Griping, Complaining, & Murmuring (part 2)

Welcome to this week's message from the Church of Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

You know, last week, as I was telling you, I was going to do the next paragraph.

When I'm preaching through books, I preach through paragraphs.

And the paragraph from verse 12 through 18 with verse 14, which is our key text, talks about, and I love what Paul is saying here in Philippians, when he's talking about the church at Philippi.

He loved the church at Philippi.

It was really it was his favorite.

There's no doubt about it.

It was his favorite.

And so when Paul is talking about the church at Philippi, his heart, in fact, at the very beginning in that first section, his heart was so stirred with affections toward the church.

And we saw that.

And so this next section was going to be dealing with our relationship with each other.

And as I was going through this, and then the last part of Philippians, which we'll look at when Susan and I get back on vacation, be praying for us.

We are heading to California Tuesday for a couple of weeks to see my little grandbaby that I've only seen about three days at Christmas of January.

Little Judah.

He's now nine months old.

And he said he wants his poppy to come see him.

And so we're headed to California, Sacramento, Tuesday morning.

But you in good hands.

Next Sunday, our fireball Sylvester will be preaching.

It's going to be Amen.

Yeah, yes.

Amen.

And then the following Sunday, uh, our DOM, Director of Missions, uh, Dr.

Hugh Richardson, great preacher too.

I promise you.

I've heard him several times.

He'll be preaching for us too.

But when we get back, then we'll look at the last section of Philippians 2, which deals with the kind of Christians we're to be.

Deals with the apostle Paul, deals with Timothy, the preacher, and then Aphroditus, the minister, the layperson that was so involved in the church.

And that covers everybody in the church.

And what a beautiful last section that is on the kind of Christians we're to be in the body of Christ.

But before we got there, again, as I told you last week, I tried to skip over verse 14.

And it says, Do all things without murmuring and disputing, or complaining, or arguing, or grumbling and fault finding.

And all that you do, avoid discontentment and discontention and dissension.

That's exactly what Paul is saying to the church at Philippi.

And we all know how hard that is.

In fact, what we must realize today is in order to not be that way and to not be that critical and not to be that argumentative, complaining, griping person, we have to be filled with the Spirit of the living God, which means we're filled with the Word of God, allowing the Holy Spirit, the teacher of God, to keep our tongues what?

Bridled.

Last week I said, bridled, bridled.

Oh, all week I've been biting my tongue almost in two.

All week.

I'd think about that.

Bridled, bridled.

Because what we don't realize, the tongue's one of the smallest organs in our body.

But it's the most destructive in the body.

I don't have time to exergetically go through that, but I'll we'll hit that when we go through the book of James.

But in James chapter 3, verses 6 through 9 is a powerful illustration of a destructive tongue and what it does.

James 3:6–9

In fact, on verse 8 in James 3, James says, you can't control the tongue.

You and I can't control it.

Oh, it's it's a it's a it's a poison.

It's a very unbelievable, poisonous instrument that cuts and kills and destroys and to death even.

In fact, in verse, I believe it's 7, he says that that tongue, apart from the control of the Holy Spirit of God, through the Word of God, is right out, it flows right out of hell itself.

That's what it says.

That's what it says.

In fact, I'll read it to you.

But the tongue can no man tame.

It is an unruly evil.

That's verse 8.

Verse 6 says, look at it.

And the tongue is a fire, a whirl of iniquity, so is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature.

And it, hey, now watch the last phrase in verse 6.

And it is set, ooh, on fire of hell.

In other words, what that's saying, with a flame fed from hell itself.

Now that's pretty powerful, folks.

And that's how destructive our tongues can be.

Many of you know it.

How many times have we said things to each other and things to our wives and husbands that we regretted?

Hello?

Hey, now I told you the part one, part two wasn't gonna be any better.

We're all gonna be at the altar.

Amen.

But what we saw, we saw the causes.

But the answer, praise the Lord, the answer, the answer we saw, last point last week, verse the point number 12, was that the lack of faith and confidence in God's way, God's will, and God's wisdom is what leads to mummering.

