Let's look at verse number 14 in Daniel chapter three.
It's a very famous passage,
a very famous chapter in the Bible.
And let's look at verse 14.
It says, Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them,
Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?
Do not ye serve my gods,
nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
Now, if ye be ready, that at what time
ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute,
harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer,
and all kinds of music,
ye fall down and worship the image which I have made well.
But if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour
into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace.
And who is that God that shall deliver you
out of my hands?
The title of my sermon this morning is
Our God is Able to Deliver Us.
Our God is able to deliver us.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, so much
for this great congregation.
Pray, Lord, that you fill me with your spirit
and with power and boldness as I preach.
Lord, I pray that you would allow the people
to hear your words, Lord, and Lord,
that they would take it in and apply the things
taught today in their lives.
I pray that you would fill them with your spirit, Lord,
and help them to understand what the spirit says
to the church this morning.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
All right, so Nebuchadnezzar says at the end here,
who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
And at this time, Nebuchadnezzar is the ultimate power
in the world.
He actually has his own kind of one-world government
going on, and what he says goes,
and who he says dies, they die.
And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have been put
into a bad position because they believe in God.
They worship the Lord God, and they're put
in this position that when all this music
starts to play, that they're supposed to bow down
and worship this image that has been made.
And now, I don't know if you're familiar
with the Bible or not, but we're not supposed
to be bowing down to any images as Christians, right?
And so, they are accused before the king
and say, hey, these guys aren't doing what you said
to do, and it makes Nebuchadnezzar very angry.
And so, there are times in the Christian life
when we're put into impossible situations
that only God is able to deliver us from.
We can't do it, other people can't do it for us,
only God.
And this is one of those situations in the Bible
where only God is able to deliver these men
because the furnace is coming, the heat's coming,
and that's when the rubber meets the road
is when people actually don't compromise
with what the Bible says and do what it says,
and you know what, God will deliver you
in those situations.
And you know what, and even if he doesn't,
you get a better resurrection.
But there's a lot of times in the Bible,
this is a big theme in the Bible,
where people are put into impossible situations,
God's people are put into these crazy situations
that it seems like impending doom is coming.
No matter what, it's gonna be the end of them.
But you know, multiple times in the Bible,
multiple stories of the Bible,
and obviously, I was joking around about preaching
for an hour and a half this morning,
but it could be a series of,
I mean, it's just like all throughout the Bible,
these impossible situations happen
and God delivers his people.
God is a God that delivers us.
And he's able to deliver us.
So God delivering his people in the darkest times
in the most impossible situation is a major theme.
There are so many instances,
I mean, I couldn't even go over them all,
there's no way possible, I tried,
but it's just not gonna work out today, so.
But we should be able to take comfort
when we're being afflicted, when we're being persecuted,
when we're in hard situations.
Take comfort in the scriptures that God can deliver us,
he's able to, he wants to,
and he will deliver you in times of trouble.
Now that word deliver, what does it mean?
It means to save, rescue, or set someone free.
To deliver, and obviously,
there's gonna be some pizzas delivered today,
so there's other meanings for the word deliver,
but in this instance, what it's talking about
is being saved from something, delivered,
rescued, or set free from some bad situation.
So the first mention in the Bible,
go ahead and keep your finger here
in Daniel chapter three,
and just go over to Genesis chapter 32, verse 11,
the first mention of the word deliver in the Bible
is in Genesis chapter 32,
which is the next chapter we're gonna be in
in Genesis next Sunday.
But this is the first mention of it,
and it says in Genesis chapter 32, verse 11,
it says, deliver me, I pray thee
from the hand of my brother,
from the hand of Esau, for I fear him,
lest he will come and smite me,
and the mother with the children.
Here we have Jacob being afraid of his brother,
and rightly so, because the last time
he had saw his brother, the last time he had heard,
his brother wanted to kill him,
and he said he was going to kill him.
After the days of his mourning for his father were over,
he was gonna kill Jacob.
And so here we are 20 years later,
and then Esau is coming to meet him
with 400 horsemen, 400 horsemen.
It's like, that's a scary situation.
He's got all of his little children,
he's got his wives and his family
and his servants and all of his cattle,
and as far as he knows, he's gonna be dead.
Now obviously we know that that didn't end up happening.
God delivered him.
He said, deliver me.
You know what God did?
He delivered him, didn't he?
Now go ahead and turn back to Daniel chapter three,
and let's look at verse number 16.
Point number one this morning is,
none can deliver like God delivers.
None can deliver like God delivers.
Look at verse 16.
So remember he had said,
who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
And so in verse 16,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered
and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar,
we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we serve
is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace,
and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
So they're very confident here, aren't they?
These guys are men of faith,
and they didn't want to bow down
and worship the golden idol,
and you know what, they didn't.
So out of that whole group of people,
three men were standing there,
and you know what, they knew that God,
they had the faith that God
is gonna take care of them
whether they're disobeying the king or not.
So sometimes the government is gonna get to the point
where they're telling us to do things
that we shouldn't have to do,
like for instance, taking a vaccine that we don't want.
So that's a good example
where they're mandating something to be put in your body
that God prescribes not to do.
We're not supposed to put any unclean things in our body,
and yet they're telling us,
they're trying to force us and trying to say,
hey, your job's at risk
because you're gonna take this vaccination.
Now, and you already know my position on that.
I'm not gonna sit up here and beat my chest
and say you're wicked and evil
if you take the vaccine or something like that,
but God is able to deliver us, isn't he?
So he says we're not careful to answer thee in this matter.
If it be so, our God who we serve
is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace
and will deliver us.
So they're very confident in this.
Let's look at verse 18.
It says, but if not,
because there are situations
where God will allow his people to be killed.
Obviously, we know there's martyrs in the Bible.
We know that Stephen was stoned
for the sermon that he preached,
but look at all the good
that came out of Stephen being stoned.
The Gentiles were reached by a man named Paul
that stood there, his name was Saul at that time,
holding their coats,
being in consent to them murdering Stephen,
and it affected him.
And I believe that being there at that time,
I think that that began to work something into Paul's life,
and at some point, he realized,
Jesus told him it's hard for thee
to kick against the pricks.
And so I believe that Saul was pricked in his heart
because of what he had done and what he was allowing,
and I think that that helped Paul be converted.
So sometimes, God allows people to be killed.
God allows people to go through affliction.
That doesn't mean God has forsaken you.
That doesn't mean God doesn't love you.
