Part 7 - David: A Man in Need of Rescue

That’s the text message that Kevin Ott--a 53-year old boat repairman near Fort Myers, Florida--recieved from his kids’ grandmother Mary Ann as the floodwaters from Hurricane Ian began to rise, according to a story published by the Washington Post on October 4th.

Hurricane Ian was a Category 4 storm that tied for the fifth-strongest hurricane on record to hit the United States, killed more than 140 people, and caused damage likely in excess of $67 billion.

Mary Ann had decided that she would weather the storm, so she made sure she had a generator and enough food and water to get her through. Initially, things were looking alright. But before long, the power had gone out, the cell service wasn’t working very well, and the water began to rise. She called a couple times and asked Kevin to come get her, even though earlier she had said she would be fine.

After the call dropped for the last time, Kevin borrowed a pontoon boat from a friend and hitched it to his truck. Then, he and his kids drove toward Mary Ann’s place to get as close as they could. When they were about a mile and a half out, they had to go the rest of the way by boat.

As they were dodging bent trees and fallen power lines and big boats floating by, Kevin and the kids came on a man in a boat who had tried to rescue his neighbors when his boat gave out and got stuck in a fallen tree. Kevin and the kids stopped to help him, and together they helped the other neighbors, one of whom was an old man “just about on his last breath.” As they kept going, they were able to rescue several others, including a man and woman with their young toddler, who was wearing a life jacket.

Finally, as Kevin and the newly rescued neighbors reached Mary Ann’s house and started to scope out how they could get in, she shot off one final text to Kevin: “We’re going to die in here.” If Kevin didn’t arrive, she wouldn’t be able to get out. She was in need of rescue.

FCF: Mary Ann isn’t the only one. Though we might face different circumstances than she was facing, we’re all in need of rescue.

Background:

This morning we are continuing our series on the Life of David. Last week, we looked at 1 Samuel 19:1-17, which tells the story about King Saul trying another plan to have David killed. Instead of trying to have the Philistines kill David on the battlefield, Saul tries to convince some of his servants and even his own son Jonathan to murder David. After Jonathan stands up to Saul, Saul initially promises to give up his plot to kill David. Jonathan is relieved to hear that Saul is sorry for trying to kill David and he quickly tells David that the coast is clear and that Saul is a changed man. But before long, David is playing his instrument for King Saul and the King grabs a spear again and tries to pin David to the wall, exactly what he had done before. David dodges the spear, and then runs for his life.

His first stop is home, but as soon as David gets home and tells his wife, Michal, she tells David that he needs to run and hide. Otherwise, she says, he’s going to die. So, she helps David escape through the window and then sets up a dummy in his bed to try and buy David some time. Before too long, some of Saul’s soldiers arrive outside David’s house and set up a perimeter. As soon as David tries to leave the house, they’ll take him out.

David is running for his life and trying desperately not to get caught by Saul’s soldiers. He just needs to find a place to go and a place to hide.

David was is need of rescue.

At some point, David writes a song about this experience, the song that we call Psalm 59. We don’t know if David wrote a quick version while he was still at home, before he escaped out the window. Or maybe he wrote this song while he was in a cave a little later on in his journey. Another possibility is that David wrote a song about this experience many years later, when he was the reigning King of Israel. We don’t know for certain. But chronologically and thematically, Psalm 59 fits here in the story.

Here in this Psalm, through the lens of the life of David, I believe we can see that Because we’re all in need of rescue, we need to trust in God for rescue.

Listen to Psalm 59.

Psalm 59 (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me;

2 deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.

3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,

4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Awake, come to meet me, and see!

5 You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

6 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips— for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

8 But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision.

9 O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress.

10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

11 Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield!

12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,

13 consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah

14 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

15 They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill.

16 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.

17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Big Idea: Because we’re all in need of rescue, we need to trust in God for rescue.

