INTRO.- II Pet. 3:8 “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. “
DO NOT FORGET THIS ONE THING. We humans forget more than one thing. We forget many things. But Peter is saying, “Don’t forget the Lord and don’t forget that the Lord’s view of time is different than ours. He is not limited by time as we are. Don’t forget that God is faithful. He will do what He says He will do.”
We human beings are forgetful about many things. We do forget God at times. We do forget what His Word says. We do forget what we heard in church last Sunday.
ILL.- Did you hear about the three old men who were talking one afternoon about how forgetful they were getting? The first one said, "Sometimes I get undressed to get into the shower, and suddenly I can’t remember if I’m getting in or getting out."
The second one said, "Well, sometimes I’ll find myself on the stairs, and I don’t remember if I’m going up or coming down."
The third old man said, "Well, so far I haven’t had any of that kind of trouble. I guess I’ll just knock on wood and hope that what is happening to you guys doesn’t happen to me." So he rapped his knuckles on the arm of his wooden rocking chair, and then he said, "I wonder who that is?"
Forgetfulness. We all experience it and it seems to get worse with age. Senior moments, they call them.
ILL.- One 53 year-old woman said, “I’m always writing notes to myself, and then I forget the notes. I came home one night, and my girlfriend down the road was having a party. . . .I’d completely forgotten, even though she had reminded me three times that day. I think it’s overload." I don’t know what it is, but it happens. Overload and underload.
Some things need to be forgotten but can’t seem to be erased from the memory. Other things need to be remembered but escape easily. One thing we should not forget…IS PEOPLE!
ILL.- Thomas Monaghan is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of Domino’s Pizza, Inc. From 1970 to 1985, Domino’s grew from a small debt-ridden chain to the second largest pizza company in America. When asked to account for the phenomenal growth of the company, Monaghan explained, "I programmed everything for growth." And how did he plan for growth? "Every day we develop people-the key to growth is developing people." Not special cheese, not a tasty crust, not fast delivery schedules, but people! Dominos has the slogan, "Our most important ingredient is our people!"
Brothers and sisters, Dominos is apparently in the people business. God is definitely in the people business; otherwise He wouldn’t have sent Jesus into the world to save people! And whether we realize it or not, our business in this world is also people.
PROP.- On this Memorial Day weekend I want us to think about people remembering people in four different ways:
1- Remember the good and commend
2- Remember the hurt and pray
3- Remember the need and serve
4- Remember the dead and praise
I. REMEMBER THE GOOD AND COMMEND
Rom. 13:7 “Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” We need to honor people when they do good.
Prov. 12:25 “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” Or it could be a commending word. You don’t have to be rich to give compliments away.
ILL.- The brilliant physician and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., and his brother John represent two radically different views on the subject of compliments. Dr. Holmes loved to receive compliments, and when he was older he indulged his pastime by saying to someone who had just praised his work, "I am a trifle deaf, you know. Do you mind repeating that a little louder?"
John, however, was content to be in his older brother’s shadow. He once said that the only compliment he ever received came when he was six years old. The maid was brushing his hair when she said to his mother that little John wasn’t all that cross-eyed!
Brothers and sisters, I don’t think we ought to go fishing for compliments, but I do think we should be quick to give them when people do well in life.
ILL.- A weary beggar approached a roadside inn that had the name, "George and the Dragon” on the door. Knocking on the office door, he was met by a hateful and bitter woman who screamed for him to leave the property. Mustering up enough nerve, he knocked a second time and asked, "May I speak to George?"
Brothers and sisters, we have all encountered "dragons" in real life. They are found at the grocery store, on school property, in shopping malls, at work, and sometimes even in church and at home! And sometimes we are that "dragon.” But instead of being dragons, we need to be angels and seek to bless people with good words, not blister them with grouchy words.
Eph. 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs…”
Unwholesome talk could be criticism. Talk that builds is talk that commends, appreciates, praises, and encourages.
We all need to zero in on the good in people’s lives. Watch for that good. Keep your eyes and ears open to good in people. Then, don’t hesitate to say something positive to them.
The idea is not to win friends and influence people like some politician who goes around kissing babies. The idea is simply to see good in others and commend them. By so doing, we will encourage them to continue to do even more good.
ILL.- It’s like that man who said, “One morning I opened the door to get the newspaper and was surprised to see a strange little dog with our paper in his mouth. Delighted with this unexpected ‘delivery service,’ I fed him some treats. The following morning I was horrified to see the same dog sitting in front of our door, wagging his tail, surrounded by eight newspapers. I spent the rest of that morning returning the papers to their owners.”
When you praise people for their good they are more encouraged to do good. Remember the good and commend.
II. REMEMBER THE HURT AND PRAY
ILL.- A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beaten, robbed and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. Then she asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?" A little girl broke the hushed silence. "I think I’d throw up!"
Obviously, that was not the point of the story of the Good Samaritan. The point is we are to see hurting people and try to help them. As a minimum, pray for them.
Matt. 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Jesus saw hurting people. We must see the hurt in others before we can do something for them. How’s your vision? Are you nearsighted or farsighted?
ILL.- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once told about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child; the winner was a four year old boy. His next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into his gentleman’s yard, climbed into his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing. I just helped him cry."
Brothers and sisters, that’s compassion and we all need to get it.
Eph. 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
We are to pray for all the saints (living saints) and particularly for those who are hurting. When people hurt, we should pray and let them know that we are praying for them.
I think any time we pray for people it does some good, but it will do even more good when we tell them that we are praying. Sometimes the only thing we can do for someone is to pray for them.
James 5:14 “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him...”
