God has Not Forgotten- A Remedy For Self-Pity
Notes
Transcript
Proposition: Because God has not forgotten us, we do not have to submit to self pity and despair.
God has given us a promise of his remembrance of us
Isaiah 49:13–16
“13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; And break forth into singing, O mountains: For the Lord hath comforted his people, And will have mercy upon his afflicted. 14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, And my Lord hath forgotten me. 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, Yet will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; Thy walls are continually before me.”
God has given us a fulfillment of his remembrance of us
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
This crucified Jesus is passed into the heavenly realm with the remembrance of us.
We are not forgotten.
The risen glorified Lord whom they could not even recognize still had the nail prints in his hands. He retained the nail wounds four our sake
This is a link the the OT promise of Isaiah
God has given us a reality of his remembrance of us
Hebrews 4:14–16 “14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
The same Jesus who bears the marks of remembrance of his people in his palms sits in the heavenly realm as a high priest for us.
He promised to remember us and not forget us.
We often feel forsaken and forgotten when things do not go our way. We think God is not with us.
Prayer is how we interact with our intercessor.
He can be touched with our infirmities. His hands prove that.
He has not forgotten his sacrifice
There is no reason to hold to self-pity
Self pity keeps us from realizing the blessings that are available
Ephesians 2:4–10 “4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Not only can we reach our intercessor in heaven but we have access to commune with him.
We have been quickened in our spirit
This new life in the spirit has allowed us to actually sit with him in heavenly places
We choose to be alone
We choose to be lonely
We choose self-pity
Jeremiah 31:20 “20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: Therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.”
Even when God has brought chastisement he never forgot us
Sometimes our past sins cause us to wallow in self-pity as if we are forsaken
God says he is for us and will bless us
God has said that even in times of chastisement his bowels move for us. In his innermost being he has compassion for us
This is a time of mercy
Let us value prayer in a way that honors the spiritual truths that God has given us
Let prayer and communion be our only option
Let all of our faith and confidence be in our ability to connect with our savior
Let us come boldly to Jesus and not wallow in self-pity and loneliness
