Your pastor's absence, I think
you're very wise, and I know Paul is really grateful that
you all saw to it that they were able to go on vacation. I tell
you, I've preached just long enough and just enough to find
out that a pastor has the most strenuous, the most stressful,
and the most difficult occupation there is on the face of the earth.
It's more than just a job or an occupation. It's like Christ. It is his life. So you're wise
to encourage them to, from time to time, get away a little bit. We all need that kind of therapy,
don't we, to go on vacation from time to time. It's a good thing.
And I spoke with Paul this morning as they were leaving to go to
Brother Shelton's to worship in Pensacola, and he said to
be sure and remember all of you by them. Now, to introduce my
message this morning, the title of which is Remember Me, my dad,
my earthly father, died almost 15 years ago. And I tried recently
to think of everyone that I could who I thought would remember
him. And this is interesting. Do you
know that I could only count about 40 people alive today that
I felt certain would remember my dad? Now, even if I couldn't
think of some, and I'm sure there's some I couldn't or didn't know,
but that's still a sad and sobering number, isn't it? In 15 years? And all too soon, there'll be
no one left on this earth who remembers him. And this same reality is approaching
and awaits every one of us. And I try to tell my children,
who were born after he died, he didn't know either one of
them, I've tried to tell them all about my dad. I tell them
stories. things he did and I say the things
that he used to say. But despite all my efforts. They
just can't remember him. And there's a good reason why
they can't. You see, they never knew him. They never knew him. And you can't remember one who
you never met. You can't remember somebody that
you never knew. And I'm so very sad this morning. My heart breaks for everyone
here who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ. Because you see,
if you haven't met Christ, if you don't know him, then you
can't remember him. And I hope by the Holy Spirit
this morning that this might be the morning that he introduces
himself to somebody. So that you too then can have
the joy that those who haven't met him have. And that's every
day to remember him. The scriptures command us to
remember. To remember. It commands us to
remember some places and some things and some people. But everything
we are commanded to remember in the scriptures is for the
sole purpose of calling to remembrance the Lord Jesus Christ. Remembering
places and people and things are only relevant or important
as they magnify some attribute of Christ, or as they give us
some picture of his accomplishments, or as they glorify the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But as I said, sadly, if you
haven't met him, you can't remember him. Maybe he'll introduce himself
this morning to someone. Look here in 1 Corinthians 11,
and this is the first point of my message, that God commands
us to remember, to remember. First, you know, there's there
was two ordinances that our Lord instituted in his earthly ministry
here, the first of which was baptism. And that is the ordinance
that by which we identify with Christ, we identify with his
death, with his burial and with his resurrection, and we only
do it one time, don't we? Just one time are we baptized
and we are identified with him. But there's another ordinance,
a second ordinance that our Lord gave us in his earthly ministry,
and that's the one that Terry read in Luke, in the book of
Luke, the Lord's table. And how often do we do that?
We do it as often as you come together. Don't we do it over
and over and over again? And what's the purpose of that?
We look here in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 24. And when he had
given thanks, he break the bread and said, take, eat This is my
body, which is broken for you. This do why? To remember me. In verse 25, after the same manner
also, he took the cup when he had supped, saying, This cup
is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye, as oft as you drink
it. Why? In remembrance of me. The purpose of the Lord's table
is to remember Christ. And we're commanded over and
over again through the Scriptures. Let me show you. I'm going to
show you a list of six, seven, eight things. First one is in
John 15. You turn there with me. And there's
a good reason why we're commanded to remember. We're told, first
of all, now the first thing we're to remember is the word. And
remember, all of these things are only important as they're
relevant to remembering Christ. We're to remember these things
because they called Christ to Remembrance. And the first one
is the Word. And the reason we're commanded
to remember, you see, is because we so easily forget, don't we? And the only thing we're to remember
is about Christ as it's revealed in the Word here. And look at
John 15, verse 20. This is so clear. It says right
there, Remember the Word that I said unto you. Remember the
Word. Remember the word, I tell you, I hope as I lay on my deathbed,
I'm like the fellow, the only thing he could remember were
the scriptures he'd learned. I'll die that way. Remembering
the word, the word, because it's what's in this word is the only
thing worth remembering. But secondly, let me show you,
turn to Isaiah 46. Isaiah 46. We're to remember that God is
sovereign. Now, I'm going to begin to weave
these things together, and you notice how they just fall right
on one another. I didn't just sit down and dream
these up. When I started looking up this word, remember, boy,
these things fall right into line. We're to remember that
God is sovereign. God reigns and rules sovereignly
over all things and all people. And in Isaiah 46, look at verse
8. Remember this. That's clear,
isn't it? Remember this, and show yourselves
men, bring it again to mind." That's the same word. Remember.
