The Cry of Salvation. April 12, 2015 Psalm 40 Pastor Larry Adams

Transcription

1 April 12, 2015 Psalm 40 Pastor Larry Adams The Cry of Salvation Hi, everyone. My name is Larry Adams, and I wanted to take just a moment to thank you for downloading the podcast of this message. At Golden Hills we are committed to exalting Jesus and preaching the word. Your downloading of this message is a great encouragement to us as we know that our ministry is going out to spread God s word all over the world. We want you to know too that in no way do we intend these messages to be a replacement for your involvement in a good local church where, sitting under the authority of pastors and other teachers, you can learn to worship, grow, and serve and be engaged with a body of believers where you can grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We realize also that some of you may be in areas of the world where there is no local church. Therefore, we re hoping that these messages you re using, as you gather with your family or other believers or people from the community, that it will be a great encouragement to you as you hear God speak into your life and help you to become disciples who are true reproducing followers of Jesus Christ. If you have your Bibles today, we are continuing on in our series in the Psalms called People of Praise: Blessings from the Psalter. Today we re gonna be looking at David's song in Psalm 40. One of the things I love about David is though he was king of Israel he lived out a lot of his life in the same circumstances you find us in. Situations that arise, enemies, challenges, health concerns, fears, all these things David faced. He discovered, with God in these things, that the Lord heard him, He was always there and would answer his cry. Psalm 40 is a song that David wrote about the cry of his salvation. It's a song David said in Psalm 40, For the director of music. You can thank the Lord I don't know the tune. I d try to sing it to you, but I have the words: For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. 1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. 4 Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. 5 Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. Page 1 of 13

2 None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. 6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire but my ears you have opened burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. 7 Then I said, Here I am, I have come it is written about me in the scroll. 8 I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart. 9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know. 10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly. 11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. 12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. 13 Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me. 14 May all who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 15 May those who say to me, Aha! Aha! be appalled at their own shame. 16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, The Lord is great! 17 But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay. Let s pray together. Lord, these are timely words from the heart of a man who knew what it was to face trouble as well as great joys. There's not one of us in the room today that can't relate at some level with this. There are some in the room today, God, that are carrying burdens that are so great. They need to know that you're right there with them, you're helping them, and you hear their cry. There are others today who need to cry out to you for the salvation that brings forgiveness, a true relationship with God, a new beginning. This is David's cry, and it can be our cry as well and the encouragement of knowing that you are a God who hears and answers prayer. Thank you, God, for this reminder. We commit this time to you in Jesus name, Amen. Page 2 of 13

3 Terrorist attacks happen every day around the world, and seemingly in increasing number. Many of them are far away, distant, don't always affect us directly until people we know and love are in the midst of one of those attacks. A number of you are probably way too young to remember the horrific terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya in Two powerful explosions destroyed that building. Hundreds of people were injured seriously, and many were killed. Two of our ministry friends, David and Ann -- whose last name I won't use because of the sensitivity of where they work even today in North Africa -- two of our friends, David and Ann, were in that building when it exploded. You can imagine the concern that a number of people had about their well-being. Did they survive or were they among some of the killed? You can imagine our relief when we got this , which I've saved over the years, an that came from one of David s ministry partners that David had sent out to him. He said: Ann and I have just been saved miraculously from a bomb blast which occurred while both of us were inside the US Embassy here in Nairobi. We have minor injuries and some breathing problems from inhaling smoke and dust, but praise God we are out of danger. Pray. Many people died. Hundreds are seriously injured. We also lost all our passports and some other vital documents. We went to the embassy to finalize visa matters. We went through the security check and joined the line to the visa counter. I was next to the door when, after five minutes of waiting, there was an explosion outside what sounded like a big cannon. A few seconds following, I heard a deafening explosion and the whole ceiling fell in on us. Heavy smoke and dust filled the room. I was choking. I knew we were all in serious danger, so I crawled and opened the door and shouted for people to come towards me for safety. It was dark. We couldn't see. Our lives were in God's hands. Coughing made communication difficult, but we made progress toward two other security doors outside. Thank God these two other doors had been blown up and thrown away by the blast. I saw some light from the outside, and I knew God had heard the prayer to save our lives. I continued to shout, giving directions, and I stood in the blown up doorway waiting for people and waiting for Ann. Finally I saw her, grabbed her hand, and we ran out of the building. I saved that to read from time to time to remember the words that he spoke that day, his feelings that they thought they were lost. They were in serious danger. They could not see the way out, so they cried out to God and he heard their prayer. When he saw the light, he said, I knew God had heard my prayer, and He saved our lives. One of the reasons that I save that as well is to remind me. Because I'm not sure than any of us can really appreciate what it means to be saved until we understand what it really means to be lost, to be in a place so desperate that you know without God's help you will never make it. You ever been there? Some of you may feel like you re there right now. What's true for those lost in the chaos of a bomb blast is even more so for those who are lost in the chaos of sin and the ravaged lives it creates. There can be no greater joy than crying out to this God to be saved and know that He s really there, He's really heard you, and that He answers. Psalm 40 is a song of worship lifting up David's cry of salvation. The situation David was in was desperate. He says in verse 12: For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. Page 3 of 13

