Bursting Flood

I hope this message leaves you with an excitement and an anticipation to what God is going to do for you and through you, in this season. The title of todays blog is “Bursting Flood”. The Coming season is upon us; it’s here. God has brought the early rain both physically in the natural and I believe in the spiritual as well. I am going to speak to you this morning about the potential that God has presented to each and every one of us, and how that potential can take the Early Rain

and transform it into a Bursting Flood.

Let me set the stage for you. In 1 Chronicles 14 David has just been anointed king over Israel and Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, with cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. As the newly anointed king over the entire land, David is now receiving gifts of honor from other kings, to establish his house.

Read 1 Chronicles 14:8-12 - Now notice these words: Valley of Rephaim - Valley of Giants Bursting Flood - Breach of violent waters; a transition. Baal - to possess; owner. Perazim - Mt. Perazim - “Mount of Breaches”; breakthrough.

David has been anointed King over all of Israel and word has spread until it has reached the Philistines. Let me stop right there and say this to you and I, pertaining to the “The Coming Season” that has now come. Just as God had placed an anointing on David, that resulted in him taking possession of land or territory, in this case, all of Israel. You need to see that, God has a desire to place an anointing in your life, so that you take possession of the land or territory,

which can be your marriage, family, faith, finances, health.

Once you break through there is no more resistance - as we are now in the season where God has brought the early rain, I believe that God is preparing us for a break through like a bursting flood, where in this season we will see God move in an awesome power right in our midst. That is

what God wants to do in every area of our lives. There very implication of a breakthrough means that you are experiencing resistance. God is the

God of the Breakthrough!

I want to share with you a few areas where I believe God wants to breakthrough in you life and then I want you to add two areas of breakthrough that you are believing God for.

1. Faith - personal walk with God (quite time)

2. Family - children, relatives

3. Finances - no more resistance and the ability to manage (Steward)

4. Marriage

5. Health - physical and spiritual bondage

6. (You decide) Where do you want a breakthrough

7. (You decide) Where do you want a breakthrough

Ok, so you have your 7 areas of needed breakthrough written down, now what? You need to apply two Keys to the Kingdom: Faith and Works

Read James 2:14-20 & James 2: 26

Let’s first look at Faith. If we are to experience the Bursting Flood of breakthrough we have to believe, have faith in God and whatever He says.

Look back at 1 Chronicles 14:9-10 & 1 Chronicles 14:13-14

Can you see faith and works in operation through David. His key to faith is “ask God” and “listen”, when you do that you have all the faith you need. Once God speaks you have faith. David didn’t need to ask how to begin a war. He was big, strong and bad - he was one of the Lord’s greatest warriors. Get the image of a lowly, weak shepherd boy out of your mind- a lowly weak shepherd boy would not grab a lion by the neck and strike him with one blow to kill him; a lowly weak

shepherd boy would not be able to kill a bear with only his hands. David wasn’t weak, even as a shepherd he was a mighty warrior. However, even as a mighty

warrior, his faith rested not in his own strength, but in God! Facing the giants, in a valley, David takes his bible and walks to a quiet place to speak with God. I am sure that at this time the soldiers under his command understood what David was doing, when he went to inquire of God. They understood that before they made a move they had to hear the voice of the Lord. You and I are no different, we too have faith by hearing God

Read Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Prior to inquiring of God and exercising Faith, David could have responded in 1 of 2 other ways: Overconfidence or Fear. Overconfidence because the enemy had assembled and camped in a Valley. He could have responded in fear, because even though the enemy was in a Valley, they

were giants. However, David responded in faith; he heard God and listened and then moved in faith to what was said. Listen, you and I won’t have a breakthrough unless we have faith; we won’t have faith unless we hear God. Here is the other thing, you do not need a degree in theology to hear God. Simply set aside time to hear God and listen! That can be in a quite place that is set apart for the purpose of listening; it could be reading the word of God and asking God to speak to you about

what you have just read. The key is setting time aside to hear and listen. Faith will come from hearing and hearing through the Word. When faith comes you will not be

making a blind leap, you will have the assurance of God’s Word to do what He has spoken to you.