Here in Psalm 59, I want us to see that David demonstrates trust in God for rescue in three main ways:

FIRST, (1) By PRAYING TO God (vv. 1-5)

SECOND, (2) By FOCUSING ON God (vv. 6-13)

THIRD, (3) By WORSHIPING God (vv. 14-17)

___________

Explanation (1) -

FIRST, (1) By PRAYING TO God (vv. 1-5)

David begins the Psalm as a prayer. He when he finds himself in need of rescue, he immediately calls out to God. He prays. And there are three elements of his prayer that are instructive for us in our lives.

Look at the first one.

We need to trust in God for rescue by praying to God while:

(A) Remembering external enemies (vv. 1-3a)

Psalm 59:1–3 (ESV)

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me;

2 deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.

3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me.

Explanation (1A)

When we find ourselves facing an external enemy that is strong and scary and threatening, God invites us to bring our requests to Him.

In David’s case, the enemies he was facing were trying to kill him. He calls them “bloodthirsty” or violent men in verse 3. He says that they “lie in wait for my life,” in verse 3 lurking and waiting for just the right moment to strike. Make no mistake, enemy #1 in David’s life and the main foe that we should be thinking of in this Psalm is King Saul himself! King Saul is the one seeking David’s life. And so in David’s prayer, he doesn’t try to cover up the reality of His situation from God. Instead he prays while remembering external enemies.

He prays “deliver me” in verses 1 and 2 because he knew that the external enemies in his life were too strong and powerful for him to overcome. So just like in the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus teaches his followers, David prays for God to “deliver him from evil.”

The word “protect” here in verse 1 has the idea of being whisked away to a high fortress or a high tower, lifted up so that David would be out of reach of the harm of his enemies.

In David’s prayer, he remembers external enemies.

Application (1A)

We need to pray with an awareness and a remembrance of the external enemies in our lives. It does us no good to try and shield God from something He is already intimately aware of. And there are many different applications of the kinds of external enemies we can face.

(1) Example 1: Domestic Violence in a Marriage or Romantic Relationship

“More than 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and more than 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.”

(National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Report, p.12)

What some people might think of as an extreme application of this passage might actually be far more realistic to you. If your spouse or a romantic partner is a violent person, or someone who threatens you explicitly or implicitly, or tries to keep you in line by making you walk on eggshells all the time, the Bible says that that behavior is befitting of God’s enemies, not His children. And if you ever feel threatened, you need to get safe. Call someone you trust and get the help you need to get you and your kids to safety. And while you’re getting safe, pray this prayer with David. Pray for God to “deliver you” from your enemy.

But supposing you’re in a healthy marriage and you’re not in physical or bodily danger, you might not have people trying to kill you, but you might might have people in your lives who are hostile toward you.

(2) Example 2: Unbelieving Family Member

Maybe you have an unbelieving family member who is very aggressive toward you and your faith in Jesus. Every single chance they get, they put you on blast for your Christian beliefs. Holidays are a nightmare. They can’t have a conversation without blowing up in your face. Maybe its an estranged child who doesn’t want to have anything to do with you if you are going to respond to their chosen lifestyle with anything other than 100% affirmation of their decisions.

When you pray, it’s right for you to voice what’s in your heart to God. He already knows the difficulties that your enemies are causing you in your life. He’s not unaware of them. So name them! And then, see how God decides to rescue you.

We need to trust in God for rescue by (1) PRAYING TO God while:

(A) Remembering external enemies (vv. 1-3a)

(B) Remembering internal enemies (vv. 3b-4a)

Psalm 59:3–4 (ESV)

3b For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,

4a for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Explanation (1B)

David is not only aware of the domain of external enemies in his life, but also internal enemies in his life.

Here in this Psalm, David is saying to God that as far as He’s aware, there’s no unconfessed, unrepentant sin in His life that He’s harboring or holding out on God.

He’s saying, “This is not a consequence for sin.”

That doesn’t mean that David is morally perfect. But it does mean that David is walking with God.

He knew that if there was a pattern of hidden or unconfessed or coddled sin in his life, it would distort his ability to properly relate to God and others. If he was coddling sin, then he might think that the problem was all “out there” instead of “in here.”

