Sunday Service - 1/18/2026

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning, church family. Happy Lord's Day. We're going to begin our worship with this first song, Speak, O Lord. Speak, O Lord, as we come to you, as we come to you. Take the food of your holy word.

Take your truth, plant it deep in us, shape and fashion us in your lives, that the light of Christ might be seen today. In our acts of love and our deeds of faith, speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all your purposes for your glory. Teach us, Lord, teach us, Lord, teach us, Lord, full obedience.

Teach us. Teach us. Teach us. Teach us. Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility. Test our thoughts, Lord, and our eyes to see. Test our thoughts and our attitudes, in the radiance of your pure cause of faith, cause our faith to rise. Cause our eyes to see.

Cause our eyes to see your majestic love and authority. Words of power that can never fail. Let their truth prevail over unbelief. Let their truth prevail over unbelief. We are. We are. We are. We are. We are. We are. We are. We are. We are. We are. We are.

We are. We are. And our faith to rise. Let our minds, God, and our eyes to see your majestic love and authority. Words of power that can never fail Let their truth prevail over unbelief Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us Truths unchanged from the dawn of time That will echo down through eternity And by grace we'll stand on your promises And by faith we'll walk as you walk with us Speak, O Lord, till your church is built And the earth is filled with your glory And by grace, and by grace we'll stand on your promises And by faith we'll walk as you walk with us Speak, O Lord, till your church is built And the earth is filled with your glory Well, good morning, everyone.

Welcome to Berean Community Church. If you're visiting us for the first time, I just want to extend the warm welcome to you. And if you have time after service, please visit us out in the courtyard. Our welcome team, our amazing welcome team is out there. And if you have any questions about the church, they'll be willing to help you answer those questions.

I have a few announcements before we start service this morning. College ministry, we're hosting a fundraiser this coming Sunday, and we're going to be serving lunch, second and third service. We're going to be serving beef bowls, so, or taco bowls and for adults it's ten dollars and for children it's five dollars.

And then the family ministry prayer meeting is scheduled to start Saturday, February 7th at 9:15 a.m. at the youth chapel, so please join family ministry for our first prayer meeting of the year. And then our foundation of redemptive history part two of our Bible study is scheduled to start Wednesday, February 11th.

So, if you haven't signed up, please sign up for that. There's going to be a last call for sign up, so we're creating small groups and home groups, so please sign up for that. And then following our worship and praise, our sister Diane Lee is going to give a testimony.

The Korea team returned yesterday from Korea, so she's going to share a testimony. Okay? And then if you have offering, you could give a physical offering at the back of the box over there, towards the entrance and exit, and you could also give digitally online. Okay? Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Father God, we want to thank you for just blessing us with this Sunday, blessing us with a place where we can gather together to worship you and to hear the proclamation of your word. And, Lord, as we are giving, I pray, Lord, that in this act of worship, we would honor you, knowing that we're just giving back to you what you had given to us.

Help us, Lord, to be good stewards with the things that you have entrusted to our care. But, Lord, we also want to thank you for the team in India as they arrive safely to their destination. I pray, Lord, that you would oversee their trip, and I pray that it will be a fruitful trip.

But also thank you for the Korea team as they returned yesterday safely. And, Lord, we just can't wait to hear what you are doing in that country. So, Lord, thank you again for this day. And we pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Brothers and sisters, let's stand together as we worship our God.

And while you're standing, why don't we say hello to a couple people around you? Maybe it's the first time you're meeting them. And while you're standing, why don't we say hello to a couple people around you? Let's sing it together. Who breaks the power? Who breaks the power of sin and darkness, whose love is mighty and so much stronger, the King of glory, the King above all King.

Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder, who leaves us breathless in iron wonder, the King of glory, the King above all King. And this is amazing. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. That you would take my place. That you would bear my cross. You would lay down your life.

That I would be set free. Oh, Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. Who brings our chaos back into order, who makes the orphan, a son and daughter, the King of glory, the King above all Kings. Who rules the nations. Who rules the nations with truth and justice, stands like the sun in all of its brilliance.

Who rules the king of glory, the King of glory, the King above all Kings. Who rules the nations with truth and justice, the King of glory, the King above all Kings. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. That you would take my place. That you would take my place.

