(working on) “Going Beyond Your Glass Ceiling”

2 Sam 5:1-4

What do you think of when you hear the term glass ceiling? When people in the business world use the term "The glass ceiling" / they are referring to an invisible barrier that prevents them from attaining the success they see others around them achieving / It’s a situation where a person can’t progress based on gender / ethnicity / social demographics / etc. /We can think back to beginning of our nation / women could not vote / took nearly 100 years for that to change / in 1920 it finally happened / Hillary Clinton will tell you her glass ceiling is being a woman / For years minorities in the business world have complained about "the glass ceiling" / and rightly so in many cases!

Today I want to talk to you about your "glass ceilings"/ As another year is nearing it’s end / as we begin to think about a new year ahead / We have the opportunity to do more / be more for the Lord than we were in 2017 / In order for that to happen / we are going to have to face the fact that there are some "glass ceilings" in our lives that must be shattered before we can grow as we should

In these verses / we read about David at the very pinnacle of his success / He has weathered many storms / broken through his "glass ceilings"/ And the ONLY reason he has arrived at this juncture in his life / is because he fought the right battles / won the right victories

I want to help each of us to achieve all the success we can as we begin thinking of a new year / If that is going to happen then we are going have to learn the truth about the "glass ceilings" in life / how they can be broken forever

To do this, we are going to have to look backward into the life of David / We are going to identify the obstacles he faced in life / and see how he overcame them by the grace of God

2 Sam 5:1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’” 3 When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.

I want to preach for a few minutes on this thought "Breaking Through Your Glass Ceilings".

I. The Reality of Glass Ceilings (This fact must be accepted / everyone hits them from time to time)

A. In our text / two primary characters are mentioned / Saul / David

1. Both of these men faced many glass ceilings in their lives / I will point them out in a few minutes

a. For now / I want us to be aware of the fact / they are a reality in every one of our lives

1. Look at all the great men / women of the Bible / each one had some kind of baggage around neck

2. Even Jesus has his own glass ceilings

a. Many thought he was a bastard son of a Roman Soldier

John 7:52 They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee."

Matt 13:58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

B. Fact of the matter is this:

1. Every person in this room / has problems in their lives / that would hinder their walk with / and service for God

a. The first step to overcoming them / is admitting they exist

Question: Why does it seem so hard for us to admit that we are not perfect? Even as a pastor at time I am shocked to hear / people are on the verge of divorce / yet they come to every service with a smile on their face / When asked How are you? Everything is great!

b. Others struggling with addictions / sins / no one knows about it

2. Why do we want to pretend that all is well / when in fact / there are many areas in our lives that hinder us and cause us to stumble?

a. Our "glass ceilings" will never be broken until we first accept the fact that they exist!

II. Identifying Glass Ceilings (they must be identified / acknowledged)

Using David & Saul / I want to point out various glass ceilings each one faced

A. Saul’s Glass Ceilings

1. Fear – When they went to appoint him king / hiding

a. 1 Sam. 10:22 So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”

1. Fear is greatest hinderance works in our lives / fear of rejection / fear of failure / fear of unknown....

2. Impatience– He offered an illegal sacrifice / instead of waiting patiently for Samuel

a. 1 Sam 13:8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering.

Who hear hasn’t made a wrong decision / put us back / because we failed to wait on God

Grew impatient waiting on the right person / took employment in another city with no church (preach)

3. Denial– God judged him / He continued living as if everything were still alright (lots of Christians like this)

a. 1 Sam 13:15 Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.

Refusing to look in the mirror / see things in our lives that will hold us back / very difficult

We will judge the smallest of offences in others / give ourselves a pass / justify / excuse

4. Impulsiveness - A rash command almost cost the life of Saul’s own son Jonathon

a. 1 Sam 14:37 So Saul asked God, “Shall I go down and pursue the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day. 38 Saul therefore said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. 39 As surely as the Lord who rescues Israel lives, even if the guilt lies with my son Jonathan, he must die.”

1. You can’t live life this way / we must use the mind God gave us to think things through

5. Deceit - Saul offered his daughter Michal to David as a wife / but first required the foreskins of 100 Philistines

a. Saul did this with the hope that David would die trying to get them (1 Sam 18)

6. Jealousy - Saul was continually jealous of the success of David

a. 1 Sam 18:8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?”

