"The Menace of Murmuring"
1 Corinthians 10:1-12
1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
What is "murmuring" and how serious is it? The Greek OT & NT gives several words that would help us define what Paul is talking about. This word means to "grumble", to be "discontent", to "complain" and to "criticize." We probably need to add "whining" to this definition as well. Paul warns the Corinthians about the dangers of murmuring in our text and uses the example of the Israelites to illustrate the peril they faced if they continued this behavior. "...Neither murmur ye..." is his admonition. -- How the Israelites murmured because of the manna, which their souls despised as a light bread - something incapable of affording them nourishment, etc., and because they had been brought out of Egypt into the wilderness, and pretended that the promises of God had failed; and how they were destroyed by serpents, and by the destroyer or plague; may be seen at large in the texts referred to in the margin on this and the preceding verses. It appears from what the apostle says here, that the Corinthians were murmuring against God and his apostle for prohibiting them from partaking of the idolatrous feasts, just as the Israelites did in the wilderness in reference to a similar subject." Clarkes Commentary
I. The Conduct
One of the most interesting aspects of this behavior is that there is not a single mention in Scripture in either the OT or the NT where the ungodly or the unsaved are mentioned in relation to this activity. It is exclusive associated with the people of God in the OT and Christians in the NT. We also learn the true nature of this behavior and its seriousness. Moses tells the people that although they have murmured against God's servants, the real problem is that they have murmured against God! We cannot just dismiss this and say, "...well I'm only human..." or "...no body's perfect..." or "...I've got a right to speak my mind..."
Exodus 16:8 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 ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.
WESLEY AND CRITICISM
ILL - John Wesley was a great English preacher of the 1700's. He was considered a rather spiffy dresser. One Sunday morning he wore a bow tie that had long ribbons that hung downward. After the sermon was over a lady walked up to him and said, "Brother Wesley, are you open to some criticism?"
He said, "I guess so. What would you like to criticize?"
She said, "The ribbons on your tie are entirely too long and inappropriate for a man of God." And she took out her scissors and cut them off.
A hush fell over the people standing there as Wesley calmly asked, "Now may I borrow the scissors for a moment?" As she handed them to him, he said, "Ma'am, are you open to some criticism?"
She answered, "Well, I suppose I am."
He said, "All right then, please stick out your tongue."
(From a sermon by Stephen Sheane, "A New Year, A New You")
II. The Carnality
Murmuring is symptomatic of a real spiritual problem.
Numbers 14:1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
3 And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
Someone said that you could the Israelites out of Egypt but you couldn't get Egypt out of the Israelites!!
Numbers 11:5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
III. The Contagion
Exodus 16:2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
VI. The Cost
Numbers 16:41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
48 And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.
In the OT people lost their lives because of their complaints and murmuring. Paul implies that the Corinthian's were in danger of falling away as a result of what they were doing.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
The peril we face for murmuring and complaining is real for us and for the cause of Christ.
a. What must the unsaved think when they hear us complain? Is it possible that there will be people in Hell because of what we have done?
b. What must the new believer think when they hear us complain? Will they be discouraged and leave the Lord's work because of our behavior?
c. What must our children think when they hear us complain? Will they reject Christianity and the claims of Christ upon their lives because of what have heard from our lips? Notice that one of the things mentioned concerning the Israelites is that they:
Deuteronomy 1:27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
d. What must our co-laborers in Christ think when they hear us complain? We will be a source of discouragement and discontent.
V. The Cure
This behavior is rooted in our flesh and the only way to deal with it is to root it out!
There is only one prescription for this problem and it begins with godly sorrow leading to true biblical repentance.
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2 Corinthians 7:8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Second, resolve to be a thankful person. Thankful people are not murmurers and complainers.
GRATITUDE- A NECESSARY ATTITUDE
A few years ago Dr. Nick Stinnett of the University of Nebraska conducted a group of studies called the "Family Strengths Research Project" Stinnett and his researchers identified six qualities that make for strong families. The first quality and one of the most important to be found in strong families was the quality of appreciation. Families that are strong are strong in part, Dr. Stinnett concludes, because family members express to each other their appreciation for what the other members DO and for who they ARE. In a similar study another researcher looked into the effect of praise in the workplace. His study showed that the ratio of praise to criticism in the workplace needs to be four to one before employees feel that there is a balance - that there must be four times as much praise as there is criticism before they feel good about their work and about the environment they work in. That is pretty staggering information - information that tells us that if we want to do something good, that if we want to have a healthy family, a strong workplace, or any other effective group that we need to be sure that appreciation, praise, and thanksgiving are heard at least four times as often as is criticism.
SOURCE: Rev. Richard J. Fairchild 1998, 2001. "Gratitude - A Necessary Attitude"
http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/c-thansesn.html
Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Third, rest in God's providential care and gracious provision for all things.
COULD BE WORSE
ILL - Some years ago, Charles Schulz pictured Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy's dinner on Thanksgiving Day, but it was just his usual dog food in a bowl. So, Snoopy took one look at the dog food and said, "This isn't fair. The rest of the world today is eating turkey with all the trimmings and all I get is dog food. Why? Because I'm a dog, so all I get is dog food?"
He stood there and stared at his dog food for a moment, then he said, "I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey."
(From a sermon by Mark Schaeufele, "A Messiah Who Understands" 1/22/2009)
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
ILL - My brother-in-law, Bob, works in the San Angelo school district. He said one day a bunch of the staff were car-pooling from one place to another for a meeting. When he got in his truck, a guy he didn't even know jumped in the passenger seat and said, "I'm riding with you. You're the only one of these guys who doesn't complain about everything!"
You want to SHINE like a star in the dark universe? Then be one of those RARE individuals who doesn't WHINE and Complain and Find Fault with everything around you. As much as anything you SAY, it's what you DON'T say that can shine the light of God on a dark world.
Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Friend, do you have a reputation for whining, grumbling, complaining, and murmuring?