That doesn't mean any of that.
I mean, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings
and Lord of Lords came down and he was,
he allowed himself to be killed
for all of our sakes, right?
But he says, but if not, be it known of any king
that we will not serve thy gods,
nor worship the golden image, which Saul has set up.
They're just, you know, these guys are just,
they're servants, they're slaves from,
brought over from Jerusalem,
and they're higher up, they're people that,
you know, Nebuchadnezzar thought would do good serving
in his kingdom, and they're higher up guys,
but when it comes to the king, he's supreme.
And so they're basically just telling him,
hey, we don't care what you have to say.
We're not gonna worship your stupid golden image,
and we're not gonna bow down to it.
And you know, even if you do,
even if God doesn't deliver us,
we're still not gonna do it anyway.
Now skip down to verse 26, it says,
then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth
of the burning fiery furnace.
So this is after they'd been thrown in,
and he gets really mad, and he, you know,
cooks it seven times hotter than it oughta be.
And even the guys that threw them in
died because it was so hot.
And you know, of course, there was a fourth person
in the fire, that was the Lord Jesus Christ,
protected them, they didn't even have any smell
of smoke on them when they came out,
or anything like that, but look what it says in verse 26.
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth
of the burning fiery furnace,
and spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
ye servants of the Most High God,
come forth and come hither.
Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
came forth of the midst of the fire.
So the fire didn't burn them up.
What they said to Nebuchadnezzar ended up coming true.
God delivered them from the burning fiery furnace.
And it says in the princes,
governors and captains and the kings,
counselors being gathered together,
saw these men upon whose bodies
the fire had no power,
nor was an hair of their head singed.
Neither were their coats changed,
nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
They had no residence of fire on them whatsoever,
they didn't even smell like they were out camping
or anything like that.
So, you know, God gave them a mighty deliverance,
did he not?
And it says then Nebuchadnezzar spake,
and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel
and delivered his servants that trusted in him,
and have changed the king's word,
and yielded their bodies that they might
not serve nor worship any god except their god.
So he's changed his story, hasn't he?
First he said, who's the god
that's gonna deliver you from my hands?
And now he's saying, hey, you know,
blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And sometimes God lets us go through things
so that other people can see the power of God in our lives.
And when we trust in God to get us through situations,
and not every situation's like this.
Anybody been put in this situation lately,
that they were put in?
No, I mean, this is an extreme situation,
but God puts us all in situations that seem impossible,
even if it's just something simple
like going through persecution at work
or anything like that, and you're like,
I don't know how this is ever gonna resolve itself.
We go through things like this constantly.
God is always trying us and seeing
how we're gonna respond to things,
and obviously he allows persecution
to happen to us to a certain degree.
But he says in verse 28, let's see, where am I at here?
Verse 28, I didn't finish the verse here.
It says, he delivered his servants
that trusted him and have changed the king's word
and yielded their bodies they might not serve
nor worship any god except their own.
Therefore I make a decree that every people,
nation, and language would speak anything amiss
against the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
shall be cut in pieces,
and their houses shall be made a dung hill,
because there is no other god
that can deliver after this sword.
There's no god that can deliver like the god of the Bible.
There's no god that can deliver
like the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Nebuchadnezzar is wise in the fact
that he sees this and says,
hey, I've never seen anything like this, you know?
And so obviously this is a powerful story.
This is a very well-known story in the Bible.
And it's an example for us that,
hey, if you don't compromise,
God will also come through for you too.
If you trust in him and your heart
is inclined towards God,
God will deliver you from all manner
of situations in your life,
and we shouldn't just be sitting there
worried about everything all the time.
God is able to deliver us,
and nobody can deliver like God can.
And so he says, then in verse 30 it says,
then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
in the province of Babylon.
So you notice he also said,
anybody that speaks against
the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
you know, they'll be killed
and their houses made into dung hills.
Now I don't know if you know what a dung hill is,
but it's a stinky situation, right?
And so he said that they'll be cut in pieces.
So you know, the other thing about God delivering
is that God has a knack for delivering his people
and then destroying his enemies at the same time.
So don't be concerned about these enemies that hate us
and these enemies that want to come against us
and these enemies that want to tell on us at work
because you didn't have your mask on
for like 30 seconds or whatever.
Or you know, you were talking about the Bible at work
or whatever it is, you know,
people are gonna come and try to accuse you of things
and your family members are gonna accuse you
of being in a cult and you know,
it's just, the Christian life is a fight.
The Christian life is a fight
and the quicker you understand that,
the better off you're gonna be
because there's always gonna be some kind of influence
trying to come in and drag you out of church,
you know, and just make you want to go back
to your old life.
It was so much easier back then,
but then you know you go back to your old life
and it's not easier.
Because now you're saved and now you understand
the things that you're doing are sinful
and you don't want to get out of church.
You don't want to get out of a situation
where you're in God's blessing,
when you're in God's perfect will
and you're serving him with your life.
But you know, and the thing is,
God's not gonna necessarily deliver you
if you're doing wicked things.
Now he might have mercy on you
and still deliver you to a certain extent,
but we reap what we sow, people.
And so God's not gonna just deliver you
the sin that you committed or whatever necessarily.
Now I mean, he did deliver David
when it came to his son.
You know, obviously his son was trying to kill him
and God did deliver him out of all that situation,
but he did have to go through a lot
because of the sin that he committed, didn't he?
Number two this morning, trials are a perfect situation
for us to partake of God's deliverance.
Trials are a perfect situation
for us to partake of God's deliverance.
So let's look at First Peter chapter four verse 12.
First Peter chapter four verse 12.
Now we're put into lots of different situations
and some of those things are trials.
And if you're a Christian, you're gonna go through trials.
You're gonna go through tribulation.
You're gonna go through affliction.
You're gonna go through times
when you're poor, naked, and destitute or whatever.
You're gonna have times
when things seem impossible for your life.
And it's like, you know, let me just tell you this.
The devil is gonna try to find a way
to get you out of church any way he can.
He's gonna attack your wife.
He's gonna attack your family.
He's gonna attack you.
He's gonna attack your vehicle
so you can't get to the church.
Whatever he thinks might be the excuse
that has you not show up, that's what he's gonna do.
But you have to set your face like a flint.
Jesus set his face like a flint to go up to Jerusalem.
Jacob set his face like a flint to go to Gibeon, didn't he?
He said, you know, God told him,
go back to the place, the land of your fathers,
and Jacob set his face.
