Messages with Meaning


Sermons delivered at Sanlando Springs by Pastor Jack Parrott

Memories

Philippians 1:3
Presented May 25, 2008, © Dr. Jack Parrott
I. Introduction

  1. God created you with a memory that starts working before you enter the world.
    As you mature, God gives you a memory so you can relive the joys of the past and learn from the lessons of history. See Deuteronomy 32:7.
  2. Sometimes time or disease steals our memories. We can strengthen our memory with regular mental exercises, daily physical activity, a healthier diet, and by reducing stress. (Have you noticed that you seem to think more clearly when you'll taking a walk away from the telephone and pressure?
    Jigsaw and crossword puzzles, board games such as chess, and even watching quiz shows like Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune or Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? can help.
  3. Our memories are marvelous creations. They remember all sorts of things: sounds (like a baby's cry), smells (like freshly baked peanut butter cookies), events (like a birth or your wedding day). But probably more than anything else we remember people ... all kinds of people throughout our life.
II. There are people we would like to forget.
  1. There are those who wronged us. We need to ask God to help us forgive.
    1. Take the initiative in forgiving people who have wronged you. You say, 'but they don't deserve it.' Then show them the same grace God shows you when He forgives your sins.
    2. We need to confess our anger or resentment toward another person in order to free both ourselves and them from the memory.
    3. Remember, both the wrong-doer and the jailer live in the jail! If you want to get out of living in the jail, you must free the wrong-doer, otherwise you'll both be looking at the world through iron bars the rest of your life.
  2. There are those we have hurt. We need to ask the Lord to heal our memories, as well as the people we have harmed.
    1. The Holy Spirit will help us. The first step is to face the hurt ourselves. David Seamands (Healing of Memories): "We cannot confess to God what we do not acknowledge to ourselves."
    2. The second step is, if possible, go to the person you have hurt and confess your wrong. See James 5:16.
  3. There are also those who remind us of our own faults. The best way to forget our past faults is not to repeat them.
    Paul had persecuted Christians in his early life, but by the grace of God he became a healer. See 1 Corinthians 15:9.
  4. Let God heal the memories of people you need to forget.
    One of the delights of living in Central Florida is the beautiful blue sky. Occasionally as we drive home to Winter Garden we see in the sky over Disney a skywriter. A little girl, watching an airplane writing in the sky, was puzzled as the letters began to break apart and disappear. Suddenly, she blurted out, 'Maybe God has an eraser!'
III. There are people we long to remember.
  1. There are those who have paved the way for us, we know they were there, but we do not know their names.
    A Kentucky pastor told of two members of his church who were discussing the challenges of getting older. One said, "The worst thing is when your memory starts to go. I've known you all my life, but I can't think of your name. What is it?" The other person thought for a moment and then said, "Do you need an answer right now?" (We all have days when we can't seem to remember our own names!)
  2. What of the people of faith who have gone before us to blaze the trail, to open the doors, to provide the opportunities? It costs someone for us to be here today. Be sure to remember them.
  3. On this Memorial Day let us remember those whose names we may have forgotten, but whose sacrifice we must never allow time to diminish, the men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.
IV. There are people lost to our memory.
   What of the countless ordinary people; the nameless and faceless masses that just make the journey from birth to death without any fanfare? They did not do anything 'spectacular'. The 'Who's Who' list they are on is 'Who's That?' They may be unknown to us, but they are not unknown or insignificant to God.
   Everyone wants to matter to someone. Listen: you do matter. You matter to the most significant Person of all. You matter to Almighty God.
V. There are people we love to remember.
  1. We all have favorite people who we have locked in our memory vault. We take out the memories as we sit in a familiar place or hear a familiar song, and maybe just visit them in our minds.
    1. I have those people in my life: my great grandmother, grandmother and mom. Mentors like Preacher Helton, Brother Oakley, and Larry Martin. Past staff partners like Angie, Steve and Rusty. And now, many of you...
  2. The scriptures remind us how important it is to remember. There are entire sections like Chronicles given to remembering the names of key people. See Psalm 10.7.

    3.    In the New Testament, of course, Paul loved to mention the names of colleagues and friends. In Romans 1:6 Paul "constantly remembered" the Roman believers in his prayers. (This is a common line in all of Paul's letters to the churches, but see particularly the endings of his letter to the Colossians and his second letter to Timothy.)
VI. How will they remember you?
  1. To paraphrase John Maxwell, an inheritance is something you leave to someone while a legacy is something you leave in someone.
    1. Everyone of us has a monument with our name on it. A monument? you ask. Where? Your monument is the memories you leave behind as you pass through this world.
    2. Some have erected a monument of sacrifice, others a monument of love. Still others, monuments of compassion, integrity, justice, and godliness.
  2. Where are these monuments? They are down deep inside the lives you have touched -- the children, grandchildren, friends, and co-workers. They are the living monuments you built with memories.

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