The Deliverance of Jesus | Rev. Paul Lawler

What if your desert season isn’t punishment, but preparation? Discover how Jesus delivers, transforms, and builds destiny through the very places that feel like defeat.

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[0:18] Now, we're in part two of 2 Corinthians this morning. I want to invite you to take your Bible and open it to 2 Corinthians chapter one. We're going to read a brief, just some brief passages, verses eight through 11. And even though these are short verses, man, these are power-packed verses. And I trust that you'll see that in just a moment. So I invite you to follow along, beginning in verse eight. Hear the word of God. For we do not want you to be unaware, We are brothers and sisters of the affliction we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despised of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, but that was to make us not rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted to us through the prayers of many. And we pray these things and believe these things as we hear the reading and hearing of God's word. Amen.

[1:30] I want to talk to you this morning on a very important topic.

[1:35] I want to talk to you about the deliverance of Jesus. And I want to acknowledge on the front end that the deliverance of Jesus operates in two ways. There's a deliverance of Jesus at times that's immediate. We see that in the scriptures. I will share a brief story of a deliverance that one individual experienced that was immediate.

[1:58] And then we see the pattern in Scripture where the deliverance of Jesus is gradual. We see that as the people of God are involved in the Exodus. We'll also make reference to that this morning as well. But the bottom line is that in the ministry of the deliverance of Jesus, people move from oppression to liberation. In the deliverance of Jesus, men and women believers move from bondage to blessing. Now, it's very important to affirm that. And again, I want to revisit the word blessing for a moment.

[2:32] Last time we covered that, I dealt more with the Greek. Today, I just want to lift up the Hebrew, the word Baruch. It literally, Hebrew word for blessing, to empower someone to prosper spiritually and emotionally, to succeed and to thrive. In other words, as I've said many times, God is interested and passionate about human flourishing rooted in Christ through his gospel. Another word for the blessing of God found in the Old Testament is shalom, which is the heart of God for a people individually or a person individually, as well as a people in a community. God's peace, his completeness, harmony, health, the welfare of a people. And the deliverance of Jesus tees a man or woman up in Christ to experience the fullness of God's Baruch, of God's blessing, of God's shalom. The liberation of Jesus postures you in a way to know the joy of the Lord,

[3:39] peace in the Lord, liberty in the Lord. But we're aware, based upon Scripture, when Adam and Eve sinned, there's a lot of things we learn from that story, and we don't have time to cover all of that this morning. But one of the things that we note when Adam and Eve sinned is they were filled with fear, and fear lied to them.

[4:01] One of the things that fear did to them is that they could not see the love of God. They couldn't perceive the love of God. And this is a part of what sin does to us in our fallen nature. It dampens our ability to perceive the heart of God. Again, there's much more we could say about that. And so you're aware to use the story of God's people leaving Egypt. you're aware that in that journey, God leads them to the desert. And I want to encourage you this morning to pay attention to that reality, because in the desert season that God's people experience, lots of things get exposed. And the heart of God, when you read the story, as God brings things to light.

[4:54] His heart is not always to judge. There were times where he had to judge out of his love, and those were exceptions. But overall, what God was seeking to do was, as things came into the light, to redeem the people, redeem his people, and lead them into a promised land. And so they move into the desert, and we're aware that when they go into a desert season, they begin to grumble. We know that what happens oftentimes in the difficulty of a desert season is that what's on the inside begins to be exposed by what becomes or becomes apparent on the outside. And in the difficulty, people begin asking logical questions as they interpret what's happening to them. God, are you with me? God, are you still there? God, do you still love me? God, are your promises true? And then in light of that, in the desert, other weaknesses get exposed. Character flaws get exposed. And all of it is a reflection of the things that ultimately God wants to develop in us as things are coming to light. Because in the desert, sometimes we squirm, we cry.

[6:07] Complain, and we're tempted even to justify actions that we know are not very God-honoring. And we tempt at times, or we're tempted even to justify actions that are not God-honoring as we're squirming in a desert season. And God's using the desert season to bring about light on some of the areas of our life that he's seeking to develop as he's moving us toward Christ-like character. So we're aware that as God delivered him, the people of God from Egyptian taskmasters, that they held on to their slave mentality. Now, the reason all of this is important, this is background, we're not teaching yet. And by the way, this is going to be a message that's more about how to rather than just a will to. And so as I share with you this morning, the reason this is important is because in the Old Testament, the people of God had a destiny, and that destiny was to enter the promised land.