Twice he said it now. Remember, O ye transgressors.
A third time, remember. What is it we're supposed to
remember? The things of old. What is that? I'm God. He said,
you remember, I'm God. For there's none else. There's
no other God. I am God. And there's none like
me. He said, I'm sovereign. I declare
the end from the beginning, from ancient times of things that
are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand. I will do all my
pleasures. You remember that? You remember
that? He said, I'm sovereign, God.
Turn to Numbers, chapter 15. Let me show you the third thing. third thing that we're called
to remember. First, we're to remember the
word. Second, we're to remember that God is sovereign. And then
thirdly, we're to remember the commandments of the sovereign
God. Sovereign God has the right to demand perfect obedience of
his subjects, does he not? And in Numbers 15, look at verse
39. And it shall be unto you a fringe
Now what that mean? Y'all know what a fringe is on
something, but the priest in this time wore long robes and
the fringe on the bottom of those robes, you know what it had written
on it? The commandments of God. You know why? So as the priest
walked around, everybody saw him. It called to mind continually. They didn't have any trouble
remembering God's commandments. They were right there in front
of them all the time. And he says, God says, And it
shall be unto you a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember
all the commandments of the Lord, and do them, that ye seek not
after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye used
to go a-whoring, that ye may remember and do all my commandments,
and be ye holy unto your God. I am the Lord your God." You
see, he reminds him again, I'm sovereign. He said, I am the
Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt
to be your God. I am the Lord your God." Now,
he's sovereign, and we're to remember his commandments. Now
turn to Ephesians 2, and let me show you the fourth thing. And as Terry mentioned in his
excellent lesson this morning, that the purpose of the commandments
of the law is not to save somebody. It's to show us what we are,
that we can't keep that. law that we, by nature, can't
keep those commandments. And that's the next thing we're
commanded to remember is that our condition, our condition
under the law. You see, in Adam, we disobeyed
God's commandments, the commandments of the sovereign God. And we're
condemned for not obeying his commandments. Look here what
it says in Ephesians 2, verse 11. Wherefore, remember, here
it is, remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the
flesh who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision
in the flesh made by hands. Remember now that at that time
you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope, and without God in this world. We remember we're born
in this world with no hope without God. We're aliens. But I like
verse 13. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye
who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. And you turn to Deuteronomy 32,
and I'll show you the next thing. We're to remember. See how these
all begin to fit together? God says, remember my commandments.
He said, remember, you can't keep them. And now look at this
in Deuteronomy 32. We're to remember that God chose
a people. Out of those who could not keep
his commandments, he chose a people. In Deuteronomy 32, look at verse
7 with me. Verse 7. Remember the days of
old. Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he'll show
you. Thy elders and they'll tell you.