He's like, I'm going.
You have to set your face like that too
and say, you know what?
No matter what happens, I'm still going to church.
I'm still gonna serve God.
I'm still gonna raise my family in the ways of the Lord.
I'm still gonna serve him no matter what.
You know, resist the devil and he will flee from you.
But if he just let everything
just knock you out of the battle,
then it's not gonna be long before you're completely out.
Now trials are a perfect situation
for us to partake of God's deliverance.
Look at 1 Peter chapter four, verse number 12.
It says, Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,
as though some strange thing happened to you.
Peter's saying, he's like, hey, don't think it's weird.
It's not weird.
What's weird is if you never go through trials,
if you never go through tribulations,
then you might think, well,
maybe I'm just not in the will of God at all.
But if you are in God's will,
then God, don't think it's strange
to go through a fiery trial.
What did the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego go through?
Was it a fiery trial?
It was literally a fiery trial.
So we're gonna go through fiery trials.
Don't think it's strange.
Don't think it's weird.
Well, why is all this always happening to me?
Because the devil wants to get you out of church.
The devil wants to get you away from serving God,
but God wants to try you.
He wants to see what you're made of.
He wants to see what's in your gut.
He wants to see what's in your heart.
He wants to see what's in your mind.
Do you really love him?
Do you really want to serve him?
And he will try us.
He will, you know, he allowed Job to be tried.
Did he not?
But what did he do?
He came forth like gold.
And he got double of everything that he lost.
And he had 10 more children.
And apparently his wife loved him again.
You know?
He went through a lot, though.
I mean, you think about what Jesus went through.
He went through a lot also.
Job went through a lot.
I mean, there's a big book in your Bible named Job.
And if you're having some problems being comforted,
or you think your life's rough,
go read the book of Job.
Read the Psalms.
And almost every chapter in the Psalms,
David's talking about how the workers of iniquity
are after him, and people are plotting against him
and trying to kill him.
Your life might not be that difficult
compared to some of the stories you see in the Bible.
So look at verse 13.
It says, but rejoice in as much
as you're partakers of Christ's sufferings,
that when his glory shall be revealed,
you may be glad also with exceeding joy.
If you be reproached for the name of Christ,
happy are ye, for the spirit of glory
and of God rests upon you.
On their part, he is evil spoken of,
but on your part, he's glorified.
But let none of you suffer as a murderer,
as a thief, or as an evildoer,
or as a busybody in other men's manners.
So what's he saying?
He's saying, well, if you're suffering for doing right,
happy are you?
You should be happy that you're able to partake
with the sufferings of Christ,
but don't sit there and do some wicked things
and then act like you're being persecuted
because you're being wicked.
It says, yet if any man suffer as a Christian,
let him not be ashamed,
but let him glorify God on this behalf.
Turn to Jeremiah chapter 17, verse nine.
Jeremiah chapter 17, verse number nine.
So your heart will try to deceive us
and tell us, hey, I need to do something different
with my life, I need to move here
where there's no good church,
I need to do this or that.
And it's not really in God's will.
If you listen to what your heart tells you to do,
you're gonna make the wrong decision.
The Bible says in Jeremiah 17, nine, it says,
the heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked, who can know it?
What's the Bible say?
Your heart is deceitful above all things.
Above all things.
You can't trust your heart.
You know, you have all these Hollywood movies
and things saying that you should follow your heart,
listen to your heart.
There's music that says it.
There's literally songs called listen to your heart.
That's the wrong message.
When that stuff's pumped into you
and telling you, hey, the heart wants what it wants.
You know, love is love.
That's wrong.
That's not what the Bible teaches.
The Bible teaches, hey, you know,
you should listen to what the Bible says
and not what your heart tells you to do.
It's not about a feeling.
It's about what God's word says.
You know, and if you feel badly
about what God's word says,
you need to get your heart right with God.
Look at verse 10.
I, the Lord, search the heart.
I try the reins even to give every man
according to his ways
and according to the fruit of his doings.
So God searches our hearts.
This is a continual thing that he does with us.
You know, you might think, well, I'm just a nobody.
God doesn't really care about
what's going on in my life.
That's not true.
God searches the heart.
He tries the reins even to what?
What's it say there?
Every man according to his ways
and according to the fruit of his doings.
Now, it says in Job chapter,
I'm not gonna have you turn there,
but in Job chapter 23, 10 it says,
but he knoweth the way that I take.
When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
So if you want, if you're in a situation
where you're being tried,
if you're in a situation, you know,
God is gonna search your heart.
Make sure that your heart is right before him
by following what the Bible says.
And then you're, you know,
even if you're doing right all the time,
that's actually when the trials
are gonna probably come more often.
So if you're going through all this stuff,
don't think that God's cursed your life.
Did he curse Job's life?
No, he was actually right.
His friends were wrong.
His friends were saying, whatever you're doing,
you gotta sit in your life, Job.
We know that you're doing this and you're doing that.
And it's like they go on and on
for chapters and chapters
where they're just accusing him falsely of all these things
and it's not true.
So when you're at your best,
that's when these trials are gonna come in your life
and you gotta be prepared in your heart
and have the right attitude and the right,
because God's gonna search your heart
to what your heart,
you know, obviously the heart's desperately wicked,
but when you're seeking the things of God,
that's when your heart's right.
So when you're going through trials,
that's the best time to know when you can be delivered
because you know that this is a situation.
I'm going through a trial.
I'm going through affliction.
And then you can look at the examples of the Bible
and say, hey, this is a time
when God can show himself mighty through me.
This is a time when I can trust God and say,
you know what, all this stuff is stacked against me,
but even though I'm gonna trust in God
and I know that he's gonna deliver me.
And do you think if you have your faith in God like that
he's just gonna say,
nevermind, I'm not gonna deliver you?
No, over and over in the Bible
he delivers people in these situations.
So if you perceive you're going through a trial,
if you perceive you're going through affliction,
remember, God wants to deliver you in your moment of need.
And so that brings me to my third point,
which is the Lord has a flair for the dramatic
and always delivers in the clutch.
He does kind of have a, you know, in the Bible
it's like they're in these situations
and it's almost like it's orchestrated to that situation
like you're at the Red Sea.
You've got the sea to your backside
and you've got the Pharaoh's army is coming
and charging towards you,
you're in a death and death situation.
You know, and people aren't gonna just swim
across the Red Sea.
You know, it's kind of a waste.
So, but what's he do?