[7:11] That is, it was a land with milk and honey, which is metaphor for enjoying and knowing the fullness of God in their lives. Sometimes what we call sanctification, which can sound so religious, but it's really a place of liberty and joy in the Lord and flourishing in Christ. And so what we're aware of is that each child of God really does have a destiny, a design that God wants you to flourish in, a promised land, if you will.

[7:41] This is why the New Testament says things like, you are his workmanship. You've been created in Christ Jesus to flourish. In other words, you've been creating in Christ Jesus for good work, Which he prepared before you were even born My paraphrase He prepared beforehand But here's the deal Here's an axiom for us, There are often no destinies to fulfill without some deserts to endure.

[8:08] Now, I didn't pull that out of thin air. That's all over the Bible. And I remind you that God doesn't give us stories in the Bible to entertain us, but to equip us. We're aware that that was true for Joseph in his life of temporary slavery and false accusation and imprisonment. That's true in Moses' life, the 40 years he spent in the desert before his ministry took on traction with the Egyptian and the deliverance of the Israelites. That's true with God's people in Exodus. That's true with John the Apostle on the desert, excuse me, on the island of Patmos. That's true in the episode that we're going to open up and study today in regard to the life of Paul. It's also true for Jesus in the 40 days in the wilderness, as well as his crucifixion. And if it's true for all of these, then loved ones, I'm saying in the most encouraging way, it is also true for you.

[9:05] When you go through desert seasons in your life, God is at work not only bringing to light things that he wants to develop, but they're some of the most strategic times in your life. Deserts feel like huge setbacks, but deserts are setups for a greater revelation of God when you turn to him.

[9:31] Deserts are setups for a greater breakthrough when we turn to God in our desert seasons. Deserts, for the believer, function like divine appointments. In the desert, and I know I'm repeating myself, loved ones, there's a lot of things I say more than once. In the desert, God often doesn't change your circumstances.

[9:55] In the desert, God changes you. But after the work of God developing you,

[10:01] your circumstances often change. And you see that all over the pages of the Bible. What God builds into you in the desert season is what forms the foundation for his destiny and design for your life. And church family, this is God's work, not your work. You say, Paul, did you pull that out of thin air? Look at the Bible with me. Philippians 1.6. He who began a good work in you, he will be faithful to bring it to completion. Look with me at Philippians 2.13. It is God who is at work both to will and to work his good pleasure in your life. And so for the believer, a desert season really functions like a divine appointment when we turn to God in surrender. It is a tool that God has in his toolbox to utilize to develop you when you're humble enough to look to him in a desert season. Now, many of you are aware when the Israelites were led out of the desert, you might remember that God gave them water from a rock. Now, I just want to say, don't overlook that.

[11:09] Don't overlook that because that tells us a lot. What that tells us is that there are divine resources in the desert. There are divine resources available in desert seasons, but you often don't discover them until you get thirsty, until you get thirsty for God, until in the brokenness that comes in a desert season, you don't taste the satisfaction of living water until you get thirsty and get hungry and maybe even get broken. And I remind you what brokenness is. Brokenness is not a good cry. That's not biblical brokenness. That might be grieving, but that's not brokenness.

[11:51] Brokenness is like when a horse surrenders to its master, and now the horse is responsive to the leading of the nudges of the master. And that's what God is looking for in the life of a believer, a contriteness, a brokenness that says, okay, God, now I yield. I yield. This is what desert seasons are unto. And today we're going to look deeply at

[12:17] a spiritual saint who needs deliverance. He is in a desert season. And a lot of us read over this and we miss it. The apostle Paul is dealing with something. He doesn't identify specifically what it is, but he is dealing with something that has put him deep in a desert season, and he is asking. In fact, you'll see in a moment, crying out for help. And so I want to give you a principle as we journey forward, as we contemplate together the topic this morning. There is no better prey than a lion who gets wounded.

[12:58] And right now, the Apostle Paul, you're going to see he's a lion, not only for God and God's purposes, but he's a wounded lion that we see unfolding in this passage. So this is a brother in Christ, if you think about it, is under constant pressure in his work as an apostle, especially with his relationship with the church at Corinth, including the potential collapse of the mission field in which he's invested his entire life.

