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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Amen, all right, we're there in Exodus chapter number 16, and I'd like you to look at verse number one there, Exodus chapter number 16, and today we are talking about the subject of complaining. Like I said during the announcements, we have been, we're now in our second part, and next week we'll finish up this short series on the subject of things that kill contentment, enemies of contentment, and we know that God wants us to live a content life. He wants us to be content with what He's given us. Last week we talked about the fact that comparing kills contentment, and we talked about how when we compare our lives to other people's lives, oftentimes that's a foolish thing, the Bible says a foolish thing to do. Today we're gonna talk about this idea of complaining. There in Exodus 16, if you look at verse one, the Bible says this, and they took their journey from Elam, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of sin, which is between Elam and Sinai on the 15th day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. Notice verse two, and the whole congregation of the children of Israel, I want you to notice this word, murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Now the word murmur means to complain in a low tone or in private. You ever heard, maybe you've done this yourself, or maybe you've seen somebody do, where they're kinda like grumbling underneath their breath? That's what murmur is, and that's what the people were doing. They were kinda just under their breath complaining against Moses and against Aaron. They were upset at where they had been. And here's what I want you to understand as kinda we begin the sermon this morning. The first point, I wanna give you several points this morning. We'll give you four points on the subject of complaining. For those of you that like to take notes, and I'd encourage you to take notes if you're able to, in your bulletin on the course of the week on the back of that sheet, there's a place for sermon notes, and I think it'd be good for you to write these things down. Point number one this morning is this, the sin of complaining. And here's what you need to understand. Complaining is a sin. And I think sometimes we don't really think of it in that way, and we think like, oh, complaining's just a habit, or maybe it's just something that's even irritating or something that's not polite to do, but it's not a sin against God. But the Bible teaches that when we complain, we are actually sinning, and we are actually speaking against God, and here's what you need to understand. Complaining is always directed against the Lord. Now here in verse number two of Exodus chapter 16, the Bible says the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured, notice what it says, against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. See, these people thought, they said, we are complaining, we are murmuring, not against the Lord, but against Moses, not against the Lord, but against Aaron, not against the Lord, but against these men, these authority figures in our lives. But I want you to notice how God took their complaining. Look down at verse number seven, the same chapter, Exodus 16 and verse seven. Notice what the Bible says. And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord. Notice what the Bible says. For that he heareth your murmurings. You see that? The Bible says God said to the children of Israel, Moses is telling the children of Israel, God has heard your murmurings, notice, against the Lord. And you say, well, wait a minute. We weren't murmuring against the Lord. We were murmuring against Moses. We weren't murmuring against the Lord. We were murmuring against Aaron. But here's what you need to understand. Every time you complain and every time you murmur, whether it's against your husband, whether it's against your wife, whether it's against your boss, whether it's against your parents, whether it's against your teacher, whatever the situation is, really, you are murmuring and complaining against the Lord because the Lord is the one that put Moses in charge. The Lord is the one that put Aaron there. The Lord is the one that gave you your parents. The Lord is the one that gave you your spouse. The Lord is the one that has put you in the situation you're in. So complaining, even when we think like, oh no, we're just directing it at this one person, or we're just directing it at this one situation. No, complaining is always directed against the Lord. Notice verse eight. And Moses said, this shall be when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in your morning bread to the full, for the, notice, for the Lord heareth your murmurings, which ye murmur against him, not Aaron, not Moses, against the Lord. And what are we? Notice what Moses said. And what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord. Notice verse nine. And Moses spake unto Aaron, saying to all the congregation of the children of Israel, come near before the Lord, for he, that's the Lord, hath heard your murmuring. So I want you to understand, look at verse 12. Skip down to verse 12. I, this is God speaking, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. So I want you to understand as we kind of begin this morning, complaining is a sin. There is a sin in complaining. And complaining is directed against the Lord. You're there in Exodus. Turn with me to the book of Numbers real quickly. You're there in Exodus. You're gonna go past the book of Leviticus into the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter number 11. Numbers 11 is the first time we see the word complain or complained in scripture. Of course, we saw the word murmuring there in Exodus, which means basically the same thing. But in Numbers chapter 11, we are told this. Look at verse number one. Because here's what I want you to understand. Complaining is a sin. And every time we complain, it's directed to the Lord. But every time we complain, it displeases the Lord. Notice what the Bible says. Numbers 11 and verse one. And when the people complain, do you see that? It displeased the Lord. Every time you open your mouth in a complaint to God, the Bible says that God is not pleased. We already saw in Exodus 16. He heard their murmurings. He heard their complaining. But now the Bible says when the people complain, it displeased the Lord. And the Lord heard it, notice, and his anger was kindled. And the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them that were in the uttermost part of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses. And when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched. And he called the name of the place Tabara because the fire of the Lord burnt among them. God was so upset, God was so displeased at the complaining of these people that he actually burnt them, that he actually destroyed them, he actually judged them. Because here's what you and I need to understand. Complaining is not just a bad habit. It's not just something we do. And it's kind of irritating and I just kind of grew up the way my whole family complained and we're just a family complaint. No, no, it's a sin against the Lord. It's directed at God and it displeases God. Keep your place there in numbers. We're gonna be in Exodus, Leviticus numbers a lot this morning, but I want you to go to the New Testament book of Philippians, Philippians chapter number two in the New Testament. If