Your Verse: Complaint Killer

[podcast]http://www.revkwon.com/podcast/your_verse-complaint-killer.mp3[/podcast] Do you know people, who, whenever they open their mouths, it’s complaining? Like, I mean, the words that come out of their mouths, it’s just like, “I don’t like xyz”, or like, “I wish they did zyz differently…” etc. Like, if God made the snow blow over the city and shut it down for a great snow day so you didn’t have to go to school, they open their mouths, and they say the most absurd thing, “I don’t like how the schools close when there is three feet of snow on the ground, my parents told me that they would walk to school in days like that, I really wanted to walk in three feet of snow, its just not fair that I get to build a snowman…” Yeah I know. You know what I’m talking about. There are people, as soon as they open their mouths, they just can’t stop complain—it’s too hot, it’s too cold, it’s too early, it’s too late, it’s too green, it’s too inconvenient. Maybe, there is another type of complaint: I don’t get paid what I think I deserve, or I don’t get treated with the respect that I should be treated with. Then they say, “if I was a man or if I was not Asian… But let’s be honest, there is never a time when they don’t just shut their mouths up when they want to complain. They just want to share that complaint with you or whoever is around them, which usually happens to be you. I used to be one of those annoying complainers. I used to complain about everything. When I did anything, I would complain. It was so bad that one time I was asked to do something by my dad and I started complaining, he said to me, “Son, you need to shut up and either do it or don’t. Be a man, stop complaining – there are people who would be forced to use their hair to clean this up, I’m giving you a mop.” Then he started to take apart the mop handle—“do you want to use your hair and honor God like the sinful woman?” See, what I didn’t tell you was that I was at church, and my dad was the pastor of the church. But more than that, it was Sunday morning, and there was a whole sanctuary that needed to be mopped and cleaned because there was rat droppings all over and spilled coffee and juice and chemicals. I had to clean the sanctuary in my white shirt and black slacks, my tie and get ready for praise. I had every reason to say, “woe is me.” But, you know what, that was the day, I took my complaints and shut it up. Either do it or don’t, but don’t whine about it. There are plenty of people who would trade places with me because my life is easy in comparison. I don’t have to scrap in the garbage dump looking for metal that they can melt down in their sandals, while getting stabbed by dirty needles and inhaling carcinogens so they can sell it at the recycling plant just to have enough to eat a single serving of rice. It was from that moment on, that whenever somebody complained in front of me, I felt like punching them in the face. People in this country don’t realize that there is no reason to complain about anything. Complaining about family problems—at least you have family problems, some people lost their families horrifically and would trade your crazy parents for their dead ones or abandoned ones. People would kill to have your job that pays too little and gives back even less. There are people who will never get to know hot, cold or bored—you suffer in your mind, but it’s nothing, really. I want to share with you all a verse that profoundly changed my attitude toward my disposition in life. It comes from Romans 8:18. It goes like this: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18) To put this into perspective, you have to understand why the Bible is saying that “sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” This is a very deep verse that a lot of us will just gloss over like the words on the line mean very little. What the Apostle is saying is twofold. First, he is saying, stop complaining about your life now because you will be rewarded for it later. We cannot complain in light of the glory which is coming. Secondly, he is saying that there is more to come and what is happening to you now is necessary for what will come later. How amazing is that? I believe this to be true in every form and way. I believe the things you are complaining about now are nothing in light of what God is about to do in your life in the future. Yes, those people that annoy you, those things that you feel are unfair, they are nothing compared to how ridiculous your reward will be in God in the future. Look forward to it. We need to stop complaining and instead praise God for what God is about to do. There is glory coming. Maybe, you don’t think my explanation to stop complaining is good enough. Perhaps, you’re not interested in why we need to stop complaining, but are more interested in why there are so many dissatisfactory things in our lives that compel us to complain. We are going to get there too. You see, the reason we need to stop complaining and start praising God for the future glory that’s going to be revealed is simple. Let’s read the passage in its entirety. ¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:18-23) You know, I could stop preaching and just read the Bible with you all very slowly and God will speak to us really loudly and clearly. Look at verse 20, the reason we have things to complain about is because we are “subjected to futility.” We complain because we are subject to futility. In verse 21, the Bible says we will be set free from “bondage to corruption” which implies that we have reason to complain because we know that we are not free from corruption. But even though we have reason to complain, we can’t because we’re being set free. I want you to read this on your own later this week because I’m skipping over a lot in this passage, and I believe that there is a lot here that we all need to read, swallow and digest. Do you want to be set free? Do you realize we are being set free? If we are complaining because we’re not being set free fast enough, we need to realize that it’s coming. My sermon isn’t as much about we need to stop complaining because it annoys Pastor Jonathan so much that he complains about the amount of complaining we do at this church. Rather, this sermon is about we need to open our eyes to what’s coming because if we’re too busy complaining we’ll miss the incredible miracles God is about to do and is currently doing in our lives. Let’s finish reading the passage. Let’s go to verse 24. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. The hope that the Apostle is talking about here is the hope of being set free from bondage. It is being set free from having things to complain about. When we want to complain about something in our lives, we are being told to “stop, wait for it with patience.” Whatever you’re complaining about or wanting to complain about, is not the end that you need to complain about it. Wait patiently for things and people you complain about. But if you can’t stop yourself from complaining because you just don’t have the self-control or ability to do so, then you need to keep reading the passage. Let’s go to verse 26.  ²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Yes, we need to pray and ask God to stop us from complaining. When we feel like we have something to complain about, we need to stop in our tracks and instead of complaining, we need to pray. We need to allow God to work in us through the Holy Spirit so that God himself can intercede for us. We need to be asking God in moments we want to complain or have things to complain about: “Ask God to show you the glory.” We don’t do it enough. We don’t ask God enough to show us the glory that is going to be revealed in our lives. We complain instead. That complaining is like a rotten poison that kills ourselves and the people around us. We need God to bring the glory of what He is doing to us right now. In six days we have a Lock-In. I’m not going to lie to you, it is going to be hard. But it will be a lot of fun. It will be an extraordinary experience. You will want to complain that night. But instead of complaining you need to praise God. You need to pray to God that night when you want to complain to show you the glory, to bring the glory He is bringing to life. I believe the suffering we encounter that night will be worth the glory that will be revealed to us. Lets go to our memory verse again. Romans 8:18. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18). In your small groups this week, I want you to think about your sufferings and then come up with a plan to ask God when you want to complain how you will ask God to reveal His glory to us. Let’s sing this song and prepare to our hearts for God’s glory in our lives to be revealed.