Negative Commands for a Positive Life - Part A

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Now let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

So, um Most people believe that if you want a good life, You should have good thoughts. That you should think Optimistically, think possible. positively focus on the good. Back in 1952, a book was written. that became an instant bestseller.

It still is to this day. It was by Norman Vincent Peale called The Power of Positive Thinking. I'm not here to evaluate that book. I have thoughts on. the value of it, but Norman Vincent Peel, basically, his premise was that you can overcome.

Most of life's difficulties, challenges, problems With positive emotions and a positive mindset. But There's something to be said. for negative thinking. As well as positive thinking. I don't mean being a negative person, being down on everything, complaining about everything.

We're going to get to that because. That's Bad stuff. But I'm talking about balancing a total. total positivity with a little reality.

So here's an article from Psychology Today that writes this author. While positive emotions such as gratitude, happiness, and love make life worth living. A dash of negativity can be a helpful spice. In the recipe for a good Life.

So accentuate the positive. But don't eliminate the negative. The article goes on to say. Negative thinking can actually save your life. You say if I eat that, I could die.

If I do that. I could get into trouble.

So negative thinking helps you envision the worst.

So so you can avoid the worst. Have you noticed in the Ten Commandments? God's top ten list. That most of the commandments are written In the negative? Thou shalt not Thou shalt not Thou shalt not only two of them are stated positively.

And that is actually, I would even say one and a half are positive. Eight and a half are negative.

So the two positive ones are: honor your father and mother. The other one is keep holy the Sabbath. But then, right after Keep Holy the Sabbath, there's a list of Don't do this, don't do that, and don't do the other thing on the Sabbath.

So you have God's commandments. Most of them are written in the negative. God is saying, stay away. From doing that. That's how I want to present this message this morning.

I want to give you four negative commands.

So that you can have a positive life. Four negative commands. For a positive life.

Now, as we begin reading in a moment, you will notice Twice. James tells the audience. Don't do this. Don't do that. And then he gives two examples.

From the Old Testament, of people who suffered, endured, but I'm gonna state them in the negative for you: four negative commands for a positive life.

Now again, just a little background. The audience that James is addressing They were suffering. They were Jewish believers. in different cities throughout Asia Minor. They were mostly poor.

They were suffering oppression from the upper rich class. They were being persecuted. and James is writing to encourage and to strengthen them. Let's begin in verse 9 of James chapter 5. Where he says, do not Grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.

Behold, The judge is standing at the door. My brethren Take the profits. who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering. and patience. Indeed, we count them blessed.

Who endure? You have heard of the perseverance of Job And have seen the end intended by the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate. and merciful. But Above all, my brethren, do not swear. Either by heaven Or by earth.

or with any other oath, But Let your yes BS and your no. No. lest you fall into judgment.

Now, based on what we just read, let me give you those four instructions. These are four. Actions To avoid. Four prohibitions. And you're going to notice that today's outline, there's no alliteration.

There's no Fancy rhyming at the end of each little a point, I'm just going to give it to you straight. Or Negative command. Number one, You'll find it right there in the text in verse 9. Do not grumble. Do not grumble.

You want to have a Good life, a positive life, don't be Don't be grumbling. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge is standing. At the door. Are you a complainer?

Are you a grumbler? Are you the kind of person that Uh you are prone to notice All the bad things going on, all the problems that present themselves, and not only that, but you love. Love to share that with other people. And spread that around.

Now When we are suffering. When we are hurting, It is not uncommon to complain, to voice that. That's our default mode. And nobody likes to suffer. Nobody enjoys pain.

Nobody likes it when it's too hot or too cold, or we have a medical condition, or somebody we love is going through something. And we typically voice that. That is not the issue here. Stating reality about something that is happening in your life that's adverse is not the issue here. What is at issue is, notice verse 9.

Do not grumble. What does it say? against one another. Brethren, so he's speaking to believers. Your Christian brothers and sisters, do not grumble against one another.

Now let me give you a little context. Remember last week's message. Remember last week's text. If you weren't here, I'll just take you back to a couple verses. Go back to verse 7.

Two verses before Today, verse 7, therefore be patient. Brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it till it receives The early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

James. tells them Be patient. as you are waiting for the Lord to return.

Now, he says, do not grumble against one another. Brothra.

Well, what's the connection there?

Well, here's the connection. Impatience with God. will lead to impatience with God's people. And that will show itself in complaining. And unfortunately, it is human nature that when we are hurting, we get angry.

With those we love the most. Brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, best friends, etc.

So don't grumble against one another.

Now Notice the word grumble. That is a very specific word that actually means to groan or sigh. Inwardly. Inwardly, it describes an internal and unexpressed Attitude. This is where a person builds up resentment.

