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Things to Remember
Text: Ecclesiastes 1:3-11
I. There are so many things to remember!
A. Need to tie a string around my finger, but then I wouldn’t be able to bend it – there would be so many strings tied there.
B. Then there are organizers or PDAs for the technically inclined, which work so long as you remember to bring them and keep them up-to-date.
C. But there is the convenient excuse: “I’m getting older”
D. However, no matter how hectic our lives become, there are things we need to always remember.
II. Remember God
A. Ecclesiastes 12:1 - Build a habit of remembering God early in life
B. Showing a strong desire to remember God - Isaiah 26:7-10
C. God built many memory aids into the Old Law
1. Tassels to remember to be obedient - Numbers 15:38-41
2. Sabbath day to remember freedom from slavery - Deuteronomy 5:15
3. Passover to remember the exodus - Deuteronomy 16:3
D. Young people were to ask their elders about the past - Deuteronomy 32:6-7
E. Parents were to teach and thus help their memory - Deuteronomy 4:9-10; 6:4-9
F. Why? Because complacency breeds forgetfulness - Deuteronomy 6:10-12
G. We need to remember too - II Timothy 2:7-9
H. Israel managed to forget God - Judges 8:34
1. They forgot for countless days - Jeremiah 2:32
2. The result is condemnation - Psalm 9:17
I. God authority is eternal and His memory will last - Psalm 135:13
1. Man may forget, but God will not forget - Isaiah 49:15-16
2. Though man doesn’t deserve salvation, it is why God offers it - Hebrews 2:6
III. Remember God’s Word
A. Don’t forget, as it will benefit us - Proverbs 4:1-9
B. Paul taught to remember Christ’s words - Acts 20:35
C. Remember the words of the apostles - Jude 17
D. Israel was destroyed by forgetting - Hosea 4:6
E. We must not be forgetful hearers - James 1:21-25
F. The 119th Psalm is filled with the phrase “I will not forget.” - Psalm 119:16, 61, 83, 93, 109, 141, 153, 176
1. How do we remember? By considering God’s word - II Peter 1:15
2. By doing God’s word - James 1:25
IV. Remember others
A. Others’ kindness and service
1. Paul remembered others in his prayers - Philemon 4-7; I Thessalonians 1:2-4; Ephesians 1:15-16; Philippian 1:3-6
2. When was the last time you prayed thanking God for those around you?
3. Remember those who work for your good - Hebrews 13:7
B. Others’ who need help
1. Hebrews 13:2 - Don’t forget to entertain strangers
2. Hebrews 13:3 - Remember those imprisoned for Christ
3. Hebrews 13:16 - Don’t forget to do good
4. Galatians 2:10 - Remember the poor
5. Galatians 6:10 - Do good as we have opportunity
C. Others might forget, but God remembers - Hebrews 6:10
V. Remember God has offered forgiveness
A. When we don’t grow, we forget - II Peter 1:8-11
B. This is why we are urged to remember Christ’s death - I Corinthians 11:23-26
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