I don’t think that praying for the sick and hurting should be limited to the elders of a church. They should certainly do their part in this, however.
ILL.- I tried out for the First Christian Church of Cabool, MO, one time. I didn’t get the church, but I was certainly impressed by one of the elders in that church. He managed a local cement company, but one of their church members was in the hospital in Springfield, MO, which was more than an hour away and he took off work to go see that member.
Most of the time we want and demand that our preachers go see people in the hospital, but it’s a rare and spiritual thing for anyone in a church to take off work to go visit someone in the hospital. THAT ELDER WAS DOING A GOOD WORK. He was doing his God-ordained work and I’m quite sure that while he was there, he also prayed with that member.
Brothers and sisters, any time we see someone who is hurting, sick, etc. we need to pray for them. That’s a part of following Christ. That’s a ministry, which we all can do. Remember the hurt and pray.
III. REMEMBER THE NEED AND SERVE
Gal. 5:13 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”
I Pet. 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
God wants us to serve one another in love. He wants us to use our gifts to serve one another anyway we can, meet needs, etc.
ILL.- Pedro Pantoja gets emotional when he looks into the eyes of the people he would like to help. Pantoja is a Joplin, MO, businessman who was born in Mexico, knows the difficulties people from his country and other Latin American countries face when they come to the United States. He has already faced them.
He hopes to work with the Community Clinic of Joplin to establish a help center to reach out to the Hispanic population of Southwest Missouri. The center would be a place where people who do not speak English could go for advice on the basics of living in America - something Pantoja calls "Gringo 101."
The center would provide local Hispanics with advice on such issues as how to use a bank, finding a lawyer, how to establish credit, and when to call police and emergency services. He said, "I can relate to these people because when you come into this country, you are completely alone.”
He said that when he came to the United States in 1957 on a student visa, he worked in jobs he called "mundane" - janitor, dishwasher, cook, bartender - but they helped him pay for his education and they gave him experience in American life.
He received college degrees in agronomy and entomology, and he worked for an international company that allowed him to travel all over the world. After the company was sold and he spent a year unemployed, he settled in Joplin and bought a convenience store.
Now retired, Pantoja said he wants to help fellow Hispanics learn how to become productive members of the American labor force, not just a drain on the American welfare system.
Pedro Pantoja is remembering his fellow countrymen and in a good way. He is not just thinking about them, he is doing something to help them. HOW COMMENDABLE! How Christ-like!
ILL.- I was hungry, and you formed a humanities group to discuss my hunger.
I was imprisoned, and you crept off quietly to your chapel and prayed for my release.
I was naked, and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.
I was sick, and you knelt and thanked God for your health.
I was homeless, and you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.
I was lonely, and you left me alone to pray for me.
You seem so holy, so close to God but I am still very hungry - and lonely - and cold.
There are times when we need to go beyond and do something for someone. Is there someone at work or a neighbor whom you can help? Remember the need and serve.
IV. REMEMBER THE DEAD AND PRAISE
Heb. 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
We are surrounded by a great cloud of Christians who have gone on before us. We need to remember those Christians and thank God for them, for their godly example, etc.
I Thess. 4:13-14 “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
The dead in Christ are not dead. We will see them again! Praise God! What a glorious hope we have in Christ!
ILL.- On his deathbed, British preacher Charles Simeon smiled brightly and asked the people gathered in his room, "What do you think especially gives me comfort at this time?" When they all remained silent, he exclaimed, "The creation! I ask myself, ’Did Jehovah create the world or did I?’ He did! Now if He made the world and all the rolling spheres of the universe, He certainly can take care of me. Into Jesus’ hands I can safely commit my spirit!"
ILL.- Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission, in the closing months of his life said to a friend, "I am so weak. I can’t read my Bible. I can’t even pray. I can only lie still in God’s arms like a little child and trust."
It is so reassuring when Christian people die in strong faith. Not all do, however, which is very sad.
Somehow we must learn to walk by faith when it comes to the matter of death. We must commit our loved ones to God in faith and we must die in faith.
ILL.- Just a few weeks ago I went back to Joplin/Carthage, MO, area and preached the funeral of my only aunt. I really didn’t know much at all about her relationship to Christ. She was a member of the United Methodist Church in Carthage. All I can do is trust her to the Lord, because there isn’t anyone who loved her more than the Lord. And there isn’t anyone who loved your deceased loved ones more than the Lord! HE IS THE GREAT LOVER OF THE HUMAN SOUL!
ILL.- My greatest loss has been my mother who passed away on June 30, 2002, nearly two years ago. I got closer to mother after my dad passed away some twenty years earlier. The last 10 months of mother’s life was spent in the nursing home. I went every month and would spend three days with her. Mother’s faith was not perfect, but she left this world in faith, trusting the Lord, not fearing.
Jill Smith from the nursing home was with mother the last three or fours of her life, and together, they quoted the Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalm. Jill said that mother’s voice was getting very weak, but her voice was strongest when she came to that part, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me…”
Today, I remember this strongly. I remember mother and thank God for her faith! And I trust the Lord for His salvation, for her salvation and for mine. No one goes to their grave perfect. Nor will their faith be perfect, but hopefully, they trust in a perfect Savior, the Lord Jesus. If anyone loved them, if anyone loves, it is the Lord Jesus.
Remember the dead in Christ and praise the Lord for their salvation. And look forward to your own.
CONCLUSION-------------------------------
God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. God loves everything He has created because it’s good, but His most important creation is people. God’s heart is set on people. And so ours must be. Remember people always. Remember them and commend. Remember them and pray for them. Remember them and help them. Remember them always.
