Delivered from the Perils of Life by The Great Deliverer

On Sunday, July 2, I filled in for friend, Pastor Tony Schultz. I led worship for Tony while he and his wife, Ronelle, were traveling. As pastor of Anchorage Lutheran Church, Tony is preaching a sermon series this 2023 summer. The theme for Sunday, July 2, was “The Great Deliverance.” However, as I was later reflecting on my July 2 sermon, I wondered why I had not used one of the great “deliverance” verses in Scripture.

Have you ever worked to memorize Bible verses? I was taught and encouraged to memorize verses from God’s word as a child at Trinity Lutheran Church in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Later, as a teenager at First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, Florida, part of our assignment for confirmation classes each week was to commit multiple verses to memory. I have continued to memorize God’s Word as an adult. I believe what God teaches in Psalm 119:11. “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” I believe there are blessings for life as a child of God when one knows God’s word. Remember, Jesus Himself warded off the temptations of the devil through knowledge of the Word of God. (Matthew 4, Luke 4)

Anyway, one of the Bible verses which I learned as a child, one of the verses of Scripture which comes most easily to the tip of my tongue, speaks to my heart about deliverance. Do you remember Psalm 50:15? “. . . call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

God’s Word relates numerous instances when the Lord’s people faced perils, seemingly without the possibility of escape. There was nothing they could do, yet God delivered them. Last Sunday we read in worship about the Exodus. God delivered the Israelites when they were trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea. Do you perhaps also remember God delivering Ruth, or Gideon, Hezekiah or Daniel, or Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, or . . . ? In the New Testament we read about the many miracles of deliverance which Jesus performed. God also delivered Peter from prison (Acts 12), and Paul from persecution (Acts 16, and other places) and shipwreck (Acts 27). God Himself is The Great Deliverer. One of my favorite sections of Scripture, one I learned as an adult, is written by St. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10. “8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us”

My question is, can you remember a time when you faced difficulty, danger, illness, or other trial, when you had given up hope? Yet after “calling on the Lord,” (Psalm 50) you experienced deliverance? I can personally share about numerous close calls in my life, whether danger in vehicles, or danger of falling, or even the danger of being under a burning 62 Volkwagon. As pastor, I was with numerous church members when poor health turned to good health, and doctors told me, “The tests were not wrong.” I do believe that God continues to deliver His people today. “. . . call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

However, THE Great Deliverance is not the help God gives in our lives today. Paul says, “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us” Our real peril is the sin that lives in us, and the rebellion against God which endangers our relationship with our Creator and Savior, which leads to judgment and death. But, Jesus, the Son of God, suffered and died for the sin of the world, and for our sin. God did raise Jesus from the dead. Through faith in Jesus God will deliver us from death and judgment to eternal life in heaven.

The thing is we all today face trials, difficulties and dangers beyond our wisdom, beyond our strength, our ability. There are times we are caught between “the Egyptians and the Red Sea.” We find ourselves between the rock and the hard place, between the righteousness of our holy God, and our own weakness and sin. But, when we are lost, God still delivers. I have seen His deliverance in my life, and I trust His deliverance for eternal life. I will share with others God’s saving graces in my life. I continue to trust my Lord who tells me, “. . . call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."