Read Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

A Word from God illuminates the next step that you take and becomes light the the path that God has set you on. God will make sure that you have enough light to take the next step; not a blind leap.

What is God saying to you right now about the 7 areas of breakthrough? Read 1 Chronicles 14 - now check out a parallel passage in 2 Samuel 5:20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The Lord has burst through my enemies before me like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim.

David named the place baal-perizim (baal was often a name ascribed to the heathen gods so it interesting that David would use that name and not something like Jehovah perizim. This mountain was named mount baal before, and was set aside as a high place and a temple for baal worship. This was a place where the enemy thought they were the strongest and most secure. So, why would David name it Baal-perazim? I believe that he named it Baal-perizim because this was where Baal- was defeated and broken through. It is as if David is letting everyone know, “Even in the Valley of the Giants and the Mount of Baal, my God has broken through, and whenever you say Baal-perizim, you will remember the Lord of the Breakthrough!

Ok, let’s personalize that. The place in your life, right now, where the enemy thinks that he is the strongest; the place that the enemy has exercised his stronghold; that is the place that God wants to breakthrough! That is where God wants to place His anointing and proclaim His Word. Where is the place that the enemy has a stronghold? Understand, the highest place that the enemy has in your life is still the lower than God’s authority and power and victory. We have to understand this, it takes faith, and then it takes works!

Works: James 2:17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. The definition of dead faith is faith without works. We must put action to what we have heard God say and we believe. The very proof of our faith is our works. Again, we see it played out in David’s life.

Re-read1 Chronicles 14:13-15 David once again inquires of the Lord on whether or not to go against the Philistines, he hears the Word of the God, has faith and then shows it by his works. Think about it, how many times of you you have been out walking among a bunch of trees and heard marching in the tree tops? This would take faith - David is telling his men, “We are not going to attack like we did the last time, we are going around the the mulberry trees and we are going to wait and listen for marching in the tops of the trees”. Can you just see the younger soldiers? It took faith, and it took another word - then it took obedience which lead them to do the works.

We have probably have all heard the saying: Pray and obey. If you want to increase your faith - obey. Hear God and do what He says to do. Put faith and works together, and you will hear more God more clearly. Right now, obey the next thing that He says to you. Obey the little prompting that tugs at your heart, the more you obey the more you will hear and the more faith you will walk and to do the works that God has set before you.

Jesus said it this way: Read Matthew 7:24-27 Once again from Jesus we see faith and works - “...hears these words of mine and does them”

God is trying to get us to the place where we hear his voice. Sometimes that will be through His written Word or through the soft voice of the Holy Spirit and sometimes the loud voice of His Holy Spirit. Those are the 3 ways that God speaks - word - “whisper” that still small voice; and then He shouts. Have you noticed that? God will speak through your daily reading of His Word, or as you are going through your day you will hear Him speak through your current situation. Depending on your desire to be attentive to His voice He may begin with the word: “Hey...” or If your not really attuned to His voice, He may shout, “HEY” - In my case, sometimes the loud “HEY” is accompanied by “DUMMY”!

Hearing God produces Faith and that should lead us to Works - as I said a minute ago, dead faith is faith without works; and the scriptures also speaks of dead works. Read Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,…”

Read Hebrews 9:14 “...how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God”.

We don’t serve through dead works, we serve through faith, having heard the Word of God for our life. Here is simple definition of a dead works, that I heard from Pastor Robert Morris: A dead work is any work that God does not initiate. We can do a lot of good things, but if God didn’t speak it, it is a dead work, even though it is a good thing. So now you see that we have to seek God, which is where we receive by hearing and that brings faith and then we show our faith by our works. Our seeking, hearing, receiving and working allows the Lord to come in like a bursting flood in every area of our life.

The Coming season is upon us; it is here. God has brought the early rain both physically in the natural and as I said at the beginning of this message, I believe in the spiritual as well. I have presented to you 5 areas of Breakthrough and asked you to add two more, where I believe that God has a desire to not only bring the Early Rain to transform it but also to come in a Bursting Flood to bring you Breakthrough in those areas. Seek God, inquire of Him; you will then have all of the faith that you need to do the works that He has called you to, and you will see the Giants that have come against you, defeated. Are you ready for the Bursting Flood?