Pastor Dave Barr
January 1, 2012 - W1201

How many of you have locked your keys in your car, or was lost and refused to ask for directions or gone to a restroom and found no toilet paper? In all these scenarios you needed to be rescued.

My message for you today is How to Be Rescued in the Year 2012. Jesus said in the book of John that we will have troubles in this world, and the Lord would like to prepare us for the various troubles from which we will need to be rescued.

What troubles and problems are you facing lately and experiencing? Could it be a relational problem and drama with the people in your life, or being tossed back and forth in the sea of financial stress? Are you sinking under the weight of changes at work? Do you have health problems or are you helplessly watching someone you love suffer?

Sometimes our lives are a lot like being drowned in a vast ocean with giant waves crashing over us and we need a rescuer. The Bible talks about rescue in Psalm 18:16: “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters” If anyone of you wants to read a good book of rescues, read the Bible. This book is full of wonderful stories of one rescue story after another. It talks of Abraham, Jonah, Noah, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Jacob, Ruth and King David. They had problems that only God could solve. There will be problems that you and I will go through that we can not handle on our own, but He can handle it with us. We all need a rescuer. So we might ask …

WHAT CAN JESUS RESCUE ME FROM?

I have selected only 10 from the 150 Biblical rescues that I had found. In the Bible, God uses different terms that mean rescue like “set free”, “liberate”, “redeem”, “deliver” and the word “rescue”.

· THE STRESS OF LIFE - PHIL. 4:6-7

What have you been worrying about lately? The Bible calls Jesus the Prince of Peace. We can feel at peace within a problem because Jesus is filling us with His peace in the midst of the storm.

· ATTACKS OF OTHERS - PSALM 18:17

He doesn’t always keep us from the attacks of others, but He will always be there for us even when we are being attacked by others.

· RESENTMENTS - ROM. 12:14-19

Everyone has a relative that could be real annoying and could put us in a sea of bitterness and resentment. Then we don’t have joy and even feel pulled under by the weight of grudges and resentment.

· A GUILTY CONSCIENCE - 1 JOHN 1:9

Some of you here could be feeling a wave of guilty and regret that crashes over you. If you walk around life with a guilty conscience it can weigh you down. But remember that Jesus washed away all your sins and guilt. When Jesus Christ died on the cross He came to rescue all of us even from ….

· THE FEAR OF DEATH - HEB. 2:14-15

· THE JUDGEMENT OF HELL - 1 THESS. 1:10

· FINANCIAL DISTRESS - PHIL. 4:19

· ADDICTIONS - ROM. 6:6 1-4

· TRAPS I DON’T SEE - PSALM 91:3

The Bible tells us that God can rescue you from the traps that you don’t see because He sees them and can keep you from falling into those traps.

· BROKENHEARTEDNESS - PSALM 34:18

Some of you came here with a heavy heart, but God can rescue you. You are not alone and you will make it because God saves those who are crushed in spirit. He is a rescuer -that is His nature and divine love for you.

God will not keep you from all the problems in your life, but if you call upon Him, He will lift you up from the problem and calm the storm. So why do many Christians go through so many problems? The Bible tells us that “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19)

So why do many believers not get rescued from their problems or go through their problems and yet not experience the fullness of Gods rescue plan for them? Because some of us have the “I DO” and prideful heart. The Bible says, “You rescue those who are humble.” (Psalm 18:27) When we tell God that we need His help, He rushes to rescue us. If we ignore the reach of His hand or His word and disregard His warnings He will let us fall. God doesn’t want us to fall or drown. But when we say I DO and think that we can handle this on our own He lets us fall to remind us that we all need Him to be our rescuer.

The Bible says in order to be rescued we need to –

1. CALL ON JESUS TO RESCUE ME

The Bible tells us “When you call on ME, I will answer; I will be with you in your trouble and I will rescue you.” (Psalm 91-15)

2. COOPERATE WITH JESUS’ RESCUE INSTRUCTIONS.

Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command” John 14:15

God wants us to read the Bible which is His rescue manual for life. He wants us to sit at His feet reading and doing our devotions. If there are times you miss your devotions, just get back and read His word.

“The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name. “Psalm 91:14 The more we read of the word the more we can trust him when our faith starts to sag or we become discouraged.

There are three temptations that can pull you from committing yourself to Christ in 2012.

The first is ….

· Possessions  – We think that if we can get a certain thing we will be much happier and satisfied. We go out and buy things that we don’t need, with money that we don’t have for someone we don’t even like.

The second is …..

· People – Sometimes we tell ourselves that if we have a companion then we will be satisfied. But when blessed with what we want we sometimes become unhappy. Instead, Jesus Christ should be the number 1 Relationship that we will all have in 2012.

The third is….

· Pleasure - We think that the golden life is to be happy and seek pleasure. Once the thrill fades, we find that something is missing, which is Jesus Christ.

Don’t let these temptations stop you from having a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy your deepest needs. Ask Jesus to give you the strength to stop chasing other things, so that you can chase and pursue Him and then He can come to your rescue.

Study Suggestions

1. What can Jesus rescue you from? Why?
2. Why are some Christians not rescued?
3. What do you need to do before you are rescued by Jesus?
4. What are the 3 temptations that pull you away from Jesus?