In this sermon titled 'Shining not Whining' by Rev. Bernie Diaz, he addresses the issue of complaining and whining among Christians. He highlights how many respectable sins, such as frustration, ingratitude, and impatience, are linked to complaining. Diaz emphasizes that God hates complaining because it questions His sovereignty and providence. Complaining affects our witness to the world and hinders our ability to shine as lights in a crooked generation. Diaz encourages Christians to choose gratitude and contentment, which stem from a deep understanding of God's grace. He reminds believers to focus on Christ and His sovereignty, and to rejoice even in difficult circumstances. The sermon concludes with a call to be thankful and shine as lights in a world full of complaining.

Welcome to the pulpit ministry of Christ Community Church in South Florida, aiming to make, mature, and multiply disciples by preaching and teaching God's Word based on the sufficiency of Scripture. And now let's join Pastor Bernie Diaz for the message. I can't get a good signal FYI wise Wi-Fi wise for my phone here. Lines are too long at the store that's one of my classics at Pete's whatever traffic in South Florida is a nightmare it is I hate it it's too hot Home and rent prices are too high. And it goes on and on and on.

The list of our complaints is endless. And I know this to be true because again, we're gonna be real today. I'm gonna be real with you. One of your pastor's habitual sins for too long is this one, complaining, especially about little stuff. So you can Imagine how convicted I was this week in preparing to preach this sermon for you, knowing how habitual this is.

I've been rebuked. So gird your loins, because you're going to be rebuked too. I was rereading some of Jerry Bridges' book, Respectable Sins, this week. When it talks about attitudes that most of us, the world, would consider okay, justifiable, not sinful, although The Bible classifies them that way. And as I glanced through the table of contents and the list of 14 respectable sins, I noticed how many of them were manifest in or as the result of complaining or whining.

Like frustration, ingratitude, selfishness, impatience, irritability, anger, and bitterness, just to name a few. So I was reminded I have a lot of work to do in my sanctification." Or as the passage we've been looking at in Philippians 2 would say, to work out my salvation in fear and trembling. Paul says part of working our salvation out is to not complain. Some of us complain big time on the little things or the little things in life that don't go as we want. And then sometimes some of us complain on just the bigger things.

Those things we can't control, like our health. Or for instance, how the great Puritan Bible commentator Matthew Henry said this, he was once robbed and mugged, and when he was asked about it, he said, I thank God, the first, because I was never robbed before, second, because although they took my wallet, they did not take my life, third, although they took my all, it was not much, and fourth, because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed. Oh, is that convicting. I wish I could react to a circumstance like that. How about you?

I mean, maybe I would. That's a big one. I will say studying the Bible, okay, it should make a difference in your life. And even just little subtle ways, it did for me like this week. I took a break from our study here of this passage and I ran over to the Publix nearby in the neighborhood as I too frequently do And I picked up a few things at the store and I was in line and the thunder, the rain was starting again, you know the daily one we get.

Is that a complaint? Maybe? Careful? And yes, I knew I had to get out of there quick. I had an older man with only two items behind me and I just asked the man.

I was just thinking about this passage and all the implications of it, or at least some of them. And I had the older man come in front of me to cash out. Now you might think that's a small thing. For me that's massive. That's huge because, hey, I gotta go.

Places to go, people to see, things to do. I gotta get back to studying. And Lord's like, well why don't you actually try, I don't know, practicing what you preach? Oh, so We have to be content with what we have, and not just the struggle with what we have, but in the circumstances God puts us in. Contentment is a big part of the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians.

You should know that because contentment is a big part of the Christians' joy, which is the name of this series in this book. Those two words are intertwined because our joy comes from feeling content in God's grace towards us. Paul brings that up here and he's gonna do it again in chapter 4 specifically because this church which was located in a coastal city in Macedonia, part of the Roman Empire, it was a big trade port and a lot of people would pass through it. Pagan people brought in all kinds of issues. It was a poor coastal city, interestingly enough.

All kinds of sin and wickedness were around. And on top of that, they were dealing with a little bit of division or disunity in the church, which chapter 1 and 4 talks about and that breeds complaints. And there was grumbling, murmuring going on within the church and Paul's concerned about how that's going to impact their witness to the world. Makes sense. And their ministry in the community.

