Let Us Never Forget
Hebrews 12:1-3
* (VIDEO – “For Freedom A Memorial Day Tribute) The last phrase gives us divine direction, “We set aside our differences to remember, to honor, and to thank those who have given everything that we might be free.”
* Over a million people have died that you and I, as Americans, might be free. During The Civil War over 625,000 soldiers died. In World War One, 116,000 American soldiers died. In World War Two, 407,000 American soldiers died. 54,000 American soldiers died in Korea, 58,000 died in Vietnam, 148 died during Desert Storm. As of May 21, 2008 there were 4,079 American Soldiers that have died in Iraq. Of course there were conflicts and causalities as well. More than a million Americans have died in wars around the world fighting for the freedom that we enjoy in this country. Freedom is never free. Someone, somewhere, at sometime, purchased any freedom that we possess; and the price of freedom is usually “innocent blood.”
* Too often it would seem that we tend to forget. We forget how good we have it, we forget what it took to buy our civil freedom, we forget that with freedom comes responsibility (or a word we do not like – “DUTY”), & we even forget the cost of our very soul.
* On this Memorial Day, I call us to this; “Let Us Never Forget.” (text)
* Taking this text, let’s come to grips with 5 simple ways to never forget. To not forget requires us to pay attention by looking at & for the right things.
1. Let us never forget to look back – It would serve us well as a nation to look back in real time to remember the passion of the men & women who gave their lives in defense of this nation. Having been a pastor in a military community, I can say with some certainty, that these men & women possess a fresh love & passion for this nation which seems to be taken for granted on Main Street. When we look back at our history, we discover the hurt, pain, & even emptiness, endured by families that we can be free.
* But let us not become so enamored with our civil freedom which, at best, is temporary, with our spiritual freedom which is eternal. Verse 1 tells us that we are surrounded by a great throng of witnesses. On this point, we look back and see those who have gone before us. Hebrews 11 gives us a vision of what we know as “Faith’s Hall of Fame.” We can look back at Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, David, Samuel, and more, to gain a perspective of whose heritage we follow. However, we can look at the disciples, the deacons (forerunners), and others who lived by faith and died for that same faith. Think back & recall you grand-dad or dad, mom or grandmother, an aunt or uncle, someone who you looked to as your hero in the faith; remembering their life.
* According to our text, the influence and possibly the attention of those who have gone before us serve as a motivation to ‘get this right.’ If we never take the opportunity to look back, we will never, NEVER regain the passion which motivated those believers of Old. We need to witness again & relive their passion & love for Christ allowing it to burn deeply in our hearts.
* By the way, looking back will remind us of those casualties of war. Think of those who are “Missing in Action”. This means in the heat of the battle, they became lost and unaccounted for. MIA is one of the most difficult designations for a family to receive because it is the “we really don’t know what happened” status. There are 3 most common possibilities. A) They have been captured and become a DETAINEE of the enemy. B) They have DESERTED. They didn’t go over to the other side, they chose to run to neutral place & lay low until the fighting subsides. C) They are discovered DEAD and their status changes from MIA to KIA. To consider these three possibilities for soldier is to remember that believers are soldiers of the cross. Sadly, some have been captured by the forces of evil, they have allowed sin to take over their lives, and the enemy has taken them captive. They forgot to put on the ‘Armor of the Lord’ (Eph 6) & were no match for him. Others have discovered the battle to be too intense so they decided to abandon their post, find of place of perceived safety, and lay low until the battle was over. Literally, they deserted. While still others chose to stick it out, stay in the fight, & give all they could give—even their lives.
* When we look back and remember these folks, it reminds us to be found “IN ACTION” no matter what happens. The believer has been saved for & called into ACTION as a soldier of the King.
2. Let us never forget to look inside – The next part of verse 1 tells us to ‘lay aside every weight and sin.’ Interesting. Weight & sin are synonymous. In other words, sin will weigh you down. Think of attempting to go into battle with 200 pounds of unnecessary weight on your back or stepping into a boxing ring with 50 pound glove on your hands. This is exactly what sin is in a life. It is a weight, a hindrance, & even a barrier to victory. You will never experience spiritual power with habitual sin present in your life. Until you lay it aside, take it off, or put it down, your life will be one of frustration, defeat, & discouragement. One of the reasons so many, who name Christ, live such defeated lives is that they have one foot in the church & one foot in the culture and they are miserable in both worlds. Normally, it is everybody else’s fault. The ‘blame game’ is the most popular game in our culture.
* This is why, so often, the Bible speaks of our ‘being deceived’ as well as ‘self deception.’ In the New Testament alone there are dozens of texts which speak of ‘being deceived.’ (Rom. 3:13, 1 Cor. 3:18, 6:9, 15:33, Gal 6:3, Eph 5:6, 2 The. 2:3, 2 Tim, 3:13, Jas. 1:14-16, I John 3:7) Deception is a danger.
