Suffering and Deliverance (Part 1) - The Many Things God Saves Us From

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I. Suffering, affliction, persecution, tribulation, and trouble are part of the Christian life (Act 14:22). 1. Sometimes God delivers His children from these difficulties. 2. At other times God allows us to experience them for various reasons. 3. This study will cover the following topics: A. God is our Saviour, not only eternally, but also temporally. B. When and why God allows us to suffer and doesn't deliver us from it. C. Examples of when God doesn't even deliver His children from death. D. Three possibilities of how judgment will be meted out to a nation. E. Biblical examples of God either delivering a people for the righteous among them or delivering the righteous alone. F. Having hope because of past deliverances, both Biblical and personal. II. Along with His many other attributes, God is our Saviour (2Sa 22:3; Psa 106:21; Tit 1:3). 1. Saviour n. - 1. a. One who delivers or rescues from peril. A. To deliver is to save from something. B. Deliver v. - I. 1. trans. To set free, liberate, release, rescue, save. Const. from, out of, of. a. To release from a place. b. Now esp. To set free from restraint, imminent danger, annoyance, trouble, or evil generally. 2. First, foremost, and most importantly, God has delivered us from eternal death and punishment in hell and the lake of fire (1Th 1:10; Rom 5:9-10; Rev 20:15). 3. But that's not the only thing God has delivered us from. 4. There are many different types of deliverances/salvations (Psa 44:4). 5. God delivers us from: A. falling and tears (Psa 116:8; Jud 1:24; Php 1:6; 2Ti 1:12 c/w Pro 24:16) B. our enemies (Psa 44:7; Psa 136:24; Luk 1:71, 74) C. trouble (Psa 41:1; Psa 50:15; Psa 91:14-15) i. Trouble n. - 1. a. Disturbance of mind or feelings; worry, vexation; affliction; grief; perplexity; distress. ii. Do you struggle with worry, stress, or depression? iii. Call upon the Lord and He will save you from it (Psa 116:3-8). D. violence (2Sa 22:3) E. persecution (Psa 7:1, 13; Psa 31:15; Psa 35:3; 2Ti 3:11) i. Persecute v. - 1. To pursue, chase, hunt, drive (with missiles, or with attempts to catch, kill, or injure). Obs. 2. To pursue with malignancy or enmity and injurious action; esp. to oppress with pains and penalties for the holding of a belief or opinion held to be injurious or heretical. ii. If you endeavor to live a godly life, you shall suffer persecution (2Ti 3:12). iii. But if you trust in God, He will deliver you from it. F. distresses (Psa 107:13, 23-30) i. Distress n. - I. 1. a. The action or fact of straining or pressing tightly, strain, stress, pressure; fig. pressure employed to produce action, constraint, compulsion; less usually, pressure applied to prevent action, restraint. 2. a. The sore pressure or strain of adversity, trouble, sickness, pain, or sorrow; anguish or affliction affecting the body, spirit, or community. ii. Are you under pressure and stressed? a. First of all search your heart and your life to see if it's not a result of your own foolish decisions (Psa 107:17-18). b. Then cry unto the Lord and He will save you out of it (Psa 107:19). iii. But don't expect this to happen though if you're not willing to change your lifestyle. G. death (Psa 55:18; Psa 116:8) 6. Many times in Israel's history God gave them saviours to save them out of the hands of their enemies when they cried unto Him (Neh 9:27; Isa 19:20). 7. Though the Lord used other men to be saviours of his people in a temporal sense, God is the only true Saviour (Isa 43:3 c/w Isa 43:11; Hos 13:4) of His people spiritually and eternally (Tit 3:4-5 c/w 2Ti 1:9). 8. Jesus Christ, who is God (Joh 1:1, 14), is our Saviour (Php 3:20; Tit 1:4; 2Pe 1:1).