Things We Should Remember

“THINGS WE SHOULD REMEMBER”

DEUTERONOMY 4:23

INTRO: Forgetfulness is a problem we have all faced from time to time. This is

one of the great faults we all have. It is so easy to forget. One man

said, “I have a notebook where I write down all my appointments,

promises and things I plan to do. The problem is: I lay it down and I

forget where I put it.” From time to time we need to jog our memories.

The word “jog” means to “give a little shake; to revive, to jolt.”

There are things that we probably should not remember, but there are

some things that we ought to keep before us, and never forget them.

Moses told the people in Deuteronomy 4:23—“Take heed unto

yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he

made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any

thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.” What are some

THINGS WE SHOULD REMEMBER?

(1) WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE SAVED

2 PETER 1:2-9—“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the

knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine

power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and

godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory

and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious

promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature,

having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And

beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to

virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance

patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly

kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in

you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor

unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that

lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath

forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

A. A SECURE CONFIDENCE. The believer who adds to his faith the qualities

that Peter mentions here will have a great confidence and assurance. Peter

says—“If these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall

neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

John MacArthur writes: “The believer who is not experiencing an increase in

the virtues will forfeit assurance…Such a believer’s sin makes him unable to

be confident that he was cleansed and rescued from his former life … He

cannot be certain if he has been truly saved because he does not see an

increase of virtue and usefulness in his life. Once blind before salvation,

then made to see, these saints can experience a kind of spiritual blindness

again. That kind of spiritual forgetfulness leads to the repeating of old sins,

and it robs such Christians of their assurance. Assurance of salvation is

directly related to present spiritual service and obedience, not merely to a

past salvation event made dim in the disobedient believer’s memory. (MacArthur's

B. A SAD CONDITION. The apostle Peter tells us that we can forget this

greatest of all blessings—the blessing of being saved. Listen to what he says

in v9—“But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and

hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” Friends, how could we

ever forgot that day? It happens when we fail to add to our faith. If we fail

to add to our faith there is a great possibility that we could drift so far away

from the Lord that we will just dismiss spiritual things from our minds, and

forget them.

ILLUS: We have heard it preached, “If you don’t remember when you were

saved, then you are not saved.” But the Bible is clear and plain that

a child of God can get so backslidden that he or she will forget they are

saved. An old preacher once said, concerning v9, “If God’s Word had

not said it I would not have believed it.”

Friends, WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE SAVED but also…

(2) WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT WE HEAR

JAMES 1:22-25—“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,

deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and

not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a

glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and

straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso

looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he

being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall

be blessed in his deed.”

A. THE RESPONSIBILITY TO HEAR. Each of us has a responsibility to hear

God’s word. Why? Because the Bible says—“…faith cometh by hearing,

and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17). The more we hear the

Word of God the greater possibility of growth we have. There are some

interesting words in v24—“beholdeth” and “forgetteth”. These verbs picture

for us something that naturally or repeatedly occurs. I want you also to

note the verb “goeth”. This word pictures something that is done “casually”

and “immediately”. It would be silly to leave dirt on your face or your hair

in a mess after seeing yourself in a mirror. It is just as silly to look into

God’s Word and make no changes in your life. Whether we read God’s Word

for ourselves or hear it read, our listening must have an attitude of

seriousness and submission that will lead to obedience. (Life Application Bible

Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois. Life Application is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

just hear we also have…

B. THE RESPONSIBILITY TO HEED. James here tells us that we may forget

what we hear. He is referring to what has been taught about God and His

Word. James says—“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only…”

(v22a). James says—“They had heard this doctrine; they had believed it;

but they had put it to no practical use.” (CLARKE’S COMMENTARY NT, VOLUME 6B I THESS.

OR). Matthew Henry said—“Mere hearers are self-deceivers; and self-deceit

will be found the worst deceit at last…Let the word of truth be carefully

attended to, and it will set before us the corruption of our nature, the

disorders of our hearts and lives; and it will tell us plainly what we are…But

in vain do we hear God’s word, and look into the gospel glass, if we go away,

and forget our spots, instead of washing them off; and forget our remedy,

instead of applying to it. This is the case with those who do not hear the

word as they ought. In hearing the word, we look into it for counsel and

direction, and when we study it, it turns to our spiritual life. Those who

keep in the law and word of God, are, and shall be, blessed in all their

ways.” (MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSION by Matthew Henry.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE SAVED, WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT WE HEAR, and…

(3) WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT WE VOW

ECCLESIASTES 5:4-5—“When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to

pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast

vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou

shouldest vow and not pay.”

