2006-11-05 - Remembrance - Luke 22 17-23

Message: Remembrance                                   Newport Baptist Church

Scr: Luke 22:17-23                                            Date: Nov 5, 2006

Intro:  Do you ever have trouble forgetting things?

-          Do you ever forget where you put your keys?, Wallet? Checkbook? a telephone number you’ve written down? someone’s name? a birthday or an anniversary?

-          everyone forgets, according one researcher. things people most often forget;

-          names . where something is . telephone numbers . words . what was said . faces
It’s said that there are really only 3 kinds of memory - good, bad and convenient.

-          story of the 3 old widows who lived together.

-          One sister got up to go to bed, half way up the stairs she stopped and asked "was I going up or was I coming down" 

-          One sister replied with hint of aggravation, "you were going up to bed."

-          A second sister headed into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich.

-          Once in the kitchen she hollered back to her sister who was still down stairs; "what did I come in here for"

-          The sister responded again with a trace of irritation, "you went in to make yourself a sandwich" after which she said; "I’m so glad I am not as forgetful as the both of you are" as she knocked on the end table.

-          And then she got up and walked over to the door and said "Who is it?"

Explanation – Do we remember?

Remembrance day - War!  Remember faithful service, heroic sacrifice, difficult choices, incredible acts of evil, selflessness, sacrifice.

Important to remember…

Only Luke says, do this in remembrance of me.

TS - We are a forgetful people, and not only do we forget names, where we put our wallet, the meaning of Remembrance day - but we also tend to forget God and all that he has done for us... - THAT IS WHY throughout the bible God’s people are exhorted to remember him. (over 100 examples of this in the bible)

-          "Remember well what the Lord your God did..." Dt 7:18

-          "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there..." Dt 24:18

-          "Remember the wonders he has done..." Ps 105:5

-          "Remember this, fix it in your mind take it to heart..." Is 46:8

-          "Remember that in the past you were without Christ. You were not citizens of Israel, and you had no part in the agreements with the promise that God made to his people. You had no hope and you did not know God. But know in Christ jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ’s death..." - Eph 2:12,13

Jesus calls us to the communion table and asks us to remember…

1)       His Appointed Time – vs 14-16

a)       Gathered at a place they had prepared (vs 7-13) Jesus told them to prepare

b)       Jesus looking forward to it. (Passover celebration!)

c)       The kingdom of God (heaven!) – Lord’s prayer – John the Baptist and Jesus – both – “at hand”

2)       His Annointed Body – vs 19

a)       Gave Thanks for the cup and the bread

b)       Distributed it to all of them! (even Judas) - Romans 5:8 – God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

c)       For you! – he was taking our place – Romans 3:23 – wages of sin is death

3)       His Purpose – vs 20

a)       What is a  covenant?

i)         Noah - Never again would God flood the world – permanent -Gen 9:8-10

ii)       Abrahamic - Through you all will be blessed – permanent – Gen 12:2

iii)      Davidic - Line of kings from David to Jesus – permanent - 2 Sam 23:5

iv)     Moses – different – conditional – Old Covenant – law!

(1)     10 commandments – Exodus 20

(2)     laws for life – Exodus 21-23

(3)     Blessings and curses – faithfulness required

(4)     Renewal – constantly had to be renewed

v)       Old Covenant = death!  No-one could fulfill the law

b)       What is the new covenant for us?

i)         Luke doesn’t tell us what the New Covenant is when he says remember it.

ii)       What Jesus did – Salvation - And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) – when you believed in Christ – you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit

iii)      What God gave - Power - Romans 8:2-4 - For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For God achieved what the law could not do because4 it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

iv)     What the Holy Spirit does – fruit of the Spirit – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Conclusion – It is a messy world today.  Wars are still being fought, some we understand, some we don’t. 

People are starving, being abused, even dying!, crying out, falling down (Ted Haggard), abandoned, starving

In such a world it is more important than ever to remember God’s plan.  We remember that he sent Jesus at the appointed time.  We remember as the sacrifice for our sin.  We remember this new covenant that we have been given.

Remember that he died so that we might be forgiven, and that he rose again that we might have life.

How will we live it.  Will we respond to his call on our lives?

Challenge – If we remember what he did for us, we must take action.  Commit ourselves to what he called us.  We must care for the hurting, reach out to the downtrodden, lift up the fallen, strengthen the weak, intercede for those who cannot save themselves.

Prayer –