Philippians 2:14,15, ‘14Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world’,
Holy Spirit is reminding us that, we are lacking in this area, ‘doing all things without grumbling or disputing’, ‘proving ourselves blameless and innocent, children of God, in the midst of crooked and perverse generation and we need to be the lights in this crooked and perverse generation’. Knowingly or unknowingly we are not serious about this grumbling and disputing attitude. Holy Spirit is reminding us today that it is a serious sin. Let us have fear of God and follow God without murmuring spirit. As an individual and as a Church, we need to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling.
V12, ‘12So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;’
When we are in the midst of the Church, we can be innocent and prove by our life as light of this world, but Apostle Paul says, not only in our presence, not only when you are among the brethren but also when you are in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation, you need to work out your salvation, even much more, in the absence of Church and brethren, we need to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling. Do all things without grumbling or murmuring and disputing. Let us take this very seriously in our Christian walk, as this leads to the hindrance to our Spiritual growth. This world is full of grumbling people, we among them should not grumble like them, but set an example by our life, as Caleb and Joshua were among the grumbling Israelites, saying that, ‘living God is with us, we can possess the promised land with His help’.
1 Corinthians 10: 10-11, ‘10Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come’.
Holy Spirit reminds us here, do not have grumbling spirit as Israelites had. As they were destroyed by doing it.
We see in Exodus 14; Israelites crossed the Red Sea. In Exodus 15, we see Moses and Israelites praising and singing to the Lord God,
‘1Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea’ 20Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. 21Miriam answered them, “Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.”
After crossing the Red Sea, Moses, Miriam and all Israelites were singing and dancing and Praising God but immediately after that, they started to grumble.
24So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” – They started to grumble about water.
Exodus 16:2-3, ‘2The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Here, they started to grumble about food.
V8, ‘8Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the Lord.”
When we are having this grumbling spirit, it is against the Lord, we are grumbling. Let us take this sin very seriously. Let us be radical to cut off this sin from our lives.
Numbers 11:6, ‘6but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”
Here we see, they are grumbling about manna. ‘Every day, its only same Manna’, they are grumbling. We see, this grumbling spirit is carrying on a big list and they finally ended up saying that the place is a wretched place!
Numbers 20:5, ‘Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.”
God hates this grumbling spirit. Let us take this warning, seriously from Apostle Paul, ‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing’.
When we are driving the car, without wearing a seat-belt, it gives us a warning, if we do not take it seriously, it causes danger to our lives. In the same way, let us take this warning very seriously not to have any grumbling spirit, lest it destroys us.
This grumbling spirit comes because, ‘when we become discontent with what we have, with what God had blessed us and the place where He placed us or with the circumstances, He put us in’ then, we start to grumble and murmur.
We see that the Israelites, though they witnessed so many miracles from the Lord; ‘how they walked on dry ground, when the Red Sea parted’, they could not trust God, and started grumbling against the Lord. Because of this grumbling spirit, they could not enter into the promised land. They were destroyed in the desert.
We deserve nothing. God had blessed us with everything we need and we have no right to grumble. Holy Spirit is reminding us not to grumble.
Job 2:10, ‘10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips’.
Job did not complain against the Lord. In all this, Job did not grumble.
Job 1:21,22, ‘He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” 22Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God’.
Job did not blame or grumble against God, as he was an innocent and blameless man.
God is encouraging us to live a life without grumbling or disputing.
Jude 1:5, ‘5Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe’.
Jude also gives us the warning of grumbling, v15,16, ‘15to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage’.
Judgement is coming upon the ‘Grumblers’.
John 6:43, ‘Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves’.
Holy Spirit is reminding our hearts today also, ‘do not grumble among yourselves’. God wants us to replace this grumbling spirit with a thankful heart in every situation, in all the areas, in our Christian life.
Romans 1:21, ‘21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened’.
Let us give thanks to our God in all situations, lest our heart become darkened.
Ephesians 5:20, ‘always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father’;
This is God’s will for us that we give Him thanks for all things. We see all the areas in this chapter, where we need to work out our salvation, check whether we are grumbling in these areas –
- Ephesians 5:22, Wives and Husbands – In our Family life.
- Ephesians 6:1-4, Children and Parent relationship – are we having this grumbling and complaining spirit? Replace it with a thankful spirit, thanksgiving heart.
- Ephesians 6:5, Office Life – Work place or Schools, place where God placed us, are we grumbling or we having a thankful spirit?
We might have a doubt, how is it possible to always have a thankful heart? In the midst of people who always complain or murmur? Jesus’ disciples also had the same question, ‘this is a difficult statement, who can listen this word?’ But it is possible. As we see in Ephesians 5:18, ‘be filled with the Spirit,’
When we are filled with His Holy Spirit, it is possible for us to always have a thankful heart – in our Family life and in our Workplace and with our children. We cannot live this life, with our own strength or will, but only with the help of the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us have strong desire and an inner cry from our hearts to have a victorious life in this area. Let us prove by our life that we are innocent and blameless in this crooked and perverse generation.
Isaiah 50:4, ‘4The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.’
Let us glorify the Lord with our tongue of disciples, that the Lord had given us. Let us be careful and please the Lord. Let us not grumble but give thanks. Let us work out our Salvation with fear and trembling, much more when we are in the absence of the brethren and in the presence of this crooked and perverse world and proving ourselves as innocent and blameless and be as lights in this world.
May God bless us.
