Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The old hymn goes, Let's listen in. This is part four of a message first preached on April 23, 2023 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. To hear the whole message, visit www.delightingrace.com.
Number one is it provides stability. For you as a child of God, as a follower of Christ, remembering provides stability to keep you from wandering. Verse 10, Therefore, brothers, be all more diligent to confirm your colony election, for if you practice these things, you will never fall. And you look at chapter 3 and verse 17, You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.
You want stability in life, confidence? It comes from remembering who God is and what he has done. Secondly, you will grow in the character of Christ, and that's God's will for you. He has predestined you to that. You will grow in the character of Christ. Chapter 1, verses 5 to 7, For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge and knowledge with self-control and self-control with steadfastness and steadfastness with godliness and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love.
What is that? That's the character of Christ. You will grow in that. You're not going to do that if you're not actively remembering who God is and what he has done. Number 3, you will live meaningfully with impact. When you remember God, you will live meaningfully with impact. Verse 8, for if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you want to live meaningfully with impact? It begins with remembering God.
This is why Peter is writing this letter to the first century Christians who are experiencing oppression in the Roman Empire, disdained from the Roman people because they're followers of Christ. Now I want to challenge you as I close this morning. I want to challenge you in your devotion to remember. Are you devoted to remember? When we are called to remember, it's not just, hey, you know, all of a sudden it comes to, no, no. We are called to actively remember. When you look at the Old Testament, God constantly called his people to set up monuments.
Why? So they would remember. So that their kids would ask questions. Dad, why is that monument there?
And dad would be able to say, because that's when God delivered us. They set up monuments. God established sacrifices for them to make. And it reminded them of who they are and how much they need God. But it also reminded them of who God is. God also established for his people feasts in the Old Testament, seven feasts that the people, celebrations that the people were to keep every year.
Why? So that they would remember who God is and what he has done. God also established music for them to remember. Music is a key element of remembering who God is and what he's done. And I'm talking about good, solid, quality music, not, I had a bad day but Jesus still loves me. Let's move beyond just Christian radio for your spiritual feeding, okay? Music, I should say. We have a program on the radio, so I, you know. Chew on solid meat, please.
Don't limit yourself to cotton candy of popular music, please. No extra charge for that, that's another whole Sunday night seminar, okay. In the New Testament, the Lord established the Lord's table, why? To remember.
Do this, what? In remembrance of me, as often as you do it. God established corporate worship, his people coming together to remember.
God established music in the church to remember. Now you and your family, you and your household, whoever is living in your house, I'm going to call you this morning to actively pursue, intentionally remembering who God is and what he's done. Don't leave this up to chance because your default is to forget, it is to wander. Number one, establish habits, disciplines, and traditions that will keep your memory strong.
Habits, disciplines, and traditions that will keep your memory strong. Parents, young parents, listen to me. You want to drive your kids away from the faith, let me tell you how to do it. You come to church on Sunday, you sing, you listen to the sermon, you go home, you eat lunch, you fight, you live the rest of the week, you never talk about God, God does not apply to the rest of your week.
I guarantee you, your kids will wander away, that's how you do it. God needs to become a normal part of your conversation at home. Number two, keep a schedule that prioritizes remembering God. Keep a schedule that prioritizes remembering God. It's those traditions, those disciplines, those routines that you have whereby you are remembering who God is and what he has done. Number three, develop relationships that will help you remember. Develop relationships that will help you remember. Christians walking with Christians, there's discipleship in this. Listen, this is a key reason why God established the church, so that we walk together in a God-ward direction.
Develop relationships that will help you remember. I'm going to say something real strong here, okay? We're Americans, we like to leave our options open. Being together with God's people is not an option. Plan your schedule around the fellowship of God's people. I mean that with every sense of grace and joy that I can muster. In our Americanism, we are very busy people and sometimes we get to the point where I'll go to church if there's nothing else going on. You will drift.
Maybe some of you here this morning are already drifting. You need to remember God because your default is to forget. Develop relationships that will help you remember. And remembering once again is to interpret and engage present circumstances in light of God's known faithfulness. Lastly, we have journaling Bibles.
They are available in the bookstore. Can you see that? It's sort of blue. Wow, that's amazing. This is produced by Crossway. Does anybody here have one of these? Hold it up if you do.
If you got it, there it is. So these are available and you can take notes in it. The text of 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and the book of Jude are all in this. And then there's blank pages, I think. Do I have that right? Where you can do journaling. You can take this. This is available in the bookstore or you can go to crossway.org.
I think, crossway.org. And you can order these. Now there are some available in the bookstore and you're welcome to avail yourself to them. But it's a good way to write down thoughts and continue the conversation. So that talking about God is a normal part of your day-to-day life in your household. It needs to happen. You need to remember God. We need to live as people who remember otherwise. We will be like the Soviet Union where we will end up saying, Why has all this happened? Men have forgotten God.
That's why these things have happened. We don't want to participate in that. Let's be the church. Let's be faithful. Faithful to actively remember who God is and what he's done.
Would you stand with me, please? Father, we thank you that you have made yourself known to us by turning your light on into our darkness. Teach us, Father, I pray. From your word, through your Holy Spirit as he illuminates your word to us, Father, and brings it to our memories. Father, may we have the resolve this morning to devote ourselves to actively remembering who you are and what you have done. To know your faithfulness and then to interpret and engage our current circumstances in that light, Father. Indeed, may we as the church live not only as people who are free, but people who remember.
Because if we do not remember, we will lose our freedom, practically. So thank you, Father, for who you are and for what you have done. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in him. The one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on Weekdays at 10 a.m.
