Choosing to Remember

Pastor Phil Andrukaitis, May 28, 2023

Sermon Title: Choosing to Remember

Sermon Text: John 15:13

Introduction

In the stressful times throughout our lives, our need to address many responsibilities challenges us to make wise decisions. Sometimes we forget; and sometimes we chose to ignore important events, appointments, and communication with others. There never seems to be enough time in the day to accomplish the tasks that lie within our hearts.

Last Wednesday, my wife and I acknowledged our 48^th anniversary. Notice what I said, “acknowledged.” But what about celebrate? Yes, we did celebrate by going out to Norway Pizza where we enjoyed a good meal together.

You know, the concept of “remembrance” is vitally important. Tracing the theme of “remembrance” through the Scripture reveals the importance of remembering. For example:

In the OT, God and Israel are bound to each other by way of a covenantal relationship.

God remembers: On ten occasions, God is said to have remembered His covenantal relationship with Israel. God also remembers His covenants He made with others.

Israel remembers: The Book of Deuteronomy is rich with its call for Israel to remember the words and works of God when He delivered them from Egypt. Moreover, the prophets like Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the psalmist call the people to remember the things of God. Often, the Israelites would establish memorials as a sign of their remembrance.

In the NT, the verb “to remember” is used on several occasions, in its ordinary secular meaning to build into our lives moral and theological lessons. For example:

Jesus asked His disciples if they remembered the meaning of the five loaves (Matthew 16:9; Mark 8:18). Jesus’ purpose was to encourage their faith.

Peter remembered Jesus’ prediction that he [Peter] would deny Jesus (Matthew 26:75).

Abraham asked the rich man in hell if he remembered the good things he had received during his earthly life (Luke 16:25).

The repentant thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him (Luke 23:42).

Paul urged the Corinthian church to remember their fellow believers living in Jerusalem, by way of a love offering for the “Famine Relief Fund” (Galatians 2:10).

Paul calls the church to remember the sacrifice of Jesus, via the Lord’s Supper (1^st Corinthians 11:24).

Transitional Thoughts

Question: When believers remember the deeds of God and others, is it a mere collection of facts about the past? Or should our remembrance of the past have some impact on our present?

Spiritual forgetfulness leads to spiritual death. If we choose not to remember the biblical truths committed to us, what might that reveal about our spiritual life? If I chose not to remember my 48^th anniversary with Sally, would not our relationship suffer and eventually die? Therefore, remembrance makes God real to us, today.

Therefore, I would like to apply this emphasis of remembrance this Memorial Day Sunday in two ways:

First and utmost, let us remember the sacrifice of our Savior and Friend, Jesus Christ
Second, remember the sacrifices others have made for this nation – Memorial Day weekend

Thank you worship team and others for helping us to stay focused on worshipping the Son of God this morning. Jesus Christ is worthy to be worshipped because all authority, honor, and glory have been given to Him. Amen.

I. Remember the Sacrifice of Our Savior and Friend, Jesus Christ (John 15:13).

For the second time during the “Lord’s Supper,” John mentions Jesus’ commandment, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12); the first time was in John 13:34, just after Jesus washed the disciples’ feet.

The Lord knows that there are many forces tearing at the unity and mission of each local church that seek to honor Jesus Christ [e.g., unrest in our nations and world; finances; personal agendas; selfish motives; health issues; sin; wrong priorities; leaving our first love – all which is inspired by demonic forces].

Yet, Jesus told His disciples to abide in Him. And when we abide in Jesus, love is described in practical terms through the concept of friendship.

Friends make personal sacrifices for one another (13).
Friends dedicate themselves to a higher cause beyond themselves (14).
Friends possess confidentiality with one another (15).
Friends desire success for one another (16).

When this practical love is expressed with the purpose of bringing Jesus into one another’s lives, the world will know that we are Christians. Let us look a bit more closely at verse 13.

Friends make personal sacrifices for one another (13). “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

The love to which Jesus refers is not eros or philia but agape. Agape is the kind of love that begins with a decision that does not consider a person’s merit and but involves deep emotion. When Jesus said, “love one another,” He meant for us to keep on loving sacrificially one another. This is only possible when we are abiding in Christ and His Word.

God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus’ sacrifice was not a patriotic sacrifice but the ultimate expression of God’s love for sinners that they may experience freedom from sin. In fact, Jesus’ death…

…paid the penalty for our sin
…broke the power of sin, and
…promised to remove the presence of sin upon our death

The fact that God the Father sent His Son into this world to become The God-Man shows the critical condition of our world as every person was born with sin and stood under the condemnation of God. God’s holiness is in view. But, the depth of God’s love for sinners was also revealed.

God could not simply look the other way when we sin. His nature would not allow it. Just as it is repugnant to us when we hear of a judge give a child rapist a thirty-day sentence in a county jail, it is repugnant to the Judge of all the universe to look away from our sins. Justice must never be perverted.

That is why God the Father gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice to pay our sin debt and justifying sinners by the blood and death of Jesus.

Just as a soldier supports the mission to which he/she is assigned by obeying orders from a higher command – even if it means sacrificing one’s life for the cause, Jesus supported the mission of the Father and willingly and lovingly obeyed His Father’ will.

