Deliverance Is Coming
Before we get into today’s message, I want to celebrate a testimony from someone whose life was transformed by Jesus in our church. This is something I want to start doing periodically throughout the year, because we have so many stories to tell, and each of those stories is evidence that Jesus is still transforming people’s lives today through our church. Listen to this testimony I recently received from someone in our church:
“Before attending City Awakening, I was in an emotionally and verbally abusive marriage. My husband back then was unfaithful in our marriage, and he left me and my daughter when she was only a month old. So I reached out to some close friends for help. They immediately supported me, and they also invited me to attend City Awakening.
After coming to church and plugging into a small group, I started building relationships and feeling less isolated. I also felt like God was speaking to me through the sermons every week, so I knew this was the place where God wanted me and my daughter to be. As hard as it is to go through betrayal and divorce, I’m thankful that God didn’t leave me in that situation. He rescued me out of that situation, and He’s still writing my story through City Awakening.”
Let’s give God praise for this testimony!...This testimony is evidence that Jesus is still transforming people’s lives today through our church. It’s evidence that when you volunteer and financially give to our church, it has an impact on people’s lives. It’s evidence that when you invite people to attend our church, your invitation can lead to their transformation. We have more stories to tell in our church, and more stories to be written through our church. So let’s keep volunteering, let’s keep financially giving, and let’s keep inviting people to attend our church. Let’s keep Reaching People and Reaching The World, with the life-transforming message of Jesus.
Now as for today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Psalms, and it’s a series that can help give us melodies of encouragement for everyday life. The specific Psalm we’re studying today is about God’s deliverance in desperate times. It’s about God’s deliverance in desperate times, and what to do when God’s deliverance feels delayed. The truth is we all have things we want to be delivered from. We want to be delivered from marriage issues, family issues, financial issues...We want to be delivered from career issues, health issues, sin issues...We want to be delivered from all kinds of issues in life, but sometimes our deliverance feels delayed. Today’s psalm will teach us about God’s deliverance in desperate times, and what to do when God’s deliverance feels delayed. So let’s turn to Psalm 35 and get into it. You can find the book of Psalms in the middle of the bible, and we’ll be in Psalm 35:1-28. The title of today’s message is Deliverance Is Coming, and the big idea of the message is that our deliverance feels delayed, but it won’t be denied...Our deliverance feels delayed, but it won’t be denied...
Here’s your context. The book of Psalms is an Old Testament biblical hymnbook, and it contains various songs and prayers that can help give us daily encouragement. They’re written by Old Testament historical leaders who are expressing their real, raw, honest emotions we can all relate with. Psalm 35 was written by King David, who’s known as one of the greatest kings in Israel’s history, and he wrote this while facing persecution from his enemies. So let’s see how he responds in this desperate situation, and when God’s deliverance feels delayed. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Psalm 35:1-28 states, “Oppose my opponents, Lord; fight those who fight me. 2 Take your shields—large and small—and come to my aid. 3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers, and assure me, ‘I am your deliverance.’ 4 Let those who intend to take my life be disgraced and humiliated; let those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed. 5 Let them be like chaff in the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away. 6 Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. 7 They hid their net for me without cause; they dug a pit for me without cause. 8 Let ruin come on him unexpectedly, and let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it—to his ruin. 9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord; I will delight in his deliverance. 10 All my bones will say, ‘Lord, who is like you, rescuing the poor from one too strong for him, the poor or the needy from one who robs him?’” What we’re learning in these first 10 verses is David’s fighting a battle. He’s fighting a battle against some opponents, and vs. 4 says they’re trying to take his life and do him harm. They’re evil, aggressive, violent people who are trying to kill David. So what’s he do? He immediately starts praying for God’s help. In vs. 1 he starts praying for God to oppose his opponents and to fight those who fight him. He starts praying for God’s deliverance.
