Sinclair B. Ferguson

But what was I trying to do when I did that?

I was trying to trigger in my mind, trying to, as it were, click on the file of the information to get it to open up so that I could remember what it was that I should be doing or thinking or where I should be going.

In other words, I was trying to stimulate my memory banks.

Now, is there some kind of spiritual equivalent of that?

Well, the scriptures do teach us how to develop a really healthy spiritual memory.

Not, it should be said, in the way we would be taught to do it by Eastern mystics, that is, by emptying our mind.

In fact, the very reverse.

What Scripture teaches us is the key to remembering is filling our minds with the truth of God and then employing the stimulants that God has given us to remember the things that we must never forget.

But what are the things we must never forget?

Well, we'll talk about one or two of them later in the week, but I want to mention one very briefly.

It may come as something of a surprise.

It's actually one of the most helpful things the Bible tells us.

And it's one of the most important verses about remembering that you find in the Old Testament.

It's in Exodus chapter 20.

And verses 8 to 11, I wonder if you remember what that is.

It's the commandment to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

Now, why is that so important?

I think it's important, a key to remembering for this reason, that from the very creation, God has given us one whole day every week when we can leave aside our work, when we can have leisure to think about Him,

Time to read His Word, time to spend with fellow believers, time to sit under the ministry of His Word.

And through these different avenues, God stores up in our minds the truth that He wants us to know and the truth that He wants us to remember.