So if you look at Exodus chapter 16 and verse number eight,
the Bible reads,
and Moses said,
this shall be when the Lord shall give you in the evening
flesh to eat,
and in the morning bread to the full,
for that the Lord heareth your murmurings,
which he murmur against him.
And what are we?
Your murmurings are not against us,
but against the Lord.
Okay, so the topic that we're gonna be looking at
this afternoon is murmuring against the Lord.
And I'd use the word actually complaining.
The title for the sermon today
is complaining against the Lord.
Complaining against the Lord.
And boy, you know one of my personal pet peeves
is people that complain, complainers.
And people that murmur and whine and mope
and you know,
whingers as we say, you know?
And you know, this is something that children
quite often are able to do.
And it's something that you know,
as parents we need to train our children
to get out of this.
And usually when someone complains and murmurs,
it is because they're just not happy with their life.
You know, they're not happy.
They just want to express their negativity.
And quite often they just want to bring other people
along the ride and get other people upset
and whining and complaining.
But notice when it comes to the things of God,
you know we had the story here was of course
the Israelites coming out of the land of Egypt
being led through by Moses.
And they were complaining because they didn't have the food
you know, and so they complained, they murmur to Moses.
And Moses, look, your murmurings are not against us,
but against the Lord.
And that's something that I really want you to understand
that yes, I personally, Pastor Kevin,
doesn't like murmuring, doesn't like complaining,
but God really hates it.
I mean, it really, you know, upsets the Lord.
It really angers the Lord.
And in fact, if you can turn to Numbers chapter 11,
I just want to show you how much it angers the Lord, okay?
Numbers chapter 11 and verse number one,
and we're fast-forwarding now about two years
where Israel are in the wilderness for a couple of years.
You know, God's been guiding them.
God's been providing for them.
God's been feeding them.
And we're dealing here with the people of God.
We're dealing with, you know, believers.
We're dealing with the nation of Israel.
We're not dealing with some ungodly, heathen nation here.
Look at verse number one, Numbers 11, verse number one.
And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord,
and the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled,
and the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them
that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
And the people cried unto Moses,
and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched,
and he called the name of the place Tibera,
because the fire of the Lord burnt among them.
Man, how much does God hate complaining?
I mean, point number one is complaining angers the Lord,
so much so that he sends this fire.
We're not exactly sure where this fire comes from,
if it's the fiery pillar,
or if it's some fire from heaven or something else,
but he destroys or consumes many.
It says in verse number one,
consumed that they were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
So these are people that were on the fringes of the camp,
not those that are close to the center,
those that are in the fringes, out the back.
And you know what this reminds me of?
I remember when I was in public school,
if you wanted to basically not pay attention,
or you wanted to mess around in class,
you wouldn't sit at the front, you'd sit at the back.
You'd sit right at the back,
hoping your teacher can't see you, okay?
So those that would usually sit at the back
were the troublemakers,
or people that just wanted to sleep
and not care about their schooling.
And the idea was if I sit closer to the front,
then the teacher can see me.
And usually those that were there for studies,
that were there for learning,
they don't care where they sat,
but the troublemakers, the complainers, the whiners,
the rebels, they would love to sit
at the back of the class, wouldn't they?
And so I think this is what we're seeing here.
We're seeing in the uttermost parts of the camp,
those that are less godly,
those that less wanna be in the midst of Moses
and the Lord, they're out in the outskirts,
they're the ones that are complaining,
and it upsets the Lord.
It angers him so much that he sends this fire.
I mean, this should open our eyes immediately
about the sin of whining and murmuring and complaining.
How much does God hate this?
It drives me nuts.
And that's one of the worst things as a parent,
you know, when children complain.
And again, this is something that we need
to teach our children to be thankful for what they have.
People that complain are upset
because of what they don't have,
rather than being thankful or content
with what they do have,
and that's the nature of complaints.
And when we read back in Exodus,
they were complaining because they didn't have food, okay?
But they weren't thankful for where they have come.
Hey, they were being enslaved by the Egyptians.
The Lord delivered them in such a mighty and powerful way,
of course the Lord could provide for them,
but they weren't focused on what the Lord was doing for them.
They weren't content with the fact
that they've been released out of Egypt.
They just found something to complain about,
you know, the food, and of course, this upsets the Lord.
