INTRO.- ILL.- The man looked a little worried when the doctor came in to administer his annual physical, so the first thing the doctor did was to ask whether anything was troubling him. "Well, to tell the truth, Doc, yes," answered the patient. "You see, I seem to be getting forgetful.
I'm never sure I can remember where I put the car, or whether I answered a letter, or where I'm going, or what it is I'm going to do once I get there -- if I get there. So, I really need your help. What can I do?"
The doctor mused for a moment, then answered in his kindest tone, "Pay me in advance."
And how is your memory? Do you forget things? Things to do? Or maybe you went to a room in your house to get something and then when you got there, you couldn’t remember what you were going to get.
And what about people? How embarrassing it is when you run into someone you haven’t seen in ages and you know their face, but you can’t think of their name. WHAT DO YOU DO?
I’ve had to apologize and say, “I’m sorry but I just can’t remember your name.” Sometimes it’s terribly embarrassing, because you knew them very well but the name just wouldn’t come to you. Here’s an example.
ILL.- Every time I go visit our Louise Smith she always wants me to pray with her. If I forget or I start to walk out without praying she’ll say something like, “Are you going to pray?”
Well, I remember at least one time that when I started to pray for her and I couldn’t remember her name. WHAT DO YOU DO IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT? AND WHAT DID I DO? I thanked God for His blessings, etc. until her name came to me. NOW THAT’S BAD. That’s a bad memory. Where are we? Who am I?
PROP.- What did Paul tell Timothy to remember?
1- Remember God’s Son
2- Remember God’s Word
3- Remember God’s elect
I. REMEMBER GOD’S SON
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.
Oh wow! He’s the greatest person that any of us could remember. If we would just remember Jesus every day we’d stay faithful, hopeful, and fruitful in life, bearing fruit in life.
ILL.- We all know about those 33 Chilean miners who were rescued from 1/2 mile beneath the earth. Having spent 69 days trapped inside the San Jose mine in Chile before being rescued, Mario Sepulveda says, he is a changed man.
"I buried 40 years of my life down there, and I'm going to live a lot longer to be a new person." Sepulveda, the second miner extracted from the mine, has advice for those who take undue risks in their lives. "I think I have learned a lot of wonderful lessons about taking the good path in life," he said. "For those of you able to call your wives or your husbands, do so."
During the time he was trapped inside the mine, Sepulveda said, he saw both good and evil. "I was with God, and I was with the devil. They fought, and God won," he said. Sepulveda said he grabbed God's hand and never doubted that he would be rescued. I WOULD SAY THAT HE REMEMBERED JESUS! Had I been there I would have too! What about you? Jesus was their only hope. And we noticed that several of those miners were quick to fall on their knees and thank God once they got to the surface. AMEN! PRAISE HIS NAME!
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.
Remember Jesus. We should never forget what Jesus did for us on the cross. We need to keep Jesus fresh in the photo album of our minds. We serve the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. Why? Because the early Christians did this (Acts 20:7) and because Jesus said to do it in remembrance of Him.
Luke 22:19 “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
We all need to be faithful in remembering Jesus’ death at this table. It’s not just a matter of taking these emblems into your mouth. It’s a matter of remembering what they represent. It’s a matter of remembering that Jesus bore your sins in His body on the tree. It’s a matter of remembering that Jesus tasted death for you. It’s a matter of remembering that Jesus became sin for you so that you could become the righteousness of God. THAT’S SOMETHING WORTH REMEMBERING! Do you know of anyone who would go to hell for you except Jesus?
During the Lord’s Supper I always thank God for Jesus and I also thank Jesus for what He did for me, because He did what no one else would do for me! I owe Him my very life and soul! I want to remember Him!
One of the best and greatest things we can do in life is to remember Jesus! And not just on Sunday, and not just around the Lord’s Table, but every day! Every hour of every day!
ILL.- At one time in London, there was a Christian restaurant owner named Emil Mettler, who was a close friend of Albert Schweitzer. Mettler would never allow a Christian worker to pay for a meal in his restaurant. One day he opened his cash register and a British Secretary was astonished to see among the bills and coins a six-inch nail. What was it doing there?
Mettler explained, "I keep this nail with my money to remind me of the price that Christ paid for my salvation and of what I owe Him in return."
If there is anything we can do to remember Jesus then it’s probably very good. Why do you think people have pictures of Jesus in their homes or maybe a cross hanging on the wall?
Remember Jesus. Remember His death. Remember His burial. Remember His resurrection. Remember that He is alive and well and is at the right hand of God interceding on our behalf!
Remember Jesus every day in prayer; constantly in prayer and you’ll remember Him on the Lord’s Day and there is a good possibility that you’ll not go wrong in life!
II. REMEMBER GOD’S WORD
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained.
Remember God’s Word which is not chained or restrained.
ILL.- How many of you have internet? Do you ever write any email notes to people? Do they respond? Whenever I write people and especially, when I’ve asked them about something and they never respond or answer me, that really bothers me.
