ES/PHIL/14 Philippians 2:14
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14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
Today we are concentrating our time on verse 14 and next week we’ll look at the next two verse, God willing. Though I will put this verse in context at the end.
The first word is ‘do’. It is in the form of a commandment – or technically, it is called an ‘imperative’. This relates back to the previous verses about working out our salvation. Do what I am saying, says Paul. Do nothing with grumbling or arguing. This working out our salvation, remember, is about the whole community of believers going forward together.
Where is this complaining and disputing arising from? What is it that causes these things? Is it a lack of contentment? a lack of love? a lack of peace?
Dissatisfaction with circumstances or people makes for angry people. We have to be aware that these are roots that can destroy one’s joy and the joy of others in the great salvation of God. It also gets in the way of being what we ought to be. Complaining and disputing will make us ineffective as witnesses for Him.
Complaining or murmuring is what the Israelites did once they came out of Egypt, after witnessing all the amazing acts of God with the ten plagues, their deliverance from Egypt, the separation of the Red Sea and water coming out of the rock and food every day in the desert. No, this was not enough for them. No sooner had they left Egypt they wanted to go back and they starting complaining and murmuring and disputing and testing the patience of God who wanted to destroy them there in the desert to die and to choose Moses and his family instead. ALL those who spoke against God died horrific deaths.
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3752 The Wilderness March
It is calculated that over one million of the children of Israel died in the wilderness by God’s judgment for their murmurings in forty years.
—Bowes
I, personally, think that this is an underestimate but all except Moses, Joshua and Caleb, who were over the age of 20 died in the desert through their disobedience.
They were such an ungrateful people as says
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
They forgot so quickly what God had done for them, how He had acted on their behalf. But they didn’t like the change in their circumstances though they rejoiced at the time of their deliverance. They were not content. And this despite the suffering that they had in Egypt. God heard their complaints:
12 “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”
And they did receive so much meat that it was coming out of their nostrils. But whilst the meat was in their mouths judgement came. Truly a crooked and perverse generation. And that before God who was clearly visible to them in the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day. You’d think that with such visible signs that such behaviour was not possible. They had been at Mount Sinai where they trembled before God and perhaps this is another case of familiarity breeds contempt. The fear of God was no longer before their eyes.
We would never be like this, would we? Were they not on the way to the Promised Land and we are on our way to our Promised Land in Heaven.
But what about our journey? There are many pitfalls and troubles on the way but these do not compare to the pitfalls and troubles that we would have had if we had not been saved. Before we were without hope, without God in this world. Now we have God with us; carrying us; holding us; comforting us; leading us; and, yes, disciplining us.
The cure to complaining and disputing is thankfulness to God.
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.
The cure to complaining and disputing is to be filled with His Spirit, to speak wholesome and spiritual words to one another, singing to the Lord in one’s heart and continually thanking Him for everything. Again, we just heard:
giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 745 Complainers Live Longer?
A recent medical survey states that chronic complainers live longer than people who are always sweet and serene. It claims that their cantankerous spirit gives them a purpose for living. Each morning they get up with a fresh challenge to see how many things they can find to grumble about, and they derive great satisfaction from making others miserable.
I question whether those who complain actually do outlive those who don’t. Maybe it just seems that way to everybody around them.
—Herbert Vander Lugt
Lack of thankfulness means that we are not content with our lot
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Contentedness with everything we have. Content with our homes, our food, our spouses, our Church, our lives.
It is enough that we have Emmanuel – God with us. And that favourite Psalm of everyone that just does not ring true when we see the lives that have been led:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
I shall not want means that I have no need of anything else. I have all that I need. Is that really true?
We, as Christians have to learn the lessons of the Israelites well for it is not just their disease but the disease of the Brit too.
All these things that we are dissatisfied about. What is the cause of our complaining and murmuring and disputing? Is it not a lack of faith in the Almighty God who is in control of everything? Again the Israelites give us an insight into this:
Numbers 21:5 (NKJV) — 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”
They did not trust God despite all that they had seen with their own eyes. And the bread they were complaining about and saying was worthless was this bread called manna; a miracle in and of itself but they could not see it. Effectively they were saying that God was a liar; that He couldn’t be trusted even though their very experience dictated otherwise and they were throwing back in God’s face His goodness towards them. Not only that it became a cancer – for one started complaining and by the end they were all complaining. Lack of faith in the living God gave way to mountains of worry. It is like the yeast that goes through our baking and everything gets infected by it.
But that was for them back then, right? So why does Jesus Himself speak of these things if it were not that we are subjected to the same forms of sin?
Let’s hear what He says in:
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 746 Good Old Days?
Our forefathers did without sugar until the 13th century; without coal fires until the 14th century; without battered bread until the 15th century; without potatoes until the 16th century; without coffee, tea, and soup until the 17th century; without pudding until the 18th century; without eggs, matches, and electricity until the 19th century; without canned goods until the 20th century. Now, what was it we were complaining about?
—Sunshine Magazine
Today we complain about slow internet connections!
We needn’t worry or be concerned for the basic necessities of our lives for who here has ever had to go without to the point their life was on the line? Does God not provide? Does God not give us the things that we need? But sometimes we forget to come to God and ask:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
Of course, this is not just about food and clothing and shelter but about our health, about our relationships, our families, about all the things that happen in our lives that cause concern and worry.
God always comes through but how God answers is up to Him for He rarely answers in the way we imagine but He comes through nevertheless. Normally in an unexpected and marvellous way. Why then do we worry? How come we get concerned? How then do we not trust Him? Worry is sin for it is a lack of faith.
Worry is sin. Oh come on that can’t be true surely?
Romans 14:23 says: “whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Faith, which is trust, is the opposite of worry.
Be thankful for what you have. Put God and His Kingdom first; before TV, before breakfast, before food, before the newspaper, before computers, before pets, before books, before, before, before. No more complaining, no murmuring.
Finally Paul says: no more disputing.
No more disputing. Here we are not talking about general disagreements that we all can have from time to time but not to allow these things to fester or to get to the point where there is no longer any fellowship. There is much on the way we could complain about especially about our fellow pilgrims, our brothers and sisters in Christ! They are so annoying! But what love has been poured upon us! What mercy has been shown to us!
Sometimes we hold onto things that others have done and it becomes a root of bitterness that flourishes like weeds. Let’s also chose which disagreements to have! For instance Paul says in
Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
Our differences have to be approached with gentleness, patience and humility. Yes, this is not easy but it is what we are called to. We will have disagreements from time to time as even Paul says in:
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
As I have said before if we are divided then how can the Church stand. Let’s makes sure we keep our act together. It’s not an act when we are thankful, remembering always what God has done for us. It is so easy for the sake of interesting conversation to complain about others and dress it up spiritually, too! This does not put aside the real difficulties that can arise but we are all blood bought by Jesus which means He thinks all of us are valuable, in fact, priceless.
Paul goes on to say in the following verse why it is important that we do not complain, murmur or dispute:
that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
It is so we can bring a unified message to the world about the good news of Jesus Christ not allowing anything to hinder its progress. Disunity dims the light of the Gospel of which we are conduits into Manselton and the rest of this world.
This week let us learn to be content; to trust God with our lives and our provision; we are to be thankful for all that God has done through Jesus in the giving of His life for us; for the gift of the Holy Spirit; for all life and provision and 10,000 blessings. We need to learn to get on with each other for the sake of the Gospel standing shoulder to shoulder not fist to fist – for Christ died for each of us, forgiving each one of us and so we need to forgive one another and proclaim the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth.
Benediction
Benediction
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). Galatians–Colossians. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 14:02 27 April 2018.