Dr. Ron Sumners
April 26, 2009
In every church there are people who are listed on the church roll, but they have not attended in years. Some were even very active at one time and were considered to be “pillars” of the church.
What happened? Why did they quit? If you ask them, they might site various reasons: “We didn’t like the preacher”, “We got burned out”, “I was in the hospital for outpatient surgery and no one from the church came to visit” (Those who use this excuse almost never remember that they didn’t tell anyone about the surgery). These responses, and many like them, are not the real reason that Christians quit!
Psalm 78 tells a story that illustrates the things that happen to people that lead them to quit. This Psalm seems to have been written about the jealousy of the tribe of Ephraim toward the tribe of Judah. Judah grew to prominence during the reign of David. David was from the tribe of Judah, as was Jesus centuries later. For many years the haughty and powerful tribe of Ephraim was pre-eminent among all the tribes. The tabernacle was placed at Shiloh, which was in the territory of Ephraim.
When David selected Jerusalem as the home of the tabernacle and the capitol of the nation, Ephraim became filled with anger and jealousy. In this Psalm, they are taught that what they thought was Judah taking their place and usurping their authority was God’s plan. And the tribes are warned not to rebel against it.
The Psalm opens with a summons of the people to attention. The writer speaks as one who has been given the right to be heard with respectful attention, and who is about to make statements that they must hear. The Psalmist regarded these historical facts as illustrations of spiritual realities and relationships.
This Psalm illustrates the great goodness of God, in His care of His people and in His guidance of them. It illustrates the abiding faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promises and His warnings, as well. It illustrates the sad tendency of human nature to ingratitude and abandonment. It is a painful history of the nation of Israel, and also of the Christian Church.
Throughout this Psalm we also get the answer to the question, “Why do Christians quit?” Obviously, the answer is not with the Lord but with the Christian. Is the Lord powerful enough to keep us going? Certainly, He is! Does He give us all the provisions that we need? Yes, He does.
Then why do Christians quit? Christians quit when they take their eyes off of the Lord. It’s not that the task is overwhelming or the Christian is weak, God shines in such odds. The problem is that the Christian, for one reason or another, does not have his eyes on the Lord, consequently he does not have God’s power. We must keep our eyes on the Lord or else we will fail. This Psalm gives us several reasons why we take our eyes off the Lord, get discouraged and then quit.
A lack of total commitment
Verse 9 tells us that the men of Ephraim, though armed heavily, turned back in the day of battle. They were equipped for the battle but their heart was not in it. A lot of Christians think they are committed until the battle gets hot. They find that they weren’t so committed after all. Total dedication to the Lord means that we will not give up just because of persecution, opposition or difficulty. How many members of Baptist churches have bailed out when there was controversy or difficulty in the fellowship? Christians quit when they take their eyes off the Lord. For when they do, they can see no solution to present situations. They can see only the difficulty and not the victory. Their commitment dissolves when the going gets rough.
A failure to fulfill responsibility
Verse 10 tells us that Ephraim did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law. If I am willing to do what God tells me, as He tells me, when He tells me, and because He tells me, then I will not turn back when the going gets difficult. What is it that God has entrusted to you? What has He given you responsibility over? Christians quit when they repeatedly take their eyes off the Lord and fail to do what He has asked them to do. How many Christians sit at home today because they are not willing to give themselves to what they know the Lord is asking them to do? How many of you who are here today have only a minimal commitment and come only sporadically because you are not willing to let go and fulfill your responsibility to God and His church?
Forgetting what God has done
In verse 11 we discover that Ephraim forgot all that the Lord had done for them. Christians quit because they often develop spiritual amnesia. We forget all that the Lord has done for us through the years. Some of you here have had some pretty marvelous manifestations of God’s grace and kindness.
When David did battle with Goliath of Gath, he was inspired and fortified by the recollection of what God had done for him in former times. He said, “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” In this spirit he met Goliath. And the proud, gigantic champion of the Philistines fell before the shepherd boy, who trusted in the God who aided him in the past.
The glorious works of God on behalf of Israel were shamefully forgotten by them, and, when they went forth to battle, the inspiration of remembering the resources of God was missing. Therefore, they cowardly turned back. If we want to meet the foes of the future hopefully and courageously, we need to remember the victories of the past. Christians quit when they take their eyes off the Lord and forget all that He has done for them in the past.
Having a heart not right with God
Verses 36-37 tell us that Ephraim flattered God with their mouth thinking that their words would remove the judgment. But they had a secret intention to break their word when the danger was over. In other words, they thought they could fool God with their words.
All their professions, prayers, and promises, were only an effort to try to manipulate God. It was plain that they were not sincere and their heart was not in their words. They lied to God, thinking that He can be fooled by our words. But God does not only hear the words from our lips, He knows the intention of our hearts. Christians quit when they take their eyes off the Lord and believe that God can be fooled by their words.
Limiting God by dictating
Often our prayers are not seeking God’s will and purposes, but telling God what he must provide for us. We inform God as to what we are going to do and then ask for His affirmation. We try to bring God down to our size and rationalize that He approves of our petty feelings of hurt, and disapproval of others. We assume that He is on our side even when we are filled with hate and ill will. There have been churches that have been destroyed by people who claim to be doing the will of God. They have projected their own feeling of hate and assume that God must feel the same way. Christians quit when they take their eyes off the Lord and bring God down to their own petty level by dictating to God how He must deal with them.
Limiting God by distrusting
We do this when we look at the circumstances of life and the troubles that often come. They seem like tidal waves that threaten to destroy us. We have listened to our fears and through them Satan has convinced us that there is no way out. But this is a lack of faith. We are saying that our troubles are greater than His power. There is no trouble that we cannot endure with God’s help. Christians quit when they take their eyes off the Lord and begin to doubt that God is sufficient for whatever comes our way.
There are many people who “have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof”. Many who once sat in these pews and the pews of a thousand other churches have quit the Christian endeavor. Many who still attend church with some regularity are here in body only and the heart and spirit quit a long time ago. Both types of quitters have taken their eyes off the Lord. Maybe their eyes have been focused on the frailty and sin of others. Maybe they have focused only on themselves and their problems.
My high school football coach had slogans posted all over the locker room. One said, “Do something. It might be a mistake. But if you don’t try you’ll never do anything right!” Another spoke loudly to my teen-aged mentality. I believed it then and I believe it is true for us today in the church and its ministry. It read, “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits!”
How do you keep from being a quitter? Keep your eyes upon the Lord.
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