2 Peter 2:7-9 (NLT) 7 But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. 8 Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. 9 So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.
(We were blessed to have Sister Sharon Cranford with us this week at Living Word. She has been the director of Harvest Fields Bible Schools in Kenya and Tanzania for the past 25 years and is currently working at Inland Christian Center in Southern California. Here are some thoughts from her Sunday message.)
God knows how to rescue his people. That is a powerful thought. In today’s scripture, we read about a righteous man in a very unrighteous and unholy situation. Although I do not believe that our society has fallen to the level of Sodom, I fear we are headed in the wrong direction. It is increasingly difficult to stand for righteousness in an unrighteous world.
If you read Lot’s story in Genesis 19, we find that God has gone to his covenant partner Abraham and discussed the situation in Sodom with him. Abraham knows that Lot is in the city and asks God to spare the city for as few as 10 righteous men. When the angels come to the city, there are not 10 men left who could be considered righteous. There is only one, Lot. God could not preserve the city, but he did rescue Lot.
I believe God has shown me that he wants to pour out favor on his people in 2013. I do not believe the world is getting better. I see more and more problems arising and I often wonder just how bad things will get before we begin to cry out to God. That does not change the fact that God wants to rescue the righteous.
The word rescue has some interesting meanings. First, it means to remove someone from danger. God desires to remove his people from danger. There are many kinds of danger that we face today. We face financial danger. We may face the danger of losing our job or our home. We face danger for our children. There are corrupting influences operating today that make growing up in the 1960’s seem tame. We face danger from the political realm. There is unrest in many parts of the world and the possibility of wide spread war is very real.
You may be facing other kinds of danger in your personal situation. God can and will remove you from the danger if you trust him. Sodom was about to be destroyed by supernatural fire. God was the author of that destruction. It is impossible to be in more danger than that! However, God was well able to rescue Lot and still deal with the wicked.
Another definition of rescue is to save something. Although this is very similar to what we have already said, I think there is also a subtle difference. We may be saved from danger, but save can also mean to preserve. In the midst of all the trouble and evil in the world, God is able to preserve us. In John 17 Jesus prays this for his disciples.
John 17:15 (NKJV) 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
The word “keep” in this verse carries the same meaning as rescue in the sense of saving or protecting. Jesus reminds the Father that while he was in the world he “kept” his disciples from the devil. He prays that God, by the Holy Spirit, will do the same for them after he leaves.
They were faced with a world that was set against them. The powerful of the day were determined to destroy them. In the midst of this opposition, God “saved” them and gave them such favor that within 300 years they had conquered the Roman Empire becoming its official religion. If God can save, or preserve them, he can preserve us in the midst of our “crooked and perverse generation.” (Phil. 2:15 NKJV)
Finally, rescue means to take forcible possession of something. God is more than willing to use force to rescue you from whatever situation you face. By force, I am talking about the power of God. God will rescue you from what you face by his power.
The word rescue implies something you cannot do yourself. If you could get out of the situation you face, you would not need rescue. When we face things that are beyond our ability to overcome, God is there with his power to rescue us.
What do we need to do to access this rescue? We need to pray. We need to ask God for the help we need. We need to admit to ourselves and to God that we cannot handle the situation on our own. We need to trust him and stand on his Word. God has given “exceedingly great and precious promises.” He tells us in the first chapter of 2 Peter that by these promises we can partake of the divine nature and escape, or be rescued from the corruption that is in the world.
We have been studying the full armor of God in this space. Sometimes we have to put on the armor, resist the devil and stand in the middle of the battle. When we do, we must remember that there are reinforcements on the way. God will not leave us alone in the battle. He can and he will rescue us. He will not rescue us some of the time. He will not rescue us part of the time. If we trust in him, in his Word and in his name he will rescue us all the time.
Of course, we must also recognize that if God is the rescuer, he has the right to determine how he will rescue us. Abraham expected God to preserve the whole city as the means to bring rescue to Lot. God could not do that, but he could remove Lot from the city. Lot lost all he had and eventually his wife because of her disobedience, but Lot was rescued.
Sometimes the rescue God provides does not look the way we would like it to. Sometimes things that we may consider important but God does not must be left behind. Sometimes God rescues us by chastening and discipline. This may not seem like a rescue to us, but if we trust the love of our Father, we will find that, in the end, it is the best way. He desires to preserve us for the Kingdom of God. He desires the absolute best for us and sometimes the rescue we have in mind is not the best from his perspective.
Trust in the Lord. He is there to rescue you. Whatever you are facing today is not too big for almighty God. When the rescue comes, continue to trust him. Even if you do not fully understand, keep trusting God and listening for his directing voice. The Lord will not fail you.
1 Corinthians 10:13 AMP 13For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.
Leave a Reply