REMEMBER GOD’S LOVE

NHỚ LẠI TÌNH YÊU CHÚA

Kinh thánh: Ê-phê-sô 2: 11-18

Câu gốc: THI THIÊN 143: 5 – Tôi nhớ lại các ngày xưa, tưởng đến mọi việc Chúa đã làm, và suy gẫm công việc của tay Chúa.

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REMEMBER GOD’S LOVE

Bible: Ephesians 2: 11-18

Main verse: PSALM 143: 5 – I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.

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– One of the most effective ways to be motivated into doing something is to remember the past. It could also help to change the present for the better.

– For example, people remembered past accidents to be more careful in driving. Others remembered their past failures in business to plan out their work accordingly. Some remembered their poor ethics to work even harder today.

– The Israelites used this method to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy when they were exiled in Babylon, and a result, they were allowed to go back to their homeland.

PSALM 42: 4 – When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

THI THIÊN 42: 4 – Xưa tôi đi cùng đoàn chúng, dẫn họ đến nhà Đức Chúa Trời. Có tiếng reo mừng và khen ngợi… một đoàn đông giữ lễ; Rày tôi nhớ lại điều ấy, và lòng buồn thảm.

PSALM 78: 35 – Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer.

THI THIÊN 78: 35 – Chúng nó bèn nhớ lại rằng Đức Chúa Trời là hòn đá của mình, Đức Chúa Trời Chí Cao là Đấng cứu chuộc mình.

– That’s why there are many verses in the Bible telling us to remember the past in order to do the right things in the present and in the future.

REVELATION 2: 5 – Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

KHẢI HUYỀN 2: 5 – Vậy hãy nhớ lại ngươi đã sa sút từ đâu, hãy ăn năn và làm lại những công việc ban đầu của mình; bằng chẳng vậy, ta sẽ đến cùng ngươi, nếu ngươi không ăn năn thì ta sẽ cất chân đèn của ngươi khỏi chỗ nó.

– This method is so effective that even God used it, even though He is omnipotent Who never forgets anything.

PSALM 105: 42 – For He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant.

THI THIÊN 105: 42 – Vì Ngài nhớ lại lời thánh Ngài, và hồi tưởng Áp-ra-ham, là kẻ tôi tớ Ngài.

– Remembering the past to do better in the present and in the future is now a method that Christians must use occassionally throughout their lives.

PSALM 105: 6 – Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,

THI THIÊN 105: 6 – Hãy nhớ lại những việc lạ lùng Ngài đã làm, các dấu kỳ và đoán ngữ mà miệng Ngài đã phán.

– As we can see, in the modern times, everyone seems so busy that their lives are becoming hectic. Parents do not have time for their children, married couples do not have time for each other, many people do not even have time for sleep, and Christians do not even have time to communicate with their heavenly Father.

– When we do not have time for spiritual activities, our souls will be withered and weak, and we are prone to fail at temptations. Therefore, we should remind each other of God’s love and what He has done for us, so that we can be encouraged to renew our relations with Him.

PSALM 143: 5 – I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.

THI THIÊN 143: 5 – Tôi nhớ lại các ngày xưa, tưởng đến mọi việc Chúa đã làm, và suy gẫm công việc của tay Chúa.

– We should remember that God had come into the world because of each one of us, and He had chose us to be His children. For us personally, that is a special and wondrous love for among billions of people on Earth. He has chose us, gave us the opportunity to come to Him and be saved while we were not worthy to be chosen.

– None of us can say that He chose us because we were so famous, so talented, or so brilliant. There were many people who were “better” than us, but He somehow loved us and picked us among others. When remembering that, surely we are moved by His love for each of us.

– Before becoming God’s children, we were burdened with our sins and we walked in the darkness like others. We did not know what our future would be, but by His love and by His blood that poured out on the cross for us, we now know the glorious future waiting for us ahead at the end of our journey on Earth.

– From the time we became God’s children, we have experienced many blessings from Him, big and small. None of us could say that we have not been blessed by Him.

– He has healed us from our sickness. He has rescued us from dangers. Many of us had experienced His rescue when we escaped the Communists by boats. At the time, we were on the high sea in the open ocean. He had also blessed us when we were in refugee camps, and He had blessed us continuously after we settled in America.

– Surely we can remember the hardships we had in Vietnam after 1975, when there was not enough food for the South Vietnamese to the point that lots of children had become malnourished. Some even died of starvation. We can remember the struggles that women had when their husbands were forced into re-education camps and they had to take care of their children alone.

– Then God had given us the chance to escape the Communist and their warped socialist paradise to be safe on our journey to find freedom. He blessed us with the prosperous lives many of us experience today.

– For giving us that much love, we should make Him hear Hallelujah and praise Him every day of our lives. That’s why we encourage each other to sing His name every time we gather in His house for worship.

– We know human life is full of sadness, hardship and struggles, but we also experience God’s love every time we face obstacles in our lives, whether it be mentally, physically or psychologically. God had lead us through with His blessings, guidance and strength. As we are here today, happily smiling, it’s proof that God has loved us and helped us walk through this time that we call life.

– When we remember God’s love this way, we will surely appreciate His grace and mercy on us. None of us have enough words to describe all of His love. As for the whole world, human languages cannot describe it either.

– We will never be able to thank God enough for His love. However, there is still one thing we can do to show our appreciation to Him, and that is to promise to walk with Him down any path that He wants us to go, for He will always be with us to the end.

– Hope we will always remember Him every day until we see Him face to face on the day He comes back to Earth for us. May God continue to bless us and give us strength to be faithful in our walk with Him from now and forever. Amen.