4 They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. 13 Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me. 14 May all who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 15 May those who say to me, Aha! Aha! In other words, We ve caught you again. be appalled at their own shame. 16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, The Lord is great! 17 But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay. David was in desperate need. We don t know the specific situation he was in, but it was real. He was crushed on the inside, and he was in fears from without. His own sins, he said had overtaken him where he couldn't even see anymore. He had failed so many times and was feeling such a guilt of the wrong path he had taken, the things he was doing, the sins that had overtaken him. He said, My heart is failing within me. And if that were not enough, there were people trying to kill him. People finding fault with his every move, doing everything they could to trip him up and to take full advantage of his failures. Surrounded by enemies, crushed from within, he said, God answered my cry. Verse 1: I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. I waited patiently. God does not always give an immediate answer, but when you are waiting on God, you wait differently. 1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. God heard me, he said, and God answered me in His time. The rest of Psalm 40 is the story of the salvation that s found when we cry out to Jesus Christ. We know that David is referring to Jesus here without him even knowing it because of the New Testament confirmation of these words and Jesus himself spoke them as true of Him. In fact, in verse 6 of Psalm 40 it says: Page 4 of 13

5 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire but my ears you have opened burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. 7 Then I said, Here I am, I have come it is written about me in the scroll. 8 I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart. In the Greek translation of the New Testament, called the Septuagint, verse 6 sounds like this: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire but my ears you have opened In place of ears you have opened it says a body you have prepared for me. It was Jesus later who quotes from this passage about Himself coming, about the body prepared for Him, about Him coming to do the will of God in this sacrifice. Hebrews 10 verse 4: It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: Quoting from Psalm 40. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7 Then I said, Here I am, it is written about me in the scroll. 8 I have come to do your will, my God You ll notice Jesus said It is written about me. Jesus is the Savior. Jesus is the Savior. Through David's life and experience, we are reminded again that no matter how lost we are, Jesus still hears and responds to the cry of salvation. What does He do in response to our cry? David said, He saves us and gives us a firm place to stand, and puts a new song in our mouth that many will hear. When we cry out to God for salvation, He saves us and gives us a firm place to stand. David sang out in verse 2: he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. People, I know from experience that life without Jesus is many times like living in a slimy pit and you can t get out without help. In one of our summer camp experiences with our kids -- Karla has done them a lot more than me -- but I was up there one summer as a counselor for middle school. If you re spending a week with middle school kids 24/7 you need to get prepared. It's fun. It's a blast. It's rewarding, but it ll take every bit of selfishness out of you. It'll leave you gasping for breath, but it's worth it when you see how God impacts those kids, which is one of the reasons we believe in summer camp. This one year I don t know if they still have it it was at Hume Lake -- there was a depression the ground I remember like a bowl. Grass was growing in there. They were having a game competition. They would throw a bunch of balls in the bottom of the pit. Some middle school kids would climb in. They would blow the whistle or whatever, and kids would have a race to see Page 5 of 13

