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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. Here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us to all the people who are here. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org.

We pray that you’ll enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family. Look at number three, all complaining is addictive. It’s addictive. Look at Numbers 11, Numbers, and Chapter 11. I want you to know and understand that it’s not a light thing to be a complainer, a person who murmurs and argues all the time. I don’t think it’s wise for the wife to argue with her husband or for the husband to always arguing with the wife.

I don’t think it’s always wise for the children to argue with their parents or to be arguing with your boss and always arguing, arguing, or always complaining about everything, wanting about everything. Nothing’s ever right. It’s not wise. And lots of, if we don’t see it that bad or we don’t believe, well, you know, it’s us, me. And surely he’s not going to look at me the same way he does everybody else. If it’s wrong for Moses to do it, wrong for the children of Israel to do it, Would it be wrong for you how to do it?

I think he said, do all things without murmuring and complaining. Why would he have to say something like that? Because it could be possible that a lot of God’s children do a lot of murmuring and complaining. Is it possible? Sure, I’m glad there’s nobody like that here. But in the book of Numbers in chapter 11, why don’t you look here in verse one, in verse one, it says, and when the people, did what? You ought to underline that. It displeased the Lord.

So if it displeased the Lord because they did it, well shouldn’t it displease the Lord if you and I do it? And he says, and the Lord heard it, And his anger was kindled and the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them which were in the uttermost part of the camp. And the people cried in the Moses and when Moses prayed unto the Lord the fire was quenched. So yes, that was a problem. Now, and also in the scripture you see that all complaining is contagious.

Look here in your notes. All complaining is contagious. It means it affects other people. It’s just not something that you do, and it’s just you, it affects other people’s lives. Doesn’t the Bible say something about edify one another, exhorting one another, encouraging one another, praying for one another? Complaining does not do any of those things. It doesn’t do any of those things that God tells us to do for one another. It’s just the opposite. It is destructive. It is destructive.

Did you know you can complain about something and somebody else who had no problem with it can begin to complain just because you complain? And more you complain, the more people complain. And next thing you know, you could have a whole army and you know you’re right because look how many people agree with my complaining. Yeah, but is that what God wants? Is there a better way to handle a problem? See, the best way to handle a problem is to tell only those that are part of the solution to the problem.

And it’ll help you. In verse 4, And the mixed maltitude that was among them fell elusting. And the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely. The cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onion and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all beside this manner before I see God even gave him angel food.

I Guess they thought it was devil food. He gave him angel food And now they’re complaining about that, but you know whatever that angel food was made out of it must have had everything must been a health bar It had everything in it that they needed to sustain themselves and they complained about it. And it’s like there’s no end to this and they just went, but you know all this complaint, do you know where they were when they were doing all this complaining in the wilderness?

And most Christians, that’s where they live in the wilderness. See the land of Canaan is not a Tight-related heaven. It’s it’s a place of victory in the Christian life or supposed to be so we are God’s children and to go from childhood to adulthood We have to go sometimes through the wilderness and so Most people never get out of the wilderness They stay there their whole lives and wander accomplish nothing, get nowhere, just going in circles and just whining and complaining all the days of their life.

And one day you’re gonna get old and you’re gonna look back and says, what have I done for the Lord? What have I actually done for the Lord? Could God use me? Oh, He can, but look there in verse 12. Have I conceived all this people. Have I been gotten them that thou should have say unto me, carry them in thy bosom as a nursing father bear to second child unto the land which thou swears unto their fathers? In verse 14, I am not able to bear all this people alone.

It’s too heavy for me, but if thou deal thus with me, I’d rather you just go ahead and take my life right now. I’d rather die. In other words it seemed like Moses just about it had enough. Did you know that you can discourage a lot of people? Let me tell you this and this is just the truth. I get a chance to and I’ve done it a lot of it traveling around the country, sitting down with a lot of preachers and having a cup of coffee and you know a lot of preachers have become very discouraged and very depressed and a lot of them have just quit the ministry.

You know why? Because the people in their church complained all the time, never happy, never satisfied. All they did was whine. It didn’t matter what the preacher preached. It was never the right thing. They found fault with everything that he said and does. And so most of them just get discouraged. They get depressed. Did you know that you can do that to the preacher as well as the preacher can do it to you? But every one of us need encouragement.

