The Bible In One Year Psalm 73:15-28 · Acts 9:1-31 · 2 Samuel 22:1-23:7 · June 14 Day 165 Rescued John Newton (1725–1801) was a militant atheist, bully and blasphemer. He was a wild and angry young man. He was press-ganged into the Navy at the age of eighteen where he broke the rules so recklessly that he was publicly flogged for desertion. He was hated and feared by his crewmates and himself became a slave trader. At the age of twenty-three Newton’s ship encountered a severe storm off the coast of Donegal and almost sank. He called out to God as the ship filled with water and on that day, 10 March 1748, God rescued him. He began a new life. He started to pray and read the Bible. Eventually he joined William Wilberforce in the campaign to abolish the slave trade and became a leading light in that campaign. Newton is best known as the author of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’: Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! To be rescued is to be saved, set free, delivered from danger, attack or harm. Jesus is the one who rescues us. In each of the passages for today, we see what it means to be rescued. 1. Rescued from envy to praise Psalm 73:15-28 Have you ever experienced the slippery slope of sin? You find yourself slipping further and further down a path that you do not really want to be on. We saw two days ago how the psalmist found himself on the slippery slope of envy. ‘As for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked’ (73:2–3). His whole perspective changed when he ‘entered the sanctuary of God’ (v.17a). ‘Then,’ he said, ‘I understood their final destiny’ (v.17b). He realised that it was they who were on ‘slippery ground’ (v.18). He realised that, although they may seem outwardly successful and prosperous, they were on a road that led to destruction (vv.19–20). At that moment, he was rescued from going down that same slippery path. He repented: ‘When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you’ (vv.21–22). He realised that although outwardly the ‘ungodly’ may be enviable, when we get a proper perspective, we realise how almost unbelievably blessed we are (vv.23–26). There is nothing that compares to walking in a relationship with God, knowing his presence, his guidance and his strength, and his promise that he will take us into glory. He realises that he is far better off than the ‘ungodly’, both in this life and in the future. When he saw what he had been rescued from, he realised how good it was to be near God, and wanted to pass the good news on to others: ‘But I’m in the very presence of God – oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made Lord God my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do!’ (v.28, MSG). Lord, keep our feet from slipping. Rescue us from the slippery slope. Thank you that there is nothing like the sense of your presence with us – you holding us with your right hand. Thank you that you promise to guide us with your counsel and afterwards take us into glory. 2. Rescued from darkness to light Acts 9:1-31 Do you know anyone who is very antagonistic towards Christians and the Christian faith? Saul was like that. John Newton was like that. I was like that. When we read the account of Saul’s conversion it gives us hope that God can use the most unexpected people. In this passage we see a double rescue. The church is rescued from the darkness brought about by Saul’s attacks, and Saul is rescued from his own inner darkness. God’s transforming power changed Paul from a persecutor of the church into one of its greatest advocates. Saul had a privileged background. He was a Roman citizen from Tarsus. He was a highly educated intellectual. He was a qualified lawyer. He was a deeply ‘religious’ man with a strong belief in God. Yet, Saul was living in darkness on a road that led to destruction. He was ‘out for the kill’ (v.1, MSG). He was trying to arrest Christians and put them in prison (v.2). He had a terrible reputation among the Christians because of ‘all the harm he [had] done to [them]’ (v.13) and the fact that he wreaked ‘havoc’ amongst followers of Jesus (v.21). On the road to Damascus, Saul ‘was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light’ (v.3, MSG). Jesus appeared to him and said, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ (v.4). As Saul had never met him before, how could he be persecuting Jesus? In that moment, he must have realised that the church is Jesus. It is his body. In persecuting Christians, he was in fact persecuting Jesus. Saul’s physical blindness symbolised the spiritual darkness in his life at that point. When Ananias laid hands on him, his sight was restored and he was filled with the Spirit (v.17): ‘Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again’ (v.18). He was rescued from physical and spiritual darkness. Not only did Jesus rescue Saul from darkness, but he also appointed him as his ‘chosen instrument’. He said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel’ (v.15). At once, Paul began to preach that Jesus is the Son of God (v.20). He grew ‘more and more powerful … proving that Jesus is the Christ’ (v.22). Like a lawyer, he produced the evidence to show that something had in fact happened in history. Jesus had been crucified, raised from the dead and is the Christ. Through the rescue of Paul, the church was also rescued. ‘Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country – Judea, Samaria, Galilee – the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully’ (v.31, MSG). For a moment their battles were over, and a period of blessing began. However, God did not promise Paul an easy life. With great privilege would come suffering, ‘for I will make it clear to him how much he will be afflicted and must endure and suffer for my name’s sake’ (v.16). Lord, thank you that you have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of your Son. Thank you that not only do you rescue us but you also fill us with your Spirit and appoint us to take the good news to others. Thank you for the times of blessing and peace when we grow in number, strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. Help us to make the most of these times and speak boldly in the name of the Lord (v.28). 3. Rescued from weakness to strength 2 Samuel 22:1-23:7 As David comes to the end of his life, he praises God for rescuing him again and again from his enemies and from death and destruction (chapter 22 – the song is also found in Psalm 18). God is his ‘rescuing knight’ (v.2, MSG). ‘A hostile world! I called to God, to my God I cried out. From his palace he heard me call; my cry brought me right into his presence – a private audience!’ (v.7, MSG). Many times he called out to the Lord, and the Lord heard his voice. ‘He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters’ (v.17). ‘He rescued me from my powerful enemy …’ (v.18). ‘He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me’ (v.20). (See also v.49). When God rescues us, he does not want us to stay as we are. ‘When I cleaned up my act, he gave me a fresh start ... God rewrote the text of my life’ (vv.21,25, MSG). He wants us to lead a blameless life and to keep ourselves from sin (v.24). He wants us to be ‘faithful’ (v.26), pure (v.27) and humble (v.28). Then, with God’s help, we can ‘advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall’ (v.30). God arms us with strength (v.33) and enables us to stand on the heights (v.34). He broadens the path beneath us so that our ankles do not turn over (v.37). Joyce Meyer writes, ‘By faith you can receive strength to stay in a difficult marriage, raise a difficult child, or stick with a difficult job in which you have a difficult boss. You can receive strength to do great things even though you may have a physical impairment yourself.’ David, in the evening of life, as death drew near, summed up his experience of God and of life (chapter 23). God had rescued him. God had anointed him (23:1): ‘The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue’ (v.2). David had a sense of the ‘now’ and the ‘not yet’. God had rescued him and saved him. Yet, there was more to come: ‘Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?’ (v.5). God’s rescue plan of salvation will one day be brought to fruition. On that day the rescue will be complete. Lord, thank you that you have rescued us from all our enemies – from guilt, sin, addiction and death – through the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Thank you that one day the rescue will be complete, when Jesus returns and we will be with him forever. Pippa Adds 2 Samuel 22:33 ‘It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.’ This is rather encouraging when I seem to make a mess of things so often. @NickyGumbel @PippaGumbel
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:08:26 +0000
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