He knew that even more dangerous than the external enemies in our lives are the internal enemies of our own sin. Sins that so easily beset us. Sins that deceive us and poison us and, eventually, kill us.

So when he prays, he makes sure that there are no internal enemies that he’s allowing to fester in his life.

Application (1B)

Question: Can you honestly say with David that there are no unconfessed sins you’re allowing to remain in your life? If not, what are the besetting sins that you are coddling in your life?

(1) Example 1:The sin of Pride

(2) Example 2: The sin of Sexual Immorality

(3) Example 3: The sin of Laziness

(4) Example 4: The sin of Un-thankfulness

Unconfessed sin distorts your ability to rightly relate to God and others. Do you realize that Saul’s soldiers probably thought they were doing the right thing by hunting down David? To Saul’s soldiers, David would have been their external enemy. Have your unconfessed sins made you think that the very people God has sent into your life to help you are actually your enemies? If God sends someone in your life to help you break free of the patterns of sin you have allowed into your life, they are not your enemies! They are your friends. But if you are so hardened by your sin, you will think that they are your enemies.

What are the besetting sins that you are coddling in your life?

We need to trust in God for rescue by (1) PRAYING TO God while:

(A) Remembering external enemies (vv. 1-3a)

(B) Remembering internal enemies (vv. 3b-4a)

Psalm 59:4–5 (ESV)

4b Awake, come to meet me, and see!

5 You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

Explanation (1C)

In the midst of David’s prayer, even though he’s honest about his external enemies and honest about his internal enemies, he doesn’t forget about the God that he’s praying to. He remembers God’s character, specifically three characteristics:

(1) He remembers God’s Power

He calls God the “LORD God of Hosts,” literally, the “God of Armies.” God is the Great Commander who wins all of His battles.

2) He remembers God’s Reign

He calls God the “God of Israel,” which means that God is the True and Ultimate King, not King Saul. We see a similar phrase in verse 13, where he says, “God rules over Jacob.” God is the King, and David chooses to remember that.

(3) He remembers God’s Justice.

In verse 5, he calls on God to “punish all the nations,” all of God’s enemies who refuse to turn from their sins. Interestingly, he looks up from his immediate circumstances and thinks about God’s attitude toward all of the wicked on earth. Here, he appeals to God’s justice, God’s unwillingness to allow evil to have the final say in the world.

Here in his prayer, David remembers God’s character.

Application (1C)

Question: What aspects of God’s character do you need to remember?

(1) Example 1: God’s Power, Reign, or Justice

Or maybe a different aspect of God’s character

(2) Example 2: God’s Love, Wisdom, Mercy

Because we’re all in need of rescue, we must trust in God for rescue:

FIRST, (1) By PRAYING TO God (vv. 1-5)

Illustration (1) -

Prayer is the most tangible expression of trust in God.

Jerry Bridges

Application (1) -

Are you trusting in God? Do you know what will tell you if you’re really trusting in God? Your prayer life.

How is your prayer life? When do you pray? What are your prayers like?

When you face difficult situations and circumstances, is your first inclination to power through it, or is it to pray through it?

Prayer is the most tangible expression of trust in God.

Jerry Bridges

Because we’re all in need of rescue, we must trust in God for rescue:

FIRST, (1) By PRAYING TO God (vv. 1-5)

SECOND, (2) By FOCUSING ON God (vv. 6-13)

Explanation (2)

David chooses to focus on his God instead of focusing on His enemies. We need to do the same. Again, I think we see at least three ways to do this.

We need to trust in God for rescue by (2) FOCUSING ON God while:

(A) Remembering the futility of the wicked (vv. 6-8)

[Structural Note - “Selah”]

At the end of verse 5, David writes, “Selah,” which is some kind of musical term. My favorite theory is that it means instrumental interlude, but regardless, it probably signals some kind of shift in the song. Most likely, vv. 1-5 function like a Verse, and then vv. 6-13 and vv. 14-17 function as two Choruses. Whatever the case, David talks about what his enemies are doing, and he compares them to dogs that wander around looking for food and bark at people and causing all kinds of trouble.

