Current Message - Don’t forget the Lord 10/09/2008
TKC Ministries - Leon Hagins
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As you read through the bible, one reoccurring scenario always comes to surface, and that is people have a tendency to forget about God. Many may feel that this is no big deal. Some people have a very casual attitude towards the good Lord. They’ll admit that he exists and they might even go as far to say he created all things. However they have, within them, this notion that they can do whatever they like , and there will be no consequences. Then there are those who have this idea that, since they aren’t living a perfect life, nor living up to certain standards, what’s the use? What would God want with a person like me? So in both cases God simply gets shut out. Well my friends, I don’t care what your condition is, “Don’t forget the Lord”.
Webster’s Dictionary defines it this way - forget - 1. Unable to recall , 2. To omit or neglect unintentionally 3. To fail to think of, 4. To cease or fail to think of something, 5. To say or do something improper. We’ll be looking mainly at definitions 4 and 5
Let us look at some scriptures.Dt. 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. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
Dt. 6:12-15 - Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are around about you; For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you, lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
Dt. 8:11 - 20 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint. Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, my power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyed before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.
In the above verses, God makes it very clear not to forget him. This is something we all must be aware of. When things are going well, and you have plenty of cash, nice clothes, no lack of food or drink, educated, nice job, nice home, nice spouse, nice automobile, etc., etc. , we can begin to think that we are “all that and a bag of chips”. And now all of a sudden we don’t need God. We simply forget about him.
God also reminds Israel of all the things he has done for them in the past, such as delivering them from Egyptian bondage, led them through the wilderness where there were scorpions and serpents, provided them with water where there was none, fed them with manna from heaven. And God ends with a stiff warning for those who forget him, they will perish.
The book of Judges shows us these back and forth situations involving the Israelites. They would leave off from serving the Lord, and start to follow other gods and customs. This would provoke God to anger and he would allow their enemies to come and take them captive. Then they would cry out to God for deliverance. God then would raise up Judges to delivery them from the bondage of their captors. Judges 2:11- 16 - And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Asharoth. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
I’ve come to see that God, not only in the book of Judges, but throughout the entire bible, has an undisputed record of bailing people out, only to have them turn away from him again. As we journey through the book of Judges, please note the number of times this happensJudges 2:17 - And yet they would not harken unto their judges, but went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them:
Judges 2:19 - And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them: they cease not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
Judges 3:7 - And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the *groves. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served **Chushanrishathaim eight years.asherah, comes from the root word ashar, which means to be straight, upright, erect), a pillar or image of wood. It was set up with the image of Baal and worshipped by libidinous (lustful) rites and lascivious (arousing sexual desires) practices. Ref. Dakes Bible pg. 194 N.T.
*groves - (
** Chushanrishathaim (Judg. 3:8) - one of several words of 17 letters each, which are next to the longest words in the bible. Ref. DK’s bible pg. 453 (letter h)Others….
** Mahershalalhashbaz
** Jonath- elemrechokim Ps. 56 (the chief musician, written at the top of v. 1)
God sends help….Judg. 3:9 - And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. He judged Israel and they had peace for forty years. However when he died, guess what happened? You got it…Judg. 3:12 - 14 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. And the children of Israel served King Eglon for eighteen years.
God sends help…
Judg. 3:15-22 But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. And that present was a two edged dagger which Brother Ehud proceeded to thrust into the king’s oversized belly. Ouch!
And there was peace in the land for eighty years.
Obviously after the eighty years had passed, the Israelites must have gone astray once again, because God raised up Shamgar the son of Anath to judge Israel. (it appears Ehud was still living when Shamgar began to judge) Judg. 4:1 After Ehud’s death ,the Israelites did evil again in the sight of the Lord. God sold the Israelites into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan who had nine hundred chariots of iron and he oppressed Israel for twenty years Judg.4:1-3. Next the prophetess Deborah judged Israel. She along with her military leader Barak, delivered the Israelites from the Canaanites. Judg. 4:4 - 24Not again…Judg. 6:1 - And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. Then the Lord raised up Gideon as a deliverer. Judg. 6:11- 40 Gideon dies and the nonsense continues, Judg. 8:33- 34 - And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again and went a whoring after Baalim and made Baalberith their god. And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord Their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
There’s more….
Judg. 10:6 - 16 - And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the philistines, and forsook the Lord, and served not him. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. They oppressed Israel for eighteen years. And of course they called upon God for help, however this time God sounds off on them….
And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying we have sinned against thee both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. And the Lord said unto the Children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Moanites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
Yet ye have forsaken me and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen: let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
This is a bad situation, and it’s one that I hope you never find yourself in. You can call on God 24/7. But if you are going to live your life doing your thing with no regards to God, and not even including him, anytime, during your brief stay here on this planet, then when trouble arises and you need some help, some supernatural help, God may tell you to go fly a kite. This is what’s troubling about our current society. When it comes to the Almighty, he’s really not a priority in the majority of people’s lives. Sad but true.
Nevertheless the Children of Israel repented - And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and his *soul was *grieved for the misery of Israel.
* Many people don’t realize how we can grieve the Lord. Anyone who reads the scriptures knows that God has feelings and emotions. “Finis Jennings Dakes” explains this in his Dakes Bible on page 469 (O.T.) letter b
b- (Judg. 10:16) One of many scriptures that plainly say that God has a soul. The soul of God, man, or any other being is the seat of emotions, passions, appetites, desires and feelings. That God has the same soul powers and attributes as angels, demons, and men is very clearly revealed in Scripture.
Gen. 6:6 - And it *repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
*Repented - to sigh, breathe heavily, and be sorry in the literal sense. Psalm 95:10 - forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people
That do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways.
John 4:24 - God is a spirit® : and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
® God is a spirit being, not the sun, moon, stars; nor an imagine of wood, stone, or metal; and not beast or man. He is not the air, wind, universal mind, love or some impersonal quality. He is a person with a personal spirit body, a personal soul, and a personal spirit, like that of angels, and like that of man except His body is of spirit substance instead of flesh and bones. ref. Dakes pg. 169 N.T.Don’t forget….Psalm 9:17 - The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations that forget the Lord. This is a short verse with a powerful punch. God is not just talking about individuals but entire nations! Unfortunately this is thing that concerns me the most about the United States of America. We have become so objective towards God. Not only are there many who don’t even read God’s word or even own a bible, but we don’t even want to discuss God or even acknowledge that he exists. People simply don’t want God in their lives, nor do they want someone like me telling them that with that type of thinking you are on a path towards destruction. Then what happens? The bible, or rather God, tells us what happens in the book of Proverbs.Proverbs 1:24 - 33 - because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord ; They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkened unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
Do you hearken (pay attention to what is said) unto God, or are you doing your thing?
I hope you listen to God, because it’s for your own well being. Please don’t forget the Lord.
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