He, you know, he tells Moses to tell them,
hey, see the salvation of the Lord.
And what's he do?
He parts the Red Sea,
he does something in an impossible situation
that's also impossible.
It's impossible for man to deliver in that way.
It's not like they could have built a dam
and you know, everybody could, that's not gonna happen.
God comes through at the very last second
to save his people.
Think about the rapture.
Those that are alive and remain
will be caught up to meet the Lord with the air.
Alive and remain from what?
The great tribulation.
You know, the great tribulation
that's coming upon this earth,
the great tribulation that may be in our generation
and may be in a generation to come,
but we should be prepared for it
to happen in our generation.
And what's your heart gonna do?
Are you gonna go and hide in a cave somewhere
with your AR-15 and your snacks that you got
from the dried goods that you've been saving up
from these websites?
Maybe you are, maybe that's your plan.
But I'm pretty sure that that's not gonna help you.
God wants you to still continue to serve him
regardless of what we're going through.
Not to just hide in some kind of a cave, right?
And so he doesn't want you to hide from church.
You know, a lot of people are scared to go to church
because of the COVID thing.
And you know what?
We shouldn't be afraid.
God is able to deliver us, amen?
He delivered us from the Red Hawk preaching conference,
right?
We all got it.
You know, everybody that was there pretty much got it.
But did anybody die Pastor Jimenez?
We're good, right?
But have people died from COVID?
So we weren't afraid to go to church
and even though we got it, you know,
we had to go through the fiery trial of the COVID virus
but he still delivered us, didn't he?
Nobody died.
So, you know, we gotta trust God.
You know, we can't just permanently stop going to church.
Does the Bible say we're supposed to just
permanently stop going to church?
No, so there came a time when, you know,
some of my pastor friends, we just said,
you know what, you know, we did what they said.
We, you know, we tried to take the careful route
and make sure that we weren't, you know,
because they're saying like a three point something percent
death rate was gonna happen.
You know, where bodies are being stacked
in the streets and everything.
And that never happened, did it?
So, but we had to err on the side of caution
which we took a lot of criticism for.
But there's one thing for erring on the side of caution,
there's still churches that are shut down right now.
Still, after all this time, you know,
they're just scared.
They're scared, permanently scared of a virus.
So, the Lord has a flair for the dramatic
and always delivers in the clutch.
What do I mean by that?
Well, he puts us in situations that are impossible
but then he sets it up so that we can be delivered
at the last second.
You know, I mean, this doesn't always have to be
a situation like this.
I remember I was working a job that I hated
and I had just started working that job.
And it was just like, it was just like,
it was a, what do you call that?
It was like a place where you make computer chips
and stuff like that.
And basically, there's music that prompted you
to take one thing and move it to another place.
And you're just like basically like a,
you're wearing like one of those bunny suits, right?
It was like a COVID factory basically.
And you got all these masks on
and things to cover your feet.
And every time you took a break, you had to come out,
take all that stuff off.
Then when you're done with your break,
you have to go in and put all that stuff back on.
I hated it.
But I needed to work and support my family.
You know, there was like a couple different music songs
that it would play when it was time for you
to take that one thing out and put it in another thing.
And one of them was like a Super Mario Brothers theme.
And one of them was like Beethoven.
And like, when you're dreaming about some little song
that plays, it was horrible.
And I remember I called my wife and I was like,
I love you honey, but I can't stay here forever.
And I gotta find something different
because it was, to me, it was just like mindless work.
And I just, I have to do something
that's gonna keep my mind occupied
and not just like a robot that's like going
and putting things in the trays
and ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
You know, it's just like, ahh.
I couldn't handle it.
But I remember praying to God and it was like,
I mean, this isn't the Red Sea, okay?
But it was a situation where I had already,
I had just gotten this job and I had left the job
where I had a woman boss who was just a tyrant
and she was nuts.
And so I felt like, you know,
I don't wanna just keep jumping around jobs,
but at the same time, I was thankful for the job
and I was working at the job, but I just was like,
Lord, would you please deliver me from this situation?
And I was on a list to be hired someplace else,
but it would just have taken for a long time.
Then, like literally, I prayed that prayer
and I'd talked to my wife and then the next day,
that place called me and hired me.
I mean, I felt like I was at my wits end.
I was at my, and it was a time
when jobs weren't really super plentiful,
but I felt like God delivered me
from the wafer company that I was working for
and gave me a better job.
And it was better pay, it was better schedule.
I mean, we were working like 12 hour days.
You'd work four 12s and then you'd have three off
and then you'd work three days, I don't know,
and have three off.
It was like a rotating schedule.
It was awful.
Anyway, I'm glad that God delivered me from that job,
but that's a silly situation,
but it's still, sometimes when you're in a situation,
it seems like it's impossible.
Ask God for help.
Ask God to deliver you.
Ask God to give you the desires of your heart
and if your heart is fixed on God,
if your heart is with God and wanting to serve him,
God's gonna give you the desires of your heart.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Now, is it always, but I felt like it was
at the last minute.
I mean, I think of that example
because it's a true example.
It's not me being my back against the wall
and people trying to kill me,
but it is a hard situation in life
that I wanted to be delivered from and God did it.
Anytime I've ever wanted a job
where I could have Sundays off and Wednesdays off,
God's always done that for me.
I just pray.
God, I know you want me to go to church.
Please help me get the schedule that I want.
He's done it every time.
Every time.
And you know, how do you explain that?
Well, God's able to deliver us
and he knows the desires of your heart.
He searches your heart and tries the reigns
to see whether you really, you know,
if you really want to live according to his ways
or if you're just making it up,
you just want a high paying job
and you don't care whether that keeps you
at a church or not.
You should want to serve the Lord with all your heart.
But turn to Daniel chapter six.
I know I kind of went off on that for a while there.
But Daniel chapter six,
verse number 13 says,
so here's another situation
and this is in the same book,
but this is actually Daniel put into a hard situation.
Now Daniel, these guys that hated Daniel
knew he was saved,
knew he prayed three times a day.
They kind of did a back end thing
to get King Darius to sign off on something
that would make them be able to accuse Daniel
and get him in trouble.
And so verse 13 says,
then answered they and said before the king
that Daniel, which is of the children
of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king,
nor the decree that thou hast signed,
but maketh his petition three times a day.
So they want to get Daniel trapped
in this situation where they can throw him
into the lions then and have him eaten alive.
His enemies trying to accuse him, get him in trouble.