That you would bear my cross. You would lay down your life. That I would be set free. Oh, Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy is the King who conquered the grave. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.

Worthy is the King who conquers the grave. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy is the King who conquered the grave. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy, worthy, worthy. Worthy is the King who conquered the grave. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy is the King of glory.

Worthy is the King of glory. Worthy is the King of glory. Worthy is the King of glory. Worthy is the King of glory. Worthy is the King of glory. Worthy is the King of glory. Worthy is the King of glory. Worthy is the King of glory. Worthy is the King of glory.

What an amazing mystery. That your grace has come to me. Oh, what an amazing love. Oh, what an amazing love I see. What an amazing love I see. That your grace has come to me. Oh, what an amazing love I see. What an amazing love I see. What an amazing love I see.

What an amazing love I see. What an amazing love I see. What an amazing love I see. That your grace has come to me. That your grace has come to me. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. What an amazing love I see.

That your grace has come to me. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. What an amazing love I see. That your grace has come to me.

Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. What an amazing love I see. That your grace has come to me. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see.

Oh, what an amazing love I see. That your grace has come to me. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see.

Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see.

Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see.

Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. Oh, what an amazing love I see. I found myself primarily interacting with two high school girls, and it became clear that neither understood the concept of sin and how God views it, for there was a lack of repentance in their hearts.

Throughout all of this, our team was reading First John for our personal devotions. There truly is no way one would be willing to lay down his or her life for his or her brother unless they have truly been shown a greater love first. Throughout this trip, when I would consider this great love of God that loved us unto death so that we would be made his children, I began to realize more tangibly that the command to love him and others is an overflow of the love he had first shown me.

I found myself pouring out my heart to these two students, urging them to consider the extent of their sin before God and instead choose the abundance of life that only he can offer, only to feel as though I was talking to a brick wall. As we parted ways with the students Friday morning, I was met with a feeling that I can only really describe as laboring in hope, a hope that reflects the relentless pursuit of sinners by God throughout redemptive history, culminating at the greatest act of love at the cross, a hope that remembers that my labor was not in vain, that in God's good timing, he may cause the seeds planted by our hands to bear their fruit, though it may not be in our time.

A hope that is ultimately not focused on myself, not even the individual at hand, but focused on God, what it meant that he sent his own son to die on my behalf because he loved me first. There's so much more I'd want to share, including the precious meal times, sharing divos with the team, laboring together for the gospel, so many other sweet students we got to know, even some coming to understand that they may not have repented before God as they once thought, and even the crazy 2am fire alarm that left a lot of the girls shaken.

But if I had to describe this trip with one word, it would be love. When I look back on this trip, I will remember my loving and faithful God who loves each and every student we met. The same God who also sustained me as I sought to be spent in any useful way for the gospel.

The same vast, abundant, persevering love from God that fueled me to press on on this trip is the same love that will help me redeem every opportunity I have back at home to tell others of my saviour and my friend. I'm grateful to have shared a small snippet of my experience and heart with you all today.

Please continue to join us in prayer for the relationships that were formed, and for the nation of Korea that is growing darker day by day. Thank you all for following along and laboring in prayer on our behalf. Thank you for that testimony, Diane. If you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to turn with me to Psalm chapter 106.

Psalm chapter 106. And I'll be reading verse 1 down to verse 6, and I've titled our morning's message, "Remembering to not forget." "Praise the Lord, or give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his lovingkindness is everlasting. Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, or who can show forth all his praise?

How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, in your favor towards your people. Visit me with your salvation, that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.

We have sinned like our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have behaved wickedly." Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we want to thank you for the work that you are doing in the nations. We want to thank you for granting us the opportunity to go out into the world and fulfill the Great Commission.

And God, I pray for our team in the mission field in India, that you would grant them grace, and that you would help them, Lord, to minister to the people there and bear good fruit. But Lord, as we are in your word this morning, we pray, Holy Spirit, that you would give us understanding, and help us, Lord, not to be just hearers of the word, but doers.

And so, Lord, thank you. And we pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Scripture tells us in Psalm 103:2 to "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all of his benefits." Now that we are several days into the new year, I would like to ask you a question.