And I don't want us to be people
that complain against the Lord, okay?
People that complain against the Lord.
Please go to the book of Jude in the New Testament.
Go to Jude chapter four.
Jude chapter four.
Not only does complaining anger the Lord,
but complaining is an attribute of a false prophet.
Complaining is an attribute of a false prophet.
Jude verse number four, Jude verse number four reads,
For there are certain men, crept in unawares,
who were before of old, ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God
into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God
and our Lord Jesus Christ.
So the book of Jude is warning us of these false prophets,
these false teachers that creep into churches,
and their goal is to deny Jesus Christ.
Their goal is to bring condemnation into the people of God.
Right?
Now drop down to verse number 16.
Look at verse number 16.
Drop down there.
This is still referring to those false prophets.
It says, these are murmurers, complainers,
walking after their own lusts,
and their mouths speak of great swelling words,
having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
What this is saying is they want to take advantage
of other people, and the way they go about doing this
is they're murmuring and they're complaining.
Say, what does that have to do with a false prophet?
How can these false prophets lead people away from the Lord?
Because that's what complaining does.
Again, there's something that you potentially feel
is not right, is not fair, whatever that means,
and instead of being content for what you have,
you start to be discontent, you start to whine,
you complain, and here's what's strange
about the sinful nature of man.
That's a very attractive thing to be part of.
It's addictive.
When someone's complaining, you kind of want to know
what they're complaining about.
You kind of want to be able to give them an ear.
For some reason, the flesh of man enjoys drama,
enjoys people bagging out somebody else,
and here's the thing about complainers.
They can come to you and you've got no issue,
you've got no complaints, you're not murmuring,
but they come and start to express how they feel,
and all of a sudden you feel, yeah, you're right, I do,
I should be complaining, I should be frustrated about this,
but you wouldn't have been upset,
you wouldn't have been frustrated by it
if it not be for the complainer.
You know what this reminds me of?
This reminds me of a time when I was employed for a company
and I was newly employed and the union came up to me
and said, hey, why don't you sign up for the union?
It's a couple of dollars every week
that comes out of your pay and you can be part of the union,
so we'll make sure that you're taken care of,
there's all these benefits, and I didn't think much of it,
I was kind of young and I signed up for the union
and I was really thankful for my job the entire time,
you know, I was thankful that I had landed a full-time job,
I was thankful for how much I was getting paid,
I signed a contract saying, hey, I'll get paid this much,
I'm gonna work this many hours,
so I signed a contract, we had an agreement,
and then the union comes along.
The union comes along, well, we should be paid more,
you know, this is not right,
they're getting us to work all these hours,
they're getting us to do all this kind of work,
you know, if it's not for us,
they wouldn't be able to accomplish the work
that they're trying to do, and they were like,
hey, you know, we're going to do a strike,
we're going to strike and we're gonna demand more pay,
and I remember just going up to the people and saying,
hold on, I had no idea that me signing up to the union
was going to, you're gonna drag me into a strike,
and they're like, yeah, but it's gonna help you,
you're not gonna be able to get more money, blah, blah,
and I said to them, but hold on, I'm happy with my job,
I signed the contract, I agreed to these terms,
I agreed to this pay, I agreed to this hour,
and I'm happy that they've offered me a job,
why did you sign the contract?
If you're so upset, why did you sign?
Why couldn't you go and find some other job
with some other hours and some other pay?
Why do you have to come here and make this place
a depressing place to work in?
Hey, I was enjoying it, I had the job, I was making money,
I was learning new things, but then the complainers came,
that was the union, they came,
and here's the thing about that,
eventually it started to wear me down,
eventually I started to think, yeah, you know what,
maybe we should be paid more, why?
Because I had surrounded myself with complainers,
with murmurers, people that are unhappy,
and all they wanna do is bring other people
into their depression.
And here's what the false prophets do,
they come into the churches, they start whispering,
they're in the outskirts of the congregation,
and they try to hide themselves for a little while,
you know what, pastors should be doing things like this,
and why should we have to give our tithes
and our offerings to the Lord,
why can't we sing these songs instead,
and before you know it, other people are like,
yeah, you got some good points there,
why don't we bring in the NIV,
why can't we try different Bible versions,
why is he preaching so strictly about these things,
why can't I have the freedom to,
you know, why can't he preach on me just going to the beach
and looking at nudity,
and why does he have to warn me about that?
