INTRODUCTION:
1. Deuteronomy 6:12 is an important warning to us
a. Of course it was issued to Israel
b. “Don’t forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt”
c. So often we forget those who have done good things for us
d. Judges 2:10 is the usual end result of such actions when we forget about God, “An entire generation grew up who did not know the Lord nor the things He had done in this place”
2. God asks us not to forget Him
a. I like to deal in positives
b. So I will ask you to remember the Lord and what He has done for you
3. We will look at three questions this passage answers:
a. Why to remember the Lord
b. What to remember about the Lord
c. How to remember the Lord
4. Sometimes my memory is not great but I must work to keep my Lord and my God in mind
TRANSITION: Let’s first turn our attention to:
I. Why to remember the Lord
A. First is because of His blessings
1. Israel was going to receive great things from God (vs. 10-11 read)
a. Cities and houses they did not build or fill
b. Wells and cisterns they did not dig
c. Crops they did not plant
d. Prolonged days (v. 2 read)
2. God was going to give them great gifts to enjoy
3. You want to be remembered for giving gifts to loved ones, so does God
B. Why such a warning here when talking about blessings?
1. Because the opposite of verse 2 is also true
a. If you remember God and His commands your days will be prolonged
b. That means if you do not remember your days will be cut short, or at least not prolonged on the earth
2. Sometimes life gets too easy for us
3. We get too self-dependent and forget our failings and need for God
ILLUSTRATION: A woman’s car was teetering on the edge of a bridge precariously close to plummeting into the river below and she was trapped inside. As firefighters approached she screamed at them, leave me alone, I can get out by myself.
4. This is Amos’ problem with Israel
a. They had grown fat off the land God had given them
b. They were comfortable in their fine homes and their affluence
c. They were at ease in Zion, he calls them cows of Bashan
d. They had gotten so accustomed to the blessings they forgot the Blesser
5. God was going to send Israel into captivity
6. They could have stopped His judgment
a. Amos 5:4, “For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: "Seek Me and live”
b. Amos 5:6, “Seek the LORD and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel”
c. Amos 5:14 “Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the LORD God of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken.”
d. He is saying to them, “Remember Me…you forgot but bring me back to your remembrance”
C. Opulence has inherent danger
1. They were going to receive great blessings
2. Do not forget the blesser
3. We are blessed in the US today
4. Are we forgetting the blesser?
5. Who will remind those who have forgotten?
6. Do not forget the Lord
TRANSITION: We remember the Lord because of the dangers and blessings:
II. What should we remember about the Lord?
A. Remember God and all He has done for us
1. He brought them out of captivity
a. They were slaves to Egypt (They since Joseph)
b. Us to sin (We since Adam)
2. He provided for them in the wilderness
a. He gave food and water
b. Matthew 6:25 ff say He is doing the same for us
3. He provided protection in wandering
a. With a column of fire
b. He looks over us and provides for our eternal safety
4. He promised a land flowing with milk and honey (6:3)
a. We have a promised land for which we wait
b. An eternal kingdom in the heavens filled with wonder and glory
5. He created us, cares for us, and covers our sins
B. Remember His statutes and commands
1. Deuteronomy 6:1, “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess”
2. Forgetting His ordinances is forgetting Him
3. Deut. 8:11, “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God (how?) by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today”
4. These commandments were for Israel’s own good
a. Deut. 6:2-3, “You may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you--'a land flowing with milk and honey.”
b. You will be blessed with long life, greatly multiply, and a land unparalleled in the world around you
5. Remembering the Lord was for their own good
C. We remember God when we remember His word
1. Know it
2. And remember it
TRANSITION: Finally, we need to know:
III. How to remember Him
A. Talk about Him
1. To anyone who will listen
2. At home, work, play, speak of the Lord and what He has done for you
3. Be obsessed with conversation about the Lord
a. Find ways to transition from normal worldly chatter to conversations about God
b. Police get authority from God, mothers and fathers are blessings, we all mess up, that’s why Jesus came, Jesus was poor, find ways to connect people’s lives with the life of the Savior
c. Talk about Him to other people
B. Teach Him to your children
1. Teach them that God is the creator and savior of mankind
2. To teach you must study so you can know what to say and how to answer questions
3. The saddest verse in the Bible
a. Judges 2:10, “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel”
b. Do not let your children forget
C. Transfer His command
1. From mind to heart and hands
2. Write them on your heart
a. Not on bands you keep on your left arm close to your heart
b. Keep the words and principles, the commands of the living God living in your heart and soul to guide your hands, feet, and mouth
c. Commit them to yourself so you can commit yourself to them
D. Remember the Lord by learning of Him and sharing Him with anyone who is willing to listen and learn of the God of the universe who gives us all good things and expects obedience to His commands
CONCLUSION
1. It is too easy to forget important things, especially when we have been blessed so much we feel too independent
2. As you enjoy the blessings, remember the blesser
3. He only wants what is best for you, a great life on earth and a wonderful life in heaven
4. But remember that He is a jealous and just God also and will punish those who forget Him
5. Remember your creator in the days of your youth and before the silver cord is loosed and in every day in between
6. And you will have a great life and an unbelievable future
