EASTER SUNRISE – April 12, 2020 – 1 Cor. 15:1-11
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from 1 Cor. 15. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- You’ve heard the expression that someone found themselves in a “very tight spot.” It refers to a time when you have little wiggle room, perhaps no way of escape from trouble or danger.
- It could be something that is actually physical – like getting stuck in a small passage way in a cave. It could be something an enemy does to you – he removes your freedoms and your prerogatives and forces you into a limited number of options. It could be the result of things that you have done, that have incurred the wrath and displeasure of others.
- We all know what these times are like, and we don’t appreciate them at all! But it is an interesting aspect of God’s care and providence of His people that He allows us to get in “TIGHT PLACES” precisely so that He can rescue us out of them. Throughout the Holy Scriptures we see that:
I. God’s People At Times Get Themselves In Tight Places
A. Israel, At The Red Sea During The Exodus
Exodus 14:1-4 “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.’ And they did so.”
B. Jesus, In His Death, Was In A Tight Spot
Matt. 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
C. The Apostle Paul Was In A Tight Spot As An Enemy Of God
Text: “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
D. We Also Have Been In A Tight Place Because Of Our Sins
Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
Ezek. 18:20 “The soul that sins it shall die.”
Rom. 6:23 “The wages of sin is death.”
Statement: Yes, God delivered Israel from Pharaoh, and did gain great glory over him. Yes, Jesus was in a tight spot – on the cross and in the tomb. But God raised Him up again in glorious victory! Yes Paul was a persecutor of the church, but Jesus rescued him and made him an important apostle! And yes, all of our sins have been cleansed away and forgiven as well! The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. He is the blood atonement for our sin. And where there is no sin there is no wrath of God, no punishment, no damnation!
Application: I don’t believe that any human beings like being in “TIGHT PLACES”! It is uncomfortable, even claustrophobic! And it certainly is horrible when there is imminent and catastrophic danger – like the judgment of God’s Law upon our sins. But thanks and praise be to God that He loves us so dearly. And even though He at times allows us to wander into “TIGHT PLACES:”
II. Always, God Delivers And Makes A Way For Us
A. At Times Miraculously, Like At The Red Sea
OT Lesson: “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained.”
B. He Destroys Our Enemies, Including Sin And Death
1 Cor. 15:53-57 “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
C. He Makes A Way For Us To Eternal Life In His Glorious Heavenly Kingdom
1 Cor. 15:47-49 “The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second Man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the Man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the Man of heaven.”
John 14:1-3 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Statement: Given the condition of human sin, you see how God delights to deliver His precious children from the dire and dangerous predicaments that at times befall us, and especially from our sin and guilt. He even delights in taking us out of this fallen world to be in the perfect joy and bliss of His heavenly kingdom! On the Last Day He will raise us and all the dead, and give eternal life to all believers in Christ – with imperishable and immortal bodies, glorious like His own.
Application: So, this is something that we should know about God, and remember. Especially when we are in “TIGHT PLACES” in life. God is there, and He is able to provide us with remarkable, miraculous, and glorious escapes!
Conclusion: Perhaps this virus pandemic has put some of us, or some of our friends and acquaintances in a “TIGHT PLACE.” We will all suffer some negative things because of it. But God has already planned our relief and our deliverance, and He is able to get us out of all “TIGHT PLACES.” So let us continue to look to Him, to pray to Him, and to look confidently for His deliverance.
And He has promised to come again – whether the moment of our death or the Last Day. He will take us to the glorious place that He has prepared for us, in heaven. There will be no “TIGHT PLACES” in that blessed homeland! Our deliverance in Christ is proof of that! Thanks and praise be to God, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.