Mark 14:12-25, What Do You Remember?

Mark chapter 14 reading from verses 12 to 25 here the word of the

Lord and On the first day of unleavened bread when they sacrificed the

Passover lamb his disciples said to him Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the

Passover? And he sent two of his disciples and said to them Go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you

Follow him and wherever he enters say to the master of the house The teacher says where is my guest room where I may eat the

Passover with my disciples? and he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready where there prepare for us and the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them and they prepared the

Passover and When it was evening he came he came with the 12th and as they were reclining at the table and eating

Jesus said truly I say to you one of you will betray me one who is eating with me

They began to be sorrowful and say to him one after another Is it I and he said to them it is one of the twelve one who is dipping bread into the dish with me

For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed it would have been better for that man if he had not been born and As they were eating he took bread and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them and said

Take this is my body and he took a cup and when he had given Thanks, he gave it to them and they all drank of it and he said to them

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many Truly I say to you

I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God May the

Lord had his blessings the reading of his Holy Word. What do you remember?

Maybe about someone who's passed away You remember their warmth? their cute quirks

Maybe something nice they did for you personally. We almost always remember people for what they did for us.

I Remember my grandmother my my mother's mother one winter is around Christmas time

Visiting there for Christmas time with a bunch of other cousins and I was half asleep

She thought I was all the way asleep I was on the sleeping on one of these pullout beds, you know coming from out of the couch in the living room

I guess the cousins were taking up the bedroom Anyway, she came to me because the blanket had fallen off and she lifted it up kind of gently flinging it into the air

Letting it fall letting it unfurl and then softly fall on me. So I'd be warm in my sleep

She never knew I Knew she did that But but I remember

What about you? What do you remember? You remember a dad taking you to hunt or maybe watching you play ball or giving you a piece of concerned advice

Do you remember a friend encouraging you to try harder? You can achieve what you want or maybe help you move.

There's a real friend when he helps you move You remember a teacher a professor who was willing to teach after class may discuss the subject with you personally

Because he or she really cared It's good to remember what people have done for for you people long to be remembered

I think the main purpose of Chinese ancestor veneration is that we remember those who went before us

The best way to do that is by telling others of the good of the good that someone has done

Like I just did about my grandmother That's far better. I think than burning

Jostics or leaving little bowls of food or for us Westerners a bouquet of flowers at a gravestone

Spiritually and psychologically unhealthy people don't remember the favors done for them because they just take them for granted

But stew over the betrayals the disappointments the insults healthy people

I think Remember kindnesses and favors done for them Because they recognize that they didn't deserve the favor that the person went out of their way to help me

When I didn't do anything for them. I Remember when we visited South Korea for a week In the early 90s.

I remember the man in the subway train who got off a stop early from his stop Just to help us find our little hotel

I remember the taxi driver who gave us a free ride so we could get to where we needed to be.

I Remember the man at the train station who upon learning that we were at the wrong train station

Hailed us a taxi Took us in the taxi to the right train station and paid for the taxi

That was nice It's anniversary Sunday for us ten years with a lot of good thing.

Remember, I think we'll always I'll always remember the look of indignation on Justin Scruggs face you should see

Justin Scruggs with indignation ten years ago ten years and one week ago I should say that was part of what propelled us here.

I remember Alan Pulling a trailer for several months Beginning his tenure his usual practice of being the first one to arrive didn't do that this morning

This is unusual morning for him. But most every morning. He's the first to arrive I remember all the work that Wayne Griffin did from unloading

I probably don't actually even know all the art way the work Wayne Griffin did but I remember some of it Anyway, I'm unloading equipment early in the morning to moving partitions in the middle of the afternoon to driving gym kids home late in the evening

I Remember the first day we looked at this place. I mean it was a mess. This place was a disaster

You could hardly see the basketball markings on the floor sawdust covered everything

I remember all those who worked so hard to make this a decent place George did all kinds of work.

