Sermon Tone Analysis

*Human Relations*

*Topical                January 12, 2003*

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*Scripture Reading:*

 

*Introduction: *

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Ideas for this message were contributed by Pastor Timothy Valentino, Fleetwood Bible Church, PA, in /Complaint Denied/, Today's Christian Preacher, Gospel Fellowship Assoc., spring 2002, vol.

9, num.

4, pp.

12-14.

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(Connect this message with Joan's job in H.R. and Jesus' challenge in H.R. with all of us, Patty's testimony and last week's message about "Honoring God".

/ILLUS.:

The story is told of a man who joined a monastery where, in addition to the vows of celibacy and poverty, he was required to make a vow of silence.

According to the rules of the monastery, the man was allowed to speak only two words a year and to utter them only during his annual review in front of the evaluation board.

The new monk served his first year in absolute silence.

At the year's end when his performance was being evaluated, he was permitted to speak.

The two words he uttered were, "Food cold."

The monk served his second year in absolute silence.

At that year's end, his two words to the evaluation board were, "Bed hard."

The man then served his third year in absolute silence.

At the end of the year when he showed up for his final review, his two words were "I quit."

The monastery leader responded, "Your decision doesn't surprise us.

After all, you've done nothing but complain since you got here."

/

 

If only our complaining were limited to just two words per year.

How much quieter life would be!

 

"Do all things without murmuring," said Paul in Php.

2:14.

Is that really possible?

Can a believer truly live a complaint-free life?

Sounds impossible, doesn't it?

Yet God's commands are not up for negotiation.

/What is complaining?/

Believers who want to take Paul's words seriously first need to know what complaining is.

Simply stated, complaining is giving expression to one's self-centered discontentment.

It's a heart murmur with vocal chords.

Sometimes our complaining takes on less verbal forms too: a rolling of the eyes; a gnashing of the teeth; huffing and puffing; stomping off; or body language that conveys defiance, disrespect, or disapproval.

I don't need to give you examples of complaining.

You've all been around at home, at church, at work.

You've seen it.

You've done it from time to time yourself - and so have I.

To give examples of complaining would only stir more complaining.

That's the way this insidious enemy works.

It would only add more fuel to the fire as people wonder, "Well, I wonder if that's legitimate complaint after all?

I think there is a certain point there.

In fact, I think ---."

And we subconsciously add our own two-cent's worth to this mental mirage – this spiritual sluice-trough – that siphons off our energy and attention from matters of real importance, like performing the positive ministry of building people up rather than tearing them down.

It should be pointed out that complaining is not the same as grieving.

The Bible clearly invites us to mourn when it is time to mourn.

Neither is complaining the same as speaking out against injustice, danger, or heresy, or handling legitimate problems – in the right way.

The Bible gives us guidelines on when and how to do that.

“ In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.

In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.

No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.”

(1 Corinthians 11:17-19 NIVUS)

 

Complaining is not even vocalizing the deep distresses of heart and soul when life is difficult, provided we do so in a biblical manner.

The Psalms are loaded with such laments.

Complaining is much more sinister because it involves the assertion of self to secure one's comfort, way, or satisfaction at the expense of others rather than the denial of self to promote God's glory.

How should we effectively express dissatisfaction or disapproval?

By suggesting to the one involved what we would like to see, and why we would like to see it, rather than telling either that person or someone else what we don't like, and why we don't like it.

And, of course, don't be a tale-bearer of other people's complaints.

All this, of course, after we have done a serious soul-search to discover whether what we have to say is really legitimate and helpful.

If someone complains to you about someone else, tell them gently to go talk to the one they are talking about.

It is significant that Paul, in Php.

2:14-16, denounced complaining while shackled in prison – not exactly the best of circumstances.

For Paul, complaining was not a legitimate response, even to the lousy accommodations of a wicked world.

Recognizing God's sovereignty in his circumstance, Paul viewed himself primarily as a prisoner of the Lord, not as a prisoner of Rome.

Thus, he must have reasoned that since he was imprisoned, it was because God wanted the people around him to hear the Gospel.

He had the choice of either telling them his own bad news through complaining or telling them God's good news through witnessing about Christ.

Paul chose the latter, in part because he discovered an important key to victorious living.

Most people think they will stop complaining when they finally get happy.

Paul indicates that people will get happy when they finally stop complaining!

The difference is profound.

Paul implies in Php.

2:14-16 that complaining Christians look and sound like the depraved generation of which they are a part!

That's a serious charge, but the stakes are high.

What unbeliever would want to accept Christ into his life if Christ apparently made no difference in the life of a Christian?

/Walk it off!/

Paul's admonition to avoid complaining is rooted in his understanding of the OT.

One of the saddest cases of God's people complaining is recorded in Num.

14, where God said to those who complained:

 

“ In this desert your bodies will fall— every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.

Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.” (Numbers 14:29-30 NIVUS)

 

What a tragedy!

Israel complained about their leaders, their food supply, and the difficult challenge to occupy Canaan.

God was fed up with such relentless carping.

In fact, according to Deut.

1:2, it should have taken the Israelites less than two weeks to travel from where they had received the Ten Commandments to the edge of the Promised Land.

As it turned out, their trip took forty years.

It was God's way of telling them to "walk it off"!

The end result was that many died in the wilderness and thereby were denied entrance into the land.

Why such a harsh judgement?

From God's perspective, to complain is to doubt his promises and provisions.

To complain is to slander his sovereignty and assault his lordship.

To complain is to accuse God of being a bad Father!

 

/Like Father, like Son./

It stands to reason that if God, as recorded in the OT, was so intensely opposed to complaining, then we might expect his Son, Jesus Christ, to be equally serious about it in the NT.

After all, Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."

Like Father, like Son.

 

Sure enough, the NT indicates that Jesus was every bit as intolerant of complaining as was his Father in the OT.

In fact, Jesus repeatedly sets himself against one of the most menacing types of complaining – people complaining about other people.

And Jesus responds the same way every time.

/Jesus and the "complainers"./

Jesus actually fielded complaints against five different types of people: the fortunate, the insensitive, the unspiritual, the outsider, and the wicked.

When all the complaint stories are studied together, several truths emerge about how Jesus handled complaints about other people.