7. Anger– Saul repeatedly tried to kill David

a. 1 Sam 19:9 But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, 10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall.

1. Saul as never able to break through his "glass ceilings"

a. He paid the ultimate price for that / totally ineffective as king / ultimately destroyed in end

B. David’s Glass Ceilings

1. His Family - David's family seems to always be standing in his way

a. When Samuel came to anoint him as king / they didn’t even call him to the meeting / insignificant in eyes of others

b. When he expressed his desire to defeat Goliath / his brother criticized him in front of the other soldiers

1. Even told to go back to the flock / mind his own business

2. 1 Sam 17:28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?”

2. His Leadership (or lack thereof)– He had plenty of critics along the way / Including from a coward (Saul)

a. Saul should have been confronting Goliath / but found it easier to just attack David

1. 1 Sam 17:33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

b. In a way / even tried sabotaging / giving him armor that he couldn’t even carry / to wear

1. Over and over Saul tried killing him

3. His Background – David was a descendant of a poor / shepherd family

a. He did not come from wealth / nobility / power / prominence /royalty

1. He was a nobody among the thousands of Israel

4. His Youth and Inexperience - Over and over David was disrespected and underestimated by all those around him

a. Side Note: This was the same experience that Timothy had years later

1. 1 Tim. 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

b. David / By grace of God was able to break through every glass ceiling he faced in life

1. He was / by definition / an overcomer

a. As a result / he enjoyed the success of an overcomer!

C. Can you identify the "glass ceilings" that you face in life?

a. What are the things (real or just excuses) that hinder you from excelling for the glory of God?

1. Maybe it is your family / Temper / Your background / Some besetting sin

a. Could be one of thousands of things / but you need to identify it!

b. If you are watching others excel in the things of God / while you’re hitting your head / first step

1. If I already mentioned it good / If not / ask God to show it to you / Ask what’s holding me back?

III. Shattering Glass Ceilings

Once Identified / Admitted / only thing left to do is go on the attack / destroy it / leave it in the past / Like David / Here is how he did it / So we can know how as well

A. Operate by Faith / Not by Sight

1. David and Goliath / Goliath great example

a. 1 Sam 17:47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

2. That is the call to all God's children / throughout all generations

a. Rom 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

1. Don’t focus on the size of the obstacle / but on the God who overcomes the obstacles

B. Realize / God did not call you to hit your head on glass ceilings

1. David was already anointed king / Only way he was going to get there / by the grace of God

a. He succeeded because God was with him / as He will be with you as your attack what’s holding you back

1. Heb 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

C. Realize / ceilings can only be shattered by God

1. When David faced them / he overcame every one of them by the power / not of himself / but of God

a. He defeated Goliath / Saw defeat of Saul (not by his own hands)

1. Overcame the problems of his family / background / youth / inexperience

b. Did this by walking not in his own strength / but in the power of God

2. Same as we are called to do

a. Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

D. God has given us every advantage we need to see glass ceilings shattered

1. His Word / His Spirit / Promise after Promise

a. Prov 30:5 “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

b. Rom 4:21 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Let me tell you about a man / Lost job in 1832 / Defeated for state legislature in 1832 / Failed in business in 1833; Elected to state legislature in 1834 / Sweetheart died next year in 1835 / Had nervous breakdown in 1836 / Defeated for Speaker in 1838 / Defeated for nomination for Congress in 1843 / Elected to Congress in 1846 - Lost re-nomination in 1848 / Rejected for land officer in 1849 / Defeated for U.S. Senate in 1854 / Defeated for nomination for Vice President in 1856 Again defeated for U.S. Senate in 1858 / (lots of ceilings) Many others might have given up after so many failures / but this man broke through his "glass ceilings" and was elected the 16th President of the United States in 1860 His name was Abraham Lincoln / Regarded as one of the greatest Presidents in American history.

The difference between overcomers and others is simple / the overcomer lives by faith / continues to step out / like Peter / out of the boat / trusting that Jesus / will enable / sustain / even catch us if we begin to sink momentarily

What will you do with 2023?

What will you do with the "glass ceilings" that have held you back? / Will you allow them to defeat you as Saul did? / Or overcome them in the power of God as David did?

What you decide about your "glass ceilings" will determine what you are able to accomplish through the grace of God / this next year / throughout your life