Forgot Your (Pass)Word?
"Forgot your (Pass)Word?" According to Psalm 78 the believers in Old Testament times locked themselves out of God's blessings because they forgot the (Pass)Word. A secure relationship with God that blesses you with safety and reassurance requires a strong Pass(Word): God's Word. September 12, 2010.
On Tuesday you open a new bank account with an ATM card and need to set up a password. Let’s see, do you make it something simple-to-remember like your birthday? No. Too easy for hackers. Your nickname? No. “Bucky” has only five letters and your password needs to be eight characters, including numbers. Your current street address? Too obvious. But maybe your childhood address? Sure, you can remember that. You initialize your ATM card password: 1178pine. Done.
On Friday you and a carload of friends are all going out and you ask them to stop by the ATM so you can get some cash. The driver swings by, you get out, insert your card and the screen asks for your password. You pause. You know you know it. It’s … uh … your birthday. Did you really use that again? You try it. Big red letters on the screen complain, “Password invalid.” Okay, bad idea, maybe you used our nickname? Had to be. You punch in “Bucky.” “Password invalid.” Ugh! You should have written it down, but you didn’t need to because it’s obvious, so obvious you’d never forget it, so obvious you’d never be standing there with a group of friends in the car honking the horn, so obvious you’d always have instant access to your cash. Okay, you think you used your address. You punch in your current address, and the screen scolds you with the words, “Password invalid. See bank during business hours to retrieve your card.” Now you’re steaming mad and you stomp back to your friends, slam the door, and the car takes off … with your wallet back on top of the ATM machine where a homeless man will find it, keep it, and use it.
Not a good day. All because you forgot your password.
Today is Christian Education Sunday at Grace. We schedule it so we don’t forget our (Pass)Word: God’s Word. According to Psalm 78 the believers in Old Testament times locked themselves out of God’s blessings because they forgot the (Pass)Word. “They forgot what [God] had done, the wonders he had shown them … They did not remember his power – the day he redeemed them from the oppressor, the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt.” Forgetting God is much more drastic than forgetting your library card or Google user ID. Google wants your attention. God wants your soul – every ounce of your trust and every fiber of your being, the first and best of your love, your money, your skills, and, yes, your attention. Jesus says so. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate (fill in the blank), he cannot be my disciple … any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26,33). According to Psalm 78 these people had no problem remembering their personal priorities, but then giving up God’s priorities. So God’s “wrath rose against Israel … he put to death the sturdiest of them … he ended their days in futility … he gave his people over to the sword … he rejected Israel completely.”
Oops. Silly me. I forgot my confirmation verse. I forgot to read my Bible today. I forgot that Grace offers group Bible study led by insightful teachers. I forgot to take the kids for Sunday School. Are we doing each other a favor by dismissing these as memory lapses – when all the while we can remember to check the statistics of our fantasy football team, remember to read every text message within a minute of our phone vibrating, or remember when the Boston Store sale ends? We’d all agree that men who can remember their e-trading password but not their wife’s favorite flower reveal mixed up priorities. Children who remember their favorite HD cable channels but not their math homework reveal mixed up priorities. Christians who remember to attend worship regularly but don’t remember to attend group Bible study reveal mixed up priorities. Psalm 78 warns people who forget God’s Word to prepare for God to take out the sturdiest of our false securities, for us to become frustrated by futility and rejected by God instead of blessed. God doesn’t owe anything to anyone who is so familiar with his Word that we think it’s obvious and then we forget it like a password.
One of my online accounts, when I set up my profile, asked me to enter a password but also to enter three questions for which only I know the answers, and then enter the answers. Of course, I forgot my password, so the site asked me those three questions, I entered the answers, and it remembered me and reminded me of the password. It didn’t deactivate me or lock me out. When sinners like us forget God’s Word, he remembers who we are. He remembers that we belong to him by baptism and the blood of the new covenant, that we wear the righteous life of his Son Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Spirit resurrects us to new life. “Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer … Their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities … He remembered.”
