Remember
November 27, 1993	Sermon by DRW	Passage 2 Peter 1.12-18 and Psalm 77

OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION

EXPLAIN THE MOUNT EBAL AND GERIZIM STORY IN DEUTERONOMY.

DEU 11:26-29

See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a <curse>–the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the <curse> if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the <curses>.

Remember:

KEY TO CURSES/REMEMBERING

DEU 27:26    “<Cursed> is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

DEU 28:15    However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these <curses> will come upon you and overtake you: use you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you.

DEU 28:45    All these <curses> will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you.

To receive blessings remember.

THE KEY TO RIGHTEOUS LIVING IS REMEMBERING

MIC 6:5    My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

ISA 64:5   You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?

To receive curses forget.

RESULT OF NOT REMEMBERING

JDG 8:33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and JDG 8:34 did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.

 

WE SIN WHEN WE DON’T REMEMBER

PSA 106:6     We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. PSA 106:7 When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. PSA 106:8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.

ISA 46:8   “Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. ISA 46:9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.

Remember things like:

2CO 9:6   Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

EXO 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

EPHESIANS 2

EPH 2:11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)– EPH 2:12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

DEU 5:15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

DEU 15:15    Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.

DEU 16:12    Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.

DEU 24:18    Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.

DEU 24:22    Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.

THE NAMES OF GOD AND WHY REMEMBERING THEM

PSA 119:55   In the night I remember your name, O Lord, and I will keep your law.

1.  Forgetting

a.  CURSES (GENERAL)

DAN 9:11      All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the <curses> and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.

i.  FALLING

PSA 119:21   You rebuke the arrogant (PRIDE), who are <cursed> and who stray from your commands.

(1)     SIN–transgressed your law

(2)     PRODIGAL–and turned away

(3)     PRIDE–refusing to obey

ii. RESTORING

REV 2:5   Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

REV 3:3   Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

(1)     SIN TO CONFESS–the transgression

MAT 26:75    Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

(2)     PRODIGAL TO RETURN–to His way

(3)     PROUD TO BE HUMBLE–to do His Word

b. FALSE PROPHETS

i.  1 TIMOTHY

ii. 2 TIMOTHY

iii.     ACTS

c.  LIBERTY AND OBEDIENCE

They knew it all, of course: the twin themes of faith and works, grace and effort, were not new to them or to any of the early Christians. But they needed to be put in remembrance of these things, particularly in their present situation when the grace of God was being used as a cloak for license (ii.19; cf. Rom. vi.1) and the knowledge of God as a substitute for obedience (cf. 1 Jn. ii.4). 

i.  2 PETER 2.19 AND ROMANS 6.1

ii. 1 JOHN 2.4

2.  Remember

CONCLUSION TO NEGATIVES

REV 22:3      No longer will there be any <curse>. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

PURPOSE OF REMEMBERING

NUM 15:39    You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. NUM 15:40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.

a.  PRESENCE

i.  CONFIDENCE

EXO 32:13    Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I <promised> them, and it will be their inheritance forever.'”

ILLUSTRATION

Judy Chang and her court case Wednesday.

If God is in control and you know what He has promised, then you can rest in Him with confidence.

PSA 78:35     They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.

 

ii. BOLDNESS

DEU 11:25    No man will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he <promised> you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.

DEU 31:23    The Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I <promised> them on oath, and I myself will be with you.”

ILLUSTRATION

Paul the Apostle and his preaching.

1 Timothy 1.7

b. PROMISE

Annie Johnson Flint’s “What God Hath Promised”

JOS 21:45     Not one of all the Lord’s good <promises> to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

KEY TO PROMISES AND OUR RESPONSE TO THEM

2CO 1:20      For no matter how many <promises> God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

2CO 7:1   Since we have these <promises>, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

1 JOHN 3.1-3

 

2PE 1:4   Through these he has given us his very great and precious <promises>, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

2PE 2:19  They <promise> them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity–for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

2PE 3:4   They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he <promised>? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”

2PE 3:9   The Lord is not slow in keeping his <promise>, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2PE 3:13  But in keeping with his <promise> we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

1JO 2:25  And this is what he <promised> us–even eternal life.

i.  IN DARKNESS

That state where we are seeking after God but there seems to be no direction, no confirmable direction He wants us to go. Which school does He want you to attend? What major? Who should you marry? Where should I go to work? When we seek after the will of God for our lives, in these areas, He seems to turn of the lights and asks us to trust in Him and His promises. To remember what He did for us in the light and allow that to guide us through the dark.

(1)     Sarah

GEN 21:1-2   Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had <promised>. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had <promised> him.

HEB 11:11    By faith Abraham, even though he was past age–and Sarah herself was barren–was enabled to become a father because he* considered him faithful who had made the <promise>.

 

(2)     Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

GEN 50:24    Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he <promised> on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

HEB 11:13    All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things <promised>; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

EXO 33:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I <promised> on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’

DEU 34:4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I <promised> on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

ROM 4:20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the <promise> of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ROM 4:21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had <promised>.

ii. IN LIGHT

(1)     Paul the Apostle (his ministry–Philippians 1.20-21)

(2)     Peter the Apostle (his death–John 21 and 2 Peter 1.12-15)

ACT 3:21      He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he <promised> long ago through his holy prophets.

ROM 1:2  the gospel he <promised> beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures

c.  PASSION

i.  EMMAUS DISCIPLES

1TH 1:3   We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

2TI 1:5    I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 2TI 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

2TI 1:5    I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 2TI 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

PSA 106:12   Then they believed his <promises> and sang his praise.

PSA 119:50   My comfort in my suffering is this: Your <promise> preserves my life.

PSA 119:76   May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your <promise> to your servant.

PSA 119:140      Your <promises> have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.

PSA 119:148      My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your <promises>.

PSA 119:162      I rejoice in your <promise> like one who finds great spoil.

PSA 145:13   Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his <promises> and loving toward all he has made.

 

SCRIPTURE READING

PSA 77     I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint. Selah You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Selah Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.