Instead of allowing God to guide and direct us and lead us through his word, through the teacher of the Holy Spirit, we take charge ourselves.

That's a major mistake.

Amen.

Major.

So, and we said, without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that he is, that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11, 6.

Amen.

And we all know uh Proverbs 3, 5 and 6, trust in the Lord with all our hearts, lean not on our own understanding, and all our ways acknowledge him.

And what?

He will direct our paths, he will control our tongue.

Amen.

He will help us control our tongue.

So, with that said, part two today deals with the consequences of complaining and mummering.

We saw the causes.

If you and I continue to complain and gripe, there are consequences.

And I'm gonna tell you something right up front.

This is this is one of the things that God can't stand.

He can't stand it.

And he will judge us.

I promise you.

You'll see that scripturally.

Number one, what is the consequence of complaining and mummering?

Number one, the stroking or fueling of anger.

Anger.

We just get more angry, more, it just spills up.

We get more bitter.

We get to the point we're ready to burst.

In fact, you'll see as we go on, we it even can lead into a brawling.

I know, we've been there.

But here's the scripture.

Listen to what he says in Proverbs 51.

A soft answer.

Oh.

A soft answer turns away wrath.

But grievous words stir up anger.

Now that word grievous is uh it's really kind of a uh grievous doesn't give it, the the King James there doesn't give it really the impact that it is.

It's the Hebrew word edge, edge.

And it really means harsh, it means pain, it means offensive.

In other words, grievous words are hurtful, offensive words.

That's what it means.

That's what the Hebrew word means.

I have found many times in my own life and in people's lives, those who are angry and critical are usually not involved in doing anything for other people.

Very selfish, very prideful.

When I was growing up, I I'm gonna hear this is funny because I'm starting to hear a lot of comments from how many of you have little kids that play in little league ball?

Oh, not anymore, but how many of you have been involved in little league ball when the kids were growing up?

Okay, now, Benji, I know y'all are very involved.

You know what I've learned?

That's one of the worst places to be when all of a sudden a team's losing and the parents come out of the stands, yeah, brawling, but griping, complaining the whole time, harsh words.

I'm talking about just on and on and on.

I call them, I call them error.

No, I'm not gonna do that.

But I call up, I call them stand coaches.

They're in the they know better than the coach.

You ever been there?

Oh, uh, hey, and especially for us that have coached before.

Ho-ho! Oh boy, do I know better than what he's saying.

My daughters used to say, Daddy, don't coach from the stands.

But and Mary say there are no butts.

So, but I'm talking about that grommet.

Uh, they're they're they're they're you know, they know better.

They're critical.

Instead of getting out there and helping, maybe for practice or whatever, instead of building each other up, that's okay, that's okay.

Hey, hey, um, bless your heart.

We're praying for you.

You know, I used to be the most critical on umpires, and I happened to have been one for six years.

And you know what I started learning after God whipped me about my tongue with the umpires?

I started saying, Um, I'm praying for you.

And he just turned around and look at me.

That's all I'd say.

Now, that was not malicious.

I did not have anything.

I just said, I'm praying for him.

Why?

Because I know how it feels to be yelled at.

And in fact, I was refereeing a ballgame one night and one go guy was so hard on me, he said, You can't see, you can't, you've missed every call.

Um, and I just stopped and I said, Sir, you are so right.

I'm having a bad night.

Would you pray for me?

He went.

Didn't say another word.

I knew I was missing them.

I didn't, I mean, I was having a bad night.

Pray me.

Don't criticize me.

Pray for me.

That's one of those games you can't wait till the buzzards, so you can leave.

But really, that's what we're talking about.

Listen to what he says in Proverbs 29, verse 20.

Proverbs 29:20

Oh, this is powerful.

Do you see a man that is hasty in his words?

There is more hope, hey, for a fool than him.

Oh, my soul.

Oh, my soul.

Proverbs 25, 15.

Be long, forbearing is a ruler persuaded, and a soft answer breaks the bone, breaks the tension, breaks the thing.