When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance,
When he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the
people according to the number of the children of Israel, for
the Lord's portion is his people." Jacob is a lot of his inheritance. He said, you remember my commandments,
you remember you can't keep them, but he said, you remember I chose
some of you anyway. And now I like this just a few
pages back in Deuteronomy 5. He said, You remember my redeeming
mercy. You see, we were servants to
sin, slaves, but he had mercy. He redeemed us by his grace and
by his power. In Deuteronomy 5, verse 15, and
remember, there's the word, and remember that thou was a servant
in the land of Egypt and that the Lord thy God, see, that we
were down there in Egypt, slaves to sin. We weren't asking God
to come deliver us. We were contented our sins. But
remember, he came and got us anyway. And that the Lord thy
God brought thee out, Vince, through a mighty hand and by
a stretched out arm. Therefore, the Lord thy God commanded
thee to keep the Sabbath. Now, what that means is that
whenever we come together, we remember Christ. That's what
we keep the Sabbath. That's why we come together here.
It's not because it's a day or that we're bound up to that per
se. No. The reason we want to come
together on the Lord's Day is to remember Christ. And then I like this, 1 Chronicles
16. 1 Chronicles, you turn over there. He said, Remember, I chose a
people. He said, I'm going to redeem
them. And he said, I'm going to remember my covenant. That's
why I'm going to do it. We're going to. He's going to
remember his covenant. You see, we're redeemed according to this
covenant. Salvation is by the work of Christ,
and it's according to the covenant. And First Chronicles 16. Look
at verse 12. Remember his marvelous works
that he have done his wonders in the judgments of his mouth.
Oh, you see the visceral. See, there's his chosen people
again, his servant, his children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He
is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the
earth. Be ye mindful, that's the same word, remember always
of his covenant, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
even the covenant which he made with Abraham and of his oath
unto Isaac, and hath confirmed the same as Jacob for a law unto
Israel for an everlasting covenant. Remember, it's not up to, it's
not based upon anything we've done. I'm glad I don't have to
remember what I did. I'm glad I can remember what
Christ did and Christ did it according to his covenant, the
covenant that Christ made with his father. The father said,
I want a people like you, son. And the son said, father, I'll
go get them. And I'll, I'll die for their
sin and put it away and I'll establish a good life, a righteous
life, and give it to them so they can come back and be your
people. And they'll be just like you said. I'm going to remember
that covenant, that covenant they made. And then finally here,
Psalm 20. Turn there. Lest we forget, let's
remember this. In Psalm 20. Let's not get so wrapped up in
remembering these things in remembering the commandments and remembering
the doctrine of election and remembering his redeeming mercy
and remembering the covenant. We do want to remember those
things. Let's not get so wrapped up in those that we forget this
in Psalm 20, verse six. For now, I that for now know
I that the Lord saveth his anointed. He will hear him from his holy
heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust
in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name
of the Lord our God. Let's remember that it's Christ. I don't care about election.
I care about the electing Christ. I don't care so much about so
much about the mercy is the Christ that shows mercy. I don't want
to get so wrapped up in the covenant that I forget it's the Christ
of the covenant. Do we see that? It's in a person.
Remember a person. We don't come together here to
observe the Lord's table to remember mercy or to remember commandments.
We come to remember Christ who is all these things. It's a person. Listen now to something. I think
you can take home with you now. I had you look up a lot of scriptures,
but now even you children listen to this. You can enter into this
and understand these things I'm going to give you here. Listen
to this. Y'all ever get tired? I do. Get weary? When you do, remember Christ. He said, come on to me. I'll
give you rest. Y'all ever struggle with temptation?
Remember Christ. He was tempted in all points
like as we are, yet without sin. Has your family cut you off yet?
Given you over to this cult they think you're in? Well, remember
Christ. In Him we are joint heirs and
the children of God. Does your sinfulness sometimes
burden you almost to despair? Remember Christ. He died for
sinners. If you've ever thought there's
just no way to reach the living God, remember Christ. He is the
mediator between men and God. When sickness and pain wrack
your body, remember Christ. He suffered untold agony and
calvary. Ever wonder why your husband
or wife hasn't left you? Or if they will, well, remember
Christ. He's the bridegroom, and we're
his bride. He honors all his covenant vows. He'll go with you to the end.