But King Darius likes Daniel.
He didn't realize that this is what they were doing.
This is what the workers of iniquity do.
They plot against you and put you in,
you know, accuse you and try to get you killed
and put you in all these situations,
try to get you in trouble.
But you know, the great thing about God
is that he allows the stone to be rolled back upon them.
When they dig a ditch to throw you in a pit,
they're the ones that are gonna end up falling into it.
And so when God delivers us out of a situation,
a lot of times he destroys our enemies at the same time.
So it says in verse 14, then the king,
when he heard these words, was sore displeased
with himself and set his heart on Daniel to, what?
Deliver him.
So he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him.
He wanted to deliver him.
This is the king.
But there's a rule, a law with the Medes and Persians
that once you make a law, you can't undo it.
And so he still tried to deliver him anyway
and he labored till the going down of the sun
to deliver him.
And so like I said at the beginning of the sermon,
sometimes you're in a situation
where only God can deliver you.
This is the king of the whole world basically at this time.
You know, just like Nebuchadnezzar was,
but their rules are a little bit different
when they make policies in their politics.
And even the king wasn't able to deliver him.
The greatest man in the whole world at this time
with the most authority could not deliver Daniel
from the decree.
So he labored.
He still tried, but he couldn't get it done.
Then these men, these bad guys, right?
Assembled unto the king and said unto the king,
Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is
that no decree nor statute which the king establish
may be changed.
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel
and cast him into the den of lions.
Now the king spake and said unto Daniel,
Thy God, whom thou servest continually,
he will deliver thee.
So at a certain point here, Darius understands
that he couldn't do it, but you know who can do it?
God can do it, amen?
So, and what ended up happening?
You know, the angel stopped the lion's mouth.
Daniel came out.
The king was very excited.
He said, O king, live forever.
And then what happened to the people
that were accusing Daniel?
They got thrown into the lions then
with all their family and chewed into bits
and their houses were made dung hills
and so on and so forth.
So who delivered him?
God delivered him.
Darius tried, but he couldn't do it.
But God did deliver him.
And so in a dramatic way, in dramatic fashion,
he comes through for Daniel.
What a scary situation to be thrown in.
I'm sure that they probably starved those lions.
They probably didn't even need to starve lions.
I mean, lions will just kill you anyway.
Doesn't matter if they're starving or not.
That's just kind of what lions do.
But Daniel was freed from this lion's den
and not a mark on him, not a scratch on him.
He probably used them for blankets and played with them
and whatever, who knows, I don't know.
Ever seen that guy that like,
he's always like touching lions.
I don't know, he's like some guy.
You know what I'm talking about?
There's like memes made about it.
One of these days he's probably gonna get eaten,
but he likes to like play around
and wrestle with lions and stuff, I don't know.
Turn to Psalm chapter 34, verse 17.
Psalm chapter 34, verse number 17.
See, God delivers in the clutch.
When things seem the bleakest,
that's when God does his work.
Look at what the Bible says in Psalm 34, verse 17.
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth
and delivereth them out of some of their troubles.
No, all their troubles, isn't that what it says?
He delivereth them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart
and save as such as be of a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous.
See, the righteous are gonna have many afflictions,
isn't that what the Bible says?
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivereth him out of them some,
out of them all, but the Lord delivereth him
out of them all.
I think about other people in the Bible,
I'm just gonna do like a brief synopsis
on some of these people.
Esther, you know, she was brought to the kingdom
for such a time as this where she had a way
to influence the king who had been tricked
in a similar way as Darius that basically Haman,
this wicked man that wanted to kill all the Jews.
He like had it set up to where,
and this is in another point,
Esther's husband, King Ahasuerus,
was the ruler of the whole world,
and she had influence to influence the king.
Excuse me, and what happened?
Well, she flipped the script on him, didn't she?
And she invited Haman over for dinner,
and then she's like, this guy's trying
to kill all my people, and then he runs in
and jumps on her bed for whatever reason, trying to hide.
And then he's like, then the bag gets put over his head.
Haman is a wicked man who wanted to basically
destroy all of God's people.
And what ended up happening?
He got hung from the 50 cubit high gallows that he had.
Him and all of his sons.
And then all the people that were in
on the conspiracy were killed too.
See, it was about to happen, and God came in
at the last second, and he showed himself strong in Esther
because Esther could have been killed
just for going to the king for what happened there.
But she had enough bravery to go forth
to the king, and the king granted her request.
Hezekiah was standing, the Assyrians
were like basically ruled the world at that time also.
And this guy comes and tries to scare all the people
and tell them that the gods of these people
didn't help them, the gods of these people
didn't help them, and your god's
not gonna help you either.
I mean, that's basically kind of what he was saying.
He wrote a letter to scare them,
and Hezekiah took that letter,
put it before the Lord, prayed with Isaiah the prophet,
and you know what ended up happening?
The whole Assyrian army was killed,
and then the king was killed also.
So Hezekiah was a man of great faith,
but he was scared, but he still went to the Lord,
he trusted the Lord, and God came through and saved him.
The children of Israel, again,
you know, the thing that happened at the Red Sea,
but they were also delivered from Pharaoh
and being bond servants in Egypt.
You know, he killed, he had all these mighty plagues
happen to them, and then he killed all their firstborn,
and they spoiled the Egyptians,
and they borrowed all their stuff.
Wink, wink, you know, borrowed means
they didn't pay it back.
But, maybe that word means something different
in the King James English, but you know,
they borrowed, but they didn't intend to pay it back.
So if you borrow, if you lend somebody something,
don't expect it back, I guess, I don't know.
But anyway, somebody also, God, you know,
worked in the hearts of the children of Israel
to conquer Canaan, you know, a land filled with giants.
You know, they were scared of these giants,
but God delivered them into his hands.
An 80-year-old man went and killed some giants,
you know, I mean, God showed himself strong
in all these people and all these different situations.
Daniel in the lion's den, Gideon delivered
with 300 people, a whole host of armies,
the Midianites, and destroyed all them.
And Paul, Peter, were delivered from prison
and from riots and tumult and all kinds
of different situations.
Jacob was delivered from Esau.
David was delivered from Goliath.
I mean, that seems like an impossible situation, you know?
A 10-foot tall giant, you know,
who's been a warrior since his youth,
and then David, you know, a young lad,
you know, with a sling,
hits him right between the eyes with one shot, dead.
And then, you know, God delivered the children of Israel
from Goliath, from the Philistines.
