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Hi, calling family. This is Pastor Michael, and welcome to our church podcast. I'm so grateful for you tuning in today, and I believe today's message is gonna strengthen your faith in Jesus.

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So, what we're gonna look at today, uh any well, anyways, let me finish the thought. So be sure to say thank you to the people that you appreciate, especially the ones that you live with. All right? Now, finishing that thought, let's talk about today. So, what we're gonna look at today, well, let me tell you, when uh Pastor Mike asked me to preach these two Sundays, so three weeks ago, like I said, we looked at Psalm 23. So when he first talked to me about this, he said, All right, we're gonna do summer in the Psalms. That's our theme. And um, so uh you're gonna kick it off on uh whatever the date was three weeks ago, and I want you to do Psalm 23, probably the most familiar and the most famous Psalm. So that was easy. I was excited about that. And then he said, for the second time you come at the end of July, or towards the end of July, on the 19th, you get to pick. And I'm like, oh my goodness, there's 150 of them. How can I possibly pick just one? But something kind of led me to the early part of the book, especially Psalm 31, 32, 33, and 34. And as I was reading through there, trying to nail it down and pick which Psalm I wanted to uh speak on today, I saw something that I've never seen before. And I've been a I've been serving the Lord since I was 16. I've been reading the Bible, you know, for whatever it's been now, 60, well, no, I'm not that old, 50 years at least. And uh, anyways, what I saw when I read 31, 32, 33, 34 in one sitting was a theme. Okay? Because most of the time, I don't know about you, but here's how I do it with my Bible reading and study. I read one chapter at a time. Do you guys do that? Just try it, by the way. If you're if you're kind of struggling with how do I read, what do I read, how much do I read, great way to start. One chapter every day. Think of it like your spiritual vitamins, right? So every morning I get up, I get my coffee, I sit down, and and I get it. Some people like the old school with the paper Bible. I'm I like the iPad. Okay, so, anyways, I get my iPad and I click on the icon, and up it comes, and I read one chapter a day. Today I read Joshua, what was it? Third 28, 29, something like that. So that was my Bible reading for today. So most of the time you read just one chapter at a time, and then you miss the themes, though. So when I read 31, 32, 33, and 34, I saw something. And even though I was familiar with this word, I was amazed at how many times David used it. And it is the word or a variation of it of the word deliverance. Deliverance or deliver or rescue or save. Now, that's what we're gonna talk about today because I believe that God wants to give you a word in the situation that you are in and facing right now. Now, most of the time when we think about deliverance, right, at least for if you're me, there is this old movie with Burt Reynolds called Deliverance, and I never saw it, but I heard it was really raunchy, so I'm not recommending it. But maybe that's what you think of. Or maybe you think of those other movies, right? Oh, deliverance with head spinning and green vomit and you know that whole deal. Or maybe you go to a church that has a quote on, or you've been to, I should say, a church that has a deliverance ministry. So we have all these kind of strange ideas around that. Or maybe, here's maybe here's if you're not familiar with any of that, when's the last time you got something from Amazon? Right? Everybody in this place, Amazon. Yeah, we all do it. And I don't know about you, but I signed up for Prime. I love it. It's worth the money, at least for me, anyways, because I mean, you know, you find this stuff. I don't even go to Walmart or Target, I find it on Amazon. I'm just like, say, anyways, I'm not here to plug Amazon. But what does Amazon promise to do? Deliver. Well, guess what? That's what God promises for us, especially when you're going through storms. Because really, what deliverance is all about is that it's a Bible word that really refers to rescue. Something bad is happening, and God says, I'm gonna deliver you from that. Either He's gonna take the you out of the problem or He's gonna take the problem away from you. But the promise is for deliverance and victory in no matter what you are facing and going through. And I'm gonna share with you the scriptures, but before I that that reinforce that, but before I do, let's just realize that storms are part of life. And if you've ever been out on the water, I don't know if you ever go boating, I'm taking my grandson deep-sea fishing in a few weeks. All right, it was his birthday present. He just turned 11, and and so we we got the thing all set up, and I printed it out and I gave it to him on his birthday. Grandpa and you, we're going fishing. So, looking forward to that. But if you've ever been out on the water, you know, you get out away from shore, and it may look like a sunny day, and everything is cool, and then out of nowhere, a storm comes. The winds change, the clouds roll in, and everything changes quickly. And now you're scrambling just to survive. Don't you know, or would you agree with me, shall I say, that that's the way life is? That life is full of storms. And as I've taught here before, there's really three sources of the