Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Christian & Civil Government

Principles of Deliverance - 1

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Civil Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2006-07-02

Synopsis: John Weaver introduces a series on principles of deliverance, focusing on the preparation God requires before delivering His people. Using Judges 6, he explains that deliverance is both from oppression and unto liberty, and that God must strip His people of self-reliance, false faith, and complacency through hardship before they cry out to Him. He applies this to America, arguing that the nation has been sold into the hands of enemies due to sin and that Christians must recognize their lost condition and seek God's mercy.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter six, book of Judges, chapter six. I want to begin today a brief series, I say brief, I do not know how brief, but I would imagine at least four or five messages that I want to bring on principles of deliverance, principles of deliverance. And you will remember I preached from this passage. A good while back, a couple of years ago, but this is something entirely different. It is certainly not the same messages, but although there will be, I'm sure, similarities occasionally, but only because the text is there and the text is the same and identical. So, let's read Judges chapter 6 and we'll read a number of verses and then stop, okay? Judges 6, verse 1, And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel, and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds.

[John Weaver] And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Malachites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them." And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came up as grasshoppers for a multitude.

[John Weaver] For both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it." Let's just stop there for today. Remember I told you this series is going to be entitled, Principles of Deliverance. I want to begin today by just pronouncing this one simple word, deliverance. What comes into your mind when you hear the word deliverance? In fact, the only thing I can tell you, it is indeed a very wonderful word. I suppose one would have to be in trouble, and oftentimes very deep trouble, to really appreciate not just the sound of the word, but also the truth that the word conveys.

[John Weaver] Now, the word deliverance occurs 16 times in our Bibles, and each time it is used, it refers to a remarkable salvation. For instance, the very first time the word appears is in the book of Genesis, chapter 45 and verse 7. You remember how Joseph's brethren had hated him, sold him into Egypt as a slave, and how he went from the pit to the prison to the palace. But after he's in the palace and after the brethren there find out that old Joe was second in command, he tells them this, and God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. And certainly that is exactly what God wrought through Joseph was a great deliverance in that the sons of Jacob were not consumed in the famine and they did live in Egypt in the best of the land for a number of years. But now when you begin to look at the word deliverance and how it is used in the Bible, you will understand that there are different kinds of deliverance.

[John Weaver] What I mean by that is this. Sometimes it is a physical deliverance. sometimes spiritual, financial, political, even mental and emotional deliverances. So the word then is very broad. In fact, the Bible in Psalm 32 and verse 7 speaks of songs of deliverance. In fact, if you look very quickly in your Bibles, holding Judges 6, but look in Exodus chapter 15, you will see a song of deliverance there.

[John Weaver] The children of Israel have been delivered out of Egypt. And the Bible says, beginning with verse 1, Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider had he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation. My Father is God, and I will exalt Him." And you read on down, and this song is just simply singing about the deliverance that God wrought for the children of Israel. There is indeed a song of deliverance, but notice if you would, this was a song of deliverance, not just based upon salvation, but also based upon a political deliverance because they were translated out of a kingdom of slavery and oppression into liberty and freedom under God.

[John Weaver] Now, in the book of Luke, chapter four, verses 18 and 19, if you want to turn there very quickly, I want you to see how our Lord began his public ministry. In Luke chapter 4, he begins his public ministry by quoting the words from Isaiah 61. Note what he says, Luke 4 verse 18, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, and set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

[John Weaver] Now let me just stop. Look in verse 17. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah, and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written. He went to Isaiah 61 and he read this passage, and if you look in verse 18, the middle of the verse he says, to preach deliverance to the captives. Note, if you would please, the ministry of our Lord and the gospel that he brought is characterized as preaching deliverance to the captives. In other words, we had been held captive by sin and by Satan, and we were delivered by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus, in the book of Obadiah, chapter 1, verse 17, our salvation is indeed called a deliverance.

[John Weaver] Now, deliverance is often thought of in political terms. In fact, if you mention the word deliverance today, that is usually what occurs in the minds of individuals. when you're seeking deliverance from a tyrannical, oppressive, or immoral government. It is usually those who long for righteousness and justice that want to be free from such a wicked government.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note something as I show you this in the Bible in just a moment. But when you hear the word deliverance, I want you to remember that it is both a negative and a positive. What do I mean by that? Deliverance is always from something and unto something. When the children of Israel were delivered out from Egypt, they were delivered into the Canaan land. In other words, God did not bring them out of Egypt to drop them in the desert. The Bible says He brought them out that He might bring them in. And likewise, when God delivers us from our sins, He does not just drop us. Let me read to you what the Bible says in the book of Colossians, chapter 1, verses 12 and 13. Listen carefully.

[John Weaver] giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet, or made us suitable, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. Note, if you would, He brought us out, the Bible says, from the kingdom of darkness, that's the negative, and He translated us into or unto the kingdom of his dear son. That's the positive. In other words, he brought us out that he might bring us in.

[John Weaver] Now, the point I'm trying to emphasize is very simple. When we are delivered from a tyrannical government, it must be that we're delivered unto a government of liberty and freedom. You cannot replace something with nothing. You must replace something with something. If you are not going to replace an unbiblical, ungodly, tyrannical, oppressive government with one that is free, and one that is godly, and one that is holy, and one that is biblical, why in the world would you even change it to begin with? In other words, the only choice that you have, if you're not going to replace it with a biblical government, is another humanistic government. One of a different flavor, or one of a different kind. Humanism is humanism, however.

[John Weaver] It does not matter its shape, name, or political party. Now, I want you to stop and think about something. I want you to think about our country in the last 40 to 50 years particularly. Some of you can't think that far back. Some of us can. We have swapped Republican candidates for Democratic candidates and Democratic candidates for Republican candidates. We have swapped Republican majorities for Democratic majorities and Democratic majorities for Republican majorities. We have swapped one administration for another administration And yet we still have the same identical, unbiblical, ungodly, unconstitutional government in this country. What are we doing?

[John Weaver] All I'm trying to show you is this. Humanism is humanism. It doesn't matter how you swap it around. It doesn't matter what you call it. It is still the same.

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you what The people in America have forgotten it, and I want you to turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 3. I know that you know this, but I'm going to read it for those who will be listening to this message. Let me tell you what the people in America have either forgotten or some of them have never known. And that is simply this, that government's role according to the ordination of God is simply the role of justice and nothing else. God never gave government the authority to be a welfare government. He never gave government the authority to be an educational government in the sense that it's involved in schooling. No, no. The only priority that God gave government, civil government, is that of justice. Look in Romans 13, verse 3.

[John Weaver] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he, that is the civil magistrate, is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for he bareth up the sword in vain, for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil."

[John Weaver] Now notice if you would, the Bible explicitly says that there is a two-fold role for the civil government. What is it? Number one, the protection of the righteous, and number two, the punishment of the wicked.

[John Weaver] Now let me tell you what happens. Whenever government gets into any role that is over and above and beyond the role of justice, it always becomes tyrannical and oppressive. Why? Because it's going into an area that God never gave it authority to go in to begin with. And please remember this justice must be defined by God. And no one else, because anything less is really not justice. You see, one of the problems that we have today in our judicial system.

[John Weaver] Is that many times there are good men and godly men that are punished for what we would call non crimes? And many times Wicked men who commit real crimes are not punished. And yet we refer to it as the justice system. And there is no justice in the system. Murderers, rapists, kidnappers, child molesters, and a host of others are either given light and lenient sentences Or sometimes as they get a life sentence, that really does not mean life.

[John Weaver] Usually it means they can be out within seven years. I'm sure that one of you or all of you probably heard recently of the ruling of one judge up north. A child molester was on trial and basically the judge, after he was found guilty, let him go. And the reason he did so, he said, and I'm quoting, that he was too short and would have a difficult time in prison. Too short. In other words, height matters whether you're in prison or not, I guess. My question is, is he too short for a rope? I mean, if he's a child molester, that's what ought to happen to him.

[John Weaver] Come on, let's be honest. Now listen, I acknowledge that prisons are unbiblical. But the point I'm trying to make is this, you can be exceedingly wicked and vile and violate God's law and get away with a very light or lenient sentence today. But yet you can stand up against tyranny and oppression and that which is not Constitutional, and guess what? You're labeled a domestic terrorist and you're sent to prison for a hundred years. Well, the point I'm trying to make is this, folks.

[John Weaver] Whenever man tries to determine right and wrong, good and bad, or what's right and what's evil, you're always going to have injustice. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 45. And look at verse 7, Isaiah 45, verse 7. Justice, right and wrong, good and evil are determined by God alone. Look at Isaiah 45, verse 7. In fact, let's read verse 6 just so that you will know that we're talking about the Lord in the context. Isaiah 45 verse 6, he says that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none else. Now notice what the Lord says that he does in verse 7.

[John Weaver] I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. Now the truth of the matter is most of us have no problem understanding how God forms the light and creates the darkness. We have no problem understanding how God makes peace. But when you get to that phrase, and create evil, I the Lord do all these things, then sometimes we have a problem with that.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. Don't answer out loud. But how can God be said to be the creator of evil in this verse? You and I know that God did not create evil in the sense that He made something evil and wicked. We know that God is not the author of evil. We know that God is not the instigator of evil. We know that God is not the infuser of evil.

[John Weaver] He doesn't shoot wickedness into people. What does the Bible say in James 1? Let no man say when he is tempted that I am tempted of God. Why? For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is drawn away of his own lust and enticed." In other words, God says, don't blame me as the author of sin. So we know from James 1 verses 13 through 15 that God is not the author of sin. He's not the instigator of sin. He's not the infuser of sin.

[John Weaver] How then do we explain this verse? Well, here's how. It's very simple. God says, I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I do all these things. How did God create evil? And the answer is by definition. What did God do? God created the world. And he beheld it, and everything that he made was what? Good. In other words, God says this is good, this is holy, this is right. Now once God lays down His law, once God tells us what is right and holy, what does that mean? It means anything that is opposite or contrary to that is evil and unholy and ungodly. So when God says thou shalt not commit adultery, We know that adultery is evil in and of itself. When God says, Thou shalt not murder, we know that murder is evil in and of itself. Now, does God make men murderers? No. Men are murderers because they're sinful, wicked, and rebellious. But God is the one who tells us what wickedness and sin is by definition.

[John Weaver] In that sense, He created it. The interesting thing is this. The word justice in the Bible And the word righteousness in the Bible are the same exact word in the Hebrew. Isn't that interesting? You know why? Because whatever is just is right and whatever is right is just. Justice and righteousness are exactly the same thing.

[John Weaver] Now, the reason we have the problems that we're having in our judicial system, in our legal system, As we have a bunch of men trying to determine right and wrong for themselves, and some of them say, well, I don't see anything wrong with this, or I don't see anything wrong with that, or let's do this, but we won't let anybody do that because I don't like that. It's not an objective standard that we now have, which is God's Word.

[John Weaver] Now we have men's subjective standard, and thus they try to justify their own wickedness and many times condemn the righteous. And they try to do that legally.

[John Weaver] Now, when men do that, they set themselves against God and against His Word. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 94. Psalm 94. And look particularly at verse 20. I want you to think this thing through with me. Psalm 94, verse 20. I've used this verse many times in the past and I want to break it down for you the exact same way again so that you can see the point that I'm making. Look in Psalm 94. In fact, verse 20. Here's the question.

[John Weaver] Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law? Now, I'll read a little bit further in just a moment. But here's the question. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law? I want you to note, first of all, a throne is involved. A throne speaks of authority, rulership. Secondly, it is a throne of iniquity. What does that mean? It is a wicked throne, a wicked rulership, a wicked government. That's what it means. So the question is now, shall the throne of iniquity, shall a wicked civil government have fellowship with thee, that is with God, Which frameth mischief by law?

[John Weaver] Now, mischief in the Bible is another word for sin. So here's the question. Now watch. Shall a wicked civil government have fellowship with God which makes sin legal? Now, just answer that question, if you would, in your mind. Shall a wicked civil government that makes sin legal, that which God condemns, shall that wicked civil government have fellowship with God? What's the answer? No. Look at verse 21. Here's what they do.

[John Weaver] They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood. In other words, they're murderers, they're perverts. They're destroyers. Are those people in fellowship with God? What's the answer? Absolutely no. Government may make sin legal, but it cannot make it lawful. It may be legal to be a sodomite, but it's not lawful. It may be legal to murder babies, but it's not lawful. It may be legal to steal, but it's not lawful. Two totally different things. And what does this wicked civil government do? It makes sin legal. And when it does that, it is defying God and it is sanctioning sin, wickedness and rebellion. And in doing so, it is fighting against God.

[John Weaver] So what does that mean? It means they are not of God. They're not in fellowship with God. They have no divine authority, no divine approval, no divine approbation, and therefore they may be lawfully resisted.

[John Weaver] Now, what about principles of deliverance? Whenever godly people find themselves under an oppressive, tyrannical, unrighteous, and ungodly government, it is only natural that they long for deliverance. They want things right. It's not that we want to overthrow government. We don't. We have to have government. All we want to do is throw the wickedness out of government so that we can have a righteous and a godly government. We want a God-honoring, biblical government where there is indeed real liberty and real freedom. We want real justice and not a charade. We want real liberty and real freedom and not just A fantasy. In other words, basically, a godly person wants this.

[John Weaver] They want to be able to live their life, work, play, worship, do whatever they want to do without governmental interference, permission, or even knowledge of their activities. Basically, they just want to be left alone. In plain, simple language, they'd like to be able to tell the government, bug out and leave us alone. You say, That's rebellion? No, that's not rebellion, folks. That's just believing in Romans 13, verses 3 and 4, that the only reason God established government was for the protection of the righteous and the punishment of the evildoers. And if government is not protecting or punishing, it has no business in our lives. Period. It's that simple.