Are you remembering the Lord and all of his benefits? How often do you remember God and praise him to say, "Great is your faithfulness, for your compassions fail not; they are new every morning." For some of us, it is often challenging to remember God's faithfulness. Whether it is in the seasons of difficulty or ease, we often forget to bless our God for all of his benefits shown to us.

And I know many of us have set goals or resolutions at the start of this new year. Perhaps your new year resolution was to read the Bible more, to pray more, to attend church more regularly, and to remember God and to be thankful in every circumstance that you find yourself in.

And these are great goals. Let me ask you: How are you doing? Has the excitement of the new year tapered off a bit? Perhaps you already skipped a few days in your devotion and your prayer time. And maybe even missed attending Sunday service. And perhaps because of a busy work schedule or a busy academic schedule, some of you may have already forgotten God.

We are so busy, we're so distracted, we're so entertaining in our fast-paced society, that we forget God. And sometimes we allow ourselves to be weighed down with the distresses and the fears of our life, and we forget that God is even present with us. We forget his promises. We forget his commandments.

And we easily distract ourselves with the needs of the time and focus on the issue of the present and neglect the foundation of the truth. That our God is faithful. That he is good. And that he will do as he pleases according to his sovereign purposes. And that he will providentially work out all things for good to those who love him and to those who have been called according to his purposes.

And that was certainly true of the nation of Israel. In their distresses, in their fears, and even in their ease and comfort. Whatever situation that they were in, they had forgotten God. And their forgetfulness of God resulted in their disobedience of God. And this is why Psalm 106 was written.

Now, Psalm chapter 106 is contrasted to the previous chapter, which is Psalm chapter 105. And when you read these two Psalms together, it reads almost as a counterpart. Psalm chapter 105 is about the faithfulness of our God. And Psalm chapter 106 is about the unfaithfulness of Israel. And so the main point of Psalm chapter 105 is, "Remember his wonders which he has done among you." While the keynote in Psalm chapter 106 is, "They did not remember your abundant kindness." And after reading Psalm chapter 106, some of us might be tempted to criticize Israel and say things like, "After all that God has done for them, how could they have forgotten God?" You know, we could easily be baited into this type of thinking, not realizing that we are no different.

And I ask you to keep this in mind. Psalm 106 recounts Israel's rebellious past and how they routinely forgot the Lord. But the greater emphasis of Psalm 106 is not to condemn Israel, but to praise the Lord for his long suffering and mercy that was shown to his people.

And so the psalmist, with the intent to give praises to God, places God's mercy against the dark history of Israel's repeated disobedience to God. But before he recounts Israel's rebellious past, he actually opens the Psalm with the words of praise in verses one through three. He says, "Praise the Lord, O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting.

Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, or who can show forth all of his praises? How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times." The psalmist opens with praise because God is merciful to a rebellious nation. And as you read this praise, you sense that the author is actually pleading with himself when he says, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord for his good." He is telling himself, "Don't forget about God.

Praise God. Remember him for his goodness." And so he is reminding himself and his people to have greater gratitude toward a holy God and to praise him. And then he transitions from praise to prayer and he asks God to remember his favor toward his people. And so he repents.

And he confesses his sins and the sins of his people. And so he begins to point out the sins of his people. He begins with their exodus from Egypt and closes with their captivity in Babylon. The nation of Israel had rebelled against God from the wilderness to their exile.

And the reason they had rebelled against God is because they have forgotten God in all of his abundant kindness. Scripture tells us in Romans chapter 1 verse 21, "Though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened." And this morning I'm going to read the psalm together with you to explain to you what was going on in Israel's past.

And keep in mind some of these events are not arranged in chronological order because the purpose of the psalm is not chronology, but it's theology. It is a psalm of praise to God for his great mercy toward a rebellious people. And so with that in mind we begin with the reading of verse 7 through 12, the sins of Israel.

And in this confession we have to keep in mind that there are three main divisions relative to Israel. This confession of sin covers their sin at the Red Sea, which is from 7 through 12. Their sin in the wilderness, which is verses 13 to 33. And then also their sin in the promised land in verses 34 and 46.

But first, the psalmist remembers their sin, their rebellion in Egypt. So if you notice with me in verse 7, we're going to read down to verse 12 in our text. It says, Our fathers in Egypt did not understand your wonders. They did not remember your abundant kindnesses, but rebelled by the sea at the Red Sea.

