Remembering Veterans and God

The scripture reading is found in Philippians chapter 2, verses 1 through 11.

Philippians 2:1–11

Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,

if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,

if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded,

having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

Rather, in humility, value others above yourself, not looking to your own interest,

but each of you to the interest of others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus,

who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something

to be used to his own advantage.

Rather, he made himself nothing. By taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at that name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and

under the earth, and every tongue

acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

As you can tell, we very much like the name of Jesus in this church.

We honor and adore him. We serve him and preach about him.

The scripture is very clear to us, very dear to us.

We honor these statements. But in this time, when we are honoring Christ,

we also understand that there's much division in our country.

Every four years, we have an election, a general election.

And it seems like every four years, no matter who is running,

there's always some kind division.

And it seems that happens over and over, and we kind of think,

you know, sooner or later we're going to grow up, but we don't.

We get this vitriolic anger and stuff toward each other all along,

and we forget that it's really all about God and worship of him.

We were established as a Christian nation, and I say that. I heard...

Psychology professor of one of the Eastern universities say this week,

if your family and friends did not vote the way you wanted them to vote,

or you agreed with their vote, you shouldn't invite them to dinner ever again.

Okay, so what is this stuff going on?

What are we as American, as people, as family, as friends, if we can't even

associate with each other and all that?

Now, that's not my sermon, but it's really something that is something we need

to be thinking about as Americans, as in the free country that we live in,

and the nation that honors God and all of that, and yet we need to be loving each other.

And I say that to say this because no matter what side you're on,

people are, at this point in time, extremely glad that the elections are over, right?

We're all glad that the elections are over.

And in fact, I heard somebody say this week that they are so glad that the election

is over that we ought to have a special day, a holiday,

celebrating the fact that the election is over.

Well, we're going to kind of do that, only we're not celebrating that the election's

over, but we're celebrating the life and service of our veterans.

So on Monday, November 11th, we are going to be observing Veterans Day,

and this week we honor this.

We honor our American veterans, originally recognized as Armistice Day.

November 11th was the 11th month of,

and the 11th day was observed around the world as the day that the treaty was

signed to end all conflict of World War I.

Since then, the United States and all of her individual states observes this

day as Veterans Day, remembering those men and women of our armed forces who

have served to defend us and our way of life.

And just like every other holiday, national holiday, we understand that the

post office and the banks and the federal offices are going to be closed state offices as well.

And so we see this, but this would be, this is what I would like to talk to you about today.

Remembering those who gave something and some who gave it all so that we could

be here today enjoying what we enjoy as a most blessed of nations.

We need to observe and remember those who have given some and those who have

given all for our freedom.

A policeman once noticed a lady driving with her head bowed down over the steering wheel.

She stopped and noticed her eyes. He stopped and noticed her eyes had that faraway

look as if she was here, but her mind was somewhere else.

He asked her if everything was okay. She said, every day for 20 years,

I've been driving my husband to this train station, and I guess it became a

habit, so much of a habit, that today I forgot him.

This lady's focus was not where it should have been, was it?

She wasn't focused on her husband, but on some private thought she was thinking

about, and she had left home without taking her husband with her to the train station.

And by doing that, we can see the damage she caused.

Have you ever said something to someone just to find out that they didn't remember who you were?

I had that last night at the musical. I introduced my wife to one of the ladies,

one of the teachers at the high school.

And thankfully, I remembered my wife's name, but I forgot the teacher's name.

I named called her by another teacher's name.

And, you know, that's just kind of embarrassing sometimes. You know,

you work with them almost every day and you forget who they are.

But it's embarrassing. Nobody likes to be forgotten. Nobody likes to have their

name forgotten. In fact, the sweetest sound to every person,

any person, the sweetest sound to them is their own first name.

If you remember somebody's first name and call them by that name,

that is an extreme honor to them, and they really, really love to hear the sound of their own name.