Illustration: The bloodiest battle in all of WWII took place on Iwo Jima. After three days of heavy naval bombardment, it was expected that the campaign for Iwo Jima would be a short one. It was not. It took the Marines just over five weeks to take this small island, 4.5 miles long, 2.5 miles wide.

Why? 21,000 Japanese soldiers concealed themselves to defend their turf and kill as many Marines as possible. Many Marines who died never saw the enemy. Consequently, the battle for Iwo Jima reduced one-third of the Marine Corps, as nearly 24,000 Marines were wounded while over 6800 Marines were killed. Admiral Nimitz, commander of the forces in the Pacific Theater said of the Marines who fought on Iwo Jima, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”

My friends, we are in a spiritual battle for the souls of our families. Satan and his forces are defending their turf, as the kingdom of God advances. We too are unable to see visibly the enemy as wicked forces attempt to deceive, discourage, and destroy the child of God.

Just as the Marine Corps ranks were reduced, so also are the ranks of many local churches reduced for a variety of reasons. For the Christian, uncommon love for one another ought to be a common virtue, every day, in every church!

Is our friendship with one another deep enough that, like Jesus, we would lay down our lives for one another? Sacrifice ourselves to help with ministries? Where do you see this virtue within our fellowship? How strong is it? How widespread is it?

A brother-in-Christ has made this keen observation about some saints who serve God and others sacrificially: He said, “There are those who live their lives for others so that others may live for themselves” (Jeff George).

Abide in Christ. Only then will any of us be willing to make personal sacrifices and strengthen our friendships with one another and for the cause of Christ.

Believe that Jesus died for you and rose from the dead three days after His crucifixion. He offers forgiveness of sin and eternal life for all who trust in Him. Embrace the tough times when they come, willing and able to make personal sacrifices for one another.

II. Remember the sacrifices others have made for this nation.

Today is Memorial Day Sunday, the middle of a holiday weekend. It is the unofficial start of summer, where BBQs, boating, and biking, along with many other activities seem to overshadow the patriotic activities designed to help us to remember the sacrifices others have made for this nation.

Let us thank God for small town parades and national events that honor all those individuals who gave their lives that our nation may live free and not under any tyranny. Rolling Thunder (whose name has been changed to AMVETS) are “Rolling to Remember” in Washington DC [on Monday]. For nearly thirty years, their mission has been to keep the POW/MIA issue in front of our nation and its congressional leaders. Their watchwords, “We Will Not Forget.”

As citizens appointed by God to live at this time and in this country, we ought to remember the patriotic sacrifices others have made for our nation. Yet, let us be carefully to avoid two extreme positions:

Right or wrong, I support my country. We are not to support immoral decisions of the government but to act responsibly as we strive to change the laws, appropriately.

Avoid wrapping the American flag around Jesus. Our nation is not a Christian nation. Like all the other nations, we too are in rebellion against God. Nearly half of our nation supports the ungodly legislation that has imposed on us by congress and the courts.

Know this, Jesus Christ alone triumphantly rules all nations now and He will soon return to establish His kingdom to rule this world.

Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong with cultivating a patriotic spirit. How would you characterize patriotism? Stephen Nathanson has identified four characteristics of patriotism.

Patriotism has a special affection for one’s country.
Patriotism has a sense of personal identification with one’s country
Patriotism has a special concern for one’s country and
Patriotism has a willingness to sacrifice oneself to promote the well-being of one’s country

Therefore, choosing to remember the sacrifices of others is an honorable and expected duty of every citizen. Even though every nation has its unpatriotic citizens whose critical spirit…

…attacks its nation’s foundation,
…distorts its national history,
…erodes its nation’s ability to function effectively, and
…undermines its nation’s very existence

…let us always remember the sacrifices other have made for this nation and thank God for them so that we may experience the joy and responsibilities of freedom.

Conclusion

This sermon began with an emphasis on remembering. Here are four applications we can take home.

Remember the faithfulness of God. Read the Bible to see how God has been faithful to others and you. Spiritual forgetfulness leads to spiritual death. Remembrance has a way of making God real to us, today.
Remember the sacrifices others have made for our nation. This is an honorable deed.
Remember to keep our priorities straight. A good citizen does not make a good Christian but a good Christian should be a good citizen. Francis Schaeffer once said, it must be taught that patriotic loyalty must never be identified with Christianity.
Remember always, the Sacrifice of all sacrifices is Jesus Christ. To illustrate, the closing scene of the movie, Saving Private Ryan, ends in a graveyard in France. Private Ryan, now an elderly World War II veteran, is visiting the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-mer, in Normandy, France.

Ryan, standing at Miller’s grave, asks his wife to confirm that he has led a good life and that he is a “good man” and thus worthy of the sacrifice that Miller and others gave in order to save him. He then salutes Miller’s grave.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, as we remember the sacrifice of Jesus and the sacrifices of others, let us guard ourselves against being…

…more moved by Normandy than Calvary
…more inspired by God Bless America than In Christ Alone
…more challenged by a solider than the Savior.

Remembering the things of Christ
keeps us alive to the Person of Christ.

Choose to remember…

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