Naylor Community
Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Romans 1:18-23
Romans
1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness
and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since
what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to
them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his
eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from
what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks
to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were
darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and
exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal
human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
-- in my office, I have two
coworkers who both had babies over the last year – and listening to them talk
to each other about their babies and their experiences with them, it seems like
there is one thing they both agree on – babies complain a lot
-- we all know that – when things
aren’t good for a baby – when they’re hungry or tired or have a wet diaper –
when they get too cold or too hot – when their needs or their wants are not
getting met the way they think they should, they cry – that’s how babies
complain – it’s how babies say, “I’m not happy with this – something is wrong
in my life, and I am going to complain until it gets better”
-- this is normal for a baby – they
can’t take care of themselves – they can’t do anything on their own to improve
their situations or meet their needs – and so, they cry and complain until
their parents or someone else does something to take care of their problems
-- but in listening to these two
young parents talk about their shared experiences with their babies, it
occurred to me that I have the same thing going on at work, too – except my
complainers are not babies – they’re adults
-- I spend a good amount of time
every day listening to people complain – they complain about their work -- this
project is stupid – why are we doing this – why do we have to tell the boss the
same thing over and over
-- they complain about their work
conditions – my internet is too slow – my email is not working – my office is
too cold – the lights are too bright – someone heated up fish in the microwave
again
-- and they complain about each
other – this person keeps talking too much – this person won’t return my calls –
this person isn’t doing their part – my boss doesn’t listen to me
-- it just goes on and on and on
– a couple of months ago, I called a
meeting because we had a project that wasn’t getting done – it required two
people from two different offices to work together to make sure their data was
correct and that we were ready for an audit – so, I brought them in – showed
them the discrepancies in the data – and told them they needed to get together
and get this corrected and I gave them two weeks to get it done
-- fifteen minutes after the
meeting, I had one of them come to my office, close the door, and complain
about the other person for thirty minutes – about how they were the problem and
they’re the reason everything is wrong
-- they left – and it wasn’t a few
minutes later, the other person came to my office, closed the door, and
complained about the first guy – for thirty minutes, they pointed out why they
were the problem and weren’t doing their job correctly
-- and I bring this up – not to
complain – but to make a point – we have turned into a people who are acting
like babies and who spend all our time complaining and murmuring and grumbling
about everything in life
-- I’m not telling you anything that
you don’t know – everyone in here uses some type of social media or follows the
news – and you see it every single day – post after post after post filled with
negativity and grumbling and complaining – it is rare to see any good news or
to hear anyone say anything good anymore
-- and we experience it when talk to
each other, too -- Research shows that most people complain once a minute
during a typical conversation1
-- does that describe you? – I think
it certainly describes me – I’m just as guilty of this as my coworkers are and
my friends on social media – this has gotten out of hand – and I think it’s
time for us to take a hard look at ourselves and see if we, too, aren’t people
who are living like this – because the Bible tells us that this is not the way
we should be
– I wanted to read this passage from
Romans to get us started this morning to just point out how God feels about
people who are negative and complain and never are grateful in their lives
-- in this passage where Paul is
talking about sinful humanity – about the godless and wicked people in this
world who have rejected God and the word of God – he makes a point here about
their attitude towards life and towards the things they have in their lives
-- look at verse 21 again
Romans
1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were
darkened.
