Looking Back, Living Forward

Introduction: Two Memories of my Mom. Story of Mom and why I don’t skii. Story of Mom and why I am committed to the Church.

I want to share with you two passages about remembering.

9 - We Remember.

Samuel was the acting ruler at that time. He would judge cases, he would lead the people religiously, and he would lead the people by directing them how to follow God’s way of life.

The people listened to Samuel and realized they were following idols and turn to God.

They asked Samuel to bring everyone together in one place to pray a prayer of communal repentance.

Philistines found out - wanted to take them out.

People panicked, Samuel Sacrificed

God Confused the Philistines and they were defeated.

1 Samuel 7:12 NIV

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

Deuteronomy 11:1–7 NIV

Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.

18 - The Whole Bible is written Down so we can Remember.

Different Kind of Memories:

1. Memories that bring joy - Family reunion bring out the video.

2. Memories we would like to forget - They are painful.

3. Memories we need to heal from.

4. Memories that bring us gratitude.

So on one hand we are called to remember, but we also are called to

19 - We Pursue the Future.

Deuteronomy is all about how to live in the future, not in the desert anymore, but in the promised land.

The Ebenezer helped Israel live knowing God’s help, and the Philistines not to mess with Israel.

1. Some versions of the beloved hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” include this in the second verse: “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come; and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.” These lines express so well the purpose of tangible signs remembering God’s work in our lives and communities: in looking behind at what God has done, we find the courage to hope for his ongoing faithfulness in the future (Robert Robinson, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” Hymnary, https://hymnary.org/text/come_thou_fount_of_every_blessing).

Bruce Bugbee Story about helping people in his congregation renovate the church.

God Dreams Vision.

People Passionate about prayerfully studying God’s Word Together.

This Remembering would make it unthinkable for us not to reach out into our community and serve.

How do we do both?

20 - We Remember the Past to Pursue the Future.

Deuteronomy 11:18–20 NIV

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,

24 - In the OT, זָכַר (zākar) is the main root used for concepts related to memory. The verb זָכַר (zākar) can refer both to the recall of information or events and to acting in accord with that knowledge. Thus, God’s remembrance is linked to his acting favorably toward his people (Gen 9:15). Concrete objects or events often are established as memorials (זִכָּרוֹן, zikkārôn) in order to remind the people of God’s deeds in the past (e.g., Exod 12:14, Josh 4:7). In the NT, the concept of memory in the greek is Like the Hebrew words, they also connote right action in the present. Remembering in the NT can also imply interpreting past events or words in light of events that occur later (e.g. John 2:22, 16:4).

Use Tool to remember this Year,

Check out the memories of our Church this year.

Write down your own memories. On top the ones you want to keep, put in a journal, or your Bible.

Write down memories you want to give over to Jesus next Sunday.

Ask yourself how God will use these memories to empower you to live in the future.

Conclusion:

Take Some time to remember, and then ask God, how does he want you, or us to live in light of that?

What memory is holding you back?

What memories do you need to heal before you can move forward?

What Memories are Opening the doors to a God who makes the impossible possible?