Jentezen Franklin - Break Out, Break Up, Break Through
Now I want to show you three different scriptures real quick that talk about breakthrough in three different manifestations. I want you to see it in Hosea 10:12. "Sow for yourself righteousness. Reap in mercy". And watch this. "Break up the fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord 'til He comes and rains righteousness on you".
And then I want you to turn right, and look in Micah 2. So the first text said this is about you. This is for yourself. You need a break up of the fallow, or the hardened, unfruitful ground in your life. There's going to be a break up. But now, he says in Micah 2:13, "The one who breaks open will come before them". Listen to this, "They will break out". Notice, it's they, not yourself, but it's they. "They will break out, pass through the gate, go out by it, and the king will pass before them with the Lord at their head. Micah 2:12 talks about I will, this will happen at an assembly, or a gathering. The second part of the verse says, "I will surely gather".
So there's going to be a personal break up, but there's going to be an assembly, a gathering. When they gather, there'll be a break out. But then, one more verse of scripture, in 2 Samuel 23:15. "David said with longing, 'Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate.'" 2 Samuel 23:16. "So three mighty men broke through". Everybody say, "Broke through". These were mighty men, and they broke through the camp of the Philistines. In other words, the front line of the Philistines, the well was on the other side of the front line, and three mighty men broke through. And what did they get? They got water. And they took it, and brought it back to David, their king.
There was a break up, there was a break out, and there was a breakthrough. That's how the breakthroughs come. But it doesn't start with the enemy being defeated. With the Philistines and their front line being broken through. But it starts personally with a break up. Break up the fallow ground. The fallow ground has to do with ground that was once fruitful. Ground that once produced the fruits of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness. At one time, you had a walk with God. But what happens is that place has become hardened by the cares of life. By things. Other things taking the priority. And what we've been doing, fasting and praying, is we've been breaking up the hardened places of our life that used to be fruitful. Used to have a prayer life. Used to love God. Used to be excited about church and a passionate thing for the Word of God. But it can become hardened in our hearts.
And when we fast and pray, it's personal. It's a personal break up. One of the things this fast has been doing, whether you recognize it or not, it's been breaking up the hardened parts of your life to the will of God that you've been hardened against. Some of you, as you're fasting, there's a break up of ungodly habits. You're breaking up with that habit. You're breaking up with that addiction. You're breaking up with those wrong relationships. You're breaking up with that old boyfriend. That old girlfriend that keeps taking you down, and taking you out, and messing you up in your walk with God.
The first thing that happens when we fast and we pray is there is a break up of the fallow, hard ground. Places where you were once fruitful. There has got to be re-broken up in our life these seasons where we go back through and say, I used to be so fruitful and so passionate for you. But things have hardened me, and I'm recognizing that. And when you do that, you're breaking up the fallow ground. And once that happens, what's so powerful is when it's personal, it's individual for yourselves, you break up with some things. You break up with some habits. You break up with even some people that just are not helping you go the right direction for your destiny.
Once you break up, then notice what happens. Then the whole assembly will gather together, and notice what he said would happen. Then there will be a break out among the assembly. That means that anything is possible in a service like this. That there is not just a break up. Because we've made Him first. Put Him first. But now the church, you're part of a break out assembly. You're a part of a holy break out of the boundaries. Well, what are we going to break out of? Break out of self-imposed limitations. Break out of your own inferiorities. Break out of your imprisoning past. Break out of all the garbage and the baggage of yesterday. Break out of the depression and self-defeating mentality that has held you back. Here's a big one. Break out of people's appraisal of you.
It's possible that all of us could get free of people's appraisal and what they think about us, and see how God sees us, and do things that they would never believe we could do because God believes in us more than the do. Break out mentality says there is too many of them, and too little of us. Break out of the mentality that says it's never been done before. Break out of the mentality that says it's not our time. Maybe next year, or maybe, we need a break out. Sometimes we're praying for a breakthrough, but we need to keep praying for a breakthrough. You'll never get a breakthrough until you get a break out in your own thinking. In your own possibilities. In your own belief that I can break out of this box of limitation that people and life has put me in.
And then, once you do that, you'll have a breakthrough. And notice that the breakthrough in the text that I read had to do with the enemy's lines. David was king. And the mighty men loved their king so much that when they heard he wanted some fresh water, they said we will break through the enemy's front lines, and get a glass of water, and bring it back to our king. Breakthrough has to do with the enemy's lines, but you can't get a breakthrough against the enemy until you get a break out in the church. And I hope revival breaks out. I hope miracles break out. I hope the Book of Acts breaks out. I'm so tired of little, boring church.
Why don't we believe that God can do something that we've never seen before? That's not fanaticism. This Bible says He goes from glory unto glory. From faith unto faith. From strength unto strength. Break out. But that won't happen until you get broken up. Break up is individual. The breaking out is together, corporately. A holy break out. And then there is the breakthrough of the enemy's front lines. You have to have a break out mentality.
