Remembering - Pt 2

So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken. And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:1-6 ESV).

Perhaps a little background is important as we continue our study today. The picture you see is a scanned image of the actual telegram I was handed just moments before I walked into the sanctuary of First Baptist Church, Bryan, Texas, to preach my first sermon. I know, many of you have never seen or received one of these in our electronic, instant messaging culture. That was forty-seven years ago. I have not kept up with the number of sermons I have preached and the places I have preached them in since then. It has been too many years and too little memory. I do know that the Lord has always been with me every time. There was never anything to fear or dread! However, I can vividly remember that evening. The pastor, Bailey Stone, was away and had asked me to preach for him. To say I was terrified is an understatement. I had prepared diligently. I had practiced and rehearsed to the point that it was both measured and perfect in delivery, if not content. Bob Butler, a wonderful servant of God and friend was my aide that evening. Just before I walked in to the sanctuary he said, “Here’s a little something from Bailey.” And, he handed me the telegram. “Read Deuteronomy 31:6” has stuck with me through every experience since then. I was called to remember. It worked. My confidence was bolstered and I was able to let go of the fear and embrace the next step in my journey. As we began yesterday focusing on “remembering” let me outline just a few things from the Scripture that we’ll explore more deeply in the coming days: God is our help. He can do to and for us the impossible to accomplish His will. God is faithful and loving to His own. He cannot, He will not forget us even for a moment. Where God resides is where we should live our lives out. That is our shelter from every storm of life. No circumstance can separate us from Him. The safety that we so desperately seek is in Jesus. He is the One who holds and sustains us through life. God covers us on all sides. We have not been forgotten, though there are times when it feels that way. He walks with us, sometimes carrying us through every experience. Trust Him!