David was delivered from Saul.
David was delivered from Absalom in mighty and great ways.
Jeremiah was delivered from the prison
and from the host of Babylon.
I mean, the Babylonians came in
and were slaughtering everybody,
but they didn't touch Jeremiah.
Why?
Because God was protecting him.
Because he was preaching the truth
regardless of who was listening and who was hearing it.
Jesus Christ was dead on the cross.
All hope is lost for the disciples.
They think it's over, right?
And Jesus Christ, we know that Jesus Christ
sold it to hell for three days and three nights.
And what ended up happening?
He was delivered out of hell, wasn't he?
So he was delivered from death,
he was delivered from hell,
and he walked out of the tomb alive.
I mean, if you see someone's dead
for three days and three nights,
you're like, it's over.
The disciples went back to their old jobs.
They thought it was over.
But what happened?
God delivered the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ rose from the dead
because he did not belong in hell.
He died for the sins of all mankind,
but he didn't belong there.
He himself did not belong there,
and he rose from the dead, defeating death,
defeating the devil, defeating hell.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 15, verse 54.
1 Corinthians 15, verse 54.
1 Corinthians 15, verse 54, it says,
so when this corruptible had put on incorruption
and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the same that is written,
death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?
We all should be headed for hell.
But you know what?
Jesus Christ, when he rose from the dead,
he secured the fact that we can be resurrected,
we can have a new body,
and what did he save us from?
Hell?
And what else did he give us?
He gave us everlasting life.
So God is always going to come through in the clutch.
It seemed like an impossible situation.
Nobody's ever risen from hell before.
And Jesus Christ is the first born of all,
he's the only one with a resurrected body right now,
but you know what?
We're all gonna have that resurrected body, and why?
Because God came through and delivered him.
And Jesus' heart was right with God, amen.
He was right and never did anything wrong.
So of course God's gonna deliver him.
It seemed like he got defeated, didn't it?
But he rose from the dead, defeating death,
and verse 56 says, oh, the sting of death is sin,
and the strength of sin is the law,
but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So even the victory, you know,
even if you just get saved,
and you know you're going to heaven,
that's one big victory that God, you know,
God's delivered you from the sting of death.
God's delivered you from the grave.
There's no victory for them.
There's no victory for the devil.
Ultimately, if you just get saved
and you live a bad life,
and you know, you never get delivered from anything,
you know what you're still delivered from?
Hell.
You know what you're still delivered to?
Everlasting life.
So even if you just get the baseline reward,
which is everlasting life,
you still have been delivered.
You still have gotten the victory, amen?
So God always comes through in the clutch.
You know, and the clutch is kind of a sports term, right?
You know, when you're down,
you know, there's two minutes to go
in the fourth quarter, you're down three points,
and you gotta get a touchdown.
You're down six points,
you gotta get a touchdown and kick the extra point.
You know, this happens in real life.
But does it happen every time they try it?
No, sometimes they get shut down,
and they don't score.
But there's some quarterbacks that are just,
they are known for coming through in the clutch,
and making all the right passes,
and then scoring the touchdown,
and they're big heroes or whatever.
But you know what, God, every time,
would come through in the clutch.
There would be no time when he gets shut down.
He's always gonna score the big touchdown.
You know, you think about the,
here's the situation in baseball.
The bottom of the ninth inning,
you're down three runs with the bases loaded.
That means there's runners on all bases.
It's up to you to hit the grand slam to win the ball game.
It's a full count.
That means there's three balls and two strikes.
If you get struck out, game's over, you lose.
But if you hit the home run,
you score four runs and win the game.
I've actually been to a game in Seattle where,
and I don't know how Seattle did at that time,
but I just happened to be at the game
against the Anaheim Angels,
and that very situation happened,
and man, I forgot who it was that hit the home run.
It was a long time ago.
But anyway, he knocked, it was Mike Cameron.
That's who it was.
Brother Gary knows who Mike Cameron is, don't ya?
Mike Cameron hits a grand slam and wins the game.
It's the best baseball game I've ever been to or watched.
It was awesome.
But you know what?
If God is in that situation,
every single time, he's gonna hit that grand slam.
See, man does it every once in a while,
and we think it's such a great feat,
but you know what?
Every time God's people are in an impossible situation,
he always comes through in the clutch every single time.
Every single time.
10 out of 10 times, he's gonna hit that home run.
So, and maybe your situation isn't a situation
that was brought up today in the Bible.
Maybe your situation isn't that big of a thing,
but it's still an impossible situation in your life.
It's still an impossible situation with your family.
You know, maybe it's not the survival of God's people
that's at your doorstep.
Maybe it's not the preservation of God's word
or some big battle against somebody.
But maybe it's a big battle in your life.
Maybe it's a big problem in your life.
And it doesn't make it any less impossible
that we still get stuck in impossible situations
all the time.
And to God, that's a light thing.
It's a small thing.
But to us, it's everything.
But where's your faith at?
Are you just gonna give up?
Are you just gonna be like, eh, I'm just tired of fighting.
But maybe it's a situation where, you know,
you were told that you're gonna get fired
unless you have a religious exemption
and we might not even give it to you.
I think I know some people who have been
in that situation.
Like, moi, who else has been in that situation?
Brother Temo, and you work in the medical field, right?
So how many people in the medical field
are striking right now because, you know,
they're being put in an impossible situation?
Brother Eli works in the medical field.
Impossible situation.
Out of all people, you would think that the people
in the medical field wouldn't be able to get
an exemption.
Did you get an exemption?
Yeah.
Because you trusted God and he came through for you.
Right?
And I'm not saying that they might not fire you
next week, maybe they will.
I don't know.
But even so, I'm not gonna take your stupid vaccination.
You know what, God, I was looking for a job
when I found that one.
There's other jobs in the world.
So, you know, but that seems like,
a lot of people are discouraged and upset
about that situation, but trust in God.
He's gonna deliver you.
How about, you know, making ends meet on one income?
That seems like an impossible situation sometimes,
but you know what, if you're faithful to God
with your finances, and you're faithful to God,
he's gonna take care of you.
He's gonna deliver you out of that situation.
It's not adding up.
You know, I'm serious, I've had checks sent to me
that, out of nowhere, when I thought it was over.
Like, how am I gonna pay?
I'm in the negative.
And God has always taken care of me,
I've always had a place to live,
I've always had clothes, I've always had food,
I've always had every essential thing
that I've ever needed.
Why do we worry about such things?
