Remember Why!

1 Corinthians 11:23 ff. On November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln stood on the battlefield of Gettysburg and delivered a brief speech that lasted less than a three minutes. Were all familiar with the opening line of the Gettysburg address. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal" But there is a line in the middle of it that I want to highlight this morning. Lincoln said, The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here. It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth. There are some things that must not be forgotten. Nearly two years removed from that terrible morning on September 11. Our troops have gone into Afghanistan and Iraq hunting down the terrorists and those who support them. We were all for it when we started. Now there is a growing discontent. Our men are being picked off one by one and the end is no where in sight. Lets just pull out and go back to normal. There is a popular country western song by Darryl Worley, thats worth hearing. Have you Forgotten? Have you forgotten how it felt that day To see your homeland under fire And her people blown away? Have you forgotten when those towers fell? We had neighbors still inside Going through a living hell And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden Have you forgotten? There are some things we must not forget. Down in Alabama they are fighting to try to keep a stone carving of the Ten Commandments in the courtroom. Why is some marble memorial

so important? That justice knows that it stands for the bedrock of our legal system. Removing the statue from the courtroom is symbolic of the way they are taking the principles of Christ out of our culture. Those people know that this great nation was built on the principles of justice found in the Bible. When you remove the truth of Scripture you begin to open yourself to the incredible world of arbitrary ethics. Situations dictate truth. We are already seeing it in the laws that now promote that which God declared abhorrent. We have been uniquely blessed because we have always been One nation UNDER GOD! There are some things that must not be forgotten. Up in New Hampshire the Episcopalians have a new Bishop. Hes openly practicing a homosexual lifestyle. Im not upset with Gene Robinson because he is gay. Homosexuality, like every other sin, can be dealt with by Jesus grace. No, what makes this troubling is that he is stands as a spokesman for Christ and has influence over a large number of people and that he is calling something good that God called sin. Isaiah said, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for Light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (5.20). My friend Andy McQuitty at Irving Bible Church wrote this: An, . . . Episcopal priest named Sherman Hesselgrave who, in defending the elevation of Gene Robinson to the bishopric said: "God changes God's mind." . . . Most religious homosexuality apologists unconvincingly bend and torture scriptures that condemn sodomy in an attempt to show that they don't really mean what they say. At least Hesselgrave tacitly admits that God didn't stutter in these passages. According to Hesselgrave, The thing is, now God has changed His mind. . .and therefore certain passages in God's word are now obsolete. Oh really? Who, I wonder, talked God into this change of mind? Who enlightened the Almighty on this issue so that He might enter the ranks of the politically correct? What abject heresy this is. It sounds so soothing, so reassuring, so compassionate. But in reality, the idea that God changes and His word becomes obsolete is debilitating to faith in general and to Christianity in particular. For if God changed his mind about sodomy, who's to say he hasn't changed his mind about coveting, lying, stealing, or murder? If God's word is obsolete in its claim that homosexuality is wrong, then who's to say God's word isn't obsolete in its claim that Christ will come again or that heaven is a free gift.

The bible is our sole authority for faith and practice. The day we move from that is the day we throw open Pandoras box of heresy. There are some things that must not be forgotten. When Jesus was about to go to the cross he gathered his men into the upper room to celebrate the Passover. After that somber feast he washed their feet and then took some bread and wine and gave us a new thing to remember. 1 Corinthians 11: 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 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." 25 In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." The bread and the wine are the essence of what it means to follow Christ. We must never forget it. Why? Why is it so important? Why are we still doing this after all these years? There are some things that must not be forgotten.

If everyone would go to heaven anyway why did Jesus die? He was a fool to die for people who needed no help! The truth is, he died because that was the only way to bring salvation! I hear some people say that God will understand their sins. He is a God of love. In Romans 11 Paul compared the church to a limb grafted into the rootstock of Israel. He was telling the church not to become too proud of their new position in grace. Then he makes an eye opening comment about God. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. 22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, Gods kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again. Did you hear that line, the kindness and severity of God! There is an edgy side to God that will not overlook sin! He is just. He is holy. And he will judge your sin. The only way out is to place your faith in Christ and come under his mercy. Dont forget the importance of his sacrifice. Listen, one day you will stand before the Lord. He will not bend the rules for your sake. No matter how good youve been. No matter how much you are worth. No matter what else you might think. So we take this cracker and drink this juice because we must not forget his sacrifice. It is the only way to salvation. If you are here right now and you havent given your life to Christ. You havent placed you faith in his saving sacrifice then you have no hope. You need to know that. Coming to church wont fix it. Giving to the church wont fix it. The only way to fix it is to place your faith in Christ. Turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. He said I will receive you.

I.

He wants you to remember his Sacrifice.

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lords death until He comes.

Jesus Christ came to die. His whole purpose for living was wrapped up in the dying. He came to die for sin. He was the Lamb of God that was to be sacrificed for sin. He went to the Cross to atone for sin. Ive got to tell you that if he hadnt done that nobody in this room would have any hope! There is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood. I have heard people say that they think that everyone will go to heaven. That God loves everyone. Do you realize how offensive that is to Jesus Christ! Do you understand how that flies in the face of everything he said and stood for?

II.

He wants you to remember your purpose.

If its all about his death then we are all about his life. He didnt come to die so that we could become the North Monroe Country club. Our mission began the minute we placed our faith in Christ.

Have you ever wondered why Christians dont just go right on up to heaven after they get saved? Why deal with the trouble and sorrows of this world. Heaven is a glorious place. There is only one good reason for staying: to reach this world with the good news of salvation. When you forget the sacrifice you forget that. You start thinking that church is all about you. You think its important to get your way. To have your place. To have your say. You get a little upset sometimes when someone messes up your neat convenient world. The air isnt just right. Someone got your parking place. Someone gets your seat. When people forget their purpose they fuss and complain about strange things. Ive always been a Dallas Cowboys fan. Though Im not as much any more. When I was in Houston there were a lot of big Oilers fans. Now I suppose its the new team. One lady was a rabid oilers fan. She came to me and said, If you dont quit talking so much about the Dallas Cowboys Im going to leave this church! I thought she was teasing like so many do over football teams. I jokingly replied, Listen, if you want to stick with winners youd better stay with this church and the Dallas Cowboys. She left the church! I was sick that my foolish humor caused that. But then again, Grow up! I had another guy say, Brother Bill Im going to quit coming if you dont keep the services on time. I said, Were almost never more than 5 or ten minutes past twelve. He said thats what I mean. You are never out on time. He wanted to catch the opening kickoff of the football game. I said, Look it might not seem like it sometimes, but what were doing up here at church is a whole lot more important in the eternal framework than football. I hope you will reconsider this but I cannot guarantee that we will be out before 12. The Holy Spirit doesnt set his watch by the Dallas Cowboys. Let me say this in love. Some of the meanest people Ive ever met were in the churches. We were talking in staff one day about opposition. I said, You know the biggest opposition to the spirit of God should be outside the church not inside it. I think it was David Mac that replied, Oh you dont get any opposition outside the church. Theyre easy. They dont have any expectations! Thats it. Expectations. We somehow forgot that our purpose is to seek and to save that which is lost. We forgot that God left us here to tell people about the sacrifice of Jesus. We started thinking it was about us

and our agenda and our needs and our desires and our comfort. Listen, I want to say this in love, Its not about you! If you know Jesus you will die and go to heaven. If I read this book right, everyone else dies and goes to hell. So when I hold up this cracker and juice I want to remind you that you have a purpose. You have been bought with a price, glorify God in your body. Glorify God. Stop complaining and criticizing and get busy doing what God made you to do!