* When we refuse to look inside, we refuse to see the weight of sin which obstruct our walk with Christ. In fact, if we are ‘a person of the way’ and allow sin to have its way, we’ll find the spirit of God withdrawing from our lives. Have you ever prayed feeling like your prayers were not getting out of the room? Have you ever felt like ‘quitting’? Have you ever lost the sense of God’s presence with you? If you have, one of the reasons could be a refusal to look inside at the weight of sin.
* How do we do this? RECOGNIZE IT, REPENT OF IT, and REPLACE IT with the Lord! Turn away from your sin by turning to Jesus. Anything less will be unproductive and unsuccessful.
3. Let us never forget to look forward – The Bible tells us that NOW we are ready to run the race with endurance. Isn’t this just like the Bible to make logical sense. In High School sports we all bought ‘ankle weights’. We would run, jump, and even work out with those weight on. The reason was that when we removed the weights, we would be able to run faster, jump higher, and play longer than before. Removing the weights freed us.
* Think; you are presently trying to run the race with & for Jesus but you have this weight of sin around your neck. Every step you take is a real effort because life is pulling you down. Perhaps you KNOW God wants you to perform a ministry for Him, but you try to do it with habitual & present sin in your life only to discover that you cannot. So you bring the sin to Jesus & He releases you (forgives you) from your sin. You feel like a new man—BUT something still holds you back – you keep looking back. You look to see your failures, your fault, & your past mistakes. When you do this, you are taken captive by the enemy who continues to encourage you to focus on what you did wrong. The enemy will literally turn you into a pillar of salt which does nothing but stand and look. Paul said, “Forgetting the THINGS which are behind…” When we look back, let us look at the people, the heroes, & those who have set the course for our future, to become focus on what is up ahead. Never forget that “Eyes have not seen, nor have any ears heard” of what God has in store for those who trust and follow Him. Run the race looking at the finish line. A grand-dad had 3 grandsons working the field with him. He offered $5 to the one who could walk the straightest line to him out in that huge open field. One watched his feet & soon was off line; the second watched the ground & was soon out. Finally, the third focused on his granddad walking an almost perfect straight line to Him. This thought brings us to the next thing we need not forget;
4. Let us never forget to look Up – Just like the boy looked up at his grand-dad, so we need to look UP at Jesus. He is the source (the author) & perfecter (finisher, completer) of our faith. This means it starts with Him, it is lived out through Him, and it all ends with Him. It’s all about HIM – not you (or me).
* If we never look up at Him, we will never live for Him. He calls, we respond. He convicts, we surrender. He converts, we accept. The first call is Jesus is the call to repent. It was His first earthly message, it’s His first Spiritual message, and it will be His last call. He extends His nail-scarred hand as if to say, “These nails are for you, your price has been paid, so please repent & come to me.” At this point, you are faced with 2 choices; receive or reject.
* You either look up to Him & receive His invitation to abundant life here & eternal life beyond the grave OR you reject His words, His sacrifice, and HIS love, only to spend an eternity in a place the Bible calls HELL. Whether I tell you this in a red-faced, ‘hell-fire’ manner or whisper to you know this; hell is a place of pain, punishment, loneliness, fear, and more. Additionally, just like heaven, hell’s fire is eternal. Finally, it is a place where you will never feel love again. Since God is love we must know that the absence of God means the absence of love. While the Rich Man in hell expressed concerned for those in his family who were still alive, he never mentioned any of his family member who were there with him. Hell is not a party, hell is a punishment. The only way to escape it is look up when Jesus calls.
5. Let us never forget to look down – Why should be look down? We should never forget that the cross speaks of shame and shame, by its very nature, causes the person to look down. Sadly, we seem to have lost the ‘shame’ gene in our culture. There is so much immorality, sensuality, and plain perversion today that we find ourselves not being embarrassed, red faced, or humiliated by the very things which would have sent prior generations into private. Jesus endured the shame of the cross, the death of a criminal, for you and me. When we can no longer stand the pain & shame of the cross and look down we see the BLOOD! This is HIS BLOOD and it should be MY BLOOD. It is in this moment that our hearts are pricked by the spirit of God. Knowing that the innocent Son of Creator God shed His blood in my behalf cuts at our arrogance, ego, and pride; bringing me to my needs. And if it doesn’t, I submit that not only does God have no part in your life but that His Spirit has not spoken to you – and at that point your opportunity to be saved is suspect. Is Jesus – TENDERLY – calling you home? (RECAP) Respond to Him.