–
out of all their sins – out of all their wicked behavior – Paul points out a
particular one that was a big problem – although they knew God, they didn’t
glorify Him or give thanks to Him
-- instead, the implication here is
that they did the opposite – they ignored God – they ignored His blessings –
and complained about their lot in life – and that led to futile thinking and
darkened, foolish hearts
-- when you spend all your time
complaining, it affects who you are and how you think and what you do – science
agrees with the Bible on this
-- I don’t want to spend a lot of
time on this, but I do want to point out what scientists and psychologists and
social workers are saying about the negative effects of complaining and what
happens to us when we absorb so much negativity in our lives
-- research says that complaining affects
our health – people who complain and who have a negative outlook on life are
more likely to suffer sickness and death than those who are optimists – it
affects our mental and emotional health – it makes us negative and cynical
people – and research from Stanford University shows that the habit of
complaining can also affect the physical structure of your brain – complaining
shrinks the hippocampus and causes changes in your brain similar to those we
see in people with Alzheimer’s Disease
-- and if that’s not enough to be worried
about, studies have shown that complaining rewires the synapses in our brains –
it literally rewires our brains to make future complaining more likely – over
time, we find out it’s easier to be negative all the time rather than to be
positive, regardless of what’s happening around us1
– complaining becomes our default behavior
– it becomes who we are – and that affects us physically – emotionally –
behaviorally – and spiritually
-- so, what can we do about it? – first,
we need to realize that gratitude is not a reaction – it’s a decision – it’s
something that we choose to do – all of us can become people of thanksgiving
and gratitude by choice and through the power of the Holy Spirit within us
-- and, over time, we will learn how to
give God the thanks and glory He deserves – whether we are experiencing
blessings in our lives or whether we are in the midst of a storm
-- to become truly grateful and thankful
people, we need to learn the Four As of Gratitude: Appreciation – Approval – Admiration – and
Attention
-- and to help you learn them and see how
to apply them in your lives, I want us to turn over to Exodus 15 and look at
how the Israelites expressed all four of them in their response to God
following their deliverance from Egypt
II. Scripture Lesson (Exodus 15:1-22)
-- if you would, please turn over to
Exodus 15:1, and we’ll start there
-- while you’re turning over there, let me
briefly give you the context and background of this passage – Exodus 15 occurs
immediately after the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of the
Egyptian army by God
-- this comes after God has sent Moses to
Egypt to free His people – and Moses and Aaron had appeared before Pharaoh and
his court multiple times telling them what God had commanded – that Pharaoh was
to let the Israelites go – to free them from their captivity and slavery – but,
as you know, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he refused, even after suffering
through the 10 plagues that God sent
-- it was after the last plague – the
death of the firstborn throughout the land – that Pharaoh initially relented
and let the Israelites leave and begin their journey to the Promised Land – but
he changed his mind and sent his army after them – with armed men and warriors
in chariots too numerous to count
-- they pinned the Israelites against the
shore of the Red Sea – and with no way out – with no hope for survival – they
cried out to God – and He parted the Red Sea – allowing the Israelites to walk
across on dry land – when the Egyptians tried to follow, the sea crashed over
them – drowning the army and destroying the chariots at the bottom of the sea
-- Exodus 15 is the story of the nation of
Israel standing on the distant shore of the Red Sea – watching as the water has
covered the dry land once again and as the army of Egypt has been destroyed –
and realizing that they were indeed saved from the hand of Pharoah
-- so, look now at verse 1, and let’s
start our journey towards understanding thanksgiving and gratitude there
-- Exodus 15:1-2
Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the
Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.
2 “The Lord is my strength and my
defense;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise
him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
-- here we see the first A of
Gratitude – Appreciation
-- Moses and the Israelites all join
together in a spontaneous song inspired through the Holy Spirit, giving thanks
and praise to God for what He has done
-- they recognize God’s hand in
their deliverance – and even though the text doesn’t say this, I can picture
the nation on their knees on the sand there by the Red Sea as they dropped down
in relief because they are still alive and in praise and worship to God
-- they sing out to God for He is
highly exalted – He is worthy of all praise – in appreciation, they declare God
to be their strength and their defense – they acknowledge they are saved solely
because of Him and not because of anything they had done
-- on their own, they faced sure and
certain defeat – on their own, they faced death and destruction – but through
God, they were delivered from the hand of Pharaoh and his army
-- the nation comes together as one
and affirms that God is their God – and proclaims that they will exalt Him in
appreciation for His blessings and deliverance and salvation
-- verse 3-12
Exodus 15:3 The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.[b]
5 The deep waters have covered
them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, Lord,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
shattered the enemy.
7 “In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.
8 By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a
wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy boasted,
‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 Who among the gods
is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
12 “You stretch out your right
hand,
and the earth swallows your enemies.