In fact, after a period of time, if someone doesn’t answer me then I just quit writing them. I don’t completely write them off in my heart but I wonder what’s wrong. When people don’t respond to kindness and concern something is wrong!
Do you realize that God has written you personally? His Word is very personal and should cause us to respond. It’s His loving letter to us written to direct and bless us. And we should respond to His writing, His Word. Listen, for example.
Psalm 1:1-6 Doesn’t this text do something for you or to you? Doesn’t it excite you, at least a little? God has promised us that if we will read His Word, meditate on it, and delight in it He’ll bless us with a certain amount of prosperity, spiritual and perhaps otherwise. THIS EXCITES ME!
Proverbs 13:21 “Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.”
God is saying that if you’ll just read my Word and respond to me in a positive way I will do something positive for you! The Word of God is the secret of a blessed life for us who are in Christ.
But sad to say, much of the time we don’t respond to God’s Word whether we read it or hear it preached! We are not moved or motivated to humility and action. We should read God’s Word and respond to His Word. Let’s take a walk through Psalm 119.
Psalm 119:2 "Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong;they walk in his ways.” And V. 11 “Thy Word have I hid in my heart...”
We will do little wrong if we pay attention to God’s Word. Sin will keep you from the Bible or the Bible will keep you from sin! Take your choice!
7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. The more we learn of God’s Word, the more we’ll praise Him and praise His greatness!
28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. The Word of God is the greatest “pick-me-up” there is! Coffee is good, but the Bible is better.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. The Word of God will keep you from selfishness and make you care for others.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. The Word of God will turn you away from worthless things in life and worthless living.
ILL.- I tried drinking beer when I was 18 years old, but it got old very fast. I quickly discovered it was worthless living. However, that discovery came not from the Word of God but from common sense.
The Word of God, however, will teach a person about worthless living and turn them away quicker than anything else. The Word of God has more power in our lives to help us overcome worthless things and worthless living.
40 How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness. The Word of God leads us the paths of righteousness or right living better than anything else. Better than mom and dad’s good advice. Better than common sense. Better than any degree from any college!
ILL.- During the reign of Queen Victoria the empire climbed to its height in power and territory. When asked by a foreign prince the secret of her country’s greatness, Queen Victoria replied, “The Bible, my Lord, is the secret of our greatness.”
Remember God’s Word. It always pays the best.
III. REMEMBER GOD’S ELECT
10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Paul was saying, I endure everything for the sake of God’s elect, for the sake of others. I endure for others. Paul is probably speaking of his Jewish brethren in this verse. He was willing to endure everything (persecution, etc.) for the sake of winning these people to Christ.
Paul always believed that God had a plan for his Jewish brethren. And God may well have a plan for them yet today.
Romans 10:1-4 “1Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”
Paul’s heart’s desire and prayer was for his Jewish brothers to be saved in Jesus. That’s a great desire and prayer for anyone! Do you have that desire and prayer for others or for anyone else? IS THERE SOMEONE OUT THERE THAT YOU WANT TO BE SAVED IN JESUS?
I Timothy 2:1-5 “1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
God wants all men to be saved! God has, in a sense, elected all men to be saved. Does this mean that all men or all people will be saved? No, but He has elected them to be saved in that HE WANTS ALL TO BE SAVED!
And we, too, need to remember God’s elect or all men in order to reach them with the gospel!
We all need to be reminded that we are not just here for us. God doesn’t just want us to go to heaven. He wants ALL men to be saved and go to heaven!
Jesus came “to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) And we’re here for the same reason. I think we don’t take this business of reaching out to others with the gospel seriously enough! Either we’ve tried it and struck out or else we don’t just don’t see the need.
I realize that when you begin to tell people they need Christ that you’re dealing with something very serious, BUT WE NEED TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT THIS.
God needs to touch our hearts with the importance of leading people to Christ. We need to be broken over others instead of perhaps having this attitude of “live and let live.” Or the idea that “they’ll respond if they want to respond and they don’t need me trying to talk to them about it.”
If someone hadn’t talked to someone else about coming to Christ then no one would be saved! If someone hadn’t talked to you then what?
We need to remember those whom God has elected to be saved in Jesus and that’s all mankind! But it could be your family member or relative or your next door neighbor!
CONCLUSION----------------------
ILL.- As you know, I have a twin sister and we went through all 12 grades of school together. There are many things about our school life that I don’t even remember. In fact, sister Sharon said to me, “Don’t remember that in the first grade the teacher had to wake you up so we could go home after school?” No, I didn’t remember that. Apparently, I slept through the first grade. How could I remember it?
Good memory, bad memory, we are living in the here and now. And what counts is what we remember in the present, not the past. The past is history. The present is history in the making. Scripture stands true.
Eph. 5:15-16 “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
We need to make the most of every opportunity we have for Christ and His cause on earth. We need to remember Jesus. We need to remember God’s Word and we need to remember the people He wants to be saved.
These are the remembrances that we’ll take with us into eternity.
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
