Sermon - Remembering and Forgetting God’s Mercy - 1 Samuel 7 - 8 · All The Saints · Radar

How We Forget God1:00 – 4:09

1:00

We all forget, and sometimes we even forget things that are important to us.

1:07

But what if we forgot God? Would we do that? Are we capable of doing that? Have we done it? Surely we think to ourselves, not me, someone else, but not me.

1:30

Yet, we know people that do.

1:34

Sometimes you see it on the news, on the TV, people who used to be Christians, public figures, abandon their faith, now declare no longer a Christian.

1:44

We kind of notice that, that kind of public forgetting of God happens, happens sometimes, tragically.

1:51

But I think more often than that, people that do forget do so, well, kind of quietly, actually.

1:59

Quietly.

2:00

In such a way that maybe the people around them haven't even noticed.

2:04

Like the person you used to go to church with, maybe they stood up the front.

2:11

And life got busy for them, just stopped coming along to church a little bit.

2:17

God kind of faded into the background.

2:19

Maybe they had some questions that weren't resolved properly.

2:23

And just like that, God fades from their life, forgotten like the cricket pitch in the backyard that grows over in autumn.

2:34

I reckon all of us know people like that.

2:37

But still, we rarely think.

2:40

It'll happen to us.

2:43

Yet this slow, quiet forgetting can creep up on us.

2:49

So here's the thing.

2:50

Can that happen to me? And can that happen to you? We think it won't happen to us, but I think that's the thing about it.

2:58

We may not even notice until it's too late.

3:02

It's like forgetting your wallet when you go to a restaurant.

3:04

You can enjoy the dinner, enjoy the company, but it's only when you get to the moment that of paying for the dinner that you realise that you never actually had your wallet all along.

3:14

You forgot and never knew.

3:17

So how does forgetting God happen and how can we avoid it? Well, today I want to think about this with you by giving consideration to the story of God's people from the Old Testament, the nation of Israel, here in 1 Samuel 7 and 1 Samuel 8.

3:33

Because this kind of forgetting God is the situation that Israel finds itself in in 1 Samuel chapter 8.

How We Forget God1:00 – 4:09

1:00

We all forget, and sometimes we even forget things that are important to us.

1:07

But what if we forgot God? Would we do that? Are we capable of doing that? Have we done it? Surely we think to ourselves, not me, someone else, but not me.

1:30

Yet, we know people that do.

1:34

Sometimes you see it on the news, on the TV, people who used to be Christians, public figures, abandon their faith, now declare no longer a Christian.

1:44

We kind of notice that, that kind of public forgetting of God happens, happens sometimes, tragically.

1:51

But I think more often than that, people that do forget do so, well, kind of quietly, actually.

1:59

Quietly.

2:00

In such a way that maybe the people around them haven't even noticed.

2:04

Like the person you used to go to church with, maybe they stood up the front.

2:11

And life got busy for them, just stopped coming along to church a little bit.

2:17

God kind of faded into the background.

2:19

Maybe they had some questions that weren't resolved properly.

2:23

And just like that, God fades from their life, forgotten like the cricket pitch in the backyard that grows over in autumn.

2:34

I reckon all of us know people like that.

2:37

But still, we rarely think.

2:40

It'll happen to us.

2:43

Yet this slow, quiet forgetting can creep up on us.

2:49

So here's the thing.

2:50

Can that happen to me? And can that happen to you? We think it won't happen to us, but I think that's the thing about it.

2:58

We may not even notice until it's too late.

3:02

It's like forgetting your wallet when you go to a restaurant.

3:04

You can enjoy the dinner, enjoy the company, but it's only when you get to the moment that of paying for the dinner that you realise that you never actually had your wallet all along.

3:14

You forgot and never knew.

3:17

So how does forgetting God happen and how can we avoid it? Well, today I want to think about this with you by giving consideration to the story of God's people from the Old Testament, the nation of Israel, here in 1 Samuel 7 and 1 Samuel 8.

3:33

Because this kind of forgetting God is the situation that Israel finds itself in in 1 Samuel chapter 8.