[John Weaver] Do you know what the Bible says in Isaiah 59, verse 4? God charges the people. and indicts them. And I want you to listen to this indictment. He says in Isaiah 59 in verse 4, none calleth for justice, nor any pleaded for truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity. What is God indicting the people for? Because none call for justice. None are pleading for the truth. Remember now, please, that justice is righteousness. Whenever you're unconcerned about a just government, you're unconcerned about a righteous government, and so God is telling us we must learn to stand and plead for truth and to cry out for justice.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look back in your Bibles to the book of Judges chapter six, because this is the introductory sermon. And I'm really dealing with only one point today, and that is the preparation for deliverance. I've given you a number of scriptures. And we can read about deliverance in the Bible, but let me point something out. Deliverance. Does not just happen. What I mean by that, it means you don't go to bed enslaved and wake up the next morning free. There's a preparation.

[John Weaver] I never will forget I had a woman come to me. I was preaching in Louisiana, and by the way, there are. There are some strange people in Louisiana. But yeah, she came at me And she was weeping. I mean, really broken. And I said, well, what in the world is wrong? She said, well, I can't get people to believe that I'm converted. I said, you can't. I said, why not?

[John Weaver] She said, I don't know. She said, I tell them about my conversion experience and they just don't believe me. I said, well, Tell me your conversion experience." I said, you know, I can't see your heart, but at least I can tell you whether or not it's biblical. She said, it was very simple. She said, I went to bed lost one night and woke up the next morning I was saved. I said, no wonder you can't get people to believe you. I don't believe you either.

[John Weaver] I mean, salvation doesn't work like that. You don't go to bed and go to sleep lost and wake up saved and know nothing. Well, you know, that's what people are kind of looking around, but they think that's how we're going to be delivered. You know, we're here. We're a wicked, rebellious, ungodly nation. Next thing you know, we don't wake up and everything's going to be all right. It doesn't work like that, folks.

[John Weaver] There is preparation in deliverance. Now, look back in Judges chapter six. Verse 1, And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just stop there. You will find, as you deal with people, an interesting concept. This is always true of unsaved, ungodly, and unconverted people. Usually, they do not want to be delivered from their sin. They want to be delivered from the penalty of their sins so they may indulge even more in the pleasures of sin. In other words, I want to keep going the way I'm going. I just don't have to pay the piper.

[John Weaver] Well, unhappily, there are those who are Christians or at least professing Christians many times who are satisfied and content to live in tyranny and under oppression. So let's ask the question, why? Why would any Christian, why would any professing Christian want to live under tyranny and oppression? Well, I can think of two answers right away to that. The first one is ignorance. Ignorance of the word of God Ignorance of the power of God, ignorance of the blessing of God, ignorance of the deliverance of God, and ignorance of what life could really be like under a godly government.

[John Weaver] Now listen to this statement. Most of us have never known or experienced real freedom in our lives. I submit to you that those my age and older However old I am, 62 soon to be. We probably tasted the last little bit of freedom in this country. You think of our children. They've never known what real freedom is. They do not know what it's like to live without governmental interference or governmental permission to exist. The generation that is alive today have no idea what our founding fathers bequeathed us and they cannot conceive of liberty and freedom that existed in this country in the beginning.

[John Weaver] So one of the problems is ignorance. The second problem is complacency. Complacency deals with the reality that the nature of people is they do not want to rock the boat. They're content with their chains. They're content with their bondage. They're content with their captivity. Just as long as they can maintain a certain level of comfort. Let me show you what I mean. Look in your Bibles to Judges chapter 15.

[John Weaver] Without me going into great detail, I have a sermon on this, but I'm not going to preach that sermon. But in Judges chapter 15, of course, God had called Samson to be a judge. Samson had been wronged by the Philistines, and the Philistines, of course, were after him. They wanted to destroy him. He had already killed a lot of them. In verse 9 of Judges 15, Then the Philistines went up and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, Why are you come up against us?

[John Weaver] Now remember, Israel at this point is under the Philistine bondage and oppression and tyranny. So they asked their captors, Why are you come up against us? And they answered, That by Samson are we come up to do with him as he done to us. Then three thousand men of Judah, not of the Philistines, but Judahites, three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock, Edom, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this that thou hast done to us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. Now watch, and they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. And they spake unto him, saying, No, but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand. But surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock."

[John Weaver] Now I want you to note carefully, when the Philistines came into the land, 3,000 Judahites got upset. But they didn't go up to fight with Samson. They didn't go up to help Samson. They got up there and said, what have you done to us? Look at the problems you've caused. The Philistines are now in our land. Our level of comfort has been disturbed. Something is wrong.

[John Weaver] And as cowardly and as wicked as they were, They were willing to bind one of their own and deliver him into the hands of the enemy. Why? So they could restore their comfort zone. In other words, we're willing to be good little subjects. We're willing to suffer oppression and tyranny just so we can have the big screen plasma TV, a boat, two-week vacation every year, and a decent house with air conditioning. That's what they're saying. Samson, no, we're not going to kill you, but we're going to turn you over to them. Now, they didn't know that God was going to deliver him. You see, the problem is most of us have our own comfort zone, and we're not upset until that comfort zone is invaded. And then we're willing to do whatever is necessary to restore our own comfort zone. So why then is it that people are willing to put up with what they put up with in this country? Ignorance. Complacency. Now, when God is going to deliver a people, He has to deal with our ignorance and our complacency.

[John Weaver] Something must be done to resolve those two problems. Something must be done to awaken us to truth and to arouse us from our complacent spirit. You know, there's a verse, I love it. It's Proverbs 16, verse 7, just let me quote it. When a man's ways please the Lord, he make it even his enemies to be at peace with him. But the opposite is also true, when a man's ways displease the Lord, God will always raise up enemies against him.

[John Weaver] Now, you're going to find that was true in First Kings chapter 11. Turn there very quickly. First Kings chapter 11. Because this was true in the life of Solomon. You remember Solomon sinned against God. He had married all these strange women. He got all these idols into the land. He allowed the worship of these false gods. And in 1 Kings 11, beginning there with verse 4, For it came to pass when Solomon was old that his wives turned away his heart after other gods. His heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. And then he tells about how He went after all these gods and allowed his wives to worship these gods. And notice, if you would, the Bible says in verse 9, And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice. Now skip down to verse 14. And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite.

[John Weaver] He was the king seething Edom. Now, know that expression, and the Lord stirred up an adversary. Skip down, if you would please, to verse 23. And God stirred him up another adversary, Razon, the son of Eliadab, who fled from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah. So what is God doing? God is raising up enemies for Solomon. Why? Because his ways displease the Lord. Now, if you go back to Judges chapter 6, look, if you would please, at verse 1. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. Verse 2, And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. So what is God doing now?

[John Weaver] He is starting to mess up the comfort zone. And he's going to mess it up in such a way that all of a sudden they're going to realize. We're in trouble. This is worse than I thought. I didn't know that we were in so deep. You know what God does now, listen to me, I'm going to show it to you from the Bible in just a moment. When God prepares a people for deliverance. He strips them. He strips them.

[John Weaver] of their hope, their trust, their abilities, and their power in themselves. He shows them their inability. He shows them they can't deliver themselves. And I'll show you why. Look in Judges 7. Just skipping a little bit over. Judges 7. You remember how Gideon had all this vast army? And God cut it down to how many? Tell me. 300. Why? Look in Judges 7 and verse 2. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel balk themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. God said, I'm going to fix it where they'll know that I did it. They're not going to steal my glory. They're not going to steal my honor.

[John Weaver] You know, it's the same thing when it comes to spiritual salvation. I'll hold judges, but look in your Bibles to first Corinthians chapter one very quickly. Let me just show you this. It's the same principle. First Corinthians chapter one. And let's get down to verse. Let's get down to verse 26. He says, for you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. Well, that's strange. Why didn't God call all these wise, mighty, powerful, highfalutin men? He says, verse 27, But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised have God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are white, that no flesh should glory in his presence. Verse 31, That according as it is written, He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. God said, That's why I chose the poor.

[John Weaver] and the weak, those who can't. So they'll know that I did it.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note that God did exactly the same thing when he sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt. I want you to go in your Bibles to the book of Exodus, chapter five. I'm just trying to tell you. That in the preparation of deliverance, there is a very painful experience called preparation. And in that preparation, we are stripped. We are brought to the realization of our impotence, our incompetence, our inability. Look at Exodus chapter five, beginning there with verse 15. You remember now Moses and Aaron had gone to Pharaoh and said, thus said the Lord, let not people go. And what was Pharaoh's response? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. Now watch in verse 15. Now the elders, the officers, go to Pharaoh. Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick. And, behold, thy servants are beaten, but the fault is in thine own people.

[John Weaver] But he said, You are idle, you are idle. Therefore you say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now and work, for there shall no straw be given you. Yet you shall deliver the tale of bricks. Now look. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case after it was said, you shall not finish off from your bricks of your daily tasks.

[John Weaver] And they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said unto them, now the officers were saying to Moses and Aaron, the Lord look upon you and judge because you've made our saver to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned to the Lord and said, Lord, Wherefore hast thou so evil and treated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou delivered my people at all." Now I want you to note this, Moses and Aaron had tried to deliver them, they couldn't. The officers had tried to deliver them, they couldn't. The officers were so upset they come out and they look at Moses and Aaron and said, God judge between you and us. You told us you were going to deliver us, all you've done is make it worse.

[John Weaver] And Moses says, God, why did you even send me? I look in chapter six in verse one. Then the Lord said unto Moses.

[John Weaver] Now shall thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. But once you realize you can't. You can see what I can do. This is not going to be your deliverance, Moses. This is going to be my deliverance now. If you look in Judges 6, and we're talking about preparation for deliverance, what so far has God done to prepare Israel for deliverance? Look in verses 1 and 2. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of many in seven years, and the hand of many prevailed against Israel. What did God do to prepare them for deliverance?

[John Weaver] He sold them into the hands of their enemies. And by the way, you will find that exact expression in Judges 2.14, Judges 3.8, Judges 4.2, Judges 10.7 and 1 Samuel 12 and verse 9. He sold them into the hands of their enemies. You know, There's a very important point. And I want you to listen carefully to this point. If you read. Judges chapter six. When God sold them or delivered the people over to the hands of the Midianites, there was no war. There was no battle. There was no skirmish.

[John Weaver] The Israelites just gave up and ran. That's what the Bible says. Well, look at it in verse two. And the hand of the Midian prevailed against Israel, and because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains and caves and the strongholds. They ran. They got out of it. They just let them have it. Are you listening to me? There does not have to be an actual war for the enemy to take over. Israel was sold into the hand of the enemy and didn't even recognize it for a while until God turned the screws up and tightened them down. You say, well, Brother Weaver, if we have been sold, what's left? What's the next step? If we've been sold into the hands of our enemies, and we have, I can assure you of that, what's the first thing that we must do? The first thing that we must do is recognize that we have been sold into the hands of our enemies. and that we've been sold in the hands of our enemies because of our sins and our rebellion against God.

[John Weaver] What literally happened in Judges chapter 6 to Israel has literally happened in America. You say, what? How can you say such a thing? Well, look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28 and let's begin reading there verse 43. And I want to ask you to notice and see if you can find any parallels between America and these verses. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 28, if you would, beginning there with verse 43.

[John Weaver] God says, the stranger that is within thee shall get up very high and thou shalt come down very low. How many real Christians do we have in places of government and power? How many real Americans? He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him. He shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. How many Americans are out of debt? You know, we live in a debt economy.

[John Weaver] The average American couldn't pay a month ahead on his expenses. Verse 45, Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkenest not in the voice of the Lord thy God to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee, and they shall be upon thee for a sign, and for a wonder, and upon thy seed forever. Why? Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things. Therefore thou shalt serve thine enemies. You won't serve God? God said, that's okay, you will serve your enemies.

[John Weaver] Has not the stranger been placed above us? Have not our enemies, aliens, illegal immigrants, criminals, and strangers, do they not have more rights in our country than we the citizens have? Well, of course. We've been reaped, raped, ravished, and ruined, and we don't even know it. There is seemingly no place for Christ, Christianity, Christians, holiness, godliness and righteousness or justice in this country. Anything and everything that is contrary to Christ and Christianity is allowed. Anything that is contrary to common sense and constitutionalism is allowed. One of our problems is, we've been sold and we just don't realize it.

[John Weaver] Now you say, what's it going to take to wake us up? What will it take to get our eyes open? I've had people ask me over and over, will America wake up? My question is, will Christians wake up? Will you wake up? Let me show you a principle. In Luke 19 and verse 10, Jesus Christ says this. Listen, it's a very short verse, I'll quote it. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Listen to that. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was what? How many of you have ever been lost?

[John Weaver] Now, I'm not talking spiritually, I'm talking about physically. Yeah. I got lost when I was seven years old. For hours. But, you know, I was never scared until I realized I was lost. When I realized I was lost, I got desperate.

[John Weaver] Now, the Bible says He came to seek and to save that which was lost. And you know, when I was lost, I met a man on the road. Who had a house and a car and a telephone. I never asked him to call my parents. I never asked him to take me anywhere. Why? Because I didn't think I was lost. I thought I knew where I was. I knew how to get out of the situation I was in. But after I left him, I found out I was really lost.

[John Weaver] And that's what I got scared. I want to prove something to you. Look what our Lord said in Matthew chapter nine. Look at it, Matthew chapter nine. Here's the same principle now. Follow with me. Matthew chapter nine. And those of you would be getting there, verse 12, Matthew nine, verse 12. Here it is. But when Jesus heard that, that is, the Pharisees have asked Why, Edith, your master with publicans and sinners? They asked the disciples that. Verse 12. But when Jesus heard that, he said to them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

[John Weaver] But go you and learn what that meaneth. Now, Dr. Bowen, let me ask you a question. In all your years of practice, did anyone just drop by your office and say, you know, Doc, there's nothing wrong with me. I just want to come by and hand you this $50 bill as a Is it just as an office call? No. No doctor has ever had people just walk... You don't want to go in and just hand a doctor money. You know why people go to a doctor? You say, well, because they're sick. No. Come on. You get sick, you don't go to the doctor.

[John Weaver] You go to your medicine cabinet. You try to doctor yourself. And when you find out your remedies don't work, what do you normally do? You normally call a neighbor and you find out about their home remedy. Then you try that. You try everything and finally you say, well, I guess it won't get well. I'm going to have to go to a doctor who knows more than I do about it. The doctor is the last resort. Now, what did our Lord say?

