February 24 Third Sunday in Lent

Lesson: Exodus 17.1-7; Romans 5.1-11

Sermon Title: Complaint Department

(Back to Study Home Page)   (Back to Sermons for 2007-2008)
(Back to Sermons Home Page)   (Back to Shultz Home Page)

INTRODUCTION:

  1. Agnes is a complainer in a Retail (1) cartoon (Named changed by LRS).

Val: "Sorry Agnes, I hope I didn't hurt your feelings."

Agnes: "No your right, Val. I am a negative person.

"I'm constantly moralizing, overanalyzing, and criticizing everything about this job. No wonder I'm so miserable all the time. I never take time to find positive things about working here."

Val: "To be fair, that element is a pretty elusive at Grumbel's."

Agnes: "I mean nobody's yelling at me right now. Why don't I ever bask in moments like these?"

  1. Why does she not bask in moments like these?

    1. Doesn't recognize them.

    2. Doesn't take time.

    3. Too busy with other things.

(Top)  (Back to Study Home Page)   (Back to Sermons for 2007-2008)
(Back to Sermons Home Page)   (Back to Shultz Home Page)

MAIN BODY

  1. Did Israel ever bask in their good moments?

    1. They were camped at Rephidim.

      1. There was no water for the people to drink.

      2. The people quarreled with Moses.

    2. They complained to Moses, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us, our children, and livestock with thirst."

    3. Moses cried out, "What am I to do with this people, they are ready to stone me."

    4. God provided water.

      1. You might have thought that, that was the end of it.

      2. This is not the beginning, nor is it the end.

        1. In Egypt the Israelites had experienced Passover.

        2. They had passed through the Red Sea and watched the destruction of the Egyptian army.

        3. They had been provided food in the Wilderness of Sin

          1. Quails in the evening

          2. Manna in the morning.

    5. This would go on for years.

      1. They would reach Kadesh and still they had not learned the lessons that were need to become the people of God.

        1. Because of their murmuring and complaining they would, as a people, wander 40 more years in the desert

        2. 40 years until a generation was raised up that would be willing to accept the invitation of God to enter the Promised Land.

      2. Listen to the people who complained to Jesus about his violations of the law.

  2. It has been said that, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease."

    1. I spent several hours at Speciality Auto while a squeaky wheel bearing was replaced on the VW.

      1. Squeaky wheel bearings can be very dangerous.

      2. It may freeze and break the transaxle.

    2. Squeaky wheels will get attention with wagons and cars, but it doesn't necessarily work with people.

      1. Human squeaky wheels are complainers.

      2. You have to watch out because complaining may be hazardous to your health.

      3. Dag Hammarskjöld, in Markings (2)

        tells the story of a man who, descending into a valley, lost control of his car.

As it toppled over the bank at the side of the road, his only thought was: "Well, at least my job's done."

His one, weary, happy thought.

It wasn't so: He was to go on living. But not to go on with this journey.

When he came to, and the solid world again took shape around him, he could hardly keep back his tears - tears of self-pity and disappointment because his vacation plans had been ruined.

        1. The one reaction was no less genuine than the other.

        2. We may be willing to turn our backs on life.

        3. We still complain like children when life does not grant our wishes.

(Top)  (Back to Study Home Page)   (Back to Sermons for 2007-2008)
(Back to Sermons Home Page)   (Back to Shultz Home Page)

  1. Why complain?

    1. Look up the synonyms for Complain (v) (3):

criticize, carp, cavil, nag, whine, pick, gripe, kick, grouse, grouch, grumble, state a grievance, express dissatisfaction, find fault,, Slang beef, bellyache, squawk.

      1. Why did Israel complain?

        1. At Rephidim there was no water.

          1. Could not the God who led them provide water.

          2. Do you believe that God would let his people suffer from severe thirst.

      2. The people complained because:

        1. Circumstances were not what was desired.

        2. They did not trust the God who led them to take care of their needs.

        3. They did not have the resources to acquire what was wanted.

        4. They may have had the resources that were needed, but because of the complaining, the resources were not used.

        5. They expected someone else, Moses or God, to provide for their needs.

      3. What is it with complainers?

    1. Why do people complain?

      1. We are dissatisfied.

There is an old story about a farmer who was an incurable grumbler. One fall, he had the best apple crop for miles around. One of his neighbors stopped by to congratulate him and said: "Well, Hiram, you sure ought to be happy now. This is the finest crop of apples ever raised in this county."

But the grumbler didn't even smile, as he growled, "Well, I s'pose they'll do - but where's the rotten ones for the hogs?"