God's able to deliver you.
He's able to help you and take care of you
in those situations.
What about, maybe you're in a mixed family,
which means, you know, maybe you're married to someone,
they have kids from another relationship and whatever.
You know, rearing children in those situations
sometimes is hard.
There's complicated situations that happen in families,
and you think, well, this person on the outside
doesn't care about our God,
he doesn't care about what we believe in,
and they try to make heat come on you
in these situations, but you know what?
God is able to deliver you.
He's able to deliver you out of these situations.
What about in-laws and family causing you major issues?
God is able to deliver you.
He's able to deliver you.
I mean, that might seem like a small thing,
but it's not a small thing
when you're living through it.
How about major medical problems?
That's a big issue.
Like, can God deliver you or not?
Can he heal you or not?
God is able to deliver you,
and even if he doesn't heal you,
he's still gonna take care of you, amen?
How about the inability to have children?
There's people that wanna have children and can't.
You know what, God's able to deliver you
and give you the child that you want.
Pray to him, believe in him, trust in him.
What about going through marriage problems?
Those can seem like this is impossible.
I don't know how we're ever gonna work this out.
I don't know how this is ever gonna happen.
I said too much last night.
I said more than I ever should have said.
It's over!
But is it really over?
No, because God's able to deliver you.
He's able to deliver your marriage.
You know what, God doesn't, he's not for divorce.
God hated the putting away.
So obviously, it's possible to get through
those marriage problems, isn't it?
Because he wouldn't make it, you know,
he wouldn't make it possible if it was an, you know,
he wouldn't make it to where you can't work it out.
He wants you to be able to work it out.
But you know what, you better pick a good spouse.
That's just a little side note.
Go through a season of life with them.
Don't be hasty.
Just saying, so, you know, but once you're married,
because once you're married, the marriage is consummated,
you're stuck, so you better make the most of it
and try to work it out the best you can.
So what about having, you know,
problems finding someone to marry?
Sometimes people, like I know there's people
that just they want to get married,
but they can't find the right person.
You know what, God's able to deliver that to you.
He's able to deliver you out of the situation
of loneliness, you know, and I'm bringing up problems
that might not seem like the children of Israel
with their backs against the wall,
but you know what, there's a situation in your lives
that you're going through that God's always
gonna try his people.
He's always gonna, there's always gonna be some kind of,
you know, fiery trial going on in your life,
and it might not be these big things,
these big issues in the Bible,
but they're big issues to you and your family.
Maybe you're having problems with your children.
You know what, God's able to deliver you from that too.
Just marry them off, no, I'm just kidding,
but whatever it is, if it's false accusations,
if it's, you know, people dragging you through the courts
or dragging you through situations and legal situations,
maybe it's the government persecuting you at some point,
maybe it's your workers, your coworkers at work,
you know, they're tailing on you to the boss
about stuff, they're trying to get you fired,
your boss hates you, or whatever it is,
you know, it might seem like an impossible situation,
but God is able to deliver you,
but you know what, you gotta have the faith.
Pray to God, you ever do that?
That's a good idea, if you want something, ask for it.
So whatever it is, it's an impossible situation
as far as you can see, but you know what,
it's not an impossible situation for God.
Turn to 2 Chronicles 14 verse 8.
I was gonna show you an example real quickly
of a situation that seemed impossible.
And you know what, you can have an impossible situation
that you do have faith in and God delivers you from it,
but then like, years later,
you don't have that same faith.
But let me help you correct yourself on that situation,
just like he delivered you out of that situation,
he can deliver you out of the other situation as well.
Now, 2 Chronicles chapter 14 verse 8 says,
And Asa had an army of men that bared targets and spears
out of Judah 300,000, out of Benjamin that bared shields
and drew bows, 200 and fourscore thousand.
All these were mighty men of valor.
So Asa had a big army, I mean, 300,000 people
plus 280,000 people, that's a good size army.
That's almost 600,000 people.
It says, And there came out against them,
Zerah the Ethiopian, with an host of a thousand thousand.
Who knows, who's good at math?
What's a thousand thousand?
A million, okay, so you got less than 600,000
versus one million.
So the odds of you beating a one million man army
are pretty difficult.
I mean, numbers matter when it comes to warfare.
It says, And 300 chariots and came unto Merisha.
Then Asa went out against him,
and they set the battle in array
in the valley of Zephthath and Merisha,
and Asa cried unto the Lord his God.
He didn't say, hey, we're gonna do this,
it's gonna be all us, we're gonna get this victory
on our own, that's not what he said.
He cried unto the Lord his God and said,
Lord, it is nothing with thee to help.
God is all powerful, he can help in any situation,
and that's what he's saying,
it's nothing with thee to help.
You can just snap your fingers,
you can just say the word,
you can just think something and it's gonna happen.
Whether with many or with them that have no power,
help us, oh Lord our God, for we rest on thee,
and in thy name we go against this multitude,
oh Lord our God, or excuse me, oh Lord,
thou art our God, let not man prevail against thee.
And so after he prays that prayer, what happens?
Verse 12, so the Lord smote the Ethiopians
before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
Impossible situation, you're against a million people,
there's no way you can win those odds.
But you know what, they didn't have to
because God came through for them, didn't he?
And smote the Ethiopians before Asa.
Now, and then, so Asa, this same king,
who's a great king, he's a great man of God,
I'm not trying to take anything away from him,
but you know, men fail.
We fail, we fail to make the right decisions sometimes.
Look at 2 Chronicles chapter 16, verse seven.
2 Chronicles 16, verse number seven.
So basically, he's in another situation
where there's way less people trying to fight him,
it's the nation of Israel's trying to fight against them
and so he goes and they had hired the Syrians
to help them battle against the people of Judah,
and basically he just offers them more money
and gets the Syrians to fight for him instead.
So what does he do?
He takes matters into his own hands
and goes and hires the enemy of God
to help him win this victory.
And God's not very pleased with that.
But it says in verse seven,
and at that time, Hanani the seer came to Asa,
king of Judah, and said unto him,
because thou hast relied on the king of Syria
and not relied on the Lord thy God,
therefore is the host of the king of Syria
escaped out of thine hand.
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host
with very many chariots and horsemen,
what we just talked about?
Yet because thou didst rely on the Lord,
he delivered them into thine hand.
