How Soon We Forget

Larry C. Brincefield

larkayb@earthlink.net

Sunday Morning, February 23, 2003

Monthly Theme: Revival

Title: "How Soon We Forget"

Text: Psalm 106:10-13

Introduction

It’s been 1 1/2 years since the World Trade Center & the Pentagon were attacked by terrorists.

in the weeks and months following the attack...

there seemed to be a new-found interest in religion...

there seemed to be a new-found interest in the church...

church attendance was up...

the song, "God Bless America" was song all across the country and around the world, including being sung by a choir of the members of Congress.

People were turning to God for help, and peace and comfort during a very difficult time in our lives.

But now, 18 months later, much has changed...

Statistics indicate that church attendance has returned to pre-9/11 levels...

According to a recent poll, the influence of religion in America has decreased significantly

a year ago, only 24% of those polled thought religion’s influence was decreasing...

1 year later, 51% feel that religion’s influence has decreased.

(some of the info above I used from an Editorial in "Pulpit Helps" by Bob Dasal)

Some people might point their finger at the Church,

and say that we didn’t "strike while the iron was hot"...

they might say that we "dropped the ball"

But, I would be more inclined to use another saying, "How soon we forget"

The same thing happens in individuals all the time...It goes like this:

1. A person will go through a very difficult thing in his/her life...

2. That person will turn to the church and to the Lord for comfort and help...

3. After the difficult situation has gotten better (many times, because of the intervention of the Lord and people of the church in prayer and support)

4. That person’s renewed interest begins to wane...

and before you know it, they are no longer interested at all.

How soon we forget.

1 month ago, we kicked off our theme for February...

the theme of revival...

we have enjoyed a wonderful time of spiritual blessing...

many people have received spiritual help during the past month, I know I have.

But next month, we will kick off a new theme...

Next month, more time will have elapsed...

and the danger is that our memory will begin to fade.

We know that the danger is real...

we see it happen all the time...

it even happened in our text...

Read Text: Psalm 106:10-13

Body

1. How Soon We Forget

It happened for the Children of Israel.

They were living in bondage...

They were slaves to Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

Their lives were miserable.

They were mistreated...

many of them died.

But then God intervened in a miraculous way...

The Children of Israel were set free...

They were walking away from their slave masters,

but suddenly, the Pharaoh changed his mind.

and a great Egyptian army was coming upon the Children of Israel hot and heavy.

They thought the situation was hopeless...

But then God came in a special way...

He parted the Red Sea,

the Children of Israel walked across on dry ground...

and when the Egyptian army tried to cross,

the waters came crashing back down.

and the Children of Israel had made their escape!

Our text says,

"Then they believed his promises

then, they sang his praise." Psalms 106:12 (NIV)

There came a point when their situation was desperate...

Exodus 14:10 says, "As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD.

and God answered!

He provided a miraculous deliverance!

So the people suddenly "got religion"

They said, "This ’God’ Thing is pretty cool"

Well, that’s not quite they way they put it...but it amounts to the same thing.

Exodus 14:31 says, "And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him"

The people got excited about the Lord.

They suddenly began to really have faith in Him.

They began to praise the Lord

In fact, almost the whole chapter of Exodus 15 is a song of praise to God.

You woulda thought revival had broken out!!

2. How soon we forget

How long do you think that spiritual high lasted?

How long do you think that the praise continued to be on the lips of the people?

How long do you think the people kept their faith in God--before it began to waver?

How long?

5 years?

1 year?

1 month?

Do you think it lasted 1 week?

Try 3 days!

Exodus 15:22 tells us that "For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water"

So the people began to grumble...

they began to complain...

they began to whine...

Now, you might be telling yourself, "Pastor, you’re being awfully hard on them...how would you feel, going without water for 3 days"?