      1. Vent dissatisfactions.

      2. We are powerless, or believe that we are powerless.

      3. We are lazy.

        1. It has been observed that,

"There are two kinds of people in the world - ducks and eagles: The ducks are always quacking, always quarreling, always complaining, always blaming others for their plight, finding every reason in the book why things can't and won't work.

Then there are the eagles. The eagles soar above the crowd and go for it."

(Top)  (Back to Study Home Page)   (Back to Sermons for 2007-2008)
(Back to Sermons Home Page)   (Back to Shultz Home Page)

  1. There is one person who did not complain, and that was Paul.

    1. Paul has some counsel for complainers.

      1. As a matter of fact what he has to say reveals that there is really no room in Christianity for complaining.

      2. If the Christian is fully immersed in the Gospel there is little or no reason to complain.

A young man who was studying cello under the great master, Pablo Casals, remembers a practice session in which he played a difficult piece with great precision.

"I knew that I had played flawlessly," he said, "and I was looking for high praise from the master, who had been listening very intently."

Instead, I heard him say, "You are playing the notes, but not the music."

        1. We may know the notes.

        2. We need to play the music.

        3. One is mechanical, the other is heart-felt.

    1. So what does Paul have to offer us in Romans 5?

      1. 1Therefore, since we are justified by faith,

        1. Justified = found not guilty.

        2. The past has been removed, only the present and the potential future remain.

      2. we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and

Julian of Norwich sang her song from the depths of the Black Plague-infested fourteenth century:

"But all shall be well,
And all shall be well,
And all manner of things shall be well…
He did not say, 'You shall know no storms, no travails, no disease,"
He said, "You shall not be overcome.'"

      1. Because we have peace with God, we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

        1. This is our present

        2. This is our potential future.

      2. 3And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

      3. 4and endurance produces character,

      4. and character produces hope,

      5. 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

    1. It would not hurt to review the remain verses from our lessons in Romans 5.

6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation, (Romans 5:1-11, NRSVA).

(Top)  (Back to Study Home Page)   (Back to Sermons for 2007-2008)
(Back to Sermons Home Page)   (Back to Shultz Home Page)

CONCLUSION:

  1. There is an old song that helps us to put and keep life in balance

    1. He Leadeth Me written by Joseph H. Gilmore in 1862.

He leadeth me, O blessèd thought!
O words with heav'nly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still 'tis His hand that leadeth me.

Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since 'tis my God that leadeth me.

And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the vict'ry's won,
E'en death's cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

    1. Gilmore highlights the fact that no matter what happens there is no reason to murmur or repine

      1. Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,

      2. Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,

      3. By waters still, over troubled sea,

      4. Still 'tis His hand that leadeth me.

    2. It is God's hand that leads.

(Top)  (Back to Study Home Page)   (Back to Sermons for 2007-2008)
(Back to Sermons Home Page)   (Back to Shultz Home Page)

  1. Alternate Conclusion

Maya Angelou has a chapter in her book, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (4) on the subject of "complaining."

    1. Angelou says that when "whiners" would come into her grandmother's store in Arkansas, she would go through a routine that would begin by quietly beckoning Maya to come closer. Then she would bait the "whiner" customer with "How are you doing today, Brother Thomas?" As the complaining gushed forth she would nod or make eye contact with her granddaughter to make sure Maya heard what was being said.

    2. As soon as the "whiner" left, her grandmother would ask her to stand in front of her.

    3. "And then she would say the same thing she had said at least a thousand times, it seemed to me. 'Sister, did you hear what Brother So-and-So or Sister-Much-to-Do complained about? You heard that!' And I would nod. Mamma would continue, 'Sister, there are people who went to sleep all over the world last night, poor and rich and white and black, but they will never wake up again. Sister, those who expected to rise did not .... And those dead folks would give anything, anything at all for just five minutes of this weather or ten minutes of that plowing that person was grumbling about. So you watch yourself about complaining, Sister. What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.'"

  1. So the next time you are tempted to complain remember the words of Maya Angelou

"So you watch yourself about complaining, Sister. What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.'"

Amen!

1. February 19, 2008. Copyright © 2008 Norman Feuti, Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

2. --Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings (New York: Ballantine Books, 1964 [1993]), 21.

3. Synonyms of Complain, Roget's Desk Thesaurus.

4. Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (New York: Random House, 1993), 85-87.

(Top)  (Back to Study Home Page)   (Back to Sermons for 2007-2008)
(Back to Sermons Home Page)   (Back to Shultz Home Page)