you can find first and second Corinthians, you got Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Philippians chapter two. And I want you to notice verse number 14, Philippians chapter two and verse number 14. Notice what the Bible says. This is a command from God. This is a command, Philippians chapter two and verse number 14 says, do, notice what it says, all things. You see that? Now look, all means everything. Everything you do, here's how he wants you to do it. Do all things, notice, without murmurings and disputings. God says, anything you do, I don't want you to do it while you're murmuring. I don't want you to do it while you're grumbling. I don't want you to do it while you're complaining. He says, if you complain, then I don't want you doing whatever you're doing. So here's what he's saying. He does not want you and I to murmur, to complain. You say, why is that? Because complaining is a sin. Now, keep your place there in Philippians. We're gonna come back to that area in the Bible, but go to the book of Exodus. Go back to Exodus chapter number 14. Let me just give you a couple of things. So the first thing I wanna teach you this morning and the subject of complaining is this, is just that complaining is a sin. There is a sin of complaining, but not only is there the sin of complaining, I want you to notice the second point this morning is this, and that is this, complaining spreads. I wanna talk about the spread of complaining. I want you to notice the children of Israel, and you've noticed this in the Bible if you've read the Old Testament before. Go to Exodus chapter 14 and I want you to notice verse number 10. Exodus chapter 14 and verse 10. The Bible says this, and when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes and behold, the Egyptians marched after them and they were sore afraid and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. Look at verse 11. And they said unto Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, and I want you to remember that because we're gonna come back to that thought at the end of the sermon. But they said, because there was no graves in Egypt, has thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore has thou dealt thus with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. They literally leave Egypt and the first thing they do when they get to an obstacle, the Red Sea, and the Egyptians are coming behind them. I mean, of course, I understand the situation they're in. I understand the pressure they're in. But you just saw God do 10 wonderful miracles, 10 plagues to the children of Israel. Do you really think he brought you to the Red Sea to die there? And they're complaining and they're saying, did you bring us out here because there was no graves in Egypt? There was not enough places to bury the dead bodies. Is that why you brought us here? Now here's what's interesting. In Exodus 14, they're complaining. Flip over to chapter 15, look at verse 23. The next chapter over. Exodus 15 and verse number 23. Notice what the Bible says. And when they came to Mara, so God has now delivered them. God has parted the Red Sea. They have crossed on dry land. And the Bible says in verse 23, and when they came to Mara, they could not drink of the waters of Mara for they were bitter, therefore, the name of it was called Mara. Look at verse 24, and the people murmur. The people complain against Moses saying, what shall we drink? So here's what's interesting. In chapter 14, they're complaining. God delivers them. God parts the Red Sea. Now in chapter 15, they get to a place where there's no water, and what do they do? Complain. And of course, if you read the rest of the story, you know that God provides water for them. But I want you to notice what happens in chapter 16. Go to Exodus 16, look at verse two. Exodus 16 and verse two. Notice what the Bible says. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them, word to God that we had died at the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by the flesh pots and when we did eat bread to the full, for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly. Notice what they said. They said, you brought us here to kill this whole assembly with hunger. They're complaining again. Go to chapter 17, look at verse one. Chapter 17 and verse one. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after their journeyings according to the commandments of the Lord and pitched in Rephidim and there was no water for the people to drink. Now this one really gets me, because here's the thing. We just saw them complain about water. God has already provided water for them in the past. But now, here, there's no water. And what do they do? Look at verse two. Wherefore the people did chide. That means they expressed their disapproval. They talked about how we don't like how you're leading us, Moses. We don't like how things are going, Moses. They complained about the leadership with Moses and said, give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water and the people noticed, murmured against Moses. And said, wherefore is this that thou has brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And here's what I want you to understand. It's one thing, you know, because here's what you and I think. We say like, yeah, I'm complaining right now about this situation, but it's just because of this one situation. It's because just this one time, things are not going well, so I'm just gonna go ahead and I'm gonna say what I need to say and I'm gonna let it out and I'm gonna complain. But here's the problem with that. People who allow themselves to complain will spend their entire lives complaining because there will always be something to complain about. And these people, they complain in chapter 14, they complain in chapter 15, they complain in chapter 16, they complain in chapter 17, and we could go through the numbers that are on me, I'm not gonna do it this morning and show you all the times they complain. And I will submit to you this morning, they spent their entire lives complaining because complaining spreads. And if you allow yourself to complain about anything, you will spend your life complaining about everything. And it's just this idea. You say, you gotta understand, complaining is a sin, but you also gotta understand this, complaining spreads. It spreads in your life. If you don't check it, if you don't say I will not complain, you will become a complainer. You'll spend your whole life complaining. Now go back to chapter 16, let me show you something real quick under this idea of the spread of complaining. Not only does complaining spread in our lives in the sense that we spend our entire lives complaining, but complaining also spreads amongst people. You know what I've noticed is, if you find a man who complains, generally his wife complains. And you know what you'll find is their kids complain. And you know, one of the reasons I try to fight really hard against certain attitudes and things coming into this church is because if we allow one person to just be actively, verbally complaining about everything, you know what happens? The whole church begins to complain. And everyone wants to give their opinion about what they don't like and what they don't think. Notice what the Bible says, Exodus 16 and verse two. And the whole, you see that? We're talking about millions of people. And the Bible says the whole congregation, the entire congregation of the children of Israel murmured. Wasn't just one, wasn't