-- in these verses, we see the
second A of gratitude – Approval – and here the people remember and recount the
mighty deeds of God on their behalf
-- they speak of God as the mighty
warrior who hurled Pharoah’s chariots and army into the sea and drowned his
best officers
-- they proclaim God’s majesty and
power – of His mighty right hand that shattered the enemy before them
-- they speak of God’s burning and
righteous anger – how He moved against the Egyptians because of their injustice
and unrighteousness and pride
-- at the time of the exodus, Egypt
was the unparalleled world power – it was the world’s greatest government – it
controlled trade – it exerted its demands on other nations – Pharaoh ruled the
world through the power of his armies and Egypt’s economic might
-- so, when the nation of Israel
fled Egypt, the people of Egypt boasted and proclaimed that they would pursue
them and overtake them and destroy them – but just like the people we read
about in Romans 1, they forgot about the Lord – and God moved in a mighty way
that defined the people of Israel forever
-- He parted the Red Sea with His
breath to allow the Israelites to escape, and then covered the Egyptian army
with it once again – His power was shown to be greater than the most powerful
nation on earth – and so, the people of Israel sing out in praise and worship
and thanksgiving in verse 11, “Who is like you, O God? – Who among the gods –
meaning the idols and the manmade powers and governments of the world – who
compares to the Lord God Almighty? – You are awesome in glory, working wonders
for Your people – you stretch out Your right hand, and the earth swallows all
your enemies”
-- so, the Israelites sing in
approval of who God is and what He has done – and then they move to the next
phase of gratefulness
-- the Third A of Gratitude –
Admiration
-- verse 13-18
Exodus 15:13 In your unfailing love
you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide
them
to your holy dwelling.
14 The nations will hear and
tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
15 The chiefs of Edom will be
terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people[c] of Canaan will melt
away;
16 terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, Lord,
until the people you bought[d] pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant
them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your
dwelling,
the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
18 “The Lord reigns
for ever and ever.”
-- when we turn our eyes upon Jesus
– when we look at Him and remember what He has done – when we lift up our eyes
to Heaven and see the glory of God on His throne – we can’t help but be filled
with admiration and honor and praise for God
-- the people sang out to God about
His unfailing love and submit to His Lordship and Leadership – in verse 13,
they say that He will lead the people He has redeemed – that His strength will
guide them to His holy dwelling – as they admire His power and goodness and
might
-- they proclaim that others will
see Him and know Him because of His great and mighty acts – that the other
nations around them will hear and tremble – they will be filled with fear and
anguish – that terror and dread will fall on them as they come to realize how
good and great and powerful the Lord God Almighty is
-- no one will be able to move
against the Israelites again because God is with them – He is their God and
they are His people – they will stand as still as a stone as the people of God
pass by until God brings them into the Promised Land and plants them on Mount
Zion – the mountain of His inheritance – the place He has made for His dwelling
and sanctuary on earth forever
-- even though God has not yet given
the nation of Israel the Tabernacle or the Ark of the Covenant, they still know
in their hearts that God is doing something special with His people – that He
will always be with them and will never leave them or forsake them – and just
as the Tabernacle and the Temple were the places where God’s presence
interacted with earth, it pointed towards His final kingdom and the moment when
God’s presence would reside with us forever
-- and the people sang out in praise
and joy and worship to God, as they admired who He was and that He was with
them and would be with them forever
-- verse 19-22
Exodus 15:19 When Pharaoh’s horses,
chariots and horsemen[e] went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the
sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20
Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all
the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.”
22 Then Moses led Israel from the
Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in
the desert without finding water.
