GRUMPY OLE CHURCH PEOPLE
(All my sermons use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted.)
Through the many years that I have preached and taught from the Word of God I have made one very disturbing observation about the churches in our movement. I believe that most of the churches associated with the Christian Church, Church of Christ, are really lacking JOY. As a matter of fact I would go so far as to say that many of our churches are filled with Grumpy Ole Church People. I truly don’t know why, but I would have to say that this is the truth. Many times it is because we are not happy with something or someone in the church, we don’t like the way things are run, we don’t like the music, or the message, or the prayers, or the overall length of the service. The devil has come into the building and stole away all the joy that Jesus readily provides, and people sit in their seats and frown, as we praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now I know that many would say that we are a conservative church, there is no “raising of hands in our church” there is no shouts of “AMEN” and certainly you won’t hear our church clapping hands, but I say, “Excuse me? WHY NOT? Where does it say that God wants us to be less then exuberant in our worship service?
A story was told about eight men living in a small tent in the desert during the Israelites journey, led by Moses, from Egypt to the Promised Land. These eight irritable grouches cramped into their tent and daily complained to Moses of their miserable state. Three of them complained that their tent-mates snort and the others snore. In retaliation, the latter faction complained of foul-smelling feet. It perturbed their long-bearded leader. Moses, while stroking his long grey beard, told them, "Bring an aged ram and let it sleep with you in your tent for seven days, then come back to me".
After seven days, all of them came to Moses looking awfully grumpy and complained in unison about the aged ram in their tent. Moses said, "Starting tonight take the ram out of your tent, then come back to me after seven days", and that was exactly what the eight grumblers did. After seven days, they again appeared before Moses, now looking satisfied, and were asked if they still had any complaint. For fear of having the ram in their tent again, with smiles on their shabby faces they answered Moses in unison like a kindergarten class, "No sir, not at all!" And they dashed back to their tent as friends.
Sometimes we can only learn to appreciate the life that we have after going through a great trial and after experiencing grueling situations. There are so many reasons to thank God for the past year, however excruciatingly tough we went through. A Thankful Heart is a rock foundation of Life’s Fulfillment!
You came home cranky because a deadline got moved up. She came home grumpy because the day-care forgot to give your five-year-old her throat medicine. Each of you was wanting a little sympathy from the other, but neither got any. So there you sit at the dinner table—cranky and grumpy—with little Emily, your daughter. Emily folds her hands to pray (as she has been taught), and the two of you bow your heads (but not your hearts) and listen. From where this prayer comes, God only knows.
“God, it’s Emily. How are you? I’m fine, thank you. Mom and Dad are mad. I don’t know why. We’ve got birds and toys and mashed potatoes and each other. Maybe you can get them to stop being mad? Please do, or it’s just gonna be you and me having any fun tonight. Amen.”
The prayer is answered before it’s finished, you both look up in the middle and laugh at the end and shake your heads and say you’re sorry. And you both thank God for the little voice who reminded you about what really matters.
Paul was given wisdom from the Holy Spirit of God when he wrote these words in PHP 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
PRAYER
I. REJOICE ALWAYS!
We are told that we should Rejoice always, we are told to consider it PURE JOY, when we face trials, (James 1:2) and we are told: Ps 33:1-3 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. But folks, most of the time our worship service is very quite, very somber and with the exception of a young child letting loose, I am the only one who is heard.
We need to bring back the JOY that God gives us freely to our worship service. We need to feel the presence of an Almighty God in our lives and certainly as we worship and praise Him. We need to turn our frowns upside down. The devil will use whatever distraction he can to keep us from remembering why we are here today. He will make us think about the toast that was burnt at breakfast this morning, he will make us think about a problem we might have with someone here in the church building that has not as of yet been resolved, he might get us to think about how hungry we are, HE IS A DISTRACTION.
Ps 66:1-2 Shout with joy to God, all the earth! 2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious!
