Remembering what is important!

Be Still and Know That I am God (v10).

Psalm 46

There is a wonderful moment in the classic film “Zulu”, (a film seen by the vast majority of the war generation as well as modern day forces personnel) where the missionary, who has not exactly endeared himself to some of those standing at Rorke’s Drift encourages the soldiers who fully expect to die in the next Zulu onslaught with what we might call a “Psalm 46 moment”. In the midst of a battle scene we are suddenly regaled with the sound of a group of South Wales Borderers affirming the truth that God is in control in the midst of the chaos and volatility of war and destruction, despite all appearances to the contrary. The interesting thing about this psalm is its clear and robust recognition that the people of God are not exempted from the trials and difficulties of life. It highlights the threat of natural disasters, the threat of tumult and war that have been part of the human experience down the centuries. There is no guarantee that any of us will not be subject to these trials. However, what keeps us steady is our awareness that God is with us through these trials. And because God is with us we have an entirely new perspective on whatever we face. We may go through times of fear and anxiety, which are natural to all of us, regardless of our walk of life. It may be a soldier’s natural anxiety about an upcoming operational tour. It may be the fear of a patient awaiting the results of a biopsy that will determine issues of life and death (the Dennison’s with Sophia Rose is a real example at present). But through all those things the Psalmist looking with the eyes of faith declares that we will not be afraid. For anyone who has gone through troubled times this Psalm is good news because it reassures us that wherever we happen to be in life we are never ultimately alone. The God who has loved us into creation remains with us and promises for those who love Him that whatever crises emerge He will be there for us and will additionally bring glory to himself out of the most difficult of circumstances. The resounding cry of Psalm 46 is Be Still and Know That I am God!In using this faith-filled phrase David is echoing Moses who at that crucial moment when the Egyptian army were bearing down on God’s People and the Red Sea seemed an impossible hurdle said: Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Remembrance seems to mean so many different things that I looked it up in the dictionary: three wonderful definitions are given (the act of remembering, the process of being remembered, & a memory or recollection). My goodness, what a rich, deep word! Folk that died especially in the Great War are remembered even if just through fading sepia photographs. We honour them, and feel a connection. When we visit the ceramic poppy installation at the Tower of London, and hear the roll of honour called, and listen to Last Post our emotions are near the surface. We humans have this extraordinary ability to bear witness to those whom we have not known – perhaps somehow we are enabled to know in spirit what we cannot know within our usual constraints of time or intellect. The act of remembering is a wonder and much of what we have seen on our TV screens this year has helped us all to understand more the absolute futility of war, like this weeks offering of “The Passing Bells”. So also is the process of being remembered. What does it mean? To re-member, literally means to put back together again (shall these bones live?); our precious family and friends, living again, in and through the act of our remembering. Our act of remembrance is the putting back together, in spirit, in truth, the lives of those who we may not have known, but to whom we belong; the young men and women serving in Afghanistan (for a season, the community of Royal Wotton Bassett stood for the whole nation as loved ones were returned home).We also remember those who have laid down their lives over the years of the many wars and conflicts of the twentieth century (10 million in WW1, 50 million in WW2), and for saints gone to glory, and supremely for our Lord Jesus. We shall Re-Member them!

1. Remembering the things that are best forgotten

There are of course some things which are best forgotten. So many of us carry baggage throughout our Christian Life, which we don’t need to. Hebrews 8:12 uses the word remember: God says of His Children “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more”. We have been gloriously forgiven, the tapes have been wiped clean, but we too need to put these things out of our minds and not allow the enemy of our soul to bring them back. Together as Church God says to us in Isaiah 43:18 “Remember not the former things, do not dwell on the past, see I am doing a new thing”. Congregations that are tied to the past will never be gloriously free to perceive the call of the beckoning Christ into the future He wants for His Body: out there and with the sick and lost. Let us not put back together that which Christ has said is forgiven and forgotten (not re-membered). Let us not go back into a kind of religious slavery when freedom has been purchased for us and is our glorious inheritance.

