LORD, REMIND ME
II Corinthians 5:21
Nothing good have I done,
to deserve God’s own Son,
I’m not worthy of the scars in His hand.
Yet He chose the road to Calvary to die in my stead
Why he loved me, I can’t understand
Roll back the curtain of memory now and then,
show me where you brought me from and where I could have been.
Remember I’m human, and humans forget.
So remind me, remind me dear Lord.
This is a song that many of us have known for decades. But it is more than a song; it is a prayer that Dottie Rambo prayed shortly after signing her first recording contract. She said “Lord, I appreciate you for doing this for me. I know you must have done a million things like this that I did not know or remember, and have not thanked you for. I am human and I forget. But when You do good things, just roll back the curtain and remind me of them and I’ll thank you for them.”
There are times when we fail to recognize what God is doing in our lives. Furthermore, there are times when we fail to remember all that He has done for us in the past. For that reason, we need to humbly bow and ask the Lord to remind us of what He has done. I would like to look at our selected text today and preach a message simply titled “Lord, Remind Me”.
In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul points to the amazing work that God has done in the life of a believer. He says “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” If you will look to verse 17, Paul speaks of the great change that is brought about in those who are “in Christ”. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. There is no one more qualified to describe the transformation that Jesus can bring than the Apostle Paul. Jesus did a great work in His life and He changed him eternally.
What Jesus did for Paul, He has done for all who belong to Him. Titus 2:14 says that Jesus “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
There are several different groups of people in this place today: Some of you need to be changed by Jesus Christ, some of you have been transformed by Jesus Christ, and some need to be reminded that they have been transformed by Jesus Christ. As we walk through this power packed verse, I want us see how important it is for us to stop from time to time and say “Lord, Remind Me”. It would be beneficial for each and every born again Christian to get alone with God and pray:
I. LORD, REMIND ME OF YOUR LOVE - v21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Let's just admit... sometimes we can be hard to love. I am thankful for parents, children, and a spouse who possess unconditional love for me! It is amazing that your family knows you better than anyone else and they love you anyway. Even greater than that, is the fact that God knows more about you than anyone.
He knows your actions, He knows your thoughts, He knows what you have done, He knows what you are going to do, and He loves you anyway! I find that to be absolutely amazing. Throughout His Epistles, Paul gives several illustrations of the transformation that Jesus brings into our lives.
One is found in verse 17 of this chapter. He says “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
- He talks about the “old man” and the “new man” in:
Colossians 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
- He paints a great picture of what we were before Christ in
Titus 3:3 for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
This is also a vivid description of those who are without Christ. If you are lost you are:
a) “Foolish” – This means to be ignorant concerning the things of God
b) “Disobedient” – One who is rebellious toward God.
c) “Deceived” – Continually led deeper and deeper into sin by Satan.
d) “Serving divers lusts and pleasures” – One who is a slave to the desires of the flesh.
e) "Living in malice” – this refers to a lifestyle of evil.
f) “Envy” – Always grasping for more and desiring what others have.
g) “Hateful” – One who is mean-spirited and hard to get along with.
h) “Hating one another” – Walking without love for your fellow man.
I don’t know about you, but to me that describes someone who is hard to love! But in spite of who you are and all that you have done God loves you!
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God knows us, yet He loved us enough to send His only begotten Son to make a way so that one day we could be with Him. This is only possible because of God's love. May we never forget His love, and may He help us to remember His love.
- We may also need to pray:
II. LORD REMIND ME OF YOUR SALVATION
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The phrase “In Christ” speaks of our salvation. Salvation means to be “rescued from harm, destruction or danger”. That is what God did for us through the sacrifice of His Son. There was a great penalty due as a result of our sins. God sent Jesus to pay our sin debt in order to deliver us from those sins.
We were destined for Hell and Jesus came and made a way of escape for us!
a) We were lost and “He saved us”.
b) We were defiled and “He washed us”.
c) We were dead but “in Christ we are made alive”.
d) We were empty and He filled us with His Spirit.
Everything that we received in salvation came because God sacrificed His Son. - v21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
If you are saved it is because of Jesus' sacrifice. If you have not been saved, please understand that Jesus went to the cross for you. He made a way for you to have a new life. And that new life starts with a new birth that brings salvation.
