This message is one of the Times Square
Pulpit series.
It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times
Square Church in Manhattan, New York City.
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Me and your Bible tonight, tonight I want
to, the title of my message is Not
Accepting Deliverance, Not Accepting Deliverance.
And turn with me to Hebrews, the 11th
chapter.
And while you're turning there, I want to
read to you just a scripture that's familiar
to you from Luke chapter 4.
When Jesus went into the, you can, as
you're turning to Hebrews 11, just listen as
I read this scripture from Luke 4, when
Jesus went to his hometown, and he was
invited to go into the synagogue, and ask
him to do a reading from the scripture,
and he chose Isaiah, and this is what
he said, The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering
the sight to the blind, to set at
liberty them that are bruised, to preach the
acceptable year of the Lord.
All right, we know that Jesus has come
to preach deliverance to captives, to set the
prisoner free, to release them.
Here is a contrast to this.
The writer of Hebrews is talking about something
else, people who would not accept a deliverance.
It almost seems contradictory.
Verse 35, it says, Women, women receiving their
dead, raised to life again, and others were
tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain
a better resurrection.
Note the words there that I read from
the King James, and I use the words
right out of the scripture for the title
of my message, Not Accepting Deliverance.
Now, the Bible, as you know, is full
of accounts of deliverance.
The gospel, in fact, is the power of
God unto salvation, which is deliverance from the
powers of sin.
The first and greatest picture in the scriptures
that is given to us of deliverance is
that of the sons of Jacob, which had
grown to become the children of Israel, how
they were delivered out of Egypt, that is
popularly known as the Exodus.
In the first chapter of Exodus, you don't
need to turn there, but verses 13 and
14, it tells us of the prison-like
conditions of Israel's life in Egypt.
This is what it says, And the Egyptians
made the children of Israel to serve with
rigor, to serve with rigor, and they made
their lives bitter hard with bondage, in mortar,
or the making of mortar and in brick,
and in all manner of service in the
fields, all their service wherein they made them
serve was with rigor, and that word rigor
means harshly and with severity.
They were prisoners.
Go with me, if you will, to the
third chapter of Exodus, if you'll go there,
and there you will see the promise that
was made to the slaves of Pharaoh, the
children of Abraham, in this wonderful, wonderful promise.
In fact, three wonderful things that Moses gave,
given to Moses when God appeared to him
out of the midst of the burning bush,
and God said to him three things.
He said, I am, I have seen, and
I have come down to visit you.
Look at it there in verses six through
eight.
He says, moreover, I said, I am the
God of thy fathers, and the God of
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob.
In verse seven he says, And the Lord
said, I have surely seen the affliction of
my people, which are in Egypt, and have
heard their cry by reason, their taskmasters, for
I know their sorrows, and I am come
down to deliver them out of the hand
of the Egyptians.
Oh, I love those promises.
I love that word to the children of
Israel, because it's a word to you and
I tonight.
He said, I am, I am the God.
I have seen, I have surely seen your
affliction, and I have come down to visit
you.
This is a type of a deliverance that
is available to all slaves and prisoners of
sin even now.
For example, some of you found an exit.
You found an exodus, if you please, from
homosexuality.
Some of you thought that there was never
going to be a way out of that
kind of sin, that kind of bondage and
slavery.
But one day you saw a door marked
exit.
Actually, it was a day, it was a
door marked entrance.
It was a, it was a door under
salvation and it became both an entrance and
an exit from the bondage of homosexuality.
And the Lord said to you, I am,
I have seen your bondage and I am
come down to visit you and to deliver
you from that.
Hallelujah.
And there are some of you that sit
here tonight.
God has marvelously delivered you.
You know what that kind of, then you
even know God is doing that and has
been doing that in these days.
And then some of you know the, have
known the hopeless bondage and the rigors of
drug addiction.
It made your life bitter in all manner
of service to the demons of cocaine or
heroin or alcohol.
But one day the Lord said to you,
I am the Lord God.
I am God and I have seen your
addiction and I am come down to visit
you and to lift you and to liberate
you.
And you sit here tonight, have free.
You were a prisoner, but you're free tonight
from that.