Did you know just by a few of you saying, preacher, I enjoyed that sermon last week or today or whatever. Do you know that? That makes me feel a little bit good. Let’s me think that, you know, maybe you got something out of it because we want to be a blessing. You know, preachers want to be a blessing to people. They want to help people. They want to encourage people. I think we want that, but I also, y’all need that.

Y’all need a little, you know, praise her in there. They said, you know, flattery will get you nowhere. it will too. But it ought to be honest and genuine compliments and not just made up flattery for you know, trying to make somebody feel good when they know that you’re not real and sincere. It ought be genuine. But it says here I would rather you let me die than to see my wretchedness in that verse. So important. The next one I want you to look at is Numbers in chapter 12.

Numbers chapter 12. Well this one is about people who affect other people. It can even happen in your own family. Even Jesus had some of his own family who did not believe until the in. So he had to go through this. But look there in verse 1, and Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married. In other words, somebody didn’t even like his wife. And there’s a good possibility. She was a black woman and people began to complain.

Well, evidently God was not in favor of their complain, so God had to deal with in his own family. And this is sometimes where it can really hurt too. You can be wanting to serve the Lord, but doesn’t mean everybody in your family will accept that or appreciate that, so you’ve got to go through that. Well see, what they were saying and doing was wrong against Moses. And so Maryam, God struck her down with leprosy. And Aaron intervened on her behalf.

Says, Lord, don’t let her live like that. Half alive and half dead. And so God said, well, shouldn’t she at least, you know, for seven days or seven days? But Maryam had to learn a hard lesson. But did she learn it totally? Well, she may have. A lot of times people forget things and they repeat things, but Moses didn’t want to have to say or do anything against them, but God spoke on his behalf. And it says, I want to have a word for Jude 3.

So he called them into the office and he had to meet with them. And God had to say, this is what I’m going to do and I chose Moses. And people have to be careful of what they say about or against the man of God, even if it’s the family. I believe this. If you have a husband who loves the Lord and wants to serve the Lord, you better be very careful of seeing anything against your husband. You know God can chase in you.

And I think the children need to be very careful of seeing things against their mom and dad. If they got a mom and dad who loves them and trying to do what’s right and kids are just rebellious, there’s a price they’re going to pay. God won’t let that ride. In every situation, if you’ve got a godly wife, you better treat her right. Because, see, God could chase you because you don’t honor her, because she honors him. If a person is honored in the Lord, God says, I will honor him if he served me.

The book of John 12. So always try to remember that and do right. The next thing I want you to see here is in Numbers 13, Numbers 13. And in Numbers 13 and verse 31, you know that they had sent the spies into the land. There was two of them that says, we can do this. And Caleb, 85 years old when after the 40 years were passed, he says, I want that mountain. Remember that little course I sung one time for ya?

Or Caleb, maybe he sung it first time. He says, I want that mountain. I want that mountain. No, where the grapes of escal grow. La da da da da da da da, I want that mountain. Something like that. It was a good little course. And I thought he was a man that was 85 years old. And he was still ready to fight. Still had a little fire and a gut. But he believed God. He trusted God. He believed that God says we can take that land, and he believed we can take it.

But look in verse 30. And Caleb still the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once and possess it. we are well able to overcome it. Well able to overcome it. Why? Because he believed what God said. Well, look what the people said. The other one is 31. But the men that went up with him said, we be not able to go up against the people. For they are stronger than us. See, they were looking at their strength.

Caleb was looking at God’s strength. And if God gave us that land and God said, that he believed it. But there’s always somebody that can say things in such a way that caused people to turn against something. You know what I’ve wondered over the years. This is a little reminisce and then I do a lot of that lately. I’ve often wondered what could have been done in the Lord’s work if all of God’s people hadn’t listened to so much gossip and just kept working and been faithful what we could do for the Lord if all of God’s people really work together.

I thought so many of God’s people get down and discouraged and they complain and nothing’s ever right. And so the least little thing hurts their feeling and then they’re gone and they go down to another church and they will split a church in and they go over there and they split that church and because they’re never satisfied and they want to anytime a person come to me and says preacher I think you’ve got too much power. What they mean is they want some.

