"INSTANT REPLAY!"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte

PSALM 77:1-15

1. NEVER REPLAY PAST INJURIES OR GRUDGES:
1. It is so easy to dredge up those insults, and slights, and injustices we have suffered. But it is not wise to do it.
1. It brings a lot of needless pain to replay them, so it makes little sense to do it. Why hear those demeaning words or feel those painful blows or suffer that humiliation again and again? What's the percentage or the point?
2. It makes us negative in our mind set and we grow bitter and resentful and vengeful. That is always harmful to our spirit.
3. It keeps us from forgiving the offender; it builds walls; it creates a judgmental attitude, it induces further strife.
4. It creates a "poor me" self-pitying, "I'm always the victim" attitude.
5. It keeps us from being creative and constructive.
2. Unfortunately it is in those areas of most important relationships where this often takes place.
1. Husband to wife: "You never want to help me. Just like 5 years ago when I needed help changing the brakes on my car and you didn't want to ruin your manicure. It's always like that."
2. Wife to husband, "You did it again! You always break your word. Three years ago you broke your promise to take me to the opera for my birthday. 17½ months ago you changed your mind about taking me to look for antiques. You are just a promise-breaker."
3. A former church member: "I'll never darken the door of that church again. Why, would you believe it? I took a parsnip pudding to the potluck and nobody took any of it. And then I gave a table to the church and just because it only had 3 legs, they put it in the store room! I'll never forget that insult!"
3. Why do people do it? What pushes the rewind and play buttons?
1. Sometimes the hurt is so fresh it just intrudes itself unbidden. Early on that might be understandable; but we must avoid intentionally picking that scab and keeping the hurt fresh.
2. Sometimes we want to stay angry at the offender and one way to do it is to remember what he or she did. I heard of a man whose pastor urged him to forgive and move on. The man said, "Not yet! I'm not ready to quit being mad!"
3. Sometimes other people won't let us forget. A wife keeps reminding her husband of how unfairly they treated him at work. Parents remind their children of how unjust it was that they were cut from the knitting team.
4. Sometimes there are physical reminders of it; physical scars and disabilities that remain long after the offense has been settled. But even then we need to consciously move on.
4. Let me illustrate the danger of this. During World War II, the U.S. Submarine Tang surfaced to fire upon a Japanese convoy. The first seven torpedoes were on target; but the eighth suddenly deviated and headed right back at their own ship. The emergency alarm to submerge rang out too late. The U.S. sub received a direct hit and sank almost instantly. In much the same way we can destroy ourselves by nurturing hostility. Medical science has shown that emotions like bitterness and anger can cause problems such as headaches, backaches, allergic disorders, ulcers, high blood pressure, and heart attacks. And worse than that is the spiritual death we set at motion within ourselves. Never replay past injuries or grudges.

2. DON'T SPEND EXCESSIVE TIME REPLAYING PAST FAILURES:
1. Some might say, "Don't spend any time replaying past failures." Well, there is a balance to be struck I think.
1. Too much instant replay of past failures might make us hesitant to try again. It might paralyze us to further effort. It might freeze our potential for success and make us ineffective.
2. But a healthy consciousness of failure can be an incentive to try harder next time. It can motivate us to find some other way, some other approach to the problem. It can keep us humble and honest about our limitations.
2. Remember, too, it is not failure to fail! It is failure to fail to try again when we have failed.
1. Not every one of our ideas is worth succeeding anyhow. If you watched "The Greatest American Inventor" show a few months ago you saw numerous ideas that would have been best forgotten before tried. Here are some ideas that seem doomed to failure.
2. No single human being ever succeeded at everything they tried, and the only perfect One got crucified.
3. God does not require that we be successful, He requires that we be faithful, anyhow.
3. Thomas Edison held 1,093 patents. Many of his inventions, like the lightbulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera, have a huge influence on our everyday life. But not everything he created was a success; he also had a few failures. Edison's greatest failure was his inability to create a practical way to mine iron ore. To finance this work, he sold all his stock in General Electric, but was never able to create a separator that could extract iron from low-grade ores. Eventually he lost all the money he'd invested. Another concept that never took off was Edison's idea to use cement to build things. He formed the Edison Portland Cement Co. in 1899, and made everything from cabinets to pianos and houses. At the time, concrete was too expensive and the idea was never accepted.
4. Even if we feel pretty prone to fail, here's Charlie Brown as a good example of trying anyhow. He is considering his own ineptitude. He realizes his own shortcomings - but please notice that he builds the birdhouse anyhow! Don't spend excessive time replaying past failures.

