Remembering John 15:13
ILL. Maybe you heard about a guy named John who had a really horrible memory. One day John ran into a friend whom he had not seen in a long time. He greeted him & said, “Bill, do you remember what a bad memory I had?” Bill answered, “Yes, I certainly do.” “Well, it’s not bad any more. I went to a seminar that taught us how to remember things. It was a great seminar, & now I have a wonderful memory.”
Bill answered, “That’s great! What was the name of the seminar?” “Well,” John said, “wait a minute, my wife went with me. I’ll ask her.” He turned & saw his wife nearby. Then he turned back to Bill & said, “What’s the name of that flower with a long stem & thorns & a red bloom?” “Do you mean a rose?” Bill answered, “Yeah, thanks,” John said, “Hey, Rose, what’s the name of that seminar we attended?”
We are prone to forget. Occasionally our memories have to be prompted !
It is quite obvious from the Bible that remembering is something which is important to the Lord. He also understands that we are prone to be forgetful.
It is interesting to note that the words "remember", "remembrance", and "memorial" are found over 230 times in the Bible !
The Lord commanded his people in the O.T. to observe certain days as days of "remembrance".
They were to observe the "passover" feast in remembrance of God’s deliverance of them from Egypt through the blood of the lamb.
In the N.T. as well, the church was given the ordinance of "communion" as a way to "remember" what Christ did for us on the cross.
Tomorrow is "Memorial Day". It was set aside as a day to remember those who have lost their lives in defense of freedom ! Yet, to so many it has become only another day off from work, another excuse to go to the lake, have a barbeque or party !
This morning, as we look at the subject of "remembering" I want to share with you 3 important things that we need to remember !
I. We Need To Remember The Soldiers Who Died For Our Freedom !
Let every nation know...whether it wishes us well or ill....that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the sucess of LIBERTY ! -John F. Kennedy 1-20-61
Jesus said in John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
In the Civil War, 365,000 Northern soldiers were killed, and 133,000 soldiers from the South died.
In World War I, 116,000 American soldiers were killed. In World War II, 407,000 died, 54,000 died in Korea, 58,000 in Vietnam, 148 in the Gulf War. And as of 5/25 1,648 American soldiers have died in Iraq and 185 in Afghanistan.
More than a million Americans have died in our wars, each one much loved by someone.
Everyone of those men, and women paid the ultimate price in support of, and defense of our freedom ! We are free today.....free to pray, free to worship, free to speak, free to assemble, free to vote because of them !
These men, and women are our real heroe’s !
• It is the soldier, not the theologian, who has secured our freedom of religion.
• It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has secured our freedom of the press.
• It is the soldier, not the protestor, who has secured our freedom to demonstrate.
• It is the soldier, not the judge or the lawyer, who has secured our judicial system.
• It is the soldier, not the entrepreneur, who has secured our economic opportunity.
• It is the soldier, whose coffin is draped in the flag, who has secured freedom for those who wish to burn the flag.
A Man is not Dead until he is Forgotten...
We must not forget !
The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified shall be directional proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation. - George Washington
II. We Need To Remember The Saints Who Are Dying For Their Faith !
Heb 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body
We are so spoiled. We take for granted the marvelous liberties that we have !
Millions do not enjoy the liberties that we do ! It is important that we remember our brothers, and sisters in Christ who suffer ! They are members of our body. We need to remember those who are in bonds, and those who suffer adversity !
It is estimated that 43 million Christians have been killed for their faith since the crucifixion of Christ.
26 million of these have occured in the last 100 years.
Estimates are that there is an average of 150-165 thousand Christians martyred each year !
According to Open Doors Ministry which seeks to minister to the persecuted........over 200 million Christians worldwide live under the threat of persecution !
Since 1983 approx 2 million Christians have been killed by Muslims in the Sudan. Most of these death occured at the hand of militant muslims !
Churches are regularly burned along with their bibles, and hymnbooks. Ministers have been murdered while government soldiers looked on. Christians have been crucified !
In Iran where Islam is the official religion, a person who converts to Christianity is subject to execution under Islamic law.
In Saudi Arabia which is one of our countries closest allies supposedly, there is no freedom of religion. No public worship services other than those at Mosques are allowed. Anyone who converts to another religion is subject to execution. Anyone who participates in trying to convert someone to another religion may be imprisoned or executed !
In the news this past wk..........
16 full time pastors, and over 900 Christians are imprisoned in the African country of Eritrea. Many of these being held are locked in shipping containers in the hot sun ! What have they done ? They are charged with meeting secretly for prayer, and worship !
In India this past wk, Hindu’s took to the streets, and killed a native missionary as he distributed gospel tracts. His face was burned beyond recognition with acid, and he then was beaten, and stomped til he died. This murder occured immediately following the acquital of other Hindu’s in the beating deaths of an Australian pastor, and his 2 children !
The amazing thing is that in many of the areas where the church is persecuted the greatest, the church is growing the most. In China, for instance, despite the many years of communism, and the persecution of the church, it is estimated that thousands come to Christ each day !
We need to take advantage of the liberty that we have to serve, and worship God, and to evangelize, and we need to pray for those who are enduring hardships because of the gospel of Christ ! Remember the persecuted !
III. We Need To Remember Our Savior Who Died For Our Forgiveness !
1 Cor 11:24-26 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death thill he come.
What causes up to stray, to wander sometimes away from the Lord ? Is it not because we sometimes stray from the cross ? We lose sight of it, and become forgetful of what the Lord has done for us ! It is imperative that the cross be fresh in our mind !
How do we remember ?
a. We Remember Him When We Are Faithful !
b. We Remember Him When We Are Following !
c. We Remember Him When We Are Forgiving !
d. We Remember Him When We Are Fruitful !
Illust. If you had visited a old broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida on any Friday night prior to 1973, you would have seen an unusual sight. You would have seen a old man slightly stooped, walking slowly with a bucket of shrimp. The seagulls would flock to the old man, and he would feed them shrimp from his bucket. Why did the old man do this ? He was remembering ! You see....many years before in October 0f 1942 this man Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B-17 deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea. However his mission was tragically interrupted when the plane crashed into the Pacific. For almost a month, Capt Eddie, and the other survivors lived on life rafts. The largest was 5’ X 9’. They endured the sun, the storms, the sharks, but the greatest foe they faced was starvation. After 8 days, their rations were gone. It would take a miracle for them to survive ! It occurred after a worship service led by the plane’s Captain, William Cherry. The service concluded with a prayer for deliverance, and a hymn of praise. Following this, Captain Eddie pulled his hat down over his eyes, and dozed off to sleep ! Rickenbacker describes what happened next......."Something landed on my head. I knew that it was a sea gull. I don’t know how I knew, but I knew. Everyone else knew as well because no one moved, and no one said a word." Rickenbacker moved his hand slowly.........the seagull remained upon his hat. The seagull became the miracle from God. It’s flesh was eaten, and its inners used for bait to catch fish ! The survivors were sustained, and their hopes renewed because of one seagull that was uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land ! Ultimately, the men were rescued, and Eddie Rickenbacker never forgot what had happened so that he might survive !
This morning........don’t forget Calvary ! Keep your eyes, your heart, your mind focused upon what Christ did on the cross.
Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross.......
Today, as we have our invitational hymn.....say a word of thanks for those who have died for our freedom.........say a prayer for the persecuted church........remember what the supreme sacrifice.....the death of our Lord Jesus on the cross for our sins !
Have you by faith received him as your Lord ?
