Tomorrow is Memorial Day and as you can see I have asked the members of the military, and the fire department, and the police department to wear their uniforms today.
Especially to our military and now since 9/11 our police, EMS, and fire personnel we want to say thanks.
If you are currently serving our nation in the armed forces, the fire service, EMS service or as a law enforcement officer would you please stand and let’s show them our appreciation.
There are many stories as to the actual beginning of Memorial Day. Over 24 cities lay claim as to being the birthplace of this day, which was originally called Decoration Day.
The one story I like the most is one I found on Wednesday while researching the topic on line. You can find this information by searching Memorial Day on the web.
It reads, “It was 1866 and the United States was recovering from the long and bloody Civil War between the North and the South. Surviving soldiers came home, some wounded, and all with stories to tell.
Henry Welles, a drugstore owner in Waterloo, New York heard the stories and had an idea. He suggested that all the shops in town close for one day to honor the soldiers who were killed in the Civil War and were buried in the Waterloo cemetery.
On the morning of May 5, the townspeople places flowers, wreaths, and crosses on the Northern soldiers in the cemetery.
At about the same time, a retired general by the name of Jonathan Logan planned another ceremony. His ceremony was for those who had survived the war. He led those who fought and survived through their town to the cemetery. When they arrived at the cemetery they decorated their comrades graves with flags.
Neither was a happy celebration, they were memorials for those who had given of themselves for the sake of freedom.
In 1882 the remembrance was officially called Memorial Day and in 1971, President Richard Nixon declared Memorial Day to be the last Monday in May and to be a national holiday." End article
Over the years, the traditional observance for Memorial Day has lost its meaning in some areas. Most Americans see Memorial Day as the beginning of summer, the day the swimming pools open.
I am happy to say our home town still remembers the meaning and the traditions of Memorial Day. Tomorrow at the Winfield Scott Cemetery there will be a Memorial Day service at 10 AM. I hope you will attend.
Cities all around the United States will hopefully be having some kind of remembrance to pay their respect to the men and women who have given all in the service of their country.
But let’s not stop there.
Let’s not limit Memorial Day to just those brave men and women, let’s remember all the heroes who go and serve in their various ways I the armed forces, as fire and EMS workers, as law enforcement workers, let’s remember those who put their lives on the line every day.
And let’s also remember and honor the memories of our loved ones who have died and gone on before us.
One author stated, “Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.”
PRAY
Father we ask for Your anointing on us today. Place Your anointing on me as Your messenger today.
Open our eyes so that we may see Your Word. Open our ears so that we may hear Your Word. Open our minds so that we may understand Your Word. Open our hearts so that we may receive Your Word today.
AMEN
In my opinion Memorial Day is about honoring the heroes in our lives. That may be a national hero, it may be a hero like our nephew Joel, it may be a personal hero of mine like my grandparents or it may be my greatest hero Jesus Christ who gave it all, let’s honor them this weekend.
What is a hero?
How would you define a hero?
What characteristics does one need to be a hero?
Webster’s New World Dictionary defines a hero as
“1. A myth and legend, a man of great strength and courage, favored by the gods and in part descended from them. 2. Any man admired for his courage, nobility, or exploits. 3. Any man regarded as an ideal or model. 4. The central, usually sympathetic, male character in a novel, play, poem, etc. 5. A central figure who played an admirable role in any important event or period.”
There are too many people in our society today who are looking for the wrong characteristics in people to determine what it takes to be a hero.
The characteristics of a hero are going to be different for the different age groups. Dani Jo is going to have a different perspective on what a hero looks like than her grandparents are.
Last week, as I described the Millennial Generation, I made mention of how the role models of the younger generations differ from the role models of the older generations because the role models today are chosen because of their style rather than their accomplishments.
Would you consider John Glenn a hero?
On February 20, 1962, Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 "Friendship 7" spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission of the United States. Launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, he completed a successful three-orbit mission around the earth, reaching a maximum altitude (apogee) of approximately 162 statute miles and an orbital velocity of approximately 17,500 miles per hour.
Glenn’s "Friendship 7" Mercury spacecraft landed approximately 800 miles southeast of KSC in the vicinity of Grand Turk Island. Mission duration from launch to impact was 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds.
On October 29 to November 7, 1998 Glenn also took part in a 9-day mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Another person we might considered a hero is Jack Roosevelt Robinson (1919-72), the first black man to "officially" play in the big leagues in the 20th century, possessed enormous physical talent and a fierce determination to succeed.
In the course of a distinguished 10-year career beginning in 1947, Robinson led the Brooklyn Dodgers to six National League titles and one victorious World Series.
Beyond his many and stellar baseball feats, Jackie Robinson went on to champion the cause of civil rights when he retired from the game.
How about Todd Beamer, Jeffery Glick,
Thomas Burnett Jr., Mark Bingham, four of the men on the doomed flight 93 that was to crash into the White House in Washington DC? Would you consider them heroes?
Todd Beamer’s last words were “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll!” And then the plane, flight 93 crashed at 9:58 AM on September 11, 2001.
How about Taylor Hicks? He is the silver-haired crooner from Birmingham, Ala., that was crowned the "American Idol" Wednesday night, in what will surely go down as the most-watched season finale of 2006. Would you consider him a hero? Some do.