3. FREQUENTLY REPLAY GOD'S BLESSINGS AND DELIVERANCES:
1. Asaph, the psalmist, did that. Now, here's a replay you can't overdo. Most of us don't do it frequently enough.
2. Here's the right perspective:
1. "O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love as we worship in Your Temple." Psalms 48:9 (NLT).
2. "I will meditate on Your majestic, glorious splendor and Your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim Your greatness. Everyone will share the story of Your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy of Your righteousness. The LORD is kind and merciful, slow to get angry, full of unfailing love. The LORD is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all His creation. All of Your works will thank You, LORD, and Your faithful followers will bless You. They will talk together about the glory of Your kingdom; they will celebrate examples of Your power. They will tell about Your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of Your reign." Psalms 145:5-12 (NLT).
3. Paul remembered God's help, "The first time I was brought before the judge, no one was with me. Everyone had abandoned me. I hope it will not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength, that I might preach the Good News in all its fullness for all the Gentiles to hear. And He saved me from certain death. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly Kingdom. To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen." 2 Timothy 4:16-18 (NLT).
3. Here are some hints to help:
1. Create a mental backlog of times, places, events and ways God has shown up when you needed Him. Think of them frequently.
2. Remind yourself when you are feeling pretty overwhelmed and under the gun that He has never failed you before.
3. Create "thank you" spots. I have several. One is where my daughter and grandkids escaped serious injury when a careless woman smashed into the driver's door of their car going 50 mph. One is where my son escaped serious injury when he flipped his car 5 times when he dozed off.
4. The poet puts it like this, "When the soul is much discouraged by the roughness of the way, and the cross we have to carry seems heavier every day; When some cloud that overshadows hides our Father's face from view, Oh, 'tis well then to remember, He has blessed us hitherto! Looking back the long year over with a varied path - and yet, all the way His hand has led us past each hindrance we have met; given to us the pleasant places - cheered us all the journey through; passing through the deepest waters, He has blessed us hitherto! Surely, then, our souls should trust Him, tho the clouds be dark overhead; we've a Friend that draws closer when our other friends have fled; when our pilgrimage is over, and the gates we're sweeping through, we shall see, with clearer vision, how He blessed us hitherto!" Frequently replay God's blessings and deliverances.

4. CONSTANTLY REPLAY GOD'S PROMISES AND ASSURANCES:
1. The Bible is loaded with God's promises. Some of them have yet to be fulfilled. But believe them and live by them.
2. Create a list of those promises that particularly apply to your need and situation. In the bulletin is a flyer with some particular promises for particular times and situations. Please put it in your Bible.
3. I saw a bumper sticker that affirms trust in God's promises. It said, "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me."
4. Some people promise and renege. In an election for mayor one candidate got only 84 votes while the opponent was-elected with about 52,000 votes. The loser was angry when he discovered that he had received only three votes in his own precinct. He was puzzled because 12 members of his own family promised they would vote for him. He asked for a recount but it was obvious that he just wanted election officials to help him determine whether the members of his own family kept their promise.

One thing is for sure in my book. When God says it He means it and will do it. Others may let us down; may break their promises, forget their promises and not mean their promises. But you can count on God. So, instead of wasting a lot of time in instant replay, let's go forward. Forward into service. Forward into obedience. Forward into faith and trust. Forward in relationship to Jesus. He stands ready to lead you from your past: from the grudges, from the failures and into His blessings and promises. Don't look back. Look up, look forward, look to Jesus and follow where He leads. Let our song be your pledge of loyalty and your determination to go forward with Jesus to new life, new hope, new experiences and new service.