Scripture Isaiah 49:13-16
13
Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O
earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion
on his afflicted ones.
14 But Zion said, "The
Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has
forgotten me." 15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her
breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may
forget, I will not forget you! 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of
my hands; your walls are ever before me.”
MEMORIES FOR MOTHER
(Memories for God)
What are the memories you made for your mother who has passed
away?
What are the memories you are making for mother who is living?
There are books (SLIDE memory making mom.) to help mom’s make and keep track of
memories with their children.
EXAMPLE
MY BAD THINGS: Shop
lifting / Poison Ivy / Not taking out the trash
MY GOOD THINGS: Cleaning the basement when she didn’t ask for it
Always being in at curfew or calling to
ask to stay out later.
Going to Starbucks or playing golf
whenever possible - that is…
…(spending time
together)
What are the memories you
made for God in the past?
What are the memories you
are making for God now and until the end of your life?
We tend not to think about God having
memory. God is so busy dealing with us in the present, He has no time to bring
the angels around, along with the 12 tribes of Israel or the 12 disciples and
bust out the 8 mm projector, the VHS tapes, the DVD’s or the digital footage of
Creation and the fall of Adman and Eve; the crossing of the red sea and the
worshipping a golden calf; or David having an affair with Bathsheba and having
her husband killed and young David standing foursquare against the Goliath the
giant when no one else would and trusting God for the victory.
Surely, God has no time to show the
eagerness of the disciples when Jesus first called them to follow him, and then
how they fumbled and bumbled their way through ministry with doubt. Or Peter
showing great faith to walk on water but a complete lack of faith when he saw
the waves and fell into that same water. Or when Saul was seeking to imprison and
even murder Jesus’ followers and then to become the greatest missionary the
world has ever known.
Of course God has memory. Of
course, God has time to remember.
What does a mother’s memory, or God’s
memory for that matter have to do with worship?
EVERYTHING!!! Most of what we do in worship is because we
remember what God has done. What did Jesus say about the Last Supper Communion
- “As often as you do this, do
it ‘n remembrance of me.’”
What do I say about preaching? I don’t
tell you anything new, my job is to remind
you of what you already know. What memories do you want God to have once you
are in glory? You will have no opportunity to go back and change them!
I want God to have the kind of memories
of me that I shared with my mother (Doing good things when she didn’t ask,
being in at curfew - Starbucks, golfing / likewise with God, I want him to remember
that I did my best to serve him, that I worked to live a life holy and pleasing
to Him, and more important than all that, that I wanted to spend time with him
and His people - not only did I miss very few opportunities to be in corporate
worship but I did everything I could to encourage others to spend time with Him
as well, be that working hard on sermons to make them engaging or promoting a
40 Days of Worship challenge to encourage consistent worship.
Isaiah
49:13-16
13
Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O
earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion
on his afflicted ones.
14 But Zion said, "The
Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has
forgotten me." 15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her
breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may
forget, I will not forget you! 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of
my hands; your walls are ever before me.”
The original context was
that over and over and over again the people of Israel were complaining and
saying that God had forgotten them.
Isaiah 66:7-11
“Before
she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she
delivers a son. Who has ever heard of
such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or
a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she
gives birth to her children. Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give
delivery?" says the Lord. "Do
I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?" says your God.
"Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who
love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her. For you will
nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and
delight in her overflowing abundance."
God does remember us and
he has done things for us that he wants us to remember and pass on to others.
As an adult, who’s mother has passed
away, I am sure there is much I will never know that my mother did for me.
There are many things I am aware of - how a divorced single mother of 3 boys in
1962 (when divorce was much less common and a divorcee was looked down upon)
that she sacrificed a lot for her 3 sons.
ILLUSTRATION OF A
MOTHER’S SARIFICE
There was a teenager who didn't want to
be seen in public with her mother, because her mother's arms were terribly
disfigured.
One day when her mother took her
shopping and reached out her hand, a clerk looked horrified. Later, crying, the
girl told her how embarrassed she was. Understandably hurt, the mother waited
an hour before going to her daughter's room to tell her, for the first time,
what happened.
When you were a baby, I woke up to a
burning house. Your room was an inferno. Flames were everywhere. I could have
gotten out the front door, but I decided I'd rather die with you than leave you
to die alone. I ran through the fire and wrapped my arms around you. Then I
went back through the flames, my arms on fire. When I got outside on the lawn,
the pain was agonizing but when I looked at you, all I could do was rejoice
that the flames hadn't touched you.
Stunned, the girl looked at her mother
through new eyes. Weeping in shame and gratitude, she kissed her mother's
marred hands and arms.
When I see Jesus
with a crown of thorns, a back ripped open from being lashed 39 times, nail
holes in his hand and feet and a hole form a spear thrust in his side, I
REMEMBER that those scars were put there when he sacrificed himself for me to
save me from death - and when I remember that, I can do nothing other than to
bow down and worship.
In place of those nail holes - consider our text for today - Isaiah 49:14-16
But Zion said, "The Lord has
forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me." "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no
compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget
you! See, I
have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.”
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