Private Battles Public Victories | Jentezen Franklin

you believe your own press releases and you get to thinking like I'm all that and then some and I'm so great and this and that and you're not engaged in the spiritual warfare, you are a prime target for the enemy in an hour like this. Together we're inspiring people to live for Jesus. If you're looking for more in life, to live with a purpose and peace, to make a difference for your family and those in need around the world, Jesus is the answer, and our mission is to simply point you to Him. You're watching Kingdom Connection with Jensen Franklin. Second Samuel chapter 11 says and it happened in the spring of the year at the time when kings go out to battle that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel. And they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Jareba. They had the capital city besieged. They were experiencing tremendous victories in the battle. The last battle that David fought before this episode in his life, it was really amazing. He fought a battle that he defeated 700 chariots of war and 40,000 horsemen and David was their leader on the frontline fighting engaged in the battle. But now we see, but these last sentence of verse 1, but David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked onto the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about this woman and someone said, "Is it not Bathsheba?" The daughter of Elam, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite. Then David sent messengers and took her and she came to him and he lay with her for she was cleansed from her impurity and she returned to her house, one more verse, the last verse of that chapter. And when her morning was over, weeping was over, David sent, brought her to his house. She became his wife, bore him a son, watched this. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, that's the deal right there. Nobody knew what he had done, but God knew and it displeased the Lord. It happened in the story of David at the pinnacle of his success at the highest place of his

victories. He had built the kingdom, he had built his own palace, he had built his family, his lineage. He had written songs, he had fault giants, he had conquered and conquered in one and one. He was thriving, he was super successful. He had everything, he had power and wealth and fame and he had God. God is the one who gave him all of that. God was the one who supernaturally raised him with his hand, a power. God was the one who chose him and anointed him to be king of Israel from a shepherd boy in a field fighting a bear and a lion in private. He would go all the way to the pinnacle of success sitting on a throne. The women writing songs about him, Saul has slain his thousands, but David has ten thousands. His songs were so popular that people were singing them bestsellers. He was a mighty warrior and then you read and it came to pass when the kings go to battle. It was no longer the rainy season, they had stopped only as they had besieged. engage in warfare. If he would just engage in warfare, it would be an easy win, another victory, another by God's help, amazing accomplishment. But instead, he stayed home. The Bible said that he arose, David, as he released the army to go fight, he arose from his bed. The bed speaks of being asleep, relaxed. Israel was at war, but he has his bathrobe on. He's kicked back. He walks onto the rooftop. A roof would be like our patio. It would be a place to lounge, a place to lay around, a place to watch. I'm sure it was a beautiful veranda. I'm sure it was a beautiful cobblestone, and probably in the direction of the sun's setting, so it was a wonderful, beautiful place. And he's taking rest when he should have been out on the battlefield, and he encounters his greatest giant not out there, but when he's unengaged. It's a giant of opportunity. That's what I'm preaching on. We've got to win the private battle. If you don't win the private battle, you won't have the public victories. And the more you win the private battles, the more God will raise you into public victory. But in this case, David, the warrior saw this woman, and he has a giant opportunity. I'm preaching today to bless people. I'm preaching today to successful people. I'm preaching today to people who had nothing when God found you, and he has raised you, and I'm your pastor, and I love you, and I love you enough to tell you what

I've failed. If you get to that place that you think your money or your power or your own titles, and you believe your own press releases, and you get to thinking like I'm all that, and then some, and I'm so great, and this and that, and you're not engaged in the spiritual warfare, you are a prime target for the enemy in an hour like this. Just because you've had a successful marriage, just because you've had a great family, just because you've had a successful career, does not mean that you can disengage, you can be anointed to do a thing, just like he anointed the priest, he anointed the prophet, and there were people, there were kings and priests, and the kings would be anointed to govern, but the priests would be anointed for the service, and the kings would fight. The kings were anointed to fight, and bring back the spools to build the kingdom. We're living in that time, and your business, if it's a Christian business, is a target. By Christian, I mean, you use resources from that to build the kingdom of God. That separates your business from every other business. That's when God said in Malachi 3, "I will rebuke the devour for your sake when you bring in the tithe and the offering." I want to tell you why I'm preaching this, because in my lifetime, I started out with many preachers who I watched God raise up powerful ministries that have touched the planet, and I look around, and many of them were thrown off the roof. I was praying about this. God, what is going on? The Lord spoke to my heart about the Book of Jude, chapter 1, and I believe it's verse 24, "And this verse went off in me." See, I really believe there's a fear of falling out there. If you've ever been a drug addict, and you got off of it, there's always the fear of falling. If you've ever been an alcoholic, the enemy wants to taunt you, and hunt you with your past, and tell you you can't live it, and you could If you've ever had a wonderful marriage, the enemy wants to tell you that there's the fear of falling, but here's the promise of God, hallelujah. Now unto him, notice the capital H is not me personally, it's him, Jesus Christ. Now unto him, now when everybody's shouting on this part, that's called a prompted response. Now unto him, that is able to keep you from falling.