Pat O'Brien was the gold medalist in the Olympics back in the 1940's for throwing the shot put. The shot put is a heavy piece of metal, or lead, that the athlete will throw. And they would, up to this point, up to the time that he won the gold medal, and he set the record. He would run and get to the line. And you couldn't cross the line. And he would throw it. And as he would project it, whoever could throw it the furthest, of course, was the winner. And you've seen this. He threw it 16 feet, which is remarkable. It set a new record. But he wasn't satisfied with his own record. His own gold medal.
And so he decided to try, with the same shot put, the same ball that was metal, he changed the method. It's the same thing, but he changed the method and put a new passion to it. And he started twirling instead of just running. And when he twirled, he built up momentum. And when he released it, he threw it over 17 feet and set another new record that was better than his old new record. In other words, he broke through the self-imposed rules that he had put upon himself. He said, "I'm not satisfied with what I did. I'm not satisfied with the norm. I know that's what everybody expects me to do". But what we need to get is that kind of mentality in the church. We don't have to be normal. We don't have to be satisfied with how it's always been done.
Some churches are memory-driven instead of vision-driven. They're so accustomed to how things have to be done. It's the same shot put. But we can use different methods and put a new passion to what we're preaching. And we can reach further than anybody who's ever done anything in this whole state or nation. This is a break out church. Hallelujah. We're not going to stay where we are. We're not going to stop growing. We're going to keep breaking out. I'm not going to be settled. I'm not going to be settled. You remember the scientific researcher who took fleas and put them in a jar, and put the lid on top of the jar? And for weeks, the fleas jumped up, trying to get out, and they would bump into that lid that was on the jar. But after a few weeks, he took the lid off.
And what he discovered was the fleas would jump only as high as the lid had been. Even though the lid had been taken away, they had not realized the lid had been taken off because they were being dictated to by their past experiences. That this is as high as we've gone in so long. We've accepted this is as high, this is as good as we can ever do. They convinced themselves it couldn't be done. But I have come to declare: it can be done. The lid is off. The lid is off.
Quit listening to people telling you it can't be done. The lid is off. It's time to take the lid off the top and see how high we can jump as a church. You see, there's God-canners, and there's can God-ers. I want to be a God-canner instead of a can God-er. A can God-er says, "Can God? Can God? Can God"? But a God-canner says, "God can. God can. God can". Are you a God-canner, or a can God-er? Get a breakout mentality! We're not here just to survive and get by. Are there any God-canners in this place? Any God-canners listening to me? Turn to somebody and say, "I'm a God-canner. You look like a can God-er, but I'm a God-canner". Refuse to let your present trouble name your future.
The Bible said the Ark of the Covenant was stolen from the Israelites. And a woman was having a baby. And when she heard the news that the Ark of the Covenant, which was the presence of God, was stolen, she named her baby a terrible name. She named him Ichabod, which means the glory has departed. In other words, she named her future, her baby was her future, by her present circumstances and her past experiences. Never name your future by your present trouble or your past experiences. She should have named him Emanuel, God is with us, because David retrieved the Ark and brought it back. And whatever you've lost, I've come to decree you're about to get a break up with the past and get a break out in your mind. And you're going to have a breakthrough with the enemy, and take back what the enemy has stolen.
Everybody take a praise break. Give God a breakthrough praise by faith. Get your faith up. Believe when we pray for you that the lid is off. We need new goal setters. A break up has to do with a new you. Somebody needs to break up with cigarettes. Break up with alcohol. Break up with your loser boyfriend. Can't keep a job. Break up with your old girlfriend. Break up with your depression, and your worry, and your fear, and your excuses. Break up. And then get a part of a church like this that has a break out spirit on them. These walls will never be able to hold the people that God is bringing into the kingdom. We're going to need another barn, and another barn, and another barn. Break out assemblies. God is raising up break out assemblies. Hallelujah. Preaching myself happy.
There was a guy, in the Olympics, again, by the name of Fosbury. And the high jump, the record was six feet, which was pretty remarkable. In other words, they run, and they get to a line that they can't cross, and they go airborne, and they throw their feet over. And six feet, that was the record. But then this guy named Fosbury came up with a new way to jump, and it became known as the, he won the gold medal by using a method that became known as the Fosbury Flop. And so what he would do is, instead of run, and when he got to the line, throw his feet up and go over, he would turn himself, and leap backwards, and his head would go over first instead of his feet. And then throw his feet over. And the record was already set, but he broke through. It was six feet. And he went seven-foot, eight inches by going backwards with the Fosbury Flop.
