Introduction: A Kentucky family took a vacation to New York City. The family arrived at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, there the father took his son into hotel in hopes of securing a room; they were amazed by everything they saw, from the rich interior to the bright chandeliers. At the far end of the lobby they noticed the beautiful elevator doors, this really peaked their curiosity.
The boy asked, "Paw what is that?" The father responded, "Son I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don’t know what it is!"
While the boy and his father were watching in wide-eyed astonishment, an old lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched small circles of lights above the walls light up. They continued to watch the circles light up in the reverse direction. The walls opened again, and a beautiful 24-year-old blond woman stepped out.
The father turned to his son and said, "Boy, go get your Maw!"
If only change was that easy – just step in room close the door and a few minutes you are transformed.
January seems to be a time when we are open to make changes in our life. We make resolutions to lose weight, get out of debt, and spend more time with the family all in hopes of make the New Year a better then the previous one.
Change does not simply happen because we make resolutions. Change takes effort; it takes sacrifice and purposeful living.
Over the next few weeks I want to challenge you to make a few changes in your life. I am not going to challenge you to lose weight or get out of debt, both of which are admirable goals – I want to challenge you to make a few attitude adjustments.
Paul told the Philippians, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. As we look to 2007, that is the one resolution we should all make – to have an attitude like that of Jesus.
How does that happen? How do I become more like Jesus? After all he was sinless and we sinners – He was holy and we are defiled – He was God in the flesh and we struggle against the flesh every day.
How do I become more like Jesus?
By following His example and taking on the attitudes of thanksgiving, contentment and love. It is these three topics I want to address in the coming weeks.
To take on these attitudes means we have to replace some of the attitudes we have allowed to shape our life. That is where the change comes from; changing one negative attitude with a God honoring attitude. Today I want to challenge you to change a complaining attitude with an attitude of thanksgiving.
Before we get into our text I want us to note an example of complaining from Israel’s history. I believe it is an important example because of the amount of time scripture devotes to this wilderness account. The account is found in Numbers 13 & 14, but it is repeated in the book of Psalms, 1 Corinthians and Hebrews
The Children of Israel are in one the greatest road trips known to man.
After a period of 400 years of Egyptian slavery they are delivered by Moses and are bound from the Promise Land.
Between Egypt and the Promise Land, the Children of Israel spend a period of time at Mount Sinai, there god gives Moses the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments were the guidelines for a God honoring society. The commandments would shape Israel for centuries
Upon leaving Mount Sinai, the Children of Israel were travel to the Promise Land, a land flowing with Milk and Honey. They are on the very edge of the Promise Land
Then it as that point God calls the people to make a U-Turn and return to the desert and not to return until everyone in the generation over 20 years of age has died.
At first glance we find this unbelievable, God has delivered them from bondage, he has given them the 10 commandments and now He says return to the desert for what will be a death march.
GOD NEVER GETS ANGRY WITHOUT GOOD REASON
God does not simply lose His temper or change His mind, God is about to teach his people a very important lesson
To find out why God told Moses and the Children of Israel to return to the desert look at Numbers 13 & 14. Moses sends 12 spies into the Promise Land to scout out potential hazards. Numbers 13 records the spies’ expedition, Numbers 14 gives us the report. 10 of the spies come back with a negative report of giants, obstacles and fears, while two give a minority report of hope. “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us!” Numbers 14:7-9
Joshua and Caleb brought back a report of faith and hope and how did the people respond? Verse 10, But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb.
It is at this point God responds to their sinful attitude. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me. Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. Numbers 14:62-30
Obviously God takes complaining seriously
It is this context we see why we should exchange a complaining attitude for an attitude of thanksgiving. Understanding the serious of this sin of complaining today I want us to see the Problem and the Prescription so that we may have an attitude like that of Christ.
1. The Problem
A. Complaining is a sin
The word sin literally means missing the mark of God’s holiness. You may be saying complaining is not the best thing to do, but it cannot be a sin.
How is complaining a sin, because our complaints can lead bitterness, or anger which causes to act irrationally, thus it is a sin.
B. Define Complaining
Before we go any further in our message we have to get a clear definition to what is complaining, so we will know how to avoid this dangerous action.
James MacDonald came up with the following definition: Complaining is expressing dissatisfaction with a circumstance that is not wrong and about which I’m doing nothing to correct.
C. Complaining is about things that are not wrong.
If a thing is wrong and you express your dissatisfaction, it is not complaining.
It is not complaining if you see something unacceptable at your home, work or church and you express it to others
It is not complaining to express your dissatisfaction with meal served at a restaurant and asked the server if it can be changed
It is not complaining if you are treated rudely at a store and ask for the manager or fill out a customer service form expressing a legitimate concern
D. Complaining involves things that I’m doing nothing to correct
If you choose to whine about an issue but refuse to get involved in correcting the situation then you are complaining
It is complaining when you talk something you see around the house at work or at church. It is not complaining when you talk to those who have the ability to fix things and together come up with solution.
It is complaining when you tell those around you at the restaurant this food stinks, It is not complaining when you ask the server you dislike the entrée and you politely request another choice.
E. Complaining is a common ailment in our society
Open the newspaper and you find letters to the editor blasting peoples decisions
Hang around the water cooler at work and before long you begin to hear employees bashing the bosses “bad decisions or policies”
In our culture today the internet has become a great place to complain
I venting.com invites you to get your complaints off you chest. The Complaint Station calls itself the King of Complaints, with over 5 million complaints. They state they hold the record for the most complaints on any one website. My person favorite was Complaint.org, on their homepage is the following message; Complain about anything. The whole world is here to listen. Complain about your neighbor. complain about the airlines. Complain about trains. Complain about noise. Complain about your mother-in-law. Complain about high prices. Complain about getting ripped off. About potholes. About the police. Complain about your boss Complain about your work – you can even complain about us. No Exceptions!
