BIG IDEA:
THE LIVING NEED TO MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR OPPORTUNTIES: TO LOVE THE LORD
-
TO WALK WITH THE LORD
-
TO GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD
I. (:1-4) DELIVERANCE FROM DEATH AFFORDS THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP LOVING THE LORD AND CALLING ON HIM FOR HELP
A. Answers to Prayer Reinforce our Love for the Lord
“I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my supplications”
B. Answers to Prayer Encourage us to Keep Calling on Him for Help
“Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon HIm as long as I live”
C. Specific Example of Near-Death Experience
1. Desperate Situation
– bondage and terror
– distress and sorrow
2. Desperate Prayer for Help
“Then I called upon the name of the Lord, ‘ O Lord, I beseech Thee, save my life!'”
II. (:5-11) DELIVERANCE FROM DEATH AFFORDS THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP WALKING WITH THE LORD IN PEACE AND CONTENTMENT
7 BENEFITS OF DELIVERANCE:
A. Deliverance Highlights the Lord’s Character
1. Gracious
2. Righteous
3. Compassionate
B. Deliverance Highlights the Lord’s Sufficiency
“The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.”
We are not called on to do anything clever or spectacular; just simple childlike dependence
C. Deliverance Restores Us to a State of Rest = Peace and Contentment
“Return to your rest, O my soul”
D. Deliverance Can be a Great Blessing Beyond All Expectations
“For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you”
“rescued my soul from death:”
“my eyes from tears”
“my feet from stumbling”
E. Deliverance Renews our Commitment to Walk with the Lord
“I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living”
F. Deliverance Reminds Us of Our Own Insufficiency
“I believed when I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted.'”
not minimizing or exaggerating the situation; simply stating the reality of it
G. Deliverance Exposes the Insufficiency of Trusting in Man
“I said in my alarm, ‘All men are liars.'”
III. (:12-19) DELIVERANCE FROM DEATH AFFORDS THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP GIVING THANKS TO THE LORD FOR ALL HIS BENEFITS
Question: “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?”
A. Glorify God for My Salvation
“I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord”
Thankful Worship — cf. the Lord’s Supper and taking the cup of salvation in that context
B. Keep My Commitments to the Lord (vs. 14 and 18)
“I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people”
Welcomes accountability before others
C. Remember that the Lord is Sovereign over Life and Death
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones”
Death is not a trivial matter that escapes God’s notice and Providential direction
D. Re-Dedicate Myself to the Lord’s Service
“O Lord, surely I am Thy servant, I am Thy servant, the son of Thy handmaid, Thou hast loosed my bonds.”
freedom from the bondage of sin and death is the freedom to serve the Lord
E. Offer Sacrifices of Thanksgiving
“To Thee I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of the Lord”
F. Praise the Lord!