Have You Forgotten? Series

Introduction:

1. Have You Forgotten Something Recently?

- Probably, We All Forget Things! - IE: According To Karen Bolla, A Johns Hopkins Researcher, These Are The Things People Most Often Forget:

- Names - 83%

- Where Something Is - 60%

- Telephone Numbers - 57%

- Words - 53%

- What Was Said - 49%

- Faces - 42%

- And If You Can’t Remember Whether You’ve Just Done Something, You Join 38% Of The Population! (What I Can’t Figure Out, Is How The Research Was Done? How Many People Can Remember What They’ve Forgotten?!)

2. There Are Some Things That:

- We Simply Should / Must Not Forget: Anniversary, Birthday, Etc.

- We Simply Cannot Forget: Own Birthday, Name

3. What God Has Done For Us Should Belong In The Category: “What We Cannot Forget”

- Psalm 103:2-5 - What We Must Never Forget & Why!

- “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

- But We Often DO Forget!

4. This Is How We Find The Children Of God In Judah In Isaiah 1- They Had Forgotten Their Lord And All His Benefits!

- We Are Going To See What They Had Forgotten, And Remind Ourselves Of What We May Have Forgotten As Well!

- What Have We Forgotten?

I. Have We Forgotten Our Father?

- The People In Judah Did - v. 2-3

- His Relationship To Them (v. 2)

- They Were His “Children” - By Choice & Adoption! He Was To Be And Desired To Be Their “Father”

- His Work With Them - He Helped Them Grow!

- “Nourished” - Physical Growth - Made Strong! “Nourished” - Political Growth - Made Great! (Solomon) “Brought Up” - Spiritual Growth - Real Development! He Was A Faithful Father!

- How? They Rejected Him

- “Rebelled” - He Was Faithful / They Were Unfaithful! To The Point That They Did Not Even Know Him! (v. 3) Animals Were Smarter Than His Children! Dumb Animals Were Smarter Than His Children! They Recognized A Stern Master / They Did Not Recognize A Loving Father!

- God Is Still Faithful To His Unfaithful People - Calls Them “My People” - His Children Forgot Him, And It Was Done For The Entire World To See! This Is Why He Calls On The Heavens & Earth To Be Witnesses Against Them!

- Have We Forgotten Our Father?

- His Relationship With Us - Love! His Work In Us - Faithfulness! Do We Rebel Against Him And His Desire For Us?

II. Have We Forgotten Our Nature?

- The People Of Judah Did - v. 4-8

- We Are Completely Tainted: (v. 4)

- IE: The Beauty Of A Fresh Snow - Soon Becomes Contaminated With The Salt, Sand, Pollution Of The Road - Becomes A Brown, Smelly, Slushy Mess!

- In Our Actions - “Sinful Nation” - Missing The Mark - Exodus 19:6 - The Mark - “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.”

- In Our Character - “Laden With Iniquity” - Heavy Load

- In Our Heritage - “Seed Of Evildoers” - Their Offspring

- In Our Influence - “Children That Are Corrupters”

- “Totally Depraved” - Totally Tainted By Sin!

- Results:

- “Forsaken” - Rebel & Revolt

- “Provoked” - Incite To Anger & Action

- “Gone Away Backward” - From Whence They Came (Before God Called Them To Be His Own)

- God’s Loving Punishment!

- Proverbs 3:12 - “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” - Still Showing Himself Faithful!

- Hebrews 12:6 - “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

- But, We Are Completely Rebellious: (v. 5)

- Instead Of Responding In The Way Described In Hosea 6:1 - “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.” - Punishments No Longer Work - Serve Their Intended Purpose! - “Revolt More And More”

- We Are Completely Contaminated: (v. 5b-6)

- IE: Fly In The Food - Just One Spot - Not So Bad! After A Housefly Eats Its Food, It Regurgitates It And Eats It Again! Contaminated! From Outside To Inside! From Bottom To Top!

- Thoroughly Contaminated!

- “Wounds” - Cuts / Flesh Wounds

- “Bruises” - Deeper Wounds

- “Putrifying Sores” - Raw & Infected

- The Infection Keeps Getting Deeper!

- No Remedy Used! (Though Offered By God!)