Cut your hands. I said he's able to keep you from falling. I don't say it, I don't say it in a condescending way. But I just want to tell some young people you don't have to fall out of, you don't have to fall off the roof, you don't have to lose your integrity, you don't have to lose your name, you don't have to lose your character, you don't have to lose your virginity, you don't have to lose it, he's able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. And that verse came alive to me. I quoted now unto him who is able to keep me, him. He's my keeper. When I feel like I'm gonna lose my mind, he's my keeper. When I'm not thinking right and I'm fighting a private battle, he's my keeper. If I'll just turn to him and call his name, he'll say, here I come, I'm your keeper and I'm able to keep you from falling. He's on top of the world. He's king. You see, some giants don't show up until you've done some serious kingdom building. Until you're really making an impact on the kingdom of Satan. Until you're taking ground

and God's really anointing you and using you and you think I'm talking about singers and preachers on the platform, but I'm talking about people setting out there. You've done some serious kingdom building by what God has laid on your heart to do with your life and you don't understand the beautiful impact that you have for generations, Dad, for generations, Mom, by sticking it out and working through the issues and making that family a home where they know Jesus is Lord. We're not perfect, but Jesus is Lord of this house. And Satan would love for you to finish that. Satan would love for you to get thrown down in humiliation and disgrace. But under him, who is able to keep me from falling, hallelujah, if he said it, he can do it. And then the Bible said he inquired for the woman. That's an interesting verse. He saw her, he's a married man, and he saw her, and he inquired. There are some ideas I should never look into. Okay, let me say it like this. There are some ideas you should never look into. Well, wording's everything, isn't it? (congregation applauding) In other words, he started flirting. In other words, he started liking her stuff. In other words, he started looking at her Instagram and then reaching out with an email.

He inquired of her. Some imaginations must be cast down, according to 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse five, casting down imaginations in every high thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. There's a battle going on for your mind. There's a battle going on for the way that you think when you're in the blessed place. You're not gonna ever be so holy that you don't ever get tempted. It's not a sin to be tempted. It's a sin to give in to that, to act on it, to begin to move and do things and violate the Holy Spirit's voice. I heard the Lord say we need more private victories. Don't flirt with it. Don't inquire for it. Don't sin for it. I don't know about you, but I believe it's private victory time. It's time to wake up the warriors that is inside of you. It's time to engage again in the warfare. You don't have to fall. Did you hear me? You don't have to fall. I have no intentions of falling. It's just not worth it. I tell you, I'm just going to keep on keeping on in Jesus' name. How about you?

What's out about it? I said, now, Lord, I said, how in the world can you keep us from falling? He said, the devil hasn't got any new tricks. And when Jesus was fasting in the wilderness, Satan took him to a high pinnacle. And said, look. And Jesus said, it is written. Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only. And I will not worship you, Satan, get thee behind me. And he said, because I won that private battle. I can give you public victories because I defeated that temptation. God's grace is enough to keep you. I want to say to every man in this room, God's grace is enough to keep you. But you got to engage. You got to get up in the morning after hearing a sermon like this. You can't just get up and do your deal. And more than I'm all for working out, I did six miles yesterday. But before you work out, open up that book. Before you go to work, just open it, read a chapter. Just read a chapter, you know, the 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. If you read one chapter a day, you get a download of God's wisdom every day. That's God's wisdom book on everything from family to success to business to marriage. Everything in that book, 31 chapters, all you got to do is read one chapter a day. And you say, well, that's engaging in the battle. You just put on the whole armor of God just doing that. And then on the right end, you know, just take a few moments and say the Lord's prayer. Just say, "Now, Lord, I love you and I praise you and keep my babies today and keep my wife today. Lord, just bless us and God, I'm going to work and I need some more business. And I just wish you'd open the windows of heaven and bless my business today, God. Bless the work of my hands." That's it. Boom. You know what you just did? You just engaged.

Now, here's the point I got to preach. This is the most important part of this sermon. Had David been engaged in warfare, he wouldn't have been in his bedroom at the wrong time and the wrong place with the wrong woman. If he had just got out engaged in warfare, he would have never had the opportunity to mess up. That's why we pray. Deliver me and lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil when you're praying, you're engaging. And so, as you stand to your feet all over this room, I heard the Lord say, "It's private battle time. It's time to fight and win and believe for victory in the private battles." And so, if there's a need in your life, if this is a sermon for you and you know it, and you can humble yourself enough to not worry about what anybody thinks and just say, "Thy word, O Lord, is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, and I need you like I've never needed you." It's so important how the story ends. It does not end in shame and disgrace. It ends with Psalms 51. You can read David's prayer. And he cries out and he says, "O God, take not thy Holy Spirit from me." "O God, creating me a clean heart and a right spirit." "O God, don't withhold your tender mercies." I love that word "tender." He does this adversity. He has tender mercies toward us who have fallen. And he said, "Restore unto me the joy." hands again and I want to praise and knowing that it's up to him who's able to keep me and present me faultless. So I say to you don't you leave here caring condemnation and sin. What you did was wrong and sin, repent of it, admit it and quit it and forget it. You're a new creation and God is for you. He's not against you. You're forgiven. You're cleansed. You're washed. You're accepted. All of these are biblical words in the book of Ephesians. You're accepted into the Beloved. You're not a outcast. You're not somebody less than. You are fully embraced by Jesus Christ personally and He loves you and He can restore the years, the canker worm and the locus have taken. You believe that church?