6 how many could get the most balls out of the pit. The most balls got out you got more points. It would go for your team and the whole competition thing, you get it. Well, this bowl was pretty good-sized. There was grass in there, and it was wet. The sprinklers had been running. You throw a bunch of middle schoolers in a grassy pit, and it soon becomes a slimy, muddy, grassy pit. These kids are down in there in this mud trying to get these balls out. They were having a hard time getting the balls out because they were getting muddier and muddier and muddier. Besides all of that, when they wanted to get out they couldn t. They would try but you would just slip and fall down and slide back in the slime. Besides that, if your other teammates saw you trying to get out to hurt the team, they d just grab your ankles and yank you right back into the mud. We gotta get these balls out of here. Pretty soon you re so muddy you realize the pit s not so much fun anymore and all you want do is get out. So imagine how foolish it would be for the counselors and others standing out on the nice dry ground around the pit to be yelling down, You guys just get yourself cleaned up down there, and we ll help you out. You see you can't get cleaned up when you're in the mud. That s exactly the message the world sends to people stuck in sin, Clean up your act a little bit. Get yourself a little more presentable, and God will help you. My mom labored under that for a long time. The message is subtle, Do what you can. Get yourself looking a little better. Get out of the mud and then God will help you. It doesn t work. You can't get clean when you're in the mud. You need somebody to help you out. You need someone to get you up out of the mud onto firm ground and hose you off. That same thing is true if we re ever to be saved from the slimy pit that sin puts us in. David described a situation like being in a slimy pit. He said: 1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 Life without Jesus is a lot like living in a slimy pit. It's fun for a time, but eventually the filth and the dirt of sin becomes a burden. We want out, but it's hard to get out of the pit that sin creates. The sides are slippery. It seems the harder you try the more you fall back. There are others at times who see you trying to climb out. They don't want you out because if you get out and get clean it only makes their mud look muddier, so they re grabbing you, yanking you back into the pit right along with them. There are some down in the bottom of the pit who are even trying to convince you, Life in the pit is good. You don't want to leave. It s too much fun. But eventually you realize it isn t good. I can t get out on my own, I need help. So you cry out to God and He hears you. David said: 1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. People, salvation is not about cleaning up your act. Salvation is not about getting a better lifestyle. Salvation is about a transformation, it s about becoming someone you were not before. When Paul wrote about it to the Corinthian church he said in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17, Page 6 of 13

7 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! The new creation has come. If any person is in Christ, that person is a new creation. They are not the same as they were. It stands to reason, doesn't it? You cannot be the same person with Christ living in you as you were when He wasn't. There s a transformation. That's why the apostle Paul, who was transformed when he cried out to Christ, wrote to people to live that new life, to be surrendered to it, to live the new person you were created to be. Romans 12 verse 1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, That s the mud pit. but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God s will is his good, pleasing and perfect will. That's what David said. That's what Paul said. That's what Jesus quoted later, I ve come to do your will, O God. Paul proclaimed, as David did, that it's no longer doing what I want and what I will to do. It was pursuing my will and my way and my thoughts and my attitudes that got me in the pit. Now, I m to live a new life wanting and doing what God's will is, which is why he said in verse 8: I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart. It s a transformation. It changes how you think, how you feel, how you respond, how you see the world. You see it differently. It s dying to self and living for God. It's turning from sin and pursuing righteousness. It's not about being focused on I've got to sin less, or I ve got all these things I can no longer do because they re wrong. It isn't that focus. If you focus on stopping sinning you ll always be thinking about sinning. Your focus is living for Jesus so you re always thinking about Him. It s a totally different transformation. It s turning away from false religion and human effort. It's crying out to God and being saved. When God saves us, look at how David describes the rescue in verse 2: he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. The rock is Jesus, the New Testament identifies it. We are planted on the person of Christ, the completed work of Christ, the word of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ. That's why David in books like the book of Galatians, which he wrote to try to address those who were claiming to be Christians. They were trying to drag people back into the pit of doing things on our own strength without trusting God, having a little bit of the mud and a little bit of Jesus. You don t have to be that clean to be a Christian. He wrote them in Galatians 5 verse 1, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Freedom in Christ is not about freedom to do whatever you want. Freedom in Christ is now the freedom to do what s right that you couldn't do before. First Corinthians 15 verse 56, Paul wrote: The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Page 7 of 13