storms and trials and tests and challenges and problems and pain of life. Most of the time, it's either, one, the consequences of your choices. Ooh, that's kind of a scary thought, but let's be real here for a moment. You make a mistake, you do something wrong, you say something wrong, you offend somebody, and now there is a consequence that you have to face. There's a problem that you've got to deal with because of your choice. Secondly, though, it's the choices of somebody else, right? As a police chaplain, one of the things that I get called in or have been called in over the years is these horrific situations where someone else did something that hurt somebody significantly. One of them was a situation where there was a traffic accident, a fatal traffic accident, and they asked me to come in and talk to the family of the person that died because of this traffic accident. So somebody made a choice. I don't remember the situation of that other driver, but something was going wrong, and this is what happened to that family out of nowhere. So sometimes pain, problems, challenges, problems come because of our own choices, the choices of others. But the third thing we need to remember is that storms come because we live in a broken, fallen world. Earthquake. Could happen today. Hope it doesn't. But you know, I mean, I'm born and raised here in Southern California, just like most of you guys. Oh, by the way, if you're watching online, want to say hi to you because maybe you're watching us from some other part of the country where they have things like hurricanes. Guess what? In LA, we have earthquakes. Anyways, welcome to our online family. If you're ever in Pasadena, come and join us. I know you'll enjoy it. All right, you get my point though, right? Sometimes, I shouldn't say sometimes, we need to recognize and and and come to terms with the fact that bad things happen to good people. And instead of saying, God, where are you? What happened? Did you forget about me? We need to realize that in these storms, first off, God never promises us that the storms will not come. Okay? What he does promise is that he will be with us and deliver us from the storm. Can I hear an amen on that? He does not promise a pain-free, problem-free life. And if you've ever heard a preacher tell you, hey, give your life to Jesus and all your problems go away, uh-uh. It's not true and it's not biblical. Jesus himself in John 16 said, In this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. So God promises to take us through the storms and deliver us from the challenges of life. But recognize that storms are gonna hit you. And really, and I heard one pastor put it this way that life really is all about solving one problem after another. And that, my friends, is why we need Jesus. And that's also why I'm looking forward to going to heaven. I am big time. Now I don't want to leave my family, I'm not in a hurry, I'm gonna take care of myself, I'm gonna fulfill the call that God has on my life. But one day, when I cross the finish line and he says, Come on home, Kelly, whoo! I'm excited about that. Why? Because the Bible tells us that there in heaven, there are no more problems or pain or suffering. That is his plan for us, just like it was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve before they messed it up and disobeyed, and sin entered our existence as the human race. That, my friends, is where we're going. To heaven, where there's no more problems or trials. But in this life, there will be trouble and pain and sorrow. But like I said, take heart, be encouraged because you're not alone. God is with you. So, what storm are you going through today? Because I bet you, if we went around this room and you're honest, every single one of us would say, Here's the storm I'm going through. So let me just highlight maybe a few common ones. Maybe you're going through a financial storm right now. Maybe you got laid off, maybe you're drowning in debt, maybe what? You've made some bad choices, and now you're wondering how do I possibly get out of this financial crisis that I'm in? Maybe you're going through a relational storm. That's what happens when people call me up. Pastor Kelly, I need some help, I need some coaching, help us get through this. All right, let's talk, let's apply God's word, let's work on your marriage. So maybe there's some marriage issues, maybe it's with your kids. How about that? I used to think that it was hard parenting little kids. I got news for you. When they get bigger, their problems get bigger. Just saying. By the way, I got two kids and four grandkids, so I'm with you with parenting challenges. But maybe you're watching your kids going sideways and you're freaking out. You're you're just, you know, struggling and you're full of fear because you know that the choices that they make in those in that teenage and beyond years have lifelong consequences many times. So maybe that's the storm you're in. So maybe it's a health challenge. Just before the service today, I was on the phone with a friend of mine who's in the hospital just a few miles from here, and I'm gonna go see him on my way home today. And he's been in the hospital over 50 days, had major heart surgery, and he's still having complications. So I called him this morning, and I'm gonna go pray for him in person. In fact, I sent him the link to this service, and so maybe he's watching right now online. Hey John, how you doing, buddy? Little shout out to you. We're with you, we're praying for you. All