Remember

This message is a reflection on love, forgetfulness, and God's unchanging nature. Rick delves into the forgetfulness that can cloud our understanding of God and ourselves, referencing Genesis 3 (YLT), where Eve states, “The serpent has caused me to forget.” This forgetfulness isn't just a distant issue: it's something that can cause feelings of shame and fear. Rick reminds us that we often forget our identity as beloved children of God. 

Rick passionately conveys that despite our forgetfulness, God never forgets us. He cites Isaiah 49:15-16, where God promises, “I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” This engraving signifies a permanent reminder of our value and identity in God’s eyes. Rick's message is clear: our worth is not diminished by our actions or our forgetfulness.

Rick concludes by inviting all to embrace the good news—the reminder that we are loved, valued, and never forgotten. He encourages listeners to believe in this truth, as it transforms our understanding and experience of God's love.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

And if you don't know me, my name is Rick. I'm one of the teachers here at Grace Church. And if you don't know me, I'd love to get to know you after church here today. But it's good to be here. And uh it's a beautiful Sunday. And I'm happy this morning. And one of the things I'm happy about is that I get to when I woke up, I thought I get to say some good things about God today. And that that's just that's just so fun to me. And it's just thrilled that I'm really blessed that I I get to do that and it's it's my livelihood. And you know, we're it's good to be here. We were here last two week and we got to hear our guest speaker Tullyan, and I thought it was masterful. I thought I really enjoyed it. Uh the man can craft a sermon and uh he took us took us on a nice ride, and I I I I enjoyed it. I loved it. But you know, Judy and I, we don't get to be here all the time. If any of you wonder why we're not here all the time, because part of our job is to travel and say good things about God, and we're blessed to do that. And but it's wonderful to be home. Uh on the way here, Judy said, How did you say it? Where what are you most grateful to God about today, right now? And when she said that, that three things came to my mind right at the same time. And so I told her, I said, Well, one is that came to mind, and of course, if you give me some time, I could think of so many more, but the three that immediately come to mind is I'm really glad that told Judy that he he let us find each other, and I'm very much enjoying this whole thing day by day by day. And then after that thought, I thought, I'm really glad that we got to find each other too. I really enjoy the fellowship here. But I said another thing is the day was beautiful as we were driving, and well, I was driving, she wasn't, as I was driving, and Judy was writing, and the day was the sky was so beautiful, and I said, I just am grateful that God is who he is, that he is his mind is so beautiful that he would do all of this. Just think what he thinks about us. And the other thing was, and this one touched my heart, and as as I'm I'm thankful, I was kind of looking at my life and I said, I'm thankful that I have learned so much about love and life and about him and about me, and just the the things that I have learned, not that as as the Apostle Paul said, not that I have arrived, I've got a long way to go, and that's exciting that there's a lot so much to learn. But I'm thankful that in this life experience I've had, I have learned so much about love and the things that pertain to it. I'm very, very grateful. And I want to get into something this morning that hopefully we'll learn something or maybe be enlightened to or maybe see more clearly, that that there was something that actually Clark was was speaking about. And this kind of this kind of goes along with that with that. And and he was, you know, uh exposing the the idea of how depraved we are. And I like to say, you know, sometimes I'll say, you know, any of you that ever had a baby or held a baby in your in your arms, your child or your grandchild or or someone, you uh we we never look at that that beautiful thing and say, you know, I know you're you really look cute, but I really know that you are so ex-your exceedingly wicked and abundantly evil, and you're depraved, and and you really deserve eternal torment. But you know, you know, so it's it's it's not like this. So what what is it? Let's look at it and talk about it. Let's go ahead and jump right into this here. In Genesis 3.13. This is the verse that I want us uh to look at. And Clark mentioned this, and it was, and it's and it's from the Young's Literal Translation, and it says it this way. It says that God said to the woman, What have you done? And the woman said, The serpent has caused me to forget, and I do eat. Now we know that most traditional translations will use words like, uh, has deceived me, the serpent deceived me, or beguiled me, uh, or seduced me. And and that's all that that all means the same thing. But the word is nasha, and and while it does mean that it is used to say those things, it gets into how that deception actually works. She said, He made me forget. And it's interesting when