So as Paul's been writing about lives being lived worthy of the gospel and are being responsible, as we said last time, to be as holy as the Lord is holy, he gets specific here with this issue, with this command of the complaining and the arguing and just an attitude that may ruin the Philippians' witness there. So on this command in our text ties into the issue and their witness in two ways that complaining affects the witness in their lives and it can even potentially affect the witness in their death. So we're gonna look at each one of those. In short, put it this way, you are to shine instead of wine. Sounds clever, doesn't it?

Memorable at least. The witness of our lives. Let's see how it impacts that, starting in verse 14 and 15. We'll read it again, and I'm glad Deacon Rob had us repeat this. Paul says, Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation so Paul finds out the beloved Philippians are complaining The word from the Greek literally has the idea of private murmuring, like under your breath, an audible groaning.

You know what it sounds like. You've done it before. The Greek word is onomatopoeic, meaning it means just like how it sounds. It's a virtually unpronounceable word, and the closest you could get is going... Really.

And more often than not, the word, the idea, the attitude, isn't really directed at people causing traffic when you drive. That can happen. Or the long line at the grocery store, or whatever, or the family member that drives you crazy with their attitude or something they've said what's emphasized here is the root of all of that complaining so you get it straight is really about the providence of God as painful as that can be what do I mean It's when the whiner says, life's not fair. I don't deserve this. Everybody else gets all the breaks.

Why don't I have what he or she has? And it's really out of proportion to reality. You and I both know, if you think about it, complaining doesn't solve any problems. It's literally a waste of time. Mark Twain said, don't complain and talk about all your problems.

80% of people don't care. The other 20% will think you deserve them. It's pretty good. And what's interesting about this command we have here, do everything without complaining, comes immediately after he wrote about the responsibility for holiness for us to work out because God has already worked in and is working in us. So God works in, but Paul's getting real, and he says here this is one of the most significant ways you can work out your salvation and sanctification.

Now, I know I wish he had said, do some things without complaining. But I'm sorry, there's no exceptions. He means literally everything. And the Pharisees were champion whiners and complainers, as an example, if you want to look at poster boys for whining. In fact, the word grumbling there is attached to them constantly in the New Testament.

They mumbled about Jesus and the disciples about everything they said and did. So it's important here to know something. God actually hates complaining and whining because in essence it's calling his sovereignty, his authority over everything, and his Providence, which is the actual working out of his will, it calls that into question. When we're discontent and we whine about our circumstances, we're basically telling the Lord, Lord, I don't like what you're doing with my life and if you would just get off the throne and put me on it I'd make it a whole lot better I just don't like the way you're running my life I don't like the way things are happening. I don't like what I'm going through.

And I really wish you would fix it right now according to my plan rather than yours. So it's not only a fight of faith, but it's a fight with God. Subconsciously at least. Because when we grumble, we might be thinking in our minds something like God I don't believe you're as sovereign as Pastor Bernie likes to say that you are I don't believe at this moment that you're the giver of all good gifts. You know, we don't trust Him to work out all things for our good and His glory when we whine a lot.

That's why God hates complaining so much. I want you to see this in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Turn there for a moment. That Paul warned those Corinthians about it and why stories are in Scripture for our edification. He's referring to how God disciplined the Jews in the wilderness.

He led them out of Egypt through the Red Sea. Miracles, signs and wonders. They are free from their chain. And what do the Jews do? They complain and whine about the menu.

1st Corinthians 10 9. Paul writes, we must not put Christ to the test if some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, there's the word, as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them, listen, as an example, but they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. Where does this come from? Where do we get this story?

If you're making note or go there quickly to Exodus chapter 16, Just let me give you a couple of highlights of it. Okay? Moses, the Jews, they are being led through the desert. They're out of Egypt and it starts when they get the munchies. Exodus 16 2, and the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and the people of Israel said to them, would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full for you have brought us into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger they actually are telling God this whining to Moses and Aaron Would you lead us here to die?

We had three hots and a cot in Egypt. Sure, we were slaves. Work was hard, but verse 7, And in the morning you shall see, this is Moses and Aaron now, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord for what are we that you grumble against us right Moses and Aaron are telling the people why are you complaining to me you're really complaining to God his sovereign hand of Providence Moses said when the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, manna, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against Him. What are we? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the Lord.

When you whine, you're whining against God. So that's mercy. God decided to listen there and said, I've heard you're whining, you know, it's almost like the baby, as I want I want I want I want, and he gives them food. But God doesn't always respond to grumbling that way, folks, because later they whined again. They whined about some bad news.

