2 Samuel 5: Train Your Hands To Hold What God Gives

Introduction

"We do not have a problem receiving. We have a problem keeping what we receive." Chet Pete, a campus pastor at Elevation Church, starts from this observation to preach on 2 Samuel 5:17-25. Pastor Steven Furtick had called his church to train its heart for the truth. This message is the sequel: train your hands to hold.

His starting point is John 10:10: "The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly." Jesus gives abundant life, but the enemy comes to steal it. So the question is not only what God has given you, but whether you will be able to keep it.

The pastor also draws on Psalm 144: "Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to battle." And he tells of a recent family photo with his wife and twin sons. The photographer asked him whether he could still carry them. He took one of them on his back: he is still able to carry them. This image of hands that carry and hold runs through the whole message.

Message Outline

1. Keeping the Ball After the Hit

In eighth grade, Chet Pete plays American football as a receiver. During a practice game, he runs a diagonal route and receives a perfect pass.
At that very instant, the biggest player on the team hits him. Two bones in his leg are broken. But when they lift him up, he is still holding the ball.
When you catch the ball, you become the most targeted person on the field. In the same way, if you are anointed, called and saved, hell is not happy.
The real question comes after the blow and the pain: will you still be holding what God gave you?
The pastor applies it to daily life. To newlyweds: hold your spouse's hand until God calls you home. He himself has been training to hold his wife's hand since he was 19. To someone who gets a promotion or a bonus: set some aside, keep some for later. "Are your hands trained to hold?"

2. The Attack Follows the Anointing

David was anointed three times. First by Samuel, in Jesse's house, while he was tending the sheep in the fields (1 Samuel 16). Then as king over the house of Judah, while the house of Saul still reigned over the rest of Israel (2 Samuel 2:4-10). Finally as king over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:3).
The pastor speaks to those who have forgotten they are anointed: even if people did not choose you, God chose you. Even if someone is sitting in your seat, like Saul, you are still anointed.
Each anointing was followed by an attack: Goliath after the first, the war waged by the house of Saul after the second (2 Samuel 3:1), the Philistines after the third.
In verse 17, as soon as the Philistines hear that David has been anointed king over Israel, "all the Philistines went up to seek David." The attack is not a sign that God has abandoned you; it is often a sign that you are carrying something precious.

3. Going Down to the Stronghold Before Going Up

"David heard of it, and went down to the stronghold" (verse 17). According to the pastor, it is thought to be the cave of Adullam, where David took refuge when he was running for his life, to seek Yahweh and prepare his strategy with his leaders.
Folded hands in prayer are a posture of humility. They say: "My hands are not strong enough on their own." "In the stronghold, you are not hiding, you are listening."
In the stronghold, you receive strength. You turn your back on the Philistines to face the one who saves. You look at the one who holds you up rather than at those who attack you. God fights for you; he is the commander of the heavenly armies.
Last year, the pastor and his wife were having a house built and had to sell their old one first. No offer was coming in; he was calculating how long they could hold on with two mortgages. One day their real estate agent said to him: "I prayed today for the person who needs to buy your house." He felt rebuked: "I'm the pastor."
During a prayer night on his campus, with no special program, he repented of having believed he was strong enough and wise enough, and began to say: "Thank you, Jesus." During that meeting, the agent texted him: "I think we have an offer." The contract arrived the next day.
For him, the miracle was not the contract. The miracle was that God had comforted him: the house no longer mattered, because he had Jesus. "Go down before you go up."

4. Hands to Pray, Hands to Fight

In verse 19, David inquires of Yahweh: "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand?" And Yahweh answers: "Go up; for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into your hand."
At Baal Perazim, David declares: "Yahweh has broken my enemies before me, like the breach of waters" (verse 20). The Philistines leave their idols behind, and David and his men carry them away (verse 21).
The Philistines had not thrown a single spear: David was the one who struck first. "Hit the enemy before he hits you."
Some know the hands that pray, but not the hands that fight. David was a warrior. He went to the stronghold so that God would bless the fight. Many fight battles that God has not blessed.
It is not good for the man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). The campus pastors invite people to join a home group and a serving team: "It's not something we want from you, it's something we want for you." If you go to the service and then drive home alone, the enemy ends up wearing you down.
What is the worst time to buy an umbrella? To start an emergency savings fund? Why wait until you are struck to learn God's presence, the fight and worship, and to get on your knees before the battle? The pastor speaks about tithing and stewardship: "A budget is an offensive tool."