And people start to murmur, people will start to complain,
and the false prophets, they create a following,
they create a following,
and because they have promised them
to be able to accomplish something or benefit them in a way,
and all they're trying to do is destroy that person's life,
that person's Christian life, that person's testimony,
or destroy the church altogether.
And that is the way of the false prophet,
the false prophet is a complainer, he's a murmurer,
and so this is something
that we need to get out of our system.
You know, and as children grow up,
you need to get this out of your system,
and understand the reason you whine and complain
is because there's a sense of you,
that inside of you there's an idea
that there's gotta be justice and there's gotta be fairness.
Listen, there's no greater justice
than what we see written in the word of God,
there's no greater judge than God himself,
and God has given you parents,
God has given you authority
to make decisions that are right.
It's not for you to complain and whine and murmur
and make people's lives miserable
just because it's not right with you.
No, we base what is right on the word of God,
on the word of God, okay?
And when it comes to preaching the Bible,
children especially, you need to be paying attention,
you need to be listening to the preacher
because he's preaching the word of God to you.
And the reason he's preaching the word of God to you
is so you can understand the righteousness of God,
so you can understand the judgments of God,
so you know what is right, you know what is wrong,
and you do what, you do righteously.
And listen, if this world treats you unfairly,
you just stand up for what's right.
If you don't get, you know, if someone mocks you
and someone laughs at your faith,
hey, you stand up for God, God will be pleased,
God will look out for you,
but if you're someone that starts to murmur and complain,
well, we've seen the anger of the Lord.
We can see that he sent the fire
to destroy even his own people.
So number one was complaining angers the Lord.
Number two, complaining is an attribute of a false prophet.
Now please go to John chapter six, John chapter six.
John chapter six, and I've sort of skipped my notes
a little bit here, but that's all right.
John chapter six and verse number 60.
The Bible reads, many therefore of his disciples,
when they had heard this said, this is an hard saying,
who can hear it?
When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it,
he said unto them, doth this offend you?
Does this offend you?
Point number three, complaining makes you resistant
to hard preaching.
Complaining makes you resistant to hard preaching.
Jesus Christ in the story is preaching to many disciples,
and it says in verse number 60, when the disciples heard,
they said, this is an hard saying, who can hear it?
You see, Jesus Christ preached some hard preaching.
He had some hard sayings.
When it comes to the Word of God,
there are things that are going to upset you.
There are gonna be things that are hard to upset you.
There are gonna be things that are hard to understand,
things to digest, and things may offend you.
Sometimes the preacher preaches,
and it might feel like a slap in your face.
It might feel like your toes are being stepped on.
But does that offend you?
Jesus Christ asked that question, right?
In verse number 61, doth this offend you?
Why does it say that?
Because it says, when Jesus knew in himself
that his disciples murmured at it, okay, murmured at it.
So you know what a whiner and complainer does?
They murmur about the preaching.
They murmur especially when it's hard preaching.
Hey, they don't mind the preaching
when it tickles their ears.
They don't mind the preaching when they don't get challenged
when there's nothing in their life
that they feel they need to change.
But when it comes to something that is direct,
something that they know within themselves
that they need to change,
the whiner and the complainer
will resist the hard preaching.
Listen, and that's why we need to get this attribute
out of our lives,
because you need to not resist the hard preaching.
You need not get offended by the hard preaching.
You need to receive the hard preaching, receive it.
That's how you make changes in your life
when you understand what God's Word says,
and you say, look, no matter what,
no matter how much this offends me,
no matter how hard this will be for me,
no matter what people have to say about me,
if this is what the Word of God says,
if this is what God wants in my life,
then I'm going to make the necessary changes to do that.
But the only way you can get to that point
is if you stop murmuring and complaining,
and you say, Lord, whatever the Word says,
whatever your Word says, God,
I'm gonna do what I can to follow after you.
I'm going to do the best I can, Lord,
and where I fail, then I need your help.
I need your strength to get me over the line.
I need you to help me make the necessary changes
in my life.
Complaining makes you resistant to hard preaching.
Please go to Luke chapter 19 now.
Luke chapter 19.
We won't read that just yet,
but the next point that I have,
complaining gives you a holier than thou attitude.
