The song of deliverance
Category: Peace & Assurance
Key Passage: 2 Samuel 22
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: June 7, 2024
Amen. I hope you got that truth right there. Christ is all I need. That’s a wonderful, wonderful truth. And to get it, that will bring peace to your heart for sure. Turn your mind, as if you would, to 2 Samuel chapter number 22. Second Samuel chapter 22.
Brother Josh left Pennsylvania this morning at 6 a.m. That’s right. Iron Time or third time? East Coast time. And so that would be 5 a.m. He’s been driving down and he’s gotten three tickets. And in his mind, he’s still driving down, though he’s sitting right there. Though I’m joking, of course. But he did leave Pennsylvania this morning. And I appreciate his faithfulness to the house of the Lord, even with a long trip and just trying to get back in time for church. And what a blessing that is. Brother John, it’s been such a blessing. And we’re thankful for him.
2 Samuel 22. We have been covering the life of David now for about a year and a half. I’m not sure of the age. No one really knows. I have looked at it. I tried to study that a little bit. If I had to guess, I would think he’s along 60 years old when God uses independence. But most will all agree, he’s an older man now. These last several chapters of 2 Samuel, it’s kind of like an appendix. So it’s hard to put a date with some of these. But this is also, not word for word, but very, very close to the same thing as Psalm 18. And God used David to pen that also.
But we’re going to try to this. It’s called the Song of Deliverance. It’s an older Christian man that has spent his life living for the Lord. And he’s kind of looking back and he’s saying, you know what? God’s taking care of me the whole way through.
You know, the people that have lived for the Lord over the long haul, they never regret it. They look back and they say, you know, I’ve fallen about a million times, but God’s taken care of me. And I’ve heard many people that did not live for the Lord get towards the end of their life, and many people say, “Man, I regret. I wasted so many years.” I’ve heard that so many times. But David, he’s nearing the end, and he’s writing, he’s penning this song of deliverance. God’s delivered me. He’s taking care of me. Can I just challenge you to live like that to the end? And maybe you’re young, can I challenge you to spend your life living for the Lord? You won’t regret that.
I had… Man, he’s been a church years ago. He’s a missionary in Cambodia now. He texted me this morning. He had listened recently to one of the services. And he said, “I heard you say, Jeremiah 33, I think it was Brother Fontaine’s favorite verse. Has he passed?” And I texted him back and said, “Yes, sir, he has.” But I said, “He finished well.” And I said, “The last time he was in the hospital, he led someone to the Lord.” And I just made… the last weeks of his life just made of it. And he takes some kind things about Brother Fontaine, how God used Brother Fontaine in his life. And here’s my challenge for you: to finish like that, and for you to finish knowing God’s taking care of you all along the way. And David is finishing that way, and he’s writing a song of deliverance here.
We’re just going to try to pull out three things. We won’t cover the whole chapter, but we’re just going to try to glean some truths from it. We’re in 2 Samuel chapter number 22. We’ll be in verse number one, where we’re starting at.
Would you please stand if you are able? Just back to the word. And 2 Samuel 22 and verse number one, if you would please.
“And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul.” I think it’s significant when he’s looking back on his life. The time that Saul was after him must have been a very trying time. Because even towards the end, he says, and I’m looking back how God’s delivered me from all my enemies, he mentions Saul, the time Saul was after him. And he said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer; the God of my rock, in him will I trust. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior. Thou savest me from violence.” I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies.
“When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. The snares of death prevented me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried to my God, and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry entered into his ears.” Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook because He, as God, was wroth. I won’t continue reading, of course. He is wrath against David’s enemies, and he delivers David.
Would you go to the Lord in word of prayer with me? And let’s just ask God would speak to us on three different points. Would you do so tonight? Lord, I tried to seek your leadership. Lord, I believe this is what you have for tonight. So, Lord, first of all, would you cleanse me? I need that, Father. And then, Father, would you fill me with your Spirit? And then, Lord, would you fulfill me to your people? Lord, these people, they’ve made time to be in your house. Lord, it would be a shame if they leave not being full and fed from your Word. So, Lord, give them hearing ears and hungry hearts. And you’re just a simple preacher, Lord, would you please do so? And we’ll brag on you and thank you for what you do, Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Thank you so much for staying. You may be seated.