you look up the word, even though it's used for deceive and and beguile and seduce, and the literal meaning of Nasha is to land on credit, to lend, to lend with interest or to be a creditor. So it's almost like she could say, Well, the serpent put me in debt. The serpent gave me something where I owed something. If you'll do this, you'll be be like God. Already made in the likeness and image of God, but if you'll do this, that's when you'll be like God. Anyway, said the serpent caused me to forget. And you think, forget what? Well, for one thing, we see clearly they forgot who God was. If they could be with God naked and not ashamed, and then suddenly they're with God, and then they are ashamed. They they must have forgot something about God. The serpent made me forget. The serpent made me forget how good you are. The serpent made me forget your how how how how how loving and how embracing that you were. The serpent made me forget, and now we're ashamed and we're afraid. Also, certainly made me forget who I am. How how how woman, what have you done? You're already, I made you in my likeness and in my image. Why would you go do something to try to become in my likeness and in my image? And what she says, I forgot, I forgot. And you say, Is that are you are you sure that's that's kind of how how it goes? Well, this is something that's true from day to day, even today. We can go to the New Testament in 1 Peter chapter 5, and he starts listing these essentially the fruits of the Spirit. He says in verse 5, he says, uh, so devote yourselves to lavishly supplementing your faith with goodness, and to goodness add understanding, and to understanding add the strength of self-control, and to self-control, add patient endurance, and to patient endurance, add godliness. Sounds like the fruit of the spirit, and to godliness, add mercy toward your brothers and sisters, and to mercy toward others, add unending love. All these virtues that we have by the Spirit. And I love how he says it in verse 8. He said, This is really good. Since these virtues are already planted deep within, and this is what I like to say about you, Judy wrote a book called Fresh Fruit of the Spirit. And a lot of times people, when they look at that, they think, How many books on the fruit of the spirit are there? There's, you can't count them. There are so many have been written over the years in the Christian world. But I think hers is different because she says it this way is that these virtues are not something that you're trying to create and you're trying to produce, or you're, or you're, you're asking God for the for these fruit. God, give me patience, God give me this, give me, give me under, give me goodness, give me, give me love, brings out the truth, like Peter is saying here, and saying, these virtues are already planted deep within you. Isn't that good news? That means you've got access. That means it's not out there. That means you're not waiting for God to give it to you. Now, it takes some insight, some revelation to be able to receive from what we have within. Jesus called it like drinking from a river of living water, that it would be a fountain springing up unto eternal life. And then what his spirit wants to show us and teach us directs us to that which we already have. Adam and Eve already had something. And if we have all these virtues, if we have agape love, if we have godly patience, if we have this peace, if we have this goodness, and we have these things, but sometimes we act in a way that's totally not like this, not quite so patient, not quite so good, not quite so loving. What does that say about us? Well, let's keep reading some more. Since these virtues already are planted deep within, and you possess them in abundant supply, that's good news. You are complete in him and me too. He says, They will keep you from being inactive or fruitless in your pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately. Now that's good news. But if anybody lacks these things, those are beautiful virtues, Rick, but I must confess, I'm not so good at this love walk here. I want to, I'm trying. Man, I keep failing at this love thing. Patience, and I've been talking to God about that for 40 years. Still asking him to give me patience. Yeah. One of you raised your hand, and more of you probably could, right? So what's wrong with me then? If I already have these things. And I've been to church and I've been I've been learning stuff, and well, how come I still feel like these things are not abounding? And how come they're not lacking? And he says, verse 9, but if anybody lacks these things, I know it sounds bad at first, but it gets good. If anybody lacks these things, he's blind, can't see, constantly closing his eyes to the mysteries of our faith, can't see. Not seeing. And forgetting his innocence. I forgot, Lord. The serpent caused me to forget. Forgot what? I forgot how good you were, I forgot how loved I am. I forgot your capacity for loving me. I forgot that I'm already safe. I don't have to worry about that. I forgot. The serpent caused me to forget. I like how Peter says it here in this translation. He says, And you forgot your innocence, forgot that you're his child, forgot how wonderfully loved you are, forgot how safe you are, forgot so much because your past