When worldly goods woo you, or maybe some luxury you desire
eludes you, remember Christ. He is our portion. When we realize
how unlovely we are, remember Christ. He's the altogether lovely
And when there's wars, or like this morning, rumors of wars,
when they come, remember Christ. He's the Prince of Peace. When
your friends forsake you, remember Christ. He's the friend of sinners.
When the justice of God's law overwhelms you, remember that
Christ satisfied every jot and tittle of that law. And when
your enemies assail you, remember Christ. He's a mighty fortress.
And does your lack of faith distress you at times? Well, remember
Christ, because He is ever faithful. Do you ever think, I just can't
endure this? I just can't do it? Remember
that Christ, His mercy endureth forever. And when salvation seems
beyond you, well, it is. It is beyond you. Salvation is
of the Lord. And do you ever think, what can
I do? Just remember Christ. He's already
done it all. It's finished. And when you're
ready to give up, remember Christ. He'll take you up. His grace
is sufficient. And when you think you are nothing
and you have nothing, well, you're thinking right. But remember
Christ. He is all and in all. You see,
the Lord's table is so precious to us and so sweet because it's
a dedicated time of remembering Christ. And let me tell you,
the next best thing to being with Christ is remembering Christ. And He had the wisdom and foreknowledge
to command us to do it in His Word for that reason. There's
great joy in remembering Christ. You want joy in this life? Remember
Christ. The next best thing to being
with Him is remembering Him. But before I leave this point,
I must give you three solemn warnings. We're commanded to
remember three categories of people. This is sobering now. God in his Word said, Remember
Miriam. This is the woman you see who
withstood Moses to his face. And he said, Remember Amalek. And it was Amalek who led the
Amalekites to sneak up behind and attack God's people. And
he said, Remember Edom. You see, Edom led the Edomites
right into the flu, right in the face of God's people and
attacked them. And then he said, you remember this one. He said,
remember Lot's wife. She's the one you see who turned
her back on the gospel. I talk about unusual punishments,
too. If somebody turned into a pillar
of salt this morning, I don't suppose we'd soon forget it.
So let's remember. And I don't want to depart from
the gospel. That's what that warning's about.
And the Amalekites and Edomites, I tell you, we better not attack
God's people. We better not do that. We better
not do that. The punishment they got was that
God destroyed the Amalekites and Edomites, destroyed them
and their children and their children's children and their
cattle and their beasts, destroyed them all. And then Miriam, Miriam,
I think we better not attack God's preacher. We better watch
what we say about God's prophet. And also, do you remember what
it was Miriam was being so critical about? He was Moses' wife. Moses married a woman from Ethiopia. And it didn't suit well with
her. Moses had the audacity to marry a black woman. So she was
critical of that. And I tell you what, we better
not criticize Nancy Bird or Mindy Mahan or Martha Richardson. We better watch what we say now.
I mean, that's a pretty solemn warning, and it got on. She just
spoke up about Moses' wife, and God Almighty made her a leper
on the spot, made the flesh start rotting off her body while she
stood there. Let that say what it says to
us. Let's not be critical of God's prophet. Let's not attack
God's people. And let's not turn our back on
the gospel. That's solemn warning, isn't it? Solemn warning. But
now let's go on here to turn to Ezekiel 16. Ezekiel chapter
16. And let me show you something
here. I like this. My first point was that God commands
us to remember some things. But let me show you that God
promises to remember. He promises to remember something. And keep in mind, understand
that God not only knows everything, He has the capacity to remember
everything. So why should He tell us in His
Word that He specifically remembers this one essential thing? Well,
He tells us that he remembers, because he knows we'll forget.
Isn't that a good reason? He says, listen, it's all right.
