Anyone here ever guilty of grumbling or complaining? .... Nobody? Hmmm....let me scroll back and read through some recent Facebook posts. ;-)  

The tendency to complain is in our DNA’; or should I say our ‘old man’ or ‘sinful nature’. That may be why God’s word tells us to ‘put to death’ that old man, which is what the Spirit is doing in those who actually believe in and follow Him. (Col.3:5; Rom. 8:13; Gal. 5:24; John 10:27) 

 But we are told right there in Phil. 2:14 – “Do all things without complaining and grumbling; that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.”  And do you remember a previous generation that God was 'not pleased with' that Paul cited as an example for us to take heed to?  You might look real quick at 1 Cor. 10:6-10 to see how serious God was about complaining, noting vs. 10 there.

 How does he describe there (Phil.2) what ‘children of God’ look like? - “without fault”...and “blameless”? (Sounds like the church Jesus is coming for there in Eph. 5:26-27) 

 I bet you knew that verse about not complaining was in there. But how often do we fail to ‘do’ what it says? I know, I know...’Christians are not perfect, just forgiven’. 

 I’ll be honest with you here, I think people in the world (lost folks) who watch us and maybe even secretly desiring that what we say we have is real...get tired of hearing how we are ‘not perfect, just forgiven’. I would even go as far to say that God gets tired of hearing that as well. I mean, did Jesus not turn at one point to a group and ask them: “Why do you keep calling me, ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46) 

 “Oh, but I love Jesus!”, we like to profess. Really? Jesus said “IF you love Me, you'll do what I say.” (John 14:15) 

 So why do we fail to ‘do what He says’ so often? Well, if you read my post yesterday, I make the case it is because we really don’t ‘fear God’. (As in we really don'e believe He means what He says) 

 If we did fear God, then it would be safe to assume we really do believe what He says and that He means what He says. And that we would act and behave accordingly. 

 Look back at the verse there in Philippians that was just before the one about not complaining and grumbling. “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (2:12). 

 “Fear and trembling”? We NT believers should ‘fear and tremble’? Why? We serve a good God...a kind Jesus...who loves us and adores us. Why would we need to fear? Well...I guess you can ask God about that...I’m just telling you what His word says. 

 Check out Peter’s instruction to us in his first letter: “As obedient children...not conforming yourselves to the former lusts...but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in ALL your conduct...and conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear”. (1:14-17; Eph. 5:3-4) 

 You think all these verses were put in there for us to analyze ...or to do? 

 Paul, writing in his second letter to the Corinthians said this: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (7:1) 

Interesting...how when you begin to see all these verses strung together...how they begin painting a ‘different picture’ than the one we have grown to be familiar with. It’s almost like God is trying to wake us up from our slumber and get about the business of ‘getting ready’ for some upcoming ‘wedding’. (Matt. 25:10; Rev. 19:7-9). And if you have an extra moment, would you mind visiting Matt. 22:1-14...it would be a good one to look over. 

 And if/when He succeeds in ‘waking us up’, guess what we are told to do after ‘putting on the Lord Jesus’? - “Make NO provision for the flesh (nature)’. (Rom. 13:11-14) 

 I think many of us would openly admit that while we may be familiar with so many of these verses, we probably have fallen short in ‘doing’ or ‘obeying’ them on a continuous basis. The reason this should be alarming to us is that failure to 'do' the word is the door to deception and how we drift from God. (Heb.2:1). James explains it rather well saying if we are just ‘hearers of the word and not doers, we deceive ourselves’. (James 1:22-23) 

 This all ties back to how much God wanted us to know Him, love Him, obey Him, and to ‘fear’ Him. He promised us...that if we would ‘do these things, it would go well for us and our children and their children. (Deut. 5:29). God has never changed. (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8) 

 The wisest man who ever lived concluded that what really mattered most in life was for us to ‘fear God and keep His commandments.” (Eccl. 12:13) 

 IF...we truly ‘feared God’, it would be evident...it would show...it would bear fruit. We would ‘do what He says’. 

 If a fireman comes in to a restaurant you are dining in and proclaims the building is on fire and for you to get up immediately and exit the building...you would do so. That is, IF...you really believed him. The fireman is not there to wag a finger of condemnation at you saying “I’m gonna get you” or "you all are gonna burn". He is there because He is concerned about your welfare and safety and wants you to comply with his commands. 

 Guess what? This world is ‘on fire’ as the wrath of God is being poured out like a ‘flood and fire’, and God is saying...repent...turn to me and you won’t perish. Get in the ark...this place of safety I have provided for you...and doing what I instruct is imperative. (Luke 13:3,5; Matt. 23:37; 1 John 5:18; Prov. 1:33) 

 Let’s address another common example of how we prove we don’t really love God with all our hearts; which is, what the law demands. (Matt. 22:37-40) 

 We are to love others as Christ first loved us. (And we cannot possibly do this unless we have His nature residing in us) This is the clarifying and ‘new’ commandment that Jesus gave us in John 13:34-35. So if we are going to love others as He first loved us, then we are to also forgive others as He forgave us. In fact, failure to forgive others can have devastating consequences for us. (Matt. 6:14-15) 

 Jesus shared an insightful parable with us in Matt. 18, the story about a king/master who forgave a great debt of one of his servants. (18:27). As you read on there, you see where he went out and failed to do the same for someone who ‘owed’ him a debt. And it did not compare with what he himself owed his master and was released or forgiven of. 

 When the master heard about this, he called for him to be brought before him and look how he addressed him: “You wicked servant!” (32). 

 Funny...how we look at those ‘really bad people’, like child abusers/traffickers or rapist or murderers...and think of them being ‘wicked’. Can I just tell you now...if you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus and are harboring unforgiveness or bitterness or resentment towards someone who has wronged you – God sees you as being ‘wicked’ as well. Yep. He sure does. Let’s read on.... 

 The master rebukes this servant, reminding him of the great debt he was released from and forgiven of; and then asked: “Should you not have had compassion on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” (33). And his master was angry...and delivered him to the torturers (tormentors) until he should pay all that was due to him.” (34). Now...please pay attention to this next statement made by Jesus...our ‘loving, kind, and gentle shepherd’: “So will My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, he does not forgive his brother.” (35) 

 Would you like to guess who those ‘tormentors’ are? (It’s not ISIS, or your boss, or neighbor’s kids, or your in-laws). They would be demon spirits that have sought a way back in to your life where they could ‘steal, kill, and destroy’. (John 10:10; Matt. 12:43-45; 2 Cor. 2:8-11; Ps. 78:49-50; 107:10-13). May I again, encourage you strongly to look up those passages yourself in your bible?) When you truly believe God means what He says, then you will respond and act accordingly. It will show and be evident by the fruit it produces. Your church membership does not exempt you from God’s judgments. When Jesus told that man He had healed in John 5 to ‘go and sin no more or something worse will happen to you”, (5:14) He was not kidding. He meant that. He truly, honestly meant that. It was not an empty threat, rather a loving, yet stern warning.

 So the next time you begin telling someone a story about ‘old so and so’ and you start out by saying: “You know I love _______, but....”; you might stop right there. That "but" usually is some early signs of fruit that indicates you might be harboring something in your heart against them or have not forgiven fully something they did or said to you. And where did Jesus say true forgiveness will originate from there in Matt. 18:35? And how can you tell what is really in a person’s heart? By what the ‘mouth speaketh’. (Matt. 12:34). 

 When we really begin to believe God means what He says, then we begin to truly ‘fear God’, and that...is a good thing. ;-)