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All right, it's great to be here tonight. I got some, well, I was going to say gifts, but you actually have to earn them, so it's not a gift if you have to earn it, right? So let's do a little bit of Bible quiz, shall we? And we're going to give out some shirts here. I got some shirts along with some stickers. It says, notice, no dogs allowed. So these are pretty cool stickers here. Put that on your work hat or whatever, all right? So you need to raise your hand though, okay? Now ladies, if you get this, you raise your hand, but your husband has to answer for you or a brother right next to you or something, okay? I'm just kidding. Okay. Number one, don't call it out, okay? If you call it out, I call you out, all right? I'm just kidding. You got to raise your hand, follow instructions, all right? Number one, name the four horsemen of the apocalypse and their events. Name the four horsemen. Let's do the first four seals. Uh-huh, okay, uh-huh, yes. Okay, yes. You got the last two mixed up, but you pretty much got all four horsemen. So give him a round of applause. He knows his horses. All right, here you go. Got yourself a first work shirt and some no dogs allowed stickers right here, all right? There you go. All right, next question. Let's see here. Okay, next question is this. Now this is a kind of difficult one, but we'll see. The beginning of sorrows, okay, lasts for how many days? And I'm not referring to great tribulation. I'm talking about just the first initial tribulation lasts for how long? Yes. You got it. So I was told you can't answer anymore, Mike. Okay, that's the only one you get. Congrats. Oh, there you go. All right, let's see what else we got here. Okay, the children of Israel strove with the Lord at the waters of what? Oh, you both answered it. What's going on here? Rock, paper, scissors. Let's see it. Let's see it. Let's see it. All right, ready? Go. Rock, paper, scissors. Okay, you won. I got an extra large here. Are you an extra large? Okay, you got it. There we go. Great job. All right, let's see here. Okay, you guys are in the book of Judges, all right? So name the first three judges. Are you raising your hand, buddy? Does he know? Close, but no. Name the first three judges. I'll give you the first one, Othniel. And I'll give you a hint of the second one. Yeah, who killed Eglon? Ehud, okay. And who's the third one? No. Close, though. I'll give you a hint of what her name... There you go. All right, so what's all three of them? Wait, you already answered, though. You already won. What is it? Yeah, you had to. If you didn't get that... All right, go ahead. We won't clap for you, though. Just kidding. All right, hold on a second. We're not done yet. All right, let's see. All right, name the false prophet on the island of Paphos. I'll give you a hint. You got it. Give him a round of applause, Bar-Jesus. He's been waiting for that his whole... He knew that. He's been waiting for it for his whole life. Okay, name... Okay, name Jerubabal's son who killed all the other brethren. He's from the Book of Judges. Jerubal's son, excuse me, who killed all of his... Yes. You got it. All right. Round of applause. Brother Benny got it. All right, great job, everyone. Those t-shirts are non-refundable, so... Hope you enjoy those. If it doesn't fit you, just give it to someone who it fits, all right? All right, let's get into the sermon tonight. Look at 2 Timothy chapter number 3, if you would. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse number 10. Now, you might be thinking I'm preaching on false prophets and reprobates. I'm not, okay? Sorry to disappoint you. Yeah, I know. But I'm not going in that direction. Although, you know, I might, you know, insert some of that. How can you not preach from 2 Timothy 3 and not talk about reprobates? Verse 10 says, But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came to me at Antioch, and Iconium, and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered me. And the title of the sermon this evening is The Thoroughness of God's Deliverance. The thoroughness of God's deliverance. Really what I want to do this evening is basically encourage you, okay? I want to exhort you, I want to encourage you to continue in the faith and I just want to remind you that God's salvation is very thorough. When I talk about his salvation, I'm referring to his physical salvation. The fact that he can deliver us from our troubles. He can deliver us from tribulation and trials and difficulties. And the reason this is important is because you will go through trials. You're going to go through a difficulty. You're going to go through a very hard time in your life and it's going to seem like man, this trial is never going to end. You know, it's never going to end. When is everything going to be all better? Is this always going to be the way of life? But the reality is that God is very thorough in his deliverance. Now, the title is based on the latter end of verse number 11 where it says, but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Now look, the Apostle Paul was no stranger to God's deliverance because of the fact that he was no stranger to peril. He was always going through difficult times and in fact, stay there in 2 Timothy. I'm going to read to you from 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 23. It says, Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more. In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths off. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck. And night and day I have been in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils of the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils of the sea, in perils among false brethren. Hey, if you ever feel like you're going through a tough day, just read that for a while. If you ever feel like you're going through a tough day, you stubbed your toe, you got fired from your job, your wife's not happy with you, your dog died, you got a barbecue stand in your white t-shirt or whatever. Hey, just read this portion of scripture and it will remind you that someone always has it worse. Right? In weariness, in painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness, and beside all those that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. So, needless to say, the apostle Paul went through a lot of tough times, right? He went through a lot of difficult times, and so he's no stranger to peril. Therefore, he was no stranger to God's deliverance. And over and over, we see him addressing God's miraculous salvation, his miraculous deliverance throughout his ministry. And in fact, the book of 2 Timothy is all about that. Okay? If you remember in the book of 1 Timothy, he really drives home the point about doctrine, making sure that you're ordained the right kind of person, have the right type of deacon, make sure that you are, you know, preaching the word of God, giving attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, etc., how to take care of the widows in the church. But 2 Timothy is a book that really hones in and focuses on this. Hey, Timothy, you need to learn how to endure persecutions. It's one thing to know, you know, how to do, right? It's the second thing to be able to endure temptations, endure trials. You know, you can have all the head knowledge of the Bible, but if you don't know how to endure trials, what good is that? You know, if you know all doctrine and all mysteries, if you have that gift of prophecy where you understand all these mysteries, but you don't have the ability to endure afflictions and persecutions and trials, what good is it? What good is that knowledge to anybody else if you can endure a hard day, the evil day that's going to come upon you one day? So 2 Timothy is all about Paul testifying of God's saving power in order to motivate Timothy to serve God. This is why he tells them, hey, God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of a sound mind. He tells them, don't be ashamed of the testimony of Jesus Christ nor me, his prisoner. Say, look, now you have all that knowledge, but make sure you're not ashamed of me or of Jesus Christ. Make sure you're not afraid. Understand you've got to be bold. You've got to have power. You have a sound mind because of the Spirit. In chapter 2, he tells them, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warth entanglement himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. The problem today is that you have pastors trying to condition people into thinking that once you become a Christian, everything's going to be okay. Everything's going to be a bed of roses. You'll never have a problem in your life. You have God's favor. God's not mad at you. This is false, folks. In fact, sometimes things get worse when you become a Christian. Because you got Satan as your enemy. You know, you have Satan as your enemy. You have the world. You have your flesh constantly fighting against you. I mean, it's not a bed of roses. And the Bible says that the Christian life is like war. It's a spiritual battle that we are facing. He says in verse number 11 of chapter 2, it is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us. Now, this is not referring to this matter of salvation. You know, if we deny Jesus, if we act like we're not Christians, he's going to deny salvation. This is referring to the fact that if we deny him by not preaching the Gospel, we're going to be denied rewards in Heaven. He says if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself. What is he saying? Look, if you don't believe that God can deliver you physically from the clutches of your enemy, don't worry. He's still faithful. He will still deliver you. And look, isn't that true? Because anybody who's saved, if God doesn't deliver you in this life, guess what? We still have the redemptions of our body one day. You know, we could be martyred, we could be killed, wracked with disease and pain, and you know what? We may not be delivered this side of eternity, but we know for sure, one day, we're going to receive the redemptions of our body. Where our bodies will be delivered, this wretched body will be transformed. We shall be sown in corruption and raised in incorruption. That is a form of deliverance, amen? Chapter 4, look at Chapter 4 of 2 Timothy and verse 17. So look, if we believe not, he abides faithful, he cannot deny himself. You know, if you don't believe that God can deliver you so you're not going to take a stand for God, okay, you're going to suffer the consequences of being a coward, but even then, God is still going to deliver that wretched body of yours, that fearful, cowardice body of yours. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 17 says, Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known and that all the Gentiles might hear and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. He's just driving this point home to tell him, look, I was delivered from my countrymen, I was delivered from the Jews, I was delivered from the mouth of the lion and he's doing this to encourage Timothy, hey, take a stand, serve Christ, because you're going to be delivered too, okay. It says in verse 18, and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work. Now there's this teaching out there that says, well, the Apostle Paul was beheaded by the Romans. How many of you ever heard something like that? I went to Bible college, so I heard that all the time when we talked about the Apostle Paul. He was beheaded by the Romans and they took him and they beheaded him. No one in the Bible doesn't even say anything about that. In fact, that would contradict verse 18 where it says, the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work. I don't know about you, but beheading is an evil work. Yet he said, the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom to whom be glory forever and ever, amen. Hey, it is my strong belief that if you serve Christ, if you are a soul winner, if you stand on the Word of God, you can be in all types of perils and I guarantee you, God will deliver you. Why? Because of the fact that you become useful. And if you're useful, why would God want to take you out of the picture if you're doing God's work? You're being used in the hand of God. You know who God is done with are those who are saved, but you know what? They don't want to go soul winning. They don't want to preach the Word of God. They don't want to stand for truth. What do they become? A castaway. The Bible says, I keep under my body and bring it into subjection unless by any means when I preach to others I myself should be a castaway. Like that branch that's broken off of the vine because he's not abiding in Christ. He is cast forth as a branch and is withered. Men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. They become useless. Right? Well, hey, if you don't want to be cast away, if you want to continue to be preserved and be used by God and be delivered from every evil work, you need to be useful. You need to serve the Lord. Now look, the evil day shall come. Every single one of you, you're going to go through an evil day. And sometimes those evil days last for months, sometimes even years. And you know what the evil day is? It's the day when you just are at your wits end. And you feel like there's no hope left. How many of you have ever been there? You don't have to raise your hand, but how many of you have actually ever been there where you're experiencing such an evil day that you just lose all hope? That's the evil day. And this is why the Bible tells us, you know, wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day having done all to stand. You know, when that evil day comes, it's not your chance to just quit on God, get out of church, stop reading your Bible. No, it's your opportunity to just having done all to stand. Say, you know what? I'm just, I'm going to weep. I'm going to cry. I'm going to pray. I might even complain and murmur a little bit, but I'm just going to stand in church. I'm going to stand by reading my Bible. I'm going to stand by sowing. I'm going to do everything I can to just stand. And it's typically at that very last hour of standing that God just delivers you from that. It's when you feel you can't take it anymore that God delivers you from that trial. You say, well, I feel like I'm there right now. Well, you know, there's no temptation taking you, but such is common to man. God knows how much you can handle. And if you feel like you have not been delivered from your situation or your circumstance, it just means that God knows that you can handle a little bit more. Job said, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speakest, talking to his wife. By the way, that's not a good way to start a conversation with your wife, right? What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God? And shall we not receive evil? And all this did not Job sin with his lips. Job understood. Job was very mature. He's like, you think just because we're believers that we're only going to receive good, but we're never going to receive evil? This is the way of life. This is the way of a Christian. Part of it is experiencing that evil day, whether it's a death in the family, it's a sickness that you have to endure, or you're enduring persecutions at the hand of the wicked. You know, this is part of the evil day. But the promise is that God can deliver us through that. The Bible says in Psalm 43 verse 17, the righteous cry and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all of their troubles. Psalm 34 verse 19 says, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Go with me if you would to 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 9 says, the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. What I'm saying is this is that God's deliverance is thorough. So don't lack faith and say well, you know what, he might be able to deliver other people, but I'm just I'm the exception to the rule. And I'm going to tell you who the only exception to that rule is. Okay, I'm going to show you just a little bit who the exception to the rule is. But God's promise to deliver you from the clutches of your enemy, from your unlikely circumstances that you're going through, from your sickness, from whatever you're going through, God is able to deliver you. Excuse me, to deliver you. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 9. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. I mean, look at that. He said, look, we've been delivered from death, and he's continuously delivering us, and you know what? He's going to continue to deliver us in the future. Because they're serving God. Say, whoa, yeah, but what if I like die or something? Well, then you go to heaven, amen. You get to clock out! Clock out early, get some eternal rewards. Look, folks, it's we're on the winning side. We're always going to come out winning on this thing. Okay? God is in the business of delivering his people. Now, when I talk about deliverance, I'm not talking about, you know, there's a false doctrine out there that says that when you get saved, oh, God's going to deliver you, you just delivered of all your sin. You're not even tempted to sin. That's a false doctrine. It's garbage. Okay? To say, oh, you know, if you're a Christian, you're not going to desire to sin. False! For in me, that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. You know, there's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. So even when we're doing good, we're trying to keep God's commandments, we're trying to obey the Lord, guess what? We're still going to sin because we have the flesh abiding within us. That's why we're waiting to wit the redemption of our body. Okay? If that was the case, why did Jesus tell us to pray? Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Okay? You know, obviously we're delivered from the penalty of sin which is hell. We have an ongoing battle to the side of eternity with our flesh. Now, go with me if you would to Revelation chapter 3. I want to share with you one of my favorite stories of God's deliverance, and I think this really drives home the point very thoroughly in regards to the thoroughness of God's deliverance. Okay? Revelation chapter 3 in verse number 7. Of course we understand that Revelation 2 and 3 are the letters that are written to the 7 churches which are in Asia. And obviously these are real churches, but a lot of what's being said to them can be applied to us today. Okay? Now look what it says in verse number 7 of Revelation chapter 3. It says, And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shut it, and shut it, and no man openeth. I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength, and has kept my word, and has not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because I was kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them to dwell upon the earth. Now, with that passage in mind, go to Daniel chapter 3 if you would. Daniel chapter number 3. Now as I mentioned, that passage of scripture is dealing with the literal church that existed at one time. Okay? But I believe it's also a foreshadowing of the churches that are going to exist in the end times. Because of the fact that this is referring to the beginning of sorrows or great tribulation. Okay? And I'm going to prove that to you because when you read Revelation chapter 3 and you see some of the statements that are being made, it's kind of cryptic and it's just like, I don't really understand why he's saying all this, you know, the open door and thou hast a little strength and, you know, the Jews, they say they're Jews and are not, they do lie, I'm going to make them to know, come worship before thy feet. It's like, what is he talking about? Obviously we understand the spirit of what's being said, but what is he referencing there? Well, what I believe he's referencing is the story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego in Daniel chapter number 3. Now the book of Daniel is a great book to teach Bible prophecy, is it not? And often we think, well, from chapter 7 and upward, that's dealing with Bible prophecy. But in actuality, even the previous chapters have a lot of foreshadowing of what's going to take place in the end times. I'm going to give you proof of that. Look at Daniel chapter 3 and go down to verse 14. Now what's taking place here in Daniel chapter 3? This is the famous story of Nebuchadnezzar and his image, right? You have Nebuchadnezzar and his image and what we see is that he tells the people, hey, at the time that, you know, all these instruments sound, these six instruments, everyone has to bow down and worship the image, right? And whoever does not bow down and worships the image, what's going to happen to them? They're going to be cast into the furnace of fire, right? Now, who are the only ones that don't? The saved guys. Right? Meshech, Shadrach, and Abednego. And look what it says in verse 14. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, is it true of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego? Do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sagbutt, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well, but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. And who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego answered and said unto the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be true, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto the king that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. So we know what happens, they don't do it, they anger the king, and then he turns up the furnace seven times hotter. So it's like this, in the beginning of sorrows, the initial beginning of the tribulation, what's referred to as the beginning of sorrows, you know, the whole world's going through this tribulation time, right? But the last 75 days, which is the fifth seal where martyrdom is being taken place, it's like the furnace being turned up seven times hotter. Okay? Look what it says in verse 20, and he commanded the most mighty men that were in the army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hoes and their hats and their other garments and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. So look, he throws them in there. Now, what happens in the midst of the week? You know, you have the abomination of desolation being set up, but then 75 days thereafter, who shows up on the scene? Jesus Christ. Right? Well, that's interesting. Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego are cast into the burning fiery furnace, and who shows up? The Son of God. Look what it says in verse number 22. Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire flew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in haste and spake and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king, he answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Now, folks, I don't know about you, but if I was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and I'm being thrown into the furnace, I'm like, okay, I'm just not being delivered. I'm about to meet my maker. I'm done. I mean, once you're in there, you're done. But were they done? No, in fact, they were thoroughly delivered from the burning fiery furnace, were they not? And who shows up? The Son of God. Now, look at verse 27, because we're going to look at some applications in the New Testament. It says in verse 27, The princes, the governors, and the captains and kings, counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Now, go to Luke chapter 21. Luke chapter 21. So keep all of those events that we just read about in Daniel chapter 3 in mind. Go to Luke chapter 21. We understand that when we study end times Bible prophecy, one of the key chapters in the New Testament to study, aside from the book of Revelation, is Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, right? Now, look at Luke 21 and verse number 12. This is referring to instructions dealing with end times, tribulation, etc. It says in verse 12, But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my sake, and it shall turn to you for a testimony. Now, look what it says in verse 14. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts not to meditate before what ye shall answer. What does Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego say? We are not careful to answer thee in this matter, O king Nebuchadnezzar. Why? Because they've already settled them in their hearts. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts not to meditate before what ye shall answer. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. In other words, they're going to see them delivered and it's just like, mouth shut. It's like, obviously, this is God. Okay? And ye shall be betrayed by both parents and brethren and kinsfolk and friends, and some of ye shall they cast, excuse me, shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But look what it says in verse number 17, excuse me, 18. But there shall not a hair of your head perish. You remember what happened in Daniel chapter 3? Not even a hair was singed. What are we talking about here? We're talking about the thoroughness of God's deliverance. God says, don't even worry. Not even your hair is going to perish. You know? Some of you, you don't got to worry about that, amen? You're like, wow, great. You know? Guess that promise doesn't apply to me. In your patience, possess ye your souls. So what do we see in Daniel chapter 3? We see a symbolic representation of God's deliverance in the end times, is it not? And look, this is parallel with Revelation chapter 3 because of the fact that he says, I have an open door set before you which no man can shut. So what is he referring to? He's referring to that fiery furnace because they came out, he opened that door, and they were delivered, right? Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Let's look a little deeper into this. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. It says in verse 13, by the way, temptation is synonymous with trials and tribulation. It says, There is no temptation taking you, but such is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape. Did not he give Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego a way to escape? That ye may be able to bear it. Now look at this interesting verse right afterwards. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. So what does the image of Nebuchadnezzar represent in January chapter 3? The image of the beast, right? And what does the Bible say in Matthew 24? Flee from the image, right? When the abomination of desolation is set up, flee into the mountains, he says. This is referring to, it's foreshadowing what's taking place in Revelation chapter 3. Now go to Revelation chapter 3 again. It's good stuff, amen? The Bible is so deep He says in verse number 8, I know thy works. We'll read it again. Behold, verse 8, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego. You got a little bit of strength. And has kept my word, and has not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet. Why? Because they were trying to get Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego to come and worship before the image of the beast. And worship thee before thy feet to know that I have loved thee. Verse 10, because I was kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell on the earth. Go to 1 Peter. 1 Peter, if you will. 1 Peter chapter number 1. I'm talking about the thoroughness of God's deliverance. I'm trying to show you that God just doesn't do a little half-hazard deliverance. No, when he delivers you, it's complete. It's thorough. But you know what he doesn't do? Those who keep the word of his patience. Those who are serving the Lord. Because at that point, you have usefulness. You are a useful servant, and he wants to keep you around. Amen? Look at 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than that of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Now, this is definitely applicable to any kind of trial, but specifically I think it's applicable obviously to the Great Tribulation. Because you have 1,260 days of the beginning of sorrows, but then you have 75 days of Great Tribulation where that furnace is turned seven times hotter, you go through basically hell on earth, right? And what happens if you're able to just endure until the end? The same shall be saved. They that endure until the end, the same shall be saved, the same shall be delivered. And it's not referring to the salvation of our souls, obviously. It's referring to the salvation of our body. What I'm trying to get across here is the fact that God can wholly deliver you. And we ought to strive to be wholly delivered by God because that increases our faith. I mean, I'm sure your faith was increased just by reading these verses here. It was like, wow. You know, God did it for them. He can do it for me too. And absolutely, He can. Okay? Now, there are times when believers are just not delivered at all. Right? I mean, I've been saved for about 14 years. And in my 14 years of being saved, you know, I've witnessed God kill a good amount of people. You know, from my old church, God just is done with them. And He does it. Our God kills, folks. And He does it because of the fact that sometimes people just become useless. And one of the reasons why He doesn't deliver them is because number one, because of sin. Go to Isaiah 59, if you will. Isaiah 59. Isaiah chapter 59. Because look, folks, it's not that God is not capable of delivering anybody from any type of situation. God is able. Amen? Look what it says in Isaiah 59, verse 1. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. Neither is ear heavy that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear. He says, look, it's not that I'm incapable of saving you. My arms are not short that I cannot save, nor are my ears heavy that I cannot hear. It's your sin. It's your sin that's keeping me from delivering you. It's your iniquity that's keeping me from showing myself strong on your behalf. So look, if you don't want to be delivered, yeah, be involved in the sin. Have your little secret pet sins in your life. And you know what? You will not experience the deliverance of God. Hey, that's good motivation to clean up your life. Amen? To say, man, I want to be like a Meshach, Shadrach, and a Bendigo. I want to be able to experience that open door. I want to experience something miraculous in my life, but I can't do it if I have sin in my life. Folks, that's why it's important to keep our hearts clean. Obviously, we're never going to be sinless this side of eternity, but we can strive to sin less. We can strive not to be involved in specific sins that God tells us, hey, you can't be in the church if you're involved in these list of sins according to 1 Corinthians 5. Keep this sin out of your life. Work on living a holy life so that when the time comes, you know you're in right standings with God. You know that God will deliver you. It's just a matter of time of when. And sometimes, He waits until the very end. And sometimes, He waits until they just throw you into the furnace, right? Why? Because it just looks that much better. He has gotten more glory to deliver you at that very hour of temptation. By the way, the Bible talks about the hour of temptation and what it never can answer to say. In that very hour, I will cast you into the fiery furnace. Go with me if you went to Hebrews chapter 11. One reason why people are not delivered is because of the fact that they have sin in their life, right? But a second reason is this. They're not delivered because they don't want to be delivered. They don't want to be delivered. And you know what? That's okay. These are the hardcore people right here. I don't know if I'm going to be in this group right here. I don't think I will be. But look what it says in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 32. This is the faith chapter, right? It says, And what shall I more say, for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, of Jephthah, of David also, and of Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. I mean, man, these guys are