Even with the, hey, when you're going to, hey, you're you're sharing your heart with the ruler, with your boss, with the person over you.

You share with a soft answer.

Wow.

Wow.

Number two.

Well, oh, let me tell you, let me tell you, let me tell you the greatest example I found on this.

Isaac Watts.

Anybody know who Isaac Watts is?

One of the greatest?

No one knows who Isaac Watts is.

Okay.

So a few of the old timers do.

He was one of the greatest.

Old timers.

Old timers.

We ain't got many to do in here.

Well, we got more than you think we got in here.

What I mean by old timer, anybody over 50?

Who's over 50?

Raise your hand.

I want anybody to see this.

We got some wisdom here.

Okay.

Okay.

Fine.

Isaac Watts wrote 350 of the most powerful hymns ever penned.

But what you don't know, in 1690, he was a complainer and griper to his dad about the hymns back in those days.

He would say they're not revelent, they're not the same stuff we hear now.

They said it the same thing in 1690.

Nothing changes like that.

So he was just complaining and griping.

They're not applicable for today.

They're not this, they're not that.

His dad said, Well, I'll tell you what, Isaac, why don't you do this?

Instead of griping and complaining, why don't you go write some better ones?

And so the next thing you know, Isaac Watts comes out, are you ready?

When I surveyed the wondrous cross.

A classic.

A classic.

And then went on to write 351 that you love every Christmas joy to the world.

So instead of complaining and griping, he went and did something about it.

Now that's what we're talking about.

That's quit complaining, griping, and go get involved.

Get involved.

Quit having a pity.

We either have a pity party or we have a griping party.

And both of them are detrimental to each of us.

If you're down and out, get up and go help somebody.

Go do something.

If you're griping and complaining, get up, go do something for other people, and you'll see a major difference in your life.

A major difference.

Major.

Number two, strife.

It leads to strife.

Look at Proverbs 26, 21.

As coals are to burning coals and wood to fire.

So is a, now what's this word?

Contentious man to or contentious woman, man to kindle strife.

Now that word contention is mid-yaw.

Well, actually, it's pronounced mid-yon.

And it means brawling.

It means quarrelsome.

A person who starts fights.

That's what he means.

A contentious person is looking for a fight.

I was guilty of that before I got saved.

I was always looking for a fight.

I was, man, I couldn't wait to fight.

That's who I was before I got saved.

Amen?

That was my pass.

That's just who I was.

I was always, I was always thinking everybody was out to get me.

I was.

I really was.

You know?

When you come from a broken home, you have those, you know, nobody cares, nobody wants you, nobody.

So you now that's not true, but that's what Satan does in our minds.

He brings all these wrong thoughts to our minds, telling us things about other people that aren't true.

He's good at that.

That's why we have to cast down those imaginations.

Amen.

And if we have all, we go to each other and we talk it out.

Don't let Satan, when people start to say something, that's why I do not go to movies with cursing or all kind of stuff.

Here's why.

It gets in my mind and I think about it.

And I quit thinking godly thoughts, I start thinking wrong thoughts.

I gotta protect my filter system here.

Amen.

I can't, I can't, I just can't handle it.

Same way of being around negative people.

You can't handle that.

You just have to say, whoa, whoa, I can't, I'm not gonna listen to that.

But they're argumentative and contentious.

They gripe all the time.

Look at what Proverbs 16, 28 says.

A forward man so is strife.

Uh-oh.

Let me look at the outcome.

Here's his purpose.

A forward man, that word forward there means troublemaker.

So is strife, and a whisper, oh, don't you love a whisper?

Separates chief friends.

A whisper there, that Hebrew word there means backbiter, tail, hey, tailbearer, slander, murmur.

That's what it means.

For example, they come up and they say, have you heard?

Have you heard?

Have you heard about the preacher at CCW?

No.

I don't mean to be gossip.

Isn't it amazing?

When somebody says I don't mean to be gossiping, that's exactly what they're fixing to do.

I've been, I said that.

Hello.

Anybody else with me?

Hey, I know I'm nailing my hide.