Some of you were in an intellectual bondage,
a slave in spiritual darkness to the vain
philosophies of this world.
But the Lord marvelously revealed himself to you
and he said, I am the God.
I have seen the affliction of your spiritual
emptiness and I am come down to deliver
you out of it.
And you're free from that.
Some of you were atheists.
Some of you were agnostic.
Some of you were hooked to other kinds
of ologies or philosophies.
And from that very first Exodus to the
very final exit and Exodus, when it tells
us the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout and he, and we shall
be caught up together to meet the Lord
in the air.
So shall we ever be with the Lord.
From that very first Exodus to the very
final Exodus, our God is a God of
deliverance.
Romans 11, 26 and 27 says, there came
out of Zion, the deliverer and shall turn
away ungodliness from Jacob or, or the sons
of Jacob for this is my covenant unto
them.
When I shall take away their sins.
But then when we go in, as we
look through the pages of history, consider some
of the other deliverances, Abraham was delivered from
idolatry out of Ur of Chaldees, David was
delivered from the evil presence and power called
Goliath.
And then as Hebrews 11 tells us, there
was Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah
and Samuel and the prophets who through faith
subdued kingdoms and wrought righteousness and obtained promises.
They stopped the mouths of lions.
They quenched the violence of fire.
They escaped the edge of the sword out
of weakness were made strong.
They waxed valued in fight and turn to
flight the enemies of the aliens.
And you see, all of these are incidences
of deliverance brought about by the power of
a living faith.
And these men trusted God and God saw
their affliction.
He saw their faith and they were freed
from their captivity.
And in the historical count of God's dealing
with man over and over again, the evidence
is overwhelming.
God is able and willing if we believe
him to deliver and set his people free
and lead them out into a large and
a good land, hallelujah.
If there's anything that blesses me every time
I come here, it's not just to preach
a message, but it's to see at the
altar call what God is doing and people
are being set free.
Jesus told his gatherers in that synagogue in
Nazareth that his promise was being, the promise
was being fulfilled before their very eyes, that
he had come to preach deliverance to the
captives and they went out and he did
that very thing in answer to faith.
We see the maniac of Gadara raised, released
from legions of demons, sitting in clothes and
his right mind.
What an exodus he had from the tombs
and from bondage.
We see the withered hand that was restored,
the blind see, a brother delivered from the
grave and then there was that small company
of his followers who were made glad because
they need sin no more.
You see Christ was and he is the
great enemy of any and all afflictions and
bondage and slavery and addiction.
He came to preach deliverance to the captives
and to bestow the gift of freedom which
is at the very heart of his message.
Jesus said in John 8, 36, if the
son therefore hath made you free, ye shall
be free indeed.
Here is a result of that mighty deliverance
from sin.
I read this today and I thought you'd
be blessed by this.
It says we were shaft, now we are
wheat.
We were dross, now we are gold.
We were ravens, now we are doves.
We were goats, now we are sheep.
We were thorns, now we are grapes.
We were thistles, now we are lilies.
We were strangers, now we are citizens.
We were harvests, now we are virgins.
Hell was our inheritance, now heaven is our
possession.
We were children of wrath, but now we
are sons of mercy.
We were bond slaves to Satan, now we
are heirs of God and co-heirs with
Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah.
Deliverance, glory to God, out of one into
another.
But having said that, let me say that
there is another side of the coin to
deliverance.
And it's interesting that Hebrews 11 gives us
another kind of deliverance that is always offered
to the people of God.
And oh, please listen to me carefully tonight
as I talk about this.
There is a kind of faith that must
refuse another kind of deliverance.
This is the idea conveyed in Hebrews 11,
35.
A kind of faith that is little talked
about today.
The kind that is seen and was seen
in the early Christians who were tortured, stoned.
They were sown in two because they refused
to accept an offer of deliverance or release
from captivity.
Now, the whole chapter of Hebrews, of course,
is a song of faith.
The kind of faith that is powerful to
achieve.
But there is also another effect of faith.
Not a faith that brings deliverance, but sometimes
it's a faith when deliverance is offered, this
other kind of faith refuses to receive that
deliverance.