And the thing that I loved is when they interviewed him afterwards. He said well, I just got to thinking. I knew if I could get my heart over, my feet will follow. See, the reason some of you don't get victory is you don't really believe it in your heart. You don't have it in your heart. But if you could ever get your heart over, your feet will follow. Your body will follow. If you'll ever surrender completely your heart to God, every part of your body will come on over to victory. You'll go to a new height. It's a break up, and it's a break out. And then, there is a breakthrough the enemy's front lines.
Don't ever say words that makes the devil think he's winning. Quit bragging about the devil. The Bible said He that is in you is greater. The Bible said that they that be with us are more than they that be with them. Why should more honor less? If they that be with us are more than they that be with them, why should more honor less? Why should I pay tribute and brag on the devil when I've got greater on the inside of me? In other words, what I'm trying to say to you is it's time to break through the enemy's front lines. God says when you have a break up, personally, and then you come together with your individual brokenness in an assembly, "I will give you a break out". And when you break it out, the king will come through. "And then I want you to attack the front lines of the enemy".
And if he's holding your family, if he's got one of your children, if you need a breakthrough in your marriage, or in your home, or in your dreams, if you need a breakthrough to get the resources to go to college, or build that business, we serve the God of breakthrough. That on the other side of that breakthrough, He's got fresh water. Somebody's about, somebody's been weary. Weary. Fighting. Fighting. But the Lord says when the breakthrough comes this morning, you're going to taste fresh water again.
Now watch this. Did you know that it's possible for the devil to have breakthroughs, too? Matthew 6:19. This is my last point. But it says, "Lay not up for yourself treasures," watch this, "Where thieves break through". Another way of saying that is simply this: if you're more concerned about things than you are God, you give the devil a breakthrough in your life.
This is very important. If you're more concerned about things than you are God, if the priority of your life is things, houses, cars, fun, entertainment, this or that, that's why this fast is so powerful. Because it says my priority is God. And all of these things are added unto me, but God, this isn't just for 21 days, but you can count on me and my family. We will prioritize you. You're the most important thing in our lives. Not things. Because when you put things above God, I don't care what those things are. When you start putting them over God and over His house, now watch the reverse.
Remember, you have a break up with things you shouldn't be entering into. And you have a break up of the fallow ground in your own heart. Then you have a break out in the assembly. Your mind starts getting changed as you hear messages like this. You start believing the lid is off, and you can do all things. And then you get a breakthrough. But watch Satan reverse it. When you put things above God, you give the devil a breakthrough. His is the completely opposite. And then from the breakthrough, there comes a break out.
What happens when people start putting other things ahead of God? The devil gets a breakthrough. Then they start breaking out of church attendance. They start breaking out of their vows and commitments, and reading the Word, and prayer. They get less and less involved in the things of God, in the house of God, in ministry. And their heart, they start breaking out. And then they have a break up. "What do you mean"? Families get messed up. Marriages get messed up because God's not the priority. Things are the priority. And when things are the priority, the devil gets a breakthrough. Then there's a break up. You just start missing church.
Well, we got a new boat. We're going to be out there. We got this, we got that, we got this. Nothing wrong with those things. But those things cannot be your God. No man can have two masters. You can't love stuff, and things, and God. And it's really about choices. I choose to put God first. This stuff matters. Sometimes before God can give you a breakthrough, He'll have to break you into a bad situation because you would never go voluntarily. I think about Paul and Silas. God broke them into prison. They were beaten, and in stocks and bonds, and in prison, and chains. And they were, God broke them into prison. But then they started singing praises, and He broke them out. And then they had a breakthrough. He goes from break in, to break out, to breakthrough. Because all the prisoners got free, and the jailor got saved.
And then Paul said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You and your whole house shall be saved. And some of you don't understand why you're going through what you're going through. But God broke you in so that you could have a break out. And you'll never get a break out until you learn to praise God in the pain. They sang praises to God in their pain. And you'll never break out of the prison you're in until you learn to praise in the pain. But the only reason that He broke you in is to break you out in praise so that He could break you through the front line of the enemy.
And I believe and I declare today that this is a breakthrough assembly. We're bringing our break ups to a break out church, and we're going to see the enemy's front line broken through. Because Jesus is the priority. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is in control. Now let me close with this. Jesus had a break up in the Garden of Gethsemane. Break up the fallow ground. His sweat became His tears. Not my will, but thine be done. He was having a break up. Personal. Then on the third day, He had a break out because He rose from the dead. The stone was rolled away. The tomb could not hold Him, and He broke out.
But He says the battle isn't over just with a break up and a break out. What I did, I did for you. And now I have broken through the enemy's front line. And what I broke through, you can go through and get fresh water. I've got the water of my Spirit. The water of my presence. The water of my Word. And it will cleanse you, and it will heal you, and it will restore you, and it will refresh you for a new year. Are you ready? Are you ready for a breakthrough? Are you, is your faith there? Everybody say break in. Say break up. Break out. Break through.