Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
REMEMBER GOD’S BLESSINGS!
Psalms 103:1-5, "Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 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 loving kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s."
One of the most disturbing aspects of being human is the fact that most of us have a very short memory span. How many times have I been embarrassed because I forgot someone’s name or called him or her by the wrong name? How many appointments have we missed or opportunities have we allowed to slip by simply because we forgot about them?
Entire industries are built upon the manufacture and sale of such things as Palm Pilot computers, daily planners, pocket calendars and the like because without the aid of these memory joggers we can’t seem to remember what we are supposed to be doing, where we are going or what is happening.
Illustration:
A friend of mine once told me that he went to a training conference where a course was being taught on how to improve your memory. He spent nearly $200 on the books, tapes and worksheets for the course and brought it home. When he arrived at home he stored the course and then went about his daily business. He confessed to me that he has never even started the memory course because he forgot where he stored it and hasn’t been able to find it.
There is another incident that I found somewhat humorous.
In Disney’s movie, “Flight of the Navigator”, a young boy is chosen to contain all of the star charts of the universe. As he is given the information through “science fiction technology” the statement is made that he could not retain all of the necessary information because his “brain leaked”.
I believe, if we just look around, that every one of us has trouble with a “leaking brain”. There isn’t one of us who would like to be able to remember better. Instead of getting better though, our capacity to remember gets worse with the passing of the years. Sometimes because of physical illness, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, but most of the time because of lack of use because we fall into a rut of life that doesn’t require us to exercise our mental capacity at all.
It has been said that the human brain is capable of far greater powers and abilities than any human has ever exercised. In fact, one study that I read, said that we only use about 10% of our ability to think and remember. For most of us I think that we fall far short of even using the 10%. We tend to live our lives like lab rats instead of humans. We are constantly looking for the easy way out of situations, trying to work our way through the maze to get to some new cheese or trying new and untested ways to lose weight, make money, etc., simply because someone else says that we should.
We are quick to forget about the great blessings that God has poured upon us, also.
Hosea 13:6, "According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me."
God is so good to us all. No matter what circumstances you face or what situation you find your self in this morning, I want to remind you that God is still good to you. He is every pouring out His blessings upon man, but man doesn’t stop to think that every good thing in life comes from the Father of Lights, our Father in Heaven.
Satan will not give you good things unless they are used to deceive you into leaving your relationship with God while you enjoy them.
Going to the beach is great. Fishing trips are great. Visiting with family and friends is a wonderful thing to do. But, when those good things cause us to overlook the attendance of the House of God when the doors are open, or they cause us to become so involved in having fun that we forget God, they not only become idols but they become sin.
I know that for many of us, vacations are much needed and our chances to get away and have a time of rest or a change of pace for a few days come very rarely. This isn’t a problem and I believe that God ordains for every family and every person to have times of rest and refreshing. But, God never intended for any man to have a life of leisure and self-gratification. That’s the danger of becoming too wealthy, a problem that most of us will never have, or will we?
It doesn’t take being a millionaire to be wealthy enough to get caught up in a lifestyle of forgetting God and having a good time. How many broke people do you know that don’t have enough income to afford a good home, a new car, new clothes and who struggle to pay their bills and yet they have no time for God because they like to party, or they want to rest on Sunday mornings, or they always seem to have something else to do rather than come to the house of God?
Jeremiah 18:15-16, "Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head."
We may think that because God is loving and long-suffering toward those who forget Him that God will not hold us accountable for the time we waste but let me assure you that God is keeping a record and their will come a day of reckoning.
Our worship of a leisurely life causes us to stumble from the paths of righteousness and holiness before the Lord. Without these we shall never enter the Heavenly realm.
Our forgetfulness of God’s many blessings and His commands to walk in righteousness before Him carry a penalty if we disobey.
Haggai 1:6, "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes."
Man is ever chasing after his “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”. The problem with this is that the rainbow keeps moving and the pot of gold only contains more bills.
Satan uses money and desire for more and better things like a carrot.
You can hand a carrot on a stick in front of a mule and he will walk for miles trying to catch up with that carrot so he can enjoy the taste of it. He’s too much like us to realize that the carrot is moving away from him at the same pace that he is moving toward it.
We must ever strive to remind ourselves of God’s great blessings and of the fact, that without God, we are doomed to eternal death. The things of this world shall soon burn away.
Life is but a vapor, a puff of smoke is the way that James 4:14 puts it. "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."
All of the beauty, grandeur, excitement and enjoyment of this life will soon vanish. No part of it will go with us to the grave and it shall all be destroyed when God renovates the earth by fire as we enter into the eternity.