2. Remembering those who have fought and died for the freedom we enjoy.

“Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). It’s true you know: we don’t lay down our lives for those we don’t know, we lay down our lives for our families and friends. A nation built on the concept of the fittest and purest surviving will always ultimately fall because it is founded upon fear, but a nation built on the godly value of every one being of equal value will ultimately prevail. The current debate about immigration sadly has led many down a xenophobic and racist blind alley which we must not go. Those who have fought and died for our nation have I believe done so to protect that very freedom and equality, which flows from the gospel of grace. Which is why we feel affronted when it seems our leaders are not listening, or feathering their own nests and not protecting as best they can: the boys and girls fighting in our name. Those 453 soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan since 2001 deserve our gratitude and admiration: those left behind deserve the best care we can give to them; those injured a lifetime of quality care. A nation built on friendship is something to die for: may the Christian Church once again encourage such through their ministry of reconciliation, peacemaking and through the Gospel of Grace.

3. Remembering Christ who paid the ultimate price for our complete freedom once and for all.

We re-member Christ by being Cross-centred in our faith: each time we share around the Lords Table we say that we do it to re-member Him. How easy it would be to opt for cheap grace; grace may be free but it was and is not cheap. It cost the Father the most precious gift of His Son Jesus. It cost Jesus everything as He went to the Cross saying “Not my will but Yours Be Done, Father”. So we remember Him when we do not sanitise the Cross but see it in all its horror and yet still His arms opened wide to embrace the World, God so loved.

We re-member Christ by putting back together the Body of Christ which has been rent asunder by mans arrogance and judgemental spirit. I must say to you all that I find it quite difficult now to hear that anyone however well known or worthy within the Body of Christ puts his or her denomination before the universal Church of Jesus Christ. For such convictions wars have been fought. I am not saying to kiss ones critical faculties’ goodbye but I am saying that it’s more important to be one than to be in our arrogance: right.

And so back to Psalm 46 which stands as a beacon in an increasingly confused hostile world. When your world is suddenly turned upside down, remember God’s plans for your life haven’t been cancelled. Bring them back together in your heart and your soul, stand in faith for their fulfilment.

When you feel trapped with no way out, here are some things to REMEMBER: 1. Look for the River: There is a river whose streams make glad (v4). Rivers represent God’s supply for your every need. When every human source of supply seems to have dried up, don’t fear, look for the river. The river flows from the sanctuary and calls us to drink deeply from Him! 2. Look for the City: God has planted His ‘city of God, the holy place where the most High dwells’ (v4) right in the middle of your circumstances. God’s city, the symbol of His presence and power, guarantees He’s still in control and that He will restore peace and order to our troubled world. The New Jerusalem is not some rarefied creation in heaven, it’s a robust creation here on Planet Earth and its building material: the righteous acts of the saints: heavenly gold pavement laid as you and I undertake acts of kindness that bring salvation. 3. Look for the signs of God’s presence: God will help you at the break of day (v5), Daybreak, a symbol of new beginnings, gives you confidence that beyond this time of trouble and testing, a new day is at hand. As Dave Bilbrough rightly wrote: a new day is dawning, a new age to come, when the children of promise shall flow together as one. Opt for the new day. 4. Finally Look to God and know His peace: Based on the tested and proven foundation of His power and faithfulness, you can live by the scripture and in the light of His promises: So He says to you and to me Be Still and Know that I am God (v10).

So let today be your Psalm 46 moment: Remember the things that are truly important. Put them back together in your heart and mind and thank God for His love in giving us faithful men and women prepared to pay the ultimate price for our freedom, and for uniquely giving us and all humanity, deserving and undeserving, the Grace Gift of Jesus who paid the price of true freedom once and for all time. Now that is worth remembering.

Pastor David

November 9th 2014.