You say “but I don’t deserve that”…you are absolutely right. The reality is that no one who has ever lived was worthy of the price that Jesus paid at Calvary. Our salvation is only possible because of God’s mercy. That mercy is available to you today
- For those who have already experienced His mercy, you may need to pray:
III. LORD, REMIND ME OF YOUR MERCY
v21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Because of God’s mercy, we do not receive the punishment that we deserve. Every person here deserves to spend eternity in hell. Nothing can change that fact! But all who are saved have been delivered from that punishment. We have been delivered from condemnation. If you have not been delivered, you can be today!
Those who die without Christ will spend eternity in an everlasting Lake of Fire. If you expect get to Heaven based on the fact that you are a good person…. Understand that you will never qualify! You can’t get to Heaven on your own. But God is merciful and He has made a way for you through His Son. God's mercy is available to you today! And His mercy makes a new life possible!
- Intertwined with God's mercy is His Grace, and from time to time we need to pray:
IV. LORD, REMIND ME OF YOUR GRACE
- Let’s read this verse again…
v21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Whereas mercy is not receiving what we do deserve... grace is receiving something that we could never deserve. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Our works will never be enough to get us to Heaven, but His grace is more than sufficient.
It is because of His grace that we are justified. Through Justification God pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ. God doesn’t just pardon our sins; He initiates a personal relationship with us. He walks with us intimately, He cares for us immensely, and He blesses us immeasurably.
If God had only delivered us from our sin debt and freed us from Hell, that would have much been more than we could ever deserve. But He went much, much farther than that. He has adopted us into His family. He is now our Heavenly Father. We are joint heirs with Jesus. Furthermore, God has prepared us an eternal home. There is a mansion waiting for us in the Promised Land. Through Christ we can have a new life, a new future, a new family and a new home, and it is all because of God’s grace! Everything we have seen so far...God's love, salvation, grace, & mercy are possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If you seek a new life today, it is possible, and it is only possible through Jesus Christ.
- For those who are saved, we must never forget that Jesus paid it all. And from time to time we need to pray:
V. LORD, REMIND ME OF YOUR SACRIFICE
v21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Jesus left the glories of Heaven, came to this earth, took on a robe of flesh and became the ultimate sacrifice for sins! Everything He did He did for us. He willingly laid down His life for you and for me. God sent His only begotten Son to be your redeemer. Jesus left Heaven and came to earth. He was born of a virgin. And He lived a sinless life.
Jesus taught with power and authority. He healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, cast out demons, walked on water, and calmed storms with the sound of His voice. He gave the blind their sight, made the deaf to hear, the mute to talk, and the lame to walk. On several occasions He even raised the dead.
In due time He laid down His life, paid the ultimate sacrifice, rose from the grave, ascended to Heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Father. He has provided atonement for our sins, He is making intercession on our behalf.
He has forgiven our sins, saved our souls from Hell, changed our lives, and provided us with eternal life, He has gone to prepare a place, But before He left He promised to come again to receive us. He has defeated sin, Satan, death, Hell and the Grave.
One day He will split the eastern sky with a shout, the voice of an Archangel, and the sound of a trumpet, and He will call His children home! When He does, we will rise up out of this world of sorrow, we will meet Him in the air, and “so shall we ever be with the Lord”!
These are things that we may forget from time to time. That is why we must pray… “Lord, Remind Me”.
If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, I would like to encourage you to do so today. Through His sacrifice, Jesus has made a way for you to experience God’s love, mercy, grace and salvation. But in Mark 1:15 Jesus sounded a warning concerning those who would reject this opportunity and that warning still rings true today...He said "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
What is this “Gospel” that Jesus is speaking of? It is the “good news” concerning what He has done for lost man. Christ died for our sins, He was buried, He rose again the third day according to the scriptures...
Again, I encourage you to repent and believe today! Jesus died, was buried and rose again. And all that He did, He did for you! If you have never surrendered to Christ, you have the opportunity to be born again today. This is only possible because of God's love, salvation, mercy, grace and His Sacrifice. If you know that you have been saved, do you praise God for these gifts on a regular basis? Maybe you would be honest enough to admit that sometimes you forget all that God has done for you.
- If this is true in your life, let me encourage you to humbly bow before the Lord and say “Lord, Remind Me”…
i. Remind Me Of Your Love
ii. Remind Me Of Your Salvation
iii. Remind Me Of Your Mercy
iv. Remind Me Of Your Grace
v. Remind Me Of Your Sacrifice
Roll back the curtain of memory now and then,
show me where you brought me from and where I could have been.
Remember I’m human, and humans forget.
So remind me, remind me dear Lord.
Lord, remind me!
