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Remembering
1. Man's ability to remember is more than trained responses (cf.
Pavlov's dogs).
2. Memories stir us to high & holy motives.
With a knowledge of the past we
avoid mistakes & maintain hope for the future –
Lk. 17:32;
Remember Lot's wife.
Heb 11:38-40
of whom the world was not worthy. They
wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the
earth. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the
race that is set before us, And all these, having obtained a
good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God
having provided something better for us, that they should not be
made perfect apart from us.
3. We must remember where we have been, what God has done & is
doing for us, & we must remember the word of truth which
establishes us in His mercies.
I. REMEMBER WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN -.
Deut 29:2-9
Now Moses
called all Israel and said to them:"You have seen all that the
LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and
to all his servants and to all his land the great trials which
your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. Yet the
LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and
ears to hear, to this very day. And I have led you forty years
in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and
your sandals have not worn out on your feet. You have not eaten
bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may
know that I am the LORD your God. And when you came to this
place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out
against us to battle, and we conquered them. We took their land
and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites,
and to half the tribe of Manasseh. Therefore keep the words of
this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you
do.
A. Israel Was To
Remember:
1. Their slavery
in Egypt
Deut. 15:15.
You shall remember that you were a
slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you;
therefore I command you this thing today
2. God's powerful redemption & continuing care
a. Deut 7:18-19 You shall not be
afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the LORD your
God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:
b. Deut 8:2 And you shall remember
that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in
the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in
your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
3. Their
rebellion - Deut. 9:7 "Remember!
Do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the
wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of
Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious
against the LORD.
4. God's law (covenant) - Deut 16:12
And you shall remember that you were a
slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these
statutes. Same thing in Deut 24:18
B.
What About Forgetting What Is
Behind?
Phil 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not
count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forward to those
things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of
the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
1.
Idea of not relying on the past to satisfy the
present/future
Therefore, leaving the discussion of
the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection,
not laying again the foundation
works, faith, Baptism, laying on of hands Let’s get past these
toward perfection
2. Remembering our past state of sin causes humble obedience &
diligence
Eph. 2:11-12;
Therefore remember that you, once
Gentiles in the flesh that at that time you were without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from
the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the
world.
1 Tim 1:12-14
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord
who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me
into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a
persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I
did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was
exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ
Jesus.
C.
Remember Where You Have Been In
Your Spiritual Life In Order To:
1. Repent & reform
Rev. 2:5.
Remember therefore from where you have
fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to
you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place
2. Be thankful
toward God
1 Tim 1:12
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who
has enabled me, because He counted me faithful
3. Properly order our lives
Phil 3:4-9
If anyone else thinks he may have
confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day,
of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of
the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal,
persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in
the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I
have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things
loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count
them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
4.
Follow worthy examples of faith
Acts 20:31
Therefore watch, and remember that for
three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with
tears.
II.
REMEMBER WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU
Deut 11:7 but your eyes have seen
every great act of the LORD which He did.
A. Remember God's Great Love Toward Us In Christ
Rom 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us
The Lord's
Supper helps us remember - 1 Cor. 11:23-25.
B. Remember That
God Remembers Our Sins No More; Heb 8:12
For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins
and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
(Oh, what release! Oh, what joy! Oh, what hope!)
C. Remember The
Great Works Of God In Order To:
1. Be strengthened in personal faith - Matt 16:9-10
Do you not yet understand, or
remember the five loaves of the
five thousand and how many baskets you took up?
2. Help us
endure throughout life -. 2 Tim 2:8
Remember that Jesus Christ, of the
seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,
III.
REMEMBER THE TRUTH OF GOD.
A. Israel Would
Be Safe & Strong If They Remembered God's
Covenant Hos 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being
my priest; because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
B. We Can Remain Safe & Strong By Remembering The
Truth Of The Gospel - 2 Pet. 1:12-15
For this reason I will not be
negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know
and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is
right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding
you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our
Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to
ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my
decease.
1. It equips us for spiritual maturity. 2
Peter 1:5-8
But also for this very reason, giving
all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to
knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to
perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to
brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and
abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ
C. Remember The Words Of Christ - Jno. 15:20
Remember the word that I said to you
Jn 16:4;
These things I have told you, that when the time comes, you
may remember that I told
Lk. 24:6
Remember how He spoke to you when He
was still in Galilee,
2 Ths. 2:5
Do you not remember that when I was
still with you I told you these things?
1. "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat
it."
2. Those who remember the past are equipped to humbly obey God
and live in His present & eternal blessings.
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