Nevertheless, he saved them for the sake of his name, that he might make his power known. Thus he rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, and he led them through the deeps as through the wilderness. He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

The waters covered their adversaries, not one of them was left. Then they believed his words, they sang his praises. Following their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites now found themselves between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea. And they cried out in fear and said to Moses, Moses, is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us out into this wilderness to die?

That was their complaint. They had witnessed the power of God as he devastated Egypt with plagues. But there at the Red Sea, the Israelites did not believe that the Lord could deliver them from the Egyptians again. But what caused their disbelief? What we read in verse 7, they did not understand God's wonders.

They did not remember his abundant kindness. You see, in that desperate hour, they had forgotten God's kindness, his promises, and they panicked. They had forgotten that the Lord had delivered them from Egyptian slavery with a very mighty hand. sending 10 plagues to afflict the Egyptians until Pharaoh decided to let them go.

But despite their unbelief, God was faithful. He was merciful. And God led them through the sea on dry land. He destroyed the entire Egyptian army and he delivered them once again from their enemies. And then scripture tells us that the Israelites believed his words and they sang his praises.

You're like, great! What a great turnaround! But that did not last long. What they had witnessed in Egypt and at the Red Sea should have assured them for all future trials. But beginning in verse 13, if you notice in our text, it's very tragic, but it says they quickly forgot his works and they did not wait for his counsel.

They immediately went from praise to protest. They were quick to disbelieve and they grumbled once again in the wilderness. And beginning in verse 14, it says they craved intensely in the wilderness and they tempted God in the desert. In other words, they were craving for food. They were hungry.

Now, was it wrong for them to seek food and water in the wilderness? No. These are daily necessities. And scripture tells us that God knows our friends. He knows that we are made of dust. In fact, he knows the things that we need of before we even ask him.

But is that what the Israelites did? No. Instead of asking, they grumbled in their hearts and said, "What shall we eat and what shall we drink?" God promised to bring them up from Egypt into the promised land, but they immediately forgot God's promises. And they grumbled in their hearts and they said, "You brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger." That was the allegation.

They accused God of bringing them out into the wilderness to starve them to death. And was that the reason that the Lord delivered them from Egyptian slavery? To destroy them in the wilderness? No. God delivered them from slavery to bring them into a land of freedom. But you see, they preferred slavery to the challenges of liberty.

And their continued response to trouble was always this, "Let us go back to Egypt. Let us go back to slavery. Let us go back to the things that held us back." They gave them into their fleshly cravings, and instead of walking by faith in the promises of God, they grumbled and complained against the Lord.

And yet the Lord was merciful, and He gave them water to drink and food to eat. Then we read about the rebellion of Korah in verses 16 and 18. It says, "When they became envious of Moses in the camp and of Aaron, the Holy One of the Lord, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and engulfed the company of Abraham.

And a fire blazed up in their company. The flame consumed the wicked." So Korah enlisted 250 men, and he led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. He blamed Moses for their wilderness wandering, and he had convinced the people that they needed new leadership. They were saying, "Guys, this is not working out.

They're going to lead us into destruction." Now Korah was a Levite, and he was chosen by God to do the service of the tabernacle. To stand before the congregation to minister to them. But you see, Korah, he was not satisfied with this task. He wanted to function at the altar as a priest.

Korah and his band of rebels were opposing the will of God. They were challenging God's decision for appointing Moses and Aaron to lead the nation of Israel. And so the Lord destroyed Korah and the men he had enlisted. Their pride and selfish ambition led them to destruction. Scripture tells us that the earth opened up, swallowed up Korah and his entire household.

The 250 men who joined Korah's rebellion were consumed by fire. And the day after this tragic event, when people should have been repenting, they still rebelled. And so God destroyed with the plague 14,700 who grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Then we read in verse 19 and 23 that the people transgressed the commandments of God by making a god of gold, the golden calf.

If you notice, it says, they made a calf in Horeb and worshiped the molten image. Thus they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior who had done great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham and awesome things by the Red Sea.