So we are to bestow our personal blessings on others around us by simply remembering to remember them.

In 1 Timothy 1, verse 3, we see where Paul remembered Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:3

He said, I constantly remember you in my prayers. Going on to verse 5,

Paul tells Timothy that he is reminded of Timothy's faith.

He could not have been reminded of Timothy's faith, however,

unless he was remembering Timothy.

And that is what we're to do also. We are to remember those around us so that

we will do our best to help them and guide them toward Jesus.

Since we celebrate Veterans Day tomorrow, here's some things I want us to do.

First of all, we need to remember others.

You've heard that our memories are the first thing to go as we age.

I was thinking about two guys that were together, and they were sitting in a

living room watching a game, and one of the gentlemen turned to the other and

said, you know, when we start getting older like this, I kind of forget things.

And the other guy said, well, I remember things very well.

I took a course in memory and now I can remember everything really well.

And the gentleman he was talking to said, well, what's the name of that course?

And he said, what's the name of that flower?

You know, it comes in a bush and it's got kind of thorns on us and it's red colored and all that.

And he said, well, it's a Rose. He said, okay, Rose, what's the name of that course that I took?

Anyway, so we have to learn to remember others.

And with so many things happening in our lives nowadays, we do tend to forget things, don't we?

In fact, oftentimes I've wondered if how many people really don't believe in

the hereafter, because I've gone into a room and wondered what I'm here after,

and I know you guys have done that too.

So a case in point is when a widow's three sons grew up, they all left home

and all became very prosperous in their lives, remembering their mother,

each of them gave her luxurious gifts.

One had a beautiful home built just for her.

Another sent her a new limo with her very own driver. A third sent her a remarkable talking parrot.

Not only could this parrot talk, it had memorized the entire Bible and was able

to quote chapter and verse all day long.

And since the mother's eyes were failing and they knew stings in her life and her body were failing.

The son thought this would be the perfect gift for his Bible-loving mother.

Several months went by, and the first son got a letter from his mother.

She complained that the house was so big it took her all her time cleaning it,

so she sold it and bought a much smaller home.

The second son got a letter saying the mother was way too old to travel and

the driver was such an uppity young man, she sold the limo and fired him.

But the third son, she praised him and exclaimed how happy she was at the bird he sent her.

She said he always did remember what she liked the most, and that was the best-tasting

chicken she'd ever eaten.

If the sons had been listening and truly focused and remembering and honoring

their mother, they would have called her first and learned what she wanted,

not what they wanted for her.

And of course, if the woman had just remembered what a chicken looks like.

But anyway, in Romans 1, verses 8 through 10, Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome.

Romans 1:8–10

He said, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,

because your faith is being reported over all the earth.

I want to read that again, because this tells us that not only is Paul hearing

about this, but he's remembering this, and he's reciting this,

and he's sharing this with others.

I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being

reported all over the world.

God, whom I serve with my whole heart, in preaching the gospel of the Son is

my witness how I constantly remember you in my prayers at all times.

Paul remembered other people. It wasn't about him. It was about other people

and the service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

As a child, I remember going with my parents and my grandma Barrett to the cemetery

near Grego, Minnesota, where my grandpa Barrett was buried.

I never knew my grandpa. He had died of congestive heart failure at the age

of 42 when my mother was only 16.

But when we went to the cemetery and my grandma and my mom would quietly go

up and put flowers on grandpa's grave, I would stand back and watch and listen.

There was no pretense, no hoopla, no terrible outpouring of tears.

My grandma would simply clear away the old flowers and place the fresh ones there on the grave.

And then she would stand back and seem to speak to the wind and say,

I miss you, Roy, and I'll be seeing you again someday.

Many years had passed, but her love and remembrance for her husband stayed the same.

My grandma's body now is laid next to my grandpa's in that grave,

and she's with grandpa in heaven.

Doesn't matter how long it's been, the more time goes by, the more we remember.

And then when you get to be my

age, 142, you understand that the memories start to fade a little bit too.