just two, wasn't just several. Here's what you need to understand. Complaining spreads. At work, if one employee is disgruntled and starts complaining, guess what happens? All the employees start complaining. At church, if one member is disgruntled and starts complaining, guess what happens? The entire church starts complaining. In your family, with your children, hey, check your children and make sure you don't raise a little complainer because you say, well, it's just this one child that's always complaining, but guess what's gonna happen? All your children will begin to complain. All your children will begin to murmur. All your children, because complaining is something that spreads. Now, you're there in Exodus, go get a book of Proverbs there in the Old Testament, if you can find in the center of your Bible, you'll find the book of Psalms right next to the book of Psalms, you got the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 21. And I wanna just give you, before I continue on, just wanna give you some examples of areas that we complain in a lot. Areas that we commonly complain in. In Proverbs 21 in verse nine, the Bible says this. Let me say this, ladies, wives, don't complain about your husbands. You know, these ladies will often complain about their husbands and here's the question I have for them is like, well, why do you marry them? You're the one that married them. We don't live in Pakistan where you're forced to marry, you know, where your parents basically, you know, arrange the marriage. You know, there was a time in your life where you thought he was the greatest thing on earth. You thought he was the best thing since life spread. You thought he could walk on water. And it's like, well, he doesn't have a job. He didn't have a job when you married him. You know, well, he's lazy. He was lazy when you married him. He smells bad, he smelled bad when you married him. And you know, wives today will complain against their husbands. Are you there in Proverbs 21? Look at verse nine, notice what the Bible says. It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than with a brawling woman in a white house. And sometimes women are like, I don't know how my husband wants to spend time with me. He always just wants to go and be with these people and be doing this and he doesn't want to spend time with me and I'm just so angry. And it's like, yeah. Wouldn't want to spend time with you either. I mean, if you're always yelling, you're always complaining, you're always upset, you're always talking about, you don't make enough money, you've gained weight, you look ugly, you smell bad. I mean, good night, of course you don't. You know, you say, why you spend time on the roof, honey? I was just reading Proverbs. You know, why are you always trying to be away from me? Hey look, ladies, because a common complaint that women have is my husband has spent enough time with me. You know, let me give you some advice. Be nice. Become someone that he wants to spend time with. Become someone that he actually wants to be with. I don't understand why he wants to spend time with me. And you're just so angry and mad. Look, the Bible says it's better to dwell in the corner of a house than with a brawling woman in a white house. But hold on a second before you start getting too comfortable, guys. Hey, listen guys, don't complain about your wives. Go to Colossians chapter three. Did you keep your place in Philippians? Remember to keep your place in Philippians? One book over is Colossians. You say, well, wives complain about their husbands, but you know what, husbands complain about their wives. Notice what the Bible says in Colossians 3, 19. Colossians 3, 19. Husbands, love your wives. Now, often in scripture, men are commanded to love their wives, but in this passage it says this, and be not bitter against them. The Bible says to not be bitter. You say, why did God throw that in? Because a lot of husbands are bitter against their wives. Well, I don't understand why she's always gotta be telling, you're complaining about something, and this is falling apart, and I don't make enough money, and I don't this, and I don't that. Hey, but you know what, you married her. No one forced you to marry her. She was not complaining when you married her, but you were just so into how she loved or whatever. Hey, listen, men, don't complain about your wives. Hey, listen, wives, don't complain about your husband. You say, well, I don't like how she cooks, I don't like how she cleans, I don't like how she does it, I don't like how she does that. Just, you know, you gotta put up with it. You married her. And look, there's definitely room for growth, and there's definitely room for leadership, and you gotta take that leadership role. But listen to me, when you complain against your wife, you're complaining against God because God is the one that gave it to you. When you're complaining against your husband, you're complaining against God because God is the one that gave that husband to you. So let's be careful about complaining about our spouse. And that's, yeah, it goes back to the idea we were talking about last week, about comparing. Often we compare our spouse, and then you complain about your spouse. You know, and it's like, well, her husband, you don't know. You know, it's always funny to me, it's like, well, you did this, and it worked out great for you. You don't know that it worked out great for her. You don't know that it worked out great for him. Because you know, the truth of the matter is, we don't go around telling everybody all our issues and problems and how we've been reaping what we've sowed. You don't know that, so just be happy with the spouse that God gave you, and say, this is the wife that God gave me, and I'm gonna lead her, and I'm gonna love her, and I'm gonna be loyal to her, and maybe if I was a better leader, man, she would be a better follower. Say, well, she won't follow. Maybe it's because you're not much of a leader. And maybe you're complaining about what the Lord has given you. But let me give you another example. Go to the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 20. You know, ladies, don't complain about your husbands, and husbands, don't complain about your wife. But let me say this, employees don't complain about your boss. Matthew chapter 20, look at verse one. Notice what the Bible says. Matthew chapter 20 and verse one. Notice what the Bible says. For the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that is an householder. This is Jesus giving a parable, and he gives a parable about a workplace. The householder is a boss, and the parable has a specific application, and I'm not preaching on this parable this morning, so I'm not gonna deal with that, but I just want you to notice what the Bible says. Which went out early in the morning to hire laborers in his vineyard. You see that? He's an employer. He's hiring laborers in his vineyard. Notice verse two. And when he agreed, I want you to notice that word agree. When he agreed with the laborers for a penny a day. Now a penny was more in Bible times in this culture than a penny is for us today. It was about what you pay someone for laboring for a full-time wage, for a day, the wages for a day. Notice what it says, verse two. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into the vineyard. So he goes, finds these workers, they say, how much you gonna pay us? He said, how about a penny a day? They said, sure. And he going to work. Now we won't take the time to read all of it, but if you read the whole passage, you'll find that he went out at the, the Bible tells us he went out early in the morning. Presumably that's probably around 6 a.m. by our standards. That'd be like the first hour of the day, you know, to work. Then the Bible tells he went out the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, the 11th hour. He goes out at noon, at 9 a.m. He goes out at noon. He goes out at 3 p.m. Then he goes out at 5 p.m. an hour before the workday's over at 6 p.m. And he hired the workers, but here's the difference. He didn't agree with them for an hour. He just said, whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So he didn't, they didn't like sign a contract. He just said, I'll pay you what I think is right. They agreed to it, they go to work. Look at verse eight. So when the even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, call the labors and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the 11th hour, they received every man a penny. Now understand that. He started with the ones who worked less first. They'd only been working for one hour. He started with those that started at the 11th hour. You worked till 6 p.m., these guys started at 5 p.m. And they received every man a penny. Because remember, he told them, I will give you what is right, what I think is right. They agreed to that. They said, sure, pay us whatever. And he pays them, it's like you work one hour, you got paid for working the whole day. It was great, it was a huge blessing for them. Look at verse 10. But when the first came, the 6 a.m. crowd. Now remember, they didn't say, pay us what you think is right. They're like, we're not going to work till we get a contract signed. What are you gonna pay us? And they agreed for a penny a day. They agreed to work 12 hours and get one penny. Notice what it says, verse 10. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more, and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, notice, they murmured against the good man of the house, saying, these last have wrought but one hour, and thou has made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. And you can go on and he explains to them, you know, I did thee no wrong. He said, I'm not being dishonest with you. We agreed for an hour, for a penny for the day. I'm paying you that. These guys didn't agree with me for anything. I decided to be a blessing. He said, is your eye evil because I'm good? Listen to me, listen to me, at work, sometimes you don't understand why the boss does what he does. And when you're the employee, it's not your job to understand. It's your job to just do what he tells you to do. And you know, let me explain something to you. At work, you are there to make the boss money. If you're not making the money, he doesn't have, you know, he doesn't owe you anything. I was talking to someone about, you know, we're talking about maybe bringing on a staff member here at Verity Baptist Church, and I was talking to an individual, and I said this to him, I said this to Brother Stuckey, I think I said this to Mr. J.C., and I explained to people when they work at Verity Baptist Church, if you work at Verity Baptist Church, you do not work for the church. These people are not your employers. Because people get this idea like, oh, we got employees now, so I can get them to come do this for me, and I can get them to come do this for me, and they're gonna be my little survey because they work for the church. No, no, no, these people don't work for the church, they work for me. You know, now if you wanna say that, well, pastor works for the church, okay, pastor works for the church, I'll go visit you in the hospital, I'll go visit you and you say, I'll do all those things. But you know what, all these employees, they don't work for the church, they work for Pastor Jimenez. They get hired to help me fulfill the ministry that God has given me here. And this is what I tell them like, your job's to make me happy. Your job's to make sure I'm productive, or that I can stay productive, or that I don't get burdened down or labored down with some other things that I don't need to deal with. And listen, at work, it's the same thing. Your job is to make your boss happy, and it's not your place to sit there and complain, well, I don't understand why he paid them more, I don't understand why they gotta raise, that's none of your business. As long as he gives you what he agreed to give you, you just be working for him. You know, don't be this person at work who's always complaining, always murmuring, always, don't be this wife who's always complaining, don't be this husband who's always complaining. Let me give you another example, go to Acts chapter six, you're there in Matthew, you know, past Mark, Luke, John, Acts. Acts chapter number six, Acts chapter number six, look at verse one. Acts chapter number six and verse one. Acts chapter number six and verse one. Let me give you another example. Don't, you know, we talked about don't complain against your husband, don't complain against your wife, don't complain against your boss. But let me say this, don't complain about church. Look at Acts six, look at verse one. In those days when the number of the disciples was multiplied, the church was growing in Jerusalem. There arose a, notice this word, murmuring, of the Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. The church was growing and as a result of the growth, there were some things that weren't getting done. You know, they hadn't hired enough staff to catch up with everything and get everything going. And there arose a murmuring. You know, at church, don't be the person that's always complaining about something. Don't be the person that's always upset about something. You know, don't be the person, and look, I'm to the point, there are people in our church that I respect because, you know, they're mature Christians, they love the Lord, I respect them, and if they come to me and they say, hey pastor, you know, I was just thinking about this situation, I was thinking, you know, maybe we could do this better, whatever, I will listen to what they have to say and I will definitely consider what they have to say. But I'm at the point when people like complain to me, they just walk up to me and they're like, I don't like how you do this. I'll just like purposely just keep doing that. It's cause I'm just like, you know what, if you don't like it, go somewhere else. We've been doing it like this before you got here. You know, I love, that's why I'll never take a church on. Like I'll never become the pastor of an established church because here's the phrase I love to tell people. When they complain about anything, I'm just like, well that's how we did it before you got here. Because when you start the church, you can say that to everyone. Well, you know, I don't like how loud, it was loud when you got here. I don't like how, it was like that when you got, I don't even have to hear what you're gonna say, it was like that when you got here. And nobody begged you to come, nobody begged you to become a member, nobody. Look, don't become these people who are, cause here's the problem with complainers, they'll complain at work, they'll complain at home, they'll complain at church, and here's the problem, your husband, ladies, may put up with it cause he doesn't have any hair on his legs, your boss may put up with it cause he doesn't have any hair on his legs, but you know what, Pastor