Someone To Rescue Me Series

SERIES: ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS…

“SOMEONE TO RESCUE ME”

(adapted from a sermon by Bob Russell)

ISAIAH 9:6-7

OPEN

A little girl climbed up onto Santa’s lap in the mall. As soon as she was settled, Santa said, “And what

would you like for Christmas this year?”

The girl’s eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped as she looked at Santa with horror. Then she said, “Didn’t you get my email?”

Last week, we started a series called All I Want for Christmas… All of us have had intense longings and desires at Christmastime. It usually had to do with the hot, new items being sold at the given time. But as we grow older and more mature, we recognize that our desires and needs go much deeper than anything that can be bought or sold in a store.

God knows what we really need. On the very first Christmas, He provided for our deepest needs. He did that in His Son. 700 years before Jesus came, God told us through the prophet Isaiah what the Messiah would be like.

Is. 9:6-7 – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”

God knew what would truly satisfy us. Last week we looked at the first deep need that is provided for us through His Son, Jesus Christ. It was the need for “Someone to Advise Me.” This week, we look at the second deep need. It’s “Someone to Rescue Me.”

The term “Mighty God” points to a God who is mighty in battle. He is a warrior king who successfully wins at warfare. Later in the Bible, in the book of Revelation, we see Jesus pictured in such a way.

Rev. 19:11-16 – “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are

many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped

in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses

and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down

the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God

Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Today, as we look at this title of “Mighty God,” I want us to consider our need for someone to rescue us. If you were to ask people what they wanted for Christmas, there would probably be very few who would say: “I want someone to rescue me.” Most people feel little need for deliverance. We take pride in being self-sufficient.

When we are immature, we generally desire the gifts we WANT. We tend to shy away from the gifts we really NEED. Young children want toys. However, there is a need for new clothes. The immature person lacks the ability to understand what is desired and what is necessary.

And people who are spiritually immature don’t feel the need of a mighty God to rescue them. But it really is their greatest need. Let’s look together this morning at three basic Biblical principles that give us insight into why we need a mighty God to rescue us.

First Biblical Principle:

EVERY PERSON IS HOPELESSLY LOST IN A WORLD CONTAMINATED BY SIN

AND IS IN NEED OF RESCUE

The Bible says, “…all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). And, “…the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).

Do you remember when the space ship, Columbia, blew up on re-entry on February 1, 2003? Seven crew members lost their lives in that heartbreaking tragedy. NASA investigators concluded that the source of the problem occurred on takeoff when a small piece of flyaway foam from the fuel tank hit the lower side of the left wing and damaged it just enough that it couldn’t withstand the heat of reentry.

For 15 days and 22 hours the seven crewmembers carried on their mission not knowing they were doomed from the start. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. They couldn’t see the damage on the underbelly of the wing. They didn’t know they needed rescue, but they did. As NASA engineers debated the extent of the damage to the shuttle, a flight director emailed the astronauts to say there was “absolutely no concern that breakaway foam harmed the spacecraft.”