Moses sent the spies to check out Canaan check out the promised land mind you the promised land full of milk and honey Two of them file a good report in faith to God. You remember who they were, right? Caleb and Joshua. The rest of the others from the 12 tribes were like, no way! Natives there, too big, too strong.

We're gonna sweat too much. It's gonna be too much of a hassle. We can't do it. And in fact, the second word after grumbling in Philippians is the word arguing. And it carries the idea of debating.

Debating with who? Again, debating with God. Numbers 14, let's look at it, what that looked like, starting in verse 1. Then all the congregation raised a loud cry and the people wept that night. All the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

They grumbled. The whole congregation said to them, oh would that we had died in the land of Egypt or would that we had died in this wilderness. Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey." He's talking about why are you gonna give us this promised land? Why have you promised this land?

Doesn't sound so great. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? Wow. And they said to one another, Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt." So they're ready to blow off Moses and Aaron, go back home, go back to slavery. Verse 26, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, how long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me?" That's a rhetorical question.

God doesn't grumble. I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel which they grumble against me. Say to them as I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you. Oh, he's gonna do something to them for their whining verse 29 your dead bodies shall fall in the wilderness and all of your number listed in the census from 20 years old and upward who have grumbled against me Not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell." Yikes! Anyone over 20 in the wilderness, you're a whiner, you're done.

Dead. You're not gonna make it. You think God takes grumbling a little serious? You think that's a big deal? It's a fatal crime?

Could be. Wow. So you see, a complainer is a discontented person, and to be discontent means you're just dissatisfied. Like someone wrote, as a rule, man's a fool. When it's hot, he wants it cool.

When it's cool, he wants it hot. Always wanting what is not. That's us. And God hates it Because it's really a faith or a trust issue ultimately. You want a simple definition of faith?

I'll give it to you. You know what faith means? Faith for the Christian means believing the Word of God and obeying it, doing what it says, no matter how you feel because God promises a good result. See, many of you in this room you know about what God says about living life and yet you don't do it. And we know why we don't do it.

Because we don't like what it says. It's not that we don't get it or understand it. Now what does all this have to do with our witness to the world as Christians? Because he gives reasons for why you're not to complain. If there was ever a crooked and twisted or perverted generation, if there was more of a twisted generation than this one, I'd like to see it.

In fact, no, I don't think I would like to see it. Actually, Israel was like that during the exilic period when they were in exile and the Roman Empire, but you know what ours comes pretty close. We live in the most wicked perverse generation in American history. There can be no debating that in this nation's history. I don't need to tell you why.

And the Greek words that are translated there as crooked and twisted actually leads to the idea where we get the saying bent out of shape. That person's bent out of shape. Literally, it means a person that can't think straight, depraved. And that describes a Roman's one world that we're living in, God's wrath of judgment on a society and a culture and a nation for dishonoring and ignoring God and His Christ. And we're suffering as a result of it because we're like a nation of Israel.

For instance, when they divided into the kingdoms, Isaiah 5 20 says, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. That's us. That's this country. That's Western civilization. Okay?

We're in an upside-down world. If you've been around as long as I have, you look around, nothing makes sense. That's what a perverse mind looks like. In fact, the word there is in a perfect tense, so this perversion, this depravity is ongoing. In fact, that's all the unredeemed can be to a degree, one degree or another, is be perverse and depraved.

They're always gonna be that way if they don't come to Christ. So we could argue, now listen carefully, we can argue with people and complain or whine about the state of the Union and what we say could be true, you know, you diagnose it properly, But what good ultimately is that gonna do? How holy or Christ-like would that be? I mean, after all, we're talking about this, aren't we supposed to be different and unique? That's what the definition of holy means.

Therefore, in spite of this generation and this culture, we, as another translation puts it, are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. We should be shining not whining. That's the title of the message today. Repeat after me, you should shine not good. Paul wrote elsewhere that Christians are children of light instead of whining.

Now what does that look like? For us to shine as lights in a nutshell is in two words. It means to be holy and means to be humble. Humility not only kills pride but as a result it kills a heart of discontent. It's a heart that grumbles and argues that needs to be killed because discontent is the daughter of pride, Thomas Watson said.

