Ep 144 | Cover to Cover 23 | Pastor Chris Ryan | June 7, 2026

Hello, this is Pastor Ryan Clark.

You are listening to a message from St.

John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota.

Oh Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praises in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Did you know there's something out there called a memory athlete? A memory athlete is someone who trains their brain to have superhuman recall, and then they compete against other memory athletes in memory-based competitions.

Perhaps the most well-known memory athlete, certainly a name worth remembering if you ask me, is this guy right here, Dave Farrow.

This guy's memory is absolutely incredible.

At one memory competition, a fellow competitor shuffled together 59 full decks of playing cards into one mega deck featuring 3,068 cards.

That competitor showed Dave those cards one time, and then Dave repeated back those cards in perfect order from start to finish, all 3,068.

King of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, Ten of Spades.

An incredible memory, perhaps the best there is.

On the flip side is this guy, Clive Wearing, perhaps the worst memory there is.

Because of an infection in his hippocampus, which undoubtedly you remember from that sermon I gave a few weeks ago, is the portion of the brain responsible for forming memory.

Because of that infection, Clive Wearing no longer has short-term memory really at all.

In fact, scientists measure that his short-term memory lasts only seven seconds, and after seven seconds, the world around him, it resets.

Now, interestingly enough, Clive's long-term memory remains intact.

He still remembers how to play the piano and organ, great skills to have if you ask me, and he still remembers the love of his life, his wife Deborah.

In fact, whenever Deborah walks into the room, whether it's been one minute, one hour, or one day since he's seen her, he is so joyous.

Clive guns up, he hugs her and kisses her like he hasn't seen her in years.

He tells her how much he loves her.

And then Clive walks around the room with Deborah, and he introduces her to everybody.

"Have you met my wife, Deborah? She's the best."

There's something awful sweet about that, isn't there? As I was thinking about it this week, I think we're all a little bit like Dave Farrow and Clive Wearing, aren't we? We all have things that we just can't seem to remember and things that we just can't seem to forget.

And if you don't believe me, ask your average Twins fan over the age of 50 who had that game-winning walk-off hit in game seven of the 1991 World Series, and they'll say, "I remember that like it was yesterday, my boy.

That is Gene Larkin."

Then ask that same person what they had for breakfast yesterday, and they'll say, "Pastor, that question's a little bit tougher."

We all have a little bit of Clive Wearing a Dave Farrow in each of us, don't we? And as I was looking at our lesson this week, I can't help but notice that we're not the only ones like that.

As I looked at Joshua 24 in our two-year Bible read-through, I noticed that we have a God who has a bit of a selective memory as well.

Except where God's selective memory is the cause of much blessing for us and for others, our selective memory tends to be the cause of much hurt and pain for ourselves and others.

I want us to see that blessing in action today, and see how God's selective memory applies to our lives.

From Joshua 24, it says, "Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.

He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God."

So I know it was just a couple of weeks ago we were throwing that big retirement party for Moses, but 10 or 15 years have gone by now in the biblical timeline, and it's Joshua's turn to retire.

He's about to step down from leading Israel after all those years, and before he retires, he's got a few last things he wants to say to God's people.

He's got one last speech that he wants to give them, so he gathers them all together, and God is gonna speak a few words through Joshua.

It says, "Joshua said to all the people, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: Long ago your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.

But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants.

I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.'"

The long and the short of it is this: God wants the Israelites to remember their history and the amazing part that he has played in it.

And so Joshua starts by recounting the time between Abraham all the way to Joseph, and there are some incredible things to remember, aren't there? God wants the people to remember how he blessed Abraham, how he took him out of that idolatrous land beyond the Euphrates River and took him to the land of Canaan, and made all kinds of promises to Abraham, each and every one he kept.

He promised that Abraham would have an offspring even at the age of 99 when he was childless, and that through those offspring there would eventually be one that was a blessing to the whole world.

God wants his people to remember that.

God wants his people to remember how he sustained them when he took him out of the land of Canaan all the way to Egypt.

He sustained the Israelites through a famine by making Joseph second in command over all of Egypt.

God wants his people to remember that.

There are a lot of incredible things that God has done for the Israelites.

Of course, if you asking me about this little section here, there's a few other things that I think God should be remembering over those three verses, a few things that he seems to be glossing over.

I wouldn't be quite as positive if I were God writing my memoirs about my people.

Sure, Abraham did a lot of good things, but if I were to talk about him, I would remember that time that he turned his back on God and laughed at God when God told him that he was gonna have a child at the age of 99.

God can't do that.

If I were gonna talk about Isaac and Jacob and Esau, I wouldn't just mention their names, I would talk about that big fight they had, all the betrayal that was there with the birthright and the blessing.

And as far as the family going down to Egypt, God makes it sound like it was a nice little vacation.

They got in the car and just headed down there.

But that's not exactly what happened, now is it? They ended up in Egypt because Joseph's brothers betrayed him.

