Remember

I want to begin this morning by sharing two parts of the same story.

The first part: On the day that I accepted my position at Hillside, Stacy and I danced in our living room! We were vacationing in the Bahamas with her family when we sent the official notice, and upon doing so everyone cheered! We toasted to our new lives together! We sang! We danced! We laughed! We celebrated with a feast… I high-fived everyone I saw on the streets for the next couple of weeks! We could not contain our excitement nor could we wait to start our new lives together. It was an adventure fit for newly weds fresh out of the wedding chapel. I was going to be a Pastor to Students. I had been preparing for years for this moment. It was a dream come true!

Now, the second part: On the day that I accepted my position at Hillside, Stacy and I cried. We held each other and we cried. We certainly celebrated, but when we closed the door to our bedroom, we cried together because we knew that we would be leaving the very folks who loved us and were celebrating this moment with us. What a paradox!

In one decision, everything changed in an instant:

I remember that we lived a half day’s drive away from my family, and a three hour plane ride from Stacy’s - both of which are in the same time zone. And for you time zone transplants, you know how important that is! I remember when I met and fell in love with my one and only... the NY Yankees! Just Kidding… when I met and fell in love with my beautiful bride, Stacy. I remember our countless walks through these cities. I remember picnicking in Central Park, talking about life, and envisioning where it would take us - never imagining that we would live in Marin, but so grateful that we do! And I remember proposing to her on the side of a creek at a Christian camp where I used to attend in the hills of WV.

On the day that I accepted my position at Hillside, Stacy and I both celebrated and cried.

Both parts make up this story. While the first part is celebratory and enthusiastic, the second one highlights the notion of remembrance. And both parts are equally true.

I have been processing through this whole experience for over a year now - moving to CA, assuming this position at Hillside, and attempting to understand each of the emotions associated with this experience, and in doing so, I have realized that both of this same story illustrate well an irreconcilable tension in which each one of us lives.

Our human experience is caught somewhere between the act of remembrance and the anticipation of progress - between remembering what once was and looking forward to what is ahead.

Our lives constantly fluctuate within this tension, which is the topic of what I want to share with you this morning: that the act of remembrance is a spiritual discipline. Let me say that again, the act of remembrance is a spiritual discipline.

Now, before we go on, regardless of where you may be in your journey of faith - whether you are a first time visitor or have been following Jesus for decades - I want to acknowledge that any conversation about the idea of spiritual discipline may conjure up a variety of connotations. It’s a heavy phrase. Even now, when I say the phrase ‘spiritual disciplines,’ I feel like I’m lifting weights, so let’s first understand what this phrase means...

And the best person to consult on this matter is a man named Richard Foster, author of the the Celebration of Discipline, and a book that you will find outside in the foyer. I highly commend it to you. He defines the spiritual disciplines in the most succinct and profound way. He calls them a “door to liberation.” I like this metaphor because the disciplines are not the avenue to liberation or salvation in and of themselves. They are merely a doorway by which we may experience God and receive peace, joy, patience, and the like. Spiritual disciplines are simply acts. That’s all they are. You and I can do them on our own, with one another like in a Community Group, or as part of a larger community such as this one.

Such disciplines include prayer, reading the Bible, journaling, worship, fasting, solitude, confession, justice, and the list can go on. Foster writes, “The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that God can transform us... The disciplines ground us. By themselves they accomplish nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done. They are God’s means of grace.” And the good news about this… anyone can do it! God’s grace is sufficient for everyone, and thereby the means and the door to his grace also are sufficient for everyone. Anyone can participate in the disciplines and integrate them into their daily life! If you are interested in learning more about this concept, then pick up Foster’ book in the foyer, as well as another book titled, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. Both great reads - you won’t be disappointed.

So, I want to submit to you this morning that the act of remembrance is a spiritual discipline because it can function like a doorway into receiving the grace of God.

Now, you might be wondering why this topic is important for us to discuss this morning. And here is why it deserves our attention... When you doubt, when you don’t believe, and when you question God and the faithfulness of God in your life, is it because God left you or has forsaken you or the spirit of God just isn’t with you anymore… is it or because you have forgotten that God is with you? Because you have forgotten the promise of God in the person of Jesus? And forgotten those times in your life when God showed up?

When we remember rightly events in our lives that have shaped our identity and formed our faith, then we allow God to use those experiences - the good ones and the not so good ones - and redeem them in order that they may continue to form us and draw us closer once again to the heart of God. To remember events in our lives when God was real and present and alive… to remember those instances serves as a doorway to God’s grace and salvation.

