SERMON SERIES

REDEMPTIVE REMEMBERING

Part #1. What We Remember Shapes What We Become

Part #2. How to Grow a Healthy Spiritual Memory

Part #3. The Memory of God? ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS REMEMBERED This sermon series has been squeezed into three weeks. But I have studied literally hundreds of Bible verses about remembering. So much more could be said! The most mind-boggling thing about this topic is the idea of God’s memory. We can’t begin to possibly fathom God, even in the smallest way. As we think of memory in this world it is literally s a physical thing - neurons and connections in your brain, or ones and zeros in a computer. Memory exists in our physical structures - it is literally made of atomic and sub-atomic particles. But what about God? Is memory even necessary if you live in eternity in every moment at once? Who could possibly imagine? So today’s message doesn’t do the metaphysical brain stuff. Understanding God is impossible. Knowing God is not! This is a simple piece of encouragement to remind you to always remember that you are always remembered!

WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORY QUOTE? If you’re doing this with a Life Group or someone else, consider the following quotes about memory. Which is your favourite? Why? “A lot of people mistake a short memory for a clear conscience.” - Doug Larson “For the people of Israel, there was no such as a ‘memory’ that was only in the mind. To remember something changed the actions and life of a person. Memory was reality. Memory was not just a thing in the mind, but about the totality of life!” - Johannes Pedersen (1883-1977AD), Israel: Its Life & Culture, Pg 106 (paraphrased). “Forgetfulness of God leaves us in this grey and horizontal view of things on the line of time which passes. The contemplation of God is like a vertical view of things which pass and of their bond with God who does not pass… By what virtue must this great defect of forgetfulness of God be cured? St. John of the Cross answers that the memory which forgets God must be healed by the hope of eternal blessing….” - Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange (1877-1964AD) "In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will not sin." - Wisdom Of Sirach 7:36 "Remember before whom you must appear.” - Saint Athanasius (193-373AD) EVER BEEN FORGOTTEN? Have you ever been forgotten? What is it like to be forgotten when you want to be remembered? FEELING FORGOTTEN IS DEFAULT HUMAN EXPERIENCE… There is a sense in which human beings feel un-noticed or forgotten. Deep down, every one of us has experienced it. A sense of disconnection, or that something is missing or wrong with the world. Have you ever cried out to God for help, healing, or relief and heard nothing back? Many of us have prayed and felt ignored and wondered if He’s really there at all, or if God really cares. The theologians and ancient teachers had a name for this. They called it Deus Absconditus, the experience that God (Deus) is missing (absconded, absconditus). To search and find God missing or to feel forgotten in the universe is a common human

experience. The experience that God is missing, happens because God has forgotten us, but because we have forgotten God. It happens because sin has separated us from God. One of the most common Old Testament prayers to God is the word “REMEMBER!” Read and reflect on the following Old Testament prayers: Psalm 119:49-50 Lord, remember your promise to me, it is my only hope! Psalm 89:46-47 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my life is! Psalm 74:18,22 Remember this, Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and how foolish people mock your name… Rise up, O God, defend your cause, Remember how the foolish scoff at you all day! Psalm 106:4 Remember me, O Lord! Nehemiah 13:14,30 Remember me, O God, and do not wipe away the good I have done… Remember me, O God, for good. Which of these strike a chord for you? Have you ever prayed something like one of these? But what a DARING prayer! How could these people be so brave as to call God to remember? YOU ARE NEVER FORGOTTEN Isaiah 49:14-16 Jerusalem said, “God has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.” God says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she bore? Even if a mother may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…”

Isaiah 44:21-22 God says, “Remember these things… I formed you… You will not be forgotten by me.” Reflect quietly on the two Bible passages above. What do you hear? GOD ALWAYS REMEMBERS YOU BUT CHOOSES TO ‘NOT REMEMBER’ YOUR SIN! God never forgets the placement of a single atom in the entire universe! God does not forget things. Instead, God (in love) chooses not to remember some things! Isaiah 43:25 God says: I alone, I am The One, who blots out your faults, and I will not remember your sins. Notice that forgiveness is not forgetting. The stupid forget the past, the wise remember and forgive. Forgiveness never was and never is forgetting. Those who forget cannot forgive, because to forgive you first need to remember! God’s forgiveness is not some sort of amnesia. Instead, it’s God’s gracious act of looking at you, remembering you fully, and choosing not to define you by your sin. In fact, God’s forgiveness totally redefines you as a new person! On the cross as Jesus was dying, there was a man next to him who had done terrible things. Hanging next to the most perfect innocent one ever, was the worst example of humanity. And that man with a history of sin and evil prayed the word ‘remember!’ Luke 23:42-43 “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus looked at that man and answered his request to remember. His forgiveness so great that he could remember him fully, and not hold his sin against him. He could remember him without his sin! And so with you. God chooses to remember you always, but not define you by your sin, but instead by His love! ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS REMEMBERED!

- Pastor Matt Thiele, Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim, 15-11-2020