8 So what? 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. You see, if you re standing firm in Christ once He s lifted you out of the pit, we see it all the time, people get dragged back into the mud. That doesn't mean you're losing your salvation, you can't. But it may mean you never had it, or at the very least you re getting dragged back into a sin life that destroys your testimony, robs you of the joy of walking with Jesus, and defames the name of Christ. You re dragged back in the mud. Too many Christians live there. Paul and Peter and others always wrote to tell us, Look, there will always be people claiming they have a different version of Christianity where you can do all these minimal things that you still want to do of your old life and still be a Christian. You hear that all the time. It s like, How much can I get away with and still be saved? It's the opposite of the way we re supposed to think. In fact, in the book of Romans Paul said, You were saved from all that sin. Why do you want to live in it anymore? It's a good question, Why do you? But there ll always be people trying to convince you you can do it. It s why in 2 Peter 2 verse 18 Peter wrote about those people. He said: Look at this: For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them. 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: A dog returns to its vomit, and, A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the (what?) mud. You go back to the mud pit. Are you tired of life in the slime pit? Then if you are you cry out to Jesus. He s still hearing that cry for salvation. He will lift you up. He will set your feet on a rock. He will give you a firm place to stand. If you're already saved, don't let anybody drag you back into that pit. No matter how difficult things are right now, you trust God and wait patiently for Him, David said. He s hearing your cry. Not only save us and give us a firm place to stand, but when we cry out to God for salvation, he said He puts a new song in our mouth for all to hear. Verse 3: 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Some people don t sing God's praises because they don't know who God is. That was my problem. I have debated a little bit about how to share this, I don t want to go into too much detail because there's no point in it, but I'm ashamed and embarrassed of the words that used to come out of my mouth before I knew Jesus. I'm not 100% satisfied with the words that come out now. I used to use a lot of vile words, vulgar words, inappropriate words, sarcastic words. I used my mouth to tell lies. The most hurtful thing for me to think about, which is why don't do it Page 8 of 13

9 much, is the way I used my mouth to profane and curse and slander Jesus. I didn't know it, but I was profaning the very one who gave me life and breath and everything else. I was defaming the one who died in my place on the cross. I was insulting Him. I was using His name in vain. I didn't know I was really doing that because I really didn't know Jesus. I tell you, when I hear it done today, man, it makes me cringe. I don't expect unbelievers who don't know God to realize what they're doing either, but there are some times when people use His name so vilely I say to them, Do you have any idea who you re talking about? Do you have any idea whose name you re using? You see, my mouth was not created to be used like that. God created this mouth to be used for His purpose. Satan had hijacked it and was using it fully for his, and I was a willing participant. In 1977 I got introduced to Jesus. I finally met Him for the very first time, and I learned about who He is, and I learned about what He did. To say the least, I was more than surprised to find out that He loves me. You love me? Really? After all that? When I realized what I had done, I asked Him to forgive me and I asked Him to save me. I asked Him to come and live in my life and He did. Now that I know Him, I can't talk about Him the way I used to because, you see, He put a new song in my mouth. It's a song He wants to put in everybody's mouth. It's a song, Jesus said, that flows out of the heart, Because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Now, when you have the love of Jesus in there and it's filling your heart, it's very difficult to utter words that are offensive to Him. David said, God puts the song in our mouth, and He uses it to testify of His greatness to others. Verse 3: He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Now, David said, my mouth is used for what was made for. Now, I'm singing God's praises for Him to use however He chooses : Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Many will see now through my life who God is and what He s done. Their ignorance will be shattered, and they too may see and fear the Lord and come to put their trust in Him. What does that new song sound like? Well, if you read the Psalms, it is full of the praises of God of a transformed life, people who see God and know God and are unashamed to herald His blessings. I don't know who wrote Psalm 96. Many attribute it to David. Some think it might have been Moses, but whoever it was they knew this God and they had that new song in their mouth. Listen to Psalm 96 verse 1. It s just a sample of many Psalms you'll find: Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. Page 9 of 13