Complaining gives you a holier than thou attitude.
A lot of people have heard of that phrase,
holier than thou.
How many of you guys have heard that before?
All right, do you guys know what it means?
It basically means someone that feels they're so righteous
next to someone else, you know,
and you have this attitude, this lifted up attitude,
this proud attitude toward those that are maybe not living
as righteously as you are.
You know, not living as Christian as you are.
And this comes from Isaiah 65 verse five,
which says, which say, stand by thyself,
come not near to me.
So these are people that say, look, stand over there.
Don't come near to me.
For I am holier than thou.
Don't come close to me.
I don't want you stay far over there.
I'm holier, I'm more separated, I'm more righteous.
You better stand over there
cause you may have an effect on me, right?
And then it says this, these are a smoke in my nose,
a fire that burneth all the day.
What does God say?
That there are smoke in his nose.
It's something that irritates the Lord.
A holier than thou attitude.
You know, imagine having smoke in your face, in your eyes,
you know, it will make you tear up.
It might make you sneeze.
And he says, look, that's what a holier than thou attitude
is to me.
And if you guys are looking at Luke 19,
cause I want to show you this holier than thou attitude
in Luke chapter 19 and verse number five.
Luke chapter 19 and verse number five.
It says, and when Jesus came to the place,
he looked up and saw him and said unto him,
Zacchaeus, make haste and come down
for today I must abide at thy house.
So Zacchaeus, if you know the story,
was like a tax collector and he was a short one.
So in order for him to see Jesus,
he knew Jesus was coming through.
In order for him to see him, he had to climb up a tree.
So Jesus sees him up there on the tree.
He said, well, come down, I'll come into your house.
Look at verse number nine.
And he made haste and came down and received him joyfully.
And notice verse number seven.
He is the holier than thou attitude coming up here
in verse number seven.
And when they saw it, they all murmured
saying that he was gone to be guessed
with a man that is a sinner.
Oh, look at Jesus going over there.
And they start complaining.
They start whining.
He's gonna go hang around that sinner.
He's gonna go hang around that publican,
that tax collector who's been cheating people.
Hey, that man's a sinner.
And they separate themselves holier than thou
and they murmur and complain.
Hey, God hates the holier than thou attitude.
Now, should you be holier than this world?
Should you be holier than the wicked?
You should be in your Christian life.
We should be striving to live good, separated lives.
Righteous lives, upright lives for the Lord.
But when someone is not at our level
or someone is struggling in the faith,
it's not for us to be lifted up
and have that attitude and say,
oh, you stay over there
because I can't have anything to do with you.
Hey, listen, if you're doing right,
you should be able to go to that sinner.
You should be able to go to that weaker Christian
and encourage them and edify them and lift them up.
That's what you do.
It's not about putting people down.
It's about lifting other people up.
And so you have those that are watching Jesus
with the holier than thou attitude.
Hey, but there was someone that was holier
than those complainers and that was Jesus
and he had no problem hanging out with a sinner.
He had no problem fellowshiping with a guy
that was struggling in his faith,
the guy that had some sin in his life
because Jesus wanted to lift up Zacchaeus.
Jesus cared for Zacchaeus.
And the complainer will be all about themselves,
lifting themselves up,
thinking that they're so much better
than the person next to them.
It's a horrible attribute to have, complaining.
And once again, kids learn this at an early age.
Remember foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.
Kids learn this at an early age
and it's the responsibility of the parents
to drive this out of them.
And listen, if the kids don't get this changed,
they're gonna become adults that are murmurers
and complainers and mopers.
Boy, there's nothing worse than a child complaining.
I mean, sorry, there is something worse
than a child complaining and that's an adult complaining.
An adult being a whiner and a murmurer, okay?
So complaining gives you a holier than thou attitude.
Can you please turn to the book of Mark?
Mark.
Mark chapter 14, please.
Mark chapter 14 and verse number three.
Complaining blinds you to the good work of others.
Complaining blinds you from others that do good work, okay?
Look at Mark 14, verse number three.
Bible reads, and being in Bethany
in the house of Simon the leper,
as he sat at meat,
there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment
and spikenard, very precious,
and she break the box and poured it on his head.
And there was some that had indignation within themselves
and said, why was this waste of ointment made?
