Complaining

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ. Based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the

Apostle Paul said, But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the

Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry. Michael Lee Abendroth here.

The worst junk mail I ever received in terms of destroying my last name was

Mike N .O. For those of you that don't know,

N -O, H -E -N -N -O, is not slang for a swear word, blank, no,

I'm not emergent, that kind of stuff, wouldn't do it on the radio show, or in real life.

Might think it, I don't like it when my mind thinks of a bad word, have enough sense not to say it, but the day that I don't think it, that would be a good day.

Yesterday, I was helping a neighbor with some hammering plywood up underneath a deck, and I hit my thumb, blood blister, and I didn't even think of a swear word,

I was very happy for that. I thought, the transforming power. Union with Christ, not only there's justification as a benefit that flows from that, but also sanctification, transforming power, the gospel saves and the gospel has a sanctifying effect.

So I was glad for that. What was I talking about? I know, I was talking about sexual fidelity.

You can order that through the website, you can sign up for the trip to Germany next year on the website, and you can,

I don't know what you can do on the website. Things that go bump in the church, I really think with Byron Yawn and Clint Archer, that book has got some great chapters, $7 .99

on the website, there you go, I'm hawking my own product. But see, I hide behind, I'm just one of the authors, at least the alphabetical, at least the authors are listed alphabetically.

I've been thinking a lot about Luther, tomorrow I, in real time, fly to Germany, and we'll spend some time in Berlin with EBTC, Christian Andreessen, and the rest of the men there for the training institute, teaching a preaching class.

So I'm thinking about Luther, and of course with next year and 1517 plus 500,

Reformation 500, Luther, there's just something about Luther, and I ordered a Luther book the other day with a lot of his writings, and I thought

I should read some of that. But in front of me I have Luther's little instruction book, a classic treasury of timeless wisdom and reflection.

I'm just going to open it up, totally, bang, randomly. Blessed is he who delights in the word of God, and gladly see this light, for it loves to shine.

But moles and bats, that is the people of this world, do not like it. That's one of the reasons why,

I don't know, we need to have some editors here, I've got this desk, banging into this desk.

Something happened, Joey ruined my chair still, still has not paid me back for the chair. Can Christians sue other

Christians? I'm going to sue you. You're so sued. Did you talk like that when

I was a kid? If somebody would have said, you know, a kid, a friend of mine would have said, when we were kids, crew cuts and all, let's call

DSS on our parents. But that's just not the way we thought. Now almost every kid knows, okay, you're going to go do such and such, then

I'm going to call and tell on you, and there's this authority. What else does

Luther have? Oh, so back to the point. The point here is, people of the world don't like the word of God.

One of the reasons why you should be encouraged is that if you're a Christian, you now love the word of God.

And before you were saved, you know, you might have found it interesting. There's some interesting stories, maybe there's some history that you could read, but you didn't love it in the same way.

You didn't read it and think, this is God talking, this is God speaking to me. And then now as we're saved, these new affections we have, how great is that?

You know what? I almost want tea on right now, but I'm going to just force myself not to. Luther's instruction book.

Open it up again, randomly. Oh, this is bad.

It ill becomes a Christian to complain and clamor much about injustice done to him.

That one hurts. It is very hurtful to my conscience to be so convicted.

Philippians chapter 2. It says, therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now not only is my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Hey, Philippi, I might be in jail, but I'm encouraged, you beloved,

Paul says to the church at Philippi. You know, if your dad's around and you obey more, you're thinking, okay, that's just what you do, you know, as some kid.

But what if to honor your father's name and to honor his person?

When he was gone, you obeyed more. That's maturity when you think that way.

So to run that by you again, when I was a kid and I knew dad was home, mind my

P's and Q's. Mind them. Mind you. But what about when you're older and you think, all right, dad's not around, but since he's not around,

I'm going to honor him all the more. That's what's happening here. So now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Okay, we're talking about salvation there, that's sanctification. When you see the word salvation, you ought to think, okay, to what particular salvation is he speaking?

To which one is he speaking? Is he addressing initial salvation? We would call that justification. Is he talking about ultimate salvation?

We would call that, what, glorification? Or is he talking about progressive sanctification? That's what he's talking about.

Work out your sanctification is what he's essentially saying. With fear and trembling, now those words fear and trembling put together doesn't mean cringing fear like with a dog that gets kicked by its ruthless owner.

These are two words that go together, and if you see them in 1 Corinthians 2, or if you see them in Ephesians 6,

I believe, it is a show of submission. You're under someone's authority.

That's the idea. With fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

So there it is, both sides. Work out your fear and trembling, work out your salvation.

God's working in you. And then if you had to put something at the top of the list, okay, you know, we are evangelicals.

We like lists. We like revivalistic, pietistic, quietistic,

Quakeristic lists. Remember the

Book of Lists when I was a kid? What we had in the bathroom, we had the Guinness Book of World Records and the

Book of Lists and lots of Reader's Digest. Why was that such a popular?

