Never Forget

The sermon yesterday was incredibly challenging

and incredibly AWESOME!!

I really couldn't stop talking about it yesterday 

with my friends...it's so good I just HAVE 

to share it with anyone who will 

take the time to read & listen (a link to the sermon)

So...here we go!

My pastor, Sam Storms, provides very detailed 

sermon notes

I apologize in advance...

you'll be seeing more from him than me...

he just does an incredible job of saying it

and I am HORRIBLE at 

summarizing it...trust me!

I'll put my little interjections in here 

and there...what I felt God was 

impressing on my heart at

the moment.

The passage is Joshua 4:1-24

Sam's summary of the previous chapters:

"Joshua sent spies into Jericho so 

survey the land and gain info regarding

size and strength of the enemy

 

Once spies returned, Joshua commanded the people 

to keep their eyes fixed on the ark of the covenant,

the place of God's presence & power 

 

As priests stepped into the flood waters of the Jordan, 

it parted, like the Red Sea did 40 years earlier,

allowing the people of Israel to enter the promised

land on dry ground

 

before they made their way across the Jordan, God told

Joshua to instruct 12 men, one from each of the 12 tribes, 

to pry loose from the river bed a large stone, to hoist upon 

their shoulder, and to carry it to Gilgal on the east border of Jericho"

 

So, Joshua & the 12 men from the 12 tribes set up a memorial,

if you will, to be a constant reminder of what God had done.

 

Sam related this to the importance of passing on a godly 

heritage to your children & grandchildren that will

one day pass it on to their children & grandchildren.

 

Some challenge questions found in the notes but not in the sermon.

BONUS!!

 

What will your children remember most about you?

What will they remember mattered most to you?

What are you doing to preserve and sustain in the hearts of

your children the knowledge of God?

What are you doing to keep them mindful of His faithfulness?

What are you teaching them that will build into their 

value system a reverence for God & confidence in His word?

He went onto talk about how Christ at the last supper 

took the bread & wine and commanded us to 

"Do this in remembrance of me"

I like how Sam explained this... "This command reveals the 

weakness of the flesh even in those who have been born again,

for it is remarkable that we who have been redeemed by Christ should

need to be urged to remember Him."

We are SUCH forgetful creatures.  It's so easy to get caught

up in what we don't have & our busy-ness of life that 

we FORGET what we DO have...LIFE in Christ!

How can we forget such an amazing gift?!?

How can we forget all the wonderful things God has done?!?

How can we forget the time He did (fill in the blank here with 

really cool God story)?!?!

This is where Sam encouraged us to really 

commemorate and tell friends & family the 

life-changing events when God made His grace

known to us; our conversion, a healing that occurred,

God's provision or guidance, etc.

One of my favorite points is next...

"Why is this stress on remembering in the Bible (as seen in 1 Chronicles 16:12 & Psalm 105:5)?

The simple answer is because one of faith's most devastating enemies is 

forgetfulness and one of faith's most powerful allies is memory!"

Sam offered a couple of illustrations

"First we are commanded to remember God's ways and acts

and deeds in order to overcome despondency and hopelessness

and doubt (Psalm 77)

Asaph is confused, struggling with doubts & wondering if God really loves him...

you can see his brush with despair in verses 4-9

How does Asaph emerge from this pit of depression & disillusionment?!?

He remembers...he calls to mind who God is

and what God has done! (Verses 11-15)

Second we are commanded to remember to fuel our worship & 

love for God & gratitude for all He's done (Psalm 103)"

Third we are commanded to remember so that we might pas along to the coming generations

the truth of God and His Word and the glorious ways in which he delivers His people

Psalm 78:1-8; 145:4

Every generation of Christian men & women has a biblical responsibility

to pass along to the next generation the mighty

and merciful acts of God"

This next part really got me...like a punch in the gut!

In Judges 2:6-15 we're warned of what can happen

when we don't remember and when we don't share 

with those around us of God's goodness, His faithfulness, His Truth!

^" When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land.   And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel.  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years.  And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.  So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.  Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress."

"Although the first few generations who entered the land remained faithful, as time 

passed they failed to pass along to the next generation the remembrance of what God had done. Soon, their memories began to fade.  It cam upon them gradually, but evidently the command to remember was ignored and the memory of what God had done for Israel disappeared from their collective consciousness.  How did this happen?  The explanation is simple but devastating: parents failed to recall to mind what God had done; in turn they failed to tell their children, who in turn had nothing to say to their children about the mighty exploits of God & his goodness and faithfulness.  Simply put: 

Spiritual amnesia led to apathy that eventually led to apostasy"

For those, like myself, that don't know what apostasy is (I find I need a dictionary a LOT when my pastor speaks...LOL) I found a definition

A willful falling away from, or rebellion against, Christian truth. Apostasy is the rejection of Christ by one who has been a Christian (Wikipedia)

Oh Father...may I NEVER Forget!!!

I don't have children yet but I pray I pass

down the amazing God stories in my life...there are MANY.

Until then...I'll proclaim it to all who'll listen!

I hope you're still here...because I have a question for you...

How to you remember or commemorate the things

God has done in your life?  Please share...Give Him the glory

so we'll never forget!!!