So you have this story of this lady that comes to Christ
with this ointment, very expensive ointment,
and she pours it upon the head of Jesus Christ, okay?
She was given honor to Christ.
She was willing to give up something
that is very precious to her and give that to the Lord, okay?
And there are those that are complaining.
Verse number four, look at verse number five.
For it might have been sold, that's the ointment,
it might have been sold for more than 300 pence
and have been given to the poor, look at this,
and they murmured against her.
And Jesus said, let her alone, why trouble ye her?
She hath wrought a good work on me.
So you see, the people that are murmuring and complaining,
when a woman comes in and does a good work to Jesus Christ,
they can't see the good work.
They complain, they murmur,
oh, she could have done something else with that ointment.
It could have been used for other purposes.
And brethren, we need to be mindful
that there are other Christians doing good works for God,
other believers, other churches that are so winning,
other people that are, you know,
other pastors that are teaching their people
how to live godly lives,
how to live lives that are pleasing for the Lord.
Hey, there are other good Christian churches out there.
We can never have the attitude that, oh, it's just us.
Oh, and then when other churches
and other believers do some great work for God,
that we just thumb our nose at it, okay?
And that's what, you know,
or they could have done things differently.
They could have gone about it some other way
and you start complaining
and you don't see the good work
that they are doing for Jesus Christ, okay?
Murmuring and complaining blinds you
to the good work of others, okay?
Now, actually look at verse number nine, same chapter,
Mark 14, verse number nine.
Jesus says, verily I say unto you,
whether so ever this gospel shall be preached
throughout the whole world,
this also that she have done, sorry,
this also that she have done shall be spoken of
for a memorial of her.
So Jesus was so appreciative
for what the woman did with her ointment,
pouring it upon his head, anointing him with that oil,
that he says, look, this will be remembered.
This will be preached, this will be spoken about,
you know, for a memorial for her throughout the whole world.
You say, how did that happen?
Well, it's in the word of God, isn't it?
And I'm preaching about it today
where fulfilling what Jesus Christ said right now,
that there will always be this memorial
for what this woman did, okay?
And so once again, be careful of complaining,
be careful of murmuring.
God hates it and it really destroys your character.
It destroys your testimony and it makes you upset,
it makes you depressed, it makes you unthankful
and it causes you not to be able to appreciate
what others do for the Lord.
Let's keep going, Psalm 144.
Please go to Psalm 144 and verse number 12.
Psalm 144 and verse number 12.
And I've been talking about the children
because this is a great passage
that kind of points to children here.
Psalm 144 and verse number 12.
The next point that I have for you
is that complaining children create an unhappy household.
Complaining children create an unhappy household.
Look at verse number 12.
The Bible reads,
that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth,
that our daughters may be as cornerstones
polished after the similitude of a palace.
All right, so we want our sons and daughters
to be wonderful children.
We want them to be godly children.
The sons here as plants grown up in their youth.
We wanna see our sons grow, be strong,
be hardworking, be fruitful
and we want our daughters to be as cornerstones,
firm, strong, right?
It says polished after the similitude of a palace.
We want them to be pleasing.
We want them to be rich in character, our daughters.
So we want the best for our sons and our daughters.
Look at verse number 13.
That our garners may be full,
affording all manner of store.
That our sheep may bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our streets.
That our oxen may be strong to labor.
Notice this.
That there be no breaking in nor going out.
Now notice the next thing here.
That there be no complaining in our streets.
There are things we want.
We want good children.
Hey, we want productivity.
You know, we want fullness.
It said there, verse 13, 14,
and something we definitely want
is no complaining in our streets.
Now notice verse 15.
So if there is no complaining in the streets,
look at verse 15.
Happy is that people that is in such a case.
Yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.
And look, I wanna be happy.
I want you to be happy.
I want my children to be happy.
And you know what?
If we wanna live joyful, happy lives,
we need to get rid of the murmuring and the complaining.
No complaining in the streets.
No complaining in the house.
No complaining in the church.
We need to raise our children
to be faithful, productive, strong.
Okay, be thankful.
Let's teach our children to be thankful
for the things that God has given them.
And God has given them so much.
God has given them parents.
God has given them a home.
God has given them an education.
God has given them plates, free meals a day, right?
God has given them so many things.
And you know, I'm talking to the children here.