Therefore he said that he would destroy them had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to turn away his wrath from destroying them. God had demonstrated his power in Egypt. God had demonstrated his power in Egypt. He demonstrated his power at the Red Sea. And he had displayed his glory at Mount Sinai, spoke to Israel to the degree that those who had witnessed this awesome display of God at the Mount Sinai said to Moses, Moses, God is so terrifying, I want you to speak to us yourself, and we're going to listen to you, but let not God speak to us lest we die.

They saw this awesome display of God. And they had the right godly fear. And so Moses, in response, said to the people in Exodus chapter 20, verse 20, "Do not be afraid. For God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of him may remain with you, so that you may not sin." But that too was short-lived.

Because it says in verse 21 of our text, they forgot God their Savior. They committed idolatry and created a golden calf for the people to worship. As the Word of God says in Romans chapter 1, verse 25, "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature, rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever." Amen.

That is so disgraceful that they would worship creatures rather than the Creator. And so God was going to destroy them. And at this point, you would agree, he had every right to do so. But Moses stood in the breach. When God said, "Stand back, Moses. I'm going to destroy this entire assembly, and I'm going to make of you a great nation." Moses interceded for his people by standing in the breach, meaning that he was willing to give up his own life for the sake of his people.

And because of what Moses did that day, he avoided disaster for his people. The Israelites had forgotten God their Savior, and they were expressing their ingratitude to God who had delivered them. And so this downward spiral continued as it says in verses 24 and 25. They had despised the pleasant land.

They did not believe in his word, but they grumbled in their tents. They did not listen to the voice of the Lord. Now two years had passed since the Exodus, and they were at Kadesh Barnea on the border of the Promised Land. But instead of trusting God to give them the land, the people asked for spies to survey the land.

When God had already surveyed the land for them and told them, "It is a good land." And the twelve spies reported that the land was good, just as the Lord had said. However, they also reported that the land was occupied with giants, and there were these fortified cities that were unscalable.

And so the people reverted to their old ways of grumbling and complaining, and were demanding once again to return to Egypt, to their slavery. And so God had enough of their complaining. He faithfully led them through the wilderness and brought them to the border of the Promised Land. But they refused to enter.

And so He swore to them that He would cast them down in the wilderness, and that is exactly what He did. That entire generation of twenty years and older died in the wilderness with the exception of Joshua and Caleb who were faithful. You see, what should have been a triumphant entry into the Promised Land became a forty years of a funeral march.

And that is what happens when we want our own way, and we refuse to trust in the Lord and to obey Him. Then in verses twenty-eight and thirty-three, the psalmist mentions two events that occurred toward the end of Israel's wandering. It says, "They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Then Penaeus stood up and interposed, and so the plague was stayed, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness to all generations forever. They also provoked him to wrath at the waters of Meribah, so that it went hard with Moses on their account.

Because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips." So first of all, what happened at Baal Peor? Well, the king of Moab, because he heard these reports about the children of Israel, and what God had done for them in Egypt, the king of Moab was terrified.

And so he hired the prophet named Balaam to curse the nation of Israel. But each time Balaam stood up to curse the nation of Israel, he ended up blessing them. And so the king of Moab said, "Look, I hired you to curse these people, and you're blessing them." And that's because God's calling and his gifts are irrevocable.

But Balaam had another plan. He knew how to stumble the Israelites. And so he advised the king of Moab to act like a good neighbor, bring them some gifts, and invite the Jewish leaders to share a feast with the Moabites. But you see, these feasts, they included eating meats dedicated to the dead.

These feasts involved sleeping with cult prostitutes. And you would think, after all that they had experienced in the wilderness, they would say, "Oh, no, no, no. We're not going to do that. We revere and worship our God." But, sure enough, the Israelites accepted the invitation and partook in these cult practices.

And God's wrath fell on them. And 24,000 people died that day. The second event has to do with the failure of Moses. The people complained again. They quarreled with Moses for water. And so Moses sought the Lord and he was instructed to speak to the rock. And that the rock will yield water for them.

And you have to feel for Moses, right? Just 40 years of people grumbling and complaining. So maybe at this point he had enough, but that's still a no excuse. Instead of speaking to the rock as the Lord had instructed him, Moses struck the rock and said, "Listen, you rebels.

Shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?" By doing that, he misrepresented God and he was disobedient. He spoke rashly. And because of this, the Lord told Moses, "You're not going to enter the Promised Land." He was barred from entering the Promised Land because of his disobedience.