Jimenez doesn't put up with it. And the biggest problem I have at Verde Baptist Church is a lot of times ladies come to this church and for the first time they meet a man with a backbone that isn't interested in pleasing you. And I'll just stand up and say, well, you know what, go cry about it to somebody else cause I don't really care. You had a complaint, write it down on a piece of paper and take it out back to the trash can and that's where we deposit all the complaints. The homeless people will look over it and they'll get back to you. But we don't really care, we could care, because here's the problem with complainers, you'll never make them happy. They complain about one thing and you're like, oh man, okay, you know, I'm gonna change. But you know what, the very next chapter they complain about something else. And you're like, oh man, I gotta try to make them happy and then the next chapter they complain and eventually you're just like, ah, forget it. Not worth the time. Complaining is a problem. Let me give you another example, go to Acts 16. We talked about not complaining with your spouse, we talked about not complaining at the workplace, we talked about not complaining at church. Let me give you another one, don't complain during trials. Don't complain during trials. Notice Acts 16 and verse 22, notice what the Bible says. And the multitude rose up together against them and the magistrates rent off their clothes and commanded to beat them. And they that had laid many stripes upon them, and when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who having received such a charge, thrust him into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. Now, if this happened to you and I, you know what the next verse we're saying? And at midnight, they were murmuring. At midnight, they were complaining. At midnight, they were upset. At midnight, they were cursing. But notice what it says about Paul and Silas. And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God. And the prisoners heard them. You know what, sometimes we go through trials. And sometimes people will attack us. And all you're doing is serving God. All you're doing is preaching the Bible. And here they got beat, they got imprisoned. How did they respond? With murmuring, with complaining? No, they responded with prayer and praises. They had a good attitude. You know, we ought to be careful to not complain during the trials that God puts us through. And let me say this, teach your children not to complain. Teach your children not to complain. And oftentimes, mom and dad, you may not even realize it. You say, man, my kids complain a lot. They might be that you complain a lot and you don't realize it. And your complaint is spreading to them. So we saw number one, the sin of complaining. We saw number two, the spread of complaining. Let's talk number three about the source of complaining. Where does complaining come from? Go to the book of Job, the first chapter. If we're just in Psalms not too long ago, if you, right before the Psalms, you got the book of Job. You're familiar with the story of Job and we'll talk a little bit about it. But let me say this, if anyone had a reason to complain, it was Job. I mean, if there was anyone who would have been justified in his complaint, it would have been Job. And I want you to notice what the Bible says about Job. Job chapter one and verse one. There was a man in the land of Oz. Whose name was Job. And that man was perfect and upright and one that feared God and shoot evil. And we're not gonna take the time to read all of it. We're gonna skip down to verse six. But if you keep reading, you'll find that Job had seven sons, three daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camel, 500 oxen, 500 asses. The Bible said that he had a very great household, meaning he was a very wealthy man. And that he was the greatest of all the men of the East. I mean, in his area of the world, he was the richest, most wealthy, most successful guy. Look at verse six. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Has thou considered my servant Job? That there is none like him in all the earth, perfect and upright man, one that fears God and is true with evil. Imagine how great of a testimony Job must have had for God to be willing to say, what do you think about Job? Have you considered my servant Job? Look at verse nine. Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Does Job fear God for not? Here's what he said. He said, Will does Job fear you for nothing? Has not thou made an hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side? Thou has blessed the work of his hands and his substance is increased in the Lord. But put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath. Now notice the accusation. And he will curse thee to thy face. Here's the accusation. If you put your hand against Job and you quit blessing him, he will complain. He will grumble. He will murmur. He will get mad. He will curse you, God, to your face. Look at verse 12. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power only upon himself. Put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Notice verse 13. And there was a day. Whenever I read this passage, that phrase always gets me. There was a day. Because you know what? That's the truth about life. Any day could be the day that your whole life changes. Any day could be the day that everything's taken from you. And notice what the Bible says. There was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their elder brother's house. And there came a messenger unto Job and said, The oxen, remember he had 500 oxen, were plowing and the acid, remember he had 500 acids, feeding beside them. And the Sabeans fell upon them and took them away. And they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. So he gets a message that says, a thousand of your cattle have gone and all the servants that were watching him have been killed and I'm the only one alone that escaped to tell thee. Now look, that's pretty bad news. Okay, that's all right. Just if that was all you got that day, that'd be enough to ruin your day. Look at verse 16. Here's another phrase that always gets me. While he was yet speaking. He's not even done telling him everything. He's not even done telling him the news. And while he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, the fire of God has fallen from heaven. Notice how God gets the blame. And I've burned up the sheep, remember he had 7,000 sheep? And the servants and consumed them and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Notice verse 17. While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, the Chaldeans made out three bands and fell upon the camels. Remember he had 3,000 camels? And I've carried them away, yay, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Look at verse 18. And while he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, thy sons. I mean like up to this point it's money, it's animals. I'm sure Job at this point is just like, what now? And he says, thy sons and thy daughters. These are news no parent ever wants to receive. We're eating and drinking wine in the elder's brother's house. And behold there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house and it fell upon the young men and they are dead. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Now I want you to notice something. Skip down to verse 22 just real quickly before we get to verses 20 and 21. Why don't you notice Job's response? And all this Job said not, nor charged God foolishly. What does that mean? The word charge means to accuse. Like remember if you get charged for a crime, what are they doing? They're accusing you of something. And all this Job did not accuse God. And all this Job did not say to God, God why are you doing this? God you're not justified in this. And he did not complain, he did not murmur, he did not open his mouth and foolishly charge against God. You say, how? How in the world could you be told in one day messenger after messenger after messenger being told you lost your job, you're being told you lost your house, you're being told you lost all the money in the bank, you're being told you lost everything. The last messenger says, and by the way your 10 children are dead. How do you not complain? I'll explain to you why Job did not complain. And here's the thing, Job understood something. See the source of complaining, our complaint comes because we don't understand a principle in scripture. But Job understood this principle. Notice what he says in verse 20. The Bible says, then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshiped and said, naked came out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return hither. Here's the principle, don't miss it. The Lord gave and the Lord have taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. You know what Job understood? Here's what he understood. I am not owed anything by God. There's nothing that I have. There's nothing I possess. There's no relationship that I have that is mine that I deserve for my own merit. He understood everything I have, I have because the Lord gave me. He said the Lord gave me those children. The Lord gave me those finances. The Lord gave me that success. The Lord gave me that business. He says God can take it away any moment he wants. You say, why didn't Job complain? Here's why he didn't complain, because he understood that he was entitled to nothing. Nothing was owed to him. You know why you and I complain? Because we think God owes us that house. We think God owes us that car. We think God owes us that job. We think God owes us that relationship. We think God owes it. And look, listen to me. If there's anything in this world, if there's any house in this whole entire world that you, if you had to live in it, you would complain. Your heart's not right. If there's any car in this world that if you have to drive it, you would drive it, but you would complain, your heart's not right. If there's any neighborhood in this world that if you had to live there, you would complain. Your heart is not right. If there's any relationship in this world that if you lost... Look, losing a child is a terrible, terrible thing. I'm not minimizing it. But the Bible says, Children are the inheritance of the Lord. Those kids do not belong to me. My children do not belong to me, they are God. God gave them to steward them on this earth, to raise them for His glory. But those children do not belong to me. That wife does not belong to me. It has been given to me by God, Almighty God. And if He chooses to take them, that's His prerogative. And if there's any relationship on this earth that if I lost it, it would cause me to charge God foolishly. Your heart's not right. Because Job understood this thing. God owes me nothing. There's nothing that God owes me. God does not owe me a child. God does not owe me a spouse. God does not owe me a job. God does not owe me a vacation. God does not owe me anything. There's nothing in this world. He said, The Lord came and the Lord had taken away. And He said, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Could you imagine going to your child's funeral and saying, Blessed be the name of the Lord. That was Job. If anybody had an excuse to complain on this earth, it was Job. And he did not complain because he understood one principle and that was this, God owes me nothing. But there's another principle Job understood. I want you to see it. Notice verse 3 of Job chapter 2. And the Lord said unto Satan, this is round two, Hast thou considered my servant Job? That there is none like him in all the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God and is true with evil. And still he holdeth past his integrity, although thou moveth me against him to destroy him without cause. There's no reason for this other than God just willed it. Look at verse 4, And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. Well of course he didn't complain and murmur against you God, but you know what? If you were to hurt him physically, he would do it. Look at verse 5, But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. He said, here's the accusation, he will curse you God. He will complain against you if you touch his face. Look at verse 6, And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. Notice verse 8, And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and he sat down among the ashes. Now he's physically, now his health's gone down the toilet, now he's struggling with his own health on top of everything that he's lost. Look at verse 9, Then said his wife unto him, Does thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. Not really supportive. Now look, I don't beat up on Job's wife that much. I know people like to beat up on Job's wife. And she, why wasn't she? Look, she just lost her children. And she just lost her finances. And she's scared, and she's upset. And you know what, I'm not going to beat up on her a lot, but she's not really being supportive for Job here. And notice what it says in verse 10, what Job said. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. He says, What shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? And in all this did not Job sin with his lips. You know what Job understood? Not only did he understand that he's not owed anything of God, but Job understood that God knows what he's doing. He said, God is going to purge me. God is going to refine me. I shall come forth as gold. Here's what he's saying. I don't understand what God is doing. I don't understand why God has given me this sickness. I don't understand why God has taken my family. I don't understand why God has taken my finances. I don't understand what God is doing. But when God was blessing, I was happy to receive it. And when God is not blessing, should we receive good at the hand of the Lord and not evil? He says, God knows what he's doing. He said, God knows what I'm going through. He knoweth the way that I take. He said, When I shall come forth, I shall come forth as gold. See, he did not complain because in his heart he knew a couple of things. I'm owed nothing, and God has my best interest in mine. You and I complain because we think we're owed something, and we think we know better than God. Well, God, if God knew what he was doing, and we don't say those words. If my boss knew what he was doing, but you know what you're actually saying? If God knew what he was doing. See, we say, if my husband knew what he was doing, but here's what you're really saying. If God knew what he was doing. If my parents just knew, but you know what you're really saying? If God knew what he was doing. And Job said, you know what? God knows what he's doing. I will receive good at the hand of God, and I will also receive evil. So here's what we've seen. We've seen the sin of complaining. Complaining is a sin. It displeases the Lord because it's directed towards him. We saw the spread of complaining. If you allow yourself to