Quotable quotes, points to ponder. Remember the vocabulary things in the

Reader's Digest? And then they had true stories, maybe in the back about a wolverine tried to eat a guy's ankle or something, and then there was a majestic rescue.

I remember one of the quotes in quotable quotes, everyone is ignorant, only in different subjects.

Doesn't that make you just feel nice? It's so nice. Everyone's ignorant, only in different subjects.

Well, if we had a Book of Lists here for Paul and he were to start ranking them, let's just say number one is at the top of the list of importance.

He's not doing this alphabetically, we know that. He has insight into the church at Philippi and what's going on there.

And of course, we do know he's talking about joy. He's talking about unity.

He's talking about this joy and unity in the Lord Jesus. Euodia and Syntyche were not agreeing and he entreats them individually.

I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche. He didn't say I entreat Euodia and Syntyche in chapter four, verse two.

I rather agree in the Lord at the top of the list when it comes to lists.

And this gets back to my little quote here by Martin Luther. It ill becomes a Christian to complain and clamor much about injustice done to him.

What about it is ill, it ill becomes a Christian to complain and clamor much.

Let's just leave it there about even in injustices, you know, let's say you're getting persecuted or attacked and there's something done to you that is not just, it's unjust, it's injustice.

Why do we do that with the English language? There's unjust things and there's injustice. What if there's unjust things and injustice?

That would be a book of lists. You really get what you pay for here on No Compromise Radio, 1 .5

speed podcast. You can burn through it pretty quickly and then off to the next thing. The top of the list, work out your own salvation.

God's working in you. Do all things without grumbling or questioning.

What if I don't like that there? What if I'm grumbling and questioning that? That's hard.

That's hard. We complain about the weather. We complain about our families.

We complain about our neighbors. We complain about our cars. We complain about our pastors.

We complain about the sermon lengths. We complain about the sermon topics. We complain about daylight savings time.

We complain about, did I say the weather? Oh, I hate the New England cold winters.

You cannot bicycle. This time of year, this is in real time, I think it's the last day of September or close to that, it's 2016.

This time of year, I've been on a bicycle so often and I'm so old that my wrist and hands hurt.

I put double gloves on, double cushions. I try to switch from the drops to up on top and around and it hurts.

My hands hurt. They ache. Not just carpal tunnel -ish, but all around.

Very, very sore. About the only thing the winter does is it keeps me off the bike and then my hands heal for the assault next

March or if it snows a lot, April. It's about the only good.

I mean, I got a shovel. Oh, I do like the look of this fresh, clean snow.

I do like skiing with my family. I do like coming in from shoveling when it's done and there's some coffee there and maybe a

Toll House cookie or a snickerdoodle. Somebody the other day told me snickerdoodles are just regular sugar cookies with cinnamon on.

No, no, no. Now, I'm not a very good cook, although I've been watching enough MasterChef, home cook, home chef master, and so I know a few things.

So at least I know how to look up a recipe for snickerdoodle and I remember when I was a kid, it was Betty Crocker's snickerdoodle and there's tartar in there.

Well, I guess no steak tartar, although that would make a good cookie. There's tartar.

Is that how you say it? Tartar, cream of tartar. I don't know what that tastes like. I just know a snickerdoodle without the tartar is like steak tartar without the onion garnish.

So give me real snickerdoodles. No, send me any because if you, you the listeners, send me Pete's coffee, I kind of think it's sealed and then

I trust you. But if there was cookies, I didn't really know who they were from. I might open some amber maple syrup up and give it a try and hope

I live. Give it to Nehemiah, the cupbearer, taster. See if he lives.

He gives some to the dog that she left. What happened to the no -co mascot?

At the top of the list here, do all things with grumbling and questioning, or the word is murmuring.

Boy, that's a hard one. And do you notice what Paul goes on to say in Philippians 2? Do all things without grumbling or questioning that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, 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.

When you think of a Christian as a light against the backdrop of the world and people in it, when the

Christian doesn't complain because they are working out their salvation, God's working in them, when a

Christian resembles who Jesus is, and remember Jesus, I guess if anybody could have complained, he could have complained about sinful parents, sinful mom, sinful stepdad, sinful brother, sinful culture, sinful

Romans, sinful Jews, sinful Sadducees, sinful Judas, sinful Peter, everything, the list goes on and on and on.

He didn't. That's why if you listen to the last show, or the one that I recorded about union with Christ, we're glad for that, that we have

Christ's righteousness and how he never complained. But for us now as Christians, you think about the world, it is a complaining culture.

People kvetch about everything, probably sells if you complain enough, and even, you know,

I don't have the newest iPhone, that's how we're, you know, that's the major tribulation. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, neither death nor life nor lack of iPhone upgrades.

I heard somebody say that the other day, that's right. Complaining, well, at least

I don't complain as much as somebody else. I'm going to complain about how much you complain.

If we could go for a day, husbands without complaining, wives, if you could go for a day without complaining, children, single people, you know, let's just, let's feel all -inclusive.

That's going to be a bright light to the neighbors, to the world. Oh, Lord, help us not to complain.