You see, sometimes faith receives and sometimes faith
has to refuse.
There is a faith that subdues kingdoms, yes.
It wrought righteousness, yes.
It obtained promises, yes.
It stopped the mouths of lions.
We all like that kind of faith.
I mean, you know, if you're going to
choose the kind of faith you have, wouldn't
it be the kind of faith that stops
the mouths of lions?
That's what we call an achieving, a receiving,
an obtaining faith.
But Hebrews 11, 35 and 36 has two
important words in the midst of all of
this description of great men of faith and
the works of faith.
And note what those words are.
I have them underlined in my Bible.
It says, and others, verse 35, women received
their dead raised to life again and were
tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain
a better resurrection.
And others, and with this, you see, the
Hebrew writer introduces us to another effect of
faith.
It's a faith that endures and it is
a tremendous witness and example by virtue of
its courage to refuse a kind of offer
of deliverance that will come along to you.
You see, there is a form of deliverance
that true and real faith rejects.
And these early heroes of the faith included
this very select group of others who were
tortured, who had trials of cruel mocking and
scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment.
Why?
Because they refused deliverance.
Oh, the beauty of such a faith.
And I want you to see that tonight.
The beauty of this faith.
You see, there comes an hour when the
strongest proof of faith is in its swift
rejection of the easiest way out.
Let me say that again.
There comes an hour, there comes a moment
in your life when the strongest proof of
your faith is in its rejection of the
easiest way out of your difficulty.
Now, these early martyrs to whom the Scriptures
refer, when faced with trial and torment for
their Christian faith, were always offered another kind
of deliverance.
They only had to blaspheme the name of
Christ by saying a word or two of
cursing against the name of Christ.
And all their torture and all their suffering
would have been over.
For example, a Roman centurion would write the
name of Christ upon a wall.
And those who were being brought to trial
because of their profession of faith, all they
had to do was to go over to
that wall and spit on it.
And in so doing, indicate that they were
renouncing the name of Christ and they would
have been released.
They would have been freed.
They would have been delivered from their tormentors.
Or in other situations, all they had to
do was to go, and they had a
little box.
And if they would reach into the box
and there would be a little bit of
grain there, or there would be a little
bit of incense.
And all they had to do was to
pick it up and without even saying one
word, thrust that or lay that down before
the beautiful statue of the God Diana.
And that believer, that Christian, would have been
given their freedom from torment.
The trial and cruel mocking would have immediately
been over and they would have been given
their deliverance.
And the Hebrew writer here is talking about
these kind of people when he's talking about
their faith.
They refuse deliverance.
There is also an account given to us
in the book of Maccabees, the second book
of Maccabees.
There's a story of a Jewish mother who
in one day saw seven of her sons
tortured for their faith.
And she encouraged them by her words to
give a good confession on the basis that
they would obtain a better resurrection.
And when the youngest of the seven, the
first six were tortured and were martyred, and
then finally the seventh son, the youngest, came
along and before he was tortured and martyred,
he was given an offer by an oath
and said, if you will recant your faith,
I will promise you that I will make
you a rich and a happy man.
And with a mother standing on, she encouraged
him and says, no.
She says, fear not by tormentors, take thy
death that I may receive thee again in
mercy with your brothers.
But you see for these martyrs, there was
always a choice, a choice between accepting or
not accepting release.
On one hand was life, on the other
hand was death.
It was either torture in the grave or
it was release.
But you see, they showed their faith by
refusing this ready-made, man-made deliverance.
They could have had it by a single
word or a single action, but they refused
because they decided that it was better to
be faithful than to be free.
Hallelujah.
Better to be faithful than to be free.
They chose defiance of the enemy rather than
deliverance from the enemy's hand.
They would accept deliverance of no other sort
because they had obtained a better promise.
Hallelujah.
Of a resurrection and of a better life.
Now I said all of that to say
this, may God grant that this kind of
courageous faith to his people today, a faith
that refuses another kind of deliverance.
You see, this same kind of faith is
necessary today in the midst of our own
trials and troubles and temptations.
Because we too, in a sense, we face
in our own way, we might say the
petty martyrdoms of everyday living.