[John Weaver] They that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick. Go ye and learn what that meaneth. As long as you and I do not think we're sick, as long as we don't think we're diseased, as long as we don't think we have any problems, we'll never seek deliverance. So what does our Lord have to do? To prepare us? He's got to open our eyes. He's got to open our understanding. He's got to let us see the mess and the trouble that we're in.

[John Weaver] and he has to turn the thumb screws so that he will awaken us out of our apathy and out of our complacency. In preparing a people for deliverance, the people must be made aware of their true condition. We must not only recognize the symptoms, we must know the cause. Let me ask you, Have any of you in here ever stripped furniture? Yeah, a couple of you. Here's an antique and you want to restore it, but it's got five or six coats of paint on it.

[John Weaver] What do you have to do? You start stripping, you put strippies on it, you put whatever you can, and then next thing you know, you've got to do it again. You take layer off after layer off after layer off, then you get your steel wool and you get whatever else, your little brush, and you just keep doing that until you strip it down to the absolute bare wood.

[John Weaver] It is tedious, it is laborious, sometimes it's painful. Do you realize that's exactly what God has to do with us spiritually speaking? Not only in our individual salvation, but even in national salvation. God literally has to strip us of our pride, of our arrogance, of our haughtiness, of our abilities. I'll tell you one thing, when they come for me, or I'll do this, no, no, no, no, no. As a people, as a nation, we have to realize If we really want to be delivered, we're going to be stripped. Let me ask you, how did God strip these Israelites?

[John Weaver] Look back in your Bible to Judges chapter six, let me show you. And by the way, as I show you these, I want you to think about our country. He stripped them from their pride, their self-ability, their false idols. Watch it. Judges chapter 6. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them in the hand of the Midian seven years. And the hand of the Midianites prevailed against Israel. And because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which were in the mountains and caves and strongholds. First of all, He stripped them of their false faith.

[John Weaver] Now, remember, it was because of their idolatry that they were put into captivity to begin with. So what does he do? He shows them that their false gods cannot save them, will not save them. The only one left available is the one true of the living God. I wanted to preach on this, I never have, but I wanted to show you that how each of the ten plagues in Egypt was actually an attack on each of the gods of Egypt. You look at the false faith that's in this country.

[John Weaver] Now, I'll tell you something. I saw it last week on the news, and I saw it this morning again on the news. They repeated the same thing. I didn't know where to laugh or to vomit. But they showed Hillary Clinton. And the thing is, the Democrats are reaching out to the religious conservatives. But Hillary Clinton said, we as a people of faith. What? I don't doubt she has faith. But it's not the faith that I have.

[John Weaver] nor the person that I have it in. You look at the people in this country that trust in the false god of the dollar, the government, themselves, politics. First thing that God did was show them their gods cannot deliver. They were not only faithless because God stripped them of their false faith. Secondly, they were fearful. They didn't stand and fight, they ran. How in the world can you fight a battle and win a battle when you're running away from the enemy?

[John Weaver] What did David do when he saw Goliath? He ran toward him, not away from him. Thirdly. They were not only faithless and fearful, but they took flight. They got out of the cities. They got out of the towns, they went to the mountains. They went to the dens and the caves of the earth. And the next way God stripped them was through financial disaster. Look in verse 3.

[John Weaver] And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east. And they came up against them, and they encamped against them, and they destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor oxen, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude.

[John Weaver] For both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land." Why? To destroy it. What did the wealthy merchants have when they did go back into the cities? Nothing. Nothing. You know, it's interesting. All the reports that I'm hearing on the imminent collapse of the dollar, the Federal Reserve note, it's really not a dollar, it's a Federal Reserve note. Folks, let me tell you, it's just a matter of time.

[John Weaver] If God, in His grace and mercy, is going to deliver us, we must be stripped. You know why? And I'll deal with this next week. But look in verse 7 or verse 6. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the many nights, and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. Only a stripped people cry to the Lord. Only a people who are helpless cry to the Lord.

[John Weaver] They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick, go ye and learn what that means. The Son of Man came out to seek and to save, but that which was lost. It's only when you get lost and helpless and sick and desperate that you cry to the Lord. You say, is God stripping us in America? I believe he is, to be honest. But the work is not yet complete. You said, Brother Weaver, I don't hear too many people crying to the Lord.

[John Weaver] Well, you just wait till he gets through. Do you know God knows exactly what it will take to bring us to our knees? He knows exactly how to strip us. He knows exactly how to turn the thumbscrews. And when he finishes, we will be willing to cry to the Lord. I like that little children's song. You remember how God drove the inhabitants of Canaan, some of them out of the land with hornets. You remember that? There's a little children's song that says this concerning those hornets. God did not make them go. Oh, no. He just made them willing to go. And God can make us willing to cry out, God have mercy upon us. Now let me make a couple of applications today.

[John Weaver] The first one is this. God never delivers a people, spiritually, financially, nationally, politically, any way you want to talk about it. God never delivers a people until he brings them to the end of themselves. As long as we think we can, we will never trust him. As long as we think we have ability, we will never trust his ability. And God is not going to share his glory with us. When we get to there by the grace of God, we will not say, well, I finally made it. No. We'll say it was the grace and mercy of God. The second application of this, one of the evidences that God is stripping us As I travel across this country, I find pockets of people here and there that are crying out to God for justice and crying out to God for mercy. They discern the circumstances.

[John Weaver] They know that we're in a mess. They may not know how deeply we're in that mess, but they know that we're there. They understand that governmental programs and political parties and the UN and all the other humanistic organizations combined can never deliver us from captivity, the only thing they can do is deliver us unto captivity. Only God can deliver us. And there are pockets of people everywhere in this country that understands that.

[John Weaver] You're going to say, and I'm going to cover this in the future, you're going to say, but Brother Weaver, there's just not enough of us. Hogwash. Was 300 enough for Gideon?

[John Weaver] The truth of the matter is, when God starts stripping, we start crying. God always, here's the third application, God always delivers us from something unto something. So if God delivers us from tyranny and oppression, from humanistic government, he will deliver us unto liberty and freedom in a godly government. It's not that we just want to be delivered from. We want to be delivered unto. And if our Lord only delivers those who need deliverance, we better recognize that we need it and start crying to Him for mercy.

[John Weaver] For he came to seek and to save that which was lost. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us. Teach us and Lord, make us where we're willing to be stripped. Willing to be brought to the end of ourselves. Not only as individuals and families and churches, but Lord as a nation. and make us willing to cry unto Thee for deliverance. We pray that You would work in our hearts, work in our lives, and get glory for Thine own name. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

Principles of Deliverance - 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	910693716
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Christian & Civil Government
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-07-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 163: Principles of Deliverance — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	93

Formatted Transcript

Introduction to Deliverance

Weaver introduces the series and reads Judges 6:1-6, emphasizing that deliverance is a wonderful word appreciated by those in deep trouble.

Well, let's open our Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter six. Book of Judges, chapter six. I want to begin today a brief series—I say brief, I do not know how brief, but I would imagine at least four or five messages—that I want to bring on principles of deliverance, principles of deliverance. And you will remember I preached from this passage a good while back, a couple of years ago, but this is something entirely different. It is certainly not the same messages, but although there will be, I'm sure, similarities occasionally, but only because the text is there and the text is the same and identical. So, let's read Judges chapter 6 and we'll read a number of verses and then stop, okay? Judges 6, verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Judges 6:1-6

"And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel, and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds."

"And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them. And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came up as grasshoppers for a multitude." "For both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it." Let's just stop there for today. Remember I told you this series is going to be entitled, Principles of Deliverance. I want to begin today by just pronouncing this one simple word, deliverance. What comes into your mind when you hear the word deliverance? In fact, the only thing I can tell you, it is indeed a very wonderful word. I suppose one would have to be in trouble, and oftentimes very deep trouble, to really appreciate not just the sound of the word, but also the truth that the word conveys.

Biblical Usage of Deliverance

The word 'deliverance' appears 16 times in the Bible, referring to remarkable salvation in various forms: physical, spiritual, financial, political, mental, and emotional.

Now, the word deliverance occurs 16 times in our Bibles, and each time it is used, it refers to a remarkable salvation. For instance, the very first time the word appears is in the book of Genesis, chapter 45 and verse 7. You remember how Joseph's brethren had hated him, sold him into Egypt as a slave, and how he went from the pit to the prison to the palace. But after he's in the palace and after the brethren there find out that old Joe was second in command, he tells them this,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 45:7

"And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance."

And certainly that is exactly what God wrought through Joseph was a great deliverance in that the sons of Jacob were not consumed in the famine and they did live in Egypt in the best of the land for a number of years. But now when you begin to look at the word deliverance and how it is used in the Bible, you will understand that there are different kinds of deliverance.

What I mean by that is this. Sometimes it is a physical deliverance, sometimes spiritual, financial, political, even mental and emotional deliverances. So the word then is very broad. In fact, the Bible in Psalm 32 and verse 7 speaks of songs of deliverance. In fact, if you look very quickly in your Bibles, holding Judges 6, but look in Exodus chapter 15, you will see a song of deliverance there.

Deliverance as Negative and Positive

Deliverance is always from something and unto something; God brings His people out of bondage to bring them into freedom and His kingdom.

Now, I want you to note something as I show you this in the Bible in just a moment. But when you hear the word deliverance, I want you to remember that it is both a negative and a positive. What do I mean by that? Deliverance is always from something and unto something. When the children of Israel were delivered out from Egypt, they were delivered into the Canaan land. In other words, God did not bring them out of Egypt to drop them in the desert. The Bible says He brought them out that He might bring them in. And likewise, when God delivers us from our sins, He does not just drop us. Let me read to you what the Bible says in the book of Colossians, chapter 1, verses 12 and 13. Listen carefully.

"giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet, or made us suitable, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." Note, if you would, He brought us out, the Bible says, from the kingdom of darkness, that's the negative, and He translated us into or unto the kingdom of his dear son. That's the positive. In other words, he brought us out that he might bring us in. Now, the point I'm trying to emphasize is very simple. When we are delivered from a tyrannical government, it must be that we're delivered unto a government of liberty and freedom. You cannot replace something with nothing. You must replace something with something. If you are not going to replace an unbiblical, ungodly, tyrannical, oppressive government with one that is free, and one that is godly, and one that is holy, and one that is biblical, why in the world would you even change it to begin with? In other words, the only choice that you have, if you're not going to replace it with a biblical government, is another humanistic government. One of a different flavor, or one of a different kind. Humanism is humanism, however.

The Role of Government and Justice

Government's God-ordained role is justice: protecting the righteous and punishing the wicked. When government exceeds this, it becomes tyrannical.

Now, let me tell you what the people in America have forgotten it, and I want you to turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 3. I know that you know this, but I'm going to read it for those who will be listening to this message. Let me tell you what the people in America have either forgotten or some of them have never known. And that is simply this, that government's role according to the ordination of God is simply the role of justice and nothing else. God never gave government the authority to be a welfare government. He never gave government the authority to be an educational government in the sense that it's involved in schooling. No, no. The only priority that God gave government, civil government, is that of justice. Look in Romans 13, verse 3.

"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he, that is the civil magistrate, is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain, for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil."

Now notice if you would, the Bible explicitly says that there is a two-fold role for the civil government. What is it? Number one, the protection of the righteous, and number two, the punishment of the wicked. Now let me tell you what happens. Whenever government gets into any role that is over and above and beyond the role of justice, it always becomes tyrannical and oppressive. Why? Because it's going into an area that God never gave it authority to go in to begin with. And please remember this justice must be defined by God. And no one else, because anything less is really not justice. You see, one of the problems that we have today in our judicial system.

Is that many times there are good men and godly men that are punished for what we would call non crimes? And many times wicked men who commit real crimes are not punished. And yet we refer to it as the justice system. And there is no justice in the system. Murderers, rapists, kidnappers, child molesters, and a host of others are either given light and lenient sentences. Or sometimes as they get a life sentence, that really does not mean life.

God as the Definer of Good and Evil

God creates evil by definition—His law establishes what is good, and anything contrary is evil. Human standards lead to injustice.

Whenever man tries to determine right and wrong, good and bad, or what's right and what's evil, you're always going to have injustice. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 45. And look at verse 7, Isaiah 45, verse 7. Justice, right and wrong, good and evil are determined by God alone. Look at Isaiah 45, verse 7. In fact, let's read verse 6 just so that you will know that we're talking about the Lord in the context. Isaiah 45 verse 6, he says "that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none else." Now notice what the Lord says that he does in verse 7.

"I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things." Now the truth of the matter is most of us have no problem understanding how God forms the light and creates the darkness. We have no problem understanding how God makes peace. But when you get to that phrase, "and create evil, I the Lord do all these things," then sometimes we have a problem with that.

Now, let me ask you a question. Don't answer out loud. But how can God be said to be the creator of evil in this verse? You and I know that God did not create evil in the sense that He made something evil and wicked. We know that God is not the author of evil. We know that God is not the instigator of evil. We know that God is not the infuser of evil.

He doesn't shoot wickedness into people. What does the Bible say in James 1? "Let no man say when he is tempted that I am tempted of God. Why? For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is drawn away of his own lust and enticed." In other words, God says, don't blame me as the author of sin. So we know from James 1 verses 13 through 15 that God is not the author of sin. He's not the instigator of sin. He's not the infuser of sin.

How then do we explain this verse? Well, here's how. It's very simple. God says, "I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I do all these things." How did God create evil? And the answer is by definition. What did God do? God created the world. And he beheld it, and everything that he made was what? Good. In other words, God says this is good, this is holy, this is right. Now once God lays down His law, once God tells us what is right and holy, what does that mean? It means anything that is opposite or contrary to that is evil and unholy and ungodly. So when God says "Thou shalt not commit adultery," we know that adultery is evil in and of itself. When God says, "Thou shalt not murder," we know that murder is evil in and of itself. Now, does God make men murderers? No. Men are murderers because they're sinful, wicked, and rebellious. But God is the one who tells us what wickedness and sin is by definition.

In that sense, He created it. The interesting thing is this. The word justice in the Bible and the word righteousness in the Bible are the same exact word in the Hebrew. Isn't that interesting? You know why? Because whatever is just is right and whatever is right is just. Justice and righteousness are exactly the same thing.