And has a bitter Spirit Over time, it builds up and it strains relationships. It's like what it says in Hebrews chapter 12. Pursue peace with one another and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, and be careful lest. A root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and defiles many.

So building up resentment over time. Internal an unexpressed attitude. The heaviest burden you can carry. is a pack of grudges. You can carry that on your back.

You can seethe over it. You see that person. Those thoughts keep bubbling up to the surface. You won't let it go. grumbling against one another.

Don't let that happen. Don't let resentment build up. Don't take your ball and go home. Don't say, I'm going to go to another church then. Or I'm going to go to another connect group.

Or No, resolve those issues. Resolve them. It's called being a peacemaker. Blessed are the peacemakers. Peacemakers.

Drain their moats. Drain their moats. Let me explain that.

So, in the old days, they built moats. That's separated. People from attacking a city, or in this case, a castle, the body of water is the moat. And it was pretty nice because you're at a City wall, you can look out and see people trying to get over it, but they they gotta cross the moat. But When you drain your moat, When you take the water out of it, you allow access to the city.

Now that could be a bad thing or it could be a good thing. Depends who wants to get into the city.

So a peacemaker is somebody who drains the division, drains the moat, builds bridges rather than moats. lets people in rather than keeping them at bay. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heidzig. Before we return to today's message, have you ever struggled to study the Bible consistently? or wondered how to really enjoy your time in the word?

In his book, How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It, Pastor Skip gives you the tools and insights you need to dig into scripture with joy, clarity and confidence. This practical guide is our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to reach more people with God's Word through Connect with Skip. Request your copy when you give today at connectwithgift.com slash offer. or call 800-922-8888.

Now, let's get back to today's message from Pastor Skip.

So once again, back to the original question. Are you a complainer? Are you a grumbler? Are you quick to point out problems and then spread that around? Because if you are I don't know if anybody's ever told you this or not.

That's sin. That's sin. Now, not everybody will agree with that statement I just made. Most people will agree that stealing is sin. Murderous sin.

Um Punching a guy out is a sin. Adultery is sin, but not everyone will agree that. Complaining is sin because they will immediately say, well, who am I hurting? Who am I hurting? If I'm complaining, I'm not hurting anybody, actually you are.

First of all, you're hurting God. Second of all, you are hurting yourself. You're carrying that pack of grudges around. You're renting out. Um head space.

You're giving people headspace. and you're letting them live rent-free in your head. And they're bringing up every time you think about them all that stuff.

So it's hurting you. And it is also hurting God. I'm going to read, I can read several verses, but there's one verse in particular that sort of sums it up. Back in the Old Testament book of Numbers Now, I'll ask you this. Name the group of people in the Old Testament that got complaining down to a fine art.

You know who they were? God's people. God's people. His children, the children of Israel. And in Numbers chapter 11, just one verse of so many, it says, Now, when the people complained.

It displeased the Lord. For the Lord heard it. And his anger was aroused.

So the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. Why is complaining sin? Simple. It's an insult to God. When you complain as a believer, you're basically saying God is not a very good shepherd.

He is not doing a good job taking care of me. He is not meeting my needs. And when you do that in front of believers, they get discouraged. When you do that in front of unbelievers, They get repelled. Because unbelievers want to know what your believing in Jesus Christ has done for you.

And if you're always mumbling and grumbling and complaining or building up bitterness and resentment, they're going to concur. He hasn't done much for you. Why should I follow your Jesus? Here's an example. If you're a married couple and you go out for dinner one night, you leave the kids at home, they're old enough to fend for themselves, take care of themselves, so you have a night out.

You come home. You walk in the door. No kids. They're gone. You can't find them.

They're not in the living room. They're not in the kitchen. You check the garage that are not in the garage. Then you hear something. It's on the other side of the house.

So you go to the other side of the house and you hear. You hear voices behind a closed door. It's them, it's your kids. And so you move your ear very close to the door and you hear Your son or daughter saying I hate mom. Or, you know, mom, she's always this, or dad, he's such a lousy guy.

And, you know, if he only knew, and at first, when you hear, Them talking smack about you. complaining At first you are hurt. For like two or three seconds. And then you are You're angry. And you come through that door, whether you actually turn the knob or not, you come through that door.

And you are cool. Quick to give a list of sacrifices and what you would do for them, and how much you have given up for them, and how you want the best for them. Because They have insulted your care. They have disparaged your care.

So the Lord heard it, and the Lord's anger was aroused.

So James says, Do not grumble. You want a positive life? Follow the negative command. Do not grumble against one another, brethren. Let's finish it out.