-- the final A of Gratitude is
Attention – and the message from these verses is for how we should act in light
of who God is and what He has done – we should pay attention to Him – we should
set our mind on Him – we should fix our eyes on Him – we should turn our hearts
towards Him
-- Miriam, Aaron and Moses’ sister,
took up a timbrel – a tambourine – and led the women of Israel in dancing and
jubilation as she sang praises to the Lord and called on the nation to remember
the Lord God Almighty – to sing to Him for He is highly exalted – to remember
what He has done – and to trust in His mighty acts in the future
III. Closing
-- Appreciation – Approval –
Admiration – and Attention – these are the foundation that we must build in our
lives if we are to change from being people who are negative and complain to
people who are positive and who live lives of gratefulness and thanksgiving to
God for all that He is and for all that He will do
-- it is just so easy for us to fall
into a lifestyle where we do nothing but complain and grumble and murmur about
everything – and I’m speaking for myself, if not for you
-- so, I want to encourage you this
morning to really consider the harmful effects of complaining and negativity –
complaining is not harmless – it’s like planting weeds in your own garden that
grow up and choke out the good things and the blessings you have been given
-- complaining all the time weakens
relationships and how you are viewed – there are people on Facebook that I just
hate to see their posts because I know they’re going to be negative – I know
that they’re going to complain about something – and when I read them, it
doesn’t make me a better person – which should make me wonder what effect I’m
having on people through my posts and conversations, too
-- and like I pointed out earlier,
complaining compounds – as the physical structure and the synapses in our
brains change through constant complaining – we start to see everything in life
from a negative standpoint – we see everything as something to complain about
-- it reminds me of the old joke
about the prank that some kids played on their grandfather when he came to
visit -- he had fallen asleep in the guest room, and they went and got some
limburger cheese and smeared it right under his nose -- now, limburger is a
really stinky cheese
-- wasn’t very long before their
grandfather woke up, and looked around and said to himself, “This bedroom
stinks” -- he got up and walked into the living room, looked around, and said,
“This whole house stinks” -- he opened the door and walked out to get some
fresh air -- he stood in the sunshine, took a deep breath, and said, “The whole
world stinks”
-- that’s what happens to us when
our lives are only filled with negative thoughts and complaints – it makes us
think the whole world stinks and we can’t see the goodness and the blessings of
God in our lives
-- but when we start living lives of
gratitude – when we choose to stop complaining and stop being negative and
focus our attention on God and on giving Him thankfulness and praise on a
regular basis, our lives will be transformed
-- the focus shifts from problems to
solutions – when we start to focus on the blessings instead of the problems, we
naturally find ways to improve things that aren’t going well
-- it strengthens relationships –
grateful people are more pleasant to be around – no one want to have Debbie
Downer as a friend – but we’d all like to have a Barnabas in our life -- someone that the Bible describes as a son of
encouragement – a positive person that everyone wanted to be around -- and just like complaining compounds
negativity in our lives, when we start to live lives of positivity and
gratitude and thankfulness, our eyes are opened and we start to see the many
blessings that God has given us – blessings that we just took for granted or
ignored in the past
-- the more positive you are, the
better your life becomes – the more positive you are, the more you are grateful
for the presence of God and for His blessings
-- so, I have homework for you today
– this is Thanksgiving week – this is the time in the US when we stop and take
a day to give thanks to God for all the blessings He has given
-- and, to be honest, a lot of us
still find time to complain even as we get ready for the holiday – we’re too
busy – groceries are too high – we’re tired from staying up and making dishes
for Thanksgiving – there’s too much – too many people – and we have to sit next
to that person whose opinion we don’t like
-- so, here’s your homework – this
week, make a special effort to think about what you are feeling and saying –
and when you find yourself having a negative thought or find yourself
complaining about something you are doing or someone else in the room with you,
find the good in it
-- turn your eyes towards the
heavens – remember the blessings of God – and try to find something good in
what would normally cause you to complain
-- we may be busy this week, but be
thankful that we are looking forward to a time to celebrate with family and
friends
-- grocery prices may be too high
this year, but be thankful that you have enough money to make a good dinner
regardless and that you’re getting to enjoy dishes you might not get on a
regular basis – like pecan pie and deviled eggs
-- you may be tired from all the
work, but thank God that He has given you the ability to do what needs to be
done and to strengthen you during the chore – it could be you need to let
someone else help this year, and be thankful for that blessing
-- there may be too many people at
the table to be comfortable and you might have to sit next to that extremely
opinionated relative you just can’t agree with, but thank God that the table is
full and that your family member is still there
-- find the good – turn away from
the negative and spread joy and gratefulness and thanksgiving this year
-- this is your homework for this
week – and for all the weeks to come – and I’m going to try to join you in this
and hopefully, God can turn us all into encouraging and positive people that
are grateful for God’s blessings and who pour out God’s love to everyone we
meet
-- so, with that homework, let’s
pray and get ready to celebrate a great week with family and friends
-- Let us pray
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1
[How Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity by Travis Bradberry, https://www.talentsmarteq.com/how-complaining-rewires-your-brain-for-negativity/]
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