The Danger of Spiritual Forgetfulness

The Danger of Spiritual Forgetfulness

Good morning,

The title of this morning’s sermon is:

The Danger of Spiritual Forgetfulness

We will explore this topic by turning our attention to the book of Isaiah, chapters 39-40:8.

As you are turning there, let me pray for our time together.

Prayer

Thank God for FBC Luling

Ask for Clarity of thought, speech, and conviction (truthfulness, power)

God would be glorified as the word goes forth

If you are able, I invite you to stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Isaiah 39, we will begin reading in verse 1.

At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.”

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her

that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received from the Lord's hand

double for all her sins.

3 A voice cries:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

This is the Word of the Lord

You may be seated

If you are familiar with the story of the Old Testament, you know that a good king was hard to come by.

Time and time again throughout the story of Israel, they were led by a king who did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.

This evil king would lead the people astray into idol worship and take advantage of the people of God.

But now and again, God would raise up a good king to rule over Israel.

The good king whose life is on display this morning is King Hezekiah.

King Hezekiah became the King of Judah at a pivotal point in history.

Hezekiah’s father, King Ahaz, did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord and worshipped the idols of the surrounding nations.

So, when Hezekiah came to the throne, he sought to remove the idol worship from Jerusalem and restore true worship in the temple.

Hezekiah also led the nation to celebrate the Passover, which hadn’t been celebrated in over 200 years.

Additionally, during this time in history, the kingdom was divided between Israel and Judah.

And Israel, during the early years of Hezekiah, was invaded by the Assyrians and carried off into exile.

And from the chapter preceding our passage, we learned that Hezekiah fell deathly ill at some point during his reign.

Hezekiah was sick to the point of death, so he prayed that the Lord would heal him.

And the Lord graciously healed him and added 15 years to his life.

From looking briefly at Hezekiah’s life, we see that he was a man who delighted in the Lord and sought to obey his every command.

However, when we return to our text for this morning, what we notice is not Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord but his desire to flaunt his wealth to gain political favor.

In our text, we see Hezekiah suffer from a different kind of sickness.

This sickness will threaten not just his life but also the kingdom of Judah for generations.

That sickness is spiritual forgetfulness.

If we were to put a definition to spiritual forgetfulness, We can define it as this:

Spiritual forgetfulness is the sinful tendency of our heart to lose sight of who God and what He has done for us. No matter who we are or how strong spiritually we think that we are, we all must be on guard against the danger of spiritual forgetfulness

To accomplish this task, we will look at four considerations concerning spiritual forgetfulness.

Firstly, let us consider:

The Context of Spiritual Forgetfulness

As I reread verse one of chapter 39, I want you to pay particular attention to when the envoys from Babylon came to Hezekiah.

At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.

From verse one, we see that the envoys from Babylon came after Hezekiah had recovered from His sickness.

Now I know that this may appear to be an insignificant detail, but I want you to consider that it is often the moments after significant spiritual breakthroughs when we leave ourselves open to spiritual forgetfulness.

To illustrate this truth further, I want us to think of the most stereotypical action movie known to man. There are good guys and bad guys, and shootouts and lots of explosions.

And always at the end of these movies, when the good guys win and they're celebrating, all of a sudden, one of them is shot and killed by the bad guy they thought was dead.

When the good guys relax, they forget they were in a warzone, and someone pays the price.

To give a real-world example, statistics show that most accidents happen within 10 miles of home.

Why is that?

When we think about it, we are most comfortable within 10 miles of our home.

We are also most likely to take our mind off driving and onto whatever needs to get done at home.

When that happens, we often forget things like the stop sign at the end of the block.

And we roll right past it into traffic, endangering both ourselves and our passengers.

My brothers and sisters, the context where Spiritual forgetfulness occurs is when we have grown comfortable in our walk with the Lord.

We see this context in Hezekiah's life after God graciously added 15 years to his life.

Instead of taking that moment of spiritual breakthrough to heart and committing himself to an even closer walk with the Lord, Hezekiah grew comfortable with God.

Consequently, he forgot God completely when the mighty nation of Babylon came knocking.

Church, when we grow comfortable with the Lord, we tend to assume that we don’t need God as severely as we actually do.

When we grow comfortable with God, we falsely believe that we can take things from here.

When we grow comfortable, we might say to ourselves:

I’m doing pretty good

I don’t really need to read my bible every day.

I could really not attend Sunday school.

Do I really have to check in with other church members or allow them to check on me outside of the Sunday morning gathering?