sins have been washed away. So the forgetting isn't something that just happened a long time ago. It can happen any time, any day. And he just forgot. So that's why it's good to know and to grow in the truth, because the truth will make you free. Good to know the good news, good to know the gospel. What's the good news? The good news will remind you or tell you how good God is, because it's called good news. He'll tell you how good his love is for you and how big it is, and how endless it is, and all those big, wonderful things that are mysterious but beautiful to us. And we remember those as we remember the truth that makes us free. Now, if we hear something contrary to any of that, it will make you forget, though you already are this thing, this child of God, though you already possess all these wonderful things, and you don't have to go chasing after them. But if you forget, then we'll do like Eve, who went chasing after it. So we are complete in Him, and we are perfect in Christ. And all those things that the Bible says about it is not just a mind game, not just some legality, some hair, where it's truth of who we are. And as we grow in the truth, I love that Jesus said, you'll know the truth. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. You will be at liberty, and peace will abound in your life because of that freedom. And patience will be more of a uh trying to think of a better word, but I almost automatic. It's a it'll be an organic part of your experience where you find yourself having more patience and all that. Why? Because you're remembering things. You're remembering. Not only are we talking about us remembering something, but aren't you glad God never forgets and hasn't ever forgotten? In fact, isn't that why God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son? That means he never stopped loving. Before he gave, he already was loving. He didn't start loving us after Jesus did his work and made us acceptable enough to be loved, right? God already loved us. Paul said it this way, while we were yet sinners, doing all that stuff, living all that stuff, thinking it all wrong, and being lost. While we were yet like that, Christ died for the ungodly because the Father gave the Son, because he loved us so much. And when Paul says that is he's telling us, like, if you're having a problem with how much he loves you now, remember how much he loved you then. Why, because he never forgot. Psalm uh Isaiah 49, verse 15, gives us a good picture of that. God's speaking here through the prophet. He says, Can a woman forget her nursing child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? So he compares all. He says, Look at a mama. Says, Does does she does she ever forget? Does she ever stop loving her child? And then he goes on, he says, Well, even if she does, I won't. He says, Well, surely she may forget, but yet I will not forget you. I will not forget you, because maybe humankind forgot. God never forgot. And he and and he says, verse 16, see, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands. So some of your Bibles will actually use have the word engraved, or you are graven or engraved on the palms of my hands. And that word for inscribed is the Hebrew word kakak, and it means literally to cut in, to hack, to engrave. And the implication is of a law that has been cut in stone. It cannot be changed. It is actually used in situations to appoint something or to decree something that it is perpetually so. So he said, You've been you've been engraved in my hands. He's telling, he says, You can I can't forget you. I've never forgot who you are because you did a bunch of ugly stuff, didn't make me think that you were worthless. For God so loved the world that he gave his son. You've always been engraved in my hand. Man can make up all these things, man can say all these things, man can say, well, God thinks this, and God's mad at this, and God hates that, and that, and and sure, he can hate things, but he never hated you. He never forgot who you are. If you ever have somebody that you cared about a lot and they do something very ugly, and you, of course, you don't like what they did, but if you can remember who they are, you can have love and compassion still. So the fact that God is saying, I never forgot who you were. You've been engraved in my hand, that means our value has never changed. I like to share the story. To me, they make so much sense when Jesus shared the story when he's sitting with sinners, and these church leaders don't understand why he would give so much attention to these people that are doing these things. And he says, Well, let me tell you something. Let me tell you a little story here to help you understand why I do that. Let me tell you something to help you understand God a little better. He said, if a woman has ten coins and she loses one, she'll do whatever it takes, sweep the whole house until she finds a thing. Why? Because the coin has value. If it lost its value just because it got lost, then there's no reason to look for it. If the coin turns into a button or a turd or turns into something dung like, if it turns into something else that's bad. I know. You know what I just thought of in my brain? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Oh my goodness. But if that coin turned into something invaluable or worthless, she doesn't go looking for it. And Jesus said, I came looking, I came to seek and save that which was lost. What was lost, that what was lost was what was lost when we forgot, when we forget everything. Most importantly, forgot who God was and forgot who we are. And you know what we're doing now? And so we have all these thoughts about God. I'm so glad God spoke this in Jeremiah 29. It's almost like he's answering all these wrong thoughts about himself, because he says, Well, I know the thoughts I have toward you. You're all saying God wants to do this and God's that, and oh, God wants to do this to the He's like, Well, you can say what you want, but I know the thoughts that I have toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of good and not of evil. My thoughts, my purpose, mankind, my precious children, my creation, is to give you a hope and a future, an expected end, an eternal purpose that I've had in my heart and engraved in my hand from the foundation of the world. Love, that kind of love. But he says, you know, the shepherd has a hundred sheep, one gets lost. What's he do? Puts all his attention on that lost. He wants that lost one back. Why? Because the sheep didn't turn into a snake. The sheep didn't turn into something that's worthless. It still had value. You see the point here? Jesus is teaching us the value of mankind in the heart of God. Something that God has never once forgotten. And yes, there's been evil done, and there's been horrible, horrible horrors that we see in mankind, but God won't forget. Never has. In other words, our value has never ever changed. And the biggest proof of that is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever would believe in him would not perish, but would have everlasting life. And Jesus described it as a fountain springing up within you. People ask about the believing. Someone was asking us yesterday about, but don't you have to believe? To to experience it, it's what what we believe is what we experience it. God loved me all the time, but I didn't experience that love. I didn't feel the love. I didn't f I didn't feel loved. I didn't live loved until I believed that he did. Did he start loving me that day because I believed? He already loved me. But when I believed it, then I could receive or experience and benefit from it. That's why he wants us all to believe. This is why we preach the good news. We want everybody to believe the good news. We want to speak words of the Spirit, spiritual truth, where the Spirit can, as Jesus said, bring back to your remembrance the things that he has said. So without doing the voice impressions, I'll try not to, just briefly, I want to bring up the story of Simba the Lion King. And one point that I don't normally focus on, that's really big, is that at the point when Rafiki comes to remind him who he is, because he shows up saying, You don't know who you are. Okay. You don't know who you are there. Okay. And so he helps him, directs him to remember, and he looks in the pool and all that. But there's the point where he looks in the in the sky and these clouds come rolling in, and he sees his father's image and he hears the voice of his father. And his father says, Simba, you have forgotten me. And Simba says, I haven't forgotten you. And he says, But when you forgot who you are, you forgot me. And then his dad says, Remember who you are. You are my son. Remember. And something happens inside. It will be like a spring springing up unto eternal life. Something happened inside Simba that changed him. Second Corinthians 3. It's like we behold the glory of the Lord and we are transformed. Because it's like looking in a mirror. For as he is, so are we now in this world. 1 John 4, 17. You are my son. And he's looking at his father and like, I am the son of this one. That's true. I know that's true. Deep down inside me, though I forgot. And I've been living like a warthog and a mere cat, and I've been doing all these things and living, and he seems so far from me. He lives in me. I am his son. Any of y'all ever see the Broadway production of the Lion King? What they bring out in that point is Simba's like he's like, like, Father, you said you'd always be there, but I'm all alone. And and the choir's behind going, He lives in you. And it starts breaking getting stronger and crescendoing. And and I'm sitting back there crying, because I'm in I'm in church now, could watching the Lion King. And you would too, some of you, right? He lives in you. And something happens inside you. And he starts running to the place that he belongs. And his friends are like, What's what's happening? What's he doing? And Rafiki's saying, He remembers! He remembers. So, human beings, we forgot. We got beguiled, got deceived, got put in debt that we didn't have to get into. We borrowed money when we already had money. We forgot. Why'd you borrow the money, Eve? I forgot how rich I was. I thought I was broke. I forgot. Remember. Doesn't this doesn't that this sound something like what happened when Jesus came out of the Jordan River? This is my son. Father testifying, this is my son. This is the son that I love. This is my beloved son, and I'm well pleased. And I like to point out that he has then he goes, watch this. This is my