Wicked Government and the Need for Deliverance

A government that makes sin legal has no fellowship with God and may be lawfully resisted. Godly people long for a righteous government.

Now, when men do that, they set themselves against God and against His Word. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 94. Psalm 94. And look particularly at verse 20. I want you to think this thing through with me. Psalm 94, verse 20. I've used this verse many times in the past and I want to break it down for you the exact same way again so that you can see the point that I'm making. Look in Psalm 94. In fact, verse 20. Here's the question.

"Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law?" Now, I'll read a little bit further in just a moment. But here's the question. "Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law?" I want you to note, first of all, a throne is involved. A throne speaks of authority, rulership. Secondly, it is a throne of iniquity. What does that mean? It is a wicked throne, a wicked rulership, a wicked government. That's what it means. So the question is now, "Shall the throne of iniquity, shall a wicked civil government have fellowship with thee, that is with God, which frameth mischief by law?"

Now, mischief in the Bible is another word for sin. So here's the question. Now watch. Shall a wicked civil government have fellowship with God which makes sin legal? Now, just answer that question, if you would, in your mind. Shall a wicked civil government that makes sin legal, that which God condemns, shall that wicked civil government have fellowship with God? What's the answer? No. Look at verse 21. Here's what they do.

"They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood." In other words, they're murderers, they're perverts. They're destroyers. Are those people in fellowship with God? What's the answer? Absolutely no. Government may make sin legal, but it cannot make it lawful. It may be legal to be a sodomite, but it's not lawful. It may be legal to murder babies, but it's not lawful. It may be legal to steal, but it's not lawful. Two totally different things. And what does this wicked civil government do? It makes sin legal. And when it does that, it is defying God and it is sanctioning sin, wickedness and rebellion. And in doing so, it is fighting against God.

So what does that mean? It means they are not of God. They're not in fellowship with God. They have no divine authority, no divine approval, no divine approbation, and therefore they may be lawfully resisted.

Now, what about principles of deliverance? Whenever godly people find themselves under an oppressive, tyrannical, unrighteous, and ungodly government, it is only natural that they long for deliverance. They want things right. It's not that we want to overthrow government. We don't. We have to have government. All we want to do is throw the wickedness out of government so that we can have a righteous and a godly government. We want a God-honoring, biblical government where there is indeed real liberty and real freedom. We want real justice and not a charade. We want real liberty and real freedom and not just a fantasy. In other words, basically, a godly person wants this.

Preparation for Deliverance: Stripping

Deliverance requires preparation; God strips His people of self-reliance, false faith, and comfort to bring them to desperation and crying out to Him.

I never will forget I had a woman come to me. I was preaching in Louisiana, and by the way, there are some strange people in Louisiana. But yeah, she came at me and she was weeping. I mean, really broken. And I said, well, what in the world is wrong? She said, well, I can't get people to believe that I'm converted. I said, you can't. I said, why not?

She said, I don't know. She said, I tell them about my conversion experience and they just don't believe me. I said, well, tell me your conversion experience. I said, you know, I can't see your heart, but at least I can tell you whether or not it's biblical. She said, it was very simple. She said, I went to bed lost one night and woke up the next morning I was saved. I said, no wonder you can't get people to believe you. I don't believe you either.

I mean, salvation doesn't work like that. You don't go to bed and go to sleep lost and wake up saved and know nothing. Well, you know, that's what people are kind of looking around, but they think that's how we're going to be delivered. You know, we're here. We're a wicked, rebellious, ungodly nation. Next thing you know, we don't wake up and everything's going to be all right. It doesn't work like that, folks.

There is preparation in deliverance. Now, look back in Judges chapter six. Verse 1, "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years." Now, let me just stop there. You will find, as you deal with people, an interesting concept. This is always true of unsaved, ungodly, and unconverted people. Usually, they do not want to be delivered from their sin. They want to be delivered from the penalty of their sins so they may indulge even more in the pleasures of sin. In other words, I want to keep going the way I'm going. I just don't have to pay the piper.

Well, unhappily, there are those who are Christians or at least professing Christians many times who are satisfied and content to live in tyranny and under oppression. So let's ask the question, why? Why would any Christian, why would any professing Christian want to live under tyranny and oppression? Well, I can think of two answers right away to that. The first one is ignorance. Ignorance of the word of God, ignorance of the power of God, ignorance of the blessing of God, ignorance of the deliverance of God, and ignorance of what life could really be like under a godly government.

Now listen to this statement. Most of us have never known or experienced real freedom in our lives. I submit to you that those my age and older, however old I am, 62 soon to be, we probably tasted the last little bit of freedom in this country. You think of our children. They've never known what real freedom is. They do not know what it's like to live without governmental interference or governmental permission to exist. The generation that is alive today have no idea what our founding fathers bequeathed us and they cannot conceive of liberty and freedom that existed in this country in the beginning.

So one of the problems is ignorance. The second problem is complacency. Complacency deals with the reality that the nature of people is they do not want to rock the boat. They're content with their chains. They're content with their bondage. They're content with their captivity. Just as long as they can maintain a certain level of comfort. Let me show you what I mean. Look in your Bibles to Judges chapter 15.

Without me going into great detail, I have a sermon on this, but I'm not going to preach that sermon. But in Judges chapter 15, of course, God had called Samson to be a judge. Samson had been wronged by the Philistines, and the Philistines, of course, were after him. They wanted to destroy him. He had already killed a lot of them. In verse 9 of Judges 15,

Scripture Reading — Judges 15:9-13

"Then the Philistines went up and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, Why are you come up against us?"

Now remember, Israel at this point is under the Philistine bondage and oppression and tyranny. So they asked their captors, "Why are you come up against us?" And they answered, "To bind Samson are we come up, to do with him as he done to us." Then three thousand men of Judah, not of the Philistines, but Judahites, three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, "Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this that thou hast done to us?" And he said unto them, "As they did unto me, so have I done unto them." Now watch, and they said unto him, "We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines." And Samson said unto them, "Swear unto me that ye will not fall upon me yourselves." And they spake unto him, saying, "No, but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand. But surely we will not kill thee." And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

Now I want you to note carefully, when the Philistines came into the land, 3,000 Judahites got upset. But they didn't go up to fight with Samson. They didn't go up to help Samson. They got up there and said, what have you done to us? Look at the problems you've caused. The Philistines are now in our land. Our level of comfort has been disturbed. Something is wrong.

And as cowardly and as wicked as they were, they were willing to bind one of their own and deliver him into the hands of the enemy. Why? So they could restore their comfort zone. In other words, we're willing to be good little subjects. We're willing to suffer oppression and tyranny just so we can have the big screen plasma TV, a boat, two-week vacation every year, and a decent house with air conditioning. That's what they're saying. Samson, no, we're not going to kill you, but we're going to turn you over to them. Now, they didn't know that God was going to deliver him. You see, the problem is most of us have our own comfort zone, and we're not upset until that comfort zone is invaded. And then we're willing to do whatever is necessary to restore our own comfort zone. So why then is it that people are willing to put up with what they put up with in this country? Ignorance. Complacency. Now, when God is going to deliver a people, He has to deal with our ignorance and our complacency.

Something must be done to resolve those two problems. Something must be done to awaken us to truth and to arouse us from our complacent spirit. You know, there's a verse, I love it. It's Proverbs 16, verse 7, just let me quote it.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:7

"When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."

But the opposite is also true, when a man's ways displease the Lord, God will always raise up enemies against him.

Now, you're going to find that was true in First Kings chapter 11. Turn there very quickly. First Kings chapter 11. Because this was true in the life of Solomon. You remember Solomon sinned against God. He had married all these strange women. He got all these idols into the land. He allowed the worship of these false gods. And in 1 Kings 11, beginning there with verse 4,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:4,9,14,23

"For it came to pass when Solomon was old that his wives turned away his heart after other gods. His heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."

And then he tells about how he went after all these gods and allowed his wives to worship these gods. And notice, if you would, the Bible says in verse 9, "And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice." Now skip down to verse 14. "And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite."

He was the king's seed in Edom. Now, note that expression, "and the Lord stirred up an adversary." Skip down, if you would please, to verse 23. "And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon, the son of Eliadah, who fled from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah." So what is God doing? God is raising up enemies for Solomon. Why? Because his ways displease the Lord. Now, if you go back to Judges chapter 6, look, if you would please, at verse 1. "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years." Verse 2, "And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel." So what is God doing now?

He is starting to mess up the comfort zone. And he's going to mess it up in such a way that all of a sudden they're going to realize, we're in trouble. This is worse than I thought. I didn't know that we were in so deep. You know what God does now, listen to me, I'm going to show it to you from the Bible in just a moment. When God prepares a people for deliverance, He strips them. He strips them.

of their hope, their trust, their abilities, and their power in themselves. He shows them their inability. He shows them they can't deliver themselves. And I'll show you why. Look in Judges 7. Just skipping a little bit over. Judges 7. You remember how Gideon had all this vast army? And God cut it down to how many? Tell me. 300. Why? Look in Judges 7 and verse 2.

Scripture Reading — Judges 7:2

"And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me."

God said, I'm going to fix it where they'll know that I did it. They're not going to steal my glory. They're not going to steal my honor.

You know, it's the same thing when it comes to spiritual salvation. I'll hold judges, but look in your Bibles to First Corinthians chapter one very quickly. Let me just show you this. It's the same principle. First Corinthians chapter one. And let's get down to verse 26. He says, "For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called." Well, that's strange. Why didn't God call all these wise, mighty, powerful, highfalutin men? He says, verse 27, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised have God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence." Verse 31, "That according as it is written, He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord." God said, that's why I chose the poor.

and the weak, those who can't. So they'll know that I did it. Now, I want you to note that God did exactly the same thing when he sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt. I want you to go in your Bibles to the book of Exodus, chapter five. I'm just trying to tell you that in the preparation of deliverance, there is a very painful experience called preparation. And in that preparation, we are stripped. We are brought to the realization of our impotence, our incompetence, our inability. Look at Exodus chapter five, beginning there with verse 15. You remember now Moses and Aaron had gone to Pharaoh and said, "Thus saith the Lord, let my people go." And what was Pharaoh's response? "I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." Now watch in verse 15. Now the elders, the officers, go to Pharaoh. "Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick. And, behold, thy servants are beaten, but the fault is in thine own people."

But he said, "You are idle, you are idle. Therefore you say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now and work, for there shall no straw be given you. Yet you shall deliver the tale of bricks." Now look. "And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case after it was said, you shall not finish off from your bricks of your daily tasks." "And they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said unto them," now the officers were saying to Moses and Aaron, "the Lord look upon you and judge because you've made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hand to slay us." And Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou delivered my people at all." Now I want you to note this, Moses and Aaron had tried to deliver them, they couldn't. The officers had tried to deliver them, they couldn't. The officers were so upset they come out and they look at Moses and Aaron and said, God judge between you and us. You told us you were going to deliver us, all you've done is make it worse.

And Moses says, God, why did you even send me? I look in chapter six in verse one. "Then the Lord said unto Moses." "Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh." But once you realize you can't, you can see what I can do. This is not going to be your deliverance, Moses. This is going to be my deliverance now. If you look in Judges 6, and we're talking about preparation for deliverance, what so far has God done to prepare Israel for deliverance? Look in verses 1 and 2. "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel." What did God do to prepare them for deliverance?

He sold them into the hands of their enemies. And by the way, you will find that exact expression in Judges 2:14, Judges 3:8, Judges 4:2, Judges 10:7 and 1 Samuel 12 and verse 9. He sold them into the hands of their enemies. You know, there's a very important point. And I want you to listen carefully to this point. If you read Judges chapter six, when God sold them or delivered the people over to the hands of the Midianites, there was no war. There was no battle. There was no skirmish.

Application to America

America has been sold into the hands of enemies due to sin. Christians must recognize their lost condition, be stripped of pride, and cry to God for mercy.

What literally happened in Judges chapter 6 to Israel has literally happened in America. You say, what? How can you say such a thing? Well, look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28 and let's begin reading there verse 43. And I want to ask you to notice and see if you can find any parallels between America and these verses. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 28, if you would, beginning there with verse 43. God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:43-48

"The stranger that is within thee shall get up very high and thou shalt come down very low."

How many real Christians do we have in places of government and power? How many real Americans?

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:43-48

"He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him. He shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail."

How many Americans are out of debt? You know, we live in a debt economy.

The average American couldn't pay a month ahead on his expenses. Verse 45, "Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkenest not in the voice of the Lord thy God to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee, and they shall be upon thee for a sign, and for a wonder, and upon thy seed forever. Why? Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things. Therefore thou shalt serve thine enemies." You won't serve God? God said, that's okay, you will serve your enemies. Has not the stranger been placed above us? Have not our enemies, aliens, illegal immigrants, criminals, and strangers, do they not have more rights in our country than we the citizens have? Well, of course. We've been reaped, raped, ravished, and ruined, and we don't even know it. There is seemingly no place for Christ, Christianity, Christians, holiness, godliness and righteousness or justice in this country. Anything and everything that is contrary to Christ and Christianity is allowed. Anything that is contrary to common sense and constitutionalism is allowed. One of our problems is, we've been sold and we just don't realize it.

Now you say, what's it going to take to wake us up? What will it take to get our eyes open? I've had people ask me over and over, will America wake up? My question is, will Christians wake up? Will you wake up? Let me show you a principle. In Luke 19 and verse 10, Jesus Christ says this. Listen, it's a very short verse, I'll quote it. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Listen to that. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was what?" How many of you have ever been lost?

Now, I'm not talking spiritually, I'm talking about physically. Yeah. I got lost when I was seven years old. For hours. But, you know, I was never scared until I realized I was lost. When I realized I was lost, I got desperate.

Now, the Bible says He came to seek and to save that which was lost. And you know, when I was lost, I met a man on the road who had a house and a car and a telephone. I never asked him to call my parents. I never asked him to take me anywhere. Why? Because I didn't think I was lost. I thought I knew where I was. I knew how to get out of the situation I was in. But after I left him, I found out I was really lost.

