REMEMBERING

Every four years, America puts herself into the position of electing a new leader. It is a time of harsh words and emotional upheaval. It produces many scars that last long beyond the election process, and all too often, it produces bitter enemies where once before, there were friends.

And then it all climaxes on a night in November. That is when every American’s vote is counted, and in simple terms; the candidate who receives the most votes wins. When the results come through, many are elated and joyous while many others are heartbroken and devastated.

We have just been through that election cycle, and I saw the faces of those who won. The candidates are happy and relieved the whole thing is over. Those that chose him had tear-filled eyes and gladness in their hearts.

I also saw the faces of those who lost. They were also filled with tears, but they had the tears of heartbreak and the emptiness of those who have been abandoned. I am among those who voted for McCain. I voted for him simply because Obama condoned too many things God has already condemned, such as; the murder of babies and the acceptance of homosexual marriages, which God has only ordained to the man and woman.

But the die has been cast, and the winner has been declared. Now, what do we do? The easiest thing for us to do would be able to trash the other party for a variety of reasons, but that would not be what God has already instructed us to do.

1 PETER 2:13 -

‘Submit yourselves (for the Lord’s sake) to every authority instituted among men: Whether to the king (as the supreme authority) or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.’

This verse tells us what Americans are supposed to do now that that the electorate has chosen Barack Obama to be our next president. Let’s quickly analyze this verse so we really do understand it.

1)   We are to submit ourselves to his legal authority. As long as we do not have to do anything unbiblical, immoral, or illegal, we are commanded by God to follow the law of the new president.

2)   We are to submit ourselves to the president’s authority ‘for the Lord’s sake.’ Mind you, I did not say for our sakes, but only for God’s sake. How better could we walk the walk of a Christian than by doing what God says – even when it means we lay aside our own personal feelings?

3)   That verse says the governors will be in charge of punishing those who do wrong and rewarding those who do right. God is telling us that if we do not obey the law of the land, we are doing wrong and deserve to be punished, but if we do obey the law of the land, we will be doing right and will be rewarded.

I have heard people tell me this week that they feel lost and forgotten now. My question is: Why? There is a passage is GENESIS that explains why this cannot be.

GENESIS 1:26-27 reads,

‘Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female – He created them.’

How many of you fully realize that God is the most loving and most powerful thing you will ever meet? And if He is so loving and so powerful – how could He forget you or let you feel lost? Those feelings are from Satan, and they are given to you so your focus will slip away from the Lord and onto the devil. Don’t let them do that to you!

So, bringing this week to a political close, let me quickly remind you to let it go if your party lost, and to let it go if your party won. If you lost, you will have another chance to win in four years. If you won, don’t gloat because that is a sure way of losing in four more years. Instead, focus on God and live like a Christian. That way, no matter who is in power here, you have God’s power in your heart.

(Let us take this time to pray for all of our leaders, current and newly elected.)

This week, we will celebrate our American Veterans. That is what I would like to talk to you about today; remembering those who gave some and those who gave all so that we could be here today, enjoying what we enjoy in this most blessed of nations.

A policeman once noticed a lady driving with her head bowed down over the steering wheel. He stopped her and noticed her eyes had that far-away look, as if she was here, but her mind was somewhere else. He asked her if everything was okay.

She said, ‘Every day for twenty years I have been driving my husband to this train station, and I guess it became such a habit that today – I FORGOT HIM!’ This lady’s focus was not where it should have been, was it? She wasn’t focused on her husband, but on some private thought she was thinking about. And by doing that, we can see the damage she caused.

Have you ever said something to someone just to find out they didn’t remember who you were? That has happened to most people at one time or another, and it is very embarrassing. Nobody likes to be forgotten. God put us here to focus on others around us. So we are to bestow our personal blessings on others around us by simply remembering to remember them.

In 2 TIMOTHY 1:3 we see where Paul remembered Timothy.

‘I constantly remember you in my prayers.’

Going on into verse 5, Paul tells Timothy that He is reminded of Timothy’s faith. He could not have been reminded of Timothy’s faith unless he was remembering Timothy. And that is what we are to do, too. We are to remember those around us so that we will know best how to help them and how to guide them towards Jesus.

Since we will celebrate Veterans Day this Tuesday, let us be sure to -

1.   REMEMBER OTHERS

You have heard that our memories are the first to go as we age. And with so many things happening in our lives nowadays, we do tend to forget things, don’t we? Or, at least, we tend not to fully realize things.

A case in point is when a widow’s three sons grew up, they all left home and all became very prosperous in their lives. Remembering their mother, each of them gave her luxurious gifts.

One had a beautiful big home build just for her. Another sent her a new limo with her very own driver. And the third send her a remarkable talking parrot. Not only could this parrot talk, it had memorized the entire Bible and was able to quote chapter and verse all day long. Since the mother’s eyes were failing her, the son thought this would be the perfect gift for his Bible-loving mother.

Several months went by and the first son got a letter from his mother. She complained that the house was so big it took all her time cleaning it, so she sold it and bought a much smaller home.

The second son got a letter saying the mother was way too old to travel, and the driver was such an uppity young man, she sold the limo and fired him.

But to the third son, she praised him and exclaimed how happy she was at the bird he sent her. She said he always did remember what she liked most, and that was the best chicken she had ever eaten!