They're related. In fact, go to 1 Peter or just keep a finger there, and the Apostle Peter has picked up here kind of echoing what Paul's been talking about, and it even relates to how we serve one another first Peter 4 9 Peter writes to this early church show hospitality to one another without grumbling oh really I have to volunteer to open my home for a shepherd group. I've got to clean the house and pick up some things." That was happening 2, 000 years ago and Peter's saying, stop it! Cut it out! A wise person did say, be content with what you have, never with what you are.

So you can be dissatisfied or discontent with your sanctification to an extent, your walk with Christ. Don't be content with your sin, but be content with the circumstances that God has placed in your life. Go back to Philippians. You flip a few pages over in Philippians to chapter 4. This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture.

It deals with this directly in a great time of need for Paul in that church. He's actually in prison in Rome writing the letter, And he says this in Philippians 4-11, Not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to be high or to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger abundance and need one of the most often quoted verses in Scripture I can do all things through him who strengthens me you know Tim Tebow has it and I black underneath Philippians 4 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. You know, Tim Tebow has it in I, Black, underneath, Philippians 4.13.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Let me clarify something for you in case you don't know. That verse is not a universal verse to tell you you can do whatever you want. I can't jump out of here right now, take a running start and fly because Christ can do all things through me. Wrong.

You can't do all things you want to do through Christ who strengthens you. The context of the passage will tell us, and this is a little preview of coming attractions when we get to Philippians 4, is that when you are faced with a difficult circumstance you can persevere, endure, and get through it through Christ who strengthens you. That's all. That's all that it means. Nothing more than that, nothing less.

Okay? Peter's first letter goes to the extent that, going back there, that we have to be prepared to live and suffer in our sanctification because we're commanded to including persecution because we are exiles you know a lot of people talk about immigration today. Did you know in this room you're all immigrants? I mean, aside from where you're from, you're spiritual immigrants. You're pilgrims in progress.

You're just passing through. In fact, Philippians 3 tells us our citizenship is in heaven listen to Peter though first Peter 2 verse 11 beloved I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul." So there's a call for holiness right there. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject or submissive for the Lord's sake to every human institution whether it be the Emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and praise those who do good. Verse 15, for this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Live as people who are free, Not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Finally, honor everyone. You know, respect everyone. Love the Brotherhood. Fear God.

Honor the Emperor. Honor the Emperor. Yikes. We would like to complain about our president, wouldn't we, many of us. Peter's saying respect him.

Honor him. Because he's our emperor. That's the parallel. There can be no disputing that. If we're going to apply what Peter says.

It's a tough ask. I get it. But you're learning why we don't spend, we're not to spend an inordinate amount of time complaining about our government at any level. We can vent, let me make clear, we can vent righteously about it to a degree, have righteous anger, right, indignation, and as Jesus would, over the shame or the reproach it brings to the name of God in Christ. That's good.

We can get involved in the right way, in the political process, in terms of improving our communities, our city, and our country. But face it, God is sovereign and it is what it is and we're right where God wants us to be. So complaining and bickering Just for the sake of doing it is not what we're about. Because then we, here's the idea, we dim our lights in this generation. You're an ambassador for Christ, 2 Corinthians.

You're an evangelist wherever you go in your walk and talk. You know, it's good to expose the darkness of light with truth. Ephesians commands us to. So don't go to the other extreme. You do that whenever you educate people.

Educate people about God's will and His word regarding things like abortion, sexuality, etc. But the idea is this, you're pointing people to change, to repent, to come to Christ. That's the goal. It's not just whining for the sake of whining. As the Lord would say in Matthew's Gospel, I just want to give you a taste of that from the Sermon on the Mount, chapter 5.

Very familiar words, but appropriate today. Jesus says, talking to real disciples, says, talking to real disciples, you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to the whole house. That's what it would do back then. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven so exposing the darkness is not whining to God and others about how awful things are just for the sake of saying it.

There's a difference. Do you get it? Okay? Our witness is our testimony. We're truth-tellers in this world in both our attitude and our actions and the way we demonstrate faith in God.

See, there are some of us, and we touched on this last time, we're very concerned if not worried about our country, which I understand. It's irritating. It's frustrating you, and it angers you. But you know what? It's gonna be difficult to share your faith and trust in God and tell people about his good sovereign hand of providence when you keep complaining about his providence.

Does that make sense? Is that going to send a mixed signal, maybe, you think? We need to make a difference. We need to be different and show people that Christ is in control, and He is the way, the truth, and the life. That's why we're happy people, full of joy.

