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The Importance of Taking Time to Remember: Celebrating What God Has DoneThis September 8th and 9th Vineyard Columbus is going to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of us being a Vineyard Church (our church actually began 33 years ago as an independent church) and my 20th anniversary as our first senior pastor. We are going to have a huge party similar to the Grand Opening of our Community Center with food, music, video retrospective, and games for kids. In short, you and your family will not want to miss our 20th anniversary celebration!Why do we take time to celebrate anniversaries? There is one simple reason: While remembering does not guarantee we will be thankful, we will never be thankful unless we remember. Remembering is an absolute precondition to gratitude. The Bible commands the people of God to remember over 100 times. In fact, the Book of Deuteronomy is called the “Book of Remembrance” because the word “remember” appears so many times in that book. What should we remember as we celebrate our 20th anniversary as a Vineyard Church? 1. We should remember the Lord! Each week when we celebrate communion we listen to the words of institution: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22.19. The apostle Paul says this in 2 Timothy 2.8, “Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead…” Whenever we have an anniversary, birthday or awards ceremony, we must never be exclusively horizontal in our thinking. There is a Divine Participant whose presence we must welcome and celebrate. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we must remember the Lord. 2. We remember that all that we have comes from the Lord. We read in Deuteronomy 8:10-11, “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God… [otherwise] You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” As we look back at the history of Vineyard Columbus and celebrate the extraordinary growth of this church – the thousands of people who have been saved, the blessing of planting many churches around America and the world, the development of our Community Center, and the countless other blessings we have experienced, we must remember that all that we have and all that we are has come from the Lord. As the apostle Paul says, “What do you have that you have not received?” (1 Cor. 4.7) 3. We must remember the mighty works of God. Ps 77:11-12 says this: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” It is very important for us to continue to tell Holy Spirit stories. We need to tell and retell the wonders that God did in the past through healings, deliverances, salvations, reconciliations of marriages, prophetic words, divine appointments, etc. And we must pray for contemporary experiences of the mighty works of God. 4. We must remember where we came from. Throughout the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminded the people to “remember that we were slaves in Egypt” (Deuteronomy 5.15; 24.18, etc.). The apostle Paul exhorts the Ephesians believers to “Remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (which is done in the body by human hands)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” It is always a good thing to remember where we as individuals started in the Christian life. What was your condition before you came to Christ? What hope would you have had for a successful life without Christ? For those of you who are married, or are parents, what hope would you have for a successful marriage, or family without Christ? What hope would any of us have for guidance in this world, for a sense of purpose or significance, or for love, peace, joy, or any of the other fruits of the Spirit? What hope would we have for kicking addictions, being freed from our past, being vindicated for doing right in the future, or experiencing eternal life without Christ? We must remember where we came from so that we might properly celebrate all that God has done in our life. 5. Finally, we must remember our leaders. Heb 13:7 says this: “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” As a general rule, we do not at Vineyard Columbus celebrate the annual anniversary of the senior pastor, or the other pastors on staff. Frankly, we would find it embarrassing to do so. But it is good every few decades to take time to say thank you to people who faithfully serve in a variety of leadership positions in the church: with children, women, men, the poor, administration and operations, small group ministry, marriages, counseling, worship, preaching and teaching. By remembering our leaders, we remember that much of God’s work in the world is done in and through people. The result of remembering our leaders is that we value the Body of Christ, and we see that the Christian life is not lived alone; rather, it is lived in communion with other believers. Remembering our leaders causes us to be grateful for the wonderful church family God has given us. Join us on September 8th and 9th as we take time to remember and “Celebrate What God Has Done!” |
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