They beat him, tore that robe off him, cast him in a pit, and sold him into slavery.

That's how they ended up in Egypt.

If I were God, I would talk about that, but it's almost like he doesn't remember it at all.

But I digress.

The story continues.

"Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out."

Yeah, that's basically what happened, right? Between Joseph all the way to the parting of the Red Sea.

And Moses did some great things, and God did some great things through him.

But if I was gonna talk about those people, there'd be a few more things that I would mention other than just that they were a little bit faithful.

In fact, if you recall from my sermon just a couple of weeks ago, didn't Moses turn his back on God as well? When God calls to him from that burning bush in the wilderness and says, "Moses, you're gonna lead Israel," Moses says, "No, I'm not.

Send someone else."

And by the way, why was Moses even out in the wilderness next to that burning bush? If I recall, he was out there because he fled Egypt after murdering a guy.

That seems like an important thing to include in Moses' history.

A nice guy.

He led Israel pretty well.

He did murder that guy one time, but other than that, not bad And as far as the Israelites being brought up out of Egypt, man, it makes it sound like they were so willing, but the Israelites were brought up kicking and screaming and complaining that they'd be better off left in Egypt.

If I were God, I'd remember that and talk about that.

But once again, God seems to be glossing over a few details.

It's almost like he doesn't remember it at all.

But once again, I digress.

The story continues, "You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians.

Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time."

Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

That is how God describes 38-plus years of wilderness living in Joshua 24.

And I know for sure God is forgetting some things here, because if I were gonna talk about that long time in the wilderness, I would talk about the time when the Israelites complained and murmured against God, the several times they did this, saying the food and the drink were better off in Egypt, and so were they.

A long time in the wilderness where the Israelites worshiped that golden calf that they made with their own hands fresh off of being freed from Egypt.

A long time in the wilderness where the Israelites tested God again and again, and they demanded to know if he was truly for them with that water from the rock incident.

A long time in the wilderness where the Israelites had that sinful spy incident, where they sent those spies to scout out the Promised Land, and they came back and said, "Wow, the people there, they're too big for us to take on or for our God to take on."

If I were God, I'd probably talk about that just a little bit.

But once again, seems like God is glossing over a few details here, which begs the question, why does God summarize 38 years of wilderness living in 10 words? Why does God have nothing negative to say about his people all the way from Abraham to where we're at now and Joshua retiring? I think it's something pretty amazing.

It's actually our highlighted verse of the day, Jeremiah 31:34.

Jeremiah 31:34

It's a new covenant promise that God makes to you and to me.

"For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

It's a new covenant promise that God makes to us, and I believe in this moment, his people Israel are getting a foretaste of the feast to come.

God is describing their story and what it will look like when this passage comes true.

It's like those sins, they never even happened.

The Israelites were incredibly wicked, but they get God's mercy anyways.

Their sins, that description is what it will look like when they are forgiven and forgotten.

And where sins are forgiven and forgotten, blessing absolutely follows.

God says, "I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build, and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant."

Because their sins have been forgiven, blessing follows.

They get this turnkey promised land that they didn't work for at all, full of olive groves they didn't grow and vineyards they didn't plant, an absolutely incredible thing that God has done for his people And the story of God's people is your story as well.

In fact, your story it's even better.

These words God speaks to you, Jeremiah 31:34, "For I will forgive their wickedness," he says, "and I will remember your sins no more."

Jeremiah 31:34

And those words are true in your life because of the most unforgettable event in history.

Those words are true in your life because of what Jesus did just for you.

Those words are true because Jesus remembered God's law perfectly.

There was never a time that he forgot to do what God wanted him to do.

And then he takes his perfect self to the cross, where he dies just for you, and on that cross, he takes your sins onto himself.

He gives you his worthiness.

We call that the great exchange.

And because of that great exchange, something amazing has happened for you.

When God looks at you, he no longer sees your sin.

All he sees is his Son.

And because of that, God speaks some amazing words over you.

What does God say over his Son, Jesus? He says, "This is my Son, whom I love.

With him, I am well pleased."

If God were to walk you around the room and introduce you to everybody, he'd say, "This is my child whom I love.

He is the best.

She is the best.

Have you met my son, Tony? This is my son, Tony, whom I love.

With him, I am well pleased.

Have you met my son, Randy? This is my son, Randy, whom I love.

With him, I am well pleased.

Have you met my daughter, Tammy? This is my daughter, Tammy, whom I love.

With her, I am well pleased."

You say, "Wow, it seems like God is forgetting a few things in that description of me.

Doesn't he remember? Doesn't he remember that sin that I did? Doesn't he remember how I treated my job better than my family for years? Doesn't he remember that horrible thing that I did in high school so that my future would be better? Doesn't he remember that thing I clicked on on the internet last night? Doesn't he remember those words I said to my spouse? Doesn't he remember that sin that I committed seven seconds ago?" No, he doesn't, because he says he doesn't.