So for the next few moments, I want to explore this idea with you by looking through the lens of the Bible and focusing on a few of stories that provides insight for us into how remembrance can shape our lives and faith. We’ll discern some principles as we go along together. And then I want to close with a warning.

So, let’s begin first in the beginning… the book of Genesis chapter 12.

Here we discover one of the earliest recorded instances in the Bible of remembrance, the story of a man named Abram. When we meet Abram, who later becomes Abraham, all we know about Abram is that he is married to a woman named Sarai, who later becomes Sarah, he is childless, and he is also very very old, emphasis on very. But we meet Abram in a big way. Abram is the first human being - whom by the way, God plucked out of obscurity - that God called to participate in his redemptive plan for the world!

God tells Abram in chapter 12 verse 2, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse; and all of the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Essentially, what human beings messed up in the first 11 chapters of Genesis, God set about putting back to right with this promise to reconcile his relationship with humanity, and it starts with Abram.

So Abram now confronted with a decision, chooses to respond in faith - at the age of 75 no less - and moved his family and possessions to the land where God promised him. Upon arriving, God tells Abram in verse 7, “To your offspring, I will give this land.” And for what purpose? So that his descendants may grow numerous and abundant and share the story of how a good God provided this good land for an undeserving people. And in turn, that Abram’s descendants may be a blessing to others. Hence, the beginning of God’s rescue mission. We have heard Brian refer to God’s rescue mission numerous times, and this is where it begins - with his promise to Abram!

And get this… the first thing that Abram does in response to God breaking into the world and initiating his redemptive plan - the first thing that Abram does is… build an altar. Abram marks that spot with an altar as a declaration of belief so that all who follow after may remember when God broke into the world and revealed his provision and unprovoked grace to Abram. This is the way that God set about redeeming humanity - with this story right here in chapter 12! And how does Abram respond? What is the first human response to the first act of the redemption of God for the world?

This right here.

Just like the old Hymn, “Come Thou Fount,” Here I raise my ebenezer. I used to think that this was a drink! In actuality, it is this, an alter, the very thing that Abraham raised in order to remember God.

Abram built an altar as an act of spiritual discipline in order to remember that moment when God showed up outta nowhere and made a promise to Abram and all those who follow after that God was here! That God is real and alive and active!

Later in Genesis, we meet another man whom we all know and love named Joseph. Brian and Steve finished last week a series titled, “Up and Down,” which chronicled the roller coaster life of Joseph. And truly it was just that... One moment, he is being sold into slavery by his brothers, and the next moment he is second in command to the Pharaoh of Egypt.

Brian closed last week by sharing the story of how Joseph essentially rescued Egypt from total devastation and demise by securing for them a reserve of food during a severe famine. Basically, Joseph, an Israelite, saved Egypt. Then, following that experience, Joseph and his bothers reunite, and they are reconciled together, and subsequently the 12 sons of Israel begin to live into the promise that God gave to their great-grandfather, Abraham - to grow as a family into a mighty nation and thereby become the blessing through which God blesses the world. So, Genesis closes on this high note!

But as soon as Genesis closes, the book of Exodus opens in the first chapter with oppression and tension throughout the land of Egypt. Chapter 1, verses 6-14 state, “Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.

But then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. “Look,”he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Ramses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.”

In the first chapter of Exodus, we read that after a period of time passed - at least a generation, probably more - the rulers of Egypt forgot the legacy of Joseph and the blessing of the Israelite people to the Egyptians, and thereby the Egyptian rulers forced the Israelites into slavery in order to protect themselves.

Now, Let’s enter into the context. For the Israelite nation, the big hot pink elephant in the room - the big question is this, “What happened to the promise?” “What happened with the covenant that God made with Abraham?” I’m sure that they must have been thinking, “How could we as a people have fall so quickly from the right hand of Pharaoh to tortured slaves?

The whole identity of the Israelite people was founded upon the covenant that God made with Abraham. And yet, not only are these same people living in oppression, but they live in Egypt, which couldn’t be further from where they’re supposed to live!

So what happened? How did the plot get lost so easily and so quickly? One chapter ago, the Israelites were considered equal to or greater than their nations hosts, and now they are the dirt that Egyptians spit on. I mean, you gotta wonder, Did God leave them? Did God nix the covenant without telling anyone? Did God go out for a slurpee? Was it July 11th? Was there a book in between Genesis and Exodus that slipped out?

No, of course not … quite the opposite… we observe that the promise that God made with Abraham... was forgotten. God was forgotten. The rulers of Egypt forgot God and forgot the people whom God blessed to be a blessing.

