Delivered

John 5:8 Jesus said to him," Get up, Take up your bed and walk"
John 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to Him, "See you are well! Sin no more that nothing worse may happen to you."

The Chilean mine rescue recently captured my attention. Could you imagine being trapped 2,000 feet underground in a mine for 70 days? Think about the thick darkness and the staleness of the air coming through the emergency ventilators, and the terror of just being trapped by millions of tons of rock. It would really be a battle just to stay sane, much less live.

When you look at the encounter of Jesus and the invalid in John 5, we discover what Jesus came to do for mankind. Look at verse fourteen, and it can take you back a bit. Jesus warns this man not to sin. Actually it is deeper than that, He threatens Him about the danger of sin. We can miss the point of Jesus actions if we do not understand that we are rescued from sin so that we can be Holy. The issue at stake here is holiness. The restoration and continued dialogue that Jesus engages in with this man are not so that he can be a little better or even a nicer guy, they occur so that the Power and Holiness of God might flow through this man so that God might receive Glory. That is why Jesus says in verse 17 "My father is working until now, and I am working." He is at work waging war for Holiness and against sin. A war so that God's goodness and holiness may be made known to all nations and people in the world.

When you look at the work Jesus does delivering us into an intimate relationship with the father, he rescues us from death to life. Much like the emergency rescue capsule used in Chile, Jesus does not leave us buried in the depth of rubble. He raises us out of the danger of sin in a very real way. If you have a chance, go look at the videos and interviews that were made with those 33 men rescued from the depths of death. They celebrated rescue and life in a large way. In fact, the whole country is celebrating at the miracle of it all as happiness and Joy fill the air.

Now ask yourself a question. Have you been delivered by Jesus in a similar manner as the capsule delivered those miners? Do you feel it in your soul: the pleasant desire of Holiness? Have you been delivered into life and a relationship that you sense intimacy with God?

I fear that there are many people who are still trapped. They may have a full knowledge that Jesus is their rescue capsule, but their desire to retain control and live in sin is just to strong so they stay trapped. Some of these folks even believe that their knowledge of Jesus as their rescue capsule is all they need. Jesus offers us one invitation: Deny yourself, turn from sin and Follow me. So if you have not done so, allow the Christ of God to bring you up out the death trap today. He wants to deliver us from the deathly power of sin into the life and love of His Holiness. Do you want that?