Rescued in order to Return

I grew up hearing and believing that God rescued me and delivered me. He rescued me and delivered me from hell by dying on the cross for me. He rescued me from punishment by taking my place and dying for my sins. However, it wasn’t until the past couple years that I realized really why He rescued me.

Psalm 50: 15 says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

The word for “deliver” here means “to rescue, draw out, equip, and arm for war.” It’s the last two definitions that really stood out to me. Then, when I looked up the various uses for this word throughout the Old Testament, it’s used in regards to “arming for war” almost half of the times.

So why does God rescue us and deliver us? He brings us out of our sin and darkness, equips us, arms us, then sends us back into that same sin and darkness with His very Spirit indwelling us that we might pull others out! Most of us are content with living our comfortable lives, proclaiming that Jesus has rescued us from the horrible, sin-ridden lives that we used to live. However, His purpose in rescuing us is that we might go back into the darkest, most sin-infested places on earth with the bright light of His Truth and Presence to see those people radically set free also.

I’m reminded of Jackie Pullinger. As a young, single woman she gave up life as she knew it and sailed to the walled city of Hong Kong. This city was so dark and depraved that even the police refused to go there. Yet, Jackie walked in absolute confidence in her God, unafraid. She saw people completely addicted to heroin and other drugs radically set free by the Gospel. Jackie was willingly to risk everything, go where no one else wanted to go for the love that she has toward Jesus Christ. She went against all “common sense” notions of needing to “take care of herself” and “persevere her own life before helping others.” She was concerned with His glory. Not maintaining her comfort. As a result, God supernaturally surrounded her with His protection.

“The world out there is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity; it’s waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity.” Leonard Ravenhill

God has been forging this in me this past year. He has given me a burden for the darkest places. I can no longer sit idly by while the rest of the world plunges off a cliff into hell. He has birthed within my soul a passion to walk boldly and audaciously into what could be termed “hell on earth” in order to bring the Gospel to the hurting, lost, and broken.

Let us not be content where we are at. God has called us to spend and spill our lives, willing to risk life and limb for His glory. It’s a question of eternity. C.T. Studd said it well:

“Some wish to live within the side of church or chapel bell. I wish to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”