complain about one thing, you will allow yourself to complain about everything. We saw the source of complaining. The source of complaining comes from a heart of pride that thinks that I'm owed something, that thinks that God, that I deserve something, that thinks that God has given me something. If he doesn't give it to me, God does not know what he's doing. Let me say number four, the solution to complaining. What's the solution to complaining? You're there in the book of Job's, go one book over to the book of Psalms, Psalm 142. You say, okay Pastor Jimenez, I get it. And maybe you would sit here and say, I complain, I'm a complainer. I have a problem with this. And listen to me, we all have a problem with this. I have a problem with this. Who are you preaching to? I'm preaching myself. I will admit to you, I have a tendency in my heart, my mind to complain about things that I'm going through just like you, just like every other human being. It's human tendencies. So what's the solution? How do I solve it? Are you there in Psalm 142? There's two things you can do to solve it. Number one, direct your complaints to the Lord, not against the Lord. See when we complain, when we complain, we're complaining against the Lord. You may be directing it to your husband or to your wife or to your parents or to your teacher or to your employer or to whoever, your neighbor, whoever it is that's bothering you. But really you're complaining against God. It's directed towards God. But you know what? Instead of directing your complaints against the Lord, what you and I ought to be doing is directing our complaints to the Lord. So what are you talking about? Are you there in Psalm 142? Look at verse one. Mass school of David, a prayer when he was in the cave. It tells us there that he was in a cave because here's what we want to know. He's not doing really well. He's not in the palace. He's running for his life. Remember that time in the life of David? Notice what he says, I cried unto the Lord with my voice. With my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication. Notice verse two, I poured out my complaints before him. See complaining is not a sin when it's directed towards God in prayer. When we bring our complaints before the Lord in prayer, that's a good thing. He said, I poured my complaint before him. I showed before him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way when I walked have they privately laid a snare for me. He says, God, I'm overwhelmed. God, I've got people attacking me. They're putting snares. They're putting traps in my path. He said, what do I do? You don't sit there and complain. You don't sit there and crumble. You don't sit there and murmur. You take that complaint and turn it into a prayer. Remember Paul and Silas? At midnight they what? Prayed. See, here's, you say, what do I do with my complaint? Here's what, you say, how do I solve complaint? I'm a complainer in my life. How do I solve it? Here's how you solve it. Every time you feel the need to complain, you turn that into a prayer. That would revolutionize your life. I mean you would literally become a prayer warrior. That whole verse about, you know, pray without ceasing would be real in our lives if every time I felt the need to complain about something, I stopped myself and said, you know what, instead of complaining about my boss, instead of complaining about my parents, instead of complaining about my spouse, I'm going to stop right now and take that complaint to God in prayer. I mean, wouldn't that revolutionize your life? Look, you know, right now we're looking for a building and the options aren't the greatest. And I just, every time I'm going to start, you know, every time I start thinking about, oh man, these thinking protesters and this problem and this problem and these people, I say, you know what, I'm going to stop and pray about the situation. Because you know, you say, well, how do I solve complaining? Here's how you solve complaining. You direct your complaints, not against the Lord, but to the Lord in prayer. You're there in Psalm. Go to 1 Samuel 1.16. I just want you to see one verse. 1 Samuel, if you can find those first and second books, remember 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel Kings, 1 Samuel Chronicles, find 1 Samuel 1.16. Remember Hannah? She wasn't able to have a child and her husband had another wife and she was able to have children. There was a competition there. There was a little bit of comparing there. And she had a complaint, but she did the proper thing with it. Notice what she did in Psalm 1.16. She says, because Eli sees her praying and he thinks she's drunk and there's a whole other sermon there, but I want you to notice what she says. She says, count not mine handmade for a daughter of Belial. She says, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. She says, I have an abundance of complaint. She says, I have an abundance of grief, but here's what I've done with it. I've turned it into a prayer. She said, I've come to God in prayer. Out of the abundance of my complaint and out of the grief of my heart have I spoken hitherto. You say, how do I solve the problem of complaining? What's the solution? Here's the solution. Write your complaints to the Lord, not against God, but to God in prayer. Let me give you the second thing that you can do. Go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. If you, keep your place in Psalms, I don't know if I told you that, but I meant to tell you that, because we're going to come back to it here in a minute, and we're almost done. But I want you to find 1 Thessalonians 5. You can find all the T books, they're all clustered together, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy Titus. You find the T books in the New Testament, get to 1 Thessalonians 5, look at verse 18. 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 18. I want you to notice what the Bible says. This is one of the most convicting scriptures in all of the Bible. 1 Thessalonians 5 and 18, in everything, in everything. See it's easy to do it when we get the bonus. It's easy to do it when we get the raise. It's easy to do it when we're on vacation. It's easy to do it when things are going well. It's easy to do it when the tendencies are up. It's easy to do it when the offerings are up. It's easy to do it when everything's fine. But God says, in everything. That means when you lose your job. That means when you lose your child. That means when you lose that spouse. That means when you lose that ministry. That means when you lose, whatever it is that you're doing, notice what it says. In everything, give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, and I like how he personalizes it. Concerning you. Concerning me. What's God's will for my life? Here's God's will for your life, in everything, give thanks. In everything, give thanks. Is that not what Job was doing? When he found out his children were dead, he said, blessed be the name of the Lord. You say, Pastor Jimenez, you're being, look, listen to me. I've never lost a child. I hope I never do. I would imagine that losing a child is probably the hardest pain that anybody can go through. You know, children are not supposed to die before their parents. And we're actually going to be talking about that in 2 Samuel here this Wednesday. But I just want to explain to you, and I'm speaking just from scripture because I've never gone through it, but even when you bury a child, you can be thankful for