[13:27] And so as you contemplate these things, we're not aware specifically of what Paul is dealing with in this instance, because the Bible doesn't tell us. But we are aware of characteristics that Paul is navigating that may have led to this moment. We're aware that even though we don't know specifically what he's dealing with, that the apostle Paul's desert seasons have included imprisonment. We're aware that it's included beatings. We're aware that it's included stonings that have left him half-dead. It includes facing opposition and false accusations from people that he knows, both Jew and Gentiles, repeatedly. We know that he's faced life-threatening dangers and shipwrecks, and we know he has navigated plots against his life. Now, again, we don't know the specific circumstance that he's in because he doesn't tell us. But he tells us that things are bad, really bad. He is not just down. He is down, doobie-doo, down, down, really down. And so we need to ask the question as we look at this episode out of Paul's life, because he's teaching us something. Here it is. Here's the question we should ask. What is the deliverance of Jesus? Jesus.

[14:49] How do we experience deliverance? And Paul here gives us a how-to.

[14:56] First of all, the deliverance of Jesus is not a human deliverance. It is Jesus' deliverance. Look with me at verse 9. But that was to make us, this episode that they're in, not to rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. Why is Paul making reference to the resurrection? because he's reminding the church, he's also reminding himself that God is all-powerful. He is reminding hearers, and he's reminding himself that the deliverance of Jesus is a powerful deliverance. Paul had heard the words out of the Old Testament, not by might, in other words, not by human strength, not by power, not by human power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. These are words that were familiar to Paul. These were words that were probably familiar to the Corinthians. But you know what they needed, church? They needed reminding.

[15:53] Not only do they need to be reminded, we need to be reminded. We need to be reminded that the deliverance of God is a powerful deliverance. Look with me when we sang, or just think with me, as we sang the Lord's Prayer this morning, there's a line that we sang together prayerfully, and that is, Lord, deliver us from evil. We need to be reminded that Jesus Christ is a deliverer. We need to be reminded that Jesus Christ is the deliverer, and he still delivers. This is why the late Jonathan Edwards would say to the church, we ought not limit God where God has not limited himself. Our God is all-powerful, and our God is a deliverer. Now, when Paul was praying for deliverance, this is not an isolated incident in his ministry. In fact, if we were to turn to the book of Philippians while he's in prison, in Philippians 1.19, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance. Again, this is not a human deliverance. He's declaring that this deliverance of Jesus comes in the power of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of Christ, in the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. So we recognize as Paul's giving us a how-to here, it is not, the deliverance of Jesus is not a human deliverance.

[17:19] Secondly, the deliverance of Jesus is a truth-filled deliverance. Look with me at verses 8 and 9, and Paul says, For we do not want you to be unaware, sisters and brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength. We despaired of life itself. We felt that we had received the sentence of death. Now, I want you to invite you to see two things there. First of all, notice what Paul isn't doing in his self-talk. Paul's not going, oh my gosh, I'm a well-known apostle. People know me all over the Asian world. My identity is what I do. And if I'm honest about what I'm going through, what are people going to think of me? You see, Paul's modeling that he's not allowing pride to get in the way. That his personhood is not tied to his title. Amen?

[18:23] Secondly, if you were to walk into a counselor's office and sit with a good licensed counselor and you were to say to them, I'm in a condition where I despair of life itself. I feel as if the sentence of death just hangs over my life like a cloud. That counselor is going to look at you, and I can say with probably a 99% probability, and say you are suffering from clinical depression.

[19:01] Now, what I'm pointing out here is that I want you to note how the Apostle Paul is not sugarcoating. He's not spin-doctoring. He's not toning down the reality of what he's navigating. He is being black and white honest about what he's navigating, his condition at this time. And that tells us something very significant, church family. The deliverance of Jesus. In the deliverance of Jesus, we want to be a truth-filled people. Let me share a list in the first person. In other words, we say in the deliverance of Jesus, Jesus, I have a problem with alcohol. I need help. Jesus, I have a problem with overeating. I need help. Jesus, I have a problem with pornography. I need help. Jesus, I have a problem with gossip or slander. I need help. I have a problem with compulsive shopping. I have a problem with hoarding. I have a problem with substance abuse or drug abuse. I have a problem with online gambling. I have a problem with jealousy and envy as a pattern. I have a problem with self-pity. I have a problem, you fill in the blank, on and on.

[20:25] The deliverance of Jesus is a truth-filled deliverance. If you want to be free, if you've been bumping up against a wall, notice that the pattern of the deliverance of Jesus is not a will-to, it's a how-to. Notice that's what Paul, the apostle, is teaching here, how to get free. You want to be free, you move into the how-to.

