The Results of Remembrance

Introduction

The human brain is remarkable. From processing multiple things, recalling events from a long time ago, and controlling bodily functions without missing a beat, the brain truly is a gift from God. Some of you all know this, but before I was called to ministry I really wanted to be a neurosurgeon and work on people’s brains! Some might think that sounds crazy, but I thought it would be the best thing in the whole world to get to help people in a time of need and get to learn more about this powerhouse that controls much in our body. The brain can process 7 unique pieces of information at 1 time for up to 20 seconds at a time. The brain has 86 billion neurons and over 100 thousand miles of axons - that’s enough to circle the globe 4 times with miles to spare. The brain is vital to our survival and there is still more about it that we don’t know. What we do know is this: The brain is the bank of our memory. Whenever something happens in our life, whether it’s our wedding day, the birth of our first child, the first time we hit a home run or made a 3 pointer in a basketball game, the first time we shoot a deer, whatever that event is, where does it go? In our storage vault in the brain. After that event happens, we can remember a lot of things about the occasion. We remember what we were wearing. We remember who was with us. We remember what was going through our head. But what starts to happen as we get a little bit older and removed from that event? We start to forget a little bit.

Memory peaks in the mid 20s and maintains for decades, but in the late 50s and early 60s begins to slip. We all know what it’s like to forget something, don’t we? Students, you can’t blame it on age… but you’ve probably forgotten to complete a homework assignment or you might’ve conveniently forgotten to clean your room like your parents asked you to. Adults, you’ve probably forgotten to pick something up at the grocery store a time or two… maybe you’ve even forgotten to pick up a kid! As we get older, we might forget stories or situations that happen. This is part of being a human… we can struggle to remember important things. One of the most common statements in the New Testament is “remember.” We see this show up nearly 50x. Why would we be “reminded” of the importance of remembering things like the faithfulness of Jesus and the reality of our salvation? Because we’re prone to wander and it’s easy to forget. As we continue walking through the 13th chapter of Hebrews, we are are instructed to remember several things that will help us as we seek to glorify Jesus and walk in obedience after Him. Let’s see the results of remembrance this morning as we study from God’s Word

Hebrews 13:7–9 CSB

7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by food regulations, since those who observe them have not benefited.

Remember your leaders. Remember your Savior. Remember the truth of God’s Word. The only way that we will stand in a fallen and divisive world is to remember WHOSE we are - we’re prone to forget. We have to write this down and reflect on this truth daily. Let’s pray and ask God to help us remember His faithfulness this morning

Remembering Leads to Thanksgiving (7)

I was praying that God would make it clear how to divide up the final chunk of this incredible chapter as Hebrews 13:7-19 are loaded with implication and application for us and I’ve seen some pastors try to cram them all into one sermon and fail to give enough time to the meat and potatoes that are stuffed in here. The Lord made it clear several weeks ago that the way to go was nice and slow so that we could let these truths marinate in our brains as we get into the holiday season. We need to be reminded to slow down and remember WHO our God is and WHAT our God has done. As a Christian, remembering must lead to thanksgiving. We saw this a few weeks ago in Hebrews 12 as our call as believers in part is to “be thankful.” Life is not always easy. Situations aren’t always favorable. Things don’t always go our way. We might not always want to “be thankful” because of something going on… but this is the command given to us in God’s Word. Why would God want His people to be a thankful people?

What is coming up at the end of this month? Thanksgiving! As you think back on your Thanksgivings as a family, I hope that you have some fun family traditions that you can look back on with fond memories. Think of some of those family memories and things that we look forward to around Thanksgiving. Being around family is always fun, maybe getting ready for Black Friday shopping or watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or watching some football… but what is the big thing we do at Thanksgiving? Come on, we’re all Baptists here - we EAT FOOD! We eat ham and turkey with rolls and mashed potatoes and stuffing and we overeat with desserts and cookies and pies and the list goes on. As you reflect on those fun times and family traditions that you have done for years, I want to share one that my family has done since I was in high school or so. Each year, before we’d eat as a family, we’d go around the table and we’d share one thing that we were thankful for. Sometimes it was as “simple” as another year or time with family… but there were some years where we’d lose a loved one or have a massive obstacle in our lives and we’d go around the table and weep and rejoice at the same time because even in loss or grieving, we remember that there is always so much to be thankful for as a Christian.

