DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER
Psalm 106:7-25
ILL-A husband was in big trouble for forgetting his wife’s birthday. His wife told him "Tomorrow there better be something in the driveway for me that goes from 0 to 200 in 2 seconds flat"
The next morning the wife found a small package in the driveway. She opened it to find a brand new set of scales.
The husband’s funeral has been set for Saturday.
Have you ever forgotten something? Birthday’s, anniversaries, or an important appointment? It’s so easy to forget. It happened often to God’s people. In the book of Judges there is a cycle that is repeated many times. Forgetting God; calamity; remembering God; deliverance; & forgetting God again.
The psalmist describes for us what happened to the Children of Israel & the sin they committed in forgetting God. But before we are too hard on them we should take careful examination of our own lives as well. Have we ever been guilty of forgetting what God has done for us? Usually we forget God after a tremendous blessing. Do you want to know when we forget God the most? After great spiritual blessings. After revival. During revival- prayer support is up; giving is increased, participation is at an all time high; the singing is superb; we’re all praying around the altar; we’re on time... It’s easy to remember God when things are going good. But will we forget God?
I. Don’t Forget to Remember God’s POWER. Vs. 7
A. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt.
They saw what God did for them in Egypt; they saw the miraculous plagues. These were not only for the destruction of their enemies, & for their deliverance from them; but that they were proofs of the power of God, & of His being the one only & true God, in opposition to the idols of the Egyptians; & that He only ought to worshipped, & trusted in.
B. They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies.
The sin of not understanding leads on to the sin of the memory. What is not understood will soon be forgotten. Men feel little interest in preserving husks; if they know nothing of the inner kernel.
C. But provoked Him at the sea, even; at the Red sea.
Israel is hardly out of Egypt, & yet she begins to provoke the Lord by doubting His power to deliver. They provoked him by their language to Moses; Ex. 14:11, ...because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?
APPLICATION: Many Christians go through this same pattern. They are freed from the bondage of Egypt; (Salvation) & they expect everything to be perfect in their lives but we all have a cross to bear & we all come up against a “Red Sea.” Being freed from sin does not guarantee a life of ease. Heartaches come; troubles come; tough times come. But God had a plan in all that the Children of Israel faced. & in all of our difficulties, there’s a plan for us as well… Don’t forget to remember His power to see you through your problems.
Remember that He has delivered you. Ps 40:2, He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, & set my feet upon a rock, & established my goings.
Every now & then I try to remember what it was like before He lifted me out the miry pit. It causes me to rejoice at what God has done for me. When you start rejoicing because your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, everything else that is bothering you seems insignificant. It gives you a new perspective & just transforms your thinking, your attitude, your behavior. Don’t forget to remember God’s power.
II. Don’t Forget to Remember God’s PROVISION. Vs. 12-14
When they saw the Egyptians dead on the sea shore, they believed the Lord. Then they began to sing. The song is recorded Exodus 15:1. But the echo of the song barely ceased when they forgot God’s provision. The miracles He wrought in Egypt, the deliverance & the leading them through the Red sea & destroying all their enemies; all these they forgot, for they had gone but 3 days’ journey into the wilderness before they began to murmur & forget the provision God. They needed water...but instead calling on God to provide it for them they complained. Later on they complained about the manna & even said the loathed it.
Complainers Always Find Something To Complain About!
Grumbling is gratitude problem. Grumbling comes as a response to pain or problems in life. We grumble because we think that we should experience pleasure rather than pain & prosperity rather than adversity. Whenever we are tempted to murmur & complain we need to review the past and remember how the LORD has blessed us!
Grumbling is a contagious problem. Vs. 2, “Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained…” What had begun with only a few now had contaminated the whole congregation.
Complainers Are Always Looking For Someone To Blame! They accused Moses of leading them into the wilderness to kill them. They thought that they were only venting their frustrations on a man like themselves, but in reality they were grumbling against God.
Complainers Are Never Satisfied With What They Are Given. i.e. Manna, quail…
Ever been there? God saw you through a hard time. He performed a literal miracle in your life, but you find yourself when to going gets tough you began to forget all that God has done for you.
III. Don’t Forget to Remember God’s PROMISE. Vs.24, …they believed not His word.
In Deuteronomy 5:15 Moses said to the children of Israel, "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt & that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand & an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."
De 6:23, & He brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He sware unto our fathers.
Now, Moses knew a little of what lay ahead for these people. He knew there would be days of discouragement; when they wondered what in the world was happening to them. So, he wanted them to remember what God had done for them.
But they didn’t listen. Not only did they forget the works of God Vs. 13, but forgot God that did those mighty works when they said of the molten image, "these are thy gods, O Israel" which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. They forgot that it was God, who was leading them; guiding them; that had promised them a land flowing w/milk & honey.
APPLICATION: Ever seen a fidgety kid in church? Restless…can’t sit still…constantly moving…
Many of us are restless today like child who has such a difficult time sitting still during church on a sleepy Sunday morning. One of our greatest challenges is sitting still, waiting on God’s will & the fulfillment of His promises. Discouragement in the dull, mundane, daily details of life overcomes us like a cloud. We are distracted by more exciting things, & we continually wish we were somewhere else, doing something else. Despite our steadfast faith in God & our confidence that He has our lives in control, we become more & more restless, wondering when these promises will come to pass, worrying & analyzing, doubting our choices, & questioning whether or not we are in God’s will. It becomes increasingly hard for us to sit still, resting in God’s promises & His perfect plan.
• How to Believe His Promises:
Know that God wrote every promise w/you in mind..
Jer 33:3, "Call unto me, & I will answer thee, & shew thee great & mighty things, which thou knowest not." Peter said that the Lord gave us exceeding great & precious promises...He desires for us to believe them!
Reject every thought that would cause you doubt the promises of God. Once we doubt, then we forget.
Pro 3:5-6, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; & lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, & He shall direct thy paths."
Trusting with all our hearts leaves no room for doubting the promises of God.
Realize that God is able to do even more than He has promised. God’s promises are the beginning, not the end!
Ep 3:20, "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"
Memorize God’s promises. Ps 119:11, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." We can’t stand on the promises if we don’t know what they are!
Put God’s promises into practice in your personal life. Jas 2:17, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