He built the steps practically by himself Joe painted nearly every square inch of this building inside and out including the roof

Many others did all kinds of other things Wayne again helped it with everything

Did I think you did even just yesterday? He was out there helping retrieve our van. Yes, it was Wayne I remember the families that took turns cleaning this gym once a month for years after that Anniversaries are about remembering we have a lot of good to remember

We've had hundreds perhaps thousands of children and teens and young adults pass through here and not only get to play ball

But to hear the gospel We've studied our way through numerous books of the Bible Genesis Matthew John and others several other small ones and sung our way through the book of Psalms three times now

We began with a challenge to be multiracial in an area of segregated churches and had the Perry's make that a reality

From day one. Well, we now have a Sunday school class in Mandarin We've had three weddings among church members one of them at least a civil

Ceremony anyway, what that one was right here. We've had multiple baby dedications And I'm hoping for more

We've even had sadly a funeral right here one of our Jim jr

Children died and we had his funeral right in this building. Imagine. This was the place that meant the most

To a little BNC bill boy. Remember his name Damian Farmer This was the place that meant the most to him that his mother chose to have the funeral here.

I Remember her weeping right about there in Revelation 21 we're told that in the new heaven and the new earth

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more Neither shall but there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.

I Think one of the reasons that in the end there will be no more weeping Will be because of all all the painful things the funerals of little boys the wounds the betrayals the crushing disappointments the divorces the deaths all of that Will be forgotten

It won't be remembered at least not by themselves for the tragedies that they were all that will remember is the good that God Somehow worked out of them

Well, what do you remember? Here the Lord Jesus takes the ceremony given to Israel to remember what the

Lord Has done for them the most important holiday Holy Day of the year and he transforms it

Into the way that we are to remember him and we see that in three parts first.

There's the preparation Second there's the predestination and finally there's the presentation first There's the preparation for verses 12 to 16 the

Passover and the feast of unleavened bread actually verse 12 here begins And and on the first day of unleavened bread now, technically if you want to be really, you know

Picky you would sell mark. Hey, that was actually the first day of Passover Actually, there's only one day of Passover or whatever.

This was the day of Passover, but The the Passover and unleavened bread were technically two separate holidays back -to -back

The people kind of consider them as one and use the terms Passover and feast of unleavened bread

Interchangeably sort of like sometimes we do with lump Christmas and New Year's together, you know Say happy holidays the

Lord Jesus and his disciples are already in Jerusalem for the Passover And so the disciples ask him in verse 12

Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover and you notice there? That they they know

Jesus well enough that they know he is intent on keeping the Passover They don't ask him, you know, do you want to keep the

Passover this year? No, they just know it's for certain that he wants to keep it. And so where where do you want it to do it?

They probably didn't know how important this particular last Passover was to him They just knew that he kept the law and so was intent on having this

Passover It was already the day the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed And now keep in mind

Because it's different from our way of thinking that that we would say it's the same day we would say that's Passover day

No, I'm not taking late. This is the day Passover lambs be sacrificed but in the Jewish reckoning the day ends at sundown so maybe they

Sacrificed the lamb about you know noon of that day and then they have that same Lamb in our way of thinking that day

But for them the day ends at sundown and so the evening meal that's another day for them

So then in the evening they would have the Passover meal and that would be Jesus's Sun the day begins for them at sundown.

That would be Jesus's Death day. I don't want to say last day because he has more days coming after death, but this is his death day

This is Thursday The day they prepare When they're talking here is verse 12 begins and the next day beginning at sundown is what we call

Good Friday Now they are right that the Lord Jesus is determined to have this

Passover indeed. He is the host of it People want to debate whether what happens next, you know go into town and you'll see this man like that whether that's all part of Jesus Is pre -arranged secret plan, you know, he went into town and he made arrangements and he found a place and told you know

Send your guy out there with a street with a jar of water All that is so they the authorities wouldn't capture him by stealth

The the jar of water the man carrying a pitcher of water would be unusual and their day Because that was usually women's work carry a jar of water.

It's like saying look for the guy carrying the purse oh that kind of sticks out and so and Go find a look and they'll take you at a large upper room on second story

Maybe it's harder to be found out that way people want to argue whether Jesus had naturally arranged that or Whether he just kind of supernaturally knows

That there is this man with a jar. It'll take you to a room, you know and all that Mark and the other

Gospels don't tell us and that's not really the point. The point is whether it is by natural

Providential arrangement or by supernatural foreknowledge. He just knows all things

Jesus is the host of This Passover and verse 16 the disciples go to Jerusalem and found it just as he had told them.

He made the preparations one way or another This is to show us just as events are seem to be spiraling out of control

That Jesus really is in control He is in control of how this last

Passover will go down and we need to know that Sometimes people who want to get God off the hook, you know get

God off from being blamed when horrible things happen You know someone we love dies or when a crime is committed or we're just terribly heartbroken for some reason

Don't want to get God off the hook of that. He's Oh God didn't do it and You maybe they want to say to us and believe differently

How can you say now now in this circumstance in this with this horrible thing happening?