In our world, it’s so easy to forget all we have to be thankful for. This is why the preacher of Hebrews instructs us to remember our leaders who spoke God’s Word to us. Remember these people - thank God for these people - imitate the faith that these people had. Who exactly are these leaders being spoken about here? Are we talking about government leaders? The mayor of our town? How about a business leader? No to all of the above. This is in reference to a specific leader in the church, the pastor/elder/overseer. How do we know this? Because of what follows next: The responsibility of this church leader was to speak God’s Word to the people. This is in reference to this person preaching the Word, and this is the main responsibility of a pastor/elder/overseer. Remember this person. Remember what they spoke about. Remember how they lived. More thank likely these leaders who the congregation is called to remember have since passed away. In verse 17 we’ll see that there are other leaders in the church (pastors) that the congregation is called to obey and submit to because they are active and present… these leaders are called to be remembered, likely because they have since passed away. Why would the preacher of Hebrews call on these believers to remember these leaders?

Remembering these leaders honors God

Remembering their message leads to praise

Remembering their lives leads to faithfulness

Pastors and Elders and Overseers of old were called by God to shepherd their church. Remembering them is one way that we honor God and thank Him for His faithfulness to lead the local church well through faithful shepherds that He sends our way. It’s easy to remember bad things, and sometimes that’s necessary. We’re all flawed and that includes pastors - there is no such thing as a perfect pastor and I’ll be the first to tell you that. Pastors don’t get everything right. But a pastor who stands on God’s Word and proclaims the Gospel message week in and week out is to be remembered as a blessing from God. As I reflect on my pastors as a child, I can’t tell you many specific sermons or sermon series because we primarily got random topics week in and week out - I can’t tell you those topics. But I can tell you this: My appetite for God’s Word intensified under the leadership of pastors who faithfully spoke the truth of God’s Word to me and others in my church. That’s God’s common grace and the routine means through which God helps His people grow. We pause and give God thanks for such preachers in our past who are no longer with us and as we do this, we praise the Lord for those messages that we have heard and we pray that they help us in our walk with Him. As we remember the truth of God’s Word they proclaimed, we also are called to imitate their faith! This isn’t to say that they had it all figured out or were perfect - far from it. But it is to say this: If our leaders strived to be like Christ, to honor Him, to be more like Him, to repent whenever they went astray, we should strive to do the same and imitate their faith as Paul instructs in 1 Corinthians 11:1

1 Corinthians 11:1 CSB

1 Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.

Remembering these things helps us be thankful. This church has a rich history of pastors who taught the Word and lived it out. That should be the basis for us to pause and say, “Thank you, Jesus, for these leaders.” If we’re not careful, we’ll take that for granted. We must pause and thank God for good preaching, shepherding, and leading - doing so honors God and helps us walk in obedience to His Word.

Remembering Leads to Stability (8)

Several weeks ago, I shared the story of Charles Simeon, the young pastor called to Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge at the age of 23 and he remained there for just over 54 years! Lots of change transpired during his 5+ decades at that church as he led the church to fulfill its mission of glorifying God and making disciples chiefly by preaching the Gospel each and every week. This was a culture shock for this church, but in time the church followed his lead as their shepherd and tens of thousands of lives were impacted for all eternity. What happened after Simeon left, though? 54 years is a long time, but we know that its a drop in the bucket compared to 2000 years. Adrian Rogers was pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church for just over 30 years… But Bellevue is still marching on strong even though Rogers has since passed away. Spurgeon was at Metropolitan Tabernacle in London for 38 years, he’s been in glory for 130 years and Metropolitan Tabernacle is still a Baptist congregation that gathers to worship Jesus. Leaders change. Pastors change. Churches will change. This church has changed over the years! There’s a Facebook page called “Salem Over Time” and they’ve shared several photos in recent months of our church from the early 20th century - this church building has changed greatly. The people of this church have changed significantly. Regardless of if we like it or not, our life is one of change! As a church, where do we find hope in this world of change? In a Savior who is unchangeable. We remember the truth of Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus is the same and then we remember that though our world, building, life, leaders, and methods will absolutely change during our lifetime, the Gospel message and the Word of God remain the same. This church will always stand on the authoritative, inerrant, inspired, and sufficient Word of God and the minute that it stops doing that, there’s going to be trouble.

Our world of change longs for something stable. Even people who do not profess faith in Jesus want something to be secure in! The reason why is because of change and instability… You are born as a cute little human being and then you change! What starts up, begins to fall down. Our personality changes. Our taste buds change. Our interests change. Our whole world is in the same boat. Rivers change after a flood. Forests change after a fire. Entire empires and countries change and fade from the face of the earth. Everything changes and our souls long for something that offers more stability than this planet can provide. Hebrews 13:8 provides just that assurance! Jesus Christ is the SAME. This is called the Immutability of God - the doctrine that God does not change. Outward leaders will come and go, circumstances will vary, but the Jesus we live to serve remains the same yesterday, today, and forevermore! Because of this, we can always run to Him as Hebrews 12:1-3 told us to do a few weeks ago because He’s always there for His people. Jesus, not a human being or a building, is the center of our faith.

