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!)
- “Closed” - Suture, Make Smooth
- “Bound Up” - Cast Or Sling
- “Mollifying Ointment” - A Substance To Soothe, Cleanse & Fight Infection (IE: A Spiritual “Neosporin”)
- We Are Completely Helpless: (v. 7-8)
- Result Of Our Nature & God’s Loving Correction
- “Desolate” - A Wasteland, A Desert! What Once Was Beautiful & Flourishing, A Land Of “Milk & Honey” Had Become A Desert Because Of Their Sin! Many People In Churches Today Experience The Same Thing In Their Lives Today!
- Who Did This? “Strangers” / When? “In Your Presence” - You Were There & Did Nothing! You Could Do Nothing, But Turn To Me, And You Still Did Not! IE: Angie’s Brother Would Never Let A Robber Enter The House, Or Even Get Close!
- And We Are Left:
- Alone - Like “A Cottage In A Vineyard” - Temporary Shelter For One Person - Lamentations 1:1 - “How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!”
- In An Unfamiliar Place - Like “A Lodge In A Garden Of Cucumbers” - Israel Was Not Known For “Cucumbers”, Rather, Egypt Was! - IE: Can You Imagine Growing Fields Of Cactuses In Indiana? No, It Is Not What Indiana Is Known For!
- Surrounded - Like “A Besieged City”
- Have We Forgotten Our Nature? Without Christ:
- We Are Completely Tainted!
- We Are Completely Rebellious!
- We Are Completely Contaminated!
- We Are Completely Helpless!
III. Have We Forgotten Our Deliverance?
- The People Of Judah Did - v. 9
- We Are “Left”! (v. 9)
- Gives Hope! Lamentations 3:22 - “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.”
- We Are Preserved
- God Leaves A “Remnant”! IE: What Good Is A Remnant? Dozens Of Small Scraps Of Fabric Can Be Made Into A Beautiful And Useful Quilt!
- Reveals The Greatness Of God’s Judgment!
- Reveals The Greatness Of God’s Power!
- Reveals The Greatness Of God’s Mercy! (Deserved The Complete Destruction Of Sodom & Gomorrah)
- Have We Forgotten Our Deliverance? Through Christ:
- We Are Left!
- We Are Preserved!
IV. Have We Forgotten Our Purpose?
- The People Of Judah Did - v. 10-15
- God Calls On Them & Us Not To Just Hear, But To Obey What He Is About To Say! (v. 10)
- James 1:22 - “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
- “One Does Not Truly Hear God’s Word Unless He Obeys That Word. If One Does Not Obey, It Is As Though He Had Not Even Heard.” (Edward Young)
- It’s Not A Material Worship! (v. 11)
- He Doesn’t Care About The Objects Of Worship! “Full” - He’s Had Too Much Of It - Making Him Sick!
- Psalm 50:10-12 - “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.”
- Even Their Best! (“Fat”) - They Were Offering Their Best, But Their Best Was Not What God Was After!
- 1 Samuel 15:22 - “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
- He Was After Their Hearts! He Does Care About The Heart Of Worship!
- It’s Not A Busy Worship! (v. 12) (IE: Activity)
- “Tread My Courts” - He Is After Our Hearts!
- It’s Not An Empty Worship! (v. 13)
- He Doesn’t Care About “Special Offerings” - Incense - It Could Be A “Sweet Savor” - But It Became Disgusting To Him!
- He Doesn’t Care About “Special Days” - He Can’t Stand Them!
- Instead Of Real Worship & Pleasing God, They Are: (v. 14)
- Hated Of God! Anything “Special” You Offer To God, He Will Hate With A Passion, If You Do So Out Of Habit, And Not From A Heart Of Love And Obedience!
- Hindrances To God! (His Work In / Through Your Life) - “Trouble” - Burden
- Hard For God! - “Weary” - Tired Of Putting Up With! - He Wants A Heart-Felt Worship!
- It’s Not A Hypocritical Worship! (v. 15)
- To The Hypocrite, - He Will Not Look, See, Or Think Upon You - He Will Not Hear, Listen, Or Consider Your Request - Because The Hypocrite’s Hands Are “Full Of Blood” - Blood Of Worthless Sacrifices! - Blood Of Their Own Sins!
- Have We Forgotten Our Purpose?
- It’s Not A Material Worship!
- It’s Not A Busy Worship!
- It’s Not An Empty Worship!
- It’s Not A Hypocritical Worship!
- It’s A Genuine Worship That’s From The Heart!
V. Have We Forgotten Our Need?
- The People Of Judah Did - v. 16-17
- God Requires Both Outward & Inward:
- Cleansing - “Wash You And Make You Clean”
- Repentance - “Put Away The Evil Of Your Doings From Before Mine Eyes; Cease To Do Evil”
- Righteousness - “Learn To Do Well”
- Question - How Can We Meet His Demands!
- We Can’t! Remember Our Nature?!
- Completely Tainted!
- Completely Rebellious!
- Completely Contaminated!
- Completely Helpless!
- v. 4 - Everything I Do, I Am, I Have, I Pursue Is Wickedness!
- Genesis 6:5 - “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
- v. 5-6 - This Wickedness Contaminates Me Deeply And Thoroughly!
- Questions:
- How Can I Be Clean, Unless Someone Else Wash Me?
- How Can I Put Away My Evil, Unless Someone Else Takes It Away From Me?
- How Can I Learn To Do Well, Unless Someone Else Teach Me?
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 - “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
Conclusion:
1. We Must Never Forget:
- Our Faithful Father!
- Our Wicked Nature!
- Our Merciful & Undeserved Deliverance!
- Our True Purpose!
- Our Continual Need!
2. Psalm 103:2-5 - “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.”
