, all healing, health, restoration, provision from God. We have received it, it has been prepared by God. We cling to the vine, and it continues to flow into our lives. That's why, God, this prayer we offer to God. And perhaps today, we ask for something. Starting tomorrow, we will fill our days with thanksgiving, believing that we have received the answer to our prayers. From this moment until later, [Music] we will be steadfast because we are filled with thanksgiving, because we sit at God's feet and hear God's voice and receive all of God's provisions. You are a good God. You are a God full of grace. Thank you, God. We will be doers of Your word. And more than that, today, we pray from a position of victory, and even we will go through further victories together with God. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray and give thanks. Let us say together, Amen. God bless.