You see, there is a principle contained in
this testimony of the early Christians who refused
to accept release and deliverance from torment.
A principle that applies to each of us
in a variety of situations and testings.
You see, each of us has his own
cross to carry.
We have our very own tormentors.
Now you may not be asked to die
for your faith, but let me tell you
something.
Every time the devil comes to tempt you,
it is an attempt for you to deny
your faith at that moment.
And either say, I name the name of
God and I stand on the principle of
righteousness, or you turn your back upon him.
That's the kind of torment that comes to
you.
Anytime we face these trials, of course, Jesus
is there to preach deliverance.
There is a conquest over temptation.
Psalms 37 10 says, The righteous cry, and
the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of
their troubles.
But always remember there are always other deliverances
offered.
There are other doors, other solutions, and the
enemy is sure to offer you a release
from your trouble and pain.
And I think all of us are tempted
frequently by these other deliverances and other doors
and other answers to our need, even if
we fail to recognize it, because many times
they're so subtle, they are so deceptive, they're
so hidden, so suddenly hidden and disguised that
many times you don't even know it.
Listen to what Psalms 56 and 6 says,
They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they
mark my steps when they wait for my
soul.
Psalms 35 and 7 says, For without cause
they hid their net from me, without cause
they dug a pit for my soul.
Listen, my friend, always this net or pit,
this other form of deliverance, this is a
promise to release you from your pain, to
release you from your trials and your testings
of faith.
And I believe that some of you sit
here tonight, maybe even unknowingly and unwittingly, have
fallen into a trap of a false deliverance.
Psalms 119, 85 says, The arrogant have dug
pits for me.
Men who are not in accord with the
law.
And listen, let me tell you, everywhere you
turn there are men who are not in
accord with the law that are going to
offer you a way out, another way of
deliverance than God's way.
I think of a young lady tonight, excuse
me, I think of a young man tonight
whose soul is miserable.
He was delivered at one time from gross
sin and immorality and iniquity, but in his
old life he made money, not, there's an
advertisement that says about making money the old
-fashioned way.
He earned his money the new-fashioned way.
He cheated.
He was dishonest and made a lot of
money, had a lot of good things, had
a lot of material things, but the Lord
saved him.
And he turned his back upon all of
that.
His values changed, his lifestyle changed.
He was not prosperous, but he had peace.
And then he got married and he started
to raise a family.
And in the midst of his difficulty, in
the midst of his struggles, one day there
came along a tempting, glittering door of opportunity,
a chance for a better job, a better
position with a better pay and a lot
more security.
The only thing was that he had to
close his eyes to certain things around him.
He had to ignore certain things and he
had to violate his own conscience.
Now, let me tell you something.
We all know the temptation, that exact temptation,
not in the exact sense, but similar.
And it's the false promise of a quick
fix to our troubles.
And many a man or woman accepts the
lure of another deliverance, not from the hand
of God, but from the hand of another.
And all it takes sometimes, all it takes
is for you to put your hand in
that box, as it were, and take a
little bit of grain and throw it down
at the God of this world, God of
Diana, a false God of false hope.
And there is that other door of deliverance.
But you see, here's the rub.
The moment that young man went through that
door, marked Easy Street and Compromise, he no
longer was accepting the torture of sacrifice and
he accepted another kind of deliverance.
And at that moment, he left the company
of true men of faith.
He left the company that is talking about
here in Hebrews 11th chapter.
And one of these days, he's going to
wake up and find that he's missed the
best for the easiest way out.
You see, there's a principle that's contained in
this message here tonight and this truth.
And it's this, that faithfulness is better than
happiness if happiness is sought in that which
is false.
Let me say it again.
Happiness, or excuse me, faithfulness is better than
happiness if happiness is sought in that which
is false.
Let me give to you two Proverbs that
should be familiar to you.
One is Proverbs 17.1. It says, Better
is a dry crust, a dry morsel, and
tranquility therewith, than a house full of feastings
with contention.
And here's another one.
You'll like this even better.
Some of you will.
It's Proverbs 21.9. It says, It is
better to dwell in the corner of a
housetop than with a brawling woman in a
wide house.
