“REMEMBER”

 

·         Memories… we all have them, some good, some not so good… they say memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. 

·         God gave us memories that we might have roses in December.  ~J.M. Barrie, Courage, 1922

·         It’s important to remember history…– General Eisenhower exhaustively documented the holocaust because he said, someday people won’t remember what happened… in Great Britain today with heavy Muslim population the textbooks are being scrubbed of the holocaust… Even America’s textbooks…

·         This week we remembered 911, 2001 Muslim terrorist hijacked planes on a deadly mission…

·         We’re hearing 8 years later… it was America’s fault… planted explosives… hearing apologies to the world…

·         Somehow time seems to erase the truth & reality… short memories caught up in the present…

·         Forgetting important truths or events we need to remember…

·         What’s sad is we tend to forget 95% of what we hear within 72 hours

 

Remember…

bullet Last Sunday God brought “100 Mighty Men of God” - Get the video, sign-up – the two tables and sheets are still out.  Come forward after the service and sign up to be a Mighty Warrior for God!

 

bullet The Commitment to Pray Daily… My Family, My Church, My Pastors – I’m asking different individuals… and they are doing it… Mighty man of God battling from your knees!

 

bullet When you came to Christ…

ü  He Forgives our sins

ü  He Radically Changes us Forever

 

NEW relationship… NEW Identity… NEW Citizenship… NEW Hope… NEW Thought Process… NEW Attitude… NEW Responsibilities… NEW Purpose…  NEW Desires… NEW Strength… NEW Heart… NEW Peace… NEW Destination called Heaven…  The Lord sums it up this way in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! REMEMBER when you came to Christ…

 

Because of what Christ accomplished at Calvary and who we are in Him… Jesus gives us NEW Instructions…

 

Can you remember back to a time when you trusted Jesus Christ  as your Savior?

A time when you were spiritually lost in sin and without hope?  A time when the Holy Spirit convicted you of your sin… broken, you repented and your life took a NEW Direction?

 

Jesus never asked His disciples to remember His birth… but to remember His death, burial and resurrection.

We’re commanded to keep Christ’s death, burial & resurrection fresh in our minds… in our memory

This is sometimes difficult today because of our fast paced culture in which we live… 

 Jesus Instituted Two Ordinances NOT Sacraments…

Sacrament – The word means to “save you”, conferring sanctifying grace

Ordinance – Directive, “orders” prescribed by Christ for His church…

 

bullet Jesus gave us two ordinances, two symbols of salvation, prescribed as directives to every believer…
bullet The first one is Baptism and the second one is the Lord’s Supper…

1.  The Ordinance of “Baptism”

v  An Act of Obedience

Matthew 28:19-20 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

1 John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 

bullet Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are tremendous object lesson that represent great spiritual truth
bullet Christians are commanded to be baptized AFTER trusting Christ – NEVER before
bullet Baptism doesn’t save you… Baptism doesn’t wash away your sins… Baptism doesn’t transfer grace…
bullet Mark 1:9 we read Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized as an example to us.

 v  A Public Proclamation of Faith in Christ

Colossians 2:12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. NLT

bullet People get saved at home, in their car, at church, wherever… often in private where God speaks to you
bullet Baptism is a public statement of an inward reality… (I often speak of the earlobe turning green…)
bullet Does wearing a wedding band make me married?  No, it’s the wedding vow commitment… not a ring
bullet The wedding ring shows what is the reality in my heart… Baptism publicly proclaims… I’m a Christian!

 

bullet *Slide* of American soldiers in Iraq getting baptized…
bullet *Slide*of former Muslims in Iraq… they became Christians… public proclamation with great peril

Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

 v  An Identification with Christ (Illustrates Christ’s burial & resurrection)

Romans 6:3-4 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

bullet I’m not ashamed of Jesus!  I identify with Him!  What an illustration… death… burial… resurrection!
bullet Sprinkling, pouring water on someone as a baby is manmade tradition which started 300 years AD
bullet We baptize the way they did in the early church… all the way under…
bullet Every place mentioned in NT, the Greek word is “baptizo” which means to immerse, to dip under water
bullet EVERYONE who got saved in the Bible were then baptized… EXCEPT one, the thief on the cross…!

 Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 8:13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

 Baptism is a decisive, obedient, public way to proclaim what Christ has done for you!

If you’ve been “born again” you need to be baptized Biblically…

 NOTE:  Immediately following this service, I would like to meet with those who desire to be baptized next Sunday… What to bring, what to wear, what to expect… first time using our new baptistery!

The second and last ordinance Jesus instituted was the Lord’s Supper in the upper room with His disciples…

 

2. The Ordinance of the “Lord’s Supper” 1Co 11:23-26

Luke 22:19-20 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

bullet The Lord’s Supper is found here in Luke 22, Mt 26, Mark 14… and expounded upon in 1Co 11

 V  The “Bread” and “Cup” symbolized Christ’s Body and Blood

o   A false teaching is transubstantiation (AD 1215)… wafer & juice actually becomes flesh & blood

o   Used symbolically… Jesus said, “I Am the Door”, piece of wood?  “Bread of life”, loaf of bread?

 V  The “New Covenant” was ratified by the Blood of Christ (Prophesied by Jeremiah in Jer 31:31-34)

o   A covenant (testament) is "a solemn commitment guaranteeing promises or obligations undertaken by one or both covenanting parties."…

o   The “Old covenant” expired… today a religious tradition… Instituted a new memorial to Himself

o   Actually done in the midst of the old covenant (during the Passover meal)

o   In a few hours Jesus would seal/ratify this new agreement/promise with His precious blood

o   The verb behind “gave thanks” is “Eucharist”- communion/Lord’s Supper…

o   All the disciples ate and they all drank from the cup…

 

Our communion service is “open” – meaning you don’t have to be a member… you don’t have to be baptized… but you do need to be a genuine spiritually born Christian… a believer in Jesus Christ.

 ·         REMEMBER… was there a time when you trusted Jesus to save you from your sins?

·         The Lord’s Supper does nothing for the unbeliever… like baptism… it conveys no sanctifying grace

·         It’s a time for God’s children to remember Jesus in your Great Salvation Experience!

 A Quiet moment to: (Men come at this time)

Look Backward to Christ’s sacrificial death at Calvary… The great cost involved to purchase your soul

1 Peter 1:18-19 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

 Look Inward with a self-examination for sin… “Search me Oh God…”

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

 Look Upward with Praise and Thanksgiving… “When He had given thanks…” “Worship Him…”

 Look Forward to Christ’s Glorious Second Coming…

1 Corinthians 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.