And if they had it, what would they do with it? I’ve seen people do a great job in serving the Lord until you give them a position of leadership, and then they can’t handle it. Because power goes through their head. There’s something about power. Some people can’t handle it. They can’t handle the responsibility. Remember the person that’s on the place of leadership. All you’re doing is you’re serving people. None of y’all in this room serve me. I serve you.

I’m your servant. I’m here to help feed you, to lead you, to guide you. I’ll do whatever needs to be done for you. But you don’t have to do that for me. And in time we put people in place of leadership. You’re because they’re servants. They’re not lords over you and dictators and they’re trying to help these teenagers. They’re trying to help the kids. They’re trying to help teachers. We’re trying to make it possible for people to serve the Lord.

God says, now in the world it’s not that away, but in God’s work that’s the way it is. It’s the way it ought to be. So chapter 14, things really got ugly. And look there in verse 1 of chapter 14. And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried in the people wept that night. Well why are they crying? Listen up there. Why? The whole count. Why? Because they listened to 10 people complain. 10 people. And so maybe 2 million people wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

Why? Because of the complaining of just a few people. And the people listen to them. So whenever you become a consistent complainer, it won’t be on just one issue. You’ll find another one and then another one and then another one. And a person who complains, listen, a person who complains to you, you stop them. So I I don’t want to hear that. I don’t want to hear that. Because you could be the person who is destroyed because you listen to what somebody else complains about.

If they want to complain about somebody, look, you go see that person. You talk to that individual. You got a problem with me or him or anybody. You go see that person and maybe you can win them and become a friend. Would that be better? And you can win people. And if you’re wrong, maybe you can correct the problem. But see, whenever people just complain, when you’re not a problem or a solution to the problem, then you wonder, why would you tell me this?

You question me, why would you tell me that? Why would you gossip about somebody? A person who will gossip about somebody to you will do what? Gossip about you. always remember that. And so they go down through here and you know the story of they didn’t get to go into the land. Why? Because of murmurs. See they’re in verse two and all the children of Israel, and here’s that word, you ought to honor the land, murmured against Moses and against Aaron.

And then they said it again, would the God, we had died in the land of Egypt. They said that when they got to the Red Sea. Wouldn’t the God we had died in the wilderness? They said that at the Red Sea. They said that when they didn’t have any water. They said that again when they didn’t have any food. Now they’re saying it again? Because see, the story stays the same. It’s just the problems change. But see, the heart hasn’t changed.

They haven’t grown in the Lord. They’re not closer to the Lord. They haven’t learned any patience. They’re not comforted at all. They haven’t got closer to the Lord and stronger in the Lord. And if you are complaining today, did you realize that you’ll be a complainer tomorrow? And you’ll be a complainer the next time. And if you’re always complaining about your wife today, you’re going to be complaining about her next week. Five years from now, unless something happens to you.

You say, well, if my wife, no, no, has nothing to do with your wife, has nothing to do with your husband. It’s on the inside of you. It’s how God says you’re supposed to be. Not circumstances, doesn’t justify it. You can’t, well, well, I may be cause. Either you have self-discipline or you don’t. Either you have the patience or you don’t. If God says, do all things without it, unless Yes, she really made you mad. Unless he really went on.

No. Do all things without murmuring and complaining. I think that’s what the Bible says. So in chapter 16 of the book of Numbers, I want you to see that it is mentioned on the tenth complaint that somebody else had a problem. And they said, well, who in the world does Moses think he is taking upon himself this power? Who made him the prince anyway? I mean, we could be the leaders too. And so there was some who turned 250 of the princes against the Lord and against Moses.

So God says, okay, I’ll deal with this situation. He said, if they died the normal death, he says, and I didn’t judge him. But God says, if they die unnatural death, I did it. So God says, separate yourselves from them. See that in verse 21, separate yourselves from among this congregation that I may consume them in a moment. And verse 30, but if the Lord make a new thing and the earth open her mouth and swallow them up and all that are pertain to them and they go down quick into the pit, then you shall understand understand that these men have provoked the Lord.

You see, they took a stand against God’s man, but it provoked the Lord. I’ve lived close to 50 years in the ministry, almost that long. And let me just mention this to you. Be very careful of saying anything against this preacher. If I am God’s man, And I am a good man, and I am a godly man. If I am a holy man, and if I am doing what I believe God wants me to do, and I don’t teach anything that’s illegal or immoral or fattening, then maybe you need to listen to what I’m having to say.