Consider Jesus and what Jesus has done for us as sinners. Jesus came from heaven to the earth nearly 2000 years ago as we’re preparing to celebrate next month with Christmas. Psalm 102:27 tells us this as does Hebrews 1:12.

Psalm 102:27 CSB

27 But you are the same, and your years will never end.

Hebrews 1:12 CSB

12 you will roll them up like a cloak, and they will be changed like clothing. But you are the same, and your years will never end.

As we sing about, all glory be to Christ - He is the one receiving this praise. This is good news! But how can it be? How can Jesus be immutable whenever He took on human flesh? How can He be unchanging whenever He had a whole host of human emotions? How can He be the same whenever He died? We have to understand Who Jesus is. Was He fully God and suddenly changed to only become half God and half man? Absolutely not. Was there a time whenever Jesus didn’t exist as Arius and others in the 4th century argued? Absolutely not. It is essential that we understand Who Jesus is - He has always existed in eternity past with the Father. He has always been and will always be God. 2000 years ago, we celebrate the incarnation of Jesus. Divinity adding humanity, without stopping to be God. Jesus, the Christ, is fully God and fully man. Consider what Jesus told His fellow followers and observers

John 8:58 CSB

58 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”

John 17:5 CSB

5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.

Jesus has always been God. He stepped into time 2000 years ago and lived a sinless life to seek and save the lost. There were times during Jesus’ ministry where He cried. There were times where He grieved with those who grieved. There were times where He celebrated. There were times where He corrected people. He can fully sympathize with us in our weakness, Hebrews 4:15 tells us, because He knows what it’s like to be a human and be tempted by sin… but He never once sinned. There are times where it might look like God changes His mind, but that would mean that God learned something and was reactive - that’s not the God of Scripture who had a perfect plan before the foundations of the earth were laid as Ephesians 1 and Revelation 13 tells us. As we sing in the song Great is Thy Faithfulness,

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father There is no shadow of turning with Thee Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be”

Praise God that He changes not!

AW Pink put it like this, “Here is solid comfort. Human nature cannot be relied upon; but God can! However unstable I may be, however fickle my friends may prove, God changes not.” Friends, do you see that the immutability of our God, as shared in Hebrews 13:8, is the wellspring of our stability in an unstable and uncertain world? Our world might change by the day and our emotions might change by the hour and our friends might change by the minute and our circumstances might change by the second, but there is eternal security and stability whenever we remember that our God does not change. He is eternally faithful. He is eternally good. He is eternally kind. He is eternally the Savior of His people! This grounds us and gives us hope as we live in this fallen world. We must remember daily WHO our God is. He is the same! Just as He provided for His people 2000 years ago, He still provides today. Just as He saved back then, He still saves today. He still is seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father interceding on behalf of sinners like you and me! Kent Hughes put it like this, “Yesterday Jesus “offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death” (5:7). Today he is a high priest before the Father who is able to sympathize with our weakness because he “has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (4:15). And forever this same Jesus “always lives to intercede for them” (7:25). Our priest is eternally the same and eternally contemporary. We need not fear opinion changes or mood swings in Jesus!” As we remember what the Bible tells us about Jesus, we are able to have stability in a fallen world.

Remembering Leads to Faithful Living (9)

As we remember the Word of God that was faithfully proclaimed by faithful pastors of yesteryear, and as we remember what Scripture tells us about Jesus and how He remains the same in every season of life because He doesn’t change from day to day like we do, then we are able to hold firm to what Scripture teaches. We have an anchor for our souls in a weary and stormy world. One of the biggest problems that people have in this world is the desire for more - we talked about this briefly last week in Hebrews 13:5-6 as people have a temptation internally to desire more than what Jesus gives to them and rather than be content with that, they crave more. The Bible calls this greed. Whenever someone doesn’t give us what we want, we’re tempted to go to someone else in hopes that they will scratch that itch. One of the reasons that false teaching is as pervasive as it is today is because people continue to consume it, support it, crave it, and share it. Our world continues to be led astray by false teaching, in large part because we ourselves don’t know the Word as well as we should. Look at what God’s plan is for His church in Eph 4:11-14

Ephesians 4:11–14 CSB

11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.

