WHAT AM I SAYING !!

This will be a part A and part B session.

Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 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, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain nor labored in vain.

"Do all things within complaining and disputing, or we could say murmuring and arguing". How often do we find ourselves doing exactly this. Even at times towards God. Especially when something does not go the way we expected it to go our way or we think we have been treated unfairly. But how does God view our murmuring, complain, and arguing?

Going back to Moses; it was time for the children of Israel to enter the promised land, so they sent out 12 spies to check out the land, 10 came back in fear of the people of the land and sowed discord among the people, only Caleb and Joshua came back saying with God we can do this. But listen to the people:

Deuteronomy 1:26-27 Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; and you complained in your tents and said, because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the land of the Amorites, to destroy us.

Now listen to God's response:

Deuteronomy 1:34-35 And the LORD heard the sound of your words, and was angry, and took an oath saying, Surely not one of these men (except Caleb and Joshua) of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers, 

Does our complaining and disobedience please God?

Here in the book of Jude verse 16 it talks about the apostates who in their ungodliness have turned from the church and the truth of God's word:

Jude 1:16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.

When we find ourselves continually complaining in church; "It's too cold, it's too hot, the music is too loud, they sing to long, I like the old hymn books, will they ever stop praying, enough preaching I'm hungry". Hmmm is that worship God hears? Or at work; "the boss never does their share, so and so is always on her phone, are they going on break again, I'm tired of having all the work dumped on me". Is God pleased when He hears our words about others? Do people, including unbeliever's, enjoy our company or does our words cause them to look forward to our leaving? These are all questions we must ask ourselves, because just as the early church lived in a crooked and perverse generation, so do we. People are seeing and listening to us, other Christians and those of unbelief, what do we sound like to them? Are we giving them reason to find fault with us? The scripture in Philippians says: "that we should become blameless, harmless, without fault." So this is who we are to be and the opposite is one who complains and disputes.

1 Peter 3:10 For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit."

Psalm 39:1 I said "I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will refrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me."

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16 & 18 we are told to rejoice always and in everything be thankful. When we find ourselves complaining and stirring up discord among the brethren we are doing the work of our enemy, pawns in his hands. Before we can go to Part B we must understand that if we are to be the light we must guard the words of our lips. In fact Isaiah said how could he speak the words of God when he was a man of unclean lips. As a Christian we should want others to see Jesus in us and not allow the words we speak dim the light of Christ in us.