10 4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. You see, God desires that all of creation declare His praise and glory like that. Is that the song that s filling your mouth? Because that s the song that s filling your heart as it was for David. You see, in all creation, the chief agents of His praise are to be the redeemed, those who have cried out to God and received His salvation. That s you and me. Creation, Paul said in Romans 1, declares God s eternal power and divine nature. Creation testifies there's a God who exists. He's awesome and powerful, so powerful that none of us will be without excuse it says. You cannot say there is no God. Creation testifies against it. There is a God. He made all there is, but the redeemed, the children of God, you and me, are the privileged ones who get to declare His name. Not just that He exists, we get to tell people who He is and what He's done for us. The only name the peoples of the world can call on and cry out to be saved, it is the name above every name. It is the name of Jesus, which is why David said in Psalm 40, My mouth will not be silent. I will proclaim God's praise to everyone. Psalm 40 verse 8: 8 I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart. You see it? It s in my heart. 9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know. 10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly. Religion may a private thing to some people, but relationship with God cannot be silenced. When I fell in love with my wife, I couldn t stop telling people about this amazing woman. I still am telling people who will listen. When I fell in love with Jesus, it wasn t a private thing. He saved me. Now, He wants to use my mouth to tell other people what He's done so that they can hear, they can see it, and they can trust the Lord too. I ll tell you, there are people who have seen If He could do it for Larry, He could do it for me. It s true. God can save anyone. The glories of what God has done He wants proclaimed amongst all the nations, all the peoples. God saves people who call on Him, every one, even Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'Hara. I heard it was on PBS last night. I didn t see it. If you don't know the story of Gone with the Wind, it s out of the Old South and Civil War. The whole old way of the South was gone with the wind. The feature in the movie is Rhett Butler, a southern scoundrel kind of and this girl, Scarlet O'Hara, who can never get it right in relationships. These two hook up. It's a disaster. They get married, have a kid, tragedy ensues, so much happens across the South. To make a long story short, Rhett ups and leaves her in one the most famous scenes in any movie. What a lot of people don't know is that the real story of Gone with the Wind is about two real people. There really was a Rhett, and there really was a Scarlet. The center of their story was not the relationship they had with each other, but it was the relationship they had with Jesus. Page 10 of 13