People love to complain
And it does not just stop in the world there are times complaining seeps into the church. Too often we allow the joy Christ offers us to be clouded with our own personal dissatisfaction and when that happens we turn to complaining rather than cooperation
F. What are the dangers of complaining?
Complaining allows bitterness to take root in our life.
I have noticed that the bitterest people in life are also the people who complain the most. They feel like life owes them or that they have been treated unjustly in every instance, thus they become chronic complainers.
Complaining accomplishes little for the kingdom.
Proverbs 27 reminds us A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day. Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands. As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Solomon says trying to stop someone from complaining is close to impossible
Complaining hurts our witness
Paul reminded the Philippians they were to “Do everything without complaining and arguing” The Reason; (insert another slide) so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
Paul urges us to live as children of God shining as stars; Jesus called us to be the light of the world shine through the darkness. When we complain we no longer are acting as children of god rather we are hurting our witness and our light is not able to shine.
If complaining is the problem, what is…
2. The Prescription
To keep us from complaining we must make a conscious effort to change our attitude. We began our message with Paul’s admonition to the church at Philippi; Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
If you note the ministry of Jesus, you never find him complaining
When he was misunderstood by his family – no complaint
When the disciples argued over who was the greatest – no complaining
When the Pharisees questioned his messiahship – no complaining
When Peter denied him 3 times no complaining
When the Roman soldiers nailed him to a cross – no complaining
Peter said of Jesus, When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:23
How do we gain the attitude of Christ? It requires a change.
We must replace a complaining attitude with an attitude of thanksgiving
1 Thessalonians 5:18, Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
A. Be thankful – this is a command
Paul wants us to know it is not a simple suggestion be thankful if you want to be rather Christians are commanded to be thankful. Why does Paul stress that thankfulness is a command and not a suggestion.
As Christians we have much to be thankful for
We have been rescued from damnation
We have salvation
We have the Holy Spirit who lives in us
We have God’s word to guide us
We have fellow Christians who walk with us
We have a home being prepared for us
We have a purpose for living
We have a hope for tomorrow and a strength for today
Our past is forgiven and our future is secure
A second reason to be thankful – it is God’s will for all who belong to Christ Jesus
God wants us to be thankful, He desires for us to have an attitude of gratitude. Proverbs 22:11, He who loves purity and the pure in heart and who is gracious in speech--because of the grace of his lips will he have the king for his friend.
Solomon says he who is gracious will have the king as a friend. God is pleased when we display a thankful attitude. And I think the key to having an attitude that pleases God is to have it displayed, remember Paul’s admonition - shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people
How do we display a thankful attitude – allow me to share a few suggestions
Avoid people who constantly complain
Some people complain so much they think it is a spiritual gift. Those are the type of people we need to avoid. What I have discovered is complaining people have a way of flocking together – there is a herd mentality that comes about with complainers, they seem to get together for no other purpose but to complain.
I heard about 4 men who went to play golf one afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a round of golf. Soon dissatisfaction set in the first golfer after missing a putt said – these greens are not well kept, a little later second golfer begin to complain about the cart fees, the third man began to complain about his golf game – it was at that point the wisest of men said, “Gentlemen just be glad we are on the right side of the grass. The temptation for all of us is to join in when others begin to complain, but the best thing is to remove yourself from the situation or avoid the situation all together, 1 Corinthians 15 reminds us Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character”
b. Chose to be thankful
Having an attitude of gratitude is a choice – you can chose to be thankful, it does not take a special talent or skill. It does not take an abundance of resources or the right kind of environment. It is a choice, to help us make this choice James MacDonald challenges us to make a list everyday. At the top of the list, simply write 5 items I am thankful for. Each day place five items on your list; If you do this everyday, it will not be long until you choose thankfulness over complaining.
c. Understand thankfulness is a life changing decision.
Return to the desert for a moment – 12 spies went into the Promise Land. 10 returned with a bad report they chose to complain about the giants. But 2 came back rejoicing remember their comments “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. On that day 12 men made a life changing decision, 10 chose to complain and never experienced the goodness God had planned for them. 2 choose gratitude and were rewarded for their faith.
To find out if your ready to make a life changing decision of gratitude ask yourself 3 questions.
Am I a thankful person? The famous Bible Scholar Matthew Henry wrote these words in his diary the day after he was robbed of all the money he had in the world.
Let me first be thankful, for I wa never robbed before
Second although they took my purse, they did not take my life
Third let me be thankful because they took all I had but it was not very much
Fourth, because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed
No doubt about it thankfulness is a choice! Answer the question am I a thankful person?
Am I seeing the blessings of thankfulness in my life?
Do I know the joy that comes from living a life of gratitude? What percentage of my life is focused on good, positive and praise worthy items. When thankfulness is a part of our life we will find a joy and happiness that brings true life.
Am I choosing thankfulness over complaining moment by moment?
Gratitude is one moment at a time. It is like a freeze frame! Ask yourself Am I thankful right now? Choosing to be thankful is a moment by moment day by day choice which will bring about a God honoring attitude.
We have a slogan in our church that simply says Palm Bay Christian Church – People believing Christ can change… Everything. It is not simply a slogan it is a belief in the power of Christ to make changes in every aspect of life. We believe Christ can change…
Marriages
Relationships
Families
Habits
And we believe Christ can change one’s attitude
The key to change is found in Christ. While many people will make resolutions this month the average person will sink back into their routine in about 17 days. Why? Because they have motivation, but they do not have transformation – it is transformation that brings about change
The Question this morning; are you willing to be transformed by Christ?
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus
Prayer