For those who have kept there memory of God in this life and forgotten and forsaken the pleasures of this life and given their lives in dedication to service to God, there is a great eternal life to come with more beauty and glory than this world could ever offer.
God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. The sorrows and disappointments of this life will be remembered no more. Those lost loved ones who chose to follow the pleasures of this life and who will not enter into the glories of Heaven with us will be remembered no more. God will erase from our memory bank everything that could bring sorrow or heartache for there will be no tears in Heaven.
Those who forget God in this life and remember only the pleasures of this life will have their memory permanently improved at the moment they pass into eternity. The memories of this life will haunt them for all eternity.
There will not be an hour go by in the flames of hell when they will not be reminded of every missed opportunity to come to Christ and accept Him as the Lord and Savior of their lives.
They will never forget the times that they should have been in church but were out enjoying the deceitful pleasures of life instead.
They will remember every sermon, every song, every time anyone spoke of Jesus to them and they chose to ignore it.
They will remember every scripture they ever heard, every good thing that ever happened to them and every blessing that God ever poured out to them but they will not be pleasant to think about because they will also know that they will never experience those things again.
Not only will the memories of the past be so horrifying to them, but, like the Rich Man in hell who saw Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom, they will also be able to see those in Heaven enjoying the wonders and beauty that they can never be a part of. That will only add to their misery for they know that their friends and family in Heaven don’t even know of their existence in Hell anymore.
Words cannot describe the anguish, pain, tortures and punishment of that eternal hell for those who forget God days without number.
Yes, all of us will have a perfect memory one day. Either we will remember the good things of Heaven or the “good things” that condemned us to hell for all eternity.
LORD, MAY WE NEVER FORGET YOUR MERCIES AND GRACE TO US!
It is God who gives us all good things that will not only give us pleasure but will bring us closer to Him in righteousness and holiness. Only in Him can we find forgiveness for sin, for rebellion, for doubt, for fear, for numerous sins that we hope no one ever knows about.
It is God only that can bring healing to a fleshly body. Medicines, doctors and science have no power to heal, only to treat the symptoms. It is only God who has the power to completely heal and reverse the effects of sin and sickness.
He redeemed us from the slave market of sin and paid a price that was far more valuable than we could ever imagine. All that heaven and all that Jesus is, was given that I might be saved and bought back from the very gates of hell and eternal destruction. Because of Christ’s own blood I can now be counted as holy unto the Lord. Because of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, I can now be given robes of Righteousness, not because I’m righteous but because He gives them to me once I accept Him as my Savior and make Him the Lord of my life.
He lifted me out of the miry clay, set my feet on the rock, Jesus Christ, and will never allow me to fall off that foundation. He has given me a new name, a new heart, a new life, a new mind, a new desire and a new love for people and for God. His mercy, shown to me, has served as an example for me to follow in offering mercy to others.
He gives me both spiritual and earthly food to eat. All that I consume in my lifetime that will edify and bring pleasure come from God. His intention is for every man to enjoy life and do great things for God but never allow those enjoyments and great things to come between us.
An Eagle renews its life by breaking away the buildup on its beak that keeps it from eating and growing stronger. As an eagle grows older, its beak begins to grow and a build up of scar tissue from cracks and scratches forms. This buildup begins to limit the ability of the eagle to open its beak wide enough to eat properly. The eagle finds a rock or hard surface and begins to beat the end of its beak until it finally breaks away the buildup. Then the beak grows back in its correct proportions and the eagle is able to eat again. It’s strength and vigor returns and it becomes like a young eagle again. Some eagles have lived to be well over 100 years old.
Once we have gone through the suffering, breaking away of every little weight and fetter, then we are able to enjoy the good things of God more fully.
Let us never forget the good things in my life that God has given. Let us not be counted among those who God condemns in Jeremiah 2:32 when He says, "Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number."
Let us ever be thankful to Him, ever be mindful of His great blessings, and ever be obedient to His call upon our lives.
Have you forgotten God for days without number?
Has your life been one of self-indulgence, self-gratification with no thought of God?
Have you remember to thank Him for every blessing in Life?
Most of all, have you accepted His great offer of forgiveness and salvation?
Oh what a terrible day that would be, to leave this life and never forget this moment in time when Jesus was once again asking you to come to Him in repentance to accept His great gift of forgiveness and cleansing from sin. He wants to give you a Robe of Righteousness and help you walk in the paths of holiness that lead to Heaven.
The choice is yours this morning.
What memories will you have through eternity?