How can you say God is in control of it? You're making God into a monster. They will say he's in control of school shootings

Accidents on the highway. He's in control of sins that leave us as a victim

And so that they think that's a great point of criticism. God somehow is not responsible in a way

No, he's not really responsible. But but what is their solution? They are they are left with a

God who could have changed things. They really have a chain They really haven't solved a problem at all. They've just kind of confused it

Because they're still left with a God who could have changed things who knew what was coming Surely God knows all things

He knows this guy is getting a gun and he's going to the such -and -such a place to do such -and -such. He knows that So they haven't really solved that problem at all

Well, they say free will this the free will defense all bad things are the result of human free will only

You know say yeah, okay. It's human free will is involved, but not something deeper that but how did you know?

How does that make it any better? To say it's human free will Besides of the victims of the high school didn't use their free will to get killed

They didn't say I freely choose to go to school today and get killed. No, of course not So their free will is not involved again.

They're just gonna not really solving the problem. They're just confusing it The free will defense doesn't solve the problem at all.

It only reduces God and Takes any meaning out of the event

Sure, the shooter did what he did because of his free Demented will but if God is not in control

Those who suffer know these who got killed but parents others still suffering suffer for nothing

And this suffer for what for the bad luck. I've just happened to be in the way of a maniac and God knew that was coming and did nothing

That I mean you haven't helped anything with this defense, but if God is in control

It's still horrible Don't misunderstand We don't reduce the atrociousness of things like that by one ounce.

We do not But we have something else added to it The sovereign

God who works out of everything some good For those who love him.

I Mean all the blood and the horror we may not be able to see anything good in atrocities like that for now

Sure, we mean that we may not be able to see it yet But on that day When there will be no more weeping

Then we will And so believing that the sovereignty in the of God in the midst of of horror and tears

Believing that bring some solace and some meaning even now

Well here Here the most horrible atrocity in history is coming within 24 hours

It's the most horrible atrocity because it befalls the only person in his all of history who did not deserve any pain or punishment or death and he got one of the most horrible deaths and Yet we see on the eve of it that he is

Perfectly in control of it Well next is the predestination in verses 17 to 21 and Jesus and the 12 come to the upper room prepared for the

Passover They're going through this ceremonial meal. There's the lamb there. There's the different herbs

Different cups of wine the unleavened bread. They're reclining. They're eating and then

Jesus predicts his betrayal Notice he predicts it with certainty truly

I Say to you One of you will betray me Now this seems unthinkable to them

They were loyal and he's still a popular with the people. He was just just a few days earlier

He's greeted with loud praise by the people as he came into the city But he's saying one of you you who maybe he means like one of you

Jews one of you fellow Israelites No, he makes it very specific one who is eating with me

He definitely means one of them right there at the table Right there in that room, how could that be?

They were saddened by that the thought that one of his hand -picked disciples would betray him They had no idea who it was.

Now. We look back on it. We got to think it's obvious Yeah, we're thinking it's Judas. Everybody knows it's Judas And even paintings of the scene make

Judas look out to be this this creepy looking character You can tell who the Judas guy is the rest kind of guy

Peter's probably a little older with a beard Okay, John a little younger, but Judas is the creepy looking one.

He's obviously the bad guy But it never occurred to the disciples here notice that it never occurs to them that Judas might be the betrayer

In fact, they are questioning themselves before they start pointing fingers at Judas. They say is it I It is one of the twelve who is dipping bread into the dish with me.

I Loyalty remember the definition of love in the Old Testament Chesed steadfast love is to be loyal to be faithful like like Ruth loyally followed her mother -in -law

Naomi back to Bethlehem not thinking about herself, but only about her commitment to her To them that's love that's commitment and that's what they aspired to be.

That's what it means to be a friend to be loving It's not a feeling like we Americans think it's not a feeling that you make me feel good and I'm gonna hang around you for as long as you make me feel good and If that is then

I'm gonna find something else No To them it's steadfast then take that understanding of that understanding of loyalty and friendship and then multiply it by ten when you've made the

Intentional commitment like these men have to be a disciple, you know, they have said now this person

Jesus is my teacher He's my master. I'm gonna listen to him. I'm gonna follow him

I'm gonna support him and yet Judas betrays him That's the worst sin.

