God’s Power & Praise

God’s Power & Praise (II Samuel 5:17-25)

II Samuel 5:17-25, 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. 18 The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. 19 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. 20 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. 21 And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them. 22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. 23 And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. 24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. 25 And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.

After getting direction from the Lord, David attacked the Philistines and defeated them. Like the water gushing from a broken dam and sweeping its path, God helped David to sweep the Philistines. He gave God the credit and glory for the victory and named the place of victory Baalperazim, which means "Master of the Breakthroughs."

That is what our Lord is to us. God has a way of coming through when the storms are the darkest, when the floods of frustration are raging, when life is like a fog and we can't find our way, or when we don't know what to do or what direction to take. God breaks through for us. He is the master of the breakthroughs! We will enjoy victory in our own lives when we rely upon His power and praise Him for His blessings.

Romans 8:37, Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Psalm 21:13, Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power. I Corinthians 10:13, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. II Timothy 4:18, And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. God broke through for Israel at the Red Sea. God broke through for the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace. God broke through for Daniel in the lion's den. God broke through for Esther and the Jews against Haman and the Persian Law. God broke through for the Apostles that were imprisoned. God broke through for the Saviour when He arose the third day after His crucifixion.

In 1880, a Christian couple, George and Sarah Clarke, purchased the lease for the Pacific Garden Mission of Chicago. This was the second oldest rescue mission in the United States, which ministered to homeless alcoholics and downtrodden men and women. Colonel and Mrs. Clarke bore the cost of the mission themselves, but as expenses grew and the ministry expanded, their funds ran low. Eventually, the day came when they could not pay the rent. Attempts to secure the needed funds failed, and Colonel Clarke was told he had only 24 hours to make the payment. Otherwise, he would lose his lease, and the Pacific Garden Mission would close. Throughout the night, Colonel and Mrs. Clarke prayed, asking God to guide and to provide in His own way and time. They reminded the Lord of the souls being saved each night, of the men and women whose lives were being salvaged. Determining to trust God, they remained before the throne of grace in simple faith and in earnest pleading until the breaking of dawn. When they emerged from their Morgan Park house that morning, they gasped. Something had happened to their front yard. It was covered with white. It was something that instantly reminded them of the manna God provided the children of Israel during their wilderness wanderings in the book of Exodus. Looking closer, they discovered their lawn was filled with mushrooms of the very best quality, which was quite mysterious because it wasn't the season for mushrooms. Harvesting the crop of mushrooms, the Clarkes carted the mushrooms down the street and sold them to the chefs at the Palmer House, the famed hotel just off of Michigan Avenue, for a large price. The receipts were enough to pay the rent, with enough left over to meet other ministry expenses. So, the Pacific Garden Mission carried on, its work undeterred. Hundreds of thousands have been won to Christ through this ministry, and through the lives that have been saved and changed. One well-known convert was a professional baseball player from the Chicago White Sox. His name was Billy Sunday. Billy became an evangelist for God. Historians that studied his ministry state that he preached to more than one hundred million people face-to-face and that over one million people came to Christ in his revivals. The fruit of his ministry was an extension of the Pacific Garden Mission and the power of God working in his life.

Questions to Consider:
How is the Lord using you to minter within your church?
When was a time the Lord gave you a Baalperazim moment?

Points to Ponder:
Give God the credit and glory for those times He gives you victory when He “breaks through” your circumstances.
When you feel like you can’t make it through the day it’s time to enquire of the Lord, and get ready to give Him the PRAISE.

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