So you have to try to hang on to those memories as much as you can.

We may get less emotional, but we remember more.

My sister posted a picture on Facebook of my mom and dad a few years ago, before their passing,

and they were sitting in their nursing home room, and they were being videotaped

and recorded to send a message to the New Berlin Free Methodist Church in Wisconsin

on their 60th anniversary as a church.

And it was interesting to look at that picture of mom and dad,

even though they're gone, and just remember those times with dad.

My dad was the first pastor of that church when they moved from Milwaukee out

to New Berlin and built a new church, and it was just an honor to be there for

them, that church at that time,

father to speak to the people there, but it's a remembrance that we have.

God bless those who remember and honor our veterans. I mean,

I think all too often we forget that.

This becomes another day in our year, becomes another celebration.

It becomes another reason to have our post office and banks closed.

It becomes another reason for federal workers to not work on that day.

It just becomes another day off, so to speak.

And we fail to remember what it's all about, the remembrance of those that have

served in many and all ways for us.

None of us want to be forgotten if we should leave before Jesus comes back,

and none of our ancestors want to be forgotten either.

And God wants us to remember them. He wants us to remember what they've done for us.

And as we remember our hearers, remember the story of our nation's many blessings,

it's written with the blood, sweat, and tears of those who have gone on before

us to fight for our freedoms.

A 15-year-old high school boy finally got on the football team.

He was so excited, so he asked his mother if she would go to his first game.

She promised she would do so.

After the game, he found his mother still sitting in the stands,

and he asked her how she liked the game.

She said she was so proud of him, the way he pulled up his socks 11 times and

how he kept his uniform so clean.

He said, Mom, I didn't even get the chance to play in the game,

so why were you looking at me?

She replied, I don't know the first thing about football, so I didn't come here

to watch the game. I came here to watch you.

That mother knew more about people than many people in the stadium.

Games are okay, and they're important to some, more important to some than they

are to others. But no matter what, it's the people who reign supreme.

It is our children and our loved ones that we should be honoring and paying

more attention to as time goes on.

Philippians 2 verse 4 says this, each of you should look not only to your own

Philippians 2:4

interests, but also to the interests of others.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Remember those around you in such a way as to give them encouragement.

It's been said that real tact is having the ability to describe someone else

in the way they see themselves.

People love to be encouraged, yet too many of us spend our days encouraging ourselves.

Here are two questions you should ask yourself every time you have an encounter with someone else.

Are they happier than they were before I came along? In fact,

actually, let's rephrase this.

There are two things you should remember every time you see somebody,

but also every post you put on Facebook and everything else.

I'm starting to metal, folks.

But one is, are they happier than they were before I posted that?

And are they better off since I came along or since I posted that?

Galatians 6, 9 tells us, let us not become weary of doing good,

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,

especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

As we remember our veterans this day, let us also remember what they gave to

us, and that is our blessed freedom.

When our forefathers were overcome by the tyranny in Europe and England,

they came to America to start all over. What they soon discovered was that the

English military still expected them to be under their control.

This forced many new Americans to make one of two choices, either they give

in or they fight for their freedom.

Almost to a T, the settlers chose to take a stand and defend this nation,

this new nation, against more tyranny.

The consequences were that blood was spilled, but this land became a free nation

built on the foundation of the belief in Jesus Christ and the freedom to worship

him and establish a land under God.

In fact, if you read the founding forefathers of our nation,

you read many, many writings about how they worship God and call on his providence

to lead this great nation.

And we have had to defend that freedom periodically ever since.

Tens of millions of young men and women have left the life they grew up with

and have gone across the globe to fight for this nation.

My own great nephew just signed up and went through basic training and now is

AIT training for the Army, service in the Army.

You know, we think in a day and age like this, with all that's going on around

the world, why would anybody do this?

But Jack said, I want to serve my country and serve my God. Thank you, Jack.

