OUR NEW LIFE IN CHRIST
Rev. Bernt P. Tweit
Epistle Lesson;
Philippians 3:8-14
Gospel Lesson;
Luke 20:9-19
Sermon Text;
Isaiah 43:16-21
Today, as we look at our text, I want us to see how we have a new life in Christ. At first, I want you to see how God has given His people redemption from bondage and from slavery. The first half of our sermon text for today reminds us of that account, in the Old Testament, of the Children of Israel. The Children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. Scripture says that they were slaves for 430 years (almost twice as long as our country has been a nation). God sent twelve plagues against the nation of Egypt. It was finally after the last plague (the plague of the Angel of Death passing over all of Egypt, and if a house didn’t have blood on its doorpost, every first born in that household died), Pharaoh got a hold of Moses and told him to get his people out of Egypt.
That is what Moses did. The Israelites had eaten the Passover meal, they were prepared for battle, and ready to go. They left Egypt. God led them with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. They made camp right next to the Red Sea.
But then Pharaoh changed his mind. He wondered what he had done. They have let the Israelites go, and lost their services. So Pharaoh gathered together six hundred of his best chariots, all of his troops, all of his horses, and all of his other chariots. They pursued the Israelites, until they overcame them.
The Children of Israel were trapped. They were trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea, with nowhere to go. But then God, who was that pillar of fire and pillar of cloud, went from in front of the Israelites to behind them. He became a barrier between the Egyptians and the Israelites. He was that pillar of cloud of darkness, over the Egyptians and a pillar of light for the Israelites to see. That is when God had Moses stretch out his arms over the Red Sea. The waters parted, and the Israelites started walking through on that dry ground, on that path, on the way to the other side. While the Israelites were still crossing over, the Egyptians started coming across as well. God confused them, and the wheels of the chariots began to pop off. The Egyptians, scripture tells us, then realized that they were in trouble. They knew that God was fighting for Israel. And, when all of the Israelites were safely across on the other side, God asked Moses once again to stretch his arms over the Red Sea. The waters came crashing down, and not one of the Egyptians remained, not a soldier, not a horse, not a chariot. They were all snuffed out, extinguished.
God had delivered the Children of Israel on that way through the sea. The Israelites had received a new life. That is the picture that is shown for us on our bulletin this morning. There you see Moses in the middle, with his arms stretched out. The waters are crashing forward together. On the left you see the Egyptian army, horses, and chariots being extinguished. And you see the Children of Israel, with a new life. You see them looking heavenward, fearing the Lord, and putting their trust in Him.
Our situation for today is very much like that of Israel. We also are in bondage. We are also in slavery, because of our sin, because of death, sin leads to death, because of the deceptions of this world, and because of the power of the devil.
Just as God provided a way for the Israelites through the Red Sea to find new life, so also God has delivered us and provided the way for us, the way by the cross. Jesus is the Way. Jesus says of Himself,
"I am the Way,
and the truth,
and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me."
Today we have that new life in Christ, because He has delivered us, redeemed us and bought us back from our bondage and slavery, by Jesus, the way of the cross. That means today we should be ever so thankful for the blessings that God has given to us.
We can clearly see the blessings that God gave to His Children, the Children of Israel. First of all, the blessing of life, having passed through the Red Sea, on their way to the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land. But, when Isaiah was speaking the words of our text for this morning, he was speaking to the Israelites, who were now in bondage, once again. They were in bondage, or slavery in Babylon. Here it was Isaiah, who immediately wanted to remind them of the great miracle of passing through the Red Sea, to the land that God had promised their forefathers. And how God would do that for them very soon again, by releasing them from their captivity in Babylon, to return to that land of their forefathers. God, through the prophet Jeremiah, said, "I will restore them to the land I gave to their forefathers, the land promised to Abraham."
Today, too, we should be reminded of the great and many blessings that God has given to us, in our life. Notice what God tells us to do in our text. He tells us,
"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!"
God is able to provide a way through the desert. God is able to provide waters in the wasteland. In nature, it is the wild animals, the jackals, and the owls that are so thankful for water that comes in the wasteland. Today, we are so thankful for the way that God has provided for us, through the desert, that God has provided Jesus for us, through the deserts of this world, that God has provided for us Living Water.
In the New Testament there was a time in which people questioned if Jesus was the Christ. Here is Jesus’ response to them. He said,
"If anyone is thirsty,
let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as scriptures has said,
streams of living water will flow forth from him."
Yes, Jesus is our way. Yes, Jesus is the Living Water that swells up to everlasting life. Martin Luther helps us to see all of the blessings that God gives to us, in this life. He wrote that down for us, as his explanation to the First Article of the Apostles Creed. He said, "I believe that God has made me and all creatures, that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all of my members, my reason and all my senses, and still preserves them. That He richly and daily provides me with food and clothing, home and family, property and goods, and all that I need to support this body and life. He protects me from all danger, guards and keeps me from all evil, and all this purely out Fatherly divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. All for which I am duty bound to thank and praise, to serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true."
Having seen the new life that we have in Christ, how God has redeemed us from the captivity of our sin, and given to us the many blessings, how are we to respond? Luther tells us, "all for which I am duty bound to thank Him". First of all, we thank God for providing that way, Jesus through the cross, that way through the desert wasteland of this life, to everlasting life in Heaven, forgiveness of our sin.
We can also praise Him. Praise God for creation. Praise God for new life. This time of year, it is so neat to see God’s creation coming back to life - the grass coming forth, the tulips, and the daffodils.
We can serve God. Maybe one of those specific ways that we can serve God is to help beautify the church property that He has given to us. In a couple of weeks, we will have a clean up day, here at church. That is one way that we can serve God by keeping His property nice and clean.
We can obey Him. The Children of Israel, when they reached the other side of the Red Sea, saw that it was the LORD that had delivered them. The feared the LORD and they put their trust in Him. You see them looking heavenward. We can do the same thing, by obeying Him and putting our trust and confidence in Him, submitting to His Will.
That is our new life, in Christ, being redeemed from the bondage and slavery of our sin, delivered through the wastelands of this world, by Jesus, the way of the cross. We see all the blessings that He has laid before us, both physical and spiritual, with everlasting life in Heaven. That is our new life in Christ!
Amen.
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