Psalm 59:6–8 (ESV)

6 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips— for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

8 But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision.

Explanation (2A)

This phrase is repeated in v.14, which tells us this is some kind of chorus. But the focus of this first chorus is really to contrast the wicked with God.

On the one hand, David says that his enemies are like dogs, wandering the streets each night trying to get something to eat and unafraid of bothering people to get what they want. They think they can get away with all kinds of evil things because they think that no one can see what they’re doing in the dark of night.

But David knows that God is aware of what’s going on and that God isn’t the least threatened by David’s macho enemies. In fact, David says that God actually laughs and makes fun of them!

“A roaring lion is not afraid of a barking dog.”

Application (2A)

(1) Example 1: Have you given God’s enemies too much credit or too much attention in your life?

Romans 8:31 (ESV)

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

God’s enemies are doomed to fail. They won’t win. They can’t win. So long as we are on God’s side, we are on the winning side.

We need to trust in God for rescue by (2) FOCUSING ON God while:

(A) Remembering the futility of the wicked (vv. 6-8)

(B) Remembering the future for the righteous (vv. 9-10)

Psalm 59:9–10 (ESV)

9 O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress.

10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

Explanation (2B)

As David remembers the futility of the wicked, he also remembers the future for the righteous. He remembers that God will be faithful to fulfill all of His promises to him. He remembers that God had anointed him for leadership in Israel, and that He would be faithful to carry out His purpose, and no one — not even King Saul and his minions — would be able to stop what God had set in motion. Instead of obsessing about His enemies, David looks to God and fixes His mind on God’s promises toward him.

Illustration - The illustration David uses in verse 9 is that of a watchman.

“O my strength, I will watch for you.”

He is like a watchman who is staying up all night and looking eagerly and intently at the horizon, just waiting for the coming of the sun.

David is saying that He will watch for God.

Or, listen to Verse 10, where he believes, “My God in his steadfast love will meet me.”

David is focusing on God and His promises.

Application (2B)

What about you? What are the promises of God that you can focus on?

Applicable Promise: “My God in his steadfast love will meet me.” (v.10)

(1) Example 1: Do you believe that? Do you believe that as you’re trying to navigate a strained family relationship, God will keep that promise?

(2) Example 2: Or maybe that promise is more applicable in the case of one of your internal enemies, one of your besetting sins. Do you believe that God will be faithful to meet you with His presence and provide victory over that sin as you walk with Him? Or have you already conceded defeat in your mind?

What we mean by salvation is this—deliverance from the love of sin, rescue from the habit of sin, setting free from the desire to sin.

Charles Spurgeon

We need to trust in God for rescue by (2) FOCUSING ON God while:

(A) Remembering the futility of the wicked (vv. 6-8)

(B) Remembering the future for the righteous (vv. 9-10)

Psalm 59:11–13 (ESV)

11 Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield!

12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,

13 consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah

Explanation (2C)

As David did earlier, he thinks about how his circumstances fit into a bigger picture, not just about him and Saul, but about God’s people vs. God’s enemies on a global scale. David asks God to allow his enemies to self-destruct: to allow their lives to continue as an ongoing testimony of the destructive influence and power of their choices.

So in v.11, He asks God not to kill his enemies right away.

“Kill them not, lest my people forget”

His concern is that if God judges them right away, God’s people won’t learn an important lesson about what happens when you oppose God and His plan. So he asks God to let his enemies be trapped in the web of their own selfishness. That their words and their pride would ensnare them and bring them to a ruin of their own making.

Psalm 59:12 (ESV)

12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride.

Ultimately, David prays that by delaying final judgment, the whole world will be able to see that God alone is the King of Israel, and that His plan is final and His power is ultimate, and His wrath is fair.

Application (2C)

(1) Example 1: Do you believe that God’s wrath is fair?

In our modern time and culture, God’s wrath is hard to swallow. But in reality, if we want a God of love, we should also want a God of wrath.