doing great works. Through faith they're able to do all these things and it's just like now this is the reason why they're in the hall of faith. But look what it says in verse 35. Women received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured not accepting deliverance. What does that mean to be tortured? It means you're just, the last moments on this earth are going to be the worst moments of your life. Tortured. You know what they said? I don't want deliverance. God opened the door and they said, I won't take it. God opened the door to the furnace. He says, you can leave. You can walk out. I can deliver you. And they said, no. I won't do it. Why? That they might obtain a better resurrection. In L.A. we say, that's gangster. They're like, I know I can be delivered. God is offering that open door, but you know what? I won't do it because I want a better resurrection. So don't tell me, dispensationalists, that the Old Testament saints didn't know about the resurrection. There's people here who didn't want deliverance because they knew they can have a better resurrection. They not only knew of the resurrection, they knew they can have a better one. Don't tell me, oh, how, you know, you have Sluder, Andrew Sluder over here. How can salvation be the same if you have to believe in the death, better resurrection of Jesus Christ? Folks, the Old Testament saints all talked about the resurrection. So do you think they knew about the resurrection, but they had no idea that the Christ who was resurrecting them was not going to resurrect? It's nonsense, folks. No, they even knew of the better resurrection. So two reasons why people are not delivered holy, number one, it's because of sin. But number two, because of the fact that they understand, you know what, when I get my incorruptible body, I want it to shine brighter than any body, celestial body that resurrects. I want a better resurrection. And therefore, I'll receive the martyr's crown. I want that better resurrection, and I won't accept deliverance. Powerful! Go to Job chapter 14. Job chapter 14. Talking about the thoroughness of God's deliverance. Hey, what trial are you going through today? What difficulty are you going through today? My father-in-law used to say this, he used to tell me, Bruce, you're either coming out of a trial, you're in a trial, or you're heading into a trial. Because this is the way of life. This is life. You're either coming out of a trial, or you're going for one right now, or if everything's hunky dory for you, you're about to go into a trial. Because that's just the way life is. And you know what the unfortunate thing is? Is that you have good, godly people who love the Lord, but they're just not rooted in the Bible. They're not rooted, they don't understand these principles and so when persecution arises because of the Word, they fall away. You don't want that. You want to maintain, stay rooted and grounded in love. You know, to know the love of Christ, and the passive knowledge, you want to just stay in this thing for the long haul. But you have to understand that when you feel like you're at your wits end and you're not going to be delivered, that's actually when Christ comes and delivers you. From your difficulty. So let me give you two things that we need to keep in mind in regards to this, okay? In regards to you going through a difficult time. Number one, realize that change is imminent. Alright? You know, we should try to change our circumstances as much as we possibly can, but obviously there's times when we just can't change anything, right? Go through a difficult time and it's just like I can change a whole lot of things, but there's one thing that I, there's some things that I just can't change. But just understand this is that that doesn't mean that things are not going to change though. Because change is the way of life. Things change. Things can change overnight. Things can change in a year. Change is just always imminent. And the reason I say this is because sometimes people think it's never going to change. I'm going through a hard time. There's no hope. There's no light at the end of the tunnel. You know, we can have kids. I'm still sick. I haven't found a job. I haven't reached this point. There's just no hope. There's no change. But just realize this, there is going to be change. Because that's what life is filled with is change. Now you may not be able to change anything. So if there's change, what do you have to do? Look at Job 14. If there's change that you can't do anything about and you have to just wait it out, what do you have to do? It says right there in verse 13, And look, does anybody know anybody who's gone through a harder time than Job? I think I went through a hard time. You know what he said? I'm just going to wait. Until when? Until my change comes. And did his change come? Oh yeah. And the change that God brought in his life, wasn't it not better in his latter end than it was in the beginning? Absolutely. But I guarantee you, in the midst of his trial, life is over. My life is over. But you know what? God has thorough deliverance. All we have to do sometimes is this. Just wait. Just wait. I mean, there's nothing much you can't do, right? So you might as well just wait. Wait, go sowing. Wait, read your Bible. Wait, serve your husband. Wait, love your wife. Wait, raise your kids. Go to church. I