right. Maybe it's a health challenge, maybe it's an emotional storm. Fear, anxiety, depression. It's overwhelming. I don't know if it's all because of social media or not. Everybody blames it on that. Maybe it is that. Maybe we just live in a scary world and now we're becoming more aware of it. I don't know. But you know what I mean? When you're lying awake at night and your mind is just going in circles, and you keep getting yourself just caught up in this fear, and you're playing the what if game, right? Okay, you know what I'm talking about. What if I lose my job? What if I can't pay my bills? What if my wife leaves me? What if, what if, what if, what if? Well, guess what? God wants to deliver you from that kind of storm too. So, if you're going through storms, you're in the right place. Because this is what the body of Christ is all about. We are we come together so that we can support each other in the storms of this life and reach out in prayer and agree and invite God into that storm for deliverance. So let's take a look at what the Bible says about deliverance. So if you want to take a look in your Bible or just follow along, I'm gonna give you just a highlight of uh, I'm gonna give you 10 scriptures that I pulled out of Psalm 31, 32, 33, and 34. And but here, and here's the reason I want to share this with you. I want you to see how many times David, now David, by the way, he was writing all of this stuff before he became king. Okay, that's what most scholars think. In fact, one of them, Psalm 34, it actually says he wrote this while he was on the run from King Saul, trying to save his life. And you can read the whole story about that in 1 Samuel. But he, it's not before he's king, he's running from his life. People are hunting him to kill him. You ever go through that storm? Hope not, but David did. And this is what he found true in his situation. But more than that, this is what God wants you to know is what he promises to you. Let's take a look. Let me read them to you. And once again, there's many more than these. I just picked ten of them. Psalm 31, one, in you, Lord, I have taken refuge. Let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in your righteousness. 31, 2, turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue, and um be a strong fortress to save me. Psalm 31, 15, my times are in your hands, deliver me from the hands of my enemies. 32 7, you are my hiding place. You surround me with songs of deliverance. 33, 18 and 19, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those who hope in his unfailing love to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. 34, 4, I sought the Lord and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears. Oh, I don't know about you, but I'm getting encouraged. Psalm 34, 7, the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 34, 17, the righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them, and he delivers them from all their troubles. 3418, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. And then finally, 3419, the righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers them from them all. Oh, come on, somebody, you got to give the Lord some praise for that. That is just a sample of what God wants you to know today. I am with you in your storm, and my plan for you is deliverance. Okay, you just think about it. It's all right. I'm excited. You can be, you maybe you'll get excited too. All right, here's what we need to know, though. When we think about deliverance, okay, there's really two ways that God delivers us. Okay? The first is what I call deliverance by removal. In that, God reaches into your situation and dramatically and miraculously changes it. Okay, last week Pastor Don spoke about um the nation of Israel when they were uh uh set free from uh slavery in Egypt, and they left Egypt, and on their way out, they hit a boundary. It was called the Red Sea. Remember that story? All right? If not, go watch the movie. It's really cool. Ten Commandments, Charlton Heston, or maybe the cartoon version, or whatever's out there. Anyways, this is what the Bible says. They're walking away, and the Egyptian army is chasing them, and they come to the sea, this big, huge body of water. It wasn't some little lake. I mean, it's a sea, right? You can look it up. You can go there today if you want to. Anyways, what does God say? He he tells Moses, hold up your staff and watch what I'm gonna do. And he does, and the water parts, and the Israel, uh the nation of Israel walk across on dry land. They didn't even get their feet muddy. How about that? It's dry ground. And they all of them, hundred thousand, who I don't know how many, but a bunch of them, they walk all the way through the sea, and while they're on their way, Pharaoh and his army shows up, all the chariots and everybody, and they're like, go get them. So they go into the into the Red Sea as well. And then as soon as the last Israeli crosses over and steps on the other shore, guess what happened? The waters closed, and all the Egyptians drowned. That, my friends, is deliverance, where God not only sets you free, but he kills all your enemies. How about that? Wouldn't that be a good thing? Well, maybe not literally, all right, because we're not being chased by the Egyptians, but hey, that's the kind of God we serve. All right, think about David and Goliath, same David that wrote these words. Remember his big trial? What's the name of the tall guy? Little review here? Come on. Yeah, Goliath. David and Goliath. By