You can’t help but notice as you read these first eight verses that David was a man of prayer. I mean, when trouble came, he prayed. Verse number seven just really kind of summarizes it a little bit. Let’s look back at that and just think about David’s prayer life. Verse number seven, he says, “In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried to my God, and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.”
Can I tell you something I do? I make the mistake sometimes, and I’m confessing a little bit tonight, sometimes even when I’m out in my prayer time, I’ll kind of be contemplating, trying to figure out things in my life and going through things in my life and my mind wondering instead of praying. David said when he was in distress, when he was just burdened down, when he was troubled about something, he prayed. Can I just be honest with me that Satan doesn’t mind us maybe setting aside time to rehearse our problems? He doesn’t mind that. But there’s a difference in maybe contemplating, maybe worrying about something, maybe trying to figure something out, or praying. David said, “When I was in distress, I called.” I didn’t just cry, but I cried unto the Lord. Sometimes, and I’m just being honest, sometimes in my prayer time, I’ll say, “Lord, forgive me, my mind’s wandering a lot. And would you help me to get back focused on you?”
This helps for me. Not everyone’s the same. I’m not saying you have to do it, but often—well, let me just say it, and then I’ll mention a couple Bible verses maybe—but it helps me if I pray out loud sometimes. Maybe the fact that I can hear myself helps me stay into it a little bit. Now, I’ve got to be far away from anybody and everybody, you know, and I can’t do it. But often when the Bible talks about prayer, it talks about the voice: “He shall hear my voice.” There is nothing wrong with praying out loud, but I’m just saying when you’re in distress, it’s easy to maybe worry and try to figure it all out. But can I just challenge you tonight? David, when he was going through tough times, he prayed. I mean, he called unto Jehovah. He cried unto the Lord.
Can I just challenge you just for a moment here: three things about prayer. Brother Warren, I hope he doesn’t mind me mentioning this; he just before service—I did not know about it. Do you mind, Brother Warren? He had fallen the other night about 10 p.m. and he couldn’t get up. He didn’t have his phone around, didn’t have the alert button and all that. And he could not get up and get anything until 3 a.m. That’s five hours. And praise the Lord, who is able to get help in all that then. But I guarantee you that was five hours of some serious praying going on. Can you testify to that, Brother Warren? And God heard his prayer. God took care of it. But, friend, like he was calling out to the Lord during those hours, if we’re not careful, we’ll just panic and we try to get out of that situation on our own. We try to connive and do what we can do instead of just sincerely praying. You know, there’s a difference between worrying and praying. And the answer to not worrying is prayer.
But David prayed. Look in verse number seven. I want you to notice something here. I want you to notice something about this verse number seven: the last part of it, notice that, if you would, please. Verse number seven: “In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried to my God, and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into…” What are his next two words? Do you know God has ears? We’re made in his image, his likeness. Sometimes it helps me if I think about when I’m praying, God’s kind of turning his ear. I may be cupping his hand a little bit. Now, I’m not saying—I don’t know if God does that—but I know God has ears. And sometimes our mind would just think of this abstract thing. No, God has ears that are hearing you. It’s very important that you realize that. And sometimes, the best you can, maybe it might help you to pray visualizing that. You know, that verse is very familiar: Isaiah 59, verse number one. “His hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear.” He’s got hands, he’s got ears. And I’m saying for you to realize you’re praying to an almighty God. If we’re not careful, we’re just getting into rituals, almost like the Catholics, and having our prayer time, or, “Yes, I said my prayers,” or, “I went through my prayer list.” I like prayer lists; I think they can be so helpful. But if you interrupt, sometimes you might ought to just put that prayer list up and just meet with God.
But friend, maybe you need to think about God is kind of leaning over the banisters of heaven and is turning. You ever see someone who is just trying to listen in, or a dog, you know? Our dogs, we love our dogs, and we’ll mess with them a little bit. And if you ever see a dog trying to really just—he’ll just turn his ear. I’m not trying to, of course, belittle our almighty God, but I’m just trying to get you to think about God listening in with an ear. And we’re not just kind of, on Wednesday night, whoever may be, just going through a ritual. We’re praying to an almighty God that hears with his ears.