He says, "I forgive your sins and remember them no more."

And St.

John's family, there is a way we should respond, in fact, several ways we should respond to that incredible truth that is God's selective memory when it comes to you and me.

The first thing: we should respond to God's selective memory by not holding onto what God has already let go of.

First, this means we should be forgiving others.

The truth is, we can be regular old David Farrows when it comes to remembering the sins of others, can't we? If someone has hurt us, we remember it.

In fact, sometimes we remember all 3,068 sins that someone has committed against us in the exact order in which they committed them But God says that Jesus' death on the cross was good enough to forgive their sins, that he forgives their sins and remembers them no more, and you do not know better than God.

And Jesus' death was good enough for that.

Forgive as you have been forgiven.

Do not hold onto what God has already let go of.

It's gonna involve forgiving others, and it's gonna involve forgiving ourselves, too.

Perhaps the hardest person for some of us to forgive.

So many people, they hang on to their own sins, and they say things like, "Pastor, I should feel guilty about what I've done.

I should feel terrible about what I've done.

It was horrible.

It was a terrible thing."

Kind of.

Here's what I'm reading in the Bible in 2 Corinthians 7:10.

2 Corinthians 7:10

It says, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.

But worldly sorrow brings death."

When it comes to our own sins, we should feel godly sorrow, not worldly sorrow.

One leads to life, one leads to death.

One is something God wants for you, one is something that Satan wants for you.

Godly sorrow is to say this: "I messed up.

I shouldn't have done that.

I feel terrible and guilty, but I am not gonna hang onto this guilt because God doesn't want me to.

Jesus took this guilt away from me on the cross.

I am not gonna take it back and hang onto it.

I'm gonna repent and go to the one who takes this guilt away from me again and forgives me."

That is godly sorrow Satan wants us to feel worldly sorrow, and so often that's what we do.

Worldly sorrow is to say, "I messed up.

I shouldn't have done that.

I feel terrible and shameful.

I can't believe I'm such a hothead.

I can't believe I'm such an idolater.

I can't believe I'm such an adulterer."

Worldly sorrow is to associate your identity with your sin, and that's what Satan wants.

He wants you to equate action with identity.

He wants you to believe that you have become your sin, that that is who you are, and there's no changing that.

But because of Jesus, your identity is not your sin.

Your identity is a child of God.

Because of Jesus, God has let go of your sins, and so should you.

And by the way, if Satan is trying to draw attention to your past, it means he's worried about what you're gonna be doing for God's kingdom in the future.

Do not let him win.

Stop holding onto what God has already let go of.

Forgive yourself and forgive others.

We should respond to God's memory, selective memory, by doing just that.

Second, we should respond to God's selective memory by spending time with him every chance we get.

I fall into this trap.

You've heard me talk about this up here before.

Sometimes I get to thinking after a sin, "God is probably mad at me about what happened yesterday, or the day before that, or one hour ago, or seven seconds ago."

So I'm not gonna spend time with him for a little bit because that'd be a little hypocritical.

I'm gonna let him cool off.

Here's the truth.

If you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior and have been baptized, and you think God is mad at you about your sins, you know what you're calling him? A liar.

Because what does God promise to you? He says, "I forgive your sins and remember them no more."

That doesn't sound like someone who's mad at you at all And you should long to spend time with him, and God longs to spend time with you.

In fact, he has more joy at seeing you than old Clive Wearing had when he sees his wife, whether it's been one minute, one hour, or one day since you've talked to him.

He's so excited to see you.

He loves you so much, and he can't wait to spend time with you.

And what a blessing it is to spend time with him.

As we spend time with God, as we spend time with Jesus, we get his grace, mercy, peace, forgiveness, wisdom.

He helps us to overcome those sins that we struggle with so much, and he helps us to love and serve him all the more, which by the way, is the last way we should respond to God's selective memory, by loving and serving him.

When Joshua looks back on this description of God's people all the way from Abraham to himself, and sees what God has included, and he hears about all the blessings, he looks back and he says these incredible words.

He says, "You, people of Israel, you're gonna have to make the choice.

But based on everything I've seen, based on what I know about God and what he has done just for me, as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

That is the response we should have to God's incredible selective memory that says, "I forgive your sins and remember them no more because of Jesus."

And of course, St.

John's family, my prayer for you this week is that you respond just like that.

May you respond to God's incredible selective memory by not holding onto what God has already let go of.

May you forgive yourself and others.

May you respond by spending time with him every chance you get.

He can't wait to see you.

And may you respond by serving and loving him with all of your heart, soul, and mind because of Jesus and thanks to Jesus.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

You've been listening to a sermon from St.

John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota.

If you would like more information about St.

John's and any of our ministries to our community and beyond, you can go to our website, www.

stjohnsbuffalo.

org.

Thank you and God bless you.