THE THINGS WE SHOULD ALWAYS REMEMBER

Those who have seen the film, While you were Sleeping, will remember the ending of the film when Lucy (Sandra Bullock) gave a recap of how it happened that she married Jack and lived happily ever after, although everyone thought she was going to marry his brother, Peter, whose life she had saved when he had landed in front of a train. Almost two thirds of the story unfolds while Peter lies unconsciously in hospital while all but Lucy are under the impression that Peter and Lucy are engaged to be married. Summarising the whole series of events, Lucy said that Peter had afterwards asked her when and how it happened that she fell in love with his brother. Lucy's simple answer was: "It happened while you were sleeping."

We are not always aware of the things that happen around us. Sometimes they happen while we are sleeping. Sometimes they just happen and even though we are awake, we never hear about them and nobody bothers to tell us about it. Sometimes we are not alert as we should be, and for that reason we miss out on what is happening in our circles of life. Sometimes we purposely block things out, because it upsets us when we are reminded of these things. And sometimes we just plainly forget. We forget because it happened a long time ago. Or we forget because we didn't think it was really that important. Or we forget because our lives have become so engaged with the matters and the concerns of this world, that the memory of that which we previously knew without doubt, has gradually been removed from our minds and replaced by other thoughts.

We are reminded in Scriptures that there are certain truths that we should never forget. Even though these truths and the time when we were introduced to them, may go back a long time or happened without us fully realising what was happening or what was coming, we may not forget them. We need to constantly remind ourselves of the process of change and restoration that we had to undergo, in order to reach the position of belief where we are today. When we forget our roots, we tend to forget our heritage. When we forget where we came from, we become confused as to where we are going. Today is a reminder that none of us should ever stop thinking of those great discoveries that Yahweh has put before us in the past. He has shown us these things and taught us these lessons to equip us for those 'days when we are feeling discouraged and disheartened and depressed. But, also for the days when we are feeling glad and optimistic. Don't allow the enemy to use either discouragement or jubilation to prevent us from honouring Yahweh for what He has established in our lives. So, let us remember ....

  1. THE TIMES WHEN WE WERE FEEBLE AND TIRED AND WEARY "Remember what Amaleq did to you on the way as you were coming out of Mitsrayim, how he met you on the way and attacked your back, all the feeble ones in your rear, when you were tired and weary. And he did not fear Elohim" Devarim 25:17-18.

  2. THE DAYS WHEN WE WERE NAKED AND BARE "And in all your abominations and whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, trampled down in your blood" YechezkeI 16:22.

  3. THE FEELING WHEN WE WERE LITTLE IN OUR OWN EYES "And Shemuel said, Though you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Yisrael? And did not Yahweh anoint you sovereign over Yisrael?" 1 Shemuel 15:17.

  4. THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE WERE BUT FEW IN NUMBER "Remember His covenant forever, The Word He commanded for a thousand generations, Which He made with Avraham, And His oath to Yitschaq, And He established it to Yaaqov for a law, To Yisrael as an everlasting covenant, Saying, 'To you I give the land of Kenaan, The portion of your inheritance, When you were but few in number, Few indeed, and sojourners in it. And they went up and down, From one nation to another, And from one reign to another people. He allowed no one to oppress them, And He reproved sovereigns for their sakes, saying: Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no evil" 1 Divre Hayamim 16:15-22.

  5. THE DISCOVERY-THAT WE WERE PRECIOUS IN YAHWEH'S EYES "Since you were precious in my eyes, you have been esteemed, and I have loved you. And I give men in your place, and peoples for your life" Yeshayahu 43:4.

  6. THE TIME WHEN WE WERE WITHOUT MESSIAH "that at that time you were without Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Yisrael and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the world" Ephesians 2:12.

  7. THE PLACE WHERE WE WERE, UNDER THE FIG TREE "Nethanel said to Him, From where do You know me? Y'shua answered and said to him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you" Yahuchanan 1:48.

  8. THE ELOHIM BY WHOM WE WERE CALLED "Elohim is trustworthy, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Y'shua Messiah our Master" 1 Corinthians 1:9.

  9. THE MESSIAH IN WHOM WE WERE SEALED "in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your deliverance, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Set-apart Spirit of promise" Ephesians 1:13.

  10. THE LIFE TO WHICH WE WERE CALLED "Fight the good fight of the belief, lay hold on everlasting life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession before many witnesses" 1 Timothy 6:12.

 

Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish Philosopher and Theologian who lived almost 200 years ago. He was well known for his severe criticism of the church of his day and, among other works, wrote a book with the title "The sickness unto death". The title of this book was derived from the Messiah's description of Elazar's (Lazarus') sickness when He said: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the esteem of Elohim". In Kierkegaard's view, the same could not be said about the sickness of the church. Her's (the church's) was a sickness unto death. In his view individuals' membership of so called congregations caused them to remain children in faith and prevented them from taking responsibility for their own relationship with the Almighty. Kierkegaard was not very popular with the church of his time but he will be remembered for the courage he had shown to stand up against that which he knew was wrong. Let us conclude with two quotes from Kierkegaard related to the theme of our study:

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

Father in Heaven! When the thought of thee wakes in our hearts, let it not awaken like a frightened bird that flies about in dismay, but like a child waking from its sleep with a heavenly smile