Would somebody get in here with me a little bit?

Or I'm not gossiping, I'm just telling the truth.

Oh, how many times have I heard that?

Well, just because it's the truth, what means it, what makes it not gossiping?

Hello?

Huh?

Have you heard?

No, I don't want to hear.

Don't want to hear.

I'm having a hard enough working on my own self.

I don't need to hear about your stuff.

And and I now that's not true as a pastor, but but there's, you know what I'm saying.

It looked, look, if it's not, if it's not good, if it's not gracious, if it's not uplifting, if it's not kind and loving, don't say it.

And that's hard for every one of us.

That's what he's talking about.

That's what he's talking about.

Reminds me, I found this illustration.

Christ, um, in the um, they erected a statue of Christ was erected in the Andes of the border between Argentina and Chile.

And what was so funny, uh, they called it the Christ of the Andes, and its statue symbolized a pledge between two countries that as long as the statue stands, there will be a peace between Chile and Argentina.

Shortly after the statue was erected, the Chileans began to protest that they had been slighted because they were looking at the back side of Christ.

Hello.

But then a newspaper editor, out of humor, solved the problem.

He wrote in his article about, you know, all the griping and grumbling that was going on about the statue having its back to the Chileans.

He wrote and he said, But you don't understand.

The Argentinas need more from Christ than we do.

And they all laughed and said how silly it was.

But that's so true.

They need more watching over is what he said than we do.

But anyway, notice the third thing: shame and embarrassment.

Look at Proverbs 25 and 8.

What happens if we continue to mumber and complain and gripe?

There'll be embarrassment.

Go not, look at Proverbs 25:8.

Proverbs 25:8

Go not forth hastily to strive.

Don't be in a hurry, really, what that whole phrase means in the context, don't be in a hurry to go to court.

Lest thou know not what to do in the end.

Therefore, when thy neighbor hath put thee to shame, when you stand up and all the facts are out, you're not in a good position.

That's what he's talking about.

In the discipline journal, I used to read this journal quite often, uh, Don McCulley wrote, John Killinger tells about the manager of a minor lean team who was so disgusted with his center fielder, he decided, he said, Come here.

He grabbed his center fielder and put him in a dugout and said, I am going to take your place and show you how this job's done.

Well, sure enough, he's out there in the center field.

You'll enjoy this, Jason.

And then all of a sudden the ball's hit.

Bam.

I mean, it's it's coming and it's it's flying on the ground.

And he goes and he squares up, and the ball takes a bad hop, bam, hits him right in the mouth.

Next one there's a big high fly, the sun's in his eyes, and he's going to catch the ball, bam, hits him in the head.

Next one there's a line drive coming right at him, and he goes out with his glove, but he misjudges it, bam, hits him in the eye.

Eye swells up.

He runs back into the dugout and he said, he called him by name.

He said, John, you've so messed up this field, center field position, nobody can handle it.

Get back out there.

Is that not?

The way we are.

It's not my fault, it's your fault.

It's never my fault.

I'm perfect.

What'd you think?

Lord help us.

Amen.

Is that not true?

Yes, it is.

Number four.

Look what it brings.

Sorrow and the hurting of others.

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God.

Hebrews 12.15.

Lest any.

Now watch, root of bitterness springing up trouble.

That bitterness springs up and it brings trouble to you and to everyone around you.

And therefore, he says, and thereby, watch, many be defiled.

The word defile there is a powerful word.

It really is.

The word defile there means to hurt to the inner core.

Complaining hurts others who are trying to do their best.

In a book of Dr.

Charles Swindle, Dr.

Swindle writes about it, the title of the book was Misunderstanding.

How we misunderstand each other.

He wrote the book, and in the book he said, he writes about a woman who committed suicide.

She left an unfinished note that simply read, Are you ready?

What's this?

They said.

Never finished it.

They said.

Dr.

Swindah did not know what was said.

But whatever was said, she committed suicide.

Proverbs 26, verse 22.

Proverbs 26:22

The words of a tailbearer are as wounds, and they go down deep into the heart.