In Tim Keller’s bestselling book “The Reason for God” he gives a couple pointed examples of this.

He says that if you love someone and you see something or someone ruining and ravaging them — even if its themselves — you get angry!

He quotes Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf, someone who has seen the violence in the Balkans, to demonstrate this point:

“If God were not angry at injustice and deception and did not make a final end to violence — that God would not be worthy of worship . . . . The only means of prohibiting all recourse to violence by ourselves is to insist that violence is legitimate only when it comes from God. . . . My thesis that the practice of non-violence requires a belief in divine vengeance will be unpopular with many . . . in the West . . . [But] it takes the quiet of a suburban home for the birth of the thesis than human non-violence [results from the belief in] God’s refusal to judge. In a sun-scorched land, soaked in the blood of the innocent, it will invariably die . . . [with] other pleasant captivities of the liberal mind.”

Mirsolav Volf

Keller summarizes Volf this way:

“If I don’t believe that there is a God who will eventually put all things right, I will take up the sword and will be sucked into the endless vortex of retaliation. Only if I am sure that there’s a God who will right all wrongs and settle all accounts perfectly do I have the power to refrain.”

Tim Keller

I think Volf and Keller are right. The fact that God’s wrath is perfectly fair frees us to not take matters into our own hands.

Romans 12:19 (ESV)

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

By praying to God, David is entrusting the final decision about judgment to God and not taking vengeance into his own hands. Judgment is God’s prerogative, and we need to trust him with the details.

Because we’re all in need of rescue, we must trust in God for rescue:

FIRST, (1) By PRAYING TO God (vv. 1-5)

SECOND, (2) By FOCUSING ON God (vv. 6-13)

(A) Remembering the futility of the wicked

(B) Remembering the future for the righteous

Application (2)

Question 1: Are you focusing on God, or your difficulties?

Question 2: Are you focusing on God’s promises, or the threats and taunts of the enemy?

Question 3: Are you focusing on God and his fair wrath, or are you focusing on how you can get revenge?

Because we’re all in need of rescue, we must trust n God for rescue:

FIRST, (1) By PRAYING TO God (vv. 1-5)

SECOND, (2) By FOCUSING ON God (vv. 6-13)

THIRD, (3) By WORSHIPING God (vv. 14-17)

Explanation (3)

The ultimate expression of trust is Worship. It’s being able to respond to who God is regardless of what else is going on in your life.

We need to trust in God for rescue by (3) WORSHIPPING God:

(A) In Spite of Foes (vv. 14-16)

Psalm 59:14–16 (ESV)

14 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

15 They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill.

16 But I will sing of your strength...

Explanation (3A)

David repeats the intro to the chorus that we saw in v.6, but this time, he adds that despite their howling and prowling, his enemies don’t find what they are looking for, they end up staying up all night hungry, which only makes them more dangerous in the morning.

But even in spite of his foes, David will worship God. Look at that first phrase of v.16 again, “But I will sing of your strength.”

Even while the dogs are growling, David is worshipping.

Application (3A)

What about you?

(1) Example 1: What if you lose your job instead of getting the promotion that you were promised. Will you still worship God?

(2) Example 2: What if our church one day loses our tax-exempt status or if a pastor in our church goes to jail because of our stance on biblical sexual ethics? Will we still worship God?

(3) Example 3: What if the cancer isn’t in remission, after all? What if it’s getting worse? Will you still worship God?

We need to trust in God for rescue by (3) WORSHIPPING God:

(A) In Spite of Foes (vv. 14-16)

(B) In Songs of Praise (vv. 16-17)

Psalm 59:16–17 (ESV)

16 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.

17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Explanation (3B)

The reason David can worship God in spite of foes is because no matter what else happens, God is always the same. He doesn’t change. So the reality of who God is becomes the basis for David’s worship. And the result? Singing songs that are saturated with God!

David sings about

(1) God’s Strength: v.16, “I will sing of your strength”

(2) God’s Steadfast Love: v.16, “I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.” God’s covenant-keeping, always faithful love.

