Confessions of a Church: Grumbling
The Psalm writer wrote: Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God. It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.
Deuteronomy 6:10-25 10 “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah. You should diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you. You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give your fathers, by driving out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken. “When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand. Moreover, the Lord showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household; He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’ So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today. It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Arguably, there's nothing more cancerous, contagious, or destructive to the unity of an organization, a family, or the Church, than grumbling.
Envy, covetousness, meddling, and a preoccupation with the affairs of others not your own, leading to gossip, slander, lack of contentment, anxiety, and bitterness, can destroy the peace and unity of a Church.
The essence of grumbling is to put God to the test. It is what the Hebrews had done while at Massah.
We read this in Exodus 17:1-7-
"Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
We test God when we doubt His promises and state "Why me?".
We test Him when we see the blessings of others and say "Why them?" rather than "Praise God", grumbling because this person rather than that person, namely you, were blessed in some way.
We test God when He gives us more than we deserve, which happens to be anything and everything we have, and we complain, lacking contentment.
Men, grumbling about the work God has given them to bless their family and others.
Women grumbling about their husbands making a mess every time they walk in the door.
Young men and young ladies grumbling about the chores their parents gave them, right after grumbling about the fact that their parents don't respect the fact that they aren't little kids anymore.
Small children grumbling via temper tantrum, foot stomp, and eye roll, when their parents say "no running in church", not realizing that the instruction was meant so that they wouldn't knock down elderly congregants or plunge face first down the stairs.
Speaking of congregants, they grumble too:
About what other congregants are doing, or not doing,
About the color of the carpet,
About the focus of missions,
About the air temperature in the Church house,
About the lack of variety at the last potluck,
About the sermon length,
About why doesn't the Church cater to them,
About 'why is so and so up front, and not me?',
About why did the Pastor and Elders make this decision rather than that.
The things we can grumble about, in other words the way in which we can sin and test God, are endless.
A few weeks ago the Pastor was in the hospital with chest pains and was attempting to figure out what to do about the Church service on Sunday morning, which happened to be just a few hours away.
It was asked if Mr. Cox or myself ought to begin prepping to preach, and the answer was yes.
So, I began prepping, and within a few hours had the text for that day's Time of Confession expanded into a manageable sermon. A short time later it was decided by the Pastor that another would fill in the gap.
I was pretty upset.
Didn't he know how quickly I sprung into action?
Didn't he think about how this would appear?
Didn't he this, or didn't he that, or…..?
These thoughts I had, did not consider the fact that the Pastor was in pain, anxious, or had other motivations perhaps. So the grumbling in my heart did what it always does if not put to death immediately, it came out of my body by way of my mouth: to my wife, likely my children, and probably a few of you, one in particular. You know who you are.
My discontentment, my rash judgements about the situation, and my failure to give the other person the benefit of the doubt by not thinking worst case scenarios about why they did what they did, led to me grumbling into the willing ears of people all too quick to have their ear tickled.
I hope you can see how this kind of sin leads to division within the Church, and I am guilty. Please forgive me.
The direct impact of grumbling in Church needs to be recognized this morning, as we stand upon the precipice of a major move.
We are moving from the "Church House Home" of a Brother and his family who have been extremely gracious, and patient with us. Many things have been overlooked which our new landlord may not allow to pass so readily.
Stewardship of the new facility will be a drumbeat which you hear the Pastor and Elders hit upon regularly and often. Not primarily because of what the landlord thinks, but because of what God thinks. He has blessed us, we need to respond with joy, praise, thanksgiving, and a willing spirit.
In the life of the church you are going to be asked to do things like: pick up after yourself, discipline your children, love your wife, give time and money, make a meal for a sick family, help someone move, watch a child so a parent can go on a date night, read scripture, work hard, submit to your husbands, obey your parents, do ministry work, share the gospel, evangelize, be a voice for the voiceless.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing (Philippians 2:14).
Ideally, the things you are tasked to do will align with your gifts and talents, but it doesn't always happen that way. Do all things without grumbling and disputing anyway.
Sometimes it will feel like you are the only one doing anything. Do all things without grumbling and disputing anyway.
Very frequently you'll be tempted to think that if everyone isn't doing it the way you think it ought to be done, then you will have the right to grumble and complain.
Don't take the bait. Instead, press on and do what you've been called to do without grumbling and disputing, understanding that God has not made everyone a hand, foot, or an eye. Not everyone will share the focus of your ministry, agree with your perception of how things ought to be done, or be as zealous as you over this task versus that one.
Grumbling is a sin which tests God, but thankfully God has provided a way of escape.
Psalm 119: 11 says "Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You."
Brothers and sisters, would you be a praiser rather than a grumbler?
Read God's word. Delight in it.
Would you be content rather than a complainer?
Meditate on God's word. Treasure it in your heart.
Would you walk in obedience to God's word, in faith, a living sacrifice to God, or put Him to the test with your faithless grumbling?
Hide God's word in your heart that you might not sin against Him in word, thought, or deed.
When I was in the Navy we had a saying: Loose lips sink ships.
It had to do with gossip, rumors, innuendo, and grumbling. Nothing would destroy morale onboard a ship with three hundred and fifty sailors more quickly than the cancer of grumbling. Surrounded by thousands of miles of ocean on all sides, a ship full of grumblers was a dangerous place to be.
This Church is no different. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, the world, the flesh, and the devil, grumbling will enable Satan and our worldly enemies to divide and conquer, and they will do it by permission of Almighty God Who is a jealous God.
If you are able at this time, let us kneel before the Holy, Holy, Holy Triune God and confess our sin of grumbling and repent, otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
Heavenly Father,
Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Your Son Jesus, You have blessed Your people in ways which are immeasurable.
Our sin debt has been satisfied.
Our eternal souls have a resting place.
Our bodies will one day be made new, and we will dwell face to face with Christ and all His redeemed.
Yet because we are easily led astray by discomfort, prosperity, sickness, calamity, we are frequently tempted to grumble about what was, is, and ought to be.
Rather than view all things which come to us from your hands as things meant to refine us, we view them as unfair afflictions which justify complaint and grumbling.
It isn't enough for us to grumble in our hearts. We are so arrogant, that we would voice these grumblings to others, and in our grumblings sow the seeds of discord, like the devil.
Father, please forgive us for our grumbling.
Please forgive us for the lack of contentment, the failure to recognize blessing, for the root of bitterness which springs up, and for leading others astray with our grumbling, complaining tale bearing.
Father, please strengthen our faith in Your Son Jesus, Who for all the genuine injustice He endured, opened not His mouth in grumbling or complaint.
Father, help us to view affliction not as a curse leading to grumbling, but rather a blessing meant to conform us to the image of Your Son leading to praise.
In Jesus's name we pray, Amen.
Please stand and listen to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to his church:
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time
To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!
(From the 02/13/2022 liturgy of Sovereign King Church written by Aaron Sabie.)