And that's when I got scared. I want to prove something to you. Look what our Lord said in Matthew chapter nine. Look at it, Matthew chapter nine. Here's the same principle now. Follow with me. Matthew chapter nine. And those of you would be getting there, verse 12, Matthew nine, verse 12. Here it is. "But when Jesus heard that," that is, the Pharisees have asked, "Why eateth your master with publicans and sinners?" They asked the disciples that. Verse 12. "But when Jesus heard that, he said to them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."

"But go ye and learn what that meaneth." Now, Dr. Bowen, let me ask you a question. In all your years of practice, did anyone just drop by your office and say, you know, Doc, there's nothing wrong with me. I just want to come by and hand you this $50 bill as an office call? No. No doctor has ever had people just walk... You don't want to go in and just hand a doctor money. You know why people go to a doctor? You say, well, because they're sick. No. Come on. You get sick, you don't go to the doctor.

You go to your medicine cabinet. You try to doctor yourself. And when you find out your remedies don't work, what do you normally do? You normally call a neighbor and you find out about their home remedy. Then you try that. You try everything and finally you say, well, I guess it won't get well. I'm going to have to go to a doctor who knows more than I do about it. The doctor is the last resort. Now, what did our Lord say?

"They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Go ye and learn what that meaneth." As long as you and I do not think we're sick, as long as we don't think we're diseased, as long as we don't think we have any problems, we'll never seek deliverance. So what does our Lord have to do to prepare us? He's got to open our eyes. He's got to open our understanding. He's got to let us see the mess and the trouble that we're in. and he has to turn the thumb screws so that he will awaken us out of our apathy and out of our complacency. In preparing a people for deliverance, the people must be made aware of their true condition. We must not only recognize the symptoms, we must know the cause. Let me ask you, have any of you in here ever stripped furniture? Yeah, a couple of you. Here's an antique and you want to restore it, but it's got five or six coats of paint on it.

Conclusion and Prayer

Weaver concludes that God delivers only those who recognize their need, and He delivers them unto liberty. He prays for willingness to be stripped and to cry out to God.

The first one is this. God never delivers a people, spiritually, financially, nationally, politically, any way you want to talk about it. God never delivers a people until he brings them to the end of themselves. As long as we think we can, we will never trust him. As long as we think we have ability, we will never trust his ability. And God is not going to share his glory with us. When we get to there by the grace of God, we will not say, well, I finally made it. No. We'll say it was the grace and mercy of God. The second application of this, one of the evidences that God is stripping us, as I travel across this country, I find pockets of people here and there that are crying out to God for justice and crying out to God for mercy. They discern the circumstances.

They know that we're in a mess. They may not know how deeply we're in that mess, but they know that we're there. They understand that governmental programs and political parties and the UN and all the other humanistic organizations combined can never deliver us from captivity, the only thing they can do is deliver us unto captivity. Only God can deliver us. And there are pockets of people everywhere in this country that understands that. You're going to say, and I'm going to cover this in the future, you're going to say, but Brother Weaver, there's just not enough of us. Hogwash. Was 300 enough for Gideon?

The truth of the matter is, when God starts stripping, we start crying. God always, here's the third application, God always delivers us from something unto something. So if God delivers us from tyranny and oppression, from humanistic government, he will deliver us unto liberty and freedom in a godly government. It's not that we just want to be delivered from. We want to be delivered unto. And if our Lord only delivers those who need deliverance, we better recognize that we need it and start crying to Him for mercy. For he came to seek and to save that which was lost. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us. Teach us and Lord, make us where we're willing to be stripped. Willing to be brought to the end of ourselves. Not only as individuals and families and churches, but Lord as a nation. And make us willing to cry unto Thee for deliverance. We pray that You would work in our hearts, work in our lives, and get glory for Thine own name. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Nature of Deliverance

Summary: Deliverance is a broad biblical concept involving salvation from various forms of bondage, always moving from something negative to something positive.

Evidence: Weaver explains that deliverance occurs 16 times in the Bible and can be physical, spiritual, financial, political, mental, or emotional, and that God brings His people out of darkness into His kingdom.

God's Definition of Justice and Evil

Summary: God alone defines good and evil; human attempts to define justice lead to oppression and the condemnation of the righteous.

Evidence: Weaver cites Isaiah 45:7 to show God creates evil by definition and Psalm 94:20 to illustrate that wicked governments make sin legal, opposing God.

The Necessity of Preparation through Stripping

Summary: Before deliverance, God strips His people of self-reliance, false faith, and comfort to bring them to a point of desperation and dependence on Him.

Evidence: Weaver uses Judges 6, Exodus 5, and 1 Corinthians 1 to show that God reduces human strength so that He alone gets the glory.

Complacency and Ignorance as Barriers

Summary: Christians often remain in bondage due to ignorance of God's Word and complacency with their comfort zones, unwilling to risk disruption.

Evidence: Weaver cites Judges 15 where Judahites bind Samson to preserve their comfort under Philistine rule, illustrating contentment with chains.

National Judgment and the Need for Repentance

Summary: America has been sold into the hands of enemies because of sin, and only recognition of this lost condition and crying out to God can bring deliverance.

Evidence: Weaver parallels Deuteronomy 28:43-48 with America's situation, noting strangers rule over citizens and the nation serves enemies due to disobedience.

Key Arguments

Deliverance requires recognition of lostness

Summary: People do not seek deliverance until they realize they are lost, sick, and helpless; God must open eyes to true condition.

Evidence: Weaver uses Luke 19:10 and Matthew 9:12 to argue that only the sick seek a physician, and only the lost cry for salvation.

God strips His people to remove self-reliance

Summary: God reduces human strength and resources so that deliverance is clearly His work, preventing human boasting.

Evidence: Weaver references Judges 7:2 where God reduces Gideon's army to 300, and 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 where God chooses the weak to shame the strong.

Wicked government exceeds God-given authority

Summary: Government's only biblical role is justice; when it legislates sin or engages in welfare/education, it becomes tyrannical and opposes God.

Evidence: Weaver cites Romans 13:3-4 for the role of government and Psalm 94:20-21 to show that governments framing mischief by law have no fellowship with God.

Deliverance is always from and unto something

Summary: God does not merely remove oppression but brings His people into a positive state of liberty and godly government.

Evidence: Weaver uses Colossians 1:12-13 to show deliverance from darkness into the kingdom of God's Son, and applies this to political deliverance.

Comfort zones hinder deliverance

Summary: People tolerate tyranny as long as their comfort is undisturbed; God must disrupt comfort to awaken them to their bondage.

Evidence: Weaver illustrates with Judges 15 where Judahites bind Samson to appease the Philistines and restore their comfort, and notes God stirred up adversaries against Solomon when he sinned.

Scripture References

Judges 6:1-6

Context: Introduction to the series; Israel's oppression under Midian as a result of doing evil.

Genesis 45:7

Context: First occurrence of 'deliverance' in the Bible; Joseph's role in saving his family from famine.

Psalm 32:7

Context: Mention of 'songs of deliverance' as part of the broad biblical usage.

Exodus 15:1-2

Context: Song of deliverance after Israel's exodus from Egypt, illustrating political and spiritual deliverance.

Luke 4:18-19

Context: Jesus' ministry characterized as preaching deliverance to the captives, quoting Isaiah 61.

Obadiah 1:17

Context: Salvation called a deliverance.

Colossians 1:12-13

Context: Deliverance from the power of darkness and translation into the kingdom of God's Son, showing the negative and positive aspects.

Romans 13:3-4

Context: The God-ordained role of civil government: protection of the righteous and punishment of evildoers.

Isaiah 45:6-7

Context: God creates evil by definition; He alone determines good and evil.

James 1:13-15

Context: God is not the author of sin; temptation comes from human lust.

Psalm 94:20-21

Context: A wicked government that makes sin legal has no fellowship with God and condemns the innocent.

Isaiah 59:4

Context: God indicts people for not calling for justice or pleading for truth.

Judges 15:9-13

Context: Judahites bind Samson to preserve their comfort under Philistine oppression, illustrating complacency.

Proverbs 16:7

Context: When a man's ways please the Lord, even his enemies are at peace; the opposite is implied.

1 Kings 11:4,9,14,23

Context: God stirred up adversaries against Solomon because his heart turned from the Lord.

Judges 7:2

Context: God reduces Gideon's army to prevent Israel from boasting in their own strength.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Context: God chooses the weak and foolish to shame the strong, so that no flesh may glory in His presence.

Exodus 5:15-23

Context: Moses and Aaron's initial failure to deliver Israel; God allows worsening conditions to strip self-reliance.

Deuteronomy 28:43-48

Context: Curses for disobedience: strangers rise above, and Israel serves enemies; applied to America's condition.

Matthew 9:12

Context: Jesus says the sick need a physician; only those who recognize their sickness seek healing.

Historical References

Joseph's deliverance of Israel from famine

Context: First biblical use of 'deliverance' in Genesis 45:7, where Joseph saved his family from famine in Egypt.

Israel's exodus from Egypt

Context: Example of political and spiritual deliverance, celebrated in the song of Exodus 15.

Solomon's adversaries raised by God

Context: In 1 Kings 11, God stirred up Hadad and Rezon against Solomon because his heart turned to idols.

Gideon's 300 men

Context: God reduced Israel's army to 300 to ensure they recognized His deliverance, not their own strength.

Moses' initial failure to deliver Israel

Context: In Exodus 5, Moses' demand to Pharaoh led to increased oppression, stripping Israel of self-reliance.

Recent American political context (2006)

Context: Weaver critiques swapping political parties without changing the underlying humanistic government, referencing the last 40-50 years of American politics.

Hillary Clinton's 'people of faith' comment

Context: Weaver mentions a news report where Hillary Clinton referred to Democrats as 'a people of faith,' contrasting it with biblical faith.

Important Quotes

Deliverance is always from something and unto something.

Significance: Summarizes the dual nature of deliverance as both removal from bondage and entrance into freedom, a key principle in the sermon.

Humanism is humanism. It doesn't matter how you swap it around. It doesn't matter what you call it. It is still the same.

Significance: Argues that changing political parties without changing the underlying philosophy does not bring true deliverance.

Government's role according to the ordination of God is simply the role of justice and nothing else.

Significance: Defines the biblical limit of civil government, foundational to Weaver's critique of modern government overreach.

Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law?

Significance: Key verse (Psalm 94:20) used to argue that governments making sin legal oppose God and lack divine authority.

They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

Significance: Jesus' words in Matthew 9:12, used to illustrate that only those who recognize their desperate condition seek deliverance.

Only a stripped people cry to the Lord. Only a people who are helpless cry to the Lord.

Significance: Encapsulates the necessity of God's stripping work to bring people to the point of desperate prayer.

God never delivers a people until he brings them to the end of themselves.

Significance: A concluding application emphasizing that self-reliance must be broken before God will act.

Discussion Questions

What does the word 'deliverance' mean to you personally, and how does the biblical concept of being delivered 'from' something 'unto' something challenge your understanding?

Context: Weaver introduces deliverance as both negative and positive, using Colossians 1:12-13.

How does Romans 13:3-4 define the role of government, and in what ways do modern governments exceed this role?

Context: Weaver argues that government's only God-given role is justice, and overreach leads to tyranny.

In what ways have you experienced or observed complacency among Christians regarding political or spiritual bondage?

Context: Weaver uses Judges 15 to illustrate how comfort zones can lead believers to tolerate oppression.

Why does God strip His people of their resources and self-reliance before delivering them, and how have you seen this principle in your own life?

Context: Weaver explains from Judges 7 and 1 Corinthians 1 that God reduces human strength to get glory.

Do you agree with Weaver's assessment that America has been 'sold into the hands of enemies'? What evidence supports or contradicts this?

Context: Weaver parallels Deuteronomy 28 with America's situation, citing strangers ruling over citizens.

What does it mean to 'cry out to the Lord' for deliverance, and what might prevent us from doing so?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that only a stripped and helpless people cry to God, as seen in Judges 6:6.

Applications

Recognize our lost and sick condition

Summary: We must acknowledge that we are in bondage and unable to deliver ourselves, just as the sick need a physician.

Evidence: Weaver uses Matthew 9:12 and Luke 19:10 to argue that only those who know they are lost seek salvation.

Cry out to God for mercy

Summary: When stripped of self-reliance, we should cry to the Lord for deliverance, as Israel did in Judges 6:6.

Evidence: Weaver states that only a stripped people cry to the Lord and that God knows how to bring us to that point.

Reject complacency and comfort zones

Summary: We must be willing to have our comfort disrupted rather than tolerate tyranny and sin for the sake of ease.

Evidence: Weaver illustrates with Judges 15 where Judahites bound Samson to preserve their comfort under Philistine rule.

Seek a biblical government of justice

Summary: Deliverance is not just from tyranny but unto a godly government that protects the righteous and punishes evil.

Evidence: Weaver cites Romans 13:3-4 and argues that replacing humanism with humanism is futile; we must aim for biblical justice.

Allow God to strip us of pride and false faith

Summary: We must cooperate with God's stripping work, letting go of trust in false gods like money, government, or self.