Another translation says, It is better to live
in the corner of an attic than with
a crabby woman in a lovely house.
Now, I wasn't expecting all the men to
say amen.
That's not what I'm after.
There's a principle taught in these two verses
I've just read.
You see, some things might appear to bring
you happiness, such as a woman or a
man, or a house full of feastings, but
in fact, they bring contention and strife.
Not all deliverances are deliverances.
Not all things that appear to bring us
tranquility and peace and happiness live up to
the promise.
Tonight, I think of a young lady.
She's not in this church.
I think of two young ladies.
A young lady, she is single.
She's battling loneliness.
A loneliness of singleness.
It's a loneliness that might be called a
social or romantic famine.
There's another young woman like her.
She's a mother raising her son.
She's a single parent, her spouse having left
her for another woman.
In both cases, there comes along a promise
of deliverance.
Deliverance from boredom, from drudgery, from loneliness, from
financial hardships, and all the rest that goes
along with it.
And that offer comes along in the form
of Mr. Deliverance.
He's willing to release her from the torture
of her singleness, or what she views as
torture.
He offers marriage, but listen, it is not
an offer from someone whom God has led
her to.
And his commitment to the Lord is superficial
and compromising.
And she does not know it, but what
awaits her is a house full of feastings
with contention and sorrow, and the male version
of a crabby woman.
Now listen, young lady or young man, and
for all of us tonight, there lurks in
every street and every path a different kind
of deliverance.
And with that so-called deliverance, or so
-called happiness, or so-called chance of freedom,
oh, what a cost it will extract from
you.
It would be better to live on dry
morsels, better to be tortured daily than to
accept a deliverance like that.
Psalms 142 is a picture of a soul
at a dangerous point.
It's David talking.
He said, When my spirit is overwhelmed within
me, thou didst know my path.
In the way where I walk, they have
hidden a trap for me.
Look to the right and see, for there
is no one who regards me.
There is no escape for me.
No one cares for my soul.
But oh, how wrong David was to say
this, and how wrong are we to say,
there is no escape for me, so I'll
accept the deliverance of another.
But my friend, this is where true faith
comes in.
Faithfulness is better than happiness when happiness is
sought in that which is false.
There is a faith and a trust that
can see you through the hour of your
testing, be it loneliness, be it financial hardship,
be it whatever it is.
There is a faith and a faithfulness that
is better than happiness, especially if the happiness
is sought in a false deliverance.
Psalms 142, 7, David ends up, he says,
Bring my soul out of prison, so that
I may give thanks to thy name.
Thy righteousness will surround me, for thou wilt
deal bountifully with me.
Hallelujah.
Psalms 141, 9 and 10, it says, Keep
me from snares they have laid for me,
from the traps set by evildoers.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets
while I pass by it safely.
Oh, hallelujah.
Beware of the danger of going back to
an old rusty anchor during times of your
testing.
It may be an old teaching.
It may be an old doctrine.
When we seek deliverance because of a sense
of failure.
You see, our faith is not only tested
by worldly deliverances, it's also tested by and
in the work of God.
I know what it's like.
Oh, do I know what it's like to
face the discouragements and defeats of ministry and
seek a deliverance and escape from it?
Any preacher, anybody in the work of the
Lord knows what that's like.
You see, there is a weariness that comes
from well-doing and from reaching out to
others.
This weariness may be from physical exhaustion.
It may be from spiritual dryness.
It may be from some disappointment.
Or it may be discouragement from trying to
help somebody yet seeing them continue to struggle
and to fail or to fall.
And this can bring a sense of failure
on our own part.
Last Tuesday night, I believe it was, after
our meeting, one of our workers in the
back came to me and he asked me,
he said, Pastor, he said, what do you
do when you've prayed with somebody and you've
offered them godly counsel and you shared with
them and you know they're not hearing you?
You just know they're not hearing.
They're not receiving.
It's just going in one ear and out
the other.
And I looked at him and I said,
welcome to the ministry.
Welcome.
Now you know what it's all about.
Now you know what we pastors go through.
And some of those who we are called
to try and help, they are irritating and
interfering people that can wear you down sometimes.
But let me tell you, there's a danger
right here.