the way, I looked it up. This dude was nine feet tall. That's what the Bible says. He's way up there. I don't even know where, I mean, like top of that screen over there. Nine feet tall. So what does David do? He gets out his sling, puts a rock in it. Now he had practiced. God had used him and blessed him and taught him how to do this. It wasn't like this was the first time he used the sling, but nevertheless, would you agree with me that God blessed his efforts? Or put it this way: God put his super on David's natural. And that rock flew straight, it flew true, it flew um accurately, knocked the giant right in the head, knocked him down, and then David went over and finished the job by drawing the guy's sword and cutting off his head. That, my friends, is deliverance. Or how about this one? There's a story in the Gospels. And I like the way it's told in Mark chapter 4. Where Jesus and all his buddies, his disciples, they're in a boat and they're out on a lake, and a storm hits them, a literal storm. And you gotta remember that several of these disciples were fishermen. This was home turf for them. It wasn't like an away game, like the Dodgers are playing the Yankees today. Uh-uh. By the way, the last time I looked, they're winning. Okay, never mind. Now all the guys are like, ooh, let's see, let's see. They're pulling out their phones. Okay, trust me. Doubleheader today, right? Anyways, I'm excited about that. Uh-uh. So, what happens? The storm is coming. The fishermen, the experienced seamen, if you will, are freaking out. And Jesus is in the back of the boat asleep. So, what do they do? They wake him up. Jesus, Jesus, look, there's a storm. We're gonna drown. Don't. And then they ask him, Don't you care? And what does Jesus do? He's like, dude, I made the sea. I made the wind. I made the waves. Here, watch this. And he stands up, and all he does is he speaks to it and he tells it to stop. And it instantly does. He says, Peace be still. And the storm, the wind and the waves, and the water is calm. That, my friends, is deliverance by removal. So I don't know what storm you're in. Maybe that's what God wants to do in your life. God, I have this problem. Please deliver me. Please take this away or take me out of it. Maybe you've got a problem with a coworker and you're just struggling, and this person's lying, and you know, back. Backstabbing you and taking credit for all your work and gossiping about you, whatever. And tomorrow you go to work and they got transferred. And now there's somebody else's problem. Or maybe they lost their job because word got back to the boss of what a lousy person. Okay, whatever. You get my point. God can change a situation just like that. Where it's gone, where you're like, whoa, okay, now what? Cool, this is great. But let me also assure you, or remind you, that when you study scripture, we can see that not only does God remove, I'm sorry, deliver by removal, he delivers gradually. Okay, probably the best example of this is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. The apostle Paul, the guy who wrote uh actually Luke, uh the the um the guy that wrote the gospel of Luke, he wrote the most of the New Testament because he wrote the book of Luke in the book of Acts. But number two on the list of who wrote the New Testament is this guy named Paul. Paul of Tarsus, his name was Saul. You can read about him in the book of Acts. Amazing story of his deliverance and how God used him all around the world to spread the gospel. And he wrote a bunch of letters to the churches. In 2 Corinthians, he says this. He says, Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take away this thorn in my flesh. Three times. Now, Bible scholars, what is a thorn? Okay, it's something that hurts you. And he's talking about his flesh, his body, all right? It's not a spiritual problem, it's not an emotional problem, it's a physical ailment. Some Bible scholars, because there's a reference in the book of Galatians where he talks to the Galatian people about that they would have wished they could have plucked out their own eye and given it to him. So some think maybe that was the problem. He had some kind of eye disease that was really, you know, a big challenge for the people that, you know, he was around. It was really ugly, and he had to bear the pain of that. Nevertheless, three times he went to the Lord and he said, God, take this away from me. Now, he prayed for the sick, he raised the dead, he saw all kinds of miracles through his own ministry. So why didn't God heal him? Well, here's what the Lord says 2 Corinthians chapter 12. My grace is sufficient for you. My strength will be made perfect in your weakness. So, what does that mean? It means that sometimes God doesn't take the problem away. But what does he do? He gives us strength to endure. Now, if you're like me, you're like saying, Okay, thank you, but can I have the other one instead? Right? Is that too real for anybody here? Yeah, Pastor Kelly prays like that sometimes. But we need to realize that sometimes God's victory and deliverance is gradual. Here's what it says in James chapter 1. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything. You see, a miracle or an instant deliverance is going to change your circumstance, but a gradual deliverance changes your character. In other words, God wants you to grow. So he says, okay, well, or sometimes he makes you wait and then he gives you the instant deliverance. It's the waiting, or then the peace and grace and strength that he gives you in the problem that causes you to grow strong in your faith as you trust him. So let's recognize. In fact, let me tell you another story. One uh several years ago, I was teaching a group, uh, a class, and I'd actually uh at the church, and I was actually partnering, or I'd asked a uh psychiatrist to teach this with me. And there's a lady in our church, Novel and Heard, uh, a psychiatrist, full degree, honors, graduate of Harvard, and she taught the medical side, and what the uh group was called was mental illness and the Christian. How do we handle the mental illness challenges that many people are facing today? What is that all about? So she kind of gave the medical, physiological part of it, what's going on in your brain, what medicine does. And by the way, I'm a firm believer that if you need medicine for anything, take it. Okay? Nothing wrong with medicine. I'm on some meds. I got a blood pressure one, I got a cholesterol one. If you need meds for depression or anxiety, guess what? It's not a lack of faith. Okay? Trust and believe that God is going to use the medicine to fix what's wrong in your body. Now, with that though, what my part of the group was is talking about faith and trust and connection, especially for those struggling with depression. One of the and depression and anxiety, one of the biggest cures for depression and anxiety is connection. Because when we get isolated, right, what happens? Crazy people start thinking crazy stuff. And nobody's around to tell you, you know what, maybe that might not be based in reality. So we need people around us. Okay, enough of that. I remember though, this lady came up to me and said, Pastor Kelly, why hasn't God healed me of my depression? And on the surface of that, I went, wow, that's a really good question. I don't really know. But then the Holy Spirit dropped something in my heart, and I asked her this question. I said, Well, are you better now than you were a year ago? And I'd never really even thought about that. This is just kind of one of those word of the Lord type of moments for me. And she looked and she said, Yeah, you know what? Now that you mention it, I am better now than I used to be. And I said, See, God is healing you. You just don't notice it because it's gradual. So we need to recognize that God's promise to deliver is true. Even, come on, somebody, if you don't see it. Even if you don't realize it, because it is a gradual thing. Now, the other thing about deliverance that I think is important for us to realize too, is that there's God's role and then there's your role. That God plays a part, and then you play a part as well in the deliverance he has for you. For example, uh, if you're going through financial things, right? Well, we need to promise, I'm sorry, recognize that God promises to provide. Philippians 4, 19, my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory. But then what's your role in that financial challenge? Maybe it's to start looking for a job if you're out of work, right? See how God wants you to do your part. Maybe you need to make some wise financial choices. Or how about this one? Maybe to get out of that financial hole and see God's blessing in your life, you need to trust Him and be obedient and start tithing. Whoa, is that too real for anybody here? Maybe you have a part to play in God's financial blessing coming to your life. Or if there's a marriage challenge, right? Well, yes, God promises to heal your marriage. My favorite marriage verse is Genesis 2.24, where it says that a man would leave his father and mother, be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. That's God's plan, that's his will. It says in Malachi chapter 4 that God hates divorce. So, when if you're struggling in your marriage, what is God's will? Reconciliation, healing. But what is your role? Oh, I could go off on this one for a while. Anyways, maybe you ought to go apologize. How about that? Maybe you need to confront lovingly, calmly, not with anger. Maybe you need to get a handle on your anger so you're not constantly, you know, fighting and arguing and yelling and throwing things at each other all the time. Just a thought. Is this too real for anybody here? We see how it works. There's God's role, He's promising to heal and deliver, and your role, you got to do your part. Physical challenges or storms. What do you need to do? Well, maybe you need to go to the doctor. Maybe you need to take some medicine. Maybe you need to start exercising. Whoa, maybe changing your diet a little bit. Whoa, didn't hear any amen on that, but that's okay. Just a thought, just an idea. You see what I'm saying, though? How about this one? Maybe you're stuck in a storm of addiction. And it happens right here in the body of Christ. Never forget when we were having all of our recovery groups on Friday night several years ago. There was one night I was at the church, and this guy was looking. We had like 20 or so different groups that we offered on a Friday night, and this guy was looking through our little booklet. Mel, you produced that booklet. Remember that little thing? Set free. And all these groups. And I sat down next to him and I'm like, hey, need help finding a group? And he goes, Yeah. And he's sitting there with his wife. And he goes, Yeah, I need some help with the drinking problem. And I said, Man, fantastic. You're in the right place. And I said, Here, follow me. And I walked him across the courtyard, and Danny Tienda, sitting over here in the back, was there that night. And I said, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. His name's Danny. He's he goes to the group that I want you to go to. And I want, you know, he's going to show you where it is, and you know, you can talk to him because he's in recovery too. By the way, how many years now? 18? 