As we walk with the Lord, my brothers and sisters, let us not grow too comfortable walking with Him.

Let us constantly pray the prayer of Psalm 139:23-24, which states

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts![c]

24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting

Let us not forget that we are in a spiritual war, and bullets and arrows are constantly flying at us.

And one moment of spiritual laxity may cost us dearly.

When we grow comfortable with God, we also grow blind to the temptation that is crouching at the door.

We see this reality play out in Hezekiah’s life as we read again, starting in verse 1.

At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.

The second thing I want us to consider regarding Spiritual Forgetfulness is this:

Consider

The Temptation to be Spiritually Forgetful

One of the major enemies that Hezekiah faced during his reign was the Assyrians.

The Assyrians were a powerful and merciless nation that had taken the northern kingdom of Israel into exile, and they were not stopping with them.

After the events of our passage this morning, the Assyrians came knocking at Jerusalem's door, looking to take over the Kingdom of Judah as well.

Hezekiah knew this, which is why it was so tempting to try to impress the Babylonian envoys in hopes of gaining their political support against Assyria.

Verse 2 states that Hezekiah, “showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.”

Hezekiah lays out the red carpet for them.

He shows them everything.

everything but the God whom he serves.

Notice what’s not mentioned in verse 2.

He showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses.

Where’s the temple in this list?

Where's the house of prayer?

The God who graciously added 15 years to Hezekiah’s life is surprisingly absent from Hezekiah’s lips.

Instead, all we see is Hezekiah’s sinful pride.

The writer of Chronicles remarks on this part of Hezekiah’s life when he writes,

In those days, Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the Lord, and he answered him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud.

For Hezekiah, the temptation to be spiritually forgetful came as the temptation to boast not in the Lord, who is King over all the earth and graciously preserved his life, but to boast/trust in the wealth of his storehouse and armory.

Church, when we become spiritually forgetful, the enemy will not hesitate to tempt us.

For some of you, when you are spiritually forgetful, you may be tempted to worry.

For others, you may be tempted to overwork.

Still, for others, you may be tempted to numb yourself with doom-scrolling or TV.

Whatever the temptation may be, know that it will come if we are spiritually forgetful.

Hezekiah was spiritually forgetful, and he folded when the temptation to trust in his wealth rather than God arose.

And the consequences of that decision cost him dearly.

Look with me starting in verse 3 to see what Hezekiah lost because of his sin.

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7

Thirdly, Consider

The Consequences of Spiritual Forgetfulness

The prophet Isaiah confronts Hezekiah after the visit from the Babylonians and calls him to account for all that the Babylonians saw.

To Hezekiah’s credit, he does not try to deceive Isaiah but tells him plainly what he did.

Isaiah responds with a pronouncement from God.

All that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord.

Hezekiah’s spiritual forgetfulness cost him not only his wealth but also affected his children, who had not even been born yet.

Listen to what Isaiah proclaims in verse 7.

7 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

I want you to place yourself in Hezekiah's shoes for a moment.

You just showed the Babylonians all that you had to gain their favor.

And now you hear from the mouth of God’s prophet that all the things you trusted instead of the Lord will be taken away from you.

And you realized that one moment of spiritual forgetfulness has cost you everything.

How would you feel in that moment?

Sick?

Regret?

Fear?

Maybe you’ve been in that situation before and don’t need to imagine it.

You don’t need to imagine the broken homes, relationships, and ministries that have come about because of spiritual forgetfulness.

My brothers and sisters, the consequences of spiritual forgetfulness are devastating.

With this in mind, I want to take this moment to encourage you all to pray for and encourage your pastor.

Hebrews 13:17 states

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.

Cody Cunningham will have to give an account one day for your souls.

Whether or not he gives a good account will depend on whether he remembers or forgets what Christ has done for him.

There have been countless pastors who have followed the trajectory of Hezekiah.

They started strong, only to become comfortable and proud, thus leading both themselves and their congregation to forget the God they worship and to run into deep sin and judgment.

Pray for and encourage your pastor.

I also want to speak to the parents in the room, both physically and spiritually.

The consequences of spiritual forgetfulness apply to you and to all who will come after you.

Hezekiah’s moment of spiritual forgetfulness affected generations after him.

To put a positive spin on it:

Your diligence in remembering the things of God will affect generations long after your six feet under.

Don’t forget.

Press on.

Your Labor is not in vain.