son, in whom I am well pleased. And and what happens in his in this in the story of Jesus immediately after that? You know your Bibles well. What happens after that? Immediately, then he's drawn by the Spirit to be tested in the desert by the devil. Right? This is my son, whom I'm well pleased. He goes into the desert to be tested by the devil. What was the test? If you're the son of God, if you're the son of God, if you're the son of God, well the testimony said you are. You're graven in my hand. This is the truth. Well, if it's true, then do this, do that, the other. Why didn't he do it? He didn't do it because it was true already. And he didn't forget. The last Adam did not forget. Huh? When you read that in the book of Luke, how many of you have ever noticed this? And I'd really like a like just wave your hand if you've noticed this. Jesus comes out of the river, this is my son. He goes to the desert. Are you really his son? In the book of Luke, right shoved right in between those things. Luke has Jesus coming out of the water, this is my son. And then Then the next thing he says, now Jesus starts giving the genealogy of Jesus, tracing his bloodline all the way down, down through David, Abraham, Noah, gets way down to the bottom there, and Canaan was the son of Enosh, and Enosh was the son of Seth, and Seth was the son of Adam. And verse 38 says, and Adam was the son of God. First of all, how many know it actually said that? Because it's true. How many ever noticed that Luke puts that issue of Adam being a son of God, the son of God, right between Jesus is my son, says the Father, and the test of if you are really God's son? And right in the middle of that, Luke puts Adam was God's son. Now he wasn't Jesus, he didn't have to be, but he came forth from God. Who else? Where did he come from? Who else brought Adam into the world? God did, in his likeness and in his image. For let everything produce after its own kind. Mankind, the human, that God formed, his body out of the dust, the human was God's child. Came from God. God had himself in that child breathed into him the breath of life. Adam was God's child. Why did you go do that? Why did you disobey me? I forgot, Daddy. Sorry, I forgot. Well, that forgetting is gonna make it hard. And it has. God never forgot. The begotten Son Jesus did not forget. The begotten Son, Jesus, came to seek and save that which was lost. You know what else? We could say what else was lost? Our memory, right? So we have the son, Adam the Son, Jesus the Son. A restoration is happening here. Something that was lost is coming back because of Jesus. And this is what's happening in your personal growth. Something that was lost is coming back. How many feel that? How many experience that? How many can see more clearly because of Jesus? Who is the expressed image of the Father, and you were created in that image. He shows you who the Father is, he shows you who we is. That's why we when we look at when the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is removed, and we behold the glory of the Lord, and it's like looking in a mirror, and we remember, just like Simba. Hallelujah. Psalms chapter 2, verse 7. This is from this revelation. We speak just like this. I will declare the decree. The Lord has said to me, You're my son, this day I have begotten thee. That stuff that used to work against me doesn't work anymore because I know I remember who I am. And because I remember who I really am, I don't act like so much like what I thought I was. But if I ever do, you'll know why. I forgot. That's why I acted like that yesterday. I forgot. But how many have noticed that as you grow, you can you start catching it quicker and you remember quicker? It's not me. You know why? What's good? What happens? Because what you find out is that your heart believes these things. Have you ever read it that read the scripture this way? Romans 8, Paul writes and he says, For with the heart man believes. And we turn that whole thing into a formula for getting in the club. For with the heart man believes, and with the mouth confession is made. And I won't get into it, I don't have time, but you can actually, that thing can be read to actually to show you that it what he was talking about was the proof of this salvation that we have. The fact that your heart believes it and your mouth is speaking these things. He's saying, Isn't this proof that shows your s your soteria? Sometimes in our translations we have these these these these there's a lot of future tenses that don't necessarily have to be there, like you shall be or you will be. And if you look that up, that's nowhere in there. It's just kind of assumed, you know, because it can be anything. They don't, they don't, they don't show that in the Hebrew language. It's you so you know, you can just say you're saved, or you were saved, or you will be saved, and they just put in whatever makes sense to them. But anyway, my point is that it says that with the heart man believes. And in your heart, you know this is true because, like in Elihu said in the Old Testament in the book of Job, there is a spirit in man. This is Old Testament before Jesus came, way, way back. Book of Job's like the oldest thing that we got. There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding. He says, Because