If the sons had been truly focused on the mother, they would have called her first and learned what she wanted, not what they wanted for her. And, of course, if the mother had just remembered what a chicken looks like -

In ROMANS 1:8-10, Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome.

‘I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how I constantly remember you in my prayers at all times.’

Paul always remembered other people.

As a child, I accompanied my dad to his father’s grave. As he stood there by the grave, the rest of us would stand a few feet behind him, giving him some along time with his dad.

It was during this time I once heard him tell his dad that he had not forgotten him. And then he said,

’the more time goes by, the more I remember you.’ And that is how most of us are, isn’t it? The longer someone is gone, the less emotional we might get, but the more we remember.

God bless those who remember our vets. God bless those who remember their departed loved ones! And may God bless all those who know that people count more than anything else. None of us want to be forgotten if we should leave before Jesus comes back, and none of our ancestors want to be forgotten either. And God does not want us to forget them, or what they have done for us.

As we remember our heroes, remember that the story of our nation’s many blessings is written with the blood and sweat they gave up so we could have those blessings.

A 15-year old high school boy finally got on the football team. He was so excited, and so he asked his mother to go to the first game. She promised to do so.

After the game, he found his mother still sitting in the stands, and he asked her how she liked the game. She said she was so proud of him the way he pulled up his socks 11 times and how he kept his uniform so clean.

He said, ‘Mom! I didn’t even get the chance to play in the game, so why were you looking at me?’ She replied, ’I don’t know the first thing about football, so I didn’t come here to watch the game, I came here to watch you!’

That mother knew that people count more than games. Now games are okay, and they are more important to some than they are others, but no matter what, it is people who reign supreme. And we should be paying much more attention to those around us than we find ourselves doing.

PHILIPPIANS 2:4 says,

‘Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.’

Remember those around you in such a way as to give them encouragement. It has been said that real tact is having the ability to describe someone else in the way they see themselves. People love to be encouraged; yet too many of us spend our days discouraging others.

Here are two questions you should ask yourself every time you have an encounter with anyone else. ‘Are they happier than they were before I came along?’ And, ‘Are they better off since I came along?’ Always try to discover other people’s good qualities so they will not have to do it for you.

GALATIANS 6:9 tells us,

‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.’

As we remember our veterans, let us also remember what they gave to us -

2.   OUR BLESSED FREEDOM

When our forefathers tired of the tyranny in Europe and England, they came to America to start all over. What they soon discovered was that the English military still expected them to be under their control.

This forced many new ‘Americans’ to make one of two choices:

• Do I give in, or

• Do I fight for our freedom?

Almost to a ‘T’, the settlers chose to take a stand and defend this nation against more tyranny. The consequences were that blood was spilled, but this land became a free nation, built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

And we have had to defend that freedom periodically ever since. Tens of millions of young men and women have left the life they grew up with, gone across the globe to fight for this nation. And it is to each one of those young men and women that we salute. We acknowledge their sacrifice, in whole or in part, so the rest of us could enjoy freedom.

But there is someone else we need to remember, too. That person is Jesus Christ. He saw us under the tyranny of the evil one and He shed His blood so that we could be free from spiritual tyranny.

1 CORINTHIANS 11:24 says,

‘When He had given thanks, He broke the bread and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.‘

Just as the American Revolutionary soldier went to war so his children could live in freedom, Jesus willingly sacrificed His life so we could also live in freedom – spiritual freedom.

Just as the WWII vet and the Vietnam vet, or the young men and women who serve today in Iraq have chosen to go to war so you could have the freedom to go to church today, Jesus gave up His life so you could worship His Father in freedom today.

JOHN 15:13 clearly states,

‘Greater love has no one than this – that he lay down his life for his friends.’

And so it clearly stands that what we remember is the heroic sacrifice made for our benefit. There are two friends who have died for you: The soldier and Jesus Christ. The soldier died for your physical freedom, and Jesus died for your spiritual freedom.

We remember our earthly heroes for what they have done for us, but do we always try to remember our Heavenly hero for what He has done for us?

I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be a military veteran. I am thankful for all the blessings God has given to America so that I can have the lifestyle I have. I remember our military heroes and I honor them for the sacrifices they made for me.

And I am proud to be a Christian. I am thankful that God loves me enough to remember me. And I do my very best to remember Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, and to focus on Him first and foremost in my life.

Let us thank all of our veterans for their courageous service for America, and let us also remember to pray for our leaders, including President-elect Barrack Obama and his staff, that they might find themselves being led by God Almighty in their administration of this blessed nation.

This is a time of healing and refocusing on our Lord, not a time of bitterness and negativity. This is a time to love others for His sake, not hate them for our sakes.

And while we are remembering, let us also remember our Savior; Jesus Christ, who gave everything He had, so we could have the salvation He offers.

But to remember Him, we must know Him – not know ‘about’ Him, but to know Him on a deep and personal level. On the same level that you would divulge your innermost secrets and thoughts to; on the level that you would feel something was wrong if you had to go through a day without being in His presence.

If you have not experienced that level of relationship with Jesus yet, this is an opportunity in which you might do so right now. As we stand and sing, please simply walk up here to me this morning and let me stand with you in prayer as you approach your Savior.

INVITATION