Forgot Your (Pass)Word? Turn to God in repentance because God remembers. He doesn’t forget his Son’s death and resurrection, doesn’t forget his promises to you, and doesn’t forget your prayers. God remembers you. God forgives you. He may very well intervene in your life with events that hurt you, frustrate you, or even drive you to your knees – all so that you seek him your hope and help. All so that you remember the (Pass)Word. His Word.
Activating a strong password provides you an extra measure of security against bad people. Learning God’s Word activates your security against evils like deception, despair, death, and the devil himself. “Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Why would you step up to battle Satan with a plastic butter knife when the Spirit is offering you a sword? Take up your weapon to protect yourself from evil by learning God’s Word. And when you know it all, then sharpen your weapon – and your skills – by sharpening your Bible learning with group Bible studies or by purchasing Bible commentaries like The People’s Bible Commentary from Northwestern Publishing House.
A strong password does no good if you can’t remember it. With so many passwords in your many profiles you probably need some kind of help remembering them all, like a secret file folder or encrypted key chain. Use helps for remembering more of God’s Word. Use your personal Bible as often as possible so that you remember Isaiah 53 is on the left side half way down the page. Mark special Bible verses with highlighters or use sticky notes. One of my friends got me hooked on writing my “to do” list for the day on a notecard, and on the back side of the card writing my favorite Bible verse from the three Scripture lessons coming up next Sunday.
When you create and remember your password, then you’re more likely to use your password for easy access. Use God’s Word to access benefits and blessings from God. The Bible says that people who use God’s Word often are like a tree planted by water. Not only is water easily available to us, but it offers some of the best health benefits if we drink it often. Use God’s Word often. Read it, study it, explore it, apply it, memorize it.
Once in a while I’ll share my password with someone who will need access to my personal account if I get hit by a bus. Some things are worth sharing, but none worth more than the words of God in the Bible. “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, the wonders he has done.” Will your daughter, your nephew, or your godchild forget about God during his college years or give up her Christian faith for a non-Christian fiancé? The best time to address such concerns about the next generation is ages 1 to 5. So take your child to Sunday School now. Talk to your child about Jesus now. Demonstrate Bible reading habits to your child now. When your baby is baptized at Grace, our minister of discipleship will call you, then come to your home and suggest some materials and resources for a good start to sharing God’s Word with your child. Commit to family devotions, and if you’ve neglected them, give them another try.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes according to the FBI, and the number one consumer complaint last year for the Federal Trade Commission. Dave Ramsey says that the recovery process can take up to 500 hours, thousands of dollars, and 41% of identify theft victims must still deal with the problem two years later. The best solution is prevention and the best prevention includes using strong passwords. A secure relationship with God that blesses you with safety and reassurance requires a strong Pass(Word): God’s Word. Learn God’s Word. Remember God’s Word. Use God’s Word. Share God’s Word. Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on September 12, 2010
Related Sermons
A Disciple Named __________
Good stories don't have to take long to tell. Take Dorcas, for example. Dorcas was "always doing good and helping the poor," and we'd never know it except for what's written about her in Acts 9:36-42. Like Dorcas, each of us is "A Disciple Named ________. " Each of us makes a difference. May 13, 2012. Read on
Branch Out, but Not on Your Own
Jesus declares that he is the Vine—and we are his living branches, connected to him. And like grapevines, we often need to be "pruned" to be "productive." Through that, how do we stay connected to Jesus, our Vine? John 15:1-8 encourages us to "Branch Out, but Not on Your Own." May 6, 2012. Read on
Keep Watch, Shepherds!
Many joys and privileges come with positions of power and freedom; along with it comes just as much responsibility. No wonder the apostle Paul's final words in Acts 20:28-32 to the church leaders in the Ephesian church warned, "Keep Watch, Shepherds!" April 29, 2012. Read on