You know, you better make sure
that if you're someone that just mopes
and complains and whines,
you take this out of your system.
Because I'm telling you now,
you're going to grow up to be a very unhappy person.
And people aren't gonna wanna hang around you.
People aren't gonna wanna be your friends.
Okay, if this is the attitude you have,
you know, for a while, yes, the complainer gets attention.
But after a while,
when that person just continues complaining,
continues whining, continues moping,
people are just not gonna wanna be part of that.
Why would I wanna hang around a depressing person
that brings me down, that causes me to complain?
Naturally, people wanna hang around people
that give them joy, that they enjoy the fellowship,
they enjoy that person's company,
not the murmur and the complainer.
Please now go to Philippians chapter two,
Philippians chapter two and verse number 14.
Next point that I have is complaining snuffs out your light.
Complaining snuffs out your light.
Philippians chapter two and verse number 14.
That's very clear.
That's black and white.
Listen, children, when your parents ask you
to pick up the toys,
when they ask you to clean up your rooms,
when they ask you to do the chores,
do it without murmuring and disputing.
Do all things.
And you might be saying, why are you attacking the children?
I'm saying to even the adults.
When your boss says, can you finish that project?
Can you submit that work?
Can you give me an update?
Can you come to a meeting?
Hey, do all things without murmuring and disputing.
Hey, honor the authority that God has put in your life
and follow through.
If you're being asked to do something,
don't be rebellious.
Don't be a whiner.
Don't be a complainer.
Do what is right.
And I promise you this,
if you just do things without murmuring and complaining,
you're gonna be very happy in your life.
You're gonna be more productive in your life.
Verse number 15.
Look at this.
Listen, we live in a crooked and perverse nation.
Australia is a crooked and perverse nation.
This world is a crooked and perverse nation.
But how are you going to shine your lights?
How are you gonna be the light in the world?
How are you going to reflect Christ in this world?
Well, I'll tell you how.
By being blameless and harmless,
as I said there in verse number 15.
Not one that is murmuring and disputing.
If you just live a life of murmuring and disputing,
and that's what you become known for,
you've snuffed out your lights.
You're just like the crooked and perverse nation.
You're just like the ungodly people around you,
and you're not reflecting Jesus Christ at all.
Hey, if anyone had the right to murmur and complain,
it was how people treated Jesus Christ.
And hey, he did all things without murmurings and disputing.
Jesus Christ is our ultimate example,
and Jesus Christ says of himself
that he is the light of the world,
but then he's made us the light of the world.
And listen, if you are whining and complaining,
you cannot shine the lights of Jesus Christ.
You cannot stand out from the crowd as a Christian.
Let's keep going there in verse number 16.
I want to be able to rejoice in the day of Christ
that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.
Boy, you know, as your pastor,
I want to be able to rejoice in the day of Christ.
I want to be able to rejoice when Christ comes back,
and I have to present this church to the Lord and say,
hey, I had a church that was full of people
that were blameless.
I had a church full of people that were harmless.
Rather than saying, Lord,
I have so many murmurers and complainers around here,
many disputers going on, you know, in this church.
No, I want to have the heart of Paul
that I can look at the church and say,
Lord, I can rejoice in the day of Christ.
I'm ready to present New Life Baptist Church to the Lord.
And look, you want to be effective for the Lord, don't you,
in this dark world, in this crooked and perverse nation?
Well, you need to shine your light,
and you start by not murmuring and complaining
and disputing.
You do all things without those things,
without the murmuring and the disputing.
All right.
So instead of complaining, what do we do?
Instead of complaining,
well, as we saw in Philippians 2, 14,
it says, do all things without murmuring and disputing.
So that's where we start, okay?
If you're someone that's just always complaining,
always whining, well, start by, stop doing it.
Just stop.
Just say, God, this is a problem in my life.
I need to overcome that.
Can you please help me?
Okay, but let's build a bit of context on this.
Let's go back to verse number 12
in the same chapter, Philippians 2, chapter 12.
It says, wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed.
Hey, there's a good way of looking at things, right?
You have always obeyed, always obey.
Children, what is your requirement from the Lord?
To obey your parents.
Isn't that what the Lord wants from you?
To obey your parents.
That's a great place to start.
And when you obey your parents,
should you murmur and complain?
Should you mope and, no, no.