18 years, clean and sober back there. But on the way, as we were walking over to see Danny, I asked this guy, so how long you've been going to our church? He said, Six years. So, for the last six years, here's this guy struggling with an addiction. And finally, don't know what led up to it. Maybe his wife threatened to leave him if he didn't get help, but for whatever reason, they showed up that night and he was ready to get help. Why? Because he finally faced the fact that I have a problem that I cannot solve. I have an addiction that has become unmanageable. Come on, 12-steppers, you know what it says. Step one. I admit that my addiction is unmanageable. I'm sorry. I admit that I am powerless over my addiction and that my life has become unmanageable. So, what am I quoting there, by the way, if you don't know? That's step one of the 12 steps. So, if that's you today, what I want you to do is go talk to my friend Danny here today at the end of the service. And it doesn't matter if it's alcohol or drugs or maybe prescription drugs or pornography or shopping or gambling or who knows what, but there are so many temptations out there. And what does the Bible promise us? Um, it says in 1 Corinthians 10 13 that when we are tempted, God provides a way of escape. So, no matter what you're facing, God wants you to get victory over it. But what is your role? Maybe confess it to somebody. I have a problem. I need help. Because the lie that all addicts face is this what they tell themselves, what does denial sound like? Come on, somebody, you know what I'm talking about. I can manage it. That's what they say. I've heard it over and over again. But guess what? Maybe you can't. And I always ask people, they say, Well, yeah, I have a problem, but it's not too bad. Then I ask them this: I say, okay, well, tell me this. If you wanted to quit today, could you? And they're like, hmm, yeah, maybe, maybe not. You see what I'm saying? So, what's your role? God's role, set you free. What's your role? Get help. Join a group, reach out to somebody, get some prayer. See how this all works. All right. So, God wants to deliver you from the storm that you're facing. So, let me give you, just as we wrap this up today, four uh little takeaways. How do we walk in the victory that God has for us, the deliverance? Well, the first thing we need to do is cry out to the Lord. Four times, Psalm 31, 17, 31, 22, 34, 15, and 34, 17. David uses the word cry. Let me read one of them to you. He said this, Psalm 31 22. In my alarm I said, I am cut off from your sight. You ever feel that way? That God doesn't know what's going on, that he doesn't care. David felt like that. Yet, he goes on, you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. And 34, 15, one more. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry. So we're talking about more than just asking God for help, although you need to do that. You need to get on your knees, you need to reach out to heaven, and you need to cry. When you're in the middle of a storm, it is okay to be honest that you don't have it together, that you cannot get out of this problem on your own. And God is there for you, and He's waiting for you to cry out for help in your desperation. And if you're not there yet, just ask the Lord to give you the strength. God may be, you know, He recognized. But when the pain is so great, crying out to the Lord is a natural thing that we all can do. Second thing, what else do you need to do? You need to drop the mask and get help. What do I mean? Humble yourself. The reason God put us together in a church among fellow followers of Jesus is so that we could help and serve each other. In fact, God's plan, okay, is to use people. I hope, I think, he's using me today to speak to you. But he wants to use other people in your life to bless you, maybe even to provide for you financially. The Lord might speak to their heart to give you a gift or help you out, or maybe they know of where there's a job that's hiring. Who knows? But what do we need to do? We need to stop pretending we're okay when we're not. Amen. All right. Because what I mean, the easy thing to do. Hey, how you doing today? I'm good. And you're not. How about this one? If anybody ever says I'm fine, uh-uh, they ain't fine. Anyways, let me just leave that one alone. I heard something at a police station one time about what the word fine means. And, anyways, can't really say. But I'll tell you afterwards. I just don't want to put it out on the internet, but if you want to know, I'll tell you afterwards. But if somebody says they're fine, they're probably not. So, what do we need to do? We need to be honest. And you know what? I said it for years, and I want to say it again here. It is okay to not be okay. Yeah. Be honest. Reach out. Not anybody, not everybody. We're not gonna stand you up here on the stage and say, hey, tell us your sin. Tell us your struggle, tell us your storm. We want to pray. No, we're not gonna embarrass you. But there's gonna be some people up here in front. I'm gonna be up here in front after the service. That's the time. I'm not okay. I'm struggling. This is a storm I'm going through, and I need help. And allow the body of Christ. See, we need