Now this psalm is considered both a lament psalm and an imprecatory psalm. It’s a lament psalm, because David is praying for God’s help. But it’s also an imprecatory psalm, because David is praying for God to curse his enemies. An imprecatory psalm is a prayer for God’s wrath and justice to come against evil, so we can have deliverance from evil. Some people don’t like imprecatory psalms, because they think it contradicts what Jesus teaches in Matthew 5, which is to pray for our enemies. But in Matthew 6 Jesus also teaches in The Lord’s Prayer to pray for our deliverance from evil. We can’t have deliverance from evil, if God’s wrath and justice never come against evil. If God’s wrath and justice never come against evil, then it means evil will last forever. It means evil will be eternal, and we’ll never have any eternal deliverance from evil. So Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies hearts to turn to God, but also to pray for God’s wrath and justice to deliver us from evil if their hearts don’t turn to God. In Psalm 35 David’s reached a point where his enemies hearts aren’t turning, they’re trying to take his life, and his death is imminent. So in vs. 3 and 9 he prays for God’s deliverance from this evil. He prays for God to oppose his opponents, to fight those who fight him, so he can have deliverance from this evil situation he’s in.
Vs. 11, “Malicious witnesses come forward; they question me about things I don’t know. 12 They repay me evil for good, making me desolate. 13 Yet when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, and my prayer was genuine. 14 I went about mourning as if for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for a mother. 15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; they gathered against me. Assailants I didn’t know tore at me and didn’t stop. 16 With godless mockery they gnashed their teeth at me. 17 Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages; rescue my precious life from the young lions. 18 I will praise you in the great assembly; I will exalt you among many people.” David’s continuing to express his struggles to God, except this time he’s expressing more emotional struggles than physical struggles. He mentions malicious witnesses giving false testimonies about things he didn’t do, and he also mentions their constant godless mockery of him. So David isn’t just struggling physically, he’s also struggling emotionally. It’s possible he’s struggling spiritually too, because in vs. 17 he cries out to the Lord saying, “How long will you look on?” The phrase how long expresses time, meaning David’s been waiting a long time for his deliverance. We don’t know how long he’s been waiting, we just know it’s longer than he’d like. So he asks the Lord how much longer it’ll be, because he’s struggling with God’s delay. He’s struggling with God’s delay, just like we struggle with God’s delay. Some of you’ve been praying for deliverance from issues you’re facing or sins you’re trying to overcome, but it feels like God’s delaying your deliverance. Like David you’re struggling with God’s delay asking, “How long Lord? How long will you look on?” But David never stops praying, even though he’s struggling with God’s delay. Listen to vs. 19-28.
Vs. 19, “Don’t let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me; don’t let those who hate me without cause wink at me maliciously. 20 For they don’t speak in friendly ways, but contrive fraudulent schemes against those who live peacefully in the land. 21 They open their mouths wide against me and say, ‘Aha, aha! We saw it!’ 22 You saw it, Lord! Don’t be silent! Don’t be far from me! 23 Wake up and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord! 24 Vindicate me, Lord, in keeping with your righteousness, and don’t let them rejoice over me. 25 Don’t let them say in their hearts, ‘Aha! Just what we wanted.’ Don’t let them say, ‘We have swallowed him up!’ 26 Let those who rejoice at my misfortune be disgraced and humiliated; let those who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and reproach. 27 Let those who want my vindication shout for joy and be glad; let them continually say, ‘The Lord be exalted. He takes pleasure in his servant’s well-being.’ 28 And my tongue will proclaim your righteousness, and your praise all day long.” Notice David’s anticipating his deliverance instead of dwelling on his delay. He’s anticipating that a time will come when God will deliver him, and he will proclaim God’s righteousness and praise. He's anticipating his deliverance instead of dwelling on his delay, and he does this all throughout Psalm 35. He says in Vs. 9, “I will delight in his deliverance!” He says in Vs. 18, “I will praise you!...I will exalt you!” He says in Vs. 28, “I will proclaim your righteousness and your praise!” All throughout Psalm 35 David repeatedly expresses his struggles with God’s delay, but he also repeatedly expresses his anticipation for God’s deliverance. But what can we learn from all this? What can we learn from Psalm 35, that can help us when we’re struggling with God’s delay?
