Top 10 Rescues In The Bible

INTRO: Well, That cruise sure was interesting.....

Take care that your deliverances are always weighty, and full of really important teaching.

Charles Spurgeon

Mark 4:35–41 “On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

PRAY!

10. David

David was in very real, life threatening positions all through his life. Goliath, King Saul and his own son, In fact he was 12x in danger of losing his life. Absalom, the third son. He was killed by Joab (1 Chronicles 3:1-2) after he mounted a rebellion against his aging father David. But God delivered him out of all

Psalm 8:3–4 “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?”

Psalm 32:7 “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah”

9. Gideon

Gideon, son of a relatively wealthy man, is quietly and secretively processing grain in the crowded space of a winepress, attempting to hide it from foreign invaders

Judges 6:12 “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

The Angel's lofty description of Gideon also expresses a reality unseen and obscured from a human perspective. The Lord addresses Gideon as he soon will be

But Gideon asks the age old question that all of us ask God sooner or later....WHY?

Judges 6:13 “Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?

WHY?

something I want you to see here, fear and worry disqualified 22k people from being a part of the miracle

Judges 7:3 Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and worried, is to return and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand from the people returned, but ten thousand remained.

Now the Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the [l]people of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

Judges 8:10 “Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the army of the people of the East; for one hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword had fallen.”

300 israelites vs 135k

8. Peter In Prison

Acts 12:1–5 “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.”

7. Paul’s Jailer

Acts 16

After they had beaten them severely, they threw them into prison and commanded the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the rest of the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds of all the prisoners came loose. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he assumed the prisoners had escaped.

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all those who were in his house. 33 At that hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized right away. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set food before them, and he rejoiced greatly that he had come to believe in God, together with his entire household.

Not only did God deliver Paul & Silas from prison, but his jailer and his entire household where saved and baptised! The jailer went from nearly committing suicide to receiving salvation through Jesus

6. Israelites At Red Sea

Just imagine… Mountains on both sides and ocean in front of you and worlds most powerful army bearing down on you with a whole lot of hate and bad intentions.

Exodus 14:10–12 “And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.

You notice that fear always tries to take root and compromise the best that God has for you

Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

Exodus 14:13 “And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.”

So many scriptures in the Bible say “Don’t be afraid.”

“My fear don't stand a chance when I, stand on your word.”

5. Paul Shipwrecked & Snake-bitten

The story takes place in Acts 28

Acts 28:1–7 “Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days.”

They had just come ashore from a shipwreck where the ship was lost but everybody survived. An angel of God had told Paul everybody would be saved.

A poisonous snake attacks and bites him, but he suffers no ill effects, to the amazement of the onlookers. Even a poisonous snake could not stop Paul getting to Rome.

The local islanders said Paul must have been a murderer, but when he did not die they said Paul must be a god.

Later on, Paul heals the father of a high official and cures the ills of all the sick islanders and spends the winter with them.

4. Widow Of Zarephath

Try to imagine the hopelessness of this poor widowed woman

1 Kings 17:12 “So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

1 Kings 17:14–15 “For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ” So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.”

And when read on a bit further, we see God through the prophet Elijah raise her son from the dead. God saved her from 2 death experiences

Even Jesus took notice of this woman’s plight, and drove the point home that she wasn't even an Israelite and God still rained down blessings on this woman and her son

Luke 4:25–26 “But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.”

3. Martha & Mary

In one of the most moving story's in the bible, we find 2 heartbroken, grieving sisters mourning the loss of their brother

John 11:20–26 “Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Do you believe this??? Jesus wants her answer before he proceeds

Faith is the key that unlocks the door to miracles! notice Martha's answer

John 11:27 “She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.””

Lazarus is mentioned again in the Gospel of John chapter 12. Six days before the Passover on which Jesus is crucified, Jesus returns to Bethany and Lazarus attends a supper that Martha, his sister, serves. Jesus and Lazarus together attract the attention of many Jews and the narrator state that the chief priests consider having Lazarus put to death because so many people have come to believe in Jesus on account of his raising Lazarus.

John 12:9–10 “Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also,”

2. Naomi

A life from bitter to blessed

There is a decent chance that you have heard of Naomi from the Bible. You might even know that she is connected with the story of Ruth. But have you heard of a woman named Mara?

It’s actually the same woman; she wanted a name change. But history has not given it to her. She is known as Naomi and not Mara. And that is because of the beauty of redemption that is found in her story.

The key to this passage is to notice that it begins with a woman who leaves their hometown with her husband and two sons. By the end of the passage (verse 5) her husband and two sons are dead and all she has left are her daughters-in-law: Ruth and Orpah.

Ruth 1:20–21 “But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

Her statement here is that their line has ended. oh but God wasn’t done yet!

From bitter to blessed!

Enter Ruth:

Ruth 1:14 “Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.”

Ruth gave a stirring speech. She told Naomi that she would follow her anywhere. She was surrendering her life to Naomi.

Ruth 1:16–17 “But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.””

How do you think Naomi responded?

She said nothing. Silence. That’s one of the things that trauma will do. And it’s often what happens when we are so overcome with grief that we move into a deep and settled bitterness.

Enter Boaz:

A kinsman redeemer was obliged to buy back his relatives if they fell into debt and had to sell themselves into slavery (Lev. 25:25–55)

The story of Ruth and Boaz is a story about the improbable ways which King David came to be. But even more than that it is a story about the improbable ways in which King Jesus came to be. Had this story not happened, there would be no King David and there would not have been the birth of Jesus, as a descendant of David.

There have been many times in history when it has seemed like God’s plan of redemption was on its last breath. But God is faithful to His story. He always works out redemption. This is great news for us. God plans to redeem, and nothing will stop His plan.

Honorable Mentions:

10 Lepers

Cripple at Bethesda Pool

Elijah's Servant

King Hezekiah

1. Jesus At Calvary

Folks, you have to understand something, Jesus could have bailed anytime He wanted to, but He chose love! He chose your life over His own. They didn't take Jesus’s life, He gave it up freely.

Luke 23:46 “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.”

The beatings, the crown of thorns, the unimaginable pain, the slow death by suffocation

. Jesus did not have 11 disciples to protect him; he had 12 legions of angels. Under the Roman army, a legion was composed of 6,000 men. 12 legions at full strength consisted of 72,000 men. From the Roman army system, Jesus Christ had 72,000 angels at his beck and call.

Matthew 26:52–53 “But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?”

The one who created the rivers and the oceans said “I thirst.” He could have put a stop to all His suffering, but He didn’t, hallelujah!

In Matthew 20:28, Jesus says, “The Son of Man came . . . to give his life as a ransom for many.” The crucifixion was Jesus’ plan, and it was his plan from before creation—he’s the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

Matthew 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Quote from John MacArthur- The reason that Jesus Christ was born was to die. It greatly concerns me today that there are some who are always talking about the fact that Jesus was a wonderful person who through a set of circumstances got Himself into a mess and wound up getting crucified. However, the Word of God clearly tells us that Jesus Christ was never trapped, He was never tricked, He was never surprised, He was never a victim, He went to the cross of His own design, of His own will because He was born for that express purpose.

CALL UP WORSHIP!

IN CLOSING:

Were not promised a life free from moments that will shurly test our faith..In fact were told quite the opposite

Psalm 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

PRAY!