I want you to notice the next verse. I want you to know something else about this very briefly tonight. We’re going to try to get three things in tonight. And Brother Josh hadn’t nodded off yet, so we’re doing good right now. Amen, that’s a good thing. Look at verse number eight, if you would, please. He says, “The earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook because He, as God, was wroth.” And here’s one thing: God has emotions, if you will. He is wroth because of your prayers.
Let me read for you a couple of verses. Now, that emotion is wrath, wrath, if you will. Let me read a couple of verses. Psalm 69:30: “I will praise the name of God with a song, will magnify Him with thanksgiving; this also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.” You know the verse, Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith, it is impossible to please him. He that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Now, here’s the thing: I want you to realize God has emotions. You come to him in faith. I’ve said this before, God doesn’t respond to pity parties; he responds to faith. But when you come to him in faith, he is pleased with that. Psalm 69 over there, he says, look, when you come and you praise him and you give him thanks, it pleases him. You ever have someone you just love and you want to please them very much? After all God’s done for us, there ought to be a desire: “I would like to praise him, please God.” And you actually can bring emotions to God. David had prayed about his enemies, and while the heavens trembled and shook—why? Because God was getting wroth. He said, “I can’t believe they did that to you.” I said, “I can’t believe it,” because God knows everything for him. But he had those emotions, amen. And I want you to realize when you go to God in prayer, you can move God. I understand it changeth not; I understand all that. Friend, he is pleased—he can be pleased, many verses about that—and he is wroth here by your prayer. So what you realize when you pray? We preached a couple Sunday mornings ago, “We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” It’s just our feelings; you can be touched by them. So I want you to pray and be so careful. Satan would love to get us worrying and contemplating about a problem all day long and not praying.
Maybe you and I—I have to, for sure—wait a second, my mind, even during my prayer time: “Lord, I’m going to get focused on you. Forgive me, Lord, my mind is wandering; have me get focused on you.” And maybe you’re happy to pray out loud, I don’t know. Maybe you just think about God; he’s listening with his ears, and it comes to his ears, and God, he has emotions, and you’re the delight of God, you’re the apple of his eye, for he is listening. You’re his daughter, you’re his son; he is listening when you pray. David, he’s looking back on his life and he’s kind of going through scenarios, and he said, “I prayed. God delivered me.” Can I just encourage you? Be so careful of getting in a rut of worrying and contemplating. David prayed.
Let’s look at another thing very quickly tonight. Would you jump down on this Song of Deliverance? Would you look down? Just felt like the Lord wanted us to point out something. We had mentioned it Sunday morning. Let’s look in verse number 24 right there. Verse number 24 of 2 Samuel 22. And just felt like the Lord wanted us to point out something. He says in verse number 24, “I was also upright before him.” He was trying to live for God, and God was pleased with that. God honored that. And notice this: “And have kept myself from mine iniquity.” Notice that he kept—excuse me—“and have kept myself from mine iniquity.”
We mentioned Sunday morning, just briefly, a little bit of review. Remember we mentioned that verse, Psalm 6:16? “If I regard iniquity in my…” Well, this side’s awake, this side’s asleep. Let’s try it over here, all right. “If I regard iniquity in my heart…” Good, good, good. So iniquity is in the heart. It’s a sin in the heart. It’s often that reasoning in our heart, that’s sin in the heart that allows us to do open sins, transgressions. But that’s iniquity. And I mentioned it Sunday, but it’s not necessarily a sin, if you will, when that first enters. I used to think, “Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”—how can you do that? Notice, he says, “bringing into captivity.” As soon as that thought hits your mind or your heart, then you are responsible for what you do with it. I mentioned Sunday morning, Satan can fill your heart. Acts 5:3: “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?” But as soon as that enters in there, I’m responsible for it.
And David here is saying this: iniquity in my heart, he said, “I’ve kept myself from that.” Iniquity in your heart—so many things. It could be jealousy. It could be pride. It could be lust. It could be laziness. It could be rebellion. It could be selfishness. With iniquity in the heart. And David said, “Look, I’ve kept myself from my iniquity.” Very important what you do. We all have sinful hearts, and they are deceitful, above all they are deceitful. Who can know them? Your heart is. So what do you do with your iniquity? Very important.