mean, why not? No, I'm just going to leave church. Trying to get God's attention. I'm going to try to get God's attention. Yeah, you will get God's attention with that part. And it's going to be worse for you. Wait upon the Lord, and he shall renew thy strength. You know, even Jesus said this in Luke 22 verse 37. He says, For I say unto you, Puritan must yet be accomplished in me. And he was reckoned among the transgressors, for the things concerning me have an end. And look, folks, the things concerning us, they always have an end. It may take a couple years, but there's an end to it. Change is coming. And if you feel like, well, I can't change anything about my circumstances, okay, then change yourself. Change the way you think. Change your attitude. You know, change the way you read your Bible. You know, change the way you read your Bible. Change the way you serve the Lord. Change yourself, because that's one thing you can't change. You can become better, a better Christian, so that when you come out of this trial, when God opens those doors of that fiery furnace, you come out a better person because of it. Okay? Turn with me, go back to 2 Timothy chapter 3. This is my last point. With this in mind, that God can thoroughly deliver us, we need to realize that change is imminent, and number 2, we just need to continue. Right? What does it mean to continue? It means to persist, to go forward, no matter what. Just go forward. Why not? Why quit on God? Why quit church? You know, I've met so many people that when they go through a hard time, they're like, I just need to break from church. It's like, that's going to break you, actually. When you're going through a tough time, that's not a time to get out of church. That's a time, actually, to go to church more. That's when you need to develop more relationships in the church, serve more in the church, so that you can get your mind off of your trial. Because look, let's just be honest. There's someone out there who has it worse than us, and they might be in this church. Right? You're going to talk to someone, and you're going through a tough time, and they're just like, look, my family member just passed away, and you're just like, whoa. That's worse. And you know what? In comparison, that's going to help you to realize, you know what? People out there have it worse than I do, and God's been good to me. Continue. Look what it says in 2 Timothy 3, verse 14. But continue thou in the things which thou has learned, and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. Over and over again, if you study the word continue in the Bible, you'll constantly see that term brought up over and over again. Continue steadfastly in the Apostles' Doctrine. Continue in the grace of God. Just persist. Just go forward. Just continue. If there's nothing else you can do, one thing you can't do is just continue to go forward. Like, man, this has been a tough year. It's been a tough couple years for our church here. Okay. Continue. Yeah, but we don't know if anything's going to get better. Well, from the looks of it, it looks like it's gotten a lot better. I mean, this church is thriving. It's going forward. You guys are blessed. So if God can change the church, right, and what's going on here and make it better, He can do the same thing for your personal life, too. Just don't do this. Look, just don't put a deadline to when that change should come. Say, God, I just need it done by this date. You know, don't be like the government who's going to pull the coronavirus out by Election Day or something. You know what I mean? Don't go to Election Day and then everything will go away or something, you know. Don't try to lay that on the Lord and say, well, I just need this to go away by this time. No, everything is beautiful in His time, the Bible says. That's what the Word of God says. You know, and let patience have a perfect work. That you may be entire, you know, perfect, wanting nothing. And if you feel like you can't do that, then the Bible tells you to pray for wisdom. Let Him ask of God to give it to all men liberally and abraighteth not, the Bible says. What's the sermon today? The sermon is this, hey, I just want to remind you that God is very thorough in His deliverance. So if you feel like you're in that burning fiery furnace, don't worry, He's going to show up. It's going to happen. You know, and if you believe not, don't worry, He still abideth faithful. He cannot deny Himself. Amen? Fire heads and a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your Word. Thank you for the promises found therein, Lord. And we're thankful that you're very thorough in your deliverance. I'm thankful that I'm saved, but I'm thankful as well that you still deliver me from day to day from the hands of my enemies, from difficulties and circumstances and situations. And Lord, it increases my faith in you. I pray, God, that you'd help us to not quit on you, to continue to go forward, to make sure that we recognize that change is imminent. Something's going to change. I mean, one day we're all going to die. One day we're all going to be with you. One day we're going to be in the millennial reign. One day we're going to be in the new heaven and the new earth. That's a dramatic change. I pray, God, that you'd help us to keep those things in remembrance. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.