Lest We Forget

Remember!

July 10, 2011

 

            Last Sunday was the 3rd of July.  That means the very next day was the 4th of July, so here we are nearly a week later, and why would I mention the 4th of July?  What is the 4th of July?  Why do we remember it?  Why do we celebrate it?  Should Christians celebrate the 4th of July?

 

            In (Rom 14:5 NKJV)  we find these words,  “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.”

In (Exo 13:3 NKJV), we have these words:  “And Moses said to the people: "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.

 

            Did that make that day a holy day?  Sometimes we say, holiday! 

 

Body

 

I.       Is remembering important to the Lord?

 

  1. He told the Israelites to remember the day they were given their freedom.

 

1.      They were to remember the freedom they were given?

 

(Exo 13:3 NKJV),  "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;

 

2.      They were to remember that their freedom was a gift of God.

 

(Exo 13:3 NKJV), . ..for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place

 

  1. They were to remember that we are dependent on God, and that we are His children.

 

  1. He asked that we remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.

 

(Exo 20:8 NKJV)  "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

 

  1. God remembers when we forget.

 

     (Lev 26:12-18 NKJV) I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. {13} I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright. {14} 'But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, {15} and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, {16} I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. {17} I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. {18} 'And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

II.    We have a country to remember. – Our Declaration of Independence.

 

 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States. . . . And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

 

  1. Is it clear now why we are called a Christian nation?

 

  1. Is it also clear why we should remember our roots – our beginning?

 

  1. It is important that we remember and not forget what we have been given.

 

(Num 15:39-40 NKJV)  "And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, {40} "and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God.

 

  1. People forget the right things when they remember the wrong things.

 

(Num 11:5-6 NKJV)  "We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; {6} "but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!"

 

  1. Remember what you were before God rescued you.

 

(Deu 5:15 NKJV)  And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

 

III.  Remember that God is mightier than the nations.

 

(Deu 7:17-19 NKJV)  "If you should say in your heart, 'These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?'; {18} "you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: {19} "the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.

  1. God has blessed America.

 

1.      He saw us to victory in two World Wars.

2.      We saw the destruction the Berlin Wall.

3.      We saw the collapse of much of Communism.

4.      The tests are not always easy.

 

(Deu 8:1-3 NKJV)  "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. {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} "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

 

  1. We need to always remember that it is God Who gives us everything.
  2. We reminded Israel of Who He was.

 

(Deu 8:16-18 NKJV)  "who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end; {17} "then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' {18} "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

 

IV. Remember what Christ has done for us.

 

  1. This do in remembrance of Me.

 

(Luke 22:19-20 NKJV)  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." {20} Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

 

  1. He gave another very special way of remembering His death.

 

(John 3:3 NKJV)  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

 

Conclusion

 

(Eccl 12:1 NKJV)  Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them":

 

(Eccl 12:6-7 NKJV)  Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. {7} Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

 

Scripture quotations marked "NKJV™" are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

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