Jesus, but we need God's people in our lives to stand with us and pray for us and strengthen us in the Lord. So drop the mask, stop pretending, and ask for help. And then, of course, go to the group, do whatever else. There's other ways to connect, get plugged into church, but you've got to admit your need to someone else. All right, a couple more things. Give your storm to God and ask him for deliverance. Fourthly, praise him while you're waiting. You gotta dance in advance. Jesus said, if whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. So praise God while you're waiting for the victory. Because oftentimes there is that waiting period. And then number five, ask God for guidance. When you're in a storm, okay, James 2.17 says that faith without works is dead. So what do you need to do? You need to cry out to the Lord and tell Him what's on going on. You need to humble yourself and invite others into the problem with you. To just, and they're not there to fix it, they're there to support you while God delivers you, okay? Let me be clear on that. So we're not gonna go around, you know, financial troubles. You're not gonna go around church begging for help. Hey, can you give me a couple of bucks? That's not what I mean, okay? In fact, if you do that, we're gonna ask you to stop. Just saying. But you gotta open up and you gotta share the need, okay? What was number three? Invite God into help. Ask him, start praising him, but then this God, show me or tell me what to do. It's simple, guys. What does it say in James chapter 1, verse 5? If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask. God, what do I need to do in this situation to see your deliverance? Because most of the time that's where we miss it. And sometimes God's gonna tell you what to do, and you may not like the answer. You may not want to do it, but that's where obedience then brings breakthrough when you do the thing that maybe you didn't feel like doing. But God's promise to you is just as true as it was thousands of years ago with this kid named David who was on the run and he saw God deliver him. And I'm here to tell you today that God wants to do the same in your life. Let me close with a story of deliverance in my life. Two years ago, there was a significant relationship that was broken between my wife and myself and another person. I mean, it was bad. We text, we call, we'd send emails, we'd apologize, nothing. Crickets. They didn't respond in any way. And if you've ever been, I think one of the most difficult things in relationship is where you're trying to reach out to somebody and they don't want to have anything to do with you. But because you care about them, you can't just walk away. You can't just say, well, fine, I'll just be friends with somebody else. It wasn't that kind of, it was a close relationship that was broken. And so we prayed. We couldn't see their kids, we couldn't see them, and it hurt. It was painful. So it started. I remember the day it started. It was the day after my wife's birthday, two years ago. Her birthday's on June 20th. June 21st, we got to see the kids, and then after that, there was nothing. So time goes on. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into a month. Finally, around, I don't know, sometime in July, we're both crying out to the Lord, God help, turn this around, heal this relationship. And the Lord spoke to both my wife and I individually, and on the same day, we both said to each other, Maybe we need to start fasting. So my idea of fasting, by the way, is okay, let's just do like this three-day thing and get it over with, right? And she goes, How about this? Why don't we fast breakfast and lunch every day? Only eat dinner until this changes. I'm like, are you sure? Yeah, I could use to lose a few pounds, so maybe it's a good thing. Anyways, we did. And I'll tell you what happened the very first day that I was fasting. I was not eating lunch that day, didn't eat breakfast, didn't eat anything since the night before. And I was out sitting in my backyard, and I said, God, what do I need to do? What do I do in to heal this relationship? And I'll tell you what the Lord told me. Repent. But God, it's not my fault. I didn't do this, I didn't cause this. Doesn't matter. You, Kelly, you repent. You and your wife need to repent. And I said, Okay, God, of what? And He showed me attitudes of judgment, rejection, pride. I mean, it was brutal. And I went to my wife and I said, We need to repent.

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Put together an email. In fact, I do a teaching called The Five R's of an Effective Apology. I'll send you the video if you want it. And I went through that as an outline. And there was repentance and taking responsibility and confessing what we had done wrong and requesting forgiveness. I went through this whole thing. I wrote this really detailed apology and I sent it off. Guess what happened? Nothing. No response. Nothing. So there's another thing we started doing. I read this book called The Circle Maker. Mark Batterson. Great little book. You might want to check it out. He talks about drawing circles around your problems and believing God for victory. So I did that. I used this program online called Canva, and I made this little chart. I did, with one big circle in the middle, and I wrote the word reconciliation in that. And then it had six little small circles around the big circle. And I put in specific things that I was that represented. What does reconciliation look like? And