Again, imagine how disappointed Moses must have been, having come so close and yet unable to enter. Then the psalmist continues in his confession in verse 34 and 46, mentioning the repeated disobedience of his people when they were in the Promised Land. It says, "They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord commanded them, but they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served idols which became a snare to them.

They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons." Imagine how egregious that is. "And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with the blood. Thus they became unclean in their practices, and played the harlot in their deeds.

Therefore the angle of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his inheritance. Then he gave them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were subdued under their power. Many times he would deliver them.

They, however, were rebellious in their counsel, and so sank down in their iniquity. Nevertheless, he looked up into their distress when he had heard their cry. "And he remembered his covenant for their sake, and relented according to the greatness of his loving kindness. He also made them objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors." So God kept his promise.

He is faithful. The Israelites conquered the promised land, and they settled. And for the most part, they were faithful during the leadership of Joshua and the elders that he has selected and trained. But if you're familiar with the book of Judges, you know the recurring theme in this book, right?

"Everyone did according to their own eyes." Not according to the commandments of the Lord, not according to the laws of God. Everyone did according to their own eyes. In Judges 2:10, it says, "All that generation also were gathered to their fathers, and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord." They had forgotten.

They did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which he had done for the nation of Israel. Israel had forgotten the Lord once again. And they compromised and adopted the practices of their defeated enemies. They disobeyed the commandments of God, and they forsook the condition of the covenant.

And so instead of destroying all the godless society of the nations in Canaan, the Israelites compromised with them. And they also imitated them. And they imitated the evil practices of child sacrifice. They were killing the innocent. And so God brought foreign nations against Israel and judged them in their own land.

And when they cried out to God for mercy, he heard them and he raised up judges to deliver them from their enemies. But it says in verse 43, "Many times he would deliver them. They, however, were rebellious in their counsel and so sank down in their iniquity." Israel continued to relapse in their idolatry and the cycle kept on repeating.

God warned Israel that if they continued to resist and disobey, even after experiencing his discipline, he is going to take them out of their land and he's going to scatter them. And that's what happened in history. If you're familiar with the nation of Israel, Israel was divided into two kingdoms.

Then in 722 BC, the Assyrians captured the northern kingdom and absorbed the 10 tribes into their empire. Then in 586 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and took the best of the people captive to their land. And this is where the book of Daniel picks up, right?

And this psalm was written during Israel's dispersion and captivity. And so here's the psalmist in captivity, recalling how God was merciful in the past. And he says in verses 44 and 46, "He looked upon their distress when he heard their cry, and he remembered his covenant for their sake, and relented according to the greatness of his love and kindness, he also made them objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors." And so as he recalls God's loving kindness, he's making his plea to God once more to be merciful to his people.

And so he says in verse 47, "Save us, O Lord our God." "Come to our salvation." "Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations to give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise." And God heard their cry for help. The Medo-Persian Empire conquered Babylon in 539 BC.

And in the following year, King Cyrus decreed that the Jews could return and rebuild their lives in the land of Israel. But the point is, Israel did not remember God's abundant kindness to them even though God remembered them. They forgot the mighty power of God displayed in Egypt. They forgot the promises of God and complained in the wilderness for 40 years.

They forgot the Lord in the promised land and compromised to serve pagan deities. And in the end, Israel's forgetfulness led them to exile. And this brings us back to the initial question that I asked earlier. Are you remembering the Lord? This may sound simple. But we may sometimes find ourselves in the middle of a church service where our attention is supposed to be on God and his word.

But our minds are easily distracted so that we just mumble our words during praise. And sometimes we just go on autopilot as we listen to the message. And here's a quick test for you. And this is not to shame you. But I want to challenge you with this question.

What was the content of the praise song that we sang before I stood up here to deliver this message? Do you remember? Do you remember? Or did you sing on autopilot? Having forgotten where you are and who you are worshipping? This forgetfulness may seem minor to some of us.

But this inattainment forgetting of why we gather and who the object of our worship is, can become persistently more sinful. Think about how this kind of careless forgetfulness cause problems in our relationships at home and even with our friends. Imagine forgetting a spouse's birthday or wedding anniversary. To all the husbands here, don't do it.