1st Some fights require more kneeling than swinging. = We need to remember that some fights require more kneeling in prayer, than swinging our fists in the air. The reality is there are some fights, some battles, some situations we’ll face in life that we can’t win. It doesn’t matter how hard we swing or how hard we try, there are some fights we just can’t win. What we learn from David in Psalm 35 isn’t to quit fighting, it’s to keep kneeling...It’s to keep fighting our battles by doing more kneeling in prayer...We need to do more kneeling in prayer so we can rely more on God’s power, instead of swinging in the air relying on our own power. David wasn’t just a King, he was also an elite warrior who knew how to fight. He was known for killing lions, bears, and Goliath who was a fierce Philistine warrior nobody wanted to fight. David knew how to fight, but in Psalm 35 he faced a battle he knew he couldn’t win! So he reached for his Savior instead of his sword. He fought on his knees in prayer, instead of with his sword swinging in the air. It’s like the chorus in the Battle Belongs song. “So when I fight, I'll fight on my knees.” It’s like what Oswald Chambers says, “Prayer isn’t preparation for the battle. Prayer is the battle!” This is what David does. He fights on his knees in prayer. What battles are you fighting right now?...What battles are you wanting deliverance from?...Are you fighting those battles by doing more kneeling or swinging?...Don’t stop fighting for deliverance from evil things affecting your marriage, your family, your life. Don’t stop fighting for deliverance from evil things affecting your faith, such as fighting against sin. Just make sure when you fight, you’re doing more kneeling than swinging, because some fights you can’t win on your own power. They require more kneeling than swinging.
2nd The resurrection guarantees our deliverance won’t be denied. = The resurrection of Jesus guarantees our deliverance won’t be denied. I know some fights require more kneeling than swinging, but I also know some fights seem to last longer than others. So it can sometimes get discouraging when we’ve been doing a lot of kneeling, a lot of praying, and God’s deliverance is still being delayed. This is what David cried to the Lord in vs. 17, “How long will you look on?”David struggled with God’s delay, but he still had confidence in God’s deliverance. He didn’t end with despair; he ended with confidence that God’s deliverance was coming. But those who put their faith in Jesus can have even greater confidence than David, because of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is the greatest proof that our deliverance from the battles we face in life won’t be denied. When Jesus died on the cross, it appeared that our deliverance from sin and death was denied. It appeared that Jesus wasn’t the real Messiah, he wasn’t the real Savior, he wasn’t the real Lord who could forgive our sins and give us a joyful eternal life. But when Jesus rose from the dead, it proved he's the real Messiah, the real Savior, the real Lord who can forgive our sins and give us a joyful eternal life! It proved the deliverance he offered us on the cross can’t be denied! It proved our deliverance from sin, death, and everything else that plagues us can’t be denied! The cross was delayed deliverance, but the resurrection was guaranteed deliverance. The resurrection is our greatest proof that our deliverance is coming!...Like the cross our deliverance feels delayed, but the resurrection of Jesus guarantees that our deliverance is coming!...If you put your faith in Jesus, then a time will come when the resurrecting power of Jesus will deliver you from every issue you need to be delivered from. So don’t dwell in despair, instead anticipate your deliverance like David. Until then you need to keep fighting, by doing more kneeling than swinging.
The big idea of the message is our deliverance feels delayed, but it won’t be denied...Our deliverance feels delayed, but it won’t be denied...It won’t be denied for anyone who puts their faith in Jesus and his resurrecting power. Like I said in the beginning, we all have things we want to be delivered from, and sometimes our deliverance from those things feels delayed. But those delays are a comma, not a period...If you put your faith in Jesus, then those delays are a comma in your life, not a period in your life...Delays are a comma, they’re a pause in the deliverance story that’s being written for your life. They aren’t a period, they aren’t the end of your deliverance story, so don’t confuse God’s delay with a period. Don’t confuse God’s delay with a period thinking it’s the end of your story, when you still have a resurrection that’s coming. Don’t stop fighting, instead keep fighting your battles by doing more kneeling than swinging, and remember the resurrection of Jesus guarantees, that your eternal deliverance is coming...Let’s pray...