Lest. You be condemned. Behold, the judge is standing at the door.

Now, that does not mean you're gonna go to hell for grumbling. It does mean, however, that you could lose a reward in heaven. For grumbling, because the Bible says we're all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. All of us, as believers, are going to be evaluated for what we did, for what we didn't do, and for our attitude. And what we are looking for when we stand before Jesus Christ, we're looking to hear one sentence.

You know what it is? That's it.

Well done, good and faithful servant. We're sort of holding out to hear that. Statement. come from Jesus. We don't want him.

Saying Well, you made it here, but boy did you complain all the way along. No, we want a well done, good and faithful servant.

So, obviously, God takes grumbling pretty seriously.

So do not grumble. Second negative command. For a positive life.

Do not back down. You want a positive life? Life gets hard. People want to silence you. Don't back down.

Verse 10. My brethren, take the prophets. Who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience? Indeed, we count them blessed. Who endure?

Now you know that The Old Testament prophets were God's spokesmen. They spoke in the name of the Lord, as James says. I look at profits like They're company reps. They represent The company To the world. They represent God and speak God's voice, God's word, God's will to people.

So, the prophet's most famous introductory remark used 420 times in the Old Testament is this. Thus Says The Lord. That's how they began. Thus Says the Lord. And then they would speak truth, they would give warning, they would pronounce judgment, they would speak about a political or social or spiritual issue.

And because they spoke God's truth, they were often rejected, scorned, abused. threatened and imprisoned. But They didn't back down. They kept coming back. They kept speaking truth.

They kept speaking truth to power. Over and over again. Oh, they suffered, as it says here. They're an example of suffering and patience. How did they suffer?

Here's a list. Moses endured the rebellion of the children of Israel for tell me how many years? Forty years. That's a tough gig. That's a tough gig.

40 years hearing complaining of God's people over and over again. David was hunted by King Saul for nearly seven years of his adult life. Elijah the prophet faced hostility from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Jeremiah was mocked by the people, hated by King Zedekiah. Ezekiel endured the death of his wife.

During his earthly ministry, Daniel was thrown into the Lion's den, because of his faith. Hosea. Had a heartbreaking marriage, Amos. The prophet faced lies of the people, and finally, John the Baptist, and I include him because Jesus said he's the last of the prophets. He was imprisoned.

And he was beheaded.

Now is that suffering? Yeah, that's James is right. They're an example of suffering, but it says, and. Patience And then we count them blest who endure. They didn't back down.

Any of those things that they suffered would be enough. to take any of us out. And just say, I'm not going to put up with that. I'm done.

So here's an example. When Elijah the prophet was sent to King Ahab, King Ahab seized the prophet. And the king says, Is that you? O Troubler of Israel, And Elijah didn't say, Yes, it's me. What Elijah did is shoot back and say, I'm not the troubler of Israel.

You are and your father's house, because you have forsaken the Lord and served other gods. And then he challenges the king to a contest on Mount Carmel the following day. You know the story, 1 Kings 18. The prophets of Baal were executed that day. And Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, found out and gave Elijah a death threat.

You got 24 hours, buddy. By this time tomorrow, if you're not dead. Then I didn't do my job, but I'm coming after you.

So he ran away, went all the way down to Sinai, Eventually he came back. And he showed up again to confront Ahab and Jezebel. When they stole a man's vineyard, the man was named Naboth. They wanted the vineyard, so they had him killed. And they stole it for themselves.

Elijah comes again and confronts King Ahab. And says, God will judge your entire household. Listen to these words. In the place. The dogs licked the blood of Naboth.

They will lick your blood. And he continues, he keeps going. Tell your wife Jezebel the dogs are gonna eat her. He didn't back down. Then there was Jeremiah the prophet.

Ridiculed, tortured, imprisoned. One time put in a in a mud hole, a cistern, he sank in the mud. It got so bad. that he wanted to quit. In Jeremiah chapter 20.

Jeremiah said, Listen to his words. I will not make mention of him. That's God. Nor speak any more in his name. You know what he just said?

I quit. I resign. I don't want this job. I've been a prophet. I now want to be a non-profit organization.

There's some jokes I just cannot resist. That's one of them.

So he just said, I'm done. I don't want to speak any more in your name. Count me out. I'm going to go flip burgers at McDonald's. But He goes on to say this, but his word was in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones.

I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.

So we kept coming back, kept speaking the truth. kept shining the light. In the darkness. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, don't forget to request this month's featured resource.

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It's a great tool to jumpstart your time in Scripture. Come back next time for more first-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection at the foot of the crossing. Catch your burdens on his wood. Make a connection.

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