Evidence: Weaver describes how God stripped Israel of false faith, fear, and financial security in Judges 6:1-6.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:54:20Z

Clean Transcript

Principles of Deliverance - 1

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter six. Book of Judges, chapter six. I want to begin today a brief series—I say brief, I do not know how brief, but I would imagine at least four or five messages—that I want to bring on principles of deliverance, principles of deliverance. And you will remember I preached from this passage a good while back, a couple of years ago, but this is something entirely different. It is certainly not the same messages, but although there will be, I'm sure, similarities occasionally, but only because the text is there and the text is the same and identical. So, let's read Judges chapter 6 and we'll read a number of verses and then stop, okay? Judges 6, verse 1, "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel, and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds."
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"And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them. And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came up as grasshoppers for a multitude."
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"For both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it." Let's just stop there for today. Remember I told you this series is going to be entitled, Principles of Deliverance. I want to begin today by just pronouncing this one simple word, deliverance. What comes into your mind when you hear the word deliverance? In fact, the only thing I can tell you, it is indeed a very wonderful word. I suppose one would have to be in trouble, and oftentimes very deep trouble, to really appreciate not just the sound of the word, but also the truth that the word conveys.
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Now, the word deliverance occurs 16 times in our Bibles, and each time it is used, it refers to a remarkable salvation. For instance, the very first time the word appears is in the book of Genesis, chapter 45 and verse 7. You remember how Joseph's brethren had hated him, sold him into Egypt as a slave, and how he went from the pit to the prison to the palace. But after he's in the palace and after the brethren there find out that old Joe was second in command, he tells them this, "And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance." And certainly that is exactly what God wrought through Joseph was a great deliverance in that the sons of Jacob were not consumed in the famine and they did live in Egypt in the best of the land for a number of years. But now when you begin to look at the word deliverance and how it is used in the Bible, you will understand that there are different kinds of deliverance.
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What I mean by that is this. Sometimes it is a physical deliverance, sometimes spiritual, financial, political, even mental and emotional deliverances. So the word then is very broad. In fact, the Bible in Psalm 32 and verse 7 speaks of songs of deliverance. In fact, if you look very quickly in your Bibles, holding Judges 6, but look in Exodus chapter 15, you will see a song of deliverance there.
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The children of Israel have been delivered out of Egypt. And the Bible says, beginning with verse 1, "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation. My Father is God, and I will exalt Him." And you read on down, and this song is just simply singing about the deliverance that God wrought for the children of Israel. There is indeed a song of deliverance, but notice if you would, this was a song of deliverance, not just based upon salvation, but also based upon a political deliverance because they were translated out of a kingdom of slavery and oppression into liberty and freedom under God.
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Now, in the book of Luke, chapter four, verses 18 and 19, if you want to turn there very quickly, I want you to see how our Lord began his public ministry. In Luke chapter 4, he begins his public ministry by quoting the words from Isaiah 61. Note what he says, Luke 4 verse 18, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, and set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
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Now let me just stop. Look in verse 17. "And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah, and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written." He went to Isaiah 61 and he read this passage, and if you look in verse 18, the middle of the verse he says, "to preach deliverance to the captives." Note, if you would please, the ministry of our Lord and the gospel that he brought is characterized as preaching deliverance to the captives. In other words, we had been held captive by sin and by Satan, and we were delivered by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus, in the book of Obadiah, chapter 1, verse 17, our salvation is indeed called a deliverance.
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Now, deliverance is often thought of in political terms. In fact, if you mention the word deliverance today, that is usually what occurs in the minds of individuals, when you're seeking deliverance from a tyrannical, oppressive, or immoral government. It is usually those who long for righteousness and justice that want to be free from such a wicked government.
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Now, I want you to note something as I show you this in the Bible in just a moment. But when you hear the word deliverance, I want you to remember that it is both a negative and a positive. What do I mean by that? Deliverance is always from something and unto something. When the children of Israel were delivered out from Egypt, they were delivered into the Canaan land. In other words, God did not bring them out of Egypt to drop them in the desert. The Bible says He brought them out that He might bring them in. And likewise, when God delivers us from our sins, He does not just drop us. Let me read to you what the Bible says in the book of Colossians, chapter 1, verses 12 and 13. Listen carefully.
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"giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us meet, or made us suitable, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." Note, if you would, He brought us out, the Bible says, from the kingdom of darkness, that's the negative, and He translated us into or unto the kingdom of his dear son. That's the positive. In other words, he brought us out that he might bring us in.
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Now, the point I'm trying to emphasize is very simple. When we are delivered from a tyrannical government, it must be that we're delivered unto a government of liberty and freedom. You cannot replace something with nothing. You must replace something with something. If you are not going to replace an unbiblical, ungodly, tyrannical, oppressive government with one that is free, and one that is godly, and one that is holy, and one that is biblical, why in the world would you even change it to begin with? In other words, the only choice that you have, if you're not going to replace it with a biblical government, is another humanistic government. One of a different flavor, or one of a different kind. Humanism is humanism, however.
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It does not matter its shape, name, or political party. Now, I want you to stop and think about something. I want you to think about our country in the last 40 to 50 years particularly. Some of you can't think that far back. Some of us can. We have swapped Republican candidates for Democratic candidates and Democratic candidates for Republican candidates. We have swapped Republican majorities for Democratic majorities and Democratic majorities for Republican majorities. We have swapped one administration for another administration. And yet we still have the same identical, unbiblical, ungodly, unconstitutional government in this country. What are we doing?
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All I'm trying to show you is this. Humanism is humanism. It doesn't matter how you swap it around. It doesn't matter what you call it. It is still the same.
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Now, let me tell you what the people in America have forgotten it, and I want you to turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 3. I know that you know this, but I'm going to read it for those who will be listening to this message. Let me tell you what the people in America have either forgotten or some of them have never known. And that is simply this, that government's role according to the ordination of God is simply the role of justice and nothing else. God never gave government the authority to be a welfare government. He never gave government the authority to be an educational government in the sense that it's involved in schooling. No, no. The only priority that God gave government, civil government, is that of justice. Look in Romans 13, verse 3.
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"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he, that is the civil magistrate, is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain, for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil."
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Now notice if you would, the Bible explicitly says that there is a two-fold role for the civil government. What is it? Number one, the protection of the righteous, and number two, the punishment of the wicked.
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Now let me tell you what happens. Whenever government gets into any role that is over and above and beyond the role of justice, it always becomes tyrannical and oppressive. Why? Because it's going into an area that God never gave it authority to go in to begin with. And please remember this justice must be defined by God. And no one else, because anything less is really not justice. You see, one of the problems that we have today in our judicial system.
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Is that many times there are good men and godly men that are punished for what we would call non crimes? And many times wicked men who commit real crimes are not punished. And yet we refer to it as the justice system. And there is no justice in the system. Murderers, rapists, kidnappers, child molesters, and a host of others are either given light and lenient sentences. Or sometimes as they get a life sentence, that really does not mean life.
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Usually it means they can be out within seven years. I'm sure that one of you or all of you probably heard recently of the ruling of one judge up north. A child molester was on trial and basically the judge, after he was found guilty, let him go. And the reason he did so, he said, and I'm quoting, that he was too short and would have a difficult time in prison. Too short. In other words, height matters whether you're in prison or not, I guess. My question is, is he too short for a rope? I mean, if he's a child molester, that's what ought to happen to him.
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Come on, let's be honest. Now listen, I acknowledge that prisons are unbiblical. But the point I'm trying to make is this, you can be exceedingly wicked and vile and violate God's law and get away with a very light or lenient sentence today. But yet you can stand up against tyranny and oppression and that which is not constitutional, and guess what? You're labeled a domestic terrorist and you're sent to prison for a hundred years. Well, the point I'm trying to make is this, folks.
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Whenever man tries to determine right and wrong, good and bad, or what's right and what's evil, you're always going to have injustice. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 45. And look at verse 7, Isaiah 45, verse 7. Justice, right and wrong, good and evil are determined by God alone. Look at Isaiah 45, verse 7. In fact, let's read verse 6 just so that you will know that we're talking about the Lord in the context. Isaiah 45 verse 6, he says "that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none else." Now notice what the Lord says that he does in verse 7.
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"I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things." Now the truth of the matter is most of us have no problem understanding how God forms the light and creates the darkness. We have no problem understanding how God makes peace. But when you get to that phrase, "and create evil, I the Lord do all these things," then sometimes we have a problem with that.
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Now, let me ask you a question. Don't answer out loud. But how can God be said to be the creator of evil in this verse? You and I know that God did not create evil in the sense that He made something evil and wicked. We know that God is not the author of evil. We know that God is not the instigator of evil. We know that God is not the infuser of evil.
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He doesn't shoot wickedness into people. What does the Bible say in James 1? "Let no man say when he is tempted that I am tempted of God. Why? For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is drawn away of his own lust and enticed." In other words, God says, don't blame me as the author of sin. So we know from James 1 verses 13 through 15 that God is not the author of sin. He's not the instigator of sin. He's not the infuser of sin.
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How then do we explain this verse? Well, here's how. It's very simple. God says, "I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I do all these things." How did God create evil? And the answer is by definition. What did God do? God created the world. And he beheld it, and everything that he made was what? Good. In other words, God says this is good, this is holy, this is right. Now once God lays down His law, once God tells us what is right and holy, what does that mean? It means anything that is opposite or contrary to that is evil and unholy and ungodly. So when God says "Thou shalt not commit adultery," we know that adultery is evil in and of itself. When God says, "Thou shalt not murder," we know that murder is evil in and of itself. Now, does God make men murderers? No. Men are murderers because they're sinful, wicked, and rebellious. But God is the one who tells us what wickedness and sin is by definition.
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In that sense, He created it. The interesting thing is this. The word justice in the Bible and the word righteousness in the Bible are the same exact word in the Hebrew. Isn't that interesting? You know why? Because whatever is just is right and whatever is right is just. Justice and righteousness are exactly the same thing.
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Now, the reason we have the problems that we're having in our judicial system, in our legal system, is we have a bunch of men trying to determine right and wrong for themselves, and some of them say, well, I don't see anything wrong with this, or I don't see anything wrong with that, or let's do this, but we won't let anybody do that because I don't like that. It's not an objective standard that we now have, which is God's Word.
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Now we have men's subjective standard, and thus they try to justify their own wickedness and many times condemn the righteous. And they try to do that legally.
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Now, when men do that, they set themselves against God and against His Word. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 94. Psalm 94. And look particularly at verse 20. I want you to think this thing through with me. Psalm 94, verse 20. I've used this verse many times in the past and I want to break it down for you the exact same way again so that you can see the point that I'm making. Look in Psalm 94. In fact, verse 20. Here's the question.
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"Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law?" Now, I'll read a little bit further in just a moment. But here's the question. "Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law?" I want you to note, first of all, a throne is involved. A throne speaks of authority, rulership. Secondly, it is a throne of iniquity. What does that mean? It is a wicked throne, a wicked rulership, a wicked government. That's what it means. So the question is now, "Shall the throne of iniquity, shall a wicked civil government have fellowship with thee, that is with God, which frameth mischief by law?"
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Now, mischief in the Bible is another word for sin. So here's the question. Now watch. Shall a wicked civil government have fellowship with God which makes sin legal? Now, just answer that question, if you would, in your mind. Shall a wicked civil government that makes sin legal, that which God condemns, shall that wicked civil government have fellowship with God? What's the answer? No. Look at verse 21. Here's what they do.
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"They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood." In other words, they're murderers, they're perverts. They're destroyers. Are those people in fellowship with God? What's the answer? Absolutely no. Government may make sin legal, but it cannot make it lawful. It may be legal to be a sodomite, but it's not lawful. It may be legal to murder babies, but it's not lawful. It may be legal to steal, but it's not lawful. Two totally different things. And what does this wicked civil government do? It makes sin legal. And when it does that, it is defying God and it is sanctioning sin, wickedness and rebellion. And in doing so, it is fighting against God.
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So what does that mean? It means they are not of God. They're not in fellowship with God. They have no divine authority, no divine approval, no divine approbation, and therefore they may be lawfully resisted.
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Now, what about principles of deliverance? Whenever godly people find themselves under an oppressive, tyrannical, unrighteous, and ungodly government, it is only natural that they long for deliverance. They want things right. It's not that we want to overthrow government. We don't. We have to have government. All we want to do is throw the wickedness out of government so that we can have a righteous and a godly government. We want a God-honoring, biblical government where there is indeed real liberty and real freedom. We want real justice and not a charade. We want real liberty and real freedom and not just a fantasy. In other words, basically, a godly person wants this.
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They want to be able to live their life, work, play, worship, do whatever they want to do without governmental interference, permission, or even knowledge of their activities. Basically, they just want to be left alone. In plain, simple language, they'd like to be able to tell the government, bug out and leave us alone. You say, that's rebellion? No, that's not rebellion, folks. That's just believing in Romans 13, verses 3 and 4, that the only reason God established government was for the protection of the righteous and the punishment of the evildoers. And if government is not protecting or punishing, it has no business in our lives. Period. It's that simple.
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Do you know what the Bible says in Isaiah 59, verse 4? God charges the people and indicts them. And I want you to listen to this indictment. He says in Isaiah 59 in verse 4, "None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity." What is God indicting the people for? Because none call for justice. None are pleading for the truth. Remember now, please, that justice is righteousness. Whenever you're unconcerned about a just government, you're unconcerned about a righteous government, and so God is telling us we must learn to stand and plead for truth and to cry out for justice.
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Now, I want you to look back in your Bibles to the book of Judges chapter six, because this is the introductory sermon. And I'm really dealing with only one point today, and that is the preparation for deliverance. I've given you a number of scriptures. And we can read about deliverance in the Bible, but let me point something out. Deliverance does not just happen. What I mean by that, it means you don't go to bed enslaved and wake up the next morning free. There's a preparation.
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I never will forget I had a woman come to me. I was preaching in Louisiana, and by the way, there are some strange people in Louisiana. But yeah, she came at me and she was weeping. I mean, really broken. And I said, well, what in the world is wrong? She said, well, I can't get people to believe that I'm converted. I said, you can't. I said, why not?
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She said, I don't know. She said, I tell them about my conversion experience and they just don't believe me. I said, well, tell me your conversion experience. I said, you know, I can't see your heart, but at least I can tell you whether or not it's biblical. She said, it was very simple. She said, I went to bed lost one night and woke up the next morning I was saved. I said, no wonder you can't get people to believe you. I don't believe you either.
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I mean, salvation doesn't work like that. You don't go to bed and go to sleep lost and wake up saved and know nothing. Well, you know, that's what people are kind of looking around, but they think that's how we're going to be delivered. You know, we're here. We're a wicked, rebellious, ungodly nation. Next thing you know, we don't wake up and everything's going to be all right. It doesn't work like that, folks.
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There is preparation in deliverance. Now, look back in Judges chapter six. Verse 1, "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years."
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Now, let me just stop there. You will find, as you deal with people, an interesting concept. This is always true of unsaved, ungodly, and unconverted people. Usually, they do not want to be delivered from their sin. They want to be delivered from the penalty of their sins so they may indulge even more in the pleasures of sin. In other words, I want to keep going the way I'm going. I just don't have to pay the piper.
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Well, unhappily, there are those who are Christians or at least professing Christians many times who are satisfied and content to live in tyranny and under oppression. So let's ask the question, why? Why would any Christian, why would any professing Christian want to live under tyranny and oppression? Well, I can think of two answers right away to that. The first one is ignorance. Ignorance of the word of God, ignorance of the power of God, ignorance of the blessing of God, ignorance of the deliverance of God, and ignorance of what life could really be like under a godly government.
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Now listen to this statement. Most of us have never known or experienced real freedom in our lives. I submit to you that those my age and older, however old I am, 62 soon to be, we probably tasted the last little bit of freedom in this country. You think of our children. They've never known what real freedom is. They do not know what it's like to live without governmental interference or governmental permission to exist. The generation that is alive today have no idea what our founding fathers bequeathed us and they cannot conceive of liberty and freedom that existed in this country in the beginning.
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So one of the problems is ignorance. The second problem is complacency. Complacency deals with the reality that the nature of people is they do not want to rock the boat. They're content with their chains. They're content with their bondage. They're content with their captivity. Just as long as they can maintain a certain level of comfort. Let me show you what I mean. Look in your Bibles to Judges chapter 15.
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Without me going into great detail, I have a sermon on this, but I'm not going to preach that sermon. But in Judges chapter 15, of course, God had called Samson to be a judge. Samson had been wronged by the Philistines, and the Philistines, of course, were after him. They wanted to destroy him. He had already killed a lot of them. In verse 9 of Judges 15, "Then the Philistines went up and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, Why are you come up against us?"
