Remembering, Honoring, Trusting
INTRO.- ILL.- One man said to his friend: "Say, you look depressed. What are you thinking about?" "My future," was the quick answer. "What makes it look so hopeless?" "My past."
Our past does tend to "taint" or affect our future. Good, bad or otherwise. Our past sometimes determines the path we take in the future.
ILL.- Looking back. One lady named Carole Mayhall, wrote in Today’s Christian Woman, "I glanced up from my desk, and for what seemed to be the hundredth time that week, my eyes fastened on a sign that read: ‘To err is human, but to really foul things up takes a computer.’ I groaned as I thought, Computers may make writing easier-but they don’t make my life easier!
"Despite the frustration my computer occasionally causes me, there’s one thing about it I cherish-its ‘delete’ key. What a wonderful little gizmo! With one press of a button, it completely erases an unwanted letter, word, or document.
"Yesterday, I wished I could press some kind of delete key and undo a bit of my life. I’d erase the ten minutes of major hail that fell and caused our bathroom skylight to leak-again. Oh, and I’d abolish the thirty minutes I spent toiling at my desk while the spaghetti sauce I put on low boiled over-not only on to the stove top, but on the rug as well. I’d like to undo at least those moments!
"But that’s minor stuff. I’d love to do away with some major painful, embarrassing, frustrating, even difficult events in my life. For example, when I was in high school, my mother almost died following surgery. I saw my father cry for the first time, and it broke my heart. I’d love to delete those weeks of heartache and pain.
"But the two most difficult years of my life were when my sister, Joye, suffered from leukemia. I’d like to erase the pain and suffering Joye experienced; I’d like to remove the hurt her family bore; I’d like to eradicate the tears and sorrow of that time."
Brothers and sisters, when we look back over our lives, we all have things that we would like to delete from them. We would like to delete the bad, the sorrowful, the painful and remember and even increase the joy-filled times.
Heb. 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Mercy and grace. Two great things we all need.
When it comes to the pain of the past, we must ask God for mercy in order to get over it. There are some things that are hard to handle, hard to overcome, such as: losing loved ones in death, divorce, abuse, financial loss, etc.
We must ask God for mercy to put an end to our suffering over these things. Sometimes we are tormented in our spirits for years over such things. But our God is merciful. We must ask for Him to be merciful and have the confidence that He will demonstrate it.
And next, we must ask for grace to keep going forward. We are here by the grace of God. We exist by the grace of God. Good things come to us by the grace of God. We are only able to forgive by the grace of God. And, of course, we are only forgiven by God’s grace.
We will never move forward in life without the grace of God!
Brothers and sisters, our country is in the process of looking back and well, it should. We are looking back to that horrendous day of September 11, 2001.
ILL.- One article read, "When the hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, more than 1,100 people were trapped by wreckage and fire on the upper floors. Fewer than 20 managed to get out alive."
It’s hard for most of us to imagine what took place in the World Trade Center towers. In fact, there is no way we can imagine what happened. We can only rely on the firsthand testimony of those who were there and survived.
By the grace of God, some survived. And it is only by the grace of God that we survive the tragedies that come into our lives. Everything points to the Lord. By Him, we live and survive. And with Him, we die. Without Him we cannot live or live abundantly. And we certainly don’t want to die without Him!
PROP.- As we think about September 11, 2001, let us think in terms of:
1- remembering
2- honoring
3- trusting
I. REMEMBERING
ILL.- My wife Elaine says the reason God doesn’t let mothers over 50 have any more babies is because He knows that they will put them down somewhere and forget where they put them.
DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM REMEMBERING CERTAIN THINGS? Who doesn’t? And the problem seems to increase with age.
The other side of the coin is this: We are pretty good about remembering certain things. What things? Things that deal with our own lives; our own likes and dislikes.
ILL.- For example, Elaine expects me to take care of her car, servicing, etc. A while back she was in southern Illinois, visiting with her family. She knew that the oil needed changed in her car so she got it serviced while there. They discovered that one tire was nearly flat and the air pressure in all the other tires was low. OBVIOUSLY, I HAD NOT BEEN TAKING CARE OF HER CAR.
Would I do that to my car? Probably not. I will get it serviced. I will make sure the tires have the proper amount of air pressure. I will wash MY car occasionally.
We could apply this thought in many areas of our lives. And we all our guilty. We are quick to take care of ourselves, watch out for ourselves, feed ourselves whether anyone else gets fed or not.
One of the worst things in the world is selfishness, and one of the saddest things in the world is to forget people. And it is extremely sad when we forget them in their suffering.
