Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Hi, my name is Cody, and I’m a grumbler.

I don’t want to be a grumbler or to be known as a grumbler, but, man, I can turn negative on something quick.

I’m the first one to admit to you that when my idea gets turned down for another idea, that there’s this part of me that pulls for the other idea to bomb.

When others don’t respond like I think they should, it’s a real impulse for me to complain about that person and to lower my opinion of that person.

When my life doesn’t go the way that I think it should, I find myself even beginning to impugn the very character of God and question his motives.

For instance, a few weeks ago, I woke up, and I couldn’t sit up in bed.

My back has just been killing me.

And, I find out this week that I have both a bulging disc and a slipped disc, and, immediately, instinctively my question is: God, how in the world could you?

How could you let this happen to me?

Is this because of something that I’ve done, or are you just wanting my family to suffer to make some point?

Immediately, I just begin to grumble and question God.

And, I never feel better after grumbling.

Grumbling doesn’t move me closer to joy; grumbling moves me deeper into misery and frustration.

Grumbling brings division between my church and me, my friends and me, my God and me.

Few things will destroy the unity and joy of a church like grumbling will, and we’re going to learn from Paul today how we can move away from grumbling and toward unity and joy in our church family.

God’s Word

Read

Grumbling Opposes the Gospel

v. 14 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.”

Having just told us to ‘work out (our) salvation with fear and trembling’ to grow and mature in Christ, Paul then gives us a specific application as to what that should look like.

The concern here is that the church ‘live in a manner worthy of the gospel’ by ‘being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.’

So, it’s to live out the gospel in such a way as to create unity of heart and mission in the church.

And, I love how real Paul is about it.

He says, “And, if you’re living out the gospel, if you’re contributing to the unity of the church, you won’t be grumbling.”

Now, there’s some real talk for us.

Grumbling is never worthy of the gospel.

Grumbling is the opposite of grace.

Grumbling is entitlement and resentment and selfishness.

It’s attempting to build a coalition to agree with my opinion and my thoughts so that it will ultimately go my way.

It’s deciding that if I can’t have it my way, then no one is going to enjoy it any other way.

Grumbling reveals a heart that trusts itself too “much” and others too “little”.

Grumbling aims to discredit others so that you appear smarter and more able.

Grumbling takes the attention of Christ and his Kingdom by diverting attention to ourselves so that we might feel better and we might feel more valued.

So, if the gospel calls to admit our weakness and to value others ahead of ourselves and to live Christ’s glory alone by Christ’s sufficiency alone, then grumbling is the opposite of the gospel in every way.

Grumbling is Unbelief

For the Philippians, this would have brought an image into their minds of Israel in the wilderness from .

In their greek OT, this same word “grumbling” or “murmuring” was used to describe Israel’s reaction to Moses and to God himself.

And, it’s a profound picture for us to consider.

In , God has just parted the Red Sea by using Moses and delivered his weak, defenseless people from the greatest military power on earth.

My goodness, if there’s ever been an opportunity for revival, it’s here, right?

They’ve just witnessed the power of God so miraculously that we still have people trying to write books to rationalize it.

Well, they walk three days into the Wilderness from the Red Sea, and they haven’t found good water.

The water they’ve found is bitter, and it says, “And the people grumbled against Moses.”

Now, Moses is just a servant of God.

So, it’s understood that this is a complaining about Moses, but even more profoundly, it’s a complaining about God.

God miraculously provides and has Moses throw a log into the bitter water, and it turns sweet.

So, you’re thinking that Moses has to be like, “Alright, guys, you can see that God’s going to take care of us now.

EXCEPT, that the very next thing we read in is “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”

Now, they weren’t thirsty, but they were hungry.

They wanted to go back to slavery so they could know where their food was coming from.

So, there’s division, right?

Their ‘grumbling’ brought division between them and their leaders.

Their ‘grumbling’ forced their neighbors to choose whose side they would on.

Their ‘grumbling’ brought division between them and God.

That’s the progression that he’s talking about when he adds ‘disputing’ or ‘questioning.’

Grumbling leads to ‘disputing’ with your neighbor and ‘questioning’ God’s character.

It’s the type of questioning that assumes the worst about the one that you’re grumbling against.

It’s not loving them well.

You see, they saw God part the Red Sea, but they still weren’t sure that God was good enough to give them water to drink.

God gave them water to drink, but they still weren’t sure that God was good enough to give them food to eat.

So, they wanted to take matters in their own hands.

Their grumbling was the result of them not getting what they wanted, the way they wanted it, when they wanted to get it.

Their grumbling was unbelief.

It was a lack of confidence and trust in the character of God.

At the heart of grumbling is a spirit of “self-reliance”.

It’s to trust your opinion most, your desires most, and to prioritize your preferences most.

It’s to forsake the good of others and to deny the goodness of God.

They saw God in the Red Sea, and they

Grumbling or the Gospel?

APPLICATION: What comes spilling out of you when you don’t get what you want the way that you want it and when you want it?

Do you spill out grumbling or the gospel?

Do you spill over with the need to be proven right and the need to validated?

Do you spill over with taking matters into your own hands by eroding the reputation of others and impugning the character of God? Or, do you spill out the gospel?

Do you spill out love for your brother and deference to the wisdom of others?

Do you spill out trust that God is over all things and working all things to his glorious ends?

What comes spilling out of you, grumbling or the gospel, because it can only be one or the other?

Stand “Out”

v. 15 “that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation” So, the way this text lays out is really for us to see that the main point is that we don’t grumble.

It’s stated firmly and in the negative, but Paul never stays negative.

In verse 15, he shifts to the positive way of saying the very same thing.

If grumbling divides us from one another and from God, verses 15-18 are what unifies us with one another and with God.

In other words, they are the alternatives to grumbling (headline for the remaining).

They are what it looks like for us to spill out the gospel in our lives.

First, you should stand “out.”

Verse 15 is about contrasts, isn’t it?

Will you live like the blameless or the condemned?

Will you live as a child of God or a child of this generation?

Will you stand out as a light or blend in with the dark?

Here there’s another allusion to OT Israel.

Listen to what it says in about God’s people, Israel: “They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation.”

Sound familiar?

You see, God had chosen Israel to be his children.

And, He did not disown them; they disowned him.

They saw the apparent prosperity of the pagan nations around them, and they chose to blend in with them.

They were envious of the world even though they possessed the Treasure the world was longing for.

They were blemished.

God had set them apart to be a light in the midst of darkness, a city situated upon a hill, and they chose to cover the light and lower the city rather than taking up their post as a lighthouse in the midst of stormy world.

They have dealt corruptly with him;

they are no longer his children because they are blemished;