5. "Will You Do It for Me?"

David does not ask "Can you deliver them?" but "Will you deliver them?" It is the question we ask when facing a financial crisis, a doctor's report or a struggling marriage.
"I have seen you do it for others. Will you do it for me? Have I messed things up too much?"
The pastor describes a progression: more resistance leads to more dependence, more dependence to more obedience, and more obedience to more deliverance.
Usually, we call everyone: the aunt, the cousin, the friends. Go down first. The longer you stay in the stronghold, the more you learn God's voice and his heart. If he says go, you go. If he says serve, you serve. If he says give, you give.
If you do not know what to do, stay in the stronghold, surround yourself with a praying community and godly counsel. "Your breakthrough may be on the other side of your yes. What if you were waiting on God while God is waiting on you?"

6. The Sound of Marching in the Tops of the Mulberry Trees

"The Philistines came up yet again" (verse 22). Stop being surprised when you are hit: you are carrying a target on your back.
"David inquired of Yahweh" (verse 23) a second time. Do not let your past victories rob you of wisdom, intimacy and worship in the present moment.
This time, God changes strategy: "You shall not go up. Circle around behind them, and attack them in front of the mulberry trees. Let it be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then you shall bestir yourself; for then Yahweh has gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines" (verses 23-24).
These steps in the treetops are the heavenly armies going ahead. God is seated on his throne, but his hands are at work: he sends what is needed to encourage, strengthen and fight.
"If I am going to hold on to what God has given me, it will not be by my hand, but by the trained hand of an almighty God." A hand trained to embrace you, to fight for you, to carry you and to build you up, like a father who can still carry his sons.

7. Making Every Place a Stronghold

Before going up to the cross, Jesus himself went down into the garden to pray to his Father.
The pastor invites people to receive salvation: if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
He then prays for those who are under attack in their thoughts, their finances, over a child or an addiction: sit down, fold your hands, and make your car every morning, your shower, any moment, a stronghold.

Key Takeaways

Receiving from God is not enough: you have to learn to keep what he gives, even after the hit and the pain.
The attack often follows the anointing. It does not cancel your calling; it reveals that you are carrying something precious.
Go down to the stronghold before going up to battle: humility and prayer come before victory.
Do not let a past victory replace seeking God today: he may change strategy.
What you hold, you hold by the trained hand of an almighty God who goes ahead of you.

Personal Application

What has God entrusted to you that you are struggling to keep right now: your marriage, your calling, your faith, your finances?
When the attack comes, do you call everyone first, or do you first go down to the stronghold to seek God?
Where and when could you make your daily life a stronghold: your car in the morning, a moment of silence, a time of prayer?
What "umbrella" should you prepare before the storm: a community, a serving team, a budget, a habit of prayer?
Is there a "yes" that God is waiting for from you, and behind which your breakthrough may be waiting?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "train your hands to hold" mean?

For Chet Pete, the problem is not receiving what God gives, but keeping it. Training your hands to hold means learning not to let go of your calling, your marriage, your faith or your resources when attacks and pain come. Psalm 144 speaks of Yahweh who teaches our hands to war.

Why does David go down to the stronghold in 2 Samuel 5?

When the Philistines come up to look for him, David goes down to the stronghold (verse 17). He is not hiding: he is listening. There he inquires of Yahweh before fighting (verse 19). Chet Pete draws a principle from it: go down in humility and prayer before going up to battle.

What does the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees mean?

In verse 24, Yahweh tells David that this sound of marching means that he is the one going ahead to strike the army of the Philistines. Chet Pete sees in it the heavenly armies sent by God: what you keep, you do not keep by your hand alone, but by the hand of God.