Even though the night was long and dark and scary - with dogs barking and howling and lurking about for food - David is looking to when the sun comes up and God has protected him from his enemies! And the result is a song of praise.

Application (3B)

Have you noticed that God’s people sing? It’s not just a preference that some Christians practice in some place. It’s a universal reality of not only the human condition, but of Christianity itself. God built us to sing. In songs of praise, God links the best medium for communicating truth (words) with the best medium for communicating feelings (music), which means that in the songs of God’s people, we can actually feel the truth. Not just know the truth, like we can when we hear Scripture or hear a Sermon. But actually identify an emotion that corresponds with the incredible truths that we are singing.

How often do you sing songs of praise?

(1) Example 1: Sunday mornings at church

(2) Example 2: Why not as a family, in devotion times?

(3) Example 3: Why not privately, in the car or while you’re doing the dishes?

Plug: [SEVBC Spotify Playlists]

Singing songs of praise is an incredible way of meditating on God’s Word, too.

Colossians 3:16 (ESV)

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Summary

Because we’re all in need of rescue, we must trust in God for rescue:

FIRST, (1) By PRAYING TO God (vv. 1-5)

SECOND, (2) By FOCUSING ON God (vv. 6-13)

THIRD, (3) By WORSHIPING God (vv. 14-17)

CONCLUSION -

“We’re going to die in here.”

If Kevin didn’t arrive with the rescue boat, Mary Ann wouldn’t be able to get out.

She was in need of rescue, and she had run out of options.

What Mary Ann didn’t realize was that Kevin—along with his kids and his new crew of rescued neighbors—had just reached her house.

He texted her back right away, “No, you won’t.” He had arrived just in time to rescue her. The neighbors kicked down her front door and were able to get her out.

In the end, Kevin rescued about a dozen people that day, a dozen people that he didn’t have to, but chose to anyway. I don’t know about you, but I hear this story from just a couple weeks ago and I think Kevin is a hero.

GOSPEL CALL

We might not all be trapped in the middle a Category 4 hurricane, with the waters rising all around us with no hope of escape, like Mary Ann.

We might not all have soldiers chasing us or surrounding our house wanting to kill us, like David.

But like Mary Ann, and like David, we’re all in need of rescue.

That’s because from our very first breath, we’re all in need of rescue from ourselves.

You see, God’s Word says that we are all sinners — enemies of God. We are sinners by birth - it’s in our nature. We are sinners by choice — it’s in our desires. We want to sin, and we love to sin. And because of that sin, we are a threat to God’s good world. A threat to peace. A threat to happiness. A threat to wholeness.

And so, left to ourselves, we are like Mary Ann — trapped in our sins with the waves of certain death and God’s promise of judgement rising all around us.

But our God is the Great Rescuer.

As the theologian John Stott once said,

Christianity is, in fact, a rescue religion.

John Stott

Listen to Titus 3:3-5

Titus 3:3–5 (ESV)

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,

5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. . .

Christianity is a rescue religion.

And the good news that we believe is that the very same God that we have sinned against has come to rescue us from the penalty that we deserve.

Romans 5:6 (ESV)

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, but died on a cruel cross for sinners in need of rescue, paying the sin debt for everyone who would ever turn from their sins and trust in him. He died in your place, doing for you what you could never do for yourself. And on the third day He rose from the dead, securing your forgiveness and proving that God accepted his sacrifice.

Because we’re all in need of rescue, we must trust in Jesus Christ for rescue.

There’s nothing you can do to rescue yourself, friend. No baptism. No prayer. No decision. No commitment. No emotion. No experience. No intellectual assent.

To quote a line from a song we sang earlier in this service:

“We stood 'neath a debt we could never afford”

From “His Mercy is More”

You can’t rescue yourself, but Christ can.

Trust in Jesus Christ, and in Jesus Christ alone.

“Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness He requires Is to feel your need of Him.”

Joseph Hart, from “Come Ye Sinners”

Because we’re all in need of rescue, we need to trust in God for rescue.

Trust in Him today.

Let’s pray.

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