In Hebrews 11 we see a great list of some great heroes, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab to name a few.
Ordinary men and women who gave all they had for God.
READ Hebrews 11:1-2, 32-12:2
Chapter 11 of Hebrews is such an important chapter for the first readers of this letter. They were facing an uncertain future.
The church was brand new and being a follower of Christ during this time could be costly. They could be made fun of, they could be persecuted, they could be put in jail, they could be put to death, and they could be tempted to forget all that Christ had come and done for them.
The people who had received this letter had been faithful to God and loyal to Christ during some difficult times.
READ Hebrews 10:32-35
But time and fear began to corrode their commitment to Christ. They were beginning to retreat and so the author of Hebrews reminds them of all those who had come before and urges these people to not throw away their boldness and for them to remain committed to God.
The same challenge holds true for us today.
These are difficult times to be a Christian. It seems that there are so many things against us. I’m not whining here, it ‘s just that every time you turn around it seems that Christianity is being attacked.
The last few years some people have believed things like the book the and the movie the DaVinci Code and films like the Last Temptation of Christ challenging the truth of the Word of God.
Since the 1960 there has been a successful movement in our nation to remove prayer from the schools and God from our government.
For a while some even taught that it wasn’t sheik or in style to go to church; Young people and even some adults are ridiculed because of their decisions to follow Christ.
William Lane in his commentary on Hebrews states, “The will of God for this early Christian community was the display of courage and firm Christian commitment in the hostile environment of imperial Rome.”
I would have to say that I believe that would also be the will of God for each of us in the Christian community today. To display courage and a firm Christian commitment even though it may not be the popular thing to do.
And really, who is to say what is popular and what isn’t. If enough people begin living out their Christian faith like they should be living it out, then wouldn’t that be vogue? Would it be the thing to do, the latest rage?
Come on; let’s start living our lives like we should!
Let’s be heroes for God!
Anyone can be a hero. Any of you here today can be a hero for God.
Today I want to challenge you with some things that will help each of be God’s heroes but it is going to take some faith.
That is what Hebrews 11 is all about. It is a celebration of faith.
One translation interprets Hebrews 11:1 in this way, “Now faith celebrates the objective reality of the blessings for which we hope, the demonstration of events as yet unseen.”
Let me give you a fresh definition of faith that William Lane shares, “Faith celebrates now the reality of the future blessings… Faith gives to the objects of hope the force of present realities, and enables the person of faith to enjoy the full certainty that in the future these realities will be experienced.”
In the writings of the Apostle Paul, faith is all about what Christ Jesus has done for us on the cross but in the book of Hebrews faith is focused on what is going to take place in the future.
Committed faith looks to the future. It looks to the promises that God holds for each of our lives. It looks to the promise of eternal life, it looks to the promise of health, it looks to the promise of God’s blessings in our lives.
In order to be a hero for God we need to have a committed faith in God.
Abraham was used as an example of faith in Hebrews 11. He was used as an example and was a hero of God because he had this kind of faith.
At the age of 75, Abraham picked up all his belongings and moved his family. He left his familiar surroundings and engaged in a journey to a place he did not know.
Why did he do that? Because he had a Godly life and a committed faith. That is why Abraham was a hero of God.
There are three things that I briefly want to show you that the author of Hebrews asks the readers to consider that will help each of us become heroes for God that are shown to us in the life of Abraham.
There are three aspects of the Godly life of Abraham.
1. Abraham’s Godly life is the response of committed faith to the call of God.
Abraham was called by God to move into unknown territory and he obeyed immediately. Talk about faith.
Abraham had that kind of faith because he knew that the hand of God was with him, guiding him, directing him, and sustaining him.
When we know that we know that we know that God is with us, guiding us, directing us, and sustaining us, friends that is a committed faith.
2. Abraham’s Godly life is the response to a committed faith in an alien environment.
Abraham goes to the land of Canaan and he was a stranger. His clothes were different, his mannerisms were different, his accent was different. It was like someone from South Carolina going to Minnesota.
Something else was different. Abraham’s lifestyle, values, and goals were different as well.
Friends we need so very much to remember that when we give our hearts to Christ we begin living in an alien land. In 1 Peter 2:11, Peter addresses the Christians as aliens and strangers in the world.
This place is not our final destination heaven is our home.
Do we act different than those who have no hope for eternal life in heaven? Abraham did. His faith caused his life to reflect his desire to serve God and live for God.
3. Abraham’s Godly life is the response of committed faith to the promises of God.
Two Scriptures that prove this are Hebrews 11:10, “For he (Abraham) was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
And the other is in Genesis 22:8, in the story of Abraham being tested by God. Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his son on an alter, and when his son asked his father where is the sacrifice? Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering…”
Abraham faced his future with faith.
Every time and in every situation Abraham knew that the promises of God were yeah and amen.
Yahweh would never let Abraham down and because of that, Abraham followed God with a committed faith.
Friends the Bible is true. The God of Abraham is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is never going to change.
The will of God for each of us is to display courage and a firm Christian commitment even though it may not be the popular thing to do, God is calling us to be committed to Him, to His Son, to His Holy Spirit and to His Word.
God is calling us to have a committed faith.
Have you answered the call and are you living your life in response to a committed faith? Are you a hero for God?
CLOSE