Should you have a frown on your face
when you obey your parents
or should you have a smile on your face?
And be thankful that your parents can give you instruction.
Because you know what?
Your parents tell you to do certain things
because they want you to grow.
They want you to learn how to work
and not be lazy and not to be selfish
and not to be a whiner and complainer, okay?
And look at, so we said, as ye have always obeyed,
but look at this, not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my presence.
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God which worketh in you,
both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
So what are the, how can we,
instead of complaining, what can we do?
What do we see, number one there?
Always obey, right?
Always obey.
Number two, work out or exercise or produce
your works for the Lord, your service for the Lord
with fear and trembling.
Remember what God did
when the Israelites murmured and complained.
He sent a fire and consumed a number of them.
Could you imagine seeing people just lit on fire by God,
just going to their death, burning in flames?
That's how much God hates murmuring.
That's how much God hates complaining.
And you ought to have a good dose of fear
and trembling when you think about the obedience
that you need to be doing.
Yes to your parents, yes to the Lord,
yes to those that have authority over you.
And number three, how do you measure up
with what we read in verse number 13,
which says, for it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
See, not only does God want us to do his good pleasure,
but he wants us to will it.
See, God wants us to shape our will into his will.
God many times will ask us to do many things.
You'll be reading your Bible and you'll be saying,
Lord, a part of you will be like, I can't do that.
But God wants you to change your will
and say, well, not my will, but thy will be done.
God wants us to be willing to follow
and do the commands that is laid out for us in the Bible
with obedience and without complaining.
How well do you measure up?
When you see something in the word of God,
you know you should be doing certain things.
Do you murmur and complain?
Or is your will aligned with what God wants?
And that's probably the best way
for you to be able to measure
whether you're someone that will be obedient
with a smile on your face that will have joy in their life
or somebody that is just a whiner, complainer,
and a murmur, you know, by knowing how close
does your will line up with the will of God, okay?
And when your will is lined up with the will of God,
you're more likely to do that which is right with joy,
with a smile on your face,
without the murmuring and the complaining.
And so can you, let's just go to one more passage.
Let's go to Job chapter 10.
Job chapter 10.
Job chapter 10, if you can.
One more passage here,
because there's a man in the Bible, Job,
who definitely had reason to complain.
Okay, remember he lost it all.
He lost his family, lost his children,
lost his possessions, he lost his cattle.
I mean, this is a man who definitely had a reason
to whine and murmur and complain.
And Job is so amazing, his character is so amazing.
Look at verse number one.
Job says, my soul is weary of my life.
I will leave my complaint upon myself.
He goes, look, I've got a complaint.
I'm not happy with what's happened here,
but I'm going to leave it upon myself.
I'm not going to go to God and complain.
I'm not going to go to God and whine and murmur
and upset the Lord.
I'm just gonna leave it with myself.
He goes, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
What does he do?
Does he complain to God?
Verse number two, he says, I will say unto God,
do not condemn me.
Show me wherefore thou contendest with me.
Just look, instead of complaining to God,
I'm going to go to God and say, look, God,
don't destroy me.
Can you tell me what is wrong?
Can you tell me what I need to fix?
Instead of being the whiner and the complainer.
Listen, next time you're driven to complain,
and we know that complaining is something that God hates,
next time, instead of taking that complaint
to your parents or to your boss or to your church pastor
or to God himself,
why don't you go up to the person in authority and say,
look, I've got this bitterness in me.
I'm not happy.
Is there something that I need to change?
What is it that I need to do, Lord?
What is it that I need to change?
Why are you allowing me to go through this difficulty, Lord?
I don't want to whine and complain.
I don't want to be like the Israelites of old,
where you consumed them with fire.
I want to work out what it is that you have against me, Lord,
so I can fix that.
And that's the heart of Job.
I mean, we know that Job,
God says he was perfect and upright, you know?
And still, he was willing to be examined by God and say,
God, I'm not going to complain.
I want to find out exactly what it is
that I need to fix up in my life.
I mean, that's a great attitude to have, okay?
So, complain against the Lord.
You know, I don't want to raise a generation
of whiners and complainers.
I want to raise a generation of children
that are thankful to the Lord,
that are thankful for what they have,
that have a smile on their face when they're obedient,
and who are striving to change their will
to be more like the will of God.
Okay, let's pray.