INTRODUCTION
God’s perspective is so different from ours. But we should strive to have His perspective (Php 2:5)
God’s memory is perfect – does this mean He cannot forget? No!
God’s forgetfulness is also better than ours! He has perfect control of his memory. He can choose to forget!
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Heb 10:16-18 (KJV)
It is difficult for us, but we should also strive to forget some things.
"Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it." Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592)
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, Phil 3:13 (KJV)
Forget about it!
What is the proper response to sin?
- Penalty response – improper – we penalize ourselves
- Relationship response – proper – focus on the root of sin, and work on our relationship.
GOD REMEMBERS HIS CHILDREN
It is unlikely that a mother will forget her children, but possible. But God will not forget His.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. Isaiah 49:15-16 (KJV)
When did He engrave us on the palms of His hands? At Calvary!
We so often forget…
- That we are his children.
- That others are his children
GOD REMEMBERS HIS WORD
He will not excuse sin, but will remember His covenant
42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 43 The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. 44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. 45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD. Lev 26:42-45 (KJV)
What does he mean that he will remember the land?
The Sabbath Year was not honored after Saul became king. This went on for 490 years. The land then rested for 70 years, during the Babylonian captivity.
We so often forget…
- That God means what He says
- That God keeps His promises
But we need to do everything we can to remember His Word
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. Deut 6:7-9 (KJV)
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalms 119:11 (KJV)
[Text] GOD REMEMBERS OUR FRAME
How quickly we forget…
- On one hand, we expect perfection of ourselves, and become dismayed when we fail
- On the other hand, when we are doing well, we become proud, forgetting that we are still only dust!
We must remember Who is really working in our lives
Moses was removed from leadership when he smote the rock:
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. Num 20:10-12 (KJV)
Moses forgot who was doing the work! “…must WE fetch you water…?” At the end of his life... Moses started taking the credit for something that God wanted to receive the credit for.
In order to understand God’s judgment here, we must look at Moses’ life.
- First 40 years – I can do it
- Second 40 years – I can’t do it
- Last 40 years – God can do it
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 1 Cor 1:26-29 (KJV)
The Lord hates pride!
16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look… Prov 6:16-17a (KJV)
What is so dangerous about pride?
- Pride is the root of deception (it is a fault that we are blind to in ourselves)
- Pride was what caused Lucifers fall (Isa 14:13-15, Eze 28:15-17)
- Pride is only satisfied in comparison… in being better than others, and not by being good enough.
We need to strive to forget what God forgets, and remember what God remembers!