Weariness in well-doing and in ministry to
others, especially when the results are not encouraging.
This is the devil's invitation to step in
and make you a tempting offer.
Maybe you want to quit.
Sooner or later, there comes a day when
you're tempted to give up, to take your
armor off, to hang it up, and to
just sit back and say, I'm just going
to relax on my spiritual rocking chair.
I ain't going to get involved anymore.
Listen, no other organization on the face of
the earth is charged with a high calling
of which the church is summons.
And that is to confront men with Jesus
Christ.
And it ain't like selling pizza.
And if God has called you to do
a work for him, if you are in
full-time ministry, if you're a pastor or
you're a leader, or if you're a single
mother raising a son or a daughter, or
if you're parents that are raising your children,
you're all called similarly.
And the Holy Spirit would warn you tonight,
there is no release from that, even if
it's torturous at times.
Did you hear me?
There's no release from it.
Even if it's torturous.
Romans 11, 29 says, for God's gifts and
his call are irrevocable.
That's not only directed to the Pope, but
that's directed to the congregation.
First Corinthians 7, 20 says, let every man
abide in the same calling wherein he is
called.
Let me tell you something, there's something worse,
there's something that's far worse than the hardships
of ministry or outreach or Christian service.
And that's to miss God's will.
The most dangerous thing you can do is
step down from the call of God and
seek a deliverance from it in some other
field of endeavor.
And there are times when such a deliverance
would be a treachery if you accepted it.
And some of the unhappiest Christians that I
know and I have seen are those who
sought deliverance from the call of God upon
their life.
God has not called you to be successful,
he's called you to be faithful.
And when you're faithful, you are successful, no
matter what the external results may be, hallelujah.
Our duty is to continue to serve, even
though that service may be a torture.
And the Hebrew writer believed to be Paul
said of those early Christians, they were tortured
not accepting deliverance, except the deliverance that God
provides.
And I wanna tell you, he always comes
through, glory to God, he always comes through.
If we trust God, we will refuse any
and all relief and stick it out.
Listen, God has no pleasure in people or
in ministers who are always handing in their
resignation.
I mean, in your heart, either literally or
figuratively or emotionally or down deep inside, you're
always quitting.
God has no pleasure in that.
No man having put his hand to the
plow and looking back is fit for the
kingdom of God.
Christ is the model, he refused false deliverance.
The temptation of Christ in the wilderness was
among other things, a lesson in not accepting
another kind of deliverance in exchange for the
victory of the cross.
Listen to what it says, Matthew four eight,
and again, the devil taketh him up into
an exceedingly high mountain and showeth him all
the kingdoms of the world and the glory
of them and saith unto him, all these
things will I give thee if thou wilt
fall down and worship me.
Let me tell you, there's a similar place,
there's a similar mountain where the devil takes
all of us.
And there he shows us what we could
have and how he would deliver us from
our struggles if we would but compromise and
fall down before him.
Now, I don't know what the devil's been
showing you lately, but maybe he's got you
standing on the highest rise, highest tenement house
in New York City, and he points you
out, I don't mean literally, but spiritually, he
says, look, and he points out and he
points there, he points here, he points there,
and he'd say, you know, you could have
that.
That could be you, you could possess that,
you could have that kingdom.
All you have to do is compromise.
All you have to do is, well, quit
going to Times Square Church for one thing,
quit listening to those holiness preachers.
And hey, the devil will even find you
another church where you can have Jesus in
the world, too, which of course will be
a lie.
All these kingdoms will I give thee, says
the tempter, if thou wilt fall down and
worship me.
Was that not an offer of a road
to power in the throne, which he would
have escaped the torture of the cross?
But Jesus refused that kind of release or
deliverance.
And that is why he is able, hallelujah,
to deliver us.
That's why he's able to free us, glory
to God, because he didn't accept that way
out.
That's why he could stand and prophesy, the
spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
I have come to preach deliverance to the
captives.
Let me give you one last illustration.
Remember when he was approaching the place of
crucifixion of Golgotha?
Matthew 27, 34, it says, and they gave
or they offered him vinegar to drink mingled
with gall.
And when he had tasted thereof, he would
not drink.