That's the big theme of this letter, the Christians' joy. I'll give you an example of how that's been done before. In just one way, when I think of this passage, I'm just gonna go to Daniel 6, but just myself, but I think of Brother Alex because the Lord used this story of Daniel in the lion's den to bring him to faith. King Darius kind of named Daniel as one of the three high officials in Persia, you know, he's working hard And the Bible says he had an excellent spirit. In fact, he was due another promotion.

He was going to be the highest official there. And this is a Jew that they kidnapped and took to Babylon, okay? The other native officials, they were jealous of him. They couldn't do anything with him. It says in that text, They could find no ground for complaint or any fault because he was faithful and no error or fault was found in him.

That's just what Paul's talking about in Philippians 2. Verse 15, so they schemed to get Daniel on charges of religious freedom. He was doing the big sin of praying to God in the open. They threw him in the lion's den. No whining.

That would have been a pretty good spot to whine and complain, right? God, I love you. I'm serving you. I'm being a really good citizen. Yeah, they're throwing me in the lion's den.

I'm about to be ripped to shreds. Hello? God delivered him, and when he came out of the den, Darius issued this nationwide decree. He's saying, Listen to this. People are to tremble in fear, this is Darius talking, before the God of Daniel.

For he is the living God enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed and his dominion shall be to the end. That's a pretty good gospel witness right there. Not bad for a Persian king. Wow.

Talk about being a shining light in a crooked generation. God uses Daniel to flip Darius and allow the Persians to allow Israel to come back home because he didn't complain and whine when he could have. This is what Paul's talking about. So real quick, I mean from the witness of our life, We want to talk about shining rather than whining as the witness of our death. Go back to our text in Philippians 2 verse 17, verse 16 actually.

So as lights in the world shining as lights, holding fast to the word of life so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." Okay, we'll stop right there. When Christ returns, all this means is Paul wants to feel good about the race he ran, his fight of faith. Okay, 2 Timothy. That it wasn't for nothing. He doesn't want to look back at any regrets when the Lord comes back as to how he lived his life.

In fact, he's confident he's gonna make it to the finish line. If you go back to chapter 1 verse 6, we go to it often where Paul said, I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ. He wants to see that happen. Or as he put it in 1st Corinthians 1, The Lord will sustain you to the end, guiltless or blameless, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wants to be able to take pride in, not in himself, he wants to boast in the fruit of his faithfulness, their faithfulness to the gospel, and a sanctification when the Lord comes back.

Okay? What he's talking about is another doctrine, the endurance of the faith, what the Reformers called the perseverance of the saints, that we make it till the end. Okay? No matter how bad things get in our lives personally, we don't abandon Christ. We hold on to Him like never before.

And His promises, that feeds our hope and glory and the hope of heaven. Amen? So that's why He's telling us to constantly hold firm. To what? To the Word of life, it says, and that means the Word of God is life and gives life.

Which in other words, he's talking about the gospel. It's not like any other word. It's a word, the gospel has life in itself and it leads to life. That's why you were born again with it. And that should also lead to contentment, which means you gladly, gladly accept your circumstances.

Remember Paul told us toward the end of chapter 1, suffering is a grace gift from God. And if you were here about a month ago, I had to learn that the hard way. I suffered a heart attack after just preaching that here a month ago. That's a painful lesson. I'm thankful by God's grace, by the way.

I didn't complain about that. This is how insidious I'll give you an insight. Whining is the logical thing would have been to me to whine about having had a heart attack. God, gosh, I have all this stuff to do in ministry. You almost killed me.

Kind of sort of. I mean, come on. I didn't whine about that. I'm really good with the big stuff. My wife can tell you, I whine about, I was whining in the hospital, Why hasn't the nurse come yet to get the vitals?

Why are they waking me up at three in the morning to give me a pill? I was whining. There's no way around it. That's sin. I mean, he kept me alive and I'm whining about a pill at three in the morning, really?

But I'm not thinking clear. I'm crooked there. I'm not thinking straight. You see, happens to all of us. Endurance in the faith.

God knows what's best for us, folks. And in His love, He's only going to work out in you what is best for you and for His glory. So when you accept that, then God can help you use your circumstances to best glorify or make much of him which then enables you to shine as lights in the world even to the point of death so we shine say it not don't worry the suffering is almost through. Verse 17, Paul says, back in our text, Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise, you should also be glad and rejoice with me." So Paul's simply saying in very vivid, graphic, Old Testament language, he's—remember, he's chained to a guard in this Roman prison while he's writing this letter.