It's almost unthinkable to them now some Some Christians for some reason try to make excuses for Judas that he was trying to maybe was this is some part of a clever

Plan to just to force Judas to act to force Jesus to act as a revolutionary

You know if he if he told him where Jesus was and the forces came after him then he would use his supernatural powers to overthrow the

Establishment and he would bring in that literal earthly kingdom that I've been wanting him to bring in And so he really wasn't against him.

He was just trying to manipulate him. That's what some people argue that kind of stuff As though Judas never thought

Jesus would be killed but this the Bible doesn't excuse him at all Elsewhere he is called a thief and a devil and here what he is

What he what Judas does is called betrayal twice. He betrayed him

He wasn't just trying to manipulate him. He betrayed him now. Why did he do it? Why did you just do it now sure he did it because because he chose to okay

Yeah, he chose to because you know, he chose money over Jesus That's how he used his free will to betray him, but why did he do that?

Well, some would say well, he just did Free will has to be allowed human free will is the ultimate cause they say

The uncaused cause which is you know in psychology and everything else. We just know that's false

But that's what they say some theologians reason that in order to for people to have free will everything all of the future

Has has to be open to whatever choices people make nothing can be set Nothing can be determined or predestined to take place in order for people to they'll say, you know

In order for people to choose freely everything must be possible So they reason even

God since everything is possible all our choices Even God can't know the future because there's you know, we might change our mind

The future is open to whatever people using their free will wanted to be that's called open theism I prefer to call it mini theism because they make

God small But here first in verse 18, Jesus says, you know, she says one of you will

Betray me. He speaks definitely about the future. He doesn't say, you know, one of you might betray me.

I Got a bad feeling one of you might sell me out There's a 90 % chance of betrayal

He doesn't say that he says definitely truly There's a certain I say to you one of you will betray me

We can't talk definitely like that. Maybe sometimes we do but we we can't really do it. We can

We can say we might have lunch. I Plan to go home But you never know what might happen

Jesus can talk like that Because it's predestined Notice in verse 21 the

Son of Man goes as it is written of him So what happens to him over the next 24 hours what we remember in the

Lord's Supper? What Judas is plotting to do is already written of him

It's predicted in the Old Testament God showed it to the prophets there and it must happen because scripture cannot be broken and some will say well if that's the case

If Judas must betray Jesus because it's already written. Well, then he has no choice He's a puppet and isn't responsible

But scripture doesn't say that he had no choice. He had a choice. Sure. He had a choice He uses quote free will to betray

Jesus and someone said well that then if they use if that's the case Then it's not predestined. But Jesus says here that it's written

It is certain It's what God for ordained he pre -planned and told the prophets centuries earlier

What all of that is is now determining what is happening here?

It is written But some will say if that's the case, how can

Judas be held responsible and he certainly is held responsible, isn't he? He gets a whoa

Whoa to that man By whom the Son of Man is betrayed It would have been better for that man if he had been born

What's that perfect tense by the way? I think Would have been other words in the past and it's done and it's not impossible to undo that it would have been better If he had not been born back when he was born would have been better for that man

Here's where it gets really hard Mr. Nardic, it gets really hard and some will say it's not fair that Judas would be predestined to a life

That's worse for him than if he had never lived All right I'm sure

Judas made his choice because of his quote free. Well, I've only been arguing that okay He made his choice of his free will sure

Free of any outward compulsion. It's not as though God is forcing him to like a puppet to do something. He didn't want to do

He's not screaming. No God help me. I don't want to betray him. But he's God says no, it's not what's happening

But his will wasn't free of any inward corruption You know, he's a slave of sin and he loved money more than Jesus So he made the choice

But the choice was written the result for him is woe

But here's the strange part The result for us is life

Here's the hard truth The world even God is not about Judas or even every human being or even you or me

We've got to be converted in our thinking out of the human centered idea that the universe must exist for our good

Because it's just natural the way we're born. We think everything is for our good We remember people for what the good they've done for us and we just have that Just a natural part of the way we

Self -centered way we think it's like people if they didn't know any better would go out and look at the Sun is going up and It's coming down.

The Sun revolves around me. It's obvious. Can't you see the Sun revolving around me?

And so people naturally if left to themselves Look at the world think about God God revolves around me.

I say this prayer He does this and that if God is at my back and call that's the way people think And the only way they'll know better is someone outside Just like the way we know the

Sun doesn't revolve around us. You've got outside the earth you can see Oh, we're wrong around it.