Now, if Jesus had had one taste of
it, he'd have experienced a momentary deliverance or
relief from his pain.
And had he drunk it, his senses would
have been numb, for gall was an opiate,
it was a drug.
But when he tasted it, he realized that
it was mingled with a sedative, he would
not drink it.
And he was tortured, not accepting any aid,
not accepting any other kind of deliverance, but
he went in order not to accept any
other way out.
And you see, when we experience the deliverance
of Jesus, we need no other, because everywhere
you turn, there's gonna be an offer of
release from your freedom by all kinds of
medicine men.
If they gave him vinegar, if they gave
him vinegar mixed with gall, huh, how much
more are they gonna offer it to you?
And everywhere you turn, you're gonna have that
kind of an offer.
I mean, it may be literally for some
of you, it's literally an offer of a
drug.
Literally, it's a bottle, it's a pill, it's
a powder or something.
And I don't know how you spell relief,
but Jesus offers not relief, but deliverance, hallelujah.
When Jesus tasted their offer, he would not
drink.
Is that your testimony tonight?
Are you refusing any and all offers?
And some of you may be here tonight,
you've got a little gall inside you.
You've got a little gall.
I'm talking about having sought release and relief
from some other source, from some other angle.
But listen to what happens, let me close
with it.
Listen to what happens to those who would
not accept a false deliverance, a false release.
And others were tortured not accepting deliverance, why?
That they might obtain something better.
It's called the resurrection.
It's also called everlasting life.
It's also called heaven.
It's also called life eternal.
The point is this, there is deliverance and
then there is deliverance.
There are deliverers and there is the deliverer.
Psalms 97 and 10 says, ye that love
the Lord hate evil.
He preserveth the souls of his saints.
He delivereth them out of the hand of
the wicked.
Light is shown for the righteous and gladness
for the upright in heart.
And you know, the beautiful thing about what
I'm teaching here tonight is that every time
you reject the tempter's release or relief or
deliverance, every time you die to that sin,
there is a glorious resurrection that takes place
simultaneously and right along with it.
Every time you refuse something unholy, God gives
you something better in its place, hallelujah.
I have experienced that.
I learned that as a young man.
I've tried to instill that in my children
and said, listen, if you live a pure
and holy life, yes, you sacrifice, you can't
do.
I remember I used to come out of
high school and I used to see my
friends go down one way.
And there was a part of me that
wanted to go down there with them, but
I knew I couldn't.
I knew that I couldn't, that I walked
the other way and I was alone many
a time, but I knew that one day
payday would come, hallelujah.
And that God would honor me and God
would give you something far.
Every time you refuse a compromise of deliverance,
God opens the windows of heaven to a
greater deliverance.
Proverbs 10, six says, blessings are upon the
head of the just.
Proverbs 28, 10 says, a faithful man shall
abound with blessings.
Malachi 3, 10 tells us of the reward
of the obedient.
He says, prove me now, prove me now.
And then he tells us how, and it's
not just talking about having your finances straightened
out, it's talking about having your life straightened
out.
It's talking about being obedient and being holy.
And he said, prove me now, refuse every
avenue that the devil gives you for relief
or release and stand true.
I don't care if you're under torment, if
you be faithful, God will be faithful and
here's the payoff.
See if I will not open the windows
of heaven and pour out you a blessing
that ye shall not have room enough to
receive it.
Hallelujah.
I have a friend, I call him up
every once in a while and I said,
how are you doing?
He said, oh, he said, if it gets
any better, I don't know what I'm gonna
do.
He understands that principle, hallelujah.
First comes refusal, then comes reward.
First you refuse the door to false deliverance
and then he opens wide the windows of
heaven unto you.
Hallelujah.
Praise the Lord, let's stand together.
Thank you Jesus.
Variety on a salad bar.
And remember, you know, God told Israel, Bob
mentioned his message Sunday morning for the day
of Sunday night.
He told them about this land that was
flowing with milk and honey.
That was only symbolic of all of the
blessings that God was bestowing upon them.
And when you look at a salad bar,
listen, oh my goodness, those green, I love
green olives.
I love radish.
Hey, that came from God's hand, my friend.