But if you’ll cut and criticize me, I believe from my knowledge of this book God is going be the Torah to you and I don’t say that lightly. I mean it seriously. I have watched long enough to know that you don’t play around with what God says in His Word. This is serious business. And that’s why I have to make sure I don’t treat you in a way that’s not right. I am not to be a respecter of persons.

I want to treat a teenager that comes to ranch with the same dignity and with the same respect, I’ll treat an adult in this ministry. The deacons, everybody in this, you’re just as important as everybody, because you’re a child of God. And I have to give an account to God for the way I treat you. And for the example that I am to you. But I also want you to know there’s another side to this thing here. And God says, I’m going to deal with him.

And you know what God did? He just opened up the earth and they went to hell with their boots on. He said, that really what happened. Yeah. See that in verse 33? They and all that I pertain to them went down alive into the pit and the earth closed upon them. Hmm, hmm. Problem solved. They didn’t do that anymore. You see, there’s a lot of things God can do, but when you start challenging what God has done and God will defend His own people, I trust the Lord to protect me, to lead me, to guide me, to defend me if it needs to be.

If God lets me die so bit, it lets me live so bit. All complaining, look at the last number. All complaining brings the chasening hand of God. Do you believe that? I believe that. I want to close with this verse. Look there in the book of Hebrews and chapter 12. Hebrews and chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. And look at verse 11. Because we’re talking about a child of God, not murmuring Not murmuring complaining because in reality, it’s against God.

Because he God is the one who permits certain things to come into your life. God is the one that’s in heaven that uses what people say and do circumstances in order to test your love for him. So whenever you come unglued because of it, it’s against the one who permitted it. That’s God. So that’s why God takes it personally. And that means that if that is true, then there must be a God in heaven that’s watching everything we say and do and how we respond to everything in life.

So he says in verse 11, now no chastening for the present seem to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless afterwards, it yielded the peaceful fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised there by it. Wherefore, lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees. In other words, these are things that happens to a person who’s down in discouraged and depressed. And it usually shows in their life. He says in verse 13, and makes straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way.

But let it rather be here. In other words, somebody else who’s following your example. And because of what you say and what you do and your attitude and your constant complaining, you know you cause everybody else to complain. They become bitter because you’re bitter. But you’re upset, so they get upset. So you have to be careful. And what’s that? And that’s what he says in verse 14, follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

Now look in verse 15, looking diligently, means watching, guarding yourself at all times, lest any man fail of the grace of God, unless any root of bitterness springing up trouble you. And if it troubles you, guess what? Thereby many become defiled. Because see, you can’t keep it to yourself. When you get hurt and mad and bitter, you’ve got to tell somebody and you will. And generally, you probably will tell the ones that’s the closest to you and hurt them, damage them.

You’ll take your garbage and dump it into their mind. Would you like people to take on bring all their trash around the neighborhood and come to your house and dump it in your yard because it’ll breed germs? And that’s what sometimes people do to each other, but they don’t know they’re doing that. So you want to be very careful that you are not spreading things that don’t need to be spread, because see, murmuring complaining, contagious, it’s contagious. It causes other people, not the trust, the Lord, not the grow, not the mature.

But in all things, we’re supposed to edify one another to encourage, to build them up. These are some things that will tear you down and others down. And you and I are supposed to want and desire the best for everybody else. You that know Christ is your savior. You know your God’s child. I know that there’s sometimes it’s so easy. And I hutch myself also in a sometimes I complain a lot. And I know that it’s strong. I know I shouldn’t do it.

And I say these things because if it helps me, I know it’s gonna help you. We need to see it as bad as what God does. And this takes from time to grow and to mature. Be patient with others that haven’t reached that stage yet. Not everybody understands all at the same time. And when somebody does get a little angrier upset, just forgive them. Just forgive them. Don’t jump on them and kick them and tout a beat them down because you don’t do it.

So be wise, be considered, love each other. Father, we thank you so much for all you’ve done for us. We’re thankful for this time together, for the study of your Word. We ask your blessings on the each one here in Christ and we pray. Amen. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bible line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free 1-800-576-3771.

That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe at the upper right corner of our homepage. If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org.

Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.