Door Dash

Introduction

Psalm 18:16-19 “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

If anyone knows anything about deliverance it’s David. He literally went from hero to fugitive with the blink of an eye. He defeats Goliath, befriends Jonathan, and marries Saul’s daughter yet finds himself on the run from foreign enemies and a domestic one in Saul. This is probably the most frustrating part of it all that the man who could have prepared him for kingship, David had to be delivered from.

Psalm 18:1-3 “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.”

My wife an I participate in a volunteer effort called Meals on Wheels, it’s for disabled individuals and seniors who do not have the means or ability to go and get food on their own. They completely depend on the people volunteering to ensure they eat. Our problems are similar we have no means to seek resources on our own so we depend on those around us to ensure we have what we need. In this case it’s a situation that God and only God can pull us out of.

Deliverance requires trust, essentially when you are in a place of needing deliverance you have no way of getting out on your own. Deliverance requires a high amount of faith because what you find yourself stuck in you are unable to get out of it yourself.

God Rescues Me

Deliverance is not just about your right now, God is rescuing you because of your future potential as well.

Psalms 18:16 “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.”

Deliverance is more about where the power comes from rather than the plan within itself.

God’s deliverance seems foreign sometimes.

Daniel in the Lion’s Den: The deliverance was not about getting him out of the den but shutting the mouth of those lions that wanted to devour him.

The 3 Hebrew Boys - The deliverance was not about avoiding the fire but being able to walk through the fire unscathed.

Jesus on the cross - The deliverance was not about getting him off the cross but giving him the power to endure the cross so that He could deliver others.

“He drew me out of many waters - church it’s time to reflect . When we are seeking deliverance we have to remember what God has done for us in the past. In the midst of struggle we have to remember what God has done for us previously. This is not God’s first day being a lifeguard in the ocean of life.

God is a God that intervenes when we need him and even when we do not know we need him.

We are at a place of no resources, while in distress we no longer have any power of our own and God rescues us. Distress is a narrow place, we do not see any way out but God is a God of liberating expanse.

Psalm 4:1 “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.”

When it comes to God rescuing us we have to understand that it’s not about our goodness but our deliverance is based on His power and His righteousness.

Remember that God is greater than your distress!

God can draw us out of deep waters because He is sitting at a different vantage point than we are.

It’s similar to a coach in the press box versus the coach on the sideline. The coach on the sideline can see some of the mistakes but he is not at a vantage point to see the entire field.

Similar to a lifeguard, He is sitting in an elevated place because God has to be cognizant of all danger that presents itself.

“He sent from above - God has a better ability to save us because he is monitoring us from a different vantage point.

He drew me out of water - Lifeguards sit a higher vantage point as others so they can see those who might be struggling. The reason why the people on your same level can’t deliver you is because they are not at a proper vantage point to save you. What looks like a good time to those on your level looks like drowning to God.

To draw out of water is more than just saving us from a horrendous situation, it is to provide safety from a dangerous situation. God doesn’t just wait until we are drowning, God has the ability to take us out of situations we do not know are dangerous yet.

Defined as - an elevated area of land, often with the associative meaning of an advantaged desirable area.

Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.”

God Comforts Me

My situation may not be comfortable but I’m comforted by the fact that God has the power to rescue me. I know that it won’t be like this forever!

Psalm 18:17 “He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.”

It’s comforting to see the idea that draw is a power of potential as well as a present help in a time of trouble. God rescues us from powerful enemies, even ones that we do not know are too strong for us. “From those who hated me and were too strong for me”

Do you want to be comforted? It’s going to take some self awareness to understand that some situations are too strong for us to handle on our own. Sometimes we are inhibited from being comforted and delivered because we do not realize the danger that awaits us.

Deliverance takes humility. I know we believe we are strong, I know we believe we are more than conquerors but there are some people and situations are too strong for us to conquer. It’s not a sign of weakness it is a testament of power to who God is.

Hebrews 13:6 “So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?””

God Protects Me

Psalm 18:18 “They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support.”

The tough part of life is the fact that the enemy waits good until you are in a place of calamity, in place in which you do not know who to trust.

When life is in a period of calamity it truly means a period of destruction. If you know anything about a storm that destroys buildings then you know that everything is in disarray and you have to have the patience to dig through the debris and tears in effort to salvage what’s most important. Even when everything is destroyed if you are still standing you still have something to be thankful for. If nothing else I’m thankful that even when everything around me is destroyed if I’m still standing, God is still in the business of protecting me.

What how verse 16 and 19 work together. He drew me out of the deep waters, some situations are so deep we really have no idea what danger we are in.

He led me to safety, He rescues me not because of me but in spite of me. Some deep waters we navigate to because we think we can handle these situations. Let go of pride and let God deliver you.

Psalm 18:19 “He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

I know circumstances seem narrow, but God is a God of turning no way out into a way of deliverance.

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Hope

In 1965, naval aviator James B. Stockdale became one of the first American pilots to be shot down during the Vietnam War. As a prisoner of the Vietcong, he spent seven years as a P.O.W., during which he was frequently tortured in an attempt to break him and get him to denounce the U.S. involvement in the war. He was chained for days at a time with his hands above his head so that he could not even swat the mosquitoes. Today, he still cannot bend his left knee and walks with a severe limp from having his leg broken by his captors and never reset. One of the worst things done to him was that he was held in isolation away from the other American P.O.W.s and allowed to see only his guards and interrogators.

How could anyone survive seven years of such treatment? As he looks back on that time, Stockdale says that it was his hope that kept him alive. Hope of one day going home, that each day could be the day of his release. Without hope, he knew that he would die in hopelessness, as others had done.

Such is the power of hope that it can keep one alive when nothing else can

Do not die in hopelessness! Hold on to your hope! I know it seems impossible but hold on to your hope. Every day you wake up there is a new day for a new hope! When God allows my eyes to open it’s a testament to the fact that He is still protecting me and my situation can change! HOLD ON TO YOUR HOPE! God is PROTECTING YOU TO DELIVER YOU. The water that you are in right now is too deep for you to swim to safety on your own! Call on God to deliver from the deep waters of life.