When you doubt, is it because you stopped believing? Or, is it because you have forgotten? When you experience turmoil, is your faith shaken because God didn’t show up when you expected him to, or is your faith shaken because you forgot about the times when God has shown up?

In the following chapters, God does indeed show up and he also takes care of business. We read later that God plucks up Moses, places him into a position of authority, and says this to him in chapter 6, “I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord! I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’”

So, let’s ask it again, who forgot who in this situation?... But who remembered who?

Let’s keep going... I want to look with you at another story in the Bible that illustrates our topic of remembrance. We observe this issue all throughout the Book of Psalms. David, who penned many of them, writes extensively, often undertaking this act as a spiritual discipline to remember God, especially during times of trials and hardships. And perhaps no other Psalm typifies this than Psalm 77.

I’m going to read it, and I want you to listen for two main ideas that David writes: first, listen to the questions that David poses to God. Think to yourself when or if ever you have asked God these same questions. Listen for what phrases we just heard in the book of Exodus. And then second, listen for the shift when David transitions from questioning to remembering.

Let’s read Psalm 77:

I cried out to God for help;     I cried out to God to hear me.

When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;     at night I stretched out untiring hands,     and I would not be comforted.

I remembered you, God, and I groaned;     I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.

You kept my eyes from closing;     I was too troubled to speak.

I thought about the former days,     the years of long ago;

I remembered my songs in the night.     My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

“Will the Lord reject forever?     Will he never show his favor again?

Has his unfailing love vanished forever?     Has his promise failed for all time?

Has God forgotten to be merciful?     Has he in anger withheld his compassion? ”

Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:     the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;     yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

I will consider all your works     and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

Your ways, God, are holy.     What god is as great as our God?

You are the God who performs miracles;     you display your power among the peoples.

With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,     the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, God,     the waters saw you and writhed;     the very depths were convulsed.

The clouds poured down water,     the heavens resounded with thunder;     your arrows flashed back and forth.

Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,     your lightning lit up the world;     the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,     your way through the mighty waters,     though your footprints were not seen.

You led your people like a flock     by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 77 is timeless. Don’t the words of David here echo with astonishing clarity the thoughts of our own hearts:

Questions like: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?

We all have shaken our fist at God, haven’t we? All of us in one situation or another have muttered, “God, why have you left me.” “Where are you?” And we ask these questions often, too?

For those buried in addiction, suffering from financial strife, stricken with sadness, steeped in despair, it seems like God is no where to be found. These hardships escape no one. They are real. They are present. And they are abundant. Right? Sometimes it seems like one after another. No one is immune from David’s questions. There is no age limit. It doesn’t skip over races or ethnicities or socioeconomic statuses. It doesn’t skip over those with good behavior. Affliction afflicts everyone.

Yet, Psalm 77 does not end with these questions. David does not put the pen down after writing these questions… No! Rather, David appeals to the years of the Most High. In other words, he appeals to God’s track record. Essentially, David remembers. He remembered the events in his life when God showed up! He remembered the good deeds of God. I am sure floating not so far in the back recesses of his mind was his conversation with his friend Nathan, who like all good friends when we mess up, stood by his side and spoke wisdom into his life and bore the reflection of a gracious God.

In this Psalm, David remembers the events in his life when he built an alter as a testament to his belief in God. And recalling those memories lend him to say in verse 16, “Your ways, O God, are holy.” Thus, why he can write “Will the Lord reject forever?” and then a few lines later pen the beautiful phrase, “What god is so great as our God?”

And we see in verse 15 that David also remembers something else. He writes, “With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.” David regains his faith by remembering not only when God showed up in his own life, but when God showed up in the lives of others throughout the story of his faith. David recognized that his faith does not belong solely to him. David does not have exclusive rights to his faith, and neither do we. Rather, our faith is a storied one, and it requires each of us in order to make up this story. It can’t be selfish. Your faith has a bearing on mine and vice versa. You see, if you only pray, read, and study on your own apart from others in this community, then you are only getting part of the story. We need each other, and we need to walk with one another, share our stories together, and remind each other of the bigness of God and the faithfulness of God when we doubt, go through pain and hardships, and stop believing altogether. If I’m feeling gloomy and hopeless, then I need you to recall with me those moments when God has been present and alive.

The act of remembrance is a spiritual discipline that engages each one us alone and all of us together. This is why throughout history testimonies have been such a vital aspect in the worship setting. This is why at Young Life camps, each week ends with what YoungLife calls a “Say-So,” a time to let kids remember together the good things that God did in them during camp!