ILL.- In the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke chapter 10, there was only one good Samaritan. The priest passed by on the other side...avoiding the injured man even though he saw him in pain. The Levite also passed by on the other side. The stranger, the foreigner, the Samaritan took pity on the man, had compassion and his compassion was strong. He tried to take care of the man’s wounds and actually took the man to a place where he could be cared for.
If we would be honest, most of us are like the priest and Levite. We’re too self-centered, too self-absorbed, or too busy with our own lives to remember others, to care for others.
Heb. 13:3 "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."
Remember those who suffer, AS IF YOU YOURSELVES WERE SUFFERING. There’s the rub! It could be us instead of them!
Do you realize this? If it were not for the grace and graciousness of God we all could be in prison! We all could be some of those families in New York who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center!
We are so very close to walking in the shoes of others. And the next time around, it could be us. It could be us who will suffer for some reason or another.
Rom. 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep."
We must remember the suffering of others. We must not be without sympathy and compassion for those who hurt! The 9/11 sufferers or anyone who is suffering!
ILL.- Kitty Genovese was brutally attacked as she returned to her apartment late one night. She screamed and shrieked as she fought for her life...yelling until she was hoarse...for thirty minutes...as she was beaten and abused. Thirty-eight people watched the half-hour episode from their windows. Not one so much as walked over to the telephone and called the police. Kitty died that night as 38 people stared in silence.
May God help us to remember others. May God help us to have the compassion of Jesus.
II. HONORING
ILL.- The "American Idol" winner who appeared on the Fox network is Kelly Clarkson from Burleson, Texas. Here is what happened and how it all began. The contest began with 10,000 entrants vying for a prize that many singers work years for - a recording contract, a professional manager and the opportunity to perform in front of millions of people.
In the early stages, entrants were eliminated by the thousands, then by the dozens until only 10 remained. Along the way, the Fox series became the television hit of the summer, particularly among young viewers. More than 100 million votes were cast over the course of the show.
Clarkson choked back tears as she roared out the song "A Moment Like This" after being selected the winner. "That was hard," she said backstage. "I had to put on my actress mode and think of something else to get through it."
Brothers and sisters, I have mixed emotions on behalf of 20 year-old Kelly Clarkson. I am happy for her success. On the other hand, I hope her success doesn’t go to her head and corrupt her life. THE WORLD DOES CORRUPT PEOPLE!
Kelly Clarkson’s story reminds me that we are quick to honor the beautiful, the talented, the athletic, etc. We are quick to honor the actors, entertainers and athletes. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DO THE ORDINARY STUFF AND JUST DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
ILL.- Eddie Cottone is the janitor at the First Christian Church of Anna, IL. Eddie is over 70 years old, but he is probably the best janitor I’ve ever known. He doesn’t get paid a lot of money, but he does an excellent job. The tile floor in the basement never looked so good. Eddie keeps all the scratches and marks off that floor. Eddie only works part-time hours, but he never misses doing his work. He is faithful, dependable, and always does a good job. AND MOST PEOPLE NEVER EVEN KNOW IT.
Eddie is just one person among many I think of who deserves a certain amount of honor, but probably never receives it. At least, not in this life.
Rom. 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in love...honor one another above yourselves."
Rom. 13:7 "Give honor to whom honor is due."
Phil. 2:25, 27, 29 "But I think it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger...He was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him...Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ..."
Some people deserve to be honored. Not the high and the mighty, the rich and the famous, but those who serve, those who do, those who care, those who give, those who love, those who die for others.
ILL.- Todd Beamer and "let’s roll!" How can we forget him? Those words "Let’s roll!" are fast becoming the "in" phrase on T-shirts and the lips of man.
The article in Christianity Today was entitled: "Active Christian on Flight 93 Hailed as a Hero." By LaTonya Taylor | posted 9/19/01 "Todd Beamer will always be remembered as a national hero.
"But members of Princeton Alliance Church in Plainsboro, New Jersey, say they thought of the 32-year-old father of two as a hero long before he and others on United Flight 93 confronted hijackers on the Boeing 757 on September 11. The flight was the only one that did not hit a target. Instead, it crashed in rural Pennsylvania.
"On board Beamer called a GTE Airphone operator about the hijacking, recited the Lord’s Prayer, and said, ’Let’s roll.’ Beamer and the others, investigators believe, then somehow interfered with the terrorists’ plans and kept the jet from hitting a target presumed to be in Washington."
Lisa Beamer said, "To the world they were ordinary [but] they figured out how to do extraordinary things...to overcome the worst adversity I could ever imagine. They realized they were going to die. Todd said he and some other passengers were going to jump on the guy with the bomb."