He said, when you forget, he said, I'll still remember. I
like that. Ezekiel 16, verse 60, let's see
what it is. We're going to find out he remembers
his covenant, the one I told you about. Verse 60 of Ezekiel
16, See, nevertheless, even though you forget, he said, I will remember
my covenant with you in the days of values, and I will establish
under the everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy
ways and be ashamed. By the way, if we get to dwelling
and remembering stuff we did. What happens? I just get ashamed
every time I think about everything I ever did. So let's not remember
that God, let's not remember that. God says, don't dwell on
that. He said, in verse 62, And I will
establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am
the Lord, that thou mayest remember and be confounded, and never
open thy mouth any more because of thy shame. You see, we don't
open our mouths about what we did. We just remember Christ
and we'll talk about what He did. We'll praise Him for what
He's done. And look now at Leviticus 26. Leviticus 26. And that's a brief
point, but one worth making, you see, because God says, I
remember my covenant forever. But the third point here, I want
us to see, well, let's turn to, let's look up one more scripture
before we go to the third point. Look at Leviticus chapter 26. God says he'll remember his covenant with Christ to redeem us and
with us in Christ." Neviticus 26, verse 42, "...then will I
remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac,
and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember, and I will remember
the land." And then look at verse 45, "...but I will for their
sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought
forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen,
that I might be their God. I am the Lord." You notice he
just keeps over and over again saying, I am the Lord, I am the
Lord, I am the Lord, I'm sovereign. You know why he keeps doing that?
So you and I will understand that this covenant God Almighty
made with Christ that he's going to remember forever, nobody's
going to break that covenant. Nobody, not Satan, not the forces
of hell, not you, not me, not anybody. The covenant's going
to stand now. Christ has come, he's died, he's
put away the sin of his people, he's given them this righteousness,
he's seated, he's risen, he's seated at the right hand of God
Almighty, and he's just waiting there. He's got his feet ready
to prop up on a footstool of all who would oppose this covenant. And he's going to bring it to
pass now. He says, I'm going to remember it. I'm going to
remember it. Now Isaiah chapter 43, Isaiah
43, and I'll show you the third thing here, third point, which
is that God will not remember something. There's something
God will not remember, and that's amazing since He could remember
everything, isn't it? He's the all-knowing, omnipotent
God, a sovereign God, could know everything, could remember everything.
So why would he tell us there's something he won't remember?
I'm glad. And Isaiah 43, verse 25, he says,
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine
own sake, and I will not remember thy sins. Oh, he won't remember our sins. And just a page over Isaiah 44,
verse 21, he says, Remember these, O Jacob, in Israel, for thou
art my servant. I formed thee, thou art my servant,
O Israel, and thou shalt not be forgotten of me. Oh, I like
that. Did you hear that? He said, I'll
forget your sins, but he said, I won't forget you. Did you see
that? Thou shalt not be forgotten of
me. In verse 22, I have blotted out
as a thick cloud thy transgressions and as a cloud thy sins returning
to me, for I have redeemed you. He said, I won't forget you,
but I'll forget your sin and turn to Hebrews 10. I'm going
to show it to you one more time. I want to be sure you don't miss
this. I want to be sure you don't get just the bad news this morning
that we're sinners. I want you to get the good news. The good news here in Hebrews
10 verse 17. And their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more. I don't know how God Almighty
is going to do that, but he said, I'm going to take your sin and
throw it behind my back. He said, as far as the East is
from the West, I'll separate you from your sin. And I tell
you what, I believe that he says he won't remember it. Why should
I? Why should I? Why should you and I sit around
and remember all the stuff we've done when, in fact, there's so
much that Christ has done we could remember? Let's dwell on
that. He says in verse 18, "...now
where remission of these is, there is no more offering for
sins, having there..." Remember, our sins, they're not
in his sight anymore. When Jesus Christ died at Calvary
and that blood flowed down, it covered our sins. And that's
the one thing God doesn't see through, is the blood of his
Son. It's not in his sight. He says, I just don't remember
it. It's gone. It's clean gone. My sin is put
away by Jesus Christ. Turn to Psalm 106. And this is my last point. It's
in the form of a question. How can I get God to remember
me? I want Him to forget my sin,
but I want Him to remember me. How can I make that happen? If
God remembers me, it means I'll know Christ and can then remember
Christ. Let me show you what some people
in the Scriptures did. Let's start with David. David
was a man after God's own heart. And it's obvious that Christ
knew David and that Christ remembered David. Well, what did David do? Look in Psalm 106, verse 4. David said, Remember me, O Lord,
with the favor that thou bearest unto thy people. Oh, visit me
with thy salvation." Now, notice David didn't say, didn't say,
remember what I did. Remember when I was a boy, I
took those five rocks and I went out there and I slung one up
and killed that Goliath. Remember that, Lord. Is that
what he said? Then he said, remember all those
Philistines I killed, Lord. Then he said, remember, remember
me going down and getting the ark, Lord, and I brought it back.
