CCW Podcast

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Last week, we examined the causes of our negative speech, and this week we'll take a hard look at the Consequences of Complaining and Murmuring. We will see what happens if we don't bridle our tongue. If we're not careful, our words will destroy us and those we love. Proverbs 15:1 says, "A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." Grievous words are hurtful, critical, negative words. Criticism comes easily when we are sitting on the bleachers and we don't agree with a call in the field. Back seat drivers and arm chair quarterbacks find it easy to tell others what they're doing wrong, though they're not behind the wheel or in the game themselves. One of the best ways to get rid of a critical spirit is get involved and get to work. We should make it our goal to be like Barnabus, the son of encouragement and build others up instead of tearing them down. Paul said, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man on the things of others."

Complaining is characteristic of those who believe God doesn't have the right to exercise His will in their lives. Remember the Hebrew slaves when they came out of Egypt? They pretty much complained the whole way from Egypt to Kadesh Barnea, then they were excluded from entering the Holy Land. God doesn't look lightly on complaining, but sees it as a lack of faith in Him. Moses got to the root of the problem when he told them, "Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord" (Exodus 16:8). God hears all complaining as complaints against Him.

How can we, who have been given the mind of Christ, continue to be complainers and argue against God? Some have made being argumentative their lifestyle, a habit that marks their attitudes and words. Arguing (disputing) is just another form of complaining, is it not? How can we have unity and one mind while we complain and argue?

Paul said, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings" (Philippians 2:14). Neither complaining nor arguing has any place in the church of Jesus Christ. Instead we are to be lights in the world, illuminating a better way to live. And that better way is characterized by three traits; we are to live blameless, harmless, and spotless. This Sunday, we will be looking closely at the causes of murmuring, griping, and complaining.

The book of Philippians has truly been the Joy Book through our verse-by-verse study of the Word of God. This week we will be focusing on one of the greatest passages of Scripture ever written about Jesus Christ, Philippians 2:5-11. He is our example for joyful living! It paints the perfect picture of humility, the humility of Jesus Christ leaving the glory of heaven to live as one of us, taking on a body of human flesh. Then if that wasn't enough, He humbled Himself even to die a sinner's death though He never sinned. No one has ever come close to humbling himself like Jesus did.

If the problems of the church and of the world are to ever be solved, we must humble ourselves just as Christ did. The church is often divided, guilty of pride, criticism, murmuring, quarrels, jealousy, envy, selfish ambition, negative feelings, and desires for position and recognition. The only answer is to follow the example of Jesus, letting His ways and thoughts become ours. We must allow the humility of Jesus Christ to flow in and out of our minds. The unity of a church depends upon one thing, its members walking in true humility.

This Sunday we will be looking at chapter two in the book of Philippians. Walking in the joy of the lord involves walking in unity with one another. The Phillippian church was a strong church, a very strong church. When a church is strong, it is always full of vision and planning, and it is always working out a strategy to carry the gospel to the community. It is never still and never complacent, neither the minds of nor the hands of the people. Because of this, there is always the danger of misunderstandings, differences in opinions, concerns, emphases and interests. Each one has a different idea of which ministry or project should be undertaken and supported among a host of other differences.

The point is this: the more strength and activity a church has, the more attention it must give to unity. Why? Because a strong church has more minds and bodies working, and where more people are
working, more differences are bound to come up. Paul knew this; he knew he had to put the Phillippian church on guard. The church had to protect itself against disunity and division. Paul said this to the church at Corinth, "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment",1 Corinthians 1:10.

Unity is the subject of Philippians chapter two. Join us as we examine several traits that will hold the church together in Christ- honoring unity.

In the village green in Lexington, Massachusetts, there is a stone on which is carved the words of Captain Parker who commanded the colonial militia on the spot in 1776. Here is what he said to the men who were assembled to fight the British: "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." If that kind of courage is needed to gain victory in battles over temporal things, how much more is needed in the battles over eternal issues?

More and more today, Christians individually and the church at large are coming under satanically-inspired attack. Christians are in a minority in this world; we are surrounded by the enemies of God either Satan and his demons directly or those human agents he inspires. We need a strategy not just for survival, but for victory in the spiritual conflict that rages all around us. While Paul endured arrest and imprisonment in Rome, he described to the church at Philippi a plan that would help them be victorious in spite of how dire circumstances looked. That plan would be the fellowship of the Gospel, the furtherance of the Gospel and the faith of the Gospel.

Our world knows little of what it means to be happy in the midst of a trial. Happiness is understood to be a function of mood, possessions, or place - not a confidence that rests completely outside of this world. American pastor A.W. Toer wrote, "In this day of universal apprehension when men's hearts are failing them for fear of those things that are coming upon the earth, we Christians are strategically placed to display a happiness that is not of this world and to exhibit a tranquility that will be a little bit of heaven here below."

God has ordained three key social institutions for the purpose of relationships; these are marriage, family, and the local assembly of believers, called the church. The church, also called the body of Christ, is God's source of relationships in a scope broader than that of marriage and family. It's where we develop relationships that sustain us and strengthen us, that provide more than any single family can. The church is God's way for us to be part of something much larger than ourselves, to give us a sense of identity and security in a world not always friendly to followers of Christ.

The New Testament word for relationships and synergy is "koinonia". We usually translate it as "fellowship," but it literally means oneness or partnership. And while the word is not used, the idea is found in such great verses as Hebrews 3:13, "exhort one another daily" and Hebrews 10:24-25, "consider one another in order to stir up love and good works exhorting one another". The apostle Paul founded the Philippian church ten years before he wrote this letter to its members. But his deep relationship to them is evident. In this letter Paul pours out his heart to his beloved Philippian brothers, using personal pronouns like "I," "me," and "my" over 100 times. He is not writing about himself, but about his love for the Philippian believers.

We live in a world of despair, depression, unfulfillment, and dissatisfaction. Man defines happiness as an attitude of satisfaction and delight based upon present circumstances. He relates happiness to happenstance. He regards it as something that can't be planned or programmed. Biblical joy, on the other hand, consists of the deep and abiding confidence that all is well, regardless of the circumstance and difficulty. It is the opposite of worldly happiness. Real joy is always related to God and belongs only to those who are in Christ. It is the permanent possession of every believer. The Bible says that it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). A good analogy of joy is this: it's the flag that flies on the castle of the heart when the King is in residence. Only Christians can know this kind of true and lasting joy. Christian joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel. This Sunday I start our new series on Walking in the Joy of the Lord from the book of Philippians.