You're playing with fire, you will get burned. And because we know this, what do we do? We set reminders, right? We put it on our calendar so that we don't forget our spouse's birthday. So that we don't forget the anniversaries. And in the same way, we must watch ourselves so that we don't forget the Lord.

We have to set a reminder for ourselves to remember the Lord. Because when we carelessly forget the Lord, this careless attitude toward the Lord, this careless attitude toward our Holy God, will eventually lead us into deliberately forgetting God and what he has done for us. And this is why Moses warned in Deuteronomy chapter four, verse nine, only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life.

The Israelites, they had witnessed the mighty power of God in Egypt. They have front row seat to them. They had experienced God's deliverance at the Red Sea. They had experienced God's provision for them in the wilderness as he sent them manna and quail. But each time they faced a challenge, they had forgotten God, their savior.

They forgot all that they had witnessed, all that they had experienced because of their distresses and the fear of the moment. They have forgotten God. They have forgotten that God was present with them. And they had fear that they were going to be killed by the Egyptians. They had forgotten the promise of God and they grumbled for food and water.

They have forgotten the commandments of God and they stooped themselves to a low level to worship idols, created things rather than the creator. And their persistent forgetfulness brought them to judgment. They were distracted by the needs of their time. They were focused on the issue of the very present and they neglected the foundational truths of their past that God is faithful.

And it's easy for us to point fingers at Israel, right? And harshly criticize them and say, how could they forget God? After all that they've been through, after all that they had witnessed. So we sometimes feel superior to Israel and think we're less likely to forget God, right? But the scripture gives us the same warning not to forget the Lord.

We read in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 6 through 12. "Now these things happened as examples for us so that we will not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters as some of them were. As it were written, the people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play.

Nor let us act immorally as some of them did and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord as some of them did and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example.

And they were written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the ages have come. And here's the caution. "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall." Israel's persistent forgetting of God led them to idolatry. They initially forgot God through carelessness, which led them to disobey the commandments of God.

And you know, when the pagan idols of the people offered them a very quick solution, the quick solutions to their needs, they immediately and deliberately forgot God who had saved them. Who had provided for them. Who had protected them. And if we're not careful, we too can get easily distracted by the demands of our days, by the busyness of our time.

We have to understand that our declining obedience to the commandments of God is an act of forgetting God who has saved us. And when we arbitrarily decide which commandments of the Lord to keep and which we don't keep, I want you to understand that that is a sin of idolatry.

We are making a God in our own image, a God that we can easily and conveniently obey. But I want you to remember the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." And then he goes on to elaborate this in chapter 15 by saying, "Abide in me and I in you." And then he says, "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you." Church, abiding in the words of our Savior is the best way for us to remember him.

And when we abide in Christ and his word, it's going to actually foster love for Christ, that's going to incite obedience to his commandments. Pastor Mark led us in the word last Lord's Day, right, reminding us to delight in the law of the Lord, to meditate on the law of the Lord, to desire it, to rehearse it, to cultivate it.

And the benefits of delighting in the law of the Lord is that it will make us fruitful. That's a big benefit. And so when we delight in the law of the Lord, we're not going to arbitrarily decide which commands to keep and which commands not to keep, right? For example, when we read the words of Jesus who said, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let that man deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." But how many of you are going to stop there and say, "Well, what does deny really mean in the Greek?" Or how many of you are going to sit there and say, "Well, what is the cross?

Is it literal? Is it just personal hardships?" No, the point is, I'm going to deny myself for Christ. I consider myself crucified in Christ so that the life I now live in this flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

When we delight in the law of the Lord, we obey the imperatives in the scripture without complaining. We do not just hear the word, we obey the word. And because scripture commands me to abide in the word of Christ, I will abide in the word of Christ, and I'm not going to make excuses for myself when I'm idle or lazy.

I'm going to call it for what it is. And because scripture commands me not to forsake our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, I'm going to make corporate worship of God number one priority. I will remember my God for all that he is and all that he has done and I'm going to worship him in the gathering of like-minded believers.

Because that is what's commanded. And church, this is a great place to gather to remember God. Right? So why will we forsake this assembly? And then when I continue to obey the commandments of the Lord, I'm going to humbly ask God so that I myself will not stumble, so that I do not forget his commandments, that I ask God humbly to please remind me every day who you are and what you have done.

