Disloyal People Have Bad Memories: Why God Says Remember

Sermon outline

God tells us to remember because we are prone to forget, and remembering what He and others have done for us keeps us grateful, loyal and merciful.

1. God told us to remember because we can forget

   Remembrance is so important that God built it into the Lord's Supper. He would never have told us to remember if we did not have the potential to forget. People in and out of church quickly forget God's mercy, grace and compassion, and as they prosper some even forget who gave them the power to get wealth.

   Illustration: An old song: He took us from the mud and the mire, the muck and the clay, and placed our feet on the King's highway.

   “God would have never told us to remember had we not had the potential to forget.”

   • Deuteronomy 8:18
   • Luke 22:19
   • Colossians 2:8

2. Men without remembrance are the most deadly group

   People who forget the goodness of God and of others become the traitors of tomorrow, like Judas. Israel saw the Red Sea split, water from the rock and manna from heaven, yet longed for the leeks and garlic of Egypt. Believers forget their deliverance, healing and rise from poverty, then criticise the men and women of God who were instruments of grace to them, and stop giving to God's kingdom.

   Illustration: Some who were rolling on the floor as demons came out, or lay dying in hospital until someone anointed them with oil, now sit and malign pastors.

   “Almost all disloyal people are people with a bad memory.”

   • Exodus 14:21-22
   • Exodus 17:6
   • Numbers 11:5

3. We have forgotten holiness and our first love

   The church has made everything about finances and prosperity and forgotten holiness, sanctification and consecration. He is not against prosperity teaching but calls for balance and the fear of the Lord in God's house. Remember how you wanted church every day when you first got saved, come out of lukewarmness, and return to your first love.

   Illustration: Steak, chicken and cheese taste better, but you also need green beans and broccoli for balance and nutrition.

   “Without holiness, no man shall see God.”

   • 2 Timothy 4:3
   • Mark 12:30
   • Revelation 2:4
   • Revelation 3:15-16
   • Hebrews 12:14

4. 1. Remembrance makes you grateful to God

   If you remember what God did for you and your family, you will be grateful. Remember where you came from, and honour parents who went without so you could study. Preachers who forget their humble beginnings become proud; remembering keeps you humble and grateful for salvation, deliverance, healing, prosperity and protection.

   Illustration: At a packed funeral he spotted Mrs Ralph, an elderly neighbour from his childhood whose family had the first television in the area. She used to feed him and about thirty other children as they watched High Chaparral. After the service he called her aside to thank her.

   “If you remember, it keeps you humble. It makes you grateful.”

   • Ephesians 6:2

5. 2. Remembrance makes us accommodate other people

   Remembering where you came from gives you mercy for others; mean-spirited people have simply forgotten. Some who have made it now reject people like their own parents who swept the streets for the Durban Corporation. The church must love rich, middle-class and poor alike and not give the rich the front seats.

   “If you remember where you came from, then you can have mercy to other people.”

   • James 2:1-4