Is that what he said? He said, remember all the good
stuff I did, Lord. You see, he didn't also want
to bring up that maybe the Lord ought to remember Bathsheba and
what David did to Uriah the Hittite. I don't want the Lord to remember
anything I did, because the best I did is unprofitable. It's filthy
rags. I don't want him remembering
that. Remember me, Lord. You see this? Remember me, Lord,
with the favor that you bring on your people in Christ. That's
what he's saying. Visit me with your salvation.
And the salvation he visits with is the blood of Christ. Remember
that, Lord. And another example would be
Samson. Most of us remember Samson because
he was strong, right? And then we remember that he
got his hair all cut off. And his eyes burned out, and
he got chained up in the temple. That's where he wound up by his
own strength, isn't it? Huh? But do you know what happened
when Samson was chained up there? When all the priests of Baal
and all the Philistines came together there? Do you know what
happened? Samson cried out. Do you know
what he cried? You look it up. Samson said, Remember me, Lord! Remember me! And his strength
returned, and he pulled down those pillars, and it says Samson
slew more in his death than he did in his life. And how about
Hannah? She was barren. She had no children. She wanted life in her. She wanted
life. And she prayed. You know, she
prayed. She said, Oh, Lord, remember me. And she bore a son. Samuel, one of God's choice prophets. And Hezekiah laid on his deathbed,
a dying man, and he rolled over to the wall. And do you know
what he prayed? Remember me, Lord. And he got
new life, didn't he? The Lord gave him 15 years. And
Job was sitting in the dust, wrecked and ruined and covered
with boils. He'd lost everything he had,
and do you know what he cried? He said, appoint me a set time,
Lord, and remember me. And God gave him double for all
he'd lost. And Abigail, you remember Abigail?
Abigail was the wife of the fellow named Nabal, who David, fleeing
from Saul, sent word down to this rich farmer Nabal and said,
send us something to eat. And Nabal said, you go fly a
kite, David. David said, OK, buddy. And he
strapped on his sword and took his men to go down there and
kill them all. to the last man, woman, and child, and Nabal's
wife, Abigail, came running out there to meet David, and she
bowed down. You know what she said? She said, When the Lord
shall have dealt well with my Lord, meaning David, she said,
Remember thine handmaid. Remember me. And you know what? David did remember her. When
her husband died, you know what David did? David sent his servant. to go fetch Abigail and brought
her back, and he married her. He remembered her well enough
to make her his wife. And one more here. Turn to Luke
23. Luke chapter 23. Do you see a
pattern here? Anybody see a pattern here? I
tell you what, if we get in a big enough mess, if we get desperate
enough, If we see ourselves as the sinners we are in the face
of a holy God, we'll cry out. We'll cry out for mercy. We'll
ask God Almighty to remember us. Let me give you this example.
About 2,000 years ago, there was a man. He was tired and weary,
all right. And this man had long before
given over to temptation. This man, well, his family had
abandoned him, and he knew and even admitted that he was a terrible
sinner. He thought God was out of reach
for him, and his body was wracked with pain, excruciating pain.