11 Chuck Colson in his book A Dangerous Grace tells the story. He wrote: They say truth is stranger than fiction. Case in point is the book Scarlet, a sequel to the classic novel Gone with the Wind. For decades, readers have dreamed about what might have happened next. Now, one reader has written her dreams down in a book. But what many people don't know is that the original novel wasn't just dreams. It was based on real people. Yes, there really was a Rhett Butler though his real name was Rhett Turnipseed. There was a Scarlet O'Hara though her real name was Emelin Louise Hannan. Yes, Rhett really did walk out on her and join the Confederate Army. The history of what happened next had been kept by Rhett's family, the Turnipseeds, a fine old South Carolina family. It was recounted in a column by Wesley Pruden in the Washington Times: After the Civil War, Rhett Turnipseed became a drifter and gambler and eventually ended up in Nashville. On Easter morning in 1871, Rhett attended a Methodist revival meeting. He was moved by what he heard, he gave his life to Christ, and was converted to the Christian faith. Soon after, Rhett attended divinity classes at Vanderbilt University and eventually he became a Methodist preacher riding a circuit in rural Kentucky preaching the gospel. Did Rhett and Scarlet never cross paths again? Yes, they did. The Turnipseeds tell the following story: Reverend Rhett was worried about a young woman in his congregation. She had run away. Rumor had it she was working in a house of prostitution in St. Louis, so Reverend Rhett rode off to look for her. He found the young woman, but he was told the Madam of the house had no intention of letting her go. Asking to speak with the Madam, Rhett discovered that she was none other than his former love, Scarlett O'Hara, oh, I mean Emelin Louise Hannan. Reverend Rhett challenged the Madam to a game of cards. If I win, he said, you have to let this girl go with me. If you win, she stays. And win he did with a royal straight flush, an ace, king, queen, jack and 10 of spades. I know all of us as Christians have no idea what that means. Anyway: Chuck Colson wrote: The story ends well for all concerned. The young girl that he rescued married into a good family. After an encounter with the reformed Rhett, Emelin Scarlet O Hara left prostitution, became a Christian, joined the Methodist Church. Eventually she opened an orphanage for Cherokee children whom she served until she died in Her grave is still marked to this day. The true sequel of Scarlet and Rhett is more astonishing than any fictional account could be. It's a story of God moving in the lives and hearts of a man, a drifter and a gambler, and a woman who lived off the proceeds of prostitution. A man and a woman tired of the slimy pit who cried out to God and were saved. God put a new song in their mouth. Many saw and feared and trusted in the Lord. Chuck Colson concluded by saying, If God can save the likes of these, surely He can work to save people in our world today. I know God s saving people. He saved me, and He saved Page 11 of 13

12 many of you. He lifted us out of the slimy pit that sin created, and He set our feet on the rock. He gave a firm place to stand. He put a new song in our mouth, a song of praise to God so that many will see and fear and trust in the Lord. That's why the apostle Paul, who called himself the chief of sinners could tell everyone with confidence, You call out to this God and He ll save you. You remember Romans 10 verse 9: David said: If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame. 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. God is still saving people who cry out to Him for salvation. By the way, if you're already saved and you feel like you're going through the ringer right now and you re crying out to God, you wait patiently for Him. He's hearing you. He ll never leave you nor forsake you. You can trust Him. I don't know when He'll come through. I only know those who trust in Him will not be disappointed. They will be able to say as David did in Psalm 40 verse 16: But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, The Lord is great! God, thank you for being the God you are. On behalf of so many of us, I'm so sorry, God, for the way we ve treated you, for the way we spoke of you when in our ignorance we didn t even know who you were. When we began to see life in the slimy pit for what it is, we cried out to you and you heard us. You saved us. You set our feet on a rock, gave us a firm place to stand. We know that life doesn't get instantly easy, but we know that every day it s right if we re following you. So many right now, Lord, are living under the crushing weight of their own failures sometimes, or so many other circumstances that seem to overwhelm them. They re crying out to you, and they know you're hearing them. You re giving them hope and strength even in the midst of their trials, even in the midst of their blessings. Lord, I know that there are likely some here today who know they re living in the slimy pit that sin creates, and they want out. They know today that you're the only way. I pray, God, you will help them to cry out to you for their salvation, that they would acknowledge their sin, and they will call upon you confessing that they believe. They believe in who you are, the one who died for their sins and rose again. They believe that you're there and that you will hear that cry, Lord, and lift them out today out of that slimy pit, put their feet on the rock, and put that new song in Page 12 of 13

13 their mouth, a hymn of praise to God. When we cry out to you by this faith, you hear us. I pray that you will also answer the cry of many who are looking to you for the help they need. God, as we sing this closing song, we are reminded that your grace is sufficient. It's always there. We need to turn to you, and we ll see that you have turned to us. The grace you offer is there to help in our time of need. Thank you, God, for answering the cry of salvation. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen. Page 13 of 13