Just briefly, would you look over in Psalm 32? Just briefly. Let’s talk about this. We did touch on it Sunday morning, maybe a little bit more. Psalm 32 and verse number five. Psalm 32 and verse number five. We all have iniquity in our heart from time to time; all of us do. What you do with it is so very, very important. Psalm 32, verse number five, if you’re there, would you say amen? Amen. Good. He said verse number five: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”
Now, I want you to notice this part: He didn’t hide his iniquity. The temptation is, because it’s in my heart, nobody knows what’s going on in our heart, to just hide it. A couple problems with that. Number one, the problem is, God sees your heart. We started it a year or so ago: “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
Here’s another problem: What’s in your heart, it comes out. It comes out with your tongue; “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” It comes out with your living. I’ve often mentioned this—many of you’ve heard me talk about this many times—but there was a young man who graduated, I think, a year before me. His dad was a preacher, and it was a Christian school, but if you were close to him, you knew his heart. He was just ready to get out and do his own thing. Graduation night—I’m not sure, I think maybe he had some… I wasn’t there, praise the Lord—but he went down the main street of town just doing donuts in his car and just went wild for a while. Now, here’s the thing: he’s a preacher’s son, but if you knew him very much before that, you could tell it was already in his heart. He just had a moment where it could come out. So what’s in your heart is so very important.
Now, here’s the thing: If I’m not careful, I’ll try to hide what’s in my heart because people can’t see it, per se, and I don’t want to look bad to anybody. So the temptation is just to hide it. Now, here’s a problem: when you hide your sin in your heart very long. Look, if you will, over in 1 John chapter number one. We often think about 1 John 1:9, and that’s a wonderful passage, but look at the verse before. It’s very interesting in the verse before. The verse after nine talks about, you know, if you say you don’t have sin, there’s a problem. And in that middle verse, confess your sin. Look at how He words it in verse number 8. 1 John 1 and verse number 8, if you would please. 1 John, first John, not St. John, 1st, 2nd, 3rd John, Jude, Revelation—1 John—and chapter number 1, look in verse number 8, if you would please. “If we say,” notice that, “we say that we have no sin, here’s what happens: we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” That’s very important also. If somebody just keeps hiding—maybe someone that’s just prideful and they don’t want to admit it, they keep hiding that and hiding that—before long, they’ve deceived themselves. They’re quite full [of it]. Some of this may be lust. How many have you ever heard maybe someone say, “Well, it’s all right if you look as long as you don’t touch”? Friend, they’ve deceived themselves. Of course, Jesus said if you look at a woman to lust, you’ve committed adultery already with her in your heart. But it’s so important: if I just try to hide the iniquity, the sin of my heart, before long I’ll be deceived. “Well, I’m not jealous.” Really, you’re not, you know? “I’m not better than anybody.” Okay, I really believe you there, but, you know. And people, we can really get deceived because we say, “I’ve got no sin.” Good. And if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
And here’s a problem with that: Then I’ll… I could be a born-again Christian, but I’ll live distant from my Heavenly Father. I’m not close. I don’t have sweet, sweet prayer times. I’m having you look a little bit, but look back over to Isaiah 59. We mentioned number one. Let’s look at verse number one and verse number two for just a moment here. Talk about if I hide this in my heart, what happens? I get deceived. I deceive myself. I think everything’s wonderful. But then you wonder, “Well, I don’t know if I feel close to God anymore.” We don’t go by feelings, per se, but if feelings come along, they’re a wonderful thing. Now, I don’t base my Christianity on them because they’re fickle. But you’re not going to feel close. You’re not going to have a lot of answers to prayer. You’re not going to be close. You’re not going to have fellowship with God. Look at Isaiah’s words at Isaiah 59. Would you look in verse number one, if you would please? Isaiah 59 and verse number one: “Behold, the Lord’s hand,” we’ve been talking about that, “is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear.” But your iniquities… behind them and get deceived, don’t even know they’re there. What happens? “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear.”
So now, if you have a long-distance relationship with your Heavenly Father, who wants to be your Dad, he wants you to be his son, his daughter. And yet, because we just don’t want to own up to it, “Man, I got some iniquity in my heart,” and then we deceive ourselves, and then we ask, “Why can’t I get close to God?” Because we’ve been just kind of covering up this iniquity in our heart. We’ve gotten to the point where we’re deceived ourselves.