That's got to be pretty hard to do. I might complain about that. Lord, you want me to write a letter with one hand here? I'm chained to this guy on the other hand? He's basically saying, even if I die here or I'm executed like a sacrifice to the Lord, right?

Drink offerings were at the temple, and they'd be poured out on the altar. So he's describing the end of his life that way. In faithful service, right, like you Philippians are doing, that's what he's talking about, he's saying, we work out our salvation until the end even in the way we die and I want you to rejoice with me in that I mean this is the book of joy right in fact the words rejoice and glad they come from the same root word in Greek, which is the word we translate as grace. So why is Paul telling the Philippians to be glad or rejoice in his suffering and a life of service well-lived? Number one, there's two reasons.

Number one, to have a clear conscience when the Lord takes us home. Okay? He wants to be able to say and testify, I've worked out my salvation in fear and trembling. Second, because as the Lord told us in the last chapter, to be absent from the body is to be what? Which is far better.

So rejoice with me, Paul's saying. Rejoice with me if I lose my life for the gospel. I'm home with the Lord. It's a no-lose scenario. If I stay here I win for your good, he said in chapter 1.

I'm ministering to you helping you grow in faith. That's good. I'm winning not losing. And if I die it's even better absent from the body present with the Lord that's to be our attitude Paul said also in this early part of this letter to live as Christ and to die is So this is why folks we could be joyful in all circumstances. The Christians joy again, to give you that quick little definition, Christian joy is not happiness that comes and goes depending on your circumstance.

I'm on vacation so I'm happy. The bank account is good so I'm happy. Job is good, relationships in my family are good so I'm happy and then when they're not so good I'm not so happy. That's not Christian joy at all, remotely. Christian joy is a deep, soul-satisfying contentment, a feeling that no matter what is going on in your life, you can say and sing, it is well with my soul.

That should make you glad. Or as the Jews would say, you would have shalom, peace. Which is just a word that means well-being. Everything is well with you and what matters most. Now, talking about Paul, you know, you may not be martyred or in prison for the faith like Paul was.

Maybe one of you in this room will be eventually, but the Lord is still calling you to present your bodies as a sacrifice to Him in holiness, Romans 12. So that is like pouring your body out like a drink offering on the altar. And that includes a life, folks, that trusts in God and His providence rather than complaining or whining about it. So the choice is this. You could give God and others one of two things, either complaints or thanks.

And rather than complain, I think we should be counting our blessings in praise to the Lord and giving Him thanks. Every day of our life, because I'm gonna tell you, you're gonna find reasons to complain and every day you're going to have reasons to be thankful. Let me say that again because there's a distinction you need to get. You will have to find reasons to complain, but you already have possessed reasons to be thankful. So we have to choose which one we're gonna focus on.

I do. I have to choose that. The two themes, complaint and gratitude, they tug at our hearts every day, every moment of every day, I think almost. They compete for your attention and what comes out of your mouth. And they're fundamentally different ways of viewing the world and yourself.

If you assume you're a really good deserving person, if you've got a pretty big ego, and you maybe even struggle with pride, you're going to place yourself in the center of your universe with an I deserve blank attitude. Therefore, if you're doing that, you're now expecting situations, locations, relationships in everyday life to focus on your universe, on your life. And I have to remind you in case you missed it, the universe wasn't created for you. You are not the center of this world. Christ is.

In fact, this book, people write this and go, oh this is great. Teach me how to live. It's a great book of ethics. This is for me. This is not a me book.

This is a God book. This is a story about God. Who He is, why He's doing what He's doing, what He's doing, and what He's going to be doing. We just happen to be part of the story, woven in there, but this is a God book. And if you humbly admit that you're a sinner, then you know you really deserve, that's justice, what you deserve.

You deserve nothing but God's wrath, and if you get that, then you're gonna have reasons to be grateful everywhere you turn. If you remember that, in acts of outrageous grace, God has turned his face of mercy and kindness towards you. I know he has toward me. Everything we have in life, folks, is an undeserved blessing. That's the definition, a nuanced definition of the word mercy.

You either get in this life justice or mercy. You either get what you deserve or God in His infinite grace and mercy gives you what you don't deserve. It comes from him in either case. So here's the take home question as we prepare to close. How do you view yourself?