every day I would take that paper out and I would look at it and I would say, Thank you, Jesus, for reconciliation. Thank you. Even though nothing was happening, nothing was going on. It was getting bad, it was getting worse. Well, we couldn't tell. We didn't know if it was getting worse or getting better because there was nothing. And that's where your faith was tested, and that's where we were at. Continuing to fast, continuing to pray. Oh, one other thing we did too during this season. We reached out to some mature couples and we said, we need prayer. And we would have weekly prayer calls with two couples that would get on the phone with us and hear our story and hear our cries. And they would pray and they would speak the word of the Lord to our hearts because we needed help to stay encouraged and to stay in faith. And then September 26th, our wedding anniversary, the very next day. So remember this started uh June 21st. The very next day, September 27th. And by the way, the kids' birthdays are all in the summer. Uh, one in July, two in August. So we had bought birthday presents for them and we had them sitting in our living room. So we sent a text and we said, hey, you want to come over and get the birthday presents for the kids? Just to see what they would do. And they sent a text back and they said, Well, we can't really come over today, but would you like to bring them over to our place? And then this was added to the text. We just got a new couch, so now there's room for all of us to sit. Oh, what's that? Because honestly, we were expecting to knock on their door, they would open the door, we would hand over their presents, we get to wave at the kids, and they would shut the door and we would walk away. That's what we were expecting, even though we were praying for something different. Well, when we got there, they invited us in, and they apologized, and our relationship was healed. God delivered us from that storm. And the reason I'm telling you that story is because what God did in my life, He turned that test into my testimony, and He wants to do the same for you. Whatever you're facing, whatever you're going through, one day you're gonna be able to tell your story to someone else who's going through a storm, and you're gonna be able to confess and proclaim the deliverance and the victory of our Lord. Come on, somebody, let's give him some praise. All right, one last scripture. I know I'm a little bit over time. Guys enjoying this, getting something out of it. All right, I want to read one last thing to you, and then we're gonna pray. Psalm 34, 19. I read it earlier, but I want to just close with this. It says, the righteous person may or will, sorry, not may, but will have many troubles. But then there's a comma. Just like I talked about in Psalm 23. Look for those commas because it means that that's not the end of the story. The righteous person will have problems, troubles, trials, storms. A comma. And then it says this but the Lord delivers him from them all. Write it down, memorize it, and believe it, because that is God's plan for your life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, right now, I just thank you that you are the God of deliverance. I thank you, Lord, for speaking through me. I thank you, God, for the deliverance and the victories that we've seen in our lives. I thank you, Lord, for what you're doing in every person here and how you want to deliver them from the storm that they're in. In fact, if you're going through a storm right now and you want to cry out to the Lord, I'm not gonna ask you to say anything or do anything except this. I want you to just stand to your feet so I can pray for you. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Father, right now, Lord, we just lift up our brothers and sisters here that are going through storms. God, we don't know what those storms are, but you do. And Lord, right now I speak songs of deliverance, words of deliverance. I speak hope, I speak faith, I speak confidence, I speak boldness, I speak repentance, and the fact that they're gonna hear from you in the midst of their storms, and you're gonna guide them and show them what to do. And Lord, your blessing is gonna come upon them, and right now we believe by faith, and we thank you in advance for the deliverance that is gonna come in each one of these storms. Whether it's gradual or instant, God, we believe you for it and we thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Let's all stand up, all right? Maybe you're here today and you don't know Jesus. Let me tell you that the ultimate deliverance is deliverance from sin and forgiveness that comes because Jesus died on the cross and rose again. And if you need to give your life to Jesus, if you need to make a renewed commitment of your life to Jesus, I just want you to raise your hand. I want to pray for you right now. Is there anybody here that says, I need a new relationship with Jesus? I need a fresh start with my faith. All right, let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for delivering us and bringing your victory. Let's all pray this prayer together. Dear Jesus, thank you for loving me. Thank you for dying on the cross so that I could be forgiven. I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. I give my life to you. I choose to follow you and serve you. Thank you, Lord, for your salvation. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Give the Lord some praise, everybody.

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