[20:50] And this is not a human deliverance. The deliverance of Jesus is a truth-filled deliverance. Thirdly, the deliverance of Jesus is not a private deliverance. Notice what Paul writes here, verse 8. For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers or sisters. He is asking for the help of his sisters and brothers in Christ. Paul, the apostle, is being truthful, and he's asking specifically with what we would call a healthy transparency from other trusted believers in Christ. Now, let me also kind of sweep up and tidy up on what we just said. Paul is not oversharing. You say, Paul, why do you say that? He's been in relationship with these people for years. There is a deep, even though they've had to work through things, through 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and his visits with them, there is a deep relationship that exists between these believers and the Apostle Paul. So he's not sharing with people who are not a part of his trusted community. So.

[22:01] Let me say some things that I know that are very basic. But Christianity was never designed to be practiced in isolation. Christianity is embodied. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. It's an embodied presence, being not only present with the Lord in worship and discipleship, but being present with one another, being fully present. And we are designed for deep, abiding community with one another. And rather being put off by that notion, every brother or sister in Christ that I know that has experienced true, life-giving, authentic community, and it takes time, always says, why didn't somebody tell me this could be this good?

[22:48] In fact, this is a part of the genius of the Christian movement through a people called Methodists. These are our originating pulses.

[22:59] Wesley called people to deep community in society's classes and bands. And many of you are familiar with band meetings, and many of you in our church family are already in band meetings. And that is a group of three to five people of the same gender.

[23:17] And as you build trust with one another in community, you don't jump out of the gate just asking some of the deep questions that are a part of banded discipleship. But as you build trust and comfort level and you grow to love one another and trust one another, then you move into some of these questions, which go like this. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting? What temptations have you met with? How were you delivered? What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or not. And what's important, loved ones, is that these questions are not gotcha questions. These questions are rooted in the spirit of caring for one another and fighting for one another in the heart and in prayer to grow and develop into the image of Jesus. In fact, James captured this so beautifully when he wrote, confess your sins to one another, pray for one another, and that's unto something. That's not to judge one another. It's so that, look at the words, so that you may be, say it out loud, healed. So you may be developed into the image of Jesus.

[24:32] I remember years ago in a men's discipleship group I was leading in another city that we had been together about eight months, and what had happened as trust was developed and as we prayed together and studied the Word together, right around—it doesn't normally take this long—but right around the eighth month, we found ourselves going into prayer times, and those prayer times would go a while. And it was because there was just a fluidity in the prayer time, and we would begin enjoying praying together in the presence of God. And I remember there was a brother that was very shy, very reserved, very quiet, who just began to weep. And so we turned our attention to him. And as he composed himself, he shared something. This is a man in his 50s. He shared an episode when he was in college that he had never shared with another human being. And it was like the Holy Spirit was just doing this loving surgery. He said, I've never told another person this, but this is what happened.

[25:44] And we're all aware the enemy had bound him up in fear and shame. I've said to you before, that's what sin is. Sin is a tutor. And sin will tutor you in fear and shame and get you as a human being, as a believer, all bound up. And as he shared, and as those brothers gathered around him and shared words of encouragement, compassion, and prayed for him and supported him, this is what happened over the next several months. I would be on campus of the church, and John or Jane Doe would walk up to me, and I'm going to call that guy Dave, not his real name. And they would go, Paul. I go, yes. What happened to Dave? And I'm like, I'm not, what are you saying? I said, what is it? Because he has a personality now. What happened? Well, what had happened is God had freed him. And that happened in deep community. God had done this work where.

[26:45] He knew he was healed. I mean, he experienced it. And he went on to grow in grace. He's a terrific guy. But, loved ones, that brings us to this. You do realize that being the church really should be more like an AA meeting? Does that make sense to you when I say that? I'm not saying that we have to agree with everything in AA. I realize that in AA, I can say my higher power is the doorknob on the door. But in a Christian lens, this should be a place where it's safe for people to get free. Can somebody say amen to that? Okay? With enthusiasm, church.

[27:30] And loved ones, it can be. If we're genuinely leaning in to being the people of God in deep community with one another. But it is not. The deliverance of Jesus is not a private deliverance. Fourth, the deliverance of Jesus is a prayer-filled deliverance. Look with me at verse 11. Paul says, you must help us. Help! And how does he say you can help? By prayer. Some of you may have heard Craig Groeschel refer to, use a term called practical atheist. He has a working definition he uses for that, but I have a definition that I like to use, and it's this. Here's what a practical atheist is. Believers who have lost the sense of the interplay between the natural and spiritual worlds. Believers who have lost, I thought that would be on the screen. Believers who have lost the sense of the interplay between natural and spiritual worlds.