You get outside of our experience and the Word of God tells us. Oh, it's us who revolves around him

It's a hard truth though we got to get Converted in our thinking here. We see that there are some people like Judas who it would be better and here gets really hard Because it's better notices who it's better for better for them

Notice that that it would be better for that man. Jesus says it's not better for God Better for that man if he had not been born, but that it's not better for God that he not been born.

Is it? It's not better for God's people that he had not been born. It's not better for the universe

That he had not been born but for that man, it's better If he had never existed at all

There's not a happy ending For people like that. God does not work good out of their tragedies and sins for them

He does he does that? For those who love God for those who are called according to his purpose to be his people at the end

He will wipe away every tear from their eye and will remember all the good God brought out of even horrible things for us

But for those like Judas who hate God and are not called to be one of his people It would be better for them if they had not existed

Better for them the end result of Judas's life makes it better for him than if he had never lived but not for us

What he did as Horrible as it was was what God used to bring good to us

To make life for the rest of us worth living What for Judas makes it better for him that he had never lived

Makes life possible for us the great irony Here is that it is precisely the fact that the universe

God And he well, I should say Well, the fact that the universe that our own lives they don't exist for us for our pleasures

For our sense of fairness centered always on ourself, of course But the universe exists for God's glory as he predestines all things

According to his good pleasure. It is precisely that truth that gives us lives

That will for eternity be infinitely better Than if we had never lived

Okay, does that make sense? I hope so. We are in other words.

We are better off for having been born You're one of God's people you are better off for having been born.

You're not like Judas You're not one of those who are better if you had had never been born. We are better off Because we were born

Because of what happens to Jesus here because that's for us

Our lives are better off That's not even the best way to put it we're better off because we existed because we're we're better off because of this

Remember that to put a fine point on it We are better off for having been born

Because Judas wasn't Well next is the presentation or the representation he takes the

Passover and he Represents it as a way to remember him and by doing that Think of what he says about himself.

I Mean, what do you think of someone who thinks? Christmas July 4 Thanksgiving is all about me

Sometimes I think that's the way we teach our kids when make it all about what they get but never mind that That's a different lecture

But he takes the Passover. He represents the way of to remember him and think about what he's saying

About who he is You know The Passover was the most important Holy Day for Israelites about remembering what the

Lord did to bring them out of slavery They passed over them So that death only came to the

Egyptians who didn't have the blood of the Lamb on their doorframe It's the most important meal to remember the most important event in their history it's like Thanksgiving July 4th

Christmas all rolled into one, but Jesus takes that and Represents it as about himself

So here is another case like CS Lewis told us about That we can't say that Jesus is just he's just a good teacher

Oh, he had a lot of good wisdom that we can follow inspire us somewhere Maybe we could aspire to be like no someone who takes this momentous

Holy Day and makes it about himself Is either you have either three choices about him?

He's either a liar Pretending to be someone he's not or he's a lunatic but he's just delusions of grandeur or Third thing

He's the Lord The same Lord who brought them out of Egypt Who the original

Passover was for? And he tells us to remember him By remembering who he really is

And we see him represent the Passover into the Lord's Supper here in four parts I love going to have sub part points the the family

Second the food third the fulfillment and fourth the future First the family now the

Passover was a family meal you had it at home The father is the one who would break the bread you distribute it and it's a family thing most like Thanksgiving is for most of us here though.

It is represented as for the spiritual family for the church

Jesus is the host He breaks the bread he gives it to them it's not genetics

It's not natural makeup that determined who was there. It's faith those who have faith are part of the new family

Next is the food all that is mentioned is the bread now certainly they had a lamb

Strike us as unusual. I just thought of this over the last week unusual that they don't mention the lamb

Because the lamb is the main course of the Passover meal, that's the main thing they mentioned in verse 12 We said it was the day to sacrifice them

So, you know no Passover would be complete without a lamb, but it's not mentioned only the bread is mentioned from now on our

Passover Represented as the Lord's Supper would be a bloodless meal Jesus is the lamb.