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Now remember, Israel at this point is under the Philistine bondage and oppression and tyranny. So they asked their captors, "Why are you come up against us?" And they answered, "To bind Samson are we come up, to do with him as he done to us." Then three thousand men of Judah, not of the Philistines, but Judahites, three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, "Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this that thou hast done to us?" And he said unto them, "As they did unto me, so have I done unto them." Now watch, and they said unto him, "We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines." And Samson said unto them, "Swear unto me that ye will not fall upon me yourselves." And they spake unto him, saying, "No, but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand. But surely we will not kill thee." And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
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Now I want you to note carefully, when the Philistines came into the land, 3,000 Judahites got upset. But they didn't go up to fight with Samson. They didn't go up to help Samson. They got up there and said, what have you done to us? Look at the problems you've caused. The Philistines are now in our land. Our level of comfort has been disturbed. Something is wrong.
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And as cowardly and as wicked as they were, they were willing to bind one of their own and deliver him into the hands of the enemy. Why? So they could restore their comfort zone. In other words, we're willing to be good little subjects. We're willing to suffer oppression and tyranny just so we can have the big screen plasma TV, a boat, two-week vacation every year, and a decent house with air conditioning. That's what they're saying. Samson, no, we're not going to kill you, but we're going to turn you over to them. Now, they didn't know that God was going to deliver him. You see, the problem is most of us have our own comfort zone, and we're not upset until that comfort zone is invaded. And then we're willing to do whatever is necessary to restore our own comfort zone. So why then is it that people are willing to put up with what they put up with in this country? Ignorance. Complacency. Now, when God is going to deliver a people, He has to deal with our ignorance and our complacency.
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Something must be done to resolve those two problems. Something must be done to awaken us to truth and to arouse us from our complacent spirit. You know, there's a verse, I love it. It's Proverbs 16, verse 7, just let me quote it. "When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." But the opposite is also true, when a man's ways displease the Lord, God will always raise up enemies against him.
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Now, you're going to find that was true in First Kings chapter 11. Turn there very quickly. First Kings chapter 11. Because this was true in the life of Solomon. You remember Solomon sinned against God. He had married all these strange women. He got all these idols into the land. He allowed the worship of these false gods. And in 1 Kings 11, beginning there with verse 4, "For it came to pass when Solomon was old that his wives turned away his heart after other gods. His heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father." And then he tells about how he went after all these gods and allowed his wives to worship these gods. And notice, if you would, the Bible says in verse 9, "And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice." Now skip down to verse 14. "And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite."
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He was the king's seed in Edom. Now, note that expression, "and the Lord stirred up an adversary." Skip down, if you would please, to verse 23. "And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon, the son of Eliadah, who fled from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah." So what is God doing? God is raising up enemies for Solomon. Why? Because his ways displease the Lord. Now, if you go back to Judges chapter 6, look, if you would please, at verse 1. "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years." Verse 2, "And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel." So what is God doing now?
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He is starting to mess up the comfort zone. And he's going to mess it up in such a way that all of a sudden they're going to realize, we're in trouble. This is worse than I thought. I didn't know that we were in so deep. You know what God does now, listen to me, I'm going to show it to you from the Bible in just a moment. When God prepares a people for deliverance, He strips them. He strips them.
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of their hope, their trust, their abilities, and their power in themselves. He shows them their inability. He shows them they can't deliver themselves. And I'll show you why. Look in Judges 7. Just skipping a little bit over. Judges 7. You remember how Gideon had all this vast army? And God cut it down to how many? Tell me. 300. Why? Look in Judges 7 and verse 2. "And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." God said, I'm going to fix it where they'll know that I did it. They're not going to steal my glory. They're not going to steal my honor.
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You know, it's the same thing when it comes to spiritual salvation. I'll hold judges, but look in your Bibles to First Corinthians chapter one very quickly. Let me just show you this. It's the same principle. First Corinthians chapter one. And let's get down to verse 26. He says, "For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called." Well, that's strange. Why didn't God call all these wise, mighty, powerful, highfalutin men? He says, verse 27, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised have God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence." Verse 31, "That according as it is written, He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord." God said, that's why I chose the poor.
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and the weak, those who can't. So they'll know that I did it.
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Now, I want you to note that God did exactly the same thing when he sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt. I want you to go in your Bibles to the book of Exodus, chapter five. I'm just trying to tell you that in the preparation of deliverance, there is a very painful experience called preparation. And in that preparation, we are stripped. We are brought to the realization of our impotence, our incompetence, our inability. Look at Exodus chapter five, beginning there with verse 15. You remember now Moses and Aaron had gone to Pharaoh and said, "Thus saith the Lord, let my people go." And what was Pharaoh's response? "I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." Now watch in verse 15. Now the elders, the officers, go to Pharaoh. "Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick. And, behold, thy servants are beaten, but the fault is in thine own people."
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But he said, "You are idle, you are idle. Therefore you say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now and work, for there shall no straw be given you. Yet you shall deliver the tale of bricks." Now look. "And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case after it was said, you shall not finish off from your bricks of your daily tasks."
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"And they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said unto them," now the officers were saying to Moses and Aaron, "the Lord look upon you and judge because you've made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hand to slay us." And Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou delivered my people at all." Now I want you to note this, Moses and Aaron had tried to deliver them, they couldn't. The officers had tried to deliver them, they couldn't. The officers were so upset they come out and they look at Moses and Aaron and said, God judge between you and us. You told us you were going to deliver us, all you've done is make it worse.
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And Moses says, God, why did you even send me? I look in chapter six in verse one. "Then the Lord said unto Moses."
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"Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh." But once you realize you can't, you can see what I can do. This is not going to be your deliverance, Moses. This is going to be my deliverance now. If you look in Judges 6, and we're talking about preparation for deliverance, what so far has God done to prepare Israel for deliverance? Look in verses 1 and 2. "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel." What did God do to prepare them for deliverance?
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He sold them into the hands of their enemies. And by the way, you will find that exact expression in Judges 2:14, Judges 3:8, Judges 4:2, Judges 10:7 and 1 Samuel 12 and verse 9. He sold them into the hands of their enemies. You know, there's a very important point. And I want you to listen carefully to this point. If you read Judges chapter six, when God sold them or delivered the people over to the hands of the Midianites, there was no war. There was no battle. There was no skirmish.
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The Israelites just gave up and ran. That's what the Bible says. Well, look at it in verse two. "And the hand of the Midian prevailed against Israel, and because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains and caves and the strongholds." They ran. They got out of it. They just let them have it. Are you listening to me? There does not have to be an actual war for the enemy to take over. Israel was sold into the hand of the enemy and didn't even recognize it for a while until God turned the screws up and tightened them down. You say, well, Brother Weaver, if we have been sold, what's left? What's the next step? If we've been sold into the hands of our enemies, and we have, I can assure you of that, what's the first thing that we must do? The first thing that we must do is recognize that we have been sold into the hands of our enemies, and that we've been sold in the hands of our enemies because of our sins and our rebellion against God.
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What literally happened in Judges chapter 6 to Israel has literally happened in America. You say, what? How can you say such a thing? Well, look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 28 and let's begin reading there verse 43. And I want to ask you to notice and see if you can find any parallels between America and these verses. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 28, if you would, beginning there with verse 43.
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God says, "The stranger that is within thee shall get up very high and thou shalt come down very low." How many real Christians do we have in places of government and power? How many real Americans? "He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him. He shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail." How many Americans are out of debt? You know, we live in a debt economy.
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The average American couldn't pay a month ahead on his expenses. Verse 45, "Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkenest not in the voice of the Lord thy God to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee, and they shall be upon thee for a sign, and for a wonder, and upon thy seed forever. Why? Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things. Therefore thou shalt serve thine enemies." You won't serve God? God said, that's okay, you will serve your enemies.
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Has not the stranger been placed above us? Have not our enemies, aliens, illegal immigrants, criminals, and strangers, do they not have more rights in our country than we the citizens have? Well, of course. We've been reaped, raped, ravished, and ruined, and we don't even know it. There is seemingly no place for Christ, Christianity, Christians, holiness, godliness and righteousness or justice in this country. Anything and everything that is contrary to Christ and Christianity is allowed. Anything that is contrary to common sense and constitutionalism is allowed. One of our problems is, we've been sold and we just don't realize it.
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Now you say, what's it going to take to wake us up? What will it take to get our eyes open? I've had people ask me over and over, will America wake up? My question is, will Christians wake up? Will you wake up? Let me show you a principle. In Luke 19 and verse 10, Jesus Christ says this. Listen, it's a very short verse, I'll quote it. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Listen to that. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was what?" How many of you have ever been lost?
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Now, I'm not talking spiritually, I'm talking about physically. Yeah. I got lost when I was seven years old. For hours. But, you know, I was never scared until I realized I was lost. When I realized I was lost, I got desperate.
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Now, the Bible says He came to seek and to save that which was lost. And you know, when I was lost, I met a man on the road who had a house and a car and a telephone. I never asked him to call my parents. I never asked him to take me anywhere. Why? Because I didn't think I was lost. I thought I knew where I was. I knew how to get out of the situation I was in. But after I left him, I found out I was really lost.
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And that's when I got scared. I want to prove something to you. Look what our Lord said in Matthew chapter nine. Look at it, Matthew chapter nine. Here's the same principle now. Follow with me. Matthew chapter nine. And those of you would be getting there, verse 12, Matthew nine, verse 12. Here it is. "But when Jesus heard that," that is, the Pharisees have asked, "Why eateth your master with publicans and sinners?" They asked the disciples that. Verse 12. "But when Jesus heard that, he said to them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."
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"But go ye and learn what that meaneth." Now, Dr. Bowen, let me ask you a question. In all your years of practice, did anyone just drop by your office and say, you know, Doc, there's nothing wrong with me. I just want to come by and hand you this $50 bill as an office call? No. No doctor has ever had people just walk... You don't want to go in and just hand a doctor money. You know why people go to a doctor? You say, well, because they're sick. No. Come on. You get sick, you don't go to the doctor.
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You go to your medicine cabinet. You try to doctor yourself. And when you find out your remedies don't work, what do you normally do? You normally call a neighbor and you find out about their home remedy. Then you try that. You try everything and finally you say, well, I guess it won't get well. I'm going to have to go to a doctor who knows more than I do about it. The doctor is the last resort. Now, what did our Lord say?
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"They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Go ye and learn what that meaneth." As long as you and I do not think we're sick, as long as we don't think we're diseased, as long as we don't think we have any problems, we'll never seek deliverance. So what does our Lord have to do to prepare us? He's got to open our eyes. He's got to open our understanding. He's got to let us see the mess and the trouble that we're in.
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and he has to turn the thumb screws so that he will awaken us out of our apathy and out of our complacency. In preparing a people for deliverance, the people must be made aware of their true condition. We must not only recognize the symptoms, we must know the cause. Let me ask you, have any of you in here ever stripped furniture? Yeah, a couple of you. Here's an antique and you want to restore it, but it's got five or six coats of paint on it.
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What do you have to do? You start stripping, you put stripper on it, you put whatever you can, and then next thing you know, you've got to do it again. You take layer off after layer off after layer off, then you get your steel wool and you get whatever else, your little brush, and you just keep doing that until you strip it down to the absolute bare wood.
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It is tedious, it is laborious, sometimes it's painful. Do you realize that's exactly what God has to do with us spiritually speaking? Not only in our individual salvation, but even in national salvation. God literally has to strip us of our pride, of our arrogance, of our haughtiness, of our abilities. I'll tell you one thing, when they come for me, or I'll do this, no, no, no, no, no. As a people, as a nation, we have to realize if we really want to be delivered, we're going to be stripped. Let me ask you, how did God strip these Israelites?
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Look back in your Bible to Judges chapter six, let me show you. And by the way, as I show you these, I want you to think about our country. He stripped them from their pride, their self-ability, their false idols. Watch it. Judges chapter 6. "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them in the hand of the Midian seven years. And the hand of the Midianites prevailed against Israel. And because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which were in the mountains and caves and strongholds." First of all, He stripped them of their false faith.
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Now, remember, it was because of their idolatry that they were put into captivity to begin with. So what does he do? He shows them that their false gods cannot save them, will not save them. The only one left available is the one true and living God. I wanted to preach on this, I never have, but I wanted to show you that how each of the ten plagues in Egypt was actually an attack on each of the gods of Egypt. You look at the false faith that's in this country.
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Now, I'll tell you something. I saw it last week on the news, and I saw it this morning again on the news. They repeated the same thing. I didn't know where to laugh or to vomit. But they showed Hillary Clinton. And the thing is, the Democrats are reaching out to the religious conservatives. But Hillary Clinton said, "we as a people of faith." What? I don't doubt she has faith. But it's not the faith that I have.
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nor the person that I have it in. You look at the people in this country that trust in the false god of the dollar, the government, themselves, politics. First thing that God did was show them their gods cannot deliver. They were not only faithless because God stripped them of their false faith. Secondly, they were fearful. They didn't stand and fight, they ran. How in the world can you fight a battle and win a battle when you're running away from the enemy?
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What did David do when he saw Goliath? He ran toward him, not away from him. Thirdly, they were not only faithless and fearful, but they took flight. They got out of the cities. They got out of the towns, they went to the mountains. They went to the dens and the caves of the earth. And the next way God stripped them was through financial disaster. Look in verse 3.
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"And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east. And they came up against them, and they encamped against them, and they destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor oxen, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude."
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"For both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land." Why? To destroy it. What did the wealthy merchants have when they did go back into the cities? Nothing. Nothing. You know, it's interesting. All the reports that I'm hearing on the imminent collapse of the dollar, the Federal Reserve note, it's really not a dollar, it's a Federal Reserve note. Folks, let me tell you, it's just a matter of time.
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If God, in His grace and mercy, is going to deliver us, we must be stripped. You know why? And I'll deal with this next week. But look in verse 7 or verse 6. "And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord." Only a stripped people cry to the Lord. Only a people who are helpless cry to the Lord.
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"They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick, go ye and learn what that means." The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. It's only when you get lost and helpless and sick and desperate that you cry to the Lord. You say, is God stripping us in America? I believe he is, to be honest. But the work is not yet complete. You said, Brother Weaver, I don't hear too many people crying to the Lord.
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Well, you just wait till he gets through. Do you know God knows exactly what it will take to bring us to our knees? He knows exactly how to strip us. He knows exactly how to turn the thumbscrews. And when he finishes, we will be willing to cry to the Lord. I like that little children's song. You remember how God drove the inhabitants of Canaan, some of them out of the land with hornets. You remember that? There's a little children's song that says this concerning those hornets. God did not make them go. Oh, no. He just made them willing to go. And God can make us willing to cry out, God have mercy upon us. Now let me make a couple of applications today.
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The first one is this. God never delivers a people, spiritually, financially, nationally, politically, any way you want to talk about it. God never delivers a people until he brings them to the end of themselves. As long as we think we can, we will never trust him. As long as we think we have ability, we will never trust his ability. And God is not going to share his glory with us. When we get to there by the grace of God, we will not say, well, I finally made it. No. We'll say it was the grace and mercy of God. The second application of this, one of the evidences that God is stripping us, as I travel across this country, I find pockets of people here and there that are crying out to God for justice and crying out to God for mercy. They discern the circumstances.
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They know that we're in a mess. They may not know how deeply we're in that mess, but they know that we're there. They understand that governmental programs and political parties and the UN and all the other humanistic organizations combined can never deliver us from captivity, the only thing they can do is deliver us unto captivity. Only God can deliver us. And there are pockets of people everywhere in this country that understands that.
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You're going to say, and I'm going to cover this in the future, you're going to say, but Brother Weaver, there's just not enough of us. Hogwash. Was 300 enough for Gideon?
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The truth of the matter is, when God starts stripping, we start crying. God always, here's the third application, God always delivers us from something unto something. So if God delivers us from tyranny and oppression, from humanistic government, he will deliver us unto liberty and freedom in a godly government. It's not that we just want to be delivered from. We want to be delivered unto. And if our Lord only delivers those who need deliverance, we better recognize that we need it and start crying to Him for mercy.
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For he came to seek and to save that which was lost. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us. Teach us and Lord, make us where we're willing to be stripped. Willing to be brought to the end of ourselves. Not only as individuals and families and churches, but Lord as a nation. And make us willing to cry unto Thee for deliverance. We pray that You would work in our hearts, work in our lives, and get glory for Thine own name. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:29:07Z