On Feb. 27, 1991, it was the height of the Desert Storm War. A woman by the name of Ruth Dillow received the worst news that a mom could ever receive. Her son, Clayton Carpenter, Private, First Class, had stepped on a land mine in the Persian Gulf and he was . For the next three days she grieved the loss of her son, and although people tried to comfort her, there just isn’t any comfort that can comfort the grieving mom – no words that can be whispered. Three days after the notification of the of her son, the phone rang. She picked up the phone, and on the other end of the line there was a voice that said, “Mom, it’s me. I’m alive.” She didn’t believe it. She thought it was some kind of cruel joke and as he continued to speak, she recognized his voice. Her son was alive She said she laughed, cried, she rejoiced – what seemed like a hopeless situation was radically transformed into the greatest day of her life. That’s what news from a graveyard can do Today, I’d like you to know that there is still hope from an empty tomb. That is what we are here today to celebrate, and empty tomb, VICTORY OVER DEATH. Now, many might say, that is what Easter is for, BUT folks let me remind you that if that tomb was not empty, we would have NO reason to celebrate at all. God has given us victory over death through Jesus Christ His Son. AMEN? So we have a real reason to REJOICE ALWAYS!!
II. STOP THE WHINING!
The second reason I think we have so many GRUMPY CHURCH PEOPLE is that we like to whine and complain about everything that is, or isn’t being done to our liking. We are a nation of complainers, and whiners, and grumblers, and IT HAS TO STOP.
Phil 2:14-15 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.
WOW, this is a command that is not followed real well in our churches, and I think it is a huge part of the reason that we see so many GRUMPY CHURCH PEOPLE.
WHY? Why is it that people whine and complain about the things they want, or the way that things SHOULD be. WHY?
In his new book 'Jesus, Lord of Your Personality,' pastor Bob Russell points out that having a lot doesn’t tend to produce a grateful spirit.
"Have you had a taste of the best this world has to offer? You went to Hawaii once on vacation, so now it’s harder for you to enjoy the state park. You’ve eaten a steak at an expensive steak house, so it’s harder to be thankful for a meal at Ponderosa. You’ve driven a Jaguar, so now you can’t be as content with your used Chevrolet. You’ve cheered for a national champion, so now it’s difficult to be grateful when your team has a good season but doesn’t take home the title..."
"Generally speaking, the more we have, the less grateful we are. It should be the opposite; the more we have, the more thankful we should be. But it usually doesn’t work that way, does it?"
"A wise man prayed, ’Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ’Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God’" (Proverbs 30:8-9).
"It is a rare person who, when his cup frequently runs over, can give thanks to God instead of complaining about the limited size of his mug!"
Why have many of us become a part of the problem rather than a part of the solution? Maybe because we haven’t taken the time to count each blessing we have. Perhaps we whine and complain because we are unwilling to do ANYTHING to change the situation so it is easier to complain about it. We have become a culture of GRUMPY people because we are LAZY. There I said it, I include myself, I throw the first stone, but I do so knowing that I live in a glass house. The reason many of us whine and complain about what is or isn’t being done in the house of God is because we are LAZY and we are just like children.
What I mean is that I have raised enough kids to know that when one kid is asked to do something, I will get a response like “Well, that’s not fair, my sister didn’t have to do that” We are so concerned about what others are or aren’t doing that we don’t do ourselves. AND, then we hold resentment to our brothers and sisters in Christ for what they have not done. AND Sometimes we go so far as to lose our joy because someone else did DO THINGS, and we felt like we could have done it better. Perhaps we just hold a grudge against someone, or just don’t like them or resent them for getting attention, or whatever, but this is not what Jesus wants from His children, He wants us to love everyone.
A woman wrote to "Pulpit Helps" to explain a miraculous lesson her family experienced. During one of their family Bible readings as new Christians, they ran across the verse, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Romans 12:20 RSV). She writes:
Ours sons, 7 and 10 at the time, were especially puzzled. "Why should you feed your enemy?" they wondered. My husband and I wondered too, but the only answer John could think of to give the boys was, "We’re supposed to because God says so." It never occurred to us that we would soon learn why.
Day after day John Jr. came home from school complaining about a classmate who sat behind him in 5th grade. "Bob keeps jabbing me when Miss Smith isn’t looking. One of these days, when we’re out on the play ground, I’m going to jab him back.
I was ready to go down to the school and jab Bob myself. Obviously the boy was a brat. Besides, why wasn’t Miss Smith doing a better job with her kids? I’d better give her an oral jab, too, at the same time!"
I was till fuming over this injustice to John Jr. when his 7 year old brother spoke up: "Maybe he should feed his enemy." The 3 of us were startled.
None of us was sure about this "enemy" business. It didn’t seem that an enemy would be in the 5th grade. An enemy was someone who was way off... well, somewhere.
We all looked at John. Since he was the head of the family , he should come up with the solution. But the only answer he could offer was the same one he had give before: "I guess we should because God said so."