The act of remembrance is a spiritual discipline because it allows God to rekindle and re-spark an extinguished flame.

A few months ago, one of our young adults decided to follow Jesus! Awesome! I was thrilled! It’s when moments like this one happen that I love my job. But it also signifies the beginning of a long journey because a few weeks ago, I received a call from this same student who asked me in these exact terms, “Ryan, what do I do when I stop believing?”

So, I responded to the student over the phone by asking for if I could call him back in a few moments and pray through his question. I hung up, and I thought to myself how do I respond to a person who is already has doubts about faith just a few months in? How do you encourage a person to undertake the act of remembrance as a spiritual discipline when they have hardly any experience from which to draw?

Then it dawned on me… let this student experience and remember with me those times in my life when God showed up! Let this student experience God through my faith and through what God has healed and restored in me.

In other words, I realized that I needed to let this student see Jesus in me, since for whatever reason this student right now is unable to see Jesus in their life.

We talked later that day, and since then, whenever we meet up, we ask one another to share about what Jesus is up to in our lives so that we may remember together the stories of our faith.

Let me share one final story, and then I will close with911 a warning.

Our discussion about remembrance, beginning with Abraham, then Joseph, and finally David all culminates with the story of Jesus. God’s redemptive plan that began with Abraham reaches its climax with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In Luke chapter 22, Jesus is in a room with his 12 friends taking part in what will become their final meal together. We call this scene in the the Last Supper, and we remember it by sharing communion together a couple of times each month.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul recounts this story from Luke to a group of Christians who have totally lost the plot, and seemingly forgotten what it means to follow Jesus. There are divisions in the church, people are not getting along, some abuse and despise one another, and others even mock the poor. As Paul instructs them and pastors them through these trials, he reminds them of their foundation in Jesus, saying, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Much like the church in Corinth, Hillside encounters strife from time to time... You and I encounter strife... You and I doubt. You and I don’t believe. You and I forget. Thus why Jesus - the very climax of our faith at the climactic moment of his life - beckons us to remember what he accomplished for us on the cross - real life together, real community with God, and real love.

But, I need to issue a warning right here. As you embark upon the task of taking up the act of remembrance as a spiritual discipline, at some point you will encounter the temptation to want to stay there. You will want to stay by the alter. You will want to relive and re-imagine those experiences in your life when God showed up. However, you will miss anticipation of where God wants to guide and take you. So don’t stay there. Sooner or later, you’ve gotta come out of your prayer closet and let someone else participate in your faith. And conversely, others need you to get involved in theirs.

Listen again to what Paul wrote in verse 26, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

The act of remembering an event in the past beckons one to proclaim it in the present. To remember is to be propelled forward! It means that you actively take part in the plan of redemption that God started all the way back with Abraham. It means that you get down and dirty. It means that you get down in the mud and the thick of life! And it means that we do it together! If you’re at a loss in how to do this, then let either one of us Pastors or some other volunteer at Hillside walk with you through the process and get you set up.

To remember Jesus together means that we serve Jesus together.

In fact, Brian and Terri both have mentioned in the past weeks that we will be launching a full Waumba Land, a full Upstreet, and a full Ave 252 during the second service in the Fall. They need people who can remember when God showed up in their life and share it with a young person, who needs to experience Jesus through you.

Likewise, I need folks who can remember when God showed up in their life to partner with me in the great endeavor of loving middle school kids at Wyldlife. Are you looking for an adventure? Then come join me in hunting Wyldlife!

Moreover, Steve needs people who can remember when God showed up in their life to partner with him in leading community groups.

Last, Brian needs people who can remember when God showed up in their life and champion alongside of him causes of mission and justice in the world. In fact, if you have ever considered bringing a friend to Hillside, you gotta bring them next week to hear Gary Haugen talk about rescuing modern day slaves from every corner of the world. We also have Gary’s books in the lobby next to Foster’s and Calhoun’s. He is a rockstar in the field of justice, and his organization is undergoing some of the most cutting edge and faithful work in the field of justice throughout the world!

In whatever way that God is tugging you, get involved and take part in your redemptive story!

So, may you take up the act of remembrance as a spiritual discipline. May you take this rock as a building block to remember the alters of your life when God redeemed you, rescued you, and saved you from despair. May you remember that your faith is not your own but tangled up in a crazy web called Hillside Church. And may you come to participate in God’s ongoing redemptive plan in ways that you have never imagined!

Pray...

Peace be with you.