Putting our eyes back on the text, I want us to recognize that Hezekiah’s spiritual forgetfulness was not just a Hezekiah problem; the entire nation of Israel had a Spiritual Forgetfulness problem.

Throughout the story of Israel, they repeatedly have to be called to remember the God who saved them.

Moses warns the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 8:11.

“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

The very thing that Moses warned the nation about, Israel did.

They forgot the Lord when they got comfortable with life.

The whole purpose of the prophets was to call Israel back into covenant faithfulness with their God because they became spiritually forgetful and wandered off into idolatry.

However, despite the prophet’s warning, Israel continued to forget their God, and as a result of their Spiritual Forgetfulness, God judged the nation by sending them into exile from the promised land.

Thankfully, that’s not the end of Israel’s story, and that’s not where this sermon will end.

Lastly, let us consider

The Comfort for the Forgetful One: Redemption

Isaiah chapter 40 begins a new section in the book of Isaiah, and I want you to listen to Isaiah’s words of hope that he gives to the nation of Israel.

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Comfort, Comfort my people, says your God.

On the heels of judgment comes comfort.

If you’re listening this morning, and you feel the weight of conviction of your spiritual forgetfulness.

Don’t forget that God does not forget.

Isaiah 49:15-16

"Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me."

God meets our spiritual forgetfulness with tender care.

Just listen to how God talks about his people in Verse 2.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

God’s treatment of Israel in this moment resembles that of a parent who embraces their kid after having to discipline them.

You can feel the love spilling over in this verse.

Israel has received the complete measure of the judgment from the Lord due to their spiritual forgetfulness, and the sin has been pardoned.

Isaiah chapter 40 is a comforting passage, but it is an incomplete passage.

Although God said that Israel’s iniquity is pardoned, and they have received the full extent of their punishment.

Although the current sins that led to their exile have been forgiven,

that does not mean that Israel will never sin again.

In the same way, a parents knows that disciplining a child once does not fix the wrong behavior forever.

My brothers and sisters, spiritual forgetfulness is a symptom of a much deeper issue in the human heart.

The deeper issue in the human heart is that the heart has been broken and warped by Adam and Eve’s disobedience.

When Adam and Eve listened to the voice of the serpent over the voice of their Creator, sin entered the world and in the human heart.

And ever since that moment, sin has been wreaking havoc on the heart.

And no human has been able to escape its destruction.

No matter how righteous.

Hezekiah was by all accounts a righteous man, but he still fell under the same judgment because of the sinful pride that resided in his heart.

So, how is God going to fix the issue of the human heart?

Starting in verse 3, we hear a familiar proclamation from the mouth of Isaiah.

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

I’m going to ask the question again. How is God going to fix the issue of the heart?

He’s going to send a Savior.

He will send a savior who will take on himself the punishment that our spiritual forgetfulness and all our sins deserve.

Isaiah a couple chapters later speaks of the savior in this way.

Isaiah 53:1–12 “

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 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. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its…”

You see, just like Hezekiah, we deserve to have everything taken away from us because of our spiritual forgetfulness.

But because of what Christ has done for us, we walk free.

Jesus was never spiritually forgetful.

He never forgot his Father in heaven.

He obeyed his Father’s every command.

But,

He was treated as if he did.

Instead of us losing everything.

Jesus lost everything.

Instead of us dying as punishment for our sins.

Jesus died in our place as punishment for our sins.

John the Baptist repeated verse 3 when asked to identify himself by the Jews and priests.

John the Baptist also goes on to say this about Jesus.

John 1:29

29 “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Church, Jesus takes away all of our sins, including our spiritual forgetfulness.

And not only does he take away our sins, but he gives us the Holy Spirit to remind us of this beautiful gospel message when we grow spiritually forgetful.

And he gives us his church, one another, so we will remind each other of this gospel message when we are tempted to forget.

If you’re hearing this this morning and you don’t know this Jesus.

Hear this

You can’t be spiritually forgetful if you’re spiritually dead.

You need to be made alive.

You need to trust in Christ’s finished work on your behalf.

If you’re hearing this this morning and you are a follower of Christ.

My prayer is that you have seen this morning the danger of spiritual forgetfulness and that you will do two things in response.

My prayer is that you will firstly cherish Christ and how he bore all of your sin including your spiritual forgetfulness

And that you will secondly commit yourself to remembering all that Christ has done for you and for your fellow brothers and sisters.

Till one day, we all stand before the Lord, our faith being made sight, where there will never be a day where we have to worry about spiritual forgetfulness.