Breakthrough

In our last “Gathering”, the concept of “Breakthrough” came up. This phrase builds off the
previous “Gathering” where we declared “Enough is enough” and “It all ends now”. Many of
our people have an issue in life that they are ready to have resolved by the Lord.

It is important to understand that this term, “Breakthrough”, isn’t just a “catchy” spiritual
phrase. It is actually part of God’s word. It is part of the lineage of Christ. It is a real action
David’s mighty men performed.

Desiring Breakthrough means we must pray, we must declare, we must use God’s Word. The
power is in the Word, the inspiration is in the Word. II Timothy 3:16, 17, John 1:1 and
Hebrews 4:12 are great scriptures to help us understand how important God’s word is.
Christ is the Bible, in person. God inspired the words; He inspired men to write the words.
God’s word instructs and corrects us to make us equipped to do God’s work. The Word is so
effective it quickens us, it gives power to the situation, it is sharp and cuts to the point, to
the motivation behind the need.

With these thoughts in mind about God’s word, let’s see what the Bible says about
Breakthrough.

Read Genesis 38 and Mathew 1:1-17. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. “Cutting to the
quick” of the Genesis story, Judah has an illicit affair with his daughter-in-law Tamar. She is
pregnant with twins. When it comes Home for the birth, the firstborn twin’s arm comes out.
A red thread is a Watched to the arm to signify “firstborn”. (The firstborn son receives twice
the inheritance, Deuteronomy 21:15-17). But then, the arm pulls back in and the second
twin comes out and is fully born first. That baby is named Perez, which means
“breakthrough”. How did Perez “breakthrough” and become the firstborn? Referencing
Mathew 1, we see that Perez is actually in the lineage of Christ. Following Perez…Salmon
had Boaz (who married Ruth) who had Obed who had Jesse who had King David. Ultimately
Jesus came from the lineage of King David.

Nice story, so what? What about breakthrough? Here’s several thoughts….

Maybe first we should realize God isn’t fussed about the family line. Even if there are some
“bad folks” in the family line that ruin the family pedigree, God can still make it work. Judah
has an illicit affair. King David is a murderer (Uriah) and an adulterer (Bathsheba). He also
isn’t a great father based on his sons trying to take over his kingdom. But God isn’t fussed
and He makes the family line work out. God uses good things like Boaz’ work as kinsman
redeemer and he rewards Ruth for her faithfulness and includes them in the lineage. The
“bad” is overcome, it all works in the end. Isaiah 53:1 has a similar thought, “Who would
believe the “report” that Christ is the Saviour of the world?” Who would believe the lineage
described could be Christ’s lineage? We believe. If God can “breakthrough” the issues in
the lineage and still bring Jesus into the world, he can also “breakthrough” any issues we
have!

This leads to a second thought. Joel 2:23 and Hosea 6:3 are two places among about six
places in scripture that discuss the former and latter rains. The rains specifically speak about
natural things. The former rains, Autumn rains, prepared the soil for winter crops and
repaired any damage from harvest. Latter rains were rains in the March timeframe, Spring
rains, that were more plentiful rains that jumpstarted the year’s crops. So, implied, is the
fact that the latter rains will be more/better than the former rains. We can see in the
“Perez” example and other places in scripture where God deals with man this way. Ishmael
came first, but Isaac was the child of promise. Esau came first, but Jacob was God’s choice.
And so it was with Perez, he did not come first, but was God’s choice in the lineage of Christ.
It did not matter how Perez came on the scene. What mattered is God “broke through”
what should have been, to make it what He wanted it to be.

So, what about the situation that needs to change in our lives? There is a “way” that the
situation should probably go. It might seem impossible to change. The issue may have been
the same our whole life? But, the God of the Breakthrough can make the situation conform
to His will, that the “former” rain is overcome by the “latter rain”. So be it. Romans 9:21,
does the potter not have power over the clay? Will you believe?

As a second reference to “Breakthrough”, see I Chronicles 11.

David’s men want to take Jerusalem, but the Jebusites live there. Note Genesis 15, the last
verse, where ten different “ites” are menHoned. Abraham’s descendants are to take these
lands. Note the last people are the Jebusites. We don’t know whether David understood
there was a promise from God to remove the Jebusites, but if he did, he could have stood on
this promise. The Jebusites tell David “You don’t have a chance of geYng in here”. The
scripture uses the phrase “Nevertheless.” Nevertheless, David’s men take the city.
Nevertheless, is a lot like the word breakthrough. There is a way the story should go, a
reason the story should end a certain way, but it doesn’t. God intervenes and the story
changes. God’s promise comes true, when acted on in faith.

Further in this chapter’s story is the story of some of David’s army who are fleeing from the
PhilisHnes. In the middle of a barley field, something happens and these men decide to turn
and fight. They win the baWle. Again, they should have kept running, it should have been a
route for the PhilisHnes. But it doesn’t end that way. Again, it is a type of “breakthrough” or
“nevertheless”.

The last story in the chapter uses the word breakthrough again. David is so thirsty from
baWle that he just needs a drink. His mighty men have honour for him as their leader. They
“breakthrough” the PhilisHne line and get to the well and bring him a drink. The reward for
their leader, the water, the “size of the prize”, is enough for them to do the unordinary and
chase across a field of the enemy and get the drink.

God’s word, both spoken and written, gives us promises. The Holy Spirit can speak promises
to us. We can act in faith on these promises. The inspiraHon is in the word, in the promise.
God can take this acHon and bring His word to pass. God can change what should happen to
what He wants to happen. The way the situation should go can be changed to the way He wants it to be. God will help us “breakthrough”, to overcome the issues, to do great things
for Him.

Exodus 20:5,6 and Deuteronomy 5:9, 10: God can take the consequences of sin which reach
to the third and fourth generation and change the consequence to blessing for a thousand
generations. Your family can be still serving God three and four generations after you.
Joshua 24:15, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

My “self” before my salvation is my “former” self. In the spirit, that self must die. I see this
in my baptism, Romans 6. This is my spiritual breakthrough. I exchange my “former” self for
my new self, my “latter” self. I now pledge to follow God through the Holy Spirit. I will let
God, the Potter, have His way with the clay.

I must realize that certain situations in mine and my family’s life may need to be realigned to
God’s Kingdom. This is where “Breakthrough” comes in. This is where life tells us it won’t
happen. This is where we say “Nevertheless” and believe God for the outcome. This is
where we realize our family lineage has changed. No maWer what the circumstances were in
the past, Christ now reigns and comes first. Through Jesus all things are overcome. Through
the cross, Christ became personally involved in our lives to provide the soluHons we need.
We are not scared. We do not fear. We will not be forced by circumstance. We will react in
love and faith toward the hope God gives us for our lives.

Author: Kurt Pfanstiel
Date: 12 August 2024