the time that God gave you with them. You can be thankful for the time that he allowed you to have with them. See, the Bible says in everything, give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, and you and I complain about the silliest things. We complain about things that don't matter, things that aren't important, and God says in everything, you say, how do I solve my complaining problem? Here's how you solve it. You turn your complaints into prayers, but you develop, you direct your complaints to God, but you also develop a heart of gratitude. You learn to be grateful because, you know, complaining is the opposite of being grateful. It's being ungrateful. We saw the sin of complaining, the spread of complaining, the source of complaining, the solution for complaining. Let me give you just a couple of thoughts as we finish up this morning. Can you get back to Psalms, Psalm 144? I want to just give you two thoughts as we conclude the sermon this morning. Psalm 144, look at verse 15. Just by way of conclusion, let me say this. God's people should not be characterized by complaining. If there's any people on this earth that are joyful, content in Christ, it ought to be you and I. Amen. Psalm 144 in verse 15 says this, happy is the people that is in such a case. In what case? Yea, happy is the people whose God is the Lord. Now, that's a famous verse in the Bible. If God is your Lord, you're a happy person. But notice what it says leading up to that verse. Notice the context. Look at verse 12. He says that our sons may be as plants growing up in their youth. He's talking about the people whose God is their Lord. He said, let our sons be as plants growing up in their youth, that our daughters may be as cornerstones polished after the similitude of palace, that our gardeners may be full affording all manner of store, that our sheep may bring forth thousands and tens of thousands in our streets. Notice verse 14, that our oxen may be strong to labor, that there be no breaking in nor going out. Notice that there be no complaining in our streets. Happy is that people that is in such a case. Yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord. See, if we're a people and we say God is our Lord, you know what there should be never in God, among God's people, complaining. Because we believe that God has our best interest in mind. Because we believe that we are not owed anything by God. Because we believe that everything that God has given us, He's given us out of His grace and love for us. And He can take it anytime that He wants. And we're okay with that because God is in control of our lives. See, God's people should not be characterized by complaining. Let me say this, go to the book of Numbers, it's where we started earlier in the sermon. Numbers 14, this is the last place I'll have you go. And let me say this about God's people not being characterized by complaining. If you go to Jude and you read the famous passage there about the false prophets, remember he gives us that whole passage about the false prophets. One of the things he says about the false prophets and the reprobates, he says that they are murmurers and complainers. See, it's ungodlike to be a complainer, to be a murmurer. But let me say this, when you complain, you are killing contentment. Here's why, because you're choosing to focus your attention on the things that aren't going well. And here's what Paul said, I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. He said, no matter what's going on, was that not true of Job's life? No matter what's going on, I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. You say, why does complaining kill contentment? Because here's what complaining does, it puts my focus on the things that I'm not happy about. You say, well, what do I do with that? Take that to the Lord in prayer, you'll feel better. Choose not to complain in your life, choose to focus on the positive, choose to realize that God is in control, that God has my best interest in mind. But let me say this, when you complain, God may keep you in that situation. So what are you talking about? You're there in Numbers 14, look at verse 27, notice what the Bible says, this is eye-opening scripture when it comes to complaining, notice what it says, how long shall I bear with this evil congregation, this is God speaking, which murmur against me, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me, say unto them, as truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have, notice, don't miss this, please don't miss this, if you don't catch anything in the sermon, just get this, notice what God said, he said, as ye have spoken in mine ear, he said, I've heard your complaining, I've heard your murmuring, what were they complaining, do you remember? They were saying, because there was no graves in Israel, have you brought us out here to die? Oh, that we would have lived in Egypt, and they're saying, you brought us out to the desert to kill us, you brought us out to the desert, there's no water, there's no food, their complaint was, you brought us here to kill us, you brought us here because there was no graves. Now notice what God says, he says, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you, look at verse 29, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from 20 years old and upward, which have murmured against me, because listen, don't miss this, don't miss this, the journey from Egypt to the promised land was 11 days. God chose to bring them around the long way, because he wanted to give them the tabernacle, wanted to give them the laws, and he chose that they would spend six months in the wilderness before they go into the promised land. But during those six months, here's all they did, complain, complain, complain. They were only supposed to be there for several months, but they kept saying, you brought us out here to die, you were never gonna make it to Canaan, you brought us here because there was no graves, and here's what God said, oh okay, that's your complaint, okay, then you will die in this wilderness, and I'll bring your children into the promised land. And God turned their complaints into reality. See you sit there and complain about your boss, and you're like, I had a better boss, I had a better job, listen to me, be careful, because God might say, okay, then you'll just work there for the rest of your life. Or if my wife was just a little nicer, okay, well then she's gonna be like that for the rest of your life. You know why I try not to complain? You upset about these protests? I think they're great, I think they're wonderful, you say why? Because I don't want God saying, oh really, you want to complain about the protests, then they'll be in your ministry for the rest of your life. See sometimes when we complain, God says, hey, you know what, then I will make that complaint a reality. You accuse me of bringing you into the wilderness to kill you, then you will die there. Be careful what you complain about, be careful what you complain about, because God may turn your complaint into reality. So what do I do with my complaint? Pray to God about it. What do I do with my complaint? Bring it to the Lord in prayer, direct it to the Lord, not against the Lord, develop a heart of gratitude and say, and be grateful and thankful for the blessings that God has given you. And don't complain, why? Because complaining kills contentment. That's why I had to have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for your word.