Deep.

The Hebrew word there.

It means to defile with sin.

It means to pollute.

It means to stain.

It means, are you ready?

To contaminate.

It means it pollutes the purity and contaminates the character of a person.

Bitterness is the quickest killer of marriages.

Bitterness is the quickest killer to relationships.

We can send our marriages to an early grave with griping and complaining and mummering.

We can send our relationships to an early grave.

By griping, complaining, and disputing.

We can send our church relationships to an early grave by complaining, griping.

Brings me to number five.

Now here's where it really gets personal to each of us that are guilty.

And most of us are.

Or all of us are.

Wow, wow, folks.

Proverbs 13, 3, he that keeps his mouth keeps his life, but he that opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

Proverbs 21, 23, whoso keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.

Wow.

Now, I want to I I don't know if uh Sarah, I do you have 1 Peter 3, 10 through 12, Benji?

Good.

This is the most powerful in the New Testament.

I want you to see this.

He that will love life, everyone of us wants to love life.

He that will love life and see good days.

Man.

In other words, he that will live happily, live happy.

Okay?

Good days.

Let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that speak no guile, or lips that do not lie.

Now look at verse 11.

Let him shun evil and do good.

Let him seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them to do evil.

Wow.

He's not gonna hear your prayers when we have those kind of attitudes.

He's not gonna hear my prayers when I have that kind of attitude.

No way.

No way.

He can't stand it.

It breaks his heart, it turns his stomach.

When you gripe, when I gripe, when we gripe and complain, we do not gain God's blessings in our life.

Vance Havner, an old preacher, used to have the one-liners.

He said this those who beef too much end up in the stew.

Those who beef too much end up in the stew.

Boy, is that not true?

Scattering away of God's blessings.

You're gonna see more of that when we hit up one or two of these others.

Number six, what does complaining and griping do?

Mummering do?

Sensitivity for the needs of others is lost.

We lose our sensitivity for other people.

And the reason we do, we're caught up in our own self, our own agenda.

What we want.

A person who is always finding fault seldom finds anything else.

Griping causes us to lose our focus on the needs of others because our attention is always on our needs.

Look into what he said in Isaiah 47, verse 8, the prophet Isaiah, talking to the nation that had turned their backs on God.

Isaiah 47:8

Here's what he said.

Therefore, hear now this.

In other words, that Hebrew expression is please, let me get your attention, folks.

You're not listening.

You're not listening.

Listen, listen, listen.

That's what the prophet was saying.

Listen, please listen.

Therefore, hear now this.

Thou art given to pleasure.

You're given to pleasures that dwellest carelessly.

In other words, you're living at ease.

That's what he says.

Thou sayest in thy heart, I am, and none else.

Now underline the little word, I am.

And none else beside me.

I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I none of the loss of children.

And he said, Hey, hey, I got my act together.

It's me.

It's all about me.

I'm not going to have any tragedies.

I'm not going to see any difficulties.

What about the publican and Pharisee?

Look at Luke 18, verses 11 through 13.

Luke 18:11–13

The Pharisees stood and prayed thus with himself.

God, I thank thee that I am.

There again, there's the word I am.

I'm giving you a common denominator here.

I am in Isaiah 47.

Now I am in the Pharisees and scribes compared to the publican, the tax collector.

The Pharisee said, Hey, look at me.

I thank thee that I'm not as other men.

In other words, I thank the Lord that I'm not a sinner.

That's exactly what he said.

That I'm not a sinner.

I'm not a cheat, extortioners.

Hey, I don't sin, unjust, adulterers, or even as this public, not like the tax.

I thank God that I'm not like the tax collector.

That's what he said.

That's what they said.

Now notice, uh-oh, here's that outward appearance we talked about.

Here we go.

Here's that outward, here's that outward Christianity stance.

He says, I fast twice in a week.

I give tithes of all that I possess.

Hey, I go to church, I tithe, I do all the outward signs of Christianity that I'm supposed to do.

Okay?

And then verse 13, and the publican standing afar off.