And I suppose if he had a wife, she'd have long ago left him,
I'm sure. And he knew he was unlovely,
and the wooing of this world's goods had led him into thievery. And the justice of man's law
caught up with him, and the holy justice of God's law was about
to catch up with him. If he had any friends, they had
forsaken him, and his enemies were assailing him. Unable to
endure the wrath of man, the just wrath of God terrified him. Salvation seemed impossible,
unattainable to this man. After all, what could he do now
for God? His hands were nailed on a cross, and his feet were
nailed. He couldn't walk for God. He couldn't do anything
for God. And seeing he was nothing and
that he had nothing, he was ready to give up and die. When he looked
and saw a man, and above that man's head was written, This is the King of the Jews.
And do you know what he cried out? He said, Lord, he said,
remember me. When you come into your kingdom,
remember me. And what do you suppose our Lord
said to this one? He said to him the same thing
he'll say to you. If you'll just cry out, remember
me, Lord. Have mercy on me. He said here
in Luke 22, You see it in verse 42. Luke 23, I'm sorry, Luke 23,
verse 42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said
unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. In essence, our Lord said when
I'm there, My Father, He'll forget your sin, but we're going to
remember you, and we're going to bring you where we are." And
our Lord died. He said that to him and died.
And I don't know how many minutes or hours that thief lived after
that before he died, but I know what he spent his time doing.
He spent his time remembering Christ. Guarantee it. Guarantee it. And anyone here
this morning who hasn't met Christ, I think I'd cry out what these
folks did. I'd say, Lord, remember me. And
you glance at Ecclesiastes 12 with me, and I'll close with
this. Turn over to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. I recently had a great uncle.
It might have been a great, great uncle. I'm not, I sort of lost
track. He was 94 years old, Uncle Everett
was, and he died recently. And at the funeral, they were
telling stories, as we're wont to do, about folks who died.
And his wife was saying that just a real few weeks before,
he'd gone to town to take care of some business. And she said
he came back after a while. She said, did you get everything
done? And she said he sat down with
the greatest look of dismay on his face. And he said, honey,
he said, I got to town, he said, and I couldn't remember why I
went. So I just came home. Now that's
going to happen right soon with all of us. Some of you see signs
of it already, I suppose, like I do. Well, you look here in
Ecclesiastes 12 at what the Scripture says. Ecclesiastes 12, verse
1. Do you see what it says here?
Remember now. Boy, that's a big word. Remember
now. If I couldn't remember him because
I hadn't met him, I don't believe I'd put it off till tomorrow.
Because tomorrow, you may have a stroke tonight and you can't
even remember your own name or where you've been or where you're
going. I believe it says, Remember now, thy creator in the days
of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years
draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. There'll
come a time He'll leave you alone. He won't call you to remembrance.
We better remember Christ soon, because soon it'll be too late.
It'll be just like my dad. You'll be gone, and nobody here
to remember. But that's no big deal. It's
no big deal. My niece of twenty Twenty-two,
I guess now, is the youngest person I could think of who would
have ever met my dad. She'll be gone soon. I was twenty
yesterday, it seems like. I'm forty-six now. She'll be
gone soon. And it's no big deal if no one
here remembers you. But oh, it's too awful to consider
that Christ would say, depart from me. I never knew you. I don't remember you. We never
met. I believe I'd sue for mercy this
morning. I believe I'd cry out and say,
Lord, remember me. Remember me. Well, we'll close
with a hymn now. Joe, if you've got one selected
for us. Thank you, Bob. Appreciate it.
Number 233. Fifth of verses. Number 233. Stand with me and
we'll sing the first and the second sentence. Number 233. First and the second. Fifth of
verses. If the mercy giver be, mercy
still reserved for me, then by God He'll bless forever me, the
King of sinners fair. I have longed with love His grace,
longed with love into His grace. Could not argue to His power,
three times I have confronted this mess. And I lose it.