You don't know where the lamb is. He's the one breaking the bread Jesus is the lamb and he has died once for all he doesn't need to die over and over again with every

Lord's Supper We don't need to physically take in his body. We need only to feed on what he's already done by faith so he takes the bread not the lamb and Blesses it breaks it and says while he is still in his body take

This is my body Now no one there is going to think you know that the bread that he's holding in his literal hands

Literally became his body At that time no one's gonna think that and there's no reason then because they wouldn't think that then there's no reason we should think

That now instead like this bread is broken and then becomes like that It becomes your nourishment the source of your life for your body

So Jesus saying my body will be broken and become the source of your life by faith

That's the food we live off of Next is the fulfillment

In verses 23 to 24. He takes a cup and gives thanks for it and then he distributes that to them and They drink and then he says this is my blood of the covenant

Which is poured out for many The covenant in Exodus was sealed by blood

But they broke that covenant So God spoke through Jeremiah that he would make a new covenant with them a covenant with God's law written on their hearts

So that they would then remember it So that they would want to obey it so that they would know the

Lord from their hearts And so he says in Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 34 They shall all know me from the least of least of them to the greatest declares the

Lord For I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more

Jesus here tells us With this takes the cup. This is my blood

He's saying that now That new covenant has begun it begins with this it begins with my blood being spilt

It is poured out he says notice that for many not for all including

Judas Be the perfect time to say for all if he meant for all but he doesn't he says for many But it's not for just a few either

Not just for us here. It's for many for all kinds of people and we remember that covenant now fulfilled finished in Christ through this represented

Passover Passover Finally there is the future in verse 25.

This is his goal In other words what he's anticipating what he's looking forward to the fullness of the kingdom of God on earth

But again, there is an interim Truly we've we've seen this interim but several times over the past few weeks that he's talked about an interim between What he does on earth at his first coming and his second truly and he says certainly we can be confident this

He will not drink again of what he calls the fruit of the vine in other words of wine or grape juice he will not drink of it during this interim between the time the new covenant is sealed with his blood and The time finally when the reign of God is fully here

Now we can drink of it if we want but he won't he is saving himself for that last great

Feast when all his children the mini that he bought with his blood will be there for the joy of that feast

He'll wait for now, you know, but he'll wait now for the new stuff

He'll wait Why have the old one? He's gonna wait for the new that the new covenant Brings in a new creation.

He'll skip on the old for now you know like you might skip on a on a lunch because you know

There's a there's a great We're all going out for dinner to this great restaurant and I want to be really hungry because I want to eat a lot there for the joy set before him

The future feast that he has planned for that feast that new cup He endured the cross

Accepted the bitter cup of God's wrath So that we could taste the new cup of communion with God so then

Like him if he can do that go through that cross for that new cup then we

Can have such hope hope in a future a future joy a joy so certain that There were so certain is coming that it spills over into the present that it gives you the endurance to go through Whatever cross you have to bear whatever pleasure for now

You have to skip Whatever horror or sadness that befalls you now truly

Have such confidence in that new cup that is coming That you'll be able to skip the old for now

That's what we're to remember when we come to this represented Passover. Remember the family of God Those who have faith with you the body of Christ for which he died

Remember the the body of Jesus Broken for us once for all to give us life so we never need to make any other bloody sacrifices again

Remember the blood of Jesus spilled to fulfill a new covenant so that we could have new hearts that remember him and know him remember the future a

Hope of a future future heaven and earth where death and pain and tears will have passed away

What do you remember? You might think I remember too many disappointments too many tragedies

Too many losses Maybe too many of my own sins Some people get so burdened by all that the pain

They remember that they can't remember any joy A couple of Wednesday nights ago

Joe spoke of a lady who lives around here who used to go to church faithfully and serve there

But her husband had an affair and abandoned her a daughter was killed I believe it was a daughter is killed in an accident.

Then a son committed suicide She's now alone

She lives in a hovel not far from here Hardly ever going out trash just piled up inside just waiting to die.

I Wonder if she can even remember the joy she had before or if it causes her too much pain

But remembering is precisely what she needs Remember his body

Remember his blood his promise Remember that new covenant that coming new cup

Remember that what do you think God remembers?

You might think that's a silly question. He remembers everything. He's infinite all -knowing. I suppose in the sense, that's true but but for us

We're part of that family Part of the promise that of that covenant that Jesus fulfilled in his blood.

Do you remember what he promised? What did he promise? Do you remember? What does

God remember? Everything No He promised to the many

To those he will give new hearts to he promised that I will remember their sin

No more What had separated us from God what had earned his anger his punishment

What made us all to be people who deserved to be the kinds of people like Judas who it?

Should be better for us if we had never lived What had caused us to be like that have his wrath that sin