Sunday April 10, 2022
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Matthew 21:9- “Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!”
Psalm 150:1-6- “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven! Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness! Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!”
Yet we’ve been conditioned by society. Bad news makes the headlines. We are bombarded continually with what’s wrong with everything. And by this conditioning we develop the habit of complaining.
AND HERE’S WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR CHRISTIANS
James 3:9-10- “Sometimes it praises our heavenly Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against men who are made like God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Dear brothers, surely this is not right!
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT GOD WANTS CHRISTIANS TO BE DIFFERENT!
Philippians 2:14,15 – “Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”
1 Corinthians 10:10,11 – “And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.”
Nothing destroys the warmth of a home, a church more than complaining.
SO TO BE FREE FROM COMPLAINING
1. Admit it’s a Problem
Admit it’s a problem for you, not for other people, but for you!
Complaining is a sin that kept the Israelites out of the Promised Land. Seven times the scriptures says “They murmured.”
The reason the children of Israel never got to the promised land was because they were complainers.
2. Develop an Attitude of Gratitude
1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
I develop an attitude of gratitude and I learn to be thankful for what I have. It’s a tremendous antidote for complaining. You can focus on the negative or the positive. It’s a choice.
When you learn to be joyful and thankful in spite of the circumstances, that’s maturity!
3 Look for God’s Hand in Your Circumstances
If you want to get victory over complaining, look for God’s hand in your circumstances.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
Paul is saying there are troubles that come into our lives no doubt. But how you look at those problems determines your attitude.
Romans 8:28 -“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
4. Think Praise Thoughts
Complaining is a habit! Habits are broken by replacing them with something else.
Take out the negative thinking and replace it with praise thinking!
Philippians 4:8- “Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.”
Psalm 34:1- “I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.”
5. Keep Jesus at the Center of your Life
Matthew 21:9- “Jesus was in the center of the procession,….”
Hebrews 12:1-2- “……let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
WE NEED TO BE FREE FROM COMPLAINING SO WE CAN PRAISE!
LET’S START TODAY!
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?