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro
throughout the whole earth to show himself strong
in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
Herein thou is done foolishly,
therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
So this same guy that makes a great decision
and says, you know what, God is able to deliver us,
God will you help us, he smites the enemy,
he smites the Ethiopians, and then the same guy,
he doesn't do it the same way the next time.
And this just goes to show that we can be mighty
for God at one moment and not so mighty the next.
So stay consistent, be consistent with,
you know, if you wanna be delivered,
the only way you're gonna do it is through God, okay?
When you're in a possible situation,
see sometimes we wanna take matters into our hands
and do it ourselves.
But if it's an impossible situation,
you're not gonna be able to work it out,
no matter how hard you try,
no matter how hard you fixate on it.
You know, sometimes you just have to leave things
in the hands of God, right?
And so he is trying to show himself strong
in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him.
Is your heart perfect toward him today?
Do you love the Lord?
You know, Asa ends up getting mad
and throwing this prophet into jail.
So, you know, don't get mad at the man of God
when he's trying to help you and correct you in something.
Maybe you're making a bad decision, you can't see it.
Maybe you're making a stupid decision
and the pastor, you know, the only one's gonna get up
and tell you the truth and rips your face
from the pulpit or just gives you some solid advice.
You ask him, you're shopping for an opinion,
he tells you what the right answer is
and then you're just like,
throw this guy in prison, you know?
People, you know, they wanna hear
what they wanna hear sometimes.
But, you know, if you ask the pastor
or if you ask the man of God for his opinion,
don't get mad at him for giving you the truth.
Because people are gonna wanna do what they wanna do.
Don't get mad at the man of God
for doing his job and correcting you or helping you.
It's not like we have something to gain
out of, you know, the situation.
It's like, we're just trying to help.
Let's see people get mad, you know, Asa was a great king,
but what's he do?
He throws this guy in prison.
Because he's so mad, he's angry.
Sometimes people don't wanna hear
what the man of God has to say.
So, don't get mad at God's man
when he's telling you the truth.
Turn to 2 Timothy, chapter four, verse 14.
I'm gonna wrap this up here.
2 Timothy, chapter four, verse 14.
Now Paul the apostle's a great man of God.
He went through many afflictions.
He didn't always get out of the afflictions.
He was stoned and left for dead.
He was beaten with rods, thrice.
He was whipped, 39 lashes or 40 lashes save one,
I think, what, five times or something?
I can't remember the exact number.
But anyway, he went through a lot.
You know, he was shipwrecked thrice.
He was in the deep and he went through a lot of stuff.
He had his friends turn against him.
He had false prophets come against him.
He had all these situations.
But Paul was a hard charger.
Paul just kept charging ahead
and going from place to place
and trying to live filled with the Holy Ghost.
Was he perfect?
No, he made some mistakes.
But the apostle Paul is a great example
of someone that was always letting God
deliver him out of situations.
He's walking into places that are just full of heathen
that are worshiping all these false gods.
They don't even know anything about the God of the Bible.
And he's walking in there and like,
hey, let me tell you the good news, you know?
Jesus died for your sins, you know?
He went into a lot of impossible situations.
Look what he says to Timothy, though.
In 2 Timothy 4, 14, it says,
Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil.
The Lord reward him according to his works,
of whom be thou where also,
for he hath greatly withstood our words.
At my first answer, no man stood with me,
but all men forsook me.
I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me
and strengthened me, that by me the preaching
might be fully known and that all the Gentiles might hear.
And I was, what's it say?
Delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work.
See, Paul had the right attitude, didn't he?
He's like, you know what?
Even though all people forsake me,
even though these false prophets are lying about me
and all these men are things,
I'm going through all these problems,
no man stood with me when the chart, you know,
when all this stuff is happening to me.
But God stood with him.
And so that's what we have to understand
that in every situation in your life
that seems impossible, every hard situation in your life,
you know, why don't you just get used to realizing
that God is able to deliver you?
God will deliver you out of the mouth of the lion.
The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work
and preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom
to whom be glory forever and ever.
I'm gonna finish in Psalm chapter 91.
It's the last place I'll have you turn.
I realize we've gone through a lot of verses here.
Psalm chapter 91's a great, great Psalm.
I mean, if you wanna get comforted in a hard time,
just go and start reading the Psalms.
And it will comfort you and it will help you.
And there's a lot of talk about being delivered,
but this is a great Psalm here.
I'm gonna read it real fast here.
He that dwelleth in the secret place
of the most high, verse one,
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge
and my fortress, my God, in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee
from the snare of the fowler
and from the noise and pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers
and under his wings shalt thou trust.
His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shall not be afraid of the terror by night
nor by the arrow that flyeth by day,
nor of the pestilence that walketh in darkness,
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side
and 10,000 at thy right hand,
but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold
and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,
even the most high, thy habitation.
There shall no evil befall thee.
Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling,
for he shall give his angels charge over thee
to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against the stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder,
the young lion and the dragon
shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he has set his love upon me,
therefore will I deliver him.
So you set your love upon God, and what's it say?
Therefore will I deliver him.
I will set him on high because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me.
I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.
See, God, he's able to deliver you.
He is willing to deliver you.
He will deliver you.
He'll come through for you when you need him the most.
But you know what, you have to have the right attitude.
I mean, God is trying your heart.
He's trying your reins.
He's not gonna just deliver you
because you got caught shoplifting.
He's gonna deliver you in a situation
where you're being tried,
where you're in an impossible situation,
but have faith.
Don't have faith in yourself.
Don't have faith that someone else is gonna rescue you.
Don't have faith in the White House.
Don't have faith in Joe Biden.
Is he able to deliver thee?
No, he's actually trying to deliver you
something else, but look,
God is the one we have to trust in.
You're gonna get your answers at the church house
not from the White House.
You're gonna get your answers from the word of God.
You're gonna get your help from the word of God
and from the Lord our God
and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Number one, none can deliver like God delivers.
And number two, trials are perfect situations
for us to partake in God's deliverance.
Number three, the Lord has a flair for the dramatic
and always delivers in the clutch.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, so much
for the fact that you're always there
and willing to deliver us, Lord,
and many of the afflictions of the righteous,
but you'll deliver us out of them all.
Let's pray, Lord, that we'd have this attitude.
We let this sink into ourselves
the next time we're going through
some kind of trial or affliction, Lord,
and we think that the odds are stacked against us
to the point where it's just impossible.
Lord, I pray you'd help us
and have our faith kick in,
Lord, that we would have a right heart before you,
and Lord, that we'd wanna serve you
all the days of our lives.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.