And it is to each one of those young men and women that we salute.

We acknowledge their sacrifice so that the rest of us could enjoy freedom.

But, you know, there is someone else we need to remember too.

That person is Jesus Christ.

He saw us when we were under the tyranny of the evil one.

He saw us when we were betrodden by Satan, torn down. Our lives were a wreck.

And Jesus shed his blood for us on the cross, says in the scripture that while

we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

And the proper translation would be, while we're still in our sin, Christ died for us.

We weren't good-looking people at that time, were we, when we were in our sin, are we?

We're not very pleasing and pleasant, but Christ still paid his blood for us, his sacrifice for us.

Romans 5.8 says that, or excuse me, 1 Corinthians 11, 24 says,

When he had given thanks, he broke the bread and said, This is my body,

which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

In that day on Calvary, Christ's body was broken,

and his blood was spilt so that we could be free from the punishment of our

sin and our reckless life, and we could be invited back into new life in service

of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

We've walked away in the very beginning of time, Adam and Eve walked away from

the loving God that they had walked in the garden with, the Garden of Eden.

They had walked in the cool of the evening with God, walked hand in hand with

him, but yet they chose to disobey.

And even in all of that, as we have wandered away, God said,

I want you back as my child.

And Christ died for us. Just as the American Revolutionary soldier went to war

so his children could live in freedom, Jesus willingly sacrificed his life so

we could have spiritual freedom.

Freedom from sin, freedom from decay, freedom from the power of sin to reign over us.

As we search and worship Christ and follow in the Holy Spirit,

we are delivered from that.

John chapter 15, verse 13 says this, greater love has no one than this,

John 15:13

that he lay down his life for a friend.

And then Jesus went on to say, and I have called you friend.

They were no longer his disciples. They were no longer his servants,

the ones to follow and do his bidding.

They were his friends. And so it clearly stands that what we remember is the

heroic sacrifice made for our benefit.

There are two friends who have died for us, the soldier and Jesus Christ.

The soldier died for your physical freedom, and Jesus died for your spiritual freedom.

We remember our earthly heroes for what they have done for us,

but do we always remember to respond and.

Our heavenly hero for what he's done for us. I'm proud to be an American. I really am.

I'm thankful for all the blessings God has given to America so that I can have

the lifestyle that I have.

I remember our military heroes, and I honor them for the sacrifices they made for me.

I wouldn't want to have grown up in another nation because I have it so good

here, but I'm also very proud, even more proud, to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

I'm thankful that God loved me enough to see me in the sin and to remember me

when I was a disruptive, disobedient, hateful child of 16.

Rebellious into things I should not have been. But I'm thankful that God at

my age of 17 said to me at a service out in Colorado, said, I don't care what anybody else does.

I want you as my child, and I love you, and I want you to be in my service.

You know, when the God of the universe, when the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

speaks to you and says he wants you, it's not like the army that says we want you.

It's the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that wants you. And I'm telling you

right now, we can thank our veterans all we want and we do, but we need to thank

our Heavenly Father that he loves us so much that he's given himself for us.

And let's not forget our Savior because he's the reason we have the salvation.

If you remember him and to remember him, we must know him, but we don't want

to know just about Jesus.

I mean, it's easy enough to read in the Bible and it's easy enough to read commentaries.

It's easy enough to read all kinds of stories about who Jesus is and who God

is, and you're going to get all kinds the sides of the story.

But it doesn't matter whether we know about God. It doesn't matter if we know

about Jesus. It's a matter that we know him as our friend, as our guide, as our brother also.

If you have not responded to faith in Christ, we would urge you to do so.

We just want you to know that if you have any questions about who Christ is

and you want to follow him, you want to serve him, you want to even ask some

questions, I'm more than willing and free to talk with you.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we remember the striving and the work and the blood,

sweat, and tears that our veterans shed for us, we also remember the Christ who died for us.

Father, make us new people unto you. In Jesus' name, amen.