Now here's the one they're criticizing, will not even lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his chest breast, saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner.

I'm not worthy.

And verse 14 says, and I tell you this, not the Pharisees, but God, hey, not the Pharisees who said they were sinners, not sinners, but this man who understands who he is, he will stand justified before me.

Not the I am group, not the I am pun.

Not I, I.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

This the I am attitude that gets us into trouble makes us critical.

We get selfish and we focus on and we lose our focus on the needs of others.

Do you remember?

Look right here, what the Pharisee who mumbered about the publican, instead of trying to help the publican in his need, he mummered about him.

The publican was in need.

He needed help.

He was under conviction.

He needed to be led to Christ.

Wow.

Wow.

But he mumbered.

Matthew 24, 12, Jesus said, and because iniquity shall abound, and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Wow.

And in this own chapter, verse 4, look in not every man on his own things, but every man on things of others.

Number seven.

Chastisement from the Lord is a consequence of griping.

If we continue to gripe and complain, chastisement will come.

Been there.

Guarantee it.

Hey, guarantee it.

How do you know that?

Well, look at Numbers 21, verses 4 through 6.

Numbers 21:4–6

And they journeyed from Mount Horde by the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom.

And the souls of the people were much discouraged because of the way.

They were griping and complaining because God had told Moses to bring them out of captivity and take them ultimately to the promised land.

They didn't, they get out there and it starts getting hard, and it's it looks, you know, it's not their way or the way they thought it would be.

They were going to be delivered and everything's going to be okay.

They weren't going to have any more hard times like they had in Egypt.

Now all of a sudden, the army's coming down their necks, the Red Sea's before them.

There's nowhere to go.

They've been eating this sweet bread all the time.

They're griping, they're complaining.

Oh, and listen to what takes place.

Verse 5.

And the people spake against God and against Moses, griping and complaining against God and the leader, Moses.

Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?

Good question, isn't it?

For there is no bread.

In other words, no bread like they liked it.

Okay?

Not the bread that they were used to having in Egypt.

Now they're reverting back to their old way of living.

Okay?

No light bread.

For there is no bread, neither is there any water.

And my soul hates this man of bread.

Verse 6.

The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died.

The griping of God's people led to their chastisement.

Now let's go to the New Testament.

Look at Hebrews chapter 12, verse 6 through 8.

Hebrews 12:6–8

For whom the Lord loves, he chasteneth, and scourges every son whom he receives.

Now this is powerful.

This is powerful.

Go to Benji, can I get verse, go seven and eight, too?

We got seven.

Can you throw that up?

I want them to see this.

For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh often upon it and bringeth forth.

No, no, no, not Hebrews 6, 7.

Go back to Hebrews 12.

Hebrews 12, I mean, excuse me, Hebrews 12, yeah, 6 through 8.

This is powerful.

I saw this this morning.

I just added this.

That's not his fault.

Okay, chasing.

He chastens one he's left.

Now there's a good, there's a positive point here.

Thank God for his chastening upon our lives when we go wayward.

That proves we'll child of God.

Can I get an amen?

Okay?

If there's no chastening, that's when you better start worrying.

Okay?

And look at why.

If you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons.

For what son is he whom the father chases not?

In other words, a loving father is going to chasten his children.

Why?

So they'll do right and he loves them.

He loves their children.

Okay?

I remember when I used to spank Eric, I used to say, This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you.

He said, I don't believe that.

But it really did.

I hated to have to whip.

And I didn't whip the girls much.

No, I didn't.

Daddy.

That's it.

I'm through.

So mama really had to take care of most of the discipline with our girls.

She did.

I was just the sugar daddy, but okay.

But if ye be without chastisement, now look at this.

But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye illegitimate and not sons?

Are you with me?

Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot get away with acting like a bunch of, and this is biblical, I'm not calling you or me a fool, but we can't get away with acting like a bunch of fools.

We can't get away with it.

Not with God.

Not if you're a child of the king.

I've been in ministry 32 years.

I've been in some of the largest ministries, some of the smallest ministries.