A. SOMETHING WE NEED TO REALIZE. A vow is a promise we make to

God. Solomon says here in Ecclesiastes 5:4—“When thou vowest a vow

unto God….”. What are some vows we make to God? :

· WHEN WE GET BAPTIZED WE VOW TO WALK TRUE TO OUR SAVIOUR. Romans 6:4 tells us that we are—“…buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

· WHEN WE GET MARRIED WE VOW TO BE TRUE TO OUR SPOUSE. It seems that marriage vows mean nothing to many people today. But this is a vow that we make not only to each other—to remain faithful—but also to God. The marriage ceremony states, “We are gathered together today before God and these assembled witnesses…”.

· WHEN WE ARE TROUBLED WE VOW TO SERVE AND SACRIFICE. Friend, remember all those times you made a vow to God in that crisis you were facing? “Lord, if you work this out for me I promise I will….”—but you never kept that promise. When in distress and difficulty, men are apt to promise much to God if he will relieve them; but generally forget the vow when the distress or trouble is gone by. (CLARKE’S COMMENTARY OT, VOLUME 3: JOB-SONG OF SOLOMON BY Adam Clarke. The Master Christian Library Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR).

B. SOMETHING THAT IS A RESPONSIBILITY. Solomon said—“When thou

vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools:

pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow,

than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” Friends, we have a

responsibility to keep the promises we make to God. Why? Breaking our

promises to God:

· BRINGS GOD’S DISPLEASURE. Listen to what Solomon says—“God…hath no pleasure in fools…”. What a sad prospect to have God displeased with us. The #1 priority of a Christian should be to please the Lord in all things! We need to realize that it our responsibility to keep the promises we make to the Lord so that He will not be displeased with us.

· BRINGS GOD’S DISCIPLINE. God is not going to be made a fool of. He is not going to be mocked. Deuteronomy 23:21 tells us—“When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.”

Friends, we need to be like David. David tells us in Psalm 116:14—“I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.” We need to be like Jonah after God got his attention—“But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.” (Jonah 2:9).

Friends WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE SAVED, WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT WE HEAR, WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT WE VOW, and…

(4) WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS BLESSINGS

DEUTERONOMY 4:23—“Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the

covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make

you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD

thy God hath forbidden thee.”

A. HE HAS MADE US GREAT PROMISES. God had promised Israel some

great things. Now Moses warns them—“Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye

forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you…”.

Moses says, “Be careful, don’t forget.” Friends, how quick are we to grab

hold of God’s promises when we need them but disregard them when we

don’t. God’s promises will sustain us in life and satisfy us in death.

ILLUS: An elderly Christian was in much distress as he lay dying. "Oh,

Pastor," he said, "for years I have relied upon the promises of God,

but now in the hour of death I can't remember a single one to

comfort me." Knowing that Satan was disturbing him, the preacher

said, "My brother, do you think that GOD will forget any of His

promises?" A smile came over the face of the dying believer as he

exclaimed joyfully. "No, no! He won't! Praise the Lord, now I can fall

asleep in Jesus and trust Him to remember them all and bring me

safely to Heaven." Peace flooded his soul, and a short time later he

was ushered by the angels into the light of God's eternal day.—Our

Daily Bread (Paul Tan. Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. WORDsearch

8. WORDsearch Corp.).

B. HE HAS GIVEN US GREAT PEACE. The Lord promises in John 14:27—

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,

give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Peace

that passes our comprehension is not a quality of life which excludes us

from the stresses and strains of human society. It is not a sheltered

withdrawal from the wrongs that rack our world. Nor is it a cloistered

existence in which we are cut off from the calamities and conflicts of our

generation. The place of peace to which God our Father calls us is that

intimate inner acquaintance with Himself whereby we come to know so

assuredly: "O Father, You are here! And all is well!" (Paul Tan. Encyclopedia of 15,000