Remind me of the abundant kindness that you have shown to me. And what is the abundant kindness that has been shown to us? Well, the fullness of God's kindness was revealed to us in his son Jesus. Scripture tells us that God demonstrated his own love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus Christ is the full measure of God's kindness toward us. And having received this abundant kindness, how can we ever forget God? Imagine if you will, and this is very hard for us to imagine. But imagine if you will, if you sacrifice your own child to save a fellow man, a sinner just like us.

How much should that individual be in gratitude towards you and towards your family? But how would it make you feel if that individual forgot the abundant kindness that was shown to him, and he began to live his life in waste? You gave them the most precious gift of all, and they simply forget.

How tragic and insulting would that be? If we could remember what God did for us, our hearts would be filled with gratitude and love for God. And what did he do for us? We're just saying it. Oh, what an amazing grace. Oh, what an amazing mystery. God humbled himself, took on the form of a bondservant, died on a rugged cross so that you and I could live.

And so if we could remind ourselves of what God did for us, our hearts would be filled with gratitude and love for God. And when we have a genuine love for God, obedience to God follows. And so I want to exhort you this morning, as we are seeking to redeem every opportunity this year.

Redeem the opportunity to remember your God. Remember who God is and what he has done for you. And in remembering who God is and what he has done for us, we will have gratitude and love toward God, which will result in our obedience to God. Obedience to God will naturally flow from a heart that loves God.

Because that's what love does. It incites obedience. But at the same time, I caution you to guard your heart from growing cold. Because when we forget God and our love grows cold toward God, it will cause us to disobey. Remember Christ's sacrifice for you. Remember his grace towards you.

Remember his promises to you. And this is going to revive your heart to love God. And when you love God, your love for sin will begin to fade. Not because you have resolved to just close your eyes to the world, break your mind, or blind your eyes to sin.

But because you have reminded yourself that Christ is who you really desire. It is Christ that you want to serve. And so I want to encourage everyone here. Remember God. Do not forget his benefits. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, I want to thank you again for the word that you have given to us.

Lord, we're creatures of habit. We're sinners. And sometimes we forget because we get distracted by the busyness of our own schedule. The busyness of life. But Lord, you do not forget us. And time and time again, you show grace and mercy to us. God, humble us. Help us to remember who you are.

Help us, Lord, to remember what you had done for us. And with great love for you, I pray that we would have a greater hatred towards sin. And for great love for you, I pray that you would incite obedience in our heart. To not just say that you are our Savior and Lord, but to live it out.

And so, Lord, thank you again for the reminder this morning. And we pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's all stand for our closing grace. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. summer filled the earth from everlasting you are god we dwell beneath the stars in ancient skies a thousand years are nothing in your sight from everlasting you are god and all our days are held within your hands your perfect love and favor have no end we rest within the wisdom of your plan everlasting god oh god when joy and tragedy collide and loss reminds us life is but a sigh from everlasting you are god you are god and all our days are held within your hands your perfect love and favor have no we rest within the wisdom of your plan we rest within your plan oh god of light our ways are known to you but by your grace you're making all things new we rest within our numbered days we rest within our numbered days we rest within our numbered days establish every effort while we wait from everlasting you are god you are god and all our days are held within your hands your perfect love and favor have no end we rest within your hands your perfect love and favor have no end we rest within the wisdom of your plan everlasting everlasting and all our days are held within your hands your perfect love and favor have no end we rest within the wisdom of your plan everlasting we rest within the wisdom of your plan everlasting God and god before the mountains were formed from everlasting to everlasting you are god and lord all our ways are known to you you have perfect knowledge of who we are and knowing that help us lord to trust in the wisdom of your plan for us and so lord thank you again and now may the grace of our lord jesus christ may the love of god the father and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with you now and forever amen god sent his son they called him jesus he came to love heal and forgive heal and forgive heal and forgive he lived and died to buy my pardon an empty grave an empty grave is there to prove my savior lives because he lives i can face tomorrow he lives all fear is gone because i know he holds the future he lives and life is worth the living just because he lives oh yes and amen oh yes and amen oh yes and amen

Sunday Service - 1/18/2026

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