I've got 10 questions for your personal assessment. You may want to write these down, consider them. You can think about it maybe at home, maybe tonight, and answer these questions. Or you can answer them quickly now in your heart. I'm gonna have them on the screen.

And your first impression is best on answering these questions. I want you to be honest with yourself. Answer these to yourself in your heart and you can write them down if you want. This is the gratitude assessment. Number one, do you find it easier to complain than to give thanks?

Number two, oh this hurt, Are you easily irritated and quickly impatient? Yes. Do mundane hassles get under your skin? Yes. I laugh because there's a certain member of my family who looks like me a little bit.

A young man. And this is our, we're being real, this is church family talk, and this is who we are. This is where we live. Number four, Would the people who live nearest to you characterize you as a thankful person or a complaining person? If you can't, as Vodybakken would say, if you can't say ouch, say amen.

Number five, do you look at your world and find many reasons to complain because things aren't going your way? Number six, do you look at your world and find yourself blown away at the many reasons you have every day to give thanks? That's where you want to be. Number seven, do you view yourself as one who has been constantly shortchanged and neglected? Oh woe is me.

Self-pity. That's what we're talking about there. Number eight, do you view yourself as one who has been showered with blessings? Number nine, how often do you grumble if I only had blank or I wish that blank was different yeah we're in your kitchen right now aren't we and finally number 10 how often do you whisper thanks to God or communicate thanks to those around you. The answers to those questions are going to show you whether you're someone who is shining or whining.

If you're shining as lights today, more often than not, praise God, you're someone who is working out their salvation with fear and trembling, living a life worthy of the Gospel, to use Paul's language. Amen? I'll just close with this little thought. It's a legendary story, supposedly, about a wealthy merchant during the Apostle Paul's day and he had heard about the Apostle and he became so fascinated with him that he had to visit him. So passing through Rome, he got in touch with Timothy, Paul's young mentor, and he arranged an interview with Paul in prison.

Who knows? This could have been when he was writing Philippians. And stepping inside his cell, the merchant was surprised to find Paul looking really old, really frail, and he felt at once the strength and the serenity and the magnetism of this man who relied on Christ. And they talked for some time. And then finally the merchant left and outside the cell he asked Timothy, what is the secret of this man's power?

I've never seen anything like it before. And Timothy says, well did you not guess? Paul's in love, Timothy said. And the merchant looked like this. In love?

And Timothy said, yes. Paul's in love with Jesus Christ. And the merchant was even more confused, and he goes, Is that all? And Timothy smiled and replied, That is everything. Folks, that's the secret of satisfaction and joy, Just to be so captivated by Jesus Christ.

You see him as the most magnificent, beautiful, strong, loving, gracious human being who's God in the flesh that's walked the face of the earth. You look at him that way. You're so captivated by him. You love him as your sovereign Lord and Savior, whom you are to obey and serve. It makes it that much easier to shine instead of wine.

He's the one to trust in every situation. Amen? You know, just like the moon radiates the sun, reflects the radiance of the sun, if we follow and love the Savior, we reflect Him as the light in this world. We should be shining and not whining. We are to what?

And not? Let's pray. Lord Give me, give all of us in this room, since this sin is universal to just varying degrees, all of us in this room whine, complain, murmur, grumble, dispute with you. We need your grace. We need your help.

As Paul speaks so often about in this letter, to be content with what you've given to us in Providence in circumstance as well as blessings we don't want any more than that rejoice Lord let us rejoice and with each other in all that you send us for that is our choice and speaking of choice Lord if there's someone in this room Lord God that does not know you not sure they know you as their Lord and Savior, they can't help but complain. They complain with who you are, what you've done in their life because they really don't know you deeply. The Holy Spirit may not reside with them. May this day today be the day of salvation, Lord God, where they would want a new start, a new lease on life. They would confess their sin, this sin that's universal of discontent and complaining, that they would admit what they already know to be true in their conscience, that the Spirit would convict them, and they would turn to you, make a commitment to turn from sin and self to you, the trust in you, Lord Jesus, as God in the flesh who forgave them for their sins, paid the penalty, paid the debt that they could not pay unless they were to be damned.

So Lord God, I pray you'll do that work in someone today, Lord. Save us and then sanctify us. Help us, Lord, to live lives worthy of the gospel as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. And all God's people said, Amen. And to learn how to give towards our media ministry, please go to our website at www.ChristComChurch.org.

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