I was so young, I thought I'd let all you older men speak, but y'all aren't making any sense. And I thought, I got I'll just hold myself. And he says, But I can't stand it anymore. And he says, and I know that I'm younger than you guys, and I know you think that I don't know anything, but there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding. So here's what I'm telling you. And he brings forth wisdom that breaks the whole thing into righteousness. So with deep within you, at the core of who you are, maybe you forgot it. But at the core of who you are, in the inner man, hidden man of the heart, the inner man, the heart, the spirit, the holy of holies is what it is, where God Himself dwells in this temple that we call man, there's the heart of truth. There's the heart that believes you know these things. If we struggle, it's because we got a head that's struggling. Because your heart knows the truth. Often long before the head ever catches up. So often we have a fill a pool because the heart is trying to tell us something, but our head's trying to prove it through scripture. So we develop a doctrine, and then somebody else has a different doctrine, and you know how that goes. But if the human starts getting in touch and paying attention to that still small voice that's saying, Remember, I love you. Just remember, I love you, and it'll be all right. Song I'm thinking of. Because within you, you precious, beautiful child of God, is the holy of holies, the most holy place where God dwells. Know ye not that not that, but you are the temple, and God dwelleth in you? What's the mystery that we didn't know we forgot? It's been veiled, it's been covered up, it's been hidden. Through the ages, Christ in you has always been our hope of glory. And the glory is here, the glory can be seen, the goodness of God can be seen and embraced and experienced and love and joy and patience and goodness and faith springing up in our souls, and mankind is being healed by the truth that makes us free. In Christ the veil is removed, and we look in the mirror and we're changed. A couple of verses as I close. Now confirm this that you know, if you since you since your heart knows it, but your head says, Give me proof beyond this. After a while you get to where you know. But 1 John 2 20 says this But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. That that ever confuse you. That's a pretty verse, but I don't know hard hardly anything. Not in here, you might not. In here you gather facts from the senses. One of my greatest desires at this point in my experience, I want to see Christianity start to become spiritual. Where we tap in, listen, pay attention. Just like right now, you can you can you can think about and move the big toe on your right foot, because you're connecting with it right now if you would do that. Do that with the inner man, their spirit, for the inspiration or the inspirating of the Almighty is what gives us the understanding. It's not because we got it all figured up out of the book. And I love the book, because I love taking I love getting these verses and verifying it and making it legal for people so they can have the freedom to go ahead and listen to what their spirit's been trying to say them, say to them. And finally, 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 16. Here's one that maybe that gave you. But but we have the mind of Christ. I wish I did. I'm praying that I get that. What you're praying for is for this to come into alignment with the mind of Christ that's within you that you have. It's a part of you, just like your big toe on your right foot is because you were made for this. You were made like this. It's a part of who we are. Well, why aren't we acting like we forgot? Does this answer some questions? We forgot. That's why. Growth in the truth is simply remembering. In fact, there are teachings out there that believe, philosophies out there that believe that our gaining of truth is simply remembering what we once knew. But that's for another day. Would y'all stand up? Do we have any children of God here? Anybody loved by God in this place? Anybody remembering right now how good God is?

unknown 30:37

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

I love you guys. I hope this was a blessing for you. Father, I thank you for the inspiration that dwells within these temples. I thank you, Father, for the Spirit of God who's able to enlighten us, to open our eyes, to see and heal our broken hearts from the inside out. We will rejoice today, for God is with us, within us, around us, before us, behind us, and all about us. He is for us. You are with us, and we give you thanks today. And I call everyone here blessed in Jesus' name. And that same life and spirit that raised Christ from the dead that dwells within us, let it quicken mortal bodies today. If it's hurting, let it be well in the name of Jesus. If it's if it's sick, let it be healed. If it's broken, let it become mended. And we thank you, Father, for your working in all things in people's lives. Loved ones that we are concerned about. We thank you that your life is all in that whole situation and it's working, and we can have peace and confidence and trust in you. We give you thanks in the name of Jesus. Amen. God bless you guys. Have a great day.