Todd Beamer dropped the phone after talking to Robinson, leaving the line open. It was then that the operator heard Beamer’s words: "Are you guys ready? Let’s roll!"
Todd Beamer. We salute you. We honor you. We bless you. We praise you. All America honors you. You and multitudes of others deserve honor. And God honors you now, because you honored Him.
It is always right to give honor to whom honor is due. Think about those around you who deserve your honor, your praise, your thanks, and your blessing. And then give it.
III. TRUSTING
ILL.- There is an old story of a father who took his young son out and stood him on the railing of the back porch. He then went down, stood on the lawn, and encouraged the little fellow to jump into his arms. "I’ll catch you," the father said confidently. After a lot of coaxing, the little boy finally made the leap. When he did, the father stepped back and let the child fall to the ground. He then picked his son up, dusted him off, and dried his tears. "Let that be a lesson," he said sternly. "Don’t ever trust anyone."
Brothers and sisters, it’s hard for me to imagine any father doing something like that to his child. But I do know that not trusting others is the way of the world. The world says, "Watch out for number one, yourself. Don’t trust anybody, not even family members."
ILL.- Leo Shepherd, my dad, here on earth for 38 years. I could always trust dad to provide for me. I could trust him to discipline me. I could trust him to love me. But I couldn’t trust him to lead me in the spiritual realm, in the way of Christ. I never once remember my dad ever reading the Bible or praying. I do remember, however, that he went to church a few times.
I say these things, not to be negative, but to make us aware of a strong and powerful truth. Here it is.
Matt. 7:11 "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
None of us like to think that we are evil, but in a real sense, we have an evil side, a dark side to us. If we dark-sided people can be good to our children, how much greater is God our Father to us! If we can be trusted in some form, how much more He can be trusted!
II Tim. 2:13 "If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."
At our very worst times of unfaithfulness, God is still faithful. He is still faithful to us. He is for us. He loves us in spite of who we are and what we think or do.
I realize this is very hard for us to comprehend, because all we know basically is human love. And human love often fails.
Heb. 13:5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’"
God is saying to us: "Why get so engrossed in making money?! I am here for you. I will provide for you. There is more to life than money! I will take care of you, feed you, put a roof over your head. Quit wanting more. I will take care of you! No matter how bad your situation gets, no matter how deep in debt you are, I will take care of you! You are my child. Please let me be your Father! Please trust me!"
Prov. 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Trusting is a hard lesson to learn. There probably isn’t a person in my life who hasn’t failed me in some form or another or some time or another: parents, siblings, mate, children, Christian friends. And I have failed them as well. I didn’t want to fail them, but I did. I have and I probably will again.
ILL.- There a time when my mom and dad separated. They never divorced, but they did separate for a period of time. That hurt me. I felt they failed me. I remember one time while living and preaching in Iowa that my father called me one evening. He was drunk and crying. That was when mom and dad were separated. When I got off the phone, I cried my heart out. It killed me to hear my father in that condition.
Parents do fail their children at times. We parents do. And we children fail our parents. I can’t count the times that I failed my parents.
ILL.- Last September 11th, we all remember the horror and terror of the devastation of the World Trade Center and the death of countless lives. Last September 11th, I also remember putting my poor mother in the National Healthcare nursing home. I felt it was the best thing to do and my sister agreed. But I suspect that my mother felt like I had failed her.
I am just saying that we all fail one another. BUT WE HAVE ONE WHO NEVER FAILS US NOR FORSAKES US!
Rom. 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Rom. 8:31-32 "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
ILL.- The famous preacher Dwight L. Moody once said, "Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment. Trust in your friends and they will die and leave you. Trust in money and you may have it taken from you. Trust in your reputation and some slanderous tongue may blast it. But trust in God and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity."
Brothers and sisters, the only way to live is by faith, by trusting God as our loving, heavenly Father! And by trusting in Christ as our Savior. If we want to live as successfully as possible, as joyously as possible, we must live by faith. We must trust God.
CONCLUSION------------------------------------
"Where Were You" by Alan Jackson
Where were you when the world stopped turnin’ that September day?
Out in the yard with your wife and children;
Or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Rising against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?
Did you weep for the children that lost their dear loved ones?
Did you pray for the ones who don’t know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red white and blue
And the heroes who died just doin’ what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer?
And look at yourself for what really matters?
(Chorus)
I’m just a singer of simple songs;
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you the difference
in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, Hope and Love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is Love.
Remembering, honoring, trusting. And loving. Loving God and loving mankind. Make these your commitment.