My weather complaining was significantly restricted by A .W. Pink's Sovereignty of God, and he has a chapter about the weather,

I think, or climate or something like that. And in the book, Evangelical White Lies, I quoted a little section from that book because the weather isn't a thing, it's controlled by God.

The white lie is it just exists, it has its own, you know, it's almost like evolution. It's got a mind of its own, except it doesn't because it's a nothing, it's a no thing, nothing, no thing.

Paul, in jail, and here's what he writes to these people. That is amazing.

He says in verse 19, well, you know what, I want to read verse 17, even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial altering of your faith,

I am glad. See, you replace it. You stop complaining, and then you say positive things, rejoicing things, praise, thankfulness.

Likewise, you should also be glad and rejoice with me. I hope in the

Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you, for I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare, for they all seek their own interest, not those of Jesus Christ.

But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.

I hope, therefore, to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the

Lord that shortly I myself will come also. No Compromise Radio.

We're talking today about complaining. Luther said, it ill becomes a

Christian to complain and clamor much. I'm just going to stop it there. He said more. Ill becomes a

Christian, and we're looking at Philippians chapter 2. I think if memory serves me, and these days it's harder to have memory serve as much.

James chapter 5, let's see, I'm thinking about murmuring, I'm thinking about complaining, and it says in James 5,

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and the late rains.

You also be patient. Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged.

Behold, the judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the

Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remain steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the

Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Here we have, do not grumble against one another, brothers,

James 5, 9. Now we just tighten the noose a little bit.

Instead of grumbling about the weather, I'm looking outside right now, and it's windy.

And one of the things about the wind I don't like is it's hard to bike ride.

See, I can complain about anything. I hate that. It's too windy.

It's not windy enough. It's sunny. It's not sunny enough. It's too hot. It's too cold.

It gets dark too early. I mean, the other day, just yesterday, I think, I'm thinking to myself, it's getting too cold, and it's getting too dark, and it's getting too dark early.

I mean, the list goes on and on and on ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

Do people say that? Woe is I. Woe is me.

Which one's right? Well, if you're quoting book titles by Patricia O 'Connor, the name of her book title is,

Woe is I, the Grammophobe's Guide to Better English, in Plain English, English.

So, what do we do? What do we do? Well, I'm thankful that our complaining is forgiven.

I'm thankful that Jesus never complained. And then we have to do the put off, put on. So, let's work on encouraging one another instead of complaining about one another.

We see them as God sees them in Christ. Do not let the thinking of the internet control your mind where you say,

I love Jesus, but not the church. If you want to say Jesus seems more lovable than the church,

I guess you could say it. But this whole nastiness that's around there in the internet that says, well,

I love Jesus, but not the church. Well, that's just more sin. That's just sinful thinking.

That's just awful. If you love Jesus, you'll love the church because that's his bride.

And by the way, aren't you the church? Well, you're part of the church. So, don't get caught up in that.

Don't get caught up in, hey, I love Jesus, but I don't love the church. Don't complain about one another.

Encourage one another. Serve one another. Come alongside one another.

That is the put off, put on paradigm. In the Bible, you want to stop doing one thing, you're going to put on another and do the opposite.

Ephesians 4. How do you walk in a manner worthy of your calling? Don't lie.

Tell the truth. Don't steal. Work. That's how this goes.

Don't complain. Praise. Don't murmur. Encourage.

Don't grumble. Be thankful. I haven't done it lately, but I sometimes write on a little post -it on my study desk.

Encourage! Just try to encourage people. Encouraging others.

That's a good way not to grumble about them. I mean, think about it. We've all got our faults. We've all got our frailties. One of the reasons why we have lots of people in the church is for the purpose that we could cover each other's faults.

Husbands and wives. Complaining about spouses. You know, you're complaining about yourself because you're married.

You're one. And I don't know why some husbands and wives don't get that when they don't like their husband and they're picking and saying things and speaking ill of.

And all these things are vice versa. The husbands to the wives. It goes both ways. You're one.

You're hurting yourself. You don't need to do that. We all know. We've all got problems.

We're all sinful. We all have issues. So encourage.

When was the last time you said something encouraging to your spouse? Thank you for doing such and such.

You're great at such and such. I so appreciate thus and such. Or how about to your kids?

You're the best at. You get the red plate for. See how we just we just go into these.

Everybody wins. All the kids are winners in my house. Well, you show your children equal love, but in special ways.

Red plate ways. My cave and Roth, no compromise radio. What do I have for announcements?

I don't know where there's a no compromise YouTube channel. Haven't done much with it lately. We're still waiting for the donations.

I just haven't recorded. I don't know why. And if you want shows discussed or you want to call and ask about things, you can info at no compromise radio .com.

Tell your friends. Seriously. That's that's the main request. Tell your friends. Hey, there's a 24 -minute podcast that you should listen to.

That will teach a biblical truth. And today we learned about that. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Avondroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's word.

Through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text. Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6.

We're right on route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org

or by phone at 508 -835 -3400. The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.