And I'm here to tell you, when people start complaining and going against God, they're headed for chastisement and judgment.

Amen.

Guaranteed.

Guaranteed.

Guaranteed.

Scary but true.

Hopefully scary to the point we repent.

Can I get an amen?

And then number eight, the spirit of God is saddened and grieved when he hears this mummering and griping spirit.

Look at Ephesians 4, 29 and 30 and 32 also.

Let no corrupt, the word corrupt there is sapos, or you could pronounce it sapras.

It means rotten.

It means poor.

It means worthless.

It means unwholesome communication, worthless communication, poor communication, rotten communication.

Proceed out of your mouth.

Don't let that happen.

Don't be a griper, complainer, or murmurer.

But that which is good.

Uh-oh.

To the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to its hears.

Now I want you to watch something in this one verse.

But verse 30, and then notice, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.

In other words, do not bring sorrow or do not offend or do not hurt the Holy Spirit by the way we live and the way we talk.

Okay?

That's what he's saying.

Whereby you're sealed into the day of redemption.

The Holy Spirit's there.

He's with you till death do your part.

And then he's still with you because he helps take you to heaven.

Because he goes with you.

But he's there.

And when you act, and I act like lost folks, it grieves God's spirit.

It hurts him.

So in the context of this message of murmuring and disputing and griping and complaining, look at verse 29 again.

Don't let any of that come out of your mouth, but that which is good.

And then he tells you what is good.

Look, hey, edifying, building up.

Our words ought to build each other up.

It ought to build each other up.

Hey, hey, to the use of.

First of all, it's good.

It's, hey, it's necessary.

Can I say something?

Encouraging each other is always necessary.

Part of my gift in this is an encourager.

That's why I'm the first one you see, the last one you're going to see out there.

I want to hug your neck.

And if nothing else, I just want to tell you I love you and God loves you.

I want to be a blessing, an encouragement.

Because you get torn down all week by Satan.

He tries to get you to get caught up in that griping and complaining and mummering.

So if it's not good, if it's not necessary, if it's not building up, the word good, the use of necessary, edifying, building up, that now watch that it may minister grace unto its ears.

If it's not spoken graciously and lovingly and kindly, don't say it.

And that's going to stop a lot of our conversation, isn't it?

Hello.

Hello.

Amen.

Oh me.

Can we go to three on me together?

One, two, three.

O me?

Numbers 11, 1.

And when the people complain, now here's what really gets me.

This verse tore my heart out.

And I had to I've been repenting ever since.

Two weeks ago is when it started.

Well, three weeks when I was working on this.

Been working on this three weeks.

Hey, y'all have gotten two 50-minute messages.

I've had to live with this message for the last three and a half weeks.

Talking about hurting.

But what a great hurt.

Now watch what it says.

I just said, Lord, forgive me.

Right when I read the words, when the words came out.

Look at what it says.

So you ready for this?

And when the people complained, what does it say?

Read it out loud.

It displeased the Lord, and the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled.

Let's read that again.

And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord, and the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled.

And the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them that were in the innermost parts of the camp.

And opened up and consumed them.

They were going against God, they were going against Moses.

When we're griping, God has difficulty getting our attention.

Because we're not paying attention to him.

Number nine, the last number three.

The causes we've seen.

The consequences we've seen.

First, the last one, nine.

Our senses are dull or lost.

In other words, we lose our spiritual sensitivity.

When people get critical, when we get critical, when you get critical, when I get critical, we lose that common sense.

We don't think straight.

You ever been to the point you're so angry and so mad you just couldn't think straight?

I mean, all really what Satan, boy, Satan loves it when we get there, folks.

You know what?

All you can think is anger, vengeance, retaliation.

That's where Satan wants us.

He's a master at it.

It's all selfish anger.

Clouds our judgment.

Look at what Paul told Timothy about this.

Paul was going through it.

Oh, he had all his buddies in Rome criticizing him.

I meant, no, I'm not talking about lost folks.

I'm talking about other preachers, other ministers, other churches in Rome.

They were letting him have it.

Look at what he told Timothy.