[28:33] This admonition to pray around the deliverance of Jesus is not an isolated incident in the Apostle Paul's ministry. Again, Philippians 119, I know through your prayers this will turn out for my deliverance. Paul, who had been called up to the third heaven, who had seen revelations of God and the revelation of reality at a level none of us have imagined, understood the interplay between the natural and the spiritual, and he understood that prayer has a distinct role in this context. In fact, you may remember Paul and Silas when they were locked up in Acts 16, that in that episode, they had been stripped, they had been beaten twice, maybe even had broken ribs. The Bible doesn't say that. And they're thrown down into the hole of a prison cell. And what did they begin doing? They need deliverance. They're in prison. They began doing something that's completely counterintuitive. They began to sing hymns and pray. You know that from Acts 16, 25 through 26. About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly, we don't like suddenlies, do we?

[29:41] We like gradualies. But here, suddenly, there was an earthquake. So that the foundation of the prison was shaken and immediately the doors were open and everyone's bonds were unfastened. Now, I've shared this with you before, but it's so relevant. I'm just not going to lay off. Here it is. I get a phone call about 10 o'clock one night. I'll call him Dave, not his real name.

[30:04] And he says, Paul, can you meet me down at the church? And I met him down at the church, actually sat on an altar, not unlike this. And he confessed. He opened up and said, Paul, I've had a cocaine addiction that nobody knows about for this long, and I need help. And we talked for about an hour. And at the conclusion of that hour, I laid hands on him and prayed. Prayed.

[30:36] And I can't intellectually and rationally deny what happened. God set him free. Now, here's where I want to be clear with you. I've seen God do that instantaneous work on rare occasions. It's rare. Just keeping it real. Is it okay to keep it real here? All right, good talking with you.

[30:57] Most of the time, the deliverance of Jesus is gradual, and that's what we see illustrated in Exodus. That's also what we see illustrated in Paul's life right here. The reason I share that story with you is because we need to be open to both as a church family. It is a prayer-filled deliverance. And then fifth, it is a worshipful deliverance.

[31:23] Paul writes, you must also help us by prayer so that many will give thanks. Who are they thinking? They're thanking God. In other words, this is worship, worshipful. Enter his gates with thanksgiving as courts with praise. This is worshipful. We're thanking God for who he is and what he does. Paul's main objective is to glorify Christ, to say, not look at what I've done. Look at God. Look at what God does. Look at what Jesus is. Look at who he is. Look at him as the deliverer. He gives God glory. Verse 10, he delivered us from such a deadly peril. He will deliver us again. On him, we've set our hope that he will deliver us again. Again, those are words of giving glory to God in Christ. So, the deliverance of Jesus is not a human deliverance. It is a truth-filled deliverance. It is not a private deliverance. It is a prayer-filled deliverance, it is a worshipful deliverance.

[32:26] In John Wesley's day, you may or may not remember that alcoholism was endemic in the culture, meaning it was very difficult to find anyone that was not abusing alcohol. There were other issues going on during the Wesleyan revivals as well. But I'm mindful that it was during that time when God was moving and setting captives free that Charles Wesley, who also came to Christ, was writing songs. By the way, you'll notice any time in history where there's a great revival, a great move of God, there are always new songs that get written, and they're usually really good. But listen to these words from And Can It Be. Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night. My chains fell off My heart was free I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

[33:32] Wesley wrote not only what he experienced, but Wesley wrote about what he was seeing happen in the lives of people who had been bound up in patterns that put a lid on their development. Loved ones, Jesus is still reigning. He's the same yesterday,

[33:53] today, and forever. He has not changed. The invitation today is not so much come to the altar and pray. You're always free to do that. But the invitation today is this. Step into the pattern. Step into the pattern for the glory of God and allow God to do his work and give him glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's pray.

[34:32] So, Lord, there's a sense in which every seat this morning is an altar. And I pray, God, that for each of us, we would be reverent before you in this moment. And so as you put light on our hearts, and as your heart moves toward us through your shed blood at a cross, and the forgiveness of sin that we have in Christ, we pray, draw near, God. Draw near. And as you do, put light on our path, light in our minds, light in our hearts.

[35:24] And Lord, for some of us, We may be practicing two out of these five steps Others may be four out of five, But there's something you're speaking into us That you want us to incorporate, For the sake of our development The sake of growing in Christlikeness The sake of your witness in this church The sake of your witness and your light in this city In this region and among the nations and so you're the God who began the good work and we pray Lord even now move it move in fresh expressions of completion and we pray it for your namesake in Jesus name Amen.