A Call to Remember: Monitor Your Memories

Intro:

we are starting a brand new series called, A Call to Remember

When it comes to remembering, I’m sure it is safe to say that 2020 will not be soon forgotten. It was the decade that just never wanted to end. Sorry year, although there were times it felt like it was more than a year.

But November is marked by one of the most significant calls to remember on our calendar, and it seemed appropriate to unpack the signficance of remembering from the perspective of scripture. We are told repeated to remember certain things because of their signficance, and so I wanted to take the time this month to look at a few of those things

this morning is the set up. We are going to lay some foundational understanding of what it means to remember from a biblical perspective because it may shock you that it is not just the simple act of recalling something from the past. It is in fact more, and it may actually clear up a few things in your regular scripture reading. Yes that’s right, I expect that each of you read your bible on a regular basis. In fact, a group called Back to the Bible recently did a survey of 400,000 people and discovered that if you read your bible 4 times a week, it will radically enhance your life.

This morning, I’m going to suggest that a truly deep relationship with Christ takes things a step further then just reading the bible, but we’ll get their eventually

But before we get too deep, I wonder if anyone remembers Little Hercules? Does anyone remember this little kid that was all over the news? It is kind of odd saying this little kid, and it is even weirder that I remember this guy, because he is actually older then my wife. Needless to say, he’s not so little.

BUT, when he was at the peak of his popularity, Little Hercules could do some really amazing things. At 8 years old, he could bench press 210 lbs.

Now when I hear something like that, something happens, because I do not want to get shown up by an 8 year old, and trust me, I can not bench press 210 lbs. Challenge tentatively accepted.

I would bet that the competitiveness in each of us rises up whenever someone younger then us achieves something great. If they could do it, surely I can do it to. 210 lbs is going to take some time, but I ain’t letting an 8 year old show me up.

Question 1: What was a time when you thought, “If they can do it, why can’t I?”

What is the alternative? We make excuses right? They must have some kind of advantage that allows them to accomplish that feat that clearly I don’t have access to.

This is the typical response when we talk about the amount of memorizing that the Israelites had to do as part of their schooling.

By the time of Jesus, Jewish boys were expected to be conversant in the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. That is the Jewish way of saying the whole Old Testament. When I say conversant, it may not have been memorized exactly, but pretty darn close.

Now consider some important facts about those times that would have made memorization critical for everyone based in Scripture.

not everyone had a copy of the scriptures

there were very few copies of the written word of God floating around. In the Old Testament, the only source would’ve been copy found in the tabernacle. After Israel became a nation, it was expected that the king would write his own copy of the word for himself. In New Testament times, there would’ve been one copy of the word in each synagogue.

Not Joe Ordinary was not going to be walking into his house and pulling out his own personal parchment that he had marked up with feather and ink. That wasn’t happening. The only source of the the scripture for most people would have been what they heard at synagogue at the regular gathering, and what they memorized.

This is why we read things like this in Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 6:4–8 CSB

“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead.

Moses repeats himself shortly after saying:

Deuteronomy 11:18–21 CSB

“Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates, so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.

God said this to the people not only as a command, but as a way to keep the word fresh and alive in their minds and the minds of the kids. It was a way to keep the teachings of scripture central to everyday life. Moses didn’t tell them to make a special time to have conversations about the bible, but that they should be talking about it constanstly, especially in the mundane things like walking

But it didn’t just stop at talking about the word constantly, but extended to putting up reminders everywhere. Tie it on your hand, write it on your doorposts, whatever it took to constantly remember, constantly have it at the forefront, that is what the people of God were supposed to do.

Question 2: What do you normally talk about at the dinner table?

that’s not meant to be a jab, because when I ask myself that question, I don’t typically like the answer. But it is a good challenge to remember to get into the word more so that I can talk about it more.

We say this book is a road map of life, yet we spend so much time looking for the answers. What would it be like to come into a situation in life, and the scripture that met the need just popped into our head? What would that be like? I can’t help but think it would just make life so much better. It would probably redirect a lot of oopsies in life.

But there is something important that we need to know about the idea of remembering in scripture. One of the most confusing lines we find in the Old Testament is something along the lines to this:

Exodus 2:24 CSB

God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

when we read a verse like that, and apply our normal understanding of remember to the verse, what is a conclusion we come to? If God remembered his covenant when he heard the groaning, then he must have forgot the covenant before the groaning started, right? That’s how remembering normally works in my world. The clicker stops working and then I remember that I should have put batteries in it.

I go to make spaghetti for supper and remember that I was supposed to pick up spaghetti noodles when I got groceries.

I get home for lunch and I remember I was supposed to pick up my daughter from school before I came home.

That is how remembering works. It usually starts with forgetting. However, that is not how remembering works in scripture.

When we read the word remember in the Old Testament, and the New, the word comes from Hebrew and Greek words which not only means to recall a memory, but to act according to what was recalled.

In other words, remembering led to acting. When we read that God remembered his covenant, it is not the fact that he forgot the covenant, but that he was going to act on the covenant.

Another example comes from 1 Chronicles:

1 Chronicles 16:12 CSB

Remember the wondrous works he has done, his wonders, and the judgments he has pronounced,

this is not a call to the people of a Israel to simply recall the wondrous things that God had done, but a call to live faithfully as God’s people in light of the wondrous things he has done.

Question 3: How do the things you remember impact your life?

This idea that remembering leads to acting is not new to us. It typically manifests in the offenses that we hold against people. All is good, then we remember the wrong that was done, and we act accordingly.

This is why Jesus tells us to be quick to forgive one another. Memory leads to action, and the longer we hold onto an offense, the longer we act accordingly.

Even as I am saying this, the Spirit is bringing to mind offenses that you have been holding onto, and some of you may be getting mad at me for making you think about those things. Let it go. That is not to minimize the severity of what been done, but the longer you hold on to it, the longer it is going to rob you of the life God longs for you to have.

There are two things God wants to do with our memory.

A. God wants us to grow in the scripture we remember.

if that is intimidating for you, let me reassure you that I’ve been looking into some memorization techniques that will hopefully help you. But look at what scripture says. If we talk about it and set up reminders the way Deuteronomy talks about, how could we possibly forget?

B. God wants us to remember less of the offenses.

Just like any bad habit, it has to be replaced with something good. Those offenses that you’ve been carrying around with you need to go. They are taking up valuable real estate in your mind and heart. Get them out, and replace them with God’s word, which can only bring life and stability to your mind and heart.

Let’s Pray.