You know, Timothy was there.

He's getting ready to have Timothy go back to Philippi.

And this is some of the exhortation that he was talking to Timothy.

And he's giving to Timothy.

Now, this is after he's right back to Timothy, but I'm sure part of what was taking place in Rome with him, and Timothy was there getting ready to go back to Philippi, these are words.

That Paul was constantly, not just as he's writing the letter back to Timothy, but as they were together all these years, he said, For men shall be lovers of their own selves.

That means selfish.

They'll be covetous.

They'll be lovers of money, lovers of position, boasters, haughty, arrogant.

Their way's the only way.

Proud.

Blasphemers.

Given to bitter words.

That's what the blasphemer in that context means.

Disobedient to parrots.

Disobedient to any authority.

Don't want to submit to any authority.

That's what he said.

Unthankful.

Unholy.

Without, look at verse three.

Without natural affection, in other words, very unloving.

Truth breakers, unforgiving, false accusers, slanderers, not self-control, fierce, haters of God, despisers of those that are good.

Verse 4, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

From such turn away.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lust, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth.

Now, ladies, I don't understand that to be honest with you, but this is the way I interpret that and all the commentaries that I that it that somehow it was easier to go in and stir up the women.

And let me tell you, when you get women stirred up, you got a hornet's nest.

When Sister Fluffyhead gets mad, you're in trouble.

I guarantee it.

I have met them face to face.

I'll take a deacon potato head anytime over a sister fluffy head.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So, what an unbelief.

What he's saying is, yes, the laws we know have no sensitivity to spiritual things.

But even us Christians can get so engrossed in criticism and criticalness that we lose our spiritual sensitivity to what God says to us and what he wants for our lives.

And we end up in trouble every time, don't we?

Every time.

Every time.

Well, oh, I a man, I this was so funny.

I found this.

When I'm reading, and I either, when I'm reading, looking for good illustrations, I'm always, when I'm researching, I read books on all the subjects I preach on.

So they have a lot of these illustrations that I have.

This one was this came out of Vance Havener's, too.

He said, a man who had a good opinion of himself thought he was the only one that was right all the time.

He was better than anyone else was walking by and saw this supposedly stuffed owl.

Bunch of people were watching this owl.

So he stopped and he looked, and all of a sudden here's what he said.

Uh, uh, uh.

He just, and they said, uh what?

He said, well, he says, so such is what's far, you know, he thinks he's so superior in all.

He says, well, if I could not stuff an owl any better than that, I would quit the business.

The head is not right, the eyes are not natural, the pose of the body is awkward, the feathers are not neatly arranged, and the wings are not in proper proportion to the body, and the feet need to be improved.

Just then the owl turned his head and looked at the man and went, The people roared laughing.

And he had gone.

He had gone.

The crowd roared.

Griping dulls our senses, and sometimes it leads to major embarrassment.

Boy, is that not true in shame.

And now here it is.

Our griping dulls are spiritual sight and hearing.

John 8 43 says, Why do you not understand my speech?

Even because you cannot hear my word.

Psalms 119, 165.

Great peace have they which love the law.

Great peace have they which love the law, the word.

Nothing shall offend them.

The word of God will give you the peace that griping cannot give us.

Amen.

And I want to close with Matthew 12, 35 through 37.

Why, this is so true.

God make me this.

Make our church this.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things.

An evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

Verse 36.

But I say unto you, Jesus is speaking.

That every idle word, worthless word, griping word, complaining word, that men shall speak.

They will give an account of it, therefore, in the day of judgment.

Verse 37.

For by your words you'll be justified.

And by the words, hey, justified, and by thy words shall they be condemned.

We are gonna stand before the Almighty and give an account of what we say, how we say it, who we are, how we live.

There's a day coming, folks.

The word of the law have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.

That's why we love it, learn it, live it.

We don't realize how destructive that little organ called the tongue is.

Remember, it can be controlled by the Holy Spirit or it can flow right out of the pits of hell.

Satan loves to use this organ.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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We hope you have a wonderful day, and again, God bless you.