Look over in Psalm 51, if you would please. And, of course, this is David. God used him to pen this, and it’s after his sin with Bathsheba. And then the preacher Nathan comes and says, “Thou art the man.” And David starts getting right. Now, that had been going on for a year or so, we think—just, you know, a very quick thing—but Bathsheba’s already had the child nine months, and the child’s already died, and so on. And we think maybe a year, maybe a little bit longer, that’s been going on trying to deceive everybody. David’s been saying, “Everything’s wonderful,” and it wasn’t wonderful. God sends a preacher there, and he points out his sin, and praise the Lord, David gets right. And look what he says in Psalm 51. Would you look at verse number one? Psalm 51 in verse number one: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”
When it comes to iniquity, you need God to wash you. He’ll use his Word to do that. In Ephesians 5, it’s talking about how Christ is the groom and we’re the bride, and he said that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. It will sanctify you through the Word; it’s the truth (John 7). But friend, you need washing. When I get that iniquity, I let it harbor in my heart. I regard it in my heart, and I hide it, and I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t even see it’s there anymore, but I know something’s not right because I never have any answers to prayer. I can’t be close to God. I just feel like there’s a wall there every time I go to God. And what’s wrong? That’s when you need God. Because that iniquity, it will contaminate every area of your heart, and it gets you out of focus, if you will, and you’re warped in your view on your life, and you’re tainted in so many areas. You don’t even realize how the iniquity has spilled over into your marriage and into your relationships and your finances and just so many areas. You don’t realize. And you really have to have God—God, the Holy Spirit, using his Word—to wash you.
You ever have a spot, you know, on your shirt or your pants? You can just—I can just go, you know. You try to get the water hot enough in the wash rag and you try to get it off there, you know. And then as soon as you get there, “Oh, there’s another one!” Oh, man, you try to… pretty soon you’re like, “Oh, forget it. I just need to put it in the washing machine.” Come on, I’m not the only one. Yeah, we’ve all been there before. Yeah. When you’ve got iniquity in your heart, you just need to put it in the washing machine—the Spirit of God. It’s amazing. The Word of God, Hebrews 4:12, it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. You let the Spirit of God point out things from the Word of God about your life and your heart. He’ll begin this washing.
John, our son, he’s like every other boy. He didn’t want to take a bath when he was a little boy, you know. “Go take a bath, clean up,” you know. He’d be in there for about three seconds, and he’d run out, and, “I’m done,” you know. His whole body is dry. I think he put his head under the faucet for a second, you know. His head’s wet, nothing else. He’s like, “Okay, John, all right. Get back in there,” you know. And Tammy got to the point, she would do the smell test. That’s not what you’re thinking—all right, for now, that was part—sometimes true too, you know. But she would smell, “Does he have any smell of soap on him?” you know? So it got to the point he put a couple bars of soap on him, you know, he went to… but that was that was kind of her thing, you know. She wanted, “Can I smell soap on him at any at all to see if he really washed?” And I was a little boy, you know, he’s like, “Praise the Lord, I’m not here right now,” but… washing. My friend, it’s so important. We go to God and say, “Wash me.” It would prevent so many things from getting out in the open and hurting our lives, hurting others, if we let the Spirit of God wash us. It’s wonderful when you keep yourself from those iniquities like David did, and then you go to God and say, “Lord, wash me,” before it contaminates others also. In the washing, we’ll all—we’ll all—need the washing. “Wash me thoroughly for mine iniquity.” You’ve got to have that. You’ve got to have that.
Just three things. First of all, we talked about David was a man of prayer. And just briefly, please don’t just worry and contemplate; would you pray about things? And then number two, the iniquity. David said, “I have not tried to live out that iniquity. I’ve tried to keep myself from it.” We find passages where David said, “Lord, would you wash me thoroughly for mine iniquity?” That’s so important. Of course, David’s the one that God used to pen, “Search me, O God, try me and know my heart; see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” It’s so important that we do that daily, more, but at least daily.