The reason why God gave us faithful leaders who stand on Scripture is so that we would grow into maturity and not be tossed like the waves by false doctrine. The only hope to stand against false doctrine is to be faithful to God’s Word. In order to be faithful to God’s Word, you have to first know God’s Word. Consider some recent results regarding what people think about the Bible and living a Christlike life. Ligonier Ministries does a bi-annual “State of Theology” survey and in 2022 they asked this question, “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.” What percentage of Americans do you think agreed with this statement? Nearly 2/3 of the people interviewed agreed that God accepts the worship of all religions. Why would people think that way? Because that’s inclusive and if God is just love and inclusive and there to celebrate us as our world sadly believes, then of course He will accept all kinds of worship from all sorts of religions. Here’s another one: “The Bible contains helpful accounts of ancient myths, but is not literally true.” Over half of people surveyed agreed with this statement that the Bible is not to be taken as truth. This is not just outside the church, but this is inside as well! Whenever we forget that Jesus doesn’t change, whenever we forget what faithful leaders have taught us, whenever we forget the truthfulness of God’s Word, we will fall astray to false teaching. There are so many new teachings these days that are departures from historic Christianity because everyone wants to invent something new! People desire fresh “words” from the Lord while so often rejecting the WORD of the Lord - this is a recipe for disaster as people look for a person to tickle their ears rather than someone to give them the pure milk of God’s Word. This isn’t just a problem in our world, it was a temptation for these believers 2000 years ago. This congregation was primarily composed of Jewish converts to Christianity. The strange teaching that was threatening to lead some astray was likely a teaching that said that you could follow Jesus while also keeping the Old Testament laws, Jewish feasts, and earning your justification before the Lord through works. The temptation was to go back to Judaism and add Jesus to your old was of life! Church, we must remember this simple truth: Jesus + Anything = Nothing! Don’t test drive Jesus and drop Him back at the dealership lot and go back to your old way of living, that won’t help you at all! You can’t just pick and choose and add a little bit of Jesus and a verse of the Bible here and keep living in opposition to Jesus there - Jesus + Nothing = Everything! The preacher of Hebrews exhorts his listeners to remember Jesus, to remember their faithful leaders, to remember God’s Word, because if they don’t they will fall victim to these types of false and strange teachings that will eventually separate them from God for all eternity! He shares that the way to be with the Lord is not by observing certain food regulations, it’s by being washed fully in the blood of Jesus!

As we remember that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, as we remember that Jesus stays the same, as we remember the truth of God’s Word as shared with us by faithful shepherds, we realize that we are called to live a life of faith and to honor Jesus with all that we say, think and do.

Hebrews 11:6 CSB

6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

This is our calling today - to imitate the faith of Godly leaders as they walked after Jesus, to remember God’s Word, and to demonstrate faith in Jesus as we walk after Him daily. The Bible says that we are sheep - some don’t like that label, but it’s what Scripture teaches. Sheep need a shepherd because sheep are vulnerable to the attack of a wolf. It only take a wolf a moment to cause destruction to a flock of sheep. What we need is the unadulterated Word of God preached each and every Sunday because we’re prone to wander and we’re tempted to forget. I’ve had people ask me this question before, “Why do you preach the Gospel in every sermon?” Are you ready for the answer? Because I need to remember the Gospel every day. You need the Gospel every day. Because the Gospel message of Jesus Christ changes everything! As we rest in the Gospel that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save sinners like you and me and calls on us to repent of our sins and follow Him as Lord and Savior, we realize that our salvation is much more than just a repeating of some words. Our call in Luke 9:23 is this

Luke 9:23 CSB

23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

As we remember what Jesus has done, our response is to live a life of faith that follow Him and points others to Him.

If you are here this morning and you are not a follower of Jesus Christ, let me just ask you this question: Where do you find hope in an uncertain world? It can’t be your circumstances because those change. It can’t be our world because it changes by the day. When life knocks you down, how are you able to stand back up? See, the problem in our world is brokenness and the Bible tells us that the reason that the world is broken is because of sin. Sin separates us from God and the Bible says that we’re all guilty of sin - every single one of us have done things that go against God’s Word. That is our fundamental problem. Left to ourselves, we can’t solve the problem either. We see people trying to solve problems in our world in so many different ways, but evil still exists and thrives! Have you ever wondered why? It’s because of sin. Don’t look to the things of this world to provide you with safety and security whenever this world is fundamentally broken. Look at what Scripture says - there is hope in Jesus because He stays the same. He won’t change. He won’t hug you one day and kick you to the curb the next - He loves His people to the uttermost! He saves His people and He changes His people. Look to Him, repent of your sins, follow Jesus, and stand on His Word.

If you are here this morning and you are a follower of Jesus, friend we have to remember WHO Jesus is and WHAT Jesus has done for us. We have to remember what Scripture says. We have to remember the truth in a world that is full of lies that sound really nice and inviting. We must be people of the book and we have to remind ourselves of Scripture often because our brains are prone to forget. FBC Salem family, let’s be a people who above all else seek to glorify Jesus and live a life of faith that points others to Him and pleases our Father.

The only way to survive in a “Follow Your Heart” world is to remember what God’s Word says and to follow your Savior wherever He calls you to go! Respond to Jesus appropriately and go where He leads!