Numbers 11:1 NKJV - “ Now [when] the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard [it], and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed [some] in the outskirts of the camp.”
A certain man who was well-known for his constant complaining inherited a large sum of money. When he got it, he complained because it was not as much as he thought it should be.
He bought a farm, with his money, and asked his wife what she thought he should name it.
She quickly answered, "Why don’t you call it ‘Belly Acres’?"
The person who gives thanks can find comfort in everything, while the person who complains can find comfort in nothing.
I wonder if we could put a sign up on a highway leading into Florence SC that read: “Florence, S.C. The Home of 37,000 friendly people and a few sore-heads.”
The truth is all of us at times become sore-heads. Now, we may know it by different terms -- such as griping, grumbling, whining, or belly-aching.
In the King James the common term used was “murmuring.” Regardless of the word we use to describe it, complaining always has the same symptoms. The dictionary defines it as “an expression of unhappiness, dissatisfaction, or discontent.”
Complaining is the outward expression of being discontent within.
I doubt this message will apply to anyone here, this morning.
I’m sure that NONE of you have a problem with complaining, but you probably know someone who needs to hear it, kind of like the church pessimist said, after the sermon one Sunday on the subject of being negative;
“Preacher, you told it like it was today and if the negative people had been here you sure would have told them a thing or two.”
People grip about everything.
Groups of people get together and before you know it someone is complaining about someone or something.
Employees complain about the company they work for. Students complain about teachers and workloads.
Complaining could be called a way of life for many people.
Just about everybody complains. And why not? There’s a heap to complain about: traffic, taxes, health care cost, the government and on and on we go!
I posted a complaint on facebook the other day about the "Healthcare .gov" In preparing for the Thanksgiving message God lead me to this sermon and now I’m having to deal with my whining…
Did you know that complaining is not new. Here’s a trivia question for you. Who was the first complainer? Adam…Remember what he said when he got caught with his hand in the fruit basket? "the woman You gave to be with me."
Complaining is one of the most dominant sins among Christians. And yes I said SIN.
Complaining is a symptom of failure to trust God and to be submissive to His provision in your life.
Complaining is a serious sin.
Numbers 11:1 says “And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and His anger was kindled”
Listen to this verse in the NLT - 1 Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the LORD heard everything they said. Then the LORD's anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.
After God had greatly blessed His people, Israel, delivering them supernaturally from slavery in Egypt, protecting them against their enemies - even miraculously supplying daily bread and water for them in the desert, they complained.
They complained about their food; complained about the so called luxuries they had left behind in Egypt; complained against their leaders.
Finally, when they complained about the manna, "the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly."
Let me give you three reasons why God is displeased with complaining:
I. Complaining DENIES God’s supreme authority and power.
Pharaoh asked, “Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice,” Pharaoh thought he was a god. The all-powerful God of the universe showed His power. The Israelites leave Egypt wealthy. They go through the Red Sea on dry land, and God destroys their enemies.
Their success in entering the promise land depended on the Sovereignty of God, so when they complained against Moses and Aaron, they were questioning God’s ability to do what He said He would do.
Complaining is the evidence that we are dissatisfied with the way God is doing things.
We need to recognize our sin and then realize and acknowledge that our heavenly Father always knows what’s best for us--even down to the microscopic problems that He allows us to face.
One big problem for the people in Numbers 11 was that they kept on complaining about their wilderness diet. They talked about what great food they had in Egypt.
They seem to have forgotten they were slaves in Egypt!
Do you ever complain? Think about it for a minute. What do you say about your spouse?
What kinds of things do you say about your job? Do you complain when some cashier or sales clerk treats you disrespectfully?
Do you share all the things that are wrong in the church with others?
Have you ever told someone that the weather "ruined" your plans?”
I read this story about "bush eyes?" A missionary was walking along the trail with the natives when suddenly one of the natives shot his gun near the missionary and killed a huge snake in the path. The missionary never saw it and would have stepped on it.
He asked, "How come I didn't see that?"
They walked on. Soon the native grabbed his arm and said, "Look! Do you see the leopard?" The missionary could not see it until it moved.
He said, "Wait a minute. Why couldn't I see it? We’re walking on the same path.
You see the snake. I see only the path. You point to what looks, to me, like shadows and stone and it becomes a leopard. Why couldn't I see them?"
The native replied. "You have to get your BUSH EYES."
You see if you stay in the jungle long enough, you develop what they call "bush eyes."
If we walk through life blind to God. All we will see are reasons to complain but when the Holy Spirit is allowed to open our eyes we get "GOD EYES,"
We can SEE GOD when no one else can.
We see God where others just see leaves.
We need to be able to see God in all things in order to stop our complaining.
II. Complaining DISRUPTS Christian unity.
In Numbers 13:30-33NIV. “30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."
32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."”
The negative spies were in reality saying, "We can’t do what God has told us to do, it’s too hard and the people are too big."
Have you ever done that, exaggerated your problems? Someone shares an illness and suddenly there’s someone in far worse shape…
The ten, negative, spies poisoned the whole nation of Israel. These ten spies started the complaining, and the whole congregation was infected with the dreaded “we can’t” fever.
I want you to think about something here. What happened to the generation of bellyacres?
Do you want the same to happen to you or to Elim Bible?
Here’s a scary truth the sin of complaining is so contagious that it spreads like wildfire.
When one of our neighbor’s dog’s starts to bark, all the other dogs soon begin barking.
You get one disgruntled complainer, and it’s not long before it spreads to others.
What I have found is that complaining doesn't change anything or make any situation better.
Here’s what it does. It amplifies frustration, spreads discontent and discord.
III. Complaining DISCREDITS my testimony.
Philippians 2:14-15 NKJV - 14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,.
You/I are called to be everything that a child of God should be.
How you live has a dramatic impact on whether or not your witness reveals the truth of God’s ability to save and sustain those around you who are searching for answers.
A Christian who is always grumbling and complaining is harmful to the cause of Christ and nobody likes to be around people who are always grumbling and complaining.
A young girl surprised her mother with a very beautiful and unexpected gift that she had purchased with her allowance. The little girl said, "Mom, this is for you because you work so hard and nobody seems to appreciate it around here."
Her mother attempted to be modest by saying, "Well, your father works hard, too."
The little girl replied, "I know, but he doesn't complain about it."
When we fall apart in the midst of trials the world says, "Where’s your God when you need Him?"
Paul and Silas were a tremendous testimony in the Philippian jail.
BUT what if they had been complaining and griping about their situation?
What if Silas would have said, "Paul, you big shot dummy, you just had to show off and cast the demon out of that girl. Now look at the mess you've got us in.
Why couldn't you just have left that demon possessed girl alone?"
If that dialogue had been going on between Paul and Silas do you think the jailor would have asked, "What must I do to be saved?" Would he be saying “I want some of what we they have!
He probably would have said, "What must I do to avoid this Christianity thing?"
Listen, our testimony is THE most important tool we have. God uses our lives to influence others.
Did you know that most of the time when we grumble we don’t have any reason for doing so?
Most of the people who grumble are like the man who was never happy with anything.
One day when he walked into a hardware store to buy a chain saw that was advertised to cut 6 trees in an hour.
He came back the next day fussing and complaining, “This chainsaw is about as useless as a screen door on a submarine!
The salesman said “What’s wrong with it?” I only cut 1 tree and it took ALL DAY to do it!”
The salesman said, “Let me look at it,” and reached down and started the chainsaw.
The man said, “What’s that noise?”
There was nothing wrong with the saw. The problem was the man’s understanding of how it worked…
I want us to stop and think about how much we have been blessed.
Each of us has been blessed in many ways.
The more we think about how we have been blessed the more we will be thankful the less we’ll complain.
A. W. Tozier said, “Among those sins most exquisitely fitted to injure the soul and destroy the testimony, few can equal the sin of complaining.”
The Bible is clear that complaining is repulsive to our Heavenly Father and a serious sin.
Most of us tend to blow it off as a small thing, if we notice it at all.
BUT...If we see a drunk OR a person who has a filthy mouth, we tell them that it’s a sin, and they need to stop. But somehow when it comes to the sin of complaining, we rationalize and excuse it.
Two boys were eating some grapes. One said, "Aren’t they sweet!"
"I guess so," the other replied, "but they’re full of seeds."
Walking through a garden, the first boy said, "Look at those big, beautiful red roses!"
The other commented, "They’re full of thorns!"
Many believers are like the negative-thinking boy in this story. They always look at life through dark glasses. Like the children of Israel in today’s Scripture, they complain and grumble when they should be praising the Lord for His gracious provision.
The next time you feel like complaining, think about this
Complaining denies God’s supreme authority and power
Complaining disrupts Christian unity.
Complaining discredits our Christian testimony.
Praise is the best remedy there is for complaining.
Keep praising the Lord so you can win the victory over complaining.