Principles of Deliverance - 1

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver introduces a series on principles of deliverance, focusing on the preparation God requires before delivering His people. Using Judges 6, he explains that deliverance is both from oppression and unto liberty, and that God must strip His people of self-reliance, false faith, and complacency through hardship before they cry out to Him. He applies this to America, arguing that the nation has been sold into the hands of enemies due to sin and that Christians must recognize their lost condition and seek God's mercy.

Introduction to Deliverance

Weaver introduces the series and reads Judges 6:1-6, emphasizing that deliverance is a wonderful word appreciated by those in deep trouble.

Scripture Reading — Judges 6:1-6

"And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel, and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds."

Biblical Usage of Deliverance

The word 'deliverance' appears 16 times in the Bible, referring to remarkable salvation in various forms: physical, spiritual, financial, political, mental, and emotional.

Scripture Reading — Genesis 45:7

"And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance."

Deliverance as Negative and Positive

Deliverance is always from something and unto something; God brings His people out of bondage to bring them into freedom and His kingdom.

The Role of Government and Justice

Government's God-ordained role is justice: protecting the righteous and punishing the wicked. When government exceeds this, it becomes tyrannical.

God as the Definer of Good and Evil

God creates evil by definition—His law establishes what is good, and anything contrary is evil. Human standards lead to injustice.

Wicked Government and the Need for Deliverance

A government that makes sin legal has no fellowship with God and may be lawfully resisted. Godly people long for a righteous government.

Preparation for Deliverance: Stripping

Deliverance requires preparation; God strips His people of self-reliance, false faith, and comfort to bring them to desperation and crying out to Him.

Scripture Reading — Judges 15:9-13

"Then the Philistines went up and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, Why are you come up against us?"

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:7

"When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."

But the opposite is also true, when a man's ways displease the Lord, God will always raise up enemies against him.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:4,9,14,23

"For it came to pass when Solomon was old that his wives turned away his heart after other gods. His heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."

Scripture Reading — Judges 7:2

"And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me."

God said, I'm going to fix it where they'll know that I did it. They're not going to steal my glory. They're not going to steal my honor.

Application to America

America has been sold into the hands of enemies due to sin. Christians must recognize their lost condition, be stripped of pride, and cry to God for mercy.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:43-48

"The stranger that is within thee shall get up very high and thou shalt come down very low."

How many real Christians do we have in places of government and power? How many real Americans?

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:43-48

"He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him. He shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail."

How many Americans are out of debt? You know, we live in a debt economy.

Conclusion and Prayer

Weaver concludes that God delivers only those who recognize their need, and He delivers them unto liberty. He prays for willingness to be stripped and to cry out to God.

Principles of Deliverance - 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	910693716
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Christian & Civil Government
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-07-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 163: Principles of Deliverance — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	93

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction to Deliverance: Weaver introduces the series and reads Judges 6:1-6, emphasizing that deliverance is a wonderful word appreciated by those in deep trouble.
Biblical Usage of Deliverance: The word 'deliverance' appears 16 times in the Bible, referring to remarkable salvation in various forms: physical, spiritual, financial, political, mental, and emotional.
Deliverance as Negative and Positive: Deliverance is always from something and unto something; God brings His people out of bondage to bring them into freedom and His kingdom.
The Role of Government and Justice: Government's God-ordained role is justice: protecting the righteous and punishing the wicked. When government exceeds this, it becomes tyrannical.
God as the Definer of Good and Evil: God creates evil by definition—His law establishes what is good, and anything contrary is evil. Human standards lead to injustice.
Wicked Government and the Need for Deliverance: A government that makes sin legal has no fellowship with God and may be lawfully resisted. Godly people long for a righteous government.
Preparation for Deliverance: Stripping: Deliverance requires preparation; God strips His people of self-reliance, false faith, and comfort to bring them to desperation and crying out to Him.
Application to America: America has been sold into the hands of enemies due to sin. Christians must recognize their lost condition, be stripped of pride, and cry to God for mercy.
Conclusion and Prayer: Weaver concludes that God delivers only those who recognize their need, and He delivers them unto liberty. He prays for willingness to be stripped and to cry out to God.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Deliverance requires recognition of lostness

People do not seek deliverance until they realize they are lost, sick, and helpless; God must open eyes to true condition.

Weaver uses Luke 19:10 and Matthew 9:12 to argue that only the sick seek a physician, and only the lost cry for salvation.

God strips His people to remove self-reliance

God reduces human strength and resources so that deliverance is clearly His work, preventing human boasting.

Weaver references Judges 7:2 where God reduces Gideon's army to 300, and 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 where God chooses the weak to shame the strong.

Wicked government exceeds God-given authority

Government's only biblical role is justice; when it legislates sin or engages in welfare/education, it becomes tyrannical and opposes God.

Weaver cites Romans 13:3-4 for the role of government and Psalm 94:20-21 to show that governments framing mischief by law have no fellowship with God.

Deliverance is always from and unto something

God does not merely remove oppression but brings His people into a positive state of liberty and godly government.

Weaver uses Colossians 1:12-13 to show deliverance from darkness into the kingdom of God's Son, and applies this to political deliverance.

Comfort zones hinder deliverance

People tolerate tyranny as long as their comfort is undisturbed; God must disrupt comfort to awaken them to their bondage.

Weaver illustrates with Judges 15 where Judahites bind Samson to appease the Philistines and restore their comfort, and notes God stirred up adversaries against Solomon when he sinned.

Scripture References

Judges 6:1-6: Introduction to the series; Israel's oppression under Midian as a result of doing evil.
Genesis 45:7: First occurrence of 'deliverance' in the Bible; Joseph's role in saving his family from famine.
Psalm 32:7: Mention of 'songs of deliverance' as part of the broad biblical usage.
Exodus 15:1-2: Song of deliverance after Israel's exodus from Egypt, illustrating political and spiritual deliverance.
Luke 4:18-19: Jesus' ministry characterized as preaching deliverance to the captives, quoting Isaiah 61.
Obadiah 1:17: Salvation called a deliverance.
Colossians 1:12-13: Deliverance from the power of darkness and translation into the kingdom of God's Son, showing the negative and positive aspects.
Romans 13:3-4: The God-ordained role of civil government: protection of the righteous and punishment of evildoers.
Isaiah 45:6-7: God creates evil by definition; He alone determines good and evil.
James 1:13-15: God is not the author of sin; temptation comes from human lust.
Psalm 94:20-21: A wicked government that makes sin legal has no fellowship with God and condemns the innocent.
Isaiah 59:4: God indicts people for not calling for justice or pleading for truth.
Judges 15:9-13: Judahites bind Samson to preserve their comfort under Philistine oppression, illustrating complacency.
Proverbs 16:7: When a man's ways please the Lord, even his enemies are at peace; the opposite is implied.
1 Kings 11:4,9,14,23: God stirred up adversaries against Solomon because his heart turned from the Lord.
Judges 7:2: God reduces Gideon's army to prevent Israel from boasting in their own strength.
1 Corinthians 1:26-31: God chooses the weak and foolish to shame the strong, so that no flesh may glory in His presence.
Exodus 5:15-23: Moses and Aaron's initial failure to deliver Israel; God allows worsening conditions to strip self-reliance.
Deuteronomy 28:43-48: Curses for disobedience: strangers rise above, and Israel serves enemies; applied to America's condition.
Matthew 9:12: Jesus says the sick need a physician; only those who recognize their sickness seek healing.

Historical References

Joseph's deliverance of Israel from famine: First biblical use of 'deliverance' in Genesis 45:7, where Joseph saved his family from famine in Egypt.
Israel's exodus from Egypt: Example of political and spiritual deliverance, celebrated in the song of Exodus 15.
Solomon's adversaries raised by God: In 1 Kings 11, God stirred up Hadad and Rezon against Solomon because his heart turned to idols.
Gideon's 300 men: God reduced Israel's army to 300 to ensure they recognized His deliverance, not their own strength.
Moses' initial failure to deliver Israel: In Exodus 5, Moses' demand to Pharaoh led to increased oppression, stripping Israel of self-reliance.
Recent American political context (2006): Weaver critiques swapping political parties without changing the underlying humanistic government, referencing the last 40-50 years of American politics.
Hillary Clinton's 'people of faith' comment: Weaver mentions a news report where Hillary Clinton referred to Democrats as 'a people of faith,' contrasting it with biblical faith.

Important Quotes

Deliverance is always from something and unto something.

Summarizes the dual nature of deliverance as both removal from bondage and entrance into freedom, a key principle in the sermon.

Humanism is humanism. It doesn't matter how you swap it around. It doesn't matter what you call it. It is still the same.

Argues that changing political parties without changing the underlying philosophy does not bring true deliverance.

Government's role according to the ordination of God is simply the role of justice and nothing else.

Defines the biblical limit of civil government, foundational to Weaver's critique of modern government overreach.

Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law?

Key verse (Psalm 94:20) used to argue that governments making sin legal oppose God and lack divine authority.

They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

Jesus' words in Matthew 9:12, used to illustrate that only those who recognize their desperate condition seek deliverance.

Only a stripped people cry to the Lord. Only a people who are helpless cry to the Lord.

Encapsulates the necessity of God's stripping work to bring people to the point of desperate prayer.

God never delivers a people until he brings them to the end of themselves.

A concluding application emphasizing that self-reliance must be broken before God will act.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does the word 'deliverance' mean to you personally, and how does the biblical concept of being delivered 'from' something 'unto' something challenge your understanding?

[Context]

Weaver introduces deliverance as both negative and positive, using Colossians 1:12-13.

[Question]

How does Romans 13:3-4 define the role of government, and in what ways do modern governments exceed this role?

[Context]

Weaver argues that government's only God-given role is justice, and overreach leads to tyranny.

[Question]

In what ways have you experienced or observed complacency among Christians regarding political or spiritual bondage?

[Context]

Weaver uses Judges 15 to illustrate how comfort zones can lead believers to tolerate oppression.

[Question]

Why does God strip His people of their resources and self-reliance before delivering them, and how have you seen this principle in your own life?

[Context]

Weaver explains from Judges 7 and 1 Corinthians 1 that God reduces human strength to get glory.

[Question]

Do you agree with Weaver's assessment that America has been 'sold into the hands of enemies'? What evidence supports or contradicts this?

[Context]

Weaver parallels Deuteronomy 28 with America's situation, citing strangers ruling over citizens.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'cry out to the Lord' for deliverance, and what might prevent us from doing so?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that only a stripped and helpless people cry to God, as seen in Judges 6:6.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:54:20Z