Then number three, would you look down at just a little phrase? We’re going to be done tonight. Just a little phrase here in this 2 Samuel 22. This is an amazing little phrase. I love it. Would you look down to verse number 36, please? It’s also in Psalm 18, but here we’re in 2 Samuel 22 and verse number 36. He says, “Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation, and thy gentleness hath made me great.” Oh, what a wonderful thing! “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” That “great” there has to do with growing, becoming great, if you will—great, large, grow, mature. Thy gentleness has grown, if you will. Can I just say this? If you think we’re going to help or change someone by being just harsh, why? Get your life right. There’s preaching. God uses the fullness of preaching. Friend, friend, in the work of God, there are times—yes, there are times you need to be firm with people—but you know, meanness and harshness… And David said, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” Galatians 5 talks about the fruit, a ninefold fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is what? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness. James 3, verse number 17: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated.” And there’s just a gentleness. There are times, especially as a parent, or maybe there are times we need to be very firm, and that’s rightfully so. But the gentleness is so important. David said, “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” I’m so thankful we have a God that’s gentle. I think about over there, Matthew 25, in that parable of the talents, and the guy they had won, he said, “Oh, I knew you were a hard man,” talking about—it’s a parable about the Lord. Friend, if he knew God through Christ Jesus, he’d say he’s not hard. He’s the most loving, patient, gentle. “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” When you’re hurting, he’s gentle. When you’re lonely, he’s gentle. When you’re just falling and trying to get right and trying to get back up, he’s gentle. He’s a gentle God. “Thy gentleness hath made me great.”
Now, somebody wants to go to God prideful and in their own—in their own terms. No, no, no, friend. What D.L. Moody used to say: No one will ever leave God empty unless they go to God full of themselves. And if I want to just try to buck up at God and his justice and righteousness, friend, you’re going to fall flat on your face. Become humble. “Lord, I need help. Would you wash me thoroughly?” He’s gentle. He’s a gentle God. “Thy gentleness…” Well, I’m so glad if you’ve served God over the years, you’ve had those times. Boy, you’re just hurting, and you’re just so thankful God’s gentle. “Thy gentleness hath made me great.”
You know, this old world in 2021, it’s a messed-up world. I mean, just on so many levels, people are messed up. The hurting families are messed up. Is there a dysfunctional family anymore? I don’t know if there is anything that is not a dysfunctional family. Now, I’m joking there a little bit, but we’re all messed up. And it’s just a sin-ridden, sin-hurting world with addictions and problems and inadequacies. And friend, you know this whole world needs—they need to know a God through his Son. They shed blood. That’s gentle. That’s what they need. You know, we go out on Saturdays, we’re trying to introduce them to a God that’s gentle. Now, they’re going to just deny his only begotten Son. They’ll face the other side of God, his wrath. It will abide on them forever. But if they come through the blood of Jesus Christ, they’ll find a gentle God.
Really, the times that I’ve run from God, maybe because of issues and problems, were so foolish, because I have a gentle God waiting for me. I just come to him, honest and sincere and true. I’m seeking his gentleness. There’s a preacher, he was at a mission training session, and he was one of the speakers years ago. And he was speaking out there; he was trying to train some other missionaries and whatnot. And in between sessions, he was just burdened. And back behind the building where they were, there was a little hill or mountain there. And so, in between sessions, he went up to the top of that mountain. And he got there, he got on his knees. He said, “God, what can I do? I’d like to be a help. I like to help train. I like to make a difference. What can I do?” And he got on his knees, just up on that hill. He said, “Lord, what can I do? I can’t do things.” He shed some tears.
And so he opened his eyes, and when he opened his eyes through the tears, he could just see down a little bit. About that time, a fly flew along. And he said, it just seemed like, the best he could tell through his tears, that the fly just caught one of his legs, just one leg, in a spider web. And, boy, that spider had that web there. He caught one leg, and so, of course, the fly just began to frantically try to get out of it, but the more he shook and turned, the more he got wound up in that web. And pretty soon that old spider saw it: “I got supper coming,” you know. And that preacher said I couldn’t help it. He said, “I just took my pinky, and I just went over there so gently, just my little finger, and I got that fly out of that web.” And he said, pretty soon that fly just took off. And he said, as soon as I did that, God said, “Look, friend, just my little pinky, I can help you. Just like you were so gentle with that little fly, I am gentle.” David, he’s looking back on his life and all those problems and issues and battles and turmoil and enemies he had had. He said, “I prayed. I tried to keep myself from iniquity, get that right, and his gentleness hath made me great.”
Original File: The song of deliverance - Pastor Paul Chisgar Wednesday PM 9821