MESSAGE 2
"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou" DELIVERED.
1 Sam. 17:37 "David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion,.. will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine."
Ps. 18:16-19 "He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy.."
David was victorious because he was delivered. Let us consider some of the ways in which you must be delivered if you are to be really victorious spiritually. Since victory depends upon it:
Be thou delivered from [THIS PRESENT EVIL WORLD]: Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world.." Gal. 1:4 Young person, you cannot be "of the world" and "in victory" at the same time, for "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." I Jn. 3:15 The world questions whether our God really satisfies us if we worship their gods: "Wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?" Gen. 31:30 When a professing Christian "steals" into one of the shrines of their pleasure gods such as the theater, dance hall, carnival, sports arena, skating rink, or bowling alley, the world has a right to wonder why that one thirsts for a drink from the cup of their gods if the cup of the Lord completely satisfies the longing of the soul. The fact is, we don't need the world's gods or gadgets to slake our spiritual thirst when the Holy Ghost abides in his fullness. "All the world's fleeting joys are like poor, broken toys" in comparison with the inward, pure "pleasures forevermor e" which the sanctified have even now begun to enjoy.
Christ delivers from this present evil world: (1) By taking the world out of us: "he hath set the world in their heart.." Ecc. 3:11 Worldliness is a heart condition, first and foremost, and when worldliness is taken out of one's heart through real regeneration then "There's no thirsting for the things of the world they've taken wings!" Hallelujah! Then, (2) By taking us out of the world: "He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters.." Pharaoh's daughter called the babe that she drew out of the waters of the Nile, Moses, meaning "Drawn out". She drew him out of the Nile, but God sent from above, took him, and drew him out of Egypt, a type of the world, then used Moses greatly to draw all of His people out of Egypt. And young person, when you are drawn out of this present evil world through real Holy Ghost conviction taking ahold of you, and real Holy Ghost salvation entering into you, then your influence on God's people will be right too. You won't be one of those who "draw back unto perdi tion those who follow you, but one who draws others out of the Egypt of sin and worldliness.
Be thou delivered from [EVERY EVIL WORK]: "The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work.." II Tim. 4:18 Those who make it into the heavenly kingdom will be those who have been delivered from every evil work done by themselves, and every evil work done by others against them. "Deliver me from all my transgressions," Ps.39:8, and "let not any iniquity have dominion over me." Ps.119:133 There is not one sinful practice which Jesus cannot free you from, "For sin shall not have dominion over you" when you get in the kingdom of God and "under grace"! Ro. 6:4 Furthermore, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper" when you are Christ's.
Be thou delivered from [GUILT & FEAR]: "Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God.." Ps. 51:14 Christ came to "deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Heb. 2:15 "All their lifetime," it says. What a tragedy for one's life and character to be warped by a constant fear of death and a sense of guilt when Jesus has provided a way to be free from all this! Guilt and fear have driven some to ridiculous extremes in the effort to shield
themselves from anything which might endanger their life. Mental wards are filled with people, who when they were young, began to be twisted mentally by guilt and fear, until now hypochondria, paranoia, or some like disorder, has rendered them unable to cope with life or fit into normal society. Christ is the answer. Hallelujah! He delivers from the crippling, warping bondage of guilt and fear. Young person, don't be distorted by these things, be delivered!!
Be thou delivered from [THE BODY OF DEATH]: "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?" Ro. 7:24 Certain ones sentenced to death in Paul's time had the body of the one whom they had murdered bound to their own body, face to face. Alluding to this, Paul depicts the decaying, slow, but certain death spiritually which the unsanctified will experience unless freed from the corrupt and putrid old man that gradually decays and destroys the new man. No doubt in those Roman days, only one with the proper authority could exert the power needed to cut loose and remove such a body of death, or maybe no one ever could legally, I don't know. But I do know that Christ has both the Divine authority and power to free you from the awful, decaying influence of the old man. He has done it for countless thousands, He did it for me, and He will do it for you. If you aren't soon delivered from him, the rotten old man will eventually cause your spirit and attitude to stink, or he will decay your spi ritual life some way. Be delivered from him now.
There is also the danger of being suddenly slain spiritually by the deceitfulness and desperate wickedness of the carnal nature:
A Florida school boy was waiting for his school bus and saw a beautiful coral snake lying there in the sun. He touched it. It did not seem dangerous, and apparently seemed docile, like something that would make a good pet, so he picked it up and put it into his shirt pocket right near his heart. That snake nestled there harmlessly and peacefully on his bus ride to school, while he attended classes that morning, and even when he batted the ball and ran the bases during recess. But when they lined up to go back into the school building after recess, he collided with the student in front of him and the "riled" snake suddenly struck! The coral snake's poison paralyzes the respiratory system, and the boy fell to the ground gasping for breath and was soon dead, the victim of a deceitfully beautiful and docile, but deadly "pet".
Young person, don't make a pet out of carnal self. Carnality can doll up so prettily, and yet destroy you spiritually so suddenly! Let Jesus remove it from the pocket of your heart before it is "riled," rises up and strikes you down into the dust of spiritual defeat and death.
Be thou delivered from [TEMPTATION]: 2 Peter 2:7,9 tell us that God "delivered..Lot," and "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation.." God delivered Lot from temptation by pulling him out of its environment. Often the best defence is not a good offence, but rather a good fence between you and that which tempts you to evil and a good distance between yourself and temptation.
Be thou delivered from [THE WRATH TO COME]: "Who hath warned (us) to flee from the wrath to come?" Mt. 3:7 "Jesus, (Who) delivered us from the wrath to come.." I Thes. 1:9-10 He has done so "because there is wrath" to come upon all of the impenitent ungodly. We must
"beware lest" we ever doubt that like Lot's two sons-in-law and perish with this wicked world by failing to come out of it and stay out of it. Job 36:18; Gen. 19:14
Be thou delivered from [YOUR STRONG ENEMY]: "He delivered me from my strong enemy.." Goliath was gigantic, and Saul was "from his shoulders and upward... higher than any of the people," but God delivered David from both of these strong enemies. The first fell suddenly, and the latter fell finally and young person though the thing which threatens your spiritual life looms large, like Goliath, or has hounded you long, like Saul, God will deliver you from it. That which is too mighty for you to defeat in your own strength, God will deliver you from by the power of the Holy Ghost. Believe that, obey the Lord, trust Him, and watch your giant fall. Be thou delivered!
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