2 Samuel 5:17-24 NKJV—Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. [18] The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. [19] So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against 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.” [20] So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he 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. [21] And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away. [22] Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. [23] Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. [24] And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”
What I hear in my spirit is that it is time for the church, the remnant people of God, to begin positioning ourselves through prayer to seek the face of the Lord and to inquire of Him in times of battle. When the enemy comes against the people of God, we must not stand back in fear or pull back because we feel we will be defeated.
There is a great God in heaven who stands ready to fight for us!
God will fight for His people. Jesus will fight for His bride! As long as you position yourself in humility before the Lord, you can expect that the Lord will position Himself in front of you to face the enemy on your behalf.
It has never been true that we fight the enemies of our souls all by ourselves. NO. We place ourselves in the mighty hands of the Lord, and with humility, we seek Him. Then the Lord, mighty in battle, turns His face toward the enemy and fights for us.
Let me be bold enough to say that there is a new anointing coming upon the church in this hour.
God is raising up people who are unashamed and bold to take their stand for the cause of Jesus. A remnant is rising that will turn the tide and defend and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This anointing is an end-time anointing from the Holy Spirit, preparing and equipping us to be part of the harvest of the ages.
Yes, Jesus is coming! Yes, He is about to split open the skies! But there is a harvest of lost people the church is anointed to reach before that moment. Friend, let’s step into the anointing and position ourselves under the mighty hands of God through prayer. Let us return to a full-fledged seeking of His face and pour out our souls and hearts upon the altar of His grace. The Lord wants to deliver, heal, and set free those who are bound, hurting, and afflicted. He is still the great God of miracles who will be mighty on your behalf.
I find it interesting to note that the Philistines heard David had been anointed. The enemy always hears it when the Holy Spirit places an anointing on your life. The enemy hates what God does through His people, and the devil fights the anointing on you. But listen, friend, understand what the battle means—if you are in the fight of your life, it means God has placed something of value upon you that is a threat to the enemy forces. This is why you’re fighting right now—because God has a plan for you, and the devil seeks to stop it. Do not let the enemy take the ground God gave you!
You are anointed to win. You are anointed to overcome. You are anointed for breakthrough. So press in and receive what the Lord is doing in this moment.
What did David do when he learned the enemy was after him? He went to the stronghold! A stronghold in this context is a mountainous place that is very inaccessible and inhospitable to enter, but in it are provisions for battle. It is a decisive, strategic high point where you have the advantage over the enemy. Strongholds would contain weapons where you could renew your supply and provisions for your hunger and thirst.
Let me remind you of a Psalm David Himself wrote about the stronghold. We find it in Psalm 61.
Psalm 61:1-8 NKJV—Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. [2] From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. [3] For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. [4] I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah [5] For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. [6] You will prolong the king’s life, His years as many generations. [7] He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him! [8] So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows.
The analogy could not be clearer. For the people of God, the Lord is our stronghold. He is our strategic place of decisive victory. As we position ourselves in Him through prayer, seeking His face, and through His word, we gain the necessary provisions that we need to renew and replenish our lives. We are restored in His presence.
Why do you think the enemy fights so hard to keep you from prayer and the Word? Because in this place of prayer, you are restored. In the place of prayer, your supply is renewed and replenished, and God fills your life with His goodness and joy. The Joy of the Lord IS our strength.
In Second Samuel 5:22, we find that the enemy always tries to return for the kill. He does not give up easily. In this moment, what does David do? He goes before the Lord a second time. He inquires of the Lord. Why? Because David didn’t want to go to war unless the Lord was with him. He understood that no enemy was a match for the power and presence of God.
In multiple scriptures we find the evidence of God’s prevailing power through His people.
In Deuteronomy, the Lord reminded Israel of His victory through them.
Deuteronomy 7:22-24 NKJV—And the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. [23] But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. [24] And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.
To Joshua, God declared He would be with Him and cause Him to overcome.
Joshua 1:5 NKJV—No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
In the book of Psalms, we find the song of victory.
Psalm 44:5 NKJV—Through You we will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.
We live in a moment in history when the people of God need to learn to wait for the sound.
As in the book of Acts, there came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind, so today there is about to be a sound from heaven. Just like with David, there was a sound he waited on to know that the Lord was moving, so too, there is a sound of rustling leaves. The Lord is about to move and shift the heavens. He is rising up as a mighty man of war on behalf of the saints, and we need to position ourselves strategically to hear His movement. We know that He is moving for us when we hear the sound of the Spirit’s wind blowing through the situations and circumstances surrounding our lives.
Those mulberry trees were also called balsam trees, and they carried aromatic sap that would be smelled when the wind blew. To me, it paints a picture, not only of the sound of the Lord rising up in battle to defeat the enemies of His bride but also of the smell of victory. It is an overwhelming and overpowering aroma of victory that we sense in the air when we position ourselves strategically in obedience to the Lord.
For David and his men, this strategic and tactical position should have been a place they could launch from at will and gain mastery over the Philistines, but God said wait. Even when it looks like the time to attack, obedience to the Lord still overrules what we see with our eyes and feel through our senses. Wait in obedience for the Lord to move. Wait in stillness until you hear His sound from heaven rustling the leaves around you.
What was this sound? Many scholars believe that it was the sound of horses’ hooves like the running of a great army. This was the army of the Lord—the very host of heaven! Friend, let me remind you that there are more with you than there are against you! Whether you are up against an insurmountable problem or a situation in which there is no possible solution, the host of heaven is rising in this moment to come to your defense IF you will obediently and humbly position yourself and wait on the sound of heaven fighting for you.
The Lord told David, when you hear the sound, advance quickly.
People of God, we wait until the waiting time is over, but once the Lord moves, we must move quickly. Being ready is more than waiting. It is making ourselves available to DO what the Lord planned. When God moves, He always moves through His church. We are the body of Jesus on the earth. Literally the hands and feet of the Master Himself, and we carry out His plans and His will as His ambassadors. So be ready to obey the slightest command and be prepared to move with God when He shifts the tide of battle, for in this moment, there will be great victory.
Hear a word of the Lord I heard in my spirit concerning this:
The Lord says, “Listen for the sound.”
“The Lord is stirring Himself and rousing Himself to fight for you. As you position yourself through prayer to seek His face, He will be found, and your prayer stirs His heart and rouses Him to stand and fight for you. Fear no enemy, for the enemy will be defeated in one moment of time and will be remembered no more. For there is a stirring. The sound of My wind. The sound of a mighty army rising up. Behold, the sound is in the earth! As you see the rising tide of sin and debauchery, there is a simultaneous rising of My Spirit. I will defend My people—those who take their stand IN Me and set their faces FOR Me. As My people cry out TO Me, I will hear from heaven. The rustling of the leaves in this season is a precursor to war! For I am about to fight on behalf of My people; My people will go forth with precious promises upon their lips that are about to come to fruition in their lives. My anointing will rest heavily upon My seeking ones. The ones who take time to pursue Me will find Me in new dimensions. New dimensions of power and grace, and even favor is going to be poured upon them. Yes, even now the leaves begin to rustle as the wind of My Spirit begins to pick up. In the earth, you will see the effects of the sound! The stirring of revival is here! Miraculous signs, great healings, great outpourings of My Spirit. While the world is at war, My Spirit will pour out in the church and send a harvest of lost souls to be born again into My Kingdom. Open up your spirit and be ready to receive! Listen for the sound of My stirring that is about to go forth in all the earth!”
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