CROSSWORDS OF MURMURING
EPH 4:25-31
Ephes. 4:25-31
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold. 28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
INTRODUCTION: In all of Scripture the most prevalent negative use of the tongue is found in the books of the Law – Genesis through Deutoronomy. To the casual reader, it seems as though you cannot turn a page in this book without finding something said concerning the murmuring or complaining of Israel.
In our time this morning, I would like to look at the reason why we murmur, , The problems of murmuring, and the solution for murmur.
I THE REASONS WE MURMUR
To murmur means to complain with a spirit that is critical and negative. It is a verbal negative attitude focused either at something, or someone.
A Guilt
1 Guilt is a powerful motivator – but not necessarily a good one
2 Words become a defense mechanism to keep people from the truth
B Impatience
1 When I am in a hurry, I get frustrated and it shows in my speech
2 Applicable when things are too slow OR too fast
C Insecurity
1 A Defense mechanism to keep people away
2 To provide a buffer zone between me and the situation that makes me insecure
D Disappointment
1 We feel pain when we are disappointed, and what we say is the verbal expression of our pain.
E Stress
1 Stress occurs when our lives go on overload.
2 When I cannot handle the additional load, my speech is the evidence that I have gone too far!
F Irritation
1 Each of us has a personal order to our lives
2 What may be orderly to you is not orderly to me
3 When someone messes up OUR order, invading our “world”, we respond
G Anger
1 Probably the most common trigger for crosswords and murmur.
2 Feel we have been cheated or shortchanged.
3 Someone has hurt us, so we in turn are looking to hurt
WHEN WE BRING THIS TYPE OF SPEECH INTO OUR LIVES, ANYONE IN RANGE IS AT DANGER.
WHEN WE BRING THIS TYPE OF SPEECH INTO OUR LIVES IT IS A CLEAR AND DIRECT REFLECTION OF THE VALUE WE PLACE ON THE PEOPLE OR THINGS THAT ARE THE OBJECT OF OUR MURMURING.
WHEN WE BRING THIS TYPE OF SPEECH INTO THE CHURCH OR INTO OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER BELIEVERS, IT IS TREMENDOUSLY DESTRUCTIVE.
God, responds strongly to this type of speech …..
Numbers 13:30-14:24
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."
31But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32And 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. 33We 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."
14:1That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
5Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."
10But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. 11The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? 12I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."
13Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O LORD, are with these people and that you, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16’The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.’
17"Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18’The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’ 19In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."
20The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times-- 23not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
II THE PROBLEM WITH MURMURING
A Murmuring IGNORES God’s POTENTIAL – Numbers 13:30;14:4-6
1 We forget that God has a part in what is happening.
2 We forget God has a plan He is working out!
3 We forget God’s ultimate control.
Numbers 13:30 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."
Numbers 14:4-6 And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." 5Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes
B Murmuring JUMPS to the WRONG CONCLUSION
1 Involve ourselves with enough wrong information and we are sure to come to the wrong conclusion
Numbers 14:3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?"
C Murmuring Brings BAD JUDGMENT
1 Wrong information plus wrong conclusions, brings bad judgment
2 Bad judgment look pretty good then!
Numbers 14:2-4 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
D Murmuring BREEDS Self-PITY
Numbers 14:2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!
E Murmuring BIRTHS a REBELLIOUS SPIRIT
Numbers 14:2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!
Numbers 14:4 And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
Numbers 14:10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites.
1 God wanted them out of Egypt
2 God had chosen Moses as their leader
F Murmuring left unchecked LEADS to DISSATISFACTION
1 Forget God’s faithfulness
2 Unsatisfied with God’s direction and provision
Numbers 14:22-24 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times-- 23not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
G Murmuring BRINGS God’s JUDGMENT
1 God wants a willing beating heart
2 Murmuring turns our heart away from God
III THE PROCESS TO CORRECT MURMURING
A Stay constructive and trust God
1 It is okay to complain
2 Psalms are full of the psalmist complaining to God
3 But the Psalmist always complained with confidence that God would work it out!
B Understand murmuring starts with sharing “outside the loop”
1 Avoid venting to someone who cannot help the situation.
2 If our lives are either outside the loop – we have let sin in
3 If we are sharing with someone outside the loop we are bring them down with us.
C Refuse to be a conduit.
1 Just say “NO” to a murmurer
2 Encourage a murmurer to constructive ways of speech.
a Bring it to God constructively
1) Have a hard time giving it to God and letting God have it! – control issue!
b Bring it to others who are truly able to help
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