"Well," I asked John Jr., "do you know what Bob likes to eat? If you’re going to feed him, you may as well get something he likes." "Jelly beans," he almost shouted, "Bob just loves jelly beans."
So we bought a bag of jelly beans for him to take to school the next day, and decided that the next time Bob jabbed John Jr., John was simply to turn around and deposit the bag on his "enemy’s" desk. We would see whether or not this enemy feeding worked. The next afternoon, the boys rushed home from the school bus and John Jr. called ahead, "It worked, Mom! It worked." I wanted the details: "What did Bob do? What did he say?" "He was so surprised he didn’t say anything - he just took the jelly beans. But he didn’t jab me the rest of the day!" In time, John Jr. and Bob became the best of friends - all because of a little bag of Jelly Beans.
Both of our sons subsequently became missionaries on foreign fields. Their way of showing friendship with any "enemies" of the faith was to invite the inhabitants of those countries into their own homes to share food with them around their own tables.
It seems "enemies" are always hungry. Maybe that’s why God said to feed them.
Perhaps there are a lot of HUNGRY GRUMPY PEOPLE in church today, and we need to feed them.
Rejoice always, stop the whining, and:
III. CELEBRATE JESUS, CELEBRATE
Folks, this one hour each week is designed to CELEBRATE JESUS, the greatest gift ever given to mankind. I is a time of joy and happiness, it is a time of praise and there is no ROOM for grumpy church people. Our God is GREAT, He is an awesome God who gives wisdom to all without finding fault, who provides for every need, and who is faithful beyond anything we can imagine. We celebrate eternal life through Jesus, we celebrate the remission of our sin through the blood He shed. We celebrate a peace that transcends understanding and the fruit of a wonderful counselor, the Holy Spirit. This is a time to put aside any problems we might have with others, it is a time to focus on the reason of celebration.
History records for us an interesting footnote. It was during the dark winter of 1864. At Petersburg, Virginia, the Confederate army of Robert E. Lee faced the Union divisions of General Ulysses S. Grant. The war was now three and a half years old and the glorious charge had long since given way to the muck and mud of trench warfare. Late one evening one of Lee’s generals, Major General George Pickett, received word that his wife had given birth to a beautiful baby boy. Up and down the line the Southerners began building huge bonfires in celebration of the event. These fires did not go unnoticed in the Northern camps and soon a nervous Grant sent out a reconnaissance patrol to see what was going on. The scouts returned with the message that Pickett had had a son and these were celebratory fires. It so happened that Grant and Pickett had been contemporaries at West Point and knew one another well, so to honor the occasion Grant, too, ordered that bonfires should be built.
What a peculiar night it was. For miles on both sides of the lines fires burned. No shots fired. No yelling back and forth. No war fought. Only light, celebrating the birth of a child. But it didn’t last forever. Soon the fires burned down and once again the darkness took over. The darkness of the night and the darkness of war.
The good news we celebrate is that in the midst of a great darkness there came a light, and the darkness was not able to overcome the light. It was not just a temporary flicker. It was an eternal flame. We need to remember that. There are times, in the events of the world and in the events of our own personal lives, that we feel that the light of the world will be snuffed out. But we should affirm that whatever happens, the light still shines.
So let us celebrate Jesus.
One preacher puts it this way:
I used to be the chaplain for the Astros and the Oilers when I was in Houston, Texas.
After I’d do a chapel, they’d give me tickets.
One time in the Astrodome I watched Earl Campbell run over everybody, his own men included, to get to the goal line.
When he got to the goal line, he put the ball down.
The place went crazy.
People were giving high fives and jumping around.
The scoreboard went off.
The same thing happened when the Astros hit a home run.
It was a ringing shout, because their man scored a touchdown.
I’m not saying that when you come to church you need to give each other high fives or do cartwheels down the aisle, but worship is a time of anticipation and expectation.
We come together because all week God has been knocking home runs and scoring touchdowns in our lives.
Worship is a time to celebrate what God has done for us.
Just look at what the Psalmist says:
Ps 145:3-9 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. 4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. 5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. 7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. 9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
Folks, are you here today because it is “what you have to do on Sunday” or are you here to feel the joy that is given by God almighty through His Son Jesus Christ. Are you one of those GRUMPY ole Church People, or are you filled with the Joy of Jesus? This is a great opportunity, to remember why it is that we gather each and every week.
A time to REJOICE to put away our worries and COMPLAINTS, and CELEBRATE.
As the musicians come forward this morning I extend this invitation to all of you:
INVITATION
