Obtuse as an Ox, as dumb as a doney.

Isaiah 1:3 NKJV

The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”

Things that we forget.

I. Sin has a price.

Isaiah 1:4–7 NKJV

Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Ephesians 4:30 NKJV

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

A. Grieve the Holy Spirit

Isaiah 53:6 NKJV

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

B. Christ had to bare or sin. Is. 53.6

II. Our relationship with God will suffer.

Isaiah 1:9–13 NKJV

Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.

Romans 14:23 NKJV

But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

Isaiah 59:2 NKJV

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.

III. The blessings of God are dependent upon our obedience.

